Analyzing My Own Assumptions

In this blog post I will be analyzing the "yes" section of the article "Should we teach computer science in elementary school?"  by Pat Yongpradit by answering the questions in the image below. 

Bottai, Sean "Photo from Sean Bottai's website", September 30th, 2015

1. A cultural belief that is shared with the culture that the article is written in is the idea of the digital era. It is inevitable that technology is one of the most important factors of most societies today and that it is still progressing and on the rise. Another belief that is shared is that technology has the capability to create progressive learning and that technology is a tool to education. Computer science can teach people how to solve problems more efficiently. Technology also serves as a tool for educational purposes. 
2. Most of the ideas are shared. One idea that isn't agreed upon as strongly is the emphasis put on jobs. Just because kids will be learning computer science does not mean they will take all the good jobs and make the economy super strong. It teaches them how to think progressively but it is still up to them on how to use their learning techniques they have learned through computer science. 
3. Being that I was not taught computer science in elementary school, I struggle to understand how it would be implemented. Computer science can be a difficult topic and it may be a very challenging course for some students. The belief of educating students to their fullest capability is something that my culture also does, I have always been educated to the fullest of my capabilities. 
4. The text was written very recently so it portrays the view on this time in history. That does not mean that I can't infer that things have changed over time. Teaching computer science in elementary school has not always been viewed as an option. Computers have not been around long enough to have the discussion of teaching computer science in elementary school. Rather than the cultural beliefs changing over time, the cultural beliefs have developed alongside the development of computers, and technology as a whole. 

Reflection: After reading the blog posts of Grace and Bailey I learned that I had similar feelings about cultural aspects of their issues and that our articles had similar trends. Grace and I both had issues that have had their perspective change over time. The views have become more progressive. With Bailey's blog I realized that we shared the same view point on cultural aspects on her topic that she decided to write about. It is important moving forward to create project two from a perspective that limits the bias. This blog post was good so the writer could explain their view point on the issue so they could get it out of their system before creating the unbiased project two. 

Analyzing My Text's Cultural Setting

Below I will be answering the quetions listed in the image in regards to "yes" section of the article "Should we teach computer science in elementary school?"  by Pat Yongpradit

Bottai, Sean "Photo from Sean Bottai's website", September 30th, 2015

The text was published on 11/14/2014 on ISTE.org. The article was not written on any specific event, but more so on the idea of teaching computer science in elementary school. The values of not introducing children to attention adsorbing technology is in play for the "no" side of the argument. There is a general understanding that parents try not to introduce their children to technology until necessary because they don't want them to become too involved in it. 

The text indirectly addresses these issues. It raises the point that the computer is the most advanced tool to make students proactive learners. On computers students can learn problem solving though computer science. By learning how to solve problems they become proactive learners and will perform better in all aspects of their education. 

The relationship of the text to the values is progressive. The "old fashion" way would to be to not teach computer science in elementary school because it is not the "normal". The author approaches it in a very logistic manner. The author analyzes the pros and understands that having computer science will make children better learners for their futures. 

Cultural Analysis of "Should we teach computer science in elementary school?"

Below I will be analyzing the "yes" section of "Should we teach computer science in elementary school?"  by Pat Yongpradit. I will be utilizing chapter four from Writing Public Lives to find cultural keywords and to analyze how they contribute to the thesis.

Dedra Wolff  "Looking at Ogeorge's blog" taken on January 27th, 2006 via Flickr Attribution 2.0 Generic

Cultural words I found while reading the article were "digital era" and "proactive learner". These words are very powerful when put in the context of the article. The "digital era" is used to demonstrate how the era we are living in is heavily based off of technology and how this plays into the fact that computer science should be taught in schools. Similarly, "proactive learner" is used to show the effects that students will encapsulate if computer science is taught in schools.

The thesis is clearly that computer science should be taught in schools. The author is debating this point and using the cultural words to help add to his argument.

The keywords are used to add emphasis to his point. In the case of "digital era", it places the question of if schools should teach computer science into context. Being that we live in the digital era, it makes sense for computer science to be taught in elementary school. With "proactive learner", it shows the benefits of computer science. By learning computer science, students will learn problem solving skills and grow into proactive learners.

Evaluation of Rhetorical Situations

In this blog post I will be analyzing three different texts that provide answers to my research questions laid out in the previous blog post. 

Charis Tsevis "Tim Cook: Looking Forward." taken on December 5th, 2013 via Flickr  Attribution Generic 2.0

Article 1(link)

Author: This article is actually an interview regarding the question of is computer science is in fact a science, The person being interview is Peter Denning, a pioneer in the creation of virtual memory. He is an advocate of computer science being referred to as a science. While the speaker is Denning, the author is also Denning. He is trying to explain and give reasons on why computer science is a science because this is a belief that he holds deeply. 

Audience: The primary audience of this interview is the people who do not regard computer science as a science. Denning is attempting to explain to these people why in fact, it is a science. The secondary audience would be those who do believe it is a science. They are interested in the audience and read it to see how their beliefs line up with a man of computer science fame like Denning. 

Context: The context of this article is interesting because it is presented as an interview. This allows Denning to share his opinions by answering the questions asked. The interview is older, dating back to 2007 but it's purpose and information is still very relevant. It is still applicable to the argument of whether computer science is a science or not. 

Article 2

Author: The author of this article is not Tim Cook, CEO of Apple but the person this article revolves around is Tim Cook. He is discussing the lack of diversity in computer science and what needs to be done to change it and make the field more diverse. Tim Cook is a highly admired authoritative figure in computer science as he is heading what might be the biggest technology company, Apple. He lives in Silicon Valley. 

Audience: The audience of this article would be those who are interested as to why the computer science field lacks diversity, and those who are interested as to what the authoritative figures are doing to add more diversity. It is clear that this is the audience because Tim Cook is talking at the people who are trying to educate themselves on the issue of diversity in computer science. I would describe the audience as individuals who are trying to learn more, or are interested and have noticed the lack of diversity in computer science. 

Context: This article was published in June of 2015, making it pretty recent. This demonstrates how diversity it is still an issue in computer science. The medium used are direct quotes from Apple CEO Tim Cook. They are taken out of an interview he did on the subject matter. The movement that is occurring is to add diversity into computer science. Tim Cook is helping with this movement by adding emphasis on getting more interest out of people other than white males in computer science.

Article 3

Author: The authors of this article are Pat Yongpradit and Beth Schwartze. They are both active in the computer science community. Yongpradit is an advocate for teaching computer science in elementary schools and argues this point in this article. Schwartze is the opposite, opposing the idea of teaching computer science in schools. She argues for that side in this article. 

Audience: The audience of this article would be the people who are interested in the debate surrounding computer science in elementary school. I know this because one author is for and one is against the topic of teaching computer science in elementary schools. This means that it gives the pros and cons of both sides which will educate the reader and let them pick a side on the debate. 

Context: The article is from November of 2014, meaning that it is still a very relevant discussion. The way each other gives their argument is by discussing why they support, or do not support the topic at hand. This topic plays into the lack of diversity in computer science. If it was taught in elementary school and introduced to students at a younger age, the field of computer science would be much more diverse. The audience finds this topic important because it could effect their children or their children's children. 

Reflection: After reading the blog posts of Olivia and Bailey, I feel as if I did a good job of giving my viewers a good idea on the types of articles and rhetorical situations in computer science. I saw that Bailey struggled to find sources that can be on the level of any reader. When a topic is revolving around science that is difficult to comprehend it can be difficult to find an article for your average reader to have. This made me aware of making sure I'm looking for sources that my readers will understand. I also need to find sources that the reader personally related to like Olivia did with the Chipotle article.

Developing a Research Question.

In this post I will be providing several research topics in my field and I will give a short explanation on why I might enjoy finding the answers to these questions.

Sean "Computers" February 13th, 2008 via Flickr  Attribution Generic 2.0

• Should we teach computer science in elementary school?

Computer education in schools is very important, but the question to be asking is when that education should begin? Computer science education would be expensive and would be new to elementary teachers but would it be beneficial to have in elementary schools?

• Is computer science a science?

This is very interesting to me, I would enjoy investigating this and finding out if computer science is actually a science.

• Why is computer science lacking women and racial diversity?

This is similar to what I already researched in my QRG. I would be able to expand how off of what I already touched on in my QRG.

• Are we taking it "too far" in computer science?

Are we taking it too far in computer science? Do we have inventions that are too smart? Have we surpassed what we needed out of computer science? An example would be the pointless time consuming social media that the youth use. Also artificial intelligence can be questioned if it is too smart of technology.

Reflection on Project 1

In this blog post I will be reflecting on project 1 through answering the provided questions. 

Hege "Reflections" July 21st, 2014 via Flickr Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• What challenges did you face during the Quick Reference Guide project and how did you deal with them?

During the QRG project, the challenge I faced was writing about a formal topic, yet keeping it informal. Balancing both the informal and formal aspect of the QRG was challenging for me. The way I dealt with the was viewing them separately. This mean writing about a formal topic but in an informal manner. 

• What successes did you experience on the project and how did they happen?

The successes I experienced was putting together a cohesive, visually appealing QRG. The way this was done was utilizing all the planning steps done in all of the other blog posts. I built my QRG step by step through the blog posts. 

• What kinds of arguments, rhetorical strategies, design choices and writing practices did you find the most effective for your project? Why?

I found the usage of white space effective for my QRG. It made it easier for the reader to read and it flowed better. I also found adding the images in effective for my QRG because it gave the reader a visual representation of my controversy. I also utilized sub-headings designed as questions, this worked because it set up the investigatory sections. 

• What kinds of arguments, rhetorical strategies, design choices and writing practices did you find were not effective for your project? Why?

I found that setting up the paper like a debate was not effective. The paper was meant more to explore than be opinion based. It also would not have been effective to do one side against the other because it would be hard to keep out biases. I also found that long sections and paragraphs were not effective. They are too long to keep the reader interested. 

• How was the writing process for this project similar to other school writing experiences you’ve had in the past?

The investigation/research process was the same. It took time to research and find sources and information you could use in your QRG. Other writing projects I have had have required an extensive research phase as well. 

• How was the writing process for this project different from other school writing experiences you’ve had in the past?

The actual piece of writing that I created was different than other writing projects I have done. This piece of writing was more internet friendly, written similar to a blog post and utilizing hyperlinks, connecting it to other parts of the internet. 

• Would any of the skills you practiced for this project be useful in your other coursework? Why or why not?

The research phase and analyzing different types of sources will be helpful. I also currently write for the Daily Wildcat and the type of writing is very similar so it has helped me with writing articles for the Daily Wildcat.

Reflection:
After reading the blog posts of Austin and Joki I realized that they, along with the rest of the class faced similar difficulties. Joki and I both had a hard time being efficient in the QRG, trying to get the point across quickly. We both also had a hard time finding social media sources that would be beneficial to our QRG. Austin and I both considered ourselves not the strongest of writers and for that reason we enjoyed the short paragraph style if writing for the QRG. For someone that struggles with essays I was able to strive in the informal structure of a QRG format, I;m sure Austin felt the same way. 

Project 1

McAdams, Hunter "Screenshot of QRG" September 23rd, 2015

Visit my QRG by clicking HERE!!!!!

Clarity, Part 2

In this blog post I will be exploring parallel ideas, shifts, appropriate language, and exact words. I will be writing about what I learned about them from the book after reading the topics on them. I also will be exploring how much I already knew about them. 

Alosh Bennet "Parallel Worlds" January 19th, 2009 via Flickr Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

• Parallel Ideas

Parallel ideas is when ideas are "parallel" or the same, they are represented in the same grammatical form and are "parallel". This is something I have never actually thought of but it makes sense. It is something that I already do naturally. An example of how this works is "Children who study music also learn confidence, discipline, and they are creative" would be changed to "Children who study music also learn confidence, discipline, and creativity." The change is from "they are creative" to "creativity". This is because "creativity" sounds better and is more parallel with "confidence, discipline, and .." than "they are creative". I feel that this is something a writer does naturally because it is what flows better. 

• Shifts

It is easy to accidentally put distracting shifts in a paper. For myself I have a hard time deciding which perspective to write from. This confusion can lead to distracting shifts. The solution to this would be to choose one perspective and stick with it. An example of this is "One needs a password and a credit card number to access the database. You will be billed at an hourly rate." needing to be changed to "You need a password and a credit card number to access the database. You will be billed at an hourly rate." The perspective stays at the point of view of "You". This is because it eliminates shifting from "One" to "You". It makes the piece of writing less confusing because the perspective is not changing on the reader as they are reading the writing. 

• Appropriate Language

Language is very important when writing. Sometimes a piece of writing will be informal, meaning the language will be informal. The same occurs when you have a formal piece of writing; it will call for formal language. A way of using the right language is to know the genre of your writing and what type of language that it calls for. In general, a writer should stay away from jargon if they are trying to use appropriate language. It is very likely that a reader won't know words if you write with jargon, It is also a good idea to avoid pretentious language, sexist language, or use slang. Typically, none of these forms of language will be appropriate language for a piece of writing, especially in a QRG. 

• Exact Words

In some cases, exact words will serve better than broad words. If you are trying to be specific, it would be advised to use specific, concrete nouns. An example of this would be going from team to football team to Denver Broncos. They express meaning more vividly and give the reader a better understanding what you are talking about. In most cases it would be better to use specific nouns than general nouns. Also, make sure to not misuse words because it would then ruin the point of using exact words. Exact words allow the reader to understand the piece of writing on a more detailed level.  

In my QRG I already utilized appropriate language, exact words, parallel ideas, and shifts. I use exact words because the topic of my QRG(computer science) is specific so that calls for specific language. I use appropriate language in my QRG as well. A QRG is informal but it still calls for language that would be considered formal. An example of this would be "His comments were offensive to many because it came across that his comments were inferring that women were weak and inferior." I used words such as "inferring", "weak", and "inferior" to convey that the language is formal. I used adjectives that are formal rather than a word such as "weakling". In my QRG I also avoid using unnecessary shifts. I keep the perspective consistent throughout. Lastly, I use parallel ideas to help the flow of my paper. An example of using parallel ideas is "One of these reasons is because as history has shown, women choose lower-paying yet more fulfilling jobs." I used "fulfilling jobs" instead of "jobs that are more fulfilling".

Identifying Basic Grammar Patterns

This activity of identifying basic grammar patterns in our Longest Paragraph was very helpful. Although my longest paragraph was still short, I was able to find all the required grammar patterns. For myself, I learned that I should attempt to start writing with more complex sentences. I tend to write simple sentences, if I was able to write more complex/compound sentences my writing would improve greatly. By writing more complex sentences it would naturally lead to the usage of more parts of speech, sentence patterns, and to a better paper overall.

Copy for Paragraph Analysis

This exercise helped me understand where I am lacking in my QRG draft and where I am demonstrating strength in my QRG. I have done a good job exploring the main ideas of the sections/paragraphs of my QRG. I develop the main idea well and I can focus on the main idea without getting off topic too much. I need to work on my transitions and linking the ideas together better. I also need to organize the paragraphs better on the interior. I have an organized paper overall but each paragraph individually could be structured better. A way to do this would be to utilize a PIE paragraph structure.

You can visit my "Copy for Paragraph Analysis" here

Reflection on Project 1 Draft

In this post I will be reflecting on my QRG draft by answering the bulleted questions. The two QRGs that I peer-reviewed were written by Allison and Mathias. The editing stage might possibly be the most important part of creating a body of writing. 

Diana Robinson, "Reflections" January 25, 2013 via Flickr. Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic

Audience

• Who will be reading my document? Who am I trying to reach?

In reality, the only people reading my draft will be my English class and Professor Bottai. The audience of the article if this were a popular article would be individuals involved in the computer science field.  It could also be geared towards the public who are interested in women's rights. 

• What are their values and expectations? Am I meeting those?

The reader expects to read a non-bias informative QRG about the Satya Nadella controversy. The reader also expects for the author(me) to put it into context as to why people are upset and the significance of the controversy. I haven't finished yet but that is what I have been creating in my QRG. 

• How much information do I need to give? How much context/background should I provide?

The whole controversy needs to be explained so as much information as is needed to do that. I think it's important to make sure the reader understands the controversy. I also need to put the situation in context so the reader can understand why the controversy made so many people upset. The average person does not know the situation of women in computer science so it is my job as the author to educate them on it. 

• What kind of language is suitable for this audience

 The language should be formal enough to the point where it isn't slang. With that said, it can be written like a blog, with informal structure and lots of white space. The language itself should be pretty formal, at least on the level of college English. 

• What tone should I use? Am I consistent with it?

The tone I should use is one that alternates between informative and questioning. I write the QRG in a way that leaves the reader forming their own opinion because I question both sides of the controversy. I also write in an informative manner that educates the reader on the controversy which helps them form their opinion. 

Context 

• What are the formatting requirements? Do I meet them?

I currently have done a good job at meeting the formatting requirements. I have multiple different sub topics and leave the QRG with white space, making it informal like a blog. 

• What are the content requirements? Do I meet them?

The content requirements are "Who, What, Where, When, Why". My QRg does a pretty good job on hitting on these and going beyond. I should put in more quotes and images to make it more credible. 

• Does my draft reflect gained knowledge or skills in addition to my own voice?

My draft reflects the knowledge I have learned and found important to understanding the controversy. I write in a way that is a combination of formal writing I have learned in school mixed with my own style of writing.

• Have I addressed any grammatical issues highlighted in my class or previous assignments?

 I haven't turned anything in for this class but I have tried to focus on struggles that I have faced all through out high school. I tried to minimize wordy sentences and run on sentences. 

Clarity, Part 1

In this blog post I will be exploring prefer active verbs, needed words, variety, and wordy sentences. I will be writing about what I learned about them from the book after reading the topics on them. I also will be exploring how much I already knew about them. 

Amanda Morin "Clarity" August 23, 2009 via Flickr. Attribution ShareALike 2.0 Generic License . 

• Prefer active verbs

I have used prefer active verbs all throughout my schooling years, I may not have used them as frequently as I should've. They are very logical, making whatever being said flow easier and they makes phrases more concise. For me the challenging part with prefer active verbs is knowing when to use the passive verb versus when to use the prefer active verbs. Something I will keep in mind when i'm unsure whether I need to use the passive or not is that if I wish ti emphasize the receiver of the action or to minimize the importance of the actor. If this is the case I will use the passive This rule is something I did not know so it should help me moving forward.

• Needed words

With needed words, I find myself placing them in already. I think this also a problem that I already have as well. I put the needed words in too often and make my pieces of writing too wordy. This section instructed me when to use them. By knowing when to actually use the needed words I won't make the mistake of placing them in when they are unnecessary. What I learned was that I should add words to comparisons in order to make them logical and complete. This actually make sense when you think about it because you have two things that you are comparing. 

•  Variety

For as long as I have been writing I have always struggled with finding different ways to begin sentences. One way to do this is write a sentence then flip it putting the end towards the beginning. This is more properly known as moving adverbial modifiers. Another thing to try and do is switch up the types of sentence structure you are using. Try having a variety. To help myself improve on this I will need to pay more attention to putting variety in m writing as I'm writing it. 

• Wordy sentences

One of my biggest problems with writing has always been run on sentences or sentences that are too wordy. I do not have a spectacular vocabulary so I think that I add more words in to compensate for that. One way I have learned from this book to change that is to make the fewer words you use more important or meaningful to the sentence. For example, instead of saying "Our fifth patient, in room six, is a mentally ill patient" you would say "Our fifth patient, in room six, is mentally ill." It is saying the same thing but the shorter, more concise version flows better.

Reflection: 
While reading the QRGs of Allison and Mathias I realized that we make similar mistakes. I think that this is a trend among students and may be because of how and what we learn in the education system. The trend that I picked up on the most was long sentences due to wordiness. They both did a good job with prefer active verbs. They also did a good job with needed words. When it comes to variety there is always room to improve but they did good with what they had. 

An example of a wordy sentence in the QRG of Mathias was "However, shortly after Froome’s victory, certain data was leaked, without his consent, on Twitter, that matched video footage with information on Froome’s bodily and physiological functions during his cycling." This sentence was very long, being broken up with multiple commas and was slightly wordy. Mathias could have said "After Froome's victory data was leaked on Twitter without his consent. The data matched video footage on Froome’s bodily and physiological functions ." This approach takes out a lot of the filler words that were not necessary.

Allison did something similar in her QRG. She wrote "While the APA still values and stands for the well being of all humans, it is possible that during the low point of APA governance, and the terror the America felt, they moved their values more towards helping the government; even if that meant going against their own code of ethics to do so." I viewed this as very wordy and somewhat confusing due to it's length. I found that there were unnecessary words like "it is possible that" and "they moved". A more direct approach would have been more suitable and it would have made it more clear.

Thoughts on Drafting

       Fredrik Rubensson "Diary Writing" July 20, 2013 Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic 

1. What parts of the book’s advice on the above bulleted topics are helpful for writing in this genre?

The advice given on how to analyze if your thesis statement is good. I really found the steps helpful, these steps were:

"Is it interesting?", "Is it precise and specific?", "Is it manageable?", "Does it adequately reflect your reading and the expected shape of your paper?". This is a good way to make your thesis better, by answering these questions in regard to your thesis you have created. The rest of the advice given by the book was also very valuable. It gave great advice on how to write introductions, explaining what to do and what to avoid. The advice given on conclusions was also very helpful, my favorite tip from this section was to "paint a picture". It should be memorable and wrap up everything, painting a visual conclusion in the reader's mind. The book had very helpful advice in general. 

    2. What parts of the book’s advice on these topics might not be so helpful, considering the genre you’re writing in?

For the QRG, the thesis and conclusion are relevant but they also are not. The QRG is not written like other articles where a thesis is in the beginning and the conclusion is at the end. Each section contains a thesis and sometimes a conclusion. A QRG is broken up into smaller paragraph, PIE paragraphs if you chose to use them. The PIE paragraphs are usable in a QRG for the different sections but they need to be formatted differently to be utilized in a QRG.

Reflection:
After reading the blogs of Lia and Olivia I realized that the importance of a thesis was not as big as I had thought. It may be because I'm still wired in the typical essay writing mode. I also came to learn that I can utilize the elements of a PIE paragraph without actually writing a PIE paragraph. The last thing I learned was that the introduction should be really well done in a QRG considering that it opens up the QRG, a genre that is very exploratory. 

1. Building a thesis throughout the paper
2. Utilize the conventions of a PIE paragraph
3. Make my introduction better

Draft of Quick Reference Guide

Dear peer reviewers, I hope that you will enjoy learning about computer science from a slightly different take than what you are used to. When reading the draft, it is important to try and keep an open mind and to see who you side with. It is also important to not blast through it and to read it slowly to make sure you understand what is going on. When reading, if you could look out for grammatical errors and just overall how the piece of writing is, in regards to fluidity and if it makes sense. I feel like I might need to change the topic headings but i'm not sure yet so also keep that in mind. I have never viewed myself as a strong writer so please feel free to be as hard on me as you can. I want to enhance my QRG so peer review away!

You can visit my QRG by clicking HERE!

Practicing Quoting

For this post, I chose two sources that had opposing views on my controversy. I chose quotes from each and utilized the quotes to explain the controversy. I highlighted the important conventions of quoting which are:

• signal phrases
• establishing authority
• putting source material in context
• using the ellipsis mark and brackets

Legend:

Signal Phrase

Authority

Context

Ellipsis or Bracket

QRGs: the Genre

In this post I will be analyzing QRG's (Quick Reference Guide) through the five assigned questions. I will be analyzing them in regard to the five articles that we discussed in class earlier this week. 

Made by Hunter McAdams 

• What do the conventions of this genre - the Quick Reference Guide - seem to be?

The conventions of a Quick Reference Guide as demonstrated in these examples are hyperlinking, using sub-headings, asking questions, writing in an informal way, and providing images and statistics. Each example also has the basic conventions of any article, such as a title and an author that is recognized for the article. They also have a short introduction, informative paragraph before diving into the body of the article.  These conventions are what make up a QRG.

• How are those conventions defined by the author’s formatting and design choices?

The conventions are defined by the author's formatting and design choices in many ways. An example of the author doing this is with the informality of the QRG, the author writes it like a blog post, using informal vocabulary and leaving lots of white space. The hyperlinking is done in the QRG, linking websites/articles to words inside of the QRG. The author also uses sub headings to introduce a new topic, sometimes the sub headings are formed as questions. This shows the reader that the topic is questionable and sometimes debatable. 

• What does the purpose of these QRGs seem to be?

The QRGs are to inform people/readers on issues or current events happening in the world. The QRGs are written in a simplistic manner so it is easy for anyone to read. The QRGs are fairly direct, getting straight to the point and being as informative as possible. For that reason the QRGs are a god news source. 

• Who is the intended audience for these different QRGs? Are they all intended for similar audiences? Or different? How & why?

Each QRG has a specific audience and a general audience. For example, the E-cig QRG can be directed specifically at E-cig smokers. The article is also for the general public. Whoever has an interest in E-cigs is the intended audience. The author is also banking on the headline striking interest in someone so they continue to read the article. The QRG's are interesting articles that have the intended audience of those who share a personal connection with the topic of the QRG, yet they are also for the general public to read as a way of news. 

• How do the QRGs use imagery or visuals? Why do you think they use them in this way?

The QRG's use images and/or visuals to draw emotional appeal. A prime example of this is the image of the little girl covering her ears in the QRG on the Greek debt crisis. It is there to make the reader feel sympathetic. The tone of the image adds a gloomy, depressing feel to the article. By adding this to the article it will in turn make the reader "feel some type of way".

Reflection: After reading the "QRG: the Genre" blog posts from Mathias, Carrie, and Betsy I found out that we all had similar responses to the questions being asked in this blog post. I think this is because we discussed these questions in class so we all obtained a better understanding of a QRG. I thin we all have a good understanding of a QRG and really understand the conventions and the purpose of the conventions in regard to the audience. After reading their blog posts I came to realize how important images are. I didn't fully know how important they were before but now I understand. 

Cluster of My Controversy

The cluster I made for my controversy started off with women in computer science in the center. From there I analyzed Satya Nadella's comments and the effect that they had on one side. On the other side of my cluster I analyzed women in computer science, the pay gap, and where the divide between women and men in computer science occur.

Click here to visit my Cluster

Reflection: Grace had a very similar cluster to me. We both had very structured, organized clusters. By utilizing colors and very distinct lines the viewer is able to tell the separation of the categories. We both also used longer sentences in our cluster. Olivia had a slightly different cluster, she had a similar cluster in regards to using different lines and colors to make a distinction between different categories. She also wrote less rather than more, this might be a better approach because it is easier on the reader. Her cluster was more scattered than mine, it just seems as if it is a preference thing when it comes to the organization of the cluster.

Annotated Bibliography in IEEE Style

Annotated Bibliography in IEEE Style

[1]Barr, Valerie. "Much ado about salary: Grace Hopper and Satya Nadella." ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society 44, no. 4 (2014): 13-14.

Abstract: The article, "Much ado about salary: Grace Hopper and Satya Nadella" by Valerie Barr seeks to explore the effects of Satya Nadella's comments at the Grace Hopper Convention. The audience of this article is those who are in the computer science field and understand how computer science lacks diversity, especially women. The methods used involved including statistics to show in a numerical manner how the computer science field lacks women workers. The key findings of this article is that women are beginning to receive more recognition and representation in computer science. Another finding of this article is that the necessity of women in computer science is a real thing because women excel in this field. I plan to use this article to demonstrate how women are a minority in the computer science field, yet they are a very valuable necessity due to their skill in this field. 

[2]C. Cain Miller, 'Satya Nadella’s Advice on Raises Stirs Wider Discussion Among Women', Nytimes.com, 2014. [Online]. Available: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/11/upshot/satya-nadellas-advice-on-raises-stirs-wider-discussion-among-women.html. [Accessed: 09- Sep- 2015].

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to show the reader how women responded to the comments that Satya Nadella made regarding women asking for a raise. Women did the opposite and started to ask for raises and defy what Nadella said in his comments. The method used is to ask women about how they felt about the comments and what they did following the comments. The answer was typically ask for a raise or work harder so they are respected equally. The major finding of the article was that women will not take the advice of Nadella, they will ask for raises and demand equal treatment. I will use this article to show how the comments Nadella made truly effected women in their work field. I will demonstrate how his comments had an opposite reaction of what he said in his comments. 
[3]C. O'Donovan, 'The 21st Century Has Really Not Been Great For Women And Minorities In STEM', BuzzFeed, 2015. [Online]. Available: http://www.buzzfeed.com/carolineodonovan/the-21st-century-has-really-not-been-great-for-women-and-min#.blgJmPXnb7. [Accessed: 05- Sep- 2015]

Abstract: This article was linked in to one of the tweets I analyzed for social media sources. I decided to analyze the article linked to the tweet because it has more depth than the tweet. The purpose of the online article, "The 21st Century Has Really Not Been Great For Women And Minorities In STEM" is to illustrate that computer science is a field of work that lacks diversity, and that this trend starts in high school. It seeks to explain why there is a divide between white males and everyone else starting in high school in regards to computer science. The audience is for those who seek to learn more as to why the field of computer science lacks diversity. This article also uses the method of statistics to show the clear distinction of white males vs. everybody else in the field of computer science. The key finding of this article is that more attention needs to be diverted to students that are non-white males in high school in order to grow their interest in computer science. I will use this article to show where the idea of male supremacy sprouts from in computer science. I can use this article to explain why Nadella had the thought process he did when making his controversial comments. 

[4]Kick Jr, Russell C., and F. Stuart Wells. "Women in computer science." ACM SIGCSE Bulletin 25, no. 1 (1993): 203-207.

Abstract: The purpose of "Women in computer science." is to explore women in computer science. The scholarly source analyzes of women perform in computer science and the amount of women in computer science. It does not have a specific audience, it simply seeks to educate those who have a desire to learn about computer science and how it lacks a women working force. The main finding of the article was the capability of women working in computer science versus how many work in computer science. The article concludes that women do very well in computer science and perform well and that companies have a desire to hire women, yet the field is still majorly lacking female workers. I will use this source to examine how women are wanted, work hard and excel, yet still are not involved in the computer science field in heavy manner. 

[5]K. Rowe-Finkbeiner, 'Thank You, Mr. Satya Nadella, For Telling Us What You Really Think', The Huffington Post, 2015. [Online]. Available: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-rowefinkbeiner/thank-you-mr-satya-nadell_b_5979000.html. [Accessed: 09- Sep- 2015]. 

Abstract: The purpose of this article was to bring light to the wage gap issue in the United States through the comments of Satya Nadella. The author of the article feels very passionately about the subject and uses Nadella's comments to shed light on the age gap issue women face in America. The author used statistics to demonstrate in a monetary form how women make a large margin less than men do. Through the article, the author found that Nadella's comments are a good thing, he brought public attention to the issue of the wage gap. I will use this article to show the problems that Nadella's comments caused, I will also use it to show the general mindset of women in the workforce. His comments show what many people think, and that is that women are inferior. 

[6]L. Abernethy, 'Girls can fill 1,000 coding jobs, says Go Berserk creator - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk', BelfastTelegraph.co.uk, 2015. [Online]. Available: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/go-berserk/girls-can-fill-1000-coding-jobs-says-go-berserk-creator-31491570.html. [Accessed: 05- Sep- 2015]

Abstract: This source is also from a tweet that I analyzed earlier in this blog. I will analyze this article rather than the tweet because it has more depth. The purpose of this article is to explain that through studies is has been found that women pick up the skill of coding quicker that men. The article goes on to say if educated and given the opportunities at a young age, women would be able to have great career opportunities in the computer science field. The audience is for young women, if they read this article and decide to get involved with computer science it could be very beneficial for themselves. Through multiple studies it had been found that women were better and faster at coding. The article does not explain how the studies were done that concluded these results. The major finding was that women were significantly better at coding, and that it is strange because coding and computer science is heavily dominated by males. I will use this article to demonstrate the confusion of why there aren't more women in computer science since they are better at it than men. This confusion is expressed by Ian Simmons, the creator of Go Berserk which is a website that teaches children how to code. 

[7] reddit, 'I honestly believe that Satya Nadella said nothing wrong. • /r/FeMRADebates', 2014. [Online]. Available: https://www.reddit.com/r/FeMRADebates/comments/2jaoqd/i_honestly_believe_that_satya_nadella_said/. [Accessed: 09- Sep- 2015].

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to stand up for Satya Nadella and the comments that he made. The author believes that he did nothing wrong and goes on to analyze the events to prove that he had done nothing wrong. The methods used to do this were providing sub-headings of main points, and digging deeper showing why Nadella as justified in what he said. The findings of this article were that Nadella did't actually do anything wrong. He simply said that one should not ask for a raise, this is also considering that Microsoft has a strict policy written out regarding raises as well. I will use this article as a different perspective. Up until now I have found articles opposing the comments Nadella made, I now will be able to use this article as a "devil's advocate". 

[8]S. Raphelson, 'Microsoft CEO Nadella's Remarks Add To Tech's Sexism Problem', NPR.org, 2014. [Online]. Available: http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/10/10/355100973/microsoft-ceo-nadellas-remarks-add-to-techs-sexism-problem. [Accessed: 09- Sep- 2015].

Abstract: This article's purpose is to describe how Satya Nadella's comments are part of the bigger problem of the involvement of women in the computer science industry. Nadella's comments bring attention to a big problem, the tech worlds sexism. A method used is utilizing statistics to give a numerical value to show the under representation of women in the tech field. The findings of this article is that since there are fewer women than men in computer science, they don't have equal treatment or pay. I will use this article to relate Nadella's comments to the bigger problem of women being treated unfairly in the tech field.

[9] the Guardian, 'Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: women, don't ask for a raise', 2014. [Online]. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/10/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-women-dont-ask-for-a-raise. [Accessed: 05- Sep- 2015]

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to simply explain the events that took place. The events leading up to the controversy and the controversy itself are explained in this article. The primary audience is anyone who may have heard about the events that took place and wanted to research more to obtain a more detailed explanation of the events that happened. The major observations of this article were that Nadella made comments that were controversial and offensive to women. The way I would be utilizing this article it to reference back to it for basic understanding of the events that happened. I would be using this source when summarizing the events that took place. 

[10]T. Soper, 'Women coders respond to Microsoft CEO's controversial comments on asking for a raise - GeekWire', GeekWire, 2014. [Online]. Available: http://www.geekwire.com/2014/women-coders-represent-uw-grace-hopper-conference-sound-nadellas-comments/. [Accessed: 05- Sep- 2015]

Abstract: The purpose of this article released by the Guardian is to explain the events that occurred involving Satya Nadella at the Grace Hopper Convention and to show the reaction women coders had to Nadella's comments. The article seeks to appeal to the emotions of the readers by interviewing women who experience the mistreatment of women in the computer science field. The audience is for those who seek to understand the events that occurred and who want to understand the position of a woman in the computer science field. The major takeaways that a reader experiences after reading this article is understanding. The reader now understands what a women in the computer science field has to go through and the challenges they face. The reader also feels sympathetic as this article plays on the emotions of the reader by interviewing actual women coders and showing the difficulties they face. I would use this source to show the personal side of the conflict. I would utilize the interviews to show a perspective of women that are actually in the middle of the controversy and understand and can relate to what the topic of the controversy is. It would allow me to diversify my essay and utilize several perspectives of several women coders.

An example of an IEEE Annotated Bibliography

Reflection:
After looking at other classmate's examples, specifically Lia's and Aaron's blogs I see that I have a similar annotated bibliography to Lia and Aaron. Aaron actually used the same format as I did. We had everything the same except for how I added "Abstract:" before my annotations. I will be looking into whether this is a mandatory aspect of an IEEE or if it is a preference. Lia and I both wrote long annotations(maybe too long) for our bibliography. Her CSE style is similar to the IEEE style. I definitely will be writing shorter, but more concise annotations moving forward.

Ideology in My Controversy

Charles Tsevis We Can Code It! June 19th, 2014  via Flickr

Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

• Who is involved in the controversy?

The people/groups involved in the controversy are Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft. The other groups involved are the people in the field of computer science, more specifically the women in the field of computer science. 

• Who are some of the major speakers/writers within these groups?

The controversy occurred at the Grace Hopper convention. Hopper was the first woman in the computer science field and was a trailblazer for women int he field of computer science. She is an inspiration to this day. Also, Maria Klawe was the woman who was interviewing Nadella and asked the question about what woman should do when they aren't comfortable asking for a raise. She politely disagreed with Nadella as his response was that women should not ask for a raise. Satya Nadella holds a grand authority in the computer science realm as he is the CEO of arguably the biggest computer science in the world. 

• What kind of social/economical/cultural/political power does each group hold?

When exploring the ideologies of this controversy, the two groups will be Satya Nadella and big computer science companies. The other group will be women in computer science. The power that Nadella and other large companies hold is that they control the IT business. They create most of the technology in the world, which is a huge economical position. People rely on them to access their social media, access their bank accounts, and to even perform their job efficiently. For this reason they are extremely powerful Comanches and their CEO's are as powerful as the companies themselves. The women that work in the computer science field do not have merely as much power as they work for these companies. There are very few women employees which makes them lest powerful in all aspects. What they have to their advantage is that they are skillful and valuable employees. This gives them power when asking for a raise or for better benefits. 

• What resources are available to different positions?

The resources available to women are that of the public. Many people have voiced their opinions of women and the pay gap that still exists in the United States to this day. The resources that the women fighting for more representation in computer science have is the ever growing support for women and gender equality. The resources Nadella and company have is that of money and big business. It is very hard to go up against a big company on a controversial topic because they have enough money to quiet your stance and to make their stance stand out to the public more. 

• What does each group value?

Nadella and other big companies value their companies. They want to be the biggest, best company out there. They also want to make the most money and be the most successful. For the other side of the controversy, the women value their hard work. They value it and want to be paid accordingly for it. They also value working for their company, they just feel as if they should be treated better and paid as much as anyone else that is doing the same amount/type of work. 

• What counts as evidence for the different positions?

For the women who are seeking more representation in computer science, the evidence is clear. There is a significantly less amount of women working in IT. Since they are under-represented they have a harder time receiving the respect they deserve. For Nadella, I have a hard time finding evidence he has. He did say that by not asking for a raise it would allow the women to have faith in the system and that would give them good karma and a good raise. 

• Is there a power differential between the groups? Usually groups involved in a controversy will disagree which side holds the power.

There is a clear power differential between the groups. For as long as computer science has been relevant it has been mostly men working in the field. To this day it is dominated by males and most CEO's are male. Women have proved that they are skillful at computer science and are now becoming more relevant in the computer science field. They are now seeking equal rights and equal representation in the field. It is difficult for them to gain this as it has been a male-dominated field since it has been around. 

• Is there any acknowledged common ground between groups?

The acknowledged common ground between the two groups is that women are becoming just as important in the computer science field. Whether people like it or not, women are becoming important for their IT companies and are vital employees in computer science. The other common ground that is known is that computer science lacks diversity among their employees as they are predominately Asian or White males.

• Is there any unacknowledged common ground?

The only unacknowledged common ground is that women deserve to be paid the same. Some people fail to understand or agree on that. If they are doing the same work then they deserve the be paid the same. There should be no wage gap. Women should also be bale to be comfortable asking for a raise if they feel they deserve it. 

• Do the various groups listen to each other? That is, do they respond to the claims made directly by each other? Or do they only talk to people who already hold the same position? 

The various groups do listen to each other. The problem they are having is a problem that is being resolved with time. There is no immense amount of anger, the women are still working for their select computer science companies. Nadella did make his controversial comments at the Grace Hopper convention, a convention celebrating women's impact in computer science. He just said something he may have regret saying because of the way it was interpreted. I believe he didn't necessarily mean that women don't deserve a raise. I believe he was trying to say that a women should not ask for a raise and wait for a raise to be awarded. I feel as if he would've said the same thing about a man asking for a raise.