Google +

When we started, I had no idea about Google +. I have to say that it is amazing. I have been wondering why I did not find out about this sooner. It is a great  to communicate with friends, family, and fellow students. It allows for us  to stay in touch and know what is going on in class. It was very helpful for the times when I could not be in class. I would just get on my computer from home and sign in to class and it was like if I was right there in class. I was able to blog and respond to my fellow students. I wish more classes utilized this.

Google Drive

When we started this class I was not familiar with Google drive, now I love it. I use it for all of my papers and other classes. It is a great way to create groups with fellow students. It is also a great way to communicate with co-workers and friends. I love the document features, the fact that you can research your subject material and get the citations is an added bonus. I like that the documents that are created are secure until you decided to share them and that they are stored with Google drive and not on your computer. I am sure that we have all had an issue with computers crashing and losing those important papers, then stressing out trying to rewrite them. It is such a valuable tool, I don't understand why more professors choose not to use it. I plan on using from now on with the rest of my classes and with my job in healthcare.

Blogging

Well as we are nearing the end of our course, I find myself a little sad. I have enjoyed this class more than I thought. It has been a learning experience and has been fun. I have finally learned APA, yeah!!! I have enjoyed being able to post blogs about different topics and communicating with fellow students. I have also enjoyed reading my fellow classmates blogs. I find this is a great way to express different viewpoints on different topics. I wish that other classes would do this. I plan on trying to continue with this as I go foward with the rest of my time here at South. I want to wish everyone good luck with the rest of their time here at South and in the future.

Personal Learning Networks

When it comes to personal learning networks, I find them to very valuable. They can help with getting a better understanding of the material. If you are in nursing classes, for example, having fellow nursing students to study with can be key to passing or failing that particular course you are in.  They can help you with understanding some of the material that you are having trouble with. They can also be a great support system. I know that when I was taking classes in the military to become a medic, I utilized personal learning networks with my fellow medics. It is what helped all of us get through the 12 weeks of intensive medical training that we had to complete. These networks can also be applied to your everyday job. Where I work I am considered a role model for my fellow employees. They come to me everyday asking questions about different medical procedures, on the same token I also go to them for things that I may not understand. It helps to create a teamwork atmosphere and makes for a more efficient medical office.  

Statistics

When using statistical data to support your argument, you need to do your research on it. It needs to be reliable and come from experts. When I am researching, I look for studies that have been done and have either the charts or the actual data in the in the study. I like using data that comes from clinical studies. I have worked in clinical research and know that the data collected is vital and accurate. Having sound and verifiable data can make or break an argument.

Net Neutrality and Comcast Deal

I just read an article about the pros and cons of net neutrality and the deal Comcast is currently involved with. They are trying to buy Time Warner Cable for 45 million dollars. If this happen, Comcast will have over 60% of the internet. With control like that they will be able to charge whatever they want for access. The FCC is setting up rules that will help prevent this from happening. The FCC also will have the authority for the first time to police disputes about congestion on the Internet. That power could allow the agency to address Netflix's complaint that Comcast and other large Internet providers have been charging exorbitant fees to load traffic onto their networks. If the deal goes through, it will also allow for Comcast to eventually take over the country when it comes to the internet.

More police violence

I just read about another occurrence where the police where involved in a deadly shooting of a black teenager in Wisconsin. The media is reporting that the preliminary investigation did not find a weapon at the scene. Once again this is going to exploited for the next few weeks fueling the fire for more protest and more violence. I wish that the media would just let the agencies do their investigations and then report the findings. While I do not condone police violence, we need to have all of the facts before making a conclusion about the whole thing.  

APA

This APA formating is harder than I thought. What I thought was correct come to find out is not. I have been doing it wrong for years with noone correcting me. I am glad that Prof. Hamon takes the time to let us know what the issues are with the Documents. I hope to get the issues fixed and turn in the document for the final grade. I hope that I am not the only one who is having these issues.

Healthcare cost

Well on my Doc 2 I am addressing the problem we have with healthcare cost. We need to cut the cost of healthcare across the board. There needs to be health insurance that is affordable for everyone. While the Obama care plan is suppose to do this, it is falling short of its goal. It is trying to make healthcare the same as it is in Canada and other foreign countries. That type of healthcare is considered socialized medicine. While it may cost less, it takes longer for patient to be seen by doctors and specialist. What needs to be done in order for health insurance to become more affordable, is to allow for companies to sell plans across state lines. This would cause for competition and for competitive pricing among the companies. Another thing that would help is government price regulations on the cost of medications. The pharmaceutical companies have gotten out of control with the price of their medications. They say it is due to the cost of research but I do not believe this. I feel that it just to give bigger bonuses to the higher executives.

Logos

As far as logos for Doc2, I am using the research that I have found through the studies on Healthcare cost. I have found data from doctors, government agencies, and other journals that show what the causes are. I have used that data to support my claim as to why there is a need to cut healthcare cost. When reviewing the data it is hard to argue with the staggering numbers on these cost. When you see that the cost alone for health insurance has tripled over the past 15 years, it puts this argument into perspective for everyone. 

Pathos

In my Doc 2, Why we need to cut health care cost, My pathos is the fact that this is a very heated and for a lot of people emotional subject. The stress of not being able to afford health care is very scary. I am very passionate about this subject. I see on a daily basis how the rising cost of health care affects patients. I have tried to use some of that pathos in the writing of this Doc to show why we need to find ways to cut health care or it will destroy our economy.

Ethos

I believe that in order to have ethos, a writer needs to show that they have done their research on the subject that they are writing about. It also helps to have some sort of viewpoint, either for or against about the subject. It also helps that the writer tries to refrain from having bias about the subject. This will help for the reader to trust the writer and the subject they are writing about. 

Voice and purpose

In my Doc 2 assignment I will be arguing why we need to cut cost in health care. The purpose of this document is to bring to light the crisis we as a society are in for if we do not find ways to cut the cost of health care. My voice will be the facts on what it cost for health care. It will also be from the experts who have looked into this crisis. My voice will also come from my 25 years of being in health care and the changes that I have seen and experienced.

Poor and Good Evidence

Having good evidence helps for the writer to form a good argument. It also allows for them to establish creditability with the readers. When looking for that good evidence, you want to look for facts that are backed by experts. I look for web sites that are not blogs or bias in nature. These tend to lead to one side views and bad evidence. I use a lot of .gov, .org, .edu sites to find my good evidence. While i have used one newspapers site, it had a study that had facts and data about health insurance and could be verified for the source. In my opinion this is good evidence.

Basic arguement

Well my basic arguement for Doc2 is the need for cutting the cost of healthcare. It is becoming a big problem for the society and the government. If something is not done about the cost of insurance, the amount that doctors are reimbursed, the cost of medications, and the overall structure of the heathcare sysytem, it is going to destroy the economy and the government.

Healthcare cost

Healthcare cost have been on the rise every year. I have been in the medical field for over 25 years. I have seen the rise of cost increase every year and the amount that doctors are reimbursed decreased every year. When the doctor is paid less for seeing patients, they have to increase the amount of patients they see. This causes their cost of running their practice to go up, which in turn causes their fees to go up. The pharmaceutical companies are no help in this matter. They raise their prices on medications and offer less rebates to those who need it the most, which are the people who are on Medicare and fixed budgets. The government has tried to come up with a plan to help, their answer was Obama care. This in my opinion is a bad idea. They want to make healthcare more affordable for people, they have not. If government were to change the tort laws allowing for insurance companies to sell insurance in different states it would reduce the cost of insurance premiums making it more affordable for everyone. They could also regulate the cost of medications making it more affordable for people to buy their medications.  



Tim 

Different People

Well I would have to say that I have been guilty of misjudging other groups of people myself. I have considered all of them the same just from a few bad experiences. Once I got to know them I found out that the group was not what the others had protraited them to be. I am from Loxahatchee and we are thought of to be racist rednecks. That is not the case. There are a lots of us out there who are very intellegent and not racist at all. Because of the "bad eggs" in the bunch, we who live out there all grouped together as being racist and simple minded. If people would take the time to get to know eachother instead of judging, society would be a better place for everyone.  




Tim

Media fallacy

Well in my opinion the media loves to use the red herring fallacy. The media uses diversionary tactics to give the public the wrong points of view. It has a way of twisting the facts to lead the public to the wrong conclusions about key things that are going on in the world. The media uses this fallacy on a daily basis. They used it quite extensively with the issue of police violence. They have created an image that all of law enforcement are violent and looking to shoot anyone that disobeys them. This is not the case, but it is hard for the public to see otherwise with all of the red herring fallacy the media is putting out there daily.





Tim

Peer Review

When I found out that we were going to be reviewed by our peers for the Doc 1 assignment, I became a little apprehensive about it. After reading the feedback I feel more at ease with the process. I feel that peer review for different subjects helps you become more knowledgeable about the subject. It also gives you feedback from more sets of eyes. Lets you see mistakes that you did not see before. I feel that with college students and in this writing class, it is a very valuable tool for us to utilize. It will help us all to become the best possible writers that we can become. It will also help us to become better critical thinkers, pushing us to research more and ask the questions.


Tim

Thesis statement

When you are looking for the thesis statement, you can usually find it with in the first paragraph. It should tell you exactly what message the writer is trying to covey. I look at the title first that will give me an idea of what the writing may be about. I than will quickly read the first paragraph to find the thesis statement. There may be times where it is not that simple, this is when I will proof read the article and see if there is even a thesis, it may have been left out but there should be some idea to the writing.


Tim

Authority voice

When we talk about having an authority voice, we are saying that we are knowledgeable about the subject we are writing about. We need to know as much about the subject or topic that we are writing about. This will help to give the writing creditability and also give creditability. If the writer is creditable, we will tend to believe more of what they are writing about. When it comes to the subject that we are writing our first document about, police violence, I have been doing more research on the subject to be as informed and knowledgeable about it than I was before. It has been helpful to me. It is making my research techniques better to make me a better student.


Tim

CNN lies about police violence

While I was reading the article that I posted in the bibliography, it was interesting that the special interest groups use the main stream media to help fuel the anger toward the police and the violence. This just shows me how lazy we have become as a society. We just believe what the media tells us instead of searching for the truth and wanting to know the truth.



Tim

Police violence

Well this is such a heated and touchy subject. I feel that the police are trained to defuse any situation and that violence is the last resort. There are those officers who feel that the only way to solve the problem is with violence. These are the ones that need to be either re-trained or fired from their jobs. With main stream media the way it is today, always looking for a story, the real truth about police violence gets distorted and the public is misled. It gives the officers that are upholding the law a bad name and then all police officers are labeled as violent and that all of them only solve the issues with violence instead of peaceful solutions. The questions that we need to ask, " How did we as a society get to this point?" Is it the fault of the police officers or is it society that has created the criminals?  Why does violence have to be the main way for solving problems?



Tim

College life with blogging

I have never blogged before this class. It is going to be very interesting for me. I seem to be more of a writer than a talker. I can express what I am thinking better in writing. I feel that blogging in college and learning how to is very beneficial for students and for teachers. It allows for students to get information, help with subjects, and allows for collaboration. This is beneficial for everyone. I like the idea that we can pose a question or viewpoint about things and get the feed back about it. I feel that it is going to very beneficial for me in this class.




Tim

Leonard----All about me

Hey Class. Sorry that this blog is late, but I have been having some issues with getting it started. I want to let everyone know a little bit about me. I am Tim Leonard, I am currently working on getting my degree in Healthcare Management. This has been a long and tough road. I have been in school for close to eight years part time. I am a father of four children, their ages are 27, 24, 17, and 15. I also have one grandson that is almost two. I was in the Army for three years and was in Desert Shield/Storm. After getting out of the Army, I went to work for an allergy practice and have been there for 22 years now. I am looking forward to starting a new chapter in my life and getting into management. I hope to one day run a medical practice and put my skills to good use. Well that is about it. I look froward to collaborating with you all and having a good class. Good luck to you all.


Tim