I think I found something

Here's a possibility for my first paragraph... We'll see... I did this today in Class. I'll probably revisit this after BAnd tonight at like 6:30 or 7

One of the biggest trends that our nation is seeing is that of philanthropy. The Average family gives two thousand dollars to charitable organizations per year. This is a 6% increase from 1997.(Philanthropy) The interesting part is that in 1997 the economy was better, interest rates were lower, and Americans had more money in their pockets. This shows that even though Americans have less money they are giving more. The focus on AIDS research and breast cancer awareness has risen to phenomenal levels. Because numerous citizens are donating money, many of the nations leading businesses are sharing in the giving spirit. While at first glance, this may seem like a wonderful thing. More money is going to support great charities. Ford is selling a Mustang for breast Cancer, BMW is giving a dollar for every mile that their car is test driven. How do these things affect us? Lancôme lipsticks have refused to sign the Safe cosmetics act of 2005, and they are selling Lipstick to raise money for breast cancer foundations. What are we buying into?

Staying within the lines.

A. A. Philanthropy a Trend among Baby boomers/GenX/Hippies

a. Red Campaign

b. Breast Cancer

B. B. Businesses who donate to the above causes

a. Information on Carcinogens that cause Breast Cancer

b. Information on Gaps and Armani’s labor practices.

c. Information on the lack of donations by Red.

d. AMEX Credit Card Rates

C. C. The Effects of “Pinkwashing”

a. BMW, Ford, Lancome etc.

b. Estimated cancer cases from these causes

Thesis

Every month businesses are donating to a different cause, with a new color ribbon on the box. October is Breast Cancer Month, May is Childrens Cancer Month, Everything from Save Africa month, to AIDS research month. This donation seems like a good thought, but what if the products that consumers are buying are actually contributing to the problem?

New stuff

Annotated Bibliography: Buying for a Cause

Introduction: The Main question which guides my research is this: What affect do non-profit organizations have on Private businesses? This paper is meant to address undergraduate students in business. More specifically, those who are interested in making the world a better place. Students may be surprised at my findings, Taken together, the sources I have consulted so far on my research topic reveal that many Private organizations have non-profit organizations that they use to raise their profits. Most people wish to believe that by buying products that donate to charity; most of their money is going to the common good. Customers must be careful and ask how much of the revenue is going to the charity.

There is a large controversy in the industry right now. Is this usage of NPO's ethical? Does it help out the charities enough to warrant all the hype that comes with it? Do the businesses make a greater profit because they are supporting a popular cause? The body of my paper will review concerns of analysts and scholars as to the system of milking the theoretical cash cow through NPO's. My conclusion will focus on who comes out on top in the end, the business or the charity.

Ben-Ami, Daniel. "Why the New Amex Card Makes Me See Red." Spiked Online. 28 Sept. 2006. http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/1723/.

Another example of how Businesspeople are using the promise of helping the needy to further their cause. Again, I can use this to bolster my case against the business world.

Barber, Putnam. "Rule of Thumb Ratios." The Idealist. 24 Feb. 1996. 10 Nov. 2008 .

This is a website that provides standard numbers that companies should follow. (ie. What percentage of profit is it ethical for them to donate?) I plan to use this to bolster my case against many agencies who claim to donate to charities, when actually; they’re just raising profits and giving a tiny fraction to charity.

Richard,Kim. "Shopping is Not Sharing." CBSnews.Com. 17 Oct. 2006. CBS. 10 Nov. 2007 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/17/opinion/main2098633.shtml

Richard talks about how giving to charity is now the fashionable thing for everyone to do. This being the case, everyone starts buying up products that have that affiliation Ipods, cell phones, t-shirts, sunglasses. This writer points out that all we’re really doing is contributing to the consumerism culture and not really giving much to the charity. There’s something wrong with the system when one of the founders of the Red Campaign says “Gap in the beginning couldn't understand how they were going to make money. They wanted to do a T-shirt and give us all the money. But, we want them to make money. We don't want anyone to be thinking, 'I'm not making money on this thing,' because then we failed. We want people buying houses in the Hampton’s based on this because, if that happens, this thing is sustainable” The author then goes on to say “it's the whole notion that sustainability and success requires summer estates in the Hampton’s that really rankles me”

Stukin, Stacie. "Pink Ribbon Promises." Time 08 Oct. 2006. 10 Nov. 2007 http://www.time.com/time/connections/article/0,9171,1543947,00.html.

In this article, Stukin talks about the amount of companies who put pink ribbons on their products and donate money to breast cancer research, even though their products contribute to the epidemic of breast cancer. Ford is Marketing a “Breast Cancer Mustang” This is a car that has pink ribbons on it and pink stitching in the seats, Only $250 of this forty thousand dollar price tag goes to Breast Cancer Research. BMW is offering to donate a dollar for every mile that their cars are test driven.

"Information on Select Cause Marketing Campaigns." Think Before You Pink. 2007. Breast Cancer Action. 10 Nov. 07 http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/Pages/InfoMktgCampaigns.html.

This is a list of products that wouldn't be beneficial to the charity if a consumer bought them . The example of Yoplait is a very prevalent one, they promise to donate ten cents per lid that is washed off and returned to them during the month of October. A container of Yoplait Yogurt costs between seventy-five cents and a dollar. This means that if people are trying to donate through buying, they are buying more and more Yogurt. Meanwhile, Yoplait is sitting back and raking in more profits in the month of October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month).

Watkins, Chip M. Idealist.Org. 27 Aug. 2002. 30 Oct. 2007 .

This article gives ethical answers about hiring a fund raiser for your nonprofit organization. Watkins talks about how hiring a fund raiser to help your nonprofit make money is ethical, but how you pay them is a different story. He points out that if they are paid by a flat fee, the charity will ultimately receive less (or almost no) money, because the fund raiser is getting paid the same amount, no matter how much the charity makes. Watkins says that it's better to pay on a percentage basis so that the fund raiser has more of an incentive to raise money. I plan to use this to point out the adverse affects of the private sector on Non-profit organizations.

Goin Through some Changes.

• My intro is too mechanical and not at all me, This will need to change
• I need to add more to my sources, and tell how I will use them
• I need to find out where to put a website with no Author in my Bib.
  

Half of the Bib.

Annotated Bibliography: Buying for a Cause

Introduction: The Main question which guides my research is this: What affect do non-profit organizations have on Private businesses? This paper is meant to address undergraduate students in business. More specifically, those who are interested in making the world a better place. Students may be surprised at my findings, Taken together, the sources I have consulted so far on my research topic reveal that many Private organizations have non-profit organizations that they use to raise their profits. Most people wish to believe that by buying products that donate to charity; most of their money is going to the common good. Customers must be careful and ask how much of the revenue is going to the charity.

There is a large controversy in the industry right now. Is this usage of NPO's ethical? Does it help out the charities enough to warrant all the hype that comes with it? Do the businesses make a greater profit because they are supporting a popular cause? The body of my paper will review concerns of analysts and scholars as to the system of milking the theoretical cash cow through NPO's. My conclusion will focus on who comes out on top in the end, the business or the charity.

Ben-Ami, Daniel. "Why the New Amex Card Makes Me See Red." Spiked Online. 28 Sept. 2006. http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/1723/.

Another example of how Businesspeople are using the promise of helping the needy to further their cause. Again, I can use this to bolster my case against the business world.

Barber, Putnam. "Rule of Thumb Ratios." The Idealist. 24 Feb. 1996. 10 Nov. 2008 .

This is a website that provides standard numbers that companies should follow. (ie. What percentage of profit is it ethical for them to donate?) I plan to use this to bolster my case against many agencies who claim to donate to charities, when actually; they’re just raising profits and giving a tiny fraction to charity.

Richard,Kim. "Shopping is Not Sharing." CBSnews.Com. 17 Oct. 2006. CBS. 10 Nov. 2007 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/17/opinion/main2098633.shtml

Richard talks about how giving to charity is now the fashionable thing for everyone to do. This being the case, everyone starts buying up products that have that affiliation Ipods, cell phones, t-shirts, sunglasses. This writer points out that all we’re really doing is contributing to the consumerism culture and not really giving much to the charity. There’s something wrong with the system when one of the founders of the Red Campaign says “Gap in the beginning couldn't understand how they were going to make money. They wanted to do a T-shirt and give us all the money. But, we want them to make money. We don't want anyone to be thinking, 'I'm not making money on this thing,' because then we failed. We want people buying houses in the Hampton’s based on this because, if that happens, this thing is sustainable” The author then goes on to say “it's the whole notion that sustainability and success requires summer estates in the Hampton’s that really rankles me”

Stukin, Stacie. "Pink Ribbon Promises." Time 08 Oct. 2006. 10 Nov. 2007 http://www.time.com/time/connections/article/0,9171,1543947,00.html.

In this article, Stukin talks about the amount of companies who put pink ribbons on their products and donate money to breast cancer research, even though their products contribute to the epidemic of breast cancer. Ford is Marketing a “Breast Cancer Mustang” This is a car that has pink ribbons on it and pink stitching in the seats, Only $250 of this forty thousand dollar price tag goes to Breast Cancer Research. BMW is offering to donate a dollar for every mile that their cars are test driven.

"Information on Select Cause Marketing Campaigns." Think Before You Pink. 2007. Breast Cancer Action. 10 Nov. 07 http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/Pages/InfoMktgCampaigns.html.

This is a list of products that wouldn't be beneficial to the charity if a consumer bought them . The example of Yoplait is a very prevalent one, they promise to donate ten cents per lid that is washed off and returned to them during the month of October. A container of Yoplait Yogurt costs between seventy-five cents and a dollar. This means that if people are trying to donate through buying, they are buying more and more Yogurt. Meanwhile, Yoplait is sitting back and raking in more profits in the month of October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month).

Watkins, Chip M. Idealist.Org. 27 Aug. 2002. 30 Oct. 2007 .

This article gives ethical answers about hiring a fund raiser for your nonprofit organization. Watkins talks about how hiring a fund raiser to help your nonprofit make money is ethical, but how you pay them is a different story. He points out that if they are paid by a flat fee, the charity will ultimately receive less (or almost no) money, because the fund raiser is getting paid the same amount, no matter how much the charity makes. Watkins says that it's better to pay on a percentage basis so that the fund raiser has more of an incentive to raise money. I plan to use this to point out the adverse affects of the private sector on Non-profit organizations.

More links... This Will get done today...

http://www.time.com/time/connections/article/0,9171,1543947,00.html

http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/Pages/InfoMktgCampaigns.html

http://bcaction.org/index.php?page=071001-2

http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/Research/amex_gift_survey.pdf

http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/factsheet/general/fs41.pah.pdf

Open Sesame

The Main question which guides my research is this: What affect do non-profit organizations have on Private businesses? This paper is meant to address undergraduate students in business. More specifically, those who are interested in making the world a better place. Students may be surprised at my findings, Taken together, the sources I have consulted so far on my research topic reveal that many Private organizations have non-profit organizations that they use to raise their profits. Most people wish to believe that by buying products that donate to charity they are doing good. Customers must be careful and ask how much of the revenue is going to the charity.

There is a large controversy in the industry right now. Is this usage of NPO's ethical? Does it help out the charities enough to warrant all they hype that comes with it? Do the businesses make a greater profit because they are supporting a popular cause? The body of my paper will review concerns of analysts and scholars as to the system of milking the theoretical cash cow through NPO's. My conclusion will focus on who comes out on top in the end, the business or the charity.

may the source be with you.

http://www.corporatephilanthropy.org/research/pubs/GivinginNumbers2007.pdf

Better Source.

Ethics Smethics.

Watkins, Chip M. Idealist.Org. 27 Aug. 2002. 30 Oct. 2007 .

This article gives ethical answers about hiring a fund raiser for your nonprofit organization. Watkins talks about how hiring a fund raiser to help your nonprofit make money is ethical, but how you pay them is a different story. He points out that if they are paid by a flat fee, the charity will ultimately recieve less (or almost no) money, because the fund raiser is getting paid the same amount, no matter how much the charity makes. Watkins says that it's better to pay on a percentage basis so that the fund raiser has more of an incentive to raise money. I plan to use this to point out the adverse affects of the private sector on Non-profit organizations.

http://www.corporatephilanthropy.org/ncp/

This is a website that encourages corporate philanthropies, it gives statistics that talk about how much certain organizations give and where it is spent. It will be a very viable resource for statistics and information that I can use. I plan to compare these statistics to the cure rates of diseases and then use those answers to show the reader how things are getting better thanks to corporate philanothropies.

Chain Links

Library of Nonprofit Literature

http://lnps.fdncenter.org/

Nonprofit Literature Blog
http://cnl-librarian.blogspot.com/

Corporate Philanthropy reports
http://www.corporatephilanthropy.org/ncp/

FAQ's about NPO's
http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/faqcat/60-2

Discussion about hiring Fund raisers... Interesting
http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/faq/407-242/68-62

Rule of Thumb Ratios
http://www.idealist.org/if/idealist/en/FAQ/QuestionViewer/default?section=11&item=14

• American Association of Fundraising Counsel - http://www.aafrc.org/
  
• Association of Fund Raising Professionals - http://www.afpnet.org/
  
• Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability - http://www.ecfa.org/
  
• Maryland Nonprofits - http://www.mdnonprofit.org/
  
• Minnesota Council of Nonprofit - http://www.mncn.org/

The following groups do not mention percentage compensation:

• Better Business Bureau old CBBB/PAS standards
  
• National Charities Information Bureau old standards
  
• Draft Wise Giving Alliance standards - http://www.give.org/srp/preface.asp

Primary Colors.

For my primary piece of writing I would actually need to use two sources. Because my topic is so abstract then It would probably be a good approach to find out the laws about non-profit organizations then find out how many on average actually follow those laws. The comparison of the two would possibly serve as a primary source.

Anything you can do I can do better.

Audience: Compassionate Citizens, Sociologists, Businessmen, Economists,


My purpose is to show the world that there ARE still charities who do their job and DO send money to where they say. There are plenty of organizations that have shady business practices and don't exactly Identify how much money they are giving or where it is exactly going to.

I plan to do this by discussing my personal experiences and my own dealings with organizations quickly followed by statistics showing that MOST charitable organizations actually do give their fair share to the cause. I will then point out the dangers of giving, but then the immense positives, such as the mortality rate for cancer has gone up in the last 20 years. and people continue to die less and less as time goes on through the usage of Medical research. Then I will point out to the reader that the fraudulent organizations that appeared after 9/11 and Katrina aren't actual charitable organizations. They're thieves. I think that I can quickly wrap up with pointing out the good qualities and it will come out just fine.

responsiveness.

1. Identify the issue or problem that you plan to focus on in your research project.
   
   

Do your donations to Charitable organizations actually do the job they claim to do?

2. What is your personal connection to and interest in this topic?
   
   

I’m the chairperson of a small organization that puts on concerts to raise money for cancer research.

3. What opinions do you already hold about this topic?

I think that it’s a bit of a grey area. For example, research companies are always saying that they need more money to help find a cure. Not many people think that there’s ever really any progress. When my mom was diagnosed, none of the regular chemo drugs worked, when we tried the experimental kind, it put her into remission for a few months.

4. What knowledge do you already have about this topic. What are your main questions about this topic? What are you most curious about?

I know a lot about the laws and rules in Illinois about running a charitable organization. On a more National level, (Red Cross, etc.) I would like to know if these organizations are really using all that much to help those less fortunate.

6. Within what scholarly discipline (such as history, biology, and psychology) do you expect to do most of your research? How does this discipline approach or study this topic?

I think it’d fall under Sociology or Ethics.

7. How could you research this topic outside the library (for example, through interviews and/or observations)?

Interviews, shadowing someone in the charity.

Part II: Focusing
Write an initial claim, or an open-ended question, to guide your research on this topic. Make it specific but exploratory. Remember that a good claim opens up an area of inquiry about a topic; a claim should invite evidence, support, and debate.

Charitable organizations intake millions and millions of dollars each year. How much of it goes to their actual cause?

Questions.

1. Do Charitable organizations (The American Cancer Society, The Red Cross, etc.) actually do their job?(Everyone?)

2. Should bartenders be held responsible for the behavior of their patrons? (Law, Sociology)

3. Should a rating system be required for song lyrics?(Ethics, Business)

Surge Protectors

Pro-Surge Article

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030901839.html

Kagan states that American Media has become pessimistic about the war and that we should just ride it out. He Says that they are spending too much time reporting about the negative and not enough discussing the positive. He Says that the Surge will Work and we will be fine in Iraq.



Con- Surge Article (Comparison to Vietnam )

http://bb.elmhurst.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_1876_1

Surge- Use of Private Contractors

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=1&did=1342279741&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1191254580&clientId=19260

Pro-Surge

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1343421071&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1191254927&clientId=19260

Exercise #2

My point here is that computers in our schools should interest everyone. Business owners and future employers, parents, teachers, everyone who cares about the direction in which our society is moving.

Synthesis.

The two articles “Computers and Technology” and “Video games and the Future of Learning” attempt to teach the reader about computers in the classroom using contrasting views, from the good of epistemic gaming to the bad of big business .

By reading both articles, the reader gets a good picture of the issue and is allowed to look at technology in the classroom from all sides. It is represented by a conundrum, one that asks us whether it is worth it to spend money on technology that will be obsolete in a few years or if something as frivolous as video gaming can prepare us for life’s experiences. In the article “Video games and the Future of Learning” the author gives examples of the gaming community’s effect on people’s lives. He cites that epistemic games like “The Sims” can give gamers experience that they normally wouldn’t have, such as a 12 year old girl running in a presidential election, or commanding an army in “Gears of War”.

In the article “Computers and Technology” the author brings up many very good points in talking about big business’ control over schools and their computer labs. Essentially he points out that this whole push for technology is controlled by the C.E.O.’s at the top companies of our day. He says that technology in our schools is all about a huge sales game. For example, the average household may buy a maximum of three computers; one for the house, and one for each of the kids as they leave for college. This means that most of the computer sales today are to schools and other businesses. The bigger of these two venues are school districts, Schools never buy just one computer. They buy ten, twenty, thirty, computers at a time to keep up with new and emerging technology. The buying of new computers goes hand in hand with the business principle of planned obsolescence, inevitably you buy something and it breaks. Then you have to buy the newer, more expensive model because the old model isn’t compatible with the things that are just coming out. This is the quandary that schools are faced with.

The whole point of running a business is to be profitable. The more expensive these computers are, the better off the computer companies. It is a simple and undeniable truth that in today’s world, much of our learning is computer based. Computers influence everything from how we withdraw money from the bank to how we find out what our grades are in a class. We need them in one form or another. So we are presented with a two sided coin. We need computers, but big business is controlling the whole situation.

By reading these two articles, I have come to the conclusion that technology has its advantages; it is good to assist in learning and to further our educational experiences, but big business has seen the promise of riches and bigger profits, this has corrupted that ability.

Synthesis

Thesis :

The two articles “Computers and Technology” and “Video games and the Future of Learning” attempt to teach the reader about computers in the classroom using contrasting views, the good of epistemic gaming but the bad of internet plagiarism .

Outline:

I. The Great Computer Debate

A. Video Games and The Future of Learning

1. Give examples from the text (Sims, Epistemic gaming)

2. Talk about the influence of video games on children

3. The Usage of newer video games for learning (Leapfrog etc.)

4. Too reliant on technology or video games?

B. Computers and Technology

1. Talk about the deteriorating technology at many high schools

2. Cite the drawbacks of computers in the classroom (Gaming, being off task, etc.)

3. Cite the struggles of upping the technology usage in the classroom.

4. Corporate control in the Classroom?

Hidden Intelectualism.

In the article Hidden Intellectualism, Gerald Graff suggests that schools are overlooking a certain type of intelligence. He points out that while some children might struggle with math, reading, or science; those same children make know how to rebuild an engine or which restaurants serve the best Saganaki. Graff shows the reader this by reminiscing about his childhood, when he says.

“Until I entered college, I hated books and cared only for sports. The only reading I cared to do or could do was sports magazines…. In short, I was your typical teenage anti-intellectual – or so I believed for a long time. I have recently come to think, however, that my preference for sports over schoolwork was not anti-intellectualism so much as intellectualism by other means.”

Graff takes this opportunity to be very blunt with his point. He goes out and tells the reader that he, as a child, exhibited intellectualism by other means. He also points out that in school it isn’t considered popular or cool to be an intellectual. He offers this as an explanation as to why lots of kids shy away from the stereotypical intellectualism. Later in the Essay he says “Being “Tough” earned you complete legitimacy… If you were less than negligible as a fighter… you settled for the next best thing, which was to be inarticulate, carefully hiding telltale marks of literacy.”

This type of hostility toward what could be referred to as “Standard Intellectualism” causes “Hidden Intellectualism” to flourish. Graff suggests that teachers should use this to draw kids into school and make their homework more interesting. “It’s a god bet that if students get hooked on reading and writing by doing term papers on Source [Magazine], they will eventually get to On Liberty.”

Response #2

pt 1. In David Zinczenko's "Don't Blame the Eater" he stresses that it obesity is the fault of restaurant or fast food company. This is easily argued with, due to the fact that just as there is a fast food restaurant in every town, there is also a grocery. At that grocery, healthy food is sold. Healthy alternatives are sold such as granola bars, fruit, and juices. The fact that these stores sell such healthy things at usually affordable prices essentially takes Zinczenko's legs out from under him. While it might be easier to see the golden arches from a few miles away, just down the block is a grocery store.


pt 2. In this day and age, America is fatter than ever. According to Zinczinko, occurrence of type two diabetes has raised 25% since 1994 and children are growing up playing with golden arches. The fact that most teenagers don't have much time, or much money makes fast food the easiest alternative for our lives. In this post 9/11 world where society tells you that you must do everything and there is no room for error, children are running from place to place trying to cram one more thing into their day. The easiest option for food is to go to a drive-through. Looking at this I don't believe that lawsuits are the issue. We already live in a sue happy culture where people have to be told that their coffee is hot, not to blowdry their hair in the shower and not to smoke while pumping gas. I believe that groceries should have a drive through where I can go to buy fresh fruits and healthy snacks, the fast food restaurants have made themselves accessible so the groceries should make themselves more accessible than fast food.

They Say/I Say

http://politicalhumor.about.com/b/a/201898.htm

This humorous monologue by Bill Mahr, pokes fun at the President while slipping in relevant commentary about the recent disaster in the political world known as the Bush presidency. It is very full of "I Say" and contains almost no "They Say". It still makes for an interesting read.