Tropical Storm Irene the most recent hurricane in the United States. Over the past couple days it has caused high winds and torrential rains in the eastern coast of the United States. As of right now there are at least 15 deaths that are blamed on the storm. While it didn't destroy any single towns it did cause flooding, downed trees, and power outages. While it mostly effects the people on the east coast it would also effect the people that have family or friends over in that vicinity also.
The rising cost of college textbooks are a major concern of college students. Most college students pay for school with federal aid from the United States, from loans, or from various scholarships that they are awarded. Over the last twenty years prices have increased at nearly 6% per year. If things keep going like they are right now most students will have funding to go to class but not be able to afford the textbooks that go along with the class.
The increase of remakes and sequels in Hollywood is a slap in the face by production companies to the basic movie goer. Within the last couple of years quite a few have been released every year. It blatantly shows that Hollywood has no new ideas and generally need to rehash older things to take advantage of their fans. They begin by taking something that was good for its time almost completely change it to match today's inventions and completely destroy any of the charm that the original once had.
Hi Jesse,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading through your possible topics, because you have a nice variety. I think any of the above ideas could be developed into a significant MOR webtext with a solid compromise. For now, the topic that stands out the most to me is the point about college textbooks. As an instructor, I see the struggles every semester as students purchase books and debate about which ones are necessary for the class or not. One point that you bring up is the idea that many students pay for school with federal aid. Were you able to find any information suggesting if federal aid is going to stay the same or not? Less funding would definitely have a huge impact on paying for books.
Another angle to consider would be the rise of e-books. Some schools are switching to the format of using iPads instead of traditional textbooks or publishing course materials online. What are your thoughts on that?
I love the point about the Hollywood remakes as well. I agree 100%; a lot of the originality is missing from the film industry. What two sides do you see for this type of webtext? What kind of compromise would you suggest?
One more thing - make sure to site any stats that you use! Where did you get the info about text book prices increasing 6%?