Why do we dream?

       Sleep is such a bizarre subject. We each spend about a third of our lives doing it, and it’s almost universally accepted as something we need to do in order to survive. But for some reason, no one really understands what it is or why we need it. When compared to other advancements in research and technology that our species has made, it becomes increasingly apparent that what we know about sleep and dreaming is close to nothing.

https://cunninlynguists.bandcamp.com/album/oneirology

       Dreaming is the prime example of a scientific field (also known as oneirology) that we still have a ridiculous amount to learn from, yet is vastly understudied. In case you don’t believe me, google the phrase, “best colleges for psychology.” Clicking on the first result will take you to a list, on which Stanford ranks number one. Yet, if you go to their primary web page about sleep research, you will find that it hasn’t been updated since 1999.
       So if that’s the case, then what do we know? Do dreams serve any definitive function or purpose? If no, then do they have any meaning at all?
       The short answer is a little underwhelming. Dreams have no meaning whatsoever, or at least, none that can be widely agreed upon. On the other hand, the long answer is much more interesting.
There are currently four main theories for the purpose of dreams, but none of them have sufficient research to back them up under intense scrutiny. That said, they each make a decent amount of sense, and none of them are completely unfounded.
       The first and least radical of which is that dreams do not serve as any kind of evolutionary benefit, and is sometimes referred to as the active unlearning idea. Under this model, dreams are simply a side effect of an unconscious brain state, where the entire body is running on a fraction of the power it usually runs on. During the waking state, the brain must adapt to an ever-changing environment where quick and logical thinking is necessary for survival. However, during sleep, there are no stimuli to respond to except for what comes from within our own bodies, random as they might be, resulting in what we perceive as dreams, or the lack thereof.
The second theory is that dreams are meant to maintain our state of sleep. Sleep is an opportunity for our bodies to heal themselves from the mental and physical wear that we experience during the day, which is extremely valuable. A recent study on rats determined that sleep deprivation actually slowed down the healing process of burns. In this theory, dreams serve as a distraction for the brain, effectively prevent sleep from being interrupted by external stimuli, such as loud noises or bright light.
The third and final theory, known as the cognitive theory for dreams, is that dreams happen so we can learn. NPR recently did a study on how people who play Tetris during the day will often find themselves dreaming about it at night. Then, they applied the same concept to lab rats, which concluded that when the rats were sent through several different mazes in a day, they would end up dreaming about solving new mazes during their REM sleep. In another study at UC Berkeley, researchers found that “During... REM sleep, our stress chemistry shuts down and the brain processes emotional experiences and takes the edge off difficult memories.” This could be the reason why people suffering with PTSD often have recurring nightmares of traumatic events; their brains are trying to solve the events like puzzles, trying over and over to solve them by approaching them from different angles. The idea that dreams are meant to help us learn from different experiences, such as Tetris, mazes, and trauma, goes by both the “Cognitive theory of dreams,” and “Oneiric darwinism,” but can colloquially be referred to as a sort of “Mental housekeeping.”
In my final blog post, I seek to explore the effects of sleep deprivation, and determine exactly how necessary sleep is, if at all, particularly for adolescents like myself who prefer to stay up late when possible, and can run just fine on a few hours of sleep.

Mercy for Animals goes undercover

How many of you purchase your chicken from Purdue or Tyson?  How many of you are able to get your chicken quite cheaply and on sale?  Did you ever wonder why chicken used to be a once a week meal saved for a Sunday rather than eaten everyday of the week?  Well, these are questions that I ask myself too.  These questions brought me to research how we are able to buy and sell chicken and all other meats so inexpensively. 

An animals rights activist company – Mercy for Animals ,went undercover last year to find out more truth about factory farming.  They visited maple lodge, one of Americas highest producing meat vendors and what they discovered was shocking. The graphic video they took shows the birds being frozen alive, scalded, violently shackled, and cut open while conscious and able to feel pain.



Take a look at some of their other investigations! 

Know where your meat comes from!  The largest producers offer the cheapest pricing.  These meats are a product of Factory Farming:  Mass production = Mass Mistreatment.  Is meat necessary at every meal?  Our parents and their parents ate meat in much smaller quantities with very minimal waste.  This is certainly something to consider when choosing meats and how much to eat.  Purchase only what you will consume.  And purchase from reputable organic local farms where you KNOW how the animals are cultivated.  Will it cost more?  Probably.  Will you feel better about your purchase?  Definitely. We know that mass production of meats fulfills a seemingly endless demand.  We know that in order to do this animals are put though particularly cruel and inhumane habitation to meet this need. We also know that, indeed, there are alternatives.  Most Americans choose to make the easiest choice.  But you don't have to. Less waste, frugal shopping and purchasing quality meats locally as our ancestors did, is a viable solution.  .  My last words of wisdom to you are:  Know what you are buying and what is put into these poor animals, and eventually into your body .  

Final Thoughts

Link

From both standpoints on should college athletes be paid, there are many different takes. Looking at opinions from a blog: Should College Athletes Be Paid?, some say that athletes shouldn't be paid but should be covered medically, another says they should be paid because they are the ones putting all of the work on the line, another might say who is going to pay them and what is an equal salary for everyone, and also someone will say which sports will be paid and what about women's sports, etc… Overall the point is there really is no exact right answer and that this is all really opinion and nobody can predict what will happen but can only predict the odds of what will happen.

My opinion on this take is that I think that athletes should be covered medically meaning that the athletes shouldn't be having to pay money out of their own pockets to cover their medical bills that have been caused because of playing the sport at the university. But for whether or not the athletes should be paid, I think that they should be paid. I think though that the only way it could work would be the big income making sport including football, basketball both men’s and women’s, and maybe even baseball. The reason why I think the other sports shouldn't really be paid because they don’t make as much revenue for the school and that it would just be wasting money on paying those athletes. You could even say that maybe it should be up to the university on which sports should be decided on being paid. I also think though that the athletes do not deserve millions of dollars but maybe just minimum wage or a little more because it wouldn't really even make close to 1% of the that programs revenue.

Religious Clothing Discrimination in the Workplace

   https://www.google.com  

         How would you feel if you walked into a clothing store and were automatically judged by something you wore for personal and religious reasons? One woman, Samantha Elauf was not your typical Abercrombie and Fitch sales associate, or even a “model.” She applied in 2008 for a job at Abercrombie in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Even though her application as a 17 year old happened seven years ago, the issue is still being fought out to this day.

   This case was brought to the Supreme Court, allowing the justices to weight the difficulties faced in employment, especially with religious minorities, “in particular women who cover their heads in public – against the rights of employers to avoid ‘undue hardship’ Their decision will hinge on a narrower question, however: Must the job applicant request a religious accommodation, or should the employer recognize the need for it?” Personally I think the employer should recognize the need for it. The hijab is a religious dress that is very important in Muslim culture. It represents Muslim women all over the world, and just because it does not fit the image Abercrombie is trying to maintain, then the stores should penalized for judging someone based on what they wear as religious freedom.

            Even though you think we would have evolved enough to not discriminate against people in a religious sense, “a study by the American Civil Liberties Union Women’s Rights Project found that 69% of women wearing hijabs have faced discrimination, compared with 29% of those not wearing such head scarfs” (Wolff). This is shocking that well over half women with hijabs, applying for jobs have faced discrimination, and those who don’t wear hijabs, still see discrimination in the work place.

If the justices rule against Abercrombie, the group says, "Employers will be forced to rely on stereotypes in order to ascertain an employee's or prospective employee's religion, which will lead to an increase in discrimination suits against employers." This is pretty much stating that if the ruling goes against Abercrombie, an increase in stereotypes will exist, causing more stereotype situations in job positions. The main question that is being asked in this scenario is that, should job applicants request a religious accommodation? Or should the employer just recognize the need for it? 

Abercrombie has seen an increase in different races joining their workforce, mainly because they faced a noteworthy defendant case. A lawsuit was settled that was brought by black, Hispanic, and Asian-American college students, that was settled for $40 million a decade ago. Abercrombie pledged diversity in its hiring. They claimed to have become less discriminatory, but Abercrombie will keep facing these issues if they just want to market to the idea of someone who is thin, young, white, good-looking, and has an Ivy League, preppy style.

            

My Point of View on Student Athletes

(https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAYQjB0&url=htt ps%3A%2F%2Fnicolematera.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F12%2F02%2Fstudent_athlete_balance%2F&ei=neddVcbaEtCqoQT0y4KQDw&bvm=bv.93990622,d.cGU&psig=AFQjCNEYhHitjWHBLkQR5Ds_xgKCamQcnw&ust=1432303907858260)

Student athletes are all around the world working hard not only for their grades, but for their sports as well. Being a student athlete can be very time consuming and the only way to stay on top of their game is working ahead of schedule. There are many different results that occur from being a student athlete such as the character traits, and the passion that are picked up along the road to success. In order to be a successful student athlete not only must a person be willing to spend a lot of time practicing, but that person must also be prepared for all of the obstacles that can come along the way such as; stress, character flaws, and even weak mental strength.

First, the most important thing to know about student athletes is that they are very busy people. Being a student athlete can be very difficult for people especially during school time knowing that they have to do both sports and class work (Cheung, 2002). In order to forget about these obstacles one must be willing to work for that extra hour or two every day after both school and athletics. In order to be a student athlete one must not be afraid to multitask and even procrastinate a little bit (Fuentes). Even though procrastination is bad it still happens to athletes no matter how hard they try to avoid it. Being an athlete means that a person is going to be busy for most of the day, and then afterwards that person is going to be really tired from both school and their sports. Athletes should really try to do their assignments from school, a week or two early so that they don’t have to rush and cause stress on themselves. Not only can the transition from going from high school to college be stressful, but also the fact that knowing that both the classes and the athletic competition are going to get harder as well. Student athletes must be prepared to avoid failing classes, and prepare for their season all at the same time (Brandon, 2010). If one can do all of this they are the definition of a student athlete and should be pretty successful in college.

Next, being a student athlete can bring a person a lot of stress causing them to lose concentration in both school and their sport (Wilson, 2000). Stress can be the one major problem that can cause a kid to not only quit their sport, but also drop out of school. Being a student athlete causes more stress than mostly any other reasoning for a student in college to have stress. When an athlete has a big game coming up and a big project due the day after, that will cause some stress. The only way that a student can avoid having this stress is finishing their homework a week earlier, so they have time to relax after the game. Stress can also cause an athlete to stop doing a sport for a little while and completely focus on school. Now there’s nothing wrong with doing that, but stopping a sport for a while will delay the growth of an athlete’s skill level (Fuentes).That little time off could be the determining factor of winning Conference or not for their team. It’s agreed that nobody wants to be that one athlete that ruins winning Conference just because they don’t plan ahead of schedule. If a person is on a team that has small numbers, that can be a big problem for that person and the team. Stay stress free and don’t be a procrastinator and you will be fine!

In addition to being stress free, an athlete must also have good quality characteristics so that they are looked upon as role models. When a student goes to college they will grow into the adult that they want to be in the future. Being in a sport can give that student some of the good characteristics that they may want to have in the future (Brandon, 2010). As it has been said by many people, “You need to work hard now to get, your positive results in the future.” Following this quote could cause a person to work hard to get those good qualities. Being an athlete gives you good leadership qualities because you are use to working with other people and telling them what to do (Fuentes). Athletes also tend to have good respect otherwise they would get punished in their sports, for disrespecting others. Everybody agrees that having to run for being disrespectful is definitely not worth it. Student athletes are respected by others because they realize how the athletes have to work hard and are always determined to succeed. Most student athletes are good leaders, have respect, and are very passionate about both school and sports!

Next, when you see a crowd of people following a person you know that they have to be some kind of an athlete. When a student athlete goes to school they right away are known to be the “popular”, group of people (Baack). Being an athlete causes you to be more social because you’re always conversing with your fellow athletes. Being a student athlete always give that effect of being popular and not being afraid to talk with others (Baack). Athletes usually seem to be the type of people that get along well with others in most situations. Being an athlete causes you to meet more people, which is the reason for why they are so popular. The average person is usually too scared to introduce themselves to someone new because they don’t want to make a fool out of themselves. Another reason why student athletes are crucial to the school is because they are mentally strong. Doing a sport like cross country, an athlete must learn to push themselves beyond the point of which they feel like they “hit a wall”. Once an athlete passes that wall they are already that much stronger mentally and then it makes everything else easier for them. Normal students don’t know how it feels to do something that difficult and manage it mentally without any problems. That’s why student athletes are crucial parts of the school, not only because they are strong mentally, but also because they can be used as role models by others.

In order to be a successful student athlete not only must a person be willing to spend a lot of time practicing, but that person must also be prepared for all of the obstacles that can come along the way such as; stress, injuries, and even lack of sleep. People can learn that student athletes must have the patience to balance school and their sports. Being an athlete can give a person the social life that everyone dreams of and can also give them a very strong sense of pride. All people have to do to change their life actions to be similar to an athlete is have the will to work hard and be prepared for some difficult time management. It’s alright for a person to fail in the process of doing something because if you don’t fail at least once you’re not doing something right; everyone fails and then learns how to fix that problem. Athletes also have the ability to respond quickly when there are abrupt situations, and people can learn how to do that too if they want to be similar to a student athlete.

Works Cited

Baack, E. (n.d.). The effects of being an athlete. Retrieved September 15, 2011, from Effects of being an athlte website: http://www.eslbee.com/effects_of_being_an_athlete.htm

Brandon. (2010, March 12). The Benefits fo being a student athlete. Retrieved September 15, 2011, from Sideline Chatter: http://gpsathletics.blogspot.com/2010/03/benefits-of-being-student-athlete.html

Cheung, G. (2002). Life as a Student Athlete. Retrieved September 15, 2011, from ecclectica: http://www.eccelectica.ca/issues/2002/3/cheung.asp

Fuentes, H. (n.d.). Being an athlete. Retrieved September 15, 2011, from Sun Star: http://www.sunstar.com.ph.baguio/opinion/fuentes-being-athelte

Wilson, G. (2000). Comparing Sources of stress in college student athletes and non-atheltes. Retrieved September 15, 2011, from Athletic Insight: http://www.athleticinsight.com/Vol7Iss1/StressAthletesNonathletes.htm

Homeless Families

In the united states homelessness is just rising and alongside that hunger education cost and unemployment all of which making it seem as if their are stuck in their crappy lives. According to an article for people at low paying jobs it is very difficult to buy and, if they managed to get one, keep the house. In fact according to an article from The Students Against Hunger organization says

source

“in West Virginia, the least expensive rental state in the country, a full-time wage earner would have to earn over $8.78/hour-$3 higher than the federal minimum wage-in order to afford a two bedroom apartment”. This shows single parents would have a hard time raising a family off such a low income. If you look around Hinsdale and our community there is a very little amount of people that earn this much a year. And how many of them are homeless? zero.

Home Security

Who is really homeless on the streets you may ask yourself. Mentally ill people? People who are disabled and are unable to work because of it? Or drug addicts? All of the above? What people typically fail to ask themselves is what could've happened that got them into that situation in the first place.

source

An unfortunately popular reason is post traumatic stress disorder that they've acquired from witnessing traumatic instances that hold them back from dealing with real world and everyday task. According to an article 12% of all homeless people are veterans and half of those people have a serious mental illness. Why should people who put their lives on the line just to have the same people they were protecting disregard them. People today especially just think that everyone on the streets must be scummy and really screwed up in life however thats not always the case.

Coachella Uses Media As Marketing Strategy

One of the most important strategies in marketing of a music festival is the media. Coachella is a great example of using extensive amounts of media to advertise theirs. Coachella is a six day event and about 80,000 people show up to hear the music and do activities around the festival. Coachella uses: website, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr, Foursquare, Mobile Apps, Email Newsletter, and RFID wristbands. The few tactics I thought they used best were to create a hashtag, creating an app, and making an Instagram.
In this generation the most time consuming, and distracting thing for teenagers is social media. Teenagers are on their phones 24-7 and most commonly checking their Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, so when they created an Instagram for millions of people to follow it is going to attract viewers with their huge amount of cool photos. From personal experience I haven't been able to go since it is in California, but I do follow their social media and can still sit in awe even though I am not able to go.
Another thing that this generation has had a lot of are hashtags. Hashtags are a type of label or media tab that allows ANYONE to hashtag what they wish. A simple step for Coachella's marketing company but simply putting one hashtag of Coachella out there is a great idea to attract customers. When around 80,000 people post photos of their amazing experience at the six day festival and hashtag #Coachella every one can see ALL of the posts that have #Coachella, which will be a lot. Seeing photos of peoples personal experience of the concert will help draw in people to go to the concert, because they will see how much fun they had. Coachella's multiple hashtags were among the top retweeted hashtags.
Last thing they did that was smart was create an app just for their festival. This app allows people who are their to use a digital map of the concert, check the line up, and people who have the app will receive several push notifications on their phones constantly reminding them of Coachella year round.
Coachella's several social media tactics have drawn in thousands of viewers to come see their music festival. When they create things for people to see even when they are not at the concert, it forces people to want to go to their festival. The most important tactics they used were creating an Instagram, creating a hashtag, making an app, and live streaming their show. Through their many tactics, they've worked.


http://www.exacttarget.com/blog/9-event-marketing-lessons-from-coachellas-social-media-strategy/

Process of a Music Festival

Interview with Brian Johannesen (Talent Buyer)

Purpose: How Music Festivals Get Put Together

What do you do for a living? 

I am a talent buyer with a company called Madison Entertainment. We book a large, 3-day music festival in Del Mar, California called KAABOO, as well as two music cruises, and over 20 live music venues. For KAABOO, we had a talent budget of over $8 million. This is the first year of the festival, and headliners will be No Doubt, Zac Brown Band, and The Killers.

Can you tell me about the process of picking and choosing bands?

You always want to think about your demographic, and how many people fit that demographic in your area. Who do we want coming to the festival and how many of them live here? Then you look at bands that those people will like. Most festivals center around a specific genre, like Country or Indie Rock or Metal. Once you know who you want to to come and how many there are in your area, you start looking at bands that those people will like, and how many of those people will come to see them. We look at the venues they have played in the area, the size of those venues, and how many people came to the show at what price? You start to gauge who you can rely on to bring people and who you can't.

For example, our mission with KAABOO was to create a comfortable festival environment that would appeal to everyone from soccer moms to teenagers. We wanted an experience where parents could bring their kids and they could expose each other to their favorite music. So we have bands that target a younger demographic, like Foster the People, or Young the Giant, as well as bands that target older music listeners like Counting Crows, or Bonnie Raitt, or Sheryl Crow. We think all the bands we have on the festival "fit" with each other, meaning if you like Sheryl Crow, you may also like Young the Giant. They don't sound similar, but they are close enough that people would want to see both.

How does a music festival get put together?

It starts with the money. Someone has to be willing to spend a LOT of money and hope that they can make it back. When I worked for Mission Creek Festival in Iowa City, that was started by my friends Tanner and Andre with just what they had in their bank accounts. They found some bands they could pay, got the venue, and had two nights at the same venue. They slowly grew that and this year, their 10th anniversary, they had over 100 bands and over 70 authors perform over 7 days in dozens of venues. That is one approach, and it moves very slow. The other is having a major investor, like KAABOO, who is willing to pay millions of dollars to have big names in a big city. Those festivals hit the ground running but still typically don't make a profit for at least 5 years. Coachella, for instance, had to take a year off after losing a bunch of money their first year in 1999. It is now one of the biggest festivals in the world.

About how long does it take to put together a music festival?

A long time. For the first year a major festival gets put on, probably around a year and a half to two years. It's difficult to find a venue, get the money together, and put a team together who can pull it off. There are a lot of legal issues as well, like getting a liquor license and permits if your festival is outside. Those things take time.

We started booking KAABOO last June, and we just finished, and the festival isn't until late September! AND, we are already booking next year's festival now, which won't be until September 2016. They take a very long time.

In your opinion, why have music festivals become so popular?

I think it is a few things. First, the value is great. You could pay $75 dollars for a cheap seat at any of KAABOO's three headliner's regular concerts, or you could pay $250 and see all three, along with 80 of your other favorite bands. The customer saves a lot of money and gets to see tons of bands that they like.

Second, festival's work really hard to create a fun environment. There is usually good food, fun activities, fun locations, and visually very stimulating. Just google pictures of Bonnaroo or Coachella or Firefly and they all look like a lot of fun. Plus, it's an excuse to be outside all day!

Third, it's a great thing to do with friends. Not everyone has the exact same taste in music, but usually you can find a few people who want to see a number of bands on a festival and all go together. It's a community building experience, or at least it should be, and it's like going on vacation.

Fourth, a lot of people go to festivals to discover new music that is similar to the bands they already like. So if you like The Killers, you may come to KAABOO to check out the other bands as well and possibly fall in love with Foster the People or Young the Giant. Then you can go home and tell your friends, "I saw this AMAZING band at KAABOO...." Or at least we hope you will :)

Anything else you want to add

Festivals are tricky business. They take a great team to pull off and it's really tough these days because there are SO MANY festivals you're competing with, and only so many bands. If you look at festivals across the country, you will see that a lot of the same bands play most of the festivals. For example, my new favorite musician in the world Sturgill Simpson is playing basically every festival. Coachella, Stagecoach, Bonnaroo, Governor's Ball, Newport Folk Festival, Austin City Limits, Sasquatch, you name it. So the difficulty in a festival is differentiating yours from all the other ones. Part of what we did for KAABOO was that the San Diego area didn't have a major festival, so we saw an opening there. We also feel like our festival is more high class than most. We won't have port-o-potties, and we'll have highly regarded chefs making the food, and we'll have an especially eclectic lineup, so hopefully we will stand out among the festivals generally aimed at kids your age, who don't care about port-o-potties or things like, i don't know, shade. 

In the next post I hope to answer the advertising strategies to get people so interested in certain festivals. 

Does Vinyl Really Sound Better?

Image Source: www.factmag.com

On the subject of sound and how musicians create it I decided to make a transition from musician to the listener and how people prefer different methods from others. It basically boils down to vinyl records, CDs and mp3 files. A lot of people swear by vinyl records and how they sound significantly better than CDs and mp3 files and this to an extent is true but a lot of people look over the aesthetic of the record itself, fine grooves that through precise engineering and static, produce such a full and warm sound. For me as a sound snob and a person who prefers vinyl over anything else, there is something about holding the physical record in your hands, the artwork on the sleeves and the process of dropping the needle and patiently awaiting the sound to fill the room that just feels so satisfying. I read an article on Pitchfork.com that said that “For one, a properly mastered CD is still capable of very good sound quality. But the other part of it is that the experience of listening to an LP involves a lot more than remastering and sound sources. There's the act of putting a record on, there is the comforting surface noise, there is the fact that LPs are beautiful objects and CDs have always looked like plastic office supplies. So enjoying what an LP has to offer is in no way contingent on convincing yourself that they necessarily sound better than CDs.” So basically in the end it all comes down to preference and what you like better CDs or vinyl. For me, when I like an album a lot and find myself playing it all the way through constantly, I buy a physical vinyl copy to listen to it more and to support the artist and say “hey I like your music, keep doing what you’re doing.”

Tux or Dress?

LGBT Prom what to wear what not to wear...

http://cdn.lgbtfeed.com/ContentFiles/lgbtfeed.com/Posts/b54c09fd-b495-46a5-9f22-7d2f7df058c5.jpeg_resized_.jpg

Summary:

In the article Prom Resource Kit, by GLAAD a media organization that strives to tackle tough issues, and promote dialogue on LGBT issues. This particular article discusses how LGBT students are affected by prom and what they have and have not been able to do in the past.

Important Passages:

• LGBT Students at Prom
• “Prom is an important ritual for teens everywhere, and many LGBT youth find new and exciting ways to make prom relevant to their lives and communities. New traditions include Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) members attending prom together, nominating LGBT friends for prom royalty, and volunteering for an inclusive prom planning committee. However, stories featuring LGBT students often focus on controversies connected to couples attending the dance together or responses to student dress. Though many students use clothing to express their personalities at prom, there is often an extensive amount of coverage devoted to what may be perceived by some as the unconventional clothing choices of LGBT youth. For example, a transgender young woman may wear a dress or a lesbian youth may plan to attend in a tuxedo.”
• Analysis
• I think clothing is a constant issue for those of the transgender community. A recent example, Bruce Jenner, who just officially announced his transition into becoming a woman faced tons of questions about his appearance, what will you be wearing from now on, who will do your makeup? Does it really matter? No. Just for Bruce Jenner, it shouldn’t affect students at these proms either it is their first amendment right to dress however they would like.
• The Emergence of Gay Prom
• “More and more LGBT community centers and youth organizations across the country are holding what are commonly referred to as “gay proms.” As during other proms, teens at these events dress up, go out to dinner, and pose for pictures. The only difference is that the participating students are allies or members of the LGBT community. Gay proms often draw youth from the local region instead of just one high school, providing an opportunity for diverse groups of LGBT students from different communities to come together and socialize. These alternative proms give youth an occasion to enjoy prom in a safe and supportive environment that affirms who they are.”
• Analysis
• I think the alternative proms are effective because they allow the students to be comfortable in their own skin and express themselves however they’d like. Some may argue that it is offensive for people to have “segregated proms” before they are able to join a real prom these allow them to become comfortable and develop how they want to portray themselves.
• High-Profile Stories
• “Several high-profile stories of LGBT youth at prom have gained national attention in recent years. Although these stories merit attention and consideration, please note they are not fully representative of the prom experiences of all LGBT students. Many of these stories have centered on students who have chosen to express their identities in non conforming ways and were met with resistance – and even anger - from administrators, teachers or parents.High-profile cases tend to center on the conflicts and occasional legal battles that may arise when LGBT couples are barred from attending prom together. In 2013, Missouri teen Stacy Dawson successfully challenged his school's discriminatory policy against same-sex couples at prom, while students and parents at a local Indiana high school received media attention for trying to create a prom that bans gay students from attending. These high-profile stories often set the tone for coverage of LGBT students at prom, and it is important that they include fair and balanced voices on LGBT issues.”
• Analysis
• Today there is a growing issue of the constitutionality of dress code and LGBT rights. In June, the Supreme Court will be hearing whether or not the case will be legal in all states along with that policies will be written on how schools will have to deal with school policy issues. These high profile stories are important in order to make students realize that they are just as equal as the next person and should be able to express themselves.

Further Research:

• I will conduct further research by myself in the summer when the supreme court case decision on whether or not same sex marriage is constitutional.

How does parenting pressure influence your life?

Many teens feel pressured throughout high school.  Parents often put pressure on us so that we succeed and we can be the best we can be.  In the article, Parental Pressure on Children, many different doctors and psychologist have found negative effects of parenting pressure on teens.  Many parents want their teen to grow up and become mature.  However, kids should be able to develop on their own time.  

According to Dr. Andrew Weil, of the University of Arizona Medical School, “behaving like a child is what helps your child foster creativity and imagination, and facing too much parental pressure can have lasting negative effects on your child”.  Letting kids grow is how they will eventually succeed.  Parenting pressure also affects people’s overall emotional levels.  Weil found “children are more likely to suffer from self-esteem issues and confidence problems if they feel that your parental pressure is too strong”.  Too much pressure can affect a child's overall performance and in the end make the teen feel weak and stressed.  Northern Illinois University education department gives the example of “when parents spend too much time pressuring their kid to perform well in school and sports, he or she might not get adequate sleep, which could affect his mood, his learning comprehension and his attitude”.  These negative attitudes and tendencies can make teens feel like they are not able to please their parents and eventually will struggle. Adults need to give children more freedom and less pressure so that they can learn to achieve things on their own and not feel like they let someone down when they fail.  They need to learn from their mistakes and apply them so that in the future they can get what they want.

In my community, parenting pressure is a real issue.  Many kids feel they need to be the best student, athlete, musician etc. in order to please their parents.  I find that this often times stresses out kids and many times the kids end up stressed out and quit trying.  Parents should definitely try to influence their child to be the best they can be but, they have to make sure how much pressure they are putting on them.  

What is it like if parents really do not care about your schooling?

The record label is dead: long live the record label

SOURCE: wordpress.com

                                               Are record labels necessary for artists?

As we saw in the last blog post, a record label is a major part of an artist or a bands success. They help fund them so they can get off their feet. But in this new day and age, new artists and bands are popping up everywhere and funding themselves independently. This leads some of us to ask, are record labels really that necessary anymore? This article from The Telegraph newspaper argues that record labels are still as important as ever.

First, record labels have refused to keep doing their main job which is developing new acts. This seems obvious but without the backing force of a huge label, many up and coming artists are not able to advertise themselves successfully. Once signed on to a record label, they experience much more popularity. This leads onto the next point which is that small independent labels or artists that choose not to get signed are not as skilled/do not have the funds available to put themselves out to big audiences. While putting music on the internet is very quick and easy and having to good recording equipment accessible to the public, sometimes artists are forced to take a step back so they don't run themselves into debt.

The second biggest reason is that despite the fact that times have changed, artists still strive to become signed to labels. They know it's their best option. It's much better to have, "...partners to support their professional careers." (Moore). Labels don't just promote artists, recently, labels are able to develop the relationship between an artist and their fan base. They can create deeper and engaging relationships between an audience and the performer which is becoming increasingly more popular. Also, labels have adapted to handle the long winded struggle with piracy. They now are able to provide audiences with free high quality streaming of the artist's content. 

I think that this article was really interesting because not all record labels are about making money. Some really are in it for the artist and the audience. I know one record I follow called Fueled By Ramen is able to promote their artists in such a way that the fans are able to connect more. This developing relationship is boosting sales for artists and helping them create a dedicated audience. All in all, record labels are really important to artists, although I do think that record labels should be making a bit less than the artist. While crucial for success, they are getting rich off of the artists' talent.

How Do We Exactly Make Decisions?

You will make decisions your entire life. Sometimes, they will be life changing, others may not even feel like decisions at all.

Plain and simple? No. Everyone's thought process is different. Everyone will make a different decision. You want to go to the movies or out to dinner? Or both? What will you have for dinner? What movie will you see? Will you pay $13 for a giant bucket of popcorn and another $7 for a large Coke?

Source: www.forbes.com

So movies, or dinner? Daniel Kahneman, a behavioral economist, and psychologist known for his work on the psychology of judgement and decision making, would argue that you must take in all proportions before making a decision, but I do not think he's taking about movies, or dinner.

An article from The New York Times, published by Jim Holt, an American philosopher, talks about Daniel Kahneman's views on making decisions.

One point he brings up is that people use an "anchoring effect," or are usually persuaded into making decisions based on irrational information. If someone asks if you want to try a cigarette, and you make the decision not to, the person who offered you that cigarette is most likely going to try to persuade you into smoking it, because it "makes you look cool" and "will help you calm down." These are just a few examples of the irrational information that Kahneman believes sway us into making decisions that may negatively affect us.

Holt also uses Kahneman's idea of "maximizing utility," or getting the most bang for our buck. You want to make a decision that will benefit you the most. Take the movie/dinner example again. Go to nice dinner and go see a cheap, $4 movie. Or, you can do both in the comfort of your own home, like prepare a nice dinner and watch a few different movies on Netflix. This, to me, actually seems more practical to me: no dressing up, no money spent, time alone, and there is more than one option in the comfort of your own home.

Whatever the case may be, some decisions are better made with rationality, but some may be made with your gut, such as relationships.

You never know what you're going to get into, in a relationship, no matter how long you know that person. Maybe rationalizing everything out in a relationship isn't the best. I would imagine you want some surprises. Not every relationship is perfect, just as every decision in not. But, even if it fails, you can learn from the mistakes made in previous relationships, and even decisions, and make the best for your future.

Saving These Beasts

After reading my first couple of blog posts you may be wondering, just how bad is poaching? If we hunt animals in America what is the difference if they do it in Africa?

http://www.awf.org/campaigns/poaching-infographic/

The difference is that in Africa it’s not a sport anymore. According to the African Wildlife Foundation, now it’s just pure and utter slaughter. The difference between the U.S. and Africa is that the U.S. hasn't killed 97.6% of the deer population. While in Africa, that is true for the Black Rhino. Not to mention that the Lion has become extinct in seven African countries. Or that the Grevy’s Zebra only has around 2,000 still alive. Or that the Mountain Gorilla is down to less than a thousand lives left. If you are wondering how the poachers are able to kill this many of the animals so quickly it is because it’s no longer hunting. Now it’s an assembly line type of processes so that they can mow them down and make the quick money. What these poacher do is they have automatic guns and rocket launchers to kill the animals in mass. You might think that the animals would have a chance to get away. However, the hunters also use night vision goggles and low flying helicopters to get one step ahead of the animals and create an absolutely unfair advantage.

Now it’s time that we start thinking solution. Do we legalize the poaching but heavily regulate the people on how often they can poach or how many animals is okay to kill? Or do we keep the traditional laws but instead of letting these people slaughter the animals setup posts and officers to watch over these animals. As I see it, we are running out of time to defend these animals and if we don’t act now it will most likely be too late. The most logical thing that I can think of is stricter policies. I believe that they have to start making examples of poachers since currently it is illegal to poach. They need to either defend them with force or show that these laws aren't to be messed around with. At one point Africa did send a task force to protect the African elephants. Unfortunately, they were overrun and murdered while on patrol. All this is saying is that Africa now needs to grow up and hand out legal action to the men and women involved in this terrible issue instead of sitting back and watching the damage that is currently being imposed on the wildlife in Africa.