Monday, October 27, 2014

3 Potential Research Topics

My Possible Research Topics
1) What does data tell you about increasing attendance at Hockey games?
2)How does literature reveal the evolution of mega yachts getting us to where we are today?
3) What does literature tell us about traveling to countries to learn more about cultures in different parts of the world?

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Article Bias Assignment

In the article "Why Should We Not Have The Death Penalty" by author Unknown it explains the good and the bad of haven't the death penalty. The author later argues the death penalty should not be eliminated from the justice system. During the article he demonstrates many different forms of bias throughout the article. I chose Observation Selection bias and Stereotyping as two strongly enforced bias shown in this article. There are many other examples of bias but these are most commonly used in the article.
   Observation selection bias is one example he uses in the article. This is the effect of suddenly noticing things that were not noticed previously and as a result wrongly assuming that the frequency has increased. He uses this went describing innocent people who have been sentenced to death. He supports the death penalty because so many cruel, guilty people have been put have been put to death by it. He also noticed that the number of innocent people being put to death has increased after doing research. This is an example of Observation selection bias, that number did not increase innocent people have been killed for as long a history goes back. He just never realized that after seeing how large those numbers really are.
Stereotyping is another form of bias used in the article. The author concludes the article with examples of people being put to death because of their race. He says in a white jury or mostly white jury a man of different race will more likely be put to death then a white man. I believe this is an example of stereotyping because I do not think that is true in all cases these days. Racism is not as big a problem as it was further back in history. I think most people have the right idea about racism and I does not impact the justice system as much a described in the article. Therefore, stereotyping is a bias used in this article to support the authors argument.
In the article "Why Should We Not Have The Death Penalty" the good and bad result of the death penalty are portrayed. We also saw a variety of example of different bias shown in the article supporting the author point of view. Observation selection bias and Stereotyping are just a few demonstrated in the article.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

The Real George Reese (Profile a Peer)

       George Reese, a senior at Norton High School and a caption of the Lancer's Football team, is a character I was happy to sit down with and learn more about.
       George is a friendly guy who can relate to almost anyone. For example, he has broken his ankle before and still lives to tell the story of how the trainer made him walk back to the school with a broken ankle, but that's a story for him to tell. He also favors the movie "Stepbrothers" because "of the relevance in the movie." He enjoys traveling as he has been to Mexico before and he says he prefers the city because your life is all in one place. He is an honest guy who admits he eats too much fast food and likes all music except country.
       One thing you need to know is that Mr. George Reese loves football. When I asked him if he likes sports, he simply corrected and said he loves sports. So his follow up answer to what sport do you like the most was no surprise coming from Norton's captain when he explained, "Football, it is the greatest sport on earth." Nothing else had to be said to feel this young man's passion for the game, which explains his die-hard fandom for the Philadelphia Eagles. When I asked him, "If you were to die in a week and had $1,000,000, what would you do?" He simply replied, "I would go to Phily and watch the Eagles play!" This was another example of George's love for the game and his team.
        Some things you might not know about George is his dream job is to be a teacher/football coach. This shocked me but it showed his drive to do what makes him happy and successful. Also, George has a very kind personality and it is shown when he answer my question, "If you won a billion dollars right now, what is the first thing you would buy?" He very calmly answered, "Turf Fields for Norton High School." Of course like any human being he wanted it named after him and I believe that shows another side of him and how he can relate to others. He also answered my question, "Do you want to get married someday?" with a every common answer, "Do I want to...no. Will I...probably." This shows his attitude compared to everyone and how similar it is.
       After talking with George, he appears to me as a person who is satisfied with his situation and strives to make every day just a little bit better for everyone around him. Therefore, he is someone I can see many people looking up to as a leader and as a friend.