Category: davidbdale

Barter Explained, Poorly

Bartering is trading services or goods with another person when there is no money involved. This type of exchange was relied upon by early civilizations. There are even cultures within modern society who still rely on this type of exchange. Bartering has been around for a very long time, however, it’s not necessarily something that an economy or society has relied solely on.

A barter system is an old method of exchange. This system has been used for centuries and long before money was invented. People exchanged services and goods for other services and goods in return. In ancient times, this system involved people in the same area, however today bartering is global. The value of bartering items can be negotiated with the other party. Bartering doesn’t involve money which is one of the advantages. You can buy items by exchanging an item you have but no longer want or need. Generally, trading in this manner is done through Online auctions and swap markets.

The history of bartering dates all the way back to 6000 BC. Introduced by Mesopotamia tribes, bartering was adopted by Phoenicians. Phoenicians bartered goods to those located in various other cities across oceans. Babylonian’s also developed an improved bartering system. Goods were exchanged for food, tea, weapons, and spices. When money was invented, bartering did not end, it become more organized. Due to lack of money, bartering became popular in the 1930s during the Great Depression. It was used to obtain food and various other services. It was done through groups or between people who acted similar to banks. If any items were sold, the owner would receive credit and the buyer’s account would be debited.

Just as with most things, there are disadvantages and advantages of bartering. A complication of bartering is determining how trustworthy the person you are trading with is. The other person does not have any proof or certification that they are legitimate, and there is no consumer protection or warranties involved. This means that services and goods you are exchanging may be exchanged for poor or defective items. It may be a good idea to limit exchanges to family and friends in the beginning because good bartering requires skill and experience. At times, it is easy to think the item you desire is worth more than it actually is and underestimate the value of your own item.

On the positive side, there are great advantages to bartering. As mentioned earlier, you do not need money to barter. Another advantage is that there is flexibility in bartering. For instance, related products can be traded, or items that are completely different can be traded. Another advantage of bartering is that you do not have to part with material items. Instead, you can offer a service in exchange for an item. With bartering two parties can get something they want or need from each other

Saturday Morning Check-in

Good morning, FA17 class!

Some of you have texted me for help getting access to the blog, finding the assignment, finding the sources, or asking me about rewrites, but most of you have not checked in at all, so I’m wondering how you’re progressing on your first assignment.

Just in Case

  1. Assignments are located in the Assignments menu at the top of the blog, just below the header photo of the dog who’s watching you in his sleep.
  2. Your first essay, A01: Stone Money, is due before midnight tomorrow, SUN SEP 10.
  3. You’ll submit your essay by posting it to the blog.
  4. The sources you’ll need to research your essay are located in the sidebar (the narrow band of links along the right-hand side of the blog). Find them beneath the heading A01 Sources.
  5. You’ll be graded twice on this essay. A01 is Stone Money, a graded first draft. A04 will be your Stone Money Rewrite, a chance to improve both your essay and your grade.
  6. You can receive early feedback on your first draft by posting early. (It’s getting late to post early.)
  7. If you can’t log in to the blog, you probably haven’t accepted your invitation. Find the second email WordPress sent you during our first class. It contains a link you need to follow to accept the invitation.
  8. I love to help students who show commitment and take initiative. If you need anything at all, or something you’re reading here doesn’t make sense, email help@davidhodges.com or text me (856) 979-6653 before noon on Sunday.

Not Enough Authors

CHECK THE LIST FOR YOUR USERNAME

We did our best to sign every up for the blog in our first class, WED SEP 06, but were only partly successful. At the moment, the following authors have usernames. I stripped out the numbers you needed to use to make them unique.

  • alaska
  • collegegirl
  • chandlerbing
  • flyerfan
  • jadden
  • killroy
  • lifeissublime
  • nathandetroit
  • neweditionlover
  • pdqlover
  • phillygirl
  • rainbow
  • splash
  • theadmiral
  • thebeard
  • theintern
  • unknowntrendsetter
  • yoshi

If your name is not on the list, mostly likely you haven’t yet responded to your invitation. You received a SECOND email from WordPress during class saying you had been invited to join the RowanCounterintuitive blog and asking you to confirm.

Don’t wait until Sunday night to discover you’re not an Author of the class blog, please. Reply to your email, or let me know you’re having a problem. I’m happy to help, but I need some time to do things right.

DAVID HODGES
hodges@rowan.edu
anything@davidhodges.com (where anything means anything)
856 979-6653 for voice and text

 

Tonight’s Class

Attendance Mandatory

You must attend class on WED DEC 07 to have your Portfolio reviewed.
The complete 6-item Portfolio is due before you arrive in class.

Once your Portfolio is certified complete, you will be invited to make an appointment for your mandatory Grade Conference during Finals Week, MON DEC 12 or WED DEC 14.

  • Work Due: Completed 6-item Portfolio
  • Portfolio Double-check
  • Appointments for Grade Conferences
    • Only David Hodges can edit the Grade Conferences Chart. Attend class to have your Portfolio certified complete and to make your Grade Conference appointment.

Penalties for incomplete Portfolios (or for failure to attend class for the Portfolio Check) will be substantial, but you may continue to revise the contents of your Portfolio even after it has been certified complete.

Help for Your Reflective

Look Here First

Every argument benefits from details, and I shouldn’t have to tell you your Self-Reflective Statement is an argument. Here’s an example of a “perfectly fine” entry in a sample Statement, plus a version enhanced with details. One won’t hurt your Portfolio much. The other could help it considerably.

Original. We have no idea what the author of this paragraph chose for her thesis, cannot focus on her vague assertions, and can’t evaluate whether any valuable lessons were learned.

Gathering and analyzing information helped me tremendously. I gained astronomical amounts of knowledge by reading various sources (via online, books, journals, etc.) on my topic. The best example of this is my Rebuttal Rewrite. In the beginning, I’ll admit that I was very narrow minded in my argument. I received constructive criticism from professor Hodges on my rough draft which allowed me to see the other side of my argument. I gathered as much information as I could on both sides of the argument. There were various scholarly sources to choose from that supported my thesis. This information allowed me to fully understand both sides of the argument before I started writing. It made my argument stronger when I fully understood both sides of the argument, and then presented a rebuttal proving there was a stronger side.

With Details. We may agree or disagree with the author’s conclusions, but we get a much better sense of the challenges she faced and overcame.

Gathering and analyzing information helped me tremendously. I gained astronomical amounts of knowledge by reading various sources (via online, books, journals, etc.) on my topic. The best example of this is my Rebuttal Rewrite. In the beginning, I’ll admit that I was convinced that electric cars were environmentally superior in every way to gasoline engine cars. I received constructive criticism from professor Hodges on my rough draft which allowed me to see the drawbacks of running cars on electricity. Once I investigated the environmental costs of producing enough electricity to convert millions of cars to electric, it was obvious e-cars aren’t as green as I had believed. There were various scholarly sources to support both my original thesis and some alternatives. I nonetheless concluded that electric cars are superior, but understanding the drawbacks strengthened my argument by helping me anticipate objections and refute them.