Use commenting to complete the following assignment: Go back to your list of Discourse Communities, list them again here and name two or three problems or issues that are central to each one.
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Professor: Dr. Ruth G. Garcia
Email: RGarcia@citytech.cuny.edu
Office hours: Monday 11:00am – 1:00pm
An advanced course in expository essay writing that includes a required library paper. This course further develops research and documentation skills (MLA style). Demanding literary and expository readings are assigned for classroom discussion and as a basis for essay writing.
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Two discourse communities that I mentioned are yoga and coin collecting. Some examples of discourse in the yoga community is the shared goal to properly do breathing exercises. Another discourse they share is working on the art of being zen and calm. In the coin collecting community one discourse that is shared is knowledge of vintage and rare coins. This leads me to another example of discourse in the coin collecting community which is having a shared goal of finding rare and valuable coins.
These are both good. Now you need issues for each community.
Music community:
Problem 1: There are a lot of different genres of music and the way to make money is different depending on the genre. Earning money when making rock music is way harder than it is for pop or rap music. So a lot of musicians in the rock world dont make nearly as much as a rapper or a pop star.
Problem 2: Although there are platforms for musicians to post their music online to gain fans and some might see that as a good thing, being able to make money through being independent. But record labels still find ways to stay on top, and one way is by having the money for promotions and also buying streams on streaming sites for artists they want to blow up to make it seem like the artist is popular but in reality its just a bunch of bought streams.
NYCFC Community:
Problem 1: NYCFC is a soccer team that plays in the MLS and they have been a team for 9 years and they have yet to receive their own stadium to play their home games in. Their “home stadium” is yankee stadium but that is shared with the yankees and there is often a lot of scheduling conflicts.
Problem 2: We recently won the cup this past season thanks to one of our forwards Castellanos, he also won the golden boot which is awarded to the player who scored the most goals during the season. Because of his success, a lot of teams from Europe are trying to buy him and it is a problem for NYCFC because he is really our only “star” player and without him, we will struggle a lot in this up and coming season.
Music community is too broad. You could pick a particular music community. Alternatively a team is definitely a discourse community and the stadium seems to be clear problem.
One discourse community that I am apart of is a men’s basketball league called ABL.
One issue with this community are the referees. Almost every game players are getting into arguments with the refs and causing emotional problems within the games. It is not always the referee’s fault because they cannot see and call every correct foul, however players still cause issues within the game.
Another problem is with the brotherhood of the league. The whole point of this basketball league is to create brotherhood between the teams and players. However, due to the competitiveness of the game, problems occur between players of different teams. People forget that we are all here to have fun and cause very verbal and even physical altercations at times.
Another discourse community that I am apart of is the car community within Brooklyn.
One main issue with this group is that it is very small. Just recently more people have started getting into the car community, however many people still do not know about it. It would be great to expand and make ourselves know.
Another problem within this community is in regards to the law. Many people in this group have modified cars with adjustments that are against the law. These modifications can cause you to get hefty fines and people from this community have always tried to stand up and make a change. Other people argue that this is wrong and modified cars should not be allowed on the streets. Whatever the case is, this is a problem that individuals in the car community face.
ABL seems to be a good, clear discourse community. The issues need to clarified a bit more. The second one under ABL seems like it could work but think about what you are concerned about? Is it competitiveness? Isn’t this the point of sports? Is there another way to think about what you see going on?
Gaming community
One issue I see with the gaming community is a lot of toxicity in mostly all games you can play online. With games like Call of Duty which has been like that for years has just become normal in the community. As someone who has been playing the games for years in some instances it could be funny and helpful in some games but most of the time it annoys people and makes them quit.
Another issue with the gaming community is the hackers that emerge to ruin the game for everyone by cheating. In some instances, you can tell when someone is blatantly hacking like making cars fly or being able to end a game automatically if they want to. It is definitely a huge issue for Call of Duty but the most the developers can do is make an anti-cheat that actually works.
Guyanese community in Queens
One issue I think everyone my age can relate to in this community is that mostly all the adults or parents somehow know each other and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it is for anyone trying to hang out or do anything around the area because it just feels like you have eyes on you or a helicopter over your head who can tell anyone where you are and it feels like sometimes there is no privacy.
Another issue within the Guyanese community is the lack of communication and toxicity when it comes to a lot of the younger generation talking to adults. Trying to approach any kind of adult with a serious issue is answered with a response that seems like it’ll help them not you. Not to mention a lot of people my age had to deal with super strict parents or being raised up in a way that limits how we express our emotions. So it seems like sometimes there isn’t really anyone to talk to.
If you choose the gaming community, narrow it down to a particular gaming community. And if you go with the Guyanese community in Queens, which I like, I think you need to fine tune your focus. Is it teens (perhaps first generation American teens) in the Guyanese community in Queens?
A discourse community that I’d like to say I’m a part of is the gym community. One problem is this community is the use of substances to get a better “physique” or just a strength upgrade. Scientists have proven overtime that use of these substances have an harmful effect on the body. Despite that, professional bodybuilders are willing to risk their life to compete in tournaments using these substances. Another problem is the use of social media in the gym community. Often times if you go on a social media platform such as TikTok, you’ll see many influencers promoting their workouts and informing people about the gym. However, you’ll also see many spreading information that is either not effective or not reliable. This causes a huge cycle of misinformation which isn’t good. The gaming community is another discourse community that I’m a part of. A problem that comes with it is cyberbullying. There are almost millions of people that play their videos games everyday but they might not be good at it. However, they should not get harassed or made fun of just because they aren’t good at it. There are people who unfortunately don’t get that. Another problem that comes with video games is dealing with people who exploit or cheat on video games. This makes the experience not enjoyable for other.
Narrow down your focus a bit. What gaming community? What gym or type of gym?
Vence Benosa
Eng 1121
Feb 14, 2022
Prof. Ruth Garcia
Keto Diet – The Unhealthy Food Industry Made Me Do It
A keto diet is a very restrictive eating lifestyle that requires you to eat food high in fat and low in carbohydrates. This diet has been a part of my lifestyle since the beginning of the pandemic where at one point I was at my heaviest and I have had a serious breathing problem. Every time I climb up to a train station, I run out of breath so quickly and feel a heavy tightness around my chest. It was a turning point for me. I realized that I was not only out of shape but was also physically unhealthy. It was very alarming for a very young age.
My health problem motivated me to do something for myself. After days of research binging on the internet, I came across this promising diet. I was so desperate that I jumped into it right away. I lost 35 pounds after several months and I have never felt so much better. The diet was not easy though. I had to study how the body works, how it digests the food, what nutrients are necessary, what time to eat and sleep, what food to eat and prevent, and so on. I realized that eating healthily is not an easy practice. I am honestly so appalled that the school system never exerts to us the huge importance of a healthy diet.
The first problem is that the education system does not teach people how to live a healthy lifestyle. Yes, we learn about anatomy, digestion, macro, and micronutrients, but we never really learn about healthy living and healthy practices. That is why a lot of people are so unhealthy because we do not have a good understanding of how food affects us in the long term.
The second problem follows. Since most of the population has little knowledge of a healthy lifestyle, the food industry comes in and tricks us with food. They make junk foods, such as sugary cereals and processed meat because they are convenient and addictive. Refined sugar is addictive and overeating leads to weight gain. Preservatives are also known to be bad for us because they cause many health problems that do not occur right away.
And this is where the third problem comes in. The FDA does not have a strict implementation of what food comes in and is being put out in public. It is a well-known fact that America is one of the countries known to have the unhealthiest food industry. It has been a long-time problem to the point that it has become accepted by the culture. America has a culture of praising unhealthy people instead of encouraging them to be healthier. As a person who came from an Asian country, I can tell that the food everywhere is very unhealthy. Fast food is right around every corner of the street. Snacks are sold in oversized big bags. Fresh food does not contain too many nutrients because it comes from industrial farms that have soil exhaustion.
Video Games – The Marketing Strategy Behind Gaming
I have been playing games on and off and to be honest, gaming helps me cope with stress and anxiety. I cannot imagine life without gaming because without it I would probably be consumed with all the negativity in life. Gaming has become a coping mechanism or method for young people who do not have an outlet to share their feelings and emotions in life.
The sad thing is that there is behind gaming that not everyone gets to see or realize. You see video games are made by people. Our current society right now runs on Capitalism. Everything and everyone are surrounded by it. Anything that we buy, see, or go to is attached to Capitalism. Even games that are supposed to make us feel better are stringed to it and most young people are unaware of this.
The first problem is that every video game is monetized by the developers today to the point that you will be convinced to buy certain in-game products for you to continue indulging in the fun. One fitting example of this is a tower defense that I used to play. When I first started, I was having a lot of fun. Until it got to a part where in order for me to proceed to the next level I would have to defeat a boss. This boss is a very strong opponent and is impossible to defeat without an extra ally. Now this stage is difficult to complete because I don’t have enough allies. Since I’m emotionally attached to this game, I purchased an extra ally for like $10. Now this is just good for the current level. The game gets harder every level you go up and eventually you will need to make more purchases each time you need so. It finally got to the point where I realize it will only drain my wallet. It’s really sad that even your happiness will take advantage of you.
The second problem is a major problem to the productivity among people. Many games are designed to make you play on them as long as you can. Some of these games run on advertisements and they make money by showing you videos. The longer you play the more ads they can show you. The game is made addicting so would spend a lot of time on it. The consequence is that it will make you become unproductive. You will lose a lot of time and you will miss doing your homework, house chores, and other important tasks.
I would like to clarify that the specific genre of video game I’m talking about here is a strategic mobile game.
I forgot to copy-paste the title Brainstorming Discourse Communities and Research.
You could do either of the issues you see around video games–they are specific and to the point. But pick one.
Or you can do any of the nutrition related problems. Again pick one. But what is your discourse community for these issues. Keto is not it. Though you follow a Keto diet and this, as well as your health issues helped you learn about nutrition, the problems you see are not experienced by those who follow a Keto diet. The problems you identify are great. You just need to figure out what discourse community you were in when you experienced these problems.
One discourse community how black women are mistreated in healthcare and one issue they often face are having their complaints and symptoms dismissed and their pain being undertreated. Another problem they face is being less likely to be treated first because health professionals don’t take their concerns seriously.
Another discourse community I talked about is girl gamers. One problems that community face include is being excluded from multiplayer sessions which denies them the opportunity to socialize with the large gaming community. The second problem is being regarded with toxic and vulgar hate comments that make them feel like they shouldn’t be allowed to play.
Your problems around being a girl gamer are good and you could do either. Your health care for black women is also good but needs a bit of fine tuning. Is your discourse community here black women needing health care? Is there a particular kind of health care you have in mind? For example, Is it black women who go to the emergency room?
Gaming Community (Easports FIFA games)
1st Problem: Fifa is a soccer game that consists of players from real-life soccer. This game has many faults to it, one of the main ones is the gambling side to this, there are these packs that are legally called loot boxes that give you a chance of getting something good but it isn’t for certain. Many kids underage fall into this trap by the company EA and end up paying them even more to get a chance to get something good when it even isn’t for certain.
2nd Problem: The servers of this game are one of the key points in playing this game. In order to get on and play against others, you have to connect to their server but the problem is that when many get on their servers crash. This has been a constant problem for many years and it still has not been resolved to this day.
West Ham United football club
1st Problem: West Ham United is a football club located in London, UK. One of the major problems this football club has is its ownership, it is very poorly running and it isn’t being invested in the right things it needs. Their competitors are upgrading training grounds while west ham has the same old training place with no upgrades after many years. Fans have demanded change for many years and the owners have stated that they will bring up top quality football but they have struggled to even invest in the right things just false hope.
2nd Problem: The team’s stadium is in London, it is called the London Stadium. This stadium is not really optimized for a soccer team and many fans have complained about the stands being very far away from the field and not close enough. Also, this stadium isn’t really officially ours but in a way rented by the owners with some right into it.
Are you part of the West Ham Football Club? If not, perhaps stick with your first discourse community which I’m assuming you participate in. Otherwise think of another community you are part of. In terms of the FIFA game, I like the idea that the problem is that the game incorporates gambling. –if I’m understanding correctly. This seems like a good issue to take up with the company.
Natural Hair-
Texturism- The idea that only loose or well-defined curls deserve favoring or praise manifests in minor ways within the natural hair community. Ex: Charging women with 4c hair above average prices for hairstyles and requiring women to show up to appointments with their hair already straightened.
Gatekeeping- to deny the intersectionality of hair texture and ethnicity.
Gaming: (Game of Sultan)
Language Barriers- The software contains International players, and we communicate through the translation button. We find that some messages get lost due to the intricacy of idioms and metaphors native to our respective culture and country.
Lack of Diverse Options- Out of 185 Companion Characters there is only 2 black characters and 2 asian presenting characters.
These are great. Pick whichever you like.
A discourse community that I’m a part of is the gaming community, more specifically the Nba 2k community. Some issues with this community is that the community is very impatient; they don’t want to practice To get better at the game so they start to complain to developers of the game because of the game. So they in turn make the game easier which kills the skills gap in the game and makes the game much more unenjoyable to play because everybody is good at the game no matter the time each person puts into the game. Another issue I have with the 2k community is that it’s very toxic whether you win or lose a game u will always receive a hateful message from the opposing players. The second discourse community that I’m a part of is the Nfl community and the biggest problem is its lack of black coaches in the league even though the NFL players are 71 percent black there are only two black coaches in the NFL. Another issue I have with the NFL community is the fans who obnoxiously route for their teams and hold other players on other teams to a higher standard than their favorite team.
Be careful with the NBA example. You seem to have an issue within the community but who would you explain this problem to and for what purpose? Similarly obnoxious fans are a problem but who do you tell and for what purpose?
Makeup Community
Issue 1: An issue within this community is that some brands may lack diversity in their ranges for darker skin tones. The Makeup community should be for people of all ages, gender, and especially color. Those of fairer tones are more accessible as to darker tones. This creates a divide and leaves those of darker skin tones unincluded.
Issue 2: Another issue within this community is that beauty gurus and influencers may falsely advertise makeup products such as foundations or concealers (examples). On camera, these products look so beautiful and may make the skin appear so flawless. They look as if their pores are non-existent. All this is due to the way they use filters, face tunes, and extremely good lighting. Tik-Tok, Instagram, and YouTube are all platforms that these MUAs (Makeup Artists) use to show off their final looks convincing everyone that this is how you’re supposed to look after your face is done. Many people struggle with accepting that makeup does not look like these MUAs which makes them question why they can’t look like that.
Fitness Community
Issue 1: An issue with the fitness community is that some gyms make it almost impossible to unsubscribe without a consequence
Issue 2: Another issue within the fitness community is that it may be very difficult for one to start their journey and fear going to an actual gym instead of doing home workouts. It can feel pretty scary and lonely which is why some people may give up or have a harder time reaching their goals
I would encourage you to pick one of the issues in the make up community since these issues seem to be more developed. I especially like the issue of diversity since you could easily imagine addressing a letter to a make up company.
A discourse community that I am a part of is called “75 Hard”. 75 hard is a program/challenge that consists of 5 rules which are two 45 minute workouts and one has to be outside, follow a diet, drink a gallon of water a day, read 10 pages of a nonfiction book, and finally take a progress picture of yourself. In order to finish this you need to do it for 75 days straight. As you can see the rules are very straightforward, but there’s a lot of people who want to adjust the rules to their needs and not do certain things because they find it inconvenient. This is a problem because the whole purpose of the challenge is for it to be inconvenient, it’s supposed to be hard. Those people who quote on quote finish the program the wrong way will never receive the benefits as someone who never complained and pushed through the program the right way. This then leads to another problem with some people saying they finished the program and received little to no benefits which only pushes new people away from starting the program. Some of the benefits of this program include discipline, confidence, self-esteem, self-belief, grittiness, and so much more.
Another discourse community that I am a part of is the fitness community.
The first issue is all the false information people on social media are sharing about getting fit. They are giving people false hope about how easy and fast you can become fit by following their workout plan or buying their course. They all try to manipulate people and make them believe that their way of working out is the most effective and most beneficial. What they don’t share is that to get the body you want takes years of hard work and consistency.
Another issue is all the supplements some people are using to quickly gain a lot of muscle or lose weight that are in fact hurting them in the long run. Of course there are many safe supplements out there that can help boost strength or recovery, but almost every week I see new people on social media using these dangerous supplements and promoting them without showing the harmful side effects.
So it sounds like you want to either address the effects of false social media on the fitness community or those the problem of people participating in 75 hard incorrectly and the effects this has on the program. I think both should work but you can always reach out and we can review if you get stuck. I do think you’ll find more research on the fitness community and false social media issue.
Gaming(Overwatch) community
Toxicity/cyberbully – There are people that tend to make fun of others when they win the game or just get a kill on another person. That person may say something like “you’re bad at this game” or something along those lines. Also, there are people that taunt on other’s people corpse when they get the kill which can lead to people leaving the game.
Hacking – There are people that hack the game through aimbots and wall hacks to give them an advantage over the opponent. In some cases, a person might be looking at the floor and just randomly get a kill on an enemy.
Discord community
Hackers – When hacker sometimes try to scam people on clicking into a fake discord nitro gift whether it is in direct messages or in servers.
Cyberbullying – When random people tries to harass or make other feels uncomfortable by sending inappropriate messages or pictures to another person. Sometimes people will threaten or blackmail others.
A discourse community I will be writing about is the EMS community. For some who may not know, EMS stands for Emergency Medical Services. We are the first responders who provide aid and medical assistance to those in need via 911 calls or private means and transportation. Some problems in this discourse community is the lack of pay. Many of us are working in dangerous and unpleasant environments dealing with a lot of trauma and blood born pathogens and many only get paid the maximum of $15-17 an hour, which is the minimum wage here in NY. Its not fair that nurses are getting paid thousands a year while we barely make the minimum American house- hold salary. We have almost the same scope of practice, we just provide pre-hospital care. Another issue is the lack of care and awareness of our safety . Like many other first responders we walk or sometimes run into the unknown, not knowing whats on the other side or whether or not we’ll make it back home to our families after our tour is over.
One discourse community that I am apart of was my high school football team. One of the main issues were that our team was not getting funded by our own school. All the other sports teams like the basketball teams, baseball team, track team, volleyball team, and softball team were all getting funded by the school. They got new game uniforms, and new equipment to practice with. The football team on the other hand, we had to have our own fundraisers to get money for the team. During the summer we held a car wash to raise money, and we actually raised a decent amount of money. The reason why we weren’t getting funded by the school is because the football team hasn’t had a winning season in years. Even before I started playing football for that school the team was still having losing seasons. I felt that even though the team hasn’t had a winning season in a long time, that doesn’t mean to stop supporting the team. Another issue was the recruitment. Our coach tried to recruit some kids from different high schools to come play for our team, but they didn’t want to because of our losing record. Most football teams have a 20 – 30 man roster. My team had a 15 man roster. This was bad because during a football game 11 men must be on the field for both teams. That meant that most of the people on my team would have to play all 4 quarters with no breaks except for timeouts and halftime. I was apart of that group that would have to play all 4 quarters. This would cause us to lose games because meanwhile we were tired during the game the other team would put in a new group of players on the field who are fresh and not tired yet.
The discourse community that I wrote about are the lives of first generation children. The focus is on how traumatic the immigration process is. Assimilating to a country that’s vastly different from yours and just how that would affect you and later on your kin. Some ideas that I explored were how there is a cultural wall within your household. I for one never felt Bengali enough nor American enough growing up and my other friends relate to this notion. Parents often keep the traditions and cultural norms from their motherland despite moving to a completely different country in an effort to preserve what they have lost and cope with the loss of what is. And while I believe this is okay I also believe that compromise is necessary in order to ensure the peace of mind of your child.