User:Curtisag/sandbox

Week 1: Wikipedia Training

Completed all training listed as a part of the "Getting started on Wikipedia" module.

Week 2: Evaluation & Discussion

Article Evaluation

When looking at the Wikipedia page entitled Julia Pastrana, I noticed that reference #4 which appears as follows has two broken links:

"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-05-31. Retrieved 2016-08-11.

I am unsure which source this reference corresponds with since there is no author or title listed for the source referenced. Another source listed as #3 is cited as coming from the organization BuzzFeed. Nowadays, BuzzFeed has shifted to become more of a news platform, but I am unsure of its reliability as a source for historical information. How does one determine the legitimacy of an organization where seemingly pertinent information is found? Under the heading "Life and career," the first few sentences reference historical excerpts and facts but have no citation or reference listed. Later on in this heading, there are citations listed, so I am unsure if this source was also used for the first part where no citations are referenced. Under the "Music" heading, there are no in-text citations listed verifying the existence of multiple songs based on Julia Pastrana.

The information included on this page is neutral overall, but almost seems to have a bias to using sources treating Julia Pastrana as a spectacle and specimen to examine. While acknowledgment of this part of Pastrana's life completes the narrative, I wonder if there are any firsthand accounts or comments recorded by Pastrana herself. Although, there may not be any such records due to her status as a slave/property. Perhaps there are recordings somewhere from her family and a section about her family could be added to the page. Currently, there is only a couple sentences regarding her son but no other information about her family or familal inheritance of her genetic conditions.

A sub-heading under the heading "Medical examinations" may be helpful to elaborate on the potential genetic conditions Julia Pastrana had influencing her unique appearance. Maybe some data on the frequency of these conditions would be helpful too since this page goes into depth about how she was viewed as being this never before seen anomaly.

I have also noted that this page has a relatively short talk page and is a part of WikiProject Mexico, WikiProject Biography, and WikiProject Women's History but is overall rated as C-class and of low importance.

Group Discussion

Cindy:

In the article Cat anatomy, there is a huge lack of citations in the muscle sections of the article. Could this be due to the lack of scholarly articles?

Allie - I noticed that this article (Cat anatomy) is a bit inconsistent in organization. Some sections are divided into multiple sub-headings while others have many paragraphs with no sub-headings. The Digestive system heading is an example where I think improvements could be made to better integrate each heading of the page into a more cohesive, singular page. Cindy, you may be right in guessing there are few scholarly articles because I noticed an overall lack of citations in general for this heading when compared to the rest of the page. Curtisag (talk) 05:52, 26 February 2021 (UTC)

Anessa:

In the article Shark, some of the research papers referenced are 10-20 years old. Is there any more recent research on shark biology and different types of tissue?

Also, the organization of the photos/captions at the top of the article was distracting - it seems like it would be more logical to order the captions for the photos from left to right and top to bottom, since they're organized in rows. As is, it's distracting to have to try to figure out which name goes with which shark species.

Cindy - even if the information was initially found on a non-scholarly source, most places will link back to scientific articles or books. I feel like in the age of the Internet (and even more so now with COVID), people are more likely to skip over sources that aren't easily accessible (i.e. physical textbooks and journals). Not having any sources at all can make the article a dead end for people (especially students like us who have been told that the citations on Wikipedia and other websites can be a good starting place for research). Kanessa192 (talk) 23:11, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

Allie - When looking at the long list of citations for the Shark page, I also noticed that there were some older references which isn't necessarily concerning. However, I also noticed some areas where citation was still needed. I also wonder whether anyone has gone through some of the older references to check for outdated information. Maybe some citations got left on the list even though the information/data has since changed. Also, the section on brooding is very short, so I wonder if this section can be expanded upon using sources already used. Maybe adding a bit to the Heading entitled "Life History" about the general life cycle of sharks would be a good addition. Curtisag (talk) 05:15, 26 February 2021 (UTC)

Allie:

In the article I selected about Julia Pastrana who participated in various freak shows to make a living, there is little to no discussion of her self-claimed gender identity. Could this be a bias that doesn't take personal narrative into account?

Week 3: Add to/Edit an Article

Group Discussion: Plagiarism

• Blog posts and press releases are not good sources of reliable references because of their inherent bias and ulterior motive behind creating the piece. Often, they are influenced by income/personal gain versus neutral facts.
• A company's personal site is not a good main source because their main motive when creating the site is profit from consumers instead of a neutral history of their company. Their website also will not highlight any information or history about the company that would be bad for their overall image to consumers like scandals or poor business choices.
• Copyright violation includes the direct copying of someone else's expressions, words, images, etcetera in your own work without the creator's permission while plagiarism, although it can include direct copying, focuses on the act of not citing another individual's source that you use when creating your own work.
• To avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism:
  • Take notes when reading a source in your sandbox rephrasing information from the source you're reading
  • Cite any information you could not have written without a source
  • Have a copy of your source properly cited in your sandbox with your notes on that source

Feedback: Discussion

• Nice work here and great redirects to the specific page you made for Julia Pastrana.
• See that page for more feedback.Osquaesitor (talk) 22:21, 9 March 2021 (UTC)

Week 4: Article Selections to Determine Group Dissections

Potential Wikipedia Pages to Edit

Owl article

Working on the Owl article interests me because of both personal interest in these unique carnivorous birds and potential areas for improvement on the main page. The sub-heading entitled "Sexual dimorphism" is in need of some citations, and the "Anatomy" heading could potentially have a section about skeletal structures added. Some associated pages to edit could be Tytonidae and Barn Owl which overlap greatly and seem a bit inconsistent. The subheading entitled "Adaptations for hunting" and second subheading "Beak" also need citations. The fossil record is also scarce, and I wonder if any updated information could be added to extinct species found in the fossil record like in the associated article Ogygoptynx.

Disorders of sex development article

The article interests me to due to its broad depth and applicability to my Capstone project which I have been collecting primary literature for that could potentially be useful for updating this article. I noticed that the main page does not have much cultural or historical information regarding individuals with differences in sex development. I would be interested in working on the associated page XX male syndrome since I have been looking into the SRY gene for my Capstone project. There is also no mention of sex reversal through the Wnt pathway under the heading titled "Conditions". The associated page Intersex medical interventions could be edited with information about the International Classification of Disease and potential issues and federal implications of referring the intersex conditions as "disorders". Additionally, the subheading on "Genital anatomy" is quite brief and has associated pages without any sources included (see Primordial phallus).

Sex differences in psychology article

This article in particular also connects to areas of personal interest in my Capstone project and focuses on the psychology of the Homo sapiens species within the class Mammalia. Notably, the heading entitled "Possible causes" is in need of many citations, and the secondary subheading entitles "Epigenetics" could be updated since many more studies examining epigenetic influence on sexual differences in psychologically. The subheading "Culture" also is in need of expansion and more citations while the subheading "Development of gender identity" uses bias language and relies heavily on one patient case. Associated pages Sex differences in memory and Sex differences in intelligence. Another page that could be linked to this article is the page Mental disorders and gender which could be linked to the subheading "Mental health".

Week 5:

Suggested Additional Citations for Bird anatomy page

The section I will focus on editing is listed below with potential sources to add.

Vertebral column

The vertebral column is divided into five sections of vertebrae:

• Cervical (11–25): (neck)
• Trunk: (dorsal or thoracic) vertebrae usually fused in the notarium.
• Synsacrum: (fused vertebrae of the back also fused to the hips/pelvis). This region is similar to the sacrum in mammals and is unique in the pigeon because it is a fusion of the sacral, lumbar, and caudal vertebra. It is attached to the pelvis and supports terrestrial locomotion of the pigeon's legs.
• Caudal (5–10): This region is similar to the coccyx in mammals and helps control the movement of feathers during flight.
• Pygostyle (tail): This region is made up of 4 to 7 fused vertebrae and is the point of feather attachment.

~

The chest consists of the furcula (wishbone) and coracoid (collar bone), which, together with the scapula, form the pectoral girdle. The side of the chest is formed by the ribs, which meet at the sternum (mid-line of the chest).

Potential new sources include:

• Storer, Robert W. (1982). "Fused Thoracic Vertebrae in Birds: Their Occurrence and Possible Significance." Journal of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology. 14(2-3): 86-95. doi.org/10.3312/jyio1952.14.86.
• Rashid, Dana J.; Chapman, Susan C.; Larsson, Hans C.E.; Organ, Chris L.; Bebin, Anne-Gaelle; Merzdorf, Christa S.; Bradley, Roger; Horner, John R. (29-07-2014). "From dinosaurs to birds: a tail of evolution." EvoDevo Journal. 5: 25. doi.org/10.1186/2041-9139-5-25.

Week 6: First Draft of Bird Anatomy Article Edits

Skeleton of a Avestruz alta specimen with the vertebral column highlighted in green.

Skeleton of a Avestruz alta specimen with the vertebral column highlighted in green.

Vertebral column

The vertebral column is divided into five sections of vertebrae:

Diagram of a general bird pelvic girdle skeleton including the lower vertebral column sections. Note that the caudal vertebrae (5-10) are not fused in this diagram but can be in certain species.

• Cervical (11–25): (neck)
• Trunk: (dorsal or thoracic) vertebrae usually fused in the notarium.
• Synsacrum: (fused vertebrae of the back also fused to the hips/pelvis). This region is similar to the sacrum in mammals and is unique in the pigeon because it is a fusion of the sacral, lumbar, and caudal vertebra. It is attached to the pelvis and supports terrestrial locomotion of the pigeon's legs.
• Caudal (5–10): This region is similar to the coccyx in mammals and helps control the movement of feathers during flight.
• Pygostyle (tail): This region is made up of 4 to 7 fused vertebrae and is the point of feather attachment.

~

The chest consists of the furcula (wishbone) and coracoid (collar bone) which, together with the scapula, form the pectoral girdle; the side of the chest is formed by the ribs, which meet at the sternum (mid-line of the chest).

Week 8: Peer Review of Group Sandboxes

Herpetologists

Overall, the work seems to be evenly distributed between you all. I'm not sure if Olunia is working on multiple articles or if those are for later, but the work seems equal when looking at just the Axolotl suggestions.

User:Abbieloring

Description

Do you plan on adding more intext citations to the paragraph? It might be nice to have more than one source and/or cite the same one for other info in the paragraph.

Distribution and Habitat

"Agalychnis callidryas also require high humidity levels of at least 80%."

Don't forget to italicize species names!

Behavior

I'm not really sure what the quotations are in this paragraph. Are you able to quoting as part of your edit? Is this quoted because it's a copyedit from the original page?

Diet

Are you adding information about Diet? I see the subheading is listed.

Reproduction

Did you add any outside sources not previously used? I didn't see any sources listed in your Outline section.

User:Brownkr

"Turtle anatomy includes both an internal and external skeleton. The external skeleton is comprised of a bony shell which serves as protection. The internal skeleton makes up structures such as the flippers and facilitates the anchoring of muscles." I edited some grammar including commas and weird capitalizations. It might be good to specify that Pleurodira and Cryptodires are suborders. The term "subgroups" might be confusing.

Head

"Their tongues are used to help swallow their food, however are not able to be outstretched." <This sentence structure is a bit odd.

Shell

"The shell inside differs from the outside. Inside the shell is composed of many bones including ribs and vertebras, whereas the outside is composed of scutes. Scutes are a keratinized part of the epidermis and are similar in structure to scales of other reptiles, and are made of keratin." <I don't think the first sentence here is necessary because the next two sentences are good. I also fixed some grammar.

Respiration

A photo showing all the organs connecting to the lungs would be helpful.

Skin and molting

"The rest of the body is covered in smaller scales, similar to other reptile's scales, which are made of keratin." <Aren't scutes also made of keratin?

Limbs

"Tortoises have two fewer phalanges on each of their feet, do not have webbed hind feet, have hind limbs made of elephantine, and have less wrist mobility than that of aquatic turtles." <Potential new sentence structure for better flow. You might want to format the second citation listed in your Outline section as a book instead of a website. Have you used the citation tools for the new sources you list? I'm having trouble telling, and I couldn't find the article "Turtle Mating Systems: Behavior, Sperm Storage, and Genetic Paternity" listed in the references.

User:Knowl8dge

Description

Does your elaboration on buccal pumping use the same source listed as 28 on your group sandbox citations?

Habitat and Ecology

Why did you want to add quotations around "the fresh water"? Are these lakes actually high in salinity?

Neoteny

It might make sense to include neoteny as a subheading under the section about model organism since neoteny is somewhat lab-bred. Do they have a good image in the original page for neoteny already? You could add one if they don't.

Other

I'm a bit confused by the other articles listed in your Outlines section. Are those other articles you are interested in editing later?

Mammologists

User:Blfaubion

Limbs and Skull and teeth

Maybe you'll have some luck finding sources on UBISCO or WorldCat looking up Perissodactyla. If you can't find any general info, maybe look up some specific odd-toed undulates.

Reproduction and development

I like that you added a definition for the jargon used because I definitely didn't know what "precocial" meant. I'm not sure the addition of "begin too" is necessary but go for it if it helps with the flow and writing style of the page better.

Lifespan

Is there supposed to be a link where it says "potentially this source"?

Other

I think you might have a typo when talking about potential horse anatomy images to add.

I see that there is an evolution section on the page for Perissodactyla, and I definitely think explaining the evolution anatomically would be a good addition to this section!

Sources

I'm not sure why some of the references listed are bolded; maybe this is just a way of you organizing them all. I'd love to see you incorporating these sources into in-text citations for some of your proposed edits.