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The second part of this posting calls you to do a thorough review of a partner's results/discussion sections. The peer review is due by April 17th. You must review the work of a student who has not had his/her work reviewed as yet. Also, you must review the work of a student who you did NOT cover in our in-class peer review.
It will help to leave a brief message below someone's original posting indicating that you plan to review their work (so while you are doing the review someone else doesn't snap up your review and leave you in trouble). I recommend leaving an original message below someone's posting that reads something along the lines of: "I will cover your peer review." Once someone leaves this posting, it will help ensure that everyone gets a review.
Please carefully follow the instructions for the peer review:
Peer-Review Discussion/Results
You should complete multiple reads of your partner’s piece (one or two reads will not cut it).
Copy and paste the posting(s) into a word document.
Number each paragraph and on a separate word document write a once sentence synopsis of each paragraph’s topic and purpose. Leave ample space between so you can write and elaborate further on each paragraph. If a paragraph seems to be going in multiple directions, note the different directions the paragraph takes and explore connections between divergent ideas.
Note key support for each paragraph Evaluate how well the support/details are implemented. How well does the paragraph establish context and evidence? Is there a need for more details to expand a point or a need for more evidence or perhaps analysis of evidence to help deliver a point?
Create a ranking system to identify which paragraphs are most effective and which ones are less effective. Following your discoveries and inferences from your above sections, underscore aspects from each paragraph that need improvement and establish criteria for what works well in paragraphs that are strong and well developed. Look at transitions between different paragraphs and explore ways to improve transitions from one paragraph to the next.
Next, read the paper once more through; identify and look for a main point of theme that guides the results/discussion. From your previous analysis, and multiple read-throughs, determine what central claim is being presented. How clearly stated is the central finding? How can it be better stated? If there are a series of important claims, how could those claims be organized under one larger umbrella claim?
Come up with at least two questions to help the writer think critically about the direction of the results/discussion sections. What do you as a reader want to know more about? Where is the piece most effective and why? Which details and part of the essay stand out as most memorable and effective and why? Where does this piece need to be improved? Be specific in your commentary of your peer’s work.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCale Brader
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC 1102
22 April 2016
After conducting my analysis of the first three studies, it was found that people who took part in Critical Incident Stress Debriefing believed it was beneficial to their well-being. In Bohl’s study on firefighters, it was concluded that the personnel who did not receive the debriefing suffered from significantly more symptoms of depression, anger, anxiety, and long-term stress (Bohl, 1995). Additionally, participants in the study who did not receive debriefing also suffered from reoccurring nightmares, flashbacks to the event, as well as changes in their normal eating habits. Based on the results, Bohl even proclaimed that “it is recommended, therefore, that treatment be mandatory for firefighters who have been involved in a critical incident” (Bohl, 1995). Ultimately, being one of the first studies to have been conducted in efforts of evaluating the effectiveness of the newly implemented intervention program, researchers had somewhat of an optimistic view of the program for future use.
Another interesting conclusion drawn from the first three studies was that Critical Incident Stress Debriefing was found to be an effective source of social support for emergency responders. As noted by Bohl (1995) and Jenkins (1996), perception of social support is listed as playing a major role in recovering from, or preventing, symptoms of PTSD or other psychological problems. In this way, CISD also serves as a source of empathy for participants, knowing that other people who suffered from the critical incident are having similar emotions and reactions, and especially that they are not alone in feeling such a way.
While a majority of the first studies conducted on the matter claim that the intervention program is useful, Bisson’s (1997) study was one of the first to declare otherwise. In the study, it was found that Critical Incident Stress Debriefing was ineffective at best, and may even escalate levels of stress and anxiety. However, the results of this study may be skewed due to the nature of the way the study was performed. Rather than using group debriefing, as CISD is intended for, the researchers conducted individual debriefing for participants. Furthermore, the interventions were provided under inappropriate conditions, considering they took place in a patient’s room within a burn center while they were still in pain and on medication. Also notable, the individuals receiving the debriefing suffered from more severe burns, longer hospital stays, and greater financial instability (Bisson, 1997). Although this study may not adhere to all of the necessary methods for proper debriefing, it brought light to researchers that further inquiry and testing was required to measure the true efficacy of CISD as an intervention program.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKathy Morales
ReplyDeleteJoseph Longhany
ENC 1102
4/22/16
Results/Discussion
Affects of Communication Disorders on Social Lives of Children
Communication disorders affect approximately 1.1 million children in the United States and studies have shown their social life takes a negative hit because of their inability to communicate effectively. When a child suffers from a speech impediment they can often act different from other children when in a social situation, which leads to their peers thinking negatively about them. A child may monopolize conversations because they are incapable of taking turns when speaking due to their disorder. Unfortunately, due to their inability to communicate like other kids, they are often left out of conversations which causes them to think they are doing something wrong and in turn become isolated from their peers. Some children who have speech-language problems may also not be able to understand sarcasm or jokes. For example, children with autism interpret everything as literal statements, therefore when they are told a joke they will not laugh which can result in their peers feeling uncomfortable and less inclined to make jokes or say funny things in front of them. Another way that communication disorders can affect a child’s social life is due to the negative experiences they often have when communicating, when put in a situation where they have to speak they will get tongue-tied. As a result, their fear of public speaking only increases and they develop more social anxiety (The Understood Team).
Heather M. Back discusses in her senior thesis how children in elementary school are at the age when their social skills really begin to develop. They are immersed in classrooms filled with other kids their age and are expected to communicate and make friends. However, children with speech problems realize from experience that others their age are not very understanding or patient when it comes to communicating with them. As a result, they may shy away from interacting with their peers and gravitate more towards adults because they will show more interest in trying to understand what the child is saying (Back 19). Children with speech-language disorders are often less inclined to interact with children their age but show less difficulty initiating conversation with adults.
In the research study conducted at The University of Washington where two groups of children (1 with speech problems and the other with normal speech) were encouraged to play together, researchers found that despite both groups being perfectly capable of social interaction, the children with communication disorders often failed at their attempted social interactions or simply didn’t try and all (Guralnick).
Affects of Communication Disorders on Social Lives of Adults/Elderly
ReplyDeleteCommunication disorders do not just affect children. Adults and the elderly make up a great deal of the population affected by communication disorders and they too have their social life negatively affected by it. In the study where researchers followed up on 17 men who had language disorders in their childhood, they discovered that even into adulthood the affects of communication disorders can be seen on multiple aspects. Those men showed higher rates of mental health problems (some as serious as schizophrenia). They also showed significantly worse social skills such as a limited amount of close relationships and higher prolonged unemployment rates (Clegg, J.).
Communication disorders affect the elderly at a rate of 20% and is expected to increase because of the increasing population. The elderly can suffer from multiple disorders and issues due to their age such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease which limit their ability to effectively express themselves. 11% of the elderly population has dementia. Dementia is a disease which limits one’s ability to remember things however it also affects speech. Often someone who suffers from dementia will not be able to articulate the words they wish to say and will become frustrated because they forget what they intended to say. As a result, this leads to them not wanting to speak as much which leads to them becoming depressed (Mandel).
When suffering from disease that affects their communication, elderly people can not only become depressed but also become anxious and lonely. They have to deal with things such as losing their memory and physical capabilities and when paired with a communication disorder it makes everything seem impossible. They can often feel as if they are losing their personal identity. One’s social life is affected by a number of things and communication is at the top of the list (Yorkston).
Overcoming Communication Disorders to Have a Normal Social Life
When you have a speech disorder it can seem as if there is no hope and it is going to be something you have to deal with your whole life. However, multiple researchers have discovered ways that can assist with speech disorders so that one will not feel as isolated from society. In the study where two researchers studied the affects of a technique called “code-switching”, they revealed that despite some speech-language pathologists thinking this technique is disorder in itself, it is actually a useful tool for patients who are learning English as their second language. Code-switching can actually help someone more easily learn English while simultaneously perfecting their first language. This can help to ease the social pressures that one may feel who cannot speak perfect English because they can still use their first language but also learn English in a quicker simpler way (Brice, A).
There is another way that children who are still in school can ease their social problems due to their communication disorders. Computer science researchers developed an idea for a tool that hard of hearing students can use to accommodate for their inability to properly communicate with their peers and teachers. They proposed a mobile device that can “generate customized speech that mimics aspects of the user's past or intermittently available speech.” A tool such as that could help students to actually be able to communicate effectively without feeling as if there is a barrier (sign language) keeping them from communicating with whoever they wanted to communicate with (Kumar).
I will cover your peer review.
DeletePeer review
Delete1. Introduction into communication disorders and their impact. Communication disorders can leave kids out and cause them to develop a fear of public speaking. Has more than enough information, backs up the point well. Best paragraph but could be a little shorter.
2. Importance of communication at a young age. Children who have trouble communicating to their peers may try to communicate with adults instead. Gives further insight and gives good examples. Fourth best paragraph, elaborates well.
3. Experiment that shows how communication disorders can isolate children. Provides evidence for claims made earlier. Second best paragraph.
4. Communication disorders impact on adults and the elderly but mostly adults. Connection between communication disorders as a child and mental health problems. Elaborates well on this issue. Third best paragraph, really good with the title.
5. Communication disorders impact on the elderly. Continues to elaborate on the issue. A little long could have been tied in with the sixth paragraph. Sixth best paragraph,
6. How communication disorders harm the elderly. Kind of redundant, could have been included in paragraph 5. Seventh best paragraph, could have been tied in with 7th.
7. Overcoming communication disorders with code-switching. Shows possible solutions to the problem. A more detailed explanation on code-switching would help a lot. Sixth best paragraph, effective. 8th best paragraph, doesn’t explain much could be tied in with the 8th.
8. Overcoming communication disorders with computer science. Shows another solution to the problem. A more detailed explanation on the device could help but it’s already pretty good. 7th best paragraph, could have been tied in with 7th, also doesn’t explain much.
The main point seemed to be how communications can damage one’s social life at any age. They lead into what that damage could be and how they’re being treated. Like I stated before a few paragraphs could have been tied together and the last two paragraphs could have been better explained, I don’t really have a good idea of code-switching or the device mentioned in the 8th. Also more transitions would have been good.
Cierra Reid
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC 1102
April 22, 2016
Effects of Divorce on Children
After analyzing the data I collected from my survey responses on the effects of divorce on children, I discovered a pretty strong response. The response was mostly negative, but some questions had responses that made divorce seem positive. The first thing I concluded was that children of divorce felt abandoned, depressed, had divided loyalties between their parents and their relationship with their parents got worse after the divorce. Also, a majority of children from divorce have negative have had their view on marriage and relationships negatively affected.
Another conclusion I drew from my survey responses was that a majority of children of divorce were between the ages of 11 and 17 years old when their parents got divorced. The next biggest age block was between 0 and 5 years old. I found the gap between the two major age groups very interesting because it is a pretty big jump between the age groups.
The last most interesting finding was my sample’s response to the question: Do you feel your life would be better, the same, or worse if your parents had not gotten divorced and why? Despite a majority of the responses to my survey questions made their parents’ divorce seem as though it had a negative effect on them, a majority of responses to the question were that they believed their life would be worse if their parents had not gotten divorced. I found this very interesting because even though their parents’ divorce had a mostly negative affect on them, they still thought their life would be worse if their parents had not gotten divorced.
I'll do your peer review
Delete1) This paragraph addresses the overall findings of the study in order to inform the reader of the ultimate results. The writer states that the effects of divorce on children are mostly all negative, aside from some positive views regarding certain questions. This paragraph was the second most effective, in my opinion. In order to make it more effective, I think the writer could have included background information about the survey and it’s participants. For example, specifying how many total responses the survey received, as well as including percentages and demographics may have been beneficial.
Delete2) The second paragraph’s purpose is to state specific findings from the survey regarding the ages of children whose parents go through a divorce. The findings show that it is most common for children to experience divorce between the ages 0-5 and 11-17. I would rank this paragraph the third most effective. Although the writer does a great job explaining what she found regarding age groups, I think that elaborating more and giving percentages would make this paragraph stronger. It would be important for the reader to know how much discrepancy there is between the rate of children who experience divorce from ages 0 and 5 versus those who do from 11 to 17.
3) The final paragraph addresses the positive responses about a specific question on the survey. The question asked if the participants think their life would be better, worse, or the same if their parents had not divorced. The writer states that most participants believe their life would be worse if their parents had not gotten a divorce. I believe this is the most effective paragraph because the writer gives an example of a specific question that was asked in the survey, explains the results of the question, and makes an inference as to why the results may have been found. I think this paragraph is really well written and provides ample information, but including the percent of participants that answered their life would be worse would make it better.
The author makes the central claim very clear; Children are affected negatively by divorce in many ways. I think that stating this claim right off the bat in the first sentence would make the claim even stronger. While this is the large, umbrella claim, she makes another smaller claim, stating that some of the questions showed participants had a somewhat positive response towards their parent’s divorce. Overall, I think the author does a great job stating her findings!
Why might divorce be greater among parents with children in age ranges 0-5 and 11-17? How big was the difference in divorce rate between these ages?
Jake Pelot
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC 1102
22 April 2016
Results
The interviews that I conducted gave me insight into what factors can be the most influential in an athlete’s recovery. When asked “To what extent can mental factors (mindset, positive/negative outlook, level of motivation, etc.) influence recovery time from sports related injuries?” all of my interviewees had responses that indicated their firm belief that mental factors can play a vital role in the recovery and rehabilitation process. Brian Schmidt, a massage therapist who works with many high level athletes, answered this question by explaining that “A positive mental outlook and motivation will translate into increased dedication to recovery exercises which will, in turn, speed up recovery.” Each of person that I interviewed answered this question with different words, but essentially the same answer: mental factors do have a direct influence on recovery time.
The next question asked “Can you recall any particular instances where you have noticed that an athlete’s level of drive, mental practices, or outlooks has influenced their recovery time?” Again, all of the answers concurred, and used examples of times when the above factors have influenced an athlete’s recovery time. The most apparently effected examples were given by Dr. Craig Mintzer, team doctor for the Orlando Magic. He recalled that “a player this year on the Orlando Magic who had a fairly minor injury…was convinced that it was something major. He was also fairly unhappy with his play time, and the length of recovery from this minor injury was way out of proportion to anything that it was… his attitude influenced his recovery time, and it was all mental.” In this interview, Dr. Mintzer also gave an example of the positive effects of these factors: “There is a young guy on the [Orlando] Magic who, almost no matter what injury he has, he says he’s fine. He trivializes it in that he doesn't want to miss playing time and, in fact, he recovers more quickly than anyone.”
The purpose of the third question was to find out in what ways medical professionals plan athlete’s recovery process’ based on their initial observations of each patient’s readiness and willingness to commit to recovery. An Orthopedic Sports Medicine Specialist that I interviewed explained that in order to get an idea of a patient’s recovery capabilities “you look at how they train, what their sport is, what their social activities are, [and] if they're young and dumb or old and wise in regards to how they approach things.” He went on to elucidate that he has “physical therapists who are very strict and regimented, and… some that can, kind of, go with the flow.” He uses these different therapist styles to tailor an athlete’s rehab environment to be one that will motivate and work best with the athlete's personality by “[trying] to place them with the kind of [physical therapist] I think they're going to need to get them where they need to be.” All of the other subjects of my interviews concurred, in their own ways, that they are able to read patients to get an idea of their recovery and do actively use these initial readings to tailor their patients’ rehabilitation programs.
The fourth question of my interviews was “Do you think that recovery time from sports injuries can be influenced by pain tolerance?” Every interviewee gave an affirmative answer to this question, but for different reasons. Dr. Mintzer expounded that regaining range of motion is a necessary, often painful and challenging, step in the recovery process and so patients “that can tolerate pain a little more readily can get their motion back more quickly.” The earlier range of motion returns, the sooner the athlete can move to the next step of recovery. The orthopedic sports medicine specialist and physical therapist that I interviewed answered in similar ways to Dr. Mintzer by explaining how having a higher pain tolerance can positively effect recovery time. Brian Schmidt agreed that a high pain tolerance can effect recovery, but in a way that lengthens recovery time. He stated that “athletes with a high pain tolerance are more likely to return to full activity too quickly which can lead to an increased risk of re-injuring the affected area.” Mr. Schmidt’s answer is unique because it looks past the early stages of recovery that the other answers were focused around, and focuses more on the later stages when athletes are able to begin participating in their sports again.
ReplyDeleteThe fifth question that was asked during the interviews was “Many people are under the impression that professional athletes re able to return to their sport from injury faster than amateur, or lower level athletes. To what extent have you found that this is the case?” Each answer suggested that this could be the case. The orthopedic sports medicine specialist attributing it partially to the fact that “several hours after surgery…[high performance athletes are] rehabbing already, the same day of surgery” whereas “John Q. Public… probably wouldn’t start therapy for a week or 10 days.” This specialist expanded on professional athletes’ faster return to sport by saying “When you pay somebody as much money to bounce a basketball as some of these guys make, or hit a baseball, they're expected to play hurt.” Mr. Schmidt added that “professional athletes generally dedicate more time to recovery than the average person.” Dr. Minzter made the point that this view is a common misconception by the public; he explained that “it’s really not that the [professional] athlete gets better quicker, thats actually the amount of time that it hold take to recover, it’s that the person who’s not a professional athlete takes longer.” He went on to explain that the reasons for this lie in the fact that professional athletes have a lot more resources at their disposal, such as more experienced PTs, massage therapists, trainers, nutritionists, etc, and they are able to dedicate exponentially more time to the recovery process than the average, working, person.
The sixth question asked to what extent professional athletes use mental practices to aid them in the recovery process. Dr. Mintzer believes that high performance athletes have “trained their mind to focus” and it is part of their nature as a high performance athlete to use these mental skills to further themselves in whatever they are doing, in this case they are recovering.
Schmidt concurred Mintzers thoughts but approached it from the angle that professional athletes are more motivated to recover because they “depend on their athletic performance for their financial support or to retain sponsorship. The orthopaedic sports medicine specialist that I spoke with deals with many extreme sports athletes and has found that many of them “don’t use [mental practices] very much…and miss out bad on the psychological” component of recovery.
The seventh, and final question of the interview inquired whether mental practices are the main factor in a faster recovery, or if other factors (trainers, equipment, overall health, etc.) are more important. The answers to this question were very similar across the board. Everyone who was interviewed noted that while mental factors are extremely import to recovery, the other factors play the largest role with access to a team of experienced medical professionals being the most important.
ReplyDeleteDiscussion
After conducting these interviews with professionals from four different aspects of the the injury rehabilitation process it seems that professional athletes don’t have a secret weapon that gives them the ability to speed up the recovery process, but instead, the average person simply isn’t able to dedicate the amount of time and energy that it takes to have their recovery be as efficient as possible.nThe average lower-level athlete has a life they need to attend to outside of rehabilitation. Many of these people work full time and can’t spend all day, every day committed to rehabilitating their injured body parts like most professionals do.
For professional athletes it is their full time job to be dedicated to recovery so they can return to sport as quickly as possible. Their dedication and full commitment to this process is what drives them to achieve what seems to be an unrealistic, unattainable recovery for most people. Because of high performance athletes’ dedication and motivation to get through the rehab process as efficiently as possible, they are able to block out pain and persevere through painful rehab “speed-bumps” that might discourage the Average Joe.
So, through the insight of experienced medical professionals, I have found that mental factors do play a large role in the recovery process and mental tools such as perseverance and a positive outlook can be key factors in getting over difficult barriers in rehabilitation. But it is the dedication to rehab and access to an experienced team of medical professionals that give professional athletes the ability to achieve the most efficient recovery possible. Following my interview with Dr. Mintzer he said “If you’re a positive person and you think the sun is shining all of the time, you’re going to have a better result than the person who is Eeyore, you wake up and ‘oh, it’s doom and gloom and it’s raining everyday.’” This quote from Dr. Mintzer is an excellent example of the ability for your mindset to be either a helping, or a limiting factor in your recovery potential.
Anitha Anbalagan
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC 1102-0M13
4/22/16
After interviewing each physician, the significance of proper communication between patients and physicians was recognized. One physician said that “[proper communication is] very important because you need to get a good history and find out what is happening in their family life. It’s very important in [my field of] psychiatry to know if the patient has a good support system, and they’re not going to really tell you what’s going on unless you can really communicate with them.” Another doctor replied that “If you develop a good rapport with your patient you’re more likely to get them to change their lifestyle like exercising more, eating properly, and stop using drugs.” What we can gather from these responses is that a good relationship between patients and physicians is a necessity in improving the overall health of a patient. It seems that for primary care physicians in particular, due to the fact that they have the most patient interaction out of all of the medical specialties, proper communication will solve not only the illness that they come in for, but can dramatically improve the quality of a person’s life. It also makes patients more receptive to answering personal questions and detailing family histories. Without accurate medical information, diagnoses and prescriptions can arrive too late and severely damage a patient.
The physicians’ assessments of the diversity training already given in medical schools to new doctors are in favor of such programs and find them beneficial, however they are also skeptical of the program’s ability to truly reduce a physician’s bias. One doctor stated that he had mandatory ethics classes that ran throughout the 4 years he was in medical school, but was unsure if all medical schools did as well. He specified that “A lot of cultural diversity training comes not only from college and medical school, but personal background as well.” Another doctor said that “Right from medical school we are taught that you can’t judge a person even if they have a totally different background than you, you have to treat them all equally. However that’s not something you can truly teach somebody, that’s common sense, so no there’s nothing that can be done. You would hope that this is something that in medical school would be instilled but that’s not always the case.” These responses illustrate that although there are mandatory ethics courses and sensitivity trainings, personal background and acuities overcome them in shaping a person’s preconceptions. Be that as it may, one doctor indicated that even though such a course might not drastically change a person’s point of view, more exposure to it makes people more open-minded. Even if it’s just one class or one session, it’s better than none at all.
All research on bias in the patient-physician relationship was created with the intention of improving communication and in turn, improving the quality of health that every patient deserves. To receive insight on methods that physicians could implement in order to make their patients more comfortable and willing to communicate, each physician was asked about their personal tactics in creating a sense of camaraderie with their patients. One physician described their technique of trying to break the ice as “finding out where a person is from, what country or city, and talking a little about that with them so that they can relax and know that you’re interested in them as a person and that you’re a well-rounded individual yourself.” This method shows that the physician is genuinely interested in where they come from and will get them to open up more about what’s going on. Another doctor mentioned that “the word doctor also means teacher, so a big part of primary care is educating people and teaching them about their bodies and why we want them to do certain things. A lot of treatment is actually reassurance.” This demonstrates the importance of relating to each patient and answering their questions instead of trivializing them.
Delaney Miklos
ReplyDeleteJoseph Longhany
ENC 1102
22 April 2016
Surveys
The survey conducted received a total number of 220 responses. The survey asked questions regarding relationship length, satisfaction, emotional expression, and communication/problem solving skills amongst college aged couples. 83.2% of respondents were females and 16.8% were males. The lengths of the relationships range from 2 months to 6 years, with a majority of the couples dating from 1-2 years. 35.5% of respondents said they practiced traditional gender roles in their relationship and 45.5% said they did not. When asked if their significant other practiced traditional gender roles, 38.6% said yes and 47.7% said they did not. It can be seen that the percentiles are very similar with regards to both members of the dyad adhering to one particular gender mold. Of the recorded responses, 77% indicated high levels of satisfaction with their relationship. Taken together, 81% of respondents said they adhered to some form of gender roles, with the remaining 19% responding “Not Sure” or “Other.” Due to the closeness in the level of satisfaction to the levels and gender roles, a distinct correlation cannot be seen between satisfaction and traditional gender roles.
Case studies
In order to gain a more in depth understanding of how traditional gender roles affect long term relationships, three couples were chosen to participate in case studies. Each of the couples were categorized into different relationship gender statuses: feminine- nearly masculine, androgynous- androgynous, and nearly feminine- feminine.
The first couple, Mike and Melissa, is classified as feminine- nearly masculine. This couple is especially interesting because Mike exhibits traits typically associated with females, while Melissa exhibits more masculine than feminine traits. This would be what you would call “reverse traditional gender roles.” Mike and Melissa have been dating for two years and five months. Melissa reports 70% satisfaction while Mike reports 90%. This could be due to the fact that Mike feels very comfortable expressing his emotions to Melissa (scoring 72% on emotional expression) while Melissa is slightly more reserved with her emotions (scoring 60% on emotional expression). Furthermore, Mike is 90% dependent on Melissa, while she is only 60% dependent on him when it comes to making big life decisions. It should be noted that Mike pays for most of the meals, one of the only traditional gender roles Couple 1 adheres to. Nonetheless, both Mike and Melissa expressed happiness with the structure of their current relationship.
The second couple is Danny and Jess. They have been dating for 23 months and both agree that they practice traditional gender roles in their relationship. According to the Bem Sex Role Inventory Scale, Danny is nearly feminine and Jess is feminine. Upon talking with Jess about the quality of her relationship, she seems very satisfied (expressing 100% satisfaction), while Danny is only 40% satisfied. Danny feels that Jess does not respect him in the relationship, thus affecting his ability to express his emotions to Jess. On the other hand, Jess feels very comfortable expressing her emotions to Danny. This is a classic case of a one-sided relationship, where a majority of the relationship revolves around the more opinionated member of the couple.
Both members of the third couple are androgynous. They both agree that neither of them practice TGR. Both Amy and Owen express 100% satisfaction with their relationship. However, Amy feels that Owen does not open up to her about important life decisions. There seems to be some communication issues between Amy and Owen, with Amy ranking her communication skills at 60% and Owen at 70%. Of course other factors come into play in relationships that were not able to be tested in this study, but the results of this study show that gender roles in relationships are subjective, based mostly on what works best with each individual’s personality.
Interviews
ReplyDeleteThroughout the entirety of the interviews I conducted, these textual findings were supported by the claims made by the professors interviewed.
In the context of influence within the jazz genre itself, I asked each professor to ‘define jazz vocabulary’ in their own words. In every interview, the answers all aligned, opining that it is a multitude of melodies commonly known by jazz musicians, and that these melodies were often the melodies of found in the improvisational solos of the earliest jazz musicians. The professors credited early musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, or Louis Armstrong for most of the material used in the solos of every jazz musician to follow them.
In addition, I asked each professor about the origins of these melodies, and on multiple occasions I was told that many of these melodies were stolen from a classical repertoire. One professor even used the example of Charlie Parker carrying around a classical score in his answer.
Finally, when asked about the harmonic influences in music, all the professors mentioned the blues progression as an example. The recognizable fourth movement in the harmonic progression was ‘utilized time and time again by rock artist from the 1950s on’. Many of the interviewees also accredited specific harmonic ideas between the composers Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Bernstein, and others as a result of the jazz music harmonies of the early 20th century.
Discussion
Through my research, I was not looking to say that musical genres relate, for that is already understood. Rather, I aimed to find out how a multitude of musical genres have influenced each other. Through the textual analysis and personal research I have discovered two specific qualities of musical genres that displays direct influence.
By examining jazz, classical, and rock harmonic structure, and melodic material, I found many instances of congruency. In some way or another, each genre included features that reflected characteristics of another genre, and often, these genres influence each other simultaneously. This is the case with jazz fusion and symphonic jazz. Overall, I argue that each and every genre of music is in some way a product of musical roots from other genres.
However, more research must be done. The melodic and harmonic aspects of music aren’t the only way to define music. There are also rhythmic aspects, such as jazz containing many west african tribal rhythms passed on from african american slaves in the 1920s. Or even performance qualities, such as a hip-hop following the guest artist method of jazz, and containing lyrical improvisation. In general, more research must be done on the musical artists themselves, and who they claim to be their influences. Discussing interrelation of musical genres is important not only for the understanding cultural facets over different generations, but also our understanding of art evolution that is contingent on these cultural facets.
I'll cover your peer review.
DeleteMaura Aman
ReplyDeleteENC 1102
Professor Longhany
April 22nd, 2016
Results/Discussion Portion: Findings
Method of Experiment
In order to properly conduct an experiment on the effect of Music on Memory two groups, a control and an experimental group were created. Fourteen student athletes were anonymously chosen to participate, each taking part in the control and experimental group. Three student athletes at a time would then be tested under the stimulus of silence (control) and the stimulus of upbeat classical music (experimental). In each setting the same testing would presume however the numbers and words that were asked to be retained would be changed to eliminate the risk of prior knowledge. To incorporate visual and auditory memory the participants were asked to remember images, phrases, and number sequences. The images and phrases were asked to be retained for a longer period of time, to test long term memory, and the number sequences were asked to be recalled almost instantly after being read, which tests short term memory. Following instruction the answer sheets were collected and analyzed based on how many mistakes were apparent in both the long term and short-term memorization sections under the influence of both stimuli. Aside from the concrete evidence, observational data was also considered. Noticing the subject’s focus on the questions at hand and how they responded after each section is important in determining how the environment affects the individual as well.
Results of Experiment: Control Group
After testing concluded the data collected was analyzed based on number of mistakes in each section. The first group, which was memorization under the influence of silence, showed a lack of focus in the area of short-term memory. The first two sections which asked the subjects to recall images and phrases after the number sequence testing only produced one mistake. However, the number sequence section which tested short-term memorization produced 64% missed number sequences (9/14). This number was derived from the amount of number sequences incorrectly recorded across all test subjects. Some subjects did not even attempt to recall the information after it was spoken. As noted above, the observations on how the subjects react also come into play with the results of music on memory. For the control group their focus was not very apparent. Many laughed and seemed distracted while the testing was conducted.
Results of Experiment: Experimental Group
As for the experimental group the majority turned out positive results. In the area of long term memory testing there were no missed questions. As for the short-term memory section, 42% of the subjects missed a number sequence (6/14). The observable evidence also shows that the subjects displayed a higher focus while taking the tests under the influence of classical music. Most kept silent throughout the entirety of the experimental group test. Results overall suggest that under the influence of music, student athletes can be more productive in memorization of subjects.
Questionable Aspects of the Experiment
This specific experiment was produced on a very small scale that targeted a specific group of people. The number of people chosen was indeed at random, however the group was too small to ensure a definite conclusion as to whether music enhances memorization of material for student athletes. Perhaps testing under an individual setting rather than a group setting could also affect the focus of each individual. This experiment does not necessarily fill the gap as to whether music does or doesn’t enhance the memorization of subjects for student athletes; it simply suggests that music does affect these subjects in some way.
Joseph Morgan
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC 1102
April 22, 2016
Results/Discussion
Results
After receiving well over 100 responses (275 to be exact) to my survey I began analyzing the results. I filtered the results by negating any respondents that had not been in a serious relationship because their responses might skew the results. I was left with 81 useable responses. The questions were all scalar with answer options ranging from completely agree with the question to completely disagree.
The first question, “Have you ever found yourself confused by your past or current partner’s texts?” had interesting results. The majority (85.18%) said they agree that their partner’s texts do in fact lead to confusion in some cases. This is not surprising texting is not a preferred form of communication for couples because you cannot realistically impose inflection on your words within texts, sarcasm can also be interpreted as seriousness. Tone does not translate through short texts between partners, therefore, texting may hurt the health of a relationship if it becomes the main staple of communication.
The next three questions all correlate with each other: “Have you found yourself constantly checking your past or current partner’s social media profiles? Do you think texting and social media leads to attachment issues in collegiate couples? And finally, has something you found on social media or on your partners phone lead to an argument?” There was a common trend in the responses to these questions. For the first question 65.43% of the respondents admitted they do indeed check their partner’s profiles quite regularly. And 62.96% or respondents also agree that texting and social media lead to attachment issues in couples. 65% of the respondents also admitted that they had found something on social media or their partner’s phone that had led to an argument. These responses indicate that texting and social media do lead to attachment issues and jealousy.
Question 6 asked the respondents if they had missed out on a social event because their partner wanted to talk on the phone. 50.62% completely disagreed with the question, where 38.27% agreed. I believe this response is very important because it indicates that the majority of couples can break communications or plan for a break in communications when a social event comes around. The response to this question designates that the attachment issues related to texting and social media are not as bad as many have perceived.
The final question was “Do you think texting and social media are good for collegiate romantic relationships?” This question had mixed results: 48.75% agreed that texting and social media is good, where 27.5% disagreed, and 23.75% was not sure. This question had the largest not sure population out of all the questions. People really have no idea if it is good or bad. This raises many questions for the future of this field.
Deborah Shulman
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
4/22/16
Results/Discussion
Results
In my study, I found that less than half of the 120 participants had been victims of cyberbullying. The survey exposed that 40 people between the ages of 18 and 22 admitted to being victims of cyberbullying, whereas 24 participants, admitted to being the offenders of cyberbullying. Thirteen of the twenty-four cyberbully offenders, also reported previously being victims. These thirteen participants also showed signs of possible depression, low self-esteem, and did not keep track of the amount of time that they spend on social media. This parallel demonstrates the fact that victims of cyberbullying, are likely in the future to become offenders. Also, young adults who have been on both sides of the cyberbullying spectrum, are likely to experience each of the mental health issues or struggles that are looked at in this study.
Contrary to my previous assumption, the survey showed no direct correlation between being a victim of cyberbullying, and showing signs of depression. However, the study did show a possible connection between being an offender of cyber bullying, and depression. 11% of the 120 participants showed signs of depression and of this 11%, more than half stated that they did not keep track of their social media use. The entirety of this 11% also stated that in this past year, they were unable to abstain from social media for a full day.
16% of the participants in this study use social media for 6 or more hours a day, but only 2% of these participants showed signs of depression. This shows that there may not be a relationship between excessive social media use and depression. However, the majority of the 16%, showed signs of low self-esteem. Only 17% of participants stated that they do not check their phone within 10 minutes of waking up in the morning. The survey also showed that 83.2% of young adults show signs of social media addiction.
Discussion
The correlation that was found between the offenders of cyber bullying and victims is extremely important for scholars to examine. The study exposes the fact that those who are victims of cyberbullying, or more likely to later become offenders. In addition to this, these young adults show signs of low self-esteem and depression. This information is vital for researchers because it will help to minimize the amount of cyberbullying offenders.
Although there was no steady correlation between social media addiction and self esteem issues or depression, an astounding amount of young adults were shown to be addicted. This data underlines the fact that social media is extremely addictive which can become extremely dangerous. Previous research showed a possible relationship between social media addiction and future drug and or alcohol addiction.
The purpose of this study was to examine the possible effects of social media and mental health issues. The study determined that there is infact a correlation between cyberbullying and mental health issues, which shows that social media may have a negative impact on the mental stability of young adults. After conducting this survey, it is made obvious that there is a relationship between social media and mental health issues. With the rapid growth of social media, this is a subject that needs further investigation. When more than 80% of 120 participants show signs of addiction to social media, it becomes obvious that scholars must look more into the motivations behind social media use. We must ask ourselves, what is about social media that makes it impossible to abstain from for a full day? Why do we turn to our social media within 10 minutes of waking up, and how will this affect the future of young adults?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m8ZO6bJa9CNREVzXDb2kosT_7fHep9DbEHf068zTXkQ/edit?usp=sharing
DeleteBrooke Hammond
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
English Composition II
2016 April 22
The survey that was administered was taken by a total of 48 students. Of the 48 students who participated in the survey, 21 are nursing pending students, 22 are current nursing students, and 5 were previously nursing students. Overall, there was no significant difference between the motivating factors of future, current, and past nursing students. 83% of the total students who took the survey were female and 17% were male. The survey asked the students to rate 8 different motivating factors on a scale of importance from 1 to 10, 10 being extremely important in their decision to choose nursing as a major and 1 being not important at all. The factors included: influence or pressure of others, such as family, friends, or faculty, having an interest in the subject area, financial considerations, future job prospects, a desire to help others, could not get in to my first choice of major, easy requirements, and prestige.
It appears that students who choose nursing as a major typically base their decisions more off of intrinsic motivators rather than extrinsic motivators. The data shows that the number one influencing factor among students who chose nursing as a major was the desire to help others, with a mean rating of 8.1 out of 10. The least important factor for this sample of students is easy requirements, with an average score of 3.8. Having an interest in the subject area, future job prospects, and financial considerations were all rated of high importance, with mean scores of 7.9, 7.5, and 6.1, respectively. Influence or pressure from others, prestige, and rejection of first choice of major scored on the lower end of importance, with average ratings of 5.5, 5.2, and 4.8, respectively.
More females said that influence from others played an important role in their major decision than males. This could be due to the fact that nursing is typically more common among females, and therefore females receive more influence from friends, family, and faculty. More males stated that not getting in to their first choice of major played an important role in their decision than females. This may also be related to the small percentage of male nurses. Aside from those two factors, there was no other signifiant difference between males and females regarding motivations for college major.
Ill do your peer review
Deletehttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1gWQ8vrfLV9Yofd6XBPV756hmH_lHIFHsIoIpy8LcgE0/edit?usp=sharing
DeleteNicholas Husak
ReplyDeleteJoseph Longhany
ENC1102
22 April 2016
Results/Discussion
In order to answer the question, "Can fossil fuels be efficiently replaced by renewable energy sources?", I examined many academic articles to gain a deeper understanding for both sides of the argument. Using textual analysis I was able to compare and contrast key motivators and barriers of replacing fossil fuels to help me develop an answer. Many studies show promising results for replacing fossil fuels, J.M. Clancy shows using wind generation for 1 year in Ireland will avert a 20% increase in fossil fuel use and a 14% increase in CO2 emissions (Clancy, Gaffney, Deane 2014). Studies also show clean technologies or renewable energy sources are now technically and economically viable with much lower levels of support needed. Also, that policies should be directed towards decreasing fossil fuel subsidies and other barriers to renewables (Duic 2015). Renewable energy sources are a much cleaner option than fossil fuels but that doesn't mean they're always the right option, a study done in African countries shows this. Renewable energy sources like hydro, solar, and wind account for a greater share of power generation in most African countries. This may sound good but is not beneficial for their economies, renewables take a much larger capital investment to implement and cost more to maintain, meaning they would be making more money by using fossil fuels in that situation (Wesseh Jr 2015). The point is that although renewables are the best for the environment, sometimes fossil fuels are the better energy source to go with. This brings me to the answer of the question I stated in the beginning, renewable energy sources cannot efficiently replace fossil fuels. Renewable energy sources are cleaner sources of energy, but fossil fuels cannot be replaced that easy. We need to reduce our addiction to fossil fuels, but energy is too important to our way of life just to go cold turkey. There is also little question that the nation’s fossil fuel companies and electric utilities will fight to prevent a system of lower-cost, decentralized renewable energy (Cohen 2015). Fossil fuels are already so heavily invested in and used that it's very hard to transition clean energy, especially with no incentive. The industrial world was built using fossil fuels and the foundation goes so deep that change is nearly impossible for companies. Building a sustainable economy and transforming our energy system requires that government take the lead, fund the required basic research, regulate private firms, build infrastructure, and reward sustainable practices (Cohen 2014). The governments of countries need to take the lead and help promote clean energy sources so we rely less on fossil fuels. Renewable energy sources can help stop the dependence the world has on fossil fuels, but I don't believe the world can fully transition into renewable energy only.
I'll do your peer review
DeleteParagraph 1:
DeleteThe whole results and discussion section is packed into this one, long paragraph summarizing all of your findings and your discussion of them.
This paragraph has pretty good support for your ideas, but it is kind of confusing because it jumps around a lot between your different findings and your discussion without ever having a paragraph break to show that you're moving on to another topic.
I think it would be beneficial to break this section up into a few paragraphs, each with their own topics. Doing this would make this section flow a lot better and make more sense to the reader. One way you might be able to do it is breaking it up into one paragraph that explains the benefits of renewable energy, one that explains the shortcomings or reasons renewable energy isn’t a viable option, one paragraph that brings the information together and provides a solid explanation of your conclusion, and one that explains what needs to be done in order to facilitate the use of more renewable resources.
I think your central claim is that renewable energy can’t completely replace the use of fossil fuels, but could be used more. Renewable energy won't replace fossil fuels because it has little economic advantage when compared with fossil fuels and isn't viable in all situations. This claim got kind of lost in this paragraph though. I think if you break up this section into the paragraphs that I suggested above it would help to clarify your argument.
Questions:
Is there a way that renewable energy could be made to be as beneficial to economies as the use of fossil fuels?
What are some factors that limit the efficiency of renewable energy production? Any suggestions for things that could make renewable sources more efficient energy producers?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mtYuUNEeV7fN7YAGsugYh1w0g7vYBwytYWKGu9OjDFA/edit?usp=sharing
ReplyDeletehttps://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_S-ddRg4XnpcF9zUkZWcmpMMmc/view?usp=sharing
ReplyDeleteBradley Goldberg
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC 1102
22 April 2016
Results
The survey was administered to current UCF students in an attempt to see if living location and environment affected study habits. There were 43 respondents to the survey. 62.8% said they live on campus, while 37.2% live off campus. Of the students who live on campus, 63% were satisfied with their current living situation and 52% have their own room. Of the students who live off campus, 81.3% were satisfied with their current living situation and 100% had their own room. When the students living on campus were asked about the amount of time spent studying each week, 89% chose between 0 and 8 hours with the median being from 3 to 5 hours (37%). Of the students living off campus, 100% of the responses were between 0 and 12 hours with 50% of the respondents choosing 6 to 8 hours. 76.7% of respondents who have their own room are satisfied with their current living situation, while only 53.9% of students who did not have their own room were satisfied with their current living situation.
Discussion
Coming into this survey, the main focus was to look for differences in study habits between students who live on and off campus. After analyzing the results, there is a slight difference in amount of time studied each week between students who live on and off campus. Most of the respondents who live on campus study from 3 to 5 hours a week, while most of the respondents who live off campus study 6 to 8 hours a week. This slight difference is results cannot be used to form a conclusion about whether living on or off campus affects study habits.
However, the results showed that a higher percentage of students who live off campus are satisfied with their living situation when compared to students living on campus. This is most likely because only 53.9% of students who did not have their own room were satisfied with their living situation. Overall these results show that students who live off campus are more satisfied with their living situation than students who live on campus, but further research should be done to form a more concrete conclusion.
I'll do your peer review
Delete1.The purpose of this paragraph is to list the statistics that resulted from the survey administered to students to see if living location and environment affected study habits. The results were pretty straight forward but it did get kind of hard to follow because there were so many percentages for multiple things. The central claim in this paragraph is really just the statistics of the survey.
Delete2.The purpose of this paragraph is to break down those statistics from paragraph one and explain the correlation between students who live on and off campus and their study habits. The explanation of the results was good and effectively explained what every percentage meant which made up for the confusion in the first paragraph. The transition between paragraphs is smooth and makes it easy to follow. The central claim in this paragraph is that despite the survey being intended to look for differences in study habits between students who live on and off campus, the results did not yield a solid conclusion. However, the survey did show that students who live off campus are more satisfied with their living situation than students who live on campus.
Questions:
What other factors could contribute to the students who live off campus being more satisfied with their living situation?
The slight variation in the results for the difference in study habits between students who live on and off campus seems to still prove that students who live off campus study more. What could be the reasoning behind that?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNicholas Villegas
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC 1102
4/26/2016
The Definition that I ended up with was “a competition That involves some sort of physical exertion where individuals train abilities of cultural relevance in order to entertain and achieve something in that field” In my analysis of these definitions, I noticed that all of the online dictionaries mentioned something about being “physical”. The only definition that didn’t involve the physical side was Wagner’s definition this was to be expected, but I didn’t have a problem incorporating this as E-sports does involve some sort of physical exertion. But I made sure to word the definition so that I didn’t emphasize the physical exertion, because the physical exertion in E-sports is very minimal. Another aspect that was near-universal across all of the definitions was “competition”. Again, this was to be expected as this competition is the very essence of sports and e-sports.
For the “physical” part of the definition, I decided to use the wording from the Oxford dictionary. Oxford dictionary uses the wording “physical exertion”. This was the best wording as it doesn’t discredit the physical part of sports without emphasizing that you need to be a superb athlete. With dictionary.com, they used the phrase, “physical prowess”. This implies that you have to be an athlete to play sports, which is not true of any sport, but especially e-sports. In Wagner’s definition, he doesn’t acknowledge any kind of physical activity in his definition, so I also didn’t want that.
I pulled the most of my definition from Wagner’s, as he mentions the culture of e-sports. More specifically, his definition was “a cultural field of activity in which people voluntarily engage with other people with the conscious intention to develop and train abilities of cultural importance and to compare themselves with these other people in these abilities according to generally accepted rules and without deliberately harming anybody.” This definition was the best base for the one that I was going to come up with as I echoed the center of the research done for sports culture. I especially focused on the part where he mentions “…conscious intention to develop and train abilities of cultural importance and to compare themselves with these other people”. This specific part captured sports culture the best.
In the Oxford Dictionary, they mentioned that sports are for “entertainment”. I took this as referring to spectators. This is important because part of the research was the evolution spectating sports.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMariana Gomez Kusnecov
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC1102
April 22, 2016
After analyzing all the gathered information form the survey, I discovered that the majority of the people that took the survey thought that it would benefit us as a society to learn more about the deep web for diverse reasons. The most popular reason that the audience gave was that we, as a society, should know what is going on around us, even if it is not what we want to hear. We all need to be informed about the situations that happen in the hidden parts of the internet and we have to remain informed of what could develop from the illegal businesses that occur in these places.
The minority that replied no to the question about whether or not we should learn about what goes on in the deep web gave arguments that were very true about what could occur if we all knew about this. Most of the people in this group agreed that the negative impact could be much greater than the benefit of knowing what’s happening “outside of our bubble”. People who didn’t know about all the illegal businesses and situations will learn about them and, if it is of their interest, they will be able to join and this network will grow greatly. Also, the traffic in these places will increase, and people that did not know they could have such an easy access to things like serial killers and illegal drugs will be able to obtain them without any problem. Lastly, a couple of people that took the survey agreed that it could be potentially dangerous for governments because the more people that know about it, the bigger it becomes and the harder it could eventually get to remain anonymous.
Carolyn Turk
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC 1102
4/27/16
After analyzing 3 countries (China, Nigeria and Norway) and their cultures I was better able to understand their values and beliefs. With this new understanding I was able to correlate a country’s beliefs and color associations with Coca-cola sales. Unfortunately Coca-Cola did not have sales numbers for Norway but instead the continent of Europe as a whole.
Coca-Cola Per capita consumption of Company Beverage product
Nigeria China Europe
23 (1991) 1 (1991) 91 (1991)
30 (2001) 9 (2001) 148 (2001)
27 (2011) 38 (2011) 179 (2011)
As you can see both China and Europe have shown a consistent increase in Coca-Cola sales while Nigeria has grown and then lost some sales.
Discussion
Finding product sales by country was very difficult and would have brought about better results if it was more were publicly accessible. Despite this the data found is enough to move this conversation forward.
In China and Europe the color red (the color coke is typically presented in) has very positive associations. In China it can represent China itself, fire, celebration, prosperity, happiness and is often the signature color for weddings and the lunar new year. In Norway the color red has come to be mean strength, from Eric the Red, father of Leif Ericson, the first European to come to the North American continent. However in Nigeria the associations are more mixed. Chiefs of Nigerian tribes often wear red to show their position but red is also associated with death and mourning. It could be because this mixed meaning that Nigerian Coca-Cola sales have been so inconsistent.
While researching Coca-Cola sales I discovered that in January of 2015 Coca-cola launched their Coca-Cola Life campaign. This campaign is to promote the launch of their lower-calorie version of Coca-Cola. This product has not yet launched globally but has been introduced to about 20 countries not including China or Nigeria. Norwegian culture is known for it’s close ties with the environment and healthy living. Coca-Cola Life bottles have green labels instead of Coke’s signature red. In a few years it would be interesting to see Coca-Cola’s sales in Norway and if this campaign had any effect on it.
1. This paragraph is a summary of what the information provided later on is about. This section is short and to the point to show the collected data. More background information could be provided in the case that someone might want to know more about what is happening in this section without having to read the rest of the research.
Delete2. The difficulty of finding the gathered information. This paragraph seems to be very short and could maybe be added to another paragraph instead of being on its own. Overall it is a good point but it could use more information after.
3. Important information about the cultures and how their beliefs might affect the sales. This paragraph has very valuable information about the data given in the first paragraph. These two paragraphs could be closer to each other instead of this part being divided into two separate sections. This is the paragraph that gives the information needed to understand the findings.
4. This part gives information about how the data gathered in the future could be impacted by the new product released. Since it is related to the previous paragraph, it is good that they are close to each other.
What other factors (a major situation in the country) could have influenced the increase/decrease of sales in each country?
What might be the reason why the information is not completely public or easy to find?
Katherine Ackermann
ReplyDeleteJoseph Longhany
ENC 1102
Results
The method I used to obtain qualitative data on the general populace’s opinion on the currently wealth inequality in America was by conducting an online survey. I was able to collect data from 100 individuals. The survey contained only ten easily understandable questions, and the majority of them being demographic questions such as gender, age, ethnicity, and the average income of their family. I wanted to make the survey short and easy so that people wouldn’t become frustrated with my survey and then have less people complete it. The key to my survey was having a wide variety of people take it, because I wanted to see if I could catch any patterns in how a group’s demographic would affect their opinion on the last three opinion-based questions.
Some factors did inhibit my survey’s accuracy. One factor being that the survey was conducted online and reached to people through Facebook. The majority of people on Facebook are college students, and actually 90% of the people who took my survey were from the ages of 18-24. This can affect my results when analyzing the last three opinion-based questions because younger people tend to be more liberal and progressively-minded, which is shown in the fact that under the question, “what political party do you most identify yourself with”, 42.42% of the people who took my survey said they most identify with the Democratic party’s ideals, and the second highest was Independent with 32.32%, and Republican with 25.25%. Another bias shown comes from the ethnicities of the people who took my survey. The wide majority of 74% being Caucasian, and very few being every other race and ethnicity. But, I am able to look at each survey individually so it doesn’t as badly affect the outcome of my interpretation of the results.
Despite some obstacles or biases that were encountered, I was able to find common patterns in the group’s political ideologies about politics in general and about wealth inequality. The first being that wealth inequality does anger/bother people, and they believe they’re being treated unfairly. The second, that the more something doesn’t pertain to you, the less one cares about the issue. The third, that wealth inequality has made young people more politically engaged but at the same time rejecting the two-party system.
ReplyDeleteWhen a person feels they are being treated unfairly, especially by the government or a higher power, they will have negative feelings. This theory was shown by my survey. In Question #7 ‘Who do you believe is responsible for the growing wealth inequality in America?’ out of the three choices CEOs/1%, Government, or No One, only 14 people answered no one, and the CEOs/1% got 43 votes and Government received 42. When looking at the next questions, there were more mixed answers, but the options fewest picked were ‘It’s Fine’ and ‘Doesn’t Bother Me’, which were the only two options that contained positive feelings towards the statistics about wealth inequality. The question with the most amount of ‘Doesn’t Bother Me’ and ‘It’s Fine’ picked answers was Question 9, ‘"A report found that the 100 richest US citizens control about as much wealth as all of the nation's 42 million African Americans. The total wealth of the nation's 55 million Latinos stacks up to that of the 186 richest Americans." How does this fact make you feel on a scale of 1-5?’. When looking at the demographics of those who individually answered, all who didn’t care were Caucasian, in the upper ranges for income, and mostly Republican. I believe these three characteristics are not at random and reflect how our society mostly thinks. If wealth inequality is majorly affecting one group of people, those outside the group are most likely not to care. But, the other two questions ‘"The 21st century has not been kind to average American families. The net worth — assets minus debts — of most U.S. households fell between 2000 and 2011. Only the top two quintiles of the nation’s wealth distribution saw a net increase in median net worth over those years." How does this fact make you feel on a scale 1-5?’ and, ‘"Corporate profits are up 20% while average Americans are struggling." How does this statement make you feel?’, had more responses associated with anger and frustration. This is because these two were targeted to the majority, ‘Americans’ as a whole, and ‘average American families’. The people who answered that they weren’t affected by these questions were all in the upper classes based on income, which are also the demographic that isn’t as badly affected by wealth inequality.
The simple fact that the majority of the people were either ‘Angry’ or ‘Very Bothered’ by the three daunting facts about wealth inequality shows that younger people, and people in general, are becoming more politically engaged but also frustrated with the political system. Although the majority mostly identified with ‘Democrat’, second was ‘Independent’. I think this shows that although they have liberal beliefs, the government is still not helping the average American, which is shown in the 43 people who chose ‘Government’ as being the cause for wealth inequality. Wealth inequality creates instability in people’s lives and creates negative feelings towards the government and politicians, but also engages people and creates political revolutions and rebellions. The fact that so many people are angry at these statements shows that there is a need for change.
Jake Perkins
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC 1102
22 April 2016
Results
The survey was administered to 103 students and of those students 71 had known of or had heard about Bitcoin. This question was basically an opt in question for the survey as prior knowledge was a requirement. Of these 71, just 19 had actually personally used Bitcoin. From here the survey begins to gauge respondents’ opinion on Bitcoin. Of the 71 respondents, 18% claimed they had a negative opinion of Bitcoin and that it had zero viable legal usage, 43% held a neutral opinion and claimed Bitcoin has some viable legal usage, 36% claimed a positive opinion and that Bitcoin is a currently an entirely viable legal alternative to existing currencies, and the remaining 3% had no opinion on the matter. Of the 18% of respondents who indicated their negative views of Bitcoin a whopping 92% of respondents claimed that Bitcoin should be strictly regulated by a governing body and 8% argued in favor of moderate regulation. Of the 43% holding a neutral opinion, 10% favored strict regulation, 71% favored moderate regulation, and 19% favored zero regulation at all. Finally, of the 36% claiming a positive opinion of Bitcoin, 4% favored strict regulation, 35% favored moderate regulation, and 61% favored zero regulation at all.
Discussion
These results suggest a relatively strong correlation between respondents’ opinion of Bitcoin and their subsequent stance on regulation. Those who held a negative opinion of the currency were much more likely than those who held a positive opinion to favor regulation. Likewise, those who had neither opinions on the currency and held a neutral opinion also were less likely to support regulation. Overall, moderate regulation held 45% of the favorability, no regulation held 32%, and strict regulation held 23%. Given these findings, it would suffice to conclude that while there is evidence to back up the theory that the general public thinks Bitcoin is a good thing for our society, much is yet to be discovered about it. Also, given that this survey was conducted utilizing internet forums, there is a fairly high probability of some element of response bias. Future studies into the public opinion of Bitcoin should provide the community even more insight into exactly what needs to happen with the digital currency.