Arthur Brewer

Dr. Crowther

English Composition 1101

3/27/22

In this essay, I will be talking about covid vaccines.  Covid vaccines can help stop the spread of covid.  I will be explaining the types of vaccines, when and how they were developed, and the side effects.  I will also explain the different proteins used to develop vaccines.

The three main types of vaccines are Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson.  People of ages 5 and older are eligible for the Pfizer vaccine (CDC 10).  People who get the Pfizer vaccine will be fully vaccinated within 3-8 weeks after “2 shots in the primary series” (CDC 2).  Pfizer is an mRNA vaccine (CDC 4).  The shot is given “in the muscle of the upper arm” (CDC 5).  A booster shot should be given to anyone who is at least 12 years old “who received a Pfizer-BioNTech primary series” (CDC 3).

Anyone considered a legal adult is eligible for the Moderna vaccine (CDC 9).  In 4-8 weeks after “2 shots in the primary series” anyone will be fully vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine (CDC 2).  Moderna is an mRNA vaccine (CDC 4).  The show is given in the same muscle as Pfizer (CDC 5).  If anyone is at least 18 years old and “received a Moderna primary series” they should get boosted (CDC 3).

Works Cited

Center for Disease Control.  “Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (also known as COMIRNATY) Overview and Safety.”  24 Mar. 2022,  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/Pfizer-BioNTech.html.  Accessed 27 Mar. 2022.

Center for Disease Control.  “Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (also known as Spikevax) Overview and Safety.”  22 Mar. 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/Moderna.html.  Accessed 27 Mar. 2022.

        Since the beginning of the pandemic there have been many questions regarding our future as human race, some of which have still yet to be answered clearly. It was clear that Covid would affect us socially given that we were dealing with an airborne virus which had no cure. With the limitation of “in person” communication and the pandemic beginning of the year in 2020, it was unclear how students would be continuing the rest of their semester. Quarantine left schools closed delaying the graduation period for students, especially ones who were transitioning from middle to high school and high school to college. The solution that seemed to be the most practical was to hold online schooling, forcing many students to get comfortable doing all of their work on a computer instead of the usual in-class experience. To some, this transition may not seem that drastic, but studies have shown that covid has negatively affected students all over the world. As we are progressing past the pandemic era we have to consider what changes have been made due to covid and understand how these changes have affected us so that we can take the right steps to recovery. One question that we should ask regarding these changes is “How has Covid affected education?”

        Although schools did not close completely, for some students the beginning of the pandemic marked the end of their school year. The move from in-class to virtual learning was very abrupt and took time for both students and teachers to get used to. There were a few problems with virtual learning such as lagging with video calls, students not logging into the correct classes, students not having access to a functioning microphone, or students not having access to a computer or internet access at all. According to the World Economic Fourum children from low-income households, children with disabilities, and girls were less likely to access remote learning due to limited availability of electricity, connectivity, devices, accessible technologies as well as discrimination and social and gender norms. This was also the case in countries where there isn’t much access to computers or the internet in households in countries such as Ghana, Mexico, and Pakistan. Although there have been issues with virtual learning, there are still a number of schools that offer online based learning  or a hybrid style based learning due to covid. 

 

Nora Lane`     

Professor Crowther

English Composition

March 19, 2022

 

                     The Conflict of Trust with Medicine and Science (before and after Covid-19)

There is a hidden dark side to our evolution in science and medicine, and it has affected the daily lives, perception, and general health of our society. Unfortunately, this “hidden” part of our evolution has placed generations of trauma on s spectrums such as race, gender, sexuality and even on mental health. Unless the trauma is addressed, treated, and removed. Feelings of distrust, betrayal and over all rebellion against scientific reason will persist.

During the beginning of Covid we have seen people how have chosen to ignore the facts given by well credited scientist such as Dr. Anthony Fauci a now world renown speaker during the pandemic and Dr. Robert Malone who helped develop the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. But even with given their reputations and an abundance of free accessible credited scientific information available, There a hesitation and general distrust from the public. This could be linked into past conflicts with race, sex, gender and possibly religion that have continued to linger in science and medicine; as well as misinformation ( such as fake news) not being and regulated and used as factual information.

Since the begging of the Pandemic the public as been informed by the CDC and world-renowned doctors and scientists on the growing status, and growing nature of the virus. Yet, people chose to believe that the virus as a government tool of control or a made-up concept revolved around conspiracy. Even though the data was present and completely disregarded the tragic lives being lost to it. This a similar problem to the “vaccines cause autism” rampage that took told in the late 1990’s after the publishing of The Lancet by Andrew Wakefield. Even after it was discredited and disapproved by several studies on the epidemiology of autism and accredited physicians the damaged was done. By that time several parents have completed opted out of their children getting the MMR (measles) vaccine, even though it was proven that the  measles virus was a casual path to autism itself.

When we think about the COVID-19 Pandemic, some people might remember how we got to stay home and relax or chill. That we got a break from everything. Have you ever thought of the many changes students had to go through and how that affected them? Students were negatively impacted and couldn’t catch a “break”. Students couldn’t physically go to school during March 2020 to May 2020 right when the pandemic started in America. As well as the following school year from 2020-2021. Schools had to make adjustments “among virtual, hybrid, and in-person learning” (Dorn, Hancock, Sarakatsannis, and Viruleg par. 5). Students “faced multiple schedule changes…with glitchy internet connections and Zoom fatigue” (Dorn, Hancock, Sarakatsannis, and Viruleg par. 5) because they had to keep on switching back and forth. As stated above, students had many problems to worry about…

Throughout all these changes, teachers have been putting a lot of effort to help students readjust as much as possible. In the article “Modeling the Possibilities: Building the Caring, Reciprocal Relationships Needed to Nurture Powerful Learning” it states that “teachers have heroically been working to support children’s development—not just academically, but socially and emotionally too.” Even though teachers may look put together they were struggling if not just then more than students. Teachers wanted to school students that school could be entertaining as well as educational. By engaging a lot with students, teachers and students can form relationships that are “essential for children’s healthy brain and overall development—physically and socially/emotionally as well” (Falk Par. 3). These relationships could be hard to form but by just letting the children be comfortable can do a lot. When dealing with young kids in their out of place settings, you’ll have to know how to deal with them, including talking, playing, teaching, observing, or even just listening to them. When listening to students, teachers have found that some will speak “of illness, loss, sadness, fear, anxieties, and their pain about injustice; while it also expressed hope, gratitude for loved ones, longing for connection and community, and the opportunities that the pandemic has provided for personal learning and growth” (Falk par.6). With just enough effort teachers can and have made a positive change during this negative time.

Photo by Brandon Baker from PennToday

For many years, the reading habits of Western Civilisation has been getting steadily worse. Back in 2012, a study by the National literacy trust showed that there was a 10% drop from 2005 in the amount children and young people enjoyed reading, and an entire 25% decline in daily reading from 2005 to 2012 (Clark 10-11).   Another study by the same group in 2018 showed that there had been a rise in both daily reading and enjoyment of reading since 2012, but levels in both categories were still decreasing since the start of the organization in 2005 (Clark 3-6). This was a bad trend, since many studies have shown a direct connection between the amount of reading students do outside of class and their reading comprehension, and their appreciation of reading as adults.  There was, of course, an effort made to encourage children to read. But part of the problem was that lives filled up with driving, lots of school, and  playing with friends, so that without any intrinsic reading motivation pushing them to make time, and with many lacking the enjoyment of reading that makes it fun instead of a chore, there wasn’t much happening.

Enter the lockdown of 2020. Kids and adults alike were left without all of their normal occupations, to spend their time only in things possible to be done at home. Unsurprisingly, many turned to the hobby they already enjoyed the most – playing video games and watching TV. But reading books did become a lot more popular as a result of the lockdown. The biggest increases in reading and liking reading came from people who had already read a fair bit before the pandemic started. 

There were two genres most read during the pandemic. Many people wanted comfort from predictable stories, or books they had already read a lot of. Others, (especially adults) started to pick up the more boring, long, and informative books that they had never found the time for before. (Bucher, Harrison, Giovanelli)

While the lockdown did provide people with spare time that they could use for reading, it made it much harder to get books. Libraries were shut down, and many people were reluctant to spend their money ordering books. This led to many people sticking to books they already owned, and so had often already read. Yes, digital books were available, for little to no cost, and could have widened the options of many people who were confined in the physical copies available to them. The problem was that many people do not think of digital copies when they want to read. Some think of them as not really books, many feel uncomfortable reading in a device. One study drew the conclusion that schools should be acclimatizing students to the use of digital devices for reading on. 

Safwan Ahmed

Dr. Crowther

English 1101

3/11/2022

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

            The coronavirus pandemic prejudiced not between who it affected. It touched people from poor and wealthy nations, from the east and west, from developing to developed countries. The virus was indiscriminate. It is a blaring reminder of how fragile we are as a collective species. The disease does not discriminate, and neither do the outbreaks that can wipe out an entire population in days and weeks. The focus of society shifted from their daily lives of school, work, sleep, eating, and repeat to paying attention to what was happening in the world in social movements and politics. Images of BLM, the death place of George Floyd, and protests against police brutality show just how sidelined social justice movements had been before the pandemic and how the most significant positive that came out of the pandemic was this shift of focus.

            In the first image, a BLM protest can be seen as men and women of all races holding up signs to show their awareness of this social movement. Colors clash from the brown and white posters, one in the middle being a rainbow as notable from the LBTQ+ flag, as every person wants to have their voice heard. The text on the signs varies from “Racism the real virus,” “Trans Black Lives Matter,” “Justice Now,” “Enough is Enough,” as each message follows the next in a systemic pattern of unity. There is a clear argument in this first picture, a message to those in opposition to BLM of how wrong they are.

            The second image depicts the saddening embodiment of George Floyd’s death place. The infamous story of the officer kneeling on the neck of Floyd is well-known across America and is what started most of the riots and protests during the summer of 2020. The flowers and gifts left at his memorial show how his murder affected so many people, especially his family. The mural in the image is a painting of his most famous picture, the same photo America witnessed in the news when his death was reported. Inside each letter of the text reading “George Floyd,” a group of small figures with their fists raised in solidarity, representing BLM protestors. This whole scene is saddening in that it reminds us of the tragic murder that enraged America back in 2020.

            One would think the history books that teach us about slavery and the abuse enslaved people endured in the 1800s were just that: history. Unfortunately, police brutality has proven to be just another form of slavery, as “WE SEE POLICE GET AWAY WITH MURDER” often. This quoted statement is precisely what is written on a sign held by a female protestor in front of an officer line, as can be seen in the third and final photo. Her covered face is symbolic that we do not know the people who stood and marched outdoors in the heat of the summer of 2020 and fought for the rights of those who could not fight for themselves. The photo was taken with the woman being the focus and the officers behind her blurred out. This shows how the photographer wanted her to be the focus, while the officers cared not, some looking in another direction and the rest otherwise clueless of the message she is delivering to the viewer.

            All in all (or any other alternative to the infamous “In conclusion”), the bulk of the coronavirus pandemic was less of the actual virus and more of its impact. People from poor and wealthy countries, east and west, and developing to developed countries were affected. Society’s focus switched from school, work, sleep, eating, and repeat to paying attention to what was going on in the world, namely the social justice movements. The death of George Floyd brought to light the fact that so much of inequality was given a blind eye, and the pandemic helped to shift the focus back to what mattered, as the three chosen images combine to reflect.

Works Cited:

BLM Black Lives Matter Protest. June 7^th, 2020. Pixabay, https://pixabay.com/photos/blm-black-lives-matter-protest-5267765/

Morse, Andrew. George Floyd Memorial, 38th and Chicago, Minneapolis. A sea of flowers and

tributes. June 5^th, 2020. Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. 

https://www.alamy.com/george-floyd-memorial-38th-and-chicago-minneapolis-a-sea-of-flowers-and-tributes-image360408103.html

Timothy A. Clary. US-POLITICS-POLICE-JUSTICE-RACISM. May 29^th, 2020.

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/officers-stand-behing-a-protestor-holding-a-sign-during-a-news-photo/1216203667?adppopup=true

 

Omar Abdillahi Houssein

English 1011

Crowther, Kathryn

03/06/2022

Visual Rhetoric Analysis and Covid-19

News has been primarily dominated by stories about Covid-19 since its outbreak. The new images and stories have the effect of offering people the necessary ingredients that they can use to construct their knowledge and understanding about the coronavirus pandemic. Noting that stories in the news are repeatedly known as accurate info and news images being their graphic proof, the effect they have is considerable. The covid-19 pandemic has mainly been constructed and utilized to assemble intergroup relations and national identities. News about the pandemic has since its outbreak been spread throughout the world in various forms to create awareness, and one of the most effective ways of achieving this is through images. This paper will focus on the rhetorical analysis of images used in communicating the spread of covid-19 in Sweden. The pandemic reporting in Sweden has since been cast as an issue of national stereotyping and nationalism among the Finnish press. From the images, it can be observed that there can be three distinct multimodal rhetoric strategies relating to stereotyping: nationalizing, moralizing, and demonizing. The strategies hypothesize discussions of immoral, dangerous, and arrogant Swedes originating from national stereotypes.

The immense attention that the media has given to the coronavirus pandemic has had the effect of leading to the rise in cases of discrimination and prejudice against various groups of people, for example, the Asian people and Chinese, among other vulnerable minority groups and immigrants. Consequently, this points to the need to adequately study the coronavirus’s effect on intergroup relations. Previous studies relating to nationalism have established that reporting in news shifts in times of crisis whereby the media uses exclusionary and hyperbolic language designed to generate distinct boundaries. Notably, routing reporting is not characterized by detailed national accounts. Journalists instead use language in the third person to detach themselves from the reported events and their audience. It can be observed that the coronavirus pandemic is such that it offers a specific background for the crisis journalism by the media whereby the press constructs national identities. Moralizing is a rhetoric strategy that creates a comprehension of Sweden and Swedes to be indifferent and haughty concerning coronavirus pandemic. As used in this strategy, one of the images in the newspaper includes Anders Tegnell, who serves as the state’s epidemiologist in “Public Health Agency.”

   (“Ilta-Sanomat News Paper 2.5.2020”)                           (“Ilta-Sanomat News Paper 2.5.2020”)

1(a)                                                                                             1(b)

The figure above (1a) represents one of the news stories connected to the coronavirus pandemic and Anders Tegnell in Sweden. The story is about the rapid increase in coronavirus pandemic infections, the related deaths in the country, and the criticism of the liberal policies on Covid-19 that Tegnell sanctioned. The image has the caption of “Ebola taught a hard lesson,” which plays the role of delivering an ominous message. Notably, logos as a way of actualizing rhetoric appeals has been realized by using red color in the word “Ebola,” which connotes danger and threat; this denotes the cause and effect. Therefore, the verbal element has the effect of communicating through visual and linguistic features; while “Ebola” conveys the primary meaning (disease, virus), the perspective text in image 1(b) has been emphasized through the use of large and bold font communicates the connotative meaning; danger and threat. In the image, the text that refers to Ebola re-counts to the image on the left-hand side shows an individual who died of the Ebola virus in Fig 1(b). Even though there is no express relationship or connection between coronavirus and Ebola, the context in which the newscast story and the incorporation of the items that refer to the two diseases essentially imply a reference. In the spread mentioned above, the image of Tegnell is the most prominent visual element, which is an indication of the importance of communication compared to the other pictures. He avoids facing the spectator, directly demonstrating an aspect of avoidance and arrogance, which echoes the conception that the Swedes are arrogant. Thus, with regards to metafunction, it can be observed that there is no express communication between the audience and Tegnell. In addition, the low viewing angle between the audience (inferior) and Tegnell (superior) points at ethos as a way of rhetoric appeal due to the rise at which he views his audience. It shows that he has a character of looking down at his subordinates. In addition to the statement that implies that Tegnell supports the decisions made by his country, it shows that he does not take advice or criticism.

 On the other hand, demonizing has been expressed through verbal elements and images that send the message of danger and threat due to high infection rates and deaths. This has been actualized by verbally and visually accentuating that the Swedes can blow out the virus to the Finns. The image below depicts tens of Swedes who gather outside and have not worn face masks and do not maintain physical social distance.

 

 

(“Iilta-Sanomat News Paper 26.6.2020”)

The diverse positions, free composition, and close distance between them show that the people are careless regarding the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, the images show the stereotype about the Swedes of being outgoing and that they are more likely to express how they feel than the Finns. The news was accompanied by headlines that declared, “Red Exception” and “Sweden Glows Red in the Corona Map.” Besides the linguistic properties of the titles, the color light of the titles is such that they were written in bold and large font and red color, notably the ‘red exception,’ which communicated threat and danger hence stigmatizing Sweden as a coronavirus hotspot.

The third strategy is nationalizing, whereby Sweden insists on the national dimension on the choices made concerning the coronavirus pandemic. The plan acts as a way of ending up with the relationship between Sweden and Finland regarding which country is superior to the other in dealing with the pandemic. This is done by identifying the weaknesses and failures of Sweden’s coronavirus policies. Notably, the competitive setting has set the stage for constructing Sweden and Finland as rivals. Therefore, it can be observed that discursive means can construct national groups and people’s identities. Key among the clearest constituents of this strategy is created through photos and news stories relating to the royal family in Sweden. For instance, a news story was published by Ilta-Sanomat under the title, “National Day in the Shadow of the Pandemic,” and it featured the majestic family’s images, as shown below.

      

(“Iilta-Sanomat News Paper 26.6.2020”)

The crown princess, alongside her children, has worn national costumes, emphasizing the Swedishness dimension. Although the headlines have been designed to refer to covid-19’s shadow on the country’s national celebrations, the images have visual expression such as luminous colors do not seem to depict a dark mood. Even though these images do not have the effect of constituting the relationship existing between Sweden and Finland which is standard or typical to the nationalizing strategy, it is worth noting that they establish an immense national connection between covid-19 and the royal family as the Swedish symbol.

 The visual rhetoric analysis had played a significant role in comparing the success of Finland in the fight on Covid-19 while criticizing Sweden, particularly with regards to its policies. On the other hand, the stereotypes set Finland apart from Sweden by celebrating Finland’s policy in dealing with the pandemic. Coronavirus pandemic is a contemporary subject with the potential of causing intergroup tensions, both in the present and in the future hence the need to explore the impact news stories and images have on the audience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

“Ilta-Sanomat News Paper 2.5.2020.”. 2020, Accessed 7 Mar 2022.

“Iilta-Sanomat News Paper 26.6.2020.”. 2020, Accessed 7 Mar 2022.

“Ilta-Sanomat News Paper 8.6.2020.”. 2020, Accessed 7 Mar 2022.

Roman Scott

English composition

Dr. Crowther

Essay  #2 Photo analysis Draft

Images are a great way for time to be captured and looked upon later. The following Images were all taken during the pandemic and all relate to me in a personal way. The first image is of my grandma beaming after she dyed her hair purple. The second image is of  my dad and the precautions he followed to make sure the neighborhood kids had a good Halloween. The third and final image is a screenshot of a text I received late October; it was an ad attempting to persuade me to “vote red” in the upcoming presidential race. The three images are unique in their own ways yet are tied together through a similar experience.

Image one is a picture that represents the experience of many people during the pandemic. All throughout 2020, people grew bored of sitting in their rooms and needed something to spice up life again while locked-down. A common theme was people changing their appearance, especially when it came to hair. Dying and cutting hair are simple and easy and only need a few materials. The pandemic sent many people into this frenzy and it soon became a fad. Many look back at this time with regret, as is the case with the image shown. The story behind it is simple. My grandmother grew weary of sitting in her home alone and needed something to pick her up. Before the pandemic, dying her hair purple would have been an outlandish idea that she’d turn her nose up at. However something about being locked-down for a year changed her opinion. Now, that things have returned to somewhat of a ‘normal’ state the thought of dying her hair returns to something she would never consider.

The pandemic made people do things they would have never considered. With little contact to the outside world, other people seemed to only exist through a computer screen. The fear of judgement no longer existed or was at least lessoned. How could these little pixels on my computer actually judge me? It is not like they are real people? A slight exaggeration, but many people felt this way, including myself. This lead to changes, temporary or even permanent, in hopes to make the pandemic lock-down more bearable. With less judgment people explored more parts of themselves and learned what they did and didn’t like.

The second image was taken on Halloween in the year of 2020. The image is of a father trying to make the best of what is available to ensure that the neighborhood kids had a Halloween at all. Before then, parents all around the US were worried on how to make this happen. What precautions to follow to keep everyone safe? Would Halloween even happen that year? This meant parents had to get creative. Masks were decorated and added to costumes. Candy and snacks were individually wrapped to ensue same consumptions. United, the neighborhood worked together finding ways to make Halloween happen. Unity was seen all throughout the pandemic. People putting their differences aside and coming together as one.

Taking care of kids is no easy task and the pandemic made it more challenging for parents. Kids missed out on many social opportunities, birthdays, holidays, school. Parents had to find ways to make up for the loss of social interaction. Following the precautions set by the CDC, parents invented new ways of gathering and celebrating to keep some sort of ‘normal’ life for their kids.

While the pandemic brought us closer together, while apart, there were forces that worked to divide us. The third image was an ad I personally received late October, right before the presidential election of 2020. The text reads “Vote Red” in a big bold font. The ad was aiming to persuade me vote for the then presidential nominee Donald Trump. The lack of logos and ethos were the ads downfall. The ad failed, as I was more worried about how I received this message from a spam number than I was interested in voting red. The ad also lacked any sort of evidence to back up its argument to vote red.

During this time the nation was more divided, split between ‘Red’ and ‘Blue’. Fear tactics involved pathos and were used in hopes to scare individuals into a certain way. They often lacked any sort of logos and were used with a big name or a political party to add some credibility. When logic and evidence are missing fear is used to ‘persuade’ which is never a good thing. Scaring people does not do any good. It does not actually change the mind, it merely makes the individual too scare to voice their own opinion.

The pandemic is not over yet, however things are starting to look better. What was learned over the course of the last two years will not be forgotten. Things changed and new ways of doing things were created. People are resilient and people are malicious. People are compassionate and people are narcissistic. The pandemic highlighted the best and the worst of people. What do you think the books will say about you?

The first few months of the Pandemic came out of nowhere. Many different emotions were experienced. But the most common among everyone was fear. The fear of contracting the disease, of death, if life will ever go back to normal, and many more. I have chosen images that represent the results or causes of fears during the Pandemic for me. I chose these three because they connect to each other in a way. Through the emotion of fear that is. 

The first thing that I thought of after hearing about covid-19 was how deadly will it be and how many lives will it take. I used to look at the death toll daily to see how bad it is getting and which area is affected the most. The death rate went up so much in a few weeks. Just seeing this makes me scared to go outside and also work. You can get many information from the chart. For example like where the virus spread from and how deeply it is spread. This was probably one of the reasons people did’t go out as much anymore compared to the starting of the pandemic. This image was an example of ethos as it was trustworthy information that is constantly updated. 

My second image was the result of fear. This was not common but it was one of the first sign of fear for safety during the Pandemic for me. I used to work in a grocery store so I saw many people wear these masks in first person. These are respirators. There were even some people who wore these and also a plastic shield infront of their face. Some people were worried about their health more compare to others. It was mostly the elders or older people that I saw wearing these. This is an example of pathos because it showed that people were worried about their health and safety that they were extra cautious. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VFjpxeihnw-ZXyREKCFekeDJKUm0MqVoZBffEN574u0/edit?usp=sharing