Courtney’s Opinion

This week I read a short experiment from my psychology book.  The experiment was called the Zimbardo experiment.  The Zimbardo experiment used male students from Stanford university to test how social roles can influence behavior.  The study placed male students in a prison cell.  Some students were given the role of being the prison guard.  Other students were given the role of being the prisoners or inmates.  The study was suppose to last for two weeks, but instead was canceled because of concerns for the well being of students.  The study found that students were likely to conform to their social roles.  For example, students that were prison guards acted in cruel inhumane manors.  They would beat and curse at the inmates.  The study proved that social roles can influence a person’s character.  The study also proved people would attribute a persons actions to their personality instead of the social situation they are in.   I found this text to be very enganging because it applied to me. The experimenter used college students that related to myself.  After reading the short experiment I asked myself what would I do in that situation.  My answer was I would try my hardest to not get involved in anything that can cause harm to myself or others. 

This week I read an article called “Back to the Future of Cereals,” by Stephen A. Goff and John M. Salmeron.  The article was about new technology that can increase the yield of crops.  Crops such as wheat, corn, and rice can be genetically back crossed to provide information for researchers.  After back crossing, researchers can locate which genes in a crop can be used to produce a larger yield for the increasing population of the world.  In fact, the world’s growing population has required farmers to increase their crop yields by 1.5 percent each year.  The authors achieved their objective by their nunerous examples and exact statistics.  I found this text boring because I was not reading it for fun.  I was required to read the text for a homework assignment.  I also found the text to be boring because I am not interested in scientific findings.  Will the world ever experience a devastating world hunger issue? After reading this article I believe the world could run out of food.  Although scientists are making new findings, the time and money involved in studies can reduce the amount of progress in research projects. 

            This week I read “Campaign comes to churches on final Sunday,” by Eric Gorski.   The article was about Barack Obama and John McCain’s plan to visit churches the last Sunday before the election.   The article states, “Taking political messages to places of worship carries risks. Churches can lose their tax-exempt status if they take positions for or against a candidate directly or indirectly.”   Different churches such as Protestant mega churches, politically active conservative churches, and Catholic parishes took part in distributing flyers stating why voters should pick John McCain or Barack Obama.  The main question that came to my mind while reading this article was, should religion coincide with politics? Or should it be separate? I believe religion should be in a separate category from politics.  In America, there are many different religions and everyone cannot be forced into the same political views.  By bringing politics into religion it will only influence somebody by the opinions of the religious leader.  For example, a religious leader may tell his church to vote for John McCain and people may listen only because they feel they will be disciplined for not following his directions.  A person should be able to make a decision, such as who is going to be the next president, on their own. 

     This week I read an article from the “Chicago Sun-times.” The article was about a family who is suing Chicago public schools for a seizure their son had in gym class.  The family states the boy was not suppose to participate in gym.  Daniel C. Garcia was diagnosed with syncope a disease in which a lack of blood flow to the brain causes a person to pass out.  The family claims the board of education and Chicago public schools negligently and willfully allowed Daniel C. Garcia to participate in gym.  I found this article interesting because I could not figure out what the objective was suppose to be.  I found the article well written and unusual because the author did not identify himself.  The main question would be who is the article trying to inform? I believe the article was written for parents and future parents, who will be sending their children to school soon.

This week I read “Titanic surivor sells mementos to pay for care,” by Jill Lawless.  The article was about a 96 year old woman named Millvina Dean, who is trying to sell her memorabilia to pay her nursing home fees.  After breaking her hip, Dean entered herself into a nursing home because she was no longer able to live in her home.  This week Millvina Dean will be auctioning her suitcases and other items she was given after being rescued from the Titanic on April 1912.  Dean’s suitcase is suppose to go for $5,200, enough to pay for her nursing home fees.  The writing was engaging because it was short and to the point.  The piece was unusual because it brought up a topic that most people would not rememeber or think about.  The main question I will ask of this article is why did the author write it? What was her objective?

This week I read “Cancer Clues from Pet Dogs,” by David J. Waters and Kathleen Wildasin.  The article was about the recent advancements of cancer in humans.  Cancer has been found to be related to humans and dogs.  Dogs have been used to test different medicine on cancer cells in animals.  If the medicine used to cure cancer in dogs works, scientist will be able to see if humans can be prevented or cured from cancer causing cells.  The writers want to persuade people on why it is better to test dog with cancer, rather than testing rodents.  The writers also want to show the relationship between humans and dogs.  The authors of the article achieved both goals.  They proved that dogs are a better model when it comes to testing the relationship between cancer and human.  As you read the article you also learned how much humans and dogs have in common. Such as the types of cancer that occurs in both humans and dogs, the drugs that are used to cure cancer and the age group cancer affect.  The text was unusual because it spoke of two people opinions, but only as if one person was talking.  The text was engaging because they gave you plenty of interesting statistics.  The article can also appeal to many people because of the numerous amounts of families cancer affects. The main question I asked of this article was which group of people are David J. Waters and Kathleen Wildasin trying to persuade with the article “Cancer Clues from Pet Dogs?”

This week I chose to do my blog on a short story from my Psychology book.  The story took place in Bronx, New York on February 4, 1999.  Four members of a special police street crime drove down wheeler drive looking for a rape suspect.  They came upon Amadou Diallo a 22-year old man.  Diallo was at the doorway of his apartment.  Officers told Diallo to freeze instead of freezing Diallo reached into his pocket.  Officers did not know what he was doing and opened fired on Diallo.  Within 5 seconds, the four officers fired a total of 41 shots at the unarmed Diallo, 19 0f which struck him.  This article was very shocking.  The police chose to shoot at Diallo 41 times for what reason? After reading this article I was very unhappy with the results.  The four police were all tried for murder; and all were acquitted.  It was very upsetting to know that the police did not just shoot to protect themselves, but to murder Amadou Diallo.  Was it necessary for the officers to shoot Amadou Diallo and if necessary why so many times? I went both ways when it came to this question.  First, I put myself in the officers’ shoes.  If I felt someone was putting my life in danger I would problem open fire too.   Although, I would open fire I could not take it as far as shooting someone 41 times.  I also put myself in Amadou Diallo’s shoes.  The officers did not know what Diallo was pulling out of his pocket.  The text stated, “Neighbors say that Diallo probably didn’t understand the word “freeze,” since English was not his first language.”  The text also stated, “Others suggested that Diallo might have been reaching for his wallet to prove his identity.” No one will ever know what exactly happened, but everyone will know the four police did not shoot for protection, but instead with the intentions of murder.

This week I read an article from yahoo news.  The article was called “California regulators ban cell use by train operators,” by Daisy Nguyen.  The article was about the banned use of cell phones by train operators due to a deadly wreck of a commuter train.  Daisy Nguyen stated, Public Utilities Commission’s unanimous decision to pass the temporary order came a day after investigators confirmed that the engineer of the Metro link commuter train was text-messaging while on duty on the day the train ran a red light and collided head-on with a Union Pacific freight train.  Also, twenty-five people died and 130 injured.  I found this article very engaging because of the shocking factors and questions presented.  The main question I will focus on is why are they just now making the ban of cell phones by train operators? After I asked myself numerous times I never came up with an official answer.  I don’t understand why it took 25 people to die and 130 people injured to make a law.  In conclusion, I believe this law should have been enforced a long time ago, avoiding the sacrifice of numerous lives to a train crash that could have been avoided.  

This week I read “I Had a Stroke at 21” by Zoe Ruderman. The article was about a young girl named Savannah Hollis, who had a stroke at 21.   Savannah Hollis was first aware she was having a stroke when her right foot went numb.  A rupture in her brain had caused the stroke. She spent three days in the hospital, and after undergoing physical rehab, she was surprised with something new.  Her stroke was not due to a rupture on the brain, but a cavernous angioma, or a tiny cluster of abnormal blood vessels.  The first question that came to my mind was, “Why did the author write this article?”  The main reason was awareness.  Most people including myself would never think a stroke could happen at the young age of twenty-one.   Why was the article engaging? The article was interesting because it applied to me.  Savannah Hollis is a young woman just like me. I also asked myself, “If I wrote this article, would I make any changes?” The answer to my question is no.  The article was well written and not too long, which made it the perfect article for me to read

I read the article “Your Own Home” by Linda Fairstein.  The article was very interesting, and I was immediately engaged by the way she established the article.  Fairstein started with an intense story of a girl named Brianna who was taken from her friend’s home, raped and killed.  Reading the article, I asked myself several questions, such as “Who is the target audience, how could the article be better, and is the author credible?”  The target audience in this article is women.  Linda Fairstein describes steps in which women should take to ensure their security.  She also reports stories of women who are caught off guard and killed. The article requires no improvement because Fairstein did an amazing job delivering the message.  Linda Fairstein appealed to every emotion, while also giving vivid imagery.   She also used stories of teenagers, who were just like me.  The author did an excellent job at establishing credibility.  Fairstein tells a story that is believable and also sites where the information is from.  Linda Fairstein gives very accurate statistics such as, “One quarter of violent crimes occur at or near the victim’s home,” according to the Bureau of Justice figures.  The statistics were very scary and also surprising.  “Your Own Home” taught me an excellent lesson on being aware of my surroundings.