MWP1: Precis 8: “Can Music Preference Indicate Mental Health Status In Young People?”

           In the article “Can Music Preference Indicate Mental Health Status In Young People?” (2008) by Felicity Baker and William Bor, the authors state that more studies need to be done about music’s effect on youth. The authors support this statement by presenting many different studies by a variety of organizations that contradict each other, with each source coming to its own unique conclusion. The purpose of this article is to present a collection of information in order to prove that there is no definitive answer about the effects of music on adolescents. The intended audience for this article is a group of people who are familiar with psychology but are not experts, as the language is difficult but not ridiculously long and is still able to be understood by the average person.

Baker, Felicity, and William Bor. "Can Music Preference Indicate Mental Health Status In Young People?." Australasian Psychiatry 16.4 (2008): 284-288. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.

MWP1: Precis 7: "Effects Of Listening To Heavy Metal Music On College Women: A Pilot Study" (REPOST)

In the article "Effects Of Listening To Heavy Metal Music On College Women: A Pilot Study" (2008) by Gregory Schwab et al., the authors claim that heavy metal music causes a “physiological response in females” that is specific to females and is due to the musical genre of heavy metal. (Schwab 1) The authors develop this claim through experimentation and examination of muscle movements in the face of the test subject (specifically the frontalis and masseter muscles) along with measurements of perspiration, heart rate, and other physiological factors. The purpose of this article is to present the results of an experiment in order to inform the public of the potential effects of heavy metal music on college women. The intended audience of this article is a group of graduate level people interested or working with physiology regarding music, because the article constantly gives large words without explaining them and presents all information in a very logical, concise, lab-report style method with very little emphasis on popular appeal.

Gregory D. Schwab, et al. "Effects Of Listening To Heavy Metal Music On College Women: A Pilot Study." College Student Journal 42.1 (2008): 24-35. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.

MWP1: Precis 6: “The Effects Of Sexually Violent Rock Music On Males' Acceptance Of Violence Against Women”

            In the article “The Effects Of Sexually Violent Rock Music On Males' Acceptance Of Violence Against Women” (1991) by Janet Lawrence and Doris Joyner, the authors claim that sexually violent lyrics in Heavy Metal music are usually unable to be heard by the majority of people and play no role comparatively to violence against women. The authors support this claim through experimentation involving the listening of violent lyrics in Heavy Metal music, non-violent lyrics, and classical music, resulting in no distinguishable difference between the violent lyrics and non-violent lyrics groups. The purpose of this article is to prevent the information obtained from the experiment in order to prove that the lyrics in Heavy Metal music do not play a role in violence towards women when the lyrics are unable to be heard. The audience for this article is a group of educated people concerned about Heavy Metal music’s effect on violence towards women, because the article is very long, featured in a journal about women’s psychology, written like a lab report, uses college level vocabulary, and uses statistical language that is on a college level.

Lawrence, Janet S. St., and Doris J. Joyner. "The Effects Of Sexually Violent Rock Music On Males' Acceptance Of Violence Against Women." Psychology Of Women Quarterly 15.1 (1991): 49-63. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Feb. 2012.

MWP1: Precis 5: “Violent Lyrics In Heavy Metal Music Can Increase Aggression In Males”

In the article “Violent Lyrics In Heavy Metal Music Can Increase Aggression In Males” (2011) by John Mast and Francis McAndrew, the authors state that Heavy Metal Music with violent lyrics causes an increase in aggression in males. The authors support this statement by performing an experiment in which 35 male college students are split into 3 groups and listen to Heavy Metal music with violent lyrics, without violent lyrics, and silence for 8 minutes and are then asked to put an amount of hot sauce in water for another test subject to drink; and, the authors reporting that the group with violent lyrics put the most hot sauce in the water. The purpose of this article is to present information about the findings of an experiment in order to prove that violent lyrics in Heavy Metal music cause an increase in aggression in males. The audience of this article is a partially educated group, because the article contains a small amount of statistical wording and is short for an article, being two pages long; also, the article is not written in a lab report style but does have many sources and uses college level vocabulary.

Mast, John F., and Francis T. McAndrew. "Violent Lyrics In Heavy Metal Music Can Increase Aggression In Males." North American Journal Of Psychology 13.1 (2011): 63-64. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Feb. 2012.

MWP1: Precis 4: “Heavy Metal Music And Adolescent Suicidality: An Empirical Investigation”

            In the article “Heavy Metal Music And Adolescent Suicidality: An Empirical Investigation” (1999) by Karen Scheel and John Westefeld, the authors claim that listening to Heavy Metal Music relieves sadness or anger as much as any other type of music, and that there could be a slight correlation between feelings of suicide and listening to Heavy Metal music, but that this is likely from a completely different cause. The authors support this argument with an experiment of a group of high school students and a test to determine various reasons for living, using statistical analysis to separate the data into usable numbers. The purpose of this article is to present the findings of an experiment conducted in order to inform people about the possible correlation between Heavy Metal music and suicide among adolescent females, even though the authors admit that this may be caused by something else entirely. The audience for this article is a group of educated people with an interest in the psychology relating to music, because the article uses statistical data and techniques without explaining them and presents the information in a chart that contains collegiate statistical methods; also, the article uses upper level vocabulary and is in the form of a lab report, whilst being 21 pages long, suggesting that it is for post-graduates.

Scheel, Karen R., and John S. Westefeld. "Heavy Metal Music And Adolescent Suicidality: An Empirical Investigation." Adolescence 34.134 (1999): 253. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.

MWP1: Precis 3: “Heavy Metal, Identity And The Social Negotiation Of A Community Of Practice”

            In the article “Heavy Metal, Identity And The Social Negotiation Of A Community Of Practice” (2007) by Dave Snell and Darrin Hodgetts, the authors claim that there is a Heavy Metal culture that is beneficial to those involved in the culture through expression of oneself and establishing and strengthening ties to others. The authors support this claim by explaining, in depth, the Heavy Metal culture and use a few people as test subjects who support their claim by showing themselves as benefited by the Heavy Metal culture that they are a part of. The purpose of this article is to present the findings about the Heavy Metal culture in order to make the point that people are affected positively by the Heavy Metal community that has been established. The audience of this article is a group of people who are educated but not necessarily specialized: the vocabulary is of a higher level, but there are no statistical tables and a few pictures are included that do not pose a huge significance to the article; however, the article is written as a lab report and is rather long, making it difficult enough to be fit for an educated audience.

Snell, Dave, and Darrin Hodgetts. "Heavy Metal, Identity And The Social Negotiation Of A Community Of Practice." Journal Of Community & Applied Social Psychology 17.6 (2007): 430-445. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.

MWP1: Precis 2: “What's The Deal With Soundtrack Albums? Metal Music And The Customized Aesthetics Of Contemporary Horror”

In the article “What's The Deal With Soundtrack Albums? Metal Music And The Customized Aesthetics Of Contemporary Horror” (2009) by Joseph Tompkins, the author claims that Heavy Metal music and horror films go together nicely and that the film industry utilizes this relationship. The author supports this claim by giving many examples (including the movie Freddy vs. Jason) and explaining, in depth, the economic and cultural impact of such a relationship. The purpose of this article is to present the research done regarding a relationship between horror film and Heavy Metal music in order to show that the relationship is beneficial to all parties involved. The intended audience of this article is a group of college-level students, because the vocabulary is at a college level but there is nothing too specialized about the article that only one profession would understand, even if it is rather long.

Tompkins, Joseph. "What's The Deal With Soundtrack Albums? Metal Music And The Customized Aesthetics Of Contemporary Horror." Cinema Journal 49.1 (2009): 65-81. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Feb. 2012.

MWP1: Precis 1: “The Relationship Between Heavy Metal And Rap Music And Adolescent Turmoil: Real Or Artifact?”

In the article “The Relationship Between Heavy Metal And Rap Music And Adolescent Turmoil: Real Or Artifact?” (1994) by Kevin Took and David Weiss, the authors claim that Heavy Metal Music and Rap Music have no direct effect on turmoil in children, but that the problem originates from elementary school issues before the exposure to the music styles. The authors support this claim by presenting their research which shows that the music styles originally suspected of causing negative effects in teenagers are not a direct cause of turmoil in children, but the result of underlying problems based off of surveys they presented to the test subjects. The purpose of this article is to present information of a psychological study in order to disprove the notion that Heavy Metal and Rap music negatively affects youth. The intended audience for this article is a group of people desiring more information about the effects of music, but who are also educated, as evident by the professional statistical data methods used and the strictly lab-report style presentation of information.

Took, Kevin J., and David S. Weiss. "The Relationship Between Heavy Metal And Rap Music And Adolescent Turmoil: Real Or Artifact?." Adolescence 29.115 (1994): 613. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.

Working Thesis for MWP 1

Working Thesis MWP 1

            Heavy Metal Music has positive effects that outweigh the negative effects to the mental health of people because the positive effects have been shown experimentally to outweigh the negative effects, the effects of Heavy Metal Music cannot be experimentally quantified, and any experimental effects observed cannot be proven to be caused by Heavy Metal Music.

Rhetorical Precis of "Effects of Listening to Heavy Metal Music on College Women: A Pilot Study"

In the article "Effects Of Listening To Heavy Metal Music On College Women: A Pilot Study" (2008) by Gregory Schwab et al., the authors claim that heavy metal music causes a “physiological response in females” that is specific to females and is due to the musical genre of heavy metal. (Schwab 1) The authors develop this claim through experimentation and examination of muscle movements in the face of the test subject (specifically the frontalis and masseter muscles) along with measurements of perspiration, heart rate, and other physiological factors. The purpose of this article is to present the results of an experiment in order to inform the public of the potential effects of heavy metal music on college women. The intended audience of this article is a group of graduate level people interested or working with physiology regarding music, because the article constantly gives large words without explaining them and presents all information in a very logical, concise, lab-report style method with very little emphasis on popular appeal.

Works Cited

Gregory D. Schwab, et al. "Effects Of Listening To Heavy Metal Music On College Women: A Pilot Study." College Student Journal 42.1 (2008): 24-35. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.

10-15 questions about MWP 1 Topic

Questions about Heavy Metal Music Effects

1.      What are the negative effects of Heavy Metal Music?

2.      What are the positive effects of Heavy Metal Music?

3.      Do the negative effects outweigh the positive effects or vice versa?

4.      Does a predetermined music preference cause different effects to Heavy Metal Music?

5.      Are there psychological effects of Heavy Metal Music?

6.      Are there physiological effects of Heavy Metal Music?

7.      Is there any quantitative research regarding Heavy Metal Music?

8.      Does gender have a role in the effects of Heavy Metal Music?

9.      Does race have a role in the effects of Heavy Metal Music?

10.  What about Heavy Metal Music causes the effects?

11.  Is there a general agreement in the scientific community about the effects of Heavy Metal Music?

12.  What defines Heavy Metal Music and who makes these definitions?

13.  Is Heavy Metal Music the only genre of music with the effects of Heavy Metal Music?

14.  Do people “get used to” Heavy Metal Music and suffer effects of the music less?

15.  Can Heavy Metal Music be linked to any mental health conditions scientifically?

Rhetorical Precis for Chapter 7 of Good Reasons

In the seventh Chapter, “Putting Good Reasons into Action,” of Good Reasons (2012), Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer claim that people do not often start with a particular argument structure, but that they use various argument structures to discuss their purpose. Faigley and Selzer support this by providing a distinct example of a reason for writing and many options for how to write regarding this example, but carefully showing that the hypothetical writing did not start with an argument structure but an idea that could then be used with argument structures to appeal to the audience. The purpose of this chapter is to inform students that it is not good to choose an argument structure before finding an argument in order to prevent students from the failure that they will more than likely witness and feel if they do choose a structure before an argument. The intended audience of this chapter is a group of college students, because the chapter considers that the reader is above 18 years of age (using “citizen”), uses the idea of a recently bought car which suggests above 16 years of age, and college-level topics like drunk driving and research regarding an article for a local newspaper.

Works Cited

Faigley, Lester and Jack Selzer. Good Reasons: Researching and Writing Effective Arguments. Chicago: Pearson, 2012. Print

Rhetorical Precis of Chapter 4 in Good Reasons

In the fourth Chapter, “Drafting and Revising Arguments,” of Good Reasons (2012), Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer claim that various components of the drafting process for an argument paper are important and need practice. Faigley and Selzer support this claim by stating the components of the paper that they claim are important, like the thesis, and show why it is important and how to revise these components, along with explaining how to analyze the same components in another author’s paper. Faigley and Selzer’s purpose is to instruct students on how to draft and revise their own, and other authors, arguments in order to cause the students to become better at writing their arguments and refining their ideas further. The intended audience for the article is a group of college students, because the words “college,” “campus,” and “university” are used many times throughout the text and the vocabulary and subject matter is on a college level.

Works Cited

Faigley, Lester and Jack Selzer. Good Reasons: Researching and Writing Effective Arguments. Chicago: Pearson, 2012. Print

Fair Use Isn't Always Fair (Scholarly Article, BB Article, Radio Show discussion)

            Fair use is a difficult concept to grasp, and is even more difficult to benefit from. What originally started out as a freedom of speech loophole in a seemingly monopoly-like copyright law, is now a confusing and usually disadvantageous part of a so-called “ability to use copyrighted materials.” The article “Administering Fair Use” by Jason Mazzone gives a reasonable choice in how to approach changing Fair Use laws; the article “Lines on Plagiarism Blur for Students in the Digital Age” by Trip Gabriel shows that not all fair use is legitimate on the part of the user, and the “Digital Music Sampling” NPR radio show offers some insight from people who firsthand use or advocate Fair Use. The article “Administering Fair Use” and the radio show have generally the same concept: that Fair Use isn’t always fair to the user. The radio show focuses on music and Fair Use, but the guests still do admit that Fair Use isn’t always so black-and-white (for example, guest Hank Shocklee claimed to have been sued many times for violations of copyright law) which is the primary concern of “Administering Fair Use”: to reform the copyright system and place power in the executive branch so that the system is more black-and-white. The second article, “Lines on Plagiarism Blur…” is defending the copyright holders in the correct manner. The article brings forth the realistic logic that there will be some “plagiarism” where Fair Use is concerned, and that most people who do plagiarize are simply too lazy to cite. The three articles, in conjunction, all do have a very broad central point: things regarding copyright law needs to change, in some way.

Works Cited

"Digital Music Sampling: Creativity Or Criminality?" National Public Radio. 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 04 Feb. 2012.

Gabriel, Trip. "Lines on Plagiarism Blur for Students in the Digital Age." The New York Times. 01 Aug. 2010. Web. 04 Feb. 2012.

Mazzone, Jason. "Administering Fair Use." William & Mary Law Review. LexisNexis Academic, Nov. 2009. Web. 06 Feb. 2012.

Rhetorical Precis on "Administering Fair Use" (Scholarly Article)

            In the article “Administering Fair Use” (2009) in the William & Mary Law Review journal, Jason Mazzone suggests that current Fair Use laws are not enough to regulate the United States, and that an administrative agency from the executive branch of the government is needed to enforce Fair Use. Mazzone supports this suggestion by showing the current flaws in the judicial system when Fair Use is attempted to be enforced, discussing the intimidation tactics used by copyright holders to force people to forego their Fair Use right, and presenting information about Finland and how their executive branch successfully handles copyright law. Mazzone’s purpose is to propose a new idea on how to regulate Fair Use in order to reduce the confusion with the current Fair Use handling in the United States. The intended audience for this article is a group of people with some background in law: Mazzone uses a lot of legal terms without defining them and is published in a Law journal, but also has a very dry and clean organization where it is not appealing to the public who have no reason to read this long article.

Works Cited

Mazzone, Jason. "Administering Fair Use." William & Mary Law Review. LexisNexis Academic, Nov. 2009. Web. 06 Feb. 2012.

Discussion about NPR Audio and Plagiarism Article

                Both the radio piece titled “Digital Music Sampling: Creativity Or Criminality?” from NPR and the article titled “Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age” by Trip Gabriel discuss forms of “plagiarism,” but have different takes on the issue. The radio piece discussed “sampling,” which is taking a bit of one song and using it for your own use. In discussion about whether or not this is fair, or legal, the host Ira Flatow and guests Hank Shocklee, Kembrew McLeod, and Dean Garfield come to an implied general agreement that sampling is fundamentally not stealing someone else’s work because it does not use the entire song. However, the Laws do not necessarily support the group’s consensus, as McLeod brings up when he discusses the court case in which the judge said that taking any part of a song, no matter how small, requires a license from the one who holds the copyright. This “no matter how small” condition is very similar to how citation is with writing: no matter how much of someone else’s writing you used, you still must cite this source. However, the difficult part in comparing these two is how you would cite someone else’s music when you use it. In general, citation in writing is usually avoided because it is a process that many lazy people do not appear to have time for, according to the article. “Citation” is avoided with these musical mediums because citing would require paying an amount of money, a percentage of profits, and more fees, rather than simply taking thirty minutes to develop a works cited page for a composition paper. The guests of the radio show agree that the grey line with sampling is affecting the way music evolution happens, and that some music evolution was stifled or prevented because of the fear of being sued for using material that is not theirs to use. Shocklee brings up the Fair Use Act with copyrighting, but this defense does not always work and as a result some can get sued. Garfield also argues that the line for “Fair Use” is very blurry, as using most of a person’s song can be considered appropriate whereas using all of a person’s song is copyright infringement. In general, the article discusses plagiarism in text sources and how it is increasingly easier to make arguments that some things are able to be used without citation, even if this is fundamentally wrong. An argument made is that using a computer, a student is much more likely to feel that the information is anyone’s, compared to being in a library, holding a physical book and seeing that it isn’t their book because they cannot take it out of the library. The article summarizes itself in the final page, giving an example of a large group of students who felt that they should cite their sources, but were simply too lazy to do so. This is probably the most common reason for plagiarism: the idea to cite was there, but the writer was too lazy for citation.

Works Cited

"Digital Music Sampling: Creativity Or Criminality?" National Public Radio. 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 04 Feb. 2012.

Gabriel, Trip. "Lines on Plagiarism Blur for Students in the Digital Age." The New York Times. 01 Aug. 2010. Web. 04 Feb. 2012.

Good Reasons- Chapter 3 Rhetorical Precis

            In chapter 3, titled “Finding Arguments,” of Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer’s Good Reasons, the authors claim that arguments are everywhere and that evidence must support an argument for it to be a good argument. The authors first define arguments, consisting of claims and reasons, and instruct on how to find topics and create good arguments. Faigley and Selzer then go on to discuss sources, and agreement and disagreement with those sources that may or may not support your argument. Faigley and Selzer finish their chapter by discussing what makes a reason a good reason and explaining how to obtain evidence to support these reasons. The authors’ purpose is to instruct about how to create an argument in order to cause students to be able to create better arguments. The intended audience for this chapter is a College audience, because Faigley and Selzer refer many times to a “campus” and “degrees” and also discuss topics that are for adults, but not specialized enough to be for any specific type of adult.

Works Cited

Faigley, Lester and Jack Selzer. Good Reasons: Researching and Writing Effective Arguments. Chicago: Pearson, 2012. Print

Good Reasons- Chapter 2 Rhetorical Precis

            In chapter 2, titled “Reading Arguments,” of Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer’s Good Reasons, the authors imply that being able to read and analyze arguments is a valuable skill and has many unique parts. Faigley and Selzer begin by explaining how to find an argument, and then go on to give directions about how to take notes on the reading and understand the different sides of an argument. Faigley and Selzer also discuss logical fallacies that may be included in arguments, and how to recognize these fallacies and use this recognition to analyze the argument. The authors’ purpose is to inform about reading arguments in order to cause the audience to become better at analyzing and reading arguments. The audience of this chapter is a collection of students in College because the authors appear to use higher level vocabulary, like “concise” and “thorough,” but still include popular topics like the internet to appeal to a younger group of College students.

Works Cited

Faigley, Lester and Jack Selzer. Good Reasons: Researching and Writing Effective Arguments. Chicago: Pearson, 2012. Print