8.1 Internet Reading and Ivory Tower Reading

The "Knowledge Networks or Discourse Communities" article is about communication on the Internet. The article author, Zariski, describes how it is nearly impossible for scholarly articles or conversations to exist online. Zariski says how there are more personal eJournals or web sites then there are scholarly scientific conversations. The "In the Basement of the Ivory Tower"article is told by Professor X, who teaches English classes at night to people who are required to take them. This article shows the difficulties of being a professor, as he is obligated to fail many of his students, giving him guilt about them wasting their money and time. The articles are similar in that one of X’s students, Mrs. L has troubles on a research paper assignment which requires internet research. She has difficulties because of her age and is completely computer illiterate, she too ends up failing the class, much to the dismay of Professor X. As far as reading the two articles, the first one is difficult to understand and follow in comparison to the second, which is less objective and more laid back. I sympathize with Professor X and find his story much more relatable and its point is clear cut. I’m still unsure as to what the first article seeks to prove.

Issue With the Campus 7.28

Well, there are a few issues with the campus. None of them are major, but they're enough to tickle a feather. The first issue is that parking is miles away from the campus. The second issue is that the rooms are about 30 degrees below zero. I believe that the architect and air conditioning guy are to blame. My point of view is that there should be more convenient parking and more comfortable room climates. With this summer heat, students shouldn't have to walk so far to get to class. You could die from a heat stroke. And it shouldn't cost so much for a parking spot, we're already paying for the tuition. Also, you know that the rooms are cold when students are wearing sweaters in the summertime in Florida.

Influence of Media Article 7.27

The article called "The Future of Children" by Soledad Liliana Escobar Chaves and Craig A. Anderson mainly addresses the negative influence of the media on American society, more specifically on its children and adolescent audience today. The article shows various examples of media, such as TV shows, with their commercials, movies, video games, the Internet, music, music videos, and print media and their effect on children who watch/play/experience high levels of the specific media. The article cited many studies of different types, including, experimental short term stuides, longitudinal studies, and cross sectional studies. Each type of study had results which concluded that an increased exposure to media and media forms has lead to and will continue to lead to an increase in obesity (due to an increase in calorie intake and a lack of movement), smoking, alcohol use and abuse, sexual experimentation, and especially violence and or crimes. The studies all conclude that their is not enough data to specifically locate or predict outcomes of this trend but they also show a definite correlation between hightened media exposure and negative behavioral traits.

7/26 Lexis Nexis Article

LEXIS NEXIS ARTICLE: PHOBIAS

Canberra Times (Australia)
February 4, 2007 Sunday Final EditionConfronting our worst fears Phobias can have a huge effect on sufferers' lives, ELIZA YOUNG reports.BYLINE: The Canberra TimesSECTION: A; Pg. 23LENGTH: 672 words

TO THE average person, a spider is nothing more than a common nuisance; to a handful of people, however, it induces terror.
The mere thought of a spider can induce sweating and clammy palms, dizziness, breathing difficulty and a racing heartbeat.
It can take up to 30 minutes for the panic attack to subside.
Arachnophobia a dread of spiders is one of the many phobias that can make life a misery for the afflicted.
Canberra-based psychologist Jenny O'Donnell defines a phobia as a marked and persistent fear which fixates on a particular object or situation.
"A phobia can be about any object you can think of, and there are some pretty weird ones out there," Dr O'Donnell said.
"I wouldn't necessarily say a phobia was an irrational fear because sometimes people have a form of logic.
"But it's slightly skewed as is the case for those who are phobic about flying or driving a car."
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, about one in 10 Australians have a phobia.
While the jury is still out whether there is a genetic predisposition to developing phobias, Dr O'Donnell said exposure to other sufferers, particularly family members, can be a trigger.
A phobia can generally be attributed to a situation in a person's past, which they may or may not remember, and may or may not relate directly to the phobia.
"I once treated a woman who was phobic about seeing other people's vomit," Dr O'Donnell said.
"Turns out when she was younger her mother had made her eat a banana when she didn't want to and she'd been sick."
The most common phobias seen by Dr O'Donnell are arachnophobia (spiders), acrophobia (heights), and pteromerhanophobia (flying).
Generally, phobias are upsetting and inhibiting to the sufferer, but the stimulus and its accompanying panic attacks can be avoided with effort.
However, situation-based phobias including social phobia (social situations/groups of people) and agoraphobia (leaving familiar or safe situations, like home) are much more difficult to manage.
Dr O'Donnell said she had heard of many cases where agoraphobics would not leave their home for many years.
"When it's something like being frightened to go outside, this can have a huge effect on your life.
These people need professional help."
The majority of phobia victims also suffer from depression, as well as a secondary phobia of having panic attacks.
Along with the serious side, there are also the quirky, offbeat and downright bizarre phobias.
An internet search produces 531 possible phobic ailments, including:Arachibutyrophobia: a fear of having peanut butter stick to the roof of your mouth; Bogyphobia: a fear of bogeys, or the bogeyman; Electrogeniphobia: a fear of urinating during an electrical storm; and Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia: fear of long words.
Treatment is available to help phobia sufferers although there are no specific support groups for phobia sufferers in the ACT.
Instead, there is a range of anxiety-based groups which phobia sufferers can join through the ACT Mental Health Foundation.
Exposure therapy (or flooding) remains a widespread treatment.
With gradual, controlled exposure to the phobic stimulus, a person is able to change the thought processes surrounding it from negative to positive.
Another proven technique is symptom management where the person is coached by a psychologist to combat the physical symptoms of a panic attack learning to control their breathing and keep the anxiety at bay.
Both techniques are practised by Dr O'Donnell.
There is also a technique known as energy psychology, which involves a person using acupuncture on themselves while thinking about their phobic stimulus. The acupuncture allows the release of negative emotions with the onset of a panic attack.
Canberra-based practitioner Angela Cartland, who operates Psycho-Sensory Therapies, has practised energy psychology for two years and swears by it.
"Sometimes it only takes one session and people can go away with the tools to combat a simple phobia," Ms Cartland said.
Contact the Mental Health Foundation ACT on 62826658.

MY RESPONSE:

I enjoyed your article on article on phobias. I find phobias fascinating and mysterious. I recently completed a research paper on phobias and found much of the same information that you provide. I agree that social phobias and agoraphobias are the toughest to cure. I like the fact that you discussed some of the "bizarre" phobias. I also find many of the phobias very odd. But I think those phobias need to be mentioned to show that a person can have a phobia for almost anything. Also, I thought that the acupuncture form of treatment was interesting because I found nothing about it during my research. Overall, I thought that the article was well written and brief, but to the point.

6/30 Reading

Alex Hudson
Composition I

This article is about a man named Jerry Waxler, a man who has tried to understand how his mind works since he was a teenager. He believes that he has finally found a way to make sense of his mind, through memoirs and writing stories of his own life. Waxler is discovering how his hopes and dreams have lead him to where he is today. He believes in principles that say people can change the way they feel by changing their thoughts. As Waxler studies the relationship between writing and the mind, he determines that writing can be therapeutic. He believes that questions about healing and the mind may be answered through storytelling and reflecting on his own life. I found this article quite interesting. Personally, I’ve never really tried to understand how my mind works. I’ve just sort of accepted it. I am a little curious as to why Waxler is so obsessed with this concept. He says that he’s been interested in this idea since high school. Nevertheless, I view Waxler as a very intellectual man who has an interesting perspective on life. I even agreed with most of the principles and theories he discussed.

This talk was between Antoinette Franklin and her niece, Iriel Franklin, who discuss the effect that Hurricane Katrina had on them. Antoinette talks about multiple things that she misses about New Orleans with sadness in her voice, while her niece talks about the toughest part of the whole experience. Iriel says that the hardest day was not knowing where Antoinette and her Dad were. Iriel also said that this experience has made her grow up in a hurry. The hurricane was a test of maturity and character. What I found interesting was that they still sounded devastated. It appeared to be very hard for them to talk about. It was obvious that Katrina was still effecting them. The most memorable part of the whole conversation was when Antoinette said, “I’ve learned that love and family is more important than anything in the whole world...I used to say it...But now I know it.” This showed me that Hurricane Katrina brought them closer together.

1. Has Jerry Waxler written any novels?

2. Did Iriel lose her father in Katrina?

3. How can disasters, such as hurricanes destroy people’s lives as well as enhance them?

7/20 Three Youtube Videos- Phobias

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ta-FGE7QELQ
Maury: Fear of PICKELS!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjJVN_RkbTw&NR=1
Maury: Fear of Balloons
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NogoZpeeiE4&feature=related
Jackass 2: Bam's fear of snakes

Graphic Design and Satrapi Interview Summary

This article is in majority an interview with graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi, who is most known for her comic Persepolis with a brief introduction into the prevalance of comics and cartoons in everyday life. The author of the article and interviewer, Root questions Satrapi on her methods as a graphic novelist. Satrapi attempts to explain the difficulties in creating a comic which is largely autobiographical. In this sense, Root deems Persepolis a graphic memoir. Satrapi explains the search for truth in fictional stories with historical background. Root also inquires as to why Satrapi chooses to write in a graphic form instead of merely textual. Satrapi replies that not only is she horrible at writing but "there are so many things that you can say through images that you cannot say with the writing". For Satrapi, comics present convenience even though she is unclear on to how she actually creates a comic with text attached, she claims that it all happens at once for her. Satrapi believes that everything is a story even if it has a historical basis. The events in Persepolis are largely based upon her childhood in Iran during the Islamic Revolution and other historical events, though she has changed the names of the characters and some of the dialogue. Satrapi states that her main limit in creating a comic is crossing other people's personaly boundaries. She openly admits to being "rather nasty" but also tries to learn from her mistakes and consequentially, does everything she can to protect rather than intentionally cross other's points of view. Satrapi also goes on to explain the creation of Persepolis the animated movie. She says that seeing her characters in motion for the first time made her feel like a god and though she is used to creating her comics by herself, with solely her vision, during the production of an animated movie many hands are required to draw all the sketches which brings in other peoples perspectives as well. Satrapi admits to liking the challenge that her work presents her with. She enjoys doing things that are difficult for the satisfaction found in their completion.