Precis 5 MWP #5

In the article, "Racism and Health Inequity Among Americans," authors Vickie and Brenda Shavers describe the racism issues within the healthcare system. The authors describe this through the discrimination, labeling, and racial prejudice that happens within this parameter. The purpose of the article is to give a background to the ongoing problem of racism within different parameters. The intended audience of the the article include victims of racism and the healthcare system because of the overall content of the article.

Precis #4 MWP #3

In the article, "Perception Of Racism Explains The Difference Between Blacks’ And Whites’ Level Of Healthcare Trust," authors Scott Tomar, Henrietta Logan, and Albert Adgebembo designed a study to see if trust is higher in whites or blacks in healthcare. The authors used a random sampling procedure within the black and white communities by giving questionnaires on level of trust, perceptions to racism, and access to care. The purpose of this article is to try and prove if black or white people have higher or lower trust rates within the healthcare system. The intended audience includes the black and white communities and the healthcare professionals because of the study design and the overall content.

Precis 3 MWP #3

In the review for the book "Real Nurses and 'Others'; Racism in Nursing," author Sheila Wilmot reviews the subject for Tania Das Gupta's book. Wilmot uses specific examples of racism in the Nursing profession, the purpose of Gupta's book, and the research done by Gupta and Wilmot gives her own thoughts about the book as well. The purpose of this review is to summarize the meaning behind Gupta's work and to voice personal opinion on the book in order to create a sound argument for the topic. The intended audience includes nurses and nurses who have been victim to racism in the past or present.

MWP #3 Working Thesis

Today in healthcare, many patients are reporting racial discrimination. As a whole, racial discrimination is still a major problem in the U.S. today and especially within the healthcare profession. Many people of different race also manipulate the healthcare system as well. They manipulate the employees by using the race card; if healthcare is not granted to them, then the healthcare system is racist. With abusing the system and the employees being discriminatory, the healthcare system does hold a major issue with race.

Article Summary 2 MWP#3

The article "Perceived Racial Discrimination in Healthcare and its Association with Patients' Healthcare Experiences: Does the Measure Matter?" authors Leslie Hausmann, Nancy Kressin, Barbara Hanusa, and Said A. Ibrahim discuss the issue of discrimination towards patients within the healthcare profession. The authors use a study of telephone surveys with patients in order to associate racism with their personal experiences. The authors want to show the amount and severity of racism in healthcare by using these extensive studies. The article reports that, "42% of African Americans and 6% of Whites had experienced discrimination while getting medical care, a difference that was significant even after adjusting for patient age, education, and income."Clearly, this article gives sufficient evidence that shows the amount of discrimination in healthcare and the targets of racism in healthcare.

Precis #2 MWP#3

In the article "Perceived Racial Discrimination in Healthcare and its Association with Patients' Healthcare Experiences: Does the Measure Matter?" authors Leslie Hausmann, Nancy Kressin, Barbara Hanusa, and Said A. Ibrahim discuss the association between the amount of racial discrimination in healthcare and the experience of patients with healthcare. The authors use a study of telephone surveys and a study of medical record views to examine the association of patients and racism within healthcare. The purpose of this article is to inform the audience of the racial issues surrounding the healthcare profession and the effects of it on the patients. The audience of the article includes employees within healthcare and the patients because of the overall content of the study.

Article Summary MWP #3

In the article "Uncovering the Face of Racism in the Workplace" by Minal Mistry and Javed Latoo, it deals with the struggles in the healthcare profession today. Sections of the article address the issue of racism in healthcare and the response it receives from the victims. One section describes the issue of racism in medicine. Physicians have either been victim to racism or have witnessed racism while trying to apply to school. The article says, "racial discrimination has operated at the time when students applied to study medicine, through short-listing based on whether applications had Asian or English names, and with downgrading of non-English names by computer."Another section deals with the issue of racism in higher positions within the workplace. The article says, "less than 10% of senior managers and 1% of chief executives are from ethnic minority background." Clearly there is evidence that racism does exist in the healthcare workplace.

Racism in Healthcare

In the article "Uncovering the Face of Racism in the Workplace," authors Jared Latoo and Minal Mistry chronicle reports of racial harassment within the healthcare industry. The article uses examples in healthcare, nursing, and medicine with many statistical evidence of an increase in racism in these specific organizations. The purpose of this article is to inform the intended audience about the harassment issues within important organizations and jobs. The intended audience of this article is nurses, healthcare workers, and the employers of these organizations because of the overall content of the article and the tone of the article.

Racism and Discrimination in Nursing

Here are some possible topics for MWP #3 relating to racism and discrimination in Nursing:
-Healthcare
-Education
-Scholarships
-Nutrition
-HIV
-Diabetes
-Physician/Patient relationship
-Psychiatric institutions
-ER discrimination
-Medicine distribution
-Plastic surgery
-Genetics
-Medicare

MWP #2 Introduction

Today in America bullying has become increasingly violent and widespread. Many schools have reported high numbers of bullies and victims who were subjected to the violent acts. Within the past few months bullying has been highlighted in schools. More students are attempting violent crimes due to undiagnosed psychological issues, being a victim of bullying in the past, lack of parental advice and control and especially due to the lack of counseling. Within many schools across the country, districts are creating excuses as to why their schools do not provide the necessary counseling to the victims and the bullies. As a result of this, more bully victims are being diagnosed with depression and many commit suicide within months of being bullied. I will attempt find a solution to this increasing problem by researching studies performed on bullying and by using examples of bullying within schools.

MWP 2 Summary

    Bullying and Psychosomatic problems: In America, bullying has become a huge problem in schools. As bullying increases in schools psychologists are gaining more information and becoming more educated as to why adolescents are involved in violent acts. Psychosomatic issues are not the only things linked to bullying. Depression and suicide are often overlooked. Many adolescents who bully or are being bullied are suffering from a type of depression.

    Another startling fact is that many schools do not offer counseling to adolescents who are victims of bullying and even to the kids who are the bullies. The one thing that has started in accordance with bullying is the no tolerance policy. The policy basically says that certain schools do not tolerate bullying. However, this only applies to the adolescents who are physically seen being bullied. Counseling in schools needs to be enforced and emphasized.
    Another issue linked to bullying is the violence in schools. Over the past few years and months, many school shootings have occurred. A number of these violent acts have been linked to bullying and undiagnosed depression. Many of these acts end in murder and suicide. What many psychologists overlook is the home life of the bullies. Many bullies are living in hostel environments either involving abuse or neglect. Even situations involving divorce could have a profound effect on adolescents.
   Many people do not even know how to identify bullying. Signs of bullying usually include adolescents who feel the need to overpower someone or feel like they need to be in control. In some cases, bullies are identified as kids who have no friends. Bullies are also often seen as disrespectful towards adults. Not being able to identify what a bully looks like and how they act is a huge problem, especially in today's society.
    One of the biggest issues in schools today also includes the fact that many adults perceive bullying in different ways. Bullying includes teasing, taunting, threatening, stealing, and of course hitting. What adults see is usually teasing and "messing around," however bullies are aware of the fact that they can simply say something to the adults to get away with bullying. Adults need to be better informed of the acts of bullying and how to identify it.
    

Rhetorical Precis #3

In the article "Bullying and Suicide. A Review," authors Young Shin Kim and Bennett Leventhal examine the effects of bullying in children and the correlation between those effects and suicide. Kim and Leventhal use an overview of 37 studies on the correlation of suicide and bullying. The purpose of this article is to inform the audience of the effects of bullying on children and to educate the audience of the possible result of suicide. The audience of the article is victims of bullying because of the content of the studies and the content of the article.

Rhetorical Precis #2

In the article, "Bullying, Depression, and Suicidality in Adolescents" author Klomak, Anat et al. assess the association between bullying and depression and suicide in adolescents. Klomak uses a scientific study of about 2000 students in grades 9-12 to analyze the association. The purpose of this article is to find out if bullying and depression go hand in hand and if suicide rates are higher in adolescents. The intended audience of the article includes families of adolescents and victims of bullying.

Working Thesis for MWP #2

Within the past few months bullying has been highlighted in schools. More students are attempting violent crimes due to undiagnosed psychological issues, being a victim of bullying in the past, and lack of parental advice and control. I will attempt find solutions to these problems by researching studies performed on bullying and by using examples of bullying within schools.

Questions for MWP #2

The problem I am researching is bullying. Many people are effected by bullying however adolescents and children are more prone to bullying than adults. There is much debate over what causes bullying. One cause is psychological issues with the bully. Many children have undiagnosed depression that could eventually lead to bullying. Another issue is lack of friendship. Many adolescents who bully others usually have very little amount of friends and do not interact with other students. Another is revenge. This one sounds like a cliche, however many bullies bully due to the fact that they have had conflict with others in the past. Many people throughout the country try to create policies regarding bullying in schools however most of these schools tend to overlook the mental issues of the bullies and the home life of the  bullies. In the future if bullying is not at least detained, there are going to be larger issues regarding crime in schools. For example, school shootings are often a result of bullies or victims of bullying because of the lack of attention the students receive. Someone should do something because bullying is becoming a related issue to crimes throughout the country.

Association Between Bullying and Psychosomatic Problems Precis #1

In the article "Association between bullying and psychosomatic problems: A meta-analysis," authors Gianluca Gini and Tiziana Pozzoli discuss the correlation between the involvement of bullying and the psychosomatic complaints in the school-aged population. The authors design an experiment using bibliographies of existing studies, and qualitative reviews for studies that examined the association between involvement in bullying and psychosomatic complaints in children and adolescents. The purpose of this article is to identify and quantify the relationship between bullying and psychosomatic problems in adolescents and children. The intended audience of the article is mainly other doctors and psychiatrists and possibly families who are victims to bullying.  

Ch. 13 Rhetorical Precis

In "Proposal Arguments," authors Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer explain how to properly structure a proposal argument. The authors use different sections including understanding how proposal arguments work, recognizing components of proposal arguments, how to build proposal arguments, and a sample proposal argument. The purpose of this chapter is to inform the audience how to properly structure a proposal argument in order to educate the audience on the topic. The intended audience is college students  because of the tone and the overall content of the chapter.

Precis 7: The Authorship of Shakespeare's Plays

In "The Authorship of Shakespeare's Plays," author Jonathan Hope throughly examines the plays of Shakespeare and uses the plays as evidence. Hope uses through examinations of the plays to uncover any hidden clues that could lead the audience to believe that Shakespeare was not real. The purpose of this book is to show that the plays of Shakespeare could in fact hold clues to the real authorship of the famous writer. The intended audience includes mainly historians because of the tone and the examination and explanation of the plays.

MLA Citation 8

Wilson, Ian. Shakespeare, the evidence: unlocking the mysteries of the man and his work. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994. Print.

Precis 6: Shakespeare by Another Name

In "Shakespeare by Another Name," author Mark Anderson chronicles the life of Edward De Vere, the Earl of Oxford who became the main suspect in claiming Shakespeare's name. Anderson uses facts and evidence collected over ten years to show the life of the man who claimed and is suspected to be the real name behind Shakespeare. The purpose of this book is to chronicle the life of the famous Earl of Oxford in order to give information and answers to the controversy surrounding the writer. The intended audience   of this book includes historians and people who have questioned William Shakespeare.

Precis 5: Shakespeare; The Evidence

In "Shakespeare; The Evidence," author Ian Wilson gives a chronicle of Shakespeare's life and carries out an investigation on the authorship controversy. Wilson uses previously undiscovered documents and rarely examined historical evidence concerning the life and controversy regarding William Shakespeare. The purpose of this book is to examine new evidence and documents pertaining to the life and controversy surrounding Shakespeare and his works. The intended audience includes other historians and people who have previously questioned Shakespeare's authorship.

Precis 4: Contested Will; Who Wrote Shakespeare?

In "Contested Will; Who Wrote Shakespeare?" author James Shapiro explains why people have questioned the famous writer and when they began doing so. Shapiro uses examples of forgeries, deception, false claimants, ciphers and codes, and conspiracy theories to come to a conclusion. The purpose of this book is to examine the plays and poems of Shakespeare and to explain what the questions mean. The intended audience of this book includes historians and people who have questioned the authorship of William Shakespeare.

Precis 3: Who Were Shakespeare?

In "Who Were Shakespeare," author Ron Allen gives facts about possible men who could have been or claimed to have been the author of various works known to be written by William Shakespeare. Allen uses individual biographies of different men who lived the same time as Shakespeare and he also compares this information to the plays and poems. The purpose of Allen's book is to chronicle the lives of several men who either claimed to be or have been suspected of being the real Shakespeare and to compare the lives of those men to the life and works of Shakespeare. The intended audience of the book includes historians and people who are Shakespeare fans.

Precis 2: Players; The Mysterious Identity of William Shakespeare

In "Players; The Mysterious Identity of William Shakespeare," author Bertram Fields claims that Shakespeare is not just one man but a collaboration of at least two men. The author uses evidence, facts, and unanswered questions about the life of the famous writer. The purpose of this book is to show people and historians answered questions and factual evidence about the many questions on Shakespeare's authorship. The intended audience of this book includes Shakespeare historians and people who are interested in Shakespeare's works.

MLA Citation 7

Hope, Jonathan. The authorship of Shakespeare's plays: a socio-linguistic study. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Print.

MLA Citation 6 (non-scholarly)

SATCHELL, MICHAEL. "Shakespeare - Mysteries of History - U.S. News Online." US News & World Report | News & Rankings | Best Colleges, Best Hospitals, and more. US News & World Report Inc., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.usnews.com/usnews/doubleissue/mysteries/shakespeare.htm>.

MLA Citation 5

Shapiro, James S.. Contested Will: who wrote Shakespeare?. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010. Print.

MLA Citation 4

Fields, Bertram. Players: the mysterious identity of William Shakespeare. New York: Regan Books, 2005. Print.

MLA Citation 3

Anderson, Mark. "Shakespeare" by another name: the life of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, the man who was Shakespeare. New York: Gotham Books, 2005. Print.

MLA Citation 2

Allen, Ron. "On Shakespeare Claimants ." Who were Shake-speare?: the ultimate who-dun-it. San Diego, Calif.: Silverado, 1998. 173-178. Print.

MLA Citation 1

McCrea, Scott. "Motive and Means."The case for Shakespeare: the end of the authorship question. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2005. 166-180. Print.

Precis 1: The Case of Shakespeare

In the book "The Case of Shakespeare" by Scott McCrea, the author gives evidence and historical records to the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. The author gives specific references to the plays and poems of Shakespeare, he recognizes the claims and questions of opposing authors, and the author gives specific evidence to the conclusion that Shakespeare was the real deal. The author's purpose in writing this book is to argue and claim that William Shakespeare existed and wrote the plays and poems that he is originally credited for in order to create a suffecient case of evidence and details. The intended audience include the Shakespearian historians, authors who question the identity of Shakespeare and the general audience of people who do not believe that Shakespeare was real.

Working Thesis

The William Shakespeare authorship debate has presented itself as an open opinon topic. Many historians and Shakespearian professors have voiced opinons on whether the argument is in fact true. However, suffecient evidence does not currently exist on the topic and research is purely based off of opinon rather than fact.

Questions for MWP 1

Who is presumed to be the real author? What evidence exists? Why is William Shakespeare being questioned? Was Shakespeare's identity stolen? Who is questioning Shakespeare? Why is the topic being brought up after all these years? What do historians think about the questioning? Is the evidence credible? What credibility does the author of the article hold? Are there any other sources that pertain to this topic? Should people believe the author and the evidence? Is it true?

Shakespeare: Author or Fake?

In the article, "Hunting for Good Will; Will the Real Shakespeare Please Stand Up," author Michael Satchell argues the question of William Shakespeare's authorship. Satchell's claim is that proof of Shakespeare's authorship does not exist and many people do not tend to question it because of the popularity throughout history. The purpose of the article is to educate the audience on a controversial topic in order  to create a different point of view on a historical figure. The intended audience of the article are Shakespearian historians and fans because of the overall content of the article and the use of facts and examples.

Chapter 7 Precis

In "Putting Good Reasons into Action," Faigley and Selzer discuss the different topics used to create an appropriate argument. The authors' support this thesis by giving four well developed examples on how to use an argument in a different way. The authors' purpose is to educate the audience on how to organize arguments with different approaches in order to construct successful arguments. The intended audience of the chapter are college students because of the tone and the overall content of the chapter.

Chapter 4 Precis

In "Drafting and Revising Arguments," Faigley and Selzer discuss how to correctly organize a thesis statement and how to organize a draft. The authors support their claim by giving specific examples of what to do with the thesis and how to revise it and other well organized examples on how to draft and organize a paper. The authors' purpose is to educate the audience on how to properly organize a draft and how to create a well developed thesis statement in order to create a organized draft. The intended audience of this chapter is college students because of the tone, organization, and overall content of the chapter.

Response to Scholarly and NPR Story

    The scholarly article "How do High School Students Justify Internet Plagiarism" and the NPR story about music sampling have many similarities. The scholarly article discusses internet plagiarism in high schools involving the students. In the article the author discusses several reasons as to why the students plagiarize. One reason involves the lack of fundamental knowledge in library based research methods. Many students in today's society rely on the internet and the accessibility of it. The author also adds that most students lack the ability to search for books through databases and basic search methods in libraries. The majority of the students interviewed in the article either purchased papers that have already been written off of the internet, copy and pasting, or improperly citing their sources. The author states that many of the students who were interviewed on plagiarizing, claim that there is no clear policy on plagiarism in their schools.
    In the NPR story on music sampling, the focus is very similar to the focus in the scholarly article. Music sampling is discussed between several experts in different fields and what the consequences are for sampling. Sampling is basically plagiarism in music because it means that artists are taking snippets of other artists work and making it into a completely different song. One topic discussed in the program is how copyright laws do not cooperate with the music industry and sampling. This directly relates to the claims of the students saying that the schools do not clearly state the policy on plagiarism in schools. The bottom line for both of these topics is many people have many excuses concerning plagiarism; everyone knows that plagiarism is wrong and there is no excuse for it in any case.

Scholarly Article Precis

In "How do High School Students Justify Internet Plagiarism" by Dominic A. Sisti, a study is done on high school students and how they justify plagiarism using the internet. Sisti uses studies and interviews with the high school students to complete his study and he also uses studies that research the accessibility of web sites. The author's purpose is to inform his audience about plagiarism in high schools in order to show how plagiarism is easily accessible through the internet. The intended audience is most likely high school students and parents because of the tone of the article and the content of the article suggests it is directed at the intended audience.

Music Sampling and Plagiarism

    The radio program focused on sampling, a type of musical technique that takes snippets from other artists and uses it in a new song. The show focuses on the consequences of sampling. The problem with sampling is that other artists are doing this without a license. In order to "borrow" music from another artist, artists need to obtain a license. Without the license, artists can be held for illegally using other pieces of work. One subject covered was on the process of congress with developing copyright laws. Congress has genuinely increased the copyright laws throughout the years, making it stricter and harder to use other pieces of music. One of the men interviewed on the radio show stated that congress needs to conform the copyright laws to what has evolved over time in sampling. In other words, he believes that since sampling is becoming popular with the public and the consumer, then congress should relax the laws that are currently in place. In the end, the consumer will decide what the consumer wants to hear and will decide the ratings of sales in sampling.
    The article about plagiarism, many professors are appalled at the fact that more college students are giving in. Many students are finding it easier to use other authors' work as their own, instead of creating an original piece of writing. One topic discussed in the article is how easy it is to plagiarize with the internet as a distraction. The internet makes plagiarism a piece of cake due to the numerous links and the quick access. Not only are students plagiarizing but parents are even willing to plagiarize for their children. One father admitted to plagiarizing for his child after he was caught. Plagiarizing in all has become one of the easiest things to accomplish. The sources are available and as students become more lazy and desperate they turn to "stealing" other authors' work.

Ch. 3 Rhetorical Precis

In "Finding Arguments," Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer claim that arguments are found everywhere and that evidence needs to support those arguments in order for them to be good arguments. The authors then discuss sources in arguments and how sources can and cannot support certain arguments. The purpose of the chapter is to inform the audience about how arguments are created in order to create even better arguments. The audience is most likely a college audience simply because of the tone of the chapter and the use of examples directed toward college students.

Ch. 2 Rhetorical Precis

In "Reading Arguments" by Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer, the authors say that the ability to read and analyze arguments is a very valuable skill. The authors explain how to find arguments and how to take notes on the arguments and they explain how to comprehend the arguments as you read. The authors' purpose was to inform the audience on reading and comprehending arguments and how to analyze arguments correctly. The audience is directed towards college students because of the the tone and the word usage in the chapter.

The Shame of College Sports

    The article discusses the payment of college athletes. Many corporations are offering money to athletes so they can profit from the winnings of the athlete and the team. Even with the country in a downward spiral towards debt, the colleges and the athletes were being paid millions of dollars to play a sport. Believe it or not, everyone supports this. People flock to big games and pay sometimes big money for these events, and  of course we all watch the games on television, sometimes not aware that we are feeding more money into the hands of the already rich colleges and the athletes.
    Many scandals have gone on throughout college sports. Many schools have been accused of dealing money under the table. Others have been accused of slavery because of the lack of payment to the athletes. Some scandals carried over to the NFL when Reggie Bush was accused of taking underhand payments; he was stripped of the Heisman trophy not too long after.
    Scholarships are also a big part of any student athletes career. Scholarships already pay for the athletes schooling and housing costs, however they still are getting paid from the profits of endorsers and ticket sales. Many people are horrified by the luxurious treatment of the players and the coaches saying that there needs to be an end in sight for paying student athletes millions of dollars.

Gaming and the World

    The world of gaming is becoming a little bit more serious. In the video, a game designer explained and used examples of how gaming can literally save the world. A lot of her examples were statistical. She explained that most of the time kids spend playing video games is equivalent to the hours they spend in school. She also throws in that the average amount of time spent on gaming is about 3 billion hours. Her point was if we can spend 3 billion hours playing games and saving fictional worlds, then why can't we spend the time saving our own. In the real world, many people become distressed and frustrated about making their own lives better, but the gaming world fills us with inspiration and gives us confidence. One of the main points I drew in my notes was the fact that optimism is closely related to gaming. If everyone had an optimistic view about saving the world, then eventually it would happen.
     Towards the end of the video, the designer showed examples of what kind of games need to be created  in order to achieve the feet of saving the world. The games were not very intriguing however if people began to play them more and more and made an effort, the games would help us through the process. Gaming has become one of the most popular things in the world. I think it is smart of the designers to come up with real world situations on saving our world. If everyone is optimistic and hopeful, then maybe one day we can save our world.

Chapter 1 Rhetorical Precis

In "Good Reasons" by Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer, the claim is that an argument can be used throughout literature. The authors use evidence of other writers using arguments in order to change the point of view and they explain why arguments are used throughout literature and why arguments are important. The authors's purpose for this chapter is to show the intended audience how arguments are used and what exactly they are in order to teach the audience about arguments. The intended audience is readers, writers, and students by the evidence used in the chapter and the tone of the chapter which is educational and persuasive.

Will the Tablet Kill the Novel?

"The electronic punditry, with their technological, elitist mindset, is now making noises that the single-use e-readers like Kindle, Nook and the SONY Reader are merely stopgap devices that will one day merge into the tablet, offering immersion reading, like the novel requires, as merely one of a million other ways to gain "information" and fill leisure time.

They argue that a single-use device is inherently obsolete in the face of the multitasking onslaught of the tablet, which packages in one carry-around-gadget everything one needs for the fulfillment of most communication activities from video to gaming to record keeping, scheduling, shopping and most other entertainment and information requirements.

Indeed, it is a powerful argument and is, from a business perspective, profoundly compelling. The convenience and choices the tablet technology offers have infinite possibilities.

Faced with such a smorgasbord of uses, what is to become of what I define as the serious novel? My concern is for the fate of the mainstream novels that offer stories of enduring interest, such as those created by Dickens, Trollope, Balzac, Tolstoy and, the more contemporary, Hemingway, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Roth, et al., to mention just a few of my favorites.

To engage with such novels requires time, effort, concentration, and an openness to reading these stories not only for pleasure but to enhance one's understanding of the human condition. It would be a pity if other distractions crowded out the pleasures of immersion literature, but the temptation to do so can be tantalizingly seductive, especially to young people who have not been grounded in the enhancements and benefits of reading great books.

Nevertheless, the technology addiction cannot be ignored as a competitor to reading. Indeed, some prognosticators may be right in citing the eventual rise of the tablet as a device of choice for everything under the techie sun, including reading. Perhaps I am being overly protective of the single-use reading device because of my career as an author and my lifetime love of the serious novel, but I cannot deny the threat to reading long-form stories that the tablet presents by its sheer multiplicity of competing distractions.

One may argue, as well, that the printed book, although in a steep decline, still dominates book sales. It could make a resurgence if the tablet begins to intrude on the exclusive e-reader market. I'm not sure that argument is winnable but who knows how the storefront book business might counteract its predicted demise?

There is another threat to the novel that could be even more destructive, and that is the devaluation of reading in general by technology addicts who believe sincerely in the primary importance of greater and greater reliance on electronic devices to navigate through life. I keep wondering how far up the technological benefit scale we can go before we hit a counterproductive wall.

This is in no way meant to denigrate those aspects of the electronic world that have acted as handmaidens to bettering the human condition, expanding our communication universe, organizing our time and finances, speeding up information exchanges, and widening our choice of movies.

Technological advances have enhanced our ability to create a moving record of our lives through video and still photography, helped us connect to people, locally, nationally and internationally, and have improved our research skills and medical diagnosis abilities. It has enhanced our ability to react to events, bring people swiftly together to enlist their cooperation in various causes, air our grievances, and accomplish a thousand other tasks that might have taken past generations days, weeks or months longer to realize.

Such alleged progress cannot be ignored, but neither can the concept of deep, personal reflection, thoughtful concentration, philosophical cogitation, creative imagination and aspects of insight that one can glean from literature which can only be conveyed through the privacy of immersion into a parallel world best dramatized in the imagination through storytelling.

It may seem odd that here I am questioning the survival of the novel in the face of a vast tsunami of novel writers who have taken advantage of technology to post their self-published works on the various online venues. There are millions of them out there pounding away on keyboards, creating their long-form stories, and hopefully making them available to potential readers through the welcoming ease of the Internet.

Whether or not this vast inventory of novels will enhance or multiply readership is an open question since it faces the same competition from the tablet.

Perhaps my speculations cite dangers that are not there. A part of me believes that the novel is an essential tool of human insight and knowledge and will never go away under any circumstances. But there is a part that worries that the relentless march of technology has a negative side that has not yet revealed its true destructive nature."