Succor for the Distraught, Support for the Deserted, Solutions for the Deprived Users of Abandoned OSS
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? If software does not benefit users, does it even matter? Presently, users are facing a dilemma choosing between open source and proprietary software. Although open source software (OSS) offers many benefits, it has been struggling with abandonment. One study shows that, on average, 33% of all commercial software projects are abandoned, while nearly 67% of all OSS projects are abandoned (Bieman 290). If OSS is to remain useful, if OSS is to have any significance, this high r
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The Truth About Our Mental Health Professionals
When combating stigma and negative attitudes towards mental illness, a commonly accepted solution is to educate the general population about mental illness and foster greater connections between the public and people who suffer from mental illness. According to the studies discussed in this paper, a “negative attitude” may include stigmatization, doubting another’s capabilities, social distancing, dehumanization, and supporting restrictions of people with mental illnesses.
Articles copyright © 2024 the original authors. No part of the contents of this Web journal may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission from the author or the Academic Writing Program of the University of Maryland. The views expressed in these essays do not represent the views of the Academic Writing Program or the University of Maryland.
Citizen Journalism is Not Yet Credible Enough to Carry Out Its Goals
In the past decade, with the rise of social media sites, blogs and file-sharing sites like YouTube, citizen journalists on the Internet have begun exploring the ever-expanding broadcasting powers at their disposal. According to the definition set by Dr. Joyce Nip of the Hong Kong Baptist University, citizen journalism is media content created out of a professional context (218). Lauded by its creators as a voice to the voiceless, citizen journalism has goals that are certainly admirable: Dr.
Articles copyright © 2024 the original authors. No part of the contents of this Web journal may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission from the author or the Academic Writing Program of the University of Maryland. The views expressed in these essays do not represent the views of the Academic Writing Program or the University of Maryland.
#IMFanGirling: Third Party Interest in Relationships and the Growing Lack of Privacy in Social Media
My sister and her boyfriend have the same names as the characters from the movie The Notebook. When a girl from our high school realized this, she tweeted, “I JUST REALIZED ALLIE AND NOAH GO OUT AND THAT MEANS #THENOTEBOOK #IMFANGIRLING okbye” (Sievers). They were horrified. Although they have tried to avoid becoming one of those “annoying couples” – graciously withholding posts about the intimate details of their blossoming relationship - sometimes friends, colleagues, and acquaintances have posted sappy details for them.
Articles copyright © 2024 the original authors. No part of the contents of this Web journal may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission from the author or the Academic Writing Program of the University of Maryland. The views expressed in these essays do not represent the views of the Academic Writing Program or the University of Maryland.
"No Big Deal": The Prevalence and Acceptability of Nonmedical Use of Prescription Drugs on College Campuses
Throughout my orientation program and first few weeks at the University of Maryland as a freshman, I remember being showered with information about various health and safety issues I might encounter in college. This included a mandatory alcohol education course, details of the security measures in place on campus, and a very basic summary of the university’s drug policy.
Articles copyright © 2024 the original authors. No part of the contents of this Web journal may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission from the author or the Academic Writing Program of the University of Maryland. The views expressed in these essays do not represent the views of the Academic Writing Program or the University of Maryland.
“Wrong, very rightly wrong”: Being wrong in Beckett’s Trilogy and How It Is
And truly it little matters what I say, this or that or any other thing. Saying is inventing. Wrong, very rightly wrong. (Molloy 27)
Articles copyright © 2024 the original authors. No part of the contents of this Web journal may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission from the author or the Academic Writing Program of the University of Maryland. The views expressed in these essays do not represent the views of the Academic Writing Program or the University of Maryland.
“I believe we must have the sort of power over you that we’re said to have over horses”: Virginia Woolf, Feminism, and Horses
‘I believe we must have the sort of power over you that we’re said to have over horses. They see us three times as big as we are or they’d never obey us. For that very reason, I’m inclined to doubt that you’ll ever do anything even when you have the vote.’ (Virginia Woolf, The Voyage Out)
Articles copyright © 2024 the original authors. No part of the contents of this Web journal may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission from the author or the Academic Writing Program of the University of Maryland. The views expressed in these essays do not represent the views of the Academic Writing Program or the University of Maryland.
The Trouble of Incest in Shakespeare’s Late Plays: King Lear and Pericles
Pericles has been viewed until recent critical history as a solid member of Shakespeare’s ‘romances’, plays which combined both tragic and comic elements. However, more informed recent discussion of the late plays has acknowledged the danger in attempting at all to apply a set genre to this group of plays.
Articles copyright © 2024 the original authors. No part of the contents of this Web journal may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission from the author or the Academic Writing Program of the University of Maryland. The views expressed in these essays do not represent the views of the Academic Writing Program or the University of Maryland.
The Impossible Figure of Woman in ‘Araby’
What is in a name? In the realm of literature, its absence has the power to silence the voice, suppress the identity, and impose passivity upon the character. The anonymous character occupies a negative space, functioning as an “abstract ‘Other’ whose concrete and tangible distinction is unintelligible, unknowable, inarticulable, and inarticulate” (Frye 996). Historically, anonymity has been employed as a tool of oppression in the gender politics of the unnamed character.
Articles copyright © 2024 the original authors. No part of the contents of this Web journal may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission from the author or the Academic Writing Program of the University of Maryland. The views expressed in these essays do not represent the views of the Academic Writing Program or the University of Maryland.
Are You at the Mercy of the Music You Listen to?
I remember the moment exactly. I was sitting on my bed, listening to my iPod when the song “Unfaithful” by Rihanna began to play. Like hundreds of times before, I found myself singing along to the lyrics. However, for some indescribable reason, this time I realized what I was singing about. The lyrics describe a woman having an affair and, not only does she cheat on her boyfriend, she blatantly lies to his face about it. This song promotes infidelity and lying yet, to my surprise, I had never noticed its message before.
Articles copyright © 2024 the original authors. No part of the contents of this Web journal may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission from the author or the Academic Writing Program of the University of Maryland. The views expressed in these essays do not represent the views of the Academic Writing Program or the University of Maryland.