This is an amazing short film about one of the poorest countries in the world. This shows that everything is possible in life even when the only thing you have available to you is garbage. Makes me wonder what we think as trash others see as treasure. This is an amazing and inspiring video about young children who have a true passion for music that will stop at nothing to reach that dream. They cannot afford the real instruments, but with that passion along with amazing talent they were able to make their dreams come true. There is no doubt that a true talented musician doesn’t need a god instrument to play amazing music. Enjoy.

Xtranormal Assignment

Talking About It
by: jzter9

In this assignment we were supposed to make a cartoon about our concept. For my creation, I have a couple having a serious talk about somes minor problems with their relationship and both of them are avoiding talking about taking the next step and seek marriage therapy. In most cases, the woman is the one that initiates the conversation and has somewhat of a convincing way to talk the husband into doing things her way. In this scenario, Trish feels that she is being neglected and feels that John is very jealous and that they both avoid having a conversation about their issues. Trish decides that tonight is the night to have a serious conversation about what steps they need to take in order to save their marriage. John sees the big picture and thinks that they may be having these issues due to their busy work schedules and not having enough time with each other. They come to an agreement and end with a BANG. ;-)        

Assignment 6: Video Clip as Representation of Key Concept

One of the areas of focus I would like to pursue is Marriage and family counseling. Are couples getting married too young and are they lasting in their marriage? What is the key to a happy prosperous marriage? The answer is spending time together. As a dating couple, people find the time to know each other and find the time to see each other, but after marriage and having a growing family, couples tend to not spend time alone together and start to fall apart. What gets in their way? Is it the kids, job, or family members? This video clip I have provided is a great way to answer some of these questions and have a reality check for those of us that got married at a young age and need some helpful hints. This video clip has the power to captivate the audience and send out a positive message to those in need.

Marriage and family counseling deals with areas not only in marriage, but with family, couples, and individuals in need of assistance (i.e. parenting, adolescents, and small children). In my opinion, building multimedia around these topics will help people understand that even though things might look like they are going great within their marriage and family, there’s always a possibility that you mind find helpful advice from such videos and websites.

Assignment 5: Defining and Visualizing Concepts

1. List two concepts highly relevant to your sociological focus. Briefly state why you would like to learn more about them; especially why you would like to build multimedia around them.

1)      One of the concepts I would like to focus on is in the Marriage, Family, Couples, and Individual Counseling. In my opinion, building multimedia around these topics will help people understand the body movements and facial expressions of the individuals. The audience might see themselves in the roles of the characters and at the same time even acting in the exact same way.

 

2)      The second concept I would like to focus on would be in the field of treatment of a family member with schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder. With multimedia I would focus this into family therapy to help the other members of the family understand their relative's disorder and adjust to the psychological changes that may be occurring in that person's life.

2. Provide a brief description relative to how each concept has been defined and measured (i.e., operationalized) in the academic literature (books and/or journal articles). In so doing, consult at least two references per concept (be sure to provide citations for references (follow citation style of American Sociological Review).

 

1)      Marriage, Family, Couples, and Individual Counseling: The area has been defined and measured in many ways. The article I read talks about how in today's world councilor's deal with a variety of couple and family systems. Step-families, gay families, single-parent families and even childless families; the councilor's challenge is to decided how to "work with couple and family systems that may need premarital counseling, marital therapy, divorce counseling, family therapy, or individual counseling" (Smith, Carlson, Stevens-Smith and Dennison, 1995). The divorce rate in the United States is so high, even people divorcing in their second and third marriage. Many children are in single-parent homes, many are in step-families and let's not forget the abused women that still live with the men that threaten and beat them. "Changes such as those cited above are some of the reasons for the increased attention given to marriage and family counseling and the demand for competent training in this field" (Smith, Carlson, Stevens-Smith and Dennison, 1995).

In other studies, councilors help couples cope with victims of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Many of these victims are women, but in some cases there are some men. In fact 20% to 40% of women and 5% to 15% in the U.S. are victims of CSA. These studies are conducted because these couples have problems when it comes to intimacy fear being the leading cause. "Emotional and psychological problems in adulthood are also common to those who have a history of CSA" (Hunt-Amos, Bischoff and Pretorius, 2004).

2)      Schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder in family members: according to this article the incorporation of family group therapy into therapeutic interventions for people with schizophrenia is suggested to be an integral component in enhancing positive treatment outcomes and reducing associated family burden. In this study the sessions are concentrated in a way that each week one family presents a current difficulty to the group and the group collectively focuses on formulating strategies to overcome or minimize the difficulty. The measures of this study is that the family of focus is provided with "action plans and assigned set homework to assist in learning how to apply strategies and achieve goals" (Deane, Mercer, Lambert and Pickard, 2012). According to the study, each family has equal opportunity to present their individual difficulties throughout the course of the therapy.

Schizophrenia is a major mental illness that impairs the functioning of thoughts, affects personality, and impacts almost every aspect of life. This concept has been defined and measured in a way that people with schizophrenia experience disturbances in thought, perception, cognition, and psychosocial functioning (Bardwell & Taylor 2009; Gournay 2009). "In caring for those with schizophrenia, psychiatric nurses play important roles in helping them in their recovery and their ability to live a normal life within their families" (Kertchok, Yunibhand, and Chaiyawat, 2011). Therefore, the caring for patients and the help they receive helps them live a normal life with their families and that is where it is an  important goal of psychiatric nurses"(Kertchok, Yunibhand, and Chaiyawat, 2011).

 

Works Cited

 

Bardwell, M. & Taylor, R. (2009). Schizophrenia disorders. In: R. Elder, K. Evans & D. Nizette (Eds). Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. (pp. 248–266). Chatwood: Elsevier Australia.

 

Deane, F. R., Mercer, J., Talyarkhan, A., Lambert, G., & Pickard, J. (2012). Group Cohesion and Homework Adherence in Multi-Family Group Therapy for Schizophrenia. Australian & New Zealand Journal Of Family Therapy, 33(2), 128-141. doi:10.1017/aft.2012.15

 

Hunt-Amos, S., Bischoff, R. J., & Pretorius, R. (2004). The Husband's Experience of His Wife's Childhood Sexual Abuse: An Exploratory Study and Implications for Couple Therapy. Journal Of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 3(4), 1-21.

 

Kertchok, R., Yunibhand, J., & Chaiyawat, W. (2011). Creating a new whole: Helping families of people with schizophrenia. International Journal Of Mental Health Nursing, 20(1), 38-46. doi:10.1111/j.1447-0349.2010.00706.x

 

Smith, R. L., Carlson, J., Stevens-Smith, P., & Dennison, M. (1995). Marriage and Family Counseling. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 74(2), 154-157.

 

 

3. For each concept, briefly describe how you might approach it via multimedia representation.

 

1)      Marriage, Family, Couples, and Individual Counseling: Approaching this concept in multimedia representation might come hard to do. Interviews and session are to be kept confidential, unless written permission to do so. If I was to conduct a multimedia presentation, I would do a bogus session, but concentrating on actual events. Humor might give the audience a peace of mind that everything is going to be ok and send out a positive message. 

 

2)       Schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder in family members: Being that my two fields of interest are therapeutic, it would be unethical to convert the sessions and interviews into multimedia representation. On the other hand, making the same bogus session and making sense of the true nature of these problems, the audience will get a positive message and see that therapy helps in many ways. For example, the show "United States of Tara" was an awesome demonstration of this concept. It showed firsthand how a person with MPD acts and how the family copes with her problems. It also shows the therapy the married couple attends and how the study is conducted.

 

4. Relative to A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods, determine the following for each of your concepts:

a. Would “structure” or “process” visualization work best?

·        Structure will work best

 

b. Which of the six broad types might be most applicable?

·        Data, Information and Concept will work for both my sociological focus. 

 

c. Within that broad type, which particular visualization device might be most appropriate?

·        Communication Diagram

 

d. Run each concept through Wordnik, Visuwords, Lexipedia, and Ngram Viewer. Did you discover anything noteworthy?

·        Yes I did. It has different meanings and it can be looked at in many different ways. Visuwords and Lexipedia are my favorite ones. Lexipedia gives you more like a thesaurus and you can use those terms to help you find other research in that field. 

 

Assignment 6: Video Clip as Representation of Key Concept

Assignment 6: Video Clip as Representation of Key Concept

 

            Schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder in family members is one of my areas of focus. The video clip that I have provided gives a great example of this concept. This TV series shows the true nature of these problems, and it captivates the audience in a positive way with comedy. Positive messages are being sent through and the audience sees that therapy helps in many ways. This show is called "United States of Tara". This is an awesome demonstration of this concept. It showed firsthand how a person with MPD acts and how the family copes with her problems. It also shows the therapy the married couple attends and how the study is conducted.

            This is an actual disorder that many families in the United States deal with n a daily bases. We all know what Schizophrenia or multiple personality disorders are, but the majority of us have never seen it or lived it. This show provides us with the visual aid and we have front row tickets to see the average American family go through these processes. Steven Spielberg an American film director, screenwriter and producer winner of many Academy Awards has done a great job in directing and producing this show. Extensive research was done to make this a sociological and psychological vivid show. This trailer provides the power to capture the audience in many ways and will have them wanting more. The comedy and real life experiences on it are enough to show the power of this disorder. Many students that are in this field might feel the same thing I did and would like to pursue a career in this amazing field to help out families in need.

Phillip Zambardo

Illustration of ideas and concepts

 

            When I started viewing Zimabardo's videos, I did see a tremendous difference between both of them. At first, when I clicked play on the first one I saw the duration time and I was like, here we a good long 40 minute video. It was interesting up to the part where the study was conducted and he was reveling some of the evidence found in the study. When he played the video he recorded, it was interesting and caught my attention. Media within media. But as he started going off of his PowerPoint presentation, it got quite a bit draining in a sense.

            It kind of made me want to test that theory (the time paradox) on my kids. I see my oldest daughter as a present focus person. She wasn’t everything to happen right away. She is not patient at all, and by listening to his speech, it makes sense. I see my middle and youngest child as future focus. They are divergent thinkers. They analyze everything before making a decision. Both think outside the box and think of the future. They both know what they want and will get if they just take a minute to analyze their actions.

            When I saw the animated video, it made me more aware of what he was talking about. By looking at the drawings, I realized that I had missed that part or not completely understood what he was saying. To me the animation video made more sense and kept me intrigued. Also the video explained the study to the point and it was only 10 minutes. As Zimbardo stated, most of us are digital learners, and with that said, by me knowing that I enjoyed the animation presentation better says a lot. 

Dance of India

In my personal opinion, I think this Dance from India Nagada Nagada is one of the best dances and moves I have ever seen. The Dances of the India are based on beliefs of power and beauty, but not just in Indian dance, but of dance itself! This video with its good source of media shows that the Indian dance can enchant as well as educate all members of the community, from children to senior citizens, from underserved minority communities to the population at large.

Digital Immigrant

I am a Digital Immigrant. Technology entered my life in college. Growing up in a small town in the 80's and 90's, computers, cell phones, and other technology was scarce in our area. During my first year of college in 1999, I was first introduced to a PC. It was something amazing I thought. The class was computer literacy. The professor was explaining how to use a floppy disk, how to copy and paste, how to change fonts and sizes, and other stuff that today we think is easy, but back then was for a grade. I was all excited and went home to tell my mom that I needed a computer and I had to go get one ASAP. We went to SEARS and I applied for credit and purchased a brand new HP computer.  I was all excited, but I didn't know what to do with it. I didn’t know what Internet was.

The following week I asked the professor how can I connect to the internet. I told him I had just purchased a new computer, but I couldn’t connect to the internet like in class. He said that I needed a modem and I had to contact an internet provider. I said "ahh, OK." Of course I didn’t know what he was talking about, so during class I searched for internet providers. I came across "NetZero" and I was like "OMG" I found one. So I tried to save the download on a floppy disk, but it didn’t work. I thought it was a free service and all I had to do was put it on a floppy disk and install it on my computer. Well, I was wrong.

I asked a friend about it and he said to contact AT&T and they could hook me up. So I did contact them and they came in and installed a second phone line in my room to connect to the world. Finally I had internet. All I knew was hot to chat on yahoo, WWF chat room, and email. I didn’t know anything about the new technology that was emerging rapidly in my life.

The first month's phone bill came in and it was over $300. My mother was asking why it was so much. Who have I been calling long distance? I said no one!! Well come to find out that the dial up number I was connecting to was from out of town, because my hometown didn’t have a server. WOW!!!

We fixed the problem and I soon moved to a bigger University. I became interested in computers, so I took several courses and I was learning how to program them. I was using MS.DOS. I found it very difficult to remember all those codes, so I dropped out and became a full time employee moving myself up to management. 

I left technology behind for several years, but as soon as I went back to college, everything was new to me. I didn’t recognize the new programs that were on the new commuters.  It was Windows XP. I was used to Windows 98. And what's this Microsoft office???  Do I need it? I have to spend how much?? I was getting discouraged once more but I calmed down and asked for help. I bought the Microsoft Office and tried to install it on my computer, but it wouldn’t take it. I called my buddy Alex and he came over to help me with it. Well apparently the computer I bought back in 1999 had a Hard Drive of 6 gigs. And it was full. He advised me to get a new computer with Windows XP.

I had to learn pretty quickly, because I was falling behind with all this new technology. I was soon introduced to Microsoft Office and using Word, PowerPoint and everything. I was so intrigued with all the fancy displays and everything. I was even more impressed with muti-media sites I didn’t know, such as YouTube. 

As the years went by, I felt as if I wasn’t catching up with technology. I had to ask for help for the simplest things, such as making new folders on the desk top. Little by little, I started getting a little better with this technology. But then the era of the cell phones kicked in. I always had a flip phone, that’s all I needed. I didn’t know much about texting, I knew how beepers worked but not texting. It was not a feature on my flip phone. So I upgraded to a standard phone. My younger employees taught me how to text, but I didn’t know that there would be a charge. So I blocked all incoming texts.

Soon I had to upgrade yet again so, I got a Blackberry curve. I loved that phone, but hated it at the same time. I was useless without it! I had all my contact information, emails, I was in a texting groove, the internet; everything was in that phone. I became more dependable on technology. I needed that new technology. I was hungry for it.

To make a long story short, I now own an iphone and I am lost without it. I taught my boss how to text a few years ago and now we can't get him to stop. I am in a world where my job, school, social life, and everything rely on technology. From emails, to video calls to everything. No more paging someone at Wal-Mart to meet you in register 7. Now we just text or call them on the cell phone. No more remembering phone numbers, now they are in the contacts in your phone.

We have come to a world that revolves in technology. Our young generation is growing into this new world. The children no longer have an imagination or imaginary friends because all the games are interactive and so realistic. They no longer go play outside like we used to, they spend countless hours online, or on their PS3 or X-Box. It is a different world.

I am still learning how to stay up-to-date on all of this. This is my first blog. And I hope I get better at this. I know that there are much younger kids that know much more than I do in this virtual world. That’s ok.  As long as I keep up or know a bit of it I will be fine.

My life has changed to the extent that whether I like it or not, I need this new technology. I need my GPS, my iphone, search engines, Bluetooth, MP3, ipad, ipod, nook, ebooks, Amazon, etc. technology makes life easier, but at the same time, it makes us weak.  We no longer go outside to pay our bills or go shopping. We no long buy CD's or DVD's as much as we used to. Now we have Pandora and Netflix. It is very unhealthy, but with today's busy life, technology is there to help us ease out those complications. Technology keeps the family and friends in touch. Technology offers help and motivation in so many good ways, but it also harms people in very harsh ways. Technology is a life changer, and it's still not over, not in a million years.

 

Sociology Sound

            Jay Villarreal

 

Sociology Sound was the site I found most interesting and relevant to my field. Well basically to any sociology field out there simply because there are links to all sociological fields you can click on. I found it interesting because sometimes, it is hard for teachers/professors to capture the student's attention, and this site offers a solution to that problem. The solution is music. We all love music, it is a universal language. Music sets the tone for all of us no matter what culture, or background you have, music is music. The links that are offered are linked to class discussions or fields of interest.

For example, I am interested in Marriage and Family, so I clicked on it and there was a song called "Cats in the Cradle" by Ugly Kid Joe. This song captured me emotionally and even made me cry, because I see this in me. If a teacher or a presenter starts with this song and especially the YouTube video, this will capture the audience attention in a heartbeat.

This music video "describes the cultural contradiction that arises when the values of American Individualism conflict with another aspect of life Americans place immense importance on; family. In our capitalist economy, individuals are under immense social pressure to succeed in their occupations, even if that drive for success takes precedence over spending time with their families. This song not only describes the role conflict a father experiences between his statuses of father and worker; it also highlights how parents need to be present in their children’s lives because giving precedence to work over family is a value choice that can be transmitted across the generations."(Sociology Sounds, 2012)

Simply Me

Mosaic

 

 

 

 

1.     Photo of me: In Hawaii fondling a statue.

 

2.       Photo of me as a kid: 5years old playing a guitar.

3.       Photo where I grew up in: The Rio Grande Valley.

4.       Photo of the most important influence in y life: My Family.

5.       Photo that best symbolizes me: Divergent. Different. Mysterious.

6.       Photo that will surprise you when you find out that: I am a paranormal investigator.

7.       Photo of what I am passionate about: Harley Davidson and this girl haha.

8.       Photo of what I want to be when I grow up: Marriage Councilor, a Lawyer, and fearless.

9.       If I wasn’t a human, this is the animal I would prefer to be: White Tiger. Unique and rare.