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.