Next Step in Human Space Exploration

Taking consideration of all the time, effort, and immense amounts of money that has been poured into creating the International Space Station (ISS) discussed in Michael Benson’s Take it Somewhere Special, it is likely that the United States will take a bold step and collaborate with neighboring nations to formulate plans for more in depth space exploration. Although Benson states in his article that the ISS is currently going nowhere fast, new political administration may be the push that the nation needs in order to attempt more space discovery within the space station. One of the less discussed, but more important problems presented with the ISS’s lack of exploration is the problem that NASA, especially under the administration of George Bush, is not welcoming to new ideas and input from other countries. But with so many billions already having been poured into this project and a more welcoming political administration in charge, NASA may be more likely to collaborate with other nations and begin a “truly international endeavor, with expenses shared among all participating nations”, as the text states. The next direct step, however, will more than likely be working on formulating plans to explore. What Benson discusses throughout his entire article is how the ISS has been built and created for all of this discovery, but nothing has actually been done yet. Over the years, nations all over have tested space crafts and found that they have been successful. The ISS has the equipment to send space crafts into space and back safely, the only delay right now seems to be a lack of planning for ideas to actually explore.

Credibility of Sources

For my third essay I plan on using a multitude of sources to work from. One of my largest sources is Google Scholar, which I plan on taking submitted articles from and incorporating into my essay by using examples of definitions for torture. I plan on using the information that the site gives me to formulate a strong argumentative paper and thus create my own solid definition by the examples I am given. Some examples on the site that I have found thus far are that torture is defined as “intentional affliction of severe physical suffering” pulled from a book titled Terrorism and Counter Terrorism by Seumas Miller or that torture is “a violation of human rights in general” pulled from an article called The Definition of Torture in International Law by Barry Klayman. These sources are both very credible being that they are both from reliable websites and each author has citations of where he gathered his information. Another big source I intend to use is the class textbook. In the book is a valuable section of chapter 9 dedicated to helping people better formulate definitional arguments and examples from various texts that one can use. The book is credited and all the texts are cited and written by published authors. I also plan on heading to the library and finding some online reserves and books focused on torture. Being that our university library has these sources I know that they are credible and they all have references that can be looked into to find out where information originally came from.

Torture

For my third paper, I am considering writing about the definition of torture. In several sources the term is defined in different ways. Ranging from some sources claiming it to be “immense feelings of pain or acute mental or physical pain” to a medical definition that states that it is “severe pain that is intentionally inflicted on a person to obtain information for any reason based on discrimination of any kind (WordNetWeb, MedicineNet). Because the definitions are different in every source, I know that there would be some debate on what exactly is considered torture. For my paper I want to explore what exactly could be considered torture and what may not be considered based on different definitions provided. I feel like torture is a clear issue of definition because there have been several cases that have come up with the treatment of humans and animals where some claim that certain behaviors are torturous, where as others deem it simply as deserved punishment. I plan to research different documents that will support my claim about certain behaviors being torturous. By using the various definitions I have found I will formulate my own definition and use it throughout my paper to help my reader to grasp the point I am trying to make. Based off of the issues that come up relating to my topic, I will use all the definitions that I find to make truthful statements about whether certain behaviors should be considered torturous or not. I will use evidence throughout to effectively support my claim with each definition.

"Saving Private Ryan" vs Army National Guard

The two topics I’ve chosen to use for my second analysis paper come from two separate forms of media. One is the popular Spielberg movie “Saving Private Ryan” and the other is an advertisement for the Army National Guard. In the advertisement, there are two halves represented: one half depicts five people as citizens and the other half depicts those same five people dressed in army attire and addresses them as soldiers.  I have chosen to write an analysis for these pieces because they both have a common theme: the army. They’re similar in that they encourage the general public to learn something about the army, whether it be from visual depictions or by actively becoming a part of it. Both medias illustrate bravery and courage that is required to be a part of such a field and both possess pathos appeals to draw in the audience. While one is more subtle (the advertisement) and the other has a great deal more active depictions of what it is like to serve on the front lines (the movie), they both are clearly using informative arguments to reveal to the audience something about the army. The two differ, however, in the sense that “Saving Private Ryan” is for entertainment and was created simply to reveal to the audience Hollywood’s rendition of a great war fought in history. The National Guard advertisement is using a persuasive argument to encourage regular citizens to consider somehow being a part of the army by representing the pride and satisfaction that comes from serving the country. It uses less of a pathos appeal than the movie by emphasizing the idea that the audience should act on the idea to be a part of the army.

Facebook

Facebook is an effective online connecting site that millions of Americans and other people worldwide use daily. Although somewhat addictive to some users, Facebook is beneficial in keeping in touch with distant relatives, friends, and former classmates. Since many people are busy with jobs and education, trips across the country to visit old familiar faces is not very convenient, thus making catching up somewhat limited. By using Facebook, users can simply check out a friend’s profile to find out what has been going on lately in their life. Of course a simple phone call could do the trick, but as mentioned before, most citizens of the developed world are so consumed with work and studies that a long phone conversation may not always be possible with such busy schedules. Facebook is also a gateway to other aspects of staying connected with distant loved ones. Users can play interactive games with one another including Farmville, Mafia, and several others that allow access to user profiles and enable users not only to catch up, but interact over fun games that normally may not happen. Facebook is also beneficial for businesses and events committees. Mass networking and event planning can take place just by simply creating a group and spreading the word about an upcoming event or new business. People can keep up with daily inspirational quotes, updates on sporting events, and news about meetings and gatherings. Although it is argued that Facebook contributes to less face to face interaction amongst people, it surely makes up for the lack by encouraging users to stay in touch with friends they otherwise would not have been connected to without the site.

What I Want to Analyze

For my first argumentative essay I am considering writing about an article in the textbook. As I was flipping through the readings, I came upon an article titled “The F Word” and it caught my eye. I briefly skimmed over the passage to get a glimpse of what it was talking about and I felt that the account held a very strong argument of exploration and some aspects that leaned toward informing an audience, as well. The overall account was about a young woman who was of Iranian ancestry and had a very non-American name that often made her a target for ridicule as a child and judgment as she grew older. The author explained how she was rejected job offers because employers could not read her Iranian name, much less pronounce it. In her account she learns that people in America, children anyways, tended to gravitate towards those with common names. She wrote of how she was often ignored because her school mates had trouble with her Iranian name and thus chose not to talk to her for fear of pronouncing it wrong, among other fears. She explores some truth of American culture and isn’t necessarily aiming to convince or persuade the audience, but to open eyes to her depth of exploration. As I continued to scan over the article, I read that the author eventually wrote her name as “Julie” on resumes and the job offers came pouring in. She informs readers of her journey in adding an American name and the interesting events that come from that decision. Overall, the account was very informative and had a lot of depth that allowed for the reader to discover truth from the author’s viewpoint.

Alice Ramsey Adventure

I recently read a blog posted on the internet about a woman named Alice Ramsey. Her story is somewhat interesting, being that she was the first woman to travel across the continental United States in 1909 at the young age of only 22. Clearly the blogger's aim was to inform the audience of what it had not previously known before. In reading about this woman's journey, I was informed about how she began her voyage from New York City and ended it 41 days later in San Fancisco, California. I was informed about how she took along three close girl friends of hers in her 1909 Maxwell DA car and bravely drove through eleven American states to reach her destination. The blogger had different links to click on, each link classifying a different area of Ramsey's journey from beginning to end. The organization of the story accurately made the argument that the blogger was aiming at. Because the links were in order according to how the story unfolded for Ramsey, the sequence of events lined up correctly and every link led to a specific part of the journey that revealed a little more about her story. The language used by the blogger had no persuasive or convincing undertones, simply a message to inform the public of the voyage of Alice Ramsey. The blog effectively informs the audience of Ramsey's story, what happened throughout the course of her journey, and the effect her boldness still has on people today. The evidence gathered for this story was used for the very purpose it was gathered for and all the points included in the post were relevant to bringing forth information about a historical figure that many people may not have already known about.