Find an article that relates in some way to the things we have been talking about in class. Summarize the article, then respond to it in some way. Agree, disagree, or other. Why did you pick it? How does it connect to our class?
- One paragraph summary of source.
- One paragraph response to source.
Include a link to the text. Should be about 250 words in length.
Professor Ramos' Blog 
A Sacramento county sheriff’s deputy is on paid leave, after she turned herself into the authorities for having sex with a 16-year-old boy. They booked 44-year-old Shauna Bishop and had her in custody but later released her. The pedophile states, that she didn’t meet the teen boy on duty nor did they commit sexual acts while she was on the clock. The investigation is still ongoing. This article relates to what we were talking about in class with unfair situations. If this were a male cop, which there have been many cases like that before he would’ve lost his job with no paid leave. Been on every news channel and ridiculed, like he should be. But since this was a woman officer doing it to a boy, society doesn’t look at it as a big deal. A lot of guys like to joke around and say, “I wish that happened to me.” When being molested or having sexual interactions with an older person while you are still a child has a major impact on your mind. Guys who have been molested or raped by woman have been affected mentally but rarely speak up. Because society sees it as guys need to be manly and not talk about their feelings or problems because that makes them look weak. In all honesty I think it’s attractive when a man can be honest about his pain and struggles because he wants to get through the situation. Not have it haunt him for the rest of his life.
https://abc30.com/california-deputy-arrested-for-allegedly-having-sex-with-16-year-old-boy/5346725/
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In the article “African Forest Elephants May Face Extinction Sooner than Thought” by: Olivia Milman discusses how African Forest Elephants are on the brink of extinction due to poachers killing them for trophies which has dropped their population down by sixty percent. The reason for this is that it takes African Forest Elephants twenty years to reproduce and they can only reproduce every five to six years. That is three times slower than the Savannah Elephants. It will take almost a hundred years for the species to regain their losses. “Around one in three forest elephant deaths are due to poachers seeking to profit from the ivory trade, or for bushmeat, which is meat derived from non-domesticated wildlife.” Milman argues that humans should do their part to help prevent poachers and African Forest Elephants extinction. That African Forest Elephants are a valuable part of our Eco-system as they spread seeds far and wide. Milman states that there is a debate in Hawaii from the IUCN congress about urgent need to stem poaching. That they will ban poaching of Elephants and trade in ivory. Some still argue that more needs to be done to make sure that the species are safe and not go extinct.
I agree with this article because I don’t believe in poaching wild animals, and that more needs to be done with helping the extinction of elephants. Although there was a debate about the ban of poaching and ivory trade that could still happen illegally, just like the prohibition in the 1920’s. I picked this article because I love elephants, they have been my favorite animals since I was a kid and I thought that this could relate to our class with the ethos, pathos, and logos. It connects with pathos because of the emotion that it gives us, it brings sadness and makes us want to help out in this situation. Logos because it provides facts about the population of African Forest Elephants and their reproduction system. Lastly, ethos because I choose an article out of the library database because I wanted a reliable source that I could trust, but it also depends on the person.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/31/african-forest-elephants-extinction-study
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Is College Worth It?
Most of us have heard people say things like college is a waste of time, money, and doesn’t teach you anything”. In studies it is shown that college graduates make significantly more than those without a degree. Doug Webber who has done extensive research on the subject said “Let me be clear, the financial returns to graduating from a four-year college far outweigh any costs for the average student,” and that, “The typical college graduate will earn roughly $900,000 more than the typical high school graduate over their working life.” The facts and research are here having a degree makes more opportunities for those who have it and less for those who don’t.
I always wanted my college degree even at a young age but I had my doubts along the way thinking “is this worth it?” Good points are always brought up about the value of education we receive and if it’ll help us through our careers in some situations I agree that most of the education we receive teaches us valuable information. Having said that I also believe the educational system is very corrupt many students are taken advantage of and the quality of staff members has gone down drastically. We all know the journey through college isn’t easy but the amount of time, effort, and money we as students put in we should receive the same from the school. I picked this article because it’s always been a topic that’s been talked about and is interesting to see all sides of the discussion because each side has valid arguments.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2018/12/16/please-stop-asking-whether-college-is-worth-it/#5e43131d30d2
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Protests in Hong Kong are in full swing over the government’s lack of ability to achieve or even understand the will of the masses. A bill that would enable China to expand their powers of extradition was in the process of being passed under the chief executive of Hong Kong. This bill would essentially allow police to arrest just about anybody and send them off to be tried in the mainland of China and the people were not pleased. Massive Protests have been going on and for the most part, have been peaceful although there have been altercations with the police. While the bill was not passed it is being put on hold indefinitely meaning that it has not gone away and more like it was put on hold. The people are calling for the resignation of the chief executive as well as the complete removal of the bill. The chief executive Carrie Lam has since apologized for the way the bill was handled and has said she was willing to accept any criticism the people had to offer her. While this statement does show a great deal of integrity admitting that what the government was doing was wrong and are just trying to do what they think is best. The statement itself is full of integrity and good intentions, the government, on the other hand, may be lacking as this bill would not have even been put into any sort of action if they did indeed care about what is best for the people. Governments are supposed to be in favor of the people and meet the needs of the people being honest and full of integrity and what is going on in Hong Kong is almost the opposite of what a government is supposed to be.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/protesters-crowd-hong-kongs-streets-once-more-11560668928
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Twitter’s trending ‘hot topic’ this weekend was about counterfeit alcohol being sold in the Dominican Republic, to American tourists, who are apparently being poisoned and killed from it. As I clicked on the trending topic, I came across this tweet that I linked below. The tweet is a video of a woman, who looks to be on vacation in some resort, frantically explaining to the camera man how their bottle of Cîroc Vodka seems to be tampered with. Though she does not state where exactly she is or who she got the bottle from, she then begins to pour the discolored Cîroc into a cup full of cranberry juice with ice. As she mixes the liquids together, viewers will start to notice that the mixtures start to solidify. The woman repeatedly claims that she is “not lying” and that is “not a joke” as the camera man mutters in the background “these people are trying to kill us.” And then the video ends there.
Could this counterfeit alcohol be what has caused recent American deaths in the Dominican Republic? Well, I found this to be quite interesting. I have not seen this specific video make a debut on the news at all. Ever since Channel 8 news broke out, on June 14th, about a tourist woman, who died from respiratory failure due to water in the lungs. Five days later, another couple, found dead in their hotel, had the same tragic fate. Another thing in common was that these tourists were staying at the La Romana hotel resort, south coast of the Dominican. KCAL 9 news also claimed that the U.S state department confirmed 7 more mysterious deaths of U.S citizens in the Dominican Republic in this last year. As I then read off of the KCAL 9 website, I found that there is still no proof and not enough evidence to prove that these unfortunate events even correlate to the counterfeit alcohol being sold. Or at least not all of the DR deaths.
I went back to the trending tweet and did my research. Curiously, I started to review all the replies to this specific tweet. Some, made valid points that the color and labeling of the vodka seemed off, as I noticed. Others panicked, believing that this tweet could be the true reason as to why Americans are dying in foreign countries, warning others to be careful when traveling. Chemistry majors also made points that alcohol has a different freezing point than water, explaining why alcohol doesn’t freeze. Non-alcoholic components, such as the cranberry juice, can solidify with cooler temperatures because it is water based; therefore, it isn’t the alcohol that is solidifying. As the alcohol evaporates, it leaves behind water that was colder than what it was before. The Chem majors in the replies also suggested that coconut oil might have even been another option to the chemical reactions causing the solidification. As the coconut oil was being substituted for the vodka to cause an uproar, because oil can solidify with cooler temperatures, which could explain the discoloration. I really loved that fact that others were coming together trying to make sense of it all, instead of assuming this video to be true. Many others, including myself, believe that there are simply not enough facts and that this video could be taken somewhere else, due to the woman’s accent and the music that is playing in the background. Some state that this video started from the Bahamas and has been circulating for weeks and that mini bars also do not come with huge bottles of Cîroc.
There are simply not enough facts to claim that this video correlates to the deaths in DR. There are no facts, information or answers for any of us to decide whether or not that the little information being shared in this video was accurate or even had any relevancy to the tragic unfortunate events going on in the Dominican. As channel 8 news claims, Police aren’t even sure if the 7 deaths have any correlation to each other at all, as they are still investigating. Intellectually arrogant people will post misinformation on social media claiming something with no proof or evidence and that affects what others see and believe on the internet, it is truly scary.
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Will Shifting to Reusable Straws Really Make a Difference?
In the article, “Will Shifting to Reusable Straws Really Make a Difference” by Camila Garcia, she is talking about how plastic straws have become our number one environmental enemy. After the video of a straw being removed from a sea turtle’s nose, the whole #stopsucking hashtag has become so popular to the point where it reached elected officials across the country. Eric Goldstein, a senior attorney at NRDC stated that, “plastic straws represent our throwaway culture, which developed over the past 50 years, or so. They’re a first-class litter and pollution problem”. The most alarming thing about this whole disaster is that by 2050 there will be more plastic than there will be fish. There are so much plastic straws that it might be impossible to recycle ALL of them. Senator Goldstein suggested to follow the gold standard in the fight against plastic waste by using less, or on occasion use reusable and recyclable straws. Some states like New York and California are trying to reduce consumers’ use of straws. Although we are trying to limit the use of straws, we will not take away the straws from those who really need them.
I don’t necessarily agree or disagree with this article, but I think starting off with plastic straws is still better than doing nothing at all. I would not like to imagine a world where there are no aquatic animals in our ocean. I would love to see the ocean clear and thriving with fish. I actually started using metal straws that I purchased, and they’re pretty convenient. I picked this article because I didn’t want to see an ocean so empty and lifeless.
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/will-shifting-reusable-straws-really-make-difference
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The article I am writing about speaks of how to handle the lack of double standards in the workplace. The article mainly focuses on African-Americans in the workplace, but it is stated that it can also refer to anyone of a different “race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation.” The article continues on to tell you how to be an outstanding worker, how to rise above and beyond in the work place, and explains that if you are a very hard worker you won’t notice any problems because “A company always loves when you put more money in their pockets.”
I believe that the article is completely true and if you do all of the things stated then you will be recognized for promotions, and better opportunities in general, but I don’t believe that anyone should have to work that much harder to get the opportunities anyone else can get by doing less work. The companies should have the integrity to recognize who is the best worker for any opportunities that become available despite race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. I don’t think it should be the workers problems to have to just deal with it and push harder, I think it should be an unbiased, fair, and integral selection from any higher ups in the company. Bottom line any company that is bias against someone over something that they couldn’t control or pick for themselves has no integrity and will lose a lot of hard working and caring individuals.
https://ericpbutts.com/handling-double-standards-workplace/
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In the article “Christian Hypocrisy from the Religious Right” by Leslie Marshall, she talks about how religious people are often seen as hypocrites. She states how churches and religious people she has known tend to help the rich out more than the poor. Some churches even close their doors on homeless and want to shut down organizations such as Social Security, welfare, food stamps and healthcare. “The religious right will fight hard to give a tax credit to a rich man, but doesn’t want to pay for a blanket for a homeless one,” this quote states that religious people seem to only care about money and can careless about someone’s wellbeing. Overall this article talks about religious people being the most hypocritical yet claim to be following the rules of the Bible.
I agree on some levels with this article because some religious are very hypocritical and my personal thoughts are that some religions tend to twist the words from the Bible and make up their own thoughts and rules. I think the people who act the way the author talks about are not really religious and just claim to be. I think if you really are religious and chose to follow a God, he wants everyone to love everyone and not judge. The ones who want all these programs that help people to end do not seem to be following what God wants which is hypocrisy if they are claiming to be religious. I chose this article because it we have been talking about hypocrisy and religion a lot last week.
Link:
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/leslie-marshall/2011/10/26/christian-hypocrisy-from-the-religious-right
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Is cosmetic surgery morally right?
Andrea Ivanova, a 21 year old bulgarian woman, has undergone 15 surgeries in one year to look like the doll barbie. Andrea has received a plethora of online abuse for her decision to undergo this surgery. While she is trying more and more everyday to mirror the image of a barbie doll, she continues to tell herself and her “haters” that, “It is a personal choice and I have never been afraid to express it”. Another woman in Finland named Amanda Ahola has undergone 30 surgeries from lip filling, to Botox, boob jobs, and waist reductions which apparently “nearly ended her life.” According to the article, Amanda has suffered from, “seizures and brain swelling which triggered temporary memory loss and severe pain that went on for months”.
I chose this article because I feel it is related to our talk of ethos, pathos, and logos. Is it morally right for someone to alter their body for their own pleasure? There are circumstances where plastic surgery could be beneficial. From deformities or birth defects, plastic surgery is not entirely a bad thing. But is it logical for someone to alter their body to the point where it is causing them physical harm? In these extreme situations, maybe they are purely acting with emotion and not with logic in to how this could affect their future health. Plastic surgery is not a bad thing. However, there should be a limit to the amount one can undergo. Especially if it can take your body to the point of permanent damage.
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http://www.ladbible.com/community/interesting-woman-has-15-operations-in-a-year-in-bid-to-look-like-barbie-doll-20190607
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Is cosmetic surgery morally right?
Andrea Ivanova, a 21 year old bulgarian woman, has undergone 15 surgeries in one year to look like the doll barbie. Andrea has received a plethora of online abuse for her decision to undergo this surgery. While she is trying more and more everyday to mirror the image of a barbie doll, she continues to tell herself and her “haters” that, “It is a personal choice and I have never been afraid to express it”. Another woman in finland named Amanda Ahola has undergone 30 surgeries from lip filling, to botox, boob jobs, and waist reductions which apparently “nearly ended her life.” According to the article, Amanda has suffered from, “seizures and brain swelling which triggered temporary memory loss and severe pain that went on for months”.
I chose this article because I feel it is related to our talk of ethos, pathos, and logos. Is it morally right for someone to alter their body for their own pleasure? There are circumstances where plastic surgery could be beneficial. From deformities or birth defects, plastic surgery is not entirely a bad thing. But is it logical for someone to alter their body to the point where it is causing them physical harm? In these extreme situations, maybe they are purley acting with emotion and not with logic in to how this could affect their future health. Plastic surgery is not a bad thing. However, there should be a limit to the amount one can undergo. Especially if it can take your body to the point of permanent damage.
http://www.ladbible.com/community/interesting-woman-has-15-operations-in-a-year-in-bid-to-look-like-barbie-doll-20190607
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In this article “Canada Passes ‘Free Willy’ Bill to Ban Captivity of All Whales & Dolphins”, by Shreya Dasgupta. Covering a political view for Mongabay News on June 10th Canada’s House of Commons passed Bill S-203, or “the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, banning the practice of keeping cetaceans in captivity in the country”- Mongabay News. Also, the legislative branch of Canada’s government will prohibit the trade, breeding, and collecting of reproductive materials from these majestic mammals, such as sperm and embryos to prevent genetic reproduction. But with exceptions to the provisions of the cases of such as rescues and rehabilitation, only licensed scientific research, or in the “best interests of the cetacean’s welfare” are they allowed to collect reproductive samples from the animals or bring them into captivity for testing, research, healthcare, and rescues. This bill will hopefully act as “the passage of Bill-203 is a watershed moment in the protection of marine animals and a victory for all Canadians,” Rebecca Aldworth, said in her statement as executive director of the Humane Society International/Canada.
Strongly agree with this article I hope the United States and all of the Nations around the planet we call Earth will learn from the passing of Bill S-203. This is such a huge step for environmental protection for our oceans and critically endangered animals that live in all of the oceans around the world. I believe this connects with the calls when we talked about Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. For me this connects with the emotional aspect of this article, Pathos feeling the emotion coming from the public and seeing the government of Canada understanding that we need these animals to keep our oceans and coral reefs healthy and thriving.
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/canada-passes-free-willy-bill-to-ban-captivity-of-all-whales-dolphins/
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In the article, “2020 race brings free college back to the national stage,” Collin Binkley discusses how the topic of free college has emerged as a leading discussion for the upcoming election. The article goes on to elaborate on how “free college” is used as the blanket term for affordable education in the United States. Later in the piece, Binkley explains how the national student debt crisis affects not only students in debt but also the country as a whole because solutions to this crisis are evidently leading to tax-payers money being allocated to these students in debt, one way or another.
I chose this article because it was just something that was relatable to me as a student. It is obvious that, as a student, it would be expected that I would enjoy more affordable tuition, but in regards to intellectual empathy, I understand how it may not be as beneficial to the whole country. I know the perspective of students because I am a student. I do agree that “free college” would reduce the amount of student-loan debt in the US, but I read many comments from the opposite perspective. The other side spoke about the fact that “free college” cannot truly exist. They spoke on the fact that regardless, the students may not be paying for their tuition up front, but would inevitably pay in terms of tax reform. That is where the opposition shines through. Tax payers would ultimately not favor that result. The mentality that they do not want to pay for other people’s problems is shared by a great deal of people. So, in terms of intellectual empathy, it is clear to see that both sides are valid. Being able to see the pros and cons of topics like this comes with trying to understand why people oppose each other. In this case, that ability to see the other person’s perspective is crucial for there to ever be any sort of middle ground.
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In the past five years since the Russian invasion of Crimea over 13,000 individuals have been killed and, still, there is no end in sight to the dispute. The Ukrainian territory of Crimea is currently under Russian control and there is very little international support to gain the land back despite groups and governments across the world condemning the actions of Russia. These next few years in Ukraine will be decisive for the future of the country, but with nonexistent coverage and concern in the west the future of the Eastern European state can feel quite bleak. Recently, the Ukrainians elected a new president, and similarly to the United States’ recent election, an individual with no political experience won the election. In fact, before being elected president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy worked as a comedic actor. His popularity in Ukraine surged during his tenure on a comedy series where he played… the president of Ukraine.
Today in the news I learned that President Zelenskiy is traveling to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron and then traveling on to meet with German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier; and while Zelenskiy will not be meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, she will be hosting another Ukrainian politician, Petro Poroshenko, the man Zelenskiy defeated in the presidential election. Suffice to say, the situation is messy, complicated, and hard to understand. Still, the article and the news surrounding Ukraine reminded me of the class discussion about the problem of the information we get from media.
When researching a problem, such as the one in Ukraine, I am limited to one article, from one source, with one perspective, as usually all other sources come from non-reputable news sources or are not available in English. Problems which need solving, and can’t be solved without international attention, continue to steamroll and get worse and we are none the wiser. When the problems do come to widespread attention it is often too late to achieve a simple fix and instead we are faced with critical situations with no easy solution. I think it’s important for us to remain aware of the problems of our world and, also, to demand coverage on international problems which might eventually concern us rather than devoting our news cycles to celebrity gossip and manipulative crime reporting.
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-s-zelenskiy-to-meet-with-french-german-presidents-this-week/30002502.html
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https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0367-7?WT.feed_name=subjects_environmental-sciences
https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/109
On February 7, 2019, the Green New Deal was proposed to legislation by Ocasio-Cortez. In this new bill that is a non-binding resolution that sets goals to tackle and reduce global emissions in the US. This bill goals include attempting to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and meeting 100% of the power demand through clean renewable and zero- emission energy sources. This bills intention was to identify the issue of climate change and work towards achieving these goals with new policies. The bill by Ocasio – Cortez did not set any policies or programs that specifically detailed how to achieve these goals. This was done in order to begin a conversation about global emission reduction and define the scope of the solution towards achieving lower global emissions.
Although this Green New Deal had no set programs detailed in the bill in how to achieve these goals to reduce global emissions, this bill received an overwhelmingly negative response by legislators. The negative response towards this bill by legislators and the public demonstrated egocentrism and lack of intellectual empathy. Legislators who voted against this bill failed to think through other people’s perspectives. Legislators failed to start a conversation and see the adverse effects of climate change. Although as seen by the measurements of CO2 emission, on the NASA website CO2 emissions are the highest in decades. Also in a recent study that quantified the emission of CO2 causing acidification of the oceans, individual plankton phenotypes were investigated to see how they coped with increasing rates of ocean acidification. High CO2 causes ocean acidification. This lack of consideration towards such a pressing issue that is backed by scientific research demonstrated having little or no regard for interests, beliefs, or attitudes other than one’s own. When examining the bill set out by Ocasio – Cortez elements of rhetoric are demonstrated through the citation of all the people who worked to construct the Green New Deal, the detailed account of adverse effects that will happen if global emission is not controlled, and how failure to reduce global emissions will affect the US. These elements should be enough to convey a strong argument to the legislators but a strong argument will not matter if the egocentrism and lack intellectual empathy are already established.
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It’s a nice feeling to be around people of like-mindedness or of similar backgrounds. It allows for more personal and intimate freedom with the way you act around others. One quick look around a globe could have you think how your own culture might compare to that of another. In the video made by the YouTube Channel Asian Boss called “What is Considered Rude in Japan?” brings that perspective to light. A reporter takes to the streets of Tokyo to ask the common folk what they think about the subject. It glances over some stereotypes of the Japanese people and how they compare to reality. The people are also asked various questions about common things they see from both their country folk and foreigners in everyday situations, good and bad. This channel has tons of interesting topics ranging from “What’s it Like Being a Foreigner in Japan,” to “What does the Ideal Chinese guy Look Like?” Videos and media like this offers a healthier look onto different cultures.
I haven’t watched the Asian Boss productions in a while, but I’m glad a class like this brought it back to my attention! I used to watch them more regularly but soon fell out of mind. I love this channel, because it lets people that don’t live anywhere near the east get a glimpse of what the people that do live there actually think. Rather than leaving your understandings of a certain people up to preconceived biases you’ve pick up from western popular culture. I am a firm believer that most of the problems that humans face in the world are caused from misunderstandings. Seeing how “the other side” lives and thinks might be a good start to lessen that effect that misunderstandings can have rippling throughout human history.
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This article by Timothy Hulsey covers the complications that public higher education in the United States are experiencing in the early two thousands due to decreasing tax revenues. Since the tax revenues have been dropping it has been affecting schools. Some of these issues include increasing tuition, lowering student loans, and lack of support for college students. While researching for sources on my paper this article stood out to me. Hulsey’s article shows that he was critically thinking about the issues he discusses. In class we went over what critical thinking is, and how it means to have support for one’s own position while also having an open mind on other people’s views. In this article he gives examples to support his claim. Hulsey also provides information on how others might be seeing his views. He gives supporting details from different schools and types of students attending those schools. Towards the end of his article I understood why some schools might not have many options for student who are interested in financial aid. Some schools may not have the ability to offer financial aid for all students. While some other schools have better possibilities to offer multiple types of financial aid to their students. In my opinion I feel as if Hulsey was well prepared and had thought well about who his readers could be. Everybody has opinions and to me I feel like this article may have had many different point of views.
http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=21&sid=3fdc702e-6d33-4ef0-9fc1-fdd0b0bda92a%40sessionmgr102
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