Heroin addicts in Vancover are committing to support their habit. The “free heroin for addicts” program is stopping addicts from commiting crimes. Addicts cannot do daily routines, such as interact with people or do a job. Users will steal and break into houses to get the money for these drugs. But this program will not cure the users addiction, it is only being used to drop the city’s crime rate. This program will keep addicts off the street and out of the hospital as well. Clean and sanitized equipment will replace the unsanitized ones, also keeping hospitals free from unneeded visits. The addiction will not be lost, however the program will keep the city clean.
Category: LBirch
Rebuttal- LBirch
Rather Be Safe Than Sorry
It is a great responsibility to be a homeowner, to actually be cautious of the safety of the all the occupants. The one main safety feature that seems to go unnoticed is a smoke detector. To some homeowners, they seem to think it is a good idea to put their detectors up and completely forget about them. The main argument in favor of wired smoke detectors is that they will stay powered forever and there is no need to change the batteries. But they never seem to think about if the power goes out, or the back-up batteries aren’t properly functioning. According to an article on Do It Yourself, the detector will begin to go off when the power goes off and the back-up battery (if there is one) is dead. So why have a hardwired detector if it will not work in all scenarios? This does prove that no matter what type of detector you have, hardwired or battery powered, proper care and maintenance is needed.
New and improved detectors are always coming onto the market, usually advancing with technology. In a article by Haramis Electric, these detectors will alert emergency services automatically if a smoke detector is activated in your home. Of course these new detectors will cost more, but in the end the price of a detector is worth it. But there are some disadvantages to these “smart” detectors. The main disadvantage comes when the power goes out. Some new systems run on WiFi, but are no good when they are getting no power.
Of course, we cannot argue all detectors are a hazard and we should not use them. They save many lives a year from house fires. But we can argue certain aspects are dangerous, such as when the power goes out. Safety does come first, no matter the cost, so detectors should not go unnoticed or forgotten.
Work Cited
Advantages/Disadvantages of Smart Smoke Detectors. (2016, September 08). Retrieved March 19, 2018, from http://www.haramiselectric.com/blog/advantagesdisadvantages-smart-smoke-detectors/
Smoke Detector Beeping: Maintenance Is Likely Required. (2009, June 22). Retrieved March 19, 2018, from https://www.doityourself.com/stry/smoke-detector-beeping-maintenance-is-likely-required
Safer Saws- LBirch
4A. Ten people every day – according the CPSC’s own data – have their fingers amputated in power saw accidents. 10 a day! I’ve wanted to push the CPSC for a mandatory standard ever since hearing a story on NPR in May of 2006. The inventors of a saw that senses an electrical current in a finger, as opposed to a piece of wood, and stops before serious harm is done, named their company SawStop.
4B.
First: 10 people a day are losing their fingers due to saw innocents and this seems like a shocking statistic.
Second: This customer has been wanting to make a push for a safer, better saw with more precautions that gives users less risk of amputation of a finger. The author of this article has been wanting to do this for around five years.
Third: Inventors of this saw have made and designed something very different that no one else has made.
Fourth: This saw prevents severe injury, and with this new design, stops the saw completely.
4C.
- The first claim is a factual claim, stating that ten people are amputated every day due to a saw accident. This data comes from CPSC’s, Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is a reliable source for product information.
- The second claim is causal claim and the author states that because of these accidents, he has been wanting a new standard of equipment. He has been wanting to do this since May of 2006, but we do not know if he has tried anything to make this equipment standard possible because he has only wanted to do this.
- The third claim of new inventors finally making a product that can prevent amputations is causal. It claims that because of the need of a safer saw, the StopSaw was made with new technology that has never been used before.
- The fourth claim is a claim of value. That if we have this new, safer product, serious harm will decrease. If the blade slightly comes in contact with you, an electrical current will stop the blade.
4D.
- The first claim can be flawed because of how this research was collected. We do not know how the CPSC collected their data even if they are a reliable commission and group.
- The second claim, that the author has been wanting a new standard, is most likely accurate because of how alarming this stat seems.
- The third claim, that new technology that senses electrical current is being made seems correct and reliable too. But with the limited information, we cannot decide how much this will prevent injuries.
- The fourth claim the author makes seems to be his opinion. He states that the blade will stop before any serious injury is done is not backed up by sources or experiences.
Causal Argument- LBirch
Smoke Detectors: The Source of Fire
Smoke detectors are an essential tool for your household safety, just like a lock on your door. Detectors play a huge role in fire safety, alerting an occupant when there is smoke in a building or house and allowing them enough time to exit without harm. Detectors seem to be easy to install, and are thought to require little to no care or attention. But with that belief, most detectors can become faulty and do not operate, or can even lead to a risk of starting a fire itself. Shorted wires or bad batteries can all be leading causes of these detectors catching fire, and both of these people do not check regularly. Without the appropriate maintenance of the detectors in your home, it is possible that the thing that alerts you of a fire is actually the cause of the fire.
The smoke detectors in your house are either hard-wired, meaning their main power source is from your house, or a battery-operated detector, which gets its power from a battery. There are many battery options for a detector, but the most common and efficient battery is the lithium battery. According to Arthur Lee’s report for the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission, “In recent years, the market has offered battery-powered residential smoke alarms with long-life batteries of up to 10-years. The batteries are lithium 9-volt batteries…” But what is not known is the dangers of these long-life, lithium batteries. Lithium batteries do have a history of shorting out, causing a fire. In an article by Battery University, the author discusses safety concerns of lithium batteries and times where they have failed. “In 2006, a one-in-200,000 breakdown triggered a recall of almost six million lithium-ion packs. Sony, the maker of the lithium-ion cells in question, points out that on rare occasion microscopic metal particles may come into contact with other parts of the battery cell, leading to a short circuit within the cell… Quality lithium-ion batteries are safe if used as intended. However, a high number of heat and fire failures had been reported in consumer products that use non-certified batteries, and the hoverboard is an example”. Of course a hoverboard is not a smoke detector, but if the batteries are the same in the two, there is certainly a risk of a fire.
On the other side of battery-operated detectors are hard-wired detectors. As it should be noted, hard-wired detectors also use batteries, but only as a backup power source. The main source of power, however, uses wires. According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI), home electrical fires account for an estimated 51,000 fires each year. It is also stated that electrical distribution systems are the third leading cause of home structure fires. In an article published by CRM Risk, lists many ways a fire can be started due to wiring. Physical damage to wires or other electrical equipment can cause a fire and installations can also become damaged or deteriorate with age. Overloaded circuits used with large fuses and circuit breakers can result in overheated wires, breakdown of insulation and eventual short circuits. These circuits will produce high amounts of heat, which can lead to fire.
Structure fires are already a concern for homeowners and to add to their worries, an safety device that has been known to help may turn into a time bomb. The wrong wiring or a bad battery could possibly turn this safety device into a fiery piece of plastic. People should not need to worry about this device along with the many other things in a home. But you may need to be concerned about even the most object, like a smoke detector.
References
BU-304a: Safety Concerns with Li-ion. (2018, January 4). Retrieved February 27, 2018, from http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/safety_concerns_with_li_ion
Common Causes of Electrical Fires. (2012, December). Retrieved February 27, 2018, from http://cmrris.com/news-manufacturing-details/20/common-causes-of-electrical-fires.html
Home Electrical Fires. (2015, February 4). Retrieved February 27, 2018, from http://www.esfi.org/resource/home-electrical-fires-184
Lee, A. (2002, June 28). Preliminary Test Results on Lithium Batteries Used In Resident Smoke Alarms. Retrieved February 27, 2018, from https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/lithiumfinal.PDF
Visual Rhetoric- LBirch
Friendship & Mental Health
0:00-0:01
The screen opens with orange words “The Awkward Silence Presents,” most likely the production team. Behind this is some sort of small, furry animal that is stuffed standing on a small log or branch. This stuffed animal, maybe a possum, is most likely sitting on a table and is used as some sort of decoration. This addition seems funny in a sense because it is something a little strange. The possum takes away the seriousness for a time. We can assume this does not take place in present time, because taxidermy is not very popular now. Next to this animal is a picture of a boy in a metallic frame, reminding me of something I may see in my grandparents living room from when my dad was still a kid. To the left of the table where the animal and picture is, there is a tall lamp, which is on, with a green base leading to the lamp shade. Further in the shot is a stone fireplace, which we cannot tell is on or not. There are other decorations on the fireplace.
By the wood paneling in the room behind the animal and picture, this could be a living room of a cabin or home in the woods. This could also be in the mountains because I have not seen a living room of a house look like this. We can conclude this may take place in the 60’s because of the oddities we would not see in a modern home.
0:01-0:04
This scene begins with the words “How to know if you should reach out to a friend.” in yellow letters. We can understand that this may be the message of this ad, receiving help from a friend when in need. We can conclude this scene is taken in the same place as the last one because of the wooden wall paneling of the room. On the walls of the room are two pictures or paintings of outdoors scenes. These pictures remind me of a cabin I once stayed in when I was a kid. In the center of the screen is a man, possibly in his 20’s, sitting with his one ankle on the knee of his other leg. This man is in a tan chair that somewhat resembles a shell. He is wearing a brown turtleneck with tan pants that almost resemble the color of the chair and is wearing shoes, but no socks. His style seems out of date and humorous in a way. It does not seem dressy, but more casual. Maybe this man does not really care how he dresses. Next to the chair is a small table with two more statues or ceramic decorations, and a magazine or comic book. One is some sort of bird, maybe a swan, and the other is what looks like a unicorn.
In the background on the left side of the screen is a dark brown cabinet or table. It is two doors for possibly books. I think maybe books are in there because there is a stack of books on top of this table with a glass duck on top. Maybe the man in this frame has a collection of these magazines. Next to the books is some sort of glass or ceramic statue or decoration, and also another smaller light with a wood base and a shade with a light brown and tan pattern.
Directly behind the man is a tall black box (maybe a speaker), sitting on top of a brown table which matches the other one in the room. Next to the box is a medium size fish tank, maybe 10 gallons, and looks well-kept. There are also more books and also vinyl records or maybe magazines or comics. It is hard to tell from the distance.
The first three or four seconds show this ad has a humorous approach to it, still focusing on the main serious issue. We can conclude this man may be a little “weird”, collecting and keeping strange items. This room could be his definition of a man-cave, or maybe even an office or living room.
0:04-0:05
In this scene, the camera zooms in closer to the man sitting in the chair, so now it is only is upper body in the center of the screen. All that’s left on the sides is the ceramic statue, lamp, and the black box behind the chair. We assume he is now the main focus of this video.
0:05-0:13
The next seven or eight seconds, there are quick scenes of 7 different people who are all talking, but we do not know what about.
The first person is a young black female, maybe in her 20’s, without a shirt on. She looks to be laying down in a bed with white sheets. Her hair is curly, but does not look messy. The second is a black male, also without his shirt on. He may be sweaty because of the light reflecting off of his skin. These two may be in the same room or scene. We cannot tell what is behind the man because the camera is focused on him.
The next scene is quick and there is a women, maybe in her thirties, and she talks for less than a second. The background seems to be a messy room, but is hard to make out because the camera is focused on her.
The next is a younger woman again, early twenties, with straight hair and narrow face. Behind her are golden lettered balloons, but are not focused on enough to tell what they spell out.
The next scene is a young man laying down in a bed with white sheets and a white pillow. He does not have a shirt on. The man after this has the same background as the black man in the second scene. So maybe they are both connected?
The next short scene in of a man with curly hair with gold lettered balloons in the background, like the other woman. These two may be connected also.
After each person is seen, all people repeat one more time, with no changes in background. They all appear to talk, but cannot be heard what is being said. The director of this may include all of these different people to send a message that everyone may have something in common, no matter skin color or gender. We can assume some of these people are in the same room because of the backrounds, but it is not clear if they are significant with each other.
0:13-0:16
After the people are show, the scene goes back to the man sitting in the room, zoomed out to its original position. Everything is in the same place and the man is talking, using his hands to possibly get his point across. This man may be each of the other peoples’ friend, representing he is that person they can talk to. He should not be confused with a shrink, more of a friendly figure.
0:16-0:21
The camera zooms back into the man sitting in the chair, like the second scene.
0:16-0:31
The scene changes to the fish tank that was behind the man in the chair, and three fish are swimming around together. The director could have possibly used this scene to show that everyone does have someone else, even if this is shown by fish swimming together.
Definition Argument- lbirch141
Detectors Causing Harm
People around the world live in a very dangerous, harmful world with many things that can go wrong. One of the most dangerous things people have that are potentially dangerous is smoke detectors. Detectors, whether it is for smoke, heat, or carbon monoxide, go unnoticed every day and are not even thought to be harmful or potentially dangerous. The beeping pieces of plastic on your ceiling could turn into a hazard if not cared for or thought about daily. Detectors do have many benefits if properly used, and can save many lives annually. But detectors do have dangers that it is trying to prevent. They have the risk of not alerting when there is a threat of fire or smoke, or could start a fire itself.
It may seem like these detectors are a benefit, considering fire departments and fire protection agencies hand them out. But the risk starts if installation of the product is not efficient and installed properly. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s “Considerations For Installation Of Smoke Alarms On Residential Branch Circuits“, the proper installation of a detector is essential in order to decrease the risk of fires starting from detectors. Shortages, overheating wires and overloaded circuits can start a fire at any time if installation is not done correctly. Wires overheating due to excess current in the detector is a main issue that does cause electrical fires.
As the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission also states, there are some techniques being used to cut down electrical fires. Fuses are now being put into place so if overheating does occur, a fuse will be set off, not allowing any more current to go through the circuit. Overheating would be hard to catch, but a small fuse does make it easier to prevent any fires from starting from your detectors.
Short circuits are a common cause of fires, which a detector can do. According to Elizabeth McGrath’s “What Causes Short Circuits“, a short circuit occurs when part of a wire carrying current touches another wire or part of the circuit and gives the electricity a path of less resistance. For example, if a wire with faulty insulation becomes exposed and touches a metal light switch, current can flow along the light switch and result in a shock. Short circuits will produce more heat in a circuit and results in burns and electrical fires.
Something else that can actually cause a fire are the batteries used to power the detectors. But in many incidences, an ordinary item that may be found in your “junk drawer” may have a higher risk of catching fire than you think. Fire Protection Team writes that if a metal object touches the posts of the batteries, the battery may short circuit, which creates enough heat to start a fire. There have been reports of this across the country of these batteries actually starting a fire, and enough that homeowners are launching a campaign to provide awareness of this unexpected hazard.
But new technology creates a better way to prevent this also. McGrath states that a short circuit will cause your household breaker to trip, allowing you to see something was shorted out. But there are still some risks and dangers even with this technology and advancing improvements. Internal shortages can happen within your ceiling, which are harder to spot and can lead to a fire if it is not noticed fast enough.
It is sometimes hard to believe that a device used to alert you of a fire is actually causing them. There have been some reported fires that have started due to a detector, which have not been researched to see what actually caused the fire. An article titled “Fire services on alert after smoke detector is blamed for causing Two blazes” published by Daily Mail, provides two cases in the United Kingdom where smoke detectors caught fire inside houses. Fire investigators on the case say they are on the side of caution because of these incidents and are taking the situation very seriously. These detectors were installed by fire services for a fire prevention safety campaign.
Poor maintenance and upkeep of detectors can be a major role in your family’s fire safety. What some do not know is that even hardwired detectors have a battery which is used for backup purposes. If electricity is lost in your household and that backup battery is dead, there will be no way in knowing if there is smoke in your house or not.
A deadly example of this is in an article written by Bruce Krasnow, titled “Fire Starts During Annual Smoke Detector Warning…“, which states that a fire started in a house that did not have smoke detectors at all, which may have saved the lives of four children. Fire investigators said that the fire was smoldering long before it ignited, and if a detector was present, the four children would have been alerted and would have been able to get out safely. It is a tragic story that did not need to happen if a smoke detector was properly installed in the home.
This seems strange to think about. No one would think that a device used to alert individuals that there is fire, could be the reason the fire starts in the first place. As a fire fighter, I would not think this at all because of the positives I see, and what many others see also. We all see that blinking red light and hear that loud beep, but never do think about if it is doing more bad than good.
References
Brooke, C. (2011, November 08). Fire services on alert after smoke detector is blamed for causing TWO blazes. Retrieved February 13, 2018 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2058922/Firefighters-forced-stop-handing-smoke-alarms-catches-alight-nearly-burns-house.html
Krasnow, B. S. w. (1995, October 29). FIRE STARTS DURING ANNUAL SMOKE DETECTOR WARNING OFFICIALS URGE PEOPLE TO CHECK BATTERIES WHILE CHANGING CLOCKS. Retrieved February 13, 2018 from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/docview/394791605/abstract/4BF70D91880C41AFPQ/1?accountid=13605
Lee, A., & Lee, D. (2005, October). Considerations For Installation Of Smoke Alarms On Residential Branch Circuits. Retrieved February 13, 2018 from https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/acfismoke.pdf
McGrath, E. (2017, July 11). What Causes Short Circuits?. Retrieved February 13, 2018 from https://www.thespruce.com/what-causes-short-circuits-4118973
Nichols, B. (2014, June 30). How 9-Volt Batteries Can be a Home Hazard. Retrieved February 13, 2018 from http://fireprotectiontesting.com/dangers-of-9-volt-batteries/
PTSD Claims- lbirch141
05
“Secondary traumatic stress has been documented in the spouses of veterans with PTSD from Vietnam. And the spouses of Israeli veterans with PTSD, and Dutch veterans with PTSD.”
- “Secondary traumatic stress” is claimed to be a type of PTSD, but is not an actual disorder.
- “documented” is just the record, not an actual study completed. We do not know how it was documented or if a study was even done.
- “Spouses of veterans” only indicates spouses were studied and taken into consideration of secondary PTSD. This could show not everyone in a household was studied or documented.
- “Spouses of Israeli veterans with PTSD, and Dutch veterans with PTSD” shows different people, that could have fought in different wars. All of these veterans could have different ways of life and ways they fought.
“In one study, the incidence of secondary trauma in wives of Croatian war vets with PTSD was 30 percent. In another study there, it was 39 percent.”
- “One study” does not show a whole picture. We cannot conclude secondary PTSD is real with one study being shown.
- “incidence of secondary trauma in wives of Croatian war vets” does not show how many wives were actually studied. It could be two wives or two hundred wives.
- “30 percent” gives us a number of just this group. We still also do not know what this 30 percent is out of. We cannot conclude this an accurate representation of a whole population of veteran’s wives.
- “another study” is just a basic statement that another test was done. This does not give us a representation of how many people were actually studied.
- “39 percent” is still a basic number that can represent some many different things. We do not know who was studied and what each wife has been though.
“’Trauma is really not something that happens to an individual,’ says Robert Motta, a clinical psychologist and psychology professor at Hofstra University who wrote a few of the many medical-journal articles about secondary trauma in Vietnam vets’ families.”
- “really not something that happens to an individual” does not make too much sense. There are many types of trauma someone can have and some types just cannot be contagious.
- “a few of the many medical-journal articles about secondary trauma in Vietnam vets’ families.” a few does not give a very exact number. We cannot know how knowledgeable he is if it’s just a few. Also, if it is only Vietnam war vets, that’s only a small portion of veterans.
“Katie Vines, the first time I meet her, is in trouble. Not that you’d know it to look at her, bounding up to the car, blondish bob flying as she sprints from her kindergarten class, nice round face like her daddy’s. No one’s the wiser until she cheerfully hands her mother a folder from the backseat she’s hopped into.”
- “the first time I meet her” shows that it is only one occasion. We do not know if this has happened before or not if it is only the first time meeting Katie.
- “she sprints from her kindergarten class” could just mean what she does shows her age if shes only in kindergarten.
- “Not that you’d know it to look at her, bounding up to the car, blondish bob flying as she sprints from her kindergarten class” shows us that Katie looks normal on the outside, but has something wrong on the inside.
- “nice round face like her daddy’s” is comparing a kindergartner to a war vet with PTSD. That is not something you can do because they are have two different mindsets.
- “No one’s the wiser until she cheerfully hands her mother a folder” shows Katie does not seem to know or understand she did something wrong.
“’It says here,’ Brannan says, her eyes narrowing incredulously, ‘that you spit on somebody today.’”
- “It says here” is a second hand source. We do not know the whole story from just this note.
- “you spit on somebody today” seems like something normal kids do sometimes because they do not completely understand right from wrong. Again, we cannot compare a normal child to a veteran.
“’Yes ma’am,’ Katie admits, lowering her voice and her eyes guiltily.”
- “lowering her voice and her eyes guiltily” tells us maybe Katie did know it was wrong.
“Her schoolmate said something mean. Maybe. Katie doesn’t sound sure, or like she remembers exactly. One thing she’s positive of: “She just made me…so. MAD.” Brannan asks Katie to name some of the alternatives. “Walk away, get the teacher, yes ma’am, no ma’am,” Katie dutifully responds to the prompts. She looks disappointed in herself. Her eyebrows are heavily creased when she shakes her head and says quietly again, “I was so mad.”
- “Her schoolmate said something mean. Maybe. Katie doesn’t sound sure, or like she remembers exactly” doesn’t seem like something that proves that PTSD is contagious. Katie is a young child, and normal children try to cover what happened.
- “‘She just made me…so. MAD'” may tell us the other students did something to cause Katie to spit on her.
- “She looks disappointed in herself. Her eyebrows are heavily creased when she shakes her head and says quietly again, ‘I was so mad.'” implies Katie knows what she did, but could not help herself and got very mad.
Stone Money–Lbirch141
Growing up, I always had the thought money was a little piece of green paper that can just be printed up to someone’s need. Being an Economics major, I’ve learned it’s more than just that piece of paper. It holds a value that’s always changing and can be held physically or digitally; a form you will never actually have in your hand. Americans are fascinated by this amount, such as an amount in a bank account or the number of dollars in your wallet. Americans revolve their life around making this number for the purpose of living and buying goods. But what makes a dollar bill equal one dollar? How can Americans not revolve their lives around this value we give a piece of paper? So what really is money?
Is it really that green piece of paper in your pocket, or a large limestone that is outside on the beach? Currency and the value of these certain items all vary based on location and culture. My dollar bill might equal one banana on an island somewhere but may be worthless on another island. After hearing the lecture about Stone Money, I read the article “Island of Stone Money” by Milton Friedman. Friedman writes how the Yaps, a small island in the Pacific Ocean made of five to six thousand people whose wealth is valued by the large limestone rocks they have. This stone currency is know as fei. Although a large limestone would have little to no value to an American, it holds great importance to the Yaps. That limestone is their dollar bill, or even a hundred dollar bill. These stones were quarried and sent to the Yaps from an island about 400 miles away in large boats. One story states that there was once a large storm that sunk a large ship carrying an enormous fei for a wealthy village, which was never seen again. That lost stone was still counted as currency, which can be related to the United States currency; large sums of money in a bank that we never actually see. This money is just something we need to trust our bank has.
“The Invention of Money”, broadcast by Planet Money describes how money can sometimes just disappear and still be used. The thought of money just disappearing and still being used is different and strange. When the market crashed in 2008, millions and trillions of dollars just seemed to vanish, and many people question how this was even possible. The answer to this is that it never existed in the first place. Money is fictional; it is not a solid and can disappear and change value at any time. It is easy to say that I have one thousand dollars today, but tomorrow that could change value to something higher or lower.
We could ask the question of how much money is there in dollars out there, but the question is a lot harder than you’d expect. “The Invention of Money” also says you can count the physical money you have and give that amount, then go into your bank account and give that amount. But the amount in the bank may not even be in there. The bank can loan your money out to someone else, making your money theirs too. So it seems impossible to count everyone’s money without double counting it. With this being said, there cannot be a set number of dollars in the United States economy because it is all passed around from person to person in the form of loans.
A main example of money being fake and basically made up is when the Brazilian people needed to be tricked into believing money had value. In “The Invention of Money”, we learn that people had no hope in the value of currency because of inflation. Brazil printed extreme amounts of money in hope of being able to pay for massive projects, such as building their capital Brasilia. They did not have the money, so the only way to solve the problem was to print more of it. Inflation was raising so rapidly, people had to race to buy things at a lower price. One day, a pair of sunglasses would be valued at 10 dollars. In a month it would be valued 80% higher at 18 dollars. This problem was solved by four young economists who created virtual money for Brazil, giving people the belief money had value again. This fake, virtual money became real when people started to believe in it. It is truly unbelievable that when people started to believe in this new form of currency, the plan began to work.
How can one currency have a set translation to a different form of currency if one number can continuously change? In the article “The Bubble bursts on e-currency bitcoin”, the author Anne Renaut states how Bitcoin is erratically changing and is very volatile. Bitcoin is an online currency that is not physical and is used for online purchases. Bitcoin was made to have no connections to any banks or financial institutions in case of another market collapse. This article shows how much the value of this virtual object can change in the matter of a day, making people very skeptical to invest in this e-currency. It is dazzling how a Bitcoin can even be sound and makes me believe even stronger how money can be fake. A Bitcoin can be found in any computer and is accessed by a process called “mining”. What I do not understand is how a form of currency like this can be valued by someone. How these ones and zeros from computer coding can be used as a type of currency to buy things like I would be able to with that paper in my wallet.
A piece of paper, a large stone, or bits of computer code can all have value to someone, depending on where you are. Americans use paper, Yaps use stone wheels and countries with advanced technology can use Bitcoin. These can all be traded for food or other material, but only when people believe in their value. Currency is an interesting topic, considering everyone, no matter where they live, revolves their lives around that one thing that is said to have value.
Works Cited
Friedman, Milton. “The Island of Stone Money.” Diss. Hoover Institution, Stanford University, 1991.
“The Invention of Money.” 423: The Invention of Money. This Is American Life, WBEZ. Chicago. 7 Jan 2011.
Renaut, Anne. “The bubble bursts on e-currency Bitcoin.” AFP News. 13 Apr 2013. https://sg.news.yahoo.com/bubble-bursts-e-currency-bitcoin-064913387–finance.html. Accessed 6 Feb 2018.
White Paper 3—lbirch141
Proposal
For my research essay, I will examine how battery-powered smoke detectors are as reliable as wired smoke detectors, eliminating the hazards wired detectors may bring.
Smoke detectors are commonly known to alert someone if smoke is in their household or room. But there can be some hazards of these round plastic pieces that beep every time there is smoke. Wired detectors are what their name infers; they are hardwired into the ceiling and requires little attention until they start to go bad. These are often used because of how little you need to check them compared to battery-powered detectors. With the detectors directly wired into the ceiling, there could possibly be a risk of electrical hazards, which could be catastrophic.
Sources
1. “Smoke Detectors To Blame For Two Fires”
The Essential Content of the Article: This article published by Daily Mail provides two cases in the United Kingdom where the smoke detectors caught fire. Fire investigators on the case say they are on the side of caution because of these incidents and are taking the situation very seriously. These detectors were installed by fire services for a fire prevention safety campaign.
What it Proves: This article proves to me that there are cases of faulty detectors that do have the potential to start a fire and can cause harm. This also provides an example of an incident where smoke detectors do the complete opposite of what they are made to do.
2. “Pros and Cons of Hard-Wired Detectors”
The Essential Content of the Article: This article contains both the positives and negatives behind hard-wired smoke detectors. Some advantages are that when one alarm is activated, all are activated. Also a hard-wired detector is powered through the houses main electrical system, meaning you will have power to the at all times. The negatives of hard-wired detectors are that when the power goes out, they run solely on a battery. Also another negative is how much wiring is needed, which does have the possibility to short out.
What it Proves: With the information in this article, hard-wired detectors do have negatives that may outweigh their positives at times. Sure, there are positives, such as the little attention they do need, but in an emergency situation, they still need to run off a battery. Battery-powered smoke detectors are the cheaper option, and a battery in one has the lifespan of up to 10 years, which is the same as a hard-wired detector.
3. “Smoke Alarms Related To Fatal Fires”
The Essential Content of the Article: This report focuses on the statistics of fatalities in fires and their relation to smoke detectors. This report by the National Fire Protection Association states “smoke alarms were present in slightly less than three-quarters (73%) of reported home fires and operated in roughly half (53%)” (Ahrens, 2). It also states that about three out of five respondents of a survey still use battery operated smoke detectors. Lastly, a main piece of evidence that can be used is that a power-failure, shut-off or disconnect was the leading failure reason for failures of hardwired only smoke alarms (46%) (Ahrens, 5).
What it Proves: This report provides useful information that can relate fire alarms and their connection to fatalities in fires. This report makes it easy to understand the statistics of fatal household fires and proves that any alarm will make the difference between life and death.
4. “Smoke Alarms In Houses Today”
The Essential Content of the Article: This report covers the facts of smoke detector in houses today. There may be a problem reflected in battery-only alarms because if one alarm detects smoke, only that one will sound. If there is a fire in a remote section of the house, the alarm may not be heard if you are far away from the alarm. One statement in this report shows that some fires start due to overheated wires in detectors from an overload on its current.
What it Proves: This report proves that there can be some hazardous things in detectors we may not even think of. This can be the fact that with battery-operated detectors, only one detector will go off in an event of fire while hard-wired fires all will activate. But one hazard a hard-wired detector may possess is the problem of overheated wires with can lead to electrical fires.
With the information I gained about electrical fires due to overheated wires, I researched more about this topic and will add below.
The Essential Content of the Article: Short circuits can be caused by faulty installation of wires. When one wire carrying a current touches another wire, heat and fire can be made. This is from an overload of current which the wire may not be able to handle.
What it Proves: There can be many reasons why a short circuit may happen due to a detector. Wires may be faulty and can produce extreme heat, which can result in a fire. This proves that detectors do have the potential threat of a fire and can be harmful in some cases.
6. “Electrical Fires In Homes”
The Essential Content of the Article: This report by the National Fire Protection Agency gives us a vast amount of information gives us facts about electrical fires in houses across the country. Electrical fires may be the route of detector failures and fires because of the wiring involved. Fire departments responded to over 45,000 reported structure fires which involved electrical failure or malfunction from 2010-2014. Wiring and related equipment accounted for the great majority of home fires and losses involving electrical distribution and lighting equipment, which was 69% of fires. 56% of civilian deaths were due to electrical distribution, such as how hardwired detectors are powered.
What it Proves: This report proves that electrical fires are very common to be the cause of structure fires. With this said, the chance of a detector starting a fire may increase because of the wiring involved. If there is a short in the wiring of the detector, there will be heat, just like in other electrical fires.
The Essential Content of the Article: This article written by Fire Protection Team gives is information about 9-volt batteries and how they can cause a fire. 9-volt batteries are used in some detectors, but also as backups in hard-wired detectors. If a metal object, which can be as simple as a pen or paper clip touches a post of the battery, it may short the battery causing heat or fire. There have been fires due to batteries reported across the country and cause a concern to many.
What it Proves: The information gained from this article proves that even batteries can play a role in causing fires in detectors. If one small piece of metal touches the posts of the battery, extreme heat will be created, which can cause a fire. Not only do hardwired detectors have the risk of faulty wiring, but also the risk of the back-up battery causing a fire.
8. “Safety Concerns with Li-ion Batteries”
The Essential Content of the Article: The article by Battery University gives the reader information about the hazards of Lithium Ion batteries and why they start fires. The author of this article describes battery failure and how they start the fires. These batteries catch fire because of either deign flaws or by random, which is said to be comparable to being hit by a meteor. A few examples of Lithium Ion failures was the hoverboard fire inncidents and the Samsung phone battery fires. These were caused by manufacturing defects. A battery can experience overheating or may become unstable if used in the wrong ways.
What it Proves: This article proves that there are some previous safety malfunctions that have to do with Lithium Ion batteries. The same types of batteries that caught fire in Samsung phones and hoverboards are used in smoke detectors. This information also proves that sometimes a fire may start for no apparent reason, which may be why some of these batteries catch fire. The most common problems are manufactural errors, which leads to possible fires.
9. “Wrong Batteries Leads To Explosive Results”
The Essential Content of the Article: This article focuses on one cause where a battery started to “buldge” and “overheat.” This was caused by the wrong battery being used in the detector and the electricity from the house can charge the battery to an amount the battery cannot handle. The detectors were made before October of 2000, but have never been recalled.
What it Proves: This article proves another example of a battery in a smoke detector overheating, and this time battery acid leaking. This is just another example of a detector malfunctioning and injuring a man. Because of the use of a battery not designed for a certain detector, overheating occured, and luckly no fire.
What I’m Still Looking For:
The facts I am still looking for that supports my hypothesis are sources that could give me more information about detectors and how they cause fire. I do have articles about them causing fires, but not actual statistics. I can say it would be far too hard to conclude a detector causes a structure fire, especially if it is a major fire. But, there may be some facts and some more information about detectors being the main cause of a fire.
Current State of my Research:
With the research so far, I can conclude I am on a very good path and I am gaining much more knowledge on this subject. The research is coming very well, but with some information that cannot be found (stated above). If I can find more information about detectors, I may be able to successfully prove my hypothesis. This information will make me more confident and will help my research even further.
Summaries—lbirch141
1. Free Heroin To Battle Addiction
It seems counterintuitive that heroin addicts in Vancouver are receiving heroin to battle their addiction. A safe zone called Insite provides addicts with clean syringes, antiseptic wipes and other instruments, with heroin included.
Allen Schauffler, Pacific Northwest Correspondent for Al Jazeera says, “It’s a program that’s grown out of a couple earlier research projects into the effectiveness of methadone and suboxone–heroin alternatives —in treating heroin addicts. And the people that are now getting free heroin prescribed by a doctor, two or three times a day as needed, are people who were in those two research studies…”
Simply giving addicts the drug will reduce the harm they cause themselves and society. Giving them the drug makes is less likely that addicts will end up dead in an alley with a needle in their arm, or reduces the risk of robbery or theft in order for them to buy more of the drug.
But Schauffler also says, “It is a form of blackmail. What it says to these people is, ‘Yep, you are heroin addicts. A certain number of you, the most severely addicted are heroin addicts, you’ll always be heroin addicts, there is no hope of you getting off heroin, therefore let’s provide you with heroin so you are the least dangerous drug addict you can possibly be. It’s a very odd, very odd moral line to walk.”
Not everyone believes this is the best plan to solve addiction. Jim O’Rourke, the executive director at the British Columbia-based Vision Quest Recovery Society, says that the city is killing addicts with kindness. “We might as well put a bullet in their head,” O’Rourke told him. “We’re killing them. We just doing it in a much nicer way.”
It seems counterintuitive that we spend more money on people that have very little chance of survival. One-fourth of Medicare spending occurs in the final year of life. This care is often futile. It doesn’t always prolong lives, and it doesn’t always reflect what patients want. Families need to make the hard decision of an outcome that cannot be reversed.
When a journalist’s mother was suddenly put into a coma, he needed to make that decision along with his father and sister. He needed to decide if they would take his mother off the ventilator, or spend the money to keep his mother alive, even is there was little chance at survival.
The writers thinking was that he wasted resources for the extra two days his mother was in the ICU. He also thought that it most add up to millions of dollars of thousands of other families spent the same time, or more, deciding what to do.
With this thinking, he asked Elliott S. Fisher, a professor of medicine at Dartmouth and a leader of the Dartmouth Atlas, if he had wasted money and resources to keep his mother alive. Fishers response was, “No. You never need to rush the decision-making. It should always be about making the right decision for the patient and the family. We have plenty of money in the U.S. health-care system to make sure that we’re supporting families in coming to a decision that they can all feel good about. I feel very strongly about that.”
With the situation he had been in, we have the think of the real families that need to make this decision everyday. We should not rush this hard decision, even if that means we spend the extra money or resources.
It seems counterintuitive that the Nigerian people boycotted a vaccine that was meant to eradicating polio. This plan was made in 1996 when Nelson Mandela launched the “Kick Polio Out of Africa” campaign, which aimed to vaccinate 50 million children in 1996 alone.
Nigeria, which accounted for 45% of polio cases worldwide and 80% of cases reported from the African region in 2003. This high prevalence was attributed to poor vaccine coverage during the previous control campaigns. But the of hopes of eradication were dashed by a boycott of the polio immunization campaign in three states in northern Nigeria, amidst rumors and public distrust.
Political and religious leaders of Kano, Zamfara, and Kaduna states in 2003 stopped the campaign by calling on parents not to allow their children to be vaccinated. These leaders argued that the vaccine could be contaminated with anti-fertility agents, HIV, and cancerous agents. Many blame the war in Iraq for the boycott and the belief of contamination. Many scholars backed and lead the boycott, leading to many not getting the immunization needed.
Embarrassed by the political undertone of the boycott, Islamic scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, President of the International Fiqh Council, said, “In fact, I was completely astonished about the attitude of our fellow scholars of Kano towards polio vaccine. I disapprove of their opinion, for the lawfulness of such vaccine in the point of view of Islam is as clear as sunlight.” Sheikh Qaradawi said that the same polio vaccine has been effective in over 50 Muslim countries, and blamed the SCSN for creating a negative image of Islam: “They distort the image of Islam and make it appear as if it contradicts science and medical progress.”
Truth of the rumor that the vaccine was contaminated with HIV and other diseases was never established but lack of trust in Northern Nigeria remained. Efforts of the federal government to shut down the rumors were rejected and had no effect. After the 11-month boycott, officials finally relaunched a immunization program for these Nigerian states.
Rowan Counterintuitive 