My Final Research Paper Game Plan

During the next two weeks, I need to work on the length of my paper and my use of sources to finish my research paper. I have only written 3 pages so far, which is less than 1000 word, and need to write a lot more for a passing grade. I also rarely use quotes in my first draft, so it makes it seem as if i don't have a solid grasp of all my sources. Right now I'm still trying to formulate my argument. I tried to be a little creative with my argument/thesis but I think I should just simplify it that way its not so confusing. Another thing I can do to improve my paper is to cite more. I'm not citing enough in my body paragraphs and I run the risk of being flagged for plagiarism.

Close Reading of "A Beautiful Mind" Stills

The two film stills I closely examined were from “A Beautiful Mind” and they were figures 10 and 12. I have never seen the film but I think these two stills in particular tell a lot about the films plot. The first still (figure 10) shows the main character John Nash greeting his imaginary friends. First thing you notice in this still is how warm the hug looks so these characters are obviously very familiar with one another, there is also a little girl in this still who looks like another one of his imaginary friends because she looks like she see both of them. The fact that these are his imaginary friends tells you that this character most likely suffers from some mental disorder. Another thing you notice in this still is the fact that the scene was set outside in a public area. This seemed to be a conscious choice made by the director because having the scene set outside in a public space could help reveal what’s going on to a viewer who might be confused and think that he’s actually talking to real people. The still also helps in revealing his battle with schizophrenia. In the second still (figure 12) we see Nash being given insulin shock therapy as his wife and psychiatrist look on. Immediately in this still you notice the psychiatrist is looking on as the wife is turned away with her head down. This picture shows that his wife had a difficult time watching him go through the procedure. I loved the way this still was angled because is almost as if the viewer was there in the room watching on with the wife and psychiatrist, it’s almost as if the director wanted the viewer to feel the emotion of that scene. I think stills are important when examining a film because they allow you to see things you might not have seen while watching the film. In films things can move pretty fast so stills allow you to closely analyze a particular moment in a scene. I learned that you can learn a lot about a film from a picture and if you want to get a better understanding of a film or a scene maybe you should pause it.

Research Topic & Two Sources

The topic I will be researching in my paper is Science and Technology: Promise or Peril? What I intend to focus on in this paper is the promise or peril of the internet. I want research and discover what effects internet technology has had on humanity, whether they it be negative or positive.

One source I am thinking of using for my research paper is an article titled “I was misinformed about the information revolution.” This Financial Times article, which was taken from LexisNexis, was written by Richard Tomkins. In the article Tomkins argues that the significant social/political change promised by the invention of the internet has not come to fruition, he writes “What has the internet ever done for us? All right, so it has facilitated the spread of global terrorism, given rise to an enormous expansion of the pornography industry and introduced the words "spam" and "penis enlargement" into everyday speech. But where is the revolution we were promised during those wildly optimistic days of the 1990's dotcom frenzy?”(Tomkins). Tomkins feels the internet has not made that significant of an impact on our way of life like it was promised to do. I chose this source because it presents a different view of the internet and its effects on human life. I will use this source to present an opposing view of the internet and use it as the author I am responding to in my essay.

Another source I might use in my research paper is an article titled “Addictive Internet Use among Korean Adolescents: A National Survey” This article, which has multiple authors, was taken from EBSCOHOST research database. The article explores a psychological disorder, which has developed due to rise of the internet, called “internet addiction.” The primary group focused on in the research was South Korean youth from the ages of 13 to 18.  The article highlighted many factors correlated with addictive internet use in South Korea and found that alcohol, parent’s educational level, tobacco consumption, and many other variables were all linked to internet addiction (Heo et al. 4). The article highlighted many factors correlated with addictive internet use in South Korea and found that alcohol, parent’s educational level, tobacco consumption, and many other variables were all linked to internet addiction (Heo et al. 4). The article also discovered an interesting difference in the variables leading to internet addiction in girls and boys, “[…] gender stratified analysis revealed different patterns of associated between boys versus girls across all variables. The association of poor self-rated academic achievement with addictive internet use was stronger in boys than girls. Parental educational status was inversely associated with addictive internet use among boys while showing no association among girls.” I chose this article because it presents a negative side effect of internet usage that I want to speak about in my paper.

Research Paper Topic

Of the two general topic areas that I'm interested in, general topic 6 "Historical Research on a Scientist (and a Controversy)" is the one that I am thinking of exploring more in detail. Based on the minor research I have done I am already thinking of how I want to structure this essay. I'm still trying to figure out whether I want to stick with some of the scientist already listed or if I want continue exploring the works of other scientist. I already have an idea of what I want to talk about but I'm not sure if its where the professor wants me to go on this topic area; I mean I think I'd still be able to follow the format laid out but explore a different realm. 

Welcome to my Blog!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Readers,

            My name is Dominick Braswell and I want to welcome you all to my blog. Just a little about myself; I grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, but I currently reside in the Crown Heights section. I would describe myself as an introvert who wears an extrovert mask. I love horror movies, action movies, and comedy’s. One of my favorite films is Spike Lee’s “Crookyln.” Right now my major is Liberal Arts: Social Science & Humanities but once I graduate from LaGuardia I want to do a double major in Political Science and Black Studies. The furthest I plan on going in my education is up to the Masters level, but this doesn’t mean I’m ruling out a PhD. Now as far as a career goes I honestly have no clue what I want to do. At one point I thought I’d get into law and become a lawyer, then I thought about becoming a politician but I no longer have a desire to be any of those two. Over the past couple of years, following high school, I’ve developed a passion for social justice. I’ve become even more aware of how sick and unjust this system we live under is, and I want to change it.