Wednesday Assignment

Read each article noting the different perspectives of the author.

Write a three hundred word response to the readings discussing how ones position in the world shapes how he or she might feel about identity, society and culture.

I agree with James Nachtwey who says that photojournalism is a moral imperative and that photojournalist should be held to an ethical standard to accurately inform people on a global scale accurate representations of any catastrophes.  I understand there are some ethical questions about using extremely graphic photos of natural disaster, war, or poverty in photojournalism, but I believe that intention ultimately determine whether or not it should be considered ethical.  For example I would consider it ethical for a non-profit organization to use graphic photos in an effort to spread awareness about a certain catastrophe in an attempt to raise money and support for those being victimized.  However, I would think it unethical for a news organization to use graphic photos solely for profit maximization reasons.  I also acknowledge that it is hard for photos to accurately portray an event entirely because not only are they not a full representation of what is going on, but also, each person is going to have their subjective interpretation of the photo.  Because it will be impossible to objectively represent an event I also hold photojournalist to an ethical standard with their intentions once again.  I believe if they are genuinely trying to capture and unbiased representation of the event in an effort to spread awareness to the rest of the world then they are doing the right thing.   At the same time I believe it to be unethical for anyone who intentionally shows pictures they know are not reflective of what is going on.  This is why I don't really agree with embedded journalism because I believe the military will have a stronger incentive to spread unreflective images of war in an attempt to gain popular support from their nation, or for other political and militaristic reasons.  

Annotated Bibliography

"Social Phobia Not Same As Shyness Says Study Of US Teenagers." Medical News Today. 19 Oct. 2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/236227.php>.

This article differentiates the difference between shyness and true social anxiety. It explains that people jump to the conclusion that they have a serious social phobia just because they are just naturally shy. This has resulted in many people being improperly prescribed with social anxiety medication because the diagnoses was wrong in the first place.

Wednesday Assignment

It seems evident today that generation X, largely referred to as generation RX now, has become increasingly dependent on prescription medications for problems ranging from attention deficit disorder to social anxiety.  With the modern breakthroughs in medications, we now have to option to treat almost every psychological medical condition such as depression, anxiety, and inability to stay focused for extended periods of time.  However, is using medication as the primary solution to these problems the safest and most effective method, and what, if any, are the long term effects of using so many prescription drugs as the primary solution to different psychological problems.

I have found many sources relating to this topic that I believe will provide me with reliable statistics and empirical data that will be very beneficial in determining my position on whether we are indeed overmedicating the American youth.  The most relevant source I have found so far is an article from the Journal Psychotherapy Network titled, “The Myth of Overmedication.”  This article provides me with an abundance of sound empirical data relevant in conducting my study.  It has many statistics about the history of medication to American youth, and its new recent trends, as well as statistics about different psychological issues such as depression, attention deficit disorder, and anxiety, and the recent increase in diagnoses for them.  Another article I have found that I believe relevant to my research is an article from the St. Petersburg Times, titles “The economics of overmedication.”  This article relates to any potential economic incentives in overmedication the youth.  It provides me with large amounts of data about the enormous profits the corporations that manufacture these drugs are obtaining with the recent trends of increased medication as the primary solution to psychological disorders.  The last article I have read that I believe will be useful in conducting research for this paper is from, Kluwer Academic Publishers, titled, “Assessing Overmedication: Biology, Philosophy, and Common Sense.”  This article provides me with plenty of data about the potential long term implications and dangers of the overmedication of our youth. 

I believe to have a pretty solid grasp on my research paper so far but I definitely believe I will run in to some potential road blocks.  First of all, interpreting all the data from all the my sources.  Clearly there are many Journals, newspapers, and other articles available that have plenty of data on the subject, however, finding the most reliable sources is going to be an issue.  I have already found multiple articles with different perspectives on the topic with contradicting data, or data interpreted in different ways.  So it may be difficult for me to find purely unbiased sources that have interpreted the data fairly.  In order to deal with this problem, I will probably just read as many articles as possible, although not cite everyone in my paper, to find the general consensus on what people truly think about the topic.  

5 Sources

1)http://hw4sm7zh5k.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=HOUSING+BOOM&rft.jtitle=Forbes&rft.au=Kennth+L+Fisher&rft.date=2007-02-26&rft.issn=0015-6914&rft.volume=179&rft.issue=4&rft.spage=110&rft.externalDBID=FBR&rft.externalDocID=1214653111

Abstract:
For months now the debate has been over whether America will have a hard landing or soft landing, the answer hinging on how big 2007's housing disaster turns out to be. Well, there won't be any housing disaster. We won't have a landing at all, soft or hard. Right now the U.S. and global economies are both accelerating. You can see right through the housing crash story by looking at the prices of housing stocks. The market knows what the economic worrywarts do not, which is that the housing sector is already making a comeback. In the last six months housing stocks are up 24%, well ahead of the overall market. If housing were destined to fall apart in 2007 these stocks wouldn't be so strong now. Housing sales are up in the last few months, not down, and inventories are lower than six months ago. The market is accelerating, not landing. This is true not just in housing but also pretty much across the board.

Abstract

Housing markets in the US and Canada are similar in many respects, but each has fared quite differently since the onset of the financial crisis. A comparison of the two markets suggests that relaxed lending standards likely played a critical role in the US housing bust. Some observers blame monetary policy for lowering interest rates over 2002-2005, pushing up housing demand, increasing residential investment, and raising housing prices. In this view, the monetary-policy-induced housing boom set the stage for an inevitable housing bust. Canada and the US experienced significant increases in house prices and residential investment from 2000 to 2006, though prices in Canada appreciated more slowly. The Canada-US comparison suggests the low interest rate policy of the central banks in both countries contributed to the housing boom over 2001-2006 and that a relaxation of lending standards in the US was the critical factor in setting the stage for the housing bust.

2) http://hw4sm7zh5k.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Why+didn%27t+Canada%27s+housing+market+go+bust%3F&rft.jtitle=Economic+Commentary+%28Cleveland%29&rft.au=MacGee%2C+James&rft.date=2009-09-01&rft.pub=Federal+Reserve+Bank+of+Cleveland&rft.issn=0428-1276&rft.spage=1&rft.externalDBID=ECC&rft.externalDocID=216915077

Abstract

Housing markets in the US and Canada are similar in many respects, but each has fared quite differently since the onset of the financial crisis. A comparison of the two markets suggests that relaxed lending standards likely played a critical role in the US housing bust. Some observers blame monetary policy for lowering interest rates over 2002-2005, pushing up housing demand, increasing residential investment, and raising housing prices. In this view, the monetary-policy-induced housing boom set the stage for an inevitable housing bust. Canada and the US experienced significant increases in house prices and residential investment from 2000 to 2006, though prices in Canada appreciated more slowly. The Canada-US comparison suggests the low interest rate policy of the central banks in both countries contributed to the housing boom over 2001-2006 and that a relaxation of lending standards in the US was the critical factor in setting the stage for the housing bust.

3) http://hw4sm7zh5k.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Sluggish+housing+market+making+economists+jittery&rft.jtitle=New+Hampshire+Business+Review&rft.au=Bob+Sanders&rft.date=2007-12-21&rft.issn=0164-8152&rft.volume=29&rft.issue=28&rft.spage=1&rft.externalDBID=NHBR&rft.externalDocID=1422212751

Abstract

The injury - the scar across the economic landscape - is the deepening housing slump, sparked by the subprime loan crisis. Adjustable loans with teaser rates made to those with a questionable credit history were bundled and sold on the market to speculators so the mortgage company originating the loan didn't have to worry about it being paid back. The turndown couldn't have come at a worse time, with the paper mills shut down or shutting down, there also is less of a market for scrap wood, though that may be offset by the demand for wood-fired energy plants that are coming on line.

4)http://hw4sm7zh5k.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Short-Term+Own-Price+and+Spillover+Effects+of+Distressed+Residential+Properties%3A+The+Case+of+a+Housing+Crash&rft.jtitle=The+Journal+of+Real+Estate+Research&rft.au=Nasser+Daneshvary&rft.au=Terrence+M+Clauretie&rft.au=Ahmad+Kader&rft.date=2011-06-01&rft.issn=0896-5803&rft.volume=33&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=179&rft.externalDBID=JRR&rft.externalDocID=2431720631

Abstract

Most previous empirical studies of price spillover effects of foreclosure on no-default transactions are based on data from a stable housing-market period. This study uses transactions for 2008 from a housing market with a relatively large number of real estate owned (REO) sales / foreclosures. The overall results indicate that: (1) REO and in the process of foreclosure properties have the same spillover effects, but short sales do not produce a spillover effect; (2) models that control for the overall market trend produce smaller spillover effects; (3) the marginal effect of an REO is 1%; (4) the cumulative effects of multiple distressed neighbors can be as severe as 8%; and (5) excluding transactions of homes that were sold under distress from the sample increases the estimated marginal spillover effect to about 2% and the cumulative effects to about 21%

5) http://hw4sm7zh5k.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Housing+crashes+through+floor&rft.jtitle=Crain%27s+Chicago+Business&rft.au=Alby+Gallun&rft.date=2008-01-21&rft.issn=0149-6956&rft.volume=31&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=1&rft.externalDBID=CCHI&rft.externalDocID=1435704021

Abstract

The housing downturn, longer and deeper than most people expected, has rippled through the local economy, hitting businesses like Warrenville-based Neumann Homes Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, and USC Corp. of Chicago, which saw its third-quarter profit plunge 95% amid weak demand for its wallboard, a key residential construction material.

Ideas for Research Project

Who is responsible for the housing market crash in 2008?
Clearly many factors led to the housing market crash in 2008 that led to one America's worst economic down turn since the great depression.  Many people take different sides and point fingers at different political parties and leaders at the time and prior to the recession.  However, I believe the housing market crash was due to a multitude of complex factors that cannot be pinned on any individual political leader or party, but and accumulation of policies and economic progress over a long period of time.  Therefore, I want to research this topic, find what I believe to be the root cause or causes based on unbiased empirical data in order to formulate my argument.

Correlation between music tastes and behavior.
Clearly our society is divided into many sub cultures that have different tastes in music.  My goal would be to look at correlation between different music tastes certain subcultures have and their behavior.  For example, do subcultures that listen to more violent music behave more violently than those who listen to more relaxed music.  How does social status, intelligence, race, gender, religion influence the type of music one person chooses to listen to.  Is music a good indicator in peoples' behavior, or do they listen to that type of music because they had a certain personality type to begin with.

Ideas for Research Project

Who is responsible for the housing market crash?

How music elicits emotions.

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