Author: alisonkelleher

This image shows an advertisement for Skittles. Depicted in the image is a Skittles package floating in the sky above an upside down rainbow, with the phrases, “Romance the Rainbow” and “Taste the Rainbow” plastered across the image, almost as if it were jumping off the image at you. Towards the bottom of the image is the hashtag, #TasteTheRainbow and in faint, little letters below the hashtag is the copyright of the advertisement.

The package of Skittles in the image is a vibrant, bright red color with individual Skittles floating on the “U” shaped rainbow. The word “original” is at the top of the package in yellow. The rainbow on the image twists and spins in a “U” shape. The sky is a light blue color and has white, faint clouds dispersed throughout.

The use of the red, yellow, and blue colors, along with the rainbow creates the positive feelings of joy and being content. When someone sees the color red, the sense of hunger is initiated. When yellow is seen, happiness overcomes an individual. The shade of blue illustrated in the image creates the feeling of calmness and tranquility. Many times rainbows are associated not only with happiness, but with luck. The “pot of gold” that is supposedly at the end of the rainbow is subconsciously thought about when someone sees a rainbow. The combination of these colors creates the feelings of hunger, happiness, luck, and calmness, all at one time. This enables the viewer to look at the image in a positive manner and truly become aware and pay attention to what the advertisement is trying to say or do.

Associating a hashtag with the image allows for the audience to be expanded because the advertisement will reach a larger amount of people and will be broadcasted on many more platforms. Utilizing a hashtag, creates a more personal connection with the consumer because people that have already purchased the product are able to share their personal experiences and stories with people that are interested in the product.

The targeted audience for this image are children and people in relationships. The bright colors and rainbows capture the attention of youth and the phrase “Taste the Rainbow” really captures their attention. Obviously, it is not possible to taste a rainbow, however to younger kids, they are not aware of the impossibility and have a strong desire to see what the rainbow tastes like. The slogan “Romance the Rainbow” appeals to couples and people that are engaged in relationships because the words make it seem like skittles are the answer to good, healthy, strong relationships. Therefore people are more inclined to buy them in order to improve or achieve their desired relationship.

The Special Olympics organization is an international program that aims to bring people of all capabilities together through physical and inclusive activities. The organization specifically aims to establish an environment that is fun, engaging, and inclusive for people with intellectual disabilities. People with and without intellectual disabilities are brought together and given the opportunity to create friendships based off inclusion and enjoyment. There is a dire need of additional monetary resources to implement Special Olympics programs into every school system across the United States. These essential programs are rapidly becoming more popular and are simply not provided with adequate resources to put on all of the amazing programs they currently offer.

Through the Special Olympics organization and Unified Sports communities are united, overall mental and physical health is improved, and joy is infectiously spread. To learn more about the wonderful activities and opportunities the Special Olympics has to offer, refer to https://www.specialolympics.org/

This research essay explores how the Special Olympics has a positive, beneficial effect on many aspects of the people both directly and indirectly involved in the opportunities the Special Olympics offers in order to demonstrate why there is an urgent need for increased governmental funding of the Special Olympics organization.

The Special Olympics organization and Unified Sports programs have tremendously positive effects on people with and without intellectual disabilities. The programs impact the well being and health of the athletes, the attitudes of people without intellectual disability towards the inclusion and acceptance of individuals with intellectual disabilities, and affect many other aspects in a positive way.

In order for a rapid increase in prevalence of the Special Olympics and Unified Sports programs nationwide, an increase in funding is absolutely essential. The Special Olympics organization excels at budgeting their income for the current amount of programs they fund and provide resources for. However, these programs are so crucial to the lives of so many people and there simply just is not enough money to provide every school system with adequate resources.

Special Olympics encourages people of all abilities to come together and just have fun, all while exercising their mind and body, and improving their overall health. The world should be an inclusive, welcoming, accepting place for everyone regardless of their appearance or capabilities and through the Special Olympics organization and Unified Sports, this fantasy world can truly become a reality.

There are ample opportunities for you to get involved with this organization and do your part to improve this amazing organization. The fastest, easiest way to make an impact in the lives of so many people would be to visit this link, https://www.specialolympics.org/get-involved/donate, and help to increase the funds provided to the Special Olympics organization so that they can implement their essential programs into every school system across the United States.

For my research paper, I plan to prove why there is a need for not only additional governmental funding for programs run through the Special Olympics and Unified Sports, but the benefits that are associated with them and why the United States must implement and increase the prevalence of these essential programs in schools across the nation. I will be taking a case study approach to this paper by using a series of experimental studies that relate to how exercise affects intellectual disabilities and the positive affects of the Special Olympics programs and Unified Sports on individuals of all capabilities. I will then use these studies as evidence to explain why it is necessary to increase funding for these essential programs that benefit such a large quantity of people.

For my research paper, I have decided to discuss the topic of how Special Olympics and Unified Sports affect all people. The thesis of the paper is Special Olympics and Unified Sports are absolutely essential to the educational system and should be implemented into every school system because they increase inclusion, keep all individuals involved healthier, and improves the overall quality of life. It is necessary to provide adequate and ample funding for these programs to prosper. 

I chose to write about this because I think inclusion is an extremely important aspect of life and can improve our world. These programs provide people with the tools they need to succeed in life and I truly believe they are extremely beneficial and we must take action in order to make all people feel accepted and welcomed. Special Olympics and Unified Sports ensure that our world is united and creates a better atmosphere to live in.

I will be researching about how Special Olympics and Unified Sports affect the world as a whole. I want to investigate how the atmosphere and the program itself affects people both with and without intellectual disabilities. I think these programs are absolutely essential to every community because of the positive impact it leaves behind. Special Olympics and Unified sports not only influence the emotional and social aspects of an individual, but also their overall heath and wellness.

The world as we know it, consists of billions of people, yet no two people are exactly the same. An individual’s greatest strength in life is using the skills and talents they possess and utilizing them to benefit a large amount of people because they are the only person in the world that has those specific characteristics. Transhumanism, an international movement that “advocates for the transformation of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies to greatly enhance human intellect and physiology” (Wikipedia), threatens individuality and will result in the demise of the human race. Transhumanism will cause humans to lose their individual identity because the characteristics and attributes that form an individual are eliminated by attempting to alter natural limitations and disabilities through the use of technology.

Attempting to overcome limitations such as cognitive ability or life span is problematic because this manipulation causes people to become deindividualized. When everyone is granted access to the technologies necessary in improving cognitive ability, every person will become the same because they will all have the same knowledge and will be able to comprehend the same materials. This creates a dramatic problem because everyone will be equally qualified making it extremely hard to differentiate social and economical classes. Without natural limitations, every person in the world will begin to morph into the same being and all individualism is lost. The variety created by limitations, personality or character traits, and disabilities will be completely eliminated by the use of technology through the transhumanism movement. 

The educational process and workforce will be greatly impacted because it will be nearly impossible to distinguish which person is the best fit. With the assistance of technology, the normal human capacity for intelligence will be surpassed. This creates a problem because everyone who uses technology to improve their cognitive abilities will be equally intelligent and therefore there will be no diversity in occupations. Every person will be equally qualified for jobs and there will be no way to decipher who the best candidate is. Additionally, people will be extremely overqualified for many jobs that are necessary in order for society to function effectively. Eventually, transhumanism will eliminate the need for education because the use of technology will fully replace it. The current educational process is very time consuming and does not guarantee intelligence. With transhumanism, people will realize that schooling is not necessary because the knowledge they gain via technology is more effective and beneficial to them. 

Transhumanism will result in the loss of all individuality and variation among people because natural limitations, personal identity, and disabilities will be terminated, causing all people to become mentally identical.

The article, “Antibiotics and Superbugs: The Future of Health?,”  by John Bachman-Paternoster effectively argued that superbugs will be detrimental to world health if necessary actions are not taken to shift the focus of scientific exploration surrounding bacteria to promote beneficial bacteria and avoiding the misuse of antibiotics. The author is successful in arguing his point due to the appeal to the audience and emotion, along with his credibility and rationality he uses throughout the article. 

Bachman-Paternoster constantly challenges the audience to make a difference on the issue and embeds a tragic story into his article, which forces the audience to feel both sympathetic and a sense of urge to take action on the serious issue. The author uses evidence from outside, credible sources to improve his authority and effectively argue his point. Through these strategies, the author is able to craft an article that is productive in proving his argument and leaving a lasting impression on the audience, inspiring them to implement the actions necessary for change.

Furthermore, the author incorporates and intertwines various strategies in order to successfully convey his argument. For example, the article states, “in total, about half of antibiotic prescriptions for respiratory conditions, and 30% of all outpatient antibiotic prescriptions were deemed to be inappropriately prescribed (Fleming-Dutra, et al. 1869).” Using credible sources, logic, statistics, and appealing to the audience and their emotions allows for Bachman-Paternoster to effectively deliver his argument.

Thesis

• The thesis of this argument is to acknowledge the reality of superbugs and implement actions against the misuse of antibiotics in order to prevent a health crisis.

Audience

• The audience the author is intending to target is doctors prescribing medication, scientists, and regular civilians. The author addresses the mistakes and the problems associated with each group of people and demands that each group makes the necessary changes in preventing a health crisis. 

Logos

• The author uses many forms of factual evidence including a personal event, statistics, and constantly quotes professionals in the field. The author is extremely consistent in including factual information throughout their entire argument.

Ethos 

• The author establishes ethos through their tone, diction, and their sources of evidence. Throughout the argument the tone is harsh and serious in order to deliver the point that action is absolutely essential. The author thoroughly explains topics and through their diction, they are able to construct authority. The author uses a plethora of credible sources such as the CDC and the FDA, demonstrating that the author has taken the time to research the topic in depth therefore giving him authority.

Pathos 

• The author uses pathos in crafting his argument by including a personal story about how his dad ultimately died from being infected by a superbug. This creates pathos because the audience is able to sympathize with him and understand where the basis of his argument is coming from.

Kairos

• The author uses relevant information to prove the aspects of his arguments. He uses a survey from 2010-2011 and the story about his father happened in 2016. Using such recent events makes it relevant to the audience that this is a problem.

Morality

• This is a moral argument because the author has been directly impacted by superbugs and is demanding action in order to prevent other people from experiencing similar tragic events created by superbugs.

Stepping onto the airplane, I was full of excitement and ambition as I thought about the opportunities I was about to experience. Traveling with my local mission trip group, N.E.W.S, I was ready to fully immerse myself into helping the families of Biloxi, Mississippi, but little did I know they would be the ones to help me. There are numerous ways to deal with everything that life throws at you, but appreciating the smaller things, and valuing time, imagination, and memories over materialistic goods, allows an individual to accomplish any problem or hardship with grace and fun. Happiness can be found in every situation by appreciating the little things, taking in the moment, and refusing to take anything for granted.

Upon arriving at the worksite, my group and I started our first task, painting a few doors. All of the sudden, a giggling, skipping little boy bounded around the corner of the house towards us. He was about four-years-old and a big, broad smile was plastered across his face. He was followed by a more hesitant boy, who seemed to be his older brother, who quickly apologized for his brother being a distraction. We immediately denied that he was being a bother and proceeded to ask the two of them if they wanted to join in us. Damion, the older of the two boys, declined but Dylan, the younger one, immediately picked up a paintbrush and began painting the doors with us. Before I had time to even blink, Dylan began to use all of the colors of paint we had out and everything was a bright yellow. Paint was on rocks, the grass, and all over Dylan. I decided to grab a few blocks of wood and gave them to Dylan so he could paint them yellow, which would avoid the white doors from becoming a sunshine color. Seeing his eyes light up as his imagination raced made me realize that fun and happiness can be incorporated into almost every situation.

Throughout the week, we continued to incorporate fun into the hard work we were assigned to complete. Everyday, Dylan would race out of the house full of energy, ready for the adventure of the day. Due to the family’s financial restrictions, there were not many toys for Dylan to play with, but a smile remained painted on Dylan’s face at all times. He would use sticks as lightsabers or baseball bats, and through his imagination he was able to have fun in any situation regardless of the materials and resources presented to him. Dylan was truly happy because he was able to appreciate everything in life.

About half way through the week, Damion decided to join in on our fun and played baseball with us. We were all laughing and having fun, but our purpose in being there was to help fix up the house, so the games came to an end and we returned to work. The boys stayed and helped us with the work, Dylan still making a mess with the paint in the grass, and Damion asked if he could help to paint his bedroom door. When we told him he could, his eyes brightened and there was a faint curl to his lips. What was tedious work to us, was a new, fun, exciting opportunity that he had never experienced before. The simple act of painting his bedroom door created so much happiness and truly showed me that the littlest of things should never be taken for granted and anything can be fun and joyful, depending on how you look at it.

Despite the fact that Dylan and Damion did not have the monetary resources to get items such as toys, they were some of the happiest people I have ever met. Even though they definitely had struggles, they were so positive and let their imagination run wild. They appreciated everything in life and never took anything for granted. Happiness can be created by the simplest things and imagination alone. In order to be happy, nothing additional is required.

Hi! My name is Ali Kelleher and I’m from Sandy Hook, Connecticut. I am so excited to be here at UD as a nursing major. I hope to minor in Spanish and study abroad at some point while I am here. I am the middle child in my family of three girls. I love to be outside, travel, spend time with family and friends, play sports and stay active. I am looking forward to getting to know people and exploring all that the University of Delaware has to offer.