14: Reflecting on What You Learned

This class was interesting to say the least, I can safely say that the most important thing I took out of this class was the ability to learn how to find sources. I have done papers in the past that required a source here and there, which mostly came in the form of websites. During the semester I was able to learn the importance of credible sources. The use of journals and scholarly articles will always in most cases give credibility to any research assignment you do. I am a Sports Industry Major and by taking this class will help me find research if I go into the journalism side of sports. I enjoyed the semester and learned a lot.

13. Reporting on the Application Project

My project that I chose for my application project is an editorial. With the topic of my paper I think it gives me a good subject to argue some valid points. The website I found gives a few examples of some of the different editorial letters written. I basically will be using the examples as a springboard to create my editorial.

The only thing I have done so far is look at different examples of different editorials. I looked up a few websites with examples and have started to compile a few different examples. I have narrowed my editorial to focussing on a specific race. Although I will reference some others, i think by focusing on one will make my paper easier to read.

I still have to write out my editorial, as I mentioned I have only done my research so far and will begin to write a rough draft as soon as the next few days. I'm not sure what kind of angle I am going to focus on, once i begin my draft I will get a better idea.

12: Creating a Word Cloud

http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/791174/Ethnicity_in_Politics

Extra Credit:

http://wordle.appspot.com/gallery/wrdl/791201/Blog

10a: Reporting on Your Field Research

Asma Hasan Interview:

Being Muslim, would you say that peoples perception in the political world differ than those in our everyday world?

Yes. I think politicians and news commentators have strong opinions and feel the need to line themselves up with other members of their party or represent a liberal or political point of view. I think non-politicians and those outside the media have more time and freedom to explore and learn about other religions and people. So a Muslim can speak more openly and not feel worried that they are going to be immediately accused.

Who are some politicians that are of Muslim descent?

Keith Ellison is an African-American Muslim congressman from Michigan. Andre Carson is an African-American Muslim congressman from Nevada. Although these men are African-American, I still consider them to be of Muslim background. I don't believe there is such a thing as a "Muslim descent." Anyone of any race can be a Muslim. There is no Muslim race. Also, many African-Americans feel their ancestors were Muslim, so, to them, they are of "Muslim descent."

A friend of mine, Omar Ahmed, is a city councilman in the Bay Area. Another friend of mine, Arif Alikhan, is the Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles. They are both of South Asian descent. I know there are more American Muslim politicians out there, especially at the local level.

What role did you have in your brother's campaign?

I offered him whatever help I could, mainly standing on a street corner, holding a sign and waving at cars passing by! It was a lot of fun actually. I think whenever a friend or family member is doing something as important as running for office, you should help out and do whatever you can. I also worked on some mailers.

What are some obstacles and stereotypes that Muslims deal with on the political forefront?

Obviously, there are a lot of stereotypes about Muslims. Some think we are all violent and that our religion and the Prophet Muhammad focus on violence. That is not true. We are not out to get anyone or kill them. There are Muslims who are terrorists, but they are not being inspired by their religion -- just their own insanity or desire to have violence.

Many people see the world as Islam versus the USA. We can't take such a black and white approach. Most Muslims around the world love the US and need our help, not our scorn. We can't judge the whole group by the acts of some.

We would also do a better job in the War on Terror and in defeating terrorism if we asked American Muslims to participate and help.

What was it like writing for Glamour Magazine during the last presidential election?

Blogging for Glamour.com was an incredible experience. If you are going to blog, you need to have a strong opinion to lure readers in. Sometimes that was hard -- as a Muslim, it's likely that I will have a different view than others, even other Muslims, and I was raised to be polite and not start an argument. Blogging is the opposite of that! Having a weekly deadline to and also having to respond to breaking news was also a challenge, but it helped me improve my writing tremendously.

The best part of blogging was that I received press passes to the two political conventions. Attending the conventions, seeing the speeches, and being a part of the larger dialogue was an amazing experience. I saw Hillary Clinton speak from the convention floor, and I saw Sarah Palin from not too far away either. Seeing the crowd reaction and being a part of it made me feel excited about politics in the US.

Would you say that Muslim voter turnout played a key role in the last election?

Yes, definitely. There's anywhere from 6 to 20 million American Muslims, about half of whom vote. Many of these voters are aggregated in the swing states. That's a lot of votes. The Muslim effect is generally not noticed, but I think it can be very important. I am waiting for a candidate to reach out to Muslim voters and really embrace the power of the Muslim vote.

Do you see an increase or decrease in the future of not only Muslims but any ethnicity in the future of American politics?

Well, I hope so. There are a lot of barriers to ethnic and religious minorities to participating in politics -- language problems, economic disparities, and just generally how family-oriented many of these groups -- it doesn't leave a lot of time for extra-curriculars. There's also sometimes a reaction to just stay out of politics, out of suspicion or bad experiences in an immigrant's home country. But many religious and ethnic minorities are realizing that this all has to change and starting to become more involved. American politics will still be the province of white males for some time, but it will slowly and gradually change.

Application Ideas:

I might write an editorial, or a personal letter for my application project

9c: Checking Quotations, Paraphrases, and Summaries

Tyler's post:

http://tjenkinsresearchjournal.blogspot.com/2009/03/8a-quoting-paraphrasing-and-summarizing.html?showComment=1238908500000#c1866728448879720181

Kelly's post:

http://kellymhaddon.wordpress.com/2009/03/30/8a-quoting-paraphrasing-and-summarizing/#comment-10

9b: Brainstorming Visual Aids

1. Graphs showing minority representation in Congress and the Senate

2. Timeline of historical events involving African-Americans in political history

3. Pictures of minority leaders in prestigious positions in government.

4. Political cartoons

5. Voter participation by ethnic race (graphs and charts)

9a: Writing Thesis Statements

1. With the nomination of our first African-American President of the United States the ethnicity representation of American politics will soon thrive to achieve racial equality.

2. The racial imbalance of American politics needs an overhaul.

3. Although our nation is represented by our first African-American President, the ethnicity representation in government needs more minority leaders.

8b: Checking Evaluations

Here is the link to my comment on Ryan Gaylord's evaluation:

Link

Here is the link to my comment on Tyler Jenkin's evaluation:

Link

8a: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

Current poll numbers indicate Obama has a chance at winning the Democratic presidential nomination, and would be a serious contender in the November general election. Throughout his campaign, the senator has insisted that his race is irrelevant to his bid for the White House. Hoover senior fellow and prize-winning author Shelby Steele disagrees. Steele says that despite Obama supporters’ assertions that race does not matter, it is at the very core of his candidacy. "Obama's campaign pretends to transcend race,” Steele says, “but the paradox is that his campaign is all about race–and very little else."

-Race and Politics in America (link)

1. [...]the Senator has insisted that his race is irrelevent to his bid for the White House. Hoover senior fellow and prize-winning author Shelby Steele disagrees. Steele says that despite Obama's supporters' assertions that race does not matter it is the core of his candidacy[...]

2. The latest poll results show convincing numbers for Barack Obama winning his party's (Democratic) ticket in the November election. Barack has preached all throughout his campaign that his race has not been of importance in his quest to become the next President of The United States. With many writing accolades earned in the past writer Shelby Steele does not see eye to eye and disagrees with the assumption on the race factor. She goes on to say that Obama's campaign goes beyond race, it contradicts his campaign and in fact is all about race leaving nothing else.

3. This passage talks about how the latest poll numbers show Barack Obama having a edge in his chance on earning the Democratic ticket in the November election. The article also discusses the Senators insistence that his race has had no bearing on his road to the White House. Shelby Steele an award winning author seems to disagree with his campaign and supporters and claims that it is the core of his campaign's efforts.

7a: Conducting Internet Research

Search Engine:

Google

Keywords used:

ethnicity, race, politics, government, civil rights, equal representation, minority

Search strategy used:

I used search strings to compile my search such as

+ethnicity+politics+representation

+race+Politics+United States-world

Date of search:

March 15, 2009

Number of hits:

91

Relevance of hits scale:

3-4

Metacrawler

Poly Meta

Keywords used:

ethnicity, politics, race, government, politics

Search strategy used:

+ethnicity+politics-world+United States

-world-religion+ethnicity+politics

Date of search:

March 10, 2009

Number of hits:

125

Relevance of hits scale:

5

Directory:

Yahoo! Directory

Keywords used:

ethcnicity, political parties, racial politics

Search strategy used:

ethnicity in politics, racial politics, government and minority representation

Date of search:

March 9, 2009

Number of hits:

295

Relevance of hits:

3

Other search tool:

Technorati

Keywords used:

ethnicity in politics, Tom Tancredo

Search strategy used:

None

Number of hits:

1,587

Relevance of hits:

5

6c: Planning Field Research

For my field research I plan on interviewing a co-worker,I would say she is a very credible source as you will notice by the short bio I have included (link) of her. She has appeared in many national television shows, has written 4 books, and been profiled in USA Today and the New York Times. Here is a link for her short bio on her that I used from her website.

Asma Hasan Bio Link

Some of the question I have prepared are tied to the relation with her brother who ran for public office here in Colorado.

Being Muslim, would you say that peoples perception in the political world differ than those in our everyday world?

Who are some politicians that are of Muslim descent?

What role did you have in your brother's campaign?

What are some obstacles and stereotypes that Muslims deal with on the political forefront?

What was it like writing for Glamour Magazine during the last presidential election?

Would you say that Muslim voter turnout played a key role in the last election?

Do you see an increase or decrease in the future of not only Muslims but any ethnicity in the future of American politics?

6b: Testing Assigned Search Tool

Ethnicity in Politics
ethnicity + politics + United States
March 3, 2009
137 Hits
I would say this search was pretty relevant so I would give it a 5

Race in Politics
race + (in politics)
March 5, 2009
191 Hits
A little bit less relevant I would say maybe a 3

Racial Diversity in the United States
racial diversity + politics + United States
March 9, 2009
191 Hits
I would relavancy would be a 4

Ethnicity in Politics
+ethnicity-world+politics+United States
March 8, 2009
99 Hits
Very relevant a 5

6a: Using Internet Search Tools

I would have to say that when it comes to search engines I always use good old reliable Google. Before Google came I think I was using MSN search for the majority, I also used AOL search. Once Google came along I jumped on the bandwagon. I like using Google because it has always been reliable for me in the past. I do alot of photography and like using Google images to look for stuff which is always handy. I wouldn't necessarily say I dislike anything about Google, in fact I don't think I have used anything but Google in the last two years.

Google

3c: Brainstorming Field Research Options

Interviews:
I plan on interviewing Asma Hasan (her brother who is Muslim ran for a seat in the House of Representatives here in Colorado)
I also plan on interviewing Rafael Naboa who is of Puerto Rican descent and works with the Democratic National Party here in Colorado.

Surveys:
I plan on gathering some info from the survey I posted in the discussion for class.
I also plan on using the same survey questions to ask certain ethnic members of Colorado government.

Visitation:
I want to attend the Hispanic Cultural Center and gather information

Public Events:
There are a few town hall meetings held by minority representatives that I want to attend.
(www.coloradodems.org has a schedule of speakers)

Observation:
During these town meetings I plan to do a majority of my observations. This might be a grey area between Public Events and Observation, because I feel you are doing both.

3b: Writing Search Strings

Search engine math:
ethnicity
+ethnicity +politics
+race +politics +United States

politics
+African-American +politics +Unites States
+minorities +politics +representation
"ethnicity in politics"
"race in politics"

United States
+race +government +United States
+Barack Obama +race +United States
"ethnic representation in United States politics"

search engine Boolean:
ethnicity
ethnicity OR race in politics in the United States
race AND ethnicity in government
ethnicity AND race (United States or government)

politics
poltics AND minorities in the United States
conservative OR liberal race representation
poltics AND Barack Obama NOT Jesse Jackson

United States
United States AND ethnicity (politics OR government)
United States NOT world (ethnicity AND race in politics)

3a: Generating Keywords

Is ethnicity equally represented in politics in the United States?

Key words:

ethnicity:
race
culture
language
color
ancestor
identity
minority
nation
Muslim
African-American
Hispanic

politics:
structure
laws
government
policy
power
liberal
conservative
Barack Obama

United States:
nation
Constitution
Civil Rights
Bill of Rights
equality
law
freedom of speech

CNN Politics
Time Magazine Article
The Politics of Race in the United States

Developing My Research Question

This handout actually helped me in my topic as I answered a series of questions.

The WHAT questions:

What are the statistics of different races in politics?

What is the fascination with Barack Obama?

What factors does race influence on politics?

What has the election of our president done to the landscape of politics today?

The WHY questions:

Why has it taken it so long to have a African-American represent the highest power in the land?

Why has Hollywood become a major force in politics?

Why has race in politics become controversial?

Why did Obama chose Biden as his vice president?

Why are Muslims stereotyped, and does this lead to a misconception about them in politics?

The WHEN questions:

When was the first person of race elected in to office?

When will we see a Muslim hold a high position in our government?

When did we see a significant and positive outlook in race in politics?

The WHERE questions:

Where is the majority of races represented in government?

Where will our next president of race come from?

Where is the best place to find information on race in politics?

Where is the highest voter concentration in the United States?

The WHO questions:

Who are current Muslims in politics?

Who does Barack Obama consider a role model?

Who are the most represented races in our government?

Who has benefited the most from having an African-American in The White House?

The HOW questions:

How can people of different races become important players in politics?

How did Barack Obama's campaign win his election?

How did the Latino vote favor Obama?

How will a person of race succeed?

The WOULD and COULD questions:

Would the landscape of politics have been the same if McCain would have won?

Could we ever have a Muslim president?

Could we ever have a Mexican-American president?

Would Barack Obama have won if he didn't have the support from the entertainment industry?

The SHOULD questions:

Should laws be put into place requiring people of race to represent our government?

Should we look beyond race in politics?

Should we judge race in politics if our president does not deliver?

Narrowing My Topic

As I was trying to narrow down my topic I asked myself if it was to broad or if I should change it from "ethnicity in politics" to "race in politics".  After some research I came to the conclusion that they were pretty much the same thing.  I would say that the "race  in politics", would attract more readers in light of our current situation dealing with our presidency.  I feel it appeals more to my audience, whereas "ethnicity in politics", seems like a broader subject.  Although I will focus on both and try to distinguish one from the other.

Exploring My Topic

The first place I searched was actually from a co-worker who is Muslim.  My co-worker is actually sister of a Muslim who ran for the Colorado House Of Representatives.  I asked her about my topic and she made some good recommendations.  

One of the sites she told me about was Project MAPS (Muslim Americans in the public square). The link she directed me to was an actual interview from the director of the project.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=849355

Another interesting tidbit we had in our conversation was that the Muslim race is divided into sub-races.  In other words it consists of several ethnicities. I checked out The Pew Center's website for a breakdown and better understanding of these ethnicities.

http://pewforum.org

The main reason i chose this topic was due to the fact that we have our first African-American President in office.  Barack Obama has done something many thought was impossible, he has essentially changed the landscape of politics, I found a great article from the International Herald Tribune. This article presents us with a view on his election and how many felt.  It also talks about some of the misperceptions among whites and blacks in politics

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/08/america/race.php

Delicious Account

Delicious Account

My Topic

UPDATE:

I decided to switch my topic to "Ethnicity in Politics".

I decided to focus on the topic of having a playoff system in college football. One of the main reasons I have chosen this topic is the fact that in the last couple years controversy has often followed the conclusion of the BCS national championship With a playoff system intact a true national champions could be decided without the need for controversy.

The blueprint followed by a majority of sports leagues is something the NCAA should look at when deciding its football champion.  Being a huge college football fan I do have some knowledge with the current system consisting of the BCS formula.  This current formula uses a combination of polls and computer rankings to determine the two teams vying for the national championship.

The information I would like to focus on would be the legalities of the system and how the government can intervene.  I want to focus on what it would take for the governing bodies of the NCAA to implement a playoff system in sports.  I want to know who makes the decisions and who has the ability to influence those decisions.

Possible Topics

Declining record sales
Social networking on the internet
The impact of smart phones
Playoff system in college football