Wellness Fair Extra Credit

I am blogging today about my experiences at the Illinois State University Wellness Fair that I attended two weeks ago. My experiences at the Wellness Fair can be best describe as interesting to say the least, I learned numerous facts about personal, emotional, and spiritual health. Moreover, out of all the organizations at the fair I was most interested by the Health Promotion and Wellness information stand the organization that actually ran the fair itself. Notably, they intrigued me the most because of the Health Myths fact sheet they gave me, many of the myths were debunked by  expert analysis on them. An example of one of this debunked myths is that cold weather makes you sick, I found this one interesting because I always thought  cold weather does make you sick but instead its actually the increased close contact with other individuals  that makes you sick.

Dont Ask Don't Tell article

Simply put, I do not agree with the U.S military policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" which barres openly gay individuals in the military. First off, from the article I felt like the military treated gays as convicted criminals and needed to protect other soldiers from them. I considered this true because in the article the the Secretary of Defense states that housing assignments would be need to rethought if the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy was eliminated, this statement irked me because they where treating homosexuals like a disease that needed to be contained. Ultimately, I do not agree with the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy because I believe an individuals sexual orientation is their choice and they should not be punished for their choice.

Globalization

1. I view Americanization as a good thing for both America and the countries involved  because the purchasing of American symbols like Yankee baseball hats and Chicago Bulls T shirts will help spread democracy and free trade to country involved. The idea's of democracy and free trade are a good thing because it will help the less fortunate have a say in there government.

2. McDonaldization is a term that describes how fast food restaurants like McDonald's are rapidly becoming dominate in American society as well as the rest of the world.

3. Optimistic Hyperglobalizers see the aspect of globalization generally as a good thing worldwide, t hey argue that globalization is seemingly making the world more modern. Pessimistic Hyperglobailzers see  the aspect of globalization as a bad thing for the nations of the world because they argue that global capitalism is considered soulless and unethical for the less fortunate countries involved.

Free write on genre's

For my social action project I have narrowed my genre choices to either creating a website, powerpoint, a poster, and lastly a brochure. My most likely choice will be a powerpoint presentation because it will help show the information I have received in a clear way that people can understand. Moreover, almost everyone understand how powerpoint works.

Article 6

1.  The first racial differences in wealth accumulation is the recialization of state policy, the author states that state and government policy has historically made the ability of accumulating wealth difficult for African Americans. The author uses slavery as an example of a mean to block African American wealth. Moreover, the next concept is  economic detour which talks about the low levels of both entrepreneurship among African Americans and the low levels of businesses they own. Furthermore, the last concept is the sedimentation of racial inequality, this concept helps illustrate how past racial inequality and discrimination of African Americans has subversively placed them at the bottom of the societal ladder. The author uses the examples of  segregation and lack of schooling to further clarify this concept.

2. The author interviewed a seventy-five year old retired homeowner named Kevin. 

3. An important theme that emerged from the interviews was that the  amount of assets each family had. The assets ultimately either gave the children immense amounts of opportunities or the assets were seen as a road block to the futures of the children. In addition, the author talks about how the middle class is separated into categories, one black and one white. The author explains that these categories are set part by the overall dependency of wealth and assets by both the blacks and whites.

4. The author's solution with regards to the eradication of racial inequality in wealth between races is the creation of two policies. The first policy considers setting up programs that will benefit the African American community. The second policy states that we need to promote important economical opportunities to both blacks and whites on the low end of the social structure.

5. To me, the beginning of my college life seemed like one giant obstacle mainly because I was intimated by everything it had to offer me. However though, I soon learned to view my obstacles of school work and the building of my social circle as challenges that I could ultimately succeed in. Moreover, almost every individual goes to college because it offers you the incentive of better pay and seclusive job titles. This incentive is one of the reasons why I attend college because without my higher education I would not be able to achieve my dreams of becoming a federal agent. I believe the speaker that I most relate to is Gwendolyn Lewis because  she talks about how she thought that she did not have the right means to succeed in college but in the end she learn that she was able to achieve her goals by pushing herself. She also said that her friend acted as a role model and also helped push her toward her goals. Moreover, like the author I to felt that I did not have the means to succeed in college mainly because of my poor study habits, luckily for me I had my mom there to help show me that I could make my dreams a reality by simply staying focused on my goals. To end, my mom acted as my role model much like Gwendolyn lewis's friend was to her.

Differences between the data analysis's

To begin, I personally I found it much easier to comprehend Samantha's data analysis more than Bryan's mainly because she made her key finds very clear and elaborated on them further. Also I felt Bryan's analysis was very vague and did not really illustrate the main point of the analysis. However, one thing I did like about Bryan's that was different from Samantha's was that he used direct quotes in his analysis which to me using direct quotes is one of the best ways to back up your main point. Lastly, I liked Samantha's analysis more than Bryan's because she interviewed multiple individuals  for her data and Bryan only interviewed one individual.

Data analysis

1. The participants in the study are college students at a large southwestern university
2. The section begins with how the research was conducted and  who and what the reasearch was on. The Research itself is on the social elements in college and how it its correlated with depression.
3. It was organized with statistical findings from the survey they administered 
4. A theme that emerged in there results is that the survey population was mainly Caucasians males
5. They use statistical findings from the surveys they administered for there evidence
6. The thing that stands out the most to me is how the sample population is not diverse, this stands out because I believe if they surveyed a more diverse population there results would  be different.
7. I would give this person an A, mainly because this research paper is very well done with surprising findings. However the one thing that I would change would be to have a move diverse sample population of college students.   

SAP process

As of right I am in the process of drafting my survey and interview questions for my social action project and I will hopefully be able to find participants for my study sometime early next week. From the data I will collect from from my participants I will be able to find a direct correlation with the research I collected from various sources. 

Job Reflection

The entry level job that I found on Monster.com was a security guard position for Securitas Security Services USA located in Aurora Illinois. This position greatly appeals to me because like many other profession  law enforcement is a stepping stone profession meaning you have to start low so that you can end high. Moreover, the lush benefits and the the hands on experience I will learn while on the job also greatly appeals to me. I believe I am exceptionally qualified for this position because the job requirements only states you in need  a  diploma or GED from high school and by the time I graduate from ISU I will have an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice which makes me very well qualified for this position. Another appealing aspect about this position is that it is located close to my home meaning my expenses will be at a minimum because I can live at home and commute from there.Furthermore, I believe this entry level position and the experiences I will learn on the job will help my career in the long run.   

Career path

Being a Criminal Justice major means there is many different types of law enforcement  as well as government jobs  available for me to choose from. Many of the jobs available range from entry level jobs like prison guards to jobs that require higher education like an FBI agent. Furthermore, my dream job with in my major course would be to become a federal agent more specifically a U.S Marshall. I want to become a U.S Marshall because I have always been interested in the branch of criminal justice it falls under which is the correction of criminal offenders.

Article 5

1. The problem with the statement from the Yes Please article is that it shows that blind people are all faced with some form of hardship or discrimination in there workplace because they all strive to be treated normally. Moreover, the main point from the statement is that blind people are basically not seen as "normal" people, which in turn causes discrimination for them.

2. I believe Sally French's narrative tone is both passionate and irritated because she describes how there is not much being done to help blind people and how blind people are faced with many different types of hardships because of there disabilities.

3. Joseph Shapiro believes in the discrimination of minority groups with in special education classes because simply  put he believes that racism plays a role with special education classes in some areas of the country. Moreover, the author states that minorities with in special education are faced with harsher stigmatizing labels,  often face segregation from general school public, and finally more often than not in the segregated classes academics is infrequently stressed leading to academic failure. However more importantly, the author adds that Caucasian students are often faced with less stigmatizing labels and are often desegregated from the general school public.

4. The ADA and the IDEA plan changed how Americans look at the issue of disability by making  the issue more about the rights of people with disabilities than the medical issues. However though, coming with equal rights is the prevalent backlash of the public because they believe people with disabilities are asking for to much. Additionally, the ADA and IDEA plan help people with disabilities strive for better academic success in the long run.

Article 4

1. It seems to interfere with same sex friendships mostly. Moreover, individuals with with high anti-gay attitudes tend to have fewer nonsexual friendships with other individuals than with individuals who have a positive outlook on homosexuality.

2. The author defines it by when a homosexual may experience increased discrimination or stigma when others learn about his or hers sexual orientation as a consequence of the victimization.

3. The author found out that many people fear things that they do not understand so in turn they where afraid to realize other individuals lifestyles. Secondarily, the author stated it was necessary for students to be open about there sexuality because in the end it will help lead them to individuals with the same lifestyle, also it will help give the individual reassurance about there choices.

4.The intersection of homosexually and race occurs when an individual believes that there sexuality has affected there race.

Shitty First Drafts

To begin, the main thing that intrigued me about this article was the writing style the author decided to chose. I liked the way the author wrote the article because I felt that it was incredibly easy to read and it was actually quite humorous. Additionally, I never really put into thought how a first draft should be in a sense be "attacked", withal I believe the author showed in her writing a very unique way of the steps it takes to write a first draft and the writing process.

Importantly, I will take from this article how to revise my social action paper in the correct way. Firstly, I will start by writing my second draft and focus on fixing up my paper by adding more factual information so that more people can understand my issue more clearly. Secondly, I will go over my revision once more and only focus on spelling and grammar problems, fixing these errors in the end will help my paper flow better which in turn will lead to more people understand my social issue.

Interview

My interview with Kurt began with the simple of questions of asking him what his major was what would be his ideal job. Kurt's major was construction management and he expressed interest in becoming a construction manager for highway building. Additionally, Kurt expressed that he had "no desire for graduate school"and would rather work right out of college. Moreover, Kurt expressed fears of not being able to obtain his job because as he states "times are rough right now and it does not seem like things will get better anytime soon". 

Asian lesbian struggles

1. To me a visible minority is a minority that is bases on race and is  usually nonwhite, and a invisible minority is a minority  based on other factors that are unseen for example sexuality.

2.  I consider that stick your kind means that people with in regards to relationships have  to stay within there own ethnic and racial group. Moreover, I believe that people stick to there own kind simply because thats the way society's has always wanted it to be. From what I have seen or read the sad truth is  that people often will discriminate more harshly on people who have interracial relationships, more often than not I believe this form of discrimination causes people to be hesitant of individuals of a different race.

3. The main struggles the author deals with are her coming out as lesbian and over coming her internalized racism of her Chinese background. The author tries to overcome these obstacles by ultimately accepting who she is and  what her Chinese heritage truly means.     

4. I believe the only aspect of my identity that I tend to tone down is where I am from. I have lived  in Naperville Illinois my whole life and when someone generally thinks of Napervile they usually stereotype you as a rich stuck up individual. However in my case my family is your average Joe type of family neither rich or poor, so usually when I tell someone where I am from I will say the disclaimer "I am from Napervile but I am not from the rich  stuck up part."

Adopting The Principle of Pro feminism

1. Honestly I believe that I do not perpetuate sexism consciously, however there could be instances in my life where I might have in fact perpetuated sexism subconsciously. When i was growing up my parents always taught me to accept every person for who they are and not regards to there color or gender.

American Dream

The author's American dream was to one day be president, but he soon realized that this dream would be very difficult dream to accomplish  for a boy from a small southern rural town to achieve. Moreover he believed his dream becomes almost impossible when he decides to let his true inner feeling out.

I believe that what the author meant by his statement is that people in america are to often told  to follow social norms as well to never question them, this in turn causes resentment to  individualistic people who break the social norms. Basically true freedom can be achieved when people accept everybody for who they are in the inside and not from the outside.

Paraphrase Exercise

According to Writing Research Papers limitation is key when it comes to using quotations in final research papers. Students usually struggle with this concept and frequently go over the recommended 10% rule. The 10% rule means that only 10% of your final paper should be quoted (Lester, 1976).

9/21 free write Article Reflection

I believe that I learned a lot on how to find information buried in large research papers. Most importantly,  I learned how to find the key points of a  research article which I believe is very important in finding research article that will help your known paper. Secondly, I learned that the introduction of a research article can answer many of your question you have about the research article itself.  

Exercise 3.4

To begin, there are many distinctions that many critics see between two types of music which are popular and serious music, they believe each have very different musical value. Arguments between musicologists and sociologists have stirred up a debate on how theses two types of music affect us. Musicologist stated that "serious music matters because it transcends social forces" as well they also stated "popular music is aesthetically worthless because is determined by them."

Research sources

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T63-4GKWHYJ-2&_user=564876&_origUdi=B850K-4P9W6BG-2S&_fmt=high&_coverDate=12%2F12%2F2005&_rdoc=1&_orig=article&_origin=article&_zone=related_art&_acct=C000028718&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=564876&md5=4d50cece5597ab7f6b78b714455d8334


http://ntr.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/12/2/96

http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/media/mag_and_prev_arph_april_2005.pdf

Free write 9/2/10

Step 1

The question that I am most interested in deals with cigarette smoking and its affects it has on people socially, mentally, and physically.

Step 2

I can narrow my question in a number of ways, for example I could narrow it down to college students in America, to students at ISU, and I could even go smaller than that and break it down between each grade

Another way I can refocus my question is by asking how has cigarette smoking affected college students now compared to past generations of college students, also I could say what is how the social structure of collages ultimately affect one decision to partake in smoking, furthermore I could ask how students at ISU partaking cigarette smoking affects them economically, as well as academically. Lastly I could break down the mental and physical affects of smoking down to a four year period.        

Exercise 1.1

Places
Chicago, Naperville, Lisle, Illinois State, My apartment, North avenue beach, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi

Trends
Facebook, texting, blogging, emailing, twittering, silly bands, sports, tv shows, music, radio, foods

Things
cell phone, backpack, laptop, chair, desk, book, table, door, water bottle, gum, chalk board, pen, pencil, shoe, light switch, lamb, bed, clothes

Technologies
cell phone, laptop, internet, wireless mouse, wireless internet, light bulb, fan, T.V, doorbell, key lock, safe, Ipod, Itunes, radio, car, motorcycle, boat, airplane

People
Chicago white sox, Chicago cubs, Chicago bears, Chicago bulls, Derrick rose, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks , Micheal Jordan, dad, mom, sister, brother, brother, Jay cutler, Matt Forte

Controversies
Bp oil spill, 9/11, war on terror, area 51, ufos , aliens, ghosts, big foot, new world order, 2012

History
WW1, WW2, 9/11, civil war, roman empire, cold war, atom bomb, USSR, Korean war, JFK assassination, Abe Lincoln, Vietnam war, Japan   

Jobs
doctor, police office, baker, FBI, CIA, janitor, plummer, fireman, nurse, detective, chef, actor, actress, historian, author, soldier, president, congressman, congresswoman, senator, writer, teacher

Habits
bitting nails, playing with hair, chewing gums, shaking, drugs, stress balls, flexing, grinding teeth, picking nose, walking fast

Hobbies
writing, dodgeball, baseball, basketball, football, running, swimming, biking, talking, lifting weights, cooking, baking, drinking, smoking, driving, softball, hiking, boating, grilling, texting, collecting

Step 2

police officer, FBI, CIA

Since there is so many different agencies within law enforcement I believe that it would be fairly easy to  research about each one and what exactly they accomplish and the history behind each government organization. This topic would be extremely relevant to me because of my criminal justice major, also this knowledge would be important to me because it ultimately could help me choose a career path. 

Step 3

what does it take to be a cop
what kind of guns have they used
police history
what does the FBI and CIA structure look like
What Does the FBI do
What does the CIA
how much money will a person make
what is the difference between police ranks
what are the qualification
history of police cars and police dogs
history of federal agencies
how have new laws changed policing
how have new technologies changed policing
how did patrol cars change policing
what affect did the FBI have on criminals in its early years

 

Narrative on social diversity and multiculturalism

To me, social diversity are certain factors within a society that help define it, some of theses factors include race, culture, religion, and age. Moreover, multiculturalism can be defined as many different sub cultures and cultures present in one centralized location. Social diversity has a large importance in my life because  being that I go to a large university I am able to interact with many different groups of  diverse people each with different factors that define them. The issues that surround diversity will play an important role in my  criminal justice career after college because in criminal justice work places there is a lot of interactions within different types of social diversities. Moreover I find it important to me now to understand different diversity issues in my surrounding society to help better myself for the future.

The place that was  most influential in help shaping my idea of social diversity and multiculturalism was my university, Illinois State. To be honest, if it wasn't for the knowledge I obtained at college I really wouldn't know how to define social diversity or multiculturalism or able to understand there magnitude. The knowledge that I obtained on areas that pertained to social diversity and multiculturalism helped my understand there true meanings and how much both were deep rooted into each society. During my spring break of my freshman year of college I had a very different social experience while volunteering in Mississippi. A group of my friends and I were volunteering for habitat for humanity  in a small town that was affected by hurricane Katrina, while  there we witnessed many different diverse people and places. The thing that caught my eye the most was the towns people close knit community ties even after most of them have been devastated by the hurricane, this caught my eye because the community had many diverse qualities which ranged from age, culture and the biggest one  race. My experiences down there helped show me that in some situations when a community over looks diversity between races a lot of good for that community can be accomplished.   

The social justice issue that I am interested investigating this semester is informing others of the dangerous side effects of cigarette smoking. I believe this is an important topic because a large number of college students as well adults per take in smoking and my goal was to educate them before it becomes to late. This issue relates to my criminal justice major because as a police officer I will have to educate children and young adults about the  dangers of doing drugs and how it harms there bodies. Hopefully by understanding this social justice issue now I will be more prepared for the future.

Exercise 1

Exercise 1

Step 1

1. It's okay to say things the instructor might disagree with: I believe this statement to be true because most of the time with writing you are supposed to show the multiple view points others may have about a certain situation. Moreover showing multiple view points will add more content and credibility to your paper additionally it will eliminate the option of being one sided because it will show both sides to each argument or discussion.
2. You're supposed to use your own opinions: In a sense, I half agree with this statement because I believe in certain writing situations you should  have to express your own ideas and opinions and in other writing situations you should incorporate other individuals ideas and opinions. Basically what I am saying is that when it comes to expressing your own opinions it would help to add the ideas and thoughts others in some but not all cases. Additionally, expressing your own opinions is an extremely positive way in getting your point across more often than not because you are using your own creative knowledge so that people can look at a situation differently.
3. You're writing mostly for the instructor: I disagree with this statement mainly because a person can write for a multitude of reasons. These reasons can range from writing for themselves to writing for other individuals. To me, writing is mostly for the individual writing the paper because when an individual writes a paper they are doing it to better themselves because they are striving for higher knowledge, in this same idea is attending college but  college is on a much larger scale. However though, an individual could write for others before themselves examples of this could be newspaper columnists or authors, both of these examples write for the enjoyment of others  however though, they are also writing for there personal gains from writing but on a smaller scale. 
4. You have to say something original: I believe this to be more true than false by a very small fraction. To elaborate, I feel that it would help an individuals writing to add experiences and observations of others to there paper to help show more ideas, view points, and opinions. However though, an individual must also understand to keep other individuals thoughts and ideas to a minimum degree but at the same time achieve what they where trying to grasp. To add, like everything else in life originality is a key ingredient, although some situations and things call for more or less of that ingredient it should always be present.  
5. You have to know your thesis before you start: I believe this statement to be half true because usually when I finish writing my papers I will tweak my thesis statement so that it fits better with my paper. When I start writing my papers I always create a more generalized thesis because I know down the road while I write I will think of more ideas and thoughts to add to it, so instead of going all out of the thesis right away I tend to wait until after I am done with my paper to mold it to the way I actually wanted to be.

Step 2

There is a big difference between facts and opinions: I disagree with this statement because in a sense all facts started out as ideas and opinions of individuals. Basically what I am saying is that a fact starts as a person thought which turns into an idea then a opinion then in some cases a fact. Consider this, when the early  astronomers of out time created the the debated idea that the the earth was round and not flat  they where expressing an opinion that they created and this opinion later became scientific fact. However, not all opinions end up as facts because some opinions are merit-less attacks or  have confusing and careless assumptions. 

Class Blogging

1.Reading and writing has been very important to me in all sections of my life. I believe the most frequent type of writing and reading I do happens in my personal life with facebook and reading online articles.
2. The most difficult part of academic writing to me is the starting process, in most cases I have a challenging time getting my ideas and thoughts on to my paper.
3. The majority of the reading I do comes from either the newspaper of online articles and the reading is usually sports related. Reading different genres can definitely help facilitated my writing because it helps show me the ideas and thoughts of others.
4. My assumptions about research for this course is nothing that I feel I cannot handle, I believe that my prior knowledge in researching has made me comfortable with the genre.

First blog

My name is James Hochstetter, I am currently a junior at Illinois State and I am Studying for a major in Criminal Justice.