Journal: 4-7

LAST JOURNAL ENTRY OF THE YEAR

     Last week I asked the question of whether there was any true scientific evidence of benefits coming from the use of alternative medical treatments. I did my research and found that there is scientific evidence that supports the use of some alternative medicine; especially those that are used as anti-oxidants. Some examples of alternative medicine that works includes how Glucosamine can be used to treat arthritis and how cumin is a nature anti-oxidant which helps to improve your over all health.

     The day has come. I am righting my final ethics blog entry of the year! This class has been awesome. We've talked about so many topics, I don't even know where to start. At the beginning of the year we studied fallacies and how others can be misleading. We smoothly transitioned into studying several documentaries, all of which were very entertaining to watch. For our midterm we broke off into groups and made our own documentaries about pretty much whatever we wanted to. My group obviously made the best documentary about Chickfila and KFC. Then we transitioned into the ethical portion of the class where we discussed if certain situations were ethical and what being ethical really meant anyways. Also, we kept up on the situation in the Middle East and watched other documentaries involving international relations. We finally closed the year with a discussion of the basic principles of magic. However, we must not forget that throughout this whole year we started working on Heroic Imagination Projects. It might not have been the most successful thing but it really was inspiring and gave us real insight into international charity work.

     In my opinion, I've seen a common theme that we've constantly been studying throughout the whole year. The same theme has popped up in every activity and unit we studied and I have really learned alot about it. This theme of study was deceptions. We saw how documentaries can deceive you, media can deceive you, advertisement, international issues and especially magic can deceive you. By studying deception I've really been able to notice people trying to deceive me constantly that I wouldn't have noticed before I had taken the class. It was really interesting to see how studying deception can be so usefull in everyday life and I really am thankful for learning about it in depth.

     From this class I have gained  wealth of knowledge. Knowledge that ranges from random tidbits of information to life long lessons that I'll be able to take with me my whole life. I'll be able to hold conversations in the future with alot of the information I've learned in this class. I'll be able to have a discussion about what's really ethical or not with someone else and use the information from this class to back me up. As far as I'm concerned, this class has made me so much more aware about the world around me and has made me understand the world a little bit better. It has also increased my curiosity on certain issues and has inspired me to question the world and society. One of the things I've learned from this class is that you need to constantly be asking questions to yourself, society and the rest of the world.

     Since this is the last journal for ethics class, there is no more question to ask and have answered by next week's journal! I just want to say Mr.Couillard that it's been great having you as my Ethics and Physics teacher this year. I can tell that you really do love what you do (even if you didn't start out as a real teacher anyways :p) and that you're passionate about teaching the subjects you teach. Keep being awesome and inspiring! Thank you.

http://www.culpwrit.com/2010/10/20/take-the-ethics-pledge/

http://lfort.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/critical-security-studies/

http://georgiatechdopp.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/the-importance-of-a-thank-you-note/

Journal: 4-6

Nutrition

     Last week I asked if there were any true benefits for kids who believed in Santa as opposed to those who didn't. Although I was unable to find any studies that were conducted about this question, I did find alot of debate on the internet between parents about the effects believing in Santa had for their kids. Most of the parents said that telling their children that Santa exists gives the children incentives to be well behaved and also increases their happiness especially around the holidays. Also, alot of parents said that allowing children to believe in Santa helps create wonder in their children and a good adept sense of imagination.

     This past week in ethics class we watched a documentary about the satus of nutrition in America. The documentary discussed how there is a trend in America for people to seek out alternative sources of medical treatment such as aroma therapy, mind and body health and multivitamins people can find at the grocery store. The documentary preseted both sides of the aruguement of whether the new trend in alternative treatment is beneficial to the public or harmful. It was really eye opening and posed many interesting questions which allowed me to think more in depth.

     In my opinion, alternative medical treatment is not necessarily a good idea. Why wouldn't someone want to follow the regular course of medical treatment which has been proven to work? Not to mention many of those multivitamins and pills which are sold as alternative treatment in most grocery stores are not aproved by the FDA and may be unknowingly harmful to you when mixed with other mdeicines you are taking or your current medical condition. All people should use drugs which have already been tested for effectiveness and ensured for safety, otherwise, they risk their own lives. Also, alternative therapy only inspires hope and most of the time does not actually work and may have a placebo affect on it's user.

     This is much like how certain people attribute longevity to rediculous things such as eating lots of butter or applying lots of lotion. This is simply a placebo affect which allows people to believe that there is a certain reason for their longevity when really they probably lived long because of good genes and good nutrition throughout their lives. Alternative treatments have provided a route for people to explore ways to find the "fountain of youth" which will allow them to stay young forever.

     I end today with a question, is there any true scientific benefit to alternative treatment?

http://www.fallacyfiles.org/adconseq.html

http://www.eworldpost.com/multivitamin-have-no-effect-on-colon-cancer-14960.html

http://www.crossfitenergy.com/diet-and-nutrition

Journal: 4-5

Believing in Magic

     Last week i asked if there were any health benefits to believing in magic or things that supposedly don't exist. Through my extensive research online I was unable to find any substantial facts or evidence for my question. However, I do have an opinion on the matter. I don't think it necessarily makes people feel better if they believe in magic but I do think it makes them happier and more carefree which is good compared to being critical and negative about such issues.

     Last week we watched a documentary about this magician who went around to people who claimed to have supernatural powers and challenged whether they really did or whether they were just faking it. He went about this by taking away the special tools of those magicians and seeing how they did. Also, he explained how all of the tricks he ssaw the supernaturalists could be done simply by using slight of hand.

     In my opinion, I don't think this man should be going around trying to prove that magic is not an actually real thing. I think its wrong for people to point out how a trick is done and they're taking away the magic and the feeling of happiness when they do so. I feel as though he is being unnessecarily critical and pessemistic. People should decide for themselves whether they think a certain magic trick is real or not. Just allowing yourself to believe in magic does no harm at all.

     To me this is alot like the issue of believing in Santa, the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy. For kids, believing in these figures is magical and exciting. However, when we grow older, we lose faith and the holidays have less significance and happiness for us that little kids have. So why would anyone want to discourage people from believing when it does no harm in doing so, but it might do harm to tell them that they don't exist at all.

     I end today with a question: Are kids who belive in Santa more well off than those that don't?

"Magic Architecture." Making Good Software. Web. 23 May 2011. <http://www.makinggoodsoftware.com/2009/10/15/magic-architecture/>.

"Magician Cartoons by T. McCracken." Cartoons by T- McCracken. Web. 23 May 2011. <http://www.mchumor.com/movie_magic_cartoons.html>.

"TLC Family "Christmas Games: Find Santa Claus"" TLC "Guides" Web. 23 May 2011. <http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/find-santa-claus.htm>.

Journal: 4-4

Magic

     Last week, I asked the question of what the response to the Osama Bin Laden assassination was from the Muslim community. I researched this topic and came across several news articles that dealt with the question I had asked. Although nothing has happened yet in response to the assassination, many people in these new articles believe something will happen as a response.

     However, the articles claim that Muslim are not likely to react negatively to the attack because most of them have beliefs that are the opposite of Bin Laden. Most Muslims don't believe in using violence to show Muslim superiroty and might be glad that the leader of Al-Qaeda is gone. These articles also claim that Al-Qaeda will most definitely respond with a terrorist attack or something negative to the Western World.

     Last class we talked about the principles of magic and how these principles can relate to every day life. We watched videos of Penn and Teller and analyzed how they used deception in order to make the viewers trully believe what they were seeing. They explanied exactly how they did each trick and how one little mess up could thorw the wholre trick off.

     In my opinion we all can learn from the principles of magic. If we can learn about the art of deception then maybe we won't be so easy to be able to be deceived by people in everyday life. People might never become victims of frauds or con artists ever again. I believe magic has alot of ideals that it can teach us in the areas of deception and also having an open mind. If one has a closed mind, one might never be able to experience true delights such as the art of magic.

     There are two kinds of people when it comes to magic. There are those who choose to see it as magic when it happens and don't question it because they would rather have it be that way. And there are those who don't believe in magic and try to scrutinize magic tricks in an effort to figure out exactly how the magicican performed the trick. Unfortunately, society has mostly turned into the second kind of person. But if more of scoiety was like the first kind of person, we might have a better society.

     I end today with the question: What are the benefits of believing that magic exists?

http://live.washingtonpost.com/osama-bin-laden-death-muslim-community-reaction.html

http://media.photobucket.com/image/wand/PhntmBlackIce/Wizard101%20Wiki/magic-wand.png?o=4

http://yellowmagpie.com/penn-and-teller-about/

   

Journal: 4-3

Discrimination

     Two weeks ago, I asked the question of where all the child stars are now in life since the movie Promises first aired. I was unable to find any material online but we watched a video in class about several of the child star's lives. The one boy, Faraj, moved out of the country and came to the United States and now works at Walmart in an effort to get money to pay for college. All of the other children that were interviewed are still in the midst of the conflict in the Middle East and claim that it's getting worse. Alot of them have given up on the dream of peace and some have even gone into the army defending their race.

      This past week we have been watching this tv show series called 30 days. We watched this particlar episode entitled "Muslim in America". It was about this strongly religious Christian man who goes to live the Muslim lifestyle in a Muslim family home for 30 days to see what it was like. At the beginning of the experiment he didn't understand Muslims and judged them just like everyone else. However, at the end of the experiment he had a much better understanding of the religion and culture and gained alot of respect for the Muslim people as a whole.

     In my opinion, this was a very good experiment to be done and showed to the public. It shows that you can't judge a book by it's cover and that although some of the practices of Muslims may seem foreign, they really aren't at all. Also this show really opened my eyes up to the fact that Muslims are upset that they are associated with terrorism and that they are so offended that they won't associate themselves at all with it and also will not apologize for the 9-11 attacks because they want to prove the point that them and their religious beliefs had nothing to do with the attacks on the United States.

     It seems that in today's society, Muslims are being discriminated against more than ever. Especially after all of the hype comming from Osama Bin Laden's death, there has been a new wave of hatred towards to Muslim people. This is very wrong. Muslims can't go to an airport without being checked 5 timesand they get dirty looks whent hey are out in public because they're different and they stand out. America has unfortunately deamonized the Muslim people.

     I end today with a question: What is the Muslim community's repsonse to the death of Bin Laden?

Halder, Daipayan. "Being a Muslim in Mumbai | TwoCircles.net." TwoCircles.net | Inform | Educate | Empower. Web. 09 May 2011. <http://twocircles.net/2008feb03/being_muslim_mumbai.html>.

"Islam-isation Is What Muslims Need! Islamic Articles." Quran Recitation: Holy Quran Learning and Online Quran Reading | Live Quran Tutor. Web. 09 May 2011. http://www.quranreading.com/blog/islam-and-muslims/islam-isation-is-what-muslims-need/.

Olson, Ole Ole. "Breaking: Osama Bin Laden Dead | NEWS JUNKIE POST." NEWS JUNKIE POST | News, Politics, And Opinion From Around The Globe. Web. 09 May 2011. <http://newsjunkiepost.com/2011/05/01/breaking-osama-bin-laden-dead/>.

Journal: 4-2

Conflict

     Two weeks ago I asked the question of what the current situation is like with the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Through my extensive research, I didn't find too many detailed reports but I notice that things aren't really changing over in the Middle East and if there is change then it's usually for the worse and not to better the society. It seems as though more people are attempting to leave the area all together and move to another place in order to avoid war and make their own choices in life instead of someone else making their decisions for them.

     This week we've only had one day of class so far and in that one day of class we talked about a variety of things. One of the first things we talked about was this screen saver that helps benefit many different charities if you download it onto your computer. How it works is that it uses your computer to run data for certain causes such as the American Cancer Society so that research can take even less time than ever before. After that discussion we finished the rest of the documentary "Promises". It was very interesting to see the perspective of the conflict from the vulnerable viewpoint of a child who has grown up with the fighting going on around them.

     In my opinion, the most powerful part of the movie was when the two Jewish twins crossed over the check points into Palestinian territory to play with Arab children who were also being followed in the documetary. Even though they couldn't communicate with eacother very well, they still acted like normal children around eachother and played soccer and did other activities. It was as if they weren't even surronded by the conflict at all. However, it was hard when all the children sat down to discuss how the experiment went. They like the experiment because they liked being friends with eachother but they were sad that the Jewish boys weren't allowed to stay because they weren't Arab and that they would probably not see eachother again.

     This reminded me alot of the movie "The Boy In The Striped Pajamas" where a regular German boy who lives near a concentration camp befriends a Jewish boy within the concentration camp. Every day they would talk even though they were seperated by an electric fence and the German boy expressed desires to join the Jewish boy. However, when he does, he ends up dying with his Jewish friend within the camp. The situation is very similar to that of a Jwish boy befriending a Arab child in the Middle East.

I end today with a question: Where are all the children now who were in the film "Promises"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict

"Israel Makes Children Cry." Instablogs - Mobile. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. <http://marcovilla.instablogs.com/entry/israel-makes-children-cry/>.

http://www.411mania.com/movies/dvd_reviews/99379/The-Boy-In-The-Striped-Pajamas-DVD-Review.htm

Journal: 4-1

Why the Division?

     Last week I asked a question about what the statistics are for having blind people receiving surgery to heal their blindness. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any relevant statistics on the matter of whether the number of surgeries performed has increased or decreased. I was hoping that by knowing this, I could compare it to what the deaf community is going through right now and how the blind react differently than the deaf. However, all I found was that the number of surgerys in other countries was increasing because more doctors were being sent to other places in order to cure the blind.

     This past week, we did a variety of things in ethics class. At the beginning of the week we reveiwed the messages and issues that came up at the TEDX Teen confrence that happened this past weekend. After that we reviewed a couple of TED Talks that related to what we were talking about in class and we watched an interesting one about a French artist. At the very end of the week, we started to watch the documentary "Promises" which is about the Israeli Palestinian conflict and we worked on our heroic imagination project as well.

     In my opinion, I think the most meaningful thing we learned this past week was the story of the French street artist. I love what he is trying to do with his artiwork. He's trying to exagerate how people really are in an effort to create an understanding of ignorance. He also has helped the Israeli Palestinian conflict by posting pictures of isrealis and palestinians together and having people try to figure out to difference between the two pictures. It turns out that no one was actually able to figure out who was the Plaestinian and who was the Israeli.

     This conflict between the Palestinians and the Isralies reminds me alot of the civil war in the United State. Both groups were almost identical in religion and culture but for some reason hated eachother and started to aimlessly kill eachother just because that's how they knew how to settle things in the day. The same can be said about the Plaestinians and the Israelis who are almost identical but yet still they will both fight to the death against eachother to do what they proclaim is the right thing to do to protect their religion and territory that they have.


     I end today with a question: What is the current status on the war against Isreal and Palestine?

"A Man Walks past a Shack in Kibera on Which Photographs by French Photographe..." The Independent | News | UK and Worldwide News | Newspaper. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. <http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/living-large-the-biggest-artist-in-the-world-1657832.html?action=Gallery>.

"BBC - London - Entertainment - Tate Wraps Itself up in Street Art." BBC - Homepage. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/image_galleries/tate_street_art_gallery.shtml?9>.

"Thursday, October 21, 2010." Eclectix: Traditional, NewBrow, Pop Art. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. <http://eclectixart.blogspot.com/2010_10_21_archive.html>.

Journal: 3-9

Change Your Mind


     While doing research on the topic of my question last week, I came across an assortment of many opinions about going from being deaf to hearing. Something I found interesting was the amount of deaf people's opinions and how they felt so strongly about the subject matter. Most of them felt angry towards the notion of going from being deaf to hearing and said that deaf people function just fine without the helps of being able to hear. They feel as though getting an implant to change being deaf is wrong and makes being deaf seem like a handicap. I also found many opinions about how hearing people thought that deaf people were being ignorant in this matter and that being able to hear would open up a variety of opportunities to those who take advantage of it.

     This past week in ethics class we finished watching the documentary about the two families affected by the defect of being deaf. It was very interesting to see how the view of the hearing family was so different from that of the family that was already deaf. The hearing family got the implant for their son to be able to hear and they said it was a great decision while the family who was deaf decided not to implant their children for fear that they would lose their deaf culture. We also watched a mini follow up documentary about how the families had be doing years after filming. As it turns out, the deaf family makes the decision to implant their children and they receive amazing results. Even the mother decided to get an implant as well.

     In my opinion I think this was a great idea. I feel like they were being very close minded and ignorant in the first documentary all because they wanted to keep their children apart of the deaf culture that they were accustomed to. I'm glad that they exploredd their options and found out what hearing can truly do to benefit a person who has been lacking the ability to hear. Now that they have done this, their children won't go through as many hardships as they did when they were younger.

     I did some research on the amount of people being implanted now. I found out the number of people being implanted is growing steadily over time. Also, I found that the people being implanted the most were under the age of six because it would benefit them the most to get the implant during their early childhood developement. It makes you wonder whether deaf people will cease to exist in the future due to the steady rise of people receiving implants.



I end today with a question: what is the statistics on blind people receiving surgery to see?

"The Deaf Community's View." Welcome to the Cochlear War Homepage. Web. 03 Apr. 2011. <http://www.cochlearwar.com/forum/deaf_view.html>.

"New Cochlear Implants in 2001 [NIDCD Health Information]." National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders [NIDCD]. Web. 03 Apr. 2011. <http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/implants.htm>.

"TerpTopics: HEARING AIDS & ALDs: Introduction to ASL and SignLanguage Interpreting." TerpTopics: WELCOME - Introduction to ASL and Sign Language Interpreting. Web. 03 Apr. 2011. <http://www.terptopics.com/HearingAids.htm>.

Journal: 3-8

Living Deaf or Blind

   I did some research about how the Nook has affected the recent sales of actual books. Although I didnt come across any facts, I ran into alot of opinions about the matter. The opinions usually consisted of negativity towards the advancement of electronic books over actual books. People said that it also caused many bookstores to close around the nation. Although I didn't find many facts about the topic, I found a poll regarding the topic of how people think Nooks affect the sales of new and used books. I found the chart very interesting and telling.

     This past week we talked about the affects of the internet on the youth of America in positive and negative ways. We also started to watch a documentary about a family of deaf people who were going through a dilema. Their daughter wants to receive an implant for her to hear bu they have mixed feelings about the surgery and how it will affect their life over all. Also, we discussed what we would do if we were deaf or blind and whether we would want the surgery to see or hear again.

     In my opinion, I would not want to restore my hearing or sight if I were deaf or blind. I feel as though going from not having a sense to fully having a sense would be a challenge and overwhleming for me. I can imagine that people who go through this kind of surgery come out feeling very scared and with mixed feelings about whether they really should have gone through the with surgery afterall. I would feel like a stranger to an all knowing world and like my new sense would cripple me.

     I one time saw this episode on TV regarding a blind man who had decided to go through with surgery to repair his eye sight after being blind all his life. When he was first able to see he saw his wife for the first time but everything else seemed so strange and foreign to him. He wasn't able to recognize what things were that babies could figure out the purpose of and he had problems with depth perception. He expressed regret in getting the surgery because he was so overwhlemed by his sense of sight.

    I end today with a question: what are other opinions on the topic of being deaf or blind?

"Five Senses Icons | Royalty Free Stock Vector Art Illustration | IStockphoto.com." Stock Photography: Search Royalty Free Images & Photos | IStockphoto.com. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. <http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-7938700-five-senses-icons.php>.

"How Deaf People Think." Today I Found Out. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. <http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/07/how-deaf-people-think/>.

Steiner, Ina. "Sellers Say EBook Readers Impact Book Sales." Free News and Resources for Online Auction Users. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. <http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y10/m10/i18/s01>.

Journal: 3-6

The Information Age

     The question I asked last week was: What are the current statistics of labor in China? Through my research I wasn't able to find much, and I assumed it was mostly because China likes to keep most of its bussiness secret. However, I did find a little bit of information on the internet regarding the hourly wages of most Chinese labor workers. I found out that 30 million of the 38 million workers make around $1.06 per hour with some even making as little as 64 or 45 cents for hard labor. This is worse than the current pay for labor workers in Mexico.

     It's shocking to me just how small this amount of money is, expecially in regards to the western world. Where a pack of gum costs more than a persons salary. These statistics make me question why China doesn't raise the bar for pay amongst all its workers and set a minimum wage that is actually reasonable for its people.

     This past week we talked alot about the level of technology there is in today's society. We discussed technology we could do without, technology we loved and technology we would like to see in the future. We also looked at some incredible technological inventions that none of us even knew was invented or even available. This week really made me think about how the world is transitioning into a digital phase where even the most unnecessary new technologies seem to be in demand just because they are new products and in fashion.

 
     In my opinion, I think we are becoming way too dependent on electronic devices. Especially on technology that really doesn't serve much purpose in society other then generating a profit. I feel that the more we rely on technology the more stupid we become because we won't be able to figure out how to do things on our own. I also believe that children should not be allowed to have exspensive technology unless it is used stricly for educational purposes that aren't already available to them. It's rediculous how many little kids I know that got an ipad for christmas so that they could "read" better rather than getting an actual book and reading it.

     For an example that we didn't talk about in class, the new Nook that is available now is a model for my arguement. The Nook is technology that is extremly uneccessary since it's basically a much more exspensive way to read a book. What's sad about it is that it's hurting the sales of actual books because people are too lazy and would rather buy it on their Nook and read it instead. Technology is not alright when it interferes more than it helps society.

     I leave today with a question: Just how bad has the Nook affected the sales of actual books?

"Just How Cheap Is Chinese Labor?" Businessweek - Business News, Stock Market & Financial Advice. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_50/b3912051_mz011.htm>.

Sorrel, Charlie. "Barnes & Noble Unveils Kindle-Killing, Dual-Screen ‘Nook’ E-Reader (Updated) | Gadget Lab | Wired.com." Wired.com. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/10/barnes-nobles-kindle-killing-dual-screen-nook-e-reader-leaked/>.

"Student Affairs Technology | Home." Division of Student Affairs | This Site Has Moved. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <http://studentlife.unlv.edu/technology/>.

Journal: 3-5

Tank Man

     Last week, I asked the question: What is the current status of education around the world? While doing research on this topic, I came across a very informative website which listed statistics about education around the world. Here are some of the statstics I found: 862 millions people around the world can not read or write, the literacy rate for young women in developing countries is 30%, 115 million primary school age children are not enrolled in school around the world, having to pay school fees is one of the leading causes as to why children don't go to school and also religion keeps most girls from enrolling in school in developing countries.

     To me, these statistics are devastating. However, there is much we can do to help the current status of education around the world. We can focus the majority of our attention to raising money to build better school and provide better teachers for those in need of a better education. The more schools we build, the more likely it is that more underprivileged children from developing nations will join and therefore increase the literacy rate in those countries.

     This past week, we learned about the incident that took place in Tiananmen Square in China and also the current status of the way people live in China in modern times. In the Tiananmen Square incident, thousands of Chinese people gathered in the square to protest against the government while they were ruthlessly slaughtered by the military. This occasion was best documented by a picture of a single Chinese man, given the name Tank man , standing in front of a row of military tanks in protest to the violent massacre they had just conducted on his people. In regards to the way people live in China today, we learned that the job situation over there is extremly different from that of our own. In China, job conditions are brutal and resemble the conditions American went through during the Industrial Revolution.

    In my opinion, China needs to learn from our American history in regards to the Industrial Revolution. Although their current way of doing things might seem to be working, it is horrible for people to have to work the amount of hours the government is forcing them to work and with such little pay and poor living conditions. China should establish a minimum wage that helps their people thrive and want to come to work without the burtal conditions. Also, they should establish work benefits that people get after working a certain amount of years at their job.

     China right now reminds me of a communist society in a way. Although instead of everyone benefitting together and sharing the wealth, there is no wealth to be shared by the people who work. Also, no one who works in China is benefitting at all with the amount of money that they are making from the amount of time that they put in. China is acting like a communist government that would rather see profits and let their people suffer than care about the welfare of their people over the amount of money that they make.

     I end today with a question: what are the current statistics of the labor force in China?

"11 Facts About Education Around the World | Do Something." Volunteer | Do Something. Web. 13 Mar. 2011. <http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-education-around-world>.

"Egypt’s Tahrir Square Is China’s Tiananmen Square Tiananmen-square-tank – Politicol News Politics." Politicol News. Web. 13 Mar. 2011. <http://www.politicolnews.com/egypts-tahrir-square-is-chinas-tiananmen-square/tiananmen-square-tank-2/>.

"Labor Rights | China Digital Times (CDT)." China News, Current Events & Headlines | China Digital Times (CDT). Web. 13 Mar. 2011. <http://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/labor-rights/>.

Journal: 3-4

Putting Ideas in Motion

     Two weeks ago, I asked the question of what the major issues are today's world. Through my exstensive research I was able to find the top five major issues in the world. The list consists of: 1) Energy Security, 2) MidEast and North Africa unrest, 3) Climate Change, 4) Coral Reefs, 5) Poverty Around the World. I also found another list which consisted of: HIV/AIDS and the killing of innocent women and children. In my personal opinion, I think the most important issues are: Poverty, access to clean water, education, global warming and natural disasters.

     I became intrigued on the topic and also researched areas around the world that require the most help and foreign aid. I found the areas most in need were Africa, Brazil, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Argentina. It makes good sense that these areas should be focused on by the groups in Leadership for the Heroic Imagination Project. We can really make a positive and effective difference in all of these areas that are not in the best condition.

     This week in Ethics class we discussed the situation in Rwanda and started to watch a documentary called Ghosts of Rwanda in order to gain perspective about the genocide that took place years ago and how the country is today. We also learned about the United Nations and the role that they played to try and help the situation in Rwanda. On Friday of this past week we had a guest speaker come in from the company Profit which helps businesses put ideas into actions. She helped us build upon the ideas that we had in our Heroic Imagination groups and helped us realize what would benefit us and what would hurt the project as a whole.

     For me, having the guest speaker come and interact with us about our ideas was very beneficial. She helped my group develop our idea about creating a website that connects bussinesses to people and causes in need for them to donate their money to. She helped us realize that we should narrow our focus to where we want to send aid and what kind of service we would want to provide. We then chose that we wanted to focus on Africa in regards to medical supplies, food and water and education. This helped to ensure that we would'nt have too much on our plate and that we actually might be able to follow through with this project after all.

     This past weekend I purchased the latest issue of National Geographic Magazine and found many interesting things in it. One of the most intriging things I found was a huge poster about statistics of the World. Something that shocked me was how 12,000 dollars was considered a large amount of money copared to some places in Africa, South America and Asia who are making less than 100 dollars. I find it sad that the United States and European countries don't help out places in need more when they so clearly need it in order to thrive.

     I end today's journal with a question: What is the status of education around the world?


    

"College Updates July 2009." Home | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://www.unc.edu/world/College_Updates_2009/cujul09.htm>.

Global Issues : Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All — Global Issues. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://www.globalissues.org/>.

"Major Problems Facing the World Today." Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://cozay.com/forum/f2/major-problems-facing-the-world-today-t1821/>.

"Time For Change | Flickr - Photo Sharing!" Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/spursfan_ace/2328879637/>.

"Top Ten Countries Most In Debt." World Map, Map of the World. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/countries-most-in-debt-map.html>.

Journal: 3-4

Heroic Imagination

     For me, the Heroic Imagination project is an incredible way to get involved and help solve world problems. It also helps get the name of the Leadership and International Relations Program out into the community and beyond. Through this project, I will be able to make a difference with the support of people around me who share a common goal. It is helping all of us in leadership to realize that we can make a difference and I really enjoy the fact that it is now apart of our education to be more creative than structural. I can't wait to see the possible change we as a whole can make in the world through this new project.

     There are many differences between Heroic Imagination and Traditional Leadership. Through the Heroic Imagination project, students are encouraged to show some creative flare in an effort to make a difference in the world. Also, this project will affect people in a foreign country who need aid from others to improve their quality of life and thus affects alot of people positively in the process. In Traditional Leadership, students are already provided oppotunities rather than coming up with new ideas. Also, this way of leadership affects mostly the community around us and thus less people benefit from it in the process.

     Five people who embody Heroic Imagination:

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah is a talk show host who changes the lives of people everyday both from the US and foreign countries. For example, she built a school for girls in Africa.



Swami Vivekanada

Participated in the 1893 World Parliament of Religions and promoted religious tolerance and unity. He also supported the education of women and sparked pride in the country of India.

Florence Nightingale

After her experience with treating soldiers in the Crimean war, she helped revolutionize the way patients were treated in hospitals around the world in a positive way.

Sri Chinmoy

An Indian spiritual leader who created an event called the World Harmony Run which promoted fredship and understanding of cultures around the world.

Leo Tolstoy

Inspired people such as Ghandi by writing about the practice of non-violence and rural simplicity.

My logo for Heroic Imagination:

Snideties. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. <http://snideties.blogspot.com/>.

Ramakrishna Quotes Swami Vivekananda Quotes, Swami Vivekananda Poems | Sri Ramakrishna Quotes, Swami Vivekananda Quotes, Swami Vivekananda Poems. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. <http://ramakrishnavivekanandaquotes.com/>.

"Florence Nightingale and Bipolar Disorder - Mini Biography." Kids IQ Test Center - IQ Tests for Children Ages 3 - 15. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. <http://www.kids-iq-tests.com/BIPOLAR/Florence-Nightingale.html>.

"The Role of the Guru | Jogyata." The Homepage of Jogyata Dallas | Jogyata. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. <http://jogyata.srichinmoycentre.org/articles/role_guru>.

"Leo Tolstoy | Ask.com Encyclopedia." Ask.com - What's Your Question? Web. 27 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ask.com/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy>.

"People Who Made A Difference | Biography Online." Biography Online | Biographies of Inspirational and Famous People. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. <http://www.biographyonline.net/people/people-who-made-a-difference.html>.

Journal: 3-3

Human ethics

     Last week I asked a question about what other human experiments there were in addition to the ones that we have already discussed. During my research, I came across a sight that had a list of the top 10 most evil studies conducted on humans. One that I found interesting was named "The Monster Experiment". A researcher took a group of orphans and divided the group in half. To half of the group, he gave speech therapy and praised them everytime they did something right. To the other half of the group, he criticised the children for every speech impediment they had.

     It was then proven that those who received the criticism out of the group tended to keep their speech impediment while the other half of the group learned to speek better and had more self confidence too. I found this very interesting. However, this was a very cruel study and only proves that most human studies can be very contraversial.

     In reponse to question number 9, I tried to look out for occassions this past week to speak up and go for it. Although I was presented with little oppurtunity to do so, there were two instinces in which I did speak up. One of these was in show choir while we were practicing our show for the upcoming competitons. It became apparent to me that alot of the new girls in the group were holding the group as a whole back and I could'nt stand for that. So instead of yelling at them, I took the innitiative to help them improve their attitude towards the class in order for us to succeed. Also this week I was very sick and tennis tryouts were coming up. I had to speak up and tell my coach that I was not well enough for tryouts. Instead of being mad at me, she was very sympathetic and it made me realize that it was a good thing to speak up and tell her that I was sick rather than dealing with the consequences of playing while being extremly sick. It turned out to really pay off.

     I would like to end today with a question in relation to our hero projects we are doing in class: What are the major issues of today's world?

Bloggin' All Things Brownsville. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. <http://blogginallthingsbrownsville.blogspot.com/2008_09_01_archive.html>.

"Top 10 Evil Human Experiments." Top 10 Lists - Listverse. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. <http://listverse.com/2008/03/14/top-10-evil-human-experiments/>.

"5 Unethical Psychological Experiments." The Online Men's Magazine to End All Men's Magazines | Highest Five. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. <http://www.highestfive.com/mind/5-unethical-psych-experiments/>.

Journal: 3-2

Morality of Studying the Human Mind

     The question I asked last week was: What are some examples of revolutions and their outcome and effect on history? It turns out that I actually asked this question at a very appropriate time because during this past weekend, the president of Egypt stepped down, proving the revolution of the people in the country to be very affective. During my research, I looked up several revolutions such as the American Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, the French Revolution and the Mexican War of Independence just to name a few. It turns out that almost all revolutions in history were successful and were very similar to the revolution going on in Egypt.

     All of these revolutions consisted of people who felt like they were being suppressed by some kind of government which was unfair to the people, so they did something about it. It goes to show how affective the people of a country can really be when they are being repressed in order to stand up for their rights. All you need to start a revolution is alot of people who agree with your idea and want to make a change and you can actually make a successful change to the world.

     This week we talked about The Milgram experiment and The Asch experiment. The Milgram experiment tested a human's response to authority, even when they knew the authority figure might be wrong and whether they stood up to them or not. The Asch experiment tested how peer pressure affected the way certain people act and whether they conform o the group or not. We also talked about how these experiments, especially the Milgram experiment, could be seen as unethical treatment of humans.

     In my opinion, as long as an experiment doesn't physically hurt someone, I think it is ethical to test human minds in experiments like this. These kind of studies can help us understand the human mind and how human beings act in certain situations even if we might think differently. This can be beneficial to us so we can prevent certain things such as a repeatition of the Holocaust experienced in Germany which was a result of humans becoming evil by becoming suboordinate to wrong authority.

     The Asch experiment's concept can relate alot to what one experiences in highschool. In his experiement most people gave into peer pressure and went along with the rest of the group in order to not seem like an outcast. Unfortunately, alot of people follow what other people do in highschool, especially if it is doing something bad. It's suprising how many people are afraid to stand up for themselves and what they know is right just to gain a couple of friends in the process who aren't even a good influence on you. Highschool is yet further proof that supports the findings in the Asch experiment.

     I end today's blog with a question: What is another experiment that tests the human mind and had an interesting outcome?

Any Other. "What Does Ethics Mean to Sarah Palin?" Hypocrites and Heffalump Traps. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://threebrain.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-does-ethics-mean-to-sarah-palin.html>.

"List of Revolutions and Rebellions." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_revolutions_and_rebellions>.

"What Are Your Travel Ethics? | Verge Magazine: Volunteer Abroad, Work and Travel, Study Abroad." Verge Magazine: Travel with Purpose - Work Abroad, Volunteer Abroad, Study Abroad | Verge Magazine: Volunteer Abroad, Work and Travel, Study Abroad. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.vergemagazine.com/articles/40-departments/79-ethical-travel.html>.

    

Journal: 3-1 b

Crisis in Egypt


     Last week I asked the quesiton of what in the field of Ethics is considered going too far or stepping over the line. During my research I noticed many other blogs commenting on how certain matters have "gone too far". However, there was no clear outline of what for ethics is considered exactly stepping over the line. Based on my own personal belief, I think going too far is when you tamper with human rights or any kind of rights for that matter. For example, telling someone they can't have an abortion when it's their choice or cutting down a habitat for a certain species of animal. Whenever there is harm involved is also a good indicator that something has gone too far. Overall it is hard to say that there is a clear set line that figuratively shouldn't be crossed on ethical issues.

     This past week in Ethics class we mainly talked about the current crisis going on in Egypt. We talked about the details of the situation and I learned about what sparked the situation in Egypt. The people are upset because they are tired of their corrupt government and president who has been in office for over 30 years and doesn't allow to be run against in elections. At first the protests were peaceful and caused the president to say that he would step down at the next election. However, the Egyptian people are still upset and want him to step down now. This has sparked violence in the protests now since Pro-Mubarak protesters have been attacking those opposed to the government who were once very peaceful. We talked about how the situation in Egypt is only getting worse and worse by day.

     In my opinion, once a protest has turned violent, there is no possible way that it will end good. Although the government in Egypt is oppressive, it's not worth the losing of lives. However, I don't think a simple peaceful protest will be able to do much more than it already has. There has to be a happy median between peaceful and violent in order to have enough power to overthrow the government immediately. This will be difficult but in my opinion it would be the best way that would result in the fewest amount of civilian deaths in the process of the revolution. It also would be the most effective towards the government who has already established that they aren't going to play nice towards the people of Egypt.

     In a way I guess you could draw a few parallels between the revolution going on in Egypt and the one we experienced in America to gain independence from Britain. For instance there were both loyalists to the government and rebels opposed to the government. Also, the rebels in both instances rebelled because the government was too opressive and they wanted to establish independence from the old government and ruling system. Although the American Revolution ended good for the rebels and they won theyre freedom, they had to endure many battles before then and I think this will also be the case with Egypt. However, I think as a result the rebels of Egypt will turn out to be victorious.

     I end today with a question: What are other examples of revolutions and their outcome in history?

"Citizen Journalism Gone Too Far | Opinion L.A. | Los Angeles Times." Opinion L.A. | Feb. 7, 2011 Buzz: Healthcare Reform Trumps Reagan and Football | Los Angeles Times. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. <http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2011/01/moscow-bomb-youtube-video-citizen-journalism.html>.

"Kass: Four to Blame for the Subprime Mess." Immobilienblasen. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. <http://immobilienblasen.blogspot.com/2007/03/kass-four-to-blame-for-subprime-mess.html>.

"Winter Transfer Season: The Financial Crisis Effect!! - Egypt - African Cup of Nations 2008 - World Cup 2010." Egypt World Cup Team Blog - African Cup of Nations 2010 - World Cup 2010. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. <http://egypt.worldcupblog.org/uncategorized/winter-transfer-season-the-financial-crisis-effect.html>.

Journal: 3-1

The Golden Rule

     Last week, I left off with the question, is there really a defined greater good? To research this I typed into Google "define: golden rule" and was only able to get one legitimate response that seemed to be accurate. One site defined it as: "The benefit of the public, of more people than oneself; that which is better and more correct", however I find this to be quite vague. Although this tries to define the golden rule, it only made me think of questions instead of excepting the answer. For instince, what is deined as "the public" and is family included in that? What is a definite way to tell whether something is a better or more correct solution? Perhaps this concludes that there really isn't a clear way to define the greater good and how it should apply, and it all depends on your moral character.

    
     This past week in ethics class we watched two TED talks dealing with the idea of a charter for compassion from a religious viewpoint and  a scientific one. The charter for compassion essentially called upon the whole world to become more compassionate in all regards of life such as religious toleration and treating others with respect just to name a few. The religious viewpoint of this concept was explained by a former nun who seemed to give off this vibe that anything is possible if you put your mind to it and there are very simple ways to go about this. The scientific viewpoint came from a biologist who believes that being compassionate is already a part of human nature set in our DNA but he argued that there is no simple way to make the whole world entirely compassionate. It was interesting to see how one viewpoint seemed to be whimsical while the other seemed to be realistic.

     For me, I would have to side with the biologist on this issue. Sure I wish that I could magically make the whole world become more compassionate and aware but that can't possible happen. There will always be hard headed people who think that the evil they do is religiously justifiable and people who are ignorant towards others feelings and situations. It would be extremly difficult to convince everyone that peace is the only solution and would take a very long time in order to show some hint of improvement. Everyone is born into a certain environment that shapes your beliefs and morals as you grow. When you're born in a place where compassion is frowned up, that's all you ever know and therefore it would be very hard to try and change people's minds who have been emersed in such culture for all their lives.

     Today I encountered an ethical issue which I had never thought of before. I was sitting in Calculus today reading an issue of National Geographic and it's issue on dinosaurs. My teacher saw me looking at the magazine and asked if I had heard about a scientist who was trying to take chicken DNA and reverse it in order to create prehistoric DNA of the chicken and thus genetically alter it. I responded, "That's fascinating! What a great idea to study prehistoric DNA." She then proceeded to ask me, "Well what if a scientist were to do the same thing on a human?" and I responded, "Well, I'm not sure how I would feel about that." This discussion made me think of the Golden Rule. Ofcourse we eat chickens all the time so it seems like no big deal if we genetcally altered one in the name of science. However, when you bring the human race into the discussion, one becomes unsure and concerned about what that would lead to when you start to do that. Would it be just as immoral to do this to a chicken as it would be to a human?

     I end today with a question: What in the world of Ethics is considered stepping over the line and going too far in the field of science?

"Greater Good - Wiktionary." Wiktionary, the Free Dictionary. Web. 01 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/greater_good>.

"Language as Imitative, Intersubjective Communication, Pt. 4: Communication as Multimodal, Sensorial Production and Perception | Markwk.com." Minding the Borderlands | Markwk.com. Web. 01 Feb. 2011. <http://www.markwk.com/2008/04/language-as-imitative-intersubjective-communication-pt-4-communication-as-multimodal-sensorial-production-and-perception.html>.

"Remember the Golden Rule! - Thor's Hammer." Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. Web. 01 Feb. 2011. <http://thorstenconsulting.com/serendipity/index.php?/archives/56-Remember-the-Golden-Rule!.html>.

Journal: 2-5

Ethics

     Two blogs ago, I asked the question of what attracts consumers to certain products as opposed to others. Through my extensive research, I wasn't able to find very many reliable sources that provided a good answer to my question. However, I did come across a blog in which a person described what they felt attracts consumers to certain products.

     One of his points was that consumers like free stuff. Giving away free samples of a certain product always seems to encourage consumers to buy the product because they get to test the product out and see if it is reliable. Also, products that come with coupons encourages thrifty spenders to buy products they wouldn't normally buy because they are a good deal. He said things that look exspensive and luxurious also attract consumers because consumers always want to have the best that there is to offer and like being in the forefront of technology.

     Last Thursday, we started our unit of case studies in Ethics class. We talked about a variety of ethical issues and our opinion on each matter. We talked about the ethics of cheating, "The File" case study and also problems that come with winning the lottery. We also discussed what the word "good" means when it comes to Ethics. Also we talked about what it means to benefit the greatest good and how it's different in every situation. For example, would it be better to buy a homeless man a really nice coat or 50 homeless men a cup of ramen. These decisions we came to find out, can be very difficult to decide.

     When it comes to deciding what benefits the greatest good, I believe the decision is different from person to person based on their personality. I believe there is no well defined greater good and whatever you do that benefits society is good. Either way if you decide you would rather give 50 cups of ramen that benefit a large amount of people or a nice coat that only benefits one, you are still doing a generous thing to society. The unfortunate thing is that you can't predict what will happen when you donate to them, whether the homeless man will keep the coat or sell it for drugs is uncertain. So it is tricky to even say that either way of donating is better.

     While doing some research on the internet, I came across similar ethics situation that I found interesting.

It is time to elect the world leader, and yours is the deciding vote. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates:

• Candidate A: He associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologers. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks up to ten Martinis a day.
• Candidate B: He was ejected from office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a large amounts of whisky every evening.
• Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any extra-marital affairs.

After thinking carefully about this problem, I naturally clicked on Candidate C because he seemed to be a morally sound individual. However, when I clicked on it I realized that all three candidates were famous politicians in real life. Candidate A was Franklin D. Roosevelt, Candidate B was Winston Churchill and Candidate C was Adolph Hitler. When I saw this, I realized that a person may have poor moral values but can make really good decisions and shouldn't be judged. It goes to show you that you can't judge a book by it's cover.

     I conclude my blog today with a question: Is there really a defined "greater good"?

"Ethics Questions." Web. 23 Jan. 2011. <http://www.businessballs.com/ethics.htm>.

"Testy Tuesday – Topping or Popping? | Phil’s Stock World." Phil's Stock World. Web. 23 Jan. 2011. <http://www.philstockworld.com/2010/12/28/testy-tuesday-topping-or-popping-2/>.

"Museum Studies Ethics Bowl Introduction." IUPUI : Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Web. 23 Jan. 2011. <http://www.iupui.edu/~mstd/a403503/ethicsbowl1.html>.

"What Attracts Consumers: Free Samples, Coupons or Expensive, Cool, Sexy Products." Measuring Marketing. Web. 23 Jan. 2011. <http://measuringemarketing.blogspot.com/2008/07/what-attracts-consumers-free-samples.html>.