Power Team

For English we were asked to read the article "The Power Team" by Sharon Mazor.  It was an interesting article about a religious group that gets supporters by completing physically demanding athletic tasks.  They also discussed how the group travels to schools to talk to kids about avoiding drugs and alcohol.  The power team actually visited my school when I was in high school.  It was by far the most interesting assembly I attended throughout my high school career.  The article even discussed how they would visit the school and perform physical tasks, like ripping a phone book.  Then they would ask you to attend a church event later that evening.  They did this at our school as well.  The author seems to have respect for the power team, however she goes on to say that they use deception and their stunts are not real.  I believe whether they are real or not is irrelevant.  The stunts are only necessary to attract people in order to get their message across to as many people as possible.  Also, the author says that the phone books could have been tampered with and that is why the power team could so easily tear them apart.  This is not true, because when they came to our school they let many of my classmates go on stage and try to rip the phone book.  No one could so much as put a small tear on it, but they ripped it in half.  The author also feels as though the power team focuses far too much on masculinity and male domination.  I do not believe it that is their intention, but they do focus more on teenage boys and young men.  However, anyone who hears their speech can relate to their message. 

Sedaris Response

For our English class we were asked to read David Sedaris's article "A Plague of Tics".  The article was about a boy who suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder.  The story was based on a time period before people were diagnosed with ocd and given medication.  It was a very sad story and it painted a good picture of how hard life is for people struggling with this illness.  The boy in the story spent most of his time focusing on repeating odd behaviors for a certain amount of time.  If he made a mistake while doing so he would have to start from the beginning.  I felt bad for the boy in the story, because no one understood what he was going through.  His family and his teachers were mean to him, because they thought he could change his behavior if he wanted to.  I am glad that people suffering from ocd today can receive the proper medication and counseling.  It is a recognized illness today and people are more understanding.  This story was very sad, but it shows us how far we have come in mental health field. 

Plagiarism

I read an article in the New York Times titled "Lines on Plagiarism Blur for Students in Digital Age" by Trip Gabriel.  The article focused on reasons why students plagiarize.  Many researchers believe that students plagiarize, because they are used to taking information from the internet that does not belong to them.  For instance they download music illegally, watch streamed video of popular tv shows and movies online, and therefore they believe it is acceptable to take another author's words as well.  Other researcers believe that it is ignorance that causes students to plagiarize, because they are not given the information they need in high school in order to be successful in college.  I believe that ignorance is the reason as well for most students.  High schools do not teach students how to avoid plagiarism and they do not punish students enough for plagiarizing.  Students are forced to learn on their own unless the college they attend has a workshop that teaches them the rules of plagiarism.  The article also discusses how people are not as unique as they were before.  For example, rap artists often use music from another artists song in order to create a new song.  Some students are aware of what is considered plagiarism and take the risk, because they do not believe they will get caught.  This is the worst form of plagiarism, because it involves complete stupidity.  If a student knows how to avoid plagiarism they should make sure they avoid it even if it means more work for them.  However, if they do not know what plagiarism is then the responsibility falls on high school and middle school teachers.  Students should have already been taught about plagiarism long before they were accepted to college. 

Eminem's song Sing for the moment was sampled from Aerosmith's song Dream On.

Life imprisonment for juveniles

My topic for the research assignment is life imprisonment for juveniles.  This has become a popular debate for people interested in criminology.  One side of the debate focuses on giving juveniles the oppurtunity to be rehabilitated, because they are young and their brain is not fully developed.  Therefore, they are more likely to be rehabilitated than adults.  The other side believes that some juveniles need to be sentenced to life imprisonment, in order to protect society. 

1) How successful is rehabilitation for juveniles who have committed serious crimes?

2) How many juveniles are sentenced to life imprisonment each year?

3) What are the pros/cons of sentencing juveniles to life imprisonment?

4) Is it possible for juveniles to be sentenced as juveniles and still remain incarcerated after their 18th birthday?

5) At what age should juveniles be held accountable for their actions?

6) As a juvenile what parts of the brain underdeveloped or not yet developed and how does this affect their decision-making process?  How does it affect the likelihood that they will commit a crime?

7) Can every juvenile be rehabilitated if given the right treatment or are some juveniles untreatable?

8) What are the prison conditions for juveniles sentenced to life imprisonment?

Citation

I interviewed Professor Brewer for our English 202 assignment.  He recommended an article titled "Making Space for Theory: The Challenges of Theorizing Space and Place for Spatial Analysis in Criminology".  The citation for the source is below.

Tita, George E., and Steven M. Radil.  "Making Space for Theory: The Challenges of Theorizing Space and

          Place for Spatial Analysis in Criminology." Journal of Quantitative Criminology 467-479 26.4

          (2010): 145-70. Springerlink. 24 Sept. 2010. Web. 2 Feb. 2011.

          http://www.springerlink.com/content/k7rq254705840k7/

 

Technology: Good or Bad?

Our English 202 professor recently asked us to read an article from the New York Times titled "Attached to Technology and Paying a Price" that discussed the positives and negatives of technology.  The article focused on a man who spends too much time using technology and too little time with his family.  I believe this is a problem in our society, however it usually is not as bad as the article suggested.  Technology can cause distractions and interrupt our daily lives causing relationship problems.  It can also diminish our ability to empathize with others.  People who multitask have higher stress levels and do not retain as much information as people who focus all of their attention on one task.  This does not mean that technology is a bad thing.  Technology allows us to stay in contact with others and studies show it can even improve brain activity and reaction time.  I believe that the best way to solve the problems with technology is to use it carefully.  It is important that people realize when technology is interfering with their daily lives.  It may seem hard to unplug and focus your full attention on your family or your work but it is necessary.  While technology can cause problems in our social lives it is up to each and every one of us to prioritize.  Technology is only a problem if we make is a problem.  It is important to use technology in a way that benefits us without interfering with our social or work life. 

Introduction

My name is Amber Fishel.  I am a 20 year old criminology major attending IUP.  I enjoy spending time with my fiance, my friends, and my family.  I also love listening to music, spending time outside, traveling, and reading.  My birthday is July 2nd.  I have two older brothers, Floyd and Luke.  I am engaged to a wonderful man named Greg Peterson.  He means everything to me.  I have been best friends with Marie Wheeler for 17 years, and she is like my sister.  My mom is my hero and if I could be half the woman that she is then I will consider myself a success.  These are the most important people in my life and they make my life complete.