TOW #16- Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (IRB post 2)

My IRB for this marking period was Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks. Oliver Sacks is a well-known, reputable neurologist, which provides him with automatic ethos when he writes the book. The purpose of the book is to inform people about the research he has done connecting music and the brain. In order to do this, Sacks relies heavily on the use of examples of patients with whom he has dealt. In addition to helping the reader better understand the idea that Sacks is trying to portray, the examples also provide a personal touch to the book, creating the idea of “real people” to whom the reader can connect. For example, Sacks writes, “This was very clear with Rosalie B., a post-encephalitic lady who tending to remain transfixed for hours each day...” (256). Sacks then proceeds to explain how music managed to awaken Rosalie from this frozen state, providing the reader with a clear understanding, and connection and/or sympathy, about Rosalie’s situation. Although in my first post about this book I thought that the book was written for the general public, upon further reading, I think this book is written for people who are more learned about brain issues and other medical terms. For example, in the example above with Rosalie, I do not know what “post-encephalitic” means without having to look it up. Although this may be just because I am a high school student, I am going to make the assumption that this is not a word that the general public would understand. However, I do not think you have to be a neurologist either to read this book, since I still was able to understand the main idea about the problem with Rosalie, as well as the other main ideas throughout the book, just not the specific issue. Finally, Sacks also provides himself with ethos on the topic by writing about his personal experiences, using personal anecdotes. For example, Sacks writes, “Though I was born into a musical household and music has been important to me personally from my earliest years, I did not really encounter music in a clinical context until 1966...” (248). These little comments about his personal life and experiences help not only provide Sacks with ethos, but also help him to form a better connection with the reader.

TOW #15- The reason Ebola isn't being stopped by Elizabeth Cohen and John Bonifield (written text)

This article was published by CNN. As a result, is receives automatic ethos since CNN is a well-known, reputable news source. In the beginning of the article, titled, “The reason Ebola isn't being stopped,” the authors, Elizabeth Cohen and John Bonifield, introduce the main subject, Rebecca Levine. Before they even state her name, they provide the reader with some background information about Levine that contributes to Levine’s ethos, stating that Levine went to Princeton University and that the topic of contact tracing has been something that has interested her for many years. This provides the authors of the article with a reputable expert who they can follow and from whom they can share the concept of Ebola tracking and why there are still continuing Ebola cases. The hook of the article is very effective.  It begins by alluding to books that are fantasy instances of widespread diseases, such as The Hot Zone and Virus Hunters, similar to the real-life situation the world is currently facing with Ebola. This draws the readers in to the article by forcing them to wonder what connection an Ivy League graduate and these pandemic books have to the world news. Additionally, the title adds to this by answering a frequently asked question amongst the general population about when the Ebola pandemic will end, and why hasn’t it stopped yet. The purpose of the article is to portray to the readers the answers to these questions. The article does this by referencing the expert from Princeton University who has spent her whole life (practically) studying issues like this. The article ends by showing Rebecca Levine’s contributions to ending the Ebola outbreak, and how her contributions have impacted the African cities that had previously not been taking action, either because of cultural fears (such as thinking of being taken under quarantine for safety as a death sentence) or because of lack of resources (such as the contract tracers not being able to complete their jobs because of the lack of addresses and the mismatched streets that make it difficult to track carriers of Ebola). 

 http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/11/health/ebola-contact-tracing/index.html