Thursday, January 28, 2016

Evaluation of New York Times Stories

This blog post will explore two separate New York Times reports regarding both science and health. By clicking on the titles of these article you can further investigate each.

Ninth Planet May Exist Beyond Pluto, Scientist Report

Q: Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the story at all? What role do they play?
A: The "main characters" of this article are Dr. Michael E. Brown and Professor Konstantin Batygin. These men theorize the existence of another planet beyond Pluto. They believe this is true based off of trends they have observed over time of the perpendicular orbit of other small asteroids or bodies that correlates with a larger body (planet) pushing them away from its orbit.

Q: Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.
A:There is no specific setting explicitly stated in the article but this could have occurred at NASA, or in California where Dr. Brown and Professor Batygin currently work. The author of this article, Kenneth Chang, works for the New York Times, is based out of New York for his work, but he did attend the University of California, Santa Cruz so it is possible he traveled to meet up with the two discoverers in California.

Q: Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?
A: There is not much debate on this story so much as lack of information on the subject. People working around Dr. Brown and Professor Batygin believed they did not know enough on the subject and that it was someone else's field of expertise so they could not come to a solid conclusion on their own of whether or not the discovery trend was because of another planet or just a fluke.

Putt, K. "Space Engine" 01/02/2014 via flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic


Panel Calls for Depression Screenings Before and After Pregnancy

Q: Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the story at all? What role do they play?
A: There is not one "main character" of this article, instead there are many accounts from different women that have or had postpartum depression. Also there are accounts from doctors and professionals. This article's purpose is mainly to raise awareness about postpartum depression and how it is becoming a more talked about subject. With this in mind, the author of the article acquires many first hand accounts and expert opinions on the subject.

Q: Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.
A: Since there is not one central character, rather many short personal accounts, there is not one specified setting. Judging by how comfortable the women's accounts are, these interviews may have taken place at the person's home. This would make them feel safe and almost encourage them sharing more about their personal lives and experiences.

Q: Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?
A: The only "controversy" happening in this particular article is the mention of the past beliefs regarding postpartum depression. Previous experts believed that labeling a woman mentally ill after the birth of her child would embarrass her more than help. Recent commonality of postpartum depression talk is bringing about the surprising fact that many women suffer from PPD. Some say having a label, knowing they have a problem, and being able to address is has greatly helped them on the road to recovery.
Tonnis, Christiaan. "Female Warrior #10 "The last Battle"" 06/02/2009 via flickr. Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic



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