Considering Genre

Heads or Tails? On a Four Faced Coin...

Redwood, Rob. "Call !" 2/14/2010 via flickr. Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic

Most likely, this is not the case, but I feel like the genre that we choose for each project will determine our success in that project. Since this is the first project, I have four choices, which means that I have a 25% chance of picking the best one for this genre. The pressure is on no. After careful consideration and planning, I believe that I have made my choose.

1. Out of all the Nightmares I Could of Chosen...

     I have made my decision and I choose the Quick Reference Guide for Project 1. I believe that the QRG is rather simple and will get me a steady start into the other three. The content that I am assessing also seems to fit the best profile for the QRG. It is somewhat technical with a lot of interlinking parts that need to be carefully divided and analyzed for proper understanding.

2. Looking Forward to the Production Phase

    Throughout the upcoming week, my primary goal is to give form to all the information on the topic and organize under possible sub-headings. I want to put all the pieces of the puzzle together to begin to form something that is easily understood by the reader. I also want to begin working on a format for the QRG that is both aesthetically pleasing and well organized. 

3. Hoping for the Best as I begin Production

     I have names. I have data. I have sources. They are all ready to start working together to form my QRG. Nonetheless, I feel like I still lack some critical planning that might cause me issues later on. All my information is there, but issue might be were I draw the line between the implications of Stuxnet and all of Cyber Warfare in General. 

Cluster of Stake Holders

High Stakes Gambling With Cyber Warfare

Selesnick, James. "New Electrical Infrastructure" 4/26/2009 via wikimedia. Public Domain

I organized my cluster into three divisions. The first division is the controversy that I am investigating. The second division is the section for the stake holders where I talk about who they are and how they relate to the story. My final division talks about what each stakeholder has to potentially lose or gain in this situation. 

Here is my Cluster Map

Evaluation of General Sources

Two Web Sources

I have decided to do research on the Stuxnet computer worm that was discovered in mid 2010. I do not have a set topic but it will probably deal with the ethics behind developing this cyber weapon and others like it. Below are two sources that I found online pertaining to Stuxnet.

Stuxnet Worm Entered Iran's Nuclear Facilities Through Hacked Suppliers

D'Surreal, Dagmar. "Hacker Inside" 9/23/2009 via wikipedia. Attribution 3.0 Unported

URL: The url is engadget.com. It indicates that the website is commercial. It is essentially a blog written by a set team that are both experienced writers and experienced with technology. Nonetheless, they are not experts on the topic

Author: Jon Fingas is an experienced writer that mostly writes on technology related topics. However, he is not an expert on Stuxnet.

Last Update: There is no "last update" on the page, but the article is from 2014 meaning that it is fairly recent. All the links work and the majority of them lead to other cyber attack related news.

Purpose: The purpose of this story is to explain how Stuxnet managed to infiltrate a nuclear power plant. It also has some information about who might have developed this cyber weapon. 

Graphics: The only graphic is an image of the Iranian Nuclear Power Plant that was attacked by Stuxnet.

Position on the Subject: This article is strictly informational and has no bias. It purpose is to inform the reader. The information also correlates with other articles that I have read online.

Links: There are various links to other articles on the same website. These links further explain the inter workings of Stuxnet and how it got out to the Internet. 

War 2.0: Cyberweapons and Ethics

Kessler, Carrie. "Monitoring a Simulated Test at Central Control Facility at Elgin Air Force Base" 4/16/2008 via wikipedia. Public Domain

URL: The url is nd.edu. This website is an educational website from the University of Notre Dame. This means that it was written by scholars that have a profound knowledge on the topic. 

Author: This article has three authors: Patrick Lin, Fritz Allhoff, and Neil C. Rowe. Lin is the director of the Ethics at California Polytechnic State University. Allhoff is a professor of Philosophy at Western Michigan University. Rowe is a professor of Computer Science at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. 

Last Updated: The is no last updated date since this article is a pdf of a largest collection of articles relating to the topic. 

Purpose: The purpose is to present the ethics and possible ethical questions that can arise with the use of more cyber weapons such as Stuxnet. 

Graphics: The only graphic present is an image to represent the unknown that is cyber warfare. 

Position on the Subject: Both sides, for and against, were presented in the use of cyber weapons such as Stuxnet. Nonetheless, there seems to be a bias against the use if cyber weapons since the majority of the article presented arguments why they should not be used. 

Link: This document is a pdf and not an interactive article with working links. It did, however, have an extensive reference sheet at the end of the document.

Reddit and What I Found There

Discovering the World of Reddit

I had never used Reddit before this assignment. However, now that I have, I will probably be using it more. It has a lot of useful information on various topics and by the looks of it, the individuals on there reply really quick. This means that I can get the assistance I need within a few hours , if not less.

Blue, Eva. "Reddit Sticker - 3" 12/22/2010 via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic

1. What is buzzing on Reddit?

     In the Electrical and Computer Engineering forums I found, there seems to be three major things that are being talked about. The first thing is people asking for technical advice on a project they are working on. The other subject is college and career advice. The third subject is trouble-shooting of electrical components and/or equipment. 

2. What interested me in Reddit?

      One forum that interested me was one that the differences between Computer Engineering and Computer Science. I was interested in it because I am still not fully set on what major I want to do. Reading this forum sort of divided me further because I am now in between electrical engineering, computer engineer, and computer science. Still an interesting and informative forum nonetheless. 

     

     Another, more technical forum, that got my attention was one between the difference between FM and AM LTE Broadband communication. It interests me because these dealt with data speeds which are critical to the modern world. From this form, I also learned that the type of frequency that LTE uses is QAM which is digital, not analog. Knowing this might just come in handy in the future. 

3. My Impressions of Reddit.

     To start off, I really did not know what I was expecting to see in Reddit. I had never been on it! Nonetheless, I am glad that I went on it. It has plenty of useful information for many knowledgeable individuals in my field. The information on here is mostly professional which is a good thing. One thing that I noticed was that some topics were very technical. For some of the posts, I had no idea about what they were talking about.

Evaluation of News Magazine Stories

New News on the New Web 

The internet has revolutionized the way news spread. Many major news providers take to the web to provide their news to people. The is great because we can easily look up stories that interest us on news websites without having to wait to get tomorrow's paper or for the 10 o'clock news.

Yet Another Bill Seeks to Weaken Encryption-By-Default on Smartphones 

CyberHades. "Encryption-100410132-primary" 8/26/2015 via flickr. Attributuion-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic

 1. What is the debate, disagreement or argument in the story about?

     The primary debate is over a bill that California Assembly Member, Jim Cooper wants to pass. He wants to pass a bill that will require any smartphone that is to be sold in California to have encryption that can be cracked by the police or other authorities. The purpose behind this bill is to assist law enforcement in their fight against human trafficking and other illegal activities.

2. Who is the most sympathetic character in the story?
     I believe that the most sympathetic character in the story is Gautam Hans. Hans is an attorney with the Center for Democracy and Technology. He opposes the bill proposed by Jim Cooper. The reason he evokes sympathy from me is because he has the best argument with the most facts. He looks at the big picture and sees that this will cause way more harm than good. Hans pointed out that opening up a vulnerability for the police will also open it to hackers and other individuals.

3. Who is the least sympathetic character in the story?
     I believe that the least sympathetic character in the story is Jim Cooper. He is the California Assembly Member that wants to pass this bill. It seems like most of his reasoning has no logic behind it. He says that it will help prosecute more individuals engaging in illegal activity. However, only 0.74 % of all cases in California involve an encrypted phone. Out of those that do involve an encrypted phone, the phone has never been a factor in prosecution.

Justice Department to Require Warrants for Cellphone Tracking -- With a Big Loophole

Smith, J. "The Top of a Cell Tower" 8/16/2007 via wikimedia commons. Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic

1. What is the debate, disagreement or argument in the story about?

     The main debate is over the uses of cellphone tracking technology, the policy behind it, and what it entails. The United States Justice Department recently came up with new policy regarding cellphone tracking that will require federal law enforcement agencies to acquire a warrant. The issue is that there is many ways to by pass this policy such as claiming that an "exigent circumstance" was present.
     
2. Who is the most sympathetic character in the story?
     I believe that the most sympathetic individual in the story is Justice Department Spokesman, Patrick Rodenbush. He states that law enforcement agencies will treat this policy as any other. One many concern is that cellphone information is captured from anyone within the area of the cellphone tracker. This raises privacy concerns, but Rodenbush says that most data is secured, only used for the evidence required, and then deleted. The rebuttal is what evoked the most feelings from me because it shows that law enforcement agencies are using any acquired information responsibly. 

3. Who is the least sympathetic character in the story?
      The least sympathetic person in the story is Nathan Freed Wessler. He is a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. He states that this policy is a good first step, but it needs to go further. After this there is no further comments. It evoked no feelings from me because it was just a statement with nothing to really back it up.

 

Twitter and What I Found There

 #KeepingitCurrentwithElectricalEngineering 

This was an interesting experience for me because I never thought I would be using Twitter for academic research. Normally, I associate it with just a place where people, including myself, go to to rant or say what ever they please or comes to mind. To my surprise, I found quite a bit of useful information on there that changed the way I look at Twitter.

Samoilov, Yuri. "Circuit" 5/16/2014 via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic

1. What is all the talk about?

     Simply stated, everything. To be a bit more specific; anything with an electrical current flowing through it. Electrical Engineers on twitter are talking about everything from historical events in the field, to the future of electronics in the work place, and even about artificial intelligence. Besides this, there is also quite a bit of humorous memes circulating around. There are also various job offers, recent discoveries, as well as links to tutorials.

2. Interesting stories from the world of Twitter.

    One hash tag that came up a lot was #drivelesscars. By the looks of it, driveless cars will be hitting the street way sooner than one might think. For example, one story I found states that London will have driveless cars on its streets by this summer. 

Jurvetson, Steve. "Google Robocar RaceTrack Ride" 3/3/2011 via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic 

    Another interesting stories that I found was related to a robotic-run farm that will be able to harvest over 30,000 heads of lettuce a day. I believe that this is a great idea that can help out greatly with food production issues. It is fast, quick, and effective. It seems that it is exactly what we need to feed the worlds growing population.

    Seeing these innovations has made me even more excited to enter this field. I really cannot wait to start working on projects that may one day better the world. On a side note. It also sort of scared me in a way. One particular hash tag , #RiseoftheRobots, reminded me of the other side of electrical engineering and robots. For now, the technology we create has been helpful, but I just cannot help to think that with every advancement, we are one step closer to creating something that will destroy us. I need to stop watching so many science fiction movies. 

Rupert, Nathan. "Terminator Robot" 7/24/2010 via flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic

3. What impressions did Twitter leave on you about your discipline?

     There is a lot of interesting things going on in my field. There is a lot of pictures on cool gadgets, as well as explanations on next-gen tech that will make anything processor-bases exponentially more powerful. For the most part it was what I expected to find on Twitter. I expected to see talk about driveless cars, drones, and robots. However, I did not expect to see how these things were being used in today's world. 

Evaluation of the New Times Stories

Spending time with the New York Times

The New York Times has been around for ages, but I have never looked into it. However, sometimes, the links from other websites lead me there for some rather interesting articles. Nonetheless, browsing around the website itself is a first for me.

Taxing Google and Other U.S. Giants is Dividing Europe

Motiqua. "European Union" 12/26/2009 via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic

1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they the "center" of the story? If not are there any important or central characters  in the story at all? What role do they play?

The main character of this story appears to be Margrethe Vestagor. Ms. Vestagor is a European Commissioner for the European Union. She is the main character in the story because she has been spearheading the move to implement more taxes on Google and other multinational Corporations in Europe. Another important role, yet not a primary one, is that of British Prime Minister, David Cameron.

2. Where do the specific events in your story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.

The locations mentioned are Brussels and London, as well as other European Cities. Various countries such as France, Luxembourg, and Germany are also mentioned. The general setting for this story is most of Europe because this debate has been occurring in various European Countries. The countries in which these debates take place affect the stance of the governments on the subject. Countries such as France and Germany want more taxes to be placed on these corporations. On the other hand, countries such as Britain propose leaving the tax rates as they are.

3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating, and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?

The main debate in the story is about whether to implement harder tax policies on multinational corporations or leave them as they were. Various politicians from different nations are participating. People that for taxing these companies believe that corporations, such as Google, have been using complex accounting methods to avoid being taxed. They believe that the money that can be acquired from taxing these corporations can help improve their economies and help fill budget deficits. On the other side, people believe that taxing these corporations would have adverse effects on their nations economies. Jobs might be lost and it could put many countries at a competitive disadvantage. 

El Salvador's Advice on Zika Virus: Don't Have Babies

Herbison, Matt. "No Babies" 5/4/2007 via flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they the "center" of the story? If not are there any important or central characters  in the story at all? What role do they play?

The main character is the government of El Salvador. They are the center of the story because they gave out a controversial alert telling its citizens to not have babies for two years. Other important roles are that of health officials, such as Dr. Ernesto Selva Sutter, and various women of El Salvador, such as Vanessa Iraheta, whom is seven months pregnant at the time of the story. These individuals believe that the alert will not work and that the government should try other methods to protect the people and their children.

2. Where do the specific events in your story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.

The specific story for this story is San Salvador, the capitol of El Salvador. This affects the story because San Salvador is a densely populated city that is being plagued with an outbreak of Zika. Zika is a mosquito transmitted virus that causes severe birth defects in infants. Nonetheless, the city and country are also being hit by severe violence outbreaks and economic turmoil. This leads to many people believing that they should not worry much about the virus, but about other things such as the violence.

3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating, and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?

The disagreement is over the decision for El Salvador to release that alert for such a lengthy period of time. Most countries have released similar warnings that will only apply for a few months, but El Salvador has made the warning apply for two years. The government says that it is to keep the people safe and to prevent the loss of infants to this virus. However, woman from San Salvador are saying that they will not stop having children due to religious reasons. Many religious groups are also opposing this alert. Some groups have gone as far as as saying that this alert is a conspiracy by the government to control the population. 

Course Projects

Rough Course Projects Ahead!!

Peeters, Bonaventura. "Sea Storm with Sailing Ships" circa 1640 via wikipedia. Public Domain

 These four major projects appear to be somewhat difficult. They will require me to improve my time management and writing skills if I want succeed. I am not to fond of English class, but if I want to be successful with these projects, I must embrace it and be one with the English class.

• What are you most confused by or nervous about in regards to the four major projects?

 One of the things that makes me nervous is picking out a topic and finding enough information on it. Another aspect of the four major projects that make me nervous is being able to tailor my writing to fit the profile of each project. The part about being award of changing condition in project three, "A Public Argument," also makes me somewhat uneasy. As far as confusion goes, everything seems to pretty clear and straight forward for the time being, but that may change at any moment.

• What are you most interested in or excited by in regards to the four major projects?

In project 2, we have to learn about how professionals in my field write. For some reason I find that interesting because I believe that it will come in handy and its something I never really thought about. Investigating a controversy in my field for project one also seems interesting because I think that it will be a glimpse into the future about what I might have to be dealing with.

• Based on your understanding of the four major projects, what are the elements of this course that you have to ahead for? How will the coursework described in the four projects assignment sheets challenge your time management skills this semester?

One major things that I have to plan ahead for are the interviews for project two. I need to schedule these interviews a few weeks in advanced to make sure that I can meet with the individuals I plan to interview. I also have to begin learning about video editing software for the project that I decide to make a video essay ahead of time because I do not know how long this will take. As far as time management goes, I have to properly allocate time and make list so that I can stay on track. Furthermore, I have to stick to the personal deadline that I make.

• How has your past English coursework in high school or college prepared you for the challenges of this course? What skills will you bring into the course with you?

I think that I am decently prepared for the challenges of this course. Nonetheless, I feel like I am not fully ready for the storm ahead. From high school, I bring adequate grammar skills and the ability to developed a nice, flowing essay. I am also well aware what a metaphor, simile, and some other forms of figurative speech are since I have been taught about them every year since the 3rd grade.

• Do you have any questions about the four major projects that haven't been answered by the assignment sheets? What do you still want to know?

Currently, I have no further questions about the four major projects. The content on D2L has addressed all the question I may have had. However, I am pretty sure later on in the future questions will pop up.

Reflections on Kathryn's Post: Kathryn's post made me realize all the stuff I am missing on my To-Do and watch list. I almost completely forgot of the rubric, but thanks to Kathryn, I will now pay close attention to is so that I know what is expected. Furthermore, I now realize that I have to know all aspects of my argument for project 3 so that I may develop an even stronger stance in the end.

Reflections on Neej's Post: First off, it's great to know that I am not the only one edgy about the public argument for project 3. I liked how Neej emphasized how we need to extensively research and become experts on the topic we choose. For some reason, hearing someone else say has convinced me to fully try to become an expert on the topic I choose for project 3. Neej's statement of this English class being a break from the "traditional mold" couldn't have been stated any better. This statement made these project seem a bit less daunting. 

Investigating Genres

New Tech, New Genres

OpenClipartVectors. "Compressor Archiver Compress Packing Shrink Ace" 10/10/2013 via pixabay. Public Domain

New technology has brought new twists to the means of getting information around. Genres were eventually developed to categorize these developments. One example of these new genres is the Quick Reference Guide. 

• What purpose(s) does this genre usually serve?

The main purpose of Quick Reference Guides is to condense a rather large amount of information on a topic or subject. This is done possibly for a variety of reasons. One of these reasons is to give an individual information on a topic that they may know nothing about. It might also serve to peak interest or to refresh the readers memory on the topic at hand.

• Where, how, or in what context do readers usually find this genre?

It seems that Quick Reference Guides are quite abundant on the internet. Most articles on a website such as Flipboard appear to be Quick Reference Guides. In essence and appearance,  the articles in something like Wikipedia are also of this genre because they serve to quickly educate the reader on a certain topic, subject, or event. Another place where this type of genre is found are in places were a shorter manual is needed for quick access instead of a full sized one. For example, I have seen that many cars come with a large, specific manual, but then also have a smaller one which gives information on basic operation of the vehicle.

• Who is the typical audience for this genre?

The typical audience can basically be anyone looking up some quick information on anything. It could be someone that is interested in learning more about something they saw on television. It could be a student doing research or someone trying to change a fuse on a car. Again, the typical audience can be anyone.

• What are some of the key features or characteristics that are unique to this genre, distinguishing it from other texts? 

One of the main features is that it is concise and rather short for the amount information it is covering. Quick Reference guides mostly just give main points. Another key feature is that it is the formatting. There is various sections with bold subheadings. Quick Reference guides are also loaded with pictures, graphs, and diagrams to better help the reader understand the topic.

• Based on your answers to the questions above, come up with a definition in your own words for this genre.

Quick References Guide is a writing genre that quickly but effectively informs the reader the reader on a topic or event. It can be used by individuals with no prior knowledge on the topic or just to refresh the readers memory.


Reflections on Ryan's Post:  Ryan's post on podcast helped me get rid of a misconception of mine. This misconception was that podcast were slowly fading awake and were now becoming useless. However, this is not the case at all. Podcast are extremely useful! I guess my issue before is that I did not know where or when I can listen to one. I now know that I can listen to them when multitasking and the fact that they can be automated to tell you when a new one comes out makes them that much more useful.

Reflections on Cheyenne's Post: One of the main reasons that I choose to reply on Cheyenne's post was because it was on the same genre that I did: the Quick Reference Guide. The reason I did this is because I wanted to get a different take on what I had written about. I missed the part about articles on major news websites such as CNN. It also provided some food for thought on the true meaning of a QRG. This question was: are all QRG's internet based or can they also appear on physical mediums?

My Writing Process

There's a plan in everything

Habits, techniques, and methods are all factors that can contribute to the overall success of a writer. These techniques can vary vastly from one writer to the next. Nonetheless, according to Dr. Lisa Ede, an English professor, writers can generally be divided into four categories or a mixture of them. These categories are heavy planners, heavy revisers, sequential composers, and procrastinators. 

• What type of writer do you consider yourself to be?

I believe that I have qualities from multiple categories listed above. However, I believe that the one that I fit the most into is the heavy planning category. Prior to writing I always develop dense outlines and take a good amount of notes. In addition to this, I also continue to think about what to write throughout random portions of the day.

Casablanca, Phil. "I Love it When a Plan Comes Together" 8/4/2009 via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic

• Does your writing process include several of the above approaches? If so, which ones?

Aside from the heavy planning, my writing process also includes aspects from the procrastinator approach. The reason behind this is that once I hit a wall or come down with writer's block, I stop writing until a later point in time when a new idea hits me. The issue is that sometimes a new idea does not come and I do not go back to writing until the deadline is near.

• Does your writing process seem to be successful? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your approach?

My writing process is inconsistent. When I do not get halted by writer's block and continue working, my writing process tends to be successful. On the other hand, when the idea factory is on a break, I procrastinate and end up rushing my work. Sometimes I get lucky and end up writing something that is rather decent, but then there are things that look like they were written right before the due date... because they probably were.

•  Do you think it might be beneficial for you to try a different approach? Why or why not?

I think it would be beneficial for me to try some aspects from the heavy revising approach. I feel like I tend to make a lot of simple grammatical mistakes. I usually only tend to skim my work and call it a day. I would also be beneficial from me to stop procrastinating and think of a different way to stop writer's block because that seems to be greatest obstacle.