Blog Assignment 7: To Snopes or Not to Snopes?

After navigating through Snopes.com I noticed that the majority of the articles that are featured are on topics that I've seen floating around on my Facebook feed or possibly emailed to me at some point. The purpose of the site is mainly to "Fact Check" the validity of these topics and headlines. Even though in the About Us section the authors are reported to show their work and how they came to the findings, I would not consider using this site as my sole source since the site was funded "as an expression of his interest in researching urban legends". The site claims to run on its own and have no "business or editorial relationship with any sponsor, political party, religious group, outside business organization, or government agency" and has displays a badge that deems the organization as compliant with IFCN  (International Fact Checking Network) however, if the sources that they use are biased, so can be the findings, therefore I would do further research on the sources used. Snopes.com has a section subheading the About Us section about Topic Selection, where they claim Transparency and claim not impose judgement. According to Snopes.com, the way they chose the topics they will cover depend on the availability of sources they have, how much they can cover and the available staff. I'd never heard of Snopes.com prior to doing this assignment but I found it to be rather useful to get started on brainstorming topics for future assignments or just for fun! It certainly helps that the site has the Transparency policy and they are compliant with IFCN.

Blog Assignment 6: The Sentinel

Although there are different categories in the Sentinel, I mostly focused on reading the News section. I wanted to see what KSU students consider News worthy and also get a feel of what the News on Campus is since I'm an online student. From reading the headlines of some of the articles I got the feeling that the students at KSU are very focused on what is going on within the school, what affects the school directly and its students. Kennesaw State University is a community of its own. Headlines not only showed concern for safety of the students at KSU but also sympathy toward the staff and pride in its security. For example, one article about a man that walked into the military recruiting office across from KSU warned students about the potential danger of this individual and at the same time consoled the students by letting them know that the incident had already been reported to the police. There was also an article about a professor that passed away, the article was heartwarming and emotional and showed how the passing of the professor has affected staff and students alike. Among the articles, I felt a sense of pride when I read the one about KSU police being among the first of the first responders to show up at a deadly plane crash. The article started out describing the sense of urgency KSU police felt to respond when they witnessed what was happening that they wasted no time to make their way to the scene of the accident. All in all, KSU (as I stated before) is a community all of its own, that looks out for its students and staff and that has the interests and safety of those on campus (and off) always in mind.

Blog Assignment 5: Formulating a Response

Chickens Can Help Save Wildlife
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/opinion/sunday/how-chickens-can-help-save-wildlife.html

In this article, Richard Conniff, talks about bushmeat in the developing world. In most developing countries, people are hunting for bushmeat and in effect pushing the extinction of 301 mammal species. Whatever these hunters are not hunting may be leaving other large carnivore without food and thus causing a ripple effect of some sort with other wildlife. Conniff talks about chickens being a good alternative for protein in human diet to the bushmeat, suggesting that we do not need to go out hunting. He explains how in different regions and countries it is not promoted since depending on the region or country, the chickens do not grow effectively and they are also at a higher risk for disease. This article ends in hopes that, although chickens alone may not be enough to make a difference in saving wildlife in countries that do not discourage bushmeat sales, that it can be a start.

Eat Plants, Not Animals
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/22/opinion/eat-plants-not-animals.html

In response to Chickens Can Help Save Wildlife, Gene Baur, a reader of The New York Times, suggests an alternative to sustaining human growth by using plant protein versus chickens for protein needed in human diet. Baur, talks about how planting vegetables can produce more for consumption and use up less resources all while helping save wildlife.

My Relationship With Literature

     I used to think that my relationship with Literature was a simple one. Since I was little I've always loved pens and pencils and I loved writing on everything I could put my hands on. Not too much later, as a school aged child, I found out that I actually enjoy reading. It came to me while in elementary school when the book fairs would come and I would end up buying all the latest "Baby-Sitters Club" and "Goosebumps" books and I got through them rather quickly. As I grew up, the type of books that I read became more advanced and sometimes difficult to read but I always loved the challenge! I typically loved the fact that the more I read, the more I learned. One of the things that I picked up from reading was the different styles and types of writings. I've always been particularly more interested in chapter books that tell stories or autobiographies of interesting individuals; from time to time I like to pick up self help books and spiritual guides. With that being said, since I loved literature, school literary assignments tended to be simpler for me. I even enjoyed most of them! That is, until recently when I had to write an annotated bibliography; that is something I had never done before and quite certainly the most different type of writing I've had to do. Still, I love literature, and I will continue to... even though I've realized that I'm not 100% literate.

My Major

I decided to go back to school after I had my first child and began to think more seriously about what kind of future I wanted, not only for me, but for my daughter. I wanted to be able to provide for her and my family a lifestyle that would be comfortable and I didn’t want to work for anyone else. I wanted to set my own schedule and be my own boss so I originally started my college carrier as a business major. I wanted to learn everything I needed to know for my business to succeed once I decided what I wanted my business to be about, but once I began taking courses at Gwinnett Technical College I noticed that it wasn’t the major I actually wanted. At Gwinnett Tech, the business degree focuses a lot on the human resources department and how to work for a corporate company. Since I didn’t want to work for a corporate company, I met with my advisor and he helped me choose Marketing with a concentration in entrepreneurship. He explained to me how broad marketing is and the many different opportunities I could use my degree for, not to mention how it would help me as a future entrepreneur since I would learn how to create business plans, some accounting and market research. I first chose Gwinnett Tech because it is 3 miles from my house, it has a high graduation rate and it was affordable. After taking numerous marketing classes, I found out that I really enjoy it and I could see myself working some of the different fields in marketing, even if it’s for a company- at least until I figure out what I want my business to be about.

I chose Kennesaw State University to continue my education and obtain my Bachelor’s Degree because it is still within driving distance from me, I can do all my classes online and it is one of the more affordable schools. I’ve heard great things about the school and after doing some research I found that the employment rate of a Kennesaw State graduate is high. I haven’t really given much thought whether I will pursue a Master’s Degree so I haven’t really considered schools for that. I’m not sure I will need a Master’s Degree if I actually go through with becoming an entrepreneur and opening my own business; I still haven’t decided what business I want to open.

Blog Assignment 2: Everyday Research "Google It"

         If it wasn't for the internet I don't know what I would do! I love Google because I can find anything I need there, at least for 'everyday' research. I have a tendency to be on my smartphone a lot and use the internet on it quite a bit. I research all kinds of things, simply because I can and it's accessible to me. Through Google, on my phone, I research anything from movie times, who are the actors in a movie, movie release dates, etc to recipes, news articles, or celebrity gossip. 

         For everyday research, I generally skim through the top articles that may come up on Google since they are not of the highest importance, however I do try to be a little selective and make sure that they are not mock articles and can be a little reliable. If the article comes from a source that I have heard of before and has a good reputation, that may be the one that I will more than likely read. For movies I may use IMDb.com, for recipes food.com or allrecipes.com unless I see another article that catches my attention, national news articles can vary since there are several sources that I trust like The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Huffington Post , and The New York Times to name a few, for celebrity gossip my main source has been TMZ since they are generally the first source to break news but from time to time I may go to other sites like E! News or ET. 

         I'm not sure what people did before smartphones! I feel little to no need to get on my computer for everyday research or hit a magazine stand, book store or library anymore. The neatest part of all is that most of these websites/companies also have applications for your phone so you will never have to search Google (or whatever other search engine you prefer) again! I, personally, don't like to take up the memory space on my phone with applications so I don't download them and I know that if I 'Google it' I may get more than one article and that other articles may have additional information. 

Blog Assignment 1

     Texting and driving has become one of the leading causes of death or severe injury to a motorist or passengers involved in a motor vehicle accident. With at least 25% of car accidents being caused by distracted drivers, there are many different campaigns that have been created to help and bring awareness to these types of incidents and have even gone as far as starting to ask people to take a pledge and not drive distracted. Cell phones have become one of the biggest if not main distractions with its many uses ranging from texting, voice and video calls, to browsing the web, and checking your emails or even something as entertaining as playing games.

      The Ad Council, America's leading producer of public service communications, is one of the many organizations campaigning to bring awareness and cause change in this growing epidemic. The Ad Council has paired up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  and marketed this campaign through their website adcouncil.org, tv, radio ads and billboard. Links to some of these advertisements and similar campaigns can be found when visiting adcouncil.org.

   AT&T, one of the top 4 cell phone companies in the U.S. has launched a campaign called It Can Wait (itcanwait.com). In their website, AT&T has created a way for folks visiting their page to experience what it would be like to be involved in one of these incidents through video and even a 360° experience! These methods of advertising used by the campaign use pathos to get to their audience. After watching the video or navigating through the 360° experience you are left emotional and ready to sign the petition or take their 21 day challenge. The best part is that they have even created an application you can download to your phone to help you minimize distractions while driving.