Saturday, April 23, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Week Fourteen
Thesis:
Homelessness is a significant problem in major cities across the country, and despite our best efforts, remains an issue.
Old paragraph:
Unfortunately, despite all their good intentions, programs from different departments and even within the same wings of the same departments sometimes overlap one another, and waste money and effort on providing duplicate services for some and no service for others. Some of these problems are cause by issues as silly as being unable to agree on the definition of 'homeless,' and what services those that are homeless or varying degrees of homeless qualify for. This has not only affects what services can be offered, but also what data can be collected in surveys. For example, if multiple departments sponsor multiple surveys and statistical reports that investigate identical or similar material, then there is no winning situation. If they agree with each other completely, then there was a huge waste of money. If they disagree on every point, then the survey or investigation must be redone by an independent third party, so as to not skew the results, which in the end wastes more money and time. If they agree on some things and disagree on others, then both scenarios come true, and money is still wasted, instead of being spent helping the homeless. This is why the Government Accountability Office is recommending a joint committee between HHS, HUD, and the Department of Education, which would be responsible for coordinating the three and making sure all resources are wisely distributed.
New paragraph:
Unfortunately, despite all their good intentions, programs from different departments sometimes overlap one another, wasting money and effort on providing duplicate services for some and no service for others. Some of these problems are caused by issues as silly as being unable to agree on the definition of ‘homeless,’ and what services those that are homeless qualify for. This has not only affected what services can be offered, but also what data can be collected in surveys. For example, if multiple departments sponsor multiple surveys that investigate identical or similar data trends, then there is no winning situation. If they agree with each other completely, then there was a huge waste of money. If they disagree on every point, then the survey or investigation must be redone by an independent third party, so as to not skew the results, which in the end wastes more money and time. If they agree on some things and disagree on others, then both scenarios come true, and money is still wasted, instead of being spent helping the homeless. That is why the Government Accountability Office is recommending a joint committee between HHS, HUD, and the Department of Education, which would be responsible for coordinating the three and making sure all resources are wisely distributed (Cackley).
Homelessness is a significant problem in major cities across the country, and despite our best efforts, remains an issue.
Old paragraph:
Unfortunately, despite all their good intentions, programs from different departments and even within the same wings of the same departments sometimes overlap one another, and waste money and effort on providing duplicate services for some and no service for others. Some of these problems are cause by issues as silly as being unable to agree on the definition of 'homeless,' and what services those that are homeless or varying degrees of homeless qualify for. This has not only affects what services can be offered, but also what data can be collected in surveys. For example, if multiple departments sponsor multiple surveys and statistical reports that investigate identical or similar material, then there is no winning situation. If they agree with each other completely, then there was a huge waste of money. If they disagree on every point, then the survey or investigation must be redone by an independent third party, so as to not skew the results, which in the end wastes more money and time. If they agree on some things and disagree on others, then both scenarios come true, and money is still wasted, instead of being spent helping the homeless. This is why the Government Accountability Office is recommending a joint committee between HHS, HUD, and the Department of Education, which would be responsible for coordinating the three and making sure all resources are wisely distributed.
New paragraph:
Unfortunately, despite all their good intentions, programs from different departments sometimes overlap one another, wasting money and effort on providing duplicate services for some and no service for others. Some of these problems are caused by issues as silly as being unable to agree on the definition of ‘homeless,’ and what services those that are homeless qualify for. This has not only affected what services can be offered, but also what data can be collected in surveys. For example, if multiple departments sponsor multiple surveys that investigate identical or similar data trends, then there is no winning situation. If they agree with each other completely, then there was a huge waste of money. If they disagree on every point, then the survey or investigation must be redone by an independent third party, so as to not skew the results, which in the end wastes more money and time. If they agree on some things and disagree on others, then both scenarios come true, and money is still wasted, instead of being spent helping the homeless. That is why the Government Accountability Office is recommending a joint committee between HHS, HUD, and the Department of Education, which would be responsible for coordinating the three and making sure all resources are wisely distributed (Cackley).
Week Fourteen
Thesis:
Homelessness is a significant problem in major cities across the country, and despite our best efforts, remains an issue.
Old paragraph:
Unfortunately, despite all their good intentions, programs from different departments and even within the same wings of the same departments sometimes overlap one another, and waste money and effort on providing duplicate services for some and no service for others. Some of these problems are cause by issues as silly as being unable to agree on the definition of 'homeless,' and what services those that are homeless or varying degrees of homeless qualify for. This has not only affects what services can be offered, but also what data can be collected in surveys. For example, if multiple departments sponsor multiple surveys and statistical reports that investigate identical or similar material, then there is no winning situation. If they agree with each other completely, then there was a huge waste of money. If they disagree on every point, then the survey or investigation must be redone by an independent third party, so as to not skew the results, which in the end wastes more money and time. If they agree on some things and disagree on others, then both scenarios come true, and money is still wasted, instead of being spent helping the homeless. This is why the Government Accountability Office is recommending a joint committee between HHS, HUD, and the Department of Education, which would be responsible for coordinating the three and making sure all resources are wisely distributed.
New paragraph:
Unfortunately, despite all their good intentions, programs from different departments sometimes overlap one another, wasting money and effort on providing duplicate services for some and no service for others. Some of these problems are caused by issues as silly as being unable to agree on the definition of ‘homeless,’ and what services those that are homeless qualify for. This has not only affected what services can be offered, but also what data can be collected in surveys. For example, if multiple departments sponsor multiple surveys that investigate identical or similar data trends, then there is no winning situation. If they agree with each other completely, then there was a huge waste of money. If they disagree on every point, then the survey or investigation must be redone by an independent third party, so as to not skew the results, which in the end wastes more money and time. If they agree on some things and disagree on others, then both scenarios come true, and money is still wasted, instead of being spent helping the homeless. That is why the Government Accountability Office is recommending a joint committee between HHS, HUD, and the Department of Education, which would be responsible for coordinating the three and making sure all resources are wisely distributed (Cackley).
Homelessness is a significant problem in major cities across the country, and despite our best efforts, remains an issue.
Old paragraph:
Unfortunately, despite all their good intentions, programs from different departments and even within the same wings of the same departments sometimes overlap one another, and waste money and effort on providing duplicate services for some and no service for others. Some of these problems are cause by issues as silly as being unable to agree on the definition of 'homeless,' and what services those that are homeless or varying degrees of homeless qualify for. This has not only affects what services can be offered, but also what data can be collected in surveys. For example, if multiple departments sponsor multiple surveys and statistical reports that investigate identical or similar material, then there is no winning situation. If they agree with each other completely, then there was a huge waste of money. If they disagree on every point, then the survey or investigation must be redone by an independent third party, so as to not skew the results, which in the end wastes more money and time. If they agree on some things and disagree on others, then both scenarios come true, and money is still wasted, instead of being spent helping the homeless. This is why the Government Accountability Office is recommending a joint committee between HHS, HUD, and the Department of Education, which would be responsible for coordinating the three and making sure all resources are wisely distributed.
New paragraph:
Unfortunately, despite all their good intentions, programs from different departments sometimes overlap one another, wasting money and effort on providing duplicate services for some and no service for others. Some of these problems are caused by issues as silly as being unable to agree on the definition of ‘homeless,’ and what services those that are homeless qualify for. This has not only affected what services can be offered, but also what data can be collected in surveys. For example, if multiple departments sponsor multiple surveys that investigate identical or similar data trends, then there is no winning situation. If they agree with each other completely, then there was a huge waste of money. If they disagree on every point, then the survey or investigation must be redone by an independent third party, so as to not skew the results, which in the end wastes more money and time. If they agree on some things and disagree on others, then both scenarios come true, and money is still wasted, instead of being spent helping the homeless. That is why the Government Accountability Office is recommending a joint committee between HHS, HUD, and the Department of Education, which would be responsible for coordinating the three and making sure all resources are wisely distributed (Cackley).
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Week Twelve
Original:
The idea practice of monogamy has been widely accepted for much of history. Religious figures have always praised it, and cursed those that reject it. Politically, fathers would marry off their daughters for an increase in social status or power. To get the most value out of their daughters, they would ensure that they were still virgins when married, and it was understood that they would only marry once. In fact, the idea of love didn't become widespread until the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century. That is less than 200 years ago that people actually started to marry for reasons other than money and status. At the time, this was a huge deal for the fathers, who didn't want their daughters to marry some poor farm boy, but rather someone with money to make them richer. But as with all major shifts in thinking, people come to accept the change over time, and now we have certain days set aside in the year to spend with the poor farm boy your dad told you now to hang around.
Revised:
The idea practice of monogamy has been widely accepted for much of history. Religious figures have always praised it, and cursed those that reject it. Politically, fathers would marry off their daughters for an increase in social status or power. To get the most value out of their daughters, they would ensure that they were still virgins when married, and it was understood that they would only marry once. In fact, the idea of love didn't become widespread until the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century. That is less than 200 years ago that people actually started to marry for reasons other than money and status. At the time, this was a huge deal for the fathers, who didn't want their daughters to marry some poor farm boy, but rather someone with money to make them richer. But as with all major shifts in thinking, people come to accept the change over time, and now we have certain days set aside in the year to spend with the poor farm boy your dad told you now to hang around.
Revised:
The
practice of monogamy has been widely accepted for much of history. Religious
figures have always praised it, and cursed those that reject it (patriarchywebsite.com). Historically, daughters
were viewed as a valuable business commodity. Seeing as how daughters were less
useful as physical laborers than sons were, and couldn’t carry on the family
name, fathers would marry off their daughters for an increase in social status
or power. To get the highest value from their daughters, they would ensure that
they were still virgins when married, and they would only marry once. In fact,
the idea of love didn’t become widespread until the Industrial Revolution. Less
than 200 years ago that people actually started to marry for reasons other than
money and status (hirr.hartsem.edu). At the time, this of the upmost importance
for fathers, who didn’t want their daughters to marry some poor farm boy, but rather
someone with money to make them richer. But as with all major shifts in
thinking, people came to accept the change over time, and now we have certain
days set aside in the year to spend with your significant other.
Speaking of Valentine’s Day, you might be surprised as to
how unromantic the roots of this holiday truly are. From as early as 600 BC,
Romans practiced a festival in which men drew the names of teenage girls from a
box. Whoevers name they drew would be their sexual partner for the following
year, until the next festival (wilstar.com). All that has changed is now
instead of pulling a name out of a box, we buy a card and some flowers, or go
out to a nice dinner before enjoying copious amounts of sex.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Week Ten
I would highly recommend 'A Modest Proposal' by Jonathon Swift to anyone looking for a good read. Regardless of whether it is required for a class or not, it is an entertaining piece of literature all on its own. Part of what makes it such an entertaining read is how successful it is. This success is drawn from an excellent understanding of a few key points in every proposal.
The first key point to include in any proposal is to identify the problem you are proposing a solution for. Swift very clearly identifies the problem: starvation in Ireland and the overbearing English. This problem is very near and dear to his audience, so there is not much he has to do to get the readers attention.
The second thing Swift does is to state his solution. Now he doesn't just come out and say it simply, but leads you into it with small steps, each one only a little less likable than the last. This allows you to keeping reading long after a more upfront approach would have failed. This helps to connect to the third most important thing, which is show why your proposal is better than any other. Swift shows that the sale and subsequent consumption of babies would benefit all involved, save the babies themselves. The decrease in population, the increase in the income of the poor, the increase in the food and clothing available for the rich, are all good arguments he uses to support his proposal.
The fourth important thing in any proposal is to be able to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposal. Swift uses something that would seem like science to determine the exact age and size for a child to be properly harvested. His exact specifications and manipulation of language provide ample reason why this is feasible.
The first key point to include in any proposal is to identify the problem you are proposing a solution for. Swift very clearly identifies the problem: starvation in Ireland and the overbearing English. This problem is very near and dear to his audience, so there is not much he has to do to get the readers attention.
The second thing Swift does is to state his solution. Now he doesn't just come out and say it simply, but leads you into it with small steps, each one only a little less likable than the last. This allows you to keeping reading long after a more upfront approach would have failed. This helps to connect to the third most important thing, which is show why your proposal is better than any other. Swift shows that the sale and subsequent consumption of babies would benefit all involved, save the babies themselves. The decrease in population, the increase in the income of the poor, the increase in the food and clothing available for the rich, are all good arguments he uses to support his proposal.
The fourth important thing in any proposal is to be able to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposal. Swift uses something that would seem like science to determine the exact age and size for a child to be properly harvested. His exact specifications and manipulation of language provide ample reason why this is feasible.
10 Questions
I will be investigating alternatives to monogamy in the traditional sense. I will be focusing on the following questions:
1. What are the traditional expectations of a couple, especially in marriage, and how have they been failing recently? How widespread of a problem is this?
2. What are the benefits to a healthy relationship? What are the consequences of an unhealthy one?
3. What are the current solutions to a failing relationship?
4. How are expectations in relationships changing?
5. What are the alternatives to monogamy? How feasible are these alternatives?
6. What is the best alternative? Why?
7. How does one implement said alternative?
8. What's the difference between fear of commitment and a rejection of monogamy?
9. What are the effects of a change? What are the effects of no change?
1. What are the traditional expectations of a couple, especially in marriage, and how have they been failing recently? How widespread of a problem is this?
2. What are the benefits to a healthy relationship? What are the consequences of an unhealthy one?
3. What are the current solutions to a failing relationship?
4. How are expectations in relationships changing?
5. What are the alternatives to monogamy? How feasible are these alternatives?
6. What is the best alternative? Why?
7. How does one implement said alternative?
8. What's the difference between fear of commitment and a rejection of monogamy?
9. What are the effects of a change? What are the effects of no change?
Monday, March 21, 2011
Week Nine and Three Quarters
Nuclear Power
The world is quickly falling into an energy crisis. Coal and oil sources are drying up at an alarming rate, and finding new veins is becoming increasingly more expensive and difficult. One power source that continues to advance it's technology and increase efficiency is nuclear energy. I am in full support of construction of additional nuclear power plants. Unfortunately, with the current Japanese nuclear crisis, nuclear energies negative stigmatism will undoubtedly increase.
Monogamy? No thank you!
One of the most commonly accepted practices in modern society is monogamy. This is truly terrible. Why should honest, hormone-driven people be forced to have sex with just one person at a time? I can understand living with just one person for the purpose of raising children, but if you want to go out and have an enjoyable evening with someone, why not?
Infrastructure
The current state of the United States infrastructure is a sad one indeed. Interstate highways, electrical lines, and urban plumbing are all at least 60 years old, and one of the least-funded budget items. I believe more of the budget should be directed towards maintaining our own country.
The world is quickly falling into an energy crisis. Coal and oil sources are drying up at an alarming rate, and finding new veins is becoming increasingly more expensive and difficult. One power source that continues to advance it's technology and increase efficiency is nuclear energy. I am in full support of construction of additional nuclear power plants. Unfortunately, with the current Japanese nuclear crisis, nuclear energies negative stigmatism will undoubtedly increase.
Monogamy? No thank you!
One of the most commonly accepted practices in modern society is monogamy. This is truly terrible. Why should honest, hormone-driven people be forced to have sex with just one person at a time? I can understand living with just one person for the purpose of raising children, but if you want to go out and have an enjoyable evening with someone, why not?
Infrastructure
The current state of the United States infrastructure is a sad one indeed. Interstate highways, electrical lines, and urban plumbing are all at least 60 years old, and one of the least-funded budget items. I believe more of the budget should be directed towards maintaining our own country.
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