Defeating Cheating to Win

An analysis of Anne Mullen's
"Cheating to Win"
By: Jun Paa


Plagiarism and all sorts of cheating have invaded the campuses, even those that exude high standards and reputable institutions are not spared from this menace, so thinks Anne Mullens in her article, “Cheating to Win.” Here, she introduced her subject in the first paragraph by citing a story about plagiarism in the campus. She used truth and controversy effectively to capture the audience’s attention in opening her essay.

To support her thesis, she continued with the controversial story of the two students who submitted a gritty revelation on an essay about “persuasive opinion” where the subject was, the increase in cheating at large universities because “the institutions were too large, too impersonal, too lazy and too stupid to catch the perpetrators”. The story went on, where the students were caught with their plagiarized compositions.

This narrates support to the central idea that plagiarism and other forms of cheating is actually happening and the driving force that compels the students to commit the act. She further re-enforces this idea by citing internet websites and the concern that this poses “more opportunities for cheating, such as buying papers from the internet” and the fact that the present culture “is more competitive, with more pressure to do well and more to lose if they fail”.

By organizing a presentation of a series of events, Mullens dissected her subject into
parts wherein every paragraph is linked to the one ahead, thus creating a smooth
transition from paragraph to paragraph. Each paragraph states a subject similar to the one the paragraph followed, yet it takes the audience to a higher degree of truth as the train of thoughts goes on with a lot of researched material. This certainly is the confirmation – the body of proof for the points Mullens is trying to pitch. Her use of reputable persons and institutions (i. e., Patrick Finn, Ph D of University of Victoria, Frances Bauer of the University of Western Ontario, Donald McCabe, Ph D of Duke University) add more truth to what she is saying – an effective persuasive style.

To defend her thesis, Mullens created sub titles (Mount Allison survey and Compulsory tests) to expound the subject by using facts from surveys done by, again, reputable people. One sub title (Mount Allison survey), used statistics and numbers as facts to answer would be rebuttals that cheating is not happening even in such well-known institutions. She further goes on to explain why the faculty of such institutions are reluctant to penalize cheating by quoting Dr. McCabe: “They don’t want to become involved in the bureaucracy or in the threat of litigation from the parents. Sometimes they think the threat of penalty, such as failing grades or expulsion is too harsh, so they simply reprimand or warn the students or make them do the assignment again”. “It isn’t always the poor, lackadaisical students who perpetrate the crime. Sometimes it is the best students, accustomed to obtaining good marks and doing well who resort to cheating,” says Dr. McCabe. “When students feel they are under tremendous pressure, that is when they make bad decisions,” adds Lynn Smith, director of student advocacy at the University of Manitoba. These are statements to further bring into light why cheating is prevalent in campuses.

The subtitle, Compulsory tests, explains the idea that students who would not cheat in their area of specialty are compelled to cheat on courses that are required to complete the program they are in, but feel that these courses are not as important. Mullens goes on to give an example on the situation of Engineering and Business students who would pay to have their English essays written or cheat on English exams. These are accepted facts in campuses, which Mullens exploited to perfection, driving her thesis home.

In her conclusion, Mullens implies that the faculty has a responsibility to lead students away from cheating by employing ways and means as that of Dr. Grove-White (UVic) who require her students to submit their English essays in stages. That is, topic and thesis statement first, then bibliography, then outline, then first draft and finally second draft. “It teaches them that writing is a process, not a product,” says White. “We must be much more thoughtful about what we teach and how we tech it. It is probably making us become better teachers,” adds Dr. Grove-White.

In its entirety, Cheating to Win is an example of a well-researched, well-written essay, which followed Cicero’s sequential method of arrangement, a coherent rhetoric of a sane person!

Climate Change

By: Pastor C. Paa, Jr.


Tantrums of a Child

El Niño is a term first used by the Peruvian fishermen meaning ‘Christ Child’ to describe the warm current appearing off the western coast of Ecuador and Peru around Christmas time. The result is extra heavy rain, which the coastal inhabitant of those countries have always welcomed for the abundance of crops that it brings, hence the name El Niño (the Christ Child), for the gifts of plenty that it bestows so soon after the Nativity.

However, the event is no longer a blessing in other parts of the world, because today it is associated with severe flooding, severe drought, reversal of normal rainfall pattern and even mass death due to toxic marine harvest during ‘red tide’, a phenomenon caused by excessive toxic algal bloom associated with a rise in sea temperature.

Sir Gilbert Walker, a British meteorologist started the first investigation into this phenomenon while attempting to understand the droughts that caused famine in India in the 1800s. He coined the term ‘Southern Oscillation’ to describe the warm phase of a naturally occurring sea surface temperature oscillation in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has become one of the most studied phenomena on the planet because it is also one of the most feared.

Normally, a large area of high pressure sits over the eastern edge of the Pacific Ocean. From this high-pressure zone the southern trade winds blow towards a large area of low pressure that is settled over Indonesia, on the other side of the ocean. These strong winds drag the cool water that lies off South America westwards with them, which in turn is warmed up as it makes contact with the atmosphere and by the heat of the sun. This process raises the sea level in the western Pacific by about 40 cm thick of warm water that is brought back gently to the east to cool off by an action known as the countercurrent, and the cycle starts again. This process also brings about the monsoon rains. Further up, the drier air is carried by the fast moving upper level winds to the east, where it cools and comes down producing a high pressure zone off South America where the cycle began. This is called the ‘Walker circulation’ and is the normal cycle.

An El Niño event is different, however. A slight relaxation of the trade winds can start this event. The weaker winds causes the mass of warm water in the west to surge eastward, strengthening the countercurrent and forming a warm layer of warm water much closer to South America than usual. This warm layer of water warms the air above which lowers the pressure of the atmosphere thus weakening the winds even more. So more warm water pushes eastward reversing the flow of the countercurrent. The whole Pacific is effectively covered with an extra layer of warmth and the winds change direction, setting into a new long term pattern in the opposite direction.

The warm air eventually will carry with it moisture evaporating from the ocean resulting to more rain. For the farmers, this is a blessing but for some it is a disaster. Large areas are flooded while those that depend on the harvest from the seas, this event is a disaster.
The warm waters are depleted of nutrients needed by the fish thus fish goes somewhere else to feed.

The rise in the temperature of the environment also changes the normal patterns of the weather. Freak storms and hurricanes appear suddenly while large part of the world experience drought. In the Philippines, the effects of El Niño can be enumerated as:

Environmental effects

• degradation of soil which could lead to desert-like conditions if persistent
• effect on water quality like salt water intrusion
• high forest/grass/bush fire risk
• domestic water supply shortages
  

Social effects

• disruption of normal human activities
• migration to urban communities
• health problems
  

Economic effects

• unemployment
• food shortages
• significant reduction in the productivity and subsequent revenue of various industries
  

In other parts of the world like India, the monsoon rains is always an awaited event but during an El Nino event, this may never happen which will result into a drought that devastates the crops and induce famine.

Elsewhere, the calm weather is deafening!

Reading references

1) Philander, S.G.H., 1990: El Niño, La Niña and the Southern Oscillation. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 289 pp

2) Lynch, John. 2002. The Weather. Firefly Books Ltd.. Toronto, Ontario. p100-104

3) . 2010 [cited 2010 Jan 27]. GMA News TV. [Internet]. Diliman, QC: GMA. Available from: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/52900/The-El-Ni&ntildeo-Phenomenon

4) . 2010 [cited 2010 Jan 27]. Ww2010. [Internet]. Urbana-Champaign: Department of Atmospheric Sciences-University of Illinois. Available from: http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/eln/home.rxml.







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My Environment - A reflection

By: Pastor C. Paa, Jr.

I come home to a townhouse complex surrounded by trees. In fact the complex is basically a park beside a park.

The front is a main thoroughfare, 104th Avenue, where all types of vehicles pass by while the back and sides are part of Hawthorne Park, where residents can enjoy nature whether biking, jogging or just taking a walk along the winding trails under the trees in the forested area of the park. One can also have a peaceful rendezvous with nature just sitting by the pond where ducks abound even on cold winter days. The pond is actually my favourite place to visit in times when I need to be alone to think or even just ponder about things.

For me the park is a perfect place to get away and breathe a cleaner air. I believe it is the absence of vehicular exhausts, and the vegetation that makes the air purer. Even the noise of city life is obscured by the sound of the winds gently blowing over the tree tops, although the silence is occasionally broken by a few quacks of hungry ducks frolicking in the pond.

My car is a V6 SUV of which I am not particularly proud of because of its fuel consumption that is not only hard on my pocket but is against my conviction towards anything that contributes harmful elements to the environment we as the higher kind of species are suppose to be stewards. But I do as what other humans do trying to convince myself that a few perks here and there is not going to hurt the earth. After all, I am but just one of the 7 billion inhabitants and so what I do or not do thus is insignificant.


When finally man is able to live with nature instead of trying to tame it, the hope of the future generation will be realized. For to live in harmony with that which sustain life is a noble endeavour. One that is generally considered desirable by the majority yet only a few adhere to.

Just this past week, we finally wrapped up our sustainability class. The culmination of which was a presentation of the many different teams about what we have learned in the course. Personally, being a student trying to learn this new concept of paradigm shifts, I am overwhelmed with what I have done and not done as a citizen of this planet. The trash I have created all throughout my more than 40 years of existence. The many chances that I could have cleaned up or help cleaned up my trash and of others. My apathy towards those who were actually trying to save this planet, from those who were destructive and just did not care.

I would wish and will strive to become a positive force towards change for a better understanding, a better usage of the resources that this planet offers me.

First day of School

Finally, school started with an orientation for us new students and of course the usual "getting to know each other round of speeches" serves to give a little info about who we will be with in the classrooms. Some seems to be intimidating with their degrees and what not about themselves and what they have done in their careers before they decided that a career in Environmental Engineering could bring them the satisfaction that they had been trying to achieve in their careers.

I for one talked about my degree in Agricultural Engineering and my need to launch myself into a career that I will be proud of for I am, and I admit honestly, is a proud person. Not that i would be bragging about my achievements because I still believed I could have done better given the chance.

First subject was Surveying and though I have transfer credits for this course I decided to sit-in if only to refresh my knowledge of how to measure areas which I was kind of amazed to learn about such unit measures as "chains and links" and something like rads. I think I am going to enjoy this class.

The second course was Chemistry. Its not that I hate counting protons and electrons, but I believe my instructor Kevin Hoy, Ph. D., could be a little lively with the discussions then maybe the class can interact a little more to make the discussions more interesting rather than the formal delivery of the subject.

Tomorrow we'll start the day with Air Quality Management followed by Environmental Law.

I hope I don't fall asleep.......

Back to School

September 8 is next week and I am very excited and worried. Is going back to school really the answer?

A lot of us rely on our steady stream of income to catch up with the bills to pay, the mortgage, maybe a little vacation to stretch out and relax a bit. But what happens when that steady income suddenly stops?

With the recent economic crisis, the large number of people laid off has made the job search a lot more competitive. In order to stay ahead of the others, one has to have more than a few skills.
Therefore for those who had been dreaming of the perfect job, this is a perfect timing to acquire the skills one needs.

Going back to school or retraining thus becomes a very important decission to make. For some it is just as simple as highschool arithmitic. You want more money, move up to a higher position. To do that acquire, more skills not only where you are already good at but make it a point to get the skills that will make you one notch above your nearest competitor. Skills that makes you stand out making you the one person that the company just cant have without.

Obviously, the fact that you were a casualty of this economic crisis, your standing with the company you were working for was not as high as you would have liked. But that does not mean you were not contributing enough to the growth of the company. It only means that you need to get those skills up to a level were there are few competitors therefore getting laid off is the one thing you need to get ahead. Why? Because if you had been retained, you would be in the same position you had been and when the economy gets better, those who were laid off will come back with new skills, a fresh drive and determination to be on top. Most likely a lot of them will overtake you.

Then again it could be the other way around. The ones who survived the culling will be in the position to be the supervisors of those who are coming back and the new hirees.

So what is exciting about going back to school?

For me it is the opportunity to actually drive myself nearer to the job that I had been aiming for.

Here I come BCIT!

An Antelope's Traffic Jam

Driving along the way from Jasper to Edmonton, a traffic jam was building up just outside Jasper's city gate. No there was no vehicular accident,thanks be to God Almighty, but rather an antelope was enjoying his 15 minute of fame, probably more.

With the annoyed Albertans honking behind us(British Columbians and every one else who were passing through Alberta) the two way road quickly turned into a long line up of tourist cars, children milling out to take a chance for a picture with the celebrity of the day.

Spousal Rift

The other week I had a really bad rift with my wife. The conflict, as it always start with us, was one that is all too common in a lot of marriages - a relative of one or the other.

This time, it was my nephew whom we were trying to help immigrate and settle here in Canada. We were lucky enough to be working in a company which hires workers from other countries and thus my nephew came to work for the company as a contract worker.

Whether it was my nephew’s fault or the other person’s fault that got them both terminated from work and thus ruined their bright future, was the center of our argument,
which quickly escalated into a shouting match right in front of our kids and my mother-in-law.

According to Paul J. Bucknell (Resolving Marital Crises and avoiding Conflicts, Session #6, Marital Conflict Resolution: Part 2) there are three steps to resolve disagreements between spouses. “When we find that we disagree on something, we slow way down. We take a time out and we begin to pray.”

If we would first try to handle the individual conflicts or ‘battles,’ then our solutions are superficial. Couples need a new approach to marriage. They need to see that they are on the same team and therefore resolve to:
1) Deliberately refuse to oppose each other, and(2) Designedly work together toward a great marriage

The typical married couple has given far too much room for the evil one to bring harm to their marriage. We don’t need to do this. If we find ourselves fighting with our spouses, we should note a willingness in our hearts to battle and repent from it. Conflict reveals a heart impurity. The spouses must be convinced when they beat their spouse that both of them have lost. As a married couple we are a team, and we aim to make that team a success!

Once we have this basic commitment to our spouse, we can then take a deeper look at the conflicts couples face. Perhaps a good illustration of this is when a truce is made. Each side can stop fighting. But in the old days of poor communication, sometimes battles went on for days before knowing the war was called off! Hasn’t the war been called off in our marriage? Do we still need to have conflicts if peace is made? No. Do we still have them? Yes, we can and do, but they are no longer necessary. There is a better way of handling differing opinions.

We need a real clear way to resolve these varying opinions or the enemy will use them to make us think that we are at war with each other, which in turn will result in setting up opposing sides. Difference of opinions is not wrong, but if we are not careful, they become battlefields.
Someone might say that their chief problems are not with disagreements but just emotional reactions.
For example the husband comes home cranky or the wife barrages the husband with a slew of problems as the husband enters the house. Let us make a few observations.

1) What is normally called emotional problems are more than often sourced in spiritual problems. Our emotions are closely intertwined with our spiritual natures. If we do not handle an offence properly, then we will be angry. We can easily bring that anger home and get irritated with our spouse.

(2) Every argument requires two sides. Even if one spouse is upset, it does not mean that there needs to be a battle. The other spouse needs to intercede on the behalf of the needy spouse.

(3) Every spiritual problem that we do not properly resolve will infect our marriage. The husband and wife live too closely together not to be affected by personal sin. Sin reveals itself in our marriage.

(4) The gospel sets us free from those sins. We do not need to allow worries, fears, doubts, anger, hate, etc. control us. Christ can forgive us as the Spirit empowers us.

(5) We need to stay ministry-oriented. The Spirit of God wants us to minister through us to others including our spouse. Even though our spouse might be impatient, we need to care for them and minister Christ’s love through great patience.

(6) In a good way, both the husband and wife should check their attitudes and lives before encountering each other. Ask yourself, “Am I in the state where God can minister His love and grace through my life to my spouse.” If not, ask Him to ready you.

(7) Lastly, we should remember, that the disagreement we speak of is not necessarily a verbal disagreement. A difference in approach toward a situation or expectation of another can also bring about the same volatile situation. If a husband leaves a dirty sock hanging around, it just might be enough to set a couple against each other. The husband sees no big deal. The wife is convinced the sock should not be there. In such cases there are problems behind the ‘starter’ problem.

People will always have difference of opinions and approaches. This is true with couples too. What we do with these dissimilar viewpoints is what will characterize our lives and marriages. Great marriages are those that have learned how to utilize these differences so that they as a couple can grow. Poor marriages, however, mishandle these differing perspectives and bring further trouble into their relationships.

Keeping away from strife is an honour for a man, but any fool will quarrel (Proverbs 20:3).

We need to realize that conflicts are more than the simple difference of opinion or approach. Conflicts are the way couples poorly carry out the expression of their varying viewpoints. Spouses can get quite mean and cruel at times. On the other hand, we can see that these crises also serve as opportunities to draw closer to God and closer to our spouse. Many couples insist that crises must lead to conflict. This simply is not true. Even they, no doubt, do not argue about everything they disagree with. We believe God has given each of us a door of opportunity in which we can refuse to step into conflict

Here is a guideline that spouses should try to follow to avoid conflicts or to resolve them if ever one arises:

1) We will start by praying together for tender hearts and wisdom—committing to come together in a spirit of humility and reconciliation —considering the health of our marriage as more important than our individual interests.

2) We commit to handle ourselves with maturity —being quick to listen and slow to speak —reaching for the goal of continually trying to better understand each other.

3) We will speak the truth in love —respectfully honouring each other’s feelings.

4) We won’t allow our discussion to escalate into yelling or name-calling. And we will refrain from provoking each other by delivering “cheap shots” —sarcasm, innuendos, and rudeness which complicates the issues. If that happens we’ll call for a time-out and come back together at an agreed upon time.

5) We commit to MEAN what we say —so neither one of us is put into the position of being expected to read the other person’s mind.

6) We will stick to the subject on hand —not allowing our discussion to sidetrack onto any other grievance at this time. (Other issues can be dealt with at another time.)

7) We will avoid using “never” and “always” statements —seeking to be accurate, truthful, and realistic in what we say.

8) We will work not to judge each other—but rather seek to express our own feelings over the matter.

9) We will speak to each other in “I feel” statements (explaining our own perspective) rather than in “you” statements pointed at our spouse accusing them of feelings they may or may not have. (An example of this would be: “I feel lonely when you’re gone so much,” rather than “You never come home.”)

10) We will readily apologize and sincerely ask for forgiveness for whatever way that we have hurt our spouse and for whatever tension we’ve caused in our marital relationship by our behaviour.
in our own eye—rather than the speck in our spouse’s.

11) We will work to forgive each other as Christ has forgiven us — never again reminding our spouse of the pain for which we’ve said we’ve forgiven them. And we’ll make daily choices not to dwell on those painful thoughts in the future.

12) We will end our time together in prayer giving thanks for what we’ve learned about our relationship with each other. We will each ask God to bless our spouse and help us to be a blessing to them knowing that is our mission because of our marriage vows.

This guidelines were taken from Marriage Missions International

Sources:

Bucknell, Paul J. Resolving Marital Crises &Avoiding Conflict, Session #6
Marital Conflict Resolution: Part 2
http://www.foundationsforfreedom.net/

Marriage Missions International. RESOLVING CONFLICT GUIDELINES - With Scriptures. http://www.marriagemissions.com/