One More Concept

A concept that I would like to highlight with my last post this semester is mass media in the United States. I thought this section was really interesting and sort of eye opening. It is important as members of this society that we are capable of analyzing information that we are presented with. If we simply believe everything we are told we could be in danger of being exposed to false information. Many news organizations are driven by their sponsors that “push” their agendas. We have to be sure that the news coverage is credible. The concept that America is fascinated with sensational news stories which causes some news organizations use more air time on these stories rather than political or national news stories is sort of disappointing. It is sad to know that these news organizations are responsible for using stereotypes and racism in their news stories. Lastly, I was shocked to read that some news organizations don’t really use credible scientific reports due to time constraints and money.

What I've Learned

In my opinion one of the more important things that were learned over the course of this semester is the value of critical thinking and how to make strong arguments. It is really important to have the capability to think critically and evaluate arguments. These are skills that I think will be helpful as we go out to the work place. Learning how to identify fallacies within arguments and false evidence are important skills that were taught this semester. Having the ability to make a strong argument is important. I think that this skill helps us to be more credible. A lot of the concepts that were taught in this class and within the Boss textbook are relatable in real life. One of the most interesting things that I learned this semester was about marketing and advertising. It was interesting learning how companies determine their target audience. It made me want to learn more about marketing.

Favorite and Least Favorite Things

Overall, I really enjoyed the fact that the concepts we learned in Comm 41 were relatable to real life experiences and skills. That's what I like most about communication classes in general! I have learned a lot this semester that I think I can apply to my life now and after I graduate and begin working within my field. The section that was my favorite from the Boss textbook was marketing. I think marketing is a fascinating field (I wish I had chosen it for my minor). The Boss textbook highlights information that is useful and applicable. One thing that I didn't care for was the three group projects. It was really difficult to get five students from an online class together. With both groups, I found it tough to find a day and time that everyone was free to have a group meeting. I know at most of us are juggling classes and work, so it made it a challenge to come together. 

Websites

I found the Casual Argument Website was pretty helpful. I though it did a good job of illustrating a sample argument that was easy for just about anybody to relate to. The site was organized well. I also really liked the Exercises for Casual Arguments. I think that showing by example is a great way to teach. The interactive portion of the site is a nice way to get the students involved in the learning process. I didn’t like the Mission Critical Website as much. It has a lot of information and, in my opinion, seemed overwhelming. I think it could be better if the site had a different organization strategy. It did have a lot of good information and the interactive portion is also a helpful learning tool. Overall, I think that both of these sites could be helpful to students that are studying these topics. I would highly recommend the interactive portions.

Horoscope

A member of your household could be going through some rough times, Cancer, and as a result might become overly dependent on your moral and emotional support. This is flattering, but it could also be a drain on your energy. Carefully consider what you really need to say to your friend. Sometimes you have to hit a person over the head with the truth (figuratively speaking) in order to wake them up.

I looked up my horoscope on the internet today, which I never do. I don’t really believe in horoscopes or the prediction of the future. My household consists of myself and my fiancé. He isn’t going through a rough time, so the horoscope is falsifiable. There wasn’t a whole lot of information other than this in my horoscope today. I do think that these horoscope “readings” put out information that could very easily fit many people’s lives. I am sure there are many people out there that have a household member that is struggling with something; and possible depending on them emotionally. Like I mentioned I don’t really believe in the prediction of the future, but I have noticed that I do fit the “characteristics” of a cancer (my zodiac sign). I have a friend that reads her horoscope on a daily basis. I think she believes in readings. Maybe there is a manifestation that happens from reading the horoscopes and believing.

There have been many times throughout my life that I can look back on and think I misjudged a situation or person. I try not to judge people, but I think it is part of human nature to form our own initial opinions. Years ago I transferred to another office within the company I worked for. The people in the office were all very welcoming, except one female. She and I were close in age and had similar physical features. I felt uneasy around her, and I was pretty sure the feeling was mutual. Her and I never spoke to each other or tried to get to know one another. Based on my initial observations I had decided she was stuck up. But over time she and I began to have casual conversations that eventually grew to us going out for lunches together. I decided that I had misjudged her. She and I actually had a lot in common and got along really well. We began to form a bond which grew exponentially over time. We have remained close friends over the years. I was even her maid of honor in her wedding.    

Plagiarism

With so much information available at our fingertips many college students are tempted to commit internet plagiarism. It's as easy as cut and pasting. This is why many college professors use software such as turnitin.com to help them detect plagiarism in student's papers. I definitely agree with Sadler that plagiarism is a serious offense and the offender should be penalized. Hunt, on the other hand, is in favor of plagiarism. Plagiarism is stealing someone else's thoughts and ideas. How is that okay? Part of being in school is to learn to think and create things from our own thoughts and ideas. Sadler views plagiarism as stealing, which it is. Working through assignments teaches students to think and struggle through their own material. Sadler argues that plagiarisms is not only bad for the individual but society as well. As students, we must have the ability to analyze and construct arguments. Plagiarizing teaches the student nothing. Bottom line is, if plagiarism was okay it wouldn't be banned from schools and carry such heavy consequences for offenders. 

Sensationalism

Real all about it! Sensational news seems to be the selling point for some media outlets. Our textbook explains that many news stories are chosen for their entertainment value rather than for their newsworthiness. It’s important for news organizations to attract large audiences in order to keep their sponsors. So they report on the stories that get America’s attention. And sensational news does just that. I thought it was interesting that the book mentions our tendencies to remember sensational events and how it can affect our outlooks. One example used was the school shootings at Columbine High and Virginia Tech. The Columbine shooting in 1999 had such an impact on America and was so sensational that when the Virginia Tech shooting occurred 7 years later it made us feel like school shootings occurred more frequently than they really do. Natural disasters, crime, celebrity gossip, etc. are often given more air time than more newsworthy stories. Interesting….      

The Media

My earlier media experiences used to impact my worldviews and values. When I was younger I was more vulnerable to the stories in the media. It’s like the saying, “don’t believe everything you hear”. As I’ve gotten older, I realize that not all media presents creditable information. Many newscasts offer stories and information that is biased and/or misleading. Government and sponsors may play a part in what information gets the spotlight. It’s important for us to be media literate. Instead of just taking the media’s word for it we should be able to understand and critically analyze news reports. I think that having the ability to do this will expand and challenge our worldviews. We’re not challenged if we just believe and adopt everything we are told. The book gives many great examples on bias and misleading information. The one I thought was interesting was American media reporting that biological weapons laboratories were found in Iraq. This was never fully investigated before the press release. It’s believed the information was intentionally misreported to gain American support to invade Iraq.

False Memory Syndrome

One of the concepts that I found interesting from this chapter is false memory syndrome. At first my thought was that's ridiculous! Who has ever heard of having false memory syndrome? It sounds made up. But, Psychologists have discovered that when an event is repeatedly fed to someone they may adopt the event as reality. They begin to recall it from their memory as if it had really occurred. It sort of sounds like brainwashing to me. A researcher by the name of Elizabeth Loftus explains that people that engage in critical thinking about their memories are less likely to have false memory syndrome. Engaging in critical thinking rather than relying on other people to recall and tell the story helps to avoid adopting the false recounts as real. The idea of critical thinking in action and using memorization strategies can help remember new information is interesting. I found this concept one of the most intriguing concepts so far.

Aristotle

I agree with Aristotle that wisdom is the greatest virtue. I think the relationship between knowledge and wisdom is that they are both bits of information that we believe to be true. The difference between the two is that knowledge is information that not only do we believe to be true but there is evidence to back up the claim. Wisdom, on the other hand, is information that we believe to be true but there is no evidence to support the claim. I think wisdom is something that we acquire over a lifetime of experiences and interactions. To me, knowledge is something more tangible. As college students I would like to think that we are acquiring knowledge as well as wisdom. But I think in order to do that you must be open to the experiences with others in addition to what we read in the textbooks. A person can read tons of books and study fiercely, but without gaining actual experiences it strains their ability to acquire wisdom. Ideally I would like to be perceived as knowledgeable and wise. I think the information ages makes us wiser and more knowledgeable. The Internet offers avenues to gain knowledge and facilitates our ability to hear and see what is going on in the world around us. 

Sally Ride

Sally Ride has lead an extremely interesting and successful career path. She was clearly determined to do great things when she  became a double major in English and Physics. She knew that it was important to have  effective communication skills if she wanted to achieve her goals. A critical thinker must posses important skills such as: analytical skills, effective communication, keeping an open mind, research and inquiry skills, problem solving ability, collaborative learning, attention, and flexibility. All of these skills are essential in a critical thinker. In the story about Sally it reveals that even as a child she enjoyed solving problems. She even had friends that described her as a person who was able to think quickly and figure out a solution. Having the ability to articulate her thoughts with others is another important skill that she posses. Her excellent skills have made her an asset to NASA and have proved her to be a great role model for children.

Nonverbal Language

One of topics not yet discussed that I thought was useful and important from chapter 3 is nonverbal language. I think nonverbal language is just as vital to communication as verbal language is. Nonverbal language is tone of voice, cues, and body language. A lot can be learned from making yourself aware of other people's nonverbal cues. If someone is saying yes but shaking their head no that is a clear discrepancy. A person may tell you they are not upset but display anger in their voice. These examples may cause us to wonder if the person we are communicating with is really being honest with us. Do we believe the nonverbal or verbal language? This is one of the reasons it is important to be aware of cues. If you are confused with the mixed signals you could and should talk to the person about it. Say to them I hear you say yes but you also shook your head no. Is this really something that you want to do or would you rather skip it. 

Rhetorical Devices

The two rhetorical devices that I have used in the last couple of weeks are sarcasm and hyperbole. Sarcasm is a rhetorical device that basically allows someone to insult and/or ridicule someone else while deflecting it with the use of humor. I use sarcasm when I tell my fiancé that I love the way he has cleaned our bedroom. Since getting engaged a few months ago he and I have moved in together. He is not as interested in keeping things as clean as I am so I "tease" him about the messes he makes. I also have used hyperbole recently. Hyperbole is a rhetorical device that uses exaggeration. I don't use hyperbole in a negative way to distort facts, but I may say things like I would just die if that happened to me. The book depicts rhetorical devices as negative, which I think is the case sometimes, but I think they can also be used in harmless ways.

Emotional Intelligence

I think that the section on emotional intelligence and empathy are two important topics in chapter 2. The book explains that emotional intelligence helps to appraise and express emotions. Having emotional intelligence is important to the overall health of a person and helps them make better decisions. Having the inability to express our feelings can have a negative effect on our actions and relationships. Empathy is having the ability to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. According to former Vice President Al Gore, he believes that the reason the American public is desensitized to violent images is because of the images that are shown on TV and in the news. I think that there is some truth to this claim. Repeated exposure to things makes it less shocking and eventually becomes part of a norm. I agree with the book that having emotional intelligence is important to developing and maintaining healthy relationships.   

Aquinas vs. Dawkins

Religion has and will always be a hot topic. It is one that has been argued both ways between the believes and the non-believers. Thomas Aquinas' argues that there are five reasons that God must exist. I think the argument that he presented gave Richard Dawkins a lot of ammunition to shoot holes through his claims. The first three of the five ways "the existence of God can be proved" are so similar that they could be combined into one reason. Presenting a weak argument may cause the audience to question the knowledge the author has on the topic. If you wish to write a piece on a topic that is highly controversial it is important to put forth a dynamite argument. If non-believes were so easy to convince they would be believers already. Aquinas may have rebuted Dawkins by stating that he used reason to back up each of his claims. 

Week 4; Post 2

An inductive argument that I found myself involved in this week was between myself and my grandma. She and I were talking on the phone and she asked me how long after my fiancé and I get married will we start having children. I told her that we were thinking of not having any children. She seemed absolutely appalled by my answer and couldn't seem to understand how a married couple would not have any children. To her, after getting married she would expect that we would have children. She assumed because me and my fiance are getting married (the premises) that we were going to have children (the conclusion). This argument between my grandma and I was an inductive argument because she looked at the premises, that I am getting married, and drew her own conclusion, that I would want to have children. Inductive arguments can be very tricky because they rely on assumptions rather than real facts. 

Week 4; Post 1

Dr. Novello is a woman that didn't let the fact that she was born into a poor family, the loss of her father at a young age, and dealing with health problems as a child stand in the way of achieving remarkable things. In fact these may be some of the reasons she was so motivated to helping reduce the devastation created by AIDS, violence, smoking, and alcohol. Her use of cause-and-effect inductive reasoning was helpful when she began her crusade to lower the increased number of teens and children that smoked cigarettes. She noticed that the numbers increased substantially in 1988 which was when cigarette ads hit the public eye.  She reasoned that since the ads came out the same year of the increase they must be related. The increased number in teens and children smoking was caused by the ads they were being exposed to. The exposure to cigarette smoke in turn effected the health of the teens and children. 

Introductory Post

Hi all!

I am a communication studies major and this will be my second semester at SJSU. I received my Associates Degree from West Valley Junior College in December 2010. I am really excited for this semester and learning all the things this course has to offer. I am sure like many of my other communication classes the material will be interesting and relatable to our everyday lives (one of the things I like most about communication studies!). I enjoy traveling and being outdoors. I recently visited Hawaii's Big Island....and got engaged there! So I guess wedding planning will become my new hobby. I look forward to spending this semester with all of you!

:)