RUNNING HEADER: COMM 102 Summer 2014 Portfolio

Communication 102 Portfolio

Travis A Heidelberger
University of Charleston West Virginia

COMM 102 Summer 2014 Portfolio

Reflection Essay
Communications 102 requires that Travis Heidelberger fulfill the liberal
learning outcomes prescribed by The University of Charleston West Virginia. Travis
welcomes readers to this portfolio in witch he will demonstrate his written abilities
in many different forms. From the writing styles of cause and effect to portraying
problems and solutions, the reader will find that Travis essays in this portfolio are
filled with logical well-studied arguments that are both easy to understand and
portrayed in entertaining ways. His ability to immerse the reader with creative
language and constructive content within every topic of the communications 102
portfolio will be evident.
Furthering his education has not always been in Traviss cross hairs, only
recently did he set his sites on a business administration degree. Going back into the
military as an officer or living life as a civilian manager or entrepreneur is one of the
many choices he will have to make in the years to come while he works to complete
his degree. For now, working and going to school to support his family is all that
matters to him.
The writing styles of cause and effect, problems and solutions, as well as
critique and research papers are directed to their prospective audience. Cause and
effect essays are written so that certain matters can be delivered to the reader in a
ways that explain an effect that took place because something happened, cause and
effect. All papers in these writings can be as simple and as complex as needed in
order to portray a point in a matter. Critique essays are executed to provide the
reader with a brief review on a curtain item weather it be a book or a movie, they

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provide a way to deliver the good and the bad about there intended subject. When
looking for a detailed analysis of a subject you would use a research paper. The
material found in this writing style comes from trusted sources such as books,
articles, and medical journals, and is provided in a way that can maximize
information wile maintaining general understand.
Most essays in the Communications 102 portfolio are directed to a specific
audience, they are situational in there uses and understanding, for instance the
reader of a cause and effect paper on climate change would be not have the same
purpose in reading a problem and solution essay on the same topic and vice versa.
Travis Heidelberger grew up in Bakersfield, California where his weakest
subject in school was English. He grew up with dyslexia, this made every paper he
wrote and every book he read feel like an impossible task that he would never
master. Even now his daily struggle to combine letters to make the most basic
words hold him back; this is not to say he did not have his strengths. Travis was
always a people person; his understanding nature and ability to work through most
any situation makes him an asset for any work force and a leader in every since of
the word.
The learning curve that Travis has experienced over his first few semesters
as it pertains to writing has been steep. As mentioned before, he struggles with
dyslexia making this and other classes a constant challenge. One of the most
important lessons he has learned was in confidence. After completing
Communications 101 with an exceptional grade, he now goes full force into his
writing so that the information laid out in the American Psychological Association

COMM 102 Summer 2014 Portfolio

Style is in every paper. Following these steps insures top markings on every essay
within every writing style provided in this Communications 102 portfolio.
Communications 101 and Communications 102 are classes taken one after
another. They provide the reader with vastly different writing styles. Travis views
Communications 102 as an advanced version of it 101 counter part. This advanced
class brings with it writing styles that Travis believes will involve more critical
thinking subjects, and a vastly researched driven portfolio. In turn will require him
to apply deeper though driven positions when determining his subject for every
essay provided. These differences will be evident when reviewing works provided
in the Communications 101 portfolio compared to this portfolio.

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Compare and Contrast

Weather Americans claim they are part of the Republican Party or the
Democratic Party, one thing is certain, Americans want to create a better county for
future generations. Ones political standings tell a lot out about that persons values
and beliefs. Knowing the views on issues, such as immigration, national defense,
education, and healthcare, of either the Republican and Democratic Party, can
change a voters stance on their political foundations.
Founded in 1854, the Republican Party was started in a schoolhouse in
Ripon, Wisconsin. The founders involved intended to build the party of freedom
and equal opportunity. These abolitionists stood against slavery and its expansion.
They claimed to be the party of freedom, prosperity, vision, strength, and of the
future. They make such claims by stating that the government should take a back
seat to an individuals decisions, and that the government should have regulatory
restraints on spending and other government programs. The Grand Old Partys
elephant symbol is a representation of their strength as a party and began as a
Thomas Nast cartoon in 1860.
Known as the oldest party in United States political history, the Democratic
Party began over 200 years ago on the basis of building not only a strong economy,
but an economy that lifts up all Americans. They make claim that we are the party
of Barack Obama, John F. Kennedy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the countless
everyday Americans who work each day to build a more perfect union. Fixing
Americas broken immigration system is one of the top Democratic Party claims in
recent months. They believe in job creation and a healthcare system that does not

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decimated against ones pre-existing conditions. The democratic donkey was also
made famous by cartoonist Thomas Nast.
Immigration has always been an issue well considered by the American
public. As a country of immigrants, America has always been the Land of the Free,
even though the Parties that run government have two opposite standings on the
matter. Democratic leaders claim that the current Mexican-American border crisis is
a solid example of why immigration reform needs to take place; Republicans explain
that the crisis is one started by democratic leadership and can be fixed without
reform but by Presidential executive order at any time. The current immigration bill
waiting vote includes increasing boarder security, insuring that the illegal
immigrants that are not American become citizens as well as learn to speak English
and pay the fines taxes and penalties that they owe the government.
Insuring that future generations are prepared to inherit the workforce and
sustain American traditions falls on how children and young adults are educated.
Education is believed to be one of the most important and easily understood issues
in American politics. Both Republicans and Democrats believe that education will
lead to economic growth. That growth can only be achieved by provided better
conditions for teachers and by raising the bar for students, and to insure higher
education through primary and secondary schools.
Having the most well trained and most efficient military in the world does
not ensure party agreement in the American government. National security views in
the Democratic and Republican Parties differ in slight vitally important ways.
Though both parties believe that investing in intelligent among allies has proven to

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be of vital importance to our national defense, Republicans and Democrats have

very different approaches when it comes to maintaining the United States as the
worlds leading super power. A Democratic Party approach to national security is to
prevent terrorism in any way throughout the globe; this includes knowing and
controlling all aspects of nuclear and biochemical weapons. They have a more direct
and steadfast approach to national security while Republicans have a defensive
standing when it comes to protecting vital national interests. Based on President
Ronald Reagan Republicans believe in peace threw strength and on freedom and a
persons will to defend.
Labeling ones self a Democrat or a Republican can be very intimidating,
knowing the issues and how each party approaches them is a great way to
determine a voters political standing. Comparing and contrasting both parties is a
great way to understand the views portrayed by the left and right side of the
congressional aisle. The Republican Party stands for freedom and equal opportunity
where the Democratic Party believes in building an economy that lifts up all
Americans. The basis of ones political stance should be well-research and
methodically planned to insure the political party of there choosing is in direct line
with that persons ideals and beliefs.

COMM 102 Summer 2014 Portfolio

Critique
In 2007 Steve Jobs said at the annual Macworld Expo, Today, were
introducing three revolutionary products, an iPod, a phone, and an Internet
communicator. Are you getting it? These are not three separate devices. This is one
device. Were calling it iPhone. Little did Jobs know the iPhone would grow into
one of the most highly sought after phones of all time. (Chen, Brian X. 2011)

The first year the iPhone was released, in 2007, it sold around one point four
million units world wide, currently in 2014 that number has raised to close to one
hundred and twenty five million units sold. This drastic increase in sales is due to
apple releasing a product that is both useful and elegant. (Apple IPhone 2014)
Currently, the seventh generation of IPhone to be released is the IPhone 5s. It
became one of the most anticipated smart phones ever released. That anticipation is
due to some of the key features that make the 5s stand out above most other phones
and well above its prior sixth generations. From its perfectly placed finger print
sensor, to Apples revolutionary new A7 processing chip, the iPhone 5s is in a class
all of its own. Though seemingly the top phone on the market, this hand held
computer is not without its faults. Its operating system is limited in the tasks it can
perform and its battery life is not something to be desired.
When it comes to security apple has always been a front-runner. Its release
of the application Find My iPhone has reduced the amount of IPhone theft
dramatically in recent years. The IPhone 5s is no exception to the rule. The
September release of one of the first phones to offer a fingerprint scanner used for
security purposes changed the phone market forever. Though many skeptics

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believed that apple having there customers fingerprint was intrusive, Apple quickly
answered those skeptics by informing its customers that their fingerprints were
being saved locally, or on the iPhone itself, and that apple has no access to any
customers fingerprints. Apples fingerprint scanner is currently being used to both
make purchases through the Apple App Store as well as ITunes. This creates a
quicker checkout process when buying items and in turn makes apples user
experience smoother.
Though use of items such as a fingerprint scanner and a sharper camera are
huge selling points for most consumers, these items pail in comparison to Apples
release of the A7 Processer used in its IPhone 5s. The IPhone 5s is the first Apple
phone to use a 64-bit A7 processor chip. This chip makes the 5s the fastest IPhone
ever released. For many Apple users that A7 chip became one of the top selling
points. Unlike recent years this new IPhone limits and removes the lag time between
task, and speeds up animations through out the entire operating system creating a
smoother more productive smart phone.
Apples IPhone operating system, also known as IOS, is full of limitation.
These limitations are what separate the Apple IPhone from its competitors. Little
things such as customization of colors, along with placement of its applications, are
held back by its operating system as well as Apples terms of service. Other phones
are known as Open Source, meaning they have the ability to edit and change most all
aspects of their operating system, as well as download any application a developer
has created. This is not the case for the IPhone. Apple limits the ability of the IPhone
by locking the file system where customization can be created. Along with locking

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up the file system Apple only allows applications that it approves. That means that
Apple has full control on what can be done with all of its IPhones.
Currently the battery life in the average phone is around ten to fourteen
hours. However, some last longer and some shorter. Factors that affect a smart
phones battery life the most are the screen, data connection, games, music, and
voice usage. The IPhone 5s has a battery life of around ten hours of normal use on a
4G data connection and up to eight hours on a 3G data connection according to
Apples web page. ("Apple - IPhone - Compare Models." 2014). This sort life span of
Apples battery has caused consumers to look at other smart phones as many have
reported even shorter battery life.
Like every smart phone, Apples IPhone 5s has its innovations as well as its
letdowns. It is these innovations that drive the smart phone market to create new,
more stable platforms for future phones. When making an investment into a cell
phone it is best to research as many models as possible. Many companies sell their
consumers a product based of only a few innovations. Apple products are not for all
types of consumers, and should be well researched before purchasing any item.

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COMM 102 Summer 2014 Portfolio

Classification

Based on ones collage degree level, occupation, and yearly earnings Americans are
broken up into three different social classes. These classes are debated frequently
due that fact being that there is not clear understand of where each class starts and
stops. These classes consist of upper class, middle class, and lower class. Within
each of these groups come three sub-groups, as determined by different models of
the social class. With the middle class taking up around fifty seven percent of the
American population it covers yearly earnings ranging from twenty seven thousand
dollars a year to one hundred fifty thousand dollars a year.
According to the Census Bauru within the American population around
fifteen percent of people fall below the poverty line, witch is defined as the bare
minimum income needed for the essentials in life. The fifteen percent is around
forty three thousand Americans. There are a number of factors contributing to the
current poverty line but the current family of four income is around twenty three
thousand fifty dollars annually.
The lower middle class, or the working class, is the lowest earning category
among the middle social class. This class consists of mostly workers not on a salary
pay but on an hourly pay scale. The Americans filing the lower middle class are
uneducated but have skills or talent that allows them to make enough money to get
them out of poverty in relation to a family of four income.
Middle middle class Americans have the biggest population in relation to any
other social class. With a yearly earnings scale ranging from thirty two thousand five
hundred, to sixty thousand middle middle class workers have a basic collage two-

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year degree. Americans in this social class make an average of forty nine thousand
eight hundred and forty two dollars and work as professionals in their respective
professions.
As Americans make more money there social class continues to rise, and at
sixty thousand dollars a year the upper middle class is the top of the middle class
social category. This social class averages eighty thousand eight dollars a year and
are its spots are head by managers and executive positions. The people who work
these jobs normally have advanced degrees in the profession they are working. The
current upper middle class ranges from sixty thousand to one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars a year.
Above the elite levels of the upper middle class there is what has been
nicknamed the five percent, there currently is no classification name for this social
class. This class consists of the people that have a current income rang from one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars and up. Actors, business elites and other artists
make up this small portion of the American social class.
Currently the middle class, along with all other classes have no set yearly
income, the amounts listed above for each social class are based on the United States
Census Bureaus middle sixty percent of incomes study. There are two other studies
that must be noted, and are widely recognized as middle class income levels. The
Pew Charitable Trust study places the yearly income of the middle class as thirty
two thousand nine hundred dollars, to sixty four thousand dollars. While the United
States Department of Commerce study holds the yearly income of middle class
ranging between fifty thousand eight hundred dollars to one hundred and twenty

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two thousand dollars. Though most agree the middle class is based on the median
American income, witch is fifty thousand fifty four dollars, all agree a big role of
ones own understanding of the middle class is based on a persons perception of the
middle class.
Ones belief on the middle class changes from year to year, because there is no
set income level one year a person may have an income of forty thousand dollars
and believe they are in the lower middle class, and the next year have and income
that has more than doubled at ninety thousand dollars a year and still believe that
they fall in the working class, or lower middle class. A persons perception of the
people they interact with, along with Americans current view on the middle class
drastically affects ones belief in that persons social standings.

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COMM 102 Summer 2014 Portfolio

Research Paper
Abstract

The warmest year in history was in 1989 according to NASAs Goddard

Institute for Space Studies, whom have been monitoring world temperatures since
reliable temperatures were being recorded in 1890 (Johansen, Bruce E, 2002). The
factors that contribute to this world wide heating are both man made and many
natural accruing. Some believe that global warming is caused mostly by mans
contamination of our environment. Though most every scientist feels that our
environmental footprint plays a role, some believe that our role in the warming of
the earth is small compared to natural factors.

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Global Warming and its Effect of Life

Thesis
Understanding global warming and its effects our nation, can allow us to
become better prepared for what is to come, as well as insure a brighter future for
the next generation.
Public Figures
There are many names that stand at the front lines on both sides of this
argument, one name that people know is Al Gore. It wasnt until Al Gore becomes a
United State senator that global warming was brought to national attention. Though
some may have seen creating a national crisis a way to better gain in a political
standpoint, Gore felt that climate change would grow into a world problem that
could not be ignored. From a young age Gore was faced with the question of climate
change, his experiences as a child, and the studies he attended through out his life,
formed him into becoming the forerunning in environmental studies and lead the
fight against earths warming (Weart, Spencer 2008).
Timothy F. Ball is a front running in the fight against climate change and the
green house gas effect. Balls research and studies have lead him leading a stand
against global warming since 1990. This Canadian researcher whom as been called
"perhaps the most prominent climate change denier in Canada." Has made over six
hundred public talks about climate change and other environmental issues. Ball
believes that carbon emissions and other green house gas effects are still theories

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and are being pertrade as facts to promote a political agenda (Climate of

controversy 2006).
Understanding Global Warming
Global warming is an increase in the average temperature of the earths
atmosphere as well as the average temperature of the worlds oceans (Inside Global
Warming, 2006). This temperature increase is caused by a green house gas effect.
The green house gas effect is what keeps the earth from becoming to cold to sustain
life, as well on the other hand may very well be what is causing the earth to heat and
cause this warming. When gasses are released they become part of the atmosphere
these gasses trap solar radiation and cause the earth to sustain the heat caused by
the sun. Some of these gasses include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and
nitrous oxide. Though some gases play a bigger role in the green house gas affect
non-play a larger role than nitrous oxide. (Inside Global Warming. 2006)
Nitrous oxide retains around two hundred and seventy times the amount of
heat molecules than traditional carbon dioxide, oil and gas, and is created due to
agricultural and industrial activities (Inside Global Warming. 2006). Though Nitrous
oxide is by far the most damaging, it falls short when compared to other gases and
the quantity they are emitted in the atmosphere. Items such as methane and carbon
dioxide are released more frequently then any other gas. These gases cause the
majority of the green house gas effect and are cause for many debates in American
politics.
Carbon dioxide combustion is classified as the burning of solid waist, wood,
oil, gas and coal. It is bay far the most released gas into our atmosphere and along

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with methane causes the biggest impact on our atmosphere (Toman, Michael A.,
2008). This has created more discussion on the creation of natural forms of energy
to limit out environmental footprint. By lower our output of such gases and
increasing our use of natural energy the world may begin to becoming more energy
sustainable and in turn reverse the effects of global warming.
Methane plays a huge role in the atmospheres ability to lock in radiant heat
and create a platform for a warmer earth. Though not a damaging as carbon dioxide
methane is considered the second leading contributor to the warming crisis. Caused
by decomposition of organic waist this gas traps twenty one times more heat
molecules than carbon dioxide.
Factors That Create Greenhouse gas emissions
These green house gases are caused by many factors some man made and
some occurring in nature, some we can control and other we play no part in such as
plants and trees.
George M Woodwell, the director and president of the Woods Hole Research
Center in Massachusetts believes that evidence shows that higher temperatures will
speed up the rate of reparation, witch is defined as the released of carbon dioxide
for use in plant metabolism during photosynthesis, among some organisms, thus
releasing more carbon dioxide. He suggests that a one point eight degree increase in
the global temperature often increases this rate of reparation in some organisms by
ten to thirty percent. As well Woodwell believes that climate change will erode
habitats for long-lived, larger plants and increase the reproduction rates of small
plants such as weeds and shrubs. This change will cause plants to release more

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carbon dioxide and increase the rate of the green house gas effect (Johansen, Bruce
E., 2002).
According to the federal Energy Information Administration nearly one-third
of greenhouse gases come from electric power plants in the United States. This
drastic number is due in large part, until recently, to there being now laws or
restrictions on emissions from the electric power plants. In June of 2013 President
Obama laid out a plan to reduce the nations carbon footprint and impose
restrictions plants such as these. As well as the power plant changes here in the
United States the President has void to speak with other global leaders, such as
leaders from China and India in hopes that they will make the necessary changes to
insure climate change reduced and limited. He pushed for clean renewable energy
and stood against the Keystone XL pipeline, an oil pipeline to be built from Canada
to Texas (Obama Unveils Plan vs Global Warming, Emissions, 2013).
Public and Media Views on Climate change
Movies such as The Day After Tomorrow show what could occur if the
current warming is not resolved. Though Hollywood may have dramatized the
situation in this movie it may not be very far from the truth in the matter of a global
change of that magnitude. Extensive research has been preformed in the studies of
global warming, by many different organizations. One of the leading research
groups in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, this group has done a
study on the temperature changes coving from 1890, the start of reliable
temperature recording, to now and applied there finding to the next one hundred
years. They predict that in the next fifty years the worlds temperature will increase

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one degree to four point five degrees, as well as up to ten point four degrees in the
next one hundred years (Inside Global Warming, 2006). These small changes may
lead to rising sea levels and way contribute to an increase in rain and snowfall
worldwide. Though almost all believe that a catastrophe like The Day After
Tomorrow is thousands of years away, there is a need to solve problems such as
these from many scientists today.
Most all media outlets have come to a consonance that climate change is
happening and that it is man made. People are confronted with the issue of global
warming in all aspects of life, not just in the news and media, but as well in TV
shows, movies, and books. The growing debate over climate change has not changed
much over recent years and is still talked and debated over what actions needed to
be taken to correct our effects on emissions. The people that deny or contend in the
science of this warming claim that the people reporting these stories dont know the
science behind the facts. They believe that the reports and journalist do not have to
be night, they just have to have reasonable doubt and it will be cause enough of an
uproar in order to make the public aware of an issue, false or not (The Media
Climate Change 2007).
With the ten hottest years to record occurring in the past twenty years
science believes that climate change will have devastating affects to the world
environment. It is believed that as the world begins to warm ice in the artic will melt
and costs will flood creating an environment of food shortages, and increased
drought. Research suggest that future generations could become affected by the
choices made today, and those changes, such as renewable clean energy, could

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become play a key role in avoiding damaging circumstances in the future. Weather
the public act on the ever changing environment or they remain stagnant and have
disbelief about the worlds temperature increase due to the greenhouse effect, one
thing is for certain, knowing the facts about the climate change issue will better
prepare ones self for what is to come.

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Works Cited
"Apple IPhone: Global Sales 2007-2014, by Quarter | Statistic." Statista. N.p., n.d.
Web. 24 July 2014.
"Apple - IPhone - Compare Models." Apple - IPhone - Compare Models. N.p., n.d. Web.
25 July 2014.
Chen, Brian X. Always On: How the IPhone Unlocked the Anything - Anytime Anywhere Future--and Locked Us in. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2011. Print.
"Climate of controversy". Ottawa Citizen. 18 May 2006. Canada.com Retrieved 27
January 2014.
"Democrats.org." Democrats.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2014.
Francis, David. "Where Do You Fall in the American Economic Class System?" US
News RSS. U.S. News and World Reports, 13 Sept. 2012. Web. 31 July 2014.
"GOP - Welcome to the GOP." GOP. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2014.
Horn, Dan. "Middle Class a Matter of Income, Attitude." USA Today. 14 Apr. 2014.
Web.
Inside Global Warming. Contributors: Miller, Roxanne Greitz - Author. Journal title:
Science Scope. Publication date: October 2006.
Johansen, Bruce E. The Global Warming Desk Reference. Westport, CT: Greenwood,
2002. Print.
"Obama Unveils Plan vs Global Warming, Emissions." Manila Bulletin. N.p., 27 June
2013. Web. 8 Aug. 2014.
"The Media Climate Change." Australasian Business Intelligence 30 Apr. 2007: n. pag.
Web.

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Thorngate, Steve. "Defining the Middle: The Rhetoric and Reality of Class." Christian
Century, 31 Oct. 2012. Print.

Toman, Michael A., James Griffin, and Robert J. Lempert. Impacts on U.S. Energy
Expenditures and Greenhouse-gas Emissions of Increasing Renewable-energy
Use: Technical Report. Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2008. Print.
Weart, Spencer R. The Discovery of Global Warming. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2008.
Print.