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Author: Amira Webbert (Page 1 of 2)

Coffee House #5

Time management has always been the number one priority to an everyday lifestyle with and without COVID-19, but ever since the pandemic hit, time management has been seriously important for both students and adults, especially those who attends both school and work. The main step into managing time is to one, plan ahead, make sure you have enough time to do the assignments and never wait to the last minute; two, don’t multitask, cellphones and anything in general like other assignments can be very distracting, so the best thing to do is get in the zone and focus on the bigger assignments first so it won’t be a hassle as the due date’s approaches. Steps three and four are similar, set up a space for yourself where you can block out distractions and focus on what needs to get done. Finally, reward yourself for all your completed assignments; create a balance; get use to the way you study and can get the work done. Lastly, get some rest, sleep is the number one rule above all, especially after a long day of hard work.

            Overall, time management is something I need to focus on myself. I am a huge procrastinator and I always have been. I’ve tried many different was to get myself so involved with work, I’ve tried timing myself, I’ve tried being in a quiet state, I’ve tried listening to calm music, nothing has ever seemed to work, I get distracted very quickly and I often hate it, but one thing I can say I do well is get my work done on time, unless I have a perfectly good reason as to why it’s late.   

Amira Webbert

ENG 1101

Prof. Scanlan

            This annotated bibliography was very difficult, between the struggle in finding the right source to write about to the struggle in making sure what was needed in the body was applied. The surprises I found while reading and annotating is that the biggest tsunami that ever hit was in Japan at the height of 1,720 feet and there is a possible chance that it can happen again. After reading/annotating, my thinking on tsunamis has not changed but my knowledge of it did. What is important for people to know is when traveling to these hotspots like Japan, make sure you do your research on when the last tsunami hit, calculate the time difference so you won’t be caught in it, make sure your surrounded by high buildings so if anything was to happen and driving to the escape route wasn’t an option, at least you will be high enough to not get sucked in. last but not least, pay attention to the alerts and be aware of your surroundings and change in weather because a tsunami can hit unpredictably. I’m not author or writer but if anyone who is interested in learning more about tsunamis and there nature then anyone could and should know about my findings and I hope it will be worth their while.   

Third Annotation

Amira Webbert

Prof. Scanlan

Tsunami body 3

(1) 1) Council on Earthquake Disaster Prevention, Ministry of Education (1933) Note on Prevention against Tsunamis. pp. 1–14(in Japanese). [Google Scholar]

2) Kajiura, K. (1970) Tsunami source, energy and directivity of wave radiation. Bull. Earthquake Research Institute 48, 835–869 [Google Scholar]

3) Imamura, F., Nagano, O., Goto, C. and Shuto, N. (1987) Numerical simulation of transoceanic propagation of 1960 Chilean tsunami. Proc. 34th Japanese Conf. Coastal Eng. 34, 172–176(in Japanese). [Google Scholar]

4) Watanabe, H. (1998) Comprehensive list of tsunamis to hit the Japanese Islands, University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, pp. 1–236(in Japanese). [Google Scholar]

5) Mansinha, L. and Smylie, D.E. (1971) The displacement of the earthquake fault model. Bull. Seismol. Soc. Amer. 61, 1433–1400 [Google Scholar]

            (2) Japan is the most hit country by local and distant tsunamis. From the year 1933-1960 the article explicitly went into detail about how the tsunami started, when it started, how long it occurred, the meters it reached, the damage it caused and etc. (3) In my opinion the article was very well thought out, gave great details, details that explains the protocols and what needs to be done when a tsunami hit, the before and after. Based on the CEDP (certified emergency and disaster professional); Relocation of dwelling houses to high ground is the best measure against tsunamis; coastal dikes against tsunamis may become too large, and financially impractical; the tsunami control forests protocol is used because vegetations may damp the power of tsunamis when it hit; seawalls could be effective for smaller tsunamis; tsunami-resistant areas are designed if the tsunami height is not so high in a busy quarter, solid concrete buildings are to be built in the front line of the area; Buffer zone: dammed by structures, a tsunami inevitably increases its height. In order to receive the flooding thus amplified, rivers and low-lands are to be designated as buffer zone to be sacrificed; evacuation routes are designed for people to use the roads to escape to safer and higher ground which are required for every village; and last but not least, the tsunami watch was designed to keep track of the Tsunami because it takes 20 min for a tsunami to arrive at the Sanriku coast, so it gives citizens time to detect an approaching tsunami and prepare for it. (4) The authors credentials were long, important, and respected which made this article credible because their writing skills were creative with a great deal of sources. (5)I don’t really have an idea on why the author wrote this genre but what I do know is, it was a good choice for the intended audience because people who are new to living in a area where tsunamis occur, I would highly recommend this article to help with their knowledge of being safe.   

Second Annotation

Amira Webbert

Prof. Scanlan

Tsunamis

           (1) Goldstein, Jack, et al. 101 Amazing Facts about Natural Disasters, Andrews UK Ltd., 2015. ProQuest eBook Central.

           (2) Tsunamis are one of the main deadliest disaster that can ever occur in mankind. Earth is surrounded by land and a large body of water, the earth goes through changes like the human body goes through changes, and each change causes a different amount of pain for all mankind. For example, the human body goes through changes that can be very harmful to us and that can also kill us like cancer, accidents, and most recently, COVID-19, but nothing will ever compare to the amount of pain society goes through when a disaster like a tsunami hit. Tsunamis are not common in most areas but is very much known, and the pain of losing someone to a tsunami or even being apart of it and facing your own damage by it can be very painful and tragic like any other deadly experience. Tsunamis can reach up to about 25 meters and one of the deadliest tsunamis in modern times took place on December 26, 2004, caused by an earthquake reaching that magnitude over 9, making the earthquake the 3rd most powerful ever recorded along with the deadliest tsunami itself. Five million tons of debris was washed out into the sea back in Japan in 2011 and is still shown into the American and Canadian shores to this day. (3) In my opinion, what I have read was very surprising, and I say this because without this article, I would not have known that Japan got it worse when it comes to Tsunami, I would have thought that any other locations like Thailand or L.A would have it the worse, especially because I have seen movies and shows about these locations and the tsunamis and hurricanes that occurred there also. (4) I think the authors are credible for their writing style, credentials, and purpose on this topic because they focused on the main hotspot for a tsunami and the amount of damage it caused without just simply stating that a tsunami hit, and it caused damage. They gave details, sizes of the tsunamis and earthquakes that caused these tsunamis, the names they were given and more. (5) I believe these authors chose this genre because it was interesting, and most scientist/ people still find it surprisingly to this day as to why such a large earthquake will not cause even the tiniest tsunami, but a tiny earthquake will result in such a devastating tsunami. (6) Therefore, one key quote I am confused about while reading this book is, “it was however only in the late 20th century that scientists began to properly appreciate the mechanics of these often devastating events”; and I find this confusing because tsunamis have been around for 2500 years, so why is it that scientist basically just started caring about one of the deadliest disasters that can destroy in seconds randomly.      

Amira Webbert

Prof. Scanlan

Natural Disasters

  (1) Reilly, K. M. & Casteel, T. (2012) Natural disasters: investigate Earth’s most destructive forces: with 25 projects. White River Junction, Vermont: Nomad Press.

           (2) Tsunamis have been occurring for centuries, and it either gets worse, or manageable. I say manageable because although a huge wave of water that can kill millions can never be conversant with, people still know what to expect when it happens due to the protocols in their current living area. Earthquakes and tsunamis have many similarities, even though they create their own “natural disaster”, they also work together in a certain way. For example, earthquakes are formed by the shift in tectonic plates within the earths crust, and the bigger the earthquake, the bigger the tsunami will be. Tsunamis major hotspots are the Pacific Ocean near the subduction zones, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, Chile, Philippines, Japan, etc. The author Kathleen M. Reilly is a science teacher and also an award winning writer for her many books, while Tom Casteel is an illustrator and cartoonist; Tom also illustrated over two dozen books for Nomad press and graduated from a cartoonist school in 2011. The author’s intended audience is children of a certain age who one likes to look at pictures to have a better understanding and two, children of a certain age who is learning about the topic as well. (3) In my opinion, this story was helpful for it’s age group. The author used more pictures and models for better understanding to her intended audience and stated as much details about the tsunamis, and their hotspots as possible, etcetera. (4) Although, I do not think the author is credible because her writing style was weak, and her purpose was not explicitly established. (5) Therefore, I believe the author chose this genre because it is a simple topic, and easy research. I also feel like the topic is not much of a challenge, anyone can google the hotspots, the reason why it occurs, the amount of damage it causes, and write a story about it as if it were their own idea, their own hard and dedicated work that came up with the conclusions and results to why and how this disaster occurs. (6) One key quote that I find important to this disaster is, “A tsunami can completely devastate an area”. Now you may ask, “what is so interesting about this quote?”, “why would it be labeled as a key quote?”. I label this quote as a key quote because it gives the word tsunami it’s meaning. If no one could ever understand what a tsunami does through all that scientific talk, all they must know is, a tsunami can devastate an area, a tsunami can bring more destruction to earth than anyone can imagine, a tsunami can grow bigger and bigger with or without a warning and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Water is not harmless, and neither is the earth in general.   

Amira Webbert

ENG 1101

Prof. Scanlan

3/23/21

NATURAL DISASTERS

What causes a natural disaster to happen? What makes a natural disaster a natural disaster? These questions intrigue me to explore more into this topic because before our time, before earth was earth, there has been more natural disasters then we can think of. To answer both of my questions, what causes a natural disaster to happen is the movement of tectonic plates, which can cause Tsunamis, earthquakes, and the eruption of volcanoes. What can also cause a natural disaster is the change in weather such as tornadoes, hurricanes, drought, extreme heat, and extreme cold weather. Moreover, what makes a natural disaster a natural disaster is catastrophic events that can cause major destruction and social environmental disruption. In the subject of Earth Science, students are taught about these natural disasters, how and why the occur, and where they occur, but in reality, there is always more to situations like natural disasters but the stories are always the same, it was caused by the movements of tectonic plates, by the climate change, but what they never get into detail about it why the tectonic plates move, why the climate changes, when and where it all first began, how these disasters got their names, why these disasters continue to occur, and etc. hurricanes are one of the most common natural disasters that are caused by the change in weather like I’ve mentioned before, but if I had to choose a natural disaster that’s most dangerous to me, it would be Tsunamis. Although all natural disasters are “naturally” dangerous, I personally believe that a Tsunami may cost more damage rather than a hurricane because it’s harder to clean up water especially when the water hits places that is nowhere near the ocean and also, as far as I am concerned, it may also take a longer time period to get things back the way they were before as far as electric circuits, buildings, and etc.     

Amira Webbert

1: The history of dance

2: Pandemics

3: Radiology

4: Marijuana

5: Abortion

6: Animals

7: Prostitution

8: Family violence

9: Natural disasters

10: Immigration

Amira Webbert
ENG 1101 

After reading Alexandria’s Lockett, The Traditional Research Paper is Best, I learned a few different things about research. Her writing reinforces the use of technology to find the things we need compared to the use of libraries and other resource tools that would now be considered dated in terms of the way we currently find the answers we need to the questions we ask. Lockett writes, “typically, a first-year college student’s research paper assignment might require 5–10 sources, whereas advanced students are probably asked to cite no more than 30 sources. These figures may stem from research concerns that emerged during an entirely different technological history.” In this, Alexandria is explaining that due to technological advances, requirements have changed, due to effort it takes to get to the end result as well. She also explains that some textbook writers have complained about the number of resource papers that have actually lacked primary sources due to them relying on “questionable” secondary materials. Lastly, she explains that the labor that’s involved in research and the use of the internet tends to be ignored by others. Both educators and other professionals may not understand the time and effort it takes to examine online sources for works, she explains. We find that there may be “almost 19,000,000 results” for a Google Scholar search when you research “the research paper”, which takes time for students to comb through. 

The Wikipedia page entitled Research explains what research is. I learned a new definition of research being that it’s a “Creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge”. I understood this as simply research is a creative way to learn something new in a way that is systematically organized. According to the Wiki page, the primary purposes of research are documentation, discovery, interpretation, and the research and development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge. The Wiki page also explains that the word research comes from the Middle French “recherche”, meaning to go seek about.

Amira Webbert

English 1101

Essay Draft #1

The process of learning

When it comes to learning, it can be somewhat simple to most people, neutral, or very challenging. When mentioning someone’s intellectual home, you may think to yourself, a place where a person may feel most comfortable at, a place where one can go to focus or take a break from reality, or maybe a person whom one can speak to about their situation, good or bad.

While Malcolm X intellectual home was focused on learning in Prison, my intellectual home is my room and the process of studying. In order to prove this comparison, first I will explore my own home along with my intellectual home and my ideal intellectual home. Then I will show how my Malcolm X intellectual home was also quite like mine even though it was also very much different. My actual home is very noisy at times as there are five people that I live with including me, and sometimes my other two siblings come to stay over. My current intellectual home is in the comfort of my room. My room is my safe place to concentrate and get all my work done, especially when no one is home, I am able focus more, or I tend to play soft music to keep me relaxed and focused. In “Learning to Read” an excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm X intellectual home kind of connected with my current intellectual home because even though his “home” wasn’t very much safe and comfortable in any way, it was still similar as he practically lived with so many people and his get away location was the prisons library where he spent most of his time teaching himself how to read and write and I guess you can also say that it was his safe place too, as for my get away location, it is my room where I spend most of my days studying and getting work done.

For my ideal intellectual home, it will be in a park like garden, filled with grass and flowers, sun shining, but not too hot; something like central park, and how they have this huge garden where it is very quiet, and people can walk through or sit and enjoy the peace and scenery of the garden. My intellectual home and actual home are very much the same since my intellectual home is in the comfort of my own home and I am okay with that (sometimes).

For future reference, I will want my intellectual home to be more then just my bedroom or park themed. Since I will need to study all year round for my specific major, I can’t picture myself in a park while it’s snowing, so I will create a room in my house to be just for working/ studying like an office but less of a boring themed office and more comfortable like because I know I can get distracted/bored quick so I will need the office to be a place where I would rather be even if it’s just for studying and a place where I know I can focus without having my mind wander somewhere else.

Having an intellectual home does not always have to necessarily mean you have to be in school/ a student to have one. Everybody goes through situations in life and anywhere or anyone can be considered their “intellectual home.” For example, if I didn’t have my room to be considered my intellectual home for work, I would consider my father to be it or also just my “person” because besides work, when I need someone to talk to, I know can always count on him to always be there for me and help with whatever situation I’m in. Also, like Malcolm X, while he was in prison, he had a “person” named Elijah Muhammad who was there for him when he needed someone the most both inside and out of prison. Reading and writing will always be Malcolm’s process to his intellectual home, but Elijah was also apart of that process.

Coffeehouse #2

When it comes to personal narratives, it can mean many things, whether it is good or bad. But for my personal experience I have always struggled with tests. It did not matter what type of test it was but if it involved more than one question, then it was considered a test for me. In my high school we had this thing called periodic assessments where the students were bound to be flooded with tests from every class for three days straight. Periodic assessments were given to test the students and there knowledge of what was being taught and whether the teacher should move on and continue with the next unit or continue with the previous unit for a while longer until everyone was on the same page of understanding what they were being taught. Periodic assessments was something that happened every month and it was the worse. From my point of view I very much hated it for the simple fact that it stressed me out. When it comes to testing, I either fail because one I do not understand or two it was very much hard, or I either do good enough to at least get a passing grade. Imagine having about 6 classes then multiplying it by two depending on the tests that were given by each teacher (whether there was one part to the test or two). Sometimes I passed, sometimes I did not and when I did not, I was okay with that because I knew that tests were my biggest weakness, but I also knew that I could make it up by doing extra credit. As far as my intellectual home, it was during my gym class, and I say this because whenever me and my friends knew that a quiz was coming up or the following week was periodic week, we would help each other study and that is what also helped my grade more and more. Till this day, taking a test will always be my weakness but a girl got to do what a girl got to do to succeed.      

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