krocktaschel

In a letter to the editor regarding Central Plaza’s issues with a declined number of shoppers and a rise in littering and vandalism, the writer is quick to point a finger at an increase of skateboarders in the shopping center. However, the complaint has several holes in it and it is short-sighted to blame this current condition solely on the presence of skateboarders. First of all, one must consider the current economy. What is the financial health of the local economy? It is common that, in times of insecurity about income and future financial stability, the consumer will tighten the reins on spending, opting for only the most essential of purchases. If this plaza consists of a high number of specialty boutiques and the local economy is in decline, it would be easy to understand why the shops are seeing a reduction in visitors. Even those stores that feature staple items could expect to see a drawdown of sales in a poor economic environment. Commercial venues, such as plazas and malls like Central Plaza, are in a constant battle to draw the consumer. When a new shopping center opens up nearby, it is practical to assume that shoppers will flock to the newer location. At the very minimum, one would expect to see a temporary decline in visitors at the older shopping centers. With this in mind, Central Plaza should be looking inward to see what they are doing on a daily basis to keep the facility attractive to its steady shopping base and develop a creative strategy to attract new clientele. On the topic of litter and vandalism, have the shop owners in Central Plaza consulted with management regarding these issues? Perhaps the management company has cut back on staffing required to keep the plaza clean. It could be that the volume of litter and vandalism has not changed, but rather the way management is addressing these issues has. We must also consider the presence of the local police force. If the statement earlier about the declining economy holds true, this could also have ramifications on the daily number of patrols in the area. A smaller police presence could give way to an increase in undesirable behaviors that are negatively impacting the plaza. It is a premature judgment to blame the issues that Central Plaza is having entirely on the number of skateboarders on the premises. Furthermore, it is difficult to state with authority that the prohibition of skateboarding on the grounds will allow business in Central Plaza to return to its former retail success.

The following appeared as a letter to the editor from a Central Plaza store owner. "Over the past two years, the number of shoppers in Central Plaza has been steadily decreasing while the popularity of skateboarding has increased dramatically. Many Central Plaza store owners believe that the decrease in their business is due to the number of skateboard users in the plaza. There has also been a dramatic increase in the amount of litter and vandalism throughout the plaza. Thus, we recommend that the city prohibit skateboarding in Central Plaza. If skateboarding is prohibited here, we predict that business in Central Plaza will return to its previously high levels." Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation. In a letter to the editor regarding Central Plaza’s issues with a declined number of shoppers and a rise in littering and vandalism, the writer is quick to point a finger at an increase of skateboarders in the shopping center. However, the complaint has several holes in it and it is short-sited to blame this current condition solely on the presence of skateboarders. First of all, one must consider the current economy. What is the financial health of the local ecomony? It is common that, in times of insecurity about income and future financial stability, the consumer will tighten the reigns on spending, opting for only the most essential of purchases. If this plaza consists of a high number of specialty boutiques and the local ecomony is in decline, it would be easy to understand why the shops are seeing a reduction in visitors. Even those stores that feature staple items could expect to see a draw down of sales in a poor econimc environment. Commerical venues, such as plazas and malls like Central Plaza, are are in a constant battle to draw the consumer. When a new shopping center opens up nearby, it is practical to assume that shoppers will flock to the newer location. At the very minimum, one would expect to see a temporary decline in visitors at the older shopping centers. With this in mind, Central Plaza should be looking inward to see what they are doing on a daily basis to keep the facility attractive to its steady shopping base and develop a creative strategy to attract new clientele. On the topic of litter and vandalism, have the shop owners in Central Plaza consulted with management regarding these issues? Perhaps the management company has cut back on staffing required to keep the plaza clean. It could be that the volume of litter and vandalism has not changed, but rather the way management is addressing these issues has. We must also consider the presence of the local police force. If the statement earlier about the declining economy holds true, this could also have ramifications on the daily number of patrols in the area. A smaller police presence could give way to an increase in undesirable behaviors that are negatively impacting the plaza. It is a premature judgement to blame the issues that Central Plaza is having entirely on the number of skateboarders on the premises. Furthermore, it is difficult to state with authority that the prohibition of skateboarding on the grounds will allow business in in Central Plaza to return to its former retail success.

Comments appreciated:"A recent study of eighteen rhesus monkeys provides clues as to the effects of birth order on an individual's levels of stimulation. The study showed that in stimulating situations (such as an encounter with an unfamiliar monkey), firstborn infant monkeys produce up to twice as much of the hormone cortisol, which primes the body for increased activity levels, as do their younger siblings. Firstborn humans also produce relatively high levels of cortisol in stimulating situations (such as the return of a parent after an absence). The study also found that during pregnancy, first-time mother monkeys had higher levels of cortisol than did those who had had several offspring." Write a response in which you discuss one or more alternative explanations that could rival the proposed explanation and explain how your explanation(s) can plausibly account for the facts presented in the argument. Studies on a sample of monkeys seem to indicate that there is a direct correlation between order of birth and cortisol levels during a stimulating situation. This seems to be corroborated further with another study in which firstborn humans produce high levels of cortisol in stimulating situations and first-time pregnant monkeys also experience higher-levels of cortisol than those reproducing multiple times. However, this comparison and implied conclusion, without further experimentation and proof is flawed. We must first consider the relationship between the stimulus and that being stimulated (monkey vs. human.) While science has drawn some general conclusions of the relationship between monkeys and man, there are still enough differences between the two that would void the “apples to apples” comparison. A monkey being introduced to an unfamiliar monkey may have a much more or less dramatic impact on raising cortisol levels in that monkey than the effects of a returning parent does on a human. To further this point, the difference of life experiences between the subjects may be enough to account for the differences in cortisol levels and not actually have anything to do with the order of birth. The study referenced above draws a significant conclusion based on a small pool of monkeys. No further information is given about these monkeys. Are they all from the same area or spread out throughout the monkey’s typical habitat? What have these monkeys experienced throughout their lifetime? The same applies to the human examples. The study states “firstborn humans”, but does not elaborate on the context or boundaries of these finding. We are not given any type of information on who was studied, where they were from and/or what life experience they have had to date. In order to substantiate the claims this study is making, a more thorough investigation using a wide variety of sample subjects needs to be conducted. To simply lay claim that birth order is the determining factor of cortisol levels during stimulation, without a more in-depth study, seems to be unfounded and therefore not entirely plausible.

I was pleased to read your essay and see that you drew many of the same conclusions I did. I liked your introduction more than my own, as it captured the argument as presented. I think the second argument about the baskets being planted by an outsider, could use a little more development, it seems as broad as the subject of the essay you are arguing against. I would not use "It is said..." to start a paragraph or sentence unless we can all know exact what "it" is. Not sure the use of "!" in the conclusion works; this, to me, evokes an unnecessary emotional response.

Woven baskets characterized by a particular distinctive pattern have previously been found only in the immediate vicinity of the prehistoric village of Palea and therefore were believed to have been made only by the Palean people. Recently, however, archaeologists discovered such a "Palean" basket in Lithos, an ancient village across the Brim River from Palea. The Brim River is very deep and broad, and so the ancient Paleans could have crossed it only by boat, and no Palean boats have been found. Thus it follows that the so-called Palean baskets were not uniquely Palean. Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument. The argument stating that the Palean baskets found in Lithos prove that these baskets are not unique to Palea does not consider several alternate possibilities for their presence across the Brim River. This argument does not consider the river size itself at the time of the Paleans existence. We know for a fact, that running water can carve deep and wide channels, but this process takes centuries, if not longer to establish a river channel. As environmental factors change, we have noted historically that volumes can increase or decrease or their paths can altogether be changed. During the time where the Paleans inhabited this region, it is possible the river was quite shallow and passable or perhaps even ran a different course entirely. In order to say definitively that the river was impassible by the Paleans due to the depth and width of the river, more factual data must be provided about the state of the river during this time period. Simply stating that the Brim River was too wide and deep to cross without a boat could be rendered irrelevant, had the Paleans had the use of boats to cross the river. While it is clear that no Palean boats have been found, this does not completely rule out their existence. It can be inferred from the time period that a vessel built for the purpose of crossing the river could have been very crude in nature. The remnants of a boat or boat-like vessel could be non-existent due to the materials they were made of, i.e. something that would have bio-degraded over time or could have been washed away and destroyed. The simple lack of evidence of the Paleans having boats is not enough to argue that they did not have access to boats to cross the river. Focusing on Paleans movement alone is also flawed. Because the Palean artifacts were found on the Lithos side, it is reasonable to assume that they may have been transported by the Lithos settlement or even a third party. It is possible that a nomadic river trading group visited with the Paleans, traded for the baskets, crossed the river on their own boats, and then traded the Palean baskets to the Lithos for another good, before moving on. Additionally, we have been told nothing in the argument about the development of Lithos, particularly of their ability to traverse the river and thus, we could conclude that Lithos could have visited the Palean side of the river and returned with the Palean baskets. The argument, as presented does not completely explain the presence of Palean baskets in Lithos. It is clear that more study about the trade patterns of the area as well as the historical river levels and flown patterns need to be more firmly established, before a statement like the one presented above can be made with complete authority.

The main point you are trying to bring out is the benefit of teamwork vs. individuality. It is good that you are using examples, i.e. software development and general problem solving. I think you are on the right track with giving examples to support your thesis, but the essay needs to flow better. Consider avoiding "but" and "so" to begin a sentence. Both of these words seem to suggest a reference to the subject in the earlier part of the sentence. By starting the sentence with these words, it breaks up the flow and cohesiveness of your thoughts.

Please read. Any input is greatly appreciated... To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major cities. When evaluating the traits of a particular society the instinct may be to study the major metropolitan areas of that society. While this could be a good starting point, an investigation should have a much more diverse focus. In order to understand the most important characteristics of a society, it is essential to observe the people in various settings, from the largest cities to its most rural of settings. The initial instinct of understanding a society may be to take a look at its largest population concentrations, i.e. major cities. While the broad view of a society may be seen in a major population center, the foundation of these societies are built in the outlying rural areas. It is in the rural areas where the building blocks of the civilization are developed, allowing the major cities to flourish. Rural settings produce the majority of the agricultural needs as well as much of the building materials for city infrastructure. Behind each good produced is an individual who works the land to develop these resources. The manifestation of the end product seen in the cities can therefore be better examined through the observation of the efforts made by the individuals outside of the cities. Small and medium-sized towns and cities are also important to consider when analyzing the characteristics of a society. These median areas become the crossroads of rural and metropolitan settings. One can often observe in a small town or city, the passing of raw materials from the rural producers to the manufacturing blue-collar workers that turn those materials into a refined product. The evidence of these products can then been seen in their final forms in large metropolitan areas manifested as grocery stores, malls and shopping centers, high-rise building, highway and mass transit infrastructure. It can be argued that, because of this tiered building of a society, observing the “end-product”, in this case the major city is sufficient to determine the makeup of that society. Observing the society at the city level will give the observer an insight to the society’s traits, but a real and true depth of observation cannot occur without giving attention to all levels of population within that society.

Looking for some input on my essay.... As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate. Throughout civilization, society has demonstrated its desire and ability to develop technologies to solve lives day-to-day problems. While the development of advanced technology has enhanced people’s productivity, it has also produced a society less dependent on critical thinking. Man has traditionally had to research and develop travel routes on his own when planning a vacation or trip. This travel planning often took time and careful consideration of routes, traffic, tolls and the like. Now a traveler can simply plug in a start and end point into a GPS unit and be given multiple routes to choose from. Once the route is selected, the traveler can mindlessly follow the given directions. No longer is the traveler required to think for himself and make rational travel adjustments while on the road. The traveler is also less familiar with the route and his surroundings. Relying on this GPS technology is certainly a quick and easy way to determine a route, but does not help to develop the thought process behind planning a trip. Word processing software also poses a potential drawback of the development of our mind and thinking processes. Growing up in a “pre-word processing” world required the writer to give great attention to important fundamentals of writing, such as spelling, grammar and punctuation, not to mention the development of vocabulary through use of synonyms. With the advent of these word processing technologies, we, as a society, are no longer required to spend as much time proof-reading our written word. This becomes a detriment to our development as it promotes writing without a firm grasp of the nuances of our language. Of course, it could be argued that these technological features enhance the speed and ability of presenting our message, but I believe that it is ultimately set-back to the development of our minds in expressing our thoughts on paper. The continuing advancements in technology have certainly benefited our society in the ability to solve problems, but we need to be mindful to no let the technology unnecessarily hinder the ability to think for ourselves.