GCU WK 7 The Impacts of Communication Channels Discussion

Description

An important component of the communication process is the channel used to send the message. For example, you would not want to deliver lengthy and complicated technical instructions in a face-to-face conversation where the listener does not have the chance to take notes. Choosing the appropriate channel can have a strong impact on both the effectiveness of and response to your message. In this Discussion, you will consider the impact of a communication channel on a message.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Consider a time in which the channel chosen for a communication had a significant impact on your participation in and response to the communication. 

BY DAY 3

  • Post an evaluation of the impact of communication channels on effective messaging. In your evaluation, do the following:

Briefly describe the communication, including the primary message and your role in the communication.

Explain the channel chosen for the communication and why this channel was selected. If the reason is unknown, provide your best assumption for why it was selected.

Analyze whether this choice of channel was effective and appropriate, supporting your analysis with this week’s Learning Resources.

  • Assess what you would do (or recommend be done) differently in the future regarding channel choice and “noise” elimination in similar situations.
  • Refer to the Week 7 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.
  • Read some of your colleagues’ postings.
  • BY DAY 5

Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways:

Respectfully pose one or two questions to your colleague about whether the choice of channel they described was effective and appropriate, which may provide them with further insight or opportunity for reflection.

Provide one or two additional recommendations regarding channel choice and/or noise reduction that could be applied to the situation your colleague outlined.

Share an insight you gained from your colleague’s evaluation, including how you can put their recommendations into practice in the future. 

Reply:

Lindsey Mwoga

RE: Discussion – Week 7

COLLAPSE

Briefly describe the communication, including the primary message and your role in the communication.

An organization I worked at was fully donor-funded. Grants were renewed every year, and as a result, employment contracts were also renewed annually. One year, we got the news that one of the projects would close, and the donors were not going to fund any other project. This meant laying off over half of the current employees at the time. The communication was received nine months before the expected close-out date. During a management meeting, he informed us that he would not immediately communicate the news to the staff. He instead instructed the grants team to work overtime and identify possible grants the organization could qualify for. Together with the technical team, the grants department was able to identify a grant that could keep everyone employed for a guaranteed two years within three months. The CEO then called a staff meeting and presented the news. He informed everyone about the soon-to-close project and the proposed way forward.

Explain the channel chosen for the communication and why this channel was selected. If the reason is unknown, provide your best assumption for why it was selected.

The CEO chose a staff meeting where he could talk to people face to face. It also allowed the team to ask any questions and have them addressed.

Analyze whether this choice of channel was effective and appropriate, supporting your analysis with this week’s Learning Resources.

This method of communication was very effective and appropriate. The team was able to ask questions they had, and answers were given in real-time. The CEO and the management team were also able to pitch in on different questions.

Assess what you would do (or recommend be done) differently in the future regarding channel choice and “noise” elimination in similar situations.

Given the issue on hand, a staff meeting was the best way to communicate the news. With everyone having a complete picture of what was happening, no one felt insecure about their jobs. “When your message is concrete, your audience has a clear picture of what you’re telling them.” Emerald Works Limited. (n.d).

ReferencesEmerald Works Limited. (n.d). The 7 Cs of communication: A checklist for clear communication. MindTools. Log In to Mind Tools”>Log In to Mind Tools

Kweshonte Mathews

RE: Discussion – Week 7

COLLAPSE

  • Briefly describe the communication, including the primary message and your role in the communication.

I work in education. In my field, everything has to be intentional with communication, especially when dealing with the safety and well-being of children. I believe in using all channels of communication in my area. The most common channels of communication that I use are email, letter notifications, visible signs everywhere, and verbal communication. I use 4 different ways to get a message across. Often, we have families that state they were not aware, they did not receive notice, and no one mentioned anything to them. This, If I am not there, the communication is still getting across. I’ve been in many situations where an email was just not good enough and messages were communicated poorly, causing friction in the workplace. I believe face to face is best so that we get a feel for one another’s body language, approaches to the conversation, and a better understanding. I have shed tears over an email because of how someone perceived me but gave different vibes verbally through compliments and praise.

  • Explain the channel chosen for the communication and why this channel was selected. If the reason is unknown, provide your best assumption for why it was selected.

The channels I presented above were best selected due to the feedback I was receiving. Too many families were complaining about not getting notifications. For the email, I was in tears, This person was never on-site to have a verbal conversation. My initial assumption was that it was a brief update email on what was completed as I was resigning, and it turned into a virtual warzone instead.

  • Analyze whether this choice of the channel was effective and appropriate, supporting your analysis with this week’s Learning sources.

This choice could have very well be effective, and I would not have changed it if I had a do-over. It was supposed to be a brief and quick email. The returned message turned into an insult. Communication is the best way of building great relationships (Mindtools,2021), so we are told, but when a slight change happens in the way we communicate, it can cause long-term communication damage. I lost all respect for this person just based on one statement.

  • Assess what you would do (or recommend be done) differently in the future regarding channel choice and “noise” elimination in similar situations.

Most meetings should be done face to face. In my case, my email was simply stating the work I completed and the extra work I completed to make the transition easier for a new person filling my spot. The person responded by stating he noticed a minor error and that I needed to correct it. His approach was so aggressive and rude and he had never spoken to me that way.

Reference

Communications Planning: Getting the Right Message Across in the Right Way. Management Training and Leadership Training-Online.

A1BTC Manipulate the Beliefs & Attitudes of People Within a Society Discussion

Description

Reply:

Diana Sofia Alberto

YesterdayApr 14 at 10:45pm

Key Term: This week’s term that most drew my attention was “ideology” most commonly defined as a set of widespread beliefs that happen to be set as the standard accepted by a majority. In Hollywood films, for example, there is this standard that in order to have a successful film you must have a clear narrative, relatable characters, and a renowned director. Of course, this might not be the only way to make a successful film, but it is an ideal that is recognized in Hollywood. An even better representation of an ideological standard might be best seen in Olympia (1938) by Leni Riefenstahl in which she has these perfectly carved divers jumping from magnificent heights into pools of water. This is clearly her version of an ideal human body. There is an emphasis on their prominent muscular symmetry, their toned and long limbs, and their detailed abdominals. Riefenstahl, without verbally putting it into the film, is telling the audience that, that in fact is what a healthy, strong, and beautiful human body looks like.

Screening: Triumph of the Will (1935) by Leni Riefenstahl was one of the screenings that most stood out to me as a film portraying not only nationalistic cinema, propaganda, idealism in Germany, and fascist aesthetic but allowed me to sit in the position of millions of Germans at that time. This film touches on most of the key terms this week for it is a largely impactful mixture of a love displayed to a singular man appearing god-like and all-powerful, it is an unofficial indoctrination of German idealism, and it is alluding to the display of unification among all people through the welcoming of Hitler. I found it incredibly fascinating the amount of detail, vastness, and overall effort that was set in this propaganda film. It made me think, “well of course this man got so many people to believe in him!” he had such powerful and influential people on his side. Riefenstahl although like the professor mentioned does not take any accountability for the anti-semitic ideals portrayed in the film, she had to have at one point felt that this couldn’t have possibly been normal. The amount of love and just pure bliss with which this man is welcomed by ascending from the heavens is harmful. There is a display of camaraderie and excess, excess of happiness, food, and shelter.

Link: Another screening that can be representative of “national cinema” can be The River (1938) which is a short documentary on the importance of the Mississippi river to the US. This film is not only representative of the areas surrounding the Mississippi but gives a general idea of what it means to be an American; such as changing everything that is natural such as deforestation only to have it backfire and lead to faster and deeper loss. Whether this is a representation of the American way, or simply the human condition, there is a clear display of selfishness that centers humanity, all without ever stating it directly. In fact, the film zooms in on the beauty the Mississippi river brings to us, but take a moment to simply imagine the wildlife that had to migrate or even died; was not discussed for one second in the film. There was huge damage done to the environment, which mostly goes once again, without accountability but a solution of planting new trees. I like to think we have improved since this documentary, but it still stands as a foundation of what our country has done, been through, and managed to pull back together.

ReplyReply to Comment

Collapse SubdiscussionAngel J. Chuang

Angel J. Chuang

YesterdayApr 14 at 11:57pm

Hi Diana, I really liked your interpretation of The River, and I agree with you in that the film is a piece of national cinema that reflects the ways our nation values the environment. From watching the film, we see more footage taken of the land rather than the people. This places a reinforced emphasis on the environment, and how it is often taken advantage of by Americans, and by humans in general. In addition, I think it’s very relevant to today’s society with climate change, specifically how people’s solutions to these catastrophic consequences often lead them to more forms of adaptation that may possibly lead to further damage. Rather than trying to mitigate the problem from the get go, we seem to always try to find new technological ways of adapting to the issue when the problems starts to get increasingly worse. In the film, I remember them building a dam in order to reverse the damages of cutting down the forest; however, they didn’t show the consequences that came from building the dams which include damaging aquatic ecosystems, etc.

ReplyReply to Comment

Collapse SubdiscussionSavanna Kathleen Rae Corro

Savanna Kathleen Rae Corro

YesterdayApr 14 at 11:34pm

Propaganda is a term I feel like most people have a general understanding of, but who fail to recognize the absolute scope it has in regards to our everyday media. Propaganda is defined as information meant to promote a point of view or influence one’s thinking. With this definition, it’s easy to identify many productions during the time of WWII as being propaganda, whether it’s meant to be or not. Films made during WWII that weren’t specifically made to encourage the war or discourage their enemies still had elements to them that made them influential to the general public regarding the fight. This can be seen in the plethora of films during this period that featured soldiers and focused on their individual stories (like Bogart in Sahara, which took place during 1942 and focused on an American troop), painting these characters as heroes and their struggles, something you want them to overcome. While not considered classical propaganda, they were still films that encouraged a certain emotional state which, in turn, influenced how people saw soldiers and the war.

Triumph of the Will is a difficult film to watch because, while the cinematography and film itself is well made, the context of the film and its creation is horrifying. Once we apply the ideological beliefs that the film stemmed from, then, we can see how the cinematography was also influenced, how the goals of the film by its creators affected how the product turned out. Many shots feature Hitler as a prominent and important figure, almost painting him in an ethereal, unreal way through different angles and the selected shots. When this film was first released, Hitler had certainly risen to a powerful position, but had yet to achieve his most influential stage in his political career. This film and how it portrayed him as nothing short of incredibly influential and strong only helped propel him into more power over the people. However horrible he was, the film undeniably paints him in a positive light, which was the main point of the production.

While Leni Riefenstahl discussed Triumph of the Will, she was adamant she did not partake in making Nazi propaganda. However, critical analysis of how the film was edited together and what the film elicits from its audience implies that the film does constitute as propaganda. Propaganda is meant to influence how people feel/think about something, and watching Triumph of the Will attempts to make the audience feel as positive and hopeful as the crowds we see within it. Through showcasing the sheer delight of the German people when Hitler arrives, the absolute devotion they have to the cause of their country, and through the staging of Hitler as a powerful, but positive figurehead in all this, the film subtlety makes us want to connect Hitler to a hopeful, joyful feeling. No narration telling us what to feel about Hitler was necessary. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and the staging, camera angles, and musical accompaniment only furthers the emotions the audience is meant to feel while watching this piece.

ART 1010 UMUC Wk 13 What Kind of Wonder Is Evoked by These Cave Paintings Questions

Description

Week 13 Discussion Board Post

Watch the video above.

The video discusses the effort and challenge that  France is encountering in creating a replica of the Chauvet caves for visitors. The reporters acknowledges that while the experience isn’t authentic, that the hope is the new space could still possibly evoke a sense of wonder.

1. What kind of “wonder” is evoked by these cave paintings?

2. If you were in the space, how would you feel or interpret these images made by prehistoric people?

3. Would it matter to you, if the space you were exploring was a replica? How does this connect back to our previous discussion of the concept of “aura”?

Chapter 3.1 The Prehistoric and Ancient MediterraneanThis chapter presents the earliest art made in the Mediterranean, a region encompassing southern Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa. Prehistoric art is defined as art made prior to the advent of writing. The art of several of the most significant ancient cultures, in which vibrant cities were built and great technological advancements were made, is discussed and compared. Much ancient art was commissioned by powerful individuals who demonstrated their authority and prestige with large palace complexes, sculptures, and public architectural projects. Artworks from this period also reflect the importance of survival, and the religious beliefs of people in the early Mediterranean.Prehistoric Art in Europe and the MediterraneanWe explore the characteristic subject matter of the art of this region’s prehistoric cultures, from around 40,000 to 3,500 years ago. Animals were commonly depicted, and fertility figures were also prominent. We consider art in various media and from some of the major archaeological sites for this period. Our survey includes the earliest cave paintings, from Spain; fertility figures; minimalist sculpture from the Cycladic islands of the Aegean; painting from the sixth millennium BCE in Turkey; and sumptuous frescoes from the lavish palace civilization of Minoan Crete.Mesopotamia: The Cradle of CivilizationStudents are introduced to several of the cultures that competed for control of the region of Mesopotamia, from the founding of the first urban centers some 6,000 years ago to the height of the Babylonian Empire in the sixth century bce. These highly sophisticated ancient civilizations were responsible for such developments as the earliest known writing. We explore the art of Mesopotamia through a series of objects that encapsulate the distinctive styles of the cultures that dominated the region: the rich decorative inlay of the Sumerian Standard of Ur and bull lyre; the divine significance of a bronze cast head of an Akkadian ruler; the palace sculpture of the Assyrians; and the dramatic Ishtar Gate created by the Babylonians as a ceremonial entrance to their city.Ancient EgyptThe extraordinary art and architecture of ancient Egypt makes this culture undoubtedly the most famous of those covered in this chapter. The high level of respect rulers commanded is exemplified by the pyramids at Giza and the Portrait of Queen Tiye. We focus on perhaps the most distinctive, and fascinating, area of Egyptian culture: its elaborate funerary rituals and the wealth of objects left as offerings in royal tombs. We end with a discussion of tomb painting, and what its richly detailed depictions of people, animals, and the river Nile can tell us about the ancient Egyptian world.Art of Ancient GreeceStudents learn that the ancient Greeks prized the gifts of the human body in both its physical and its intellectual capabilities. We refer to how this translated into their art and architecture, including their use of ideal mathematical proportions both to depict the human form and to design their temples. The Parthenon temple on the Acropolis of Athens is discussed in terms of its history, design, and function. The portrayal of idealized human-looking gods and heroes is discussed through sculpture on the Parthenon and Praxiteles’s Aphrodite of Knidos. Greek vase painting is considered, and students are taught the difference in techniques between the red-figure and black-figure styles.Etruscan ArtWe introduce the Etruscans and the value they placed on joy and celebration in both life and the afterlife through a study of paintings within the Tomb of the Leopards.Roman ArtWe explain how the Romans built the last great empire of the ancient world on their ability to conquer and assimilate other cultures. We explore the surviving monuments of this powerful civilization and its emperors. The influence of the Greeks on Roman art is considered. Roman statuary is used to explain the importance of ancestry. We discuss how the eruption at Pompeii preserved an incomparable wealth of vivid evidence of Roman home life, including the fresco paintings that decorated many of their villas. The imperial and political focus of much Roman art is considered through two famous monuments, the Pantheon and the Arch of Constantine.Chapter 3.2 Art of the Middle AgesThe Middle Ages encompasses the period in European history between the decline of the Roman empire and the rise of the Renaissance. This chapter begins with early Jewish art and continues through Christian and Islamic art to the height of the Gothic period and the early fourteenth century. During the Middle Ages, people from the three largest monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) often lived together in the same regions, at times harmoniously and at times in deadly conflict, fighting for supremacy.Art of Late Antiquity and Early ChristianitySome of the earliest surviving Jewish artworks—paintings from Dura Europos in modern Syria—are analysed, and we discuss their use of narrative. Students learn how early Christian art reworked pagan symbols, figures, and motifs before developing a distinct, varied, and elaborate visual language of its own.Byzantine ArtThe art of the Byzantine empire is explored through works created under the patronage of the Emperor Justinian I, including a discussion of Hagia Sophia. An icon depicting Christ, from the monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, Egypt, and the magnificent figurative mosaics in the church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy, are discussed in depth.Manuscripts and the Middle AgesThe painstaking process of creating decorated manuscripts is explained. Notable examples of different cultural traditions are presented: a Koran from the Islamic regions in Spain; the Lindisfarne Gospels, from Anglo-Saxon England; an Italian copy of the mystic and visionary Hildegard of Bingen’s Scivias; and a painting from a Persian manuscript showing the ascension of Muhammad to heaven.Pilgrimage in the Middle AgesStudents learn about the great journeys that were undertaken by pilgrims in the Middle Ages (and that still take place today). We describe the grand works of architecture located at these sacred destinations, and the elaborate reliquaries that housed the holy relics that were the object of the pilgrims’ veneration. Jerusalem was important to Jews, Christians, and Muslims, as is exemplified by the history of the Dome of the Rock. Students also learn about Mecca, the most important pilgrimage site for Muslims, and The Prophet’s Mosque at Medina. Christian pilgrimage routes, and symbolic imagery, are discussed through a study of the church of Sainte-Foy in Conques, France. The design of Romanesque churches (including their floor plan and the significance of their orientation, and the importance of entrance portals) is discussed.The Rise of the GothicCathedrals increased dramatically in height and grandeur as a result of the architectural innovations of the Gothic period. The spectacular Gothic cathedral of Chartres is examined in terms of its design and engineering advancements, and the impact it made on worshipers.From the Gothic to Early Renaissance in ItalyWe introduce the important Italian Gothic painter Cimabue and his student, the early Renaissance artist Giotto. Through a comparison of their depictions of the Virgin and Child Enthroned, the great skill of each artist and their revolutionary contributions to painting are explained. The study of Giotto prepares the reader for the coverage of the Renaissance in chapter 3.6.

Watch the video above. The author, in explaining the innovative techniques being used to study Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, describes the notion of aura.  What is your interpretation of this concept? What is it about a painting that would make someone want to travel halfway around the world to look at it, verses enjoying a reproduced image? Is there something specific that you want to see or experience in person? It doesn’t necessarily have to be art, but please explain why it is significant to you.

USF Saudi Arabia and U.S.A Cultural Comparison Essay

Description

Assignment 3.3 is the final assignment in the Comparative Cultures and Communication White Paper series. 

For assignment 3.3  you will develop a white paper for people moving from your home country to your other assigned country. This document will focus on the differences in the communication practices at three different scales: national relationships, cultural differences, and interpersonal communication practices. You will be presenting these differences to people moving from your home country to the other country you are working with to provide a foundation for them to live and work in their new country. The three topics to be discussed in the white paper are: 

National Relationship including political, historic and trade relationships

Cultural Dimension Differences 

  • Interpersonal Communication Practices including business greetings, deference, forms of address, business cards, personal space, touch, eye contact, gestures and women in society  

Viewing to Support Support Your Writing 

  • The following videos will provide you with input to help you successfully complete this assignment.

Compare and Contrast (Links to an external site.)(2:35) This brief video provides you with several approaches for thinking about the input you have collected to compare and contrast your two countries. It then offers several organizational patterns you can use to present your ideas.

Writing as Decision Making (Links to an external site.)(1:58) This brief UNC Writing Center video provides you with ideas on developing a structure for your document.

Refer back to Economy, Employment and Diversity Pre-Writing Assignment if you need to review any of the resources from that assignment phase.

The following readings are resources to assist you in completing your writing well. 

Editing and Proofreading (Links to an external site.) on the UNC Writing Center Tips & Tools website.  This brief resource describes the difference between editing and proofreading along with approaches to help you with both of these important writing steps. 

Reading Aloud (Links to an external site.) on the UNC Writing Center Tips & Tools website.  This brief resource talks about the uses and benefits of reading aloud to yourself to assist you in determining what needs to be edited in your document. 

  • Assignment Elements

While you were able to work as a group on the research and discuss your preliminary thinking after researching, the writing of the paper is completed individually.

1. Revise Pre-Writing 

After completing the in-class workshop, revise your thesis and introduction. 

2. Develop a Title

  • Develop a title for your document that is brief and specifically identifies the topic of your document. The best titles are worded to catch the reader’s attention. 

3. Develop Your Document 

Documents will include the following titled sections 

Introduction. The introduction must accomplish the following:

Introduces the audience to the topic and its importance.

  • Clearly indicates who the assigned audience is and describes the designated purpose. 

This introduction contains a thesis statement that makes the primary claim you will argue.

States how you will use the document to support your thesis.

Present this in a concise, clear paragraph that makes the reader want to read your white paper.

After you complete the body of your document, review your introduction to make sure it accurately states what you accomplished with the white paper.  Revise the text as needed to ensure the introduction and the document body work together. 

Relationship of [the Countries] . In this section, you will provide a description of the political, historic, and trade relationship between of the two countries that may influence how people in their new country perceive and respond to them. Tables or other graphics may be used in addition to text if you feel they help convey parts of your message more effectively. (If you take tables or graphics from another document, you must include an in-text citation.) Be sure to start the section with a topic sentence and have parallel data and information on both countries. In-text citations are expected to support what you state in this section.

Cultural Dimension Differences between [Countries]. Using the Hofstede Insights website Country Comparison Tool (Links to an external site.), you obtained earlier in the semester summarize the similarities and differences in the two countries by cultural dimensions. Provide a table showing all the cultural dimensions for both countries. Select one cultural dimension results provided by the Hofstede Insights website where the difference between the countries seems significant to in understanding one of the different communication practices identified in the next section. Be sure to start the section with a topic sentence and have parallel data and information on both countries. In-text citations are expected to support what you state in this section.

Interpersonal Communication Practice Differences in [Countries]. Document specific examples of differences in communication practices (verbal and non-verbal communication) explaining what the specific communication practice means in each country. Include a recommendation on the most important differences for people to pay attention to in this new country. Include in your discussion all of the issues below:   

Traditional business greetings 

  • Expressions of deference (for example to superiors in business and elders.)

Forms of address

Business card exchange

  • Personal space differences 

Touch (for example hugs and kisses) 

Eye contact 

Gestures- use and meaning 

Women in society and business

Be sure to start the section with a topic sentence and have parallel data and information on both countries. In-text citations are expected to support what you state in this section.

Conclusion. This conclusion is a summary of your ENTIRE document.  It includes a reworded restatement of your thesis as emerging from a statement of the document’s elements you have presented. It should conclude with a reminder of the document’s importance for the assigned readers for the designated purpose.

Reference List. The document will end with an APA formatted reference list (Links to an external site.) alphabetized by the first letter of each item. You must include the 6 required references and 3 additional credible sources. (For this assignment stay away from Wikipedia, travel service websites, and personal blogs, journal or remembrances). Each source must have at least one  APA formatted in-text citation (Links to an external site.). and one reference listing. You may also reuse any references you used in your earlier white papers.

4. Revise, Editing, and Proofread Your Document

Professional documents must be readable, clear, well organized, and concise.  They must also be free of errors.  Two approaches may help you with finding typos and grammar and word errors. First, read your work aloud  (Links to an external site.) to yourself after stepping away from it for a while (at least a day).  Doing this will help you catch wording errors or omissions and poorly constructed sentences.  Second, you should use advanced grammar-checking software to review grammar, punctuation, or other writing errors.  The base paid platform of Grammarly is one option; however, others are available as well.  

No quotations – The use of quotations in professional documents is rare as you are being paid to do work for a specific client. For this reason, no quotations may be used in your document; instead, learn to paraphrase effectively (Links to an external site.)

NO plagiarism –Plagiarism is the use of the words, ideas, data, graphics, or graphic contents of others without giving them credit through in-text citation and reference list inclusion. When the words of others are used quotation marks must be used in addition to in-text citations. BUT remember there are no quotations allowed on this paper. Plagiarism in college can result in an ‘F’ on the assignment or course. If egregious, you may be expelled from the program.  In practice, the consequences are also severe, involving the loss of a job or career, the suspension of a license, or having to pay damages to the person whose work you steal. The words in your document must represent your own thinking based on the information you have gathered.  Citing credible sources from which you got ideas gives you credibility, which is required in this work. If you are unclear on plagiarism or are from a region of the world that may think about it differently, review the Plagiarism page (Links to an external site.) developed by the library. Deliverable: Use the template and instructions provided. 

CSUN The Value of Ethnic Studies For All Students Article Analysis

Description

Read the following article “The Value of Ethnic Studies-For All Students” by Melinda Anderson and answer the Critical Analysis Questions below. 

ARTICLE

The Value of Ethnic Studies—For All Students

Despite arguments to the contrary, ethnic studies benefits all students—and research backs it up.

January 15, 2015

by Melinda Anderson (Links to an external site.)

Sandra Cisneros’ award-winning The House on Mango Street chronicles a year in the life of Esperanza, a 12-year-old Chicana girl growing up in Chicago. The novel covers familiar and frightening territory as Esperanza matures, “makes friends, grows hips, develops her first crush, endures sexual assault, and begins to write as a way of expressing herself …” (Links to an external site.)

Her story of a life poor in material possessions but rich in culture is one with which many children, including Mexican-American children, can identify. For this reason, The House on Mango Street was among a wide selection of Chicano and Latino literature taught in the Tucson Unified School District’s Mexican-American Studies program, a welcome addition to the syllabus—until a surge of anti-immigrant and anti-Latino sentiment swept across Arizona.

What started in 1998—with a few classes—as a way to bring cultural relevance to the curriculum (Links to an external site.) and boost academic achievement for Chicano students came to a crashing halt in 2010 when Tom Horne, Arizona’s state schools superintendent, accused ethnic studies classes of promoting “ethnic chauvinism.” (Links to an external site.) The Arizona State Legislature banned the courses with a hammer clause: Any school district that failed to comply with the ban would forfeit 10 percent of its state funding. Point made. In 2012, the Governing Board of the Tucson Unified School District voted to abolish the Mexican-American studies program (Links to an external site.).

Students and activists protested vigorously, and Cisneros joined a convoy of writers (Links to an external site.) to smuggle The House on Mango Street and other banned books back into Tucson. But that was not the demise of ethnic studies. As of July 2013, Tucson schools are required to offer a “culturally relevant curriculum,” as mandated by a court order in a federal desegregation lawsuit brought on behalf of Latino and Black students after decades of segregation and racial discrimination. Culturally relevant teaching resumed (Links to an external site.), with materials from Mexican-American and black perspectives.

As a discipline, ethnic studies in public schools has seen its share of highs and lows. With a great deal of organizing and hard work by students, parents and activists, the Los Angeles Unified School District now requires ethnic studies classes (Links to an external site.) as a high school graduation requirement. Just months prior to the Los Angeles decision, a move in Texas to add a Mexican-American course as a high school elective (Links to an external site.) failed—in a state where Hispanics are the largest ethnic group in public schools.

The conflict over ethnic studies is equal parts xenophobia and political ideology, with white resentment and anxiety stirring the pot. While opponents target ethnic studies courses as divisive, they disregard how classes, textbooks and materials oversaturated with European and Anglo-American viewpoints are polarizing for non-white students.

“The majority of children and teens in U.S. schools today are people of color,” says Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. “In the past, the curriculum excluded the histories, knowledge and perspectives of those who were not white, male, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied and Christian, although people from all groups contributed to the world that we know today. Ethnic studies is essential because it provides young people access to the full spectrum of human knowledge, not just parts of it.”

Providing that knowledge is not just a gesture of token diversity. It pays off academically in student performance and graduation rates. Researchers from the University of Arizona found (Links to an external site.) students who participated in Mexican-American studies classes had a 10 percent greater chance of completing high school. The value of ethnic studies was reinforced by an independent audit (Links to an external site.) that recommended the Tucson Unified School District’s Mexican-American Studies program not only be maintained, but expanded.

Courses that educate on the contributions of historically underrepresented and misrepresented groups pay dividends for white students as well. A safe space for all students to explore racial and cultural experiences and differences is especially relevant today (Links to an external site.), with the dramatic shift in the national narrative on race and justice.

“While students of color must wrestle with the implications of race in their everyday lives, it’s also important for white students to understand how the exclusion of diverse perspectives and voices from the curriculum means that we do not yet have the society that we deserve,” Thomas explains. “For all of our nation’s founding rhetoric of freedom and equality under the law, all students in U.S. schools need to understand that not all groups were seen or treated as equal.”

Like Esperanza’s journey through tweendom, the ethnic studies tale continues to twist and turn. Earlier this month, Arizona’s outgoing state schools superintendent, John Huppenthal, leveled a parting shot (Links to an external site.), labeling black studies courses “objectionable.” His successor, Diane Douglas, upheld, saying Tucson “is in violation of the state’s ethnic studies ban.” (Links to an external site.) And this week (Links to an external site.) the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco heard testimony to reverse the decision making ethnic studies illegal in Arizona.

As the plot thickens, the surest justification for ethnic studies can be found in the sage words of noted black writer and social critic James Baldwin: “American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.”

Anderson is an education writer and activist for educational equity. Follow her on Twitter @mdawriter.

Critical Analysis Questions

1. The main purpose of this article is:

2. The key question that the author is addressing is:

3. The most important information in the article is:
(Figure out the facts, experiences, data the author is using to support her/his conclusions)

4. The main inferences/conclusions in the article are:(Identify the key conclusions the author comes to and presents)

5. The key concept(s) we need to understand in the article:
(Figure out the most important ideas you would have to understand in order to understand the

author’s line of reasoning)

6. The main assumption(s) underlying the author’s thinking is/are:
(Figure out what the author is taking for granted [that might be questioned].)

7a. If we take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are:
(What consequences are likely to follow if people take the author’s line of reasoning

seriously?)

7b. If we fail to take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are:
(What consequences are likely to follow if people ignore the author’s reasoning?

CUNY Lehman College Abortion Paper

Description

Topic: Abortions

Stance: Abortions need to be legal everywhere and accessible for all women.

Thesis Statement: Abortions should be legal and accessible to all women around the world, pregnancies may cause health risk, and financial issues, and it’s their right to do what they deem necessary for them.

Subtopic 1: Health risk surrounding pregnancies

Subtopic 2: Financial burden

Subtopic 3: The woman’s right to make medical choices for their selves.

Introductory Paragraph: An act of intercourse can lead to a road of decisions that a person of a specific gender would have to make. There is more than one way a woman can end up pregnant and some may be consensual or non-consensual. Having an abortion does not make a woman a horrible person nor does should it be a multi person decision. Women chose to have abortions for multiple reasons and when a woman makes that choice that should be the end of it.

Hook: Abortions need to be legal everywhere and accessible for all women. Having a baby can be risky for women and can cause health problems that are life threatening. Considering health issues that a pregnancy can cause, the fact that a woman may not be financially able to provide for their selves and a baby, comfortably. There is no needed debate surrounding why a woman shouldn’t have an abortion, it is their right to choose to do what they find necessary for themselves.

Background and contextual information:

Thesis Sentence: Abortions should be legal and accessible to all women around the world, pregnancies may cause health risk, financial issues, and it’s their right to do what they deem necessary for them.

Supporting paragraph 1 (Subtopic 1)

(Make sure to include at least one in-text citation from your research within your details)

Persuasive Topic Sentence (include position and align with first subtopic): The financial availability differentiates across the world in some areas they aren’t able to afford medical necessities in the case that a woman is experiencing a high-risk pregnancy.

Detail A: Women have many issues to face when deciding to carry a fetus full term, making the decision to abort a fetus is life saving for some mothers. Pregnancy causes health risk that should be paid attention to when deciding if a woman should have an abortion or not, every day 810 women die due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth across the world. India contributes to 12% of the maternal deaths and 23 % of the infant deaths worldwide (Rupani, 2021)

Detail B: Patients of this clinic in India tested higher for the pregnancy complication Lower Segment Caesarean Section, Rural areas in India are at a similar condition in terms of unavailability of blood transfusion facilities.  Blood transfusions

Detail C: Blood transfusion as a treatment modality for postpartum hemorrhage and severe anemia is well-known but still more than one-third of maternal death is due to these conditions in India and the situation of rural India is even worse

Transitional sentence: Unquestionably, children are seen as many things but the risk that comes from carrying a child can be greater and more harmful than people may believe.

Supporting paragraph 2 (Subtopic 2)

(Make sure to include at least one in-text citation from your research within your details)

Persuasive Topic Sentence (include position and align with second subtopic): It is not selfish nor is it wrong for a woman to terminate a pregnancy based on the financial burden that deciding to carry and birth a child brings.          

Detail A: Women admitting the financial strain children bring when there are already children in the home.

Detail B: The age women get pregnant doesn’t allow them to be financially stable to provide for them and the child

Detail C: Women who got pregnant when they were still at school spoke of having to stop their education, which resulted in regret and unhappiness (Sawyer, 2011)

Transitional sentence: There are resources available to aid in providing for mothers the thought of having to spread income and put a stop to plans a mother may have before pregnancy, an abortion is a great choice to consider until a woman feels ready.

Supporting paragraph 3 (Subtopic 3)

(Make sure to include at least one in-text citation from your research within your details)

Persuasive Topic Sentence (include position and align with third subtopic): The decision to terminate a pregnancy is the woman’s choice and it should not be taken from her.

Detail A:

Abortion rights advocates say the Supreme Court allowing the Texas ban to continue indicates the justices are ready to overturn Roe v. Wade. What is Roe v. Wade.

Detail B: Hatcher also predicts a backlash to the end of Roe, suggesting that some states will ease their restrictions on abortions in response to tragedies of women dying from lack of access to safe abortion care. (See Hatcher’s predictions in this issue about what happens next if Roe v. Wade is overturned.)

Detail C: I was in the state of Georgia chamber when the anti-abortion bill was passed, and it felt like a punch in the gut,” Zieman says. “I couldn’t believe we were returning to laws that infringed on the rights of women.”

Transitional Sentence: All though there are people of higher power than the average woman, it does not give them the right to snatch a woman’s right from them when it comes to making decision’s for their bodies.

Conclusion

Paraphrase thesis statement (restated in different words): Having a baby whether it is accidental or planned can cause a lot of damage for a woman, there are financial burdens that comes with having a child, as well as the complications that come, it’s important to note that when a woman decides to have an abortion the choice is hers and it does not make her a bad person.

Summarize main points: Abortions have been known to be looked at as murder but it should be looked at as a choice some women may have to make in life to save theirs or live comfortably, it is their right to decide what they would like to do.

Final remarks:

References

Organize all references below into a reference list. Be sure the references are in alphabetical order based on the author’s last name, double-spaced. List should be formatted to have hanging indents by ½ an inch, with the first line left justified and all others indented using the paragraph formatting tool. See the APA Style Guide for help with formatting references and citations. Within the essay, this reference page will be on its own page at end of your essay. Please review the grading rubric prior to completing the outline assignment to ensure successful completion.

Rupani, S. N., & Janagam, S. G. (2021). Risks a Mother Takes to Give Birth – A Cross-Sectional Study of High-Risk Pregnancies and Preparedness of Public Health Facilities in Rural Karnataka. International Journal of Medicine & Public Health, 11(1), 53–56. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.5530/ijmedph.2021.1.10

Sawyer, A., Ayers, S., Smith, H., Sidibeh, L., Nyan, O., & Dale, J. (2011). Women’s experiences of pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period in The Gambia: A qualitative study. British Journal of Health Psychology, 16(3), 528–541. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1348/135910710X528710

Supreme Court Signals Possible End to Abortion Rights Under Roe v. Wade: Texas decision provides foreshadowing. (2022). Contraceptive Technology Update, 43(2), 1–4.

RCC the Body Mind Problem Video Discussion & Responses

Description

After reading Chapter 4 and watching the video below on the mind-body problem, do the following:

this discussion post has 2 parts 

  • explain your understanding of the mind-body problem
  • explain which view of the mind most agrees with your understanding of ‘mind.’ Are you a dualist? A materialist? Explain why; defend your position with reasons. In your response, make sure to explain the view you most agree with; in other words, if you say you agree with dualism, explain what the dualist view is, as well as why you agree with that view. Your response must make specific reference to the video as well as to one of the assigned readings/sections from Chapter 4 in our text.

Helpful hint: Often in this forum, students say things like ‘I am a dualist because I think the mind and body are connected’ or ‘I am a dualist because I think the mind and body work together.’ But, the mind and body ARE connected; they DO work together; we know this! Our species would not have survived if these did not work together. It is a fact that the mind and body affect each other and work together; these are not matters of debate. Also, these are not even matters that require experts or scientists for verification; each of us can test these out and verify their veracity. If I think of something terrifying, my body will react; if I stab my finger with a needle, my mind tells me I am in pain ?. There is no question that the mind and body affect each other. So, a dualist is NOT a person who thinks the mind and body work together or are connected.

Works Linked/Cited:

“Where Does Your Mind Reside?: Crash Course Philosophy #22.” YouTube, uploaded by Crash Course, 1 Aug. 2016. Where Does Your Mind Reside?: Crash Course Philosophy #22 – YouTube. Accessed 19 Aug. 2020.

second part: please reply to each student according to the instructions

diego

Like many things in philosophy, the mind-body problem, as I see it at least, is a philosophical question that aims to rationalize the human experience in a way that satisfies each of us or is closest to some objective truth. Specifically, the mind-body problem concerns itself with the sense of self, and how that sense of self is affected by physical or non-physical entities and influences. Several senses of self have been defined over the course of history, dating back to Descartes’ famous saying of “I think, therefore I am,” a belief that essentially asserts that identity of self has everything to do with the non-physical, an “immaterial substance” as the book states in Chapter 5, section A. However, as Hank Green states in our assigned video, there is another school of thought, reductive physicalism, which claims that the world, everything in it, and everything we as humans do boils down to a series of physical processes, and not anything immaterial. The mind-body problem, and its many proposed solutions, are ways of refuting either of these points, or attempting to merge them in a satisfactory way, in order to reach a conclusion that portrays the human experience in a rational way.

Personally, I consider myself to be an Interactionist, which is a sort of subset of the Substance Dualist school of thinking. The reason I adhere to this mentality when determining my self-identity is actually incredibly simple: its because the proposition itself is the most simple one. There is a problem-solving principle known as Occam’s Razor which, to paraphrase, posits that when thinking of a solution or answer to a problem or question, the simplest option should be given precedence, and we should not pluralize beyond necessity. When tackling the issue of self-identity, I have chosen to apply this principle of problem-solving, and that principle lead me to Interactionism. This is because both pure substance dualism and reductive physicalism require more logical leaps or steps to explain the human experience. Substance dualism claims that the sense of self is not affected by the physical, even though our physical interaction with the world is oftentimes what allows us to build the mental experience to formulate our identity, but reductive physicalism requires you to dive into much more complicated physical and medical minutiae in order to explain things like emotions. Interactionism is a simple blend that states that our sense of self is created and shaped by the ways in which our minds and bodies interact, from our mind exercising its will upon the body to the body’s experiences having effects, both positive and negative, on the mind.

Works Cited / Relevant research:

( Introducing Philosophy), Introducing Philosophy . Oxford University Press.

“Where Does Your Mind Reside?: Crash Course Philosophy #22.” YouTube, uploaded by Crash Course, 1 Aug. 2016. Where Does Your Mind Reside?: Crash Course Philosophy #22 – YouTube. Accessed 16 Apr 2022.

Duigan, Brian. “Occam’s Razor.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 July 1998, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Occams-razor.

Erick

After watching the video and reading the chapter I have understood more about the mind and body problem. The mind and body were formed to be connected with eachother. If I hit my toe with the corner of my bed i would feel the pain and my mind would tell me to scream of pain. In chapter 4 it uses the example that when our body is hungry we can feel the hunger and we know it is time to eat. If we did not feel that sensation of hunger that is a way we could know that our body and mind is not connected. The body and mind is like a team, the mind commands what the body should do and does it.

I am a duelist, I beleive in spiritual things and a materialtisic mind only beleives that the things that hold matter exist. I beleieve that their is a God and also due to that I try to live a life that would be joyful to God. I beleieve that heaven exist, its true that their is no scientific evidence that proves that it exists. I have nothing to lose if I follow Gods path but I could have a lot to lose if I were not to follow his path. Heaven could end up being real and i could be missing my opportunity to live their for eternity. I know that evil and good spirits exists and has always been evolving around us. Also when I am sad or happy my body reacts to the way im feeling. When I am sad my mind is full of negative thoughts and your body expresses the way you feel. You feel like you dont have the strength to do anything but when you are happy, your body is active, you are full of energy. These are the reasons why I beleive that I am a duelist.

Keiser University the Role of Emotion in Conflict Essay

Description

The Role of Emotions in Conflict

Chapter 6 in our textbook addresses emotions in conflict. It states, “Feelings function as facts; they aren’t right or wrong, they simply exist” (Hocker, et. al., 2022, p. 194).

How does that statement affect your current view of feelings in conflict?
What are some of the misconceptions of emotions in conflict?
What is the role of feelings in conflict and how can we use them to resolve a conflict?
Can we simply ignore feelings in conflict until they go away?
What is the anger-fear cycle?
How can anger and hurt be expressed responsibly?

responded to two peers

Peers 1

Emotion is described as an instinctive state or feeling, which often dictates one’s actions, circumstances or relation with other people. According to Hocker, et al. 2022, emotions play a significant role in the way people handle conflict within various relationships. Anger or contempt often escalates the situation negatively while positive feelings like sympathy and admiration can lead to compromise and resolution (Hocker, et. al., 2022, p. 194). “Conflict is all about emotions, and when a person is off balance emotionally it becomes extremely difficult to engage in constructive responses to conflict. You can lose sight of your objectives and become focused on how the other person has wronged you. Retaliatory responses kick in and you are no longer interested in solving the problem as much as punishing the other person.” (“Conflict Dynamics Profile”, 2012). However, I believe that once we acknowledge an emotion for what it is and how emotion plays a significant role in conflict, from there we can learn how to manage intense emotional behavior, like outburst and strive to keep our emotions in check during confrontation or other issues we come across. But how does one learn to manage emotions, in order to best handle conflict? Expressing your feelings to others instead of bottling them up inside is the key, because ignoring your emotions won’t address the root cause, it’ll only prolong the issue (Hocker, et. al., 2022, p. 195). Consider someone who avoids confrontation, assuming that by avoiding the situation all their problems will simply go away. We understand that this kind of behavior is wrong and not the correct way to go about solving problems. The same could be said about ignoring emotions, you’re essentially running away from them.Fear, anxiety and anger also have a negative impact on conflict. In chapter six of our textbook, the anger-fear sequence is described as a cycle which begins with a perceived threat of some kind. Whether it comes from someone or something, once we feel threatened by it, fear and anxiety creep in, working together to fill us with a mixture of dread and obsession over the situation (Hocker, et. al., 2022, p. 206). This concept reminds me of a balloon filling up with air, but in this case, it’s fears and anxiety building up in a person. When the balloon pops, that signifies strong feelings of displeasure and anger taking over. Anger is the intense reaction to a perceived threat and a factor which impacts conflict (Hocker, et. al., 2022, p. 204).

WC: 450

peers2 The statement, “Feelings function as facts; they aren’t right or wrong, they simply exist,” made me really think about how feelings in people are uncontrollable. This affects my current view on feelings by validating them. I believe that feelings cannot be controlled. People can try to repress them and lie to themselves about how they feel but they will never go away. The true feelings will always come out. Lying about how you feel to yourself is a way to repress those feelings to protect oneself. Some misconceptions in conflict are thinking that all confrontations are going to be bad and ugly, that if a problem is not dealt with then it will disappear, anger is always negative and destructive, and a few others. These misconceptions are just that, not true. These are things people tell themselves to avoid conflict because of fear. Feelings in conflict are a result of that conflict. It helps each party understand how the person is feeling and how to resolve their dispute. Emotions allow people to communicate with one another by expressing their agendas, desires, and goals. By showing emotion in a conflict, it opens the door for communication to resolve that conflict. Hiding those feelings will only amplify the situation because the situation will never get talked about. It will allow room for passive aggressiveness. Feelings cannot be ignored because they will truly never go away. As much as a person may try, the feeling will always remain there. If I have a feeling, I know that to clear the air or to resolve the conflict, talking about it will alleviate the tension. Suppressed feeling will only create more conflict. The anger-fear cycle has five phases. These phases include trigger, escalation, crisis, recovery, and depression. Understanding the cycle helps people understand their reactions to situations and how they react to others. The trigger phase is when an event occurs, and this is when the anger cycle is started. This is when a person feels threatened and they feel the need to react. The escalation phase is preparing for a crisis, and this is by changing body language, becoming loud, angry facial expressions, etc. The crisis phase is when survival instincts step in. This could mean a person is ready to take action and judgement may be altered. The recovery phase takes place after an action has resulted from the crisis phase. A person recovers from the stress of tA person recovers from the stress of the conflict and can reflect on the situation. The depressions phase is when feelings of guilt and regret take over. Feeling this type of anger can be handled in a responsible and healthier way than acting upon it in an impulsive way. Taking some time to reflect on the situation instead of acting upon it while angry can allow you to make a good judgement call based on the situation. Acting on a conflict while angry is normally not the right way to go about a problem. “Specifically, fear and anger arise when we perceive a threat to our safety–whether related to our resources, those we love, or our overall emotional or physical well-being. A key word here is “perceive”: There is a difference between a genuine threat and one triggered by distorted thoughts or a physiological sensitivity for experiencing threat. While making this distinction is not always easy, doing so provides us the pause we need to respond rather than react to these highly charged emotions.” (Golden, 2021). Talking a conflict out in a calm manner while understanding the opposing side will result in a resolution. It takes a lot to act on anger responsibly and it can only help people in a lot of situations in life.

WC: 612

PC Psychology Suicide Risk Assessment Discussion

Description

Profile:

This is the last profile for the course. (And there was much rejoicing!)

All assessments are to be conducted with a single volunteer.

The volunteer is to be someone you barely know or do not know at all. Ex. A spouse’s co-worker, a friend of your child, a neighbor you don’t spend much time with, etc. It may be the same individual you had already assessed from last week.

You are to administer three assessments in order to offer a professional recommendation that fulfills the requirement of the reason for referral.

One test will be a Projective Test of your choice. The remaining two tests MUST come from the third section of Janda, In Search of Self-Growth (tests 17-24).

My recommendation is not to pick the three tests ahead of time. Analyze the results of one test. Upon reviewing the results, ask yourself, “What do I want to know more about that will help me offer a professional recommendation that fulfills the requirement of the reason for referral?” Then your choice of the next test to administer should come from your answer.

Write-up Format:

Identifying Information:

First Name of Subject (only), gender, age, handedness, examiner’s name, date of assessment, assessment tool(s).

Ps. The name of the test is not the name of the chapter. The test is not called How Depressed Are You? The name of the test is called The Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire.

Reason for Referral: Some version of the following in your own words, “Your boss has observed that one of the students has scars or marks on her wrists. Your boss wants you to evaluate the student’s risk of committing suicide.”

This is important! You need to address this explicitly in the Recommendations section. This is the reason you are doing the testing.

Observations: Include assessment environment (which is a general description of any distractors while the person is being assessed.)

Assessment environment may be optimal or full of distractions. “Assessment environment was optimal and therefore results are likely authentic.”

“Assessment environment had several distractions (could share specifics) which may have compromised the results. The interpretation should be read with caution.”

Results: Include all scores, not just the highest. Here is an example.

Domain

Feeling

Cognitive

Behavioral

Somatic

Total

Score

46.6

23.5

73.9

44.6

188.6

Percentile

85+

30–50

85+

85+

85+

Then offer a brief description of what the scores mean. Here is an example:

“The subject scored highest in the Behavioral domain, indicating that she is most likely to express anxiety through her actions, which could include avoiding stressful situations.”

Lastly include Suggested Personality Type. Please do not use one of the Modern Psychological Types, i.e., Jung, Fromm or Freud. I will take points off if you use the Greek Elemental Typology.

Profile: This section must be a minimum of one typed page in order to receive full credit. Your opening statement should be your assessment of the subject’s personality type. “The results of the three assessments administered to the subject converge to show that she fits the description of Jung’s Sensing personality type.” The typology can be of your choice from Jungian, Frommian, or Freudian. The Greek Elemental typology is for academic purposes only and would not be professional to include in a profile. I will take points off if you continue to use the elemental typology for this final write-up. When a typology is determined, stick with it for the remainder of the write-up. Don’t mix up terminology.

Now that you’ve stated the personality type, next give a summary in your own words of the characteristics and traits associated with that personality type.

Next, give your subjective interpretation of the following domains: Situations this person thrives in. How this person copes with stress and possible stressors. What are their relative strengths and weaknesses. If you find you need more to complete a page, additional possibilities include relationship styles, preferred leisure activities, predicted home life, philosophy of life, careers the person will excel in, etc.

It should be stated in the format Objective Data leads to Subjective Inference. For example, “Being a Thinking personality type, we would expect the subject to withdraw into their ideas when under stress.”

Another example, “The results finding the subject scored low in the Behavioral domain of the FSAQ suggests the person would most likely withdraw into their ideas when under stress and not rely on immediate action for coping.”

Remember to not devalue a test by dismissing the results as being untrue or ‘don’t fit’ the person. Your attitude should be that each test looks at a person from its own unique angle, giving you a well-rounded perspective of the individual.

Remember the story of the three blind men and the elephant. One man holds his trunk and says he has a hose. Another blind man holds an ear and says he has a rug. The last blind man holds his tail and says he has a rope. They each have a different part, all joined together equaling a single elephant. Likewise, one test gives you the results of (the trunk), another gives you the results of (the tail), and another gives you the results of (an ear). Put all the results together and you have a whole person. So it is ok if the results “look different”. Your job is to put it all together and create a complete picture of a whole individual with varying aspects of their total personality.

(Reminder: Avoid using words ‘positive/negative’)

Recommendations: This section should be a summary of the profile section that are relevant to your recommendations as well as your suggested follow up course of action. Since the person already has been observed with marks on their wrists, you will not say “This student has no risk of suicide.” Use low/medium/high risk of possible suicidal actions.

If the person is assessed as low risk, your recommendation could be “It appears the marks are superficial and there is nothing in her personality profile that suggests they would take further serious action. The subject is assessed as having a low risk of possible suicidal actions. Therefore it is recommended that this student resume their regular school schedule with minimal supervision.”

Risk of suicide is a BIG DEAL! Please be explicit! Do not omit stating that they are a low/medium/high risk of possible suicidal actions.

Anthropology Categorizing Humans Responses

Description

Race is the categorization of humans based on observable traits. These traits usually include skin color, hair type, size, facial features, and behavior. While these traits make us unique from one another in personality and looks, it does not match different biological markers in human DNA. Basically, these superficial markers do not point to a difference in our genetic makeup or physiology. It just makes us identifiable as an individual on the outside.

Categorizing humans by race is not biologically sound. According to Chapter 13 of the Explorations book, all humans are about 99.9% genetically the same. This is the highest percentage of every other animal or species on earth. Humans have variation, but traits like skin color have continuous variation. This means that the variation happens between individuals, not groups of people, making it impossible to categorize people by them. Human variation is a spectrum. You may see different people in distinct parts of that spectrum in a small population. However, the more people you add and the larger your sampling population is, the less distance between human variation exits. The spectrum gets crowded, and two distinct people from one group may match closer to two people from another group. According to the textbook, Explorations, genetic diversity is more significant within a group of people rather than between groups of people. This means there is more diversity amongst your closest relatives as compared to you and someone from another part of the world. This would explain why two people may have more in common from another area than from their immediate population.

Race is a social construct. Our idea of race has no foundation in biology. This is pointed out in “Race: The Power of an Illusion, Ep. 1: The Difference Between Us.” The documentary points out that race is not universally defined. What is considered black in America is not the same as in Brazil or in other countries in Africa. How can we say race is biologically determined when we cannot come up with universal or concrete markers that define what each race is? For example, if we are to use skin color for race, where do we draw the lines between each color? Human variation shows that humans are born in a spectrum of colors. Siblings may have lighter or darker skin than each other and still have the exact same parents and ancestors. Moreover, a person can become lighter or darker in their lifetime due to a number of contributing factors. Does this mean they change race? Without a concrete definition supported by data, no true marker separates the races.

Race may not have a foundation in biology, but it has affected our view of and handling of biology. According to the article “How Race Becomes Biology: Embodiment of Social Inequality” by Clarence C. Gravlee, we cannot “reduce biology to genetics and minimize or ignore the causal influence of external, environmental factors on human biology” (p. 51). In other words, it is not accurate to talk about how biology defines race, but we cannot dismiss the impact race has played on biology. Take pollution, for example. African-Americans and other minorities have been disproportionately exposed to pollution. It has been argued that the genetics of race makes these groups of people genetically unhealthy or inferior. This is just not correct. What makes them sicker is how race as a social construct has led to their biology being tampered with. Basically, their poor health is due to their race, but not because of biology. It is due to society’s treatment of them instead.

#2

Race is a very controversial subject.  It’s something that many have a problem with because older scientists were very biased. Everything that contributed to distinguishing race was based solely on phenotypic traits (skin color, eye color, hair color, etc.) This becomes a problem because of how people are categorized. I’m chapter 13: Race and Human Variation in our book, the author explains how there are no races, just clines. A cline is a graduation in one or more characteristics within a species, especially between different populations. This would explain our skin color. Where we are located has a lot to do with what color our skin will be. When you live in a hotter environment your skin is more likely to be darker than someone that lives somewhere that is in an area that is in a colder area. This is because of the high amounts of UV radiation. So categorizing humans based on skin color is very biased because skin color is more based on clinial distribution. 

In the documentary,  “The Difference Between Us: Race- the power of an illusion” we see these groups of students that are all very different from each other. They all compare their mitochondrial DNA. They expect to all have similar results to those of the same race as them. When they receive their results they are surprised to see that they are more alike to others that aren’t exactly the same race as them. This shows that biologically we aren’t that different from each other. This film also emphasizes athleticism in different races. They explained that some people believe that African Americans are more athletic than any other culture because of something I’m their genes. This is a very big problem because this discredits any accomplishment of any African American athlete. This would mean that African American athletes are good because they were born like this and not because of their hard work. However, we now know that this is not true, and nothing has been found in our DNA that can prove that African Americans are any different than any other race. 

Lastly, in Clarence Gravelee’s article “How Race Becomes Biology: Embodiment of Social Inequality” he emphasizes on how race is more based on social construct. He gives the example of race and health. He explains health inequalities in different races. This is something that we see a lot in the United States. The lack of health insurance in low income neighborhoods is very common. Gravelee explains that evidence shows that in the United States there are racial inequalities in morbidity and mortality, especially within the African American community. However a lot of research done doesn’t take into account these differences. They only base it on the color of their skin and don’t take into account racial inequalities. For example, if everyone had the same access to health care then it is most likely that results would be different. Luckily, scientists have evolved their way of thinking so I’m sure this is something that is being worked on and social inequalities are all being taken into consideration when it comes to research.