Precis 8) The Allure Of Motorcycling: Six Million Motorcyclists Can't be Wrong

 In the article, Celebrities like Billy Joel, Jan Leno, Ewan McGregor, Dennis Rodman Arnold Scharzenegger and Bruce Willis to name just a few are all motorcycle enthusiasts. Its true riding does make you feel like Marlon-Brando just like in his (1954) film The Wild One. In the movie he was asked , "What are you rebelling against, Johnny?", "Whatddya got?" We all have bosses telling us what to do: we have responsibilities at home. At some point, we all just want to rebel against everything. The reality is we can't. However, every time we get on our motorcycle it does feel like we are all rebellious. It also make us feel like being the envy of friends and strangers. When you take up to riding motorcycles, people look at you in a different light, especially if they don't perceive you to be one to ride a motorcycle. They are envious because of the freedom that a motorcycle has looking for adventure. Motorcyclist speak a unique language like a hog which is a big Harley Davidson or Duck (Ducati). Besides riding and talking about motorcycling, Its fun to wear the wide variety of clothes you can wear related to the sport. How about a West Coast Choppers T- Shirt or a black leather Jacket,Chaps or Boots. There is diversity of people who ride motorcycles even a growing popualtion of women. There are even kids who get in on the fun. Lastly, you got to be safe. There is training available if you enroll in basic training for motorcycles.

http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:9PaxsqCkt8wJ:scholar.google.com...

Precis 7) Explaining Safety Helmet Use By Motorcycle Operators Using A Behavorial Intention Model

  In this article, Allegrante, JP. and Mortimer RG. collect data doing personal interviews at motorcycle dealerships on a multistage cluster sample of 253 motorcyclists in Illinois, a state without a helmet use law. The results of the study show that 53% of the variance in behavioral intentions to wear a safety helmet could be explained from the attitudinal and social- normative factors. The decision not to wear a helmet by these individuals was found to be primarily based under attitudinal rather than social-normative control. There was a factor analysis done and it revealed that there was beliefs loaded on three primary factors concerning the consequences of helmet use: #1 safety,#2 comfort convenience's, #3 and social image. Overall, the findings indicate that nonintenders are generally not as informed about the safety implications of helmet use as the intenders. Therefore, this suggest that there is a need and justification for public policy to stress an informational approach to the problem of nonuse now that states appear to be moving away from legislating use.

http://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=206139

Precis 6) Kids and Motorbikes: The Need for Speed

In their article, James K. Lace and Brahm Golstein bring to attention, "What is a minbike"? It is known as pocket rocket, or mini-moto bike. However, it is actually not a minibike at all. They are minature Grand Prix racing machines accurate in detail, propotion, and craftmanship to any Grand Prix motorcycle. They handle just like a larger motorcycle, but because the wheel base and weight are much less, it changes direction faster. If you give the bike a bit of gas the front wheel won't hestitate to come up with the turning of the throttle. Because of its size, it turns quickly and is prone to rollovers and loss of control. The reality is the American Academy of Pediatrics has strengthened its recommendation for passage of legislation in all states prohibiting the use of 2- and 4- wheeled off road vehicles by children<16 yrs old. Coalitions can be developed with expertise from trauma centers, law enforcement, Safe Kids Coalitions (www>safekids.org) and parents who have lost a child in an accident resulting from the use of these machines.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/115/4/1085.short

Precis 5) Motorcycling and Social Interaction- Design for the Enjoyment of Brief Traffic Encounters

   In their article, Mattias Esbjornsson, Oskar Juhlin, and Mattias Ostergen state, "Biking provides an opportunity to express an identity". They both conclude that motorcycling is a an activity where people spend a considerable amount of time on the road for the sake of enjoyment and fun. They argue, however that the activity is also social. It makes bikers appreciate one another if they encounter other bikers on the road.There are many forms of interaction. They pursue visual interaction by the display of equipment that they are wearing like a fancy helmet or leather chaps. Some might display action by doing a wheelie for others to see. Furthermore, they complement traffic encounters by traveling in groups, meeting at certain places like a McDonald's or interacting by using public message boards on the web. In general, motorcycling is seen as different from society because it provides a feeling of individuality and most of all freedom. Motorcyclists stand out beyond the logistical demands of a transport vehicle.

http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=958160.958174

Precis 4) Examining Differences between OHV Riders: A Spatial Approach to Understading Tolerance

In his article, Taylor V. Stein (University of Florida, School of Forest Resource & Conservation) conducted a study to examine perceived differences related to the goal interference and tolerance for lifestyle diversity between all terrain vehicle riders, off highway motorcycle riders, and four wheel drive operators. He wanted to identify where conflict related to tolerance was most likely to occur. In order to collect data he did a combination of on-site interviews and mail back surveys. The results of the study indicate that there are percieved differnces related to tolerance and present a spatial understanding of where tolerance is most likely to occur. This will educate and teach managers t o provide more sustainable riding opportunities on public lands in a way that meets the riders needs and to  better conserve the natural environment.

http://js.sagamorepub.com/jpra/article/view/1272

Precis 3) Effects of alcohol impairment on motorcycle riding skills

  In her article, Janet Creaser points out that alcohol intoxication is a significant risk factor for fatal traffic crashes. Consequently, there is sparse research on the impairing effects of alcohol on skills and handling in motorcycle control. In 2007, 32% of the 41,059 total traffic fatalities in the U.S. involved an alcohol impaired rider with a blood alcohol content (BAC) greater than 0.08g/dl (NHTSA, 2008). It is the reason (alcohol) why there is more frequent motorcycle crashes than any other vehicle operation. (NHTSA, 2006). In a recent simulator study that the most common error for an intoxicated operator at BAC ranges from 0.038 to 0.059g/dl was to "run-off-road", particularly when negotiating curves (Colburn et al., 1993). People in the study also showed reckless and inappropriate speeds. At conclusion of the study, the authors made note that even the most basic motorcycle handling skills were impaired at the 1993 per se legal limit of 0.10 g/dl and henceforth concluded that the results supported their hypothesis that the "legal alcohol level" should be lowered for motorcycle riders. As a result of the study, the legal limit for all motorcycle operators has been lowered to 0.08 g/dl in all 50 states.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457509000840

Precis 2) Crimes of the Big Four Motorcycle Gangs

  In his aticle, Thomas, Barker " The largest and most consistently radical [criminal] of all 1% clubs" (Quinn,2001 p. 380) The Big Four ( Hells Angels, Outlaws, Bandidos, and Pagons). Riding motorcycles, a favorite pastime for many, has evolved and has become a deviant subcultural way of life for some of the most vicious people. For most riders they join together in clubs, groups and interest associations. One can divide motorcycle clubs into conventional and deviant (Barker, 2007). Conventional club members behave according to the norms of society they ride based upon their common interest in motorcycles, riding together for the pleasure of one anothers company. Over time, groups of deviant motorcyclists evolved into a subculture of bikers labeled by others and themselves as 1% bikers of Outlaw motorcycle clubs (Barker, 2007). There has been few empirical studies of these outlaw mortorcycle clubs/gangs. The usual research method of surveys, interviews, and field study was not applicable to these dangerous and deviant individuals. So to conduct this research a content anaysis of newspaper articles was chosen to collect data using a LexisNexis newspaper search. Here are some highlights. Three hundred one of the 631 articles (48%) contained eighty nine accounts of criminal incidents where a member or members of the Big Four motorcycle clubs committed an illegal act. The most common illegal acts involved drug trafficking, racketeering, brawling, various weapons charges, and murder. The Pagans have been involved with organized crime groups including the Italian Mafia. There are also been ties to the White Supremacist prison gang, the Aryan Brotherhood (Holthouse, 2005).

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047235209000191

Precis 1) Motorcycle Consumption: A First Look at Peer-to-Peer Motorcycle Renting

   Varela, Diego.( pgs 1-7) writes, "I believe in motorcycling as a way to experience life and as an activity that should be preserved." In her article, she is a motorcycle lover and rider who likes to generate debate and discussion, in this case the sustainability of motorcycling. Motorcyclists and motorcycling are portrayed in society as reckless riders who cause road accidents. With the advent of faster and more powerful motorcycles the number and seriousness of motorcycle-related accidents has increased due to untrained riders and alcohol. Additionally, motorcycles, as do cars contribute to the pollution of our atmosphere through CO2 emissions. However, as with cars, there is an emotional connection. From the moment we enter the world of motorcycling we go through a stage. It involves dreaming about a motorcycle, the ride, the scenery and the roads and trials we share with the people we ride with. It is this love of riding that people have capitalized on. Clothing manufactures to motorcycle parts and accessories have created a whole industry related to motor cycle products. People who ride motorcycles save time and money commuting and also makes parking easy. In addition, the motorcycle industry is developing their bikes to have (ABS, airbags), GPS devices and ABS braking systems just like the automobile industry. Varela discusses in the article about the concept of motorcycle peer-to peer renting. This is where people who don't use or hardly ever use their motorcycle rent it out to others for cash. The advantages are that people could try different types of motorcycles in a less expensive way without the hassle of ownership. Another is some motorcycles especially the lower engine displacement ones, are hands down more economical and less polluting than cars. Some of the barriers to the concept of peer- to peer motorcycle renting is the lack of trust, fear of damage and or theft, etc. To remedy this she argues that getting insurance, background checks would help at least to lower these barriers and get people to try it.


        http://ijms.nova.edu/Fall2011/IJMS_Rndtble.Varela.html

Questions for Personal interest argument

1. Why is riding a motorcycle so fun and so therapeutic for the mind.?
2. Why do people have a negative image of motorcyclist and motorcycling?
3. What are the environmental impacts of motorcycling?
4. What is the impact and seriousness of motorcycle related accidents.?
5. What are the economic benefits of owning a motorcycle?
6. What are the emotional ties to owning and riding a motorcycle?
7. What economic benefits do motorcycles provide to manufactures and the clothing industry?
8. Why do motorcycle manufacturers design there bikes to be more like cars?
9. The concept of motorcycle Peer-to Peer renting: What are the benefits?
10. What are the drawbacks of motorcycle peer to peer renting?

Good reasons precis of Chapter 7

    Finding a good purpose when developing a writing argument is a good place to start. You can formulate such an idea by watching advertising campaigns. Here is an example, how about a cure for diabetes. This will make a strong purpose to write about especially if it affects you personally. You might have a loved one who has this disease and you want to raise awarness about it. Thinking about the structure can help identify different approaches for your topic. What can we do as adults to help slow or stop people from develpoing diabetes, as an example. Use different argument types to focus can help you get started writing about a complex topic such as a cure for diabetes.

Chapter 4 Rhetorical Precis

When your drafting your paper and you find a topic to write about create a sample thesis then do an evaluation. You should evaluate your thesis based on is it arguable, is it specific, is it manageable given time requirements, and is it interesting to your intended readers. Keep your readers in mind will help you write your argument.Try to understand what your readers attitudes are toward you. Do they see you as concerned, well informed, fair and ethical. These perceptions should help you when your developing your draft. In addition, what are their attitudes toward your subject. Describe a scenario or maybe even a contradiction or paradox. This will get you off to a fast start by an engaging title or Introduction. At the end, write a strong ending. Therefore, I conclude will issue a call to action, discuss the implication, or project something into the future about the main point you want to conclude at the end toward your topic. With all drafts evaluate by using targeted strategies. This will identify your goals for revision.

My responses to the scholarly article NPR story and NY Times article

  The scholarly article discusses many legal citations in the discourse of digital sampling. I basically could write for an infinity on the subject. This is the first case to be decided on the subject of sampling and copyright. This is a brief snippet of this article in which I quoted that basically summaries the main point of this particular article. Acuff-Rose Music Inc. v. Campbell . The holders of the copyright of Roy Orbison's 'Oh Pretty Women' enjoined Luther Campbell of the rap group 2 Live Crew for their use of a sample in the song 'Pretty Woman' from the album As Clean As They Wanna Be. Acuff-Rose Music denied 2 Live Crew's management the license request to parody the Orbison song and sued Luther Campbell and 2 Live Crew record company, Luke Skyywalker Records, after the release of 'Pretty Women' for copyright infringement and two tort claims of interference with business relations and perspective business advantage. The defendants argued that their use of 'Oh, Pretty Woman' was a parody and was therefore protected as fair use under 17USC,s.107 of the Copyright Act (754 F.Supp. at1152). This is what happened in the end   but Congress listed parody as one of the purposes of fair use which might be granted and common law traditionally allowed this. So the article discusses with much debate with cases that are similar in nature.This leads to much my next discussion of the NPR article. In the NPR article Ira Flatow interviewed Flora Lichtman who demonstrated how easy it was to sample a song. We next here the soundbite of the song "Funky Drummer". She tells Flatow, "That's it, the drumbeat. It's one of the most sampled songs in history. In the interview Flatow makes a point to Professor McLeod where you create a system similar to iTunes where you just have little bits of these snippets for sale and the original producers of the music would be compensated that way its fair all across the board. This would be my response to stop digital  musical sampling. Similar to digital sampling is the article , "Plagiarism Blurs the Lines". Cutting and pasting text is similar if not like sampling because it is copying another persons work to use for someones benefit. This again is because of this Internet age which digital technology makes copying and pasting easy. It all boils down to ethos, pathos, and logo's from my point of view. Both sampling and Plagiarism will continue to be much debated topics.

Digital Sampling, rap music and the law in cultural production

  In this article, Christopher Abramson argues that Congress should create statutory property rights for musicians whose work is sampled or reused by other recording artists. He examines the technological changes and business arrangements. For the professional musician music is both a means to earn a living and an art form. It takes hours of practice to master. The article goes on to say that rap and hip hop music that is in many ways based on the opportunities presented by sampling Technology. This isn't fair for the original recording artist who have spent many hours developing songs. In the end, copyright law is property law, and its based on notions of originality and creativity. It is necessary to address why sampling technology is  highlighting some of the formalities in the foundational objectives of jurisprudence. Rap and hip hop music highlight how different cultural forms and traditions are based on different perspectives of originality and creativity. Copyright is enabling of certain forms of discourse while prohibiting others in the ideological balance of  'free exprssion' and revenues. Therefore, copyright now becomes an issue for debate of so called free expression. Now, let's look at some of the definitions of copyright within legal discourse. These are original quotes from this article. Here is one. Under the 1976 Copyright Act, only those sounds which were 'fixed' on or before 15 February 1972 are protected (17 USC,s.102(a)) and protection subsists only on 'original works of authorship'. Hence, in order for a sample to be copyrightable, it must be original.

Chapter 3. Rhetorical Precis

  In English there are times when a person has a writers block and you have a hard time coming up with an argument to write about. A good way to remedy this is to find and discover an argument in everyday conversations with friends and family. You will find with unexpected delight that this can be a rich source for writing an argument. When your talking on the phone with a friend or family member, they might make a claim about something that interests you. Obviously you will want an explanation or a reason why it is that they feel that way. Then it is up to you to accept or reject their claim. So now you have established a claim, a link, and a reason. Next, find an argument topic that best suits the format of your subject. It may be a definition argument in which you argue for a definition based on the criteria you set out. You could write about an issue based upon your personal experience this is a narrative argument. If you find a subject that you want to take a position then a rebuttal style argument is the best way to go. Read and do research about your topic. This will help you become familiar with points of view already being debated on an issue. There are always going to be skeptic's who disagree or may be a contributor who adds their point of view based upon their additional source. An analyst viewpoint is another good source because you may agree or disagree simultaneously with somebody else's viewpoint. Lastly, find evidence to support good reasons. This makes your argument more relevant and sufficient.

Music Sampling, and Plagiarism Blurs Lines

  Radio Personality Ira Flatow is the host of a radio program called Digital Music Sampling is it creativity or is it criminality. He begins by saying that there used to be a distinct line between producers of culture and consumers. Somebody at a network or a production company made the T.V shows, the movies, and produced the music. The average person back then either bought a ticket to watch a movie or bought an album to listen to music. He goes on to add that nowadays digital technologies from Pro Tools to You Tube have made everyone a producer. He says we live in a world of remixes and mash-ups and samples. People are taking other people's work, remaking it into something new. He says that the problem is remixing someone else's work without their permission might be a good way to get sued or a copyright infringement. So when it comes to sampling, the law can be confusing. How much of a sound can you copyright? A musical phrase? A single note? And who are the copyright owners? He begins his interview by asking his digital editor Flora Lichtman, "What is sampling?" She says that its taking a snippet of a song and re purposing it. He next interviews Hank Shockley, president, Shockley Entertainment, co founder and producer, Public Enemy. He obviously supports sampling from his DJ and radio experiences and it propelled him to do more on a commercial level. He also mentions during his interview that corporations are copyright owners not artists like James Brown. Flatow asks Kewbrew McLeod professor department of communication, University of Iowa, co producer, "Copyright Criminals" how important is sampling in pop culture today? He says its a central part of pop culture with the advent of social networking and how a 12- year old who makes mash up videos on You Tube and uploads them. Its almost part DNA of not just youth culture but pop culture generally. He also answers Flatow's question, can you own a sound? Yes! He refers to an influential case, "The Bridgeport case," which basically the court said, "Get a license or do not sample". The interview continues with much debate on an ongoing and continuing issue with sampling.

                            Plagiarism Blurs Lines

  In this article many students simply do not grasp that using words they did not write is a serious misdeed. In this Internet age the concepts of intellectual property, copyright and originality are under assault. Digital technology makes copying and pasting easy. This coming from educators who study plagiarism. It is a disconnect where this generation has always existed in a world where media and intellectual property don't have the same medium. When a person sits at their computer there are no boundaries a person has unlimited access to just about anything. "Information just seems to be hanging out there in cyberspace and doesn't seem to have an author," said Teresa Fishman, director for the center for academic integrity at Clemson University. Shockingly, the number who believed that copying from the web constitutes "serious cheating" is declining to 29% on average from 34% in a recent survey earlier in the decade. It looks like that its becoming somewhat more acceptable. Some have argued that writing is difficult, and doing it well takes time and practice.

Chapter 2. Rhetorical Precis

  The first part of this chapter deals with controversies. Most often controversies are portrayed as either pro or con in the media. However, if you read and listen carefully to what people have to say about a particular issue, you usually find a range of different positions on the issue, and you often discover nuances and complexities in the reasons people offer their positions. So as a writer find opposing viewpoints on the Internet about your topic then use those viewpoints pro and con to make your message clear on what you want to say. A good way to summarize an article is to map the controversies. Pick at least three sources that offer different points of view on your issue. Use these controversies and map them around your subject. While your reading and discovering arguments you should recognize fallacies. Recognizing where good reasons de-rail is a most important aspect of critical thinking. There are fallacies of logic such as begging the question, oversimplification, hasty generalization, and fake analogies. In addition there are fallacies of emotion and language such as bandwagon appeals, name calling, polarization, and straw man fallacies. Make a note of fallacies while you read. The final step is map and summarize your argument based upon the notes you took while reading and understanding this chapter.