HW#9

1. Three topics that are rude to talk about are money, body weight, and religion. It is rude to talk about money because when you talk about money in public, it’s like you’re bragging about how much you have and someone that does not have as much money as you could easily get offended and feel inferior to you. Talking about someone’s body weight is usually considered rude because people, mostly women, are very sensitive when it comes to how much they weigh. Discussing religion in public is rude because if someone in the room is a different religion than you, you may offend the other person of a different religion.
2. The text says that if the elderly are sick and in need, they should move into the homes of their grandchildren and they should take care of them. However, in America in-home nurses are very popular. Instead of the grandparent moving in with their grandchild, they just hire an in-home nurse to take care of their grandparents. Another popular option in America for the elderly people in need of care is nursing homes. If a grandchild feels like they don’t have the time to take care of their grandparents, they will put them in a nursing home. This is not true in every case, seeing as I know some families that actually have their grandparents living with them when their grandparents are unable to take care of themselves.
3. A life experience of my own that illustrates the value placed on individualism in American culture is working. I’ve been working since the age of fifteen. My first job was a job as a waitress at a local restaurant and now I work at a clothing store. My mother strongly encouraged getting a job at that age so I can learn the true value of the dollar and so I could develop work ethic. In the text, it said that in Thailand only the poorer families encourage their children to work. This differs from American culture because, like my mom, most parents like to encourage their children to start working at an early age to learn the true value of the dollar and to develop work ethic.

HW #6

1. Most females wish for their body to be as perfect as it can get. I feel as if mainly every woman imagines a singer, actress, or models when it comes to the image of a perfect body. If you look on the magazine shelves at the store, you will see many tabloid cover stories focusing on some sort of celebrity being “too fat” or “too skinny.” You will also occasionally see the “perfect beach body” articles and photos. If you read these articles or look at the photos, they might influence you to change your body to be more like (and sometimes even less like) the celebrities you see featured in the magazines.

2. Yes, I think that the American culture has more exposure to mass media than most of the other countries in this world. The messages we get from mass media place pressure on men and women to have what is known as the “perfect body.” A woman’s image of a perfect body is a small waist line and perfect features to go along with it. The men, however, want the six pack abs with a set of nice, muscular arms.

3. When hearing the word masculine the first three things I think of are being successful, obtaining an education, and being physically fit.

4. I think that American males are pressured right out of high school into getting an education or a really good job so they can become successful in the workforce and eventually support a family as they grow older. This is helpful to males because if they give in to the pressure of getting an education or a good job, they are more likely to be well established later in life. Another way American males are pressured into acting masculine is giving in to playing sports. A man who is athletic is more likely to be known as being masculine than one who is not. This is helpful to a male because it will make him be fit and healthy in the long run. 

HW #4

1. I agree with Schor when he says that our consumer culture creates a dis – ease and alienation. A societal focusing on buying materialistic items could cause isolation and alienation because a person from a higher social class can buy and afford more materialistic things than a person from a lower social class. This could cause the person from the lower class to feel isolated and alienated from the higher social class.

2. If average salaries were to increase to a more reasonable income, I don’t think it would solve the problem of isolation and alienation between different classes of people. I think that there will always be competition within social classes. I feel like isolation and alienation would still exist, even if two people were in the same social class.

3. I think the biggest societal factors that encourage competitive consumption are the media and your peers. These days, you will see a celebrity or someone within the highest social class in nearly every advertisement for materialistic things. A person will think they need to purchase the materialistic things these celebrities and people within the highest social class are advertising just so they can feel like they fit in with the people in the advertisements. I think that people also feel the need to purchase whatever products people their age are wearing, using, and buying.

4. I don’t think that competitive consumption influences my identity. I am the type of person that will spend a large amount of money on something only if I think the purchase is worth it. My sister got the iPhone about 3 months ago and after experimenting with it and checking out what all the fuss was about, I got one too because I thought it was a good purchase. However, most of my friends have the official “Ugg” boots, but I just can’t bring myself to spend that much money on a pair of boots.

HW #3

1. Since our world is becoming more and more dependant on technology and computers, I think it is very likely that a situation like this could happen. New discoveries in technology are being made daily. However, most people that make these discoveries are too worried about using and applying them right away before they are perfected. This could help contribute to a catastrophic situation like this happening. I feel that the general public would be supportive of the idea of machines and robots running most things, because, in my opinion, people of the world are getting lazier as the days go by. If a person can find and easier way of performing a task, they will jump on the opportunity. If a catastrophic situation occured, I feel like the public would rely on other machines or robots to try and fix it.

2. I think that with the advancement of our world’s technology, it is very likely that artificial intelligence could be invented and perfected in the future. There are already some machines and robots out there that aid humans with functions that they cannot perform. I think that if artifical intelligence were developed to think and reason without human help, people would want to do less physically and mentally with their life and become dependant on artificial intelligence.

3. There could be plenty of positive and negative results of developing artificial intelligence. Hospitals and researchers rely mainly on computers and machines to record data, file records, and perform research. If artificial intellgience were developed, it could be very helpful to the hospitals and research labs. It would be very helpful for the disabled people of this world because the artificial intelligence could aid them in whatever it is they can’t do or have difficulties doing. I also think it would be beneficial to the military and helpful during battle. However, much like any other machine or robot, artificial intelligence could malfunction. If there is a glitch in the system, the machine or robot could end up doing the opposite of what it was designed to do.

4. Yes, this has happened to me before. I was trying to print out pictures for my senior project in high school, and the printer kept jamming. To this day I still don’t know what is wrong with the printer and need to get a new one. Also, right before my graduation party my computer started messing up. I had planned on showing a slideshow at the graduation party, but couldn’t because of the malfunctions of my computer. At the last minute, I had to settle for “old fashioned” poster board picture collages.

Morality Homework #2

1. I feel that all three people are very admirable people. My gut reaction to the question posed at the beginning of this article was that Mother Teresa was the most admirable. After reading the article I can’t just choose who the most admirable out of the three was. They have each done different things to make them admirable to me. All of the different things each of these three people has done have had different effects on our world.
2. If I were to choose two living people that are the most admirable, they would be Oprah Winfrey and my mother. Oprah Winfrey has done so much for the world through her charity and philanthropy work. She has made a huge difference in the lives of many people around the world, and that is why I consider her to be admirable. To me, my mother is the most admirable person. She has taught me lessons that nobody else could ever teach me. She has always supported me and will continue to do so. Every time I make a decision, I always make sure I decide whichever option I think will make her proud. My mother is the number one person in my life and she always will be.
3. I believe that morality is universal. A person born and raised in one country will have different morals than a person born and raised in another country. I think this is due to the laws, norms, and taboos of different countries.
4. Haidt’s five elements of morality are harm, fairness, community (or group loyalty), authority, and purity. I think Americans tend to rank community or group loyalty first out of these five elements Haidt lists. I think Americans are the most concerned with maintaining friendships and fitting into various social groups that their friends belong to.

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