Week of November 12-18 Discussion #3

I thought that the most important and also interesting in this section was the content about “Research Methodology and Scientific Experiments”. I thought this was important because I believed that these are the main basis to prove something whether right or wrong, the results could be anything. I believe this is the most important part because it helps determine something that one might find they are unsure about. I found it interesting that scientists have different kinds of variables to choose from when they want to run their experiment. These variables include: independent variable (controlled experiment that is being manipulated), dependent variable (controlled experiment that changes in response to the manipulation), controlled experiment ( all variables kept constant except for the independent variables), and confounding experiment (not accounted for or controlled by the experimental design. I found those really interesting because it showed different ways scientist can run tests, which then leads to the other concepts that were in the text called Field Experiments, Controlled Experiments, and Single-Group Experiments. Field Experiments are experiments where a scientist observes their intended subject in its natural state. Controlled is where scientist has full control over their subjects which can lead in much kind of results. Single-Group is a study of one subject and scientist base their results on only of that subject.

Week of November 12-18 Discussion #2

There was time I accidentally marked my white shirt with a ball pen during school and tried to wash it off with water and soap. At first it looked like it was going away because it started to look like the water was taking away the mark so then I decided to just let it air dry after. A few hours later I got home and looked at it, it just got worse. Now the mark became a spot of ink. This was an incorrect conclusion on my part because I thought that water and soap would just take away the ink stain I made earlier in the day when actually it would have made it worse. I thought that soap and water would take away the stain because those together would usually take away stains. But since it was ink, I realized that it would take much more than soap to take away this mark. Through experimentation of trying to take away the ink mark, my hypothesis about this observation clearly showed that this wasn't a good idea to do in the first place and I should have waited until I got home to care for this ink mark on my shirt.

Week of November 12-18 Discussion #1

“Today will be a day to remember -- full of romance, intrigue, secrets and even one or two dramatic revelations! You will be in the thick of things right away, first thing in the morning -- so make sure you get a great breakfast and are prepared for some roller coaster hours. You are a featured player in this daytime drama, and whether or not you are the hero of the story is completely up to you. If you want to stir up some trouble, go for it! You are ready to deal with the fallout. “

I think that this prediction could be true or not be true depending on what decision I make tonight. I was invited to go to a party this evening for my friend’s Birthday surprise and I believe this prediction could be true in some way. It can be “a day to remember” if I actually follow through this invitation. This prediction I find 50-50 accurate just because it can go either way because of the decision I will make. I wouldn’t say that this prediction is falsifiable or not, but I do believe that these events can or not happen depending on what I choose to do. I am not really a big fan or user of horoscopes because I believe they can sway you to the decisions you make. After reading one, you would feel obligated to actually make those things happen because it says so. I don’t think that horoscopes are something people should rely on just to make it through the day, sure it’s fun to read but I don’t think we should take it to the heart and actually believe that we should fulfill these events that are said in our horoscopes.

Week of November 5 - 11 Discussion #3

This whole section about media was interesting and useful. I learned a lot how media can manipulate people through words and what they present through their media products. The concept that I found most interesting was “Sensationalism and the News as Entertainment”. This section talked about how most news stories revolve around heartwarming, crimes, or disaster stories. I found this interesting because it’s true, most of the time new stations present these kinds of news to the public more often. They often headline less serious things to the public because that is something that we usually find more entertaining. They play on human emotions so that we can engage with them. They find stories that will keep us attached to their channel even if it means exaggerating upcoming stories they have in stored for that evening. I’ll be honest, I have done that before. Right before they go to commercial break, they usually tell the viewers to stay tune for more news stories and usually the title is headline exaggerated and that’s what keeps me from switching channels because I want to see what that story is about.

Week of November 5 - 11 Discussion #2

Sadler’s argument revolves around how Internet Plagiarism is wrong presented through ten arguments. Each argument explains why it is bad and immoral and won’t help a student at all in the long wrong and how it motivates them to plagiarize more in the future. She explains that it becomes a practice that will have a negative effect in the student themselves and the society itself. She believes that Universities should have strict policies when it comes to students committing plagiarism. On the other hand Hunt explains that educators should be happy about Internet Plagiarism because he believes that this will help educators re-evaluate the old model of teaching that sparks Internet plagiarism and it’s a chance for them to make a new model. He believes that the motive of Internet Plagiarism is the fact that educator’s style of teaching is outdated and that students will easily plagiarize for an easy grade. Hunt believes that the University is built for encouraging plagiarism. I believe that Sadler’s arguments are more convincing compared to Hunt’s because she appeals to my values more. I believe that plagiarism is wrong because it is something that I grew up learning ever since grade school. It was never taught to be something that was positive but always taught to be a negative if were to be ever committed by someone. I was always taught that if it was ever done, it will result in major consequences. Sadler’s argument appeals to me more because I found those arguments something I can relate to in my moral values and was something familiar. In the other hand Hunt’s argument was something I've never heard before and was something that was shunned upon my most educators.

Week of November 5 - 11 Discussion #1

The media has been reinforcing my views and values for many years and grows each and every day. A lot of my time spent is in media and I see lots of information across many websites.  I find many in blogs, twitter, youtube, and major search engines. These media networks have really influenced my views mainly in politics, especially this year. I gained a lot of new knowledge on both party sides whether they were good or bad. It helped me realize what their values were and if it actually relates to my values. During this year’s election, it has really tested what I find must be valued. Both presidential candidates had different views and beliefs in which I thought were both good and bad. I thought it was a challenge for me in which to side with the most because both sides had conflicted issues in which I thought was either right or wrong. I knew that if I had to choose one side, it would still conflict with my values.

Week of: Oct 29 - Nov 4 Discussion #3

One concept that I enjoyed in this section was “Avoiding Confirmation Bias and Other Errors in Thinking”. The example that was given in this part was when companies over commit in trying to sell something. It was defined escalation of commitment, which means the over commitment of marketing to a particular answer. A good example that was talked about in this section was the manufacturing of Japanese automobiles that was supposed to sell in the US during the 1960s. It failed because the engines were smaller to the engines in US, which meant that there were no consumers buying the cars from Japan. The engines were smaller in the Japanese cars because it was sufficient enough to be driven in Japanese roads. But the fact that they were trying to sell here in America, the small engines were not sufficient enough to be driven in American roads. This section was a good concept because it basically says that if one thing sells in one place, it doesn’t always mean that it will sell elsewhere. Companies should research other demographics before committing on selling their products and wasting money for something that won’t sell.

Week of: Oct 29 - Nov 4 Discussion #2

Both Wooton and Liodice have different and compelling reasons on why they take such stance for children’s food advertising. Wooton believes that government regulation should be implemented into our children’s food advertising and that certain television channels should be watchful for what kind of food ads are being displayed in the channels that children watch. He believes that that the CSPI guidelines is the solution to end the childhood obesity that is going on in our society and that these criteria’s should be met if we want them to be healthy. On the contrary, Liodice strongly disagrees with the CSPI guidelines. He believes that it is violating the First Amendment and if the CSPI guidelines were to be implemented it would take away those rights. He believes that it shouldn't be the government’s duty to regulate what children see on television to help reduce childhood obesity. I believe Liodice had the most compelling argument because when it comes to violating the First Amendment I am for the person who defends that right. He gave strong evidence that if these guidelines were implemented, that would be a violation to our rights and if that happens who know what things the government might try to slip in. It shouldn't be their responsibility to regulate what children see, it should be their parents. The parents should be and are responsible for their health.

Week of: Oct 29 - Nov 4 Discussion #1

This week I the most memorable marketing strategies I encountered this week was through media. As a person who uses media every day, there is a lot of marketing strategies I see on a daily basis. Through Facebook, Youtube, Google, and e-mails all these types of media has some kind of advertising that I see every day. When subscribed to sales on line through e-mail I see daily sales on an online website that sells computer parts. These e-mails come in ad’s as if they were printed in paper a whole list of parts go on sale that go about to 50% off. I think that when they advertise a lot of their products, a lot of them go on sale and I think that’s the most effective way. Another effective way is letting their consumers choose if they want to be notified if there are sales. I thought that was effective because for sure if the consumer has bought there before they would want to be notified if there are great deals going on on the site. What I found least effective is the way the design their ads. I thought that they were sloppily placed around the page with unappealing design. I thought they could have organized the ad better in which would be appealing.