Peer Review Reflection

At first I thought my essay was not up to par and needed a lot of work, but the two students who reviewed the essay left very positive compliments and other great ways to improve on the paper. The structure could use a few more paragraphs defending the thesis but I was told that I am moving in a good direction. The essay really just needs to be reorganized and a few more ideas need to be added in order to tie the whole essay together.

Constructing a Questionaire

How much do you think television networks like nbc, fox, and abc infuence American society?
Is it profitable for television networks to spend so much for large NFL contracts? Why?
Do you think a shift from basic channels to cable channels will affect the viewership of the games?
How much does the average televeision station cost to remain keep up the day to day tasks of bringing viewers their daily entertainment?

Open-ended Process

The injuries which occur in football are a very serious matter for the players involved in the game. These players must try to achieve success in the midst of so much unruly play. Often players try to make hit on each other which will place them in the minds of many, but this comes at risk of injuring a fellow player. These tactics to take a person out of a game are not sportsman like but it is what football has come to. Often players are taught to hit the opposing player as hard as humanly possible in order to get the ball from the opposing players. This eventually causes major injuries like concussions and other possible season ending injuries.
The intensity of play is not what is wrong with the sport instead the intent of most of the players is very troubling. Many players try to take the opposing player out of the game in order to create an advantage or simply crush the player when the opportunity comes. These acts are what make the game so dangerous.

Do Parents Matter Reponse

Throughout this essay Gladwell was able to use some what credible sources. There was a good use of citation throughout the essay including his reference to Judith Rich Harris's explanation of the relation between children and their family explaining how "adolescents aren't trying to be like adults, they are trying to contrast themselves with adults". Gladwell is also able to bring many sources into his essay but at the same time they are not completely defined. In one area he defines his source as "a series of careful and comprehensive studies behavioral geneticists have concluded", which at a glance seems to be credible but he never actually defines what group specifically. This leaves him with a lot of room to use the information as he pleases making his work not too credible.
As a whole the piece was very intriguing because of the way it challenged modern beliefs of personality traits and how they are acquired. I have always believed that ones personality come from his interaction with their parents or siblings. This idea is visible even within my family, because many times I have realized that both of my parents resemble their parents in the way they go about certain tasks and believe the house should be run. My father is very reserved but can be very stern and straight forward when it comes to day to day tasks. My mother on the other hand likes to be open about her day to day events no matter good or bad. While growing up I began to see similarities with the way my grandparents acted.
In all the idea of a completely horizontal or vertical style of acquiring ones personality cannot be completely true. There has to be a mix of the two. Children form a general idea of how they are suppose to act and their moral background from their parents. Other characteristics like their level of humor and ability to reach out to others depends on their interaction with their peers.

Pt. 2
McKeag, Dougalas B. "Football Players Need Several Days to Recover From a Concussion."Neuroskills.com. Centre for neuro skills, 5 Sept. 2002. Web. 1 Mar. 2010.
This site would be very helpful for my research paper. It takes a major injury which I am trying to fo.
cus on and helps to explain the effects and problems that result from the injury. The article explains in detail what a patient needs to do if they suffer from a concussion.

"Saints and Colts Injury Report." Nfl.com. Ed. Greg Downing. NFL, 7 Feb. 2010. Web. 1 Mar. 2010.
This reference seems to be very legitmate considering it is based on a site with that takes a lot of effort to put forth correct information. This was found on the official organizations website. It could be very helpful to my research because it gives a detailed analysis of injuries on both teams. This data gives me an idea about what type of injuries are occurring and how often they are occurring.

Michael, Edgar. "Tackling Rugby Injuries." Wesclark.com. The Lancet, 10 July 1995. Web. 2 Mar. 2010.

This site is very helpful because it explains the different types of injuries that occur when players come into contact during a tackle. The article helps to explain the popularity and how athletes need to stay in the game longer by avoiding dangerous tackles.

Response to "Java Man"

Malcolm Gladwell's description of the progression of caffeine in western culture helps to portray its effect on the cultures in the world. By starting of and describing the way Coca-Cola was started Gladwell was able to grab my attention because it is a topic I am familiar with. Gladwell went on to tell of the "commercial artist named Haddon Sundblom" and the scheme he used to put Coke in the limelight created "caffeine for children" which finally placed Coke in the homes of Americans and made it a household item.

Other interesting connections between caffeine and society occurred when cafes would bring "thinker's" together to drink and eventually discuss many different social and political occurrences. A very significant cafe which was of interest to me was the cafe de la regence, where many of the individuals we study today including Robespierre, Napoleon, and Voltaire just to name a few would lounge about and discuss different topics. This all resulted from caffeine and its inclusion in the types of drink which people had for leisure.

Instead of merely stating the facts about caffeine and using sources to prove these facts, he takes an entirely different and intriguing background study to tie the paper together. On the other hand the argument seems to place too much responsibility in the hands of an object as simple as coffee. The stimulant is used to wake up those who are tired and are struggling through their day but it in no way brings out the intellect of individuals. The many people who were brought up in the essay were of great importance because their ability to problem solve and give individuals an option to the ways which society had set up for them. The reason for their success was because times had changed and coffee and other caffeine products acted a s a great substitute for the alcohol which was so popular.

Explore Research Question

I want to explore the contracts which tv networks dealing with the NFL have to work with and why the games are appearing on cable and satellite channels instead of local channels. The idea to appear on cable channels like espn and nfl network creates limited viewing but others might argue that the NFL will compromise its viewership for the amount of revenue. The NFL should be shown on local channels like nbc, abc, fox, and cbs, instead of espn and nfl network.

I know very general information about the networks and the contracts which they have with the NFL but i do not know the extent to which these contracts control the what channels show the games.

Response to "Brain Candy"

I agree with the idea that different media today like tv and video games have become more complex to the point where the viewer must use outside information in order to fully understand the references and problems which are presented. These subtle parodies like "Kennedy's assassination conspiracists" in Seinfeld ask the viewer to be familiar with allusions to certain societal occurrences past and present. Video games are also pushing the level of our imagination and problem solving skills everyday while attempting to test our coordination.

I disagree with Johnson in his mention of how the video games are social tools, because unless they are played with a group of friends they are very isolating similar to reading a book. Though video games allow you to explore there is typically a general direction that one must follow in order to successfully complete a task. This exploration generally leaves the player with one primary way of accessing a certain area or level which is similar to reading a book.

My argument does not need to be changed so much, but the organization of my supporting paragraphs needs some work. My first two paragraphs lack a concise flow but my third paragraph contains a very organized set of solutions to the problem which i have made apparent in my thesis. Gladwell's form of citing his sourcing can be very helpful in my essay to create a better sense of validity.

Argument Chart

Fewer Pads

• Players cannot use unnecessary force in tackles.
• By making pads fitting to the body and smaller there is less of a chance to cause injury
• Instead of helmets to reduce head injuries use scrum caps.
• Players will be more weary about their actions.

Against Fewer Pads

• Excessive force will occur no matter what. There needs to be protection.
• Having pads and helmets helps to prevent concussions and broken bones.
• With football players being faster and stronger the more intense impacts cause a need for more pads.

Response to "Most Likely to succeed"

Gladwell method of conveying his idea was very direct and thorough. By using many quotes and reliable sources like the NFL scout, Dan Shonka, the dean of the University, Bob Pianta, and the co-president of North Star Resource Group, Ed Deutschlander. All three of these people are highly experienced in their respective fields and are able to properly portray the problems at hand in choosing an employee. The difficulty which they face in all three professions is that they can see the problems which an individual is having and how it might transfer over to a professional level or success rate, in the case of the teachers, but they are not sure who can overcome these mistakes in order to become truly great at their profession.

By directly citing Dan Shonda was able to create a picture for those without a clue of the amount of work that goes into choosing a successful quarterback. This tactic is able to tie in readers who are not exactly football fans as well as those who are football fans by not leaving the reader wondering what exactly is the task at hand. This method of research is viewed as very reliable considering there is not any room for misguided information unless the writer purposely distorted some of the facts received in the interview. For the most part Shonda seemed like a truly intelligent person in his description of the "quarterback problem" from seeing the stance of the players and if they can "zip" the ball when needed.

The direct citing also helped to describe the same problem in both the teaching and the financial advising fields. Looking at the teaching study which was carried out it is very convincing that the level of difficulty in choosing a good teacher is a very meticulous one.

Response to "The Talent Myth"

I primarily agree with what Gladwell is trying to communicate to the reader in this argument of talent vs. centralized management. The idea of creating a controlling head which guides the rest of the company in a coherent manner seems to be the more logical and financially stable way to go in running a company. I also agree with the correlation between I.Q. and occupational success. Though some might not succeed in the typical activities that schools test individuals on they are able to put forth a lot of effort towards accomplishing a great deal in areas of business such as sales and marketing which are mainly based on intrinsic skill sets.

On the other hand I feel as though in order for a company to reach its maximum potential there needs to be a fair mix of these two types of running a company. There obviously need to be a strong central body overlooking and guiding the company in the right direction. Skilling described the need for a "fluid movement" in order for the company to move forward, which was Enron primary way of moving forward into the future. At the same time in order to keep up with the market at hand there needs to be a certain level of ingenuity and and talent to make the company and its product exceptional.

In-Class: Should the limit of college athletes be raised to a full four years?

This topic affects many students nationwide who play certain sports for their schools. It is is wide spread issue which leaves many individuals for the professional league before they even graduate all in search of the big checks. I learned that many students actually graduate with their degrees as opposed to leaving for professional teams.

A look at the Bearcats

We all saw the bowl game over the winter break as the Bearcats took on the Gators in the Sugar Bowl. For many fans this was a dissappointing and even embarrassing defeat at the hands of an undeniably good Florida Gators team. What we need to look to in the future is to create a more defensive minded team, yes our team has one of the greatest offensive forces in the country, but defense wins games. In order to keep up with these big teams we need to build our team from the ground up, starting with our recruits. Butch Jones needs to go after bigger and faster players for our front seven on defense. A good core of linebackers and defensive lineman will tremendously help us to stop the run of opposing offenses and as soon as that is taken care of we can look on to the pass defense. We will have to be very patient because this could take up to two maybe three years in order to have a consistent team. Though this is a low point UC fans should hold their heads high for the future.