Chantal Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Hello everyone, For my business communications lecture class one of the main components of the course is a research paper on whatever we want. The only guidelines are it can't be my own opinion (logically) and must be a topic with creditable information "You must draw on at least three journal articles (from at least one academic and two respected publications. Since I'm new the the BC world and awaiting a puppy (and the fact that all my time is spent researching border collies for the last few months) I thought it would be an excellent choice to center my paper around this breed. so what i'm asking is what popular arguments or topics are around in the BC world, I've heard of a few but I'd like to pick a really good topic with lots of information available and If someone could point me towards the right direction for information and websites. thanks all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in2adventure Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Hmmmmm........that's a huge can of worms to open up Lots of arguments and opinions abound about our favorite breed I think - JMO - a good topic to write about would be the argument of whether BC's should have been made AKC registerable. Good luck with your paper. I'll keep my fingers crossed you get an A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chantal Posted February 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 I think - JMO - a good topic to write about would be the argument of whether BC's should have been made AKC registerable. thanks, i was actually thinking of something along those lines from what I've read there seems to be a lot of debate on that topic and lots of good information, i could probably even take it a step further and look into the merits of being registered under the akc along with the "non-merits" (i can't think of the right word here...) anyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack & Co. Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 thanks, i was actually thinking of something along those lines from what I've read there seems to be a lot of debate on that topic and lots of good information, i could probably even take it a step further and look into the merits of being registered under the akc along with the "non-merits" (i can't think of the right word here...) anyone else? Make sure you know what side the BC Boards are on. Not too sure what the "merits" of AKC registration might be......from the READ THIS FIRST sticky at the top of the General section: Border collies should not be registered with the AKC. The AKC recognized the border collie in 1994, over the protests of the vast majority of border collie owners and organizations in the US. (For more details about the AKC takeover, read this ). But the AKC defines breeds by their appearance, and encourages and rewards breeding for appearance. This is okay for some breeds, but is detrimental to a breed like the border collie, which has always been defined and shaped by its work. Because the AKC is so influential in the dog world, our only hope to preserve the integrity of the border collie--to keep it a useful working dog, in contrast to the many AKC breeds which were once useful working dogs but are no longer--is to keep it separate and apart from the AKC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stockdogranch Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Hmmm..."research paper"--is it supposed to be an academic argument, or an informative paper, or what? A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chantal Posted February 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 it's a paper open to whatever really. If it's an opinion I have to show two sides and conclude with what I think after doing the research. The goal of this course is more focused on the process of doing a paper, grammar, spelling and different ways to conduct research. So with that in mind, it's a very loose and open research paper just focusing on the skills used in the process more then the indepth-ness of the topic. The final paper also has to be read as a speech since it is a business communications class it focusses more on the affective ways I know what side 99% of the members on this board are, i've been lurking for a long time learning about the breed and seeing if it's what I really want to get into (and it is ) and i side with this percentage aswell, but i'm a newb so my siding means nothing but only going by what I read and the knowledge I have been acquiring about the AKC, specifically in regards to BC as I haven't explored other breeds for my interest does not lie there. And I did read the "read first" sticky, and mostly everything on the bordercollie.org website, it's from there I was pointed to the boards. So topics doesn't matter, just looking for something that let's me learn more. I won't be posting anything but questions here, nothing that I can start a flame with just looking for examples from the past and some facts that i can put on paper but mostly for my own knowledge. I'm canadian so I may focus more on the ckc, but i'm assuming they take more of a stance alongside the akc right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc friend Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Something that doesn't discussed much on the Boards but really pushes my buttons is the attempts to create "mini' bc's. What is the purpose? In general, a tinier version is not going to be able to successfully work livestock and there are already plenty of small dog breeds who successfully participate in dog sports. Before I start really ranting, I'll shut up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Chantal. I'm sure that Wait, Wait. Don't Tell Me, the NPR new quiz, is not a valid reference. But one of their questions this week-end had to do with the fact that breeding confirmation dogs (AKC/CKC) has significantly dumbed down the various breeds. So, I'm sure that you could find the news article, which had to come out this week to be used in the quiz, online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloRiver Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 I doubt you'll find a suitable topic concerning Border Collies if you have to cite at least three journal articles as sources. Expand your focus to "dogs" in general and then you'll have a better shot at it. As far as giving you a topic, I think part of the point of the assignment is for you to learn how to identify and pursue a suitable research topic, so just handing you one would defeat that purpose. Try to figure out what interests you about dogs (health? breeding? history of domestication? modern uses?) and then start doing literature searches and see if any of these topics has been discussed in the academic literature. You'll probably find that some of these topics are better covered than others and that will help you decide which one to pursue. Have fun. Identifying interesting topics to research is one of the funnest parts of doing research. My favorite college research paper was for a communication class: I did an analysis of the treatment of mortality on the TV show Northern Exposure (best. show. ever.) and, by extension, the NX philosophy on the meaning of life. The research involved watching every episode that someone died in, which was a lot of them, and doing literature searches (mostly LEXIS/NEXIS and mainstream media, although NX was a fairly popular topic for mass media analysis at the time). My second favorite college research paper was about the use of hallucinogenic toads by the ancient Maya. I got As on both of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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