Apparently you ain't parents

With regard to the topic of video games having an effect on violent behavior, I think that the role of parenting is often undervalued.

The article (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/body/what-science-knows-about-video-games-and-violence/) on pbs.org stated that in order to study the results of video game violence on personality/psychology, researchers would have to "(take) several tens of thousands of people, from children on up to adults, dividing them into groups with comparable socioeconomic, genomic, and behavioral profiles, setting them to play first-person shooters with varying amounts of regularity, then following them for years, routinely conducting psychological tests and tracking their real-world behaviors."

The part that sticks out to me is "following them for years". You can't determine a person's proclivity toward violence, and whether it is due to video games, in one hour/one day/etc. You have to actually know the person, which is where parenting comes in.

I think that the more troubling aspect of the effects of video games, is that one of the biggest reasons video games are such a profitable industry is because they are something for parents to give their kids so they don't have to deal with them, much less teach them philosophical and moral lessons. "Just get 'em something so they can sit in front of the tv without bothering me."

Many people have children before they are ready to deal with the enormous commitment it takes to properly raise and teach a human being right from wrong, etc. So, video games are a welcome distraction to avoid the amount of effort it takes to do so.

This can be related to the fixed mindset/growth mindset TED talk that was shown in class. The speaker said that the human brain is malleable, and I tend to agree.

A human being is like a sculpture, and the amount of wisdom and guidance and assurance that a parent bestows upon their child is like the formation of the material of the sculpture. If you use poor materials, you will have a poor sculpture. The trial and error, good times, bad times, and sometimes brutal ass-kicking that life gives you is the formation of the sculpture. It takes both of these processes to create a life that is worthwhile and meaningful.

False Memories

              Everyone is affected by false memories, even those with the best memories. After reading the article “Remember that? No You Don’t. Study Shows False Memories Afflict Us All,” I started thinking of my own experiences with false memories. A friend once told me a story in middle school about him zipping up his backpack without noticing someone’s hair got caught in the zipper. He ran off down the hall after a group of friends, and accidentally dragged the person along with him. We have laughed about this story for years. The only problem is our other friend swears it actually was him that ran off with someone caught in the zipper. Both have been retelling the story for years, yet neither can remember who it actually happened too. According to the article, these occurrences happen to everyone, but what causes these false memories to be triggered? In this scenario the one who it actually happened to, obviously told the other. From there the story was told by the other person so many times, that eventually it became his own. For years I believed that one person lied so many times that it became true to them, but after reading this article it showed that the memory was distorted throughout the years, as the brain couldn’t store the entire memory clearly.

             

             In the article, the researchers tested false memories by taking individuals with both strong and normal memories, and asked them questions that were designed to bate them into false memories. One example was talking to the subjects about video of United flight 93 crashing, which does not exist. 1 out of 5 subjects would say they remembered seeing the footage and would talk about it in detail. This reminded me of the Jimmy Kimmel Live segment, “Lie Witness News.” In this segment they find people on the street and ask them about fake news stories. The people will then respond like they knew about it, and give fake information about the subject. The beating of an individual into a false memory seems connected to what we have discussed in class about framing. The person asking the question is bating the person into the false memory, by framing how they ask the question. Whether it’s a question about an event that is well remembered or a fake reporter with a camera asking a seemingly legit news question, the question is framed for the person to believe whatever they see and/or speak. 

Point of Vew

There is so much buzz and hate towards our police officials nationwide. The stories and incidents just like any situation have a, "he said, she said" dilemma which forces executive decisions to be made. The decisions may not  be appreciated by all viewers but something must be decided. Body cameras, and patrol car dash cams are required by the police force in order to capture all angles of any given situation.While the intentions of these cameras are good, sometimes the point of view that the camera is capturing may be construed. This observation can "prioritize officers point of view" and can better be refereed to as "camera perspective bias." The cameras are meant to have a better representation of what actually happened in a situation and with of course each individual's statement (officer, suspect, bystanders). Now in the heat of the moment it may hard to recall what actually happened because honestly a situation can take a turn at any moment. The footage caught on camera may be obvious or maybe not so much. On the website I thought it was very intriguing how throughout the site, multiple choice questions followed video clips demonstrating officer/individual encounters. Each clip had different view points but I was able to answer the questions correctly or I chose the answer that had the highest percentage of approval. In most instances actions were obvious to me, but in one clip I chose that the "fleeing suspect" fell, when actually the demonstration stated that the suspect was tasered and that is why he fell. So even though I thought I was so certain, it really is difficult on seeing the full truth from these types of camera footage. Honestly in my opinion, the cameras are positioned awkwardly leading to shaky footage and not accurate. A solution could possibly be a head cam but I don't know how well that would work. All in all the recorded evidence can either help or hurt all individuals involved, no matter how you look at it. The thought of just doing away with these cameras until a stable shooting method is invented, comes to mind.That is a little unrealistic but the footage caught is not quite accurate and the story or situation now has opportunities to be skewed or altered. As a society why are we creating the opportunity for alternatives in a story for either the suspect at hand or even the police officer? I know the presence of the body cameras mean well, but after watching the video clips, I do not feel as certain as I did before watching them. This is a scary thought and I hope more research can lead into this epidemic so we as a nation can all put faith back into our police forces.

Cameras and Cameras. Police and Police. Cameras and Police.

I have very strong feeling about the new body cameras that police have started to where. It has has come up more and more over time. Before I even talk about the subject I would like to talk about my stance since it will round back to the topic at hand. These cameras allow us to see more than ever before. Yet with so many more being placed everywhere, it has become an issue. It's more than just an issue of security, now our privacy is at risk. As a society we seek security but we seem to be giving up our privacy as well. Though they may be useful at times I know these cameras are becoming too abundant. Cameras can only see and hear. They cannot understand what is happening and  cannot react. So they are not the be all end all of reliability.

The other articles touch on the same issue. Perspective, that is the key issue here. Like with memory and sides of battle, change of perspective changes everything. These cameras only see what are before them. The idea that this will fix everything is childish. What good are a man's eyes if he is blind to the world around him? By making police wear body cameras we are creating more questionable situations then we are preventing. We, as a society, are coming to a point where there will be so much surveillance and security that we will cross a line and have more problems then we began with.  

RE: anonymous feedback

Dear all,

Thank you very much for your anonymous feedback today! I appreciate your time and input. Moreover, I appreciate all of your kind and supportive comments on how much you enjoy the class. It really means a lot to me. :)

Please see below for my more specific responses:

• Life is stressful sometimes (e.g., being away from family and loved ones, having to balance work and school, etc.). While I am not a certified therapist, if you ever just need someone to talk to, even just to vent and let the stress out, please feel free to come see me. Plus, I have chocolate in my office. :)
• For more professional assistance, if desired, check out our counseling center: http://www.utdallas.edu/counseling/
• I understand that a few of you are concerned about meeting the reading response deadlines due to work conflicts. If this applies to you, please come see me and we will figure out a deadline that makes your life a bit easier. 
• In terms of what I am looking for in the reading responses. Basically, I want to hear your thoughts on, or inspired by, the readings. For example, how do the readings relate to other things we are talking about in class? How do they relate to each other? What do the readings make you think about and why? Do they inspire you to look something else up? If so, what did you find and what can we learn from your explorations? The only rule I have is that you do not summarize the readings, because we've all read them. In short, I'd like to hear your thoughts and your opinions. Does this help? If not, let me know and I can give you more examples.
• Please, please, please, do at least one reading responses this semester. They are designed to help your grade, but if you don't do any, you'll receive a zero for 20% of your total grade and that's bad news. In case you don't remember, here's how the reading responses are graded, each accounting for half of all the points in this 20% category: 
• Quantity -- If you do 5, you get 100% in this category automatically. 80% if you do 4, 60% if you 3... so on and so forth
• Quality -- Efforts count. I am looking at whether or not you tried to connect the dots either among the readings or between the readings and other things that intrigue you, etc. I don't care about length, so please don't feel the need to drag on unnecessarily long. Instead, I care about your attempt to think critically and/or creatively. 
• I don't take away participation points just because you are shy. In fact, I was once a shy student too. The only time I take points away is if I see you distracting your digital devices during class. I do; however, think it's important for students to practice public speaking, which is why I call on students to share their thoughts sometimes. 
• For those of you with learning disabilities -- please don't hesitate to come see me if there is anything I can do to help you succeed in this class.  
• Doodlers -- please don't apologize. I fully understand its educational benefits. You should've seen my AP Psychology textbook back in high school... :)
• I'll try my best to add female representation in media to some of our future lectures. Please feel free to connect any/all of your reading response to that topic by the way. Not only will I get a better sense of what you'd like to learn, but also we as a class can learn from, and with, you. In fact, I encourage everyone to incorporate anything they'd like to talk about in the reading responses. Since I tailor the lecture to your responses, this is a really good way to make sure we talk about anything and everything that intrigues you.
• I apologize if some of the links don't work. I experimented with all the links before school started to make sure they are functional, but sometimes articles get moved around and URLs changed and there's not much I can do about that.  :(  Please do kindly let me know if you come across anything that doesn't work so I can update them and share the updated links with the rest of the class though. Thank you in advance!
• I'm glad that you feel like you can handle the stress this semester [*high five*]. If that perception ever changes during the semester, though, please feel free to come talk to me and I'll try my best to help.
• Congratulations on becoming an aunt!!! I'd love to see photos after you get to visit the baby boy. :) 
• I keep an extraordinarily meticulous grade sheet (if I, a clumsy Sagittarius, may say so myself) for every class I teach. So, if you are ever curious about how you are doing in this class, feel free to come see me before/after class or in my office and I can tell you everything I know. At the moment, since the only thing I have is attendance and no one has missed more than 3 classes yet, y'all currently have 100%. Yay!
• I believe hunger is detrimental to learning. So, please feel free to bring food/snacks to class as long as they don't have a strong scent (e.g., salmon, lamb, etc.), and as long as we can keep the classroom clean for the next class. 

I think this just about sums up everything I wanted to address. If I accidentally left anything out, my apology and please let me know (e.g., leave me an anonymous note under my door, ATC2.509).

Have a nice weekend and see you on Tuesday!

Dr. Lee

Framing Exercise

1. 
   

1. Vaccines cause Autism vs. Vaccines do not cause Autism
2. Taylor H, Jamie P, Kaitlin D, Anthony B, Edith G

2.Articles Correlating Vacines to Autism

1. (a) Jamie Park, (b) “Fraud at the CDC uncovered, 340% risk of autism hidden from public” (c) CNN iReport (d) http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1164794
2. (a) Jamie Park, (b) “Scientists fear MMR link to autism” (c) Daily Mail (d) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-388051/Scientists-fear-MMR-link-autism.html
3. (a) Edith Gonzalez (b) Hepatitis B vaccination of male neonates and autism diagnosis (c) NCBI (d) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21058170
4. (a) Edith Gonzalez (b) 30 Scientific Studies Showing the Link between Vaccines and Autism (c) Health Impact News (d) https://healthimpactnews.com/2013/30-scientific-studies-showing-the-link-between-vaccines-and-autism/
5. (a)Anthony Brigante (b)”Vaccines: Elimination Mandatory!” (c)Age of Autism (d)http://www.ageofautism.com/2016/09/vaccines-elimination-mandatory.html
6. (a)Anthony Brigante (b)”The Big Vaccine Conspiracy: Documents Confirm That Vaccines Cause Autism” (c)Vaccines.news (d)http://www.vaccines.news/2016-02-16-the-big-vaccine-conspiracy-secret-documents-confirm-vaccines-cause-autism.html
7. (a)Taylor Heagler (b) “Scientists fear MMR link to autism”  (c)Daily Mail (d) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-388051/Scientists-fear-MMR-link-autism.html
8. (A)Taylor Heagler, (b) “Controversial New Film Claims CDC Hid Data Linking Vaccines and Autism” (c)Insider Fox News (d)http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/04/21/controversial-new-film-vaxxed-claims-cdc-hid-data-linking-vaccines-and-autism
9. Kaitlin Dennis (b) “Vaccines DO Cause Autism-Undeniable Scientific Proof” (c) Anti-Vaccine Scientific Support Arsenal (d) https://avscientificsupportarsenal.wordpress.com/2015/04/29/vaccines-do-cause-autism-undeniable-scientific-proof/
10. (A)Taylor Heagler, (b) “Controversial New Film Claims CDC Hid Data Linking Vaccines and Autism” (c)Insider Fox News (d)http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/04/21/controversial-new-film-vaxxed-claims-cdc-hid-data-linking-vaccines-and-autism

Articles Stating No Correlation Between Vaccines and Autism

1. (a)Anthony Brigante (b)”Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism” (c) Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (d) http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html
2. (a)Anthony Brigante (b)”Pediatricians Inject Science Reason and Tough Love to Fight Vaccine ‘Hesitancy’(c)philly.com (d)http://www.philly.com/philly/health/kidshealth/20160905_Pediatricians_inject_science__reason__and_tough_love_to_fight_vaccine__quot_hesitancy_quot_.html
3. (a)Taylor Heagler (b) “A Discredited Vaccine Study’s Continuing Impact on Public Health”  (c)New York Times (d)http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/02/us/a-discredited-vaccine-studys-continuing-impact-on-public-health.html?_r=02.
4. (a) Taylor Heagler (b) “Autism Speaks debunks vaccination myth” (c)ABC Action News (d)http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/hillsborough-regional-news/autism-speaks-debunks-vaccination-myth
5. (a) Jamie Park, (b) “Another study finds no link between MMR vaccine and autism” (c) CNN (d) http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/22/health/mmr-vaccine-autism-study/
6. (a) Jamie Park, (b) “A Discredited Vaccine Study’s Continuing Impact on Public Health (c) New York Times (d) http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/02/us/a-discredited-vaccine-studys-continuing-impact-on-public-health.html?_r=0
7. (a) Edith Gonzalez (b) Half Of Americans Believe In Medical Conspiracy Theories(c) NPR (d) http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/03/19/291405689/half-of-americans-believe-in-medical-conspiracy-theories
8. (a) Edith Gonzalez (b) DA Who Said Vaccines Cause Autism Has More To Say And He Is Still Wrong (c) Forbes (d) http://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2016/08/31/da-who-said-vaccines-cause-autism-has-more-to-say-and-he-is-still-wrong/#15b5e234bb1e
9. (a) Edith Gonzalez (b) DA Who Said Vaccines Cause Autism Has More To Say And He Is Still Wrong (c) Forbes (d) http://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2016/08/31/da-who-said-vaccines-cause-autism-has-more-to-say-and-he-is-still-wrong/#15b5e234bb1e
10. (a) Kaitlin Dennis (b) “Vaccines & Autism” (c) Science Based Medicine (d) https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/reference/vaccines-and-autism/
11. (a)Kaitlin Dennis (b)“How My Daughter Taught Me that Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism” (c) Voices For Vaccines (e)http://www.voicesforvaccines.org/how-my-daughter-taught-me-that-vaccines-do-not-cause-autism/
12. (a)Kaitlin Dennis (b) “Autism” (c) Think Twice Global Vaccine Institute (d) http://www.thinktwice.com/autism.htm

3. Those that believe vaccines do not cause autism back up their arguments with scientific data, correlated studies, and the opinions of medical professionals. Those that believe vaccines do cause autism often spotlight personal, individual stories (i.e. “my child developed autism after receiving vaccines”), cite pseudoscientific “conspiracy theories,” and rely on discredited scientific studies that support their beliefs.

4. Authority: Both sides quote doctors and other medical professionals.

Social proof: The benefits of vaccines are so widely accepted and proven that many people don’t even question receiving them.

Liking: Anti-vaxxer blogs and articles that we found were often written from personal perspectives, so when people read them they have an emotional response and feel like they can relate to another parent vs. a doctor presenting cold facts.

Descriptive norms: Anti-vaxxers see that others are not vaccinating their children and feel validated in their decision to not vaccinate as well.

Injunctive norms: People that are in favor of vaccinations believe in the idea of “herd immunity” and social responsibility to vaccinate themselves and their families to prevent outbreaks of preventable diseases.

5. The pro-vaccination camp looks at the bigger picture and sees their actions as beneficial to themselves and society as a whole, while anti-vaxxers see vaccination as a personal choice about their family’s health.

6. A neutrally framed article on the vaccination and autism issue would cite several sources, present both sides of the argument, and use quotes from authorities on the subject.          

1) "Religious Freedom" vs. "Religious Discrimination" 

- Duncan Gallagher
- Ofelia Alvarenga
- Mark Alison
- Darian McBrauyer 

2)

 Religious Discrimination Articles

(a) Duncan (b) “Township Saw a Zoning Issue. The Justice Dept. Saw Religious Discrimination” (c) The New York Times (d)  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/08/us/politics/township-saw-a-zoning-issue-the-justice-dept-saw-religious-discrimination.html

(a) Duncan (b) “Indonesia Religious Discrimination Harms Education Rights” (c) Human Rights Watch (d) https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/08/29/indonesia-religious-discrimination-harms-education-rights

(a) Ofelia (b) Religious Freedom Claims Are A Fraud (c) The Huffington Post (d) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/religious-freedom-claims-are-a-fraud_us_57a1cdd2e4b00e7e26a090f5

(a) Ofelia (b)Teaching Evolution Isn't About Changing Beliefs (c) Education Week (d)http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/04/20/teaching-evolution-isnt-about-changing-beliefs.html

(a) Darian (b) French Riviera City Bans Specialty Swimsuit For Muslim Women  (c) NPR (d) http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/12/489777580/french-resort-city-bans-muslim-bathing-suit

(a) Darian (b) Court rules British Christian has right to wear cross at work (c) CNN (d) http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/15/world/europe/uk-christian-lawsuit/index.html

(a) Mark Alison, (b) Tennessee votes Prejudice, and Discrimination, Huffington Post (d) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-l-pollock/tenessee-votes-for-prejud_b_9736408.html

(a) Mark Alison, (b) Target Says Transgender People Can Use The Bathroom That Fits Their Gender Identity (c) Huffington Post (d) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/target-transgender-bathrooms_us_5716ad32e4b0018f9cbb8593

 Religious Freedom Article

(a) Duncan (b) “Meet 10 Americans Helped By Religious Freedom Bills Like Indiana’s” (c) The Federalist (d) http://thefederalist.com/2015/03/30/meet-10-americans-helped-by-religious-freedom-bills-like-indianas/

(a) Duncan (b) “Hobby Lobby Founder: Clinton Is A Frightening Prospect For Religious Freedom“ (c) Western Journalism (d) http://www.westernjournalism.com/hobby-lobby-founder-clinton-is-a-frightening-prospect-for-religious-freedom/

(a) Ofelia (b) Bathroom Bills and Religious Freedom Laws: Losing Battles for the GOP  (c) U.S.news.com (d) www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-08-25/bathroom-bills-and-religious-freedom-laws-losing-battles-for-the-gop

(a) Ofelia (b) Are US businesses doing enough to support religious diversity in the workplace? (c) The Guardian.com (d) https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/jan/28/religious-diversity-us-business-muslim-hijab-discrimination-equal-employment-eeoc

(a) Darian (b) Satanic Temple unveils goat-headed statue in Detroit (c) Fox News (d) http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/07/26/for-one-night-devil-is-in-detroit.html

(a) Darian (b) Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal to veto 'religious liberty' bill (c) CNN (d) http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/28/us/georgia-north-carolina-lgbt-bills/

(a) Mark Alison (b) Why the onslaught of religious freedom laws?, (c) CNN (d) http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/06/us/religious-freedom-laws-why-now/

(a) Mark Alison (b) Conservative Christians Grapple With Whether 'Religious Freedom' Includes Muslims (c) NPR (d)  http://www.npr.org/2016/06/29/483901761/conservative-christians-grapple-with-what-religious-freedom-means-for-muslim\

3) Common Supporting Evidence

Among articles that framed an issue as religious discrimination often provided evidence that the issue violated human rights. For example, stories about religious discrimination that impacted minority groups such as Muslims and the LGBT community provided evidence that framed the opposition as a side that discriminated against said minority groups.

4) Descriptive and Injunctive Norms

The principle of "liking" was used in articles that discussed human rights. Because we are all human, authors framing the discussion as a human rights issue connects readers to the issue more.

In addition, appeals to authority were often made when articles referenced statements made by governments or politicians. Articles that framed an issue in the light of discrimination against Christians often cited comments made by politicians that supported their argument. Citing statements or positions made by politicians could also be an example of how authors used injunctive norms to support their argument.  

"Reciprocation" was also used in an article discussing evolution in which the author gave credibility to the opposition's argument that the theory violated their religious beliefs, but later opposed this argument. 

In another article discussing the transgender bathroom issue, the author used descriptive norms by citing the protests made by human rights advocates in support of their position on the issue.

5) Ontological Nature of Both Frames

In a thematic frame, articles discussing religious discrimination would often put a stronger emphasis on human rights and rights granted to them by the constitution than their right to specifically practice a religion of their choice. On the other side, articles that framed an issue as a right to religious freedom often specifically cited the First Amendment and the political support their side of the argument possessed. Both sides cited rights granted to them by either the constitution or a higher entity to support their frame.

6) Neutral Frame

A neutral frame discussing religious discrimination would need to first specifically define the terms "freedom" and "discrimination". "Discrimination" would need to be defined only as the belief that another group possesses a different set of rights than one's own group, and "freedom" would need to be defined as the belief that all groups possess the same rights. 

Other terms such as "human rights" or even just the term "rights" would need to be framed specifically in the light of rights granted by the constitution, a document that both sides cite in support of their arguments, e.g., "constitutionally-granted rights".