Mr. Rogerian's Neighborhood

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for.... Wait that's not where this is suppose to be going. It seems the clock has spun around a few more times and again we find ourselves in the predawn of another writing assignment. Lucky for us this writing assignment will be using the same topic as our previous Research Paper's we have hopefully all finished up by now. Rogerian Argument, what is this, how does it work, and how do we go about making one? Hopefully by the end of reading this all these questions will be answered.

A Rogerian argument is named after Carl Rogers, who would try to see a debatable topic from various different viewpoints before deciding which viewpoint was correct and arguing it using information or rhetoric. A way to do this is through the use of a naysayer. A naysayer is a person who's viewpoint is contrary to your own or who objects to your viewpoint or argument to support that viewpoint. The details of this paper are: a minimum of 2000 words, at least 8 sources, and MLA format. These facts aside, the important information to keep in mind is the introduction of the naysayer and their opinion, and the subsequent rhetoric showing why your viewpoint is superior to theirs.

Psychopharmacology - Will Happy Pills be the Daily Vitamins of the Future?

Although the use of drugs to treat mental illness has been done since the 1800s, it was only after the introduction of Lithium by Australian psychiatrist J.F.J Cade that psychopharmacology became popularized. Current studies have found that one in ten Americans excluding those institutionalized are prescribes psychotropic drugs. IMS reports that antidepressant prescriptions grew by 12%, anxiety medications by 16%, antipsychotics by 35%, and drugs used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder by 37% between the years of 2002 and 2006. (Munsey 52) This merits the question, How far will this trend continue? In the 1960's as a large increase of psychotropic drugs began being used in institutions to treat mental illness, society developed the idea that these drugs were the answer to all mental disorders. This introduced a whole new issue in the field of treatment of mental disorders. The use of pychotropic drugs allows a person to avoid directly addressing mental disorder through psychotherapy. Through the use of psychotropic drugs many have avoided the shame associated with their illness in places where it is still stigmatized. This avoidance of the underlying problem and only medicating the symptoms means the patient will continue the use of their medication indefinitely. Through psychotherapy a patient can address the symptoms through supportive counseling. Cognitive therapy helps in the differentiation between major and minor issues in life and the changing of pessimistic ideas, unrealistic expectations, and critical self evaluations. Problem solving therapy helps the patient to change the areas of their life that act as stressors for their mental disorder and the development of better coping skills to handle these stresses. (Franklin) Through these uses of psychotherapy a patient would be able to in many cases minimize or even eliminate the use of many medications currently prescribed. 

Works Cited

Franklin, D. J.. N.p.. Web. 20 Nov 2013. <http://www.psychologyinfo.com/depression/treatment.htm>.

Munsey, C. "At least one in 10 Americans are prescribed psychotropics." American Psychological Association. 39.2 (2008): 52.

Is This C.R.A.P or just Crap

The Acronym C.R.A.P represents as seen above, contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity. These four elements determine the difference between an easily understood and navigated website and a difficult and confusing website. Contrast is making differing points very different in appearance to distinguish them from each other. Repetition is repeating the same style through out the page for ease of navigation. Alignment is the connection of all elements to another element to avoid things standing out alone. Proximity is the grouping together of like things and leaving space between dissimilar items to show their differences.

Through the use of these four design factors, a website is easier to navigate for everyone from the network administrator to the first time visitor. I'm sure all of us have happened onto websites that are hard to understand how to get to where we want to go or hard to find the information we are looking for. Websites such as these can deter us from using them again and encourage us to find other sources for the information we are seeking if available. On the other hand properly designed pages encourage us to use them again because of the ease it takes to navigate to our desired area or information. Through the proper use of the four above mentioned aspects in website design, the designer greatly effects the reaction of the visitors to his site in the future.  So always remember, use C.R.A.P if you want people to enjoy your websites in the future.

He Had a Dream That Lives on Even Today

I had a dream... these words rang out on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. They revealed the injustice being perpetrated against the Black community of their day. Dr. King in his own words said, "America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds. " The message contained in this speech is probably obvious to every reader by now. Dr. King was striving for equality, not equality for blacks, or equality for Chinese, Equality for ALL AMERICANS! He wasn't asking for special treatment, he wasn't asking for government action to make reparations for the decades upon decades of mistreatment at the hands of the very people who ran the government of this great nation. This message wasn't as much persuasive as it was revealing of what has to be done. He was revealing to all that would listen that love was the only answer to the hate and prejudice perpetrated by both sides on the issue. As he said, Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. His use of all three styles of rhetoric throughout his speech displayed his excellent ability to share his ideas with his listeners through a peaceful logical means. He was an expert on the prejudice treatment of his people, because he seen it everyday. He used logic through out his speech by showing the white audience that if the situation was changed they would feel mistreated, and he made an emotional appeal by bringing to light the real treatment blacks were still receiving well after the signing of the emancipation proclamation. It would be hard to not be persuaded by this moving speech, but from the fact that prejudicial treatment is still an issue today, it would seem some were not.

The Reason You Believe It is Because He Said It

Politicians lie! This has become as commonly held public belief as the fact the sky is blue and the grass is green. Politicians have lied and mislead the public in America since John Adams and Thomas Jefferson first began slinging mud on each other's overcoats. This week we are supposed to discuss what are the causes and solution of this misinformation and both seem to be fairly simple answers. Politicians lie because they can. Yes it truly is that simple. If only 50% of people believe their misinformation or half-truths, that's 50% more people following their rhetoric than previously. The reason they can is just as simple. There are no consequences for lying in a political forum these days. In the recent presidential election, when either major party's candidate was found to be misleading in their campaign the consequence was the urging too remove the ad. That doesn't account for the millions of people who had previously seen the ad and taken what it was saying at face value. Even after these lies have been brought to light, researchers have found they can leave a "belief echo" than can stay around. Now that we have identified the cause what possible solution is there to this problem? The answer is just as simple. Public interest more in the exposure of lies than actual issues has spurred facts checkers in the media to heavily scrutinize everything political candidates say to find possible misinformation. This interest is who is lying although more than likely more for dramatic reality tv style entertainment purposes has made it easy for misinformation to be quickly ferreted out and exposed. Unfortunately this will not free the political area of their dishonest nature, but at least this is a good step in a positive direction.

Is the Truth Multifaceted or Are They Just Lying?

In Mr. Kruse's article he explains how government constituents have fallen farther from the honest truth and more into embellished half-truths. As long as our country has had a government, the representatives of our government have stretched the truth or taken some facts and twisted them to fit their own propaganda machine.  Although his article uses the shock and awe technique of embellishing the extremism of government misdirection, there is still an underlying level of truth to it. Politicians and their campaign workers have more often than not taken one fact and spun it to suit their purposes. This has been evident through out the life of American politics as well as most other political systems.

I found it hard to be surprised by the claims made by Mr. Kruse because the majority of people consider politicians dishonest and perceive the government as lying to them in one way or another. The difficulty in this is  differentiating between knowing about these behaviors and changing them. I can't conceivably think of a way to stop politicians from their dishonest behavior. As long as they get the reaction they intended from their half-truths, they will continue to use them to persuade people to their side. It's sad that we are ever falling into a period of less and less trust in what our representatives say, but it would seem there is no way to change this trend.

Hey! Who's in Charge Around Here?!?!?

Being the father of two teenage boys, technology has been a topic of conversation many times over in my house. I was shocked when my 10 year old son asked me for a smart phone when I had only had one for about a year at that point. Don't get me wrong, I use to work as a computer technician and did some hobby programming through out my life, so I have always had a fondness for technology. As I asked in my last blog though when is enough, enough? I remember hearing about the invention of the google glasses, and my first though was how far are we from star trek now? People are becoming more and more reliant on their technological devices. I appreciate how technology is "making our lives easier", but what would happen to our society if technology ever fails? I'm not sure how many of you will remember the Y2K scare as well as I do, but at that time many people believe on the new years technology would glitch and we would have to start fresh on so many things. Movies such as Terminator, Matrix, and many more all focus on the day technology turns against us. For these movies to have the appeal they do for their viewers, this has to be a legitimate scare in society. The question is will technology ever reach a point where, the creation no longer needs the creator?