Shift Happens

This video really made me think about our society today and how unbelievable it is that new technologies are being developed and changes are occurring every second. It made me imagine how society will be in the future especially when the video talked about how in years there will be a computer that has the intelligence of a human and that it's a possibility that it can possibly in the future have the intelligence of the human race!! I was really stunned when I read the facts about how in India and China the amount of students in honor roll is the same amount as just regular students in the US and how Nintendo spent more money on funding their product than the government did on education. The video almost makes me nervous for the future because I think about how different things can be, how easier or more difficult it can make our lives and how much money will be spent. Globalization plays a huge role in society today so after watching this video, it makes me think that different countries will so easily work together to impact our economy. As far as the government and education goes, people really need to realize how these statistics impact society and how embarrassing it is that our government and funding is putting such little emphasis on education.

Suburbs

After reading about the three types of areas; rural, suburbs and urban, I can quickly say that I have only lived in the suburbs my entire life. I was born and raised in Northern Virginia and have lived in my house since I was in kindergarten. Before that I still lived in Herndon but lived in a townhome. There are certain things that I like and dislike about living in the suburbs. I like that we are close to the city so I can quickly make a trip there for dancing, drinks, etc. but I also live in an area that is not too crowded, loud, and subjected to constant people traveling. From reading how areas are growing and changing, it made me think of my townhouse I lived in as a very young child. The neighborhood then was quiet and mainly Caucasian people and in a good area but over the years it has developed into a rough neighborhood consisting of Hispanics and the "poorer" people of the town. As we have read, low income neighborhoods tend to result in violence, crime, and less educated people.

Democracy

After reading about democracy and communism and radical approaches that people take to have their voice be heard, I know realize the extent of how complicated the government can truly be. I am happy with out democracy and appreciate that this form of government allows people to choose between two or parties when voting, let alone allowing us the right to vote. I think that at times it difficult to choose which party you would prefer to belong to especially if the candidate is making some arguments that you agree with and others that you completely agree with. When reading about the reasons why some people don't vote such as they can't make it to a voting poll station, I was surprised to read that the fact that a person can't decide who to choose for wasn't an option.

WalMart

Yes, I think that Walmart is good for America even though it does have its ups and downs. Walmart has very controversial issues however because of it’s low prices that result in low wages for workers. Walmart provides a variety of products from clothes, groceries, electronics and just everyday products that people use. This provides the customer who perhaps doesn’t made much money, a great place to shop at low prices that won’t put a dent in their wallet. These low prices then allows the customers to live comfortably and perhaps use their limited income on other things such as their children’s education, nice housing, and food. I thought it was very interesting to learn about the scanner that tracks the products and the sales trends and I can understand how this really improves sales for Walmart. I also was surprised to learn how one town was really made up of vendor companies that strive to become clients of Walmart and have their products sold at their stores nationwide.

The downside to the low prices and many products being produced overseas, is that the workers are being paid minimum wage and sometimes not in the best working conditions. The thing that confuses me is that if Walmart is such a huge company and they profit immensely each year, why can’t they pay their workers more accordingly?

Second Shift

I definitely agree with women having to endure the "second shift" if they are full time employees. I even feel like I have a second shift because when I come home from working 8-5, I have homework for three different classes and I have things to do such as running errands, going to the gym, cleaning up the house, cooking dinner, etc. When I read the chart that had the different errands, I found that the duties were mostly performed by my mother. She works part time as a substitute teacher and does all the shopping, cooking, and majority of the cleaning. My parents do split chores such as ironing, mowing the lawn, and other various things. I think that there are more gender designated chores but that women do deal with the "second shift", whereas men usually don't unless they live alone.

Religion

Secularization can be defined as the process of decline in the influence of religion. I am not sure that this is really impacting society that greatly because I have numerous coworkers, friends, and family that are religious and attend church. After reading the chapter, I learned that the actual over half of Americans who were involved in a survey said that they were "strong believers" in God (Giddens, 548). I also learned about the decline in church during your 20's but how it rises again in your 30'-40's and I completely agree with us. When I was younger and studying religion, I went to church every week but after I was confirmed and in my 20's I rarely go. I do think that if I ever have kids I will want them to go to church so this stays true to how many people start going back during their 30's. I think it's very hard to determine if secularization is a factor because there aren't many tests that are done about this, especially since the government isn't involved with questionnaires regarding religion. Also it's difficult to determine if people are attending church less since the numbers are constantly changing based on a variety of things such as age, job demands, family engagements, etc.

Japanese Americans

After reading the story about the internment of the Japanese Americans, I was disgusted to think that people could treat others in such a manner. Japanese were put into these camps just because of their race and the outrageous idea that just because of their race they were involved in the Pearl Harbor attack and many Japanese Americans homes were searched through by the FBI. I think that people get so distracted by a persons race and stereotypes that are put on people that they forget that their race or beliefs don't make them an awful person. I did like reading, that President Reagan publicly apologized, it just is awful that it even happened in the first place.

Gender

I was always aware that gender inequality was an issue especially in the workplace but after reading this chapter I got much more insight onto the different issues and how feminist groups view these issues. I do agree with what I read that typical female positions such as receptionist, office manager, and nurse are usually paid less. However I do believe that if a woman or male wants to work their way up to a higher level position that pays more than they need to work for it. But then again, what if this family didn't have money to pay for their childs education which enables them to receive higher level job positions in the future. My personal belief is that your race, gender, or social class shouldn't affect your pay. If it's a lower level position pay accordingly just as you would pay accordingly if it were a higher level position.

Social Class in the US

I think social class plays a huge role in peoples lives today in the United States. There are many people who are so worried about how others perceive them and other people who are so set on only interacting with those in their social group. Usually the people who are of high class only want to interact with other high class people or may be a little embarrassed if they do socialize with somebody in a lower class. An example of this is in a video from the PBS website when an engaged couple were from different social classes. The woman admitted that she was from a high class family and had asked her fiancee to change what neighborhood he grew up in for their engagement article in the paper because she was embarrassed that he grew up in a lower class than she. I also chose to watch another video in which WASPS characteristics were described and it sounded very different from the life I live. I decided to play the game in which you decorate your living room with different pieces of furniture and accessories (even a dog) and it's supposed to tell you which class you belong to. I apparently chose a variety of decorations and therefore the game couldn't pin be down as one specific class.

Technology Isolation

I think the expansion of technology has its ups and downs as most things do in life. I love how easy it is to just quickly look something up on the Internet, how one can go online shopping, and how Facebook has expanded which keeps me in contact with several friends and allows us to catch up and views each others pictures. In the work sense, I do lots of my work on the computer (payroll, looking up peoples information, entering info into Peoplesoft), etc. and rely heavily on technology for my day to day duties. I do agree with what the textbook says that more people have become isolated due to the expansion of technology since so many things are readily available and we need little human contact. However, this to me is unhealthy if it's taken to the extreme because we need human interaction to develop and to live our lives. I would go crazy if I didn't have face to face interaction with people on a daily basis and don't believe people should without this because you will become socially awkward. We read in the textbook about the boy who lived in the woods for years and wasn't able to progress in society because of his lack of interaction with others.

Crime

After reading about crime statistics and way crime can be prevented or moreso "detecting risks", I agreed much more with the proposal of community policing. This reminds me much of the neighborhood watch program that many housing communities already have. By getting neighbors involved to just watch over things, notice trends, and be able to point out one something isn't right can be very useful to a community. I don't think that the community should start acting like heroes and trying to save people from criminals but getting people involved seems like a good idea;more people can't hurt. Shaming to me seems like a bad idea because if a community labels a person as a criminal and basically treats them like an outcast, I fear that instead of being shamed, they will take their criminal behavior label and become more deviant.

Nature vs. Nurture

Nature vs. nurture is always going to be a controversial issue and one that I find very tough to decide on. With any situation such as gender, race, sexual preference, etc. there can always be a debate whether somebody is brought up that way and society has shaped us (nurture) or are we just born that way (nature)? Sometimes, I think it can be a mixture of both which really makes it difficult to choose a side. In the podcast we listened to, gender was the subject used and whether females and males act differently. As a female, I feel that my upbringing had to do with teaching me norms about women in society such as what is proper for a girl to wear in certain situations, how to act, what to expect of the opposite sex and so on. Also, society has formed opinions and thoughts in my head. When I hang around a bunch of girls who are very girly and like to shop, like to go dancing and get all dressed up that definitely influences my behavior so both of these examples are nurture related. But I feel regardless of people's influences, I am naturally a certain way because I am a female and thats when nature takes its part.

BBC clip-week 3

After watching the BBC clip performed by Hugh Laurie, I felt that his performance was in a way mocking American musicians. When he made the facial expressions that showed him really getting into the signing, the audience started laughing which made it seem that they are laughing at the fact that American musicians really get into their music. I also felt that the audience reacted the way they did because the only lyrics he really say were, "America" which seemed really self involved. It is a possibility that the British audience was laughing at the fact that Americans are selfish and only think of themselves

Stanford Prison Experiment

I think that the Stanford Prison Experiment has its ups and downs and is definitely a controversial experiment because of its physical and mental consequences. I think that initially i was a good idea by Dr. Zimbardo to want to create this scene to perform research on how the guards and prisoners would react but I think that the extreme it was taken to is what causes the issue. The fact that the prisoners were suffering whether mentally (acting as zombies) or physically (eating strike as we heard in the video clip) is what really brought about the question as to whether this experiment is ethical or not, even though I don't think that this reaction was intentional or thought to occur. I can understand though how the guards felt that they were put into these roles and they wanted to carry them out but I believe that the power they felt got to their heads and they became overwhelmed. However, in the end I think that this outcome might have not been intentional that the experiment did borderline on becoming unethical and I am glad that they stopped it after 6 days instead of the original 14.

Week 1 Introductoin

Hi everybody! My name is Kelsey Marshall and I'm 21 years old. I have been attending NOVA part time for the last two years and am working on my associates degree in Social Sciences. I work full time in Reston at an executive level recruiting firm and love my job. I have taken a four sociology classes and have really enjoyed them so far. I like to learn about different societies, different people and their beliefs. I like to hang out with my friends, go dancing in the city, try different restaurants and bar and sometimes I just love to sit on my couch and bum. I have worked as a manager in retail in the past and currently do more HR type work and have really loved learning different policies and working with employees so I plan to pursue a career in Human Resources. I hope to transfer over to Mason or Marymount once I complete my A.S. Besides hanging out with my friends, I really enjoy riding on my boyfriends motorcyle (weather permitting) and going to sporting events, such as Redskins games. I try to get to as many games a season as possible! GO SKINS!