\u27Fire Away\u27: I Have No Right to Not Be Insulted

Universities are the institutions responsible for advancing our freedom of thought and discourse through the work of independent scholars and the teaching of each generation of students. But for several decades, universities and other educational institutions have increasingly set up rules aimed at protecting individuals and groups from criticism that those individuals and groups consider insensitive, offensive, harassing, intolerant and disrespectful, critical of their core belief systems or threats to their agendas. Even though it has been claimed that disadvantaged interest groups have a right to use one-sided tactics of intolerance against those they consider to be responsible for their misfortunes in a democracy this is a fundamentally wrong policy that ultimately tears apart the social fabric. I believe that many of the outraged reactions to speakers’ phrasing in many areas where “outrage” is voiced are insincere and done primarily or exclusively for purposes of gaining political advantage. This “fake offensiveness” -- “or OMG I am so hurt and offended” -- occurs because it is the ammunition by which interest groups gain political advantage. Yet universities, our supposed hotbeds of free and critical thinking, are co-conspirators in suppressing the intellectual independence and stifling the values they are supposed to be instilling in their students. The Renaissance and the Enlightenment were intended to free us from centuries of darkness and ignorance in ways that allowed the full flourishing of humanity. Unfortunately it turns out that we are less as a species than hoped and considerably less interested in open-minded freedom of thought and expression. Albert Schweitzer argued decades ago: “The past has, no doubt, seen the struggle of the free-thinking individual against the fettered spirit of a whole society, but the problem has never presented itself on the scale on which it does to-day, because the fettering of the collective spirit…by modern organizations, [by] modern unreflectiveness, and [by] modern popular passions, is a phenomenon without precedent in history.” The situation has rapidly degraded since Schweitzer spoke. There are several causes. In part the decline is due to the emergence of the Internet and related communications technologies. Although they offer incredible tools for the management and dissemination of knowledge, they have unfortunately bestowed power on fanatics and ideologues. In doing so we have opened an electronic “Pandora’s Box” full of hate, vitriol and ignorance. A result is the rapid fragmentation of society into aggressive actors and indignant cults. This has produced a social and political balkanization dominated by single-interest groups that are intent on achieving narrow agendas. These groups and political activists operate without any willingness to consider how their interests fit within the dimensions of an overall community where balance is necessary and compromise is not weakness but the “glue” that holds us together

Spartan Daily, February 23, 2006

Volume 126, Issue 17https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/10217/thumbnail.jp

Examining Original Political Cartoon Methodology: Concept Maps and Substitution Lists

Previous research on classroom uses for political cartoons identified two negative trends: creative stagnation (as teachers utilized them solely for interpretation) and age limitation (as researchers suggested they fit best with gifted and older students). Recent scholarship has addressed both trends by enabling young adolescent students to creatively express newly generated understandings through construction of original political cartoons. During such authentic assessment activities, students demonstrated high levels of criticality by using effective and efficient technologies to create original political cartoons, which then elicited constructive whole class interpretative discussions. This prior research did not detail specific methodological steps that positively influenced students’ original political cartoons. This paper compares students’ original political cartoons generated from two methodological approaches that differ in two small, yet consequential steps. One teacher required students to utilize concept maps and substitution lists prior to original political cartoon construction while the other did not. Based on the collected data, these two steps enabled the former teacher’s students to more effectively incorporate intricate and complex encoded messages through the use of abstract symbolism and complementary textual statements. The findings prove meaningful for teachers and researchers interested in enabling students’ creative and critical expressions of historical thinking

The Design and Development of an Interactive Story for Security Education: A Case Study on Password Managers

Password managers allow us to generate unique passwords that ultimately protect our accounts and improve our password management. Despite being one of the most common security advice, adaption of password managers remain low. The complexity and magnitude of security advice leave users pondering about the best decision to keep themselves safe online. Indeed, it is generally better to learn concepts through a feedback loop, where we are informed, make a decision, and ultimately experience the consequences of our decisions. This feedback loop is absent in the traditional way security advice is given. In this thesis, I explore the potential of using interactive stories (Choose-Your-Own Adventure stories) to simulate security consequences to convey lessons and risks. Through participatory design, survey methods, interviews, and learning science principles, I developed and validated a comprehensive and effective interactive story to be used in security education. The results of this thesis show a promising approach of using interactive stories in the security education ecosystem.Master of ScienceInformation, School ofUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162553/1/Sugatan_Carlo_Final_MTOP_Thesis_20200429.pd

Spartan Daily, November 21, 1995

Volume 105, Issue 58https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/8773/thumbnail.jp

Spartan Daily, November 21, 1995

Volume 105, Issue 58https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/8773/thumbnail.jp

Disaster in the Heartland: The American Dust Bowl

The Homestead Act, introduction of cattle and high yield crops, along with technological transformations in agriculture, and an ill-timed drought cycle began the disaster known as the Dust Bowl. The first section of this thesis project closely examines the Dust Bowl era of American history and the impact on several agricultural regions in the United States, both economically and culturally. It explores the historical cause and effect of this calamitous time in our nation’s history. Discussion of this era also touches on the Great Depression, the New Deal, and other pertinent legislation. In the second section, the project explores the effect of visuals to aid in discovery and literacy of a given subject area. In this study of United States history, political cartooning is then explored as a means to understanding not only the “what” of history but the “why.” This project concludes with resources, visuals, and student worksheets. Teachers of this important historical time frame will benefit from the scripted, two day set of lessons plans included on this topic

ANALYSIS OF DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS ON FRANCE GOVERNMENT'S SPEECH ACT AND POLICIES RELATED TO ACTIONS OF TERRORISM 2020

AbstrakTerorisme tidak hanya menjadi kejahatan nasional, tetapi juga dikategorikan sebagai kejahatan transnasional, karena aksi teror dapat menimbulkan ancaman dan ketakutan yang menyebar ke seluruh lapisan masyarakat. Aksi terorisme telah banyak terjadi di berbagai negara di dunia, salah satunya Perancis. Aksi teror terhadap Samuel Paty dan Gereja Notre Dame Basilica yang didasari motif aksi bela Islam, membuat Pemerintah Prancis membuat pemerintah mengambil langkah tegas untuk memberantas terorisme. Pemerintah Prancis melakukan hal-hal yang kontroversial dan menimbulkan pro dan kontra. Metode penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian kepustakaan dengan teori analisis sentimen. Penelitian ini berfokus pada bagaimana reaksi domestik dan internasional terhadap speech act dan kebijakan melawan aksi terorisme di tahun 2020. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tindakan kontroversial Pemerintah Prancis telah membuat Prancis mendapat tanggapan negatif dari masyarakat nasional dan internasional. Penulis menyarankan agar pemerintah Perancis lebih bijak dalam menyikapi segala sesuatu yang ada di negaranya, mengingat kebijakan dalam negeri seringkali menyudutkan salah satu pihak sehingga menimbulkan kekacauan, baik di tingkat domestik maupun internasional. Kata Kunci: Terorisme, Prancis, Speech Act, Kebijakan,  Reaksi  AbstractTerrorism is not only categorized as a national crime, but it’s categorized as a transnational crime, because acts of terror can raise threats and fears that spread to all levels of society. Acts of terrorism have been going on in countries around the world, one of them is France. The acts of terror against Samuel Paty and the Notre Dame Basilica Church which were based on the motive of defending Islam, makes the French government take firm steps to eradicate terrorism. The French Government did controversial things and raised pros and cons. The research method used in this research is the library research with sentiment analysis theory. This research focuses on how domestic and international reactions are towards speech acts and policies towards acts of terrorism in 2020. The results of the research show that the France Government's controversial actions have earned France a negative response from the national and international community. The author suggests that the French government should be wiser in dealing with everything in the country, knowing Domestic policies often corner one party, causing chaos, both at the domestic and international levels. Keyword: Terrorism, France, Speech Act, Policies,  Reactio

The effect of teaching biology concepts with animations compared to static cartoons on content retention

This study explores the effect of animations versus static cartoons on students’ content retention in a high school biology classroom. Students were pre-tested prior to the introduction of content in three units of study: cellular transport, protein synthesis, and mitosis. After instruction on the topic via PowerPoint presentations, students were randomly assigned to either the test group or experimental group for each unit. The control group was removed from the room and given a series of static cartoons with captions to view. The experimental group viewed an animation on the topic, accompanied by teacher narration, which consisted of the captions from static cartoons read aloud. The two groups were post-tested together immediately following the treatment, and again approximately 21 days later. Analyses were done to compare both raw score means and normalized learning gains of the experimental and control groups. No statistically significant differences due to animations were found in these comparisons, though student engagement and class discussion were increased by the use of animations based on teacher observations. A class survey revealed an overwhelming interest in continued use of the animations as an instructional technique