Response to Marcus Krein's Blog Post

          I agree with Marcus Krein’s blog post on ethics and medicine. There are many positive and negative uses of marijuana. There are some positive uses of marijuana, like Marcus says. They help with conditions in HIV, AIDS, and Arthritis. It can also help with pain, nausea, and vomiting. Also, It can be administered in other ways besides smoking it. This is important because the smoke can be harmful to our lungs and other parts of our body. There are also cons to using marijuana as for medicinal purposes. One thing is that marijuana has been shown to be an addictive drug. It has also been shown to be a gateway drug, or a drug that can lead to the use of other drugs. Also according to U.S. government officials, marijuana damages the brain, heart, lungs, and immune system. Marcus’s blog post is spot on. The debate shows that there is a fifty to fifty split between the pros and cons of using marijuana for medicinal purposes.

-Max

Demonstration Evaluation (How to Build the Best Paper Airplane)

           This demonstration speech on how to make a pretty cool paper airplane is one that pretty well planned out. The video can be found on youtube.com. The good points in this demonstration speech are that you can clearly see every step that is going on. The bird’s eye view of the process is very helpful when trying to make this paper plane. It is almost like how I would be looking at the paper when I would be making the paper plane. The other thing that I personally like is that it’s kind of relaxing not having to listen to someone’s annoying voice when they are making this paper plane. I know this could be a problem for some people because some people need the steps of a process to be spelt out for them. Everyone learns differently though so this it is understandable that this demonstration speech might not be the best for some people.

            Some things that could be fixed in this speech is that the person making this paper airplane never repeats any of the steps for making this paper airplane. Although this is a video, if was making video was made live you can’t just rewind the demonstration speech and go over the steps again.  Another thing that could be fixed is that he could talk during his demonstration. Like I said before, everyone learns differently and some people like learning differently and need steps to be spoken to them to help them out. Also, this process is a little boring and monotonous. The person who made this could have at least put some music into his demonstration speech.

-Max

Demonstration Speech Self Evaluation

            

                My demonstration speech on how to make puppy chow didn’t go too bad. I think that there were definitely things that I could work on, but I also think that there were some good things in my speech too.

                I wasn’t kidding when I said puppy chow takes only five minutes to make! My speech was only three minutes and forty-six seconds. Going into the speech I didn’t know how much material I could have for making puppy chow. When I was practicing my speech I had timed myself to be at least 5 minutes. I think during my speech I cut part of my planned intro out. I think I could have added some filler information into my speech. This filler information could have been like the history of puppy chow. Another thing I think I could have worked on would be my voice. I think I could have spoken a little louder and had my voice less monotonous. I might have been swaying a little bit too much. I also caught myself with my hand in my pocket at the beginning of my speech, but I corrected that right away.

                There were some things that I thought were good about my speech. I looked confident when I was up in front of everyone. I wasn’t shaking or anything like that. I thought I used good hand motions when appropriate. I thought my steps were well explained, maybe I could have repeated them, but otherwise I could have. My talking speed seemed pretty good, not too fast, and not too slow. Another thing that was good was that my props seemed well placed.

If I could have changed one thing about my speech, it would have been to bring in a microwave to actually show how to make puppy chow. That way my speech would have actually taken longer to make. Overall though I thought my speech wasn’t too bad, just a little short.

-Max

Peer Response #1: Paul Yonga

In response to Paul Yonga’s thoughts of organ’s being for sale, I think that he thinks that people are selling their organs just for his or her benefit. The money that is given to people when they donate organs is only an incentive for helping other people survive. I agree with the fact there may be a problem with not knowing the status of the organs, but this could easily be solved by simple checkups by doctors before an operation is done. If the selling of organs were allowed, the process wouldn’t be dangerous because it would have to be required for the removal of an organ to not be life threatening and the operation to be carried out by a profession surgeon. To deny people the basic right to choose what they want to do with their body just isn’t right. Plus, the selling of bodies would help so many more people than it would actually hurt by increasing the supply of needed organs while lowering the waiting lists for organs. Also, when he says that it is no longer voluntary for people who are selling their organs for money is just ridiculous. People aren’t forced to sell their organs when they need money. There are a lot of other things that can be done to make money, like getting a job.

-Max

Organs for Sale?

              On the back of our driver’s license there is the option for us to say if we want to be an organ donor. This is done because if some people get into accidents and their organs can be donated to people who need them.  The practice of organ donation is encouraged in most countries. This practice is encouraged because it is a way to save lives. However, in some countries it is illegal for an individual to sell his or her organs.

                I think that people should have the right to sell their organs. The organs belong to the person whose body they are in, it only makes sense for the person to have the right to choose what happens to their body. There are some things that should have to happen before a person can sell his or her organs. If the organ the person is thinking about selling will end their life immediately, like their heart then this shouldn’t be allowed. Another thing that needs to be considered is that if the organ is infected or faulty, the organ shouldn’t be allowed to be sold because it puts the person who’s receiving the organ at risk for disease or faulty organ function.

                After reading the BBC News editorial by Martin Wilkinson, which can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10786211, my opinion hasn’t changed on this issue. My opinion didn’t change because people should have the right to do what they want with their body. Many people get tattoos, people have the choice to put ink on their skin; this is no different than people having the choice to sell their organs. Overall I’d say that organ donation and the choice for people to sell their organs should be allowed to a certain extent with the correct checks on the actual organs.

-Max