SWA#23

Policy/Proposal paper outline

Jonathan Iwaskiw

English section 111

4/2/12

Thesis: All five groups influence policy change for improvement in minimum wages, minimum age of hire, and child occupational safety hazards.

1.      Minimum wages need to have a standard

a.      Corporation need to abide by the laws

b.      States need to have policies that correlate with other states in the region.

c.       The goal is to make minimum wages the same throughout the region

2.      Minimum age policies should be by company.

a.      14 years of age should be the minimum for any corporation

b.      Companies should have watchdogs to make sure they abide by the rules.

c.       ID checks should be mandatory for employment

3.      Safety hazards need to be prevented without any exception

a.      Safety should be the most important priority.

b.      Should be done by every corporation so that there is no competition

c.       Mandatory safety checks by state and international groups.

SWA#22

One problem I will be observing in my paper is that of unfair wages. The minimum wage in many nations is very low. Usually, they are somewhere around 1 dollar a day. Many states such as China have raised the minimum wage for children which has not prevented growth in the economy. The same imrprovements can be made in other Southeastern Asia. Higher wages will create more skilled work and better morale for the chilren. Several proposals are in place to raise the minimum age to international levels. The minimum wage in a majority of US states is about 8 dollars a day.

Working thesis: All five groups influence policy change for imrpovement in minimum wages, minimum age of hire, and child occupational safety hazards.

SWA #21

Student #3 The issue in this essay is deforestation. It is explained in the beginning that deforestation is a growing problem with no effective solution. The four different perspectives of four different groups, the indigenous people, the businesses, the medical researchers, and the environmentalists, are easy to spot. The thesis does not say anything about the four different viewpoints but rather two possible solutions to the problem. The student effectively uses the introduction and conclusion as he starts with an outside perspective and ends by explaining his own views on the subject. Yes I think the essay is somewhat effective. It is not very interesting or emotional, but it gets the job done. I would have told this student to add a little more flair to the essay along with adding some statistics to his or her findings.

SWA #20

Exploratory essay outline

Jonathan Iwaskiw

3/21/12

English Section 111

I plan to delve into the world of child labor laws in Southeast Asia.  Child labor can serve many purposes. It has both negative and positive aspects. It is hotly debated around the world and Southeast Asia is a hotbed for corporations that occupy and take advantage of the workforce.

Thesis: Although there are differing opinions on child labor laws ranging including from those of corporations, humanitarian groups, impartial scholars, and the children themselves, the main consensus is that these regulations must be changed for the common benefit of all parties.

4 points of view.

1.      Corporations

a.      Most do not care about the workforce as long as there is productivity.

b.      They support it because they can pay cheaper wages thus making them more profitable

c.       They have fought government legislation to abolish some of the laws.

d.      Causing a drastic change in workers’ rights and standards would stunt economic growth and would make their corporation uncompetitive.

2.      The labor

a.      Most children do not realize they are being taken advantage of making them indifferent.

b.      It is hard for children’s voices to be heard because of a variety of reasons.

c.       Most of the children need a job to make some sort of money to support their families, so they keep content.

d.      Because of the lack of labor unions, many workers do not have any sort of outlet to complain about their current conditions.

3.      Humanitarian groups

a.      Most of these groups find child labor unethical.

b.      They believe that it should stop indefinitely.

c.       They find many of the conditions to be inhumane and reminiscent to prisons.

d.      They call for wage increase and safer working conditions through donation and lobbying to foreign Governments and corporations.

e.      Opposite view of Corporations

4.      Politicians and Economists

a.      They have an academic viewpoint and are most educated on the subject.

b.      They see that while child labor is unethical, it serves a variety of purposes. Therefore, it can’t be abolished altogether at once.

c.       They think that improvements can be made to increase productivity while strengthening regulations.

d.      These individuals have a greater share of influence than all groups besides corporations.

e.      Many of the opinions come from a variety of sources rather than one clear group of people

My view is in line with that of the Politicians and Economists. One cannot evaluate the situation without proper information and education.  Lack of education is the reason why many children are taken advantage of in the first place. I firmly believe that many changes can be made that are both practical and ethical that will benefit all parties involved.

Section 3 Ichiro

Being an avid baseball player and fan, I know most of the terms that were mentioned in the essay. However, when Kang mentioned that Japan had occupied his country, I did some research on that. Looking at the history of Eastern Asian helped bring light to Kang's essay. Japanese, Chinese, and Korean people are often grouped into one "Asian" group. However, their cultures are very different. These three nations have been at war with eachother many time throughout history. This is why Kang felt uncomfortable cheering for Ichiro, a Japanese player. To conclude, if you know the history of a certain culture and region, you have a better idea of their perspective on a certain subject.

SWA #19

Caraway, Teri. "Labor Rights in East Asia: Progress or Regress?." Journal of East Asian Studies. 9.2 (2009): 153-186. Print.

                Ms. Caraway examines how economic and social changes have effected labor rights in Southeast Asia. This article compares different data from regions in Southeast Asia. The author sustains that labor rights have improved do to the increase in labor union activity. However, the situation is still pretty bad. The author’s major problem with these standards is that they do not provide flexibility in a rapidly changing market. She states that Singapore’s laws are extremely weak compared with international standards.

Caraway, Teri. "Labor Standards and Labor Market Flexibility in East Asia.." Studies in Comparative International Development. 45.2 (2010): 225-249. Print.

Caraway shows that labor standards in Southeast Asia have improved greatly, but have lost their flexibility. International pressure has not done much to improve the conditions, however. Besides South Korea, standards in this region are still a long way from being up to par with the rest of the world. In summary, she shows that domestic pressure rather than international pressure seems to be the cause of most of the change

Ichiro and annotation

The author's main point is that American's accept immigrants if they are skilled at something or gain celebrity status. Also, he sustains that Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans are all lumped together into one group by Americans. Immigrants in general, meet a lot of obstacles. Asian Americans are typically not good at baseball and the fact that Ichiro is a star is a breakthrough in modern stereotypes. In baseball, cultural and racial barriers often do not matter because baseball is an even playing field. Baseball is equated to patriotism and Americanism.

Kang, a Korean American sports writer, argues how Ichiro both broke down and sustained stereotypes in American culture. By being an Asian that succeeded in baseball, Ichiro was atypical in his baseball abilities. He was more accepted by American culture because he was respected in the field of an American pastime. Kang, on the other hand, was uncomfortable cheering for Ichiro because while they were both Asian, Kang was specifically Korean while Ichiro was Japanese. In addition, same Americans felt that baseball should be played a specifically American way which was not the way that Ichiro played.

SWA #17

Miller, Barbara Cultural Anthropology.  6^th edition. Pearson Education Inc.  Saddle River, NJ. 2011. Print. Pg. 376-377

                In this textbook, Miller observes and explains different anthropological behaviors. In this particular section, Miller focuses on women in the workplace and their advancement through the years. She talks about how an informal system of social networks emerged to help support poor Maya women vendors. She goes on further to say that many women in developing countries provide a substantial portion of their families’ income. This would provide solutions and suggestions for women in eastern Asia, a region not mentioned in this passage.

                Mapelcroft Inc. “Child Labour Policy” Bath, United Kingdom. April 2010.

                This bulletin about the risks of child labor is authored by a global risk management company named Mapelcroft. They analyze risks that effect the growth of businesses in a social and economic sense. This bulletin provides a viewpoint that advocates the benefits of the corporations. Mapelcroft states that child labor is not only illegal, but also inefficient and risky.

SWA #16

1. Basu, Kaushik andVan, Pham Hoang. "The Economics of Child Labor." The American Economic Review." Vol 88, June 1998

The authors argue that although children laborers work in the worst conditions, they are vital to the economy. They point out that over 80 million of the worlds workforce was children twenty years ago. They say that the seemingly easiest way to prevent this from happening is to outright banish it. However, the situation is more complicated than that and the result could be counterproductive. The solution is continued regulation and slow eradication of child labor.

2. Kolk, Ans & van Tuldere, Rob. "Child Labor and Multinational Conduct: A Comparison of International Business andStakeholder Codes." Journal of business ethics."  
Volume 36 Number 3 pages 291-301, 2002.

This paper deals with the ways that different institutions deal with child labor. These institutions include, NGO's, Governments, and corporations to name a few. The paper analyzes 55 codes created by these sources to regulate child labor. These codes mandate minimum-age and wage requirement's along with monitoring parties. In addition, they create a set of sanctions that are imposed if the regulations are violated. This paper explores how some of these regulations are counterproductive. The authors provide suggestions and solution for future research.

Sources

Sources

Issue 1: sweatshops and poor labor conditions in southeast asia.

www.sweatshops.org

www.ilo.org

I found results pretty easily. It seems like a topic that is very heavily covered, especially in the past decade. This issue is most likely the topic of my essay.

Issue2: with rising cost of tuition, is it better to go college? Or to enter into the workforce straight out of high school?

T RG Ehrenberg - 2000 - books.google.com “Tuition rising: Why college costs so much”

This was fairly easy to find as well. The actual research part will be more difficult however.

Issue Gay-Marriage in the State of Maryland

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/md-same-sex-marriage-bill-passes-last-hurdle?ref=fpb

I actually found this source off a link on a friend’s facebook page. All in all, the internet makes research very easy if you know where to look.

SWA#13

1.       Healthcare reform. Will it benefit everyone? It is controversial because many nations have universal healthcare which is successful. Also, poor people can’t get the treatment they need. I am a proponent of private healthcare, however. The main thing I want to learn is how universal healthcare would affect the healthcare industry.

2.       College or work-force? It is controversial because both people who have attended college and those who haven’t have been successful and the tuition rates at colleges are the most expensive they have ever been. I think that college is beneficial for most people and I am a proponent of higher education. I want to learn just what people do with their degrees and if it is really worth it to spend a couple hundred thousand on education.

3.       Is the occupy Wall Street movement a good thing? Or does it hurt the economy? It is controversial because it pits the rich vs. the poor which is a classic schism. I think that the movement is only part of the problem. I will want to know if the occupy Wall Street movement brings up valid points about the economy.

               

SWA#12

Waters, Alice. "A Healthy Constitution." The Carolina Reader: Third Edition. Ed. Lee Kauknight and

      W. Matthew J. Simmons. Southlake, TX: Fountainhead Press, 2012. 337-338. Print.

                Ms. Walters is well respected in the food services community. She is the founder and owner of the Chez Panisse Foundation and the Chez Panisse restaurant respectively. She is an activist for healthier food options in schools and a strong proponent of “edible education.” “Edible education,” is a theory that healthier lunches in schools will lead to students being healthier and succeeding more in school and the community. It follows that students will not only be healthier physically, but also mentally.

                To build her case she cites people such as Thomas Jefferson who said “Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens.” She also takes quotes from students in the California area who all had positive experiences and benefits from healthier lunches. Her main argument is that we should care more about the places where the roots of life are being nourished.

1.       The author’s main point is that taking responsibility for yourself brings about better benefits. She says it fosters in responsibility to other aspects of your life including responsibility to people other than yourself. 2. The link between healthy meals and learning is about the principle of taking ownership of your actions. Eating an unhealthy meal is the same as not doing your homework, nor doing it in poor fashion.  Waters only supports her argument with one example of a school that had dramatic increases in positive aspects and decreases in disciplinary problems. She also cites three students which healthier meals have benefited. She would have been better off by stating actual facts and statistics rather than hearsay and one example. In addition, I think that Walters does not address the fact that the parents of these students have control over 75% of their daily intake of food and that they should have their kids eat healthier.

SWA #11

It is said that money is the root of all evil. So it follows that that commercialism will destroy any culture it comes across. Geek culture is no exception.  Oswalt points out those writers have taken advantage of Greek culture taking sci-fi and fantasy cultures and altering them or creating new stories. These new creations are usually not very good as they are only made to make a profit. For example, star wars has come out with a plethora of video games spin-offs which have little to do with star wars itself. Also, most sequels to movie are made to make a profit of a particular good saga. In the music world, songs that were previously “out there” are now used for goofy commercials. In the end of the essay, Oswalt tells the audience that Dr. Cali-gory’s will probably be used for a cruise line commercial. In addition, the revival of techno music brings out the nerd in all of us.

Wake of geek culture. It's time to die. SWA 10#

English Outline

Geekin out

                The author shows that geek culture is now being undermined by commercialism, the creation of week otaku, and movement of pop culture.

I. Commercialism ruins otaku because it uses it for money.

          A. People create alternate stories just to make money.

                            1. Stories of star wars

                             2. Different endings of “watchmen”

B. music used in commercials

                               1. Cruise ship commercial

II. Weak otaku makes geek culture easier for the common man to relate to

A. Video can be manipulated to the audience’s liking.

                1. Making the shining a comedy.

               

Mysteriousness is taken away

                1. Video game secrets revealed on the internet.

III. Nerd culture is pop culture

A.      Nerd sheik has made it cool to be a nerd.

1.       Star wars

2.       Sci-fi movie

B.      Culture is enthralled with nerd culture.

a.       1. Many nerds are industry moguls

b.      YouTube.

Oswalt has shown that geeks no longer have their own culture because it is constantly becoming commercialized, weaker, and popular.

SWA#9

SWA#9

                The central claim that Robbins argues is that we should not be feeding livestock so much antibiotics. The reason is that we are overfeeding livestock which creates bacteria strains that build up an immunity to a certain antibiotic thus becoming unaffected by the antibiotic. This leads to diseases that can’t be cured by current medicine. Robbins assumption is that ultimately it is more important that we do not create diseases rather than eliminate any chance of bacteria being in our meat.

SWA#8

SWA#8

                Answering questions 2 and 3

                2. By this statement, Scully means to say that morality and reason set us apart from animals however; we do not treat animals with good morals or principle. Instead he says that because we think of ourselves as superior to animals, it gives us the right to treat them cruelly and then eat them. Basically he says our reasoning is “we do this because we can.” I disagree with this statement and the whole essay. Why? This essay is descriptor towards animals that we eat and can see suffering in. These animals are pigs; cows, dogs, or any other domestic animal that’s pain is visible. However he does not bring up how humans kill thousands of animals with deforestation or that you swat a fly every day. If all animals truly deserved to be treated equal then why are the ones that we have as pets and the ones we eat the only animals that seemingly exist in Scully’s mind?

3. Scully argues this point very well. He does not say that animals have as much rights as humans. He only states that animals have the right to not be treated poorly. He also makes this not into a political issue, but a moral one. By this, he is appealing to both political parties. He brings up how Liveshot.com was outlawed because not only animal rights activists considered it to be wrong, but also gun rights activists. He also criticizes religious conservatives on the 3^rd paragraph of page 362 saying that they are hypocrites saying that animals are secondary even though they believe in stewardship.

Comments and concerns

My concerns for this paper are ones of grammer arather than content. All too often my sentances are switched around or too short. Often, I miss words. Also, I do not explain enough why the visual aspects effect the audience but rather how the slogan does. A few more sentances about each of my points would serve me well. All in all, a quick proofread would help my essay more than anything else

Correction

These are the two advertisements I am using for my visual rhetorical analysis paper.

Advertisment info

Both of my ads came from ESPN.com which is a sports and entertainment website with articles video and audio about all your favorite sports teams. The typical topics covered are sport events obviously and other news pertaining to sports. The demographics of the audience of this website is men between the ages of 16-60. Products and services advertised here are usually geared towards men such as powertools, cars, football gear, online poker, etc. In conclusion, the publisher assumes that the reader here is a normal male of age who is the stereotypical male who likes masculine things.

Essay 1 Thesis

English Essay 1 Thesis

Jon Iwaskiw 2/1/12

The world of advertising is one that is always changing. One ad is instantly obsolete when another new one comes out.  Different methods and different mediums are used to convey a message. An ad can appeal to any one of your senses. That being said, one constant in advertising is appeal to sexual desire. Sex will always sell no matter what because the desire is at a genetic level. Sex, however, can be utilized in many diffrerent ways. Using rhetorical analysis of author and audience, two ads using sex to sell can be properly compared in value and effectiveness.

Sex sells. Just ask people who have sex.

The two advertisements I choose are very racy, but in two different ways. One is a condom advertisement from Trojan. The second ad is a Godaddy.com advertisement. Both of these were found on the internet. Both ads are from sports websites and are obviously targeted towards men between 16 and 60 years old as most men that age are fans of some kind of sport. The main theme of these ads is sex. However, sex in these ads is portrayed in two entirely different ways. First off is the Trojan ad. It depicts a rollercoaster that is shaped to spell out the word “orgasm” with fireworks going off in the night background. The only words are in small print at the bottom left of the corner beside a picture of the product in its box. The words say “make each one special.” The second ad is fairly simple. It shows a fairly busty woman’s chest in a tank top with the Godaddy.com logo. The rest of the ad is words in small print on the background. Both ads are very colorful with formal having many colors going on. I chose these two ads because they are very provocative and directed towards my demographic and on websites I go on. While the first product I use, the second I probably will never use throughout my life. Godaddy.com is a place you go on the internet to find and buy domain names.

            As we all know, sex sells. The first advertisement is for a product that is only used during sex. Yet, it doesn’t use scantily clad women to sell. Sadly, all the vibrant colors might draw in the eyes of a child even though most children would have no knowledge of what “orgasm” means or what a condom is. This ad is most likely directed towards both men and women as both usually experience an orgasm during intercourse. Ironically, a condom will decrease the rate at which you will get an orgasm as it is used for protection. Surprisingly enough, the ad says nothing about the actual use of the product. On the other hand, we have the Godaddy.com advertisement in stereotypical fashion. Like the Trojan ad, this one uses sex. However, it uses sex in the visual form instead of making the audience use their imagination. This is probably directed only towards men. In addition, many women would be and are very offended by these kinds of ads by Godaddy.com. Unlike the former, this ad has nothing to do with the purpose of the product besides letters in small print. Both advertise under the impression that the audience knows the use of their product. In conclusion, the Trojan advertisement is more effective and eye-catching even though both ads leave morals at the door.

Issues of meat production.

Meat production is an issue that has been heavily documented and debated in the last 50 years. We see pictures of cows standing in their own manure and are appalled. Movies like "Food inc." scare us into buying organic foods. Rarely do we see the other side of the story. The fact of the matter is, we like our food. We like it fast and we like it to be delicous. The reason cows and other livestock are treated this way is not just the corporations being selfish but its the only way to feed 300 million americans every day. Food is something everyone needs. If Americans want meat just as they want vegatables, they are going to have to churn them out just as efficiently. You can villify the food industry all you want, but.... they are literally feeding you. If citizens want to imagine of a happy little cow strolling in a pasture everytime they bite into a hamburger, they should stop eating hamburgers until livestock is treated better. This is not how it is though. Often people just bitch and complain about problems with no real soultions. A word that sticks out in my mind in regards to this "inhumane." animals are not humans whether we like it or not. True, animals are often treated badly even as animal treatment goes. However, do we put animal wellbeing above humankind? Millions of Americans can only live off meat products that are cheaply produced. Take that away from them, and they may starve. This planet population  gets exponentially bigger every year and so is its dinner plate.We can picture these cows and pigs in such horrible conditions but we would be neglecting the billions of impoverished people around the world from Sudan to Bangladesh who are living meal by meal.

In figure 1.1 a baby is depicted with a toxic sign on their bib. This is supposed insinuate that play with toxic toys imported from different countires. I think their priorites are a little messed up. We see this kid and think "awww." Think about the child not much older than this baby whos working 14 hour shifts  for 19 cents an hour to make the toy. The fact of the matter is that we should be more concerned with working conditions rather than to check every single toy that comes in. This image does nothing for me and only makes me angry at the person who created it.

Get Smarter

          Technology does not equal intelligence. Technology is totally separate from intelligence. Why? because technology neither makes people naturally smarter or dumber. Those things are genetic. Throughout time there have always been smart and dumb people. Yet, technology moves at a constant rate. More people in the world may be educated, but educated and intelligent are two different things. When you are educated, you are taught by another source of information. This "knowledge" which is passed down from generation to generation is separate from intelligence because intelligence is judged by how well we retain this "knowledge." Where does technology fit into this? Technology only helps humans do tasks faster and more efficient. That being said, technology only makes the educated become less educated. That is to say the smartest people in the world become smarter, the less intelligent people who were just beginning to become educated are now deemed stupid. For example, a 5 year old from the 14th century may be considered dumber than one from the 21st century, but their ability to retain information is probably the same unless they are a genius. Nowadays, everyone has access to the same amount of information making them necessarily equal in knowledge. But now can you say everyone is getting smarter when the bar is getting higher and higher? I wouldn't consider some teenager who looks up everything on wikipedia to be intelligent. This creates a cycle. A new standard of dumb is created every time new technology presents itself. The only constant factor is one of genetics. The basic principle is that genius's will always be genius's and idiots will always be idiots.