Tag Archives: Culture

University of Texas at San Antonio study: Role culture plays in feeling sick

2 Mar

Medical News Today described health in What is good health?

Fast facts on health
Here are some key points about health. More detail is in the main article.
• Health can be defined as physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and as a resource for living a full life.
• It refers not only to the absence of disease, but the ability to recover and bounce back from illness and other problems.
• Factors for good health include genetics, the environment, relationships, and education.
• A healthful diet, exercise, screening for diseases, and coping strategies can all enhance a person’s health….

Types
Mental and physical health are the two most commonly discussed types of health. We also talk about “spiritual health,” “emotional health,” and “financial health,” among others. These have also been linked to lower stress levels and mental and physical wellbeing.
Physical health
In a person who experiences physical health, bodily functions are working at peak performance, due not only to a lack of disease, but also to regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and adequate rest. We receive treatment, when necessary, to maintain the balance.
Physical wellbeing involves pursuing a healthful lifestyle to decrease the risk of disease. Maintaining physical fitness, for example, can protect and develop the endurance of a person’s breathing and heart function, muscular strength, flexibility, and body composition.
Physical health and well-being also help reduce the risk of an injury or health issue. Examples include minimizing hazards in the workplace, practicing safe sex, practicing good hygiene, or avoiding the use of tobacco, alcohol, or illegal drugs.
Mental health
Mental health refers to a person’s emotional, social, and psychological wellbeing. Mental health is as important as physical health to a full, active lifestyle.
It is harder to define mental health than physical health, because, in many cases, diagnosis depends on the individual’s perception of their experience. With improvements in testing, however, some signs of some types of mental illness are now becoming “visible” in CT scans and genetic testing.
Mental health is not only the absence of depression, anxiety, or another disorder.
It also depends on the ability to:
• enjoy life
• bounce back after difficult experiences
• achieve balance
• adapt to adversity
• feel safe and secure
• achieve your potential
Physical and mental health are linked. If chronic illness affects a person’s ability to complete their regular tasks, this may lead to depression and stress, for example, due to money problems…. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/150999#types

University of Texas at  San Antonio studied the role culture played in an individual’s assessment of their health.

Science Daily reported in Role culture plays in feeling sick:

The physical and mental sensations we associate with feeling sick are a natural biological response to inflammation within the body. However, the strength and severity of these sensations go beyond biology and may be affected by gender, ethnicity and various social norms we’ve all internalized. These are the latest research findings, according to social scientists at UTSA, who have discovered a link between a person’s culture and how one classifies being ill.
Social scientists think that a person’s values may shape internal views on “socially appropriate sickness.” This has implications for how different individuals may take more action in dealing with illness rather than spreading further disease.
Eric Shattuck, a biological anthropologist with UTSA’s Institute for Health Disparities Research; sociology professor Thankam Sunil, who is director of the IHDR; and Xiaohe Xu, chair of UTSA’s Department of Sociology, found that sickness expression is affected by gender, income and cultural values.
Specifically, study participants who (1) earned less than the U.S. median household income, (2) claimed to be stoics with a high tolerance for pain or (3) had symptoms of depression were more likely to express being sick. In men with stronger family bonds, feeling sick was also more likely to be reported.
“It’s ironic. You think that being a stoic would mean that you are more likely to be reserved, but according to our survey, it has the opposite effect,” said Shattuck. “Stoics could own up to being ill as a bragging right and maintain a disease for longer than is necessary.”
According to the researchers, stoics — regardless of gender — and individuals with household incomes lower than $60,000 were more likely to claim being ill.
“In regard to lower income levels, perhaps those individuals were more likely to claim to have been sick because they didn’t necessarily have the means to seek medical attention and, therefore, symptoms became severe,” added Shattuck. “This perhaps made them remember the illness.”
The researchers also pointed that men with stronger family ties were more likely to report stronger sickness sensations over the past year.
“It could be that family support allows men to feel more cared for and therefore rely on that social safety net,” said Shattuck.
The researchers analyzed the self-reported surveys of 1,259 respondents who claimed to have been sick with influenza or the common cold in the past year. Participants were also asked to rate their current feelings of sickness from “not sick” to “severely sick” using a Likert-type scale in order to control for any possible compounding effect.
Sickness behavior, including lethargy, social withdrawal and appetite changes, is “one of the responses that all living creatures from ants to bees to humans seem to have in common. Yet socioeconomic and cultural norms play a part with us,” said Shattuck. “For example, other researchers have shown that the majority of individuals who work in many fields, including medicine, are often likely to show up to work while being sick. If you think about it, this is about work culture and it has consequences.”
The next step for the researchers is to repeat the study with individuals who are actively sick versus those that had to recall an illness. Areas of future investigation will explore how the severity of an illness affects reporting being sick…. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200302113312.htm

Citation:

Role culture plays in feeling sick
Date: March 2, 2020
Source: University of Texas at San Antonio
Summary:
Scientists think that a person’s values may shape views on ”socially appropriate sickness.” This has implications for how individuals may take more action in dealing with illness rather than spreading further disease. According to the researchers, stoics or individuals with incomes lower than $60,000 were more likely to claim being ill. People may be comfortable reporting being sick when it’s a common cold but questions arise with stigmatized infections, such as HIV and now coronavirus.

Journal Reference:
Eric C. Shattuck, Jessica K. Perrotte, Colton L. Daniels, Xiaohe Xu, Thankam S. Sunil. The Contribution of Sociocultural Factors in Shaping Self-Reported Sickness Behavior. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 2020; 14 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00004

Here is the press release from University of Texas at San Antonio:

MARCH 2, 2020

Researchers study role culture plays in feeling sick
by Milady Nazir, University of Texas at San Antonio

The physical and mental sensations we associate with feeling sick are a natural biological response to inflammation within the body. However, the strength and severity of these sensations go beyond biology and may be affected by gender, ethnicity and various social norms we’ve all internalized. These are the latest research findings, according to social scientists at UTSA, who have discovered a link between a person’s culture and how one classifies being ill.
Social scientists think that a person’s values may shape internal views on “socially appropriate sickness.” This has implications for how different individuals may take more action in dealing with illness rather than spreading further disease.
Eric Shattuck, a biological anthropologist with UTSA’s Institute for Health Disparities Research; sociology professor Thankam Sunil, who is director of the IHDR; and Xiaohe Xu, chair of UTSA’s Department of Sociology, found that sickness expression is affected by gender, income and cultural values.
Specifically, study participants who (1) earned less than the U.S. median household income, (2) claimed to be stoics with a high tolerance for pain or (3) had symptoms of depression were more likely to express being sick. In men with stronger family bonds, feeling sick was also more likely to be reported.
“It’s ironic. You think that being a stoic would mean that you are more likely to be reserved, but according to our survey, it has the opposite effect,” said Shattuck. “Stoics could own up to being ill as a bragging right and maintain a disease for longer than is necessary.”
According to the researchers, stoics—regardless of gender—and individuals with household incomes lower than $60,000 were more likely to claim being ill.
“In regard to lower income levels, perhaps those individuals were more likely to claim to have been sick because they didn’t necessarily have the means to seek medical attention and, therefore, symptoms became severe,” added Shattuck. “This perhaps made them remember the illness.”
The researchers also pointed that men with stronger family ties were more likely to report stronger sickness sensations over the past year.
“It could be that family support allows men to feel more cared for and therefore rely on that social safety net,” said Shattuck.
The researchers analyzed the self-reported surveys of 1,259 respondents who claimed to have been sick with influenza or the common cold in the past year. Participants were also asked to rate their current feelings of sickness from “not sick” to “severely sick” using a Likert-type scale in order to control for any possible compounding effect.
Sickness behavior, including lethargy, social withdrawal and appetite changes, is “one of the responses that all living creatures from ants to bees to humans seem to have in common. Yet socioeconomic and cultural norms play a part with us,” said Shattuck. “For example, other researchers have shown that the majority of individuals who work in many fields, including medicine, are often likely to show up to work while being sick. If you think about it, this is about work culture and it has consequences.”
The next step for the researchers is to repeat the study with individuals who are actively sick versus those that had to recall an illness. Areas of future investigation will explore how the severity of an illness affects reporting being sick.
“Maybe people are more comfortable reporting being sick when it’s a common cold,” Shattuck said, “but what about those stigmatized infections, such as HIV. What about the coronavirus? How are infectious diseases claimed using a cultural or economic lens?”
________________________________________
Explore further
Dry landscapes can increase disease transmission
________________________________________
More information: Eric C. Shattuck et al. The Contribution of Sociocultural Factors in Shaping Self-Reported Sickness Behavior, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience (2020). DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00004
Provided by University of Texas at San Antonio

More research should be aimed at why some folk have an illness, but display less severe symptoms.

The Medical News Today article, What to know about general adaptation syndrome points to a possible research direction:

General adaptation syndrome is a three-stage response that the body has to stress. But what do the different stages involve and what examples are there of GAS in action?
Stress is sometimes thought of as a mental pressure, but it also has a physical effect on the body. Understanding the stages the body goes through when exposed to stress helps people become more aware of these physical signs of stress when they occur….

The three stages of GAS are:
• alarm reaction
• resistance
• exhaustion
What happens within the body during each of these stages is explored below.

Alarm reaction stage

At the alarm reaction stage, a distress signal is sent to a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus enables the release of hormones called glucocorticoids.
Glucocorticoids trigger the release of adrenaline and cortisol, which is a stress hormone. The adrenaline gives a person a boost of energy. Their heart rate increases and their blood pressure rises. Meanwhile, blood sugar levels also go up.
These physiological changes are governed by a part of a person’s autonomic nervous system (ANS) called the sympathetic branch.
The alarm reaction stage of the GAS prepares a person to respond to the stressor they are experiencing. This is often known as a “fight or flight” response.

Resistance

During the resistance stage, the body tries to counteract the physiological changes that happened during the alarm reaction stage. The resistance stage is governed by a part of the ANS called the parasympathetic.
The parasympathetic branch of the ANS tries to return the body to normal by reducing the amount of cortisol produced. The heart rate and blood pressure begin to return to normal.
If the stressful situation comes to an end, during the resistance stage, the body will then return to normal.
However, if the stressor remains, the body will stay in a state of alert, and stress hormones continue to be produced.
This physical response can lead to a person struggling to concentrate and becoming irritable.

Exhaustion stage

After an extended period of stress, the body goes into the final stage of GAS, known as the exhaustion stage. At this stage, the body has depleted its energy resources by continually trying but failing to recover from the initial alarm reaction stage.

Once it reaches the exhaustion stage, a person’s body is no longer equipped to fight stress. They may experience:
• tiredness
• depression
• anxiety
• feeling unable to cope

If a person does not find ways to manage stress levels at this stage, they are at risk of developing stress-related health conditions…. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320172#the-three-stages-of-gas

An important research question is why some individuals are more resilient when dealing with illness?

Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com

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Michigan State University study: Life expectancy of black males and black names, 1802-1970

27 Mar

Jenna Goudreau of Business Insider wrote in 13 surprising ways your name affects your success:

If your name is easy to pronounce, people will favor you more….

In a New York University study, researchers found that people with easier-to-pronounce names often have higher-status positions at work. One of the psychologists, Adam Alter, explains to Wired, “When we can process a piece of information more easily, when it’s easier to comprehend, we come to like it more.” In a further study, Alter also found that companies with simpler names and ticker symbols tended to perform better in the stock market.

If your name is common, you are more likely to be hired….

In a Marquette University study, the researchers found evidence to suggest that names that were viewed as the least unique were more likable. People with common names were more likely to be hired, and those with rare names were least likely to be hired. That means that the Jameses, Marys, Johns, and Patricias of the world are in luck.

Uncommon names are associated with juvenile delinquency….

A 2009 study at Shippensburg University suggested that there’s a strong relationship between the popularity of one’s first name and juvenile criminal behavior. Researchers found that, regardless of race, young people with unpopular names were more likely to engage in criminal activity. The findings obviously don’t show that the unusual names caused the behavior, but merely show a link between the two things. And the researchers have some theories about their findings. “Adolescents with unpopular names may be more prone to crime because they are treated differently by their peers, making it more difficult for them to form relationships,” they write in a statement from the journal’s publisher. “Juveniles with unpopular names may also act out because they … dislike their names.”

If you have a white-sounding name, you’re more likely to get hired….

In one study cited by The Atlantic, white-sounding names like Emily Walsh and Greg Baker got nearly 50% more callbacks than candidates with black-sounding names like Lakisha Washington and Jamal Jones. Researchers determined that having a white-sounding name is worth as much as eight years of work experience.

If your last name is closer to the beginning of the alphabet, you could get into a better school….

For a study published in the Economics of Education Review, researchers studied the relationship between the position in the alphabet of more than 90,000 Czech students’ last names and their admission chances at competitive schools. They found that even though students with last names that were low in the alphabet tended to get higher test scores overall, among the students who applied to universities and were on the margins of getting admitted or not, those with last names that were close to the top of the alphabet were more likely to be admitted.

If your last name is closer to the end of the alphabet, you’re more likely to be an impulse spender…

According to one study, people with last names such as Yardley or Zabar may be more susceptible to promotional strategies like limited-time offers. The authors speculate that spending your childhood at the end of the roll call may make you want to jump on offers before you miss the chance.

Using your middle initial makes people think you’re smarter and more competent….

According to research published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, using a middle initial increases people’s perceptions of your intellectual capacity and performance. In one study, students were asked to rate an essay with one of four styles of author names. Not only did the authors with a middle initial receive top marks, but the one with the most initials, David F.P.R. Clark, received the best reviews.

You are more likely to work in a company that matches your initials….

Since we identify with our names, we prefer things that are similar to them. In a Ghent University study, researchers found that people are more likely to work for companies matching their own initials. For example, Brian Ingborg might work for Business Insider. The rarer the initials, the more likely people were to work for companies with names similar to their own.

If your name sounds noble, you are more likely to work in a high-ranking position….

In a European study, researchers studied German names and ranks within companies. Those with last names such as Kaiser (“emperor”) or König (“king”) were in more managerial positions than those with last names that referred to common occupations, such as Koch (“cook”) or Bauer (“farmer”). This could be the result of associative reasoning, a psychological theory describing a type of thinking in which people automatically link emotions and previous knowledge with similar words or phrases.

If you are a boy with a girl’s name, you could be more likely to be suspended from school….

For his 2005 study, University of Florida economics professor David Figlio studied a large Florida school district from 1996 to 2000 and found that boys with names most commonly given to girls misbehaved more in middle school and were more likely to disrupt their peers. He also found that their behavioral problems were linked with increased disciplinary problems and lower test scores.

If you are a woman with a gender-neutral name, you may be more likely to succeed in certain fields….

According to The Atlantic, in male-dominated fields such as engineering and law, women with gender-neutral names may be more successful. One study found that women with “masculine names” like Leslie, Jan, or Cameron tended to be more successful in legal careers.

Men with shorter first names are overrepresented in the c-suite.

In 2011, LinkedIn analyzed more than 100 million user profiles to find out which names are most associated with the CEO position. The most common names for men were short, often one-syllable names like Bob, Jack, and Bruce. A name specialist speculates that men in power may use nicknames to offer a sense of friendliness and openness.

Women at the top are more likely to use their full names….

In the same study, LinkedIn researchers found that the most common names of female CEOs include Deborah, Cynthia, and Carolyn. Unlike the men, women may use their full names in an attempt to project professionalism and gravitas, according to the report. …                                                http://www.businessinsider.com/how-your-name-affects-your-success-2015-8

A Michigan State University study finds that the names of Black males affect their life expectancy.

Science Daily reported in What’s in a name? In some cases, longer life:

Black men with historically distinctive black names such as Elijah and Moses lived a year longer, on average, than other black men, according to new research examining 3 million death certificates from 1802 to 1970.

The study, co-authored by Michigan State University economist Lisa D. Cook, is one of the first to find benefits of having a racially distinctive name. Other studies that looked at current black names such as Jamal and Lakisha suggest that having these modern-day monikers leads to discrimination.

“A number of studies indicate that modern black names can act as a burden, whereas our findings show that historical black names conveyed a large advantage over a person’s lifetime,” said Cook, associate professor in MSU’s Department of Economics and James Madison College.

Using historical death certificate data from four states — Alabama, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina — the researchers previously established the existence of a set of distinctive names given to black men, mainly in the early 20th century. The names range from Abraham to Booker to Isaac.

The current study examined mortality rates among men with those names. It found that having a distinctive black name added more than one year of life relative to other black males. The researchers ruled out socioeconomic and environmental factors such as single-parent households, education and occupation.

“A whole additional year on their lives, in mortality terms, is remarkable,” Cook said. “Even a third of a year is significant.”

Many of the distinctive names come from the Bible and possibly denote empowerment. Cook, who has five generations of Baptist ministers in her family, said one theory is that men with these Old Testament names may have been held to a higher standard in academic and other activities, even implicitly, and had stronger family, church or community ties. These stronger social networks could help a person weather negative events throughout life….              https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160326105659.htm

Citation:

What’s in a name? In some cases, longer life

Date:            March 26, 2016

Source:        Michigan State University

Summary:

Black men with historically distinctive black names such as Elijah and Moses lived a year longer, on average, than other black men, according to new research examining 3 million death certificates from 1802 to 1970.

Journal Reference:

  1. Lisa D. Cook, Trevon D. Logan, John M. Parman. The mortality consequences of distinctively black names. Explorations in Economic History, 2016; 59: 114 DOI: 10.1016/j.eeh.2015.10.001

Here is the press release from Michigan State University:
Top > Psychology > What’s in a Name? in… >

What’s in a Name? in Some Cases, Longer Life

Published: March 26, 2016.
Released by Michigan State University

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Black men with historically distinctive black names such as Elijah and Moses lived a year longer, on average, than other black men, according to new research examining 3 million death certificates from 1802 to 1970.

These are distinctive black names in the past and present. Credit: Michigan State University
This charts shows the life expectancy of black males and black names, 1802-1970. Credit: Michigan State University

The study, co-authored by Michigan State University economist Lisa D. Cook, is one of the first to find benefits of having a racially distinctive name. Other studies that looked at current black names such as Jamal and Lakisha suggest that having these modern-day monikers leads to discrimination.

“A number of studies indicate that modern black names can act as a burden, whereas our findings show that historical black names conveyed a large advantage over a person’s lifetime,” said Cook, associate professor in MSU’s Department of Economics and James Madison College.

Using historical death certificate data from four states – Alabama, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina – the researchers previously established the existence of a set of distinctive names given to black men, mainly in the early 20th century. The names range from Abraham to Booker to Isaac.

The current study examined mortality rates among men with those names. It found that having a distinctive black name added more than one year of life relative to other black males. The researchers ruled out socioeconomic and environmental factors such as single-parent households, education and occupation.

“A whole additional year on their lives, in mortality terms, is remarkable,” Cook said. “Even a third of a year is significant.”

Many of the distinctive names come from the Bible and possibly denote empowerment. Cook, who has five generations of Baptist ministers in her family, said one theory is that men with these Old Testament names may have been held to a higher standard in academic and other activities, even implicitly, and had stronger family, church or community ties. These stronger social networks could help a person weather negative events throughout life.

“I think the teachers in these one-room schoolhouses – teachers who also taught Sunday school – probably placed implicit expectations on students with these distinctive names,” Cook said. “And I think that gave them a status that they otherwise would not have had.”

On the contrary, previous research has found that having distinctive modern names such as Tremayne and Tanisha has led to discrimination among job applicants, college students seeking mentors and researchers seeking federal funding. Researchers in the United States, Britain and elsewhere have studied the issue.

“When people see a name that’s foreign or strange to them in their profession, implicitly they shut down, as these studies have shown,” Cook said. “Then there is an extra layer of bias suggesting that this is possibly a female, poor or somehow unqualified candidate. Research has found that in the United States it’s associated with racial discrimination and in Britain it’s associated with class discrimination.”

The above story is based on materials provided by Michigan State University.

See, Top 20 ‘Whitest’ and ‘Blackest’ Names      http://abcnews.go.com/2020/top-20-whitest-blackest-names/story?id=2470131

Moi wrote in Black people MUST develop a culture of success: Michigan State revokes a football scholarship because of raunchy rap video.

The question must be asked, who is responsible for MY or YOUR life choices? Let’s get real, certain Asian cultures kick the collective butts of the rest of Americans. Why? It’s not rocket science. These cultures embrace success traits of hard work, respect for education, strong families, and a reverence for success and successful people. Contrast the culture of success with the norms of hip-hop and rap oppositional culture. See, Hip-hop’s Dangerous Values
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1107107/posts and Hip-Hop and rap represent destructive life choices: How low can this genre sink? https://drwilda.com/2013/05/01/hip-hop-and-rap-represent-destructive-life-choices-how-low-can-this-genre-sink/    Resources:

Culture of Success
http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/culture-success

How Do Asian Students Get to the Top of the Class?
http://www.greatschools.org/parenting/teaching-values/481-parenting-students-to-the-top.gs

Related:

Is there a model minority?
https://drwilda.com/2012/06/23/is-there-a-model-minority/

Where information leads to Hope. © Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART©
https://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda Reviews ©
http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda ©
https://drwilda.com/

 

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The 08/25/13 Joy Jar

25 Aug

The #8 bus winds through Seattle and tells one a lot about the evolution of Seattle. Depending upon your perspective, it either starts at Seattle Center where the Space Needle is located and ends at Rainier Beach or starts at Rainier Beach and ends at Seattle Center. Along the way it goes through Southeast Seattle which is probably one of the most diverse areas in the country through neighborhoods who are now gentrifying along the back of Capital Hill to Seattle Center. Young people tend to display what a culture thinks is beautiful or hip. It is interesting that one observes that there is a cultural perspective to what is seen as beautiful. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is the many facets of beauty.

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
Confucius

Of life’s two chief prizes, beauty and truth, I found the first in a loving heart and the second in a laborer’s hand.
Khalil Gibran

A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.
John Keats

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.
Anne Frank

Beauty has a lot to do with character.
Kevyn Aucoin

Beauty is not caused. It is.
Emily Dickinson

There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.
Maria Mitchell

Beauty is indeed a good gift of God; but that the good may not think it a great good, God dispenses it even to the wicked.
Saint Augustine

Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them.
David Hume

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The 06/09/13 Joy Jar

9 Jun

 

Moi will be going to the ’30 Years of Japanese Fashion’ exhibit at Seattle Art Museum at the end of the month. To beef up her fashion chops moi went to the movie, ‘Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorfs’ which was a hoot and really showed the creativity of high fashion and those famous windows at Bergdorfs. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is the creativity of high fashion.

“I think there is beauty in everything. What ‘normal’ people would perceive as ugly, I can usually see something of beauty in it.”

Alexander McQueen

“The only real elegance is in the mind; if you’ve got that, the rest really comes from it.”

Diana Vreeland

“Fashions fade, style is eternal.”

Yves Saint-Laurent

“Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way you live.”

Gianni Versace

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”

Coco Chanel

“Elegance is the only beauty that never fades.”

Audrey Hepburn

“I have always believed that fashion was not only to make women more beautiful, but also to reassure them, give them confidence.”

Yves Saint Laurent

“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.”
Oscar Wilde

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The 03/08/13 Joy Jar

7 Mar

Moi comments on the culture, so she not only watches a lot of PBS, she watches soaps, Maury, game shows, cooking shows, and whatever catches her attention as she is flipping through the channels. One only really gets a sense a culture if one spends a great deal of time in and about the culture, television is often artificial reality. Still, television is like a kaleidoscope with many facets, both good and not so good. The television is one way moi gathers information. Today’s deposit in the ‘Joy Jar’ is television.

When you’re young, you look at television and think, there’s a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that’s not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want.
Steve Jobs

With any child entering adolescence, one hunts for signs of health, is desperate for the smallest indication that the child’s problems will never be important enough for a television movie.
Nora Ephron

If the education of our kids comes from radio, television, newspapers – if that’s where they get most of their knowledge from, and not from the schools, then the powers that be are definitely in charge, because they own all those outlets.
Maynard James Keenan

Television has brought back murder into the home – where it belongs.
Alfred Hitchcock

I think the part of media that romanticizes criminal behavior, things that a person will say against women, profanity, being gangster, having multiple children with multiple men and women and not wanting to is prevalent. When you look at the majority of shows on television they placate that kind of behavior.
Bill Cosby

I read in the newspapers they are going to have 30 minutes of intellectual stuff on television every Monday from 7:30 to 8. to educate America. They couldn’t educate America if they started at 6:30.
Groucho Marx

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The 01/02/13 ‘Joy Jar’

1 Jan

The ‘Joy Jar’ is a year-long exercise based upon the proposition that one can choose to have a good attitude no matter one’s circumstance or whatever events life throws at a person. As many athletes play through pain, a successful attitude means that one plays through feelings and circumstances. Today’s deposit in the ‘Joy Jar’ is wisdom.

Proverbs 16:16  “How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!”

I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life. I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life.” I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Maya Angelou

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.
Confucius

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
Nelson Mandela

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.
William James

Be happy. It’s one way of being wise.
Sidonie Gabrielle Colette

Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment.
Lao Tzu

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It’s the culture and the values, stupid

4 Nov

James Carville once said, “it’s the economy, stupid” when describing the key campaign issue in an election. Moi wants to paraphrase, “it’s the culture and the values, stupid.” Felicity A. Morse of Huffington Post UK has posted the following article, Facebook: Children Young As Seven ‘Addicted To Social Networking’ which makes one wonder about the state of families.

Around 50% of seven to 12-year-olds use Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites every day, according to a survey by consumer analysts Mintel.

For one million of these youngsters joining Facebook is viewed as a “rite of passage” and “an absolute must-have” according to the researchers. Only 5% of the youngsters surveyed didn’t use the site.

Peer pressure persuades kids where they go online, as nearly two-thirds of seven to twelve year-olds choose how to communicate depending on what sites their friends visit.
Twitter and Club Penguin rate the most highly after Facebook, though only 9% use Disney’s ‘social community’ every day.

Girls are most likely to fall victim to the pressures associated with social networking sites, with two thirds of those who value their mobile phone as a prized possession being female. Less than half of the boys surveyed gave the same result.

There’s similar trends for Facebook usage, with 10 to 12-year-old girls being the group most likely to use the site every day.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/11/03/facebook-twitter-addiction_n_1073252.html?ref=education&ir=Education

It is important for families to connect with each by participating in activities like family dinners and gasp, actually talking to each other.

Every week in the Seattle Stranger there is a column I, Anonymous , which gives one reader the chance to rant anonymously about any topic or person that has provoked such a reaction that venting and a good old fashion rant is necessary. Sometimes, the rants are poetic or touching. Most of the time, they are just plain hilarious. This is a recent rant, which is from a teacher, not an educator

I say hello with a big smile every morning as you shuffle in the door, but I secretly seethe with hatred for almost each and every one of you. Your stupidity and willful ignorance know no bounds. I have seen a lot of morons in my 10 years of teaching high school, but you guys take the cake. Your intellectual curiosity is nonexistent, your critical thinking skills are on par with that of a head trauma victim, and for a group of people who have never accomplished anything in their lives, you sure have a magnified sense of entitlement. I often wonder if your parents still wipe your asses for you, because you certainly don’t seem to be able to do anything on your own.
A handful of you are nice, sweet kids. That small group will go on and live a joyful and intellectual life filled with love, adventure, and discovery. The vast majority of you useless fuckwits will waste your life and follow in the footsteps of your equally pathetic parents. Enjoy your future of wage slavery and lower-middle-class banality.
Amazing how teachers are blamed for the state of education in this country. Look what you give us to work with. I am done trying to teach the unteachable.

Moi doesn’t blame most teachers for the state of education in this country, but puts the blame on the culture and the unprepared and disengaged parents that culture has produced. Moi also blames a culture of moral relativism as well which says there really are no preferred options. There are no boundaries, I can do what I feel is right for ME.

Moi is a “bus chick.” My principle mode of transport is the bus. On a recent adventure, I had just finished grocery shopping and had a bunch of bags. I was waiting at the corner for the light to change and the walk sign to come on. A disheveled man slowly staggered across the street and the stench, which enveloped him, preceded him.  The light was green and he was crossing the street. Cars stopped and honked their horns, but he was oblivious. He got across the street to my corner. The walk sign came on and I crossed the street to catch my bus. The bus was there and the driver had all the doors and windows open. It was raining, but the driver said I could board early. He explained that one prior passenger had some “issues.” I told him that I had encountered that passenger. We began a conversation while waiting for the bus to depart.  

I told him I had seen the man crossing the street and I wondered what his story was. All children start life with so much promise, I said. At some point in the conservation, we started talking about families and he said let me tell you about my family and he did. I listened.

He has been living with a woman for several years and there is no thought of ever marrying.  He has four sons, the youngest is 19 years old. The older ones are sort of doing OK. The younger one had lived with him and his girlfriend for a while, but he didn’t take to school and didn’t want to study. His girlfriend didn’t want to be a “hall monitor” and there were personality differences between the girlfriend and the son. So, the son moved out and is living elsewhere, but his life is troubled. The girlfriend was married to a very abusive guy and she left him. She has four children, the oldest is 33 and has been depressed her whole life. She had a bout with meth and is currently taking a buffet of antidepressants. She has two children, a ten year old and a two year old. The ten year old’s father said he never wanted children and this woman had him to keep the father in the relationship. Of course he bolted and is a sporadic interference in the life of this child. The 10 year old has problems and for a time the girlfriend had sole custody because mom was such a druggie.  The two year old is a girl and mom is still breastfeeding her. Since she takes a buffet of antidepressants, the child is getting the drug cocktail through the breast milk.  This little girl is slow and does not have the speech that one would expect of a two year old.

The girlfriend’s other three children are not fairing much better. The 33 year old was kinda conceived to hold the girlfriend’s first marriage together. That obviously didn’t work. The girlfriend’s first husband had an affair and a baby outside that marriage. So, to patch things up, the first husband agreed to let her have the second daughter. She isn’t doing so well, either. The other two children were in his words, “mistakes.” The girlfriend’s youngest child is a 16 year old with extreme anger issues. The driver mentioned he slapped the kid when he tried to hit the girlfriend. They got into an argument about the kid slapping her. According to the driver, the kid routinely calls his mother slut and whore. He says he will let that pass, but if he tries to hit his girlfriend, he will intervene again.

Thankfully, it was time for the bus to leave and some other passengers came aboard. When I got to my stop, I thanked the driver for the ride and sent Blessings to his family.
Moi knows that many want to define a family in many different ways, but a true family offers children a sense of continuity, stability, and security. Many modern couplings are transitory and the number of partners cycling through children’s lives in these serial relationships can sometimes be staggering. Many who rail against the children in the education system and their perceived deficiencies ought to ask themselves if you promoted the cultural and societal values which produced them.

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

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