Rochelle's English 101 Blog: October 2012

Friday, October 26, 2012

Writing Project #2 Address/Link

http://RochelleWp2.blogspot.com

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Writing Project #2 Outline

Topic/Title: Places to Work On or Around Campus

Places: Einstein Bros (Work Study)
                Student Book Center
                Dutch Bros. Coffee
                Sun Devil Campus Store (Work Study)
                Starbucks (Work Study or Not)
                Tempe Bicycle

Evaluative Criteria& Research Ideas:

Community Connections
© Safety

Secondary Resources/Support:

http://www.mhaca.org.au/2010resources/What%20makes%20a%20good%20workplace.pdf

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Blog # 7

As I was searching and scoping out the well-known, popular website Yelp.com, I looked at various restaurants, supply-chains, coffee places, etc. to see the criteria that people use to evaluate their food and their experience with it in certain environments. People are extremely critical about their cuisine, so I figured that examining eateries would be a good starting point to find truthful, meticulous criticism for both a product as well as the surroundings that people relate to their experience (like I learned from Vanclay in Writing Project 1!). For Writing Project 2, I want to map out “good” [positive, comfortable] places to work on campus and as I rummaged about Yelp.com, I noticed that one of the most mentioned, and seemingly one of the most important pieces of one’s experience at either a restaurant, a coffee shop early in the morning, or even and a take-out place, was the customer service they received based on the friendliness of the staff. For example, I read stories about how generously a Starbucks employee made one woman’s hectic morning easier simply by ensuring her drinks would make it safely to her destination. The woman wrote: “Loved the employees of this store. I told them I need to get 2 drinks with the hospital, with food, and 2 bags, so they put my drinks in to a carrier and sealed my hot drink with green plug so it does not spill. SWEET!!!”. As I read these types of stories, as well as stories containing negative feedback, I noticed that the customer service really determined whether or not one would come back to visit the space. What made me solidify that statement were the few reviews which stated things like “The food was awful, completely opposite of what I had expected. However, the customer service was really great. The waitress was so nice, the manager was genuine, and they gave us such a discount it was like we only paid for our drinks! Maybe the cook was just having a bad day. We will probably give it one more try”. It was interesting to me that customer service had such an impact on a customer’s appreciation or evaluation of a place and its purpose. I think this will be very valuable to support my idea to spend time researching about what the criteria is for a good, positive work place, as the employees are a major reflection of the workplace: happy, friendly employees relay that idea that they are comfortable and satisfied, at least, with their workplace.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Writing to Evaluate

In the American television drama series Breaking Bad, we follow main character Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher that becomes a methamphetamine drug lord after he is diagnosed with terminal, stage-three lung cancer and fears for the financial security of his family. The seven-time Emmy award winning television series is a crime thriller meant to keep the audience on the edge of their seats by adding suspense and unexpected 180 degree spirals throughout the plot. Though it touches on a variety of themes and motifs, Breaking Bad uses the social principle that there is an undeniable difference between right and wrong to ask the audience to question whether one’s actions, motives, or conscious decision/control determines whether one is “good” or “bad”.

The producer does an effective job of providing the audience with tangible evidence of the moral struggle that Walter White will face throughout the series right from the start. We are introduced immediately to Walt’s working class job and broke lifestyle, pregnant wife, and teenage son living with Cerebral Palsy as Walt receives his diagnosis and the extreme financial liability that comes along with it. It is because of the stressful financial situation that Walt hastily leaves behind the typical constraints of society and takes a step into a life of crime that constantly forces the audience to question whether or not Walt is justified in his actions and risky new lifestyle. Using the common social knowledge of illicit drugs and the lifestyle that follows the use, creation, and distribution of such, the series follows the many dangerous, gruesome, fundamentally immoral decisions that Walt has to make in order to insure the production and distribution of his meth, thus, the insane income which will insure the future of his family. From keeping a secret, alter identity from his wife, to taking the lives of others, the audience is effectually reminded of the central question: whether or not Walt is bad, since his motives are genuine out of love and care for his family and their well-being after he is gone, while his actions are socially unacceptable, sometimes criminal, or purely wicked and devastating.

Ultimately, Breaking Bad is everything that the producer aimed for it to be in terms of being a crime thriller and an effective media to convey the message that human beings philosophically struggle to understand. As I have not finished the series, I cannot exactly determine if the producer directly provides the audience with a definite answer to this query, however, I can attest that in every single episode Walt makes a shocking, morally questionable decision that makes the audience question whether or not Walt is the protagonist or antagonist - all you know is that he has the control to make the decision. Though the producer may not give us a true answer to the question he poses, his television series forces the audience to constantly question and ponder whether one’s actions, motives, or conscious decision/control determines if one is “good” or “bad”, which ultimately makes the series a success.