Entry 12: Overall Reflection

For the entry to last all entries, on this blog at least, I'm gonna go over what I've experienced and learned over the past few months in this subject with Ms. Niki.

I could easily say that Ms. Niki's class had been one of the subjects I looked forward to more. Her energetic teaching is very effective, it was obvious that this was infectious as well. Although, to say I only had fun in this subject would be a crime against her teaching. I've gotten a decent grasp on writing techniques and might apply them more often in the future. Going over citations and showing us that there are tools online to help us had been very helpful as well. I could still remember her telling our class to just keep writing and dont stop yet there's still more that she had taught us.

And then there were times I hadn't paid attention or spaced out on her lectures. I had always cursed myself whenever I did especially before any writing tasks she asked us to do. It was difficult to write when you don't know what to write or how to write it. I never seem to run out of gentle reminders to pay more attention to my professors.

After finishing ENSP1, hopefully, I might try my hand at writing again. Either on fiction or even non-fiction articles. I'm going to apply the pre-writing and drafting techniques she had shown us as well. Hopefully this would change my attitude towards it and help me find a new love in writing.

Entry 11: Certification

Entry 10: A Cause and Effect Essay

Causes of the Great Depression

Beginning in the United States, the Great Depression was a worldwide economic depression. According to data, it was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of its kind in the 20th century. It is said the Great Depression started on September 4th, 1929, through various factors. According to experts, the causes of the Great Depression was a stock market crash, bank failures, a reduction in purchasing, American economic policy in Europe, and drought conditions. Let us explore these causes in detail in the following paragraphs. 

Though the stock market of 1929 was crucial for the initiation of the Great Depression, it was not the only factor. According to Cumberland County Schools, “Two months after the original crash in October, stockholders had lost more than $40 billion dollars. Even though the stock market began to regain some of its losses, by the end of 1930, it just was not enough and America truly entered what is called the Great Depression” (5 Causes of The Great Depression). Though the U.S. lost a massive amount of financial power through the stock market crash, bank failures also made a huge impact on the economy.

After the huge market crash, widespread bank failures happened. As the website “The Great Depression” states, “Economists can debate whether bank failures caused the Great Depression, or the Great Depression caused bank failures, but this much is undisputed: By 1933, 11,000 of the nation’s 25,000 banks had disappeared. Overnight, hundreds of thousands of customers began to withdraw their deposits. With no money to lend and loans going sour as businesses and farmers went belly up, the American banking crisis deepened” (“Bank Failures During The Great Depression”). President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to tackle the Great Depression by creating a 3-day bank holiday, and from this action, 1,000 banks were saved (“Bank Failures During The Great Depression”).

From the stock market crash and bank failures, naturally purchasing power became less. According to Cumberland County Schools, “As people lost their jobs, they were unable to keep up with paying for items they had bought through installment plans and their items were repossessed. More and more inventory began to accumulate. The unemployment rate rose above 25% which meant, of course, even less spending to help alleviate the economic situation” (5 Causes of The Great Depression). As you can see, it was like a chain reaction, with each loss creating an exponential effect. These effects even went abroad.

In 1930, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff was introduced to safeguard American companies. However, according to Cumberland County Schools, “This charged a high tax for imports thereby leading to less trade between America and foreign countries along with some economic retaliation” (5 Causes of The Great Depression). Thus, even though the Tariff allowed companies to stay afloat, overall trade between the U.S. and other nations became increasingly less.

 

Not so much a direct cause of the Great Depression, but definitely a factor that worsened general conditions, was the Dust Bowl. As the website “The Great Depression” states, “A drought that lasted from 1930 to 1936, known as the Dust Bowl, aggravated the problems of the Great Depression. More than a million acres of farmland were rendered useless because of severe drought and years of overfarming, and hundreds of thousands of farmers joined the ranks of the unemployed” (“Causes of The Great Depression | Great Depression Facts Effects”). With agriculture being hit hard, it is no wonder the the Great Depression became even more dreadful.

Looking back, we can see that the Great Depression was caused by various factors, besides just the stock market crash of 1929. There was also bank failures, a reduction in purchasing power, a worsening American economic policy in Europe, and the Dust Bowl. All these causes combined made the Great Depression what it was: the most horrendous economic collapse of the 20th century. 

Works Cited

“5 Causes of The Great Depression.” Cumberland County Schools. http://www.cland.k12.ky.us/userfiles/13/Classes/441/5%20causes%20of%20the%20great%20depression.pdf?id=8459.

“Bank Failures During The Great Depression | Bank Failures 1929.” The Great Depression, thegreatdepressioncauses.com/great-depression/banks/.

“Causes of The Great Depression | Great Depression Facts Effects.” The Great Depression, thegreatdepressioncauses.com/causes/.

Essay Source: https://academichelp.net/samples/academics/essays/cause-effect/causes-of-the-great-depression.html

Green is the Main Idea

Blue is the Topic Sentences

Yellow is for the Transitional or Connecting words

 

Entry 8: A Limerick

A Marmelade Colored Glow

Softly glowing, the air gives off a light

Deftly towing, man spies from his satellite

An orange glow, he saw, filled the air

With all man knows, this would be no scare

Gently slowing, an astronaut 'laxes en flight

Article is from: https://www.livescience.com/64027-orange-earth-airglow.html

Entry 7: Annotation Criticisms

Tow, William and Brendan Taylor. "What is Asian security architecture?" Review of International Studies 36 (2010): 95-116.

This article examines the definition of the term 'security architecture' particularly in the Asian context. It argues that there is no current clear definition and that in order for progress to be made in terms of regional stability and economic performance, there needs to be a clearer understanding of the region's security objectives. After examining current theory and definitions, the article uses the US and Asia as case studies to explore current thinking around security architecture in Asia. The authors propose an alternative perspective using seven characteristics which refer broadly to design, function and structure. In general they argue that any Asian security architecture should be geographically defined, it should be unifying, designed from the "bottom-up" and focused not just on institutions and security. The article gives a comprehensive and clear idea of the current understanding of security architecture in Asia and other regions, however the article was written in 2010 so the region has been influenced by more recent events. The seven point plan is useful for exploring a potential new way of understanding security architecture but the authors do not point out the limitations that these might have in terms of acceptance from key stakeholders. Notwithstanding these weaknesses, this article will be useful in my own research as I develop a clear theoretical framework for security in East Asia and possible ways of framing security architecture for the future.

Entry 5: An Unfortunate Friend's Essay

Entry 4: Most Enjoyed Writing Activity

The group project where we were meant to write using a pattern given to us by our professor after we brainstormed on the content is probably the one I enjoyed the most.

I find myself finding it hard to find the opportunity to open conversations so it was fun doing this with them. I'm also very glad that we were able to finish and produce something presentable.

Entry 3: I wasn't paying attention

     I spaced out during the lecture and the explanation of the activity so i found myself lost while doing this. This ended up in writing a long and meandering essay that, unfortunately, I had to read aloud to class. I missed the point of the activity but I hope the essay wasn't so bad.

Entry 2: Questioning Machines and Applying GRESA Technique

Back when I was a highschool or elementary student, I was taught the GRESA technique which nothing but a method to arrange the solution to a math problem. It might seem weird to apply it to a writing task but it'll be a learning experience for all of us anyway!

Starting with the G for Given:

Topic = Multi-purpose Machines 

Then with R for Required: Pre-writing draft
Now the E for Equation: Questioning Technique
And the S, for solution which will also be our A for answer!

What?
What are multi-purpose machines? Examples?
Answer: They are machines that have a variety of functions and can be used to satisfy a variety of needs. Examples of this would be the Total Station used in surveying and smartphones.
How?
How are they more beneficial than dedicated machines?
Answer: With more than one function, instead of carrying a large variety of machines and equipment, you could, instead, carry the load of one machine while still having all of the functions you would need.
Who?
Who are the people who invented multi-purpose machines that we still use today?
Answer: for the total station TopconBy during the 1970's. Smartphone was first introduced by IBM in 1995.
Why?
Why would someone bother to create a multi-purpose machine?
Answer: To be able to carry the functions of several machines or instruments with the load of much fewer items.
When?
Since when have they become more popular or efficient than dedicated machines?
Answer: Probably, by sometime after America's industrial revolution, when the production of machines were more streamlined and the cost of producing machines became cheaper.