Wikipedia VS. Britannica

I have chosen to view the Chicago articles for this assignment, because I feel that it will provide me with more insight than my topic for "Hidden Jewels" will. I started out by looking at the history of the Chicago article and realized that just in the past two months it has been changed about 50 times. This is unbelievable, that people feel that they can just go in and change any of the information that they do not like in an article. In the Britannica article I was unable to find any changes that were made, maybe I was looking in the wrong places but it seemed to me that the Britannica article was a much cleaner version with less changes made, if any at all. The Wikipedia article does have a place where it is possible to contact a person that made corrections and speak to them about the items that they changed.

As I stated earlier the Wikipedia website was updated very recently, while I was unable to locate exactly when the Britannica article had been changed. The Britannica article did have a bibliography that I was able to click on at the bottom of the page; however, it did not take me anywhere. When I clicked on the Wikipedia bibliography however I was transferred to a page that showed me each one of the references that were used in the article and were a total of 81 references that were made. I thought that the Wikipedia article did contain much more information about where exactly their thoughts came from, because there was so much detail about the references. However, I also think that the reason that the Britannica article did not have many references is because it is an article that Britannica created themselves.

Both articles did contain links to other sights, and I did find this quite useful. I clicked on a few of the links that were located on the Britannica site and it took me to information about that word. In the article for example if it made reference to Lake Michigan I could simply click on Lake Michigan and then I would then be at another article that provided me with more information about the lake. I did find this helpful, however I would have liked for the website to take me to other sites and give me information that related to the topic I was still searching. The Wikipedia article did much of the same thing; however I noticed that at the very bottom of the article there were also some links to another website. This website was The City of Chicago website that provides people with a greater amount of information about the city itself. I am sure that once there it would be possible to find out more information that one is searching for. I think that both articles did provide adequate amounts of links; however I am not sure that I enjoyed the fact that the links only provided information about that word or words that were clicked on. It would have been nice to be able to view information about the topic that I was looking for at other sites as well.

I think that in my opinion the Britannica article elaborates on the topic much more extensively than the Wikipedia entry. I feel that the Wikipedia article does a good job of providing information however, there is much more detail within the 32 pages of Chicago article that Britannica provided. I think that in many ways I also feel biased toward the Wikipedia article though because I am aware of the fact that Wikipedia has so many people that change the contents of the article. I feel that Britannica has provided much information about Chicago and elaborated in much detail about each topic that they covered. While Wikipedia has missing information, I think that they touch on the overall point of each topic. However, there are important facts that are left out, and in some ways there are loop holes in their article.

When I clicked on the discussion tab of the Wikipedia article I found that there were comments from readers that simply explained what they thought of various sections of the article. Some of the comments dealt with what was wrong with the article while others spoke of what they liked and disliked about different subtopics. I thought that this was very informational and it really helped me to realize that other people have found some of the same problems with the article as I have. I think that this does help, because people are provided with an opportunity to express how they feel about information that was presented in the article. I think that this would be much more useful in people expressing their thoughts rather than making changes to the article without having any reason too. Simply changing the contents because they do not like what it says or the impression that it gives off. I was unable to find a spot in the Britannica article where people were commenting on the article and the thoughts they had about it. In many ways I think that this is a good idea, but I also feel that it is important that people be able to express their thoughts on certain topics.

I think that overall both sites are informative, however like I previous stated I am biased against the Wikipedia articles. I have never been allowed to use these articles as sources for papers because of the fact that people are able to make changes as they please. I think that this is why I favor the Britannica Online Encyclopedia. If I had to choose one, I would most definitely choose to use the Britannica article. I think that Wikipedia has it strengths like the ability to discuss the various problems that readers have with the article, but at the same time it also has its weaknesses, one being that the article can be changed at anytime by anyone. I think that Britannica does need more reader influence but overall the article contains much more in depth information and is something that I would enjoy reading much more than an article with quite so many holes, like Wikipedia.

America VS. Americans

When one hears the word America, the thought of Americans could immediately come to mind. The choices that the government makes on various topics does directly affect Americans and we are associated with the consequences, good or bad, of these choices. Should how people view America go hand in hand with how we as Americans are viewed? Should the choices that the government makes affect the perception of America and Americans?

Whether or not one wants to believe that the choices of America affects Americans or not, it does. The government does have the ultimate control over the system and America and we are subject to the consequences. It is hard for countries to understand that we do not neccessarily play a role in the choices. While we do have a democracy the decisions that are made under this form of government do not always correspond with how Americans feel.

I truly believe that while America as a country has made some poor choices, that Americans should not be viewed negatively. For example, the choice for America to fight back against terrorism at the time seemed like a wise decision. Some people still feel strongly, but as pointed out in the book our methods of fighting back was doing terrorism to other countries. Are we as Americans not doing then what we dreaded having done to us?

The American government has placed itself in a difficult position because countries and countrymen view us differently than before. Although some countries admire America, they also do not approve of many of the decisions that we have made. In conclusion, America although the homeland to many Americans should not directly affect the view that countries have on us as Americans. America should be viewed separate from Americans.

Millennium Park

Shannon Me and Josh on the BP Bridge

During our "City as Text" field trip on September 25th 2007, Shannon, Josh, and myself had the pleasure of exploring Millennium Park. After arriving in Chicago, we began on our excursion by

walking from the metra station down Madison toward Millennium Park. I am not a native of Chicago, and the only times that I have ever actually been in Chicago was to go on field trips in grade school or to go to an occasional White Sox game. The skyscrapers, which I have viewed numerous times from a vehicle, now seemed so much bigger. Standing next to them and viewing their various structural types seemed so amazing to me.

After arriving at Millennium Park, we first noticed two different brick walls that had the ability to have a picture appear on them. This picture was a man who at times would shoot water out of his mouth. Water would literally shoot from the wall and land in the fountain area, knowing to many tourists and natives as the Crown Fountain. It was so amazing and I had never seen anything like it. Other pieces of architecture that we explored included the bean, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the Lurie Garden, and of course the BP Bridge. This bridge was gorgeous, and the site that we were told to explore as a group when we visited the park. It's winding structure and beautiful overview of Columbus Drive fascinated me and was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

Another aspect of Chicago that I found interesting was the cultural diversity. Reading about the various ethnic groups of Chicago is nothing compared to actually experiencing them first hand. As we walked around Millennium Park we observed people of the Chinese, Hispanic, and another ethnic group whose language I did not even recognize. Some people were exploring Millennium Park as tourists just like we were, while others were in a rush to get somewhere as quickly as possible. Overall, the experience is one that really helped me to understand more about Chicago and showed me all the the city has to offer.

The Crown Fountain

Shannon Me and Josh
Our Reflection in the Bean

Ethics Reflection

As we prepare to enter our first year of college, it is important to acquire knowledge about what will be required of us over these next four years. During these first few weeks of school, the ethics code has been the information that has been stressed the most. It is of the utmost importance to know about the ethics code as we prepare to embark on our choice of career. The information that was stressed the most throughout the articles that we assigned for reading was academic dishonesty, which includes cheating and plagiarism.

During the many class discussions, dealing with cheating and plagiarism, I not only learned about how students feel so competitive in grades that they will do anything and everything to get good grades, which includes cheating, but also how some faculty have observed cheating and allowed it continue. To me, cheating is best defined as stealing another person's ideas, opinions, or answers in hope of it benefiting one's grades, although at the same time it is hurting one's self. When one chooses to cheat they are doing so because they are worried about being the best they can be. As one prepares for a career, grades are important, but what is more important is the knowledge that one takes away from his or her education.

Some students have found ways around the educational system. The ways they have chosen to cheat and plagiarize include: using online essays, cheat sheets, memorizing the answers from a previous exam that is the same, and making others do all the work. All of these methods are equally wrong, because the concept of cheating and plagiarism is not beneficial to anyone or anything. However, at the same time, cheating on an exam is much worse than choosing to cheat on homework. The important idea to remember though, is that cheating is wrong under all circumstances because choosing to do so is choosing to not abide by the code of ethics.

There are many methods to prevent plagiarism and cheating, on the other hand many of these methods are not as useful or helpful as others. For example, the idea that student sign a code of ethics may seem reliable to many individuals. This method however assumes that most students are honest and dependable as they sign on the line. Unfortunately, I am sure that in many situations people have lied and said that they cooperated with all the ethics enforced by the college when in all reality they did not do so. Other methods that we discussed to prevent cheating and plagiarism include presenting different copies of the same exam, using multiple choice or mechanical exam formats, and also presenting various drafts on essays or papers. Another idea that was suggested to go along with the many drafts on essays was the oral face to face discussion of how papers are coming along. This may seems useful but at the same time it places students in an uncomfortable environment and that also can be a problem.

In an academic context, integrity deals with being honest with not only faculty but with oneself in order to achieve the most out of an education. Choosing to cheat and plagiarize is not beneficial under any circumstances. While one might think the decision to disobey the code of ethics can assist him or her, there are no positive outcomes from choosing to do so. I took a lot away from the discussion that we had regarding the code of ethics in class. In my group, we came to realize that the code of ethics needs to be strictly enforced in order for students to take the consequences seriously.