Week 6: Social Connections

With all the advances in technology we are able to do some pretty amazing things.  We can learn about anything from Google, we have the internet on our phones, and we can video chat with someone on the other side of the planet.  According to our textbook Americans use the most internet.  I assume that this is why some people are worried that Americans are becoming more isolated.  I do not understand why they say that only Americans are becoming isolated.  Almost everywhere you go there is internet access.  America does not have some amazing technology that no one else has.  I do believe that we are becoming more isolated because of all this new technology but I do not believe that it is only America, it is everywhere.

I have to agree a little bit with George Ritzer that life is becoming less personal.  We no longer talk to bank tellers when we can get cash and make deposits with an ATM.  We no longer have to go to the mall to shop because we can do it online.  And unfortunately when we want some customer service on the phone we have to wait an hour on hold and press ten different options just to speak to a human being.  Some of us don't even have to go into work because we can do it from home.  I think that face to face interaction is becoming more and more obsolete.  In this sense I do believe that we as a society, not just Americans, are becoming isolated because of technology.

On the other hand, technology has given us some opportunities that we otherwise would not have.  If a group of young school children cannot afford to take a field trip to China they have the internet to learn all about it.  They can see pictures, movies, learn the language, culture, and cuisine of a place they would not be able to visit in person.  Technology has allowed us to be in contact with people all over the world without having to take the time and money to go there ourselves. 

I believe that technology has given us some great opportunities to be connected to people all over the world.  It offers us covenience and speed.  However, with all this great technology we cannot forget the importance of human interaction.

Week 5: Criminal Justice System

I think there are many ways in which the criminal justice system could be improved.  I believe that we just put criminals into prison hoping that if they spend enough time in there they will mend their ways and become productive members of society.  That is just not the case.  Many prisoners leave prison only to come right back. When it comes to serious and violent crimes I definitely feel we should give harsh sentences to prisoners to keep them off the streets because they pose a danger to others around them.  Because of prison over crowding it is hard and expensive to keep people in prison.  If tax payers are going to pay for these prisoners then I think we should all have an interest in actually working with these criminals to help them become better people.  Unfortunately I think the prison system is so concerned with keeping order in prisons and getting prisoners out so they have more room is taking precedent.

For criminals that are involved in less serious and non-violent crimes I do not know if long prisons sentences are necessary.  These people need help.  We should use the time we have while they are in prison to focus on helping them see their errors and becoming better people.  This would involve drug treatment for drug users, therapy for prisoners with troubles pasts, and treatment programs for people who have problems like sex addiction.  If we are doing nothing to help these prisoners then we are just wasting out money because when they get out they will have learned nothing and they will commit crimes again.  Prison should be a time of reflection and rehabilitation.  We could help criminals get educated like the female prison in the film we watched.  We could also help these criminals get jobs once they leave prison instead of sending them straight back to the streets.  There is room for much improvement in the criminal justice system.

Week 4: Nature vs. Nurture

When it comes to the nature vs. nurture debate I tend to adopt a combination theory.  I know that some aspects of people can be determined mostly by nature while others can be mostly by nurture.  However, I believe that most behaviors and the whole socialization process children go through is a combination of nature and nurture.

Certain conditions, such as nearsightedness have been found to be mostly genetic (Berger, 2008).  Twin studies are very often utilized to show whether something is genetic or not.  In the case of nearsightedness, if one twin has it the other twin almost certainly has it as well.  This shows strong evidence that nearsightedness is nature based.

However, when it comes to the issue of socialization, one cannot help but conceed to the fact that the process is very nurture based.  The word socialization is based on society, which nurtures people to be certain things.  I believe that people are born with dispositions to behave in certain ways and society can either encourage this or change this.  A child's temperament is their inclination to be a certain way, such as an introvert or extrovert.  With socialization, or nurture, this child's temperament can be shaped into their personality.  A child whose temperament includes being an introvert can change into being more of an extrovert if their parents put them into new situations and help them become engaged in various activities to meet many new people. 

When it comes to gender my same ideas apply.  I believe that males and females are born with dispositions to behave a certain way and society encourages those behaviors so that girls act like girls and boys act like boys.  I do not agree with Freud's focus on the penis.  Young children are barely aware of who they are, let alone worried about having a penis or not.  During socialization I feel that parents, other children, and the media all shape children to either continue their inclinations to be a certain way or change them.

Berger, K. (2008).  The developing person through the life span (7^th ed.).  New York: Worth Publishers.

Week 3: BBC Sketch

I couldn't help but laugh when I watched this sketch.  This sketch definitely embodies what other countries think about America.  The fact that the song only consisted of the words 'America' and 'the states' says it all.  Other countries see us as self-absorbed and conceited.  The song is making fun of America and that is why the audience found it so funny.  The American singer is portrayed as grungy.  The British see America as unproper.  The ending was representative of other countries wanting to shut us up because we like to sing our own praises all the time.

I did not take offense to this video.  Plently of countries make fun of America for being full of themselves.  America makes fun of other countries too.  I think we just need to take this video for what it's worth-a good laugh.

Week 2: Stanford Prison Experiment

I feel that the Stanford Prison experiment began ethically.  Each participant signed a consent form before entering the experiment.  Unfortunately we do not know if the participants were informed of all possible physical and emotional stress that could occur.  I do not believe that the experiment controllers had any idea how intense things would get when they started this experiment.  As the experiment progressed it became clear quickly that the participants were taking their roles very seriously.  In one interview I watched, Philip Zimbardo had to step in and remove one prisoner because he was becoming very emotionally disturbed.  When the controllers tried to remove him the participant did not want to leave, thinking he had to finish what he started.  These prisoners actually began to believe that they were in jail.  Once the controllers began to notice that the participants were having real emotional stress from the experiment it should have stopped.  I feel that the experiment quickly became unethical because it was not stopped sooner.  I feel that the controllers let the experiment go on too long.  I saw some interviews of the participants after the experiment and they still seemed to be having some effects.  I do not know if those participants were followed for some time after the experiment ended but I would be interested to know if they suffered any lasting effects.

Week 1: Introduction

Hello all, my name is Shawn and I am a 25 year old female living in Northern Virginia.  I graduated from UVA in 2008 with a BS in biology and a BA in psychology.  The year after graduation I worked as a kindergarten teacher at a private child care center teaching math and science.  I definitely learned a lot about kids.  For the past couple years I have been working as a medical assistant in various specialties.  I have worked in ophthalmology, dermatology, and currently internal medicine.  My goal is to attend medical school.  I am also looking into doing an accelerated nursing program and I am taking this course as a prerequisite. 

I took a sociology course in college about popular culture which was very interesting so I am looking forward to getting a broader knowledge base about various aspects of sociology.

In between working and taking courses at NOVA I do not have a lot of spare time but I love to read.  I also like to hang out with friends as often as possible.  I like finding new activities to do (like the wine festival I will be attending this weekend!).  I am currently training for the Disney World marathon next January so don't be surprised if you hear me complaining in future posts about how tired I am and how much my legs hurt.

Some of my random favorite things: my favorite color is green, my favorite candy bar is Twix, one of my favorite smells is freshly cut grass, one of my favorite sounds is stepping on crunchy leaves in the fall, and my favorite artist is Van Gogh.  I feel like I'm filling out a Match.com profile :-)

I am excited to get to know everyone else in the class and to read everyone's thoughts on issues.  I am sure we will have a lot of interesting opinions on topics.  Good luck to everyone in the course!