I want you to free write
about some subjects you might be interested in researching this
semester. Consider some of the inquiry based questions you have
generated in class on Wednesday and consider your own personal interests
as well. This is pretty open and the
content is really up to you, but here are a few examples of things you
might write about:
How might you conduct your own study? (consider how the first two
student examples pieces worked) Could a focus group work for your study?
Write
about what you already know about your subject and the stake holders in
the discussion you are entering into. Consider alternate ways to frame
the question to accentuate different aspects of the original idea. You
might also develop a research experiment to test your inquiry based
question.
If you are having a bit of trouble coming up with your research subject, consider the
research articles that are published on Stylus.
http://writingandrhetoric.cah.ucf.edu/stylus/issues.php
It is important to note that not all articles published on Stylus are
inquiry based studies, so be sure to look for articles published from
ENC 1102 classes. Also, you might try watching some of the videos posted
on the blog or reading some of the articles for invention strategies
that might help you.
Vivienne Do
ReplyDeleteENC1102 section 0038
BLOG 2
After taking psychology last semester, I truly found a new respect in ‘’research studies.’’ Let it be public or private (Frankenstein!) the role of research provides new information we can apply to different life forms. As I read through my PSY textbook, accompanied by my friend Doritos, the subject of Learning really intrigued me. I thought I knew somewhat of the subject when the words ‘’Bell’’ and ‘’Dog’’ popped up; little did I know, learning is so much more than what my science teacher in high school taught me.
Based on my psychology class, learning is associated with behavior and personality. Usually, learning is done by innate nature of the life form in order to achieve what we WANT. In Ivan’s Palov’s experiment, he tested dog saliva levels by measuring how much the dog produced when exposed to certain items (such as food.) Then he started to associate word to the visual of food, and the dog started to salivate without the visual of food, just the verbally spoken ‘’food’’ created saliva. I found this very interesting!!! And want to explore more about learning and how we can use this ability on perhaps children and/or adults with language learning.
To be more specific, I would like to conduct an experiment that measures the ability of a Humanities major vs. Analytical major with Language learning. Dividing the techniques into three forms: Visually (seeing picture and reciting), Audio (listening w/o visual and reciting), Tables (writing out the word and reciting.)
I am planning on categorizing the two groups depending on their major. Usually we associate Humanities with majors such as Arts, Communication and humanities (social science.) Vise versa, more of the technical group of sciences, medicine, mathematical fields. First, I’ll make 3 learning techniques my French teacher used in Highschool.
1. Label pictures w/ the word associated. Such as a sun would be ‘’Seoil’’ and etc.
2. Record ‘’Sun is Seoil’’ on a tape recorder. Only audio will be used.
3. Have ‘’Seoil’’ written on a book.
I will test which technique works best by actually ‘’testing’’ the students.
I haven’t designed the testing, or how I will measure the results (or what will be consider the base ‘’measurement’’ of how much value something is. I still have to develop more on this research project, but that’s my general idea for now.
Vivienne Do
DeletePavlov’s work with transference is quite interesting and it seems you can take your study a number of different directions. With your current setup, it seems that you are testing memory as it relates to specific modes of learning. In psychology transference means using one stimulus to create a controlled or specific reaction. Advertisers often use this technique to sell their products.
I’m not seeing the strong connection between transference and the idea of retaining knowledge through certain channels of learning. However, it is interesting to look at how certain modes of learning can aid or inhibit memory. Testing for transfer in learning is very difficult and can take years of study.
If you are really interested in transference, you should start reading more material on transference. Perhaps you can look at how identity formation yields certain perspectives for transference. I think you’re onto something interesting, but you need to push yourself over the next week to develop a framing question and a research proposal.
Best,
Joseph
Eleana Alvarez
ReplyDeleteENC1102-0039
At a young age I knew that when I grew up I wanted to work in the medical field. I don't quite know when the idea entered my brain, but I haven't been able to get it out ever since! All throughout high school I was a member of a Health/STEM Academy and my interest just kept on growing and growing. Then came my senior year where I chose to take AP Psychology on a whim, just as a replacement for another class I wanted to drop out of. It turned out to be an amazing decision thankfully, because I have now also realized my love for psychology. I love it so much that just recently I have been thinking about minoring in it.
But as for a topic of research, I am still not sure exactly what I want to do. However I do know that I would like a topic that incorporates the medical field (preferably pediatrics since I aspire to be a pediatrician) and psychology. In class today I began to think about the psychological effects that deadly illnesses such as cancer might have on teens and children. How does it affect their personality? How does it affect their mental development? Does it prevent them from forming relationships, taking risks, trying new things, etc. because they fear that they won't live much longer?
Researching this topic and conducting my studies may be a bit challenging. I may consider talking to teens who have an illness, or who know someone who has an illness, and ask them questions about how the person's behavior has changed ever since being diagnosed. A focus group may also work in my favor, but I have not truly considered it. As for what I already know on the subject, it is obvious a person changes when faced with such a horrific diagnosis such as cancer. They may become more reserved, and of course very depressed. But I would like to delve deeper and see how different aspects of their personalities change and it their relationships and willingness to make effort towards relationships change because of their illness. I'm still at the beginning stages of choosing my exact topic, but something similar to the above mentioned would really capture my interest and make for a good research paper.
Eleana Alvarez
DeleteI encourage you to pursue research that fits with your major and I think a study about how people deal with troubling illness is something that would be worthwhile for you. It’s interesting that very often people defy what their physicians say is possible. A friend of a friend’s father was told five years ago that he had one year to live. He isn’t getting better- he has lung cancer and some other debilitating problems, but he has outlived the original prognosis by more than four years. Each time he goes to the doctor, he often says “you shouldn’t be alive.”
You have to be really careful with this kind of research you propose in your blog posting because you are dealing with vulnerable populations. These people are already uncomfortable and sometimes in great pain, so going to them and asking questions can be a delicate matter. However, there are many people who have recovered from illness and are now living quite comfortably. A focus group of those people (perhaps cancer survivors) or people who overcame terrible illness and disease might reveal some interesting psychological mindsets that lead to people getting better. The placebo effect has been shown to work sometimes, so the mind does, in fact have healing capacities in certain cases.
What strategies are involved in cultivating a positive outlook in the face of debilitating illness or disease? Does cultivating a more optimistic outlook promote improved health for those suffering from certain illnesses? How do physicians and doctors leverage positivity to enable healing?
Be careful of your vulnerable populations as you approach this. It seems you are onto something pretty cool.
Best,
Joseph
Allison Hoyland
ReplyDeleteENC 1102-0038
Everyone has a million different ideas of what they want to do when they “grow up.” Now, I’m no different, my ideas range from cosmetology school to becoming a politician and that is just because I am interested in a wide range of things. However, the one thing that has stuck with me is teaching. I could genuinely see myself doing that for the rest of my life and enjoying it. In fifth grade my teacher made us write letters to ourselves for when we graduated eighth grade and for when we graduated high school. I was a military brat and seeing as I lived in California at the time I figured after moving twice I would not receive my letters. To my surprise, he sent me both and on top of that, within the proper time period. When he sent me the one for my high school graduation, he attached a letter to us. In his letter, which was beautifully written, he explained why he became a teacher and the simple answer he gave included four other teachers’ names. I have always wanted to make an impact in someone’s life even if it was something no one else could see; which is why I debated politics. Making a long and drawn out story short, what makes a good teacher or professor? There will be a wide range of opinions but there has to be some similarities. For my own benefit for if/when I actually do pursue teaching I am curious to know. I will set up multiple interviews that will include: teachers, students, parents, and many more. 1. What did they do different than what you had experienced before? 2. Was there something going on in your life at the time which makes you biased to this teacher? What subject matter did they teach and were you particularly interested in that? Although I have some ideas of what questions I will ask, I have much more research to do. The only way I will truly be able to reach a conclusion will be talking to people. The majority of people have at least one teacher that stands out in their mind and a reason behind that.
Allison Hoyland,
DeleteI think this is a really cool and interesting research project. I can really see a focus group being an excellent source of information about the qualities of great teachers. I’m sure there is loads of research into this already, so you will have a lot of choice as you develop your literature review for this piece. It seems that politics, economics, and technological advancement continues to change the classroom, so how are great teachers rolling with these changes and maintaining excellence?
It might also be interesting to look at a question about how people came to find their passion. It seems to me that some great teachers are probably at the core of fostering people’s curiosity. Perhaps you could develop a survey for this portion of your study.
Before getting too far ahead of yourself regarding the research you will do, you still have to do your due diligence to reading and evaluating the current state of research in teacher effectiveness. What does the literature say about teacher effectiveness and great teaching practices?
I like where you are going here, so be sure to push yourself hard over this next week to set up your proposal and your research question. I strongly recommend you start reading some of the research studies before completing your proposal.
Best,
Joseph
When I think about it, since I am not 100% sure as to what exactly I want to study, doing research on my major would be a great idea. Only thing that I know about myself is that I love math with a passion. I want to be an accountant, over my lifetime, I went through multiple majors that are completely different form each other. I went from being a doctor, to a lawyer, to a psychologist, to an artist, to a crime scene investigator, back to a lawyer, mathematician, and now accounting.
ReplyDeleteIn high school, I decided that I would be a business major due to the fact that I was in BPA (Business Professionals of America) and the instructor or whatever you call them randomly put me on the accounting team. While looking and doing the hands on work, this accounting thing caught my eye and I figured that that was what I wanted to study in college, keep in mind that I didn’t do much research on this major. At the end of the school year, I got a scholarship and everything would be final once I go for an interview. I’ll never forget this, the man asked “why do you want to be an accountant?” and I told him that I am good doing calculations and math. Little did I know that two out of the six people that interviewed me were accountants and they told me that there is more reading done than anything. After that I did some research and found out that many people find accounting to be very boring and they classes are hard, but on the other hand, they get a lot of money. Now I am more confused than I would ever be, I’m the type of person that likes a challenge, it makes me try harder, but what if accounting doesn’t make me happy? Are accountants really boring? Do most of them care about their families, if they have any? Are the classes that bad? When you’re an accountant do you have a life? Do people in that field go crazy after a while, or is it not that serious? These are the type of questions I might ask an account or a person that is a senior with an accounting major/ a student that has done internships. I would also ask about their experience as a whole. As a matter of fact, I feel like it would be much better if I asked a group of people so that I can compare the results and make my own prediction.
After this free right, I feel as if my research will be generated around my major.
Ashley W,
DeleteMy uncle has worked in accounting for the past twenty years. He started as a traveling auditor who made unannounced stops at regional facilities for a national company called Snapper. He showed up to make sure that regional operations were not skimming the books or losing revenue in a variety of ways. His current work involves writing code for to crunch numbers connecting massive databases. The code is complicated and it looks like a foreign language to me, but my uncle is more of an introvert and likes to work by himself. He goes to work (sometimes works from home) and writes code that allows the company to crunch these huge databases of numbers.
It might be interesting for you to research different motivations for choosing specific majors. It seems that financial gain would be a huge motivator for becoming an accountant, but perhaps there are other motives. You wouldn’t be able to look at all majors, but you could try to talk to seniors from several majors to see what motivated them to choose that major and understand their current like or dislike of the major they chose.
I think you can make this interesting. Be creative in locating and developing a problem to solve for a particular audience.
Best,
Joseph
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChristina Lam
ReplyDeleteENC 1102- 0039
Growing up, I never really understood why I wanted to be a doctor until my dad told me the story behind it. When I was a child, my dad took me to the pediatrician because I had the common cold and plus I needed a check up. My pediatrician was so intelligent and thoughtful. I told her that I wanted to be just like her. Like many kids, they tell their parents that they want to be a doctor when they grow up. I can recall the times when I played "doctor" with my grandma and I knew then that I have a passion to help people. I like to see them healthy and happy. When I started babysitting, I knew that I want to be a pediatrician because I was always happy to see the smiles on children's face. Since high school, I have focused on achieving my goals by being in the Medical Academy. If I had to think of anything to research, it would have to be related to pediatrics or anything in the medical field. I'm not quite sure what exactly I plan on researching but I do know that I would like to learn more about the difficult process of becoming a doctor and the ways medical students cope with stress. I figured if I want to be a doctor, I should know what it takes to be one. The obvious answer is that the process of attaining a PhD is long and time-consuming but well worth it. My research might include interviewing doctors and medical students. I want to research how they handle their anxiety and cope with the daily dose of stress. I want to know about the years before med school, the years during med school, so forth. I might ask them questions on their internships, the experiences they encountered, and their reactions to new things. I'm not quite sure if I want to stick with this topic but I think researching on this topic will help me get a better understanding of what I am committing myself to.
Christina Lam
DeleteI really think your research into the depth and breadth of pursuing medical school is an interesting and worthwhile approach for you. If you are planning on interviewing med students or doctors, you are dealing with a group of people with incredible busy schedules. There are open ended questions you could pose such as: What factors contribute to succeeding in entering and completing medical school and becoming a physician? If you hung out enough on Lake Nona’s medical campus, perhaps you could talk to some students and arrange some interviews or focus groups.
Best,
Joseph
Steroid use in professional sports is considered a problem in today's society, but why? Have we actually analyzed how substances affect the games of football, baseball, and basketball alike? I do not feel we have. Sure baseball says steroids are bad, but why? the concept of playing better, being stronger, more ampped to play the game always appeals to every player alike. So why are performance enhancing drugs illegal? why cant we use a substance to make us better? Well, studies show that people enjoy watching the long ball hit at a baseball game, or the yard touchdown pass at a football game. So if more people enjoy watching amazing things happen on a field, then why are we limiting play as ability to achieve these things. The economic impact steroids have on the professional sports career is dynamic. If everyone juiced up then the game as a whole would be more interesting to watch. 400 foot home runs, 110 miles per hour fastballs, that's what excited people so by telling us that steroids are illegal we are essentially being told that the game will never reach a level of total excitement why steroids are banned i cant comprehend. its a simple math equation. More people more money. With the progression of players getting better memorabilia sales will skyrocket.
ReplyDeleteBryce McCune,
DeleteI think you pose some interesting observations about the issue of steroids and why they are so stigmatized. They seem to be linked to cheating, but when did steroids get linked to cheating? How has this debate changed over time and what is the current milieu of steroids use? Why didn’t baseball just say “to hell with it- let everyone go buck wild and use steroids?” I think we know that public opinion about steroids would put a huge dent in baseball’s revenue if it allowed steroids.
The difficulty for you is to develop this open-ended inquiry based question to guide your research. You could develop a textual analysis that traces the rhetoric of the steroids debate over time. When did the illegality of steroids come into play? When did steroids first get developed? What factors affect the rhetorical positioning of those concerned with debates about steroids?
If you are not taking an angle related to the rhetoric of the steroids debate, what angel will you delve into?
Best,
Joseph
During our group discussions last week about body language we talked a little about how technology has played a factor into how our society interacts with each other. I think texting was good idea in the sense if you are in a hurry and need to shoot someone a message about something that was actually relevant, but it has become so popular that we have lost face to face interaction within our own society. One of my close friends is a good example of this, instead of going down the stairs to tell her grandma she needs something she will simply text her from her room what she needs. This is pure laziness and shows that we are no longer emotionally attached to our human self. We rely on machines to do everything for us now. Disney showed us a good example of what could become of our future in the Pixar movie Wall-E, where everyone is so fat they need a chair to take them wherever they go and the chair provides them with a screen to talk to people or watch shows and pops out food in a cup. In a way we already have that technology with Skype allowing us to face interact from long distances and FaceTime too. These programs aren't necessarily bad but when people start using to talk to the person in the room next to them, then it gets out of hand. The Google glasses are coming up soon they are just trying to perfect the prototype but I don't think that will take too long. My questions is this, how much do we depend on technology to help us in our lives? What might happen if it all of sudden stopped working? Are we becoming like the image portrayed in Wall-E? How can we avoid that? What can we do to keep improving our society with the use of technology and learn how not to abuse it? How does this generation interact with each other compared with older generations? Does this generation abuse the technology they have compared to older generations? How has technology affected family relationships?
ReplyDeleteI think I would do my research based on a group of children, students, and adults to have a variation in generations. One, too see what affect technology has on each generation, two to see how people react, and three to show the affect technology has had on our society. Though I don't know how exactly I am going to do this I do think its something everyone should be aware of.
Stephanie Valdes,
DeleteYou are delving into some interesting stuff here. Some of your open ended questions are quite interesting. In particular, I like your look into the ways that technologies are changing the relationships people develop. Dating and courtship for young people involve many new technologies and how are these technologies reshaping romantic relationships? I’m not as fond of questions like asking about how much technology helps us in our daily lives because there is a prepackaged answer to that question.
Perhaps you could trace how new communications technologies have changed the way courtship takes place. As the digital and physical worlds grow ever closer together, what new person-to-person relationship dynamics are emerging?
I recommend staying away from hypothetical questions like what will technology be like in the future, and I also recommend you stay clear of those questions with hypothetical pre-packaged answers like what would happen if all the technologies of the world disappeared.
Best,
Joseph
Growing up, I knew that I was different. Not because of the way I looked, but the way I was raised. My mother, being from the island of Trinidad and Tobago, came to the United States when she was nineteen years old. Having grown up in the islands, she came to America with questions that were out of her reach. Questions about our government system, our taxes, our people, and even the way we find love. So based on what she already knew she started to make a life for herself here in America. I was born and I would like to say that I was brought up in a different home than most of my peers. As I had to adjust to my mother’s different ways, she had to adjust to the “American” way. But what makes it the American way? Now that I have grown to be around the same age that my mother came to America, I cannot help but wonder, would I be able to go through the same experience as she did? As I think to myself, what if I was to move to an entire different country at such a ripe age, would I want to come back to the comfort of the American culture?
ReplyDeleteNow I am not complete sure what I want my research topic to be, but with all of the cultural differences in the same world, why do so many flock to America? I have traveled to Barcelona, to Paris, Guam, Japan, Bali and many other places, and if I have learned anything it would be that, America is not always favorite among people. For the time that I have been around in this world, I have heard many different opinions on America and I am sure these opinions are not limited from the mouth in which I heard them from. America, the xenophobic or America the free? Why do people keep coming here? Is the American dream still alive and well or is there is decline in how many new faces are being brought to the land of Lady Liberty?
Gemini,
DeleteYou have a really interesting line of inquiry to investigate here. In particular, many people are interested in the clash of cultures that happens as migrants have children who are raised with one foot in a mother culture and one in an American culture? My wife and her family is from Trinidad too. The cultural aspects of music, family, and good food are all emblematic of my mother-in-law, father-in-law, my sister-in-law, and wife. My wife’s father is Indian and is parentage is Portuguese and Indian, so there is quite a mix of culture.
I am well aware of cultural conflict that plays out as my wife and sister were Americanized and her parents held fast to more traditional Trinidadian customs. How are families working out the cross cultural conflicts that occur as generations of new children create and embody hybrid identities? What will come of older traditions and customs and how are families reconciling these questions?
I think you are embarking on a very important research project here- one that matters for many people.
Best,
Joseph
Recently violence has become a huge talking point in today's society, especially when it comes to digital media and more specifically in video games. There is a wide discussion about whether or not violence in video games is negatively impacting younger generations and causing them to become violent themselves.
ReplyDeleteIt seems as if the majority of people speaking out against violent video games are those who have never been involved with them themselves. I think that this comes from a natural tendency to question and be afraid of that which is unknown to us. The defenders of these games like to point out that the violence in games is not a negative influence to rational players or people and that it may only impact people who play them and are already mentally distressed or unstable.
One big question that comes up regarding this topic is who is responsible for monitoring who has access to violent games? Does it come down to the parents’ decision? Is it up to the designers? Another question that comes to mind is, why is violence to important to us? Why are we fascinated and mesmerized by it, especially in video games?
I don’t believe that a survey of sorts or interviews with various people with various outlooks and opinions regarding video games would be the best way to begin to look into these questions and perhaps search out some answers.
Joseph Wiggins,
DeleteThis debate about game violence brings up some important questions about the rationale of violence and how certain kinds of violence in certain types of media are more or less acceptable. I’ll give you an example. A teacher of twelfth graders had her class read The Hunger Games Trilogy (which is a critique of violence and reality television) and some of the students took offense to some of the violent scenes in the book. The same students, when questioned about consuming other violent acts in video games and movies admitted to playing violent video games. In the video game, the violence didn’t bother them, but why was it so troubling when it occurred in the book? Perhaps since there was some kind of connection to the characters in the book, there was this deeper connection.
What is the real appeal to these violent games? It seems that the games with violence sell the best (and many times the action movies (which are also the most violent) sell more as well. Is there some kind of disconnect with the actual act of violence when it occurs in video games? Are there games where players build deeper connections to avatars or characters who connect more viscerally to the acts of violence and the act of violence can solicit a more emotional response?
Keep teasing this out, and remember that I want you to develop some open ended questions that don’t have pre-packaged answers. There are a lot of theoretical articles written about gaming and violence, so you will have a lot to choose from (your task is deciding what’s important for your angle to this situation).
Best,
Joseph
One research area I would be very interested in is how sports, specifically contact sports have a positive impact on a person’s life even after they are done playing. I would especially focus on sports like football and wrestling because they are sports I have personally played and have been involved with. I find this to be a very interesting topic because in recent years there have been many studies and doctors, parents, etc. that say that contact sports are far too dangerous for children. I would argue that contact sports are no more dangerous than putting a child in ballet. Studies suggest that the sports that produce the most injuries are actually cheerleading/gymnastics, followed by soccer, both of which are thought of as non-contact sports. Football is third on the list but my study would focus on how and why is it that two non-contact sports can produce more injuries and whether or not people that play these contact sports learn certain valuable skills that people who do not play contact sports may not be exposed to. I have found through first hand experience that football and wrestling have taught me a wide rang of things that I have started using and will continue to use for the rest of my life. These sports have taught me discipline, how to overcome adversity; and teamwork, among other things. I will study people in certain work positions that require them to work well in teams and try to figure out what percentage of these people were athletes at least at the high school level. I will also research for example what percentage of the jail population was involved in sports in high school or above as well as other factors such as average wages for athletes vs. non-athletes. These things have specifically interested me because I have found simply in my circle of friends and among many people that I have observed that athletes generally have great social skills compared to people that never played sports. I have also observed that people who were involved in sports from an early age showed leadership, discipline, etc. compared to other people.
ReplyDeleteKieran Paulino,
DeleteLooking at contact sports as an inquiry based research project is quite interesting. Perhaps there is a biological component related to evolutionary demands to compete physically as hunters and for mates that translates into popularity for contact sports. Certainly, many studies have shown the social benefits of sports but what is missing from this conversation? Are there hidden benefits to the most physically demanding sports that often go overlooked? To what extent do intensive contact sports teach mental focus and controlled aggression and are these beneficial in different contexts?
You are onto a cool conversation (one that many are delving into), so you have a task of finding your way into this conversation be looking for something that is missing or something that needs to be extended further.
Let’s see where you take this.
Best,
Joseph
I was sitting in front of this computer, chewing my gum, not knowing exactly what to talk about for my research topic until I realized what I was doing. I was chewing gum. The same gum I've been chewing for the past two hours. The only reason I showed any interest in this is because in high school I was placed in our school's three-year dental program my sophomore year when I didn't even sign up for it. Long story short, I became the top of my dental class all three years and ended up loving the dental field, even though I never thought once about it growing up. I remembered a few facts about chewing gum and realized there is so much more to know and how beneficial all this information could be to everyone, especially our generation who is just obsessed with chewing gum. Why do we chew gum? How often does the average person chew gum per age group? A lot of people chew gum after eating a meal to freshen their breath cause they either can't brush their teeth or they're too lazy to. But how long do they chew that piece? How long SHOULD they chew that piece? we all know there are many kinds of gum to chew, but do we know the different kinds of harm they can do to your mouth? This research isn't to slander or give a negative connotation on chewing gum, so researching the benefits is a mush as well. In order to find all this information I will have to ask multiple dentists, of all specified fields, and research on the web tons of trustworthy sites on this information.
ReplyDeleteKyle Gonzalez,
DeleteI think your topic of gum chewing is a bit quirky and novel, but I’m concerned about you finding any research related to this subject of any real substance. I’m sure companies that sell gum are interested in learning about gum-chewing habits, but for the most part, I don’t think gum chewing is gets a first, let alone a second thought in the day-to-day thinking of most. I’m not sold on your topic, so you really need to do more to sell me on this subject. I have a hard time believing that gum chewing is going to keep your interest for an entire semester.
I know that UCF has a ban on gum (not that you can’t chew gum on campus). They just don’t sell gum on campus, and I think we know why. People sometimes spit there gum out without a care as to where it lands. I’m very skeptical about you pursuing this topic for an entire semester.
Best,
Joseph
Ever since I was a child I have always wanted to go into the medical field. As I got older my passion for medicine increased and made me realize that I would like to be a surgeon. Naturally I would like to base my research paper on something that relates to my major but I'm still undecided on what I would like to research because there are so many fields that I'm interested in. One possibility for my research paper would be genetics such as chromosomal disorders. How do they come about? Does age affect pregnancies as to where the child is more susceptible to chromosomal disorders? Do chromosomal disorders hinder a child from forming relationships with others? My mother is a nurse that works at two different hospitals and knows many doctors. To find answers to my questions I intended to ask a few of the doctors and compare and contrast their answers. Interviews with parents with children with chromosomal disorders could give me more insight to this topic. Interviewing teachers that teach children with disorders could provide answers as to how much chromosomal disorders affect the children's learning ability.I haven't fully figured out what I want to do my research paper on but this is a possibility.
ReplyDeleteGabi C
DeleteI certainly see a wide variety of people who are interested in the effects of chromosomal disorders, but with the time constraints of a short term, how deep into this conversation are you going to be able to get? Perhaps you are too broad in your approach. Maybe you could look at a specific chromosomal disorder that is peculiar or interesting.
It is really important to also think about how busy doctors are. Will you be able to meet and interview a few doctors? If so, what will two interviews really accomplish? Wouldn’t it be better to interview specialists in the field (but of course these specialized experts have even busier schedules and are harder to come by than regular doctors) Perhaps there are emotional aspects to certain disorders and doctors need to take particularly delicate approaches to certain people.
Perhaps you might consider looking into an aspect of medicine where you have more tools to actually do the research. Studying the psychology of positivity and its effect on recovery might be interesting.
I’m not saying you can’t do research about chromosomal disorders, but you have to consider your access to certain tools. Are you able to access the proper labs to run scientific tests? What inquiry based (open ended) research question will you start with? My concern with developing a research project in the medical field comes down to how much you are capable of contributing based on the access you have to tools for testing. If you are asking big questions about really tough medical questions, you need access to medical research institutes (which I presume you are a few years away from gaining access to). Say you read and study the current literature about a specific disorder and you really dive in and figure out where a gap in the current research exists, you can’t very well run the tests to bring something new to the conversation.
Best,
Joseph
Joseph Puccio Ball
ReplyDeleteProfessor Joseph Longhany
ENC 1102
With College beginning, important, lifelong decisions being made, I am curious as to when individuals feel that their “life” is beginning. Also, I am hoping to pinpoint when people have made their career decision. For instance, when did they know that their field is what they really wanted? However, I am having difficulty formulating ways in which to measure these questions. I will not be able to take a quantitative approach. Charts and graphs are nice and provide solid evidence, therefore, I am trying to find a manner in which to survey a population so that I can synthesize qualitative and quantitative data.
I am leaning toward gathering a focus group to accomplish this task of synthesis. By limiting the number of people, I will be able to more accurately record the qualitative data. Meanwhile, I will also receive quantitative data, such as years and age.
A stronger frame to use throughout this research paper would be to pose the question, “Has there been a paradigm shift in when/how people feel they are “living” their life?”
Joseph Puccio Ball,
DeleteI think it is really interesting to locate when and how people come to know what they want to do with their lives. How are people choosing their majors and what is leading them towards certain paths? How do people come to realize their passion? Does it come in a moment of inspiration or does it develop slowly over time? I think you are into something pretty cool. I am very interested in seeing where you take this from here.
Best,
Joseph
Ever since I was little, my ethnicity has been a mystery because it was so hard to explain. I'm the child of a Jewish half Russian, half Austrian, father and a Catholic Filipino, Japanese, partially German, mother. Don't ask me how this works. Culture has always been interesting to me because I was always surrounded by it. I decided that I want to look into what makes different cultures unique. What impacts culture? Their geographical location? Previous wars? Interactions with other cultures? So my semi-formulated plan is to research the history behind a few select countries and find out the roots behind certain traditions. Then compare them to one another to see any sort of similarities. I also want to do a few surveys to see how geography can affect the differences in tradition in the same religion. This is probably not exactly what I intend to do. I'm sure my plans will change in the future, but it's a good place to start!
ReplyDeleteSheryl Esmond,
DeleteYou are tackling some pretty big questions and delving into something that may take more than 12 weeks to complete. I think your task now is finding a way to narrow the scope of your study to focus more concretely on an aspect of cultural import to investigate. Perhaps investigating the culture of a country is still too big, but maybe you could research how some key rituals inform cultures. Perhaps you could look at some instances where multiculturalism shift certain dynamics of particular cultures.
You might also look at multiculturalism within families and potential conflict that comes into play as new generations are forced to live with one foot in an older culture rooted in specific tradition while another foot is in a different world of a new and emerging culture. How are people negotiating cultural differences in the contemporary world? How is clash of culture affecting the way business is done?
I share your interest in cultures, and I want you to stay with it. You need to put some thought into where you’re going here, but you are doing something pretty cool.
Best,
Joseph
Agustin Martinez
ReplyDeleteENC 1102- 0039
In my day to day life, I’m constantly mind boggled by the things I see and experience. In a way, I’m in a constant state of culture shock. Even though many of today’s social and technological advancements are older than I am, I can’t help but still be amazed by them all the time. At one point in my life, my state of consciousness heightened to a new level where I was no longer desensitized by everything around me. Instead of taking everything for granted and assuming things are the way they should be, I gained new perspective. I realized that the Earth is a thing of ultimate beauty. I realized that people, especially in the U.S., have become so disconnected from the Earth, the universe, themselves, and each other that it is disgusting and terrifying. Vampire-like corporations are constantly creating new and innovative technologies, some of which can be beneficial to the world, but many of which are used to bombard children with in order to bread them into lifelong consumers. The consumer culture of America has altered and disfigured human existence into a frail, withered memory of what it should be. Luckily, I believe we are getting back on track and are very close to a breakthrough. Anyway, what I was getting at is that I’m always wondering how life was or would be before/without certain technologies or societal constructs. I often find my disdain for consumer technologies at odds with my reliance on them. One societal construct I regularly find myself imagining the world without is defined sexual orientation. How would society work if no one was off limits based on gender? To ponder this, other questions must be considered. What is sexual orientation? What is the Kinsey scale? Is sexual orientation biological or influenced by environment/society? How are platonic relationships different from sexual relationships and what happens when the line is erased? How do relationships differ based on the genders and sexual orientations of the individuals, and what happens when the line is erased? How does sexual orientation relate to gender and human sexuality? Why does society attempt to label and define sexual orientation? What is homophobia? How did homophobia originate and spread? To research this, I would lookup some scholarly papers and studies to find some accredited opinions that I can use to either springboard off of or counter. I also might consider interviewing individuals of varying sexual orientation and gender to gain insight into contemporary opinions about these issues. Usually when I have these thoughts I eventually take it to the next level and imagine the world without gender. As of now I’m not yet sure if I could incorporate both of these questions into one study or if they would each require bodies of their own. Questions that would be relevant would be: why does gender inequality exist? How do anatomical differences in men and women contribute to gender roles, and what are other contributors? How do men and women differ mentally and emotionally, and how much of that difference is biological or societal? How much does sex influence human interactions and relationships? For now I’ll consider these as two different studies I might want to get into, and if they begin to intersect I’ll consider fully merging them.
AgustinElias,
DeleteI really enjoyed reading your posting because you touch on many interesting ideas and bring many insightful perspective to the table. You have a penchant for being curious about so many things, and for an inquiry based project, this will serve you quite well. I think you are aware that this is a double edged sword when you are being called to investigate a single research conversation. You pose some great questions about sex and gender. It’s interesting that certain traditional fields of work are associated with specific gender roles. I also wonder how much parental styles can factor into gender development. It’s interesting that some gay women and men develop a gender orientation of femininity for men and masculinity for females. Is this a conscious decision or is it something that develops within the psyche over time?
You are on your way to something really cool, and your next step is to find your own niche and develop an angle.
Best,
Joseph
Alexandra Beeman
ReplyDeleteENC1102-0038
In recent events occurring not only in Florida, but the United States issues were raised involving guns and self-defense. A crucial aspect to the spike of my interest in the current issues is the Trayvon Martin shooting in Sanford, Florida… Close to home, here, for many of us. Florida is not the only state that has a “Stand Your Ground” law; this is a nation wide controversy. I do not take the liberal side of the controversy like most eighteen year olds living in Florida do. I was immensely active in watching the trial and keeping up with it when I wasn’t able to be at my television. This included following Twitter profiles with updates, and receiving text messages from News stations with updates.
What I am mostly interested in studying is how on how something so important to our country for years past, having the right to bare arms and having the right to kill if felt your life is in danger is becoming so meaningless to members of our country. Always keeping in mind that these very things are why so many people from other countries come to the United States, looking for the American Dream, or as we know it... Freedom. As we know, the media played and incredibly big in the Trayvon Martin controversy. I’m especially interested in if it is the media that is causing this shift in attitudes toward the “Stand Your Ground” laws, or if there is other factors and what they may be.
To conduct a study on my question, I will interview/survey people in the older age range, middle age range, and young adult age range on their views on the “Stand Your Ground” Law, and their reasoning behind their views. I will ask if the media influenced their decision, and if it was positively or negatively influenced. As I am not asking a lot of questions, I hope I can interview a larger quantity of people.
I know this is such a controversial topic, so those that are interviewed will probably hold extreme views on the topic. I am interested to know how the age groups vary and how their reasoning’s vary. I anticipate that those of the older age group will hold more traditional views and agree with the law, those in the middle age group will vary in opinions, and that those in the young adult age group will not support the laws.
Alexandra Beeman,
DeleteThis issue of Stand your Ground is an interesting one to look into. The concern from minorities is that the stand your ground law is being evoked at a disproportionate rate in cases where white people have shot and killed minorities. In what cases have stand your ground laws been invoked, and to what extent does this claim about the stand your ground law disproportionately allowing majority race individuals a free pass when a murder charge could have been levied hold true? It would be interesting to see the entirety of stand your ground defense cases and read through how the racial makeup of the constituents shakes out.
Others claim that stand your ground is a license to kill. For example, if I am packing my concealed weapon and walk down the street and pick a fight with someone. Let’s say I walk up to a person and start cursing in his face. He pushes me and I come back throwing punches. Then, when he gets the upper hand in the fight, I pull out my gun and blow him away. If there are no witnesses, I can just tell the story that this person started a fight with me and I had to defend myself. Even though I was the one who instigated the fight (because I felt like a tough guy carrying my gun around), the other person is dead, and no one can prove that I wasn’t defending myself.
With an issue like the one you are investigating, you have to be careful because you come to this issue with a very strong opinion about how your research will turn out. I’m also a bit worried about you doing a simple survey for your research project. Say you interview fifty people, some in various age groups; you are going to get other variables at play here. Certainly race will play a big role too. Black people will not like this law and will be very much against it. How can you ensure you are interviewing a fair sampling of people? What about the origins of the law? Where did it start and what were the circumstances for it? I know it is law in Florida and Texas, but I’m not sure of other states that have ‘stand your ground’ type laws.
I’m interested to see how you set up your inquiry based study. I’m expecting you to frame this as an open ended question and though I know which side you stand on this issue, it’ll be interesting to see how you do this study and how you develop it.
Best,
Joseph
Sarah Mucklai
ReplyDeleteENC 1102-0038
When asked to write about a specific subject, hundreds of ideas crossed my mind. Although when asked to write about a specific subject which I hold a stand point on, I found myself having a strong opinion regarding only one main subject. As a young girl, many expectations are set in regards to the way you must look, the way you act, and what things should and should not interest you. These stereotypical ideas are often also carried out into adulthood. The United States is known as a place of freedom to express your own beliefs, although when one expresses beliefs outside the norm, they are looked upon as strange and outsiders to society. Growing up in what seems to be a very materialistic society, I believe that rather than focusing upon intellectual, beneficial ideas, society has focused on vanity. As a teenage girl, I remember times in life where I have seen one woman excel further than another simply due to their physical appearance rather than what one truly has to offer. Most physically attractive girls seemed to be given more attention than those who were kinder and more intelligent. At such a young age, I developed an understanding that the world often seems to favor those who have a more pleasing outer appearance. I also realized that this favoring is not correct and extremely unfair.
Due to this, the subject I decided to further study upon is beauty contests. Are beauty contests helping or hurting society? Do beauty contests belittle women rather than promote them? When thinking about these questions, I decided that both men and women should be surveyed in regards to answering these questions. The age ranges which I plan to survey are still yet undecided. I have decided to also survey men to further understand their view upon these women who are contestants in these contests. When conducting this study, I must also extend my understanding upon the subject of beauty contests. I will be watching previous beauty contests to see what the contests seem to solely focus on. Also, I will have my focus group view these contests to gather their opinions upon the idea of whether or not these beauty contests are a positive or negative attribute towards both society and women. With this study, I hope to prove that beauty contests are a negative attribute towards society and should not be continued.
sarah mucklai,
DeleteI am really interested to see where you take this study. The construct of specific kinds of beauty are really a selling point for the beauty product industry which is a multi-billion dollar industry. I think your look into the world of beauty pageants could be very interesting. There is a Miss UCF pageant that may be holding events this term, so this might be a place to see about interviewing pageant goers.
You have a really strong handle on what you want to do. I really look forward to seeing where you take this study.
Best,
Joseph
I was born and raised in daytona beach to a Hispanic mother and a Guatemalan father. We were surrounded by family up until I left for Arizona and stayed there for ten years. I did not have much contact with my extended family while I lived in Arizona.When my mother told me we had to move back to Florida I was ecstatic to meet my cousins around my age. They were four boys, two of them twins, and three girls. Meeting my cousins I noticed differences between us. In our likes, dislikes, the way we spoke, and many other things. I started to wonder is it because of the way we were raised? Or is it where we were raise? How much influence did the community/culture we lived in have on us?
ReplyDeleteThis made me to want to investigate about the effects of culture on the individual or any other possible aspect of this. A closely related topic I wanted to go into was nature vs. nurture. How do we grow up to the people we are? If we were raised in a different environment would our personalities be the same? Can culture affect the way we turn out? Could we place an individual in a certain culture to influence their personal beliefs i?
A method I could use to possibly answer these questions would be to interview subjects about how much outside influence helped shaped their beliefs. I could ask other questions to determine how much influence an individual had in a variety of aspects like in romance, social norms, and political views. I would really be interested in further investigating something along these topics
Luis Perez,
DeleteLooking at the ways culture shape attitudes and beliefs is an interesting subject to look at. Culture is a construct, but because one is immersed in one’s native or home culture, the perspective might be that their own culture is natural or inevitable. You raise some interesting questions about culture in your posting and I think you can develop this into a really cool project. You still have to tease out an open-ended question that will get you into some kind of problem or issue. We know that culture really does shape individual beliefs, but kinds of emerging questions are coming out of this conversation. The question of nature versus nurture is abound and widely studied as well. Perhaps you could look at how cultural conflict emerges within families who have differing cultural backgrounds. How are these conflicts resolved and what kinds of hybrid cultures emerge in these situations? It seems that clashing of cultures in families can also happen when parents or grandparents migrated to the US. How can families hold onto home based cultural traditions while also blending into new cultural norms?
Keep teasing this out!
Best,
Joseph
Daniel Li
ReplyDeleteENC 1102-0038
"Grow up strong, study hard, do well in school, get a good job, and then you can have a good life." These are the words that I grew up hearing from my parents. They each believed that a medical route would be best for me. It seemed to fit me though since I love helping others when they need it. Of course, that was only half of the reason for my decision to pick a biomedical science major. The other reason was my fascination with biology. I'm a kind of person that does not enjoy seeing organisms die, but rather observing how they live and how they react to various influences. Of course, pursuing this major is not going to be an easy task, but my middle name does not mean "easily adaptable" for absolutely no reason.
It was during one of my various AP Biology labs in which I stumbled upon a thought-provoking, possibly dangerous question: Why? With so much wondrous life around the human race, why do we strive to destroy both ourselves and other organisms? Now I understand that evolution involves eliminating the least adaptable organisms, but surely there must be a line. Why would we, as a race, strive to destroy something that may takes years to create, yet only a fraction of a second to erase? I believe a study into the reasons behind our destructive behavior would be interesting, but there have been plenty of similar studies. It will be difficult for me to seek out what is missing, but at the very least, I have the start of an idea that will, in time, grow into something that I can truly research, for better or for worse. Perhaps I could utilize a focus group rather than a survey for when the time comes for me to seek my own research, or I could view several television shows along with movies in an effort to understand what exactly motivates us. I suppose until I have something more solid, I can only speculate as to how I will conduct myself.
Daniel Li,
DeleteYou are asking a pretty big question related to the arrogance of people and their destructive capacities. Perhaps a system of capitalism becomes destructive because the end goal is to gather up as much of every resource as possible and amass huge cashes of wealth. Perhaps there is a feeling of domination that people have that renders them with this sense of being better than the other life forms on the planet. Most environmental destruction is done in the name of turning a profit. Perhaps you could examine the rhetoric of destruction through one lens of how a certain industry generates wealth and uses propaganda and coercion to sell their deeds as less harmful (fracking comes to mind here).
Perhaps you could investigate the lobbyists hired to coerce members of congress to ignore environmental protections. Perhaps you could investigate the new rhetoric of contemporary environmentalist movements.
You have something cool here, and now you need to find an angle to really get into it.
Best,
Joseph
Leah Thomas
ReplyDeleteENC 1102 - 0039
8/29/13 11:30 Class
One particular research topic I've had a continued interest in for the past few years is the advantages of organic farming, particularly on human nutrition and well being. I believe that it would be incredibly beneficial to study the effects of organically produced produce and organically - fed livestock on the human body, specifically when it is lacking in many pesticides, hormones and preservatives. Though a topic noticeably lacking in warmth and soul, and instead with a harsh reminder of the detrimental practices rampant in the food industry, I feel that it is a topic that could be addressed easily utilizing the many resources at my disposal that could answer quite a few questions I have raised about the subject.
What are the key differences in organically grown versus conventionally grown produce, and those between ethically raised, hormone free meat and their rBST laden counterparts? What are the negative affects of GMO farming? What will they be 50 years from now? Why is there less organic produce being cultivated? Is there any truth that a diet high in fruits and vegetables, particularly cruciferous vegetables, as being anti - carcinogenic? Are there anti - carcinogenic compounds in organic produce specifically? In a world where 7.6 million people die from cancer each year, this information could definitely benefit the public and encourage us to make healthier choices.
Leah Thomas
DeleteYou are posing some interesting questions about the differences in organic food and food grown with chemicals. My concern for you entering this conversation is that you will not have the time or the resources to actually do your own study and contribute to this conversation. With that said, there are angles to this that you can investigate and delve into. For example, you might investigate how and to what extent different players are controlling food policy in the US. Much evidence is in regarding the negative effects of chemicals on vegetation and hormones for livestock, but given this information, why isn’t food policy changing? What about individual food choice motives? How might different factors related to food choice complicate the debate over food? Perhaps you could investigate the rhetoric used within the food debate. How are large corporations masking their evil deeds (Monsanto comes to mind here)?
You have an interesting subject to look at, but you need to be sure you can conduct your study given the time constraints (about 12 weeks left) and given the tools you have.
Best,
Joseph
Michael Keller
ReplyDeleteENC 1102
Genetically modified organisms- research proposal
Unlike many other students’ research questions, my question is not inspired by my childhood aspirations but instead was formed from a video that was played in my high school biology class. During the study of biology, our class ran across the issue of ethics during experimentation. We began discussing how the pursuit of knowledge and the advancement of efficiency can be hindered by ethics. We began discussing our beliefs on the pursuit of knowledge and the class was split for the most part when discussing the ethics of experimentation of plants and animals. However, when the subject arose of testing and experimenting on our own species, the answer was clearer in favor of halting the testing. Our teacher then decided to play multiple videos pertaining to the scientific advancement through genetically modified organisms (GMOs.) The first video explained the genetic modification of corn to create sweeter and larger ears of corn. This video was less controversial than the second video which displayed the separation of genetic code and planting that gene into another animal’s genome. This experiment was done with a spider and a goat. The spider’s DNA sequence that enabled it to create the enzyme to make its silk/spiderweb was removed and added to the DNA sequence to the goat to create a “spider-goat.” Although the creation of the new species was a success and the silk could be removed from the goats milk, the topic of altering the genome of a species is quite controversial. Many questions arise from this situation including: Is it ethical to alter the genome of another species, in essence playing as God? Does the experimentation on different animals (rats, insects vs. cats, dogs) change the perspective of genome altering research? Who should decide when genome altering scientific research should be halted? Are there going to be any negative side effects of these new species of plants/animals and how are they checked for side effects before offered to the public for sale? These questions need to be researched fully before the modification of genetic code of species creates irreversible effects on our society and world in general.
Michael Keller,
DeleteThis is a very fascinating subject to delve into (one involving a host of ethical quandaries which make it ripe for a rich and detailed research project). How do the ethical questions about new genetics questions play out in different contexts? Certainly, I am thinking of the immediate response for those who have strong religious ties and their perspectives. How are scientists pushing for genetics research framing this issue and how are they selling it to the government to ensure continued funding?
You can make your project into something incredibly cool. Perhaps you could set out to interview members of faculty from religious studies, biology, and perhaps some clergy. These different voices might say something interesting about the debate over the ethics of genetics research. You might also consider using a focus group and getting students from STEM majors along with students from the humanities to see how ethics might differ depending on one’s disciplinary trajectory.
You have so many possibilities here, so your toughest task will be teasing out what you will do out of all you could possibly do.
Best,
Joseph
A research subject that has recently caught my attention is the affect of technology on my generation, and also the younger generations. I have heard from several sources that it is having a positive effect . These sources claim that our generation is smarter and has improved motor skills compared to past generations due to the constant spontaneous decision making involved in video games and such. However, I have also noticed an increase in childhood obesity. I am not saying that technology is to blame, but my question is if they have a part to play in the obesity epidemic that America is experiencing. For example, instead of going outside and playing, children seem to prefer to stay inside and watch television, or play video games for hours on end.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, I would like to find out if technology is actually making our generation smarter, and if it is, then is it also indirectly making our generation larger. If both were found to be true, then which one would our generation be more interested in, their health or technology?
A way that could possibly help me answer this question would be to conduct a survey among children ranging from 7-18.I believe people would still keep their main interests in technology, but maybe become more aware of their inactivity.
Audrey Gaines,
DeleteThe question about what technology is doing for how people think is quite interesting. I think most would believe that the rise in obesity rates has something to do with the sedentary aspect related to most gaming activities. I think the question of connecting obesity to gaming is a study that is tough to prove one way or another because there are way too many variables to test for.
You might want to check out a piece by Nicholas Carr titled “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” It is a solid piece (though a few years old) and it raises some interesting questions you might find useful for your own research. It seems that the new digital spaces people inhabit are allowing them to adopt new personas and identities. I know people who are very shy and reserved in the physical world, but in the digital world they are more extroverted. To what extent does the increased social interaction in online spaces detract from one’s abilities to interact more adeptly in physical situations?
You are onto something pretty cool here, and out of all the directions you can take here, you need to make a choice as to which path is right for you.
Best,
Joseph
Emily Nakis
ReplyDeleteENC 1102
When I was younger there were a surplus amount of things I wanted to pursue throughout my lifetime. I wasn't really sure what I was going to select as a permanent thing, but I had tons of ideas of what I wanted to give a try. As I grew older I decided that I wanted to do something to help people. Discussions about College had started to arise and conversation about majors had begun. When I began to think about college I thought I had it all figured out. I was going to College to follow “my dream” to become a nurse and I would eventually become a nurse anesthetist.
As my first year of college progressed I had begun to notice that nursing may not be the path I truly wanted to commit myself to. I decided that I still wanted to help people and have an effect on someone’s life. Therefore I began to think about psychology and the potential of being a psychologist. With this in mind I began to think of things I wanted to research. I started to think about human development, and how the different steps taken to raise the separate genders had impact in the lives of those people later on.
Although this topic seems to be very general at the moment, I concluded I would like to research how the bringing up of a person of a specific gender can influence the way they view things later in life. My primary reason for conducting this research is to recognize why men and women who were raised differently because of their gender, seek to be viewed as equals later in life. There are many instances where girls and boys are being excluded from activities because of their gender, but later on in life are told that they are the same and need to view each other as equals. I am interested to see if it’s a beneficial method to either raise and help encourage the development of a child based on their gender or not. I am not yet sure of how I am going to study this topic, but I have been looking up some articles regarding the matter of children development and I definitely want to do something along those lines.
Emily Nakis,
DeleteYou are looking at some interesting things here, and certainly these are big questions. The differences in gender seem to be continually perpetuated despite growth towards more homogeny and some acceptance of gender differences. What if, for example, a girl was raised and given toys that socialize her as boys are typically socialized? Would she then develop into someone who appreciates and delves into sports and building with erector sets like boys are typically viewed to like? Does the rate and intensity with which gender roles are enacted and solidified in early life play out in determining personal interests and eventual career choices?
I love where you’re going with this, and your next step is to sort through out of all you can dive into, what will you actually get into?
Best,
Joseph
Rachel Tyler
ReplyDeleteENC 1102-0038
Lately, I have been conversing with my family about the topics of gay rights and gay marriage. It became apparent to me that throughout my high school career, the topic of gay rights really wasn’t a big issue in our society and in fact, it wasn’t even really a topic. I realized that just recently has the civil rights movement for gay rights become an important topic in our culture. Many people in the past year or so have stood up for their sides of the issue, and it seems that an overwhelming amount of people are in acceptance for gay rights, especially young people. I then began to wonder what has caused this uprising in conversation about gay rights. Could it be the decrease in acceptance in religion? Or could it be a movement created by young people wanting to make a difference? Or perhaps, it could be that social media has played a role in “educating” people on the topic? All these questions, and more, came to my head while I thought about this topic that sparks my interest. I want to put my time and effort into researching this topic and the main causes of it’s now popular nature. It is a huge social issue in today’s society, and I believe that it is important to know its history and why it has recently become such a talked about topic. I plan on creating a focus group with students of different opinions to talk about what created their viewpoint and what has influenced their opinion on the issue. It could be a controversial topic to research, but I believe the findings will be interesting.
As I create my research focus points, I could base my frame around the question, “How has social media and pop culture influenced the uprising of the gay rights movement?” I could also ask other questions to specify my findings and narrow my research by creating statistics related to the topic. I could even use Google n-grams to show the upward trend in popularity about the gay rights issue. The possibilities are endless, and I am excited and interested to research this topic, and I believe it will give knowledgeable information about this current, rapidly growing social issue in our culture.
Rachel Tyler,
DeleteThis is a fantastically interesting subject to research. You have a lot of possibilities here, and one angle to look at is how the rhetoric of the debate has changed as certain kinds of gains have been made. Twenty years ago, a very small percentage of people supported gay marriage. They were people in large cities who were college educated. Today, a small percentage of people are against gay marriage. They are people in rural areas (typically not college educated).
I love your idea to trace the tenor of this debate and investigate how it has developed over time. This is such a great subject that is so relevant right now. I love it!
Keep pushing this subject and see where your research takes you. I look forward to reading your proposal next week!
Best,
Joseph
Today many Americans do not make wise financial decisions. Many are spending more than they earn and others are living paycheck to paycheck barley getting by. This is because most Americans are not financially literate. Most know the basics of finance but do not have enough understanding to make the best financial decisions. This is a major problem that needs to be addressed do that we can make our country better as a whole. Financial literacy is defined as the possession of knowledge and understanding of financial matters. As our country has advanced and evolved over the years so has the way that our finances work. Since the area of finance has become more complicated it has made it a lot more difficult for people to reach and maintain financial stability. I believe that many struggle because they do not simply because they do not have a financial advisor. A financial advisor help must be knowledgeable about the common mistake people make and know how to correct them. They must know how to set up a plan that will help many others that will all have different financial situations. Not only will there be different situations each clients will have a different set of goals that they want to achieve. Financial advisor must be able to tell a client if their financial goals are realistically achievable and if they are not they must help them reach goals within their reach. It is very important that advisors are not only able to understand finance and know how to make a plan, they must also know how to explain the plan to their client. This lets the client know exactly what they are doing with their money and why it would be beneficial to them. They must at all times show that they are educated and up to date with the latest trends in finance because this builds trust with the client. Without that trust a financial advisor can easily lose a client to a competitor. Another way to build trust is to obtain certain certification such as becoming a Certified Financial Planner. This shows that you have passed examinations that test your financial planning skills and ethics. I believe that if used financial advisors could really make an impact on our country however many do not use them. I believe that they can be a key piece to raising the financial literacy level for our country. I could research this topic by finding statistics showing the difference between how people were using their money before and after they hired an advisor. I could also talk to advisors in the area about how much the average client knows and how much they benefit them. I could talk to the business teachers at UCF about effective ways to increase financial literacy in America. All of these things could help me find out what should be done in order to help Americans make better financial decisions.
ReplyDeleteCarl Porter,
DeleteThe field of financial advising is certainly a lucrative business that allows both clients and advisors to generate more revenue. In the beginning of your posting, you set up this issue of people not having financial literacies, but when you delve into the realm of financial advisors, you are really getting into the upper echelon of financial literacies. Large companies hire expert financial advisors (and the people running those businesses often have intermediate financial skills). I guess what I’m getting at is that solving the issue of financial illiteracy of John Q. Public is much different than solving complex financial issues related those in the business profession. Most people are not in position to hire a financial planner. Those who are in that position have already developed financial literacies far beyond the average person. Your current set-up seems to be one of showing that financial planners actually do their job. And in many ways, this will occur on a case by case basis. If you interview a someone who had a financial planner who was successful, the data will show this planner succeeded by doing (x,y,and z) which they will not easily divulge because this is sensitive information related to personal finance. I’m not so sure that looking at a few case examples of financial planners will solve any broader issue or will contribute any viable evidence proving or disproving the field of financial planning.
What makes the public so financially illiterate? This question is one worth delving into. What factors have led people to amass such huge credit card debt? What has led people to refinance their homes over and over again to grab a bit of equity now when in the long run they are paying through the nose in interest? Do people really understand the idea of how debt and interest work?
Best,
Joseph
I want to write about how your social status, as well as gender, play in to how you view racially charged (or otherwise controversial) humor in TV shows. I wouldn't really be able to do a focus group, but I think I could have a few friends watch like a controversial episode of South Park, or an episode of the old show Mind of Mencia to see how they view the humor. I would have them fill out a form after they watch the show, essentially just a questionnaire asking about what they thought about different bits and pieces of the shows, and then bring the work back to me that way I can compare and contrast the different attitudes towards the television shows. The best part of this topic for me is that I have no idea what to expect going in to it other than general stereotypes that everyone knows. I can even make it a two part study discovering their views, and then relating what I find about them to the common stereotypes of today's society in terms of how people of different genders and backgrounds view controversial humor.
ReplyDeleteShawn Petrunak
Shawn Petrunak,
DeleteI really like your idea here. You are pushing towards something interesting and you might try using some controversial bits from edgy comedians as well. You seem to have a really cool setup for your focus group, and as you develop and read into sources related to racially or gender charged humor, you may find interesting aspects related to this conversation. You might also want to investigate the realm of satire, because some of this humor may qualify as satirical.
Overall- you are off to a great start, and I really look forward to reading your proposal next week.
Best,
Joseph
Rodrigo Ruiz,
ReplyDeleteYou are discussing time in a very interesting way. There is an excellent presentation done by Phillip Zimbardo titled “The Time paradox”. Zimbardo really delves into how people perceive time and their outlook about how to live. Here is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LDwdyIxRy0
It seems that some people live for the present. The here and now is what counts. If it feels good or if I’m happy right now, then that’s all that matters. Other people live in the future. They think about getting ahead and finding a way to get ahead at every turn. They will stay home on Friday night to get ahead in the week to come.
After you watch Zimbardo’s video, what kind of study can you design? There are lots of possibilities, and I look forward to meeting with you next week to discuss those options.
Best,
Joseph
My Hoang,
ReplyDeleteI encourage you to explore these topics and look further into the realms of how cultures overlap and intersect when migration occurs. Assimilation occurs on some levels, but to what extent does assimilation mean one has to give up their native culture? How are conflicting cultural issues overcome and what kinds of hybrid cultures emerge?
I love that you have already underpinned the idea that you are not going to solve this issue, but you will contribute to the conversation, and that is exactly what I want you to get out of this class. There are some different angles you can take here, and you will have to make some choices about taking a certain direction. So far though, you have a very interesting subject to look at here!
Best,
Joseph
Riaan Du Toit August 29, 2013 at 1:06 PM
ReplyDeleteAs a creative mind, I have always been more prone to see the abstract aspects of this world (and not of this world) rather than the practical. It's in my nature. I've always loved art, painting, drawing, etc. but I've also, always, loved to ask myself larger that life questions: What if? What if there was a God? What if we were here for a greater purpose? And often at times, I love to bring science into account and intertwine science into my philosophical questioning. Like a few weeks ago, out of nowhere, my mind stumbled upon the concept of the Fermi Paradox-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox. Little did I know such a contradiction already existed, until I looked it up online. This contradiction really made me question our life in this universe, and it revealed some truths to me. But to take it one step further, I asked myself, if no other life has been found out there? Could we be the only ones? And would the probability of a God be greater than some freak evolutionary accident that left us as the only life ever to exist (and will ever exist) in the universe? And as someone who has always had the urge to believe in the abstract and as someone coming from a Christian home, my answer is YES. So my inquiry question is, how does creativity and imagination effect one's belief in a "greater" entity over someone who is more rationale and straightforward? Are some more prone to believing in larger abstract ideas (bigger picture ideas), than others who would rather lean on science and critical reasoning to explain our existence. As to how I'm going to conduct the experimentation, I'm still contemplating.