Congratulations

I'm really excited to tell you that everyone who wrote the exam passed. In fact, all but one paper was passed by both examiners and that one passed on a third reading.

I hope you feel that you've benefited from the class. If I can be of help to you in the future, please feel free to ask.

Best,
Brett

Final Exam Eligibility

I have now mailed the people who will NOT be eligible to write the final exam. If you have not received such an e-mail from me, you are eligible. Congratulations!

If you're not sure, please feel free to send me an e-mail and ask.

Evidence for a Dot Com This essay

Geoff Pullum is co-author of the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. He knows a thing or two about language and he says don't believe the hype.

Is Anger Reasonable

Topic: It is/isn’t reasonable for racial minorities to feel angry about the discrimination and economic inequity they face.

(I wrote this in one hour and ten minutes. It took 20 minutes to edit it.)

“God damn America!” That was the angry cry that recently shocked America. Potential Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s black pastor was the man who uttered those words, and it was his experiences of racism, and those of the other blacks, that prompted him to denounce his country. The result of this was Obama’s speech a few weeks ago in which he claimed it is understandable for blacks to be angry. Indeed, it is both understandable and eminently reasonable for minorities to feel angry about the discrimination and economic inequity they face.

Remarkably, there are people who deny that minorities are discriminated against. Everyone has the same opportunity, they say. It says so right there in the US Constitution, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” It says so in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.” Yet we also have laws against speeding, theft, assault, and many other activities that we deem offensive. But nobody would argue that therefore these activities don’t take place.

Racism is old, the deniers claim. That was then and this is now. But the research cited in the article (Time to talk about race, 2008) clearly shows that even though people may be better at concealing racism, it’s still there. The average income for visible minorities continues to be well below that of WASPs here in Canada. Courts have recently found that police in Canada systematically engage in racial profiling. The number of visible minorities in the legislature is not representative of their numbers in society. Theses are but a sample of the overwhelming preponderance of evidence that racism remains a daily event for visible minorities in Canada today.

So, if we can dispense with the denials and accept that racism is prevalent, we can now move on to the question of how to react to it. There are many possible reactions, and no doubt most of them have been tried out. But three of the most obvious are extremism, apathy, and anger. Anger was the feeling that Rev. Jeremiah Wright gave voice to when he damned America. Anger is the reaction we saw during the Rodney King riots in the states. This is one we saw at York University recently when racist slogans were posted on the door of the Black Students’ Alliance. It is one response of the Asian fishermen who were attacked on the shores of Lake Simcoe. It is the response of almost any person who feels unfairly persecuted. It is a common response, and as Obama says, it is completely understandable.

The question is: is anger a reasonable response? What would make it reasonable would be an ability to reduce the amount of injustice being suffered by the afflicted minorities. If anger simply maintained the status quo, or worse, caused the situation to deteriorate, it would be unreasonable. This is true of extremism. An example of an unreasonable extremist response is the destruction of the World Trade Centre by Al Qaeda terrorists. The situation for Muslims all around the world has undeniably worsened as a result of that criminal reaction. They are more discriminated against than ever here in North America, and they are being attacked, imprisoned, and killed in wars, both legal and illegal most notably in Afghanistan and Iraq.

We can conclude, then that extreme acts of criminal violence are an unreasonable response to racism. But the other extreme is passive acceptance, even facilitation. Although anger is such a natural reaction that it’s almost impossible to find discriminated peoples lacking anger, we can recall the blind eye and tacit encouragement with which much of Europe and North America reacted to the Nazi’s treatment of Jews. When we consider this facilitation, it’s clear that the result is a wound in the body humanity that still aches today. Hurting ourselves, whether it be through fanaticism or facilitation, is completely unreasonable.

A reasonable reaction is one that causes positive change. Change can only comes through hard work, which itself is a child of curiosity and the thirst to learn, of love and a wish to help, of greed and the desire for power, and of anger and the dream of equality. Anger is clearly not the only reasonable response to discrimination, but it is surely reasonable. When Rosa Parks refused to get off that bus, she was angry. She made life better for all Americans. When blacks in South Africa fought to overthrow Apartheid, they were angry, and they made life better for all South Africans. When Chinese Canadians rallied to demand an apology for the head tax, they were angry, and they made Canada better for all Canadians. When anger moves us to action; when it wakes the hearts of the masses and forces them to see the injustice around them; when it shames the oppressors and the facilitators of discrimination; when anger is focused, controlled, and directed, it opens the door onto possibilities of change.

Is anger a reasonable response? What could be more reasonable than anger, a natural emotion that helps us overcome racism, which another natural emotion. Anger is the enemy of racism—no more reason is needed.

Last chance

I'll pull all the incomplete essays out of the test centre on Tuesday, April 15th so that I can get the list of passing students to the course coordinator. Any essay that is not completed by that date will receive a zero.

Environment Debate

http://www.greenhousenet.org/20_steps.htm

http://www।time.com/time/specials/2007/environment/

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/14/MNFHTBKMA.DTL

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thedebate/2005/10/can_global_warm.html

http://canadaonline.about.com/od/environment/i/kyotoprotocol.htm?p=1

http://www.thestar.com/article/300381

Final exam schedule

The final exam will be on Monday, April 21 in the Gym from 9:00 - 11:30. Please, let me know if you have a conflict with another exam.

The course coordinator has told me that you may take the exam at any of the times listed on the sheet I gave you today, just make sure you bring the sheet with you.

Debate References

http://www.law-faqs.org/nat/ycja-i-01.htm
http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/crssummary/crssummary_5.htm
http://www.lawcourtsed.ca/ycja/
http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/8613-e.htm
http://www.lawyers.ca/yoajan2003.htm

Reading for Monday's essay

Editorial: Time to talk about race

• 29 March 2008
• From New Scientist Print Edition.

IT WAS inevitable that Barack Obama's speech on race, delivered on 18 March, would be dissected mainly in the context of another race - that for the US presidency. But whatever it means for his candidacy, the deeper significance of the speech is that it might just spark a mature dialogue on this most incendiary of issues. There is a solid body of research on which to base this discussion, if we can rise to the challenge.

Race is an important factor in US society, as the polarised support for the Democratic presidential candidates has revealed (see "Why pollsters are flummoxed on Clinton and Obama"). Opinion formers often tiptoe around the subject - or worse, exploit it to promote controversy. So it was significant that Obama acknowledged that it is understandable for black people to feel angry about the discrimination and economic inequity they face, and for whites to feel resentful about affirmative action and having their fear of urban crime dismissed as racial prejudice. Most importantly, he also argued that it is possible to confront these issues.

Right now, white and black Americans have very different perceptions of racial discrimination. According to a CNN poll conducted in January, just 12 per cent of whites but 56 per cent of African Americans see discrimination against blacks in their neighbourhood as a "very serious problem".

Overt racial hatred may be in retreat, but there is evidence that bias persists. For instance, linguist John Baugh of Stanford University in California, who can adopt the accents of white, black or Hispanic Americans, has used this ability to expose discrimination in the housing market. And research suggests that even avowed "non-racists" harbour subtle racial prejudice - apparently a consequence of humanity's tendency to form a series of "in groups" (New Scientist, 17 March 2007, p 40).

These biases are not immutable, however. Social psychologist Jack Dovidio of Yale University has shown that subtle interventions, such as showing people videos of discrimination, can reduce subsequent prejudice. The media could do a better job of highlighting such research. Instead, attention tends to focus on controversies such as the simplistic debate over race and intelligence that erupted from the book The Bell Curve in 1994.

Fanning these flames is easy. It gives succour to closet racists, while letting liberals rage against racism without facing their own prejudices. Far more productive would be a debate over the implications of research by Dalton Conley of New York University, who found the main factor limiting achievement by African Americans to be the low accumulated wealth of the typical black family - just one-eighth that of its white counterpart.

This is a real tragedy, and not just for the groups directly affected. In a dynamic economy, opportunity is not a zero-sum game. Give all individuals, irrespective of racial group, the chance to fulfil their potential and everyone will prosper.

From issue 2649 of New Scientist magazine, 29 March 2008, page 5

If you want more information, you might read some of these related articles. You do not, however, need to read them for the essay.

• Racial stereotyping persists in 'non-racists'
• 17 February 2008
• Editorial: Racism still runs deep
• 17 February 2008
• Are we born prejudiced?
• 17 March 2007
• Hidden fear of outsiders leads to racial bias
• 6 August 2005
• Brains drained by hidden race bias
• 17 November 2003

Some Examples from your essays

Look at the following sentences taken from your essays. Some of them are quite effective while others show examples of problems (we’re concentrating on logic, organisation, support and effective persuasion rather grammar, punctuation, etc.) After reading them, decide what’s good, what’s not, and why.

1. (initial sentence) In today’s materialistic world it is safe to assume some powerful people are corrupt. To say then, that power always corrupts would indicate that even one example of an uncorrupt individual would negate the term altogether.
2. (initial sentence) “Religion relies on faith, and science relies on the present verifiable evidence“ (Dawkins).
3. (initial sentence) According to David Barrett, an editor of the World Christian Encyclopedia, there are 19 major world religions which are subdivided into a total of 270 large religious groups and many more smaller ones. Most people in the world follow one of the main religions, but what about the non-religious people?
4. (initial sentence) The Olympic Games are known throughout the world as a very important sports event and ceremony. Being granted the opportunity to take part in these games is a huge accomplishment. Individuals have to compete and maintain outstanding results in order to make it to the Olympics. Oscar Pistorius did not in fact deserve the chance to take part in the Olympics because of his prosthetic feet.
5. (Paragraph 4) A taser is an electro-shock device that can subdue an animal or human for a short period of time.
6. …one could see that power can corrupt… Charles Taylor simply made a pretense and kept the money for himself.
   
   For the statement “power always corrupts” to be true there must be no individual who has had power.
7. So, at a simple level, one can say science offers explanation like any other religion.
   
   Along with explanation, science and religions alike all offer a sense of consolation.
8. When one politician or someone influential or powerful gets caught up in a corruption scandal, anyone associated with that individual is classified as corrupt, which is unfair and a hasty generalization.
   
   If one looks past the negative aspects of those corrupt individuals in power one would notice powerful and influential people who do use their power and influence for good.
9. There is no universal script that has been passed down from generation to generation that requires people’s undeniable faith. (end of paragraph)
10. It may be unfair to deny Oscar the opportunity to participate in the Olympics, but it is also unfair for the other athletes who must compete with an individual who has an obvious physical advantage.
11. If tuition is free, college education will be the same as free high schools: the kids will not care if they fail because they know the course will be free next year.
12. Tasers are a safer piece of equipment for front line police officers.
13. Corrupt can easily be defined as a lack of integrity or honesty and actions that approach criminal behaviour.

Passing the course

Hi, folks

OK, the drop deadline has passed and we still have 26 people registered in the course. Despite that, I'm missing assignments and tests from about half of you. If you're missing something (see the schedule), talk to me about handing it in or doing it in the test centre. If you've already talked to me, then it's waiting for you in the test centre. Get your butt down there and do it.

If you know people who started the course but have stopped coming, please reassure them that it's not too late and ask them to come and see me (or drag them bodily to class with you).

It would be a real shame if people failed just because they didn't hand stuff in. Remember: failing COMM200 simply isn't an option. You've got to pass it to get your diploma. It's better to pass it now rather than pay for it twice. Work with me on this...

Brainstormed topics

Argue that...

1. technology is a requirement to understand English in the modern world.
2. the internet is or is not changing the way we use English.
3. in order to be successful in the 21st century, you must be fluent in all six "languages".
4. writers should or should not use e-mail.
5. you should or should not believe that e-mail causes poorer communication skills.
6. electronics or technology reduces people's ability to write a well-structured paragraph.
7. the internet is taking away from the quality of people's face-to-face communication
8. the internet is taking away from the amount of people's face-to-face communication

How to read an Article II

Dot-com this!

Stephanie Nolen. The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.: Aug 28, 2000. pg. R.1

Full Text (1489 words)

All material copyright Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. or its licensors. All rights reserved.

The brave new world of cyberlanguage

It was inevitable, Jamie Reid says, that his love letters and his dinner-table chats would show the effect.

Reid, 23, is what you might call a paid hacker -- a self-taught network security expert, hired by a desperate corporate world right out of his Toronto high school. He lives totally immersed in the Internet world -- and he knows it shows.

"You begin to look at things in a very logical and inductive way after working with machines for a long time," he says. "You rely less on intuition. The problems that computers solve have few variables; things add up. And you apply those same ways of doing things to your everyday life. It only makes sense that people who spend their days dealing with those sort of questions would attempt to quantize everything from their shopping lists to their politics."

In truth, Reid didn't say that, he wrote it. As if to illustrate his own point, he offered that observation via e-mail a couple of hours after I put the question to him in a conversation. His reply, articulate and eloquent, was also a textbook example of many of the other ways in which the Internet is changing the way we use language. He wrote in one-sentence paragraphs. He listed points. He used mathematical jargon ("quantize") in an everyday context. About the only thing he didn't do was toy with capitaLetters.

It's all dot-com and network and i-this and e-that, these days, and so ubiquitous are these words and symbols that we don't tend to give them much thought. But in many subtle ways the Internet is dramatically altering the way we use language: How we write, how we speak, how we use words when we think.

"It was inevitable that our language would be affected because the Internet is not simply a technical phenomenon, it's a cultural phenomenon, and it doesn't even matter if you're on it or not, you are nonetheless affected by its presence in the culture."

So says Liss Jeffrey, adjunct professor at the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology at the University of Toronto, and director of the byDesign eLab, an electronic lab engaged in the design of public space on-line. "New horizons open up and we, as human beings, have to find ways to describe those places. We create new things, we dream them up, and then we find ways to talk about them."

Take cyberspace. It's now a universally accepted idea that most of us spend part of each day there. We all know what it means. The term was coined by William Gibson in 1984; it is, Jeffrey says, something people have experiences of, an interactive participatory reality, and thus something for which we needed words.

There have been lots of other new words in the six years most of us have been visiting cyberspace. The Internet was invented in 1969, but didn't have public use until the early 1990s. The explosion came in early 1995, as service providers switched to flat-rate billing, instead of charging for volume of mail received. The 1994 edition of the Canadian Internet Handbook included two pages on the World Wide Web, predicting it might one day come into widespread use. A Nielsen survey found that in 1996, 23 per cent of Canadians used the Internet; a year later, it was 31 per cent. Angus Reid found 55 per cent of us using it in 1999 and says this year, the number is up to 70 per cent.

But while much of the cultural analysis of the Internet is about the Web, Clive Thompson, editor-at-large at Shift magazine in New York, says the most significant factor has been e-mail, however pedestrian it may seem. "It's had by far the most immediate effects and more visceral effect," he says. "When people get to work, do they look at a groovy new site, or watch some streaming video, or something with generation-enhanced Flash content? Of course not. They check their e-mail."

And the often-overlooked result of our addiction to e-mail is that we write more. Much more.

"Before e-mail, the vast majority of people never wrote anything," Thompson says. "Their jobs didn't require it, their pastimes didn't require it, and it wasn't easy to do -- before computers we didn't write a lot of text." Now people have a motive: "It's not that people want to write, but they want to talk to other people, and they have to write to do that."

But how are they writing?

Well, in English, for one thing. There has been an explosion in the number of people for whom English is a second language, even as the number of native speakers of English has steadily declined over the last 10 years. "English is changing its function in the world," says Eric McLuhan, author of Electric Language, adding that English, as the language with the greatest flexibility and largest vocabulary, was the only language prepared for this shift.

But McLuhan, who is the son of the legendary communications theorist Marshall McLuhan, says the 15 years of the computing era have had drastic effects on the building blocks of writing.

Attention spans have declined sharply, and with them, sentence length. Twenty years ago, the average sentence length in a novel was 20 words; today it is 12 to 14 words. In mass-market books such as Harlequin Romance novels, the average sentence is only seven or eight words.

Paragraphs, too, have changed. Most prominently, one-sentence paragraphs have become ubiquitous. That means, McLuhan says, that the traditional one-sentence paragraph has lost its role of transition or dramatic impact. In addition, he says, ideas are no longer developed in paragraphs. And all objective distance is lost. "It's all up front and in your face. That makes for high [reader] involvement and low detachment."

And the style of bullet-point writing, also a function of Internet communication, results in a compressed, discontinued presentation of information, heavy with parallelism -- qualities once reserved for poetry, McLuhan observes. "We are reinventing poetics from the bottom up."

Robert Logan says all this should come as no surprise. A physicist at the University of Toronto and the author of The Sixth Language , he uses chaos theory to argue that each time human society needs to deal with an information overload, a new language emerges. "Speech, writing, math, science, computing and the Internet form an evolutionary chain of languages," he says. Writing and math emerged in 3300 BC in Sumer to keep track of tributes; then came science because of the need to teach how to organize that knowledge. Computing allowed people to organize the explosion of knowledge, and then, when everyone wanted to communicate with computers, the Internet emerged.

"To communicate, to operate in the 21st century, you must be fluent in all six languages," says Logan, adding, "You can speak some with an accent."

Each language has its own grammar and syntax, evolving with the vestigial structures of its predecessors. When writing emerged, it took the vocabulary of speech but added new words. Plato's Greek has many more words and grammatical structures than Homer's. With math came the grammar of logic; with science, the grammar of the scientific method; with the Internet, the grammar of hypertext and search engines.

This is, in Logan's mind, the key contribution of the Internet era: We write, speak and think in hypertext -- the code in which text is written on the web -- the links. It is tangential, not sequential.

"I am much more hypertext in my talking now," says Logan. "I jump off into something else, then return to where I was, to what I was talking about." It is the verbal equivalent of clicking on a blue-underlined link.

Reid hears something else, when his "geek" friends and colleagues are talking. "Knowledge is what's valued in this industry, and that's how people speak," he says. "There's a rapid-fire passing back and forth of facts, it's almost like a pissing contest, in the way it sounds. But it's just exchanging knowledge. There's no wisdom or value attached."

Jargon, of course, be it mathematical, scientific, computer-specific, has crept into everyday speech. Jeffrey calls it the democratizing of expert knowledge. And Thompson notes the binary influence on the spoken English of people who use programming languages. Take the use by geeks of "non" -- as in the dry observation that a total system crash is a "non-trivial problem."

He also argues that the style of discourse has also fundamentally changed.

"E-mail created an entirely new style of argument and discussion," he says, referring to the cut-and-paste back-and-forth. He compares it to the passing back and forth of illuminated manuscripts between medieval monks, who left wide margins for each other's comments -- only that process took years. "This is: Here's what you said right back at you. You can't get away from your words."

Credit: The Globe and Mail

Indexing (document details)

Author(s):	Stephanie Nolen
Dateline:	Toronto ONT
Section:	The Globe Review
Publication title:	The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.: Aug 28, 2000. pg. R.1
Source type:	Newspaper
ISSN:	03190714
ProQuest document ID:	1051347151
Text Word Count	1489
Document URL:	http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1051347151&sid=1&Fmt=3&cl ientId=20375&RQT=309&VName=PQD

How to Read an Article

The first article for the final exam can be found here. The first question, I would ask is, who wrote & published the article and when is it from? The author's name is listed near the top, and the publishing information and date are right down at the bottom. You can also follow the link at the top of the page to find out whose website this is. It turns out that the author is a provincial judge in Ontario. The host and publisher also appear to be quite reputable and Canadian to boot. The document is about 11 years old now.

According to Youth Crime and the Youth Justice System in Canada: A Research Perspective, most young people between the ages of 12 and 17 years take part in what could be deemed criminal behaviour at some point during their adolescence.

What is this article/book? The list of References at the end of the paper shows that it's a book. It seems believable.

The vast majority are not apprehended for this behaviour. Of those who are caught, a relatively small number are brought before the youth court, especially when the criminal behaviour is of a minor nature.

What are the consequences to a child who is caught, charged and brought before the criminal justice system? Based upon the ostensible goals of our criminal justice system, one would assume (she's telling me that she doesn't believe this) that the child is in some way held accountable for his or her behaviour and learns that criminal behaviour will be punished. This, in turn, should (again, she doesn't believe it) lead to a decrease in subsequent criminal behaviour in most cases and send a message of deterrence to others who might be tempted to offend. The reality, however, is quite different. (as I expected)

For the small proportion of young offenders who are apprehended for minor offences, it usually takes many months to come before a judge to be tried. Based upon a study by Peterson-Bedali and Abramovitch, it appears that these young people are encouraged to participate in a rigid system that defines truth and fact in a non-intuitive fashion and encourages the separation of morality from responsibility.

For many young offenders, contact with the justice system leads to a lack of respect for the system and the lessons it attempts to impart (this is opposite to the goals). Contact with the system also seems to have a negative effect on the behaviour of many young offenders. This may be due to the stigma of being involved with the system. A child in this position is often viewed thereafter by friends and authorities as a "bad" kid or a "troublemaker" and the child begins to live up to the label. Placing a child in custody strengthens the self-image of being a criminal and, in the words of Stockdale and Casale, editors of Criminal Justice Under Stress: "what the period of custody may well do is to turn the offender into a more sophisticated, confirmed and effective criminal." This is a very negative view from somebody who is an insider in this system. It also fits well with my understanding of the system, so I think I can believe it.

Recognizing this difficulty, the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General's Alternative Measures Program: Policy and Procedures Manual acknowledges that "minimization of unnecessary stigmatization and 'labelling' as a result of more formal exposure to the justice system" is one of the goals of the Alternative Measures program.

Clearly, there are valid reasons to hold some young offenders criminally responsible for serious breaches of the law. While lengthy sentences may not deter young people from committing crimes and may not lower the rate of re-offending, custodial sentences will keep serious offenders off the streets for a period of time and seem to satisfy society's need for a retributive response to serious criminal behaviour. For lesser crimes, however, there appears to be little justification for processing young people through the formal criminal justice system. So here, she's conceding that custody does have its uses (though the US has obviously gone crazy), but she's obviously not very happy with it. But by doing this, she can make her case more easily relating to a smaller group of people.

The school system may be a useful place in which to base a program that addresses some of the concerns which flow from the criminal justice system (thesis). Other than the home environment, (reason 1) school has biggest impact on children. (expanding reason 1 or reason 2?) School is the predominant environment for students for at least 10 months of the year. (reason 3) Large numbers of children can be reached in one site and (reason 4) cultural changes within the school setting can also affect students who do not participate in the formal structure of the program.

Peer mediation projects have been used to influence and guide behaviour in many ways over a number of years and in many different school settings with encouraging results. Such programs have been referred to as peer mediation and positive peer counselling. These programs have involved children ranging from junior kindergarten to grade 13. There appears to be some basis for believing (this is very tentative) that students are capable of learning how to manage conflict appropriately and effectively and that they are further capable of assisting their peers to manage conflict in a useful fashion.

School-Based Model

In 1994, I worked with a lawyer from Justice for Children and Youth--a Toronto organization promoting children's right within the justice system--to develop a school-based peer mediation model that would work within the youth justice system. Students would conduct the mediations with support from school staff. The objectives were to train students as peer mediators and provide a process for resolving conflicts which might otherwise be the subject of criminal charges. We wanted to create a structure for diverting cases away from the justice system before charges were laid or police called. The program was to be self-sustaining after the initial investment in training the first group ofstaff and student mediators.

The model had to be responsive to behaviours which could result in criminal charges, and it had to allow for participants to acknowledge their actions and appreciate the consequences. The mediation had to be timely, with the smallest possible lag between incident and mediation, to make an almost immediate connection between the incident and the resolution.

A Positive Response

The process also had to be seen as a positive response to a negative situation. It could not stigmatize or label those who participated in it and had to be a process that was accessible to and credible with all students. The process was incorporated into the school environment and included positive and negative student leaders as mediators.

Any model for peer mediation has to consider the interests of all those concerned. Consultations were held with the Ministry of the Attorney General, the Crown attorney, the police, students defense counsel representing young persons, and school staff and administration.

To encourage use of the model, the young people had to be assured that any statements made by them in the mediation would be strictly confidential and inadmissible in court should charges be laid at a future date. They also needed assurance that a successfully mediated solution would not itself form the basis for charges to be laid.


Students with a large
following who were
perceived to be a negative
influence made the greatest
impact as mediators.

The Ministry was supportive of the use of mediation as an alternative measure and the North York Crown attorney's office supported peer mediation as a diversionary program, giving a written assurance that it would not use in court any statements or admissions made by any young person in the course of the peer mediation.

Appropriate Offences

Metropolitan Toronto Police Force 31 Division was contacted and meetings held with the street crimes unit. Working with the police, we sorted offences into three categories of appropriateness for mediation: less serious offences appropriate for mediation very serious offences that would never qualify for mediation and offences that might qualify, depending on the individuals involved and the specifics of the case. (All offences had to have occurred on school property in order to be considered.)

Offences in the "never qualify" category were murder, manslaughter, drinking and driving, narcotics-related offences, and any offense involving explosives or firearms. Other offences that would be considered for mediation depended on the seriousness of the behaviour involved. The criteria used to determine seriousness are if the offence did not involve:

* intimidation beyond adolescent bullying;
* substantial physical or psychological injury;
* no chronic or repetitive behaviour (assessed by school representatives);
* violations of school board policy on assaults, threats, weapons, drug or alcohol abuse, sexual harassment, etc.

After meeting with police, we approached Emery Collegiate Institute in North York. The school did not have a peer mediation program and was interested in developing one. The first meetings were with the school principal and vice-principal, who were very interested in trying the model. We then held several meetings with school staff, administration and the police. The model was acceptable to all concerned. A 30-hour training program for students and key staff members was approved by the school. In consultation with staff, I began training students in the second semester of the 1994-95 school year.

Our goal was to have approximately 15 peer mediators who could begin to conduct mediations by September 1995. The students were given a credit for the training and received ongoing training and support from school personnel in the 1995-96 school year. Based on students suggestions, the original mediation model was amended to accommodate co-mediation in pairs. They also were given the opportunity to discuss the mediations they handled with a designated staff member, who was subject to the same rules regarding confidentiality for the participants.

Peer mediators were selected from each of the school's ethnic groups and from among those identified by staff and students as either positive or negative peer leaders. Students with a large following who were perceived to be a negative influence made the greatest impact as mediators.

The training consisted of 30 hours of instruction. Students were first asked to analyze and reflect on styles and methods of conflict resolution and interpersonal relationships. Emphasis was placed on identifying and understanding cultural differences and self-awareness. The training then focussed on negotiation and mediation as strategies for conflict resolution. Particular emphasis was placed on interest-based bargaining. Specific mediation skills were taught and practiced. Ethical issues were identified and discussed and students were given information about the criminal justice system. The final sessions stressed practicing the skills learned.

The training relied heavily on interactive teaching. A combination of written materials, lectures, video materials, discussion and role-playing was used. A police officer, an assistant Crown attorney, and a defense counsel spoke to the students about the justice system.

The most effective mediators, in terms of skills mastered and commitment to the process, were the negative peer leaders. They were enthusiastic, eager, and engaging. The role-playing sessions were often noisy and the language was sometimes foul, but the students seemed to grasp the issues and were very practical and insightful when dealing with their peers.

It was particularly interesting to witness the personal growth and increase in the students' self-esteem and self-knowledge. Many said they were applying the mediation skills in other forums and several said they were better able to manage conflict in their families.

Eleven students returned to the project in the fall of 1995 and 10 new ones began to receive regular, ongoing training. Formal mediations began in October 1995 and 18 mediations were conducted by January 1996. In all cases, mediation was successful and an agreement was signed by the participants.

The role-playing was often
noisy and the language was
sometimes foul, but the
students seemed to grasp
the issues and were very
practical and insightful when
dealing with their peers.

According to the data taken from intake forms filled out by the mediators, eight cases involved incidents that would not otherwise involve the criminal justice system--arguments, name-calling, rumours and conflict over a member of the opposite sex. Ten cases involved situations that might have led to charges under the Young Offenders Act. In five of these cases, students were physically fighting (two cases avoided school suspension and three involved suspensions in addition to the mediation). Of the five remaining cases, one involved damage to a table and book stand, two involved threatening, one involved theft, and one involved the inappropriate use of a car.

The extent to which this peer mediation model can address current juvenile justice problems remains to be seen. A thorough analysis of the screening process and the types of cases referred is required to determine if potential YOA matters are truly being diverted. The number and type of charges arising out of school incidents before and after the project need to be compared and an attempt should be made to determine the impact of the project on the school culture. Recidivism rates and perceived stigma could also be measured and compared.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this project--and the most important from the perspective of a young person--is the personal change that was made possible through involvement in the program. For at least one student in the Emery project, participation as a mediator has led to real personal growth and positive change. He has expressed a new sense of accomplishment and worth and insight into his own personality and culture. He has become able to see the world through the eyes of others. This is the real value, for this student and for all young people.

June Maresca, LLB, developed the peer mediation model with David Mikelberg of Justice for Children and Youth. This article is excerpted from a research paper she submitted to Professor Paul Emond, Osgoode Hall Law School, towards a Masters of Law in Alternative Dispute Resolution. For more information about this model, please contact Justice for Children and Youth at (416) 920-1633 or June Maresca at (416) 762-8617.

REFERENCES

Doob, Anthony; Marinos, Voula; and Varma, Kimberly; Youth Crime and the Youth Justice System in Canada: A Research Perspective, Dept. of Justice, Ottawa, 1995.

Ministry of the Attorney General, Alternative Measures Programs: Policy and Procedures, Government of Canada Publications, 1995.

Peterson-Bedali, M. and Abramovitch, R., "Grade Related Changes in Young People's Reasoning About Plea Decisions" in Law and Human Behaviour, vol. 17, no. 5, Plenum Publishing Corp, 1993.

Stockdale, Eric and Casale, Silvia, editors, Criminal Justice Under Stress, Blackstone Press Ltd., London, 1992.

For: Science is a different type of religion

http://www.butterfliesandwheels.com/infocusprint.php?num=27&subject=Micheal%20Ruse
In Focus: Michael Ruse on Religion and Science


http://www.religioustolerance.org/sci_rel.htm
Albert Einstein: "After religious teachers accomplish the refining process indicated, they will surely recognize with joy that true religion has been ennobled and made more profound by scientific knowledge."
Anon: "There can never be a conflict between true science and true religion, because they both describe reality." Excerpt from a posting to a religious mailing list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relationship_between_religion_and_science
Historically, science has had a complex relationship with religion; religious doctrines and motivations have sometimes influenced scientific development, while scientific knowledge has had effects on religious beliefs. A common modern view, described by Stephen Jay Gould as "non-overlapping magisteria" (NOMA), is that science and religion deal with fundamentally separate aspects of human experience and so, when each stays within its own domain, they co-exist peacefully

http://www.thehumanist.org/humanist/articles/dawkins.html
Is Science a Religion?
by Richard Dawkins
Published in the Humanist, January/February 1997

Documentation Assignment

• Choose 2 books, 2 newspaper articles, two journal articles, and two websites. These can be anything that interests you. You don't even have to read them.
• Provide a References page listing all your chosen sources following APA format as we discussed in class.
  
• Also provide:
  
• for each paper source, a photocopy showing the title, date of publication, and author's name if available.
• for each online source, the full URL. Copy and paste this. Do not type or write by hand.
• This is due on Monday, March 17.
  

Ark of the Covenant

Mid terms grades etc.

Mid term grades will go in at the end of next week. They will consists of:
summary assignment

1. Essay #1 (revised)
2. In-class essay
3. Editing test

If you haven't completed any one of these assignments, expect a failing grade on your mid-term report. Keep in mind, however, that the majority of the grades are loaded on the last half of the course, so that anybody who is failing at midterms should have no trouble passing, assuming they get their work in.

The editing test will be the last half of the class on Monday. It will cover various issues that we've discussed in class, namely:

1. Run-on sentences
2. Comma splices
3. Fragments
   
4. Use & misuse of apostrophes
5. Misplaced modifiers
6. Subject-verb agreement
7. Number and pronoun agreement

Here are some practice questions, which we'll take up on Monday before the test. Correct the sentences below including all instances of singular they, their, etc. Every sentence has at least one problem. There are no spelling mistakes--it's all grammar & punctuation.

1. A coalition of neighbourhood organizations, students, and unions are currently forming to oppose the university's proposed plan.
2. A typical poem by Emily Dickinson leaves the reader searching for another line or even another stanza to satisfy their craving for closure.
3. Although I like my math teacher, I never understood it.
4. By paying too much attention to polls can make a political leader unwilling to propose innovative policies.
5. Even though he had the better arguments and was by far the more powerful speaker.
6. He follows the same principles of good vs. evil that is found in superhero comics.
7. He worked out more, practiced harder on skating, and a better puck handler.
8. Humber offers many majors in engineering. Such as electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering.
9. I acquired my considerable fortune by investing carefully, hard work and marrying a rich woman.
10. I need to find a new roommate. Because the one I have now isn't working out too well.
11. If a child is denied the opportunity to play, how can they develop emotionally and physically?
12. In many projects and school assignments or reports employees may have to write for their employers may often have to include factual information.
13. In today’s society, a woman can have the ability and freedom of being completely honest.
14. Justin is not an ordinary person and neither are his stories.
15. Most teens like to have a rush or a thrill to see if they can get away with it. For example, the thrill of trying marijuana.
16. Participation and public education is necessary in a true democracy.
17. She was looking for an alternative to challenge and boost her energy levels.
18. Small class sizes and low student population means few opportunities to meet new people.
19. Stereotyping and the use of degrading language in the book serves to reinforce its theme.
20. We can either drive to the Grand Canyon or we're flying to Japan.
21. When one doesn’t know the answer, you should be honest and say so.
22. With the ultimate effect of all advertising is to sell the product.
23. Working far into the night in an effort to prepare for her editing test.

Idiom Shortage Leaves Nation All Sewed Up In Horse Pies

The Onion has a great article about the ongoing idiom shortage.

APA Style

Here's the powerpoint file.

Student Writing Contest

The College Association for Language and Literacy is holding its annual writing contest. Prizes are:

1. $500
2. $200
3. $100

Categories are:

1. Business writing - Reports or Journalistic Articles
2. Academic Essay with sources
3. Creative writing - Poetry and Song Lyrics
4. Creative writing - Short stories, personal essays, scripts

Maximum 1000 words per submission.
Deadline: April 25, 2008

Final exam readings

The readings for the final exam have been decided. They will be "Dot-com this!" by Stephanie Nolen from The Globe and Mail, Aug 28, 2000. pg. R.1. This is in the course textbook, Writing by Choice. You can also get it through the library's online databases: Canadian Newsstand: Major Dailies ProQuest. The second article, also available in the textbook and online, is "Peer mediation as an alternative to the criminal justice system" by June Maresca from Child and Family Canada, fall, 1996.

The first thing you should do is read both of them carefully. One of them is full of crap inaccurate claims. Which one is it and what are the claims? Once you've read them, you should think about what kind of topics will be on the exam. These will be stated like this:

"Argue that ... should OR should not .... Be sure to support your answer with specific reasons and examples."

Have a good break.

Debate feedback

Thanks again to everyone who debated yesterday! Please remember to post your sources to the blog.

Remember, these are simply observations, not criticisms. Both debates were well fought. I hope these comments will help improve future debates.

Debate #1
For

• The debate began with an extended discussion of a particular example of a class using a blog and various other technological innovations in one class. It's good to use sources, and there were some useful and appropriate quotes & ideas that came out of this one, but:
• There was too much reliance on this one example, which may not be representative.
• The article was said to have come from "the newspaper", which is vague. Be specific: e.g., "an article recently published in the Toronto Star."
• There were lots of claims about what was being achieved because of technology, but there was no evidence to back up those claims.
  
• There were some other good stats there, such as >90% of schools are connected to the net.
• There was talk about "building communities". This is a buzz word. You need to think carefully about using buzz words because some readers will find the cliche annoying.

Against

• Had three strong points:
  
• distractions such as facebook
  
• information may not be well source
• opportunity for cheating
• These points were well argued with personal examples. That's fine, but again, systematic data from a reputable source will be more convincing than personal examples.

For

• Addressed the issue of distractions, but failed to mention the other points.
• You need to be prepared to answer your critics' arguments so that you're not caught off guard. Imagine what they'll say and prepare your defense.

Debate #2
For

• The debate started with a blistering list of reasons. This can sometimes be an effective debate tactic, but it is NOT effective in writing where you should limit your number of main points and hopefully choose them so that they seem to belong together.
• Ended up with a few stats, but they were mostly informational rather than supportive. For example, they gave the number of kids with ADD. That's great, but it doesn't show us that technology actually helps any of those kids.
  

Against

• This side took a similar strategy, though they expanded a little more on their reasons, which is always a good thing to do.
• The didn't actually come out and say it, but they suggested that use of technology would mean no personal instruction. This strategy could go either way.
  
• They used emotive language like, "just electronic waves", which can be useful, although it shouldn't be the basis for your arguments.
• Some personal examples, but not much research to back things up.
• Said, "You can restrict access to the internet during tests to avoid cheating, but such barriers can be overcome." This is a good preemptive strike.

For

• They started out by clarifying that they're not talking about the extreme position of getting rid of teachers that the against side was hinting at. Scored some good points here.
• Addressed a number of the other against points too.
• Failed to sum up.
  

Against

• They began by challenging the validity of the claims and asking if they could be backed up. They suggested that the examples were not representative. This is a very strong tactic.
• Introduced a new argument: people are getting lazier because of technology. This is not the best time to introduce a new point.
• Failed to sum up.
  

Debates

In the future, just do a search for them and you'll find them. They're here.

HI

Hi Professor,
Who is debating tomorrow..... and what the topic?

Essays

I'm still missing a lot of essays. If you know anyone who hasn't handed theirs in, please, bug them to talk to me.

Monday's class

In the first part of the class, we discussed evidence and hedging. In the second half, we did an in-class summary worth 5% of your final grade. If you missed this, you need to see me about making it up in the test centre or in my office. Makeups will be graded no higher than 60%.

Essays

Your first essay is due today (Thursday, February 7). So far, I have received only 5.

Global Warming With U.S Former V.P.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M67Ce-i-PPQ&feature=related

George Bush on Global Warming

Hello Sir!

Hello sir i don`t think i can make it today, i am stuck. so can we postpond the debate dates please?.

NO GO

Right now, I'm stuck at home. The roads here haven't been plowed and I can't get through. I'll post a new message if the situation changes.

UPDATE: It's 9:35 and the road here still haven't been plowed. It's looking like we'll have no class today. Check back here around noon.

Handouts from Monday

Sorry, I should have had these up a couple of days ago:

1. The handout showing how much you need to change text in paraphrase and how to give full attribution.
2. The textbook section and the related summary example.
3. The in-class summary assignment. Note that you should read this before Monday Feb, 11.
   

Edit example

Here are two edited versions of the essay that I asked you to edit last week. The first one shows all the changes that have been made. Anything in red italics has been added. The deleted material is written in red and struck out. I tried to base the essay on the original and keep as much of it as I could, but it was very difficult and the result is probably not as good as if I had just started from scratch.

The second version only shows the final material, but it uses different colours to show how the various themes flow through the essay.

Debate analysis

We had two good debates today. There was obviously a good deal of thought and research that went into them. Here are some points that you could take up if you're going to write your essay about tasers. I've tried to focus on how to counter particular arguments. There are also tactical pointers for people in future debates.

Debate 1: For team

1. tasers are "given" to police forces:
   Taser is a company there to make money. They charge as much as they can for their weapons. Police forces have to pay for them by using tax money.
2. many tasers are used therefore they are useful:
   Many McDonald's hamburgers are sold, but that doesn't make them healthy.
3. acknowledged that tasers can be dangerous, but...:
   This was an effective technique that took the wind out of the other team's sails.
4. largest independent study to date shows...:
   This is very specific and powerful. In general, new studies are better than old, large is better than small, and independent is better than company funded.
5. Not an alternative to guns: an alternative to batons & pepper spray:
   This argument reframes the debate. It makes tasers look less dangerous and could catch the other team unprepared. It On the other hand, it could be seen as a bit dishonest because when the police have been asking for tasers, they've specifically argued that they would be an alternative to guns.
6. Police can't help it if the person has a preexisting condition that makes them more susceptible to tasers:
   The law doesn't allow this argument in an assault. That is, if I punch somebody with force that wouldn't kill a normal person, but this person has a thin skull and I kill them, I'm on the hook for their death.

Debate 1: against team

1. studies show:
   This is too vague. Which study? How big was it? When? Who did it?
2. Compared number of firearms deaths with # of taser deaths (similar numbers):
   Brings some perspective and challenges the idea that tasers are safer than guns. In other words, a gun may kill 50% of the times (I'm just making up the numbers) and a taser only 3%, but if tasers are used 20 times more often than guns, then they'll kill just as many people.
   
3. Police are untrained. Police can be "blinded" to potential harm:
   This reframes the debate away from the technical side of tasers to the messy personal side of human nature, something that the for side will have more trouble addressing. It also brings in an emotional element: It's not just that the police "don't realize"; they're actually "blinded" by the taser.
4. The Polish man in Vancouver "didn't even speak English":
   More emotion here. Emotion can be powerful in an argument, but you have to be careful not to be dishonest in its use.

Debate 2: for team

1. Many law enforcement officers were tested:
   Easily countered by saying that these people are some of our fittest people. What happens when used on average people?
2. Safe when used properly (Tasers don't kill people. People kill people):
   But there's no guarantee they will be used safely. This is not just a debate about tasers, but about ALL police having them. Don't leave police out of the equation.
   
3. Used only 60 times a year & saved 4000 lives:
   The numbers look impressive, but the math doesn't work. Tasers have been around for 9 years. 60 times 9 is only 540. How did this save 4000 lives?
4. If somebody were trying to harm me, I'd use a taser:
   But there's lots of evidence that tasers are used to get compliance rather than to avoid harm.
5. Alternative to baton, not guns (see above)

Debate 2: against team

1. Used narrative about Polish man in Vancouver.
   Narrative went on too long and drifted off course. Other team could say it's not representative.
2. After the extended example, just switched approaches:
   You need to tell people the point of the example: so what?
   
3. Used a lot of emotion (see above)
4. A bit flat in delivery:
   If you show some passion, you'll seem more believable.
5. Repeated own point about epileptics:
   When you repeat yourself it looks like you don't have enough arguments.
   

More editing

You may do the following individually or in groups: By Monday, February 4th, look at the following student essay make any needed comments or corrections. As before, you'll have time in class to compare notes and then we'll discuss it as a group.

1. Copy edit it looking for:
   
1. run-on sentences
2. fragments
3. Missing or misused apostrophes
4. Commas, especially after prepositional phrases or before coodinators
   
5. Subject-verb agreement issues
6. Any sentence that is grammatically or or hard to understand
2. Make suggestions on overall structure:
1. suggest removing anything that is off topic
2. suggest alternative points
3. where there is no clear transition from one point to the next, suggest some link or a more logical order
3. Make suggestions about support
1. Note where support is lacking
2. Note where support is given but it is inappropriate

Education: Good Grades, Bad System

Since the beginning of time academics such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Socrates proved to be ahead of their time with the inventions and philosophies of the world. They always opted for free universal education so everyone may better understand the way things work and grow. Back then as now education was reserved for only the privileged. The upper class who society felt deserved to know the workings of the world. Regarding the current aspect of education there are only two types of students who are able to go to post secondary education, students that can afford the fees and students who are geniuses or athletic stars and receive scholarships for the academic or athletic capability. College and university education should be available to all who wish to learn, not just those with good grades.

Children and the elderly are the two least important peoples in societys eyes. This is for the reason that they do not fit into the category of what is known as a “productive citizen”. Meaning that someone who is considered meaningful to society is one that makes contributions (makes money and puts it back into the economy). At this point in time there are high prerequisites for a great deal of jobs. Certain degrees that can only be obtain by going to college or university. However there are also strict prerequisites to get into these facilities. You generally need good grades to be accepted into school but also must have the money to pay for the education. The government does not comprehend the fact that if education was more open and everyone, even people with not so good grades but were eager to learn could make a huge difference in society. There would be more doctors, nurses, lawyers, social workers and much more. There should be no restriction regarding grades or money, that’s unfair and unjust.

As a child I never had to fight for anything like food, shelter, clothes or protection from family. There are more children in this country then can be fathomed that deal with these issues day in and day out. Trapped in a vicious cycle with little incentive to break free from what they know best. Education is the key for all people to empower themselves. It would serve to be a great incentive for kids and teens that are trapped in domestic violence and poverty. These factors generally inhibit and discourage from even choosing to try and achieve a higher form of education, the fact that there are other factors like money and grade prerequisites are not even fathomable to these young adults.

My father came to Canada from Scotland by demand from several companies requesting his expertise in his area. When he came he was treated as if he was a refugee, they required numerous references and prerequisites and even made him take further courses just to work here. Immigrants have potential to be extremely beneficial to certain countries that lack people for a certain area of expertise. However in Canada we have an overwhelming amount of immigrants in schools based on the fact that they can pay the doubled tuition. There are very few programs that offer a generous scholarship offer for people coming from another country. There are tests and more prerequisites set in place to ensure that they only allow “smart” kids into the schools. This takes away from the kids who perhaps learn in a different way then what is taught or tested. People with intellect but cannot excel at tests or have the financial support cannot receive a formal college or university education, this takes away from the amount of productive citizens we could have in society.

Education should be free for everyone. The opportunity to learn should be available to anyone regardless of income, color, home country, domestic situation and grades. Iran has free college and university education and they are expanding at an astonishing rate because there are very few restricting factors which inhibit anyone from achieving a higher form of knowledge. That should be a shining example of how this country is suffocating people who could potentially save lives one day, find a cure for illness or even speed up the line at the DMV. College and university education should not only be for people with good grades, but for everyone.

Out-of-class Essay

Remember that your first out-of-class essay is due by Thursday, February 7. It should be on one of the following topics:

1. Student tuition fees risen much faster than inflation over the last 10 years. Students typically oppose any such increases suggesting that high tuition costs are preventing students from getting the education they need. In contrast, the college and the government of Ontario typically argue that without such increases, the quality of education will suffer.
   Argue that tuition should OR should not be free for all students
2. Recently the issue of tasers has been discussed extensively in the news. The police argue that they use tasers regularly in dangerous situations where a gun might otherwise be used with lethal consequences. On the other side we have deaths such as the of Robert Dziekanski or the famous “don’t tase me bro” incident, both available for viewing on YouTube.
   Argue that sasers should OR should not be standard equipment for front-line police officers.
3. Environmental concerns and global warming in particular have become very hot issues.
   Argue that we as a society should deal with this issue through legislation OR through technology OR through personal change. If you don't agree with any of those, argue for some other solution.
   

Outlines

Here's a bad example, and here's a better one. These two outlines relate to the debate on tuition.

Debate wrap up

Today we had our first debate. Thanks to those who went first. It's always difficult to be the first, but thanks to you we now have a better idea about what is expected.

For next Monday, everyone should bring to class an outline (printed or handwritten) of a potential essay related to the topic of tuition fees. Your outline should have at least as much detail as the example in this powerpoint file. The topic for your outline is:

Student tuition fees risen much faster than inflation over the last 10 years. Students typically oppose any such increases suggesting that high tuition costs are preventing students from getting the education they need. In contrast, the college and the government of Ontario typically argue that without such increases, the quality of education will suffer.
FOR: Tuition should be free for all students

As always, if you don't understand something or are having a problem, contact me and we'll try to sort it out.

Today's debate

Today's debaters should post their sources here. Please, note that two sources have already been posted as comments to this post.

APA style

We'll be looking at APA style in class on Feb 25, but if you need to use it for any papers before then, you can check out this website that creates the reference for you.

Class Schedule

Finally, I've completed a week-by-week class schedule. You can view it here.

Monday's class

We started out with a discussion of coordinators and coordination, which we contrasted with subordination. We also looked at some sentence adverbs. Working from this, we talked about how to find run-on sentences and comma splices. The powerpoint file is here.

Note that most books use the traditional terms coordinating conjunction & subordinating conjunction. I find these ideas to be too vague as they mix together a variety of different kinds of words including prepositions.

After that we discussed how to improve this essay. Here's a file with my edits and comments. Have a look at it and let me know if there's anything you don't understand.

As usual, if you need any help understanding the assignments, getting scheduled for debates, accessing the various file, or paying off your car loan, let me know (I'll listen sympathetically to the car-loan thing.) Don't be shy.

Debate Schedule

The debate schedule is here. Up this Thursday are Phelicia & Able (for) vs. Robin & Marcio (against) with Joe & Sabrina as backups (remember, backups should be ready to argue for either side.)

You'll notice that for most dates there's only one debate scheduled. That's because only 19 people have signed up so far. If you would prefer a different day and can fill a debate (that is get enough people for both sides), send me an e-mail and I'll try to accommodate you, but I can't promise it will work out.

Also, if there's only one debate scheduled on your day and everyone would prefer to debate individually, we can split it into two individual debates instead of one team debate.

Leave a comment or e-mail me if any of this isn't clear. Topics are posted below:

1. Jan 24: Student tuition fees risen much faster than inflation over the last 10 years. Students typically oppose any such increases suggesting that high tuition costs are preventing students from getting the education they need. In contrast, the college and the government of Ontario typically argue that without such increases, the quality of education will suffer.
   FOR: Tuition should be free for all students
   
2. Jan 31: Recently the issue of tasers has been discussed extensively in the news. The police argue that they use tasers regularly in dangerous situations where a gun might otherwise be used with lethal consequences. On the other side we have deaths such as the of Robert Dziekanski or the famous “don’t tase me bro” incident, both available for viewing on YouTube.
   FOR: Tasers should be standard equipment for front line police officers.
3. Feb 7: Environmental concerns and global warming in particular have become very hot issues.
   FOR: We as a society should deal with this issue through legislation.
4. Feb 14: First there were stories. The stories eventually were written down becoming books. In the early 20th century, technology led to the beginning of movies. Then there was TV and now the Internet.
   FOR: Schools, being traditional institutions, should decrease their focus on older media.
5. Feb 28: Different sports allow different equipment and as the equipment improves, athletes achieve better and better results. Recently, Oscar Pistorius, an amputee sprinter who uses prosthetic feet has been denied the chance to compete in the Olympic games because his prosthetics are said to give him an unfair advantage.
   FOR: Disabled people like Pistorius should be allowed to compete as regular athletes in the Olympic games.
6. March 13: The power of organised religion, especially in Western society, began to decline hundreds of years ago. As religion became less important, however, science was blossoming. Today, some scientists such as Richard Dawkins argue that religion is harmful and should be done away with. Others contend that the average person has simply shifted blind faith in religion to blind faith in science.
   FOR: Science is simply a different kind of religion.
7. March 20: It is a commonly repeated truism that power corrupts. Examples can be seen among teachers, police, and politicians. But there are powerful people who a deeply respected and have never been tainted by a hint of corruption.
   FOR: Power does have a strong corrupting influence.
   

For your editing pleasure

Please, copy the following text to a text editor (such as Google Docs) and edit as needed. Your group can edit content, grammar, vocabulary or whatever you think is needed. Complete it before class on Tuesday. You can SHARE it with me, send it to me by e-mail, or print it out and give it to me in class.

Topic: Choose one advertising medium and explain why it is better than other media.

The Strengths of Newspaper Advertising

A wide range of people start their day off by having breakfast and reading their community newspaper as part of their daily routine. As a local retail or national based company using newspapers to advertise is one of the most convenient and effective ways to reach their target audience.
More people read the newspaper at a time that is pleasurable for them than any other medium, making them more susceptible to the advertisements within.
Newspaper advertising generates some of the highest amounts of “frequency” out of all types of advertising. In the advertising industry “frequency” is one of the two key elements strived for when marketing a product. Most homes get a newspaper delivered to their house for free or by subscription either daily or weekly. Inside the household a newspaper can be read numerous times by different members of the family as it is referred back to during the week, increasing the frequency. This is a strong point for the newspaper medium because the more times an individual sees an ad greatly increases the chance of a sale which makes for a successful campaign.
“Reach” is the other key element to consider when advertising. A newspaper’s circulation is audited by the government and has proves the audience’s socio-economic, lifestyle and psychographic group information. Companies looking to advertise to a specific target audience knowing this information can be very helpful for an effective campaign.
Smaller companies normally start out with newspaper advertising and there are a lot of advantages to this. It is the cheapest way to advertise. A smaller company can try advertising for the first time with newspapers only to watch their company grow and then proceed to advertising with other mediums. Usually still combined with newspaper advertisements because it is so effective. It is safe for a smaller company to advertise with newspapers because not much money will be lost if the campaign is unsuccessful.
Newspapers have a huge advantage over other mediums such as television and magazines when it comes to short lead-time. This means that a company can purchase an ad in a newspaper the day prior and have it printed in the next edition. Television and magazines have long lead-time averaging 3 weeks to a month and is very expensive. In a competitive market newspaper advertising because of the short lead-time is substantially rewarding. For example, when there’s a snowstorm in the local forecast a hardware store could issue an ad for snow blowers, perfectly timed for when the storm hits. Newspaper advertising also allows for companies to stay competitive with other stores. If another store is having a weekend sale a rival store can quickly issue an ad to stay completive.
Newspapers allow a company to advertise with extensive detail in their long copy. This is where a company can explain using many words and pictures explaining delicate details about their product. Long copy can include legalities or information on how to use the product. By doing this companies are increasing the chance of a sale by making the product more familiar to the consumer.
As a new retail, or established company newspapers remain to be one of the best ways to advertise because of its significant advantages over other mediums. Newspapers are a major part of many people’s everyday lifestyle and are incorporated into their lives as leisure daily. As a company advertising newspapers are the best way to get the greatest reach and frequency hitting your specific target audience with great detail quickly and effectively.

Thursday's class

Review
Today, everyone signed up for debate slots. If you were absent, please e-mail me, and I'll send you the sign-up sheet. I'll post the debate schedule here by Saturday.

Then we looked at the robbery descriptions. (My own version is here.) A few things I pointed out were:

1. Stay consistent with your tense (it can be past or present, but don't jump between them).
2. Organise your description logically.
   
3. Avoid fancy vocabulary (like brandish) when you're not sure what it means. Either look it up, or use a simpler word.
4. Watch out for sentence fragments ("frag"; more info and exercises here, here, or here)
5. Also watch out for subject-verb agreement errors ("SVA"; see here, here, or here)
6. Finally, make sure you've got your apostrophes in the right places.

Homework

• Follow the instructions in this post.
• Next Thursday, we'll be debating college tuition costs. In preparation, check out the Rae Report pp 18-24, with a focus on the last two pages. Also, have a look at a number of relevant links from the website of the Canadian Federation of Students.

Robbery Discription

The following is a description of a video of a convenience store robbery in which a man with a gun directs two store employees to an area off camera, takes something from them, and then presumably leaves the store.

The robber is black, about the same height as the taller of the two employees. He’s wearing a black baseball cap with a silver or light-coloured decal on the front. The cap is being worn over the hood of a gray zip-up sweatshirt. Also over the sweatshirt, he has a dark-brown or black bomber-style leather jacket. The drawstring of the sweatshirt hangs out below the jacket. He’s wearing blue-jeans and black shoes. In his left hand, he carries a pistol, perhaps a revolver.

As the video begins, the robber, who seems calm throughout, directs one of the employees into the cash area. Following the employee, he puts a long, thin, white object, likely a cigarette, into his mouth with his right hand. He pauses at the entrance to the cash area and waits for the second employee to come from another part of the store. In a few seconds, the second employee enters the cash area followed by the robber. As he enters, the employee turns toward the cash register in the foreground of the scene, but the robber indicates that he should join the other employee, who has moved off-screen to the right, away from the two visible cash registers. The employee complies and the robber follows him, ignoring the two cash registers.

After standing at the right edge of the screen for about 20 seconds, the robber heads back towards the exit, putting something that might be cash into his right front pocket. He leaves the cash area and exits at the bottom of the screen, heading to the right of the screen. Once he is gone, the employees reach under the counter. One picks up a phone and dials it. The entire incident lasts about a minute and a half.

-Brett

Sending stuff by e-mail

Whenever you send something to me by e-mail:

1. Assume I have not received it unless you get a reply from me.
2. Send your writing in the body of an e-mail, not as an attached document. I have trouble opening some documents, especially from the most recent version of Windows Office.
3. Include COMM 200 in the subject line of your e-mail.

Thanks!

Week of Jan 14th

Here's the grammar portion of the class, a powerpoint about parts of speech (nouns & verbs).

In class, watch the following video and take notes. Then write up your rough notes in paragraph format. Your description will be used in court instead of the video, which cannot be shown for some strange reason. Be as detailed and clear as you can.

For homework, use the Gmail/Hmail document sharing capability to work together to edit your descriptions. When it's as good as you can make it, share the file with me: .

Homework for Monday

Please, write about 200 words explaining what you'd like to get out of this class. You can write it on paper or e-mail it to me at . Don't worry too much about writing style. Just focus on the content.