Research Paper on Fun Things Essay Example for Free

Research Paper on Fun Things Essay For this assignment, you will compose a ten-page research paper on a great thinker chosen from the attached list. There are three components to this assignment. The first is that you will write about the major thought, idea, or system of belief for which the great thinker was known. Secondly, you will write about two or three ways in which the teachings of the great thinker influenced history. Thirdly, you will provide a thoughtful analysis of at least one idea touted by the great thinker. You will need to research and properly document eight to ten scholarly sources using the MLA standard for citation. In addition to writing the paper, you will be learning and implementing a way to organize your research and writing. You will receive two grades for this assignment: one for the final paper and one for the research and writing prep work. Research Component Research is an important skill for college students to learn and implement. When done well, research will help strengthen an argument, prove a point, verify facts, and explain with first-hand knowledge. At its most basic level, research is studying the works of experts in any given field. For instance, if I want to research heart surgery, I will locate experts in the field of cardiology and read what they say about the heart. In reading their works, which may consist of published studies, medical journal articles or medical books, or informative medical websites or blogs, I am presuming and appealing to their expert knowledge and skill in an area I know little or nothing about. In short, I’m reading and studying their work in order to learn. For your research paper, you will be appealing to the expert knowledge of a great thinker. You will research articles and/or books that were either written by the great thinker (we call this a primary source) or by someone who studied the great thinker (we call this a secondary source). For example, let’s say you are studying Jonathan Edwards (great puritan theologian). Were you to read and study his actual sermons, you would be researching a primary source. Were you to read and study what John Piper (present day pastor and avid Jonathan Edwards fan) has written about the theology of Jonathan Edwards, then you would be conducting secondary research. Both primary and secondary sources are very valuable when writing research papers. Usually primary research is considered to be the most reliable in that it is closest to the original (the idea originator, the eye-witness account, the photograph, etc†¦). A good research paper will be able to navigate both types of research and carefully integrate it appropriately. For the purposes of this assignment, you’ll be doing both because you’ll be concerned with what the great thinker actually taught and that will best be discovered by his or her actual writings, and you’ll be concerned with how his or her thoughts influenced history, which is most likely written by other scholars. In addition to conducting primary and secondary research, you’ll need to make sure that your sources are consider scholarly; that is, your sources come from people who have appropriate expertise in the field of you are studying. This will not be an issue with your primary sources because you will go straight to the source (i.e., you’ll study the writings or Marx or Lewis), but it will be more of an issue in secondary sources. How to tell if an article or book is considered scholarly or written by an authoritative expert in the field can be tricky, but here are a few rules: 1. Does the author have an educational background that would account for the knowledge in the article or book? 2. In the case of articles, is it published in a peer-reviewed journal? 3. Does the article or book offer analysis and critique of original sources or just give mere impressions or opinions? Another term I have mentioned in regards to research is MLA citation (Modern Language Association). MLA is a method of citation that is used primarily in the humanities that indicates the source of your research. Learning MLA citation rules takes time and lots of effort, but it is a necessary part of conducting and writing a well-researched paper. For this assignment, you’ll need at least eight scholarly sources that may include journal articles or books but may NOT include websites. There will be in-class lectures that will teach you where to locate scholarly resources and how to properly keep track and cite them. As I see it, there are two major avenues of research for this paper: the first is research involving the actual ideas of the great thinker. The second is research involving the analysis of the thinker’s ideas. Content of Research Paper As mentioned in the assignment overview, there are two components to this research paper. The first is that you will research the major idea or set of ideas for which the great thinker was known. This will be the first section of the research paper and will include a thorough explanation of the great thinker’s idea or ideas and he or she came to belief or think in such a way. The second section of the paper will include a discussion on two or three of the major ways the great thinker’s ideas influenced history. The third section is where you provide thoughtful analysis about at least one of the great thinker’s ideas. This is not, necessarily, an argument, but rather it is an opportunity for you to break down the idea and comment on it yourself. Although I’m more interested in your analysis, it may help to research how others have analyzed and critiqued your great thinker’s ideas. In this section you may 1. Critique the thinker’s idea 2. Break down the thinker’s ideas and provide additional clarification or implication 3. Show how different scholars have viewed or interpreted the great thinker’s ideas and whether agree or disagree 4. Show why the thinker’s ideas produced negative or positive effects on society, theology, history, etc. 5. Any combination of the above. Please note that I do not wanting you to write a biography; that is, I do not want detailed discussion on the great thinker’s family history, marriage, hobbies, physical appearance, personal health, friends, etc. unless is it absolutely pertinent to his or her intellectual contribution. Paper Organization Each of you will be required to create an outline for your paper and turn it in as part of the assignment. Additionally, you will be required to keep track of all research and turn in your research notes. Research Organization I will require you to keep track of your sources through Microsoft One Note or Word, whichever works best for you. For every source you look at, you’ll need to record the following information: 1. Source Title- title of the article or book 2. Source Location-book, ebook with web address, journal article with web address 3. Source Citation- MLA citation as it would appear in your works cited page 4. What-what information are you using from the source. If it is short, type it here. If it is a chapter or large section, write down the major idea or some key words and the necessary information to find it in your source easily (page or section numbers, headings, etc.). 5. Plan- how you plan on using the information You will have at least eight records with the above information, although it is much more likely you’ll have more and may not use all sources in the actual writing of the paper. That is okay. Note: Make sure you accurately record information for every source because you won’t remember. Grading Criteria: Each paper will be graded on the following: 1. Accurate, detailed, and thoughtful discussion and analysis of the great thinker’s ideas 2. Coherent, fluid prose 3. Accurate implementation of MLA citation 4. Integration of scholarly sources 5. Proper adherence to Standard English grammar and style 6. Proper adherence to page length and formatting guidelines

Lord of the flies :: essays research papers

Lord of the Flies from a Psychology Viewpoint In the book, â€Å"Lord of the Flies† by William Golding, there were many things that happened that relate well to what we have been doing in Psychology 181. There were several times when I found myself relating what we learned in class to the situation that the group of boys in the book found themselves in. The knowledge that I have learned has helped me understand and try to figure out why some of the characters acted the way they did. I found the whole thing very interesting. In this report I will demonstrate what I have found to be some of the most interesting points of psychology that were incorporated in â€Å"Lord of the Flies†. This will prove to be a difficult, but inspiring task. The first thing I noticed was we stereotype people as soon as we meet them. Another, interesting psychological finding that was in the book was that the boys had to fill the basic need. This relates to Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs. Finally, in doing this report I get to incorporate another interesting point of psychology. That is that I am doing a report from secondary source in perspective of the boys on the island. That is with the assumption that the book is a true story that happened to this group of kids. Stereotyping played a big part in the book. From the first setting, well the first page, there was stereotyping going on. This played a big part in the book as it does in our everyday lives. The story line of the book is that there is a plane full of young boys flying over an ocean. When the plane goes down hitting an island and some of the boys make it, none of the adults do. This leaves the boy on an island to survive while they wait to be rescued. In the opening act of the book the stereotyping begins. There is a kid (Ralph) who is walking on the island when he meets up with another kid (Johnny better known as Piggy). Piggy makes an assumption about Ralph before they hardly meet. Piggy puts trust in Ralph by telling him a nickname that he had in school and hated. Piggy did all these things before he knew Ralph based on a stereotype than he could trust Ralph.

Brain vs. Computer

Human Brain vs. Computer Outline Thesis Statement: Some say computers are more smarter than the human brain but in reality a humans brain is what created it. Introduction Memory A. Human Brain 1. Memory not measurable 2. Would not overload from memory B. Computer 1. Data programed 2. Can’t learn new things on its own 3. Limited memory space III. Capability A. Human Brain 1. Learn new things easily 2. Ability to make decisions B. Computer 1. Multitasking (complex tasks) 2. No emotion Upgrades and Repairs A. Human Brain . Cannot be updated 2. Adaptable to new settings B. Computer 1. Merge current ideas 2. Problems fixed easily Conclusion Human Brain Vs. Computer The brain and computer are always being compared to each other because they both perform computations. Some say computers are more smarter than the human brain but in reality a humans brain is what created it. The brain and computer can be set apart by differences such as: memory, their capabilities and creativities. Mem ory is the ability to store and revive information.The memory process for both the computer and human brain are very different. The human brain memory is not measurable. Scientist are unsure of how to calculate the size of memory in the brain. The capacity of the human brain is so big that it can not overload from information being stored in it. Although it is said that memory is not measurable, the memory process is very complex. There have been a few educated guesses that the memory process begins with encoding, then storing the information and some how retrieving it.Computers access its memory through a memory address; a number that is assigned to each byte in a computers memory that the CPU uses to track where data is stored. Data is programmed into the computer by a human being. Computers can not learn new things on its own. The computer memory cannot work independently. It has assistance by the human brain to do most of the work. Latest computers have about a million megabytes of storage. That is a limited amount of storage compared to the human brain. The computer and the brain both are capable of doing different things to extreme lengths.The brain receives uses the five senses constantly to understand and help process information. Since it is constantly working on the information it has to quickly adapt to learning new things. The brain can think, invent, dream, solve, read without any help. It also has a mind for expressing thought and emotions. The computer has the ability to perform many tasks all at once without error. The most multitasking the brain does is using the autonomic nervous system. The computer can perform calculations faster than the human brain.In order for a computer to learn new things things have to be coded and programmed into it. The computer has no emotion, no feelings and no senses. The world we know around us is rapidly changing and evolving. The human brain can easily adapt to the new settings in our environment. If something may happen to go wrong with the brain you cannot simply repair it. Whilst it is easy to repair a broken computer and add new parts to it, that can’t be done to a brain. The computer can receive updates by merging current ideas and setting them into its hardware.The brain can adjust to the changes on its own. The brain is always actively working. There is no ON/OFF button in the brain like there is on a computer. The brain is better than the computer when it comes to general purposes and acquiring new skills. Both the human brain and the computer have their strengths and differences. In some cases they can be very alike and complementary to each other. They both have their individually unique properties that also them apart. The brain has a lot of contribution to inventing the computer.Without the power of the brain there would not be a computer. There is much more that we do not know about the brain, but we do know everything about a computer. Works Cited Chatham, Chris. â⠂¬Å"Sentient Developments: Chris Chatham: 10 Important Differences Between Brains and Computers. † Sentient Developments: Chris Chatham: 10 Important Differences Between Brains and Computers. Sentient Developments, 22 May 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. Mastin, Luke. â€Å"Memory Processes – The Human Memory. † Memory Processes – The Human Memory. N. p. , 2010. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.

A Nation Of Vidiots By Sach - 908 Words

Before we television existed people had to depend on Radio stations to receive there little bit of entertainment and news. But in 1878, the invention of TV began. The first TV made didn’t look anything like the way TV’s look today, it was a mechanical camera with a large spinning disc attached to it (Kids Work). But as over the years, of course inventions of different TV’s progressed and by the 20th century about 90 percent of our population had a TV in their household(). Television today is mainly used for people take a break from their life by relaxing and enjoying some entertainment. In Sach’s essay â€Å"A Nation of Vidiots,† he explains how he believes that the use of television that we intake can contribute to making our people become unhealthy and dumb. In his essays he explains how two thirds of the people in America are obese, one for their bad eating habits and the other reason for watching an unhealthy amount of TV. Sach’s then sa ys that TV is making us dumb mentally by all the TV programs and advertisement that is shown to us. For example, TV ownerships and Politian’s use commercials with catchy tunes to grab viewers’ attention. And with that catchy took and advertisement, the viewer will be anything, which leads them to become less aware of reality and facts. Although Sach’s makes valid points in his essay, I don’t fully agree with him. I do agree with Sach’s when he implies that the use of Television can make us unproductive and fat but I don’t agree thatShow MoreRelatedHow Technology Has Changed Our Lives1217 Words   |  5 Pagesten years already. Since 2011 in the online magazine â€Å"Project Syndicate† Jeffrey Sachs publiced an article about addiction of mass media around 1950s. The title of the article is â€Å"A Nation of Vidiots†. Jeffrey Sachs is a trustworthy person to talk about many academic issues, because he has a PhD degree from Havar d University, and he has done many admirable job positions such as World Health Organization and United Nation (p.441). The author covers well on many aspects of watching too much mass mediaRead MoreWatching An Excessive Amount Of Television935 Words   |  4 Pagesobservation, I would reply that there is a significant connection. The issue is important because it is found in all of America. On the subject of heavy TV watching, it has the ability to lead to various problems. For example, In the Nation Of Vidiots, by Jeffrey Sachs’ he explains why TV is unhealthy by saying, â€Å"Certainly, heavy TV viewing is bad for one’s physical and mental health.† (442) The viewers not only waste their valuable time, but it can also lead to obesity. For example, when the human