NOTES: Posting # 11

 

November 28, 2003

 

Research Message:  c) Why does gender discrimination in language use exist?  What do people get out of it?

 

Sub-task: forming a response: total time: 36 minutes

       

I first typed in “gender discrimination + uses” and came up with a bunch of sites about gender discrimination.  The one that I chose to write on was from the Feminist foundation Feminist Majority Foundation , which opened up a whole site of other types of discrimination related to gender, including sexual harassment.  From what I got from the site, sexual language is a form of discrimination that forms a sort of hierarchy, even if it’s not “correct”. 

         

Another site I found was http://www.ezresult.com/article/Gender_role, which goes into detail about the physical differences between male and females and also how that translates into stereotyping, which is something that gender discriminating language emphasizes.  Therefore I think that discrimination as a problem is something that probably won’t change, because languages uses differing conjugations of words (ex. Mucho and mucha is Espanol) to depict what is feminine or masculine.  That means language as we know it also much change to reflect the shift in attitude towards gender roles in general.

 

 

Affective:

 

This is the first time I sat down and looked at all the different types of discrimination in the world.  Living in Hawaii I am lucky because we do not suffer as much from discrimination (sexist or sex) as our cohorts on the mainland.  It doesn’t really bother me affectively because this is not an issue that I’m worried about.  The searching itself was easy, and there are many web sites about this topic, and any search would bring up pertinent information.

 

 

Comment Message: HOW COULD WE EDUCATE OR TRAIN PEOPLE REGARDING NOISE AS A SOICAL

PROBLEM.

 

 

I agree with Sean that people need to learn basic cell phone etiquette.  For example, something simple like taking another phone call while one the cell phone....why?! Just don't answer the other phone or call back your cell friend later.  what's the big problem?  Sometimes I see my mom talking on her cell and the home phone doing 2 business deals at the same time...doesn't she realize that she could lose both deals with one mistake?? 

And for us with the NEXTELS....I know it's not nice to broadcast your conversation from the speaker phone, but don't we all agree that you get used to it after a while?? And how much does it really bother others?? This topic made me ask that question....and start to be more aware of how I use my speaker phone.

 

Analysis:

 

This was a fun posting because the research went smoothly and quickly.  It only took me 5 minutes to do my comment message, and 35 for my first posting took so long because I really looked at all the different pages because there were so many of them.  Postings are coming to a close, and I think I might miss having to research.

 

 

 

NOTES: Posting # 12

December 4, 2003

 

Research Message: Coping with Noise (b) How widespread is the problem and the complaints?  How do people complain and what do they say?   What state of mind does it arouse in them…how does it affect health and quality of life.

 

I typed in “noise + complaints” in google.com and came out with this listing…. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=noise+%2B+complaints which lists everything from noise ordinances’ to aviation complaints.  I found that it is a major problem in big cities with large International Airports such as Miami, Los Angeles, Seattle…etc and also for people that live by air fields or military bases. 

 

Noise from “air pollution” which includes loud mufflers on cars, stereos, late night parties, air planes, boats, trains…etc is found in every city on every continent.  The only difference is that some societies are more adapted to their buzzing environment.  For example, Kaneohe Bay is home to the Marine Corps. And they have “maneuvers” and “war games” and involve them moving airplanes, jets, helicopters…etc for hours at a time at any time.  My parents have dealt with the noise coming from the base (they live on the bay), but when the base was going to up the amounts of flights equaling more noise, the community banded together and protested.  Other times with domestic noises they call the police and file a noise complaint, and then the police respond by showing up at the house with the noise and either break up the party or give them a warning. 

 

It affects the quality of life and health because some people may be sensitive to the motor sounds from the planes or helicopters.  For instance, my next door neighbor is a Vietnam Vet and for a while after he moved onto the bay, he would suffer from PTSD because the sounds of the helicopters above would cause him to duck under tables and beds…products of his two tours.  It also can lead to aggravation if the sounds from outside are louder than the TV in their living room.  My neighbor’s wife would turn up her TV to overpower the sound of construction…which led to a whole jumble of NOISE for my parents, who dealt with it by not being home during the “peak” hours.

 

 

Affective:

 

I started this positively and am getting more positive as the postings are coming to an end.  I like looking up the information, and even more so the fact that I’m not making many errors while searching for the information.

 

Comment Message:

 

This is in response to Aric's posting.  I looked at the website and found all the information about the steps the government is willing to take in Aus.  I agree with their methods because if they make it too expensive to get insurance coverage for "x" amount of tickets and stuff, people will wake up and slow down.  Anytime money is involved I believe the majority of the public will opt to follow the course that doesn't include paying more out of their pockets!!

 

Analysis:

 

It’s amazing how we can interpret information differently.  Some people think that giving more penalties isn’t going to solve the problems, but we aren’t really looking for a total solution, I think that’s too ambitious a task.  Instead, the governments should be looking at raising fines as a means to controlling how out of hand people get with their speed.  I swear, a $20 per mile over the speed limit fine is more problematic for the average Joe than the current $5 per mile over fine now.

 

 

NOTES: Posting # 13

December 4, 2003

 

Research Message:  Self-Confidence (b) What is the history of this topic in the literature?  How is this topic being discussed and by whom?

 

I typed in “self-confidence + history + literature” and came up with http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=self-confidence+%2B+history+%2B+literature&btnG=Google+Search which basically told me that in literature, the peoples’ ideals were reflected in the literature.  Such as the stories about African Americans and how the term “uncle tom” was coined in literature, and how it is used today.  I thought that this site : http://www.zaobao.com/bilingual/pages/bilingual110798.html which is basically a page for Chinese people in

 

Singapore that instills self-confidence in people via their heritage via stories.  This seems to be a topic that many minority groups are embracing because of the fact that literature, or words, has a way of illustrating pictures (can’t remember the actual term) in a different way that an actual picture would.

 

This topic is being discussed by scholars and those who are interested in perpetuating a culture or cultural idea that gain from literary exposure.

 

Affective:

 

I am very positive right now.  In fact, I’m dancing to my radio right now and feeling happy.  I think it’s because this is my last posting and then I’m done with this task….which started 13 weeks ago.  I learned a lot from using the computer so much to research and as a tool to narrow down searches and topics.  

 

Comment Message: (B): What is the history of gender discrimination in language use? Is it increasing 
          over time? What are the forces that keep it going?

 

   wow! great research.  I found the same things when I looked for my topic, but my web sites were mostly from
the feminist point of views, whom I suppose have the biggest "b*tch" with discrimination and language.  I
agree that using different words based on gender is b.s., but there is no way to stop it because the forces
that be are still promoting gender roles and descriptive language to fit the stereotypes.
 
Analysis:
 
   Now that the postings are finally done I feel as though I completed a triathlon.  The research itself was 
straight forward and the internet is a very useful tool for finding information.  This task has helped me 
become more aware of the vastness of topics that can stem from one single topic.  I say this is 
useful because as a college student I am assigned term papers which need to be specific in topic 
because of the length constraints.  Doing these postings allowed me to practice and exercise my honing 
and research skills to find the more concise topics available.

 

 

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