Poem

I liked the poem The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost because it focuses on two different paths. Also he talks about how one road is not traveled which could probably mean that everyone is going one way whereas he wants to be different and travel on the less traveled road.

Synthesis Essay Brainstorm

1. Roads and health (disease, noise, pollution, quality of life) (119-121) Routes of man
2. Roads and conflict/control (military and war) (170-171) Routes of Man (173-175) Devils Highway
3. Roads and the economics/ business (transportation, infrastructure, costs)-transportation of goods from one place to another. (19-21) Routes of Man (12-13) Devil's Highway
4.Roads and the environment (nature, ecosystems) (39-40) Routes of Man

Sexual practices, barriers to condom use and its consistent use among long distance truck in Nigeria

This article is about how the spread of HIV/AIDS is spreading erratically because truck drivers in Nigeria are not using condoms.

Traffic-related air quality assessment for open road tolling highway facility.

This article is about how open road toling has been designed as an effective way of smoothing highway traffic and reducing travel delays on toll highways. This design will not only make driving safer, but it will also provide a more healthier living environment.

Association between Noise Exopsure and Blood Pressure and Ischemic Heart Disease: A Meta-analysis

This article examines how road traffic noise can affect a person's blood pressure and cause heart disease.

Newspaper Articles

In the article "Army Closes Three Roads to Gulu Airport" by Cissy Makumbi and James Eriku describe how three important roads to and from Gulu Airport are being closed to motorists to protect them against accidents. In addition, these roads have been closed because terrorists are utilizing the roads to target Uganda.

In the article "Traffic pollution linked to hardened arteries" by Kate Shellnutt she highlights the reason why roads are a major hazard to humans. People that live closer to roads with heavy traffic are more prone to developing heart disease and stroke.

In the article " Plastic Raods Offer Greener Way to Travel in India" by Mridu Khullar, he describes how Ahmed Khan's company in Bangalor, India is solving two problems in India: battered roads and overflowing landfills. His solution is to build streets out of recycled plastic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/business/global/14plastic.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Government Documents

http://www.marines.mil/unit/2ndmardiv/8thmarreg/Pages/Marines,Afghanpolicebuildbasetosecureroads.aspx

This article is about how the Marines and Afghan police have assembled a base to secure the roads.
http://www.tsa.gov/press/happenings/highway_watch.shtm

This article is about how the Transportation Security Administration is protecting 3.8 million miles of roads.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1693477/

This article is about how the eviornment is changing, and how infectious diseases are rising due to the new roads being built in rural Ecuador.

Ideas for research paper

• education
• diseases
• opportunity- brings new ideas
• struggle/poverty
• connections outside your comfort zone

Pictures of Roads

San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge

Negative

   

Response to "Does college make you smarter?"

I think that every university is different, and that the standards in one school maybe higher or lower than in another school. For example, the curriculum in San Francisco State University can be completely different from Texas Tech's curriculum. I would agree that most of the undergraduates do not learn a lot in their first two years of college. There are lots of students that come in to a university with the knowledge of whatever subject they have to take because they were able to retain from learning it in high school. Also the first two years mostly consist of taking general education classes such as your biology, statistics, English, and United States History. College provides students with the opportunity to become familiar with the career they are planning on attaining. College does not necessarily have to make you smarter in multiple subject, but by becoming smarter in a subject that will contribute to your future career that is what students mostly go to college for.

Comparing the three books

The introduction from the book The Routes of Man by Ted Conover, talks about how roads changed the way life is no matter where you are in the world. He uses historical facts like the Roman empire to show that roads can be a disadvantage but also an advantage as well. The creation of these roads led to greater inventions like cars, which resulted in an increase of demand for gas. The Routes of Man is more literal about roads, but in a sense he is talking about roads metaphorically. For example, the road that you choose in life can determine the kind of life you will live. He also talks about the six different roads that are reshaping the world. These six roads can realte to the books The Devil's Highway, and A field Guide to Getting Lost.

The introduction to The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea describes how a group of men attempted to cross the U.S. border, but they had to go on a harsh journey through the Devil's Highway.This introduction could be realted to Ted Conover's book because it shows the struggle that illegal immigrants had to go through in order to sneak into the U.S to have a better life. Especially when he stated that during the start of the California gold rush, hundreds of people endured the pain that the Devil's Highway had presented. According to Conover, roads are an advantage but a disadvantage as well. In the Devil's Highway illegal immigrants are coming into the U.S. which causes turmoil within the U.S. Illegal Immigrants coming into the U.S. is a disadvantage becuase they could bring harmful diseases which was one of Ted Conover's 6 roads.

The introduction of A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit can relate to the book The Devil's Highway. The introduction is mostly about how the things that are unknown to you is usually what you need to discover. This is can connected to the book the Devil's Highway because the people in the Devil's Highway are basically lost, and thier hopes of surviving are slowly decreasing. I think that the introduction of A Field Guide to Getting Lost can be categorized into Conover's second type of road which is isolation vs. progress.