Journal: 2-2

Sneaky Branding

     Through my research on the internet I was unable to find any physical benefits to those who volunteer on a regular basis. However, I did find out that a main mental benefit in volunteering is a decrease in depression for those who volunteer. In my research I also found some statistics:

A Duke study found that individuals who volunteered after experiencing heart attacks reported reductions in despair and depression – two factors that that have been linked to mortality in post-coronary artery disease patients.

An analysis of longitudinal data found that individuals over 70 who volunteered approximately 100 hours had less of a decline in self-reported health and functioning levels, experienced lower levels of depression, and had more longevity.

Another study found that volunteering led to lower rates of depression in individuals 65 and older.

http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/newsroom/releases_detail.asp?tbl_pr_id=687

     This data that I found is very convincing on why people should constantly volunteer their time. Although you may not always physically benefit unless it's doing something active, you can be sure that your mental health will definitely improve over time and you will be a happier person.

     In class these past two weeks, we have been watching and finished a documentary called "The Persuaders". This was a movie about how the advertisement industry works and how they try to reach out to the common people to buy their products. It talked about methods they use to apeal to us, product placement, and also how the advertisement industry is suffering. We discussed in class the good and negative effects of becoming a culture strictly based off of and controlled by advertising.

     I do believe that advertising is good and that it allows certain brands to distinguish themselves from others and promotes a good stable economy based on capitalism. However, I also believe in the issue that we are almost ceasing to become a culture due to excessive advertising. It seems as though everywhere you go, you pass by atleast 10 advertisements trying to influence your life. I feel as though we have to be careful as a generation, not to let our culture slip away from us due to advertising trying to control what we do in our lives.

     A connection to something else we have not discussed is how alcohol advertisements seem to glamourize the consumption of alcohol. There are thousands of advertisements for different types of alcohol that show people having fun and not fearing any consequences of what might happen to them. I believe that not as many people would consume alcohol if there were no advertisements for it or even advertisements against it stating how bad it is for you. This just demonstrates how powerful advertising can be.

     I end my blog today with a question: What are the specific methods advertisement industries have started to use in order to reach out to the consumers?

"Pepsi Cartoons - Offthemark.com - by Mark Parisi." 5000 off the Mark Cartoons by Mark Parisi. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. http://offthemark.com/search-results/key/pepsi/.

"Press Release: Volunteering Produces Health Benefits." Corporation for National and Community Service. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. <http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/newsroom/releases_detail.asp?tbl_pr_id=687>.

Very Demotivational - The Demotivational Posters Blog. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. http://verydemotivational.memebase.com/?id=9038.

Journal: 2-1

Veterans and Volunteering

     Last week I asked a question about whether or not being closer to the middle of the chart on the political compass website meant that you were going to win. I used this arguement in my prevoius blog because I believed that if you were closer to the middle, you appealed to a greater amount of people. So I went back onto the website and did some out side research on the topic.

     I soon realized that almost every party or candidate that was closest to the middle of the chart never won. Also, I noticed in alot of accounts that the people in the middle often received the least amount of votes in the elections. For example, in the 2008 Canadian elections the winning party with the most votes was the conservatives which happened to be on the far right of the political spectrum and the Green party which was right in the middle, hardly received any votes at all.

     I guess this proves that you can not predict the outcome of an election strictly based on where they are on the political spectrum. It always matters on the issues of modern day society and also the personalities of those running for election.

     In honor of Veteran's day, this past week we watched a documentary entitled "The Way We Get By" which talked about a group of veterans called the Maine Troop Greeters who helped to give support to troops flying in and out of the country. We also discussed issues that dealt with the problems veterans have in today's society and also discussed about how the elderly veteran's by supporting their troops were improving their health by volunteering.

     For me, I was really intrigued about the idea that just simply volunteering could make a big difference in your health. This concept was clearly illustrated in this documentary that we watched. The elderly veterans felt as though volunteering gave them a very important purpose in life, because they felt like they couldn't contribute much more to society in any other way. Based on this alone, I believ that volunteering can make you healthier. It can give you a will to live so you don't give up when you're down or sick.

     Since it is becoming more well known that volunteering can improve your health, maybe that's why so much volunteering legislation has been passed recently in order to make more volunteering organizations. Some examples include: Peace Corps, VISA, NCSA, Senior Corps, Ameri Corps, Learn and Sevre America, and the most recent one, The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act which Obama passed in 2009. Most of these just called to expand operations that have already been established so that more people can become involved and improve their health as well as their happiness.

     I end my blog with a question. Can volunteering ever improve a person's physical health, more so than their mental health?

"2008 Canadian Election Results." SFU.ca. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. <http://www.sfu.ca/~aheard/elections/results.html>.

"Gateway Senior Services and Volunteering." Welcome to Gateway Senior Services Located in Lincoln, Nebraska. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. <http://www.gatewayseniorliving.com/volunteer.html>.

“Veteran’s Day Parade and Events.” Web. 15 Nov. 2010. <http://www.polkveteranscouncil.org/veteransday.html>.

Journal: 1-7

What Party Do You Attend?

     First, I will answer my question from last week. Through my research, I was unable to find out just how many cases had been brought before the supreme court on the matter of violation of free speech. However, in my research I found articles that show that the supreme court is slightly biased on the matter. They usually consider painful and hurtful acts of free speech to another person as wrong and unjust. So in the court's view, even though you have the right to say what you want, you shouldnt make a threat or say something hurtful to another person or else you might face punishment on the matter.

     This past week we finished our documentary This Divided State and also discussed results which we received from two political tests. One was only about 10 questions and the other seemed pretty close to 50. It gave you results of what side you are on the political spectrum and how you normally feel on the issues of todays society. For the first quiz, you could be a leftist authoritarian, a leftist libertarian, and rightish authoritarian or a rightest libertarian. It also gave you numbers which represented how strong your beliefs were in the category it put you in. The second quiz however just simply told you if you were a socialist, neo-liberalist, libertaian, authoritarian or centrist.

     Although alot of the questions from these two quizes were broad, open ended and biased, I believed that it forced you to choose an opinion on matters. I also believe that they both gave a pretty accurate account of what you trully believe in and where you fit on the political spectrum. For example, the quizes accurately both said that I was a leftist libertarian. However, I do believe that political correctness played a key role in me answering my questions. I must admit I answered a few questions based strictly on what I believed a liberal would answer it if it was a tough question that I had trouble answering.

     Something I found very interesting was the political compass results of all the candidate for presidency in 2008. Sarah Palin and John McCain are exactly where I would think they would be, far right and high on hte authoritarian scale. However, it suprised me that Barack Obama and Joe Biden technically are not a liberal according to this graph. It shows them being really close to the middle but leaning towards the right and being slightly authoritarian. Perhaps this is how a president should be in order to get elected. From all the US history and government studies I have been through, I have always been taught that being in the middle on issues appeals to the most people and therefore gives you a better chance at being elected. Perhaps this scale is good at determining who will win an election based on how close to the middle they are.

     I end my blog today with a question: Does the candidate closer to the middle always win the other political elections represented on the political compass website?

"Being Libertarian." A Look Inside... Web. 03 Nov. 2010. http://traevoli.com/libertarian.php.

First Ammendment Coalition. Word Press, 2010. Web. 3 Nov. 2010. http://www.firstamendmentcoalition.org/.

"US Presidential Election 2008." The Political Compass. Web. 03 Nov. 2010. http://www.politicalcompass.org/uselection2008.