After the rise of the modern day street car, the means by which people traveled across the country transformed. Instead of walking, biking, or trains, citizens could simply hop into a car and traverse unprecedented distances with relative simplicity. However, without an advanced understanding of the environmental effects of mass vehicle usage, cities, suburbs, and countrysides began to form around the concept of personal transportation. As cities and suburbs grew, they lacked the implementation of favorable, alternative means of transportation, thus leading to cultural norms of singular vehicle usage. Today, how the average person moves from place to place is highly inefficient. The amount of fuel wasted and carbon produced by person is typically unknown, yet grossly high. To continue on this same road would mean self destruction. However, there are multiple opportunities to change this. To begin, by analyzing and informing the public on the present travel usage one can make apparent the current problems. Without a basic understanding of the failures, it is impossible to make change. Also, public policy on wasteful habits should be put into place, such as a tax on carbon emissions. Furthermore, people need better technological options. Cars, as of now, are one of the easiest means to get from place to place. Unless public transportation, such as bike sharing, car sharing, buses, trains, or rail cars, is able to allow easy movement, people will fall back on laziness. Human-friendlier urban designs which are not centered around cars can promote alternative means. For most public transportation, you have to walk the last leg of your trip. If this is an pretty walk, compared to a unsafe and dirty one, many more people will opt in. With these new introductions, it is possible to reverse the current trend.
Stasis theory is a four-question, pre-writing (invention) process developed in ancient Greece by Aristotle and Hermagoras. Later, the stases were refined by Roman rhetoricians, such as Cicero, Quintilian, and Hermogenes. Working through the four stasis questions encourages knowledge building that is important for research, writing, and for working in teams. Stasis theory helps writers conduct critical analyses of the issues they are investigating.
Specifically, stasis theory asks writers to investigate and try to determine:
Fact
Specifically, stasis theory asks writers to investigate and try to determine:
- The facts (conjecture)
- The meaning or nature of the issue (definition)
- The seriousness of the issue (quality)
- The plan of action (policy).
- The four basic stasis categories may be broken down into a number of questions and subcategories to help researchers, writers, and people working together in teams to build information and compose communication. The stases also help people to agree on conclusions, and they help identify where people do not agree. Here are the stases and some questions you can ask to help you conduct research, write, and work toward solving problems:
Fact
- Did something happen?
- What are the facts?
- Is there a problem/issue?
- How did it begin and what are its causes?
- What changed to create the problem/issue?
- Can it be changed?
- What is the nature of the problem/issue?
- What exactly is the problem/issue?
- What kind of a problem/issue is it?
- To what larger class of things or events does it belong?
- What are its parts, and how are they related?
- Who/what is influencing our definition of this problem/issue?
- How/why are these sources/beliefs influencing our definition?
- Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
- How serious is the problem/issue?
- Whom might it affect (stakeholders)?
- What happens if we don't do anything?
- What are the costs of solving the problem/issue?
- Who/what is influencing our determination of the seriousness of this problem/issue?
- How/why are these sources/beliefs influencing our determination?
- Should action be taken?
- Who should be involved in helping to solve the problem/address the issue?
- What should be done about this problem?
- What needs to happen to solve this problem/address this issue?
- Who/what is influencing our determination of what to do about this problem/issue?
- How/why are these sources/beliefs influencing our determination?