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ENG 101 -- Class Notes   
Session 8  
Thu. 10/13  
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TO DOs:  

1) Combining Sentences with Subordination (20 min.)

2) View short video clips on Apple's iPad (an 'ideal' advertisement vs. the realities of how these devices are actually made.) (20 min.)  
  
3) Work in the 21st Century -- Part 1 -- How Is Your iPhone Made?

Reading and Group Work on our main reading for today "In China, Human Costs Are Built-in to an iPad (20 min. Reading + 30 min. questions + 15 min. discussion)  

  

  

  

  

  
  
Today's Objectives  
  
1)	More thinking about work in the 21st century.  
  
2)	More evidence on whether factory work today is easier / safer / better paid than in the past.  
  
3)	Make connections between photos and written texts. (Everyone will be doing this for Essay #3 -- after the Midterm on 11/1.)  

  

  

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As you watch these videos, take notes.... ('active viewing')  
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**Does the video on the FoxConn plant agree or disagree with the portrayal of these factories in "In China, Human Costs Are Built-In to an iPad" NY Times article? Which source has more of an 'argument' or 'opinion'? Which seems more 'professional' or 'trustworthy' ('worth your trust')? 
Why?  

 
  
ABC --> Journalist was careful to not offend Apple       Pros of it -- Shows the dorms....  
  
citizen journalist -->   
Foxconn --> Chinese --   
Apple is a control-freak company -- didn;t they know?  

  

  

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"In China, Human Costs are Built-In to an iPad," a New York Times article by Duhigg and Barboza (pp. 83+ in the Course Pack)  
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1) Why do you think the authors open up this article with a description of an explosion in a Foxconn plant? Why did the explosion occur? What does it suggest about safety conditions at these factories? What are some problems   with living and working conditions for workers at these factories? Do you think the journalists are being fair in their tone and their use of evidence here?   
*Answers

The authors started off with the explosion because it’s dramatic and realistic.   
**60 hours a week -- 12 hour a day -- 13 days in a row -- earning about $1 hour.  
  
NO UNIONS  
  
Underage labor is a problem. Apple has looked away from this problem.  
  
Suicides because of the stress. Living conditions....  
  
*The authors use the explosion as a hook to get our interest.  
**Overall working conditions are horrible: extensive overtime  
13 days / 12 hour shift  
***Crowded -- lack of safety equipment / no ventilation with aluminum dust   
**Low wages < $1 an hour -- back in 2012 -- now $1+  **Opens with the explosion to show dangerous conditions. CASE STUDY -- Lao Xiaodong was a victim --  
  
Traces his story -- rural China -- job in Foxconn -- condition - accident -- mother's picture on p. 74  
  
Personalizes the story -- millions of workers in these plants  
  
One story -- grab us?  
  
Harsh conditions -- long hours!!!  
Repetitive tasks / redundant Mentally exhausting Stand up!  
  
Living conditions -- dorms -- crowded -- 7 per room  
Riots -- suicides -- SUICIDE NETS  
These young workers are, but they can't move on -- no other options  
  
**The explosion suggests that the conditions are not safe -- people know this but they still have these jobs....  
**Connections to Andrew Curry -- we work because we have to....  
Rural areas   
  
Propaganda of the work banners  
  
In 2010, Foxconn employees work 13 days in a row for less than $1  
  
In 2013, 7 or 8 days, $1.xx per hour.  
  
Journalists should be independent -- but you have to watch out if your company has alliances with Apple!  
  
CITIZEN JOURNALIST -- Video by an actual worker  
  
**Same thing -- makes you want to read on....  
Injury -- lede -- lead in -- hook!!!  
People want drama!  
**Explosion in the iPad plant with aluminum particles with spark  

2) Journalists often use interviews and personal stories for evidence and use these personal experience to comment on larger questions and themes. (This is just like our personal essays from our Across Culture anthology!) Briefly tell us the story of Lai Xaidong on pp. 86-87. Why do you think the journalists include this ‘case study’ or personal story? Is it effective?   
*INTERVIEW  n = 1  
  
PERSONAL NARRATIVE n = 1  
  
Unlike statistics, we can relate to personal life experience. We connect to one person’s story.  

*Answers

  
**College graduate who took job with Foxconn to make more money…  
***We relate to it more -- it’s a way for the reader to 
understand this story…. **We like personal stories  NOT JUST FACTS  
 
‘STORY’ -- Let's us imagine and understand and empathize.  
  
Recent ‘cognitive science’ suggests the human brain is ‘hard-wired’ to like stories, and to make sense of the world through stories / narratives….  
  
3)	For a few minutes, look over any of the photos that accompany this article. Choose one photo and read it  carefully for us. Use the caption and do some ‘close reading’ to describe what is in the photo. What does this photo add to the print story? What new or important information does it contain?   
*Answers

**We see the Foxconn workers’ everyday life and pain. **Set the tone or mood of the article -- negative Net to grab the audience -- dramatic!!  
  
4)	Challenge Question: Journalists are supposed to be  objective and fair in their reporting. Do you think the journalists in this article are balanced in their approach to telling this story? Do they seem to argue for ways in which the conditions in the plants in China could be improved? Is Apple Corporation fair to its employees? Does it show respect toward manual or factory laborers in the 21st century? How can you tell?   
Finally, does reading this piece make you think differently about iPhones or iPads? Do you think most   Americans are concerned with the way their products are manufactured overseas?   
*Answers

**Journalists were fair in exposing the truth....  
This piece might change people's attitudes toward iPads.... **hot-button issues --   
  
vs. Apple’s amazing advertising!!!  
  
We can ‘think critically’ about a technology. Not all good / not all bad.  
  
Some Takeaways -- What Did We Learn?  
  
**Look carefully at your Internet sources.  Are they written by 'responsible'  authors and organizations?  The 'anonymous citizen journalist' behind our video is not as 'authoritative' as the The New York Times.  Both sources might be valuable, but you need to check. Be aware of where your information comes from.  
  
**Journalistic articles often use personal stories. As we have seen from Essay #1, personal experience can bring a story to life and engage the reader.  
  
**Looking closely at photos for evidence can help you build an argument using your written texts (just like the NYT article!)  
  
**Work in the 21st century has some real problems. You can use the sources from today as evidence to show that factory work in the 1940s - 1950s was more valued, better paid and more secure.  

  

  

  
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 NEXT TIME -- ***THU. 10/20
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***CLASS DOES NOT MEET ON TUE. 10/18 -- INSTRUCTOR PLANNED TRAVEL!***

1) A Revised Draft is due next week on Thu. 10/20 (11:59 pm). Please upload your paper to our Submit Page:
 
       submit101.lagcconline.com 

Also turn in your completed Peer Editing Worksheet for class participation points -- if you had a draft last Tue.

2) There is an extra credit reading / online questions on Remote Work -- posted today

Alex Janin -- Remote Work Article from the WSJ

 

3) READING: Sarah O’Connor, “Amazon Unpacked,” (COURSE PACK, pp. 80-91) -- More on work in the 21st Century....  
 
This is another longer journalism article. We will read it together in class on Thu. for 20 min., but you may want to read it ahead of time if you need extra time.