8. The problem with Selfies

In this essay, the author states how the exposure of one's selfie online can be harmful to one's self. Stone states that posting pictures, also known as "selfies" are now a form of approval of the images of self. As a christian writer, Stone encourages her fellow christians not to go overboard with this publication of self exaltation. The author asks the question, "Are we crowdsourcing approval and affirmation?" She poses the idea that selfies are another way of seeking for acceptance and fulfillment, but in the wrong place completely.  Stone closes her article with an encouragement to Christians to primarily find their approval from their Creator, rather than from the social media. This essay is short, but gets straight to the point; maybe selfies can be harmful, in a way. The author uses organized points, and sticks to the thesis about selfies. 

This article is very well written, and Stone used evidence from different sources to prove the problem with this kind of self-promotion online. The subject is meant to be thought-provoking, and is directed towards the audience of late-teens to adulthood. Stone is aware of the current popularity of the "selfie", and is merely questioning the importance of this form of photography. The author also uses her own experience to describe the guilt she felt when photographing herself. One aspect in which the author did not do a good job, was in answering her questions about the true harmfulness of the selfie. The conclusion is a bit abrupt; Stone was probably only meaning to make her readers think about the idea and challenge them to find satisfaction from God rather than society. Overall it is a good article, full of evidence and support for the main question on selfies.









http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2014/september/our-bodies-our-selfies-on-body-image-online.html?start=2

8. Do High-School Students With Jobs Make More Money Later in Life?

             Bourree Lam, an associate editor at The Atlantic, begun her article talking about jobs people may have in high school, and her own: working as a receptionist at her friend’s dad’s place. People believe working during their high school years will make them make more money later in life; but that isn’t necessarily true. According to economists Charles Baum’s and Christopher Ruhm’s recent paper, a group of kids who worked for 20 hours a week in the late 1970’s made 8.3% more money later in life than non-working students. However, students who had jobs in the late 1990’s made only 4.3% more than those who didn’t. They also discovered that working during their senior year in 1979 was predicted to decrease the probability of students working in the low-paid service sector, but increase for students in 1997. According to the U.S. Census, 71% of students in high school don’t work, but even so, 3.2 million students do. Also, historical data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that from 1980 to 2009, the employment of 16- and 17-year-olds dropped from 35% to 15%. Economists say high school students who work will make more money later on because they will learn new skills and with them become more productive and valuable in the work place. Obviously, going to college is still the greatest wage booster. A Pew report in early 2014 showed that completing a bachelor’s degree increases the wage a person makes. As the National Center for Education Statistics suggests, working for over 15 hours per week can lower a students grades. So if a students has a hard time finishing their homework, it is better for them to stay at home and study rather than getting a job, because a high-school diploma is more likely to increase their future earnings rather than working during high school.  

            This article was a critic to the common belief that working during high school increases a student’s future wage. The common belief is that working will give you more life experience and consequently become better prepared for a future job. Lam does a great job in supporting her thoughts, using examples from economists’ papers or statistics from well-known institutes. She does, in addition to presenting information, give the reader a piece of advice, which is for struggling students to stay at home and study rather than getting a job in order to increase their future earnings. The article was very educational and the information presented successfully supported the author’s original thesis.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/09/do-high-school-students-with-jobs-make-more-money-later-in-life/379545/

8. Many in West Africa May Be Immune to Ebola Virus

It's not yet confirmed, and not many know about it too, but there many be a number of people in West Africa immune to the Ebola virus. Assuming that the virologists who suggested this are right, the fight against the recent outbreak may be facilitated in several different aspects. Those immune can tend the sick and bury the dead since they don't run the risk of being contaminated, and also have their blood harvested to help treat victims. However, before making plans for the future, scientists must first confirm the fact that immune people exist and distinguish how many of them are present. The biggest mystery is how the immunity arose. The most probable explanation is that Africans consumed low doses of the virus by eating infected, under-cooked monkeys or bats, or contaminated fruits that bats gnawed on and left saliva.This made their bodies develop specific antibodies against the virus and help resist the symptoms. A test was done to find the percentage of people who had these antibodies from randomly selected villages. The results varied widely, and so did the levels of antibodies in each examined person . A test was done where an experimental drug called ZMapp, containing cloned antibodies, was given to the first Americans to get the virus. However, his recovery was unclear whether the drug or the blood transfusion had saved him. Unfortunately, relying on immune people to help treat the disease is not  supposed to be an option for scientists and according to Dr. Garry, a Tulane University expert in hemorrhagic fevers, "it's time for creative solutions."

Donald C. McNeil Jr., author of this article, explains the possibility of people who are immune to the Ebola virus. After giving a short introduction on the topic, starts using direct quotes from scientists and other experts involved in the case. By doing this he is able to make his writing credible and also show his audience what the experts have to say on the case. His word choice and short paragraphs make the article very fluid and easy to read. By adding a Q&A link that takes the readers to a page full explanations and graphs, he is able to rid many questions of those who are not very aware on the Ebola and give some background information on the virus. However, despite all the fluid and informative article, McNeil's writing does contain one minor flaw. On several occasions he repeats the fact that immunity arises from eating contaminated fruits and animals. Although it is very minor, it stands out due since his paragraphs are short. After reading 7 or 8 lines, readers come across the very same information for about three times, which, in my opinion, is unnecessary.


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/06/health/ebola-immunity.html

#8 "Why Fashion's Night Out Faltered"

           One of the most important and attention gathering event of the year has officially begun on the 4^th of September, 2014: the New York Fashion Week. Always marking the beginning of the fashion month, New York City hosts the first and biggest fashion week of all times. However, an event that has always been a part of the NYFW since 2009, Fashion's Night Out, has silently disappeared this year. Considering the amount of publicity and attention it has received the past few years, its quiet disappearance has been a little bit off. Fashion's Night Out is an event where stores are open until 11p.m. serving drinks, discounts, and even a few celebrity appearances. Throughout the years, the event has grown so much that it had even become a touristic event. However, this year it has vanished with no solid reason. A few experts such as Margaret Chin (New York City Council Member) and shop owners have come up with a few hypothetical reasons to why it has faded out. The first hypothetical reason behind it was that the event had brought too many people; with such a big crowd, it was hard to organize a clean cut event. The second hypothetical reason was that the shop owners, who were supposed to experience an increase in sales, did not see the difference in sales. Instead, the costs for the event outweighed the benefits. People would only come into stores to watch bands and celebrities rather than buy goods. Shoplifting was also a great problem; various stores experienced a great loss of expensive goods due to shoplifting. The disappearance of this event during fashion week did bring out curiosity and a few questioned the impact that it would have on the fashion industry. However, the deputy mayor for housing and economic development and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s liaison to the fashion industry, Alicia Glen, has told the public that it didn’t really matter if the event was canceled or not; instead it actually lifted some weight from the planning of the real event: New York Fashion Week.

           Valeriya Safronova, author of the article, writes in a very casual tone and provides abundant examples to support her article. She aids her text with various direct quotes from experts and trustworthy sources. Her language is very simple yet polished – it is very easy to understand. She focuses on the fall of the event and the unofficial reasons behind it; in a way she is pointing out the flaws of this event. However, Safronova does not explicitly have an opinion about this happening; she is rather neutral, providing information to why it has happened rather than supporting a certain side.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/04/fashion/why-fashions-night-out-faltered.html?rref=style/international

8. Tesla Electrifies Nevada

On September 5th, Tesla Motors announced that it had chosen to build its new battery "gigafactory" in the state of Nevada. In this article, author Travis H. Brown explores the possible downside of such a deal. Specifically, he looks into the possibility of a margin tax being imposed on Tesla and, consequently, on the state of Nevada if the factory was built. This was a worry voiced by Nevada Senator Dean Heller. However, experts in the matter have revealed that such a tax eould not apply to Tesla, because the batteries produced in Nevada would all be shipped out of state, to places such as the Tesla Motors assembly plant in Fremont, California. The geographical advantage of being close to its California plant, combined with the exemption from the tax, proves to be a very wise move on Tesla's part. Not only that, but this decision may benefit the economy of Nevada as well, as the state "does not levy a state income tax," meaning that the 6,500 new workers of the Tesla Factory will have to pay less taxes as well.
Travis H. Brown, author of this piece, does an excellent job of being objective and unbiased when analyzing each side of the doubt concerning Tesla's new factory. He addresses both sides' arguments without necessarily favoring one or the other, only presenting a conclusion when the evidence has been fully presented. He makes use of the hypophora, a popular rhetoric strategy in news articles of this sort. In persuading the reader, Brown invests both in logical analysis and source credibility — the "ethos" and "logos" appeals — in his article; he uses clear, logical reasoning and deduction to explain the tax situation with Tesla in Nevada, and he also includes reliable sources for the information he gives (such as the "Nevada Taxpayers Association President Carole Vilardo"). One thing the author does not do very well is to transition smoothly flbetween his topic and from argument to conclusion. Nonetheless, it is still a convincing piece and a persuasive article overall.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbrown/2014/09/05/tesla-electrifies-nevada/

8. This Electric-Vehicle Company is More Important Than Tesla

 Tesla. The first image that comes to mind when this word is mentioned is a sleek, over-priced, fancy sports car. People nowadays view big car companies as the future of our vehicles. The problem with this vision is that if everyone starts using these fancy sports car, a lot of the world's electricity would be wasted on them. What could prevent us from wasting our electricity? According to this article, busses and public transportation would hugely aid the saving of electricity. "Proterra", a manufacturer, believes that they can fix the world's problems with electricity with their public transportations. They came up with the idea of an "electric bus." They saw how electric cars were electricity-friendly, and with the prices of batteries (electricity ones) dropping, they saw this as a huge oppurtunity. They built their first electricity-powered bus and sold it to Foothill Transit. Positive reviews made by customers/passangers started to overflow, which caused Foothill Transit to buy 12 more electric buses. Though electric buses are far more expensive than electric cars, buses would benefit the earth more (in the long run). Unwanted fuels would stop being leaked into the atmosphere and less electricity would be wasted.
 The author of this article, Daniel Gross, clearly shows that he is in favor of these electric buses. He criticized big sports car companies such as Tesla, Camry and Prius for wasting their time and money in making sports cars that would never benefit society. Gross makes good usage of statistics (such as the gallons of fuel cars need, the price of sports cars, the price of the bus, etc.) He also uses an image for visual aid- a picture of the bus. Though these are all positive aspects of the article, some things can be seen as negative. For example, the length of the article too large. I found myself dozing off a couple of times while reading it. Gross bombards his article with statistics. Though statistics help make the article more reliable, the author put way too many, making it way too informative for a reader to find interesting. Overall, though it was a little lengthy, the article was able to transmit the message it inteded to deliver ("electric buses are better than cars") and was heavily supported with statistics and facts.

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/the_juice/2014/09/electric_buses_proterra_wants_to_rid_america_of_emission_spewing_buses.html

7. "In E-Sports, Video Gamers Draw Real Crowds and Big Money"

     Who could have guessed people would be able to make money playing online games? In recent years, E-Sports, or "Electronics Sports", has grown immensely amazing people by showing them the potential of E-Sports in the future. Dota2, an online video game, has caught the attention of many people around the world, questioning the potential of e-sports. On July of this year, Valve, the creators of Dota2, organized a global championship with a prize pool of $11 million! Never in human history was so much money invested on online gaming. This innovative event has increased the gaming industry and has turned its ambitions towards the lucrative world of professional video game competition. People now debate whether electronics sports will one day become as lucrative and popular as any other sport. So far, the predominant answer to this question is yes. Researchers have discovered that the global revenue for games is $20 billion higher than the music industry's and is now close to passing that of the movie business! Professional gaming has become a revolutionary concept today. Who could imagine people could become millionaires playing video games?
     The author of this article, Nick Wingfield, was very effective in his article. Wingfield uses vivid words that give the article sensory details to it. He starts the article using phrases such as, "Lighting bolt strikes. Weapons explode. Nasty spells are cast". This was very effective as it gave sensory imagery to the readers. His word choices are very effective as well as he uses easy and clear words. Wingfield uses formal language throughout the article and provides many evidences and quotes to support his article giving it a strong credibility. He also uses images throughout his article which was very effective as it portrayed a lot of what he was saying in his article. The article was very interesting and easily got my attention. I enjoyed reading this article, especially about this subject, and hope to see more articles on online gaming.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/technology/esports-explosion-brings-opportunity-riches-for-video-gamers.html