3/30/10

When looking at the prompts for this class, there is usually a minimum source requirement. Back in the beginning of the semester you had a research professional guide us through searching on Griffin and WordCat on the WSU libraries website. This information was useful, however it didn’t stick.

It seems like whenever I try to search for very narrow subjects (for example: Organic food’s effect on race) little to no articles or journals come up. Even after learning the proper uses of “AND” and “OR,” narrow topics like in the essays we are assigned are extremely hard to look for. Because of this, I try to look for books about the broader topic (for example: Organic foods in the last decade). If I cannot find information about the narrower topics I use a lot of Internet sources (web pages, online encyclopedias, company sites) because they are easy to access. Before writing the paper I open a separate Word document and type out the facts I thought we interesting. When writing the paper, I try to place the quotes were I see need extra support or where exact facts are needed. For example: when I talked about class and income in paper 3, I used a quote from the census to support what I was trying to prove.

I should learn more about Griffin and WorldCat because I can’t always rely on book and Internet resources. I should also use the note card method where I write the facts on note card with their sources. I should filter out he pointless filler facts and use only the ones that support the point I am trying to make. I feel that as far as writing papers go, finding legitimate sources is my weakest point. I also think before our next draft for paper three is due, we should have another day to learn about the online library resources.

3/9/2010

This article, by Norman Borlaug, goes along with the positive part of genetically modified foods. In recent news, scientists have made important crops such as "cotton, maize, oilseed rape, soybeans, sugar beet, and wheat" that have immunities to herbicides so cost of crops will decrease and environmental health will increase. Like the hippies did in the video, some may oppose to genetically modifying foods because the whole concept is still foreign. Borlaug is putting things into perspective by thinking of the future. At the rate Earth's population is increasing, it is important to continue making technological advances to keep up with the growing hunger. Because there are so many anti-science eaters in American, scientific advancement is struggling to find funding. People in wealthy places, like the hippies, need to realize the greater good this may have on poorer countries. The author asks, "what would the world be like without the technological advances that have occurred?"

American legislation is trying to correct all the problems that are arising in the environment, pollution, global warming, and world hunger. Reading this and watching the video about how this movement improves life of millions has got me torn. While on the other hand, reading Omnivore's Dilemma makes me want to try to buy all organic foods and advocate against GM foods to save the farmer and the consumer.