Week 13 Post 3 - Social Effects

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading, that we have not already discussed, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

One concept from the reading that I found intriguing was the section on social effects and social challenges. The book mentioned how with every new technology there is a new set of social standards that needs to be learned. The example the book gave was cell phones. Now, it’s possible for us to be in a situation where we are fielding a very personal call in a very public place. For example, you’re in the grocery store buying food when your friend calls to tell you she broke up with her boyfriend. This is a situation we never would have needed to function in before.

Week 13 Post 2: Mediums

2). Do you agree with Marshall McLuhan that the medium is the message, i.e. that the format or logic of a medium is as important as its content and, in fact, determines what content will be broadcast through that channel? Evaluate his idea that television is a cool medium.

I do agree with Marshall in that the channel through which a message is sent is just as important as the message. Some pedagogy researchers have found that some students are visual learners, and some are verbal learners. It could be the exact same information and it’s all about the presentation that gets people to retain the information or not. I also think that some forms of the medium have a big affect as well. For example, commercials. Somebody in the advertising business could tell you a lot more about it than me, but it’s pretty obvious that things like color scheme, actor appearance, and word choice has a lot to do with what messages people pay attention to.

Week 13 Post 1: Cyberspace Relationship

1). Have you made friendships that exist exclusively in cyberspace? If so, how are they different from f2f relationships? If you have not formed cyber relationships, why not?

Because I am not on Myspace or Facebook, I initially didn’t think that I had any cyberspace relationships. However, I recently joined Twitter and have been “following” one of my favorite DJ’s called woody. The Woody Show used to be on Live 105 in the mornings and I listened to it every day on my way to work. After so many months and years of listening to this guy talk every morning, you start to really feel like you know them. Unfortunately he was recently fired form the radio station so now I follow him on Twitter. He talks about the job hunt, his wife, his baby due in a couple months, all the things you would normally talk about with a friend. This kind of relationship is different than face to face because it’s completely one sided. He doesn’t know anything about me, so while the relationship is entertaining; it is not in any other way beneficial to me.

Week 12 Post 3: Telecommuting

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading (not already discussed for this week) that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

One concept I found interesting was telecommuting. This is basically working from home through a home computer with a VPN system to connect you to your workplace. Some advantages are that the company can save money by not providing work sites and they can offer jobs to candidates that may not be local residents. On the other side of the argument, it creates a separation between the employee and the workplace, and it can also prevent a person’s promotion because they may fall off their bosses’ radar. For me, as much as I like working from home, I have to say that I do think that it is not as productive and actually creates a tension between yourself and the people working in the office.

Week 12 Post 2: Etiquette Rules

2). Review the etiquette rules suggested in the text. Respond to each one. Have you ever been bothered by cell phone, answering machines, or beepers? What do you feel about call waiting? Is it rude to put people on hold to take another call?

I think that some of the etiquette rules in the text are relevant, but some may be a bit out dated. For example, to always identify you in a conference call seems a bit redundant. As long as the information is getting across clearly, it may not even be important that everyone know who exactly is speaking. In terms of cell phones, I agree that they should be used discreetly. I hate it when I am in the SJSU library and people are talking full force on their cells. I think that just because it isn’t explicitly labeled as not allowed doesn’t mean that it isn’t rude. It’s hard for me to say whether I think it is rude to put someone on hold to take another call because I personally chose not to do it because it makes me feel uncomfortable, but I have no problem when someone else does it to me.

Week 12 Post 1: Organizations affect on Environment

1). How are organizations tied to the environment? What is the relationship between the school you attend and the city or town in which it is situated? What, if any, ethical obligations does an organization like a college or university have to the local community?

Organizations depend on their environments, and can sometimes have a negative affect on them as well. An example of this is when pollutants are released into the local lands and streams. Not all affects companies have on their environments are negative. For example when a new company sets up in a town, they produce jobs which stimulate the local economy.

I think that San Jose State had a huge impact on the city of San Jose, and even the bay area as a whole. It is such a commuter school that it brings people from as far away as San Francisco and Gilroy and even further. I also think that the school creates a huge haven for diversity and sets an environment when different ethnicities can gather in a place of learning. I think that San Jose State does a good job of fulfilling their ethical obligation to the community by hosting all sorts of events and conferences that bring people together.

Week Eleven Post 3: Relationship Disclosure

3) Pick one concept from the assigned reading, that we have no already discussed, that you found useful or interesting, and discuss it.

One topic I found interesting in chapter six was the concept of rules for disclosing. In this section the authors talk about relationships disclosure and offer certain guidelines such as how self-disclosure is not appropriate in all relationships. They suggest that a person should assess the level of the relationship before disclosing personal information. I think this is really good advice because sometimes people tend to get way to personal way to early in the relationship and that could be a turn off for the other person in the relationship. The author even mentions that this can sometimes put a burden on others when too much is disclosed.

Week Eleven Post 2: Filters

People use a lot of different filters to eliminate people from consideration as potential romantic partners. Some characteristics or behaviors that lead me to judge someone else as unattractive include people that are overly aggressive (often rude), or unmotivated men. Duck’s theory on relations dissolution discusses the four kinds of work involved in the dissolution of a relationship. I think that anyone who has ever been through a breakup can validate Duck’s theory. In the intrapsychic phase, the couple focuses in on their thoughts and feelings in the relationship, pretty much deciding if it’s more bad than good. In the next phase, the dyad talks about it to each other. In the third phase, they talk about it with others and in the final phase they review the entirety of the relationship.

Week Eleven Post 1: Symmetry Patterns

I think that the competitive symmetry pattern would be the most difficult to change in a romantic relationship. I think this way because when I think competitive, I think stubborn and stubborn people are extremely hard to change. I think that it can also be the most damaging to the relationship because nether person is happy. In a submissive relationship at least one of the persons are happy and that can translate a little more in the relationship. I also think that the most damaging to self-esteem is the submissive symmetry. T forces one person to feel potentially worthless enough to not have a say in their own lives.

Week 10 Post 3: Culture and Images of the Self

“Pick one concept from the assigned reading, that has not already been discussed during this discussion week, that you found useful or interesting, and discuss it.

One concept I found interesting in this weeks reading was the idea of culture and self image. According to our text, culture affects basic notions of human nature, including the extent to which the individual self is valued (352). Our self image, both on an individual basis and as a cultural group has a large affect on our actions, specifically our methods of communication. For example, someone with a poor self-image may speak and communicate with others in a way that degrades them or the other person. Even body language can represent a hesitancy that communicates a message that the sender might not actually intend. As a culture, we communicate as a large group and how we feel translates into how other cultures feel about us.”

Week 10 Post 2: Rationality, Perfectability, Mutability

The rationality premise is the belief that most people are capable of understanding the truth through logical analysis. Some social institutions that represent this idea include democracy, trial by jury, and free enterprise. The perfectibility premise is based on an old Puritan idea that humans are born in sin but are capable of achieving goodness through effort and control. The mutability premise assumes human behavior is shaped by environmental factors and that the key to human improvement is to improve their physical and psychological circumstances. I do believe in these to some extent, but definitely wouldn’t hold them as the basic pillars of mankind. I think that the one I can really get behind is the mutability premise. I am a huge believe that nurture (or the environment in which someone lives) is more powerful than nature (their genetic tendencies).

Week 10 Post 1: Creatures of our Culture

1). Do you agree with anthropologist Ruth Benedict that we are "creatures of our culture" and that our habits, beliefs, and impossibilities are shaped by our culture? If so, how can we break through the limits of our cultures?

I not only agree completely with Benedict, but also think that anyone who denies it is ignorant of their surroundings. Everything we do is a direct reflection of the way we were brought up, even down to the basics. You don’t see anybody in San Jose, CA eating insects out of local trees but in other cultures in other countries it’s a perfectly acceptable way of finding food. Even the way we dress is a reflection of our culture, or even deeper that that to the fact that we get dressed at all in the morning!

To break through these limits we have to encourage an extremely open minded culture – but even that will still make us creatures of our culture. As a collective group of people we need to be open to other cultures to break down limitations that we have grown accustomed to.