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...