Definition paragraph for scholarly article

This article is based on the controversy topic of mandating electrocardiogram screenings for high school and college athletes.  An electrocardiogram (ECG) is an electrical test that measures the activity of the heart.  The electrical impulses are recorded on a graph paper, which shows any abnormalities with the heart rhythm.  ECG screenings are used to detect certain heart diseases, which may result in Sudden Cardiovascular Death (SCD).  SCD is an unexpected death in which the heart stops beating efficiently.  The controversy of mandating ECG screening involves the comparisons of clinical examination and ECG screening or clinical examination alone.  Clinical examination is a thorough physical examination performed by a primary caregiver who makes a clinical diagnosis whether the athlete is cleared to participate in sports.  In order for testing to be successful, test sensitivity and test specificity are essential.  Test sensitivity is the accuracy of the test to record certain heart conditions in any given population.  If the test sensitivity is low, the ECG is unreliable and the argument to mandate ECG screenings will cease.  Test specificity is the accuracy of the results.  Since false positive rates are a disadvantage of ECG screenings, creating more accuracy would ensure the mandating. The results must measure both positive and negative diagnosis accurately.  These terms are essential in order to understand the controversial topic of mandating ECG screening for athletes.      

Summary of Scholarly Article

In the article “Mandatory ECG Screening of Athletes: Is This Question Resolved Now?” Roy J. Shepard resolved the controversy notion of mandating ECG for all high school and college athletes.  He began his journey by over viewing many studies performed in the past.  For example, Italy mandated ECG screening and they showed a decrease of Sudden Cardiac Deaths (SCD) among Italian athletes.  The Italian study also developed clear understanding of ECG abnormalities, current calculations for a lower and beneficial costs, and comparisons between clinical examination alone or clinical examination with ECG screening.  Although the Italian study presented evidence of effective ECG screening, other sources contradict their claim.  A variety of other studies showed that few athletes are at risk for SCD and the screening only detects a few with SCD.  The studies have found that restricting physical activity has no relation with the disease.  Prolonged activity versus no activity does not decrease the chance of SCD.  After analyzing various studies, Shepard provided key points to build a more successful programming.  One key element is to focus on testing procedures which will provide an increase in test specify and reduce false positive rates.  In analyzing all the data, Shepard has concluded that mandating ECG screening would be inappropriate.  The nation’s time and money should be engaged in preventive medicine for SCD in young athletes.   

   

Rhetorical Precis of Scholarly Article

In the article “Mandatory ECG Screening of Athletes: Is This Question Resolved Now?” Roy J. Shepard asserts that mandating ECG screening will reduce sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes.  He supports his claim by providing numerous statistics from comparing ECG screening and clinical examination alone and examples from other countries that also participate in a similar conduction.  His purpose is to build awareness among his peers in order to provide enough evidence to make ECG screening mandatory process for all high school and college athletes’.  This article reflects intelligence and professionalism: it is solely base on the research the author has collect.  

TED Video Response

The video impacted me significantly.  Byran Stevenson presented his argument with passion and power in his voice.  He gave personal experiences as well as some of is young clients.  He has worked with several incarcerated individuals along with young 13 year old who are in jail.  He said that speaking on "TED" was a great honor and privilege because TED relays powerful messages.  Bryan's message was the power of identity.  Identity can mean several different meanings. The power of identity gives the means for a person to say anything they believe.  A person can do things as well as get others to participate with them.  Identity is not being judged by the technology but by the character.  A country's character is their true identity.  How does the country treat their poverty and their incarcerated people?  For example, Bryan does not think the opposite of poverty is wealthy.  The opposite of poverty is justice.  Although Bryan presented a valid and effective argument, he said this is not about race.  In his argument he only discussed blacks and whites.  he never discussed other cultures such as the Hispanics.  He said that 1 out of 3 black men are either in jail or on probation.  He also said that white people have the death sentence 10% of the time while black men have it 20%.  This gives an emotional appeal, but he should of included statistics about other races. 

Alternative Assignment

The man presented a valid argument.  We should not change n*** to slave for three reasons.  First, we are changing history.  African Americans were labeled as this, we cannot hide from our past.  This book is a symbol of our history.  Our history was not always beautiful for some people and Mark Twain was trying to show the world.  Second, n*** and slave do not mean the same.  It will change the meaning of n***.  Jim ran away; therefore, he is no longer a slave.  The third reason is that Mark Twain wanted to make people uncomfortable when they read the book.  Seeing 219 n*** words creates a significant emotional appeal.  Also if the publisher changes all those words, then the domino effect will occur.  Once they change one thing, they will gradually start changing characters and illustrations to fit today's comfort levels.  Children need to learn the book how it was originally written.

Definition

The article’s foundation is built upon the characteristic of flip-flopping.  According to Roger Cohen, flip-flopping is when a person who advocates for one issue but he later changes his views and becomes against the issue.  This characteristic is often shown in politicians.  To gain votes, they appeal to the beliefs of their voters.  This generation no longer contains consistency; it is situational.  The politician’s beliefs depend on the situation and which audience they would like to appeal to.  Flip- flopping is a significant issue in today’s society.  

Introduction

How do politicians capture the attention of their voters?  In “Multiple Choice Romney,” Roger Cohen writes about the flip-flopping issue in the 20^th century.  Politicians portray this behavior the most.  They will say almost anything to capture the attention and the votes of a certain audience.  Roger Cohen is an experiences writer and provided several examples of certain people who have this characteristic.  He first describes a flip- flopper as a person who will advocate for an issue and later reject the notion.  He talks about John Kerry, Nick Clegg, and Mitt Romney as examples of flip-floppers.  This article applies to all audiences of any age, everyone encounters flip-flopping.  The population should not be persuaded by the lies presidential candidates may say.  Cohen captures his audience with ethos by the several sources and his experience as a writer, pathos by grabbing the emotional appeal from flip-flopping, and logos by the numerous statistics he provides.   

Analysis of Rhetorical Strategies

            “Multiple Choice Romney” by Roger Cohen represented ethos.  In his column he provided statements and statistics from prior leaders of our country.  Although the article did not discuss the author’s creditability, the website provided a columnist page that provided all the accomplishments of Roger Cohen.  He joined the New York Times in 1990.  Cohen has been a foreign correspondent for over a decade.  He is currently a foreign editor: he has worked in this position for about six months.  In 2009, Roger Cohen became a columnist of the New York Times.  He has also written “Hearts Grown Brutal: Sagas of Sarajevo” (Random House, 1998).  Cohen has more than enough creditability that gains the respect of the reader.  “Choices 2.0: Situations for College Writing” by Joe Marshall Hardin asserted that ethos is interpreted for the modern word “ethics.”  In order for the reader to believe and therefore form the same opinion, the reader has to believe the author is an ethical person.  Cohen is a perfect representation of ethos.   

            He also contained a significant amount of pathos.  He captured his readers’ emotional appeal.  Cohen presented a strong concept: everything is situational these days.  People do not expect the consistency of a person’s beliefs.  Currently, the people who are quick on their feet overpower the people that walk in a straight line.  To win the opinions of an audience, the person has to appeal to their beliefs rather than their own.  This type of person is known as a flip-flopper.  A flip- flopper is a person who acts only to please others in order to get their vote.   A flip- flopper was derived from the media and the portrayal media transcends to the world.  A person has to win others by lying rather then standing for what they truly believe in.  Roger Cohen captured the audience emotionally because the world has a significant trust issue.  How can a person believe the presidential campaigns?  The candidates are only after one thing: your vote.       

            A majority of this article contained several logos.  He persuaded his audience by using an abundant amount of statistics.  He proved Romney was a flip- flopper by using quotes from Romney at his debate with Ted Kennedy in 1994 and his current statements in his presidential campaigns.  In his debate with Kennedy, Romney stated, “I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country.”  Currently Romney has become pro- life and he wants the Supreme Court to overturn the Roe v. Wade case.   Romney has changed his views, which makes the audience question his morals and ethics.  Since the majority of the United States is pro- life, Romney wanted to appeal to the voters who believed in pro-life.