Self-evaluation of Presentation

                After viewing my video, I noticed some good and not so good things about my presentation.  My presentation was on jet skiing because it is something I thoroughly enjoy doing. It was really easy to talk about jet skiing because I am so familiar with it but it may have been difficult for some people to grasp the ideas, especially they couldn’t try it themselves while I was explaining it. I thought I gave a good overview of what you need to know before and during jet skiing; especially points about safety and how to run the machine. Also, I thought I included some fun activities that are easy enough to do on your own when you’re out on the water.

                Besides the outline of the presentation, I noticed some things in my verbal presentation. I seemed to repeat the word, “um” quite often. I didn’t notice this at all while I was presenting, so that is definitely something I need to work on in the future. I think the speed of my presentation went well, along with the tone. There were a few technical difficulties that created pauses in my presentation that I would rather not happen next time. Mainly it was just clicker problems and issues with me not being able to use a Mac.

                Overall, I think the presentation went well. I liked how relaxed the presentations were and how we were able to talk about things we enjoy in our leisure time opposed to topics we would have to research in order to present. This was one of the more enjoyable presentations I have given.

link for photo: http://media.photobucket.com/image/jet+ski/gaby_05cruz/jet-ski.jpg

Response to Natalie's Blog

In Natalie’s blog about organ selling (Natalie's Blog), her viewpoint is that organs should not be on the market for personal profits. I agree with this position entirely. I discussed my point of view on this topic and my points coincided with her points. Although organ selling could benefit many patients, the seller of the organ would probably be selling their organ for personal profit instead of act of kindness for another person. This I feel breaks the rules of ethicality, in my beliefs. And there is no doubt that the government would be all over this idea of marketing organs. Natalie puts it well when she states that “Legalizing the organ market would create controversy.” It would most definitely cause a stir in the economy over ethics of selling organs for personal profit. I want to discuss the question Natalie provided at the end of her blog: “Would poor people be the most accepting of the new law because it would be a source of profit for them? Is that ethically okay?” Regarding the poverty stricken population, I think that would be all over the idea of trying to sell their organs to obtain money to substantiate their lives. This creates a problem; what if these poor people’s organs were not in prime condition? Donated organs should be in optimal health when transferred to another body; you don’t want any higher risk of infection or problems. So, no, in my opinion, it is not ethically okay.

Technorati Search Blog

The first blog I viewed (http://technorati.com/blogs/scienceroll.com) was a blog called ScienceRoll which describes itself as “A journey inside medicine and personalized genetics through web 2.0.” The author of the particular blog I looked at was Dr. Bertalan Mesko, but the ScienceRoll consists of numerous bloggers belonging to that organization. This blog was posted on October 27^th, 2010, which is today; this shows how the blog post are up-to-date with current research and news. This blog consists of many hyperlinks all of which link to other blogs posted by other scientific bloggers regarding the same information. In this blog, the author utilizes hyperlinks and video content to reiterate the main points.

            The second blog I viewed (http://cellnews-blog.blogspot.com/2010/10/genome-wide-study-of-human-stem-cells.html) was about how scientists recently found out what genes are most important in the embryonic stem cells, bettering out understanding of stem cells. This find will go to help find ways to treat diseases such as Parkinson’s. A team of scientists investigated the 21,000 genes in the human genome to find which ones are key to fundamental use for disease treatment. This blog post came from CellNews and was written on Tuesday, October 26^th, 2010; so the blog is up-to-date with current news in the scientific realms of research. The tone of this blog is slightly more informal than the research paper I wrote. But, this particular blog quotes another article and talks in a scientific tone similar to my paper. The blog is a lot shorter and to the point that my research paper which explained everything in detail. The blog assumes that the reader knows what they are talking about making it unnecessary to define vocabulary and scientific terminology.

Response to Alyssa's blog post: TILOHL

In response to: http://agarrlsc100f10.blogspot.com/

I found Alyssa’s analogy of TILOHL to the Holocaust to be creative and interesting; I would have never thought about Henrietta’s story in that manner. It really makes me think of how unethical it was to use Henrietta’s cells without her consent. I agree with Alyssa on the premise that it is incredibly important to establish  rules regarding morality and ethicality in hopes that this issue will not arise again. I also agree that the public has a right to know about this pertinent issue that had been hidden for such a long time. It isn’t moral of the doctors involved in the research  to hide such an unethical part of their research concerning the use of Henrietta’s cells. The general public should be educated about the flaws of the people responsible for such an act of immorality, as to assume they will better understand why it was wrong and why it shouldn’t happen again in the future.  When Alyssa quotes that “The story of Henrietta Lacks could potentially bring forward similar controversial issues that have not been exposed yet”, it makes me think that the general public may not be ready to hear what really happened. We (the public) are so certain that what doctors and the government do is legit, we never think about them actually committing a wrong. That’s one flaw in today’s society; we put too much trust in those people with higher power, and if they do something unethical or immoral, it is usually not brought to our attention.

The Marketing of Organs

In my opinion, I don't believe that organs should be allowed in the marketing world because there comes a point when it can go too far concerning what can and cannot be sold. If anyone could sell their organs for personal profit it would be mad out there (the world). People would become more willing to sell a kidney than to work the countless hours at their jobs. There also comes a point when it becomes unethical. People who need organs the most might get outweighed by people who have the most money (as how it currently is in our current health care system). Overall, it could really become ugly and I feel that the current process of organ distribution is yes, slow but much more ethical than it would be if organs were sold just like any other mass-sold product.

            After Reading the article (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10786211)my opinion is not swayed. I still believe that organs should not be allowed in the market. It would create too many questions over ethicality and shouldn’t even be taunted with. In one quote, the author states that “People should not be stopped from selling their organs because they have a right to do what they want with their bodies when they would not be harming others.” I disagree with this statement because, yes people have the right to do whatever with their bodies, but they shouldn’t ever feel the need to sell their organs for personal profit. There should be other opportunities to earn money without having to sell their organs.

            One point I do agree with is that selling organs would increase the amount of organs available for those who are ill.  But there are still more disadvantages I can conjure up than there are advantages.

picture from: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.clipartof.com/thumbnails/9561-Clipart-Picture-Of-A-Heart-Organ-Mascot-Cartoon-Character-Holding-A-Dollar-Bill.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.clipartof.com/gallery/clipart/customer_3.html&usg=__2NgmFoQbkTXLG3LQdgPbNbWdFwo=&h=150&w=123&sz=12&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=95TPNIbkLX6SOM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddollar%2B%252B%2Borgan%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1345%26bih%3D553%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=288&vpy=259&dur=1604&hovh=120&hovw=98&tx=103&ty=91&ei=egOsTPbcBZDqnQfoo-DvBg&oei=egOsTPbcBZDqnQfoo-DvBg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0