1. XOXO 2. Kansas City's Failed Schools Leave Students Behind 3. NPR STAFF 4. NPR 5. February 18, 2012 6.http://www.npr.org/2012/02/18/147067123/kansas-citys-failed-schools-leave-students-behind
Public schools in Kansas City are becoming victims to suburban sprawl, where White middle class families are moving out of the city leaving Black lower income families behind with inadequate academic resources. The deprivation of good schooling for African American children along with other minorities across Kansas would be described by William Edward Burghardt Du Bois as the color line. This was the problem of the 20th century and with incidents as the one aforementioned, it seems to continue to be an issue today. The economic and intellectual division among the races, specifically Whites and Blacks hinders the ability for America to be an inclusive and fully integrated country. The children who have become victim to this seemingly unavoidable divide will begin developing a double consciousness where they begin to seem themselves through the eyes of others. For these African American Kansas students it is easy to see how feelings of rejection and inferiority might be perceived. This is problematic because physical proximity, economic relations, political relations, intellectual and social contact, as well as morality issues can all become exacerbated with this fundamental limitation of academic resources. W.E.B Du Bois would argue that the focus of schools for Blacks should be on the talented tenth who should earn college degrees, but how can college be achieved even by this small percentage when the foundational years are lacking in good teachers, adequate supplies, and uncrowded infrastructures?
1. Baciarsi 2. A tale of two chefs: Marcus Samuelsson and Roblé Ali 3. Alex Kellogg and Alyse Shorland 4. CNN.com 5. February 28th, 2012 6. http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/28/a-tale-of-two-chefs-marcus-samuelsson-and-roble-ali/ From the point of view of Dubois:
Dubois refers to his idea of the color line as THE problem of the 20th century. This article is a good example of that because these two chefs are being referred to as Black Chefs and Hip Hop Chef. “Who takes you serious when you’re the hip hop chef?” said Ali. “And why am I the hip hop chef, because I’m black? I’m not break dancing.” Even though they cook more than just soul food and both have made a good name for themselves, not only in the US but around the world, they are still separated by the color line, and there are many other black chefs out there who are not getting the attention they deserve because of assumptions like they "cook only soul food." I think the color line is prominent in majority of the career fields in America. Their talent is passed over because of assumptions and stereotypes of their race. An interesting fact in the article that I had never really thought about was that blacks have been reluctant to be in careers associated with slavery or a server, like cooking. I could see how they would want to shy away from a career associated with slavery but careers should be chosen because it’s what you love and it’s who you are. Being a good chef is a really great talent to have, they should enjoy it and share it and not have to worry about stereotypes. I think Dubois would agree that the color line is prominent in many career fields and is holding many African Americans back from doing what they really enjoy.
1. Ayiti 2. Key & Peele: The color of funny 3. Stephanie Siek 4. CNN 5. February 24, 2012 6. http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/24/key-peele-the-color-of-funny/
Mead's looking glass self is the idea: "what we think about ourselves based on what others think about us". The article Key and Peel: The color of funny is a perfect example of this idea. Key and Peele are two biracial comedians who talk about their struggles of being half white and half black in America. The comedian Peele talks about how he viewed himself based on the way his peers viewed him. He was a biracial teen who struggled with his identity. He often got teased because his mother was white, as a result he would only identify as being black until recently. Peele talks about the time he had to take a standardized test and having to fill in the race section as 'white' 'black' or other. Peele says "To make me ponder that as a child, and make somebody put me in that category and say 'That’s what you are' – what could possibly be so important that we're ingraining upon a 7-year-old that 'This is what you are and you can’t be anyone else?" This is an example of the idea: "I am what you think I am." Based on how his peers viewed him, Peele made judgments about himself based solely on what others thought of him, and as a result he did not identify with being biracial, instead he identified as being black. Both Key and Peele played the role of being black, to the point that it became automatic, they completely eliminated their white heritage as part of their identity. An interesting point that Key and Peele made in their article is when they said they have to adjust their "blackness" when they talk about situations because of the way they maybe judged by whites or blacks. I think that Mead would agree that both Key and Peele's struggles with their identities would fall into the 3 elements of the looking glass self. I think that it is important to embrace our heritage and we should not allow the judgments of others to cause us to deny who we really are.
Code word: Eljaly Title of the article: A Pot With Benefits Author of the article: Rob Mifsud Source of the article: Slate.com Date of the article: February 29, 2012 Link to the article: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2012/02/the_pressure_cooker_makes_a_comeback_.html From the point of view of Gilman
Gilman believed that humans were the only species in which the females were economically dependent on the male. But, she also said that women do their fair share of work as well, because the work they do in the household is what allows men to be economically successful. She therefore went on to say that the amount of work that women do in the home is not economically valued or appreciated. If Gilman were reading this article, she would agree that the pressure cooker needs to be brought back and used more frequently by women in the household. She would agree that it is faster and more efficient for women to use than standing over the stove all day trying to prepare the same meal. Also, women have so many tasks to complete especially in this day where women are working outside the home and still having to do the same amount of chores at home that were done in Gilman’s day. In order to be more time effective and complete everything that the woman has to do she should learn how to use the pressure cooker so she can tend to other chores while dinner is being made. To the woman that said, “Woman are not often mechanically minded enough to employ these utensils without scalding themselves.” Gilman would tell her that she can do anything that she puts her mind to. Gilman would tell this woman that her statement is a falsifiable gender stereotype and she should not let stereotypes limit her ability. Gilman lived a life that went against the norms in many different ways from giving up the responsibility of her daughter to pursuing her own agency as a sociologist. She would not agree that woman should not use pressure cookers because they feel that a man could operate it better. Women are already economically dependent on men, why depend on them for help with domestic duties as well? Gilman would disagree with all negatives about the use of pressure cookers and encourage women to use them in order to be more effective in their everyday domestic duties.
Watever How Companies Learn Your Secrets Charles Duhigg New York Times February 16, 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?pagewanted=all Perspective of Max Weber
Over time, going shopping for life’s mundane necessities such as food, clothing, and the like can become increasing rationalized and habitual. A human’s brain uses chunking, in which a sequence of actions is converted into an automatic routine;frequently habits become the sort-of activity that behaviorist’s dream of- behavior that is more or less an unconscious response to stimulus. However, there are certain milestones in one’s life that have significant meaning, such as graduation, marriage, and as in the example of this article, having children, that allows for a break in the otherwise predictable realm of consumer behavior. Due to an ever increasing rationalized world, even these “flexible” choices are often easily predictable; it is simply the nature of a world in which individuals are frequently losing their agency in the products they buy. One such company that is capitalizing on this trend is Target; they are perfecting the marketing art of “striking while the iron is hot” during these life milestones and consequently change people’s consumer patterns.
In essence, Target and companies like them are selling products to consumers before they even know they need them. The key to doing this is capitalizing on major points in consumers lives and doing so before they carry on with their normal and predictable shopping habits. Big-box stores such as Target have already mastered being efficient; there stores carry enough products that one can reasonably buy almost everything they would ever need in one place as well as at an affordable cost. They have furthered this by successfully monitoring (some would use the term spying) on a host of consumer’s socio-demographic/behavioral “markers” that can convincingly predict their behavior. Once these behaviors become routine and habitual, companies are able to assert control over their customer’s behavior. By having access to a multitude of personal information, it allows the company to predict what products will work and to whom best to market them to. Stores such as Target know that once consumer behavior habits become ingrained, they are terribly difficult to break. They use this tactic both to entice consumers to first purchase products at their stores and to keep them there for good. In the article's example of pregnancy, once a baby is born the parents will have a massive number of choices of companies to choose from in order to purchase products. Target's tactic of catching the consumer “during” these life changing time periods (i.e. during the pregnancy), and offering an assortment of baby products has the potential to keep the parents coming back for years to come.
Capitalizing on consumer action, especially the innate tendency of humans to become remarkably predictable is at the forefront of why companies go to great lengths to control consumer behavior. They realize that consumers turn product shopping into a sort-of efficiency “sport”- purchasing necessities somewhere that minimize both cost and thinking on their part. Once companies can provide products that fit this description perfectly, this further ingrains such behavior which in turn begins to “spin the wheels” of habitual consumption.
The brain is filled with many interconnected neurons and wiring that creates a person identity. Without those neurons the notion of the looking glass self would probably be invalid. We as individuals imagine our appearance to another person, judge that same appearance to another person and then react on those two factors. This might spark different emotional which is all possible because of the wiring of our brains. This can also lead to a self fulfilling prophecy of those perceptions whether good or bad. Someone with a brain disorder or disease might develop the notion of the looking glass self later in life or not at all do to the wiring of their brains. The ability to reverse engineer someones brain could result in a change of personality, behavior and especially identity. Reverse engineering could either maximize or minimize our ability to see ones self as an object. When experimenting with the wiring of the brain our ability to have an internal conversation will be altered to maximize or potentially minimize the experience of the subjects (I) and the objects (Me) of interactions, due to the brain being the key factor of behavior, identity and personality. How we act in society and how society changes will inevitable affect ones self. Advances in technology such as reverse brain engineering will affect society and ultimately affect how the brain is wired, changing the societal experiences one faces.
1. Ayitidou 2. Stimulus Is Maligned, but Options Were Few 3. Eduardo Porter 4. New York Times 5. February 28, 2012 6. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/business/economy/republicans-malign-a-stimulus-but-the-plausible-options-were-few-economic-scene.html?ref=us
This article is about the current state of the US economy after the fiscal stimulus package pushed by President Obama for Congress to pass. It is called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that has $831 billion geared towards the creation of demand for goods and services to fuel economic growth and stop the recession. This plan had good intentions, but it did not work out as well as everyone hoped. Republicans are criticizing President Obama’s decision and promising to make it better. Weber is known for his concept of the “Iron Cage of Rationality”. This could be related to this article by showing that there is a “hierarchical authority of large bureaucracies” in place within the US government. President Obama dominates a lot of decisions that affect many people’s lives. According to Weber’s four characteristics of formal rationality, the stimulus package had calculability, but efficiency, predictability, and control over uncertainties were missing from the package. Because of the dire state of the US economy at the beginning of 2008, there was no real way to effectively predict the result that the stimulus package would have on the economy. The fiscal stimulus package eased some of the pressures of the declining economy by decreasing the unemployment rates and creating more jobs. There was no way to control over any unforeseen uncertainties so the positive results from the plan began to plateau. This article just proves the fact that the process of rationalization often has irrational consequences for the systems and for society as a whole
1. Stussy 2. Devil’s Advocate: ‘Chink in the armor’ was a slur used against Jeremy Lin 3. Mark Payne 4. The Daily Titan 5. February 28, 2012 6. http://www.dailytitan.com/2012/02/devils-advocate-chink-in-the-armor-was-a-slur-used-against-jeremy-lin/ DuBois may see this article as a conflict of self, brought about by the concept of double consciousness. Why? Well we can clearly see the facets that Jeremy Lin is conscious of from his perspective as: an athlete and an Asian American. The aversive effects that come out of this double consciousness is directly related to how commentators and the community speak of him. If DuBois’ concept of the color line did not exist in this “post-racial” world, everyone was see Lin as an astonishing athlete, with no regards or added attention to his background (granted he is as American as it gets besides the Taiwanese heritage). It may sound contradicting because if these arguments actually hold true, terms like “chink in the armor” should not offend Lin nor the Asian American public. But because the terms have historically caricaturize and crippled Asian Americans socially, clever puns and play on words should be monitored carefully. While this phrase may not affect Brett Favre in the same context, it does and will always affect an athlete like Jeremy Lin. Lin spoke out on wanting to just be referred to as an athlete; without the color line, without the colorful discriminatory adjectives like “deceptive”, and definitely not a ‘chink’. DuBois’ concepts of double consciousness and the color line are apparent in Lin’s eyes, and he humbly denounces the critics’ stereotypical words towards him through performance and humility.
1. Codeword: Beebis 2. Title: Study Suggests Way to Create New Eggs In Women 3. Author: Rob Stein 4. Source: NPR 5. Date: February 27, 2012 6. Link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/02/27/147344258/study-suggests-way-to-create-new-eggs-in-women?ft=1&f=1024
The ability to become pregnant is very important for many women. It gives them agency in their own lives and the chance to decide when they want to have children. The idea that new eggs can be created from stem cells in order for women to carry a child, when they wouldn’t otherwise be able to gives so many women a second chance at becoming a mother. But, is this what we want? In a society where women are constantly at the mercy of men within all aspects of society: medicine, education, family planning, work, home, etc., here is another example of how a male-dominated field (medicine) puts pressure on women to take over their duty as mothers. The article leaves out mention of adoption, surrogacy, or even the idea that many women choose not to become mothers. Women deserve to have agency in their own lives and do what they want, not what men want them to do. As a sociologist, I see how society looks down upon women who choose to have children at a young age. If they choose to have children, women should be able to at any point in their life without feeling shame for being a “teen mom”. I also insist that women deserve the right to choose not to have children at all. An article such as this one puts the spotlight on women and their reproductive value in society. I feel that women have much more to offer than just their reproductive organs. –Charlotte Perkins Gilman
1. Devaio 2. One Million Moms anti-Ellen, anti-gay stance insanely out of touch 3. Richard Roeper 4. SunTimes 5. 2/16/2012 6. http://www.suntimes.com/news/roeper/10668875-452/one-million-moms-anti-ellen-anti-gay-stance-insanely-out-of-touch.html
This article is a clear exemplification of Cooper's work and the Matrix of Domination Theory that arose later on. In the Matrix of Domination there are clear stratifications in society due to class, race, gender, and even sexual orientation. Recently JC Penny asked Ellen DeGeneres to be their new spokesperson for their new ad campaign and store relaunching. However, because of her sexual orientation, a group dubbing themselves "One-Million Moms" (who interestingly enough have only around 40,000 members) has been protesting this choice. They believe themselves to be of a higher class than Ellen DeGeneres because of their sexual orientation. In the Matrix, people use differences to create otherness and alienate certain groups or elevate their own. This can create a oppressive atmosphere and severely limit opportunities for certain groups.
1. Faith 2. Title: Why it’s So Important to Keep Moving 3. Author: Gretchen Reynolds 4. Source: The New York Times 5. February 29, 2012 6. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/why-its-so-important-to-keep-moving/
Mead’s Perspective
Researchers want to know whether physical laziness would affect the body’s ability to control blood sugar levels. As a result, they tested this notion by having volunteers cut the number of steps they took each day by at least a half. This will represent how individuals engage in “internal conversation” as a result of having to careful watch how many steps you are taking and reminding yourself to basically walk less. Although researchers gave volunteers pedometers and activity-measuring armbands to track how many steps they took, often times we speak in our heads to keep track of things, and we make comments to ourselves as a sign of assurance that we did what we said we would have. This is basically the idea that we can think about our behavior/actions and whether it is authentic, the fact that you actually did what you said you would.
1. Cinserge 2. 3 Essential Steps for Harnessing In-House Talent on Sustainability 3. Grant Ricketts 4. Greenbiz.com 5. February 29, 2012 6. http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/02/29/3-essential-steps-harnessing-house-talent-sustainability?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Greenbuzz+%28GreenBiz+Feed%29
Sustainability has become a new version of rationalizing work so that efficiency in goal-oriented tasks is accomplished. However, the discrepancy of work and the role of the worker is that engagement is not entirely predictable and such requires research on employee behavior and rational thinking processes. The Green Research conducted an executive survey of sustainability and viewed employee engagement as one of two sustainable practices that matter most. The trend that seems will likely bring the most profit and augment calculative efforts of business practices and values among the workers. Workers are the labor of businesses and through their internal perspective in the work environment will they become “internal change agents” that is they will get things done because of their increased engagement. Furthermore, by recognizing the workers as talented employees that operate with values and beliefs of the company that they will help foster a new work culture. Ultimately, the outcome that is desired is the engagement of employees in contributing to the organizations’ innovation. The new sustainability strategy is to utilize the capable laborers in furthering the organization’s interests through retention and engagement. The steps needed in aligning business strategy with operating functions that will help mobilize people in sustainable and efficient workers that are engaged in their work and believe the work values. To build organizational alignment, the workers will need to undergo role based- training, be offered more power and nurturing through emerging “green team” behaviors to build a model of sustainability, which increases talents and competencies. The formal rationality involved in helping to foster these components is characteristics of a bureaucracy. A bureaucratic institution demands certain functions such as defined competencies in the employees specific position, are continuing to receive technical qualifications that is through training and through the expectation that the employee be devoted to their job. The aforementioned characteristics are also ideals of function beauacracies that established as sustainable practices only allude to forming new norms of beliefs and values that will be become a new regularly monitored form of rationalized performance.
At the top of each post you must list the following information: 1. Your Codeword 2. Title of the news article you choose (see suggestions below) 3. Author of the news article 4. Source of the news article 5. Date of the news article 6. Link (url) to the news article
Those six lines should be followed by your reflection from the perspective of the social theorist you choose from the list of options for each due date. A reflection is not a summary. Instead, what you are expected to do is to thoroughly read the news article of your choice and reflect on it from the perspective of one of the assigned Social Theorists. Note that your reflection may include a bit of summary, but it must not consist entirely of summarizing the article. Good reflections will analyze the issue discussed in the article from the perspective of one of the assigned Social Theorists; outstanding posts will even take the voice (write in the tone and style of) the Social Theorist. Reflections should be a minimum of one paragraph. They must be posted no later than 4pm on the due date below and the article you choose must have been published within two weeks of the due date. There are 3 points possible of Extra Credit for each post.
1. XOXO
ReplyDelete2. Kansas City's Failed Schools Leave Students Behind
3. NPR STAFF
4. NPR
5. February 18, 2012
6.http://www.npr.org/2012/02/18/147067123/kansas-citys-failed-schools-leave-students-behind
Public schools in Kansas City are becoming victims to suburban sprawl, where White middle class families are moving out of the city leaving Black lower income families behind with inadequate academic resources. The deprivation of good schooling for African American children along with other minorities across Kansas would be described by William Edward Burghardt Du Bois as the color line. This was the problem of the 20th century and with incidents as the one aforementioned, it seems to continue to be an issue today. The economic and intellectual division among the races, specifically Whites and Blacks hinders the ability for America to be an inclusive and fully integrated country. The children who have become victim to this seemingly unavoidable divide will begin developing a double consciousness where they begin to seem themselves through the eyes of others. For these African American Kansas students it is easy to see how feelings of rejection and inferiority might be perceived. This is problematic because physical proximity, economic relations, political relations, intellectual and social contact, as well as morality issues can all become exacerbated with this fundamental limitation of academic resources. W.E.B Du Bois would argue that the focus of schools for Blacks should be on the talented tenth who should earn college degrees, but how can college be achieved even by this small percentage when the foundational years are lacking in good teachers, adequate supplies, and uncrowded infrastructures?
1. Baciarsi
ReplyDelete2. A tale of two chefs: Marcus Samuelsson and Roblé Ali
3. Alex Kellogg and Alyse Shorland
4. CNN.com
5. February 28th, 2012
6. http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/28/a-tale-of-two-chefs-marcus-samuelsson-and-roble-ali/
From the point of view of Dubois:
Dubois refers to his idea of the color line as THE problem of the 20th century. This article is a good example of that because these two chefs are being referred to as Black Chefs and Hip Hop Chef. “Who takes you serious when you’re the hip hop chef?” said Ali. “And why am I the hip hop chef, because I’m black? I’m not break dancing.” Even though they cook more than just soul food and both have made a good name for themselves, not only in the US but around the world, they are still separated by the color line, and there are many other black chefs out there who are not getting the attention they deserve because of assumptions like they "cook only soul food." I think the color line is prominent in majority of the career fields in America. Their talent is passed over because of assumptions and stereotypes of their race. An interesting fact in the article that I had never really thought about was that blacks have been reluctant to be in careers associated with slavery or a server, like cooking. I could see how they would want to shy away from a career associated with slavery but careers should be chosen because it’s what you love and it’s who you are. Being a good chef is a really great talent to have, they should enjoy it and share it and not have to worry about stereotypes. I think Dubois would agree that the color line is prominent in many career fields and is holding many African Americans back from doing what they really enjoy.
1. Ayiti
ReplyDelete2. Key & Peele: The color of funny
3. Stephanie Siek
4. CNN
5. February 24, 2012
6. http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/24/key-peele-the-color-of-funny/
Mead's looking glass self is the idea: "what we think about ourselves based on what others think about us". The article Key and Peel: The color of funny is a perfect example of this idea. Key and Peele are two biracial comedians who talk about their struggles of being half white and half black in America. The comedian Peele talks about how he viewed himself based on the way his peers viewed him. He was a biracial teen who struggled with his identity. He often got teased because his mother was white, as a result he would only identify as being black until recently. Peele talks about the time he had to take a standardized test and having to fill in the race section as 'white' 'black' or other. Peele says "To make me ponder that as a child, and make somebody put me in that category and say 'That’s what you are' – what could possibly be so important that we're ingraining upon a 7-year-old that 'This is what you are and you can’t be anyone else?" This is an example of the idea: "I am what you think I am." Based on how his peers viewed him, Peele made judgments about himself based solely on what others thought of him, and as a result he did not identify with being biracial, instead he identified as being black. Both Key and Peele played the role of being black, to the point that it became automatic, they completely eliminated their white heritage as part of their identity. An interesting point that Key and Peele made in their article is when they said they have to adjust their "blackness" when they talk about situations because of the way they maybe judged by whites or blacks. I think that Mead would agree that both Key and Peele's struggles with their identities would fall into the 3 elements of the looking glass self. I think that it is important to embrace our heritage and we should not allow the judgments of others to cause us to deny who we really are.
Code word: Eljaly
ReplyDeleteTitle of the article: A Pot With Benefits
Author of the article: Rob Mifsud
Source of the article: Slate.com
Date of the article: February 29, 2012
Link to the article: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2012/02/the_pressure_cooker_makes_a_comeback_.html
From the point of view of Gilman
Gilman believed that humans were the only species in which the females were economically dependent on the male. But, she also said that women do their fair share of work as well, because the work they do in the household is what allows men to be economically successful. She therefore went on to say that the amount of work that women do in the home is not economically valued or appreciated. If Gilman were reading this article, she would agree that the pressure cooker needs to be brought back and used more frequently by women in the household. She would agree that it is faster and more efficient for women to use than standing over the stove all day trying to prepare the same meal. Also, women have so many tasks to complete especially in this day where women are working outside the home and still having to do the same amount of chores at home that were done in Gilman’s day. In order to be more time effective and complete everything that the woman has to do she should learn how to use the pressure cooker so she can tend to other chores while dinner is being made.
To the woman that said, “Woman are not often mechanically minded enough to employ these utensils without scalding themselves.” Gilman would tell her that she can do anything that she puts her mind to. Gilman would tell this woman that her statement is a falsifiable gender stereotype and she should not let stereotypes limit her ability. Gilman lived a life that went against the norms in many different ways from giving up the responsibility of her daughter to pursuing her own agency as a sociologist. She would not agree that woman should not use pressure cookers because they feel that a man could operate it better. Women are already economically dependent on men, why depend on them for help with domestic duties as well? Gilman would disagree with all negatives about the use of pressure cookers and encourage women to use them in order to be more effective in their everyday domestic duties.
Watever
ReplyDeleteHow Companies Learn Your Secrets
Charles Duhigg
New York Times
February 16, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?pagewanted=all
Perspective of Max Weber
Over time, going shopping for life’s mundane necessities such as food, clothing, and the like can become increasing rationalized and habitual. A human’s brain uses chunking, in which a sequence of actions is converted into an automatic routine;frequently habits become the sort-of activity that behaviorist’s dream of- behavior that is more or less an unconscious response to stimulus. However, there are certain milestones in one’s life that have significant meaning, such as graduation, marriage, and as in the example of this article, having children, that allows for a break in the otherwise predictable realm of consumer behavior. Due to an ever increasing rationalized world, even these “flexible” choices are often easily predictable; it is simply the nature of a world in which individuals are frequently losing their agency in the products they buy. One such company that is capitalizing on this trend is Target; they are perfecting the marketing art of “striking while the iron is hot” during these life milestones and consequently change people’s consumer patterns.
In essence, Target and companies like them are selling products to consumers before they even know they need them. The key to doing this is capitalizing on major points in consumers lives and doing so before they carry on with their normal and predictable shopping habits. Big-box stores such as Target have already mastered being efficient; there stores carry enough products that one can reasonably buy almost everything they would ever need in one place as well as at an affordable cost. They have furthered this by successfully monitoring (some would use the term spying) on a host of consumer’s socio-demographic/behavioral “markers” that can convincingly predict their behavior. Once these behaviors become routine and habitual, companies are able to assert control over their customer’s behavior. By having access to a multitude of personal information, it allows the company to predict what products will work and to whom best to market them to. Stores such as Target know that once consumer behavior habits become ingrained, they are terribly difficult to break. They use this tactic both to entice consumers to first purchase products at their stores and to keep them there for good. In the article's example of pregnancy, once a baby is born the parents will have a massive number of choices of companies to choose from in order to purchase products. Target's tactic of catching the consumer “during” these life changing time periods (i.e. during the pregnancy), and offering an assortment of baby products has the potential to keep the parents coming back for years to come.
Capitalizing on consumer action, especially the innate tendency of humans to become remarkably predictable is at the forefront of why companies go to great lengths to control consumer behavior. They realize that consumers turn product shopping into a sort-of efficiency “sport”- purchasing necessities somewhere that minimize both cost and thinking on their part. Once companies can provide products that fit this description perfectly, this further ingrains such behavior which in turn begins to “spin the wheels” of habitual consumption.
StemSwag
ReplyDeleteThe Man Working To Reverse-Engineer Your Brain
NPR Staff
NPR
February 29, 2012
http://www.npr.org/2012/02/29/147190092/the-man-working-to-reverse-engineer-your-brain
Mead Perspective
The brain is filled with many interconnected neurons and wiring that creates a person identity. Without those neurons the notion of the looking glass self would probably be invalid. We as individuals imagine our appearance to another person, judge that same appearance to another person and then react on those two factors. This might spark different emotional which is all possible because of the wiring of our brains. This can also lead to a self fulfilling prophecy of those perceptions whether good or bad. Someone with a brain disorder or disease might develop the notion of the looking glass self later in life or not at all do to the wiring of their brains. The ability to reverse engineer someones brain could result in a change of personality, behavior and especially identity. Reverse engineering could either maximize or minimize our ability to see ones self as an object. When experimenting with the wiring of the brain our ability to have an internal conversation will be altered to maximize or potentially minimize the experience of the subjects (I) and the objects (Me) of interactions, due to the brain being the key factor of behavior, identity and personality. How we act in society and how society changes will inevitable affect ones self. Advances in technology such as reverse brain engineering will affect society and ultimately affect how the brain is wired, changing the societal experiences one faces.
1. Ayitidou
ReplyDelete2. Stimulus Is Maligned, but Options Were Few
3. Eduardo Porter
4. New York Times
5. February 28, 2012
6. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/business/economy/republicans-malign-a-stimulus-but-the-plausible-options-were-few-economic-scene.html?ref=us
This article is about the current state of the US economy after the fiscal stimulus package pushed by President Obama for Congress to pass. It is called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that has $831 billion geared towards the creation of demand for goods and services to fuel economic growth and stop the recession. This plan had good intentions, but it did not work out as well as everyone hoped. Republicans are criticizing President Obama’s decision and promising to make it better. Weber is known for his concept of the “Iron Cage of Rationality”. This could be related to this article by showing that there is a “hierarchical authority of large bureaucracies” in place within the US government. President Obama dominates a lot of decisions that affect many people’s lives. According to Weber’s four characteristics of formal rationality, the stimulus package had calculability, but efficiency, predictability, and control over uncertainties were missing from the package. Because of the dire state of the US economy at the beginning of 2008, there was no real way to effectively predict the result that the stimulus package would have on the economy. The fiscal stimulus package eased some of the pressures of the declining economy by decreasing the unemployment rates and creating more jobs. There was no way to control over any unforeseen uncertainties so the positive results from the plan began to plateau. This article just proves the fact that the process of rationalization often has irrational consequences for the systems and for society as a whole
1. Stussy
ReplyDelete2. Devil’s Advocate: ‘Chink in the armor’ was a slur used against Jeremy Lin
3. Mark Payne
4. The Daily Titan
5. February 28, 2012
6. http://www.dailytitan.com/2012/02/devils-advocate-chink-in-the-armor-was-a-slur-used-against-jeremy-lin/
DuBois may see this article as a conflict of self, brought about by the concept of double consciousness. Why? Well we can clearly see the facets that Jeremy Lin is conscious of from his perspective as: an athlete and an Asian American. The aversive effects that come out of this double consciousness is directly related to how commentators and the community speak of him. If DuBois’ concept of the color line did not exist in this “post-racial” world, everyone was see Lin as an astonishing athlete, with no regards or added attention to his background (granted he is as American as it gets besides the Taiwanese heritage). It may sound contradicting because if these arguments actually hold true, terms like “chink in the armor” should not offend Lin nor the Asian American public. But because the terms have historically caricaturize and crippled Asian Americans socially, clever puns and play on words should be monitored carefully. While this phrase may not affect Brett Favre in the same context, it does and will always affect an athlete like Jeremy Lin. Lin spoke out on wanting to just be referred to as an athlete; without the color line, without the colorful discriminatory adjectives like “deceptive”, and definitely not a ‘chink’. DuBois’ concepts of double consciousness and the color line are apparent in Lin’s eyes, and he humbly denounces the critics’ stereotypical words towards him through performance and humility.
1. Codeword: Beebis
ReplyDelete2. Title: Study Suggests Way to Create New Eggs In Women
3. Author: Rob Stein
4. Source: NPR
5. Date: February 27, 2012
6. Link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/02/27/147344258/study-suggests-way-to-create-new-eggs-in-women?ft=1&f=1024
The ability to become pregnant is very important for many women. It gives them agency in their own lives and the chance to decide when they want to have children. The idea that new eggs can be created from stem cells in order for women to carry a child, when they wouldn’t otherwise be able to gives so many women a second chance at becoming a mother. But, is this what we want? In a society where women are constantly at the mercy of men within all aspects of society: medicine, education, family planning, work, home, etc., here is another example of how a male-dominated field (medicine) puts pressure on women to take over their duty as mothers. The article leaves out mention of adoption, surrogacy, or even the idea that many women choose not to become mothers. Women deserve to have agency in their own lives and do what they want, not what men want them to do. As a sociologist, I see how society looks down upon women who choose to have children at a young age. If they choose to have children, women should be able to at any point in their life without feeling shame for being a “teen mom”. I also insist that women deserve the right to choose not to have children at all. An article such as this one puts the spotlight on women and their reproductive value in society. I feel that women have much more to offer than just their reproductive organs. –Charlotte Perkins Gilman
1. Devaio
ReplyDelete2. One Million Moms anti-Ellen, anti-gay stance insanely out of touch
3. Richard Roeper
4. SunTimes
5. 2/16/2012
6. http://www.suntimes.com/news/roeper/10668875-452/one-million-moms-anti-ellen-anti-gay-stance-insanely-out-of-touch.html
This article is a clear exemplification of Cooper's work and the Matrix of Domination Theory that arose later on. In the Matrix of Domination there are clear stratifications in society due to class, race, gender, and even sexual orientation.
Recently JC Penny asked Ellen DeGeneres to be their new spokesperson for their new ad campaign and store relaunching. However, because of her sexual orientation, a group dubbing themselves "One-Million Moms" (who interestingly enough have only around 40,000 members) has been protesting this choice. They believe themselves to be of a higher class than Ellen DeGeneres because of their sexual orientation.
In the Matrix, people use differences to create otherness and alienate certain groups or elevate their own. This can create a oppressive atmosphere and severely limit opportunities for certain groups.
1. Faith
ReplyDelete2. Title: Why it’s So Important to Keep Moving
3. Author: Gretchen Reynolds
4. Source: The New York Times
5. February 29, 2012
6. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/why-its-so-important-to-keep-moving/
Mead’s Perspective
Researchers want to know whether physical laziness would affect the body’s ability to control blood sugar levels. As a result, they tested this notion by having volunteers cut the number of steps they took each day by at least a half. This will represent how individuals engage in “internal conversation” as a result of having to careful watch how many steps you are taking and reminding yourself to basically walk less. Although researchers gave volunteers pedometers and activity-measuring armbands to track how many steps they took, often times we speak in our heads to keep track of things, and we make comments to ourselves as a sign of assurance that we did what we said we would have. This is basically the idea that we can think about our behavior/actions and whether it is authentic, the fact that you actually did what you said you would.
1. Cinserge
ReplyDelete2. 3 Essential Steps for Harnessing In-House Talent on Sustainability
3. Grant Ricketts
4. Greenbiz.com
5. February 29, 2012
6. http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/02/29/3-essential-steps-harnessing-house-talent-sustainability?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Greenbuzz+%28GreenBiz+Feed%29
Sustainability has become a new version of rationalizing work so that efficiency in goal-oriented tasks is accomplished. However, the discrepancy of work and the role of the worker is that engagement is not entirely predictable and such requires research on employee behavior and rational thinking processes. The Green Research conducted an executive survey of sustainability and viewed employee engagement as one of two sustainable practices that matter most. The trend that seems will likely bring the most profit and augment calculative efforts of business practices and values among the workers. Workers are the labor of businesses and through their internal perspective in the work environment will they become “internal change agents” that is they will get things done because of their increased engagement. Furthermore, by recognizing the workers as talented employees that operate with values and beliefs of the company that they will help foster a new work culture. Ultimately, the outcome that is desired is the engagement of employees in contributing to the organizations’ innovation. The new sustainability strategy is to utilize the capable laborers in furthering the organization’s interests through retention and engagement.
The steps needed in aligning business strategy with operating functions that will help mobilize people in sustainable and efficient workers that are engaged in their work and believe the work values. To build organizational alignment, the workers will need to undergo role based- training, be offered more power and nurturing through emerging “green team” behaviors to build a model of sustainability, which increases talents and competencies. The formal rationality involved in helping to foster these components is characteristics of a bureaucracy. A bureaucratic institution demands certain functions such as defined competencies in the employees specific position, are continuing to receive technical qualifications that is through training and through the expectation that the employee be devoted to their job. The aforementioned characteristics are also ideals of function beauacracies that established as sustainable practices only allude to forming new norms of beliefs and values that will be become a new regularly monitored form of rationalized performance.