Not the Mindanao that I Know

I 

Philippine National Police Special Action Force versus Moro Islamic Liberation Front at Maguindanao. I have been following the story not as a rubbernecker but as someone who had connections of Mindanao and Muslims in the past. This is about the encounter between Philippine government forces and MILF Abu Sayyaf group in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on January 25, 2015,  a week after the Pope visited the country. It was a video of Filipinos being pitted against each other, brothers killing each other.

"Duul mga kaigsuunan ug paminaw kamo

Duna ko'y dala nga mga balita gikan sa banwa ko, gusto ko nga ipahibalo ang mga istorya nga nagahitabu sa banwang gisaad nato."

Mindanao to me is not the Mindanao that Manila based media have always portrayed. There always seemed to be some feeling of discomfort among the population when the media portrays the whole of Mindanao as a war zone. The war zone image is more  about the age old conflict between Christians and Muslims in Mindanao. As a new graduate working in the Northern Mindanao region, the image of a pious population who didn't miss Sunday celebrations of the holy eucharist and people taking  part in  basic Christian or ecclesiastical communities was the profile image of Christian Mindanao. 

I had the chance to know more about Mindanao Muslims while working with the Ministry of Health  of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Assir Region. The principle for non-judgmental attitude I learned while earning my BS on Social Work somehow helped me to be less factional while sharing a hostel room with fellow OFWs from Mindanao. The belief by Filipino Muslims in what is now known as the Automous Region of Muslim Mindanao that Filipinos were originally of the Islamic faith until Spanish conquerors Christianized  most of the colony's population was something that made sense to me. It's probably a fact but no reasonable historian would easily claim it for fear of ridicule by the ass kissing supreme leaders in Manila.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Decent Work Agenda and my 3D job

The International Labour Organization (ILO) and Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) sum up my relationship with Ayeddis Vahkkendjaab who I will be leaving soon. To me, 3D means dirty, difficult and dumb. 3D is 3K in Japan, the birthplace of 5S. Kitanai means dirty, kiken means dangerous and kitsui means difficult. Instead of kitsui, Ayeddis Vahkkendjaab is more of a kusottare. And instead of dangerous, Ayeddis Vahkkendjaab is more of dumb. The closest translation of kusottare to the English language is crappy.

As where the headquarters of international organizations like ILO and OECD are located, 3D jobs in the US go by different names, just like Ayeddis Vahkkendjaab and Aywilbe Fayed. 

5S

The poster was among the several posters at guard house wall at Occupational Safety and Health Center in Diliman, Quezon City. It sums up the 5S methdology.

I thought about 5S after almost 10 years as I cringed while my someone say my cluttered computer-on-wheels desk is "very unprofessional". JCAHO is coming any day and the concern was to get an outstanding rating. I am reminded of how Chris Cruz used to put it: simplistic!

I have the impression that 5S is taken more seriously than Japanese cars in workplaces in the Philippines. Marieta Javier, who was a colleague at the Bureau of Women and Young Workers, used to say "I will 5S my desk" instead of saying "I will clean my desk". When she goes home from work, she also 5S her house. 

5S, as the Japanese initially conceptualized, is more than cleaning and tidying up. It's the "professional" way  of cleaning and tidying up. You need not say "seiri" because you don't know what seiri means. "Seiri" is a Japanese word for Sort, the first of the 5S. The idea is to sort out unnecessary items in the workplace and discard them. You don't need the framed pictures of your children on your desk top. 

"Seiton" is another Japanese word that means Systematize in easy to understand terms. To systematize in the 5S methodology means arranging necessary items in good order so they can easily be selected or reached for use. 

A born expat author

The first thing I asked Lin Robertson was why he calls himself a born expat. He is an American born in Japan and now living in Mexico. 

He is probably the only published author of fiction I ever met. He explained to me what a Gringo is. 

"Gringos are North Americans."

"But isn't Mexico considered North American country?" I asked thinking of the North American Free Trade Agreement always known as NAFTA, for short. 

"Technically, it's what white Americans are called in Mexico." Lin added that the term used to be derogatory to Caucasians in US. He said he doesn't get offended being referred to as Gringo.

I borrowed two of his books which happened to be available at the San Diego Central Library. I didn't get to read them. Meeting a real author and listening to his narratives in person was more interesting.

 

Sex on the beach at Rosarito

The reentry to the US that took 3 hours of waiting was to me worth the food trip.

I have already eaten a third of the serving when I remembered  to say Grace before meals.
Holy Mary, pray for us!
Kim mentioned about the chocolate clam on our way to Rosarito. I was thinking of our very own chocolate soup. To my delight, the chocolate clam did not even come  close to the color of a coagulated pork or beef hemoglobin that our very own chocolate shoup is made of. The steaming aluminum foil covered  clam was pried open right before my very eye. The clam meat must have been scraped  and chopped before they are put back into the clam for a short grilling. The clam meat was served  rare with salsa and a slice of lime and avocado.  For someone who can't eat shrimps and shellfish at home because of pre existing food allergies in the household, I swear by Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the chocolate clam is really good!

Bloody Mary and Sex on the Beach are about the same price and cheaper than Piña Colada Especial. Bloody Mary sounds so British, it's like listening to Adele sing Rolling in the Deep over and over again.
Of course Sex on the Beach would be nice!

And you don't even have to be at the Seafood Festival at Rosarito Beach Hotel grounds to enjoy Sex on the Beach. All you need is
1.5 oz vodka
0.5 oz peach schnapps
1.5 oz orange or pineapple juice  and
1.5 oz cranberry juice

Octaves on a Concert Violin

"My name is OC and I am an OC. Don't argue with me."

Aside from having OC for his initials,!he tells me he is a real OC with the D. He takes Zoloft, Lexapro, Prozac and occasionally Seroquel. 

I could relate with OC. I could humor him with treats from the pantry. I won him over in a way by calling him Octaves.

"Your name is music to my ears." I told him half seriously.
 

From then on, he would always ask for me or ask if I am working.  He is music personified, indeed. He started playing the violin at five. He was a prodigy.

He came to US from Romania in his teens, or was it Hungary? Life used to be do re mi fa so la ti do in a violin. He performed with a band in Las Vegas. As in every sonata, there's a a do at the beginning and all the notes in between until the music ends with another do. Take it from this shithead who doesn't know anything about music. 

There's Octaves smiling with his violin for a photographer. It is hard to imagine Octaves seeing him  as the OCD that he is now.  It must have been  the strings of the violin that got out of tune, then it snapped!

Mayada, daughter of Iraq

The story chronicles one woman's survival under Saddam Hussein. As I read the account of Mayada 

Anak ng Puto at Dinuguan

"Grade  1 lang ang inabot ko 

No read, no write pa ako

Paano na lang ang buhay ko?"

Karlee wanted coconut juice from Trader Joe's. Before she texted me to pick her up from the Sandberg's residence after a sleep-over, I was ready to enter Orient Valley, a Filipino cuisine place at Carmel Mountain. I aborted the plan to pick her up from the Sandberg's and thought she might want a tall glass of Halo-Halo at Manila Sunset. She declined the tall glass of Halo-Halo and wanted to leave the place. She seemed disappointed about not going to Trader Joe's. Stuck-up snot!

"Isang kahig, isang tuka

Ganyan kaming mga dukha!"

I enjoyed the song more than anything else. In an enclosed area came  the sound of a screaming child  throwing a fit. 

It's the Manila Sunset, alright. A young Filipino girl took my order. She repeated my order in a no-accent English without the suffix "po". 

Puto at dinuguan!

The  steamed rice muffin which is more of my translation of puto is mushy and more of the son of a male prostitute that I thought it was in the first place. 

The vampire soup is good enough for this fucking hand-to-mouth nomad that I would always be.

Run or Dye

I worked the night before. Elisa was so kind to offer and volunteer to get my packet gear at the Sports Authority near Qualcomm and brought the packet to me while I was doing my strict I's and O's. 

I got to Qualcomm and started ringing Elisa's cellphone. I knew she was going with Maddie and Marilyn so I looked twice on who women with strollers where Maddie could be on. I also looked for  a middle-aged Caucasian woman and a younger Latino lady pushing a baby stroller. None of the middle-aged Caucasian women happened to be Marilyn. 

It's my second fun run of such kind. The first one was the Color Run. Karlee and Katie had so much fun and I wanted to do it again with those bib numbers. I was able to negotiate for a second packet for the Color Run but to give both packets up to the youngsters. They had so much fun and I thought I should have had as fun and vowed to do the next fun run all by myself. 

A Critique to Critical Thinking and Cultural Diversity

I never worked so hard for a C and what did I learn after almost four months of  trying  SQ4R?
Learned helplessness!
I also learned that withdrawing from a class and getting a "W" will not look good on the scholastic transcript, at least from KG's point of view. Now I know that KG is working on her school transcript and working on one day graduating from SDSU!
So I stayed on Dr. Sky's  Psychology 120 on blackboard learn  and watched my scores do their irregular  rhythms: A Fib. Atrial fibrillation, that is!

CVD

The Role of the Family in Preventing the Onset of Cardiovascular Disease among At-risk Members

Underlying Question

How can family members help prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases among at-risk members?

Introduction

Cardiovascular technology is the use imaging technology to help physicians diagnose cardiac (heart) and peripheral vascular (blood vessel) ailments in patients. Cardiovascular technologists and technicians are among the first contacts of potential cardiovascular patients in cardiovascular clinics and laboratories. An understanding of the cardiovascular system and familiarity with cardiovascular diseases are necessary for a cardiovascular technologist or technician to do his or her job of assisting physicians diagnosing illnesses related to the cardiovascular system. As part of the health care team, the knowledge of the risk factors and prevention of cardiovascular diseases would help cardiovascular technologists deal  with patients and  their families with empathy.

Risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and coronary artery diseases  (CAD) are classified as modifiable and un-modifiable. The un-modifiable risk factors to cardiovascular diseases   are age, sex, heredity and family history. The   modifiable risk factors are mainly due to unhealthy lifestyles that involve smoking, obesity  and lack of exercises.

Using the functionalist perspective theories, the paper will look into three  of the key functions of family namely:1)  socialization;     2) economic and psychological support; and 3) social status.  The two key functions of functionalist perspective theories will be used to explore the role of the family and how effective it is to reduce the risks of cardiovascular diseases to at-risk family members. Conflict perspective theories will be employed as a secondary framework in looking at how modifiable risk factors contribute to the progression of cardiovascular diseases.

The paper attempts to enumerate forces that could reinforce or restrain family members from helping at-risk family members prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases.  Situations and examples presented are insights based on my own family of orientation.

Background

The Center for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institute of Health’s (NIH)  Medline Plus, Healthy People.gov among other government entities have  been focusing on issues related to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.  Mr. Byron Marshall, a cardiovascular technologist and registered nurse who happens to be my instructor at the Health Occupations Division of Grossmont College has emphasized to my class the magnitude problem of cardiovascular diseases on PowerPoint presentation in blaring statements:

1.       Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS)  are responsible for  1  in 5 deaths in  the United States

2.       There are 1.2 million ACS cases each year

3.       Of the 1.2 million ACS cases, 40% would likely die

4.       In 2010, the treatment of ACS among other related cardiovascular diseases amounted to  more than $500 billion dollars!

With an optimistic note, the Healthy People.gov  who provides a scientific based 10 year  national objectives for improving the health of all Americans, hopes to improve cardiovascular health and quality of life of at-risk individuals through prevention, detection and treatment.  Given the magnitude and the alarming cost of the problem, it is a known fact that cardiovascular diseases like ACS or stroke are highly preventable because of the modifiable risks factors.  According to the HealthPeople.gov, the leading modifiable risk factors in the onset of cardiovascular diseases are:

1.       High blood pressure

2.       High cholesterol

3.       Cigarette smoking

4.       Diabetes

5.       Poor diet and physical inactivity , and

6.       Overweight and Obesity

Viewing the Modifiable Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Diseases in the context of Conflict Perspective Theories

The conflict perspective theory tells much about the etiology of cardiovascular diseases. Etiology, which is the manner of causation of a disease,  includes not just the clinical aspect of the disorder   but also the psychosocial factors  that contribute to the progression of a disease. Conflict theory which claims that society is in a state of perpetual conflict and competition for limited resources may also be true with a working class family trying to live a healthy life.

Chronic job stressors along with a poor diet contribute to the prevalence of high blood pressure. A poor diet which is an easy option for a working family who has no time to prepare healthy meals is laden with salt. A fast easy inexpensive meal comes with the least expensive meat parts which contains the most animal fat that are the sources of cholesterol. Because of the competition between fast food operators, a family is made to believe that they are making bargains with low cost food in super sizes. Overweight and obesity ensue and progress into atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaque in a coronary artery that could later lead to ACS or stroke.

I am including job stressors and relationship breakdown as additional risk factors in the etiology of cardiovascular diseases. Such factors that may lead to family dysfunction and mostly contextualized in the conflict perspective theory will be taken into consideration in exploring the role of the family in helping prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases.

Using the Functionalist Perspective Theorist to Enumerate the Role of the Family in Preventing the Onset of Cardiovascular Diseases to At-risk Family Members

Except for sexual regulation, the three other function of family are the more accurate indicators for exploring and enumerating the roles of the family in preventing the onset of cardiovascular diseases to at-risk family members.  Without ruling out family dysfunction which has become prevalent in every society, I am including conflict resolution and mediation as an added function to the role of a family in helping an at-risk member.

Job stressors, relationship breakdown such estrangement and divorce, smoking and other forms of addiction are also major modifiable risk factors to cardiovascular disease. These and such other factors that may lead to family dysfunction as contextualized in conflict perspective theories are being taken into consideration in exploring the role of the family in helping prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases to at-risk members.

The non-modifiable risk factors to cardiovascular diseases which include age, sex and heredity are basically family-oriented. Cardiovascular diseases run in families. It is for this reason that the family history is always considered in the etiology of cardiovascular diseases.

Socialization

In my family of orientation, the concept of socialization is focused on how a child copes up in school and relates with peers.  There is less intimacy for families meant to be larger so there could be more help for production in the farm.  The unhealthy lifestyle brought about social patterns learned in school and the workplace of the member at-risk for cardiovascular disease should first be assessed. One of this unhealthy lifestyle learned from socialization is cigarette smoking.

Social Status

The position of a family in a community is the eventual result of its other functions such as socialization and economic and psychological support. My father who was known to provide well for the basic needs of his family and my mother who had complemented my father's role as a  provider earned the good reputation for providing well for their family.

Conflict Resolution and Mediation

Because of individual differences and opinions, conflicts arise within families. There are sibling rivalries and petty quarrels among family members. During crisis situations,  some leadership as well as dissent arise. Some conflicts resolve itself by cooperation or consensus. Other times, families get divided upon an issue. There are times that mediation from parents are necessary to resolve the conflicts among family members such as brothers and sisters. In the case of parents fighting with each other, the most influential grown-up children with the approval of other siblings can also mediate and resolve conflicts between parents.

Conclusion

By recognizing the interplay of modifiable risk factors and key family functions contribute to the etiology of cardiovascular diseases, the family can prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases to at-risk family members.  Cardiovascular diseases which may be inherent to at-risk family members due to age, sex predisposition and hereditary factor such as genes are most vulnerable to aging parents.  The family members most likely to take care of aging parents are identified by their social status and their capability to provide economic and psychological support to the needs of the aging parents. Their ability to resolved conflicts that arise among other family members regarding the care of the at-risk members or aging parents is also  crucial so as not result to further stress and conflicts.

 

Bibliography:

Hammond, Ron, “Introduction to Sociology”, Family, Smashwords Edition , Copyright 2010

Huffman, Karen, “Psychology in Action”, Stress and Health Psychology , Tenth Edition,  Copyright 2012, page 106-108

Marshall, Byron, “Acute Coronary Syndromes” , a PowerPoint Presentation to CVT 104/105 Health Occupations Division, Grossmont College, September 2013

“Healthy People 2020” Heart Diseases and Stroke, http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview

consciousness

Aldous Huxley, in the novel Brave New World, wrote about an imaginary drug (soma) that made people feel extremely happy and cooperative. If such a drug existed, would you take it?  What if it was as safe as aspirin?  Should everyone be forced to take the drug?  What would the world be like if everyone took the drug? 

You must also comment on at least one other student's posting.  There are no right or wrong answers.  Remember, be respectful in your answer.

Like Bernard Marx, I may not take the Soma because I am a non-conformist myself. Not even my primary care physician can let me take a drug that I think is not doing me any good unless it is an antibiotic and I have to finish the full course of the medication so as to avoid the adverse effects of being non-compliant.

I somehow associate the imaginary drug Soma as a combination of Fluoxetine and Lorazepam. Would I take Prozac or Ativan? In my mind, I would say I have no need of any drug that would take me out of depression or anxiety but I do need coffee to keep me awake and sometimes  half a tablet of Unisom to make me sleep. Most or all drugs have their adverse effects if they are misused.  

I find the storyline of the Brave New World kind of  corny for a futuristic novel. Maybe the imaginary drug that could make people feel extremely happy and cooperative has been around for decades and 2540 in the Gregorian calendar came too soon. I haven't taken any drugs similar to Soma for recreational use. As for anyone being forced to take psychoactive drugs, it can happen by peer pressure or in a lifestyle one chooses.

I don't know what the world be like if everyone took the drug.

Religion and Education

How does religion contribute to social control and support for the government?
How does education contribute to social control and support for the government?
Is either one of these more effective in maintaining social control? Should maintenance of social control be a function of religion and/or education?

For me, religion is something cultural that one is born into it. Being born into it doesn't mean having to embrace it. Not in my case. Religion is something one can adopt, ignore and even capitalize on. To some cultures  or sects, religion is such a big deal as religion is like the supreme being itself, like God, Jesus Christ!
If religion is the opium of the masses as Karl Marx said, then religion is thus  a  very powerful tool for social control tool for the government. Religion could provide the illusions of being in such a perfect place that all one needs is to have faith and devotion to the supreme powers and wait for divine intervention.
As to how education contribute to social control and support for the government, I like to go back to a quote I have used earlier by Nelson Mandela: "Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world."
With Mandela in mind, I am also reminded of Paulo Friere's approaches to liberating education that transcends social control and support from the government. Education is definitely the more effective tool in maintaining social control. Education which paves way for understanding and communication  or dialogue however does not have to disregard other factors which might bring about social control and support for the government.


What are your thoughts on the separation of church and state with regards to public education? Is the government doing its job?
I am inclined to favor the separation of church from state when it comes to public education. Part of my early education was from a catholic school and my agnosticism started mostly during my years of catholic education.
The separation of church and state paves the  way for religious freedom for every individual. Religious freedom, which is a civil right granted by the first amendment of the US Constitution, may however be studied in public schools in the context of history.

The word "church" is even vague. Yahoo lists some 21 major religions practiced in US and with each religion comes a church, a mosque, a shrine or even a tower. The church can't also representative a god who is referred to in another name in other religions.

As for the government doing its job in public education, I think it does for the most part. But public education is not sole responsibility of the government of any level, it should always be the partnership between parents, the community and perhaps even the church or sect that the student belongs to. The parents who are the foundation of each family should be responsible for the religious education of the child, if any. Parents always have the option to  use the resources available in the community or the church to educate the child about their specific beliefs with regards to their faith.

stress and health pyschology

What are the most important sources of stress in our society? What could be done to combat these stressors on a societal level? As an individual? What were the most important stressors for your parents when they were your age? Do you have more or less stress in your life compared to your parents? What about your resources for coping with stress, are they better than your parents? Why or why not?

The major sources of stress in the American society is the economy. It's the economy, not just according to James Carville and former President Bill Clinton. The stress that comes with every major economic activity like finding and keeping a job are basically the source of every chronic stressor, hassle, frustration, conflict and sometimes even life changes.  The only way to combat these stressors on a societal level is to suck it up. In military terms according to urban dictionary, this means coping up by just dealing with it without whining.
As an individual, I suck it up, in a way, combatting stressors by doing outdoor activity at every chance. I just came back from boulder scrambling in Anza Borrego and forgot about everything until someone from my group explained that the pictograph trails drawings on boulders were work of  stressed-up Kumeyaay youngsters about to have their very first hunting event which were also big event rites. Their stress explains a lot of the  drawings that resembled body parts.
My parents' stress were mostly on their agricultural tasks and how to go about the hand-to-mouth existence that they had. My parents' life in the farm was a lot less stressful compared to the  life mostly spent on the freeway and the assembly line that I have now. My resources for coping with stress are more varied than it was with my parents. Back then there were no  smartphones and mobile devices and social networking sites.

What if I have a Dysfunctional Family?

The questions were inteded to help me start thinking about and processing information for Paper 1.
Question 1: Explain/define the function of family called sexual regulation (sexualilty and reproduction) and give  example from your family.

The function of family called sexual regulation is all about sexual intercourse without contraceptives for the wife or the female partner to get pregnant. I cringed at the thought of going back to basics. The book of Genesis is the most boring book I have ever heard about. God begot Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve ate the apple and the rest was a very long story.

I don't know how to make an example from my family. Don't everybody beget children the same way? I want to make things up. But the instruction says I have to give an example from my family. I am not sure which family I would make an example of. The family that I came from or the family that I have now. I emailed Ms. Hines about my most pressing concern: What if I have a dysfunctional family?

Psycho Discussion Board

Question: Some people believed that "all you are" is determined by the types and amount of neurotransmitters that ooze through your synaptic gaps. Do you think that all of your thoughts, hopes, dreams and aspirations are results of physiological processes; your love, your hate, anger and memories are only at the synaptic level? Why or why not?

My answer: Nope, I would never think that all my thoughts and everything that goes in between are results of physiological processes or only at the synaptic level and neither are they determined by the types and amount of neurotransmitters that ooze through my synaptic gaps. I would go back to Chapter 1 and think about modern psychology's seven major perspectives such as psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive among others. While I do acknowledge the fact that neurotransmitters could enhance my thoughts, dreams, hopes and aspirations, Ido think these neurotransmitters are only temporary. As for my memories being only at the synaptic level, I don't think so. As opposed to neurotransmitters that come and go, my memories have a better storage area far from my synaptic gaps. To quote Dory from Finding Nemo: "I suffer from short term memory loss. It runs in my family. At least I think it does. Where are they?"
Discussion board question number 2 is the more intriguing to me so let me go around the bush of my choice. I never heard about Anais Nin saying "We don't see the world as it is but as we are" before. About.com says that Anais Nin was a writer known for her published diaries. Like Anne Frank? Not really, she was born to Spanish-Cuban parents in France. Her name reminds me of Anais Anais which I pronounce as a neigh, a neigh, that characteristic high pitch sound uttered by a horse. The perfume, course! Was Anais Nin trying to tell her readers that they don't get it?

"Look guys, it's not what you think it is!"

I don't get it, either!

I could actually relate more with the Johari Window. Those windows tell a lot: part of it tells that what you see is what it is; what you didn't see; what nobody saw and who knows what nobody would ever see.



Thanks to cross-eyed kittens with lazy eyes, David Hubel and and Torsten Wiesel were able to study the effects of visual deprivation during the critical period for development of vision. Like half of the class who would be devastated to lose their vision, my sense of vision is the most important and would do everything to save it.

As for illusions, I understand illusions to be false perceptions. Like I have illusions of being so smart, then I talk smart when in reality, I really don't know what I am talking about
A Flashbulb memory:
 just got home from work and it was 9 PM in Whereimfrom, a country in Southeast Asia. The TV was blaring from some commercial and suddenly there was this breaking news alert. The TV showed footages of a burning building and then a plane come into the picture from out of nowhere and flies right into the other building standing close to the burning building. The TV footage was aired over and over on TV for the next days and weeks and I watched everytime waiting for the plane to come out of nowhere and hitting the second building.
Does childhood matter?
No, childhood should not matter more than adulthood or any other human development stages. Everyone must grow up, including politicians.

Children are resilient and can often overcome some problems related to physical abuse, neglect, separation from parents, mentally ill parents and inadequate parenting. When should society intervene to protect children?
Societal intervention should be the last resort to the protection of children. It cost so much taxpayers' money to take care of anybody's child. Minors who have become resilient and were able to overcome problems related to parental neglect or inadequate parenting should probably be offered a chance to be emancipated. It's the parents who never grew up who needs societal intervention such as correctional facilities.


Should we all speak up and object when we see parents verbally abusing their children in supermarkets, restaurants, or parks? What if they are physically abusive?
I would rather not say anything if I hear an adult who is probably the parent using adult language to a child. The cussing and swearing may be the regular language in the household. If the child uses in school the profanities he or she learned at home, that's probably the time the teacher or any adult within hearing distance should speak up. If I see an adult who is probably the parent, smacking a child in a supermarket, I'll look the other way. But if I see an adult, who is probably the parent, strangling a child in a supermarket, I would definitely call the police.

The three words that describe my personalities are:

• Agreeable
• Serious
• Self-assured

My parents who both have ancestors from China and believed in Chinese Astrology thought that I should be cheerful, perceptive and talented because I was born in the year of the horse. My friends who do not know much about Chinese Astrology think I may have been born in the year of the donkey instead. My friends are not as agreeable as a I am but they are still my friends. I agree to those who say global warming is a hoax.

Seriously, I also agree with Karen Horney (pronounced HORN-eye) disagreeing with Freud on penis envy.

Ten years ago I may have been less of being an agreeable, serious and self-assured person. Ten years from now I am sure I would still be myself.
If a learner died during the course of the Milgram Obedience Study, Milgram who is the designer of the study should recieve the longest sentence. The experimenter who conducted the study who is more of an accessory to the death of the learner could recieve a lesser sentence and the teacher who was instructed to give the shock that cause the death of the learner should be acquitted.

If I was a participant in the study, I might have been like everyone who are instructed to play the role of a teacher giving shocks as far as the experimenter tells me to go. As was shown in the video, the participant playing the role of a teacher was being instructed by the experimenter to continue giving shocks. As a participant, I would trust the experimenter and would have the understanding that the environment is simulated since I know that I am taking part in experiment. I would plead my innocence to the death of the learner I happen to shock to death. In the first place, I was deceived into taking part of the study having been told that the study is a learning and memory study.

Replicating Adolf Eichmann's behavior based on his denying responsibility in the Holocaust in the Milgram obedience study is, to me, rather farcical and sick. The reliability as well as the validity of the study is very questionable. Eichmann was a top henchman of Hitler and I don't see any correlation of his denying responsibility in the Holocaust to any kind of obedience that Milgram was trying to replicate. I can't imagine how deceived I would feel if I was a participant to the Milgram study and came out obediently capable of shocking a learner to death and would learn a year later that Adolf Eichmann was executed for his war crimes in Israel.

Learning about the Milgram Obedience Study however does not change my view about Social Psychology. Another experiment presented in the video was the experiment on leadership styles by Kurt Lewin. Some of Kurt Lewin's concepts were used in some community organizing models, a personal favorite was the Force Field Analysis. The concept was used to identify the driving and restraining forces in a community. I do come from a collectivistic culture.
After reading through articles and watching videos about polygraph testing, I decided I could not possibly beat a polygraph test by lying. The polygraph seems to me a very scientific device relying on physiological and biological responses of the body like respiration rates, heart rates and electro dermal changes. Given the chance, I would however take part in an experiment designed to prove that anyone can successfully beat a polygraph test by lying. I would love to do an experiment to see if I could beat a polygraph test by admitting to a crime I did not commit.

WikiHow.com has some interesting recommendations on how to beat a polygraph test.

1. Learn about polygraphs
2. Conceal your knowledge about polygraphs
3. Take a high quality antiperspirant and put it in your fingers and palm the night before and repeat the day you are taking the polygraph testing.

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 answers the question whether a polygraph testing as a requirement for employment is a good idea. The EPPA prohibits private employers from using a lie detector tests either for employment screening or during the course of employment. I would not mind however being subjected to polygraph testing if I want to work with the Department of Homeland Securities or National Security Agency. I am sure I could pass a polygraph test.

If I were to be born again, or reincarnated, I would choose to be born in Germany where I would be an intersex individual. I find being born straight in my current life very restricting. There would be things I could easily do if I was gender free. As a child, I develop the aversion to pink that I opted for rainbow colors early on. I never bought the idea that women are from Venus and that men are from Mars. To me, it takes someone from Uranus to come up with such an absurd idea.

As to who has it easier, society with all the myth that come with gender and sexuality does not make things easier for either men or women. Not every woman could be a goddess of love, beauty, sex or fertility and neither every man should be equated to any Roman god of war. Emerging laws and policies however like the legalization of same-sex marriages in some states and the don't ask don't tell policy are making things easier for both sexes.

Polygraph Testing

After reading through articles and watching videos about polygraph testing, I decided I could not possibly beat a polygraph test by lying. The polygraph seems to me a very scientific device relying on physiological and biological responses of the body like respiration rates, heart rates and electro dermal changes at every response. Given the chance, I would however take part in an experiment designed to prove that anyone can successfully beat a polygraph test by lying. I would love to do an experiment to see if I could beat a polygraph test by admitting to a crime I did not commit.
WikiHow.com has some interesting recommendations on how to beat a polygraph test.

1. Learn about polygraphs
2. Conceal your knowledge about polygraphs
3. Take a high quality antiperspirant and put it in your fingers and palm the night before and repeat the day you are taking the polygraph testing.

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 answers the question whether a polygraph testing as a requirement for employment is  a good idea. The EPPA prohibits private employers from using a lie detector tests either for employment screening or during the course of employment. I would not mind however being subjected to polygraph testing if I want to work with the  Department of Homeland Securities or National Security Agency. I am sure I could pass a polygraph test.

Response to Ursula

 My hometown used to be in a rural Third World country accross the Pacific ocean until I plucked  my roots out  from this rural Third World country home town more than eight years ago. Since then, my home has been along the canyons of the northeast county of San Diego. I must be a fish in another life, I have always been in school. I am currently enrolled in an health occupations program at Grossmont College. I am taking this class because it was made available to me by an add code (thanks, Ursula!) and it is a bettter option for me, rather than taking ESL classes.  Among my interests are hiking and gardening. I have uploaded a picture of a grasshopper in my profile. Where I come from grasshoppers are pests, they can also be a delicacy.

Author: Access the profile card for user: Melissa Smith Melissa Smith
Date: Friday, August 30, 2013 2:28:03 PM PDT
Subject: RE: Post 2: Sociological Research

I did this experiment with ten different people. I wanted to keep it equal, so, five were strangers and the other five were friends. All of my friends helped me when I dropped my bag and the contents went everywhere. Four of my friends laughed at me but still helped me pick up my stuff without me asking. However, only three of the strangers helped and one of the strangers that did not help just stood there and gave me a lecture about how to properly carry a bag. I personally found it surprising that three strangers actually helped. I expected that only two people out of the five would help. In conclusion, because friends know the person in need, they are more willing to help than a stranger who one has never met.

Independent Variable	Dependent Variable
Co-worker 1	yes, instantly
Co-worker 2	no, with question why I dropped a binder on the floor, the floor is dirty
Housekeeping staff	yes, very friendly
Per Diem staff 1	no
Per Diem staff 2	yes
Stranger at the cafeteria	yes, asked if I was OK
Co-worker and friend	no, asked if I am losing "it"

I was at work when I checked the blackboard and saw  the instructions for the experiment. That was when I started dropping things: pens, binder, dirty linens, a book,  car keys. I work in an environment where anyone can be greeted with "How may I help you?" or "Have you been helped?" My workplace is culturally diverse by the way. Co-worker 1 is female, caucasian; co-worker 2 is male, Asian; housekeeping staff is female, Asian/Hispanic; per diem staff 1 is a male, Asian; per diem staff 2 is female, Middle Eastern; stranger from cafeteria is male, caucasian and  co-worker and  friend is female, orignally from Kenya.

 

 

Author: Access the profile card for user: Ursula Hines Ursula Hines
Date: Monday, August 26, 2013 5:37:42 PM PDT
Subject: Post 1: Sociological Theories

For this discussion, take a moment to go to Lesson 2, locate, and take the Theories Survey. Share your results here. What theory do you lean towards more? Were you surprised at your results? Why or why not?

The results of the survey seem to tell me that I am leaning more strongly  toward Functionalist  Theory, Symbolic Interaction Theory and and Development Theory. While I seem to have some reservations on the Confilict Theory, the theory  could come in handy in some situations. I have one NA answer in both Social Exchange Theory and Family Systems Theory.


I seem to be getting your point, Jessica. The article is the simply the dyslexic way of looking at how Americans deal with their bodies.  In the article, I feel like I am simply reading an American anthropologist' perspective on a foreign culture. I find the fascination of an outsider such that of the author more interesting than the practices of Nacirema (read backwards as American) people. While the practices described seem primitive and exotic to the author, to me, these practices have their own modern counterparts. The holy mouth men are now called dentists and hygienists; the latipso is the medical examination room; and  the listener would be the modern day clinical  psychologists. Long before the invention of dental floss, there were hog hairs.

I stopped reading the article when the author pointed out "the gleam in the eye of a holy mouth man as he jabs around into the exposed nerve". Finding the Nacirema tribal practices having sadistic and masochistic tendencies seem to me an easy and unfair judgement made by an outsider to a foreign culture. In the US people would have tattoos, piercings and would go under the knife for anything: self-expression, to enhance their image or just to belong or be cool. Limiting intercourse to the phase of the moon is also nothing new to devout Catholics who would not go for artificial birth control because of the dictates of the holy men in the Catholic church. Catholics practice the natural family planning method, nothing lunar but close.  
I thought of two old movies while I was reading the article. These are 1) Full Metal Jacket (1987) and, 2)  GI Jane (1997). Full Metal Jacket begins with the recruits of US Marines at Parris Island. GI Jane, on the other hand, revolves around a female soldier's undergoing training in US Navy Special Warfare group. Although I am thinking of movies with fictitious characters, the article of Gwynne Dyer which has a documentary film presentation is closer to reality in depicting how US Marines socialize their recruits.  I realized reading through my classmates' comments that there actually individuals in the class who have connections to the US Marines, being a wife or a veteran, a brother or a son perhaps. How do the US Marines socialize recruits?  I read from one of the comments about isolation techniques that recruits go through.

Growing up in the rural area, my socialization is not that rigid to that of a US Marine recruit. Perhaps if I grew in an urban area like a big city, I would probably be street smart and no different from a soldier protecting his territory.

I am not sure how the socialization of US Marine recruits could be so effective on anyone. Despite of the preparations for tough situations at the front lines, many still come home to their families a changed person.

I was reminded of GI Jane while reading the article because of how US Marine recruits were thought of to be anybody's son.

http://www.pbs.org/pov/regardingwar/conversations/women-and-war/introductions-on-not-being-a-nasty-female-in-the-marine-corps.php


 

 

Who am I kidding?

Prof Sky High Standards that makes me a C stupidest asks in the discussion board what are the three words to describe my personality.
Agreeable.
Serious.
Self-assured.

If my friends learn how I am projecting myself now, they would ask who am I kidding. They are not as agreeable as I am but they are still my friends. I agree to those who say that global warming is a hoax.

Seriously?
Seriously, I agree with Karen Horney (pronounced HORN-eye) disagreeing with Freud on penis envy.

I am self-assured with what I seriously agree with and that's my personality.

Discussion board drafts

Does childhood matter?
No, childhood should not matter more than adulthood or any other human development stages. Everyone must grow up, including politicians. 
Children are resilient and can often overcome some problems related to physical abuse, neglect, separation from parents, mentally ill parents and inadequate parenting. When should society intervene to protect children?
Societal intervention should be the last resort to the protection of children.  It cost so much taxpayers' money to take care of anybody's child. Minors who have become resilient and were able to overcome problems related to parental neglect or inadequate parenting should probably be offered a chance to be emancipated. It's the parents who never grew up who needs societal intervention such as correctional facilities.
Should we all speak up and object when we see parents verbally abusing their children in supermarkets, restaurants, or parks?  What if they are physically abusive?
I would rather not say anything if I hear an adult who probably be the parent using adult language to a child. The cussing and swearing may be the regular language in the household. If the child uses in school the profanities he or she learned at home,  that's probably the time the teacher or any adult within hearing distance should speak up. If I see an adult who is probably the parent, smacking a child in a supermarket, I'll look the other way. But if I see an adult, probably the parent, strangling a child in a supermarket, I would definitely call the police.