Incompetent people hinder the performance of democracies.

As hopefully everyone knows the next presidential election is fast approaching.  This means the next round of political campaigns and advertisement is being shown to us, the voters.  A friend showed me this article, and it was very intriguing.  Everyone should take a couple of minutes to skim over it, because it makes a clear and persuasive argument about the knowledge of voters and their influence on elections.  (Article)

The article title reads “People Aren’t Smart Enough for Democracy to Flourish, Scientist Say.”  The article is based off of research done at Cornell University, and it talks about how those of lower intelligence are unable to identify the best candidate for an election.  It argues that people are only able to judge the ability of others up to their own ability, and it brings up the fact that people generally believe they are better at something than they really are.  The reasoning for this is that some people are too ignorant to know their incompetence.  There is another article that agrees with the research done, and it is interesting and humorous. (Article) 

So my questions to 1106 are, what do you think about these results?  Do you find this to be generally true in your own experiences?  Also, do you think this could play a factor in the 2012 presidential election? Did this play a role in any past presidential elections?

Candle-light Vigil

An article it from the Collegiate Times “April 16 candlelight vigil unites community, students” was a very well written article that described the candle light vigil that was held Monday night. The event was a very somber and respectful which was a proper way to honor the five year anniversary of the tragic event. Reading the article was like reliving the entire vigil because of its vivid descriptions. One main point the article makes is that the majority of students who attended the vigil were not Virginia Tech students at the time of the shooting. The article then goes on to say that it was amazing that so many students who never knew any of the victims and were not even in the same class could come together to honor the lives of those lost.

It has been mentioned to me by some of my older classmates that they were unsure whether there would be a candle-light vigil this year because the last class present on campus when the shooting occurred had graduated in 2011. I feel that the University made the right move by continuing the tradition that has existed for several years. I think it is the most proper way to honor those who were lost that day and to honor the phrase “never forget”. The event also brings the campus, students, faculty, alumni, and community members together as a single united group of people.

What was your experience with the candle-light vigil and how did it affect you as a member of the Virginia Tech community? Do you agree with the decision to continue the tradition of the candle-light vigil?

http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/19683/april-16-candlelight-vigil-unites-community-students

(link to article)

Why the hate for mainstream music?

There is an almost universally shared opinion that this past decade has been the worst decade for music in recent music history. Whenever I search for music video for a certain artist or act on YouTube, there is always a comment about how the state of the music industry is disintegrating. There is plenty of discussion throughout the Internet regarding to finding the reason why so many people are unhappy with what mainstream music is churned out in the past few years.

As for my own opinion, I hold two beliefs that can explain why current mainstream music is poorly received in general.

Music Industry is Bankrupt- Most major labels are desperate to make a quick buck to save the industry. Therefore in order to make a quick buck, the record industry is pushing songs and artists that appeal to the lowest common denominator (sex, drugs, and teenage girl fantasies) which can collectively be summarized in the video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lmCjJ0VBjjU

NOTE:  K’ronikka’s Booty Wave is not available on I-Tunes unfortunately.

Billboard adding separate charts for different genres of music- Throughout the 60’s to 90’s the Billboard Hot 100 featured songs from various genres of music. Therefore, many people who listened on the radio and kept track of the Hot 100 would be exposed to genres of music that they would not be normally exposed to. When Billboard started to make more charts dedicated to specific genres of music (Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, etc.), listeners did not have the same opportunities to find artists as easily as they once did. As of now, the Billboard Hot 100 features pop music while the other genres of music are isolated in their own specialized charts. Therefore fans of only pop music could be satisfied with the mass airplay of the songs featured on the Billboard Hot 100.

Do you believe that mainstream music is popular or unpopular with the masses?  

What is your reasoning in believing so?  

What is would you believe is the most/least popular decade of music and why? 

What do you feel music will be like in 10 to 20 years?      

What are your musical tastes and are they well represented in mainstream music?

SAPPY MORAL OF THE BLOG:  Some of the best music that is near and dear to my heart are classified in genres of music that I did not normally listened to at first. Try to expand your musical horizons because there is so much great music waiting to be heard and you are surrounded by it. While watching a music video, try clicking on one of the related videos in the related videos column on YouTube for once. (I promise that you are not going to break your finger by doing this.)

Any other thoughts or personal opinions about this matter would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

PERSONAL OPINION:  Before anyone asks me, I do not think that the 2000’s were the worst decade in recent music history. In fact, I think that the 2000’s are the most underrated decade in recent music history.

Where should the football practice facility go?

One current issue on the Virginia Tech campus is where the new football practice facility should be built. The Collegiate Times, the paper of Virginia Tech, has an article explaining the current problem. The article Opponents are determined to keep the ecosystem intact, raises up two different options of the location of the facility. The two possible locations are taken away the tennis courts and the roller rink on Washington Street or take down the trees behind Lane Stadium in order to build the facility. There have been several petitions formed for both sides. Either the woods or the tennis courts will be the location of the new facility. The football practice facility will definitely be built. Currently, the football team has trouble finding a place to practice when the weather is bad. They have to split time in the Rector Fieldhouse with the indoor track team. The new facility would allow the football team to be able to practice in the team’s personal facility during bad weather. Other benefits of the facility are the ability for other sports teams, like soccer, to use the facility as well. The facility is going to be built, but where?

Where do you think that the facility should be built? Should they tear down the trees behind Lane Stadium? Or should they build over the tennis courts and the roller rink on Washington Street? What location would you rather see be used for the facility? Do you even think it is necessary for the football team to get a new facility?

Does racism still exist?

Recently in the news, the case of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman has grabbed everyone's attention.  The article, The Events Leading to the Shooting of Trayvon Martin, gives the complete story (so far) of this very controversial case. George Zimmerman,  a neighborhood watch coordinator, shot an unarmed 17 year old African-American, Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman claims it was self defense, yet recently leaked surveillance tapes show him untouched after this supposed "altercation". He still has not been arrested. Many other details of Zimmerman's story have also been proved wrong, such as him claiming it was himself screaming in the 911 call. Many see this case as just another way that African-Americans are treated unjustly, and claim that if a black man shot a young white boy, this whole situation would have played completely different. 

I would have to agree that racism did play a role in this case, as the evidence against George is outstanding. 

Did racism play any part in this? In fact, is racism even a big issue in America? Would this case have been treated differently had a black man shot a 17 year old white man?

Virginia Tech Parking Problem

Today in class we discussed issues that Virginia Tech as a community has. Every day we, as students, are affected by these problems. One that stuck out the most to me was the parking issue. In the article, "Meters would solve parking problem" the editorial board examines this issue and one way to fix it. They believe that meters are the answer with local businesses getting the revenue with lots that they own. This would allow students to park for a certain amount of time without the fear of getting towed or a ticket.

 

            I somewhat disagree; I believe that the school should allow more parking for students not even having to pay a meter. We spend hundreds of dollars on parking every year with the risk of having to pay a 35$ ticket or a 100$ towing fee. Instead of tech building new dining halls and classrooms, they should be focusing on handling the population of people with cars on and off campus.

 

So what do you think, how should we fix this issue? Or is it even an issue worth worrying about?

shame of college sports

In the article “The shame of college sports” Taylor Branch talks about how college athletes are generating millions of dollars for University while earning “nothing” for themselves.  Throughout the article he talks about how companies sell their product by sponsoring teams and how all over the nation college students are being used to market merchandise from tickets all the way to shoes.

                Personally I don’t think college athletes should be paid to go to college. Why because someone is athletically gifted should they get a pay check? They are already more likely to get scholarships and have a lot of benefits being college athletes.  Many sports are sponsored so they get free clothing and gear; also many schools offer free tutoring and give their athletes a lunch most days.  I don’t feel it’s right that colleges are exploiting these athletes to make millions of dollars.

                What do you think? Should college athletes get a pay check for sports? Is it fair that Universities make millions off of these students? 

Have Humans Run Out of Creativity

The Benefits of Technology are Diminishing is a pretty self-explanatory title. In David Cox’s article, he aims to belittle modern technological advancements based on the fact no recent inventions matches up to past marvels like the wheel or fire. Rather, Cox sees all modern inventions as slight improvements over preexisting ones. The author also relies on statistics to illustrate his point that the peak of mankind’s creativeness has past and that we are currently heading for another “Dark Ages.” He attributes this downfall due to the fact our modern society is very wasteful in terms of resources. Two specific examples of wasted resources the author talks about are fossil fuels and the creativity of youth.

I find the author’s argument and support to be a little ridiculous. Claiming that our modern advancements haven’t been notable improvements upon the preexisting inventions from our grandparents’ era is outlandish. Hybrid vehicle technology is a great example of a necessary modern advancement that will allow the human civilization to better utilize our limited amount of fossil fuels. Despite the fact Cox criticizes our modern society for not conserving our resource we have had inventions that aim to do just that and the author does not acknowledge these as noteworthy. His extreme exaggeration can also be seen in the fact that he refers to the year 2024 as the next “Dark Ages.” In a society with Ipads and the Internet, where we are surrounded by information; how would another Dark Age even be possible, which was the result of a lack of information transfer.

Since our last writing assignment involved thinking about the future I was wondering what you thought the future would be like. Is Cox right, in that human creativity has reached its peak and that from here on out everything is going to be a slight improvement over something we already have? If you think we are following the path described by Cox, what has caused this downfall in human ingenuity? Or do you think Cox is wrong and that the future will hold technical marvels that no one can currently comprehend?

Is School Corrupting Youth?

        College students tend to be more politically left wing than right (in general) when compared to the general population. Rick Santorum recently claimed that colleges are "“indoctrination mills” that ridicule and isolate young conservatives". He goes on to say that higher education exists to challenge what parents have taught their children including religious and political beliefs. In a sense, he is accusing the education system of brainwashing youth into thinking a certain way.
         Frank Bruni, the author of the article, Its a College Not a Cloister, attacks Santorum's anti-college claims by questioning his true intentions. Santorum's wife home schooled all seven of their children, and because of this, Bruni suspects that Santorum is simply afraid of his children being influenced by outside opinions. Bruni writes "The likelihood is already strong, when you rear kids, that you’ll turn out rough copies of yourself, whether you mean to or not. Home schooling is like firing up a Xerox machine to seal the deal." He says that public education is a very important part of developing ones own opinion rather than simply inheriting it from ones parents.
         I personally believe school introduces alternative viewpoints and can be very influential on a student, but in the end it is up to the individual to decide what they believe. College, and school in general, invites youth to make their own decisions and draw their own conclusions about right and wrong, and about what they want to do with themselves. Home schooling has its benefits but lacks the diversity of opinion that can be provided from public education. Experiencing outside viewpoints is necessary for proper development of personal beliefs.
         Do you believe the education system is influencing youth to think a specific way? Or does it simply introduce youth to other viewpoints and allow them to decide on their own?

Web Browsing Privacy on Social Networking Sites

With the increasing number of social networking sites, computer security and user security are being brought into question a lot. Many sites employ “cookies” which track what users are browsing so that ads can target users/consumers specifically. For the most part these cookies can be harmless however hackers can use these to invade computers.

In the article “Risk and Riches in User Data for Facebook” writer Somini Sengupta outlines the problems and arguments surrounding Facebook’s plan to go public. Sengupta says that Facebook “is under pressure to find new ways to turn data into profit.” Facebook already uses user’s likes to direct advertisements on homepages. The US and Europe are arguing that user’s should have more control over their data and how it is shared. User’s joined Facebook to network and reconnect with lost friends, not to be the source of profit. But the bulk of Facebook’s profit does in fact come from advertising. Europe has put fierce constraints on Facebook in which it wants Facebook to “honor a consumer’s so-called right to be forgotten, by deleting an individual’s data at his or her request” and also requires containing user constraint. Lawsuits in the US have also brought woes to Facebook accusing them of tracking user activities even after logging out of Facebook.

Another article I found, “Putting a priority on privacy” by Steven Musil which introduces the White House and Federal Trade Communications “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights”. This bill suggests that consumers have the right to notify Web sites if they wanted to be tracked or not. Some people like the targeted ads because it leads them to products they may like, others find them as an invasion of privacy. What do you think? Should websites be allowed to use cookies to track user browsing? What are some privacy issues you see arising from online tracking?

Companies like Facebook and Youtube make their profits on the ability to sell ad space and target its users. I think this is okay because its makes it possible for Facebook and Youtube to be free for its users; however, I think users should have the choice of whether or not they are tracked. Many people who aren’t computer savy or are younger users may not realize that their browsing is being tracked and this is where I see the problem. Even though most of the tracking is used for marketing purpose some of it could turn out to be for malicious intent by hackers. For instance, they can gain personal information from these sights and then spam your e-mail with a virus. Therefore I agree with the proposed European policy stating that users should give their consent or have the ability to opt out.

Are College Students Learning to Think Critically?

College is usually viewed as a place where young minds go to develop essential life skills, such as time management, writing skills, and critical thinking. However, a study lead by sociologist Richard Arum seems to prove otherwise.

The study, which followed a group of undergraduates from 24 different colleges and universities, tracked the development of critical thinking, reasoning, and writing skills. After two years, forty-five percent of the students showed no significant improvement in these skills. After four years, the percentage dropped slightly to thirty-six percent. Students who majored in the liberal arts showed higher gains in these skills than other majors. Conversely, business, education, social work, and communications majors showed the least improvement over the course of the study.

One possible explanation for this trend is that some universities and colleges now promote a highly specialized learning process: general knowledge and reasoning is discarded in favor of teaching the student as much as possible about his or her individual career field. This method, while making the student more marketable for employers, severely limits their adaptability. Professors also often teach to the tests, rather than giving the student a comprehensive understanding of the subject material. It seems that the actual knowledge behind a degree has diminished in recent times, due to these changes.

Do students nowadays gain enough general knowledge? Which teaching method do you prefer: learning the material and how to apply it, or simply being taught how to pass the tests?

Fueled by Future Self Paper

I found an article that can directly apply to the paper we are working on writing. The article is called "College freshman face major dilemma" by Gayle B. Ronan and is at this link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10154383/ns/business-personal_finance/t/college-freshmen-face-major-dilemma/#.T0Mrp9WGgpo

The article talks about how many people do not know the major that they intend to go into and that it can cause some major problems. Some the of the problems is that it is taking students longer to graduate therefore they are spending more money in order to receive their degree. A problem for universities is that these students take up spots for the amount of new students they can let in. The article also discusses the steps that can be taken in order to help students be more decisive and choose a major that they will enjoy so they will not be tempted to change majors and graduate within four years.



Let me know what you guys think. Do you think that indecisive students are a good or bad thing? What do you suggest that colleges do in order to prevent students from changing majors? Do you think that Dr. Fritz Grupe test or Kate Brooks test is more effective in determining what major a student should choose?  And now that you know some of these statistics do you think it is fair to ask us to write about our future?

Hidden Messages

     In the article "Subliminal Advertising Leaves Its Mark On The Brain" researchers at the University College London discovered that even when people don't recognize subliminal messages, their brain still acknowledges them. Subliminal advertisement is legal in the United States, but what the "study doesn't address is whether this would then influence you to go out and buy a product".  The researchers also did a test to see if people’s brains still registered these subliminal messages when it was distracted by something else.  They did this by having people wear these two tone glasses and they have to pick out numbers from within pictures.  When people were asked to point out a certain number, their brain never registered the hidden picture, even though one of their eyes could barely see it still.  According to Dr. Bahrami "it challenges previous thinking - that what is subconscious is also automatic."  

     Do you think hidden messages in advertisements could be a problem in the United States? Do you ever notice any of these hidden messages? Could this affect our decisions on purchasing a product?

Are we Full of Ourselves?

An article came out in 2007 named "College Students think they're so Special." Apparently, college students are more self-centered than the decades before. Five psychologists actually studied this issue to see if this new finding could be harmful to the future relationships and our society. From the time we were born we always hear "you're special" and "you're great." The author, Professor Jean Twenge said that "kids are self-centered enough already." These psychologist made an evaluation called Narcissistic Personality Inventory and had about 16,000 students complete it between 1982 and 2006. This evaluation asks responses to "If I ruled the world, it would be a better place," "I think I am a special person" and "I can live my life any way I want to." The results showed that by 2006 two-thirds of students increased and had scores above average. So it's proven that we are somewhat self-centered.

Is that a bad thing though? Campbell doesn't think that it's a bad thing when it comes to meeting new people or auditioning for a show. But like stated earlier it can be a potential negative aspect when it comes to relationships. According to the article being a narcissist can lead to more romantic relationships which are shorter. It goes on to explain why we are more narcissistic. Apparently, we are more "confident, entitled and the article said more miserable than we ever were before." The article does bring up how we do volunteer. It also mentions though that we did that to stand out on our college applications. Also, it mentions how we did grow up being taught to not let anyone get in our way. So potentially we want to achieve our goals and if a relationship is in the way that's one of the first things that's going.  

This was written in 2007, do you think our group of college freshman are more self-centered or less? Why do you think that? Can you think of any examples that would make someone seem more self-centered?

Do you agree or disagree with it helping us audition/ talk to people?

Can you think of a reason why we may be more self-centered that wasn't stated in the article?

Will 2012 be the end of the World?

Doomsday approaches! Could the prophecies be true? No matter what your personal views on the subject are, one cannot ignore the hype that this theory has created. It is widely believed that it was the Mayans alone who predicted set date, however, there are a handful of other theories which also claim that the end of the world will be in 2012.

There is a theory which forecasts that the planet’s crust and mantle will suddenly shift, spinning around Earth's liquid-iron outer core like an orange's peel spinning around its fleshy fruit. Another mentions how Planet X, also know as Nibiru, will find itself headed towards Earth into what could result in a direct collision. Some others have even claimed that it will be our friendly star, the Sun, that dooms us all.

Even though scientists all around the world have denied most of these notions, one cannot help but wonder. Personally, I don’t believe any of these predictions, but they still make me consider a lot of things. What if it was true that we had less than a year to live? If we knew this was going to happen with certainty, we would treasure every day like no other. What would you do if you knew that in less than a year the world would end? Would you still get up at 9a.m. to go to Ms Clinnins class? Furthermore, would you choose to still remain at Tech? Would you go to your family or would you take time to travel? Do you think you’d be depressed or would you find the strength to accept the fact that the world was coming to an end?

P.S. If it where to end, Mr Elliot, it would be with a bang, not a whimper.

Are College Students Learning?

Jonathan Zimmerman argued in his article, Are College Students Learning?, that colleges are not focusing enough on the what students are learning and as a result of that, graduates are coming out of college without valuable skills they should have learned. He noted from President Obama's State of the Union address that college tuition is skyrocketing and that colleges need to do better. Obama's criteria for doing better neglected to mention whether the students learn anything. Two of Zimmerman's colleagues, Richard Arum from New York University and Josipa Roksa from the University of Virginia, conducted a study on more than 2,300 students from 24 varied universities in the U. S. by administering the CLA, or College Learning Assessment, to each student, two or more times throughout their college careers. The CLA is an essay test that measures critical thinking, complex reasoning, and written expression. All of these are valuable skills that students should learn in college. The results of the study showed that a third of the students did not improve those skills from their freshman year to sophomore year and nearly half of them did not improve from their freshman year to senior year. Everyone pays all this money for an education, but are they actually receiving it?
Would you agree or disagree that colleges are focusing a little too much on their research and not enough on what they are teaching and why? Do you think that Virginia Tech has this problem?

Trading Places: Unemployed challenging gender roles

Trading Places: Unemployed challenging gender roles
In the article, Rubin introduces Mike Oczkowski 48 years old with a passion for graphic arts that in October 2009 was forced to leave his career of choice because it simply was not paying the bills. He therefore stepped into the career of nursing knowing that it would give him a sense of financial certainty. Rubin argues that with unemployment at nearly 9% desperate Americans are willing to cross the gender divide in order to meet their financial needs. It is more than obvious that women made this movement in order to get into careers such as law and medicine, but Rubin claims that women are making their way into more “segregated fields” like information technology, Criminal Justice, and Fire Science. The author of the article uses Coontz is author of the newly published book "A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American women at the dawn of the 1960s.” Coontz states that women have been much more willing to enter the “male “ fields but it has not been like that at all for men until recent years. This tells us that the crossing of a gender divide in the workplace going both ways is something evolutionary.
I certainly believe that this so called evolutionary change is not under the same circumstances. For instance, women cross the gender divide in order to change the identity of a typical stay at home woman. This recent cross in the gender divide for men was really a case of survival of the fittest. I find it interesting how as Americans we still associate certain jobs with each gender. As a society we tend to segregate by identity. Personally, if the need was present I would enter the field necessary to pay the bills, but I naturally would be opposed to something like nursing. When we take this gender crossing into consideration it becomes clear that maybe the economic situation has not had completely devastating consequences. It remains a possibility that Gender Equality in the work force will eventually be a positive outcome of our current economic crisis.
Do you believe the economic situation is severe enough to where a significant percentage of males are entering those fields as Rubin suggests? Will the crossing of the Gender Divide have any negative effects? If you were in the need to cross the divide what area would you cross into?

Dropout Age

The article “Obama Wades Into Issue of Raising Dropout Age” by Tamar Lewin, discusses Obama’s mention of raising the high school dropout age to 18 instead of the more popular age of 16. Obama’s argument focuses on students staying in school longer and getting at a minimum a high school diploma. However, the counter argument focuses on the impact to states’ economies having to support even more kids on a limited budget; kids who don’t want to be there.

                I think that both sides have good arguments, but when viewed in the larger scheme of things, some of those arguments lose credibility. Looking at the opposing side’s arguments the only real point that has validity is the strain that would be put on an already fragile system. School systems are already over capacity and desperately lack the appropriate funding, with more kids staying in school longer, the schools’ resources would be stretched even thinner. Unless the federal government is willing to increase the funding that they give to states for their school systems, this agreement has a lot of strength. However, the opposition’s point that keeping kids in school who don’t want to be there is a waste of resources could be spread to every student in a school. No high school kid really wants to be there so its hard to see how that is a credible argument. Looking on Obama’s side of the debate, kids really don’t have the maturity at the age of 16 to end their schooling career. Students at the age of 18 might not be any more mature, but as legal adults they are responsible for their actions and legally make their own decisions.

                So what do you think? Should a student have to stay in school until they are legal adults and at least get a high school diploma, or should that student be able to leave school at the age of 16, thus putting less strain on the school system?