Wow, I can't even believe that this is my last blog post for the semester. This semester in general has gone by extremely fast! As dead week and the end of the semester approaches, I can't help but think about all of the amazing experiences I've had this year. Even school has become more fun for me. All of the classes I'm taking have given me a better understanding in life. Majority of them being psychology-based, I enjoy the topics we learn and how much it relates to us. Despite the excessive amount of writing I had to do, I feel like I've become a better writer. Because of this class and the University Writing Center, I won't completely dread writing my next research paper or lab report.
I wanted to talk about my previous posts and what we can learn from them. Having a blog on peer pressure has given me the opportunity to write about a number of things, such as gangs, school violence, and personal issues that many of us have faced. Though we have all grown up with some type of pressures, we don't realize how dangerous certain negative influences can be. As I read a number of scholarly articles for my research paper, I understood the motives behind peer pressure and violence. However, many people in our society consider this as a norm and natural human behavior. We must realize that proper guidance for any troubled individual can create brighter futures. Children and the current young generation, including ourselves, tend to rely on peers for assistance and guidance. Being away from our families, even as college students we should be able to make smart choices on our own, without our friends' influences. Our social environment must be less contaminated to decrease violent incidences that can easily be prevented. We have learned that a simple mistake can create a terrible situation leaving many people helpless, such as school shootings, extreme drug and alcohol consumption, and gang initiations. In order to live the life you want to, you must learn how to live it properly. Therefore, you can't live unless you learn.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Thanksgiving is almost here!
Hello everyone! So this week has been jam packed for me. I just now finished a 25 page job analysis for my psychology class and I'm still editing the paper due for this class. I still need to finish my lab report due tomorrow...haven't even started. I'm sure you guys are wondering why I'm telling you all this because I know you all have your own problems. We all have assignments/exams before the break so I'm sure we are all stressed. Sleep hasn't been able to fit in my schedule for the past couple of days and I'm sure you can relate.
Alright so now that I have all of the negatives thrown out there,I just want to say that WE ARE ALMOST THERE! Before you know it, we will be enjoying our long-awaited break to relax with our family and appreciate everything we have. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays by far because 1) I absolutely LOVE food and 2) I get to spend quality time with my family. I know that during college we are so busy with our social lives and studying that we get too carried away. We often go days without communicating with our parents and family members. I must admit, I haven't had a proper conversation with my mom in over two days. This may seem like nothing, but in reality its always in the back of my mind. When stressed, I turn to coffee or social networking when I should be turning to my parents for comfort, even if it may be through phone calls. It's important to gain the understanding that friends will come and go, but family will last forever. That is also another reason why I appreciate this holiday.
Just thought I'd share my current emotional state with you all. Hope everyone does great on their papers and exams. Be sure to go home for Thanksgiving and come back for the t.u. game! :)
Until next time,
Peace and Blessings!
Alright so now that I have all of the negatives thrown out there,I just want to say that WE ARE ALMOST THERE! Before you know it, we will be enjoying our long-awaited break to relax with our family and appreciate everything we have. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays by far because 1) I absolutely LOVE food and 2) I get to spend quality time with my family. I know that during college we are so busy with our social lives and studying that we get too carried away. We often go days without communicating with our parents and family members. I must admit, I haven't had a proper conversation with my mom in over two days. This may seem like nothing, but in reality its always in the back of my mind. When stressed, I turn to coffee or social networking when I should be turning to my parents for comfort, even if it may be through phone calls. It's important to gain the understanding that friends will come and go, but family will last forever. That is also another reason why I appreciate this holiday.
Just thought I'd share my current emotional state with you all. Hope everyone does great on their papers and exams. Be sure to go home for Thanksgiving and come back for the t.u. game! :)
Until next time,
Peace and Blessings!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
A Reflection
When I think about, I realized that I was blessed with a great childhood with family that protected and supported me through thick and thin. Growing up with an older brother, he always made sure I stayed out of trouble and gave me advice on dealing with a number of situations. These situations primarily focused on encounters with strangers who seemed suspicious, pressure from my friends, and other dangers that young adolescents would typically face. Going a bit specific and personal, I do remember a time in junior high where I was pressured to drive my mom's car, without having a license or permit. It was actually a funny story so bear with me. My friends were over at my house for a sleepover and I clearly remember them daring me to take them to Sonic and they would pay for me. Since the whole house was asleep, I decided hey why not? Sonic was literally two seconds away. Well, I barely made it out of my street because I hit my neighbors' mailbox...twice. Thankfully, there wasn't much physical damage, but I definitely experienced some consequences that made me realize it could have been life-threatening. Not only was I 13, I also took the car without permission at a time that drunk driver's are out and about. Moral of the story is that regardless of your good intentions, peer pressure could definitely lead to a detrimental scenario.
If you would like to share any stories feel free to :D
Until next time, good luck on papers and exams everyone! The semester is almost over!
If you would like to share any stories feel free to :D
Until next time, good luck on papers and exams everyone! The semester is almost over!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Neighborhood Safety and Children
When first deciding where to find a legitimate source, I knew from the library session to visit the TAMU library website and look under "Databases". From there, I typed in EBSCO, the academic and scholarly-based journal mentioned by our guest speaker. He said that in order to identify whether its a proper scholarly source, the a page symbol with "Academic Journal" written below states its scholarly and peer-reviewed. Before I had gotten to the page of professional journals, I typed in "violence" and "peer pressure".
The article I chose written from the University of Tennessee, presents a case study that talks about the influence of neighborhood safety on proactive and reactive aggression. Proactive aggression is the calculated aggression typically seen in children from external factors, while reactive is the aggression in response to being threatened. A sample of 89 children ranging from ages 9-12 were taken for conducting the experiment on their parents', neighbors, and peers influences on their aggression. The study highly stressed the significance of maintaining a safe neighborhood with proper communication with the young generation. If a neighborhood is consumed with high crime and low safety, it can effect an individual's mental health. The researchers and statisticians concluded that these external factors contribute to higher levels of aggression and depression in children at school or other public facilities. Based on the statistics, peer pressure can increase and appear more frequently in a number of settings. As a point of intervention, its best to improve the social atmosphere of your neighborhood and internal factors including parental monitoring.
From reading this scholarly journal, I was given concise and factual information throughout the article along with statistics and data. This form of speech implies that its directed to a well-educated audience such as students, professors, and scientists. The study is very well-written and reviewed by a number of professionals to publish. The rhetoric appears to show a solid form of dialect that pertains to an academic audience.
If you would like to read more on the study, here's the link! :)
http://web.ebscohost.com.lib-ezproxy.tamu.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e271bf3c-e136-4000-b046-25d4a5206689%40sessionmgr4&vid=4&hid=17
The article I chose written from the University of Tennessee, presents a case study that talks about the influence of neighborhood safety on proactive and reactive aggression. Proactive aggression is the calculated aggression typically seen in children from external factors, while reactive is the aggression in response to being threatened. A sample of 89 children ranging from ages 9-12 were taken for conducting the experiment on their parents', neighbors, and peers influences on their aggression. The study highly stressed the significance of maintaining a safe neighborhood with proper communication with the young generation. If a neighborhood is consumed with high crime and low safety, it can effect an individual's mental health. The researchers and statisticians concluded that these external factors contribute to higher levels of aggression and depression in children at school or other public facilities. Based on the statistics, peer pressure can increase and appear more frequently in a number of settings. As a point of intervention, its best to improve the social atmosphere of your neighborhood and internal factors including parental monitoring.
From reading this scholarly journal, I was given concise and factual information throughout the article along with statistics and data. This form of speech implies that its directed to a well-educated audience such as students, professors, and scientists. The study is very well-written and reviewed by a number of professionals to publish. The rhetoric appears to show a solid form of dialect that pertains to an academic audience.
If you would like to read more on the study, here's the link! :)
http://web.ebscohost.com.lib-ezproxy.tamu.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e271bf3c-e136-4000-b046-25d4a5206689%40sessionmgr4&vid=4&hid=17
Fite, Paula, Michael Vitulano, Porche Wynn, Amber Wimsatt, Alden Gaertner, and Jamie Rathert. "Influence of Perceived Neighborhood Safety on Proactive and Reactive Aggression." EBSCOhost. 38.6 (2010):757-768. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com.lib-ezproxy.tamu.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e271bf3c-e136-4000-b046-25d4a5206689@sessionmgr4&vid=10&hid=17>.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Black and White
So for this week, I wanted to discuss an article that I found on the front page of CNN. As I continued to read it, I was completely shocked as to how much I wasn't aware of our society's views. The title of the article "Teen murder suspect carried backpack of hatred", focuses on two cities in Mississippi, Brandon and Jackson, and their racist atmosphere. The whites in Brandon show severe hatred for the blacks in Jackson, specifically being portrayed by a 19 year old boy named Deryl Dedmon. He was charged for killing a black man after he was beaten and run over by a truck (Bronstein, and Griffin). Definitely being a case of unjust violence, I seemed to noticed the social and environmental pressures that led to this tragedy. The tension between whites and blacks in this area influenced Dedmon to pursue such a hateful act. Doing the crime with his friends, they all laughed and commended one another for committing a murder. This article shows that racism still continues to persist in people's lives, which also provides a connection to peer pressure. This is because racist views are typically influenced by your friends, family, and peers you spend time with. For Dedmon, his peers participated in this crime, which psychologically motivated him to kill the man and carry on the act of racism.
If you would like to read more on this issue, check out the link!
http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/22/us/mississippi-hate-crime-teens/index.html
Until next time, good luck on exams!
-Sara Malik
If you would like to read more on this issue, check out the link!
http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/22/us/mississippi-hate-crime-teens/index.html
Bronstein, Scott, and Drew Griffin. "Teen murder suspect carried 'backpack of hatred' ." CNN. (2011): n. page. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/22/us/mississippi-hate-crime-teens/index.html>.
Until next time, good luck on exams!
-Sara Malik
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Audience Analysis
The New York Times blog under the Health called "Well" by Tara Parker-Pope, discusses a study that was conducted on how much peers influence one another on different levels. An experiment was conducted that focused on bad influencing, such as uncontrollable video-gaming. Teenagers were given fMRIs to test their brain wave activity when they played video games alone and when they were aware of their friends watching. The results showed that other people's presence encourage them to play longer and violently, finding every way to defeat the game. This blog by Parker-Pope gives two side: factual and emotional statements. She shows the viewers, who are typically adults who read The New York Times, the statistical side of the dangerous habits their children face and then additional comments to create more pathos.
The next blog called "Dont Suffer in Silence, Enough is Enough", gets attention of young teens and adults based on the same website as this blog. The information presented is also very short and simplistic, providing an image to support the topic. On October 6th, the writer of the blog (anonymous) discusses the risky behaviors that peers can lead one another too. Specifically, this case would be hazing in fraternities/sororities as the picture shows a few fraternity brothers sitting next to each other. When trying to get accepted into such groups, they fall into many dangerous situations and behaviors. These risky behaviors include risk drinking, illicit drug use and dangerous driving with some of the potential consequences: being charged with criminal offences, being involved in an accident or violence; hospitalization and, in some cases, death. Including an image adds more depth to the topic and helps the audience get a better understanding of these situations.
Both audiences differ in the readings were participate in class by the level of seriousness. When watching the movie "Team America", we were able to see how much satire was presented in the film, whereas these blogs give off a serious tone to be informative while also appealing to different ages.
The next blog called "Dont Suffer in Silence, Enough is Enough", gets attention of young teens and adults based on the same website as this blog. The information presented is also very short and simplistic, providing an image to support the topic. On October 6th, the writer of the blog (anonymous) discusses the risky behaviors that peers can lead one another too. Specifically, this case would be hazing in fraternities/sororities as the picture shows a few fraternity brothers sitting next to each other. When trying to get accepted into such groups, they fall into many dangerous situations and behaviors. These risky behaviors include risk drinking, illicit drug use and dangerous driving with some of the potential consequences: being charged with criminal offences, being involved in an accident or violence; hospitalization and, in some cases, death. Including an image adds more depth to the topic and helps the audience get a better understanding of these situations.
Both audiences differ in the readings were participate in class by the level of seriousness. When watching the movie "Team America", we were able to see how much satire was presented in the film, whereas these blogs give off a serious tone to be informative while also appealing to different ages.
Parker-Pope, Tara. "Teenagers, Friends and Bad Decisions." Health. The New York Times, 03 Feb 2011. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. <http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/teenagers-friends-and-bad-decisions/>.
"Peer Pressure and Risk Taking." Don't Suffer in Silence. Enough is Enough Blog.. Blogspot, 06 Oct 2011. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. <http://enoughisenoughau.blogspot.com/2011/10/peer-pressure-and-risk-taking.html>.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Visual Rhetoric
I chose a cartoon for my specific genre of interest focusing on a illustrated side to peer pressure's life-threatening effects. The image shows a small conversation between what appears to be a chicken and grim reaper. The chicken says "I don't want to die!", while the grim reaper replies "Come on. Everybody else is doing it. Eventually." This visualization is a perfect representation of the people that face peer pressure, their characteristics, and responses.
The illustrator shows the audience hints of symbolism, personification, and simple dialect through the understanding of the cartoon. One can infer that the two characters in this image are randomly selected just for laughs, however they have significance to the meaning, basically showing personification. A chicken represents a scared individual who typically refuses to participate in an activity that peers force them to do. Once they deny such a thing, many times they are called "chicken" for not joining their spontaneous and troublesome friends. The grim reaper, which is a symbol of death, tries to persuade the pressured chicken by saying that "everybody else is doing it." This is also a typical phrase used in situations like these. The dialect of these two are very direct and simple, easy to understand for any audience. People are able to easier interpret and analyze the visual because of the language.
Pertaining this to violence, we can see that the grim reaper is connected to death. The cartoon implies that peer pressure can often times lead to harmful experiences that can lead someone to their death. Whether it may be through words or actions, the effects can either way be a burden on someone innocent.
Here's the link to the visual! Enjoy! http://www.savagechickens.com/2008/03/peer-pressure.html
The illustrator shows the audience hints of symbolism, personification, and simple dialect through the understanding of the cartoon. One can infer that the two characters in this image are randomly selected just for laughs, however they have significance to the meaning, basically showing personification. A chicken represents a scared individual who typically refuses to participate in an activity that peers force them to do. Once they deny such a thing, many times they are called "chicken" for not joining their spontaneous and troublesome friends. The grim reaper, which is a symbol of death, tries to persuade the pressured chicken by saying that "everybody else is doing it." This is also a typical phrase used in situations like these. The dialect of these two are very direct and simple, easy to understand for any audience. People are able to easier interpret and analyze the visual because of the language.
Pertaining this to violence, we can see that the grim reaper is connected to death. The cartoon implies that peer pressure can often times lead to harmful experiences that can lead someone to their death. Whether it may be through words or actions, the effects can either way be a burden on someone innocent.
Here's the link to the visual! Enjoy! http://www.savagechickens.com/2008/03/peer-pressure.html
Savage, Doug. Peer Pressure. 2008. Graphic. Savage Chickens
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