Illegal Immigration

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-immigration-attitudes-study-20130731,0,4231177.story#

This article brings up an important issue plaguing the border of Mexico and the U.S., which is illegal immigration and its factors. The author's well-developed article ranges from explaining the main focus of the article-reasons for people to illegally immigrate to the U.S. and reaches a narrowed focus on conditions in Mexico compelling immigrants to take that step. The author's reasoning is that economic factors play a minute role in these immigrants' decision, and harsh conditions in Mexico such as unemployment motivates those affected to move out by any means.

I find this article to be quite informative, in that I never quite realized motivations to illegal immigration. I also agree that illegal Mexican immigrants must have a legitimate reason to move out of their homeland, which most likely seems to be corrupt business there as well as diminishing job opportunities for families to prosper. Border cities especially have less-than-favorable conditions due to the immense amount of crime there, and moving to America seems to be the only alternative to escaping. Although their reason is justified, it still doesn't make sense for them to illegally enter. The article suggests racial tension that holds those immigrants from legally asking for permission to reside within the U.S., and this answer seems most logical except for another factor that my Spanish teacher once told me: drug cartels. Human trafficking and smuggling are major problems in border cities between the U.S. and Mexico, where those wanting to move to the U.S. are forced to go in illegally. In this case some illegal immigrants may be forced and in danger in order to actually break laws. All in all there are quite a few factors driving these illegal immigrants to entering the U.S., but economy cannot always be blamed.

Blood Pressure Increasing Among Children

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-elevated-blood-pressure-increasing-among-children-20130712,0,2460192.story#

When I spotted the title of this article, I felt quite surprised that not only teens but also children were being affected by deteriorating health despite their constant activity. The author conveyed the facts and statistics well, weaving the percentages into the actual commentary. The article was well articulated as well and does an exceptional job at separating the genders and displaying accurate information.

Moving on from the article's structure, I noticed that sodium intake was noted as a major contributor to the corrupted health issues, so it is quite disheartening to realize how much of a moderation individuals need to exercise within their dietary intake. It is noteworthy that the author also mentions a relationship between different factors contributing to high blood pressure, such as a large waistline and obesity. It is actually quite unsurprising now that blood pressure also has a direct correlation to obesity, which has plagued the human population vastly. What steps can be taken to prevent this now? Well first off all lay off the candy, and even salt, as mentioned in the article. It is upsetting to think of how close blood pressure is to obesity, yet the major event was the admittance of how much salt a child intakes by a survey for that particular situation. I am deeply appalled at our nation's deteriorating health, even more on prevention benefits.  Towards the end and wrapping up the article, the author demonstrates clear understanding of the pressures and harsh reality children are living with today regarding health, which will unfortunately hold worse consequences for the future.

Obama's Focus on Major Reform

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/25/us/politics/obama-to-restate-economic-vision-at-knox-college.html?hp&_r=0

This article begins with a general view on president Obama's approach to the major debate surrounding gun control, which then proceeds into his view for change in economy to benefit the middle class. The author structures the article by first addressing Obama's speeches and their inclusion of change for the country to benefit middle class economic lifestyles. Soon the article merges into reforms for education, and the author includes refutes from the Republican party.

I am glad to read that pertinent issues such as education and middle class economy are being discussed within the government, and this notion for change is welcome after the tough years of unemployment and poverty. I agree with the president's stance that establishing a secured future for the younger generations will guarantee success for America's future. Education is key to every individual's success, and reform is important to garner improved methods to help achieve success. I am also glad that president Obama is taking action for the middle class, which easily has the most occupants economically. His persuasion for the economic leniency was supported by affordability for colleges and manufacturing aspects. By adding the differing points the Republican party expressed, the author brought a contradiction into the article to further highlight the president's point. Questioning the president's intentions gives readers a chance to truly decide what side to choose and puts the issues into perspective. Furthermore, the author also mentions Democrats also being against reforms that have no point according to them, yet another strategy to make readers be inclined to take a specific side.

Children's Intellectual Benefit from Sleeping

http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21581698-regular-sleeping-hours-really-are-good-childrenif-they-are-girls-bedtime

In this article, the author does an excellent job incorporating anecdotal references in the beginning to draw attention to the topic. Sleep is an important aspect in any individual's life, and without adequate sleep he or she suffers throughout the day. I was interested in this article purely due to my interest in learning about sleeping patterns, and in the article, the author states that genders prove to differentiate in the effects of sleeping patterns. The evidence included that proves that girls seem to gain IQ points from added sleep hours seems a little far-fetched to me simply because it has always been said by any doctor or specialist that everyone benefits from sufficient sleep. Although the article clarifies that this evidence vanishes by the time boys turn seven, it still seems unbelievable that boys under seven have diminished IQ. Besides this minor refute, I agree that a child's intellectual performance directly relates to sleeping patterns, and I don't think any amount of evidence could disprove this. Going back to the article, the way the author incorporates the survey conducted into the body of the article keeps the article well articulated. In the introduction, when the author states that sons do not have added benefits from sleeping habits, she seems to be making an assertion that is too strong compared to the rest of the article. The evidence presented does not disprove claims that regular sleeping habits are beneficial to boys, so it seems too forward when she claims this. Referring to the introduction and conclusion, the author does an exceptional job when including the imagery of children going to bed at bedtime and household depictions to paint the illusion of the effect of sleeping patterns. 

Reverse Vaccine for Type 1 Diabetes

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-diabetes-reverse-vaccine-20130627,0,7543654.story

This article interested me because it signals a transforming world with greater benefits. Reading this article evoked a sense of pride in the advancing world we live in and how intelligent scientists are to create such a vaccine to kill of killer cells that cause diabetes. Throughout the article, the author also conveys a sense of amazement and wonder for the vaccine that could improve many lives. The article is written in a well structured manner in a way that transitions to direct implications of the vaccine to its general effect on the population.

Although it is the first step to treating diabetes, this vaccine garners much appreciation and hope for patients with diabetes to now that they will not live with the illness forever. When the article explains that the vaccine would suppress the immune system from producing the killer cells, it opens up the medical discussion of the procedure and its consequences. As a result, the pancreatic instinct is to produce insulin, which therefore leads to a beneficial cause due to insulin being the main lack in a diabetic's body. Another half of the article was the experiment, conducted with this vaccine and previous medicine. The vaccine's effectiveness outweighed the previous treatment's effects on the body. The outcome of this result definitely changes my perspective and helped me realize the benefits having such intellects to continually create such notions that advance society is a benefit. With the diction used throughout the article, it conveys a sense of respect and admiration at this new finding, and I can't help but feel happy once again for the scientists who developed the vaccine. This article promises a bright, new material that helps understand a logical part of the main type 1 diabetes inborn in them.

Implementing Obamacare

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/06/implementing-obamacare

This article brings to light very important issues regarding health insurance in America, and Obamacare is the newest policy trending for this situation. Throughout the article, the structure provides key support and evidence from the researcher Michael Cannon, and his emphasis on the cons truly convinces readers of his side. This insurance is not only overpriced, but it puts those of the older generations at a disadvantage because they need this support, no matter how expensive. The major issue seems to be the financing regarding the insurance, and the author brings up good points for the references of the age groups affected by the finance. In addition, the author provides a clear example with an Obamacare user, Nicole, which sheds to light the true financing involved in the inner workings of the insurance policy.In my opinion, I do not see the need of Obamacare as a huge asset to the country. It is targeting those in the younger generation, but  the older population is the one who will be needing it the most. When the question is posed, that if the cost of insurance rises young people will be less likely to buy it, it seems almost obvious that the answer is yes. Young people have not yet garnered set careers or a fixed income, and buying health insurance that is rising in its cost seems unlikely. As displayed by Nicole's example, if people see cheaper deals for health insurance, they will be more enticed by this factor than buying premium deals with Obamacare. Even though people are still debating whether to buy health insurance, it does not seem likely that Obamacare will attract much attention due to its economic downfall for customers.

Is Technology Improving Education?

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21580136-new-technology-poised-disrupt-americas-schools-and-then-worlds-catching-last

Technology is the key to every day life in the 21st century and applying it to education seems like an efficient strategy to boost education levels in America. Although the author takes both sides on the issue, briefly addressing the issue that schools fear the take over of actual manpower from physically teaching pupils, the author he seems to favor implementing educational technology. The structure of the article follows the regular format of an expository, and the transition from introducing the topic to expanding it to other branches such as economy is well structured.

Education has evolved since primitive ages, and now we have better opportunities to improve our education system through the use of technology. New softwares have developed to keep students engaged in learning, so why not implement them in schools? I feel that with the efficiency that technology provides, more American schools should utilize the technology to gain the advantage other countries have. With the many observations included in the article, such as the 12% increase in learning demonstrated by students in Oklahoma using "Cognitive Tutor", there is more support to emphasize the benefit of focusing more on a technology based education. 

Although there are also many obstacles in this line of education posed by persuading unions and schools to accept, if the government addressed this issue directly and offered schools to set up designated times for learning through advanced softwares, unions may look past their insecurities of loosing the old-fashioned way of teaching. All in all, I am not saying that teachers should be removed, but schools should take advantage of the modern technology that is available in order to improve the American education system and be equivalent to other countries that are ahead. If technology is proven to help pupils learn faster, why not use them more?

Pollution in China Decreases Life Spans

LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-air-pollution-20130709,0,1377450.story

Just the thought of not being able to breathe freely brings me much discomfort and seems unthinkable. This is not the case in Beijing, China, where the northern Chinese population has a decreased life expectancy while living in a pollution-heavy atmosphere. The article regarding this issue is organized in such a way that a main thesis is proposed with an ample amount of research to certify the claims made by the article. It states that the "main correlation between air pollution and health" is the decreasing life span followed by it. It is unfortunate that the atmosphere in the country is doused with pollution, but even with this circumstance, there are solutions proposed towards the end to rectify the situation.

Many measures have to be taken to ensure healthy atmospheric conditions, such as shutting down large industries emitting harmful air quality as well as using environment friendly vehicles. Referring back to the article, researcher Chen and his team concluded that with the exposure to 100 micrograms of pollution, life spans are cut down by 3 years. With the amount of pollution exposed to China, 3 years is a minimal decrease compared to the decrease that the pollution existing will have on life spans. The amount of premature deaths in China also affects its economy and industrial base, where population scarcity fails to foster modern urban development.

Towards the end of the article, Hongbin Li suggests to monitor the gasoline and heating that major factories and raise the standards on these procedures. I agree with his assertion maintaining that the cost and sacrifices made to get rid of pollution are small prices to pay for saving millions of lives. Health overrules any other matters such as industry or politics, because without healthy people society would not be able to function. In conclusion, the dense pollution in China that has people wearing masks all day needs to be removed at any cost for the sake of saving an entire population.