Medcine vs. Dentistry, a look at income per hour

1st sheet is prelim research. The 2nd sheet has the conclusions:

$ per hr breakdown

 

 

Final Paper Reflection

Now that I am basically finished with my research paper, I must say that I have learned  a lot. Doing a major research paper such as this one takes much effort and hard work. I have definitely learned that the key is to start early and divvy up the work into manageable chunks. The previous assignment, the annotated bibliography, helped immensely in writing the research paper. I feel like all the work I did for that assignment was instrumental to my research paper. The summaries of all the sources I planned to use made organizing my essay that much easier and manageable.

Additionally, outlining my essay and indicating which quotations and paraphrases I was going to use made writing the essay much more enjoyable. Once all the preliminary work was done, all that was left to do was assemble the pieces and make the essay flow in a logical manner and efficiently, as to best express my argument.

I have learned a great deal about my chosen topic, learning in online forums, through my research. All the studies and articles I’ve gathered about my topic enlightened me to the true potential of online forums. I have long been an online forum user and known about the potential of online forums, yet never knew that there was so many studies and research about it. Now, I know that my original feelings about the power of online forums were accurate.

Through my research, I’ve learned that online forums can be used for a great array of things. Online forums are a great way to find out more about a particular subject from a diverse and varied audience. Online forums allow one to get a varied perspective about a subject, less biased and more accurate than if it were to come from a smaller sample size. It also allows for complex debate to take place with knowledgeable responses and useful information transfer.

Thus, I truly learned a lot from this experience. Next time around, I would like to get additional printed sources for my paper, perhaps in the form of books, as that would give a truly diverse set of data with which to work with. All in all, the research that I’ve done was a very valuable learning lesson to my academic career.

 

Where I am in my Research

The long and grueling process of writing my final, 10-page research paper is well underway. It has always been my opinion that starting a research paper, gathering the required sources, citing them, and developing a thesis are the hardest parts in the entire process. I certainly hope that’s the case, because it was very time-consuming and hard!

I decided to write my research paper about online forums because I thought that it would suit the task nicely and is something I am very familiar with. I have long been an active member in my favorite forum, SDN, the Student Doctor Network. SDN was invaluable in helping me to decide to pursue a career in dentistry as well as establishing the optimal route to achieve that goal. Thus, I thought I knew enough about forums in general to be able to write a research paper on them. The biggest problem, however, was coming up with a thesis.

I knew that my thesis should have something to do with learning in online forums. I decided on “learning in online forums is, oftentimes, more effective than traditional face-to-face learning.”  Whether this claim was true or not, I had no idea. The next step was trying to get sources to support my argument.

I requested the help of the UB-librarian to help me in my search. She gave me a lead, “Learning in Online Forums”, which is a study that highlights the major pros and cons of online, discussion-based learning. This was very exciting for me because this source set the stage for my additional sources, all of which I dug up through the online UB libraries.

I now have five additional sources to complement the first source the librarian sent my way. All of them analyze online-discussion based learning in a unique way and offer new insight into categorizing the learning that takes place in these e-based venues.  One paper examines the psychological aspects involved in online-based discussions. Another paper examined the extent of stance-taking and stance-support in online discussion posts made by Singaporean high school students. This breadth of interesting information directly related to my topic is very exciting! With my annotated bibliography finished, I am looking forward to tackling writing this paper!

The Filtering Effect

I was raised thinking that the internet is an all-powerful, free-access tool that will let me access and view any and all information I want, at the click of a mouse. However, as of late, that is no longer the case. The web is now being filtered and the potential links and websites that one would’ve had access to are no longer directly accessible, especially through search engines.

While filtering information on search engines to tailor to the interests and likes of the individual, based on his or her past browsing history, makes for a more convenient and easy to navigate web, it leaves out many important websites and information that is critical to being a knowledgeable and responsible citizen.

Through the continued use of these tailored search results from search engines, people will not be able to view different things, get to know other people’s opinions about certain issues, and have an accurate representation of the world, as it truly is.

The internet, by constantly being filtered to suit the needs of the individual, makes an isolated bubble around its users. Instead of its original purpose of connecting people and helping spread critical news and information amongst all people, the internet has become a consumer tool, used by people to buy things without going to the store and helping to keep people complacent with their uni-directional thinking mind.      

Search engines aren’t the only ones responsible for the increasing filtering of the internet. Facebook and other social networking sites have picked up the trend as well. I was shocked to learn that Facebook actually filters one’s news feed to display people that share the same opinions as the user, while editing out those opinions that go against the interests and beliefs of the user.

Filtering data on the internet isn’t all bad, however. One positive that comes from filtering is better consumer targeting. When I log on Facebook, the ads at the sides of the page are different than those of my friends. For example, Facebook has knowledge of my previous browsing history and knows that I am looking for housing options for next year. Thus, it is no coincidence that the ads on the side of my Facebook newsfeed are from University Village and Apartments. This kind of filtering is quite effective, both for consumers and for companies that are trying to market their services. The consumer benefits from seeing relevant adds, which they are more interested to click on than random ones, and the companies are benefiting from more effective advertising, as the audience that encounters their adds are more likely to be interested and click on those links.

Besides for more effective advertising and slightly more convenience when using the web, filtering web-pages does more harm than good. Search engines and social media sites need to be very careful of what they filter. More importantly, they should, at least, disclose their filtering policy and put it in the hands of the user. The user should be in control of what gets filtered and whether or not they think that it is material or not.

Thoughts about week’s readings

This week’s readings were very interesting and though provoking. My favorite reading of the week was Our Posthuman Future, by Fukuyama. This reading was very interesting to me because of its discussion concerning biotechnology and the ethics of the its potential advancements. Straight from the get-to, it is evident that the author has a worrisome and negative feeling about the rise of technology. This directly opposes my viewpoints about the advancements of technology; I am strongly in support of any and all scientific and technological advancements, especially in the areas of biology and medicine.

Fukuyama mentions the book, Brave New World, a book set in the future, where biotech has ha extreme advancements. Brave New World poses a unique dystopia because, unlike in 1984, everyone is happy and satisfied, yet, Fukuyama claims that the people are somehow ‘dehumanized’. The then poses a very interesting questions saying: “why is it wrong to not be human?” Who’s to say that being completely free of pain and suffering makes one less “human” and, more importantly, who cares? I tend to side with the viewpoint that, whatever the definition of being ‘human’ is, it shouldn’t really matter because human beings are constantly evolving and constantly searching for ways to make their lives easier and of better quality.

Fukuyama argues that biotechnologies are the most elusive form of science advancements because, with benefits such as longer life, they come with “dehumanization” and suppress the soul. He also argues that the distinction between what one has achieved “on his own” and what one has achieved through chemical means becomes blurred. To me, that’s the equivalent of saying that some achievements shouldn’t be attributed solely to the person, and, instead, are the result of their diet. I would argue that everything one achieves is the result of their physiology and, thus, altering one’s chemical balances and physiology artificially is perfectly wholesome and moral. In this day and age, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t use the resources available to us to achieve self-actualization.

Furthermore, the author mentions ‘doomsday’ scenarios where psychotropic drugs are able to change one’s mood and personality instantly. Again, I feel like the author doesn’t realize that mood and personality is constantly affected by the chemicals and drugs people consume, whether they come natural through food or synthetically through a pill. Changing one’s negative mood to a desirable one with drugs is perfectly fine and a very valuable tool to have at one’s disposal. Depression and negative moods are already considered a disease and are already efficiently managed.  

Even though the biotech article intrigued me the most, I found “the Middle East’s Generation Facebook”, by Mona Eltahawy, interesting as well. The article, written as if from the future, describes how significant the internet revolution has been, especially in the Middle East. The author describes how the internet, and Facebook specifically, gave voices to the young people and the women of Egypt to be heard and express their frustration with the government, effectively taking control of their country through their computers. The author hopes that, by 2033, Egypt will be a thriving country and that, through the continued use and spread of the internet, the country will become more transparent and more democratic, bringing much happiness and prosperity to its citizens.  

Thoughts About Assigned Readings

I thought that the two reading assignments that we read were very thought provoking and interesting. The first reading, Why Blog?, by Alex Reid, made me wonder about the meaning and importance of writing in my everyday life and in my future career. Even though I don’t usually think about it, writing well is certainly a very important skill set to have. In reading this article and contemplating about the importance of writing, I remembered an example of a real life, out of school, scenario during which I had to write a paper to achieve a result.

I was home over winter break when I received two parking tickets for parking at the same place I’ve been parking ever since I first got my license. I wrote a non-guilty plea letter to the traffic violations department of the county and was able to get out of both tickets. I credit my success at getting out of these parking tickets to my writing skills.   

Even though the importance of writing and communicating effectively can’t be downplayed, the trappings of the school curriculum often hinder students’ motivation to improve and be enthusiastic about their writing. School writing is all too often about subjects students aren’t interested in and usually have word requirements that force students to ramble on and on and repeat themselves endlessly. The best writing comes when the writer is in a state of ‘Flow’, as Reid calls it. This state can be achieved when the writer is fully engaged with what he is writing about and when the task is of manageable difficulty. Reid’s essay points out that most writing classes inhibit the ‘Flow” state because they put a lid on the topic and scope of student writing.

I had never considered blogging before reading Reid’s essay, but am now excited to give it a shot. Blogging seems to be a great way to practice and improve my writing while getting direct feedback from readers. I am also very excited to dive into the blogging world and to start sharing my ideas with my fellow peers.

In the reading “Writing in the Genres of the Web”, I found a lot of helpful tips on how to create a well polished and presentable blog. Ethos, or the impression a writer makes on his readers, is one of the most important considerations when writing a blog. Since the crown jewel of a successful blog is a loyal and intelligent audience, it is essential to maintain a positive Ethos. 

I am also excited to implement multimedia into my blogs. We live in a full color, digital world, where pictures are often times as effective, if not more so, than written text. Combining various forms of communication, such as podcasts, videos, and images, on my blog should be very interesting.

Lastly, I found the parts in the article about the technicalities of blogging to be very helpful and informative. I will now browse for some interesting blogs and make comment on them. I might also post links to my blog on other blogs, without seeming desperate, to help increase traffic to my blog. I hope that this is the beginning to many exciting adventures in the world of blogging!