Evaluation of Rhetorical Situations

In this post, I will analyze 3 different speech acts according to the author, audience, and the context. These are articles and topics that I am considering doing my research project on.

The link to my analysis is here.

Atmann, Gerd. Problems. 9/2014 via Pixabay. CC0 Public Domain

Reflection:

I was reading Hallye's blog about her Art History questions. She has a lot of interesting questions. It seemed like she had a good foundation for all of the necessary points and topics. I'm interested to see which question she will choose. Over on Alex's blog, I replied after his reflection so I was able to read his own critique of his post. He knew that from looking at others' posts, that he probably should have had more. I would agree. But, I also think that I need more in my context boxes as well.

Developing a Research Question

In this post, I will explore questions that are posed in the business field. These will be a starting point for my research project. From these questions, I will chose one to write my paper on.

Altmann, Gerd. Gears. 9/2014 via pixabay. CC0 Public Domain 

Current debates in the Economics field:

• Should we go back to the barter system rather than the monetary system we have today?

            I find this question really interesting because I believe that people should operate in what they are good in. SO when people barter, they are trading what they are good at for what someone else is good at. This could look like farming, welding, sewing, cleaning, making technology, or whatever it is that you are good at. 

• Should minimum wage be raised to $15/ hour?

         I have a very strong opinion that it should not be raised so I would be really interested to research why people think it should. 

• Should the government continue to fund welfare?

          I have opinions about the role government shold play, but I have not thought about this question very much. I would be very interested in understanding the pros and cons. 

• Should we get rid of the penny?

          This is a question I read online and it was something that never even crossed my mind. I don't know why we would get rid of the penny besides the fact they are annoying to pay with. But, I think it would be fun to see the reasoning behind even asking the question.

• Will a college degree or an apprenticeship benefit you more in the long run? 

          I love learning, but I hate school. I hate how it is run and they way of learning and assessment. I have always rather learn a skill from someone and be really good at that one thing. Kind of like how I talked about operating in what we are good at. I would be interested to see the pros and cons in the long run.

Reflection On Project 1

This post is wrapping up and putting the final bow my final thoughts on the first project. I will talk about was was effective vs ineffective, how it was similar or different from past experiences, challenges, and successes I had. 

Asenat. Giving a Gift. 12/3/2015 via wikimedia. Attribution 2.0 Generic. 

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

I was challenged in the very beginning while picking a controversy to research. I dedicated far too much time because I felt like I couldn't find a topic that I was interested in. To fix this, I changed my search terms. This resulted in a spectrum closer to what I was interested in. I then found the topic of Uber. 

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

I felt like I was able to look at writing in a new way. I feel like I understand the purpose and format of a quick reference guide. It helped me see the benefits of "skimmability" and concise writing. I feel like that was a success. 

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

I found that the most effective convention for a QRG was to show both sides. This really shows the credibility of the argument. Pictures and graphs were also effective for to convey the controversy. This pictures were there to help emotionally connect the audience to the story. 

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

My topic was a smaller controversy in a larger topic. I found it ineffective to broaden the topic of the controversy because it would make it more confusing. The topic was large but simple, and that was what people needed to know about the controversy in New York.

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

I have used the scholarly sources before to research topics, so that were easy to jump on board with. I have also used the PIE formatting before. 

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

Well, I have never had my assignments due on a blog before. Also, I have never had so many steppes leading up to the final project before. I liked that it all wasn't due at one time. It really helped spread out the work. 

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

I will definitely use Coggle for my other projects to help with my thinking process. I feel that the way I have learned to look at pieces of writing is better. I can now see new ways to improve it and how to make it more organized. 

Reflection:

I went over on Mira's post and she talked about useful skills sh found, she said that it helped her get back into the habit of revising. A lot of times after I write, I just want to be done and not read i over and over again. But she reminded me the value of revising multiple times. I then went over to Lawrence's post and related to a couple things. One was not having a lot of experience in this style and medium of writing. The other is that we both have a hard time just sitting down and doing the work. I find myself getting distracted or something to where I'm not working. The best way to conquer that is, and Lawrence said,"put your nose o the grindstone" and have some self-control. 

What You Need To Know About the Uber Vs. New York Controversy (Final Draft.

Here is the link to my final draft.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11IW4cQaPZzPcBkKmZNIZRKIYTcCYFMf3Xbg-7E9ve6M/edit?usp=sharing

Clarity, Part 2

This post I will talk about 4 traits of clarity that the book Rules for Writers addresses. Then, I will edit my QRG draft for those traits and reflect on that.

Downing, Jenny. Clarity and Brightness of Chablis Wine. June 28, 2008 via wikimedia commons. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic. 

1. Replace be verbs that result in dull or wordy sentences.
Be verbs include am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been. These words are usually followed by the rest of a phrase, but a lot of times, the whole phrase can be replaced with a single action verb.

2. Untangle grammatical structures.
A common mistake that people make is using a prepositional phrase as a subject, when it can only be a modifier. The creates an unclear structure of the sentence and twists the sentence the wrong way. Another common mistake is adverb phrases. These also can often be replaces by a single action verb.

3.Choose an appropriate level of formality.
It is important to know the audience when choosing the level or formality. If you know that you are writing for a highly educated board, it would be appropriate to use highly formal language. If you are writing a piece aimed for a college class, it would be important to use respectable but less formal language. In the QRG, we should use respectable but less formal language to reach a broad spectrum of audiences.

4. Do not misuse words.
This one is plain and to the point, but it often still happens. One of the examples the book gave was, persistent vs. persistence. If you don't use this word often, it may be easy to switch the words up when writing. It is important to look in a dictionary if you are even the slightest bit unsure because it can result in an embarrassing mistake.

Reflection on my draft:

Going through my draft, I think a lot of sentences are pretty clear. Some things I needed to change is the wordiness in some areas. For example:

"...taking place in New York for years and is only now are the seas beginning to calm."

I can take out the word is and make it a little more clear as well as deleting another word.

I also found a couple sentences that are almost identical in different parts of my QRG.

"If there are less drivers with a higher demand, the wait times will increase, causing Uber to lose their advantage."

"However, if there are less drivers and higher demand, the wait time begins to stretch, resulting in Uber losing one of their biggest advantages."

There are still things that need a little editing, but I plan on revising my draft even more.

Identifying Basic Grammar Patterns

For this post, I chose the longest paragraph in my QRG and went through to identify different grammar rules. I will now reflect on my process. You can find the document here.

Jordan, Bri. Screenshot of Longest Paragraph. 9/25/2015 via Google Docs.

My longest paragraph was my intro paragraph which I think is alright in this instance because it is still brief and to the point. I found out that I really like compound sentences. I think my rational is that if I can put more points in a sentence, it won't seem as long. But what I realized is that, if I have too many compound sentences, it gets hard to read because they all have the same sentence patterns. I plan on addressing this in my QRG and future projects.

Paragraph Analysis

This post is about my experience analyzing my own draft, specifically the paragraph formatting and development.

Here is my Copy for Paragraph Analysis.

Going through my draft, I found it hard to look at it with fresh eyes, because I knew what I was trying to say. So immediately, I had reevaluate how to look at my document. I was pretty proud of how concise my paragraphs were compared to my past work. Some of my paragraphs needed a little bit more commentary or development. I think I need a few more transitions to make them flow. But overall, I think they were focused and to the point. I plan to continue to revise and edit my QRG until I feel like there is nothing else I can do.

Reflection on Project 1 Draft

As the final deadline for Project one draws near, I have been looking over my draft often. I have also looked over Isaak's and Evan's drafts as well. I will now address some audience and context questions about my own draft.

McPhee, Nick. "Editing a Paper" January 26, 2008. via Flickr. Share Alike 2.0 Generic.

Audience:

• Who, specifically, is going to read my document? 

The main people who will be reading my QRG will my fellow classmates as well as my instructor. Although they will be the main people reading it, it is written in a way that anyone who is interested in the Uber controversy can become informed. 

• What are their values and expectations? 

The expectations of this document is that it is well written and follows the guidelines laid out for us in the rubric. 

• How much information do I need to give my audience?

I need to give my audience enough information that if they didn't know anything about the controversy, they could walk away feeling like they could explain it someone else. There also needs to be enough information for those who do already know some about it, to walk away with new information. 

• What kind of language is suitable for this audience?

My language should come across as credible and like I know what I'm talking about. It should also be simple enough that most people will be able to understand the points being made. 

• What tone should I use with my audience? 

The tone should be formal enough to be knowledgeable but easy enough to understand. It should also be unbiased as I am laying out the information of the controversy.


Context:

• What are the formatting requirements?

The formatting requirements were to follow the requirements of that of a Quick- Reference Guide. Some of these include use of white space and can be easily scanned. I think I have a lot of what is required but should be cleaned up a little. 

• What are the content requirements?

Content requirements include things like an informative title, images, hyperlinks, and subheadings. My QRG currently has all of these, but I am planning adding more to the document. 

• Does my draft reflect the knowledge or skills gained in the class?

I think that my draft has a lot of the skills we have gained in class. I know that it is not perfect at this point, but the more I work on it, the better it will get. 

• Have I addressed any grammatical issues that were highlighted? 

All of the grammatical errors that were highlighted have been fixed, and I plan on revising it even more to catch ones that were not caught in the first place.

Clarity, Part 1

In Rules for Writers, there is a section that gives advise on how to make your writing more clear. In this post, I will address 4 of the points advised about.

Balanced parallel ideas:

When flipping through the chapter, I stopped here because I love writing in parallels. It never occured tome to make sure they were balanced rather than just writing what comes to mind and feels natural. Sometimes what feel natural in your mind, doesn't sound natural written down. So to balance them, parallel single words with other single words, phrases with phrases, and clauses with clauses. I will definitely keep this in mind as I write.

Invert sentences occasionally:

The key word, for me, here is occasionally. I find that I use inverted sentences too often. Like the book says, many inversions sound artificial and should be avoided except in the most formal context. As I continue to write, I will now have an eye for these inversions and will try to avoid using them too often.

Avoid unnecessary repetition of words:

In my writing, I need to work on wordy sentences. I think one thing specific would be to avoid repetition of words. Sometimes, I find myself repeating things that can easily be replaced by a different phrase or just a different word. One word that I often have to go back an eliminate is 'that.' I use 'that' much more than I need to.

Reduce clauses to phrases, phrases to single words:

Like I mentioned, my writing tends to be too wordy. I think that I often feel like the more words, better sounding words, and more better sounding words make me sound smart. But then when I look back, I'm just repeating myself, or writing in circles. This is something that I am always on the lookout for. to revise.


Reflection:

I really enjoy reading other's QRGs to see what people are talking about as well as helping them out. I read through Evan's QRG and he had a couple of clarity issues, but they were things that I have also had problems with. For example, a sentence from Even's draft read,

"Many news outlets have taken time to discuss the controversy, but. Many outlets have not shared a bias to the company one way or the other"

This is an example the repetition of words. He used many outlets to start both of his sentences when he could have just combined them.

In Isaak's draft, he typically wrote with great clarity. An example from his draft is,

"Over the last couple decades, the concern of head trauma to players within the National Football League has been evident.  Although the care is present, not much has changed in the league. The NFL has been scrutinized for being a reactive organization that doesn’t ever see what’s coming."

This is an example of great sentence variety. There is inversion as well as other ways to format the sentences.

Thoughts on Drafting

In the book A Students Guide for First- Year Writing, the author talks about good tactics for drafting a paper. Although these are typically really helpful, they are aimed for a college essay rather than a Quick- Reference Guide. In this post, I will address the points that will still be helpful and those that will not be helpful regarding the QRG genre of writing.

What part of the book's advice is helpful for the QRG genre?

The book talks a lot about a thesis statement. In this genre, there is typically one opening paragraph to get the document started. Because of this, a thesis statement is really combined with the introduction paragraph. The advise about making it interesting and specific is helpful because it still needs to tells the audience what they are about to read. The book also suggests using a point- illustrate- explain formatting for paragraphs. This is very helpful in this genre because this genre is supposed to be quick, precise, and organized just like the PIE formatting leads us to do. Also addressed in the book is advise for flow in  a paper. Flow is really important in a QRG because even though it is a lot of separate points, it should all flow together about one topic. 

What part of the book's advise is unhelpful for the QRG genre?

I don't think there is anything necessarily that is unhelpful about the book's advise, but some things need to be adjusted to fit the genre. For example, the PIE formatting is great for organization. The explanation section is typically the longest part, but shouldn't be too long for the sake of a QRG because it is supposed to be quick.

Reflection:

I read on Chelsea's blog, she talked about how, to her, what popped out was when the book addressed an insightful thesis. She wrote, "when it came to writing a thesis was asking yourself a question that was worth being answered." This didn't sick out to me but I think it is a really helpful point. I'm glad she wrote about that. Then over on Swati's blog, I noticed we had a lot of the same points. I really liked the way she laid her post out. It made me think about how I can better organize my posts. 

Things I need to work on in my QRG:

1. My intro paragraph needs to be reorganized and possible shortened
2. Add direct quotes
3. Reorganize my pragraphs

Draft of Quick-Reference Guide

This post is a link for my peers to see my rough draft of my Quick Reference Guide as well as an introduction to it.

Rough Draft Font. 9/12/2015 via VisionWidget.

I understand that my rough draft is a pretty rough draft. I plan on adding more details and images throughout. I would love to hear if there are other details that you are interested in me adding so that I can help inform my audience in what they want to know.

Here is the link to my draft: Click Here

Practicing Quoting

In this post, I will be dissecting a paragraph I wrote with quotes embedded into it. The highlights sections represent signal phrases that mark the boundaries of the quote, the authority of the person I am quoting, the necessary context for the quote, as well as brackets that I used to insert my own words into the quote.

Jordan, Bri. Screenshot of my computer. 9/15/2015 via Google Docs. 

Signal Phrases 
Context
Authority
Brackets for my own words

QRGs: the Genre

This blog post is all about Quick-Reference Guides. I will be exploring the conventions of this genre of writing and what it includes. Below is a screenshot of an example of a QRG on The Wire.

Jordan, Bri. Screenshot of "The Sochi Olympics Opening Ceremony Explained." 9/12/2015 via The Wire

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

• An informative title
• Questions as subheadings
• Use of images or statistical data
• Proper use of white space
• Hyperlinking

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

Using an informative title will help the audience know exactly what they are about to read. It also has key words in it that should help the audience find it if it is searched on Google. Using questions as subtitles allows the audience to scan the article with ease. It gives the reader the ability and freedom to jump around the article if the desire. 

An author will also use images to provoke emotion and connection to the article. If it is statistical data, it gives the article credibility as well as helps the reader to understand the data with a glimpse rather than reading the entire article. Proper use of white space is important in this genre because it easy on the eyes as readers are jumping around. It makes reading it quick, like the genre implies. Hyperlinking is also important because it allows the writer to give more information without having to write it in the article. It also gives the article credibility.

3. What does the purpose of these QRGs seem to be?

The purpose of a QRG is to provide a quick stop for a reader who needs to know information about something. It helps narrow a topic down to the important points that should be know and cuts out the things that are unnecessary, or provides a link to other articles if the reader prefers more.

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

The intended audience is set a level of wide variety. A QRG is meant for anyone interested in the topic talked about. This is why QRGs are written in a way that most people will understand them. Often they are written for audiences that don't know anything about the topic making it necessary to use common language. 

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

QRGs use images to complete the story being told. Sometimes if it is a dry topic, or one that many people may not be interested in, a picture will be used to connect the audience to the article. This can help make it more human or form a connection to people on the other side of the article rather that data that may be presented. The use of an image can also be to break up long blocks of text to keep the readers engaged. 

Reflection:

Looking at Even's, Elliot's, and Hallye's blogs, they all look similar to mine. When I first started writing this post, I realized we were writing a QRG about QRGs. An irony that I guarantee was intended. Looking at others' posts, I realized how important short, concise paragraphs are. It made me want to skip the whole section if the paragraph was too long. I went back and looked at mine and realized I have a couple paragraphs that  little long that I went back and fixed. Another important thing that I noticed is making the subheadings pop out. If the subheadings are not bolded or put in a list, they hid in the text and it's hard to differentiate the different thoughts.

       

Cluster of My Controversy

This post is intended to explain my web diagram of my controversy- Uber vs. New York. The image below is my Coggle cluster of my controversy.

The above image is a cluster to explain the controversy between Uber and New York City. Because there are two main sides, it was easy to make them off of two branches. The two branches then have 3 main subheadings: Key speakers, main topics, and media outlets. Those are then broken down and explained. There are several links in my cluster as well videos. If you would like to see the links, videos, or a closer look, my cluster is here.

Reflection:

Looking at Sam's Coggle, we both used the same platform. We set our clusters up very similar. The main difference was she used lots of color. The other main difference was that I used different size fonts. I liked that you could really see the different points because of the colors she used, but for mine, I think I prefer the simple layout. But, her cluster made me very interested to read her QRG.

Chelsea also used Coggle. You can find her's here. Chelsea's was very colorful as well as having different font sizes. Her's was a little bigger than mine and a little more detailed. It really seems like it will be a really big help to her as she is writing her QRG.

I have never used any of the programs listed but I found they are really useful. Because my mind is not as organized, this helps all my thoughts get where they need to be. I will definitely be using this in the future. I also explored Xmind, i just though that Coggle would be better for this project. 

Annotated Bibliography in APA style

I have always used MLA format. But, most business professors expect APA format. In this article, I will write an annotated bibliography on the six sources I have been gathering on the debate of Uber vs New York.

Flegenheimer, M., & Fitzsimmons, E. (2015, July 16). City Hall and Uber Clash in Struggle over New           York Streets. New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com.

Flegenheimer and Fitzsimmons lay a foundation for the debate and controversy of Uber vs New York City. They cover what both sides have said and specifically how Uber responded. This article also has responses from other cities and people that are facing similar problems. I will use this article to lay a foundation for my essay as well as quotes that are used.



O'Brien, S., & Segall, L. (2015, July 23). Big win for Uber, New York Backs Down. CNN. Retrieved             from www.Money.CNN.com.

O'Brien and Segall address what Uber has to lose and the people who are invested in the debate. They provide many quotes from both sides to help lay a foundation for the article. The biggest take away is noting the people who are invested in the company Uber and have a lot to lose if the cap is put on. I will use this article to lay foundation for my arguments.



Tangel, A., & MacMillan, D. (2015, July 22). Uber, in Deal, Averts Curb in New York. Wall Street              Journal. www.wsj.com.

Tangel and MacMillan provide in this article the hard facts and statistics to help the reader analyze and form their own opinion of the debate. There are graphs and link to other official sites to help support their article. This will help provide me with the facts and backbone of my essay.



Flegenheimer, M. (2015, July 22). De Blasio Administration Dropping Plan for Uber Cap, for Now.              International New York Times. international.nytimes.com.

Flegenheimer addresses more about how the city and it's officials are responding. There are many quotes from both sides, but Flegenheimer mainly focuses on the side of the city. Flegenheimer discusses how the city has not put a cap on necessarily, but it is not a loss for New York, nor is the cap off the table forever- it can always be brought back up for discussion. This will help me in my essay to convey the side of the city properly with all of the quotes given.



Platt, S. (2015, July 20). Taxi Drivers Protest Possible Uber Expansion in NYC. GettyImages.                      www.gettyimages.com.

Platt is a powerful photographer that reminds people that there is also another side to the debate, and that is the taxi drivers being affected by Uber. His one photograph of the taxi drivers brings empathy and an open mind tho their side. This article will be helpful to show that there are more than the two major sides shown in the public eye.



Crovitz, L. G. (2015, July 26). Why Uber drive the Left Crazy. Wall Street Journal. www.wsj.com

Crovitz discusses how the world is advancing with technology and the government is not catching up  or, even trying to prevent further advances. Corvitz identifies the separation of sides between Uber and the city and who leans which way. Because of how many people are mentioned in this article, I will use it to illustrate the impact and importance of the issue.



CBS This Morning. (2015, July 23). NYC Mayor de Blasio on surprise deal with Uber, Pope Francis.[Video File] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw4YTIGpaxU

In CBS This Morning's interview of Mayor de Blasio, they ask him lots of questions regarding the controversy. De Blasio refutes the major points that Uber has been using to propel their business. He also talks about the agreement that the city made with Uber. The first half of this video will help me pull quotes and be a great hyperlink for my QRG.



CBS This Morning. (2015, July 21). Former Obama Adviser David Plouffe on Uber's Vision and Critics. [Video File] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAu1RjBHrp0

In CBS This Morning's interview of David Plouffe, they discuss they Uber company and why it shouldn't have a cap. Plouffe speaks on the issue of congestion, and the employee benefits as well as lots of political aspects of the debate. This video also shows the commercial that Uber put out to encourage others to fight the cap. This video will be great to pull quotes from as well as extra information the audience can watch.

Example of an APA annotated bibliography: https://www.bethel.edu/library/research/apa-annobib-sixth.pdf



Griswold, A.(2015, July 1). Uber's Going To War with New York City. Again. Slate. www.slate.com

Griswold talks specifically about the cap that the city wants to put on. She talks about the rally that Josh Mohrer, the manager of Uber in New York, help but didn't work. The article has lots of graphs that will be very beneficial. I will use some of her quotes as well as the images from the article.


Uber. https://twitter.com/Uber

This site is purely for the purpose of posting a picture of Uber app when it had the de Blasio tab on it, which is no longer there.


Reflection:

I was over at the Cirone Zone looking at Isaak's' annotated bibliography. I really like how the AMA is set up. Listing the sources as a numbered list is one of the format requirements and I think it makes it look neat and clear. The numbered list also makes it look like a blog post because it is one of the conventions.

Chelsea's annotated bibliography was well done and clear. She did the same format and me, APA. Her annotations were a whole lot longer. Although it may not be good for a bibliography, it will probably really help her when she starts writing her Quick Reference Guide because she already has so much written.

I was really good reading all the other bibliographies. It found it interesting how many other formatting styles there are. It was also interesting to see what other majors use the same format.

Ideology in my Controversy

In this post, I will break down the controversy of the Uber vs New York debate. Some of the things will include are the evidence and power each side has.

1. Who is involved in the controversy?

The public sides that are involved in the debate is the company Uber and the city of New York.

2.Who are some of the major speakers within the group?

The major speaker for the city of New York is the mayor, Bill de Blasio. The main speaker for Uber is David Plouff who is the head of Policy and Strategy at Uber.

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

Uber has the upper hand when it comes to social power. They are first and foremost and app, therefore everyone who uses Uber, has the app. The mayor clearly has the political power and many politicians on his side. Cultural power probably leans toward Uber as the culture is shifting towards thier system of transportation. The city has more economical power because they can control the prices of parking, meters, and other things that would effect drivers and Uber.


4. What resources are available to each position?

Uber's app is a resource in an of itself. Through the app, they have already slandered de Blasio through it. The mayor has any resource he wants essentially, but he has to be careful in the public's eyes a he makes decisions.

5. What does each group value?

Uber definitely values money over anything else. Their main argument is that the cap on licenses will limit their company growth. De Blasio, I think values reelection. He is trying to be careful how he makes choices in order to be reelected as well as stay true to the support he has.

6. What counts as evidence for each position?

I think the only real evidence Uber has, is the people that want it to stay in business. The mayor though, wants traffic studies done.

7. Is there power differential between the groups?

I think both parties think they have the upper hand and are right.

8. Is there any acknowledged common ground between the groups?

I haven't seen much aggression from de Blasio, but Uber has made it into a nasty fight. I don't think that they could see any common ground.

9. Is there any unacknowledged common ground between the groups?

I think there is common ground. I think that both sides want to help people. The mayor wants to cut down congestion and pollution, and Uber wants to get people where they want to go fast. If they could both see this, I think they work something out.

10. Do the various groups listen to each other?

Considering how malicious Uber has been and personally attacking de Blasio, I don't think either of them can hear the other. If this is resolved, I think there could be a reasonable conclusion, rather than "New York backs down."

Evaluation of Social Media Sourcecs

This post is all about the use of social media. I will be linking social media sources to the controversy of Uber vs. New York and analyzing the sources.

1. Taxi Drivers Protest Possible Uber Expansion in New York
Rather than a link to an article, this is a link to a picture.

Jordan, Bri. "Screenshot of Spencer Platt's photo on gettyimages." 9/5/15 via gettyimages.

• Credibility: The owner of this picture is Spencer Platt. He seems to be a professional photographer and takes lots of cultural, political, and controversial pictures. He posts them on a site called gettyimages. He can be Googled and verified. 
• Location: Spencer is based in New York City where the protests took place. 
• Network: Mr. Platt is an award winning photographer. He does not have any direct affiliations with professional news sites, he is works with geetyimages. He seems to be more of a freelance reporter from his social media.
• Content: Other sources could back what he says up. Spencer seems to photograph what is happening and narrate along side of it to explain his picture.
• Contextual Updates: Spencer doesn't seem to update about this specific issue, but he updates on other political and controversial conversations. 
• Age: Spencer's gettyimages account seems to have been up since 2003, giving him good credibility. 
• Reliability: As visually appealing as this source is, it is not necessarily credible.

2. Brendan McNerney:

• Credibility: Brendan McNerney is actually more of a photographer but happened to share an article that popped up on Storify.
• Location: Brendan is based in New York City where he is close to politics, which explains all his outspoken views on social media.
• Network: Brendan has also worked with Penguin Books and Havas Worldwide.
• Content: He doesn't post many things that would back him up. Brendan posts more about what he feels is relevant. 
• Contextual Updates: Like before, Brendan doesn't have many sources to back him up.
• Age: It seems that he has has his Google+ for quite a while from all the things he has posted, which is what was found on Storify.
• Reliability: This source is not credible for the purpose of Uber vs. New York.

Evaluation of Scholarly Sources

In this post, I will analyze two scholarly sources that I have found on the topic of the Uber controversy in New York.

1. Uber, in Deal, Averts Curb in New York

Jordan, Bri. "Screenshot from the Wall Street Journal." 9/5/15 via Wall Street Journal.

• What is it's purpose? The purpose of this article is to provide hard evidence to a highly educated audience that wants to know the statistics and real facts about the story.
• How and where is it published? It is first published on the highly respected Wall Street Journal, and is again published on EBSCO.
• What kinds of sources does it cite? The source does not cite any other sources.
• Who is the author? Andrew Tangel and Douglas MacMillan are the authors of this article and both have written on the Uber many times before and are very familiar with the topic. 
• Who is its intended audience? The article is intended for an educated audience who is interested in knowing the statistics behind the story rather than the drama. 
• How did I find it? I found it through the Academic Search Complete. 

     2. De Blasio Administration drops plans for Uber cap, For now

• What is it's purpose? The purpose of the article to explain the temporary solution that Uber and the city came to. This is an economic debate that has gone very public.
• How and where is it published? It is first published on the International New York Times.
• What kinds of sources does it cite? The source does not cite any other sources.
• Who is the author? The author is Matt Flegenheimer, who write for other news papers and often writes on the Uber controversy. 
• Who is its intended audience? The article is intended for an educated audience who wants to know the quick details of why and how the public argument ended.
• How did I find it? I found it through LexisNexis search.

Evaluation of General SourcesJorda

The Uber controversy has been all over the web and has effected many cites across the world. This "ride-hailing" company has brought up many issues in ethics and economy. In this post, I will address the event that happened in New York City the summer of 2015.

1. City Hall and Uber Clash in Struggle Over New York Streets

Jordan, Bri."Screenshot of New York Times Article." 9/5/15 via New York Times.

• URL: The New York Times is a generally reputable site. They have a good public standing and have gained trust from over the years of being reliable. Although this is a ".com" site, it does not prove that the site is particularly biased or non-credible.
• Author: Matt Flegenheimer and Emma Fitzsimmons are the authors of the New York Times article. They are both verifiable as people on The Times website as well as Twitter. They are both from New York making them in the midst and affected by issues which adds credibility. 
• Last Update: The article has not been updated since it was published electronically on July 16, 2015.
• Purpose: The purpose of this article is to inform the audiences (anyone who is interested in the Uber debate) of the what happened between the city of New York and Uber. 
• Graphics: There are a few pictures to break this article up. They show important interviews of people such as David Plouffe who is head of Policy and Strategy at Uber. There is also a photograph of drivers outside of the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission. 
• Position on Subject: The article doesn't seem bias, but they do reveal a lot of the dirty deeds of Uber. Uber has a lot to lose if the cap on their licenses get approved. Even though the city backed down, they seem to have future plans on this topic. 
• Links: The article has many links, most leading to other sources within the New York Times, but some other places. There are a couple links that lead to biographies of key people mentioned in the post. Other link lead to other newspaper sites that have similar posts or a factual page like congestion prices. 

     2. Big Win for Uber, New York Backs Down

Jordan, Bri. "Screenshot of CNN article." 9/5/15 via CNN.

• URL: CNN is most commonly known as a cable news station/ site. They seem to be more reliable than other news stations because of the resources used to back their stories up. The URL does end in a ".com" saying that they are trying to sell something. 
• Author: The two authors of this CNN article are Sara Ashley O'Brien and Laurie Segall. They are both verifiable as people as well as on social media. Both women live in the New York area and therefore have a credible say of what is happening there. 
• Last Update: The article has not been updated since it was published electronically on July 23, 2015.
• Purpose: The purpose of this article is to inform the audiences (anyone who is interested in the Uber debate) of the what happened between the city of New York and Uber. It focuses more on what Uber has to lose and the people who are invested in it.
• Graphics: There are no photographs in this picture but there are two video clips. The first is of the news report done on this story, the second is a generic "5 Facts about Uber."
• Position on Subject: The authors seem to take more of pro-Uber position. There are a couple comments about de Blasio's real reasoning behind the proposal. The seemingly generic video at the end of tho post also promotes Uber. 
• Links: The article only has a few links. Two links lead to other articles about Uber being banned and fined. Another link is to an official document from the Taxi an Limousine Commission. The last one is to credit the New York Times for publishing the story first. 

My Major

Arnold, Karen. "Business World." 2014  via Pixabay.  CC0 Public Domain.

In this post I will be exploring the specifics of my major such as what do students in my major learn, what kind of jobs do they get, who are the leaders of this field, leading academic journals, and what personally drew me to this major.

1, What do students in my program learn how to do?

Just like other majors, business has many subdivisions within the broad major. One could major in business economics, accounting, finance, marketing, business management, entrepreneurship and so on. Before picking a specific field, most business students will learn the basics foundations of all of the fields. Students studying business first and foremost learn leadership skills and how businesses work as the very least. They can then move onto focusing in on field of study.

2. What do people who get degrees in this field usually go on to do for work?

Again because the major is so broad, people with business degrees can have all different kinds of jobs. Most students who have business degrees will work in some form of business that fits them. This could look like a Fortune 500 company, an international company, a large company within the country, a smaller company, or even a non-profit. All of the specific fields of study can be used in all types of companies or organizations.

3. What drew me to this field?

I wanted to study business because I want to work at a non-profit organization. I figured that even non-profits need people who know what they are doing. I want to make a positive difference in the world and use my degree to benefit others.

4. Who are the leaders of my field right now?

To identify "leaders," there has to be qualifiers to rate them on. There are a variety of leaders in the business field, it just depends on what you are looking for.

According to Forbes, Warren Buffet is the 3rd richest person in the world. That's not what makes him a business leader, but it is a result. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, is the 5th biggest company in the world. He created this on his own.

Mr. Jeff Bezos is the man who invented "predictive analytics." This is what Amazon (and now other onlie companies) uses to recommend products to customers based on their search history and buying habits.(Forbes) This has boosted Amazons profits and made their site more efficient.

Or perhaps Tony Hsieh is a different example of a leader. Tony is the CEO of the online company Zappos. His newest change is to organize the company to be under a Holacracy structure. This means that the company will me self managing and no longer have managers among the 1500 employees (Business Insider).

All of these leaders have something different to offer but are large influences in the business world. 

5. What are the leading academic/ scholarly journals in this field?

The first one on the list is the Wall Street Journal.  Coming out of New York NY, The Wall Street Journal covers the business news in all different industries. It is owned by Dow Jones. "Dow Jones explains the world and the world of business. With authoritative journalism and smart technology, we provide a window on events, clarify issues, inspire new thinking and give readers and business customers the insight they need to make informed decisions." (Dow Jones).

Second, AABRI, Academic And Business Research Institute. AABRI is privately owned and based out of Florida. 

Third on the list is IBFR, the Institute for Business and Finance Research. The IBFR was founded in 2005 and is based out of Hilo, Hawaii. They aim to provide a scholarly journal that is bilingual so that different cultures can collaborate academic works.

Reflection:

Reading Namratha's blog, I found myself amazed at what she wants to do. I think it is amazing that people can control so much on a computer with coding. I have a hard time wrapping my head around that kind of thing and so I admire people that have the mind for that. And as time goes on, things will always be changing, so the codes will need to be revamped often. But one thing is for sure, we will always have technology, so there will always be a need for coding. 

I also read Chelsea's blog. She wants to be an engineer because she was interested in the environment and wants to help preserve it. I told her that she might really like Economics because it's all about the allocation of resources. I hope she decided to take the GenEd. I think she would enjoy it.