TOW #25: Dear Parents, You Are Being Lied To

Reading goals: Interesting article, read for the article and not for devices
Writing goals: Interesting intro, smooth transitions

   Only 100 years ago, getting the influenza virus was an immediate death sentence. Merely even a sinus infection could leave someone bed-ridden for a week. Today, when someone comes down with a sinus infection, a few pills for the week and they are on their way. But for many people around the world, the mindset of western medicine is changing. Instead of a push for antibiotics, many are resisting them, opting for more "natural" approaches to cure diseases. Is the Western world pushing for antibiotics too much? Is the resistance beneficial for humans today? Jennifer Raff, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas with a Ph.D. in genetics and anthropology, delves deeper into this debate. Using anaphoras and imperative sentences, Raff takes a stance that antibiotics are necessary for a human's immune system and advises parents to take action to protect their children.
   Raff opens with a series of phrases "They say that..." and follows with arguments made by anti-vaccine activists. She responds with simple clauses such as "But it is," refuting the claims made by anti-vaccine activists. This introduces her stance that everything anti-vaccine activists have said is wrong, and it is disproven by scientific evidence. She quotes a recent saying by an astrophysicist, "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." Despite what the natural-medicaters believe, science is backed up by proven experiments and studies. Studies show the dangerous effects of not getting vaccinated, and the evidence the anti-vaccinaters are using is based merely on opinion and experience. Raff uses this to convince the parents to continue researching the truth to vaccines and their good potentials. She advises for parents to become informed and not listen to anyone except the proven facts.
  As well as anaphoras, Raff uses short, imperative sentences. This makes it easy for the reader to understand what Raff wants them to do. The sentences are clear and to the point of declaring what to do. The sentences are used to tell parents to act for their children, and educate themselves. She mentions specific scientists to listen to, specific studies to look in to, advises for parents to learn about the immune system, and stay up to date with new scientific studies. The use of the declarative sentences creates an easy claim of policy for readers to follow.
  Raff refutes claims made by anti-vaccine activists effectively by using anaphoras, and advises readers to take action by using imperative sentences. Raff supports her purpose that anti-biotics and vaccines are vital for humans to live in this day and age effectively.
 

Intro Post #4: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Sloot

 

Poor, African-American woman named Henrietta Lacks went to the doctor back in the 1950's for a simple sample of her cells to study more about her cervical cancer. That day, the doctor did not just take some cells, he took billions and billions of dollars as well. In 2014, we now know that Ms. Henrietta Lacks had a rare, abnormal cancer cell line. It is still around today known as the HeLa line, responsible in the advancement of the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping and more. Lacks's cells are still around, and can circle around the Earth three times. Although her cells are widely known, her name is not. Her remaining family cannot even afford health care while their mother's cells are circling around the Earth making doctors millionaires. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Sloot goes deep into the bioethical issues of our world today, as well as the story of Henrietta Lacks.

I hope to gain a better understanding of Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cell line, as well as the bioethical issues that our world is currently dealing with.

TOW #24: Volcano Image

Reading Goals: Find a unique picture
Writing Goals: Smooth transitions

    Even after a horrid disaster, beauty has to come from somewhere. Or, the viewer needs to refocus its viewpoint, and look at the situation in a different way. On November 19th, 2012, a monstrous volcano erupted from Mount Sinabung in Sumatra, shooting a 26,247 foot plume into the atmosphere. This picture was taken after the eruption, focusing on a hibiscus flower that just bloomed around ash covered vegetation. The photographer used rule of thirds arrangement and juxtaposition to portray that light will always shine on dark situations.
   The rule of thirds arrangement is a photography term used when a picture is put on a grid, and the subject falls on one of the intersections of the grid line. In this case, with the hibiscus flower being the subject, it falls on the intersection of the upper left grid lines. This draws the viewer's eyes to the subject, while also being aesthetically pleasing. If the flower was placed randomly anywhere in the picture, the picture may not have caught the viewer's eye as well as this one does. While being drawn to the subject, it makes the viewer notice what is going on in the background and around the picture. The viewer will notice that the flower stands out, creating the whole purpose that because the pretty flower is growing out of the dark ash, it can be inferred that good things will come out of bad situations.
    To also draw the viewer's eye to the photograph, the photographer uses juxtaposition to contrast the two colors: the hot pink flower, and the dark, black ash. The use of the juxtaposition creates a contrast of colors and also draws the eye to the bright pink flower. Because the flower is so bright, this shows the bright, pink, pretty flower coming up from the dark ash. The eruption is a horrible natural disaster to have to happen to a country. This photo represents that even after natural disasters, the earth survives from it and continues to live on, even producing beautiful vegetation right after it. If the viewer were to look at the lower right side only, they would not see the subject portraying the goodness coming out of the situation. This can depict that a person can look at bad situations in different ways, but looking at it in a optimistic way can be the best way.
  I think this photograph achieves its purpose well using the rule of thirds and juxtaposition to contrast the colors in the photo. The purpose includes a good moral that everyone should learn. Goodness can come out of any situation, one just has to look for it.