STEPS English Portfolio
Steven Javier JimĂŠnez Guailla Yachay Tech
STEPS English Portfolio Steven Javier JimĂŠnez Guailla
Yachay Tech University English Language Program Level 6-005
Teacher: Alyssa Wolfe January 2017
Imbabura, Ecuador
Contents Portfolio letter Response essay Interpretative essay Argumentative essay Final Research project Thank you letter
Portfolio letter Dear reader, My name is Steven JimĂŠnez, and I am proud to show all my progress during this semester in the sixth level of the English program of Yachay Tech. I consider that English is more than a language because it has been a useful tool in many aspects of society like science, communication, business, and entertainment. Therefore, I think that English is an important tool that I must improve to create opportunities for my personal and professional progress. You are going to read an accumulation of three of all my works that I did in this semester. I chose the response, interpretative and argumentative essays because I learned and created new points of view topics related with the argumentative and response essays. Additionally, the interpretative essay allowed me to proof how important and challenging group work is. However, I think that my partners were an important element to improve my English, because through of peer review of my essays, I improved and fixed many issues of grammar and punctuation, which are difficult for me. Also, the discussions in class were stimulating for me, because I learned how other people express their ideas. I began this English program with a lot of failures in listening, reading, speaking and grammar skills but I established as a goal the development of those skills. Also, I learned how to analyze and argue different topics, and then I elaborate my thoughts. My listening and speaking abilities were developed through the method used in this semester by Alyssa Wolfe because she asked interesting questions every day and we usually gave improvised answers. During this semester my writing process had improved because I overlapped the information of different sources with my judgments. For this reason, you will realize that I am so critical in all my arguments and I hope that all my arguments will make you reflect and it creates a positive change in your behavior.
It is important to mention that English program changed some aspects of my behavior because in English class I read much literature about the world and how it works. For example, when I was in the fifth level, I felt inspired by the life of people like William Kamkwamba, who created a way to produce energy through a windmill without knowledge, because he is a citizen from Malawi in Africa, which is a poor country and the education is so limited. Thus, English has allowed me to contrast many aspects of society, and I learned about this multicultural world. I want to tell you that I feel afraid because all my English abilities are going to be challenged in next semester because I will receive all my academic classes in English, even though it is going to be a new way to improve my abilities. Therefore, I hope that you enjoy reading this portfolio; likewise, I enjoyed writing it. Finally, I want to share with you a phrase that inspired me while I wrote these essays. "Be the change that you wish to see in the world", Mahatma Gandhi.
Sincerely,
Steven JimĂŠnez
Response Essay
1
Running Head: GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
Global Citizenship: from Dream to Reality Steven Javier Jiménez Guailla L6-005 Yachay Tech September 2016
GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
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Global Citizenship: from Dream to Reality Have you ever imagined a society like John Lennon proposed in his song “Imagine”, where all people join to build a better world? Global citizenship has been a dream of society, where all people belong a community, and they are a treat of equality, and there are not boundaries between countries because all individuals contribute to building a community with values. In spite of the fact that global citizenship has been a big dream of society, it has not been possible for many reasons. Therefore, Brown in the speech “Global ethic vs. national interest” supports the current intention to build a global citizenship, but his purposes are wrong for three reasons. Global citizenship is being created erroneously from social communications and anachronistic global institutions. Brown (2009) claims that new technological communications are a useful tool to build a global citizenship because communications are the creator of links in all countries. However, Brown is wrong, because he has confused global citizenship with global communications where the interaction of thoughts, moments and feeling between people are facilitated mainly through the Internet. Also, the Internet has built a global mind related with economy and knowledge, but it has not created social awareness. Therefore, the existence of communications does not imply the existence of human comprehension. Moreover, Brown (2009) agrees that global institutions can guide the global understanding and respect. Although he argued that actually, global organizations are anachronisms, and those must renovate through the financing of countries. However, these economic movements have created a form of priority based on the money that each state
GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
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contributes; then this creates social inequality. Therefore, this proposal is not correct, because there are emerging countries that not even have money to their population. There is a false social awareness because countries and politicians don’t care about their actions. Brown's speech (2009) considered the conferences of climate change and the poverty as the first steps to link countries with the objective of solving common problems in the world through financing or political support. However, Africa is an emerging country where there have not been changes because rich countries have forgotten it. Brown’s argument (2009) against Al-Qaeda financing to Africa
is
ridiculous because there are not countries who invest in Africa, and its population wants to survive, but they are judged to receive money from dangerous organizations. Thus, if states decide this wrong, they must invest now. About climate change, Brown (2009) exalts the effort of societies to decrease the emissions either in short or long time of toxic gasses, which come from industries. However, industrialized countries do not become aware to understand the main consequences of their action to society are. Thus, the affirmation of Brown is wrong because he said that there must be an investment in less industrialized countries to change their “pollutant economic system”, when really this actions are acts of mea culpa to recompense all damages to all little countries like Ecuador. Patriotism and personal interest are significant problems to create a fruitful relationship between countries to create global citizenship. According to Brown (2009), extreme nationalism is deleterious. Therefore, alliances need the moderate use of it. Nevertheless, he is an elected politician of a country, and he cannot prioritize anything
GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
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that is not related to his country. Hence he cannot perform both roles at the same time. Brown (2009) argues that the relationship betweenIn countries has a new potential because the interest and business are not a priority. Therefore, now countries should create links of cooperation to preserve and take care of society. However, this fact is contradictory with the new economic mechanism of industries, because manufacturers build alliances on behalf of their interest. Almost all industries have delegated the work to poor or vulnerable countries. Therefore, emerging economies are invading by industries with the repetitive slogan of “expansion�, and they only get profits
at
expenses of others. Finally, the proposal of the creation of global citizenship is an excellent idea to create a better society. Therefore, Brown’s speech tries to show the advances in the latest years about the social relationship, and the importance of global citizenship. Even though his dream is amazing, he exposed additionally, anachronistic and contradictory ideas which are not useful in the mission to create a global citizenship. The greatest problems are how to build global interests because only a few people take advantage of the idea. For this reason, global citizenship for the moment is still a perfect idea, but the power to make it real depend on us.
GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
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References Brown, G. (2009, July). Gordon Brown: Global ethics vs. national interest [Video file]. Retrieved
from
https://www.ted.com/talks/gordon_brown_on_global_ethic
_vs_national_interest?language=en
GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
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Interpretative Essay
Running Head: BEHIND THE CLAY POT
Behind the clay pot Bryan Carrasco Steven JimĂŠnez Harvey Reascos L6-005 Yachay Tech November 15, 2016
1
BEHIND THE CKAY POT
2
Behind the clay pot Ecuador has a great variety of customs and an enormous cultural identity, which are disappearing and those are being forgotten. For this reason, artists have expressed and captured many traditions of our ancestors to preserve and transmit artworks like music or paintings to new generations. Oswaldo Guayasamín was one of the best Ecuadorian artists who rescued the customs of our past with his painting “El Origen” because he immortalized the funeral customs and showed how the life flourishes and withers through a clay pot. First, the painting “El Origen” was made in 1950 and this painting apparently is part of “Ternura” collection. The technique used by Guayasamín was oil on canvas. The first natural impression when you look at the painting is the use of a lot of tones of brown and in minor proportion yellow and black. The second impression is the intrigue caused by the challenging to distinguish a woman and a baby into her because the orientation of both of them is strange and they have a basic form of a clay pot. There is an interesting mixture of body parts. For example, there are clavicles, ribs, necks, arms, shoulders and more. Also, you can feel restlessness due to dark colors and the cold and empty expression on the faces of the two persons. The last important feature of the painting is two fine lines which create a space where the clay pot is resting inside of somewhere. Second, Oswaldo Guayasamín got inspiration traveled around all South America to known the three primary pre-Columbian cultures Aztec, Maya, and Inca. So, in this painting he illustrated their funeral customs and beliefs. Also, this painting is not part of the official collection of his paintings, but Saskia Guayasamín in the video “Historia de la canción vasija de barro” (2013) argues that this painting is from Guayasamín. The
BEHIND THE CKAY POT
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features of the picture as hugs and necking between characters apparently are part of “Ternura” collection. Oswaldo was astute to use similar colors, in general brown. It is not only related to the color of the land because it also represents the skin’s color of our ancestors. Also, according to its forms, he tries to represent the gender. Hence, the vacuum of the clay pot represents the womb of a woman because the life occurs there. The clay pot without vacuum accounts for a man. Also, with the same idea this painting remembers the customs of Pre-Columbian cultures which consider the land like the mother of life because the clay pot is an abstract idea of the womb, where not only one person but entire families were born. Also, the presence of breast represents the way that land have fed us through water or elements of the agriculture. Third, Oswaldo tried to represents the life and death because there is a woman pregnant, who is protecting with her arm her baby. Thus, this represents the life. Additionally, there are two fine lines which account for the space below the land where the clay pot is resting; it represents the death according to the customs of pre-Columbian cultures because they buried entire families in a clay pot. Also, there is a kind of rectangle behind the head of the big clay pot, and it was a window to give air to the place. Thus, Oswaldo represents life through the woman’s womb and the death by the buried clay pot. This painting is more than a piece of art because is a symbolism of our ancestors, and Oswaldo Guayasamín represents it in this painting. One night in a meeting, Jorge Enrique Adoum, Hugo Germán, Jorge Carrera Andrade felt inspired by the painting and later in the posterior part of the book of Marcel Proust called “El camino de Swan” they wrote some verses. Also, Gonzalo Benítez and Jaime Valencia an hour later gave music to those verses, and that night was born this important song for Ecuadorians, “Vasija de barro”.
BEHIND THE CKAY POT
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In conclusion, “El Origen” is a good representation of the Ecuadorian culture because it represents how our ancestors were buried. In fact, Oswaldo uses many colors that represent the land and the skin’s colors of our forebears. Also, he tries to describe the life and the death with a clay pot by the form that it has. Finally, the music created by the inspiration of this painting was the most important for Ecuador, because many compositors use this music as a representation of the culture of the country.
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References Carrea, J. et. All, (November 30, 2015), La historia de la canción “Vasija de barro”. [Image], retrieved from: http://www.cancioneros.com/co/7895/1/la-historia-dela-cancion-vasija-de-barro Expresarte [nuevoamaru]. (2013, March 6). Historia de la cancion Vasija de Barro. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pmji_MAWC0
Guayasamín, O. (2010, February 21), “Las manos de la protesta”, Retrieved from: http://viajederadio.blogspot.com/2010/02/las-manos-de-la-protesta-oswaldo.html
BEHIND THE CKAY POT
Argumentative Essay
6
Running Head: INFLUENCE OF LANGUAGE ON ETHICS AND MORALITY
Influence of language on ethics and morality Steven Javier Jiménez Guailla L6-005 Yachay Tech December 2016
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INFLUENCE OF LANGUAGE ON ETHICS AND MORALITY
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Influence of language on ethics and morality Communications have been a useful tool in the development of society throughout history. Communications are possible through language, and languages have identity according to the country or the cultural context. The differences between languages are significant, but the ethics and morality must be equal for every language, and should not matter the way that languages are redetected or interpreted. However, that is not always in that way, because the tongue has a significant effect on ethics and morality. The use of elements of language between two languages create differences in the emission and reception of ideas. The language has a conjunction of items as structures, tones, gestures, feelings, messages and meaning which are used when people communicates. In the article “How Morality Changes in a Foreign Language�, Julie Sedivy mentions the experimental setup of Janet Geipel (2016) and it consists that people read reprehensible acts in their non-native language and later in their native language. When people read in their native language, the judgments are more strongly than people who read in their non-native language. Therefore, the emission of an idea in two different languages could create different appreciations of ethics because of its elements make an expression softer than others. For this reason, it is possible to say that there are idioms more persuasiveness than others and those create different judgments of ethics. Each language requires a significant quantity of cognitive process, but it differs from the language used. Therefore, each region and population according to the language used posse different cognitive process. Sedivy (2016) argues that non-native language requires more concentration because the brain process increase. Therefore, people try to deliberate in the most simplify way because the fact to use a different language requires an effort of operating. Therefore, the ethical judgments are influenced by the complexity of language, because the brain process of people creates different arguments to judge.
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Thus, when people with different languages and different cognitive process are exposed to the same ethical and morality action in their language, the judgments will be different in complexity and verdict. Usually, judges must be impartial, because they must judge an action based on logic, actions, arguments and laws, but the language does not influence in the verdict. The justice around the world has a common "language" which are laws, rights or global agreements. However, the verdict is different according to the country. For example, the judgment of Chevron’s case by Ecuador, but until now there are divergent views about this case. It is strange that there are different opinions on the use of the same evidence in various courts. Therefore, even there is a common language, the interpretation and judgment change because each person abstracts the same language in different ways. For this reason, in this case, judges using the common language of justice can decide differently. Finally, ethics and morality are influenced by language, because the comparison between two or more languages shows that there are languages more persuasiveness than others and the elements of the language is the cause of that. Also, language needs a significant cognitive process, and judges could be more or less deeply than others judgments. Even though different groups use common language, there are different opinions according to people. Hence language is an ambiguous tool because anyone can create own reflections and the judgments of populations or groups differ.
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References Sedivy, J. (September 14, 2016). How Morality Changes in a Foreign Language. Scientific American. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article /how-morality-changes-in-a-foreign-language/ .
INFLUENCE OF LANGUAGE ON ETHICS AND MORALITY
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Final Research Paper
1
Running Head: GLOBAL ETHICS
Ethics Has Been Forgotten
Steven Javier JimĂŠnez Guailla
L6-005
Yachay Tech
December 6th, 2016
2 GLOBAL ETHICS
Abstract The behavior of population is regulated by universal laws to build a global nation where all people coexist in peace. The way that people create links with others is through empathy because it allows the understanding of feelings, sensations or
emotions
between people and this is the origin of ethics. Therefore, the behavior of people influences the way that ethic is applied by countries or populations. The central axis of society is the economy, technology, and militia, which have a substantial impact on the behavior of populations. There are three points to discuss ethics and behavior. First, there is a current analysis which shows the inefficiency of global organizations and how it is related to populations. The main idea is to explain why ethics is easy to leave. Second, there are explanations related to the economy, technology, and militia which explain its influence over the behavior of society and the way that ethics is applicated. For example, the economy created a hierarchy of power and preferences to few countries with power. Additionally, the militia has conditioned and changed
the
behavior of society by the development of weapons, and technology. Militia has created new habits which are against of empathy ideas. Finally, there are ideas which try to support that social advances have contributed to the creation of a global society, but there is more evidence supporting the change of behavior influenced by the economy, technology, and militia.
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Ethics has Been Forgotten Each country has established regulations to keep the peace and good social habits between people, according to its experiences, needs, and constitution. Even though societies have advanced and they created connections. There was the necessity to establish a kind of rules which promote the peace, good living and equality among all people to create a global nation. However, it is evident that the increase of wars and political fights caused by the advance of societies and the behavior change of populations are not agreed with these agreements which were summarized into global ethics. Moreover, social advances have broken, questions and changed ethics because communities have changed and there is not enough time to adapt, improve and update the application of ethics. For this reason, least change in the behavior of people would unbalance the use of ethics between different populations. Therefore, global ethics is forgotten by the influence of technology, economy, and militia over populations, which are part of the central axis of society. Social behavior is part of the formation of global ethics through empathy. Human history has shown that people try to interact with their environment and for this reason, there was the necessity to change from individualism to a collective mentality to promote understanding and equality, which are preconditions of ethics. Haney (1994) emphasize the importance of the question “what about others?� which tries to understand the way that others minds have formed and how those minds work. Thus, this explanation suggests the necessity create a link with other people to eliminate the individualism and empathy is the primary tool to accomplish this. Empathy is a way to establish relations with other people through an understanding of feelings, experiences, and sensations. In fact, empathy avoids that people hurt others because people try to be goodness. However, social advances began a change in the society which has affected
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the ethics collectivism, declining to individualism. For this reason, it is important to question why ideas of global ethics are so easy to give up. The agreement of global ethics has lost efficiency through time because there are not efficient regulatory mechanisms. Thus, this explains why global ethics are forgotten, and its applications are not considered seriously around the world because it is an arbitrary decision for each country. Brown (2009 a) in “Global ethics vs. national interest” claims that many world organizations are anachronistic and they must be changed or reformed to guarantee that all countries respect the agreement of global ethics. A good example is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of United Nations in 1948, who claims this declaration "...as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations..."(United Nations, 1948). However, the article five of this declaration claims that "No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." (United Nations, 1948), but there are a lot of countries like China, Thailand, India, and others which practice the death penalty or countries like the United States which uses torture methods in the war against terrorism (AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL UK). These countries disrespect the declaration of human rights which is one of the agreements of global ethics, but the United Nations cannot do anything to remedy this because there are not strong sanctions related with the disrespect of global ethics. Additionally, the judgments related with the disrespect of ethics will be based on interest or interpretation for convenience according to the country, because the ruling will be not the same between countries with a bigger economy, technology, and militia than emergency countries. For example, in the judge of Chevron Texaco since 1993 has changed until now according to the country, but always there is more evidence that guard to this company. However, that evidence is not true because the awareness campaign called “mano sucia de Chevron” shows the
real
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situation of this case (Bloomer,n.d). For this reason, it is important to understand how advances in the economy, technology, and militia have changed the behavior of society. However, global ethics is going away of the mind of society. The economy of each country is the major medium for its populations subsist, and it makes possible the progress as a country. According to the Foundation for Economic Education in the article “The Real Meaning of Privilege”, the economy has a significant role in the society behavior because the differentiated advances of the economy between countries have created a hierarchy, which causes a dominance based on economic power. Therefore, the level of education or health is measured by the quantity of money that people or country have. At the same time, this economic difference has created a preference in world organizations like United Nations, because it requires from “donations” of countries and for these reasons the judgments can vary according to the country. Moreover, when countries with economic power create relations, they take advantage of other nations, because they enslave workers with low salaries and bad conditions of work. In the last years, technological processes have changed the way to make many daily things, but there are countries with more and less access. Thus, it is an important parameter in the society behavior. Technological advances have facilitated the way that people spend their lives. However, according to Steyer (2015) technological advances and new generations will be more related because the time invested in technologies associated with education, information or entertainment increase. This behavior is against of the concept of empathy because the social interaction is based on the understanding of gestures and physical contact, but now social media and new technologies propose a virtual interaction. Therefore, the next generations will be more prepared, but less empathic. The development of technology promotes the armed forces because the creation of
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weapons requires many technological advances. The troops and arms had a clear purpose which is the protection of the nations, but it is strange that while there is a strong promulgation of global ethics, there is competition between countries to develop the most dangerous weapon. Hence the militia plays a significant role in the behavior of society. Moreover, Wallia (2015) provides statements which explain reasons that atomic bomb on Hiroshima was unnecessary because the Japanese force did not have enough weapons and they couldn’t fight anymore. Therefore, the atomic bomb was a way that the United States showed the power that they had in all world, and this has become a threat to all countries. This "simple" action changed the behavior of many countries because they avoid provoking to the hegemony country to survive at least. Therefore, the society has been controlled by the pretext of weapons and social behavior somehow was conditioned. However, there is a weird political promulgation of
rights
and
equality, where there are not dominant states. There are many politicians and countries which consider that all the advances of society have united all people according to global ethics. Brown (2009) claims that technology in communication has been so important in the process of unification of nations because there is a contrast of thoughts, knowledge, and culture. In general, technology has allowed the creation of comprehension spaces where the primary values are tolerance and respect for each other. Thus, technology has contributed social behaviors to keep the society together. Moreover, Brown (2009b) argues that technology has opened all doors around the world because people can know what happen in the other part of the world. For this reason, he proposed the creation of movements and organizations to join people for a cause, in other words, persuade to people. These ideas would achieve a prospering world, without unfairness, poverty, and inequality.
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There are many attempts of technology to connect whole society are not possible for two main reasons. First, there are poor countries where technology and communications are limited, and other people cannot empathize with them. Therefore, according to the economy, societies or countries will be isolated or integrated into this system. Second, the communication between two separated countries does not implicate that their populations understand to others. For this reason, the comprehension relation between countries not necessarily exist. Thus, technology in communications has made a social network where there are not all societies. Additionally, this social network has a lot of information, but societies used it to convenience, and it creates inequity. Smith (2016) illustrates the results of a study by University of Michigan which announces the decline of empathy in college students. These results argue that empathy is not an automatic process because it requires of physical interaction. Even though people communicates with others, there is not a real empathic process. Therefore, the casual attitude to help people is changing, and people now must be influenced by shocking images or things like that to at least feel compassion, because empathy is difficult to establish through technology. Empathy is the way that populations and societies created links of understanding and tolerance to create a global community. These ideas allowed the change from individualism to collectivism, in essence, this is the principle of global ethics. However, the advances of society in the economy, technology, and militia in the last years have created a recession to individualism either from people or countries. The behavior depends on the ideas and mind of individuals or countries. Thus the correct application of ethics depends on of the behavior of societies, but there are elements of society which affect the conception or interpretation of these agreements. In general, global ethics are agreements which are not solidly established, because there are countries that disrespec
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these according to their interest. The as economy has changed the social organization in a hierarchy where there are social preferences. The militia and technology have controlled populations, through of weapons and new addictive technological advances. However, technology in communications can promote feelings, thoughts, and knowledge, but there is not physical contact to establish relations of empathy. For this reason, people will be more prepared, but the empathy would the sacrifice. Finally, the progress of society has changed the behavior of populations, and it has influenced in the way that society applies global ethics.
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References Amnesty International UK (n.d). Death penalty statistics, country by Retrieved
from
country.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/mar/29/
death-penalty- countries-world#data. Bloomer, P. (n.d). A message from Executive Director Phil Bloomer, Texaco/Chevron lawsuits. Retrieved from https://business-humanrights.org/en/texacochevronlawsuits-re-ecuador. Brown, G. (2009, July-a). Gordon Brown: Global ethics vs. national interest [Video file].Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/gordon_brown_on_global_ethic _vs_national_interest?language=en Brown, G. (2009, July-b). Gordon Brown: Wiring a web for global good [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/gordon_brown/transcript?language =en#t-60 Foundation for Economic Education (n.d.). The Real Meaning of Privilege. Retrieved from
https://fee.org/articles/the-real-meaning-of-privilege/.
Haney, K. (1994). Empathy and Ethics. University of Houston-Downtown, 57-65. Retrieved /FBB0B9CDB
from:
https://www.pdcnet.org/8525737F005880C7/file
D5EB0A8852574780066A9B9/$FILE/swphilreview
_1994_ 0010_0001_0063_0
071.pdf
Smith, C. (November 2016). The Loss of Empathy in Society Today. The College of Health Care Professions. Retrieved from: http://www.chcp.edu/blog/lossempat by- society-today
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Steyer, J. (December 2015). How Does Addiction to Technology Affect Behavior? Common sense media. Retrieved from: https://www.commonsensemedia.org /blog/how-does-addiction-to-technology-affect-behavior# Walia, A. (2015). The real reason America dropped the atomic bomb. It was not to end the war. Collective Evolution. Retrieved from http://www.collectiveevolution.com/2015/05/09/the-real-reason-america_dropped-the-atomic-bombit-was-not-to-end-the-war/
Thank you letter Thank you for reading my portfolio. I feel grateful that you invest your time reading my essays. I consider that essays have interesting reflections which could help you create new points of view about society. Finally, I apologize for my grammatical errors, but I promise to keep improving my whole English abilities.
Sincerely
Steven Javier JimĂŠnez