Homework #2

The first article that I found if about a U.S. Postal worker who goes 44 years without taking a sick day. She is now 64 and she is retiring, but she never took a sick day. Any time she had to miss work she would use one of her vacation days. I think this is a really neat article just because it is very rare to see people being that dedicated to their work in this day and age.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/postal-worker-retires-44-years-without-sick-day-204326090--abc-news-savings-and-investment.html

This article is about using lungs from a heavy smoker in order to give someone a lung transplant. This is interesting to me because my Grandpa was a very heavy smoker before he died and it's always been something I am curious about. I don't understand how a heavy smoker's lungs would be healthy to give to someone already very sick.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/01/29/lungs-from-heavy-smokers-may-be-just-as-safe-for-double-lung-transplant/?test=latestnews

The next article is about a body that had been missing for 20 years and has now been found. In 1993, a woman went for a drive and was never found. the case was reopened and there is now much better sonar technology and the woman was found in a canal in Florida. This is cool because even after 20 years, her family can finally have peace with what had happened.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/01/29/after-20-years-body-missing-florida-woman-located-in-canal/?test=latestnews

In class blog post

If I were at a party and overheard a group of people in a conversation talking about something that I was interested in, I would definitely want to become a part of that conversation too. I would want to go about it in a way that did not come off as being a "know-it-all" or without being annoying and creepy. I would first go about it, by casually walking by and chiming in by saying something like, "Oh my gosh I know exactly what you mean!" The best way to get in on their conversation would be to agree with something they are saying. To prove that I actually know what I am talking about I would mention how I know what I am talking about. For example, if the conversation was a bout a certain TV show, I would say something like "Oh, I watched that show on Monday on CNN and I loved it!" This would prove where I saw it, which would be the source. It is important to sound knowledgeable, but without coming off as bragging.

On the other hand, if the scene were flipped around and someone else was trying to chime into my conversation I would definitely listen to what they have to say. If everything they say makes sense and lines up, then chances are they really do know what they are talking about. Every person should be allowed to at least express their opinions and what they think they know about the topic. But it is up to us if we want to actually trust them and take them for their word.

RA Interview

For this blog post, I decided to interview my RA on my floor in Center Pointe Suites. Her name is Tia and she is a junior here at West Georgia. She said that she is familiar with research papers and has done a good bit throughout High School and College. I first asked what types of sources her professors required her to use and she said, “That professors usually allow any credible source excluding Wikipedia”. She has never been allowed to use Wikipedia on a research paper and never will. She also used some other well-known sources such as, Galileo and Noodlebib. I then asked Tia how she found her sources, and she said “I found my sources using Google, and many times used well-known sources like, CNN. Less popular websites did not seem as credible or trustworthy”. She learned to always look at when the website was last updated and to make sure there is always an author. I then asked Tia if throughout her college years if her research paper requirements have changed from when she was in her first semester of college. Tia said, “When I was a freshman the research paper subjects were much broader and much easier to find more information. As I’ve gotten into my major, my research paper topics have become much more specific, which causes me to search more in depth for credible and reliable information”.  She had t change her research strategies a bit because she had to use more sources than just the internet. She also had to start using more books as sources, as well.

Favorite Research Project

During high school, I did many different types of research projects. My favorite and most interesting research I did was during my senior year and it was for my Senior Project in English class. For my Senior Project I chose to do my project on creating a healthy, children's cookbook. In order to do this project I first had to research the steps in making and putting together and actual cookbook and what all would be needed in it. I found that there were much more steps then I had anticipated on. I found most of my research online and I also lookedat other cookbooks for reference. I had a project facilitator who also walked my through some of the basic steps and guided me through my project. Next, I had to research many different recipes that would appeal tochildren but would also be healthy and nutrious snacks. I decided to make my recipes more specific by involving fruit in each of them. Once I completed all my research and found ten recipes that would work, I began to start on the actual cookbook. I designed and created the cookbook myself. I had to make each recipe and take pictures of myself during the process. So, on each page of the cookbook I had the recipe written out, a picture of me making the recipe, and a picture of the final snack. It was a long and time consuming process but it ended up being a lot of fun. When I was all done with my project I had to write a paper on the process and steps. I also had to present my project to my class and also to a room with three judges. It was very intimidating and scary, but it prepared me for a lot and I ended up getting a lot out of the project while having fun doing it.

Evaluation Criteria: B-Skinny Coffee

I decided to apply the CRAP test evaluation criteria to B-Skinny Coffee. The first thing I did was check for the currency. At the bottom of the page, I found that the copyright was in 2011. So it was less than two years ago. I also found under the clinical references that thiswebsite uses other references from books and websites that are dated much earlier than 2011. Some dates given were before 2000. Some references would be good ones to use, but some could be outdated at this point. The website needs updating on all of its sources before being considered the best website. In this website the information is all about a new coffee that burns fat. It is a product geared torwards only coffee drinkers and maybe people who are overweight. The content of this source is mainly opinion, but it does have some fact. On the main page of the website, there are video clips talking about diet sodas being fattening, but that is off topic of the fat burning coffee. It has poor references. I was unable to find an author for this website. I did find that this product is made exclusively for Boresha International. It is also an official Dr. Ann de Wees Allen product. She must be the sponser. The website did include an address for the company, but there is no phone number available. This website also has many advertisements all over the main page. Overall, I believe that this website is based on mainly opinion, and not as many facts. The creator is definitely trying to sell something to the readers, and it is a product that is not geared torwards every person. I would not consider this website helpful or trustworthy.

Introduction

My name is Jessica Butler. I am from Woodstock, Georgia and went to Etowah High School. I decided to come to UWG because it was the perfect size school and it was a good distance from home without being too far away. My major is Business Management and I want to eventually get into Healthcare Administration. I want to be in the Healthcare field without actually being hands-on. During this class, I hope to learn how to properly research things because I know it will be very helpful throughout my next years here at West Georgia.