Analysis and Application of the Kensington Laptop Lock

For my engineered part I chose to describe and observe Kensington Laptop Locks and how students on campus use them. I observed three different ways in which the lock is being applied, and how the application of the steel fastener could be improved upon. I learned from my observations as I have never considered the differing ways in which the device is used or the improvements that could be made to the lock. The video posted explains the device in detail, common uses, and the idea I have to improve the design and use.

Toulmin Model Applied to Littering on Campus

Walking around campus I noticed that there is a problem of littering. When walking around campus, it is not unusual to find a lone PowerAde bottle or a crumpled piece of paper lying on the ground. Every day I walk to many of my classes by taking the path from the six-pack that leads behind the business building and towards the quad. For the last two weeks, every time I have walked down that path I have noticed the same bottle in the same spot since the day someone dropped it. It is ridiculous sometimes how much trash is scattered along sidewalks and the streets of our campus, and it seems like little is being done to reduce the problem. It seems like there is not an adequate number of garbage cans on campus. I feel that if there were more garbage cans, people would more likely throw away their trash. On Green Street I noticed there is a garbage can that is solar powered and uses the gathered energy to compact the trash inside. I haven’t seen any other ”green” cans like this one on campus, but I feel that if the university added more garbage cans, more of these models should be introduced. This would help the university staff complete the task of emptying an increased number of garbage cans at a manageable rate.

Claim: By adding more garbage cans/ “green” cans to the campus, more people on campus with throw away their trash and less littering will occur.

Grounds: With more garbage cans, people will be enticed to put their trash in the garbage and not on the ground. With the availability of “green” garbage cans, staff will not be overwhelmed and money will be saved in the removal of trash.

Warrant: By increasing the ease of access to garbage cans, people will throw away their trash more frequently.

Backing: With anything in life, the easier something can be carried out, the more frequently it will occur. I have seen people throwing garbage in garbage cans, and when none are easily accessible, I have seen people simply litter.

Qualifier: Some people will continue to litter regardless of how easy it is to throw away their trash due to a lack of interest.