Unit 7 blogs

1. I have only had one previous experience with peer reviews. I did not find it helpful at all since as far as I could tell no one really reviewed my paper. They made comments about it being well written, but did not give me any other input that I could use to improve or correct any mistakes. I did enjoy being able to read their papers and give them feedback. I was asked by several classmates to read their papers and give them pointers if I had time after my initial 2 reviews. I also enjoyed being able to learn more about several different subjects from the perspectives of several different people as well as the topic I had chosen.
2. I had several “Ah Ha” moments in my research. Since I chose a topic that pertained to me personally, I was able to learn a lot about myself, my illness and ways to help myself and family cope with something that can be so possibly disabling.
3. I found it amazing to find out how many people go untreated and why. There are millions of people that go untreated worldwide for no good reason. I was glad to see that there are world wide organizations taking steps to resolve that problem and that I have started seeing commercials on television trying to educate the public about the dangers and symptoms of bipolarism.

Unit 6 Blogs

1. During the last 6 weeks, I have been through some headaches. I had a couple of friends to come stay with us for awhile since they were having family problems where they were and needed to get away from it. It’s also been really fun since the baby has decided to cut his molars now. I finally got used to sleeping over the last few weeks since he was on hiatus from teething and now the poor thing is worse than ever. I feel so bad that there isn’t more that I can do for him. He has been really bad the last Few days, all he has done day or night is scream and there has been little to nothing that any of us can do to soothe him. With 4 adults with at least a couple of decades of experience (combined) that is saying something. I said the whole time I was pregnant though that since he was going to be last he would give me the most trouble and he lived up to that starting in the womb. Only a couple more months though and hopefully the worst parts of teething will be over and we will all get some rest. I also had to attend my mother’s funeral this week. It was very difficult to deal with that, school, and four kids. My schoolwork was not all posted on time, but at least it’s not too far behind since I always work ahead.

2. I’m not really sure how my ideas on bipolar disorder will influence future research. I do know that my research so far has opened my eyes to how long I have bee suffering from it and how many aspects of my life have really been affected though. It has also given me some more insight to more of the indicators to watch for in my children since it has been shown to run in families. That is the real reason I chose my topic for this term and glad that I was given the opportunity to write and research something that is so important to me and my family.

1. My personal writing process is to first do a combination of freewriting and brainstorming. I find several resources to skim/read and use the information I find to write my ideas about what I have read. When I am ready to begin writing, I make a somewhat vague outline. I use roman numerals and “A)” subsections to write a few words to help keep my ideas in order to keep my ideas in order and somewhat structured.

2. I have, for the most part, enjoyed my academic challenges so far. The only thing I think I really need to work on is how nervous and worked up I get waiting on my grades. Even the things that are not that big of a part of my overall grade I get stressed out over. I begin working on all of my assignments (DB’s, projects, etc…) as soon as the term begins. I end up having all of my work done by midterm and then I revise and tweak everything a dozen times or more until I turn them in worrying about whether or not I will get a good grade on them. Then in turn when I finally do turn them in I go half crazy waiting on the grades to see if all my effort and work showed through and that I can get as close to perfect score as possible. I am hoping by the time I finished at Kaplan I will have calmed down enough to not have a nervous breakdown waiting on my final grades.

3. So far school has gotten me back into the habit of thinking and talking like an adult. Having 2 small children and 2 slightly older children at home has slowly caused my mental and verbal skills to regress. Having the opportunity to interact frequently with other adults helps a lot. Also being required to analyze, dissect, and explain everything I write or read has been a big boost to regaining the analytical and reasoning portions of my brain.

1. Citing sources are important for several reasons. The first is because it is a sign if character, if you can “steal” work done by someone else by not giving them credit, it causes those around you to believe you to be dishonest and untrustworthy. Second, by citing sources you are saying thank you to the original author for their hard work and research that helps further your own. Third, in an academic setting, plagiarism can cause failure of an assignment or class and even expulsion. All of which go on your record and then in turn take you back to the consequences listed in the first reason. Lastly, by citing sources it shows that you have given a lot of your time and effort to thoroughly research your topics. That in turn lets your audience know that not only is your work credible, but also you are worth being taken seriously.




2. I have been plagiarized in the past. When it happened the first time, I informed my instructor. When the same person did it again the next week, I confronted them by telling them that if they were just going to copy my work, the least they could do was give me credit for it. After the third time, I told them that if they insisted on stealing my work instead of doing their own I was going to go to the administration and let them handle the issue. Thankfully, that resolved the problem and there were no more problems with plagiarism.




3. In professional settings, I think that plagiarism should be handled in a similar manner as an academic situation. If someone is found to be using someone else’s work as their own they should be fired with a note put in their dismissal notice. Also they should be informed that if the ex-employer is called for a reference that they will tell the prospective employer that they were terminated because of plagiarism, proving themselves to be untrustworthy.




4. I think people believe the internet blurs the lines of “ownership” of materials posted. When things are written, drawn, video taped, etc… and put on a reputable site, they give credit to the original author/creator. When things are posted on sites like You Tube and Wikipedia, the person that posts them is intentionally opening the door for others to view, take, or copy it. On reputable sites, the give citations and references for materials because they have only been added in order to make them easier to find. It also allows the materials to be more widely viewed. Additionally, materials put on reputable sites include copyright information showing that it is only being borrowed but is still the property of the original owner. Materials on You Tube and Wikipedia can usually only be posted if the author/creator agrees to the “Terms of Agreement” giving the site ownership of any materials added. If the original author/creator does not agree, usually the material can not be posted to the site. Therefore, still showing ownership if it is downloaded.