During Google101 I learned about how you are able to limit your searches by using the "search tools" option I never noticed before. It lets you limit by post date, location, site options. I never knew that existed. I also learned about the "more" tab. I had seen it and clicked on it before, but never really paid much attention to it after one glance over. Seeing the "more" option in the more tab is great, because it allows for different search options and specific fields as well.
I definitely have a new appreciation towards Google searches. I mean, I used to before all the time, but it was always for more "mundane" uses rather than academic or scholarly ones. It is cool to know that Google isn't such a bad option to use if looking for scholarly articles or government documents. I also really enjoy the "blog search" feature.
I definitely will be using the whole "Blog search" tool more often, to find blogs for academic purposes and personal reading interests. It is cool to know that I can limit my searches by post dates and types of sites as well, for both academic and personal reasons. I will be using Google for more school work that I have in the future as well as how I used it in my current papers and research assignments for the class.
Learning about search strings was very interesting as it has helped me focus and be better and finding articles relevant to my topics. I am able to use Academic Search Premier more confidently and efficiently.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Original Research
I'll first start out by saying that I much prefer doing Library research compared to Original Research. That being said, yes, I have indeed done my own original research. Mainly for some of my college research papers, It was mainly collecting quantitative data. The difference between Original research and Library research is that when doing Original research one goes out into the "field" so to say, and collects data and information on their own. They themselves in turn become the "expert." Library research can help original research in a few ways. One might be that it can be used as a guide for finding similar information, or to try and update some out of date quantitative data. It can also be used as a way to figure out what is currently missing, some sort of point of view or data that still needs to be collected to further examine or delve into a subject. Another way Library research can help original research is as an outline on how to format or present original research in an understandable and clear way.
Some pros to Library research is that, depending on the publishing date, the article one might be reading has been reviewed and commented on and perhaps even updated or revamped, expanded upon, et cetera, by scholarly peers. You assume that the author presenting the information is an "expert" and therefore the information can be trusted to a point; cross examination should always be done of course. The information is easily accessible and at your fingertips, you don't have to go find it.
Some cons to Library research is that, in fact, the person publishing an article could have very little experience with the topic and their information could be suspect. NOT all scholarly articles are created equal. Some really bad articles can somehow be published. You aren't out and collecting the information on your own and miss out on the "fun" experience. Certain information you might need may not be easy to find or it just hasn't be published or "found" yet.
For critical thinking skills involved in both types of research, probably all of them to be honest. They all would play a part on some level. Interpretation, Analysis, Inference, Evaluation, Explanation, and Self-Regulation all of them would be needed for these types of research. As for Original research, I think that Inference and Evaluation might be the most important in this research. You need to evaluate and access the credibility of the information that you have collected. With inference you need to draw reasonable conclusions with the "evaluated' information you have gathered, to form hypotheses and whatnot. So I would say those would be pretty key in Original Research. As for Library Research, I think that Interpretation would be a good one, as you need to comprehend and express the data you have found from others research, to be able to organize it and clarify it for whomever you are presenting to or having read your information.
Some pros to Library research is that, depending on the publishing date, the article one might be reading has been reviewed and commented on and perhaps even updated or revamped, expanded upon, et cetera, by scholarly peers. You assume that the author presenting the information is an "expert" and therefore the information can be trusted to a point; cross examination should always be done of course. The information is easily accessible and at your fingertips, you don't have to go find it.
Some cons to Library research is that, in fact, the person publishing an article could have very little experience with the topic and their information could be suspect. NOT all scholarly articles are created equal. Some really bad articles can somehow be published. You aren't out and collecting the information on your own and miss out on the "fun" experience. Certain information you might need may not be easy to find or it just hasn't be published or "found" yet.
For critical thinking skills involved in both types of research, probably all of them to be honest. They all would play a part on some level. Interpretation, Analysis, Inference, Evaluation, Explanation, and Self-Regulation all of them would be needed for these types of research. As for Original research, I think that Inference and Evaluation might be the most important in this research. You need to evaluate and access the credibility of the information that you have collected. With inference you need to draw reasonable conclusions with the "evaluated' information you have gathered, to form hypotheses and whatnot. So I would say those would be pretty key in Original Research. As for Library Research, I think that Interpretation would be a good one, as you need to comprehend and express the data you have found from others research, to be able to organize it and clarify it for whomever you are presenting to or having read your information.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Assignment # 19
Code of Federal
Regulations, (2008). Prostitution and commercialized vice (AE
2.106/3:22/). Retrieved from website:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2008-title22-vol1/pdf/CFR-2008-title22-vol1-sec40-24.pdf
Weitzer, R. (2010). The Movement to Criminalize Sex Work
in the United States. Journal Of Law & Society, 37(1), 61-84.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-6478.2010.00495.x
Ok, so I had a really hard time with this blog assignment because finding a government document that was solely about Prostitution and not Sex-trafficking was rather hard. Actually, I don't even think I really managed with the one document that I was able to get. As I read through it, it was more centered on illegal aliens engaging in prostitution, or those who were coming to the country solely for prostitution work. It didn't seem to give me any real statistics, but I was desperate for any type of document that had to do with prostitution. It defined prostitution as this though: "The term prostitution means engaging in promiscuous sexual intercourse for hire. A finding that an alien has "engaged" in prostitution must be based on elements of continuity and regularity, indicating a patter of behavior or deliberate course of conduct entered into primarily for financial gain or for other considerations of material value as distinguished from the commission of casual or isolated acts." Wordy, lengthy and a bit hard to understand, the document also doesn't really mention why it is stating this information, though i think it was basically so that someone could read and go through the federal regulations, or have it accessible to those who would need it.
As for my article, it also has a lot to do with sex-trafficking, but it does focus more on prostitution and the criminalization/demonetization of such practices by moral crusades. It was an interesting perspective to read. The statistical information I got from it was that in November 2008, residents of San Fransisco, California voted on a ballot that would make the criminalization of prostitution in the city no more. It was interesting to note that while the ballot failed, it was endorsed by 42 percent of the voters. It doesn't really say how the data was collected, but I'm sure the percentages were public knowledge, available and accessible.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Urvashi Vaid Presentation
I know this is late, it was due last week, but I figured I should post something none the less. My expectations of the presentation were, well, not high. I myself had read your e-mail you sent to the class and decided I did not want to be part of the presentation. I think less than half the class read your e-mail or even knew anything about what they were voting on, just wanting to get out of class, just my opinion there. I don't support the equal marriage movement, and I wasn't all that keen on listening to someone who was pro for the movement. Call it selfish, call it close minded, call it whatever you want, but I know what I believe. I know where my world view starts and ends, so I didn't think it would be a fruitful presentation for myself. What I knew has a lot to do with where my faith lies, spiritually and theistically. I knew a little of the information that would be presented, or what I assumed would be presented.
I'll admit that the way the information was presented surprised me. I wasn't expecting it to be so mixed with other human rights issues, such as racism and woman's rights. How she mixed the equality movement with homosexuals in with the other social justice movements was unexpected. In a way it made it seem like if you were against one, you were against all. I wasn't surprised though of the condescending tone/vibe against those who didn't support the movement, projecting their insecurities upon the LGBT communities, it was a bit offensive actually. She was very adamant about trying to dismiss the legitimacy of non-supporters concerns.
Something new that I learned while listening to the presentation, I did not know that people who are against the LBGT communities marriage amendment are just projecting their insecurities about heterosexual relationships upon the LGBT. Who knew?! I found that rather enlightening. Something else I learned that I didn't know was that the same sex marriage movement, and the equality movement doesn't infringe upon religious freedom after all. Which I found rather odd, since it is now illegal for tax exempt churches to speak out and have an opinion about same-sex attractions/marriages. It could be considered a hate crime to speak out against such practices. That doesn't seem to infringe upon freedom to practice your religion at all.
As for the professional background of the speaker. Urvashi Vaid is an expert in her field. After all, she devoted her whole life to this equality movement. Her study, in field action, lifestyle, it all adds up that she could be considered an authority on this subject.
I'm not really sure what I can take away from this presentation and add to my alternative viewpoints paper, as in fact this presentation upset me and frustrated me. Plus it really had nothing to do with my particular subject of the alternative viewpoints paper anyways.
I'll admit that the way the information was presented surprised me. I wasn't expecting it to be so mixed with other human rights issues, such as racism and woman's rights. How she mixed the equality movement with homosexuals in with the other social justice movements was unexpected. In a way it made it seem like if you were against one, you were against all. I wasn't surprised though of the condescending tone/vibe against those who didn't support the movement, projecting their insecurities upon the LGBT communities, it was a bit offensive actually. She was very adamant about trying to dismiss the legitimacy of non-supporters concerns.
Something new that I learned while listening to the presentation, I did not know that people who are against the LBGT communities marriage amendment are just projecting their insecurities about heterosexual relationships upon the LGBT. Who knew?! I found that rather enlightening. Something else I learned that I didn't know was that the same sex marriage movement, and the equality movement doesn't infringe upon religious freedom after all. Which I found rather odd, since it is now illegal for tax exempt churches to speak out and have an opinion about same-sex attractions/marriages. It could be considered a hate crime to speak out against such practices. That doesn't seem to infringe upon freedom to practice your religion at all.
As for the professional background of the speaker. Urvashi Vaid is an expert in her field. After all, she devoted her whole life to this equality movement. Her study, in field action, lifestyle, it all adds up that she could be considered an authority on this subject.
I'm not really sure what I can take away from this presentation and add to my alternative viewpoints paper, as in fact this presentation upset me and frustrated me. Plus it really had nothing to do with my particular subject of the alternative viewpoints paper anyways.
Checking In Time
For the semester research project I have been having a little success and few setbacks. I feel like the sources that I have been able to gain thus far have proven to be fruitful. The information is well presented and clear, easy(ish) to understand and interesting. I think that my ability to answer the questions I have been presented with is pretty good as well. Some of the setbacks I have been having on this particular research project is finding the motivation to continue finding research sources from those different areas. The government document and the newspaper article, those are the ones that may be giving me the most trouble. I have to keep pushing through my senioritus, while juggling a job, classes, internship, and somewhere in there trying to fit a social life, haha.
As for my other classes, I think I have been having pretty good success with them, Native American Literature has always been an enjoyable type of literature to read, so that class has been pretty easy to go along with, plus Professor Crow is really passionate about the field, so that helps as well. My chemistry course is a bit harder, chemistry is not my strong point at all, so I have to work really hard to understand some of the concepts presented, so hopefully I'll keep up with that at least. And yep, there you have it, my check in.
As for my other classes, I think I have been having pretty good success with them, Native American Literature has always been an enjoyable type of literature to read, so that class has been pretty easy to go along with, plus Professor Crow is really passionate about the field, so that helps as well. My chemistry course is a bit harder, chemistry is not my strong point at all, so I have to work really hard to understand some of the concepts presented, so hopefully I'll keep up with that at least. And yep, there you have it, my check in.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Semester Research Question Review
As previously stated this particular project hasn't been my current focus but I did look over my questions and will answer the questions that I can with as much detail as I currently can. These of course will be refined, fixed up, and reviewed.
1. The population that I chose to do research on was women in prostitution. The reason I chose this population group was that I found I had a lot of conceptions of women who are currently in prostitution.
2. My initial assumptions about women who were in prostitution were harder/more unfair that I realized. I found that I was disdainful of them, that they were dirty. I had to take a step back and figure out why I had these particular negative viewpoints of them. I am not really sure where these assumptions came from, I can only assume that it was media, TV/Movie representation of prostitutes, as a child I learned that men who used prostitutes were bad/wrong so that naturally meant those women were too. Social acceptance of these women, or more likely, lack of social acceptance, disdain.
3. I did find that women who are in poorer city blocks and other area do happen to have a higher chance of contracting/spreading sexually transmitted diseases. But there are also women who are very "clean" to say that they use every preventative measure, get regular check ups, so the conception that all prostitutes are unclean and dirty doesn't have a lot of legitimacy.
4. Acceptance, criticism, condescending interactions with other people, cultural acceptance, legality of profession, initial dangers of meeting with strangers, spousal abuse, client abuse, poverty, poor living conditions. These are just some preliminary problems that women who are in prostitution face on a day to day basis.
5-8 and even my current questions definitely need to be increased and gone into deeper depth, larger information, to be cited and sourced, that sort of thing. But as a preliminary review, this is what I am mainly able to cover for the questions as of now. I think the question I might have the hardest time/need help with is number 8. As I haven't done any research yet to find out if there are activist groups or groups that go about informing people about prostitution. So I am able to answer 4 out of 8 in the most basic way possible, but I think that as I continue to find more research sources these questions will be easier to answer and I will be able to form a stronger argument and answer the questions more fully.
1. The population that I chose to do research on was women in prostitution. The reason I chose this population group was that I found I had a lot of conceptions of women who are currently in prostitution.
2. My initial assumptions about women who were in prostitution were harder/more unfair that I realized. I found that I was disdainful of them, that they were dirty. I had to take a step back and figure out why I had these particular negative viewpoints of them. I am not really sure where these assumptions came from, I can only assume that it was media, TV/Movie representation of prostitutes, as a child I learned that men who used prostitutes were bad/wrong so that naturally meant those women were too. Social acceptance of these women, or more likely, lack of social acceptance, disdain.
3. I did find that women who are in poorer city blocks and other area do happen to have a higher chance of contracting/spreading sexually transmitted diseases. But there are also women who are very "clean" to say that they use every preventative measure, get regular check ups, so the conception that all prostitutes are unclean and dirty doesn't have a lot of legitimacy.
4. Acceptance, criticism, condescending interactions with other people, cultural acceptance, legality of profession, initial dangers of meeting with strangers, spousal abuse, client abuse, poverty, poor living conditions. These are just some preliminary problems that women who are in prostitution face on a day to day basis.
5-8 and even my current questions definitely need to be increased and gone into deeper depth, larger information, to be cited and sourced, that sort of thing. But as a preliminary review, this is what I am mainly able to cover for the questions as of now. I think the question I might have the hardest time/need help with is number 8. As I haven't done any research yet to find out if there are activist groups or groups that go about informing people about prostitution. So I am able to answer 4 out of 8 in the most basic way possible, but I think that as I continue to find more research sources these questions will be easier to answer and I will be able to form a stronger argument and answer the questions more fully.
The Legitimacy of Blog Posts
Before I ever used blogs as a source of legitimate data I would have scoffed at the idea that any type of blog could be used in the academics. It would have been absurd, even now, after finding one I find might legitimize blogs, I am still disbelieving. As for why it is so hard for me to accept blogs is that as an English Major I was trained to use specific search engines and databases. A blog would have been a serious "no-no" if it was used as an academic source. Its hard to let go of old trainings, plus, previously, my experiences of blogs were just those silly blogs where people try to make their lives seem more interesting or hysterical by over exaggerating events and adding poorly drawn comics to illustrate the hilarity/misadventures of their lives. Useless/purposeless might have been my original though of blogs. This particular blog has changed my initial assumptions about blogs. Link to blog used Misconceptions Regarding Prostitution
While it is a blog that is no longer active, this particular user made use of the blog as a way to present clear, coherent information regarding the common misconceptions about prostitution. Something that I would never have expected to find on a blog. It uses reliable information, which is sourced, to present their opinions. Yes, it is biased, but the data in the charts they have is good. This particular type of blog I think illustrates that people shouldn't' just scoff at the idea that blogs are legitimate, like I did. They may just hold valuable information that would help them with their research. It might even be ok to say that you can get a good idea of cultural trends by reading popular blog posts, so maybe sociologists do use them. Who knows?
APA Work Cited
Misconceptions regarding prostitution [Web log message]. (2010, April 20). Retrieved from http://blog.lib.umn.edu/ander422/myblog/2010/04/misconceptions-regarding-prostitution.html
While it is a blog that is no longer active, this particular user made use of the blog as a way to present clear, coherent information regarding the common misconceptions about prostitution. Something that I would never have expected to find on a blog. It uses reliable information, which is sourced, to present their opinions. Yes, it is biased, but the data in the charts they have is good. This particular type of blog I think illustrates that people shouldn't' just scoff at the idea that blogs are legitimate, like I did. They may just hold valuable information that would help them with their research. It might even be ok to say that you can get a good idea of cultural trends by reading popular blog posts, so maybe sociologists do use them. Who knows?
APA Work Cited
Misconceptions regarding prostitution [Web log message]. (2010, April 20). Retrieved from http://blog.lib.umn.edu/ander422/myblog/2010/04/misconceptions-regarding-prostitution.html
My Annotated Bibliography
I'll be honest here and say that this particular assignment has taken a bit of the back burner in the fact that I have only a few preliminary sources that I have only skimmed through, planning on going back and in depth with them at a later date. Plus combined with leaving for Texas for Spring Break, I'll admit that finishing up on blog posts and assignments has not been in the forefront of my mind. Still, I'll post here what sources I have found so far and do my best to give comments on them.
Starting with the books I have found.
Reynolds, H. (1986). The economics of prostitution. Sprigfield: CHARLES C THOMAS.
The purpose of this book was to discover and analyze the economic and political structures in different communities that tolerate, allow or control prostitution. What I really like about this book is that it doesn't really give a side for or against prostitution. It is more neutral in regards to that. It gives suggestions that would help control and regulate prostitution, gives pros and cons, and ways to help lower the costs of prostitution victimization. Although it is a bit dated, I find it very informative. As for the author, as of yet I haven't researched her to be able to say if she is an expert on the topic or not. Only that she is an economist diving into a field where mainly sociologists and psychologists dwell.
Connelly, M. T. (1980). The response to prostitution in the progressive era. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.
To be very honest I haven't looked over this book yet and am not sure if this will make it into the final product of my annotated bibliography, but it did seem promising as I skimmed a few details.
This blog source I found seemed to be really well placed and well filled with statistics about prositution so I will include it in my annotated bibliography.
Misconceptions
regarding prostitution [Web log message]. (2010, April 20). Retrieved from
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/ander422/myblog/2010/04/misconceptions-regarding-prostitution.html
As I was doing a more thorough look through the blog I noticed that it was in fact, not an active blog, which is unfortunate, but it did hold good information. I can't really say much about the author if he/she is an expert in this field as all I have to go with is their username, which doesn't allow me to look at a blogger profile or anything. What really impressed me was the use of graphs and data that were posted in the different blog posts. The author also seemed well informed and able to make interesting points. The information did have sources as well.
I am still working through the online articles that I have found for a good research article, though I think I have found a few that will suit my needs well. As for the other sources, I am still working on finding some sort of reliable source for those particular options.
Reflection on the LGBT community
As I was thinking about what to do for this particular project I had the trouble of reconciling the fact that I really don't want to learn anything about it at all. The fact that I am required to take a diversity course, required that it focuses on a people group I'd rather not learn about, leaves a sour taste in my mouth. The whole being forced to do something makes me naturally want to rebel and do the opposite, to not cooperate at all. I had to get over that. Took a while but I managed to do it. I am more willing now to consider what part of this group I want to do research on. Though the list just lists the different population groups that form the whole group, it didn't really give a good idea of what issues they are facing right now. The most common one, well publicized is the Right to Marriage. I don't really want to focus on that topic, I'd rather do something else. So I have decided to preliminarily focus on gay men who suffer from AIDS or the potential hazards gay men/women face when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases.
Honestly I don't really know a lot of what to assume is true, the most common I guess is that gay men have the highest risk at contracting the disease. It is life crippling/destroying. It affects the LGBT community more than it affects heterosexual communities, though that's probably not the case in Africa. The despair someone must feel at knowing there is no cure and it will eventually lead to their death? That has gotta be really rough.
I think maybe social media may have influenced this belief? The couple of friends who I have who claim to be gay and sexually active claimed to have sexual relations with other men who had AIDS, which to me seems insane, and they were lucky enough not to contract it. Media portrayal of gay men, this being mainstream TV shows showing them sexually promiscuous?
I am not sure what the most challenging thing I will face as I do research concerning this topic. I want to be able to do a good job in finding reliable sources that will help me form good sound opinions. Not just hearsay and gossip, social medias. Another challenge may be that I will have to continue to reconcile that while I may have not done something like this on my own, being required to do this might not be a terrible thing after all. There we have it.
Honestly I don't really know a lot of what to assume is true, the most common I guess is that gay men have the highest risk at contracting the disease. It is life crippling/destroying. It affects the LGBT community more than it affects heterosexual communities, though that's probably not the case in Africa. The despair someone must feel at knowing there is no cure and it will eventually lead to their death? That has gotta be really rough.
I think maybe social media may have influenced this belief? The couple of friends who I have who claim to be gay and sexually active claimed to have sexual relations with other men who had AIDS, which to me seems insane, and they were lucky enough not to contract it. Media portrayal of gay men, this being mainstream TV shows showing them sexually promiscuous?
I am not sure what the most challenging thing I will face as I do research concerning this topic. I want to be able to do a good job in finding reliable sources that will help me form good sound opinions. Not just hearsay and gossip, social medias. Another challenge may be that I will have to continue to reconcile that while I may have not done something like this on my own, being required to do this might not be a terrible thing after all. There we have it.
Academic Search Premier vs JSTOR
The database that I chose to work with was JSTOR, a database that I have used in the past so I am also familiar with it. I was actually surprised, because I remember JSTOR being a good source of informative articles on other projects I worked on. The Academic Search Premier was the one that provided the most relevant sources on my topic. Some rather interesting alternative viewpoints on prostitution as well. For EBSCO I like that they make it easy to narrow down the results. It is clearly noticeable and pretty self explanatory. I am able to narrow it down by publication date, full text, if they are scholarly reviewed articles, by document type. It is very convenient. '
JSTOR is also nice for allowing you to narrow your search by the modify search option, which allows you different options to help you find more pointed sources. I really like that it allows you to narrow your search down by profession and what type of scholarly journals you want to choose from. I used this option many a times to help refine my searches. It also lets you choose by publication date, article type, and language.
I found that even though EBSCO was the more relevant articles, my search string worked for both. It was a smaller one but it worked to my needs. Prostitution and United States and Workforce. The more options I put in my search string the less relevant topics I got.
I was able to find 8 relevant articles on EBSCO and 5 on JSTOR. On EBSCO all of them were in full text as that was how I usually narrow down my search on the first go, if I can't skim through it right away I'm less likely to pursue it as a source. The same with JSTOR. I don't really think that working with the databases has changed my research question. I think that the more sources I find the more my research topic will become clearer, maybe more refined. My biggest challenge in composing my research question was if it was too versatile, or maybe, there could be any number of reasons. The question, "whats the main motivation that drives women into prostitution?" can be rather ambiguous, though I still like it. It also seems like it might be obvious, poverty, desperation, but I think there may be more to it than that. To overcome these challenges would be to continue on the path of researching and refining as I go along.
JSTOR is also nice for allowing you to narrow your search by the modify search option, which allows you different options to help you find more pointed sources. I really like that it allows you to narrow your search down by profession and what type of scholarly journals you want to choose from. I used this option many a times to help refine my searches. It also lets you choose by publication date, article type, and language.
I found that even though EBSCO was the more relevant articles, my search string worked for both. It was a smaller one but it worked to my needs. Prostitution and United States and Workforce. The more options I put in my search string the less relevant topics I got.
I was able to find 8 relevant articles on EBSCO and 5 on JSTOR. On EBSCO all of them were in full text as that was how I usually narrow down my search on the first go, if I can't skim through it right away I'm less likely to pursue it as a source. The same with JSTOR. I don't really think that working with the databases has changed my research question. I think that the more sources I find the more my research topic will become clearer, maybe more refined. My biggest challenge in composing my research question was if it was too versatile, or maybe, there could be any number of reasons. The question, "whats the main motivation that drives women into prostitution?" can be rather ambiguous, though I still like it. It also seems like it might be obvious, poverty, desperation, but I think there may be more to it than that. To overcome these challenges would be to continue on the path of researching and refining as I go along.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Compare and Contrast
Symanski, R. (1974). Prostitution in nevada. Annals of the Association of American Geographer, 64(3), 357-377.
Bazelon, E. (2008, March 10). Why is prostitution illegal?. Slate, Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2008/03/why_is_prostitution_illegal.single.html
I'll be honest, I was a bit shocked at how informative the magazine article was. I figured it would be more of an opinion type thing (not that that's wrong) with little "real" information. What I got was quite contrary to my expectations. I was pretty pleased. While my actual scholarly article was older, it still had a good deal of relative and enlightening information. The format was different, but I liked that. The magazine article was easier to read because the language was that of more "informal" speech, rather than the speech of academia. The article started out with an abstract that was helpful to me, it allowed be to get a brief idea of what the article entailed while the magazine started with something eye catching and interesting.
The journal article was well spread out, going logically from point to point, as if they followed their outline to the T. The magazine article was also well organized, flowing with logical points and pace. As for opinion and bias, I think that both articles have biases and opinions, but perhaps the scholarly journal author, Symanski, does a better job of hiding that. Lets be honest, who doesn't have biases on any given subject?
I think I could use both of the articles as useful information in my project. They both referenced the legal prostitution in Nevada and some of the economics it entails. I also like the two sided aspects of both articles as well, giving the reader (myself) a better idea of what both sides were saying about the issue.
Bazelon, E. (2008, March 10). Why is prostitution illegal?. Slate, Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2008/03/why_is_prostitution_illegal.single.html
I'll be honest, I was a bit shocked at how informative the magazine article was. I figured it would be more of an opinion type thing (not that that's wrong) with little "real" information. What I got was quite contrary to my expectations. I was pretty pleased. While my actual scholarly article was older, it still had a good deal of relative and enlightening information. The format was different, but I liked that. The magazine article was easier to read because the language was that of more "informal" speech, rather than the speech of academia. The article started out with an abstract that was helpful to me, it allowed be to get a brief idea of what the article entailed while the magazine started with something eye catching and interesting.
The journal article was well spread out, going logically from point to point, as if they followed their outline to the T. The magazine article was also well organized, flowing with logical points and pace. As for opinion and bias, I think that both articles have biases and opinions, but perhaps the scholarly journal author, Symanski, does a better job of hiding that. Lets be honest, who doesn't have biases on any given subject?
I think I could use both of the articles as useful information in my project. They both referenced the legal prostitution in Nevada and some of the economics it entails. I also like the two sided aspects of both articles as well, giving the reader (myself) a better idea of what both sides were saying about the issue.
The Academic Search Premier
This site is nothing new to me, I have used it many times, so after once again reviewing the site I am pleased with the ease of use and function. It is a very good resource and tool. I definitely have used this site for other classes during my time here at SCSU. As an English Major this site has been a valuable tool during research papers. I used this site as a way to find scholarly research articles that would help me gain information and use as sources in research papers for my classes. The ability to find articles, read abstracts, and then limit my search to a narrower focus have helped me a lot. I also enjoy the ability to be able to get a whole document, and then print it out so I can highlight what seems most important, rather than just reading it on the screen.
That being said, this site is not my only site I use to look for scholarly articles. Using the SCSU library page has also been very helpful as it gives you other options to use to search for articles. Some of the other sites that I found helpful were: JSTOR, MLA International Bibliography (Languages & Literature) and Google Scholar . I used these sites as well to help me locate and read scholarly articles that focused my searches and lead me to good facts and sources.
All in all, I don't really think I have very many fears about using this database for my research. I have used it before and will probably use it again. It has always turned up some interesting articles that I found helpful. I guess my main fear would be that this database won't have much on my population, but even that fear seems unlikely.
That being said, this site is not my only site I use to look for scholarly articles. Using the SCSU library page has also been very helpful as it gives you other options to use to search for articles. Some of the other sites that I found helpful were: JSTOR, MLA International Bibliography (Languages & Literature) and Google Scholar . I used these sites as well to help me locate and read scholarly articles that focused my searches and lead me to good facts and sources.
All in all, I don't really think I have very many fears about using this database for my research. I have used it before and will probably use it again. It has always turned up some interesting articles that I found helpful. I guess my main fear would be that this database won't have much on my population, but even that fear seems unlikely.
Monday, February 6, 2012
A little about my population...
As I have started to read up a little bit about the population I chose I can tell that my assumptions are going to be challenged and perhaps changed. Though at the same time I feel like some of my previous assumptions might prove true. We'll have to see!
Some more questions I have about this population group tend to be more motivation driven. As in, "whats the main motivation that drives women into prostitution?" "Whats their motivation for staying in the business?" I guess I am more or less curious about what would drive someone to risk their lives and sell their bodies on the street.
I have found out some random things about the prostitution business that seemed to shock me at first, but then as I thought about it more, it seemed to make sense. It was from a documentary I watched called "Nefarious: Merchant of Souls" that focused on women and girls sold into the sex trafficking industry but touched on prostitution in the United States. Apparently there are safety tips for women who are in the business, don't wear scarves because you can get strangled easier that way, don't wear heals so that if you have to, you can run faster, drop your keys by the bed and kick them under, so you can look under the bed to see if there is a gun or handcuffs. Its pretty crazy stuff, like, how dangerous is it to be in that kind of lifestyle. So I am curious as to why someone would want to get into that sort of thing when the risks seem so huge. That was just a tidbit of some of the things I have been learning, and hopefully I will continue to learn more as I read through the books I checked out on my topic.
Some more questions I have about this population group tend to be more motivation driven. As in, "whats the main motivation that drives women into prostitution?" "Whats their motivation for staying in the business?" I guess I am more or less curious about what would drive someone to risk their lives and sell their bodies on the street.
I have found out some random things about the prostitution business that seemed to shock me at first, but then as I thought about it more, it seemed to make sense. It was from a documentary I watched called "Nefarious: Merchant of Souls" that focused on women and girls sold into the sex trafficking industry but touched on prostitution in the United States. Apparently there are safety tips for women who are in the business, don't wear scarves because you can get strangled easier that way, don't wear heals so that if you have to, you can run faster, drop your keys by the bed and kick them under, so you can look under the bed to see if there is a gun or handcuffs. Its pretty crazy stuff, like, how dangerous is it to be in that kind of lifestyle. So I am curious as to why someone would want to get into that sort of thing when the risks seem so huge. That was just a tidbit of some of the things I have been learning, and hopefully I will continue to learn more as I read through the books I checked out on my topic.
The Encyclopedia vs the Dreaded Wikipedia
I admit that I was unable to make it to class when we went over this particular topic, which is unfortunate, though I was able to get the information from the power point on D2L, hooray for online resources! The encyclopedias are a very cool tool that we have to use in our own research. I was surprised at the breadth of time that they have been around, almost 3000 years? Crazy! It is interesting to see how they have changed over the years, from being plagued with opinions and biases, which I'm sure still haven been completely taken out in current encyclopedias, to well respected and relied upon volumes of information. The Pros for an encyclopedia are: that they have a large amount of information available in them, the wide variety that are out there, how far back some of them date, the convenience of a print bound book to read. The cons are that the information can be dated and obsoletes without the reader being aware, there is bound to be some bias's in the works, and sometimes encyclopedias are not allowed out of the library.
Wikipedia seems to be a nice option for those who like to have information at their computer screens, and I'll admit that I too enjoy the easy convenience of just typing in a topic name and finding all sorts of useful tidbits about it. That being said, I normally only use Wikipedia for finding out about basic things, like if I didn't know what something was, say, balderdash, what kind of word is that? I would wiki it and then grasp its basic meaning. I don't normally use Wikipedia for getting a whole lot of factual or historical data. Because it has some nice pro's: easy access, its free, anyone can write or make a page, it also has some cons that make me hesitant to use it for any type of academic purpose. The cons being: anyone can edit or make a page, all you have to do is create an account, there is no real way to know if the person who put the information there was unbiased in their research or if what they posted is even factual.
I wasn't able to find any print encyclopedias on my topic using the online database search, or if I did, I wasn't able to figure out how to narrow it down that just encyclopedias showed up, so I was uncertain if I was looking at one or not. I would have to try going there physically to find one. Same thing with the e-encyclopedias. As for reading an article on my topic from both an encyclopedia and Wikipedia, as I stated above I didn't find and encyclopedia and Wikipedia was nice for the factual information, I still wouldn't use it for any type of academical source.
Wikipedia seems to be a nice option for those who like to have information at their computer screens, and I'll admit that I too enjoy the easy convenience of just typing in a topic name and finding all sorts of useful tidbits about it. That being said, I normally only use Wikipedia for finding out about basic things, like if I didn't know what something was, say, balderdash, what kind of word is that? I would wiki it and then grasp its basic meaning. I don't normally use Wikipedia for getting a whole lot of factual or historical data. Because it has some nice pro's: easy access, its free, anyone can write or make a page, it also has some cons that make me hesitant to use it for any type of academic purpose. The cons being: anyone can edit or make a page, all you have to do is create an account, there is no real way to know if the person who put the information there was unbiased in their research or if what they posted is even factual.
I wasn't able to find any print encyclopedias on my topic using the online database search, or if I did, I wasn't able to figure out how to narrow it down that just encyclopedias showed up, so I was uncertain if I was looking at one or not. I would have to try going there physically to find one. Same thing with the e-encyclopedias. As for reading an article on my topic from both an encyclopedia and Wikipedia, as I stated above I didn't find and encyclopedia and Wikipedia was nice for the factual information, I still wouldn't use it for any type of academical source.
The OPAC Experience
The Topic that I have chosen to do is on Prostitution. As in my earlier posts I decided it would be a good group to learn more about. When I started looking for a book on this topic I decided I would look for something with more general information at first to get a better idea on what I might narrow my focus in on. As of yet I haven't decided. The actual search experience went really well, I didn't have much trouble finding what I was looking for at all. What I did was just went to advanced search and typed in two keywords, "prostitution" and "United States." It came up with numerous titles that were helpful to me. I settled on two books that looked likely to meet my needs. "The Response to Prostitution in the Progressive Era" by Mark Connely and "The Economics of Prostitution" by Helen Reynolds. I enjoyed looking through the basement shelves as the ability to store so many books with the motorized shelves is awesome. I felt pretty fortunate finding the books I needed my first try, as some of my other times searching for sources hadn't fared so well.
When I tried to find e-books focusing on prostitution I wasn't really able to find one that was broad enough to suit my needs. It was more focused to sex-trafficking rather than just prostitution. Personally I don't enjoy e-books as much as having a paper copy before me. So if given the option, I would stick to a paper copy. I think it is easier on my eyes to read a paper copy rather than an electronic one, plus I love the feel of the pages and the smell of old books as well, and odd quirk I share with many people I think.
As for some sort of Electronic device to be able to read an e-book, I have an iPhone that has the capability to download e-books from iTunes and I hear there is a Kindle app out for the iPhone as well, so I do have the access if I used my phone. But as I stated before, I rather enjoy the paper copy far more than the electronic one, sure it is nice to not have to lug around heavier hard bound books, but its harder to read from that tiny screen as well.
The Great River Regional Library OPAC system I found was harder to find academic sources rather than fictional works. I had to look a lot harder to find what I was looking for, as "Prostitution" and "United States" for keywords didn't help me. Also, the website given on our sheet, (www.grrl.org) leads to a roller derby blog site which was odd, so I had to Google the actual website, which was (www.griver.org). I wandered about their website for a little while trying to figure out where to look for academic sources before pretty much giving up. I'd have to go there physically and ask someone to help me out. Not convenient at all like good ole SCSU Library!
When I tried to find e-books focusing on prostitution I wasn't really able to find one that was broad enough to suit my needs. It was more focused to sex-trafficking rather than just prostitution. Personally I don't enjoy e-books as much as having a paper copy before me. So if given the option, I would stick to a paper copy. I think it is easier on my eyes to read a paper copy rather than an electronic one, plus I love the feel of the pages and the smell of old books as well, and odd quirk I share with many people I think.
As for some sort of Electronic device to be able to read an e-book, I have an iPhone that has the capability to download e-books from iTunes and I hear there is a Kindle app out for the iPhone as well, so I do have the access if I used my phone. But as I stated before, I rather enjoy the paper copy far more than the electronic one, sure it is nice to not have to lug around heavier hard bound books, but its harder to read from that tiny screen as well.
The Great River Regional Library OPAC system I found was harder to find academic sources rather than fictional works. I had to look a lot harder to find what I was looking for, as "Prostitution" and "United States" for keywords didn't help me. Also, the website given on our sheet, (www.grrl.org) leads to a roller derby blog site which was odd, so I had to Google the actual website, which was (www.griver.org). I wandered about their website for a little while trying to figure out where to look for academic sources before pretty much giving up. I'd have to go there physically and ask someone to help me out. Not convenient at all like good ole SCSU Library!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
What I assume to be true...
Throughout the course of the semester we were going to be doing research upon a specific group of vulnerable populations, to challenge our beliefs and what we assume to be true about them. We were so generously given the option of choice in this matter. While we did have a list of options, it was a large one. The semester research project seems like it could be a daunting task, but having the ability to choose which population to study is great. Choice is a wonderful thing, it allows the person doing the project a feeling of freedom coupled with the responsibility of their choice. So in that respect, I chose to do the population group of prostitutes.
I find that I have many assumptions about this population group, and most of them are rather snide and condescending. These thoughts or assumptions I have are what have lead me to this topic, as I really don't know a whole lot, just have a lot of assumptions. So I think this will be a good group to challenge me in my beliefs.
As I stated above, my thoughts on this group are unfair, un-researched and most likely, unfounded. So please bear with me, as I am still in the process of learning about this people group. I think that most of the women in these types of situations come from unfortunate circumstances. They were probably from families that were poor or had high risk parents, as in alcoholics or drugs, abusive fathers or mothers. I think that a lot of them choose the situation that they're in, as a means to escape, or that they feel they have no other option to survive. I believe that the men and women who stoop to this level have little to no self esteem, probably addicted to drugs or alcohol and have a jaded view of the world. I don't think that they can escape from the situation that they are in.
The actual question of where I learned these sorts of things...well I don't think I ever learned them out of a text book, so I can only assume that it was from hearsay or friends, the people around me. That and just assumptions that I have made about that population group myself. Maybe news media? Or Hollywood? I cant be really sure.I think the most challenging aspect of doing research on this topic is finding credible sources concerning this topic. One that isn't all just hyped up media aspects or Hollywood drama.
Heres hoping to an interesting topic choice.
I find that I have many assumptions about this population group, and most of them are rather snide and condescending. These thoughts or assumptions I have are what have lead me to this topic, as I really don't know a whole lot, just have a lot of assumptions. So I think this will be a good group to challenge me in my beliefs.
As I stated above, my thoughts on this group are unfair, un-researched and most likely, unfounded. So please bear with me, as I am still in the process of learning about this people group. I think that most of the women in these types of situations come from unfortunate circumstances. They were probably from families that were poor or had high risk parents, as in alcoholics or drugs, abusive fathers or mothers. I think that a lot of them choose the situation that they're in, as a means to escape, or that they feel they have no other option to survive. I believe that the men and women who stoop to this level have little to no self esteem, probably addicted to drugs or alcohol and have a jaded view of the world. I don't think that they can escape from the situation that they are in.
The actual question of where I learned these sorts of things...well I don't think I ever learned them out of a text book, so I can only assume that it was from hearsay or friends, the people around me. That and just assumptions that I have made about that population group myself. Maybe news media? Or Hollywood? I cant be really sure.I think the most challenging aspect of doing research on this topic is finding credible sources concerning this topic. One that isn't all just hyped up media aspects or Hollywood drama.
Heres hoping to an interesting topic choice.
Friday, January 13, 2012
What is Critical Thinking?
This concept, one that seems to be dreaded by some and deified by others. What is it? The term, the meaning, the idea? It seems to be something that is relative, though honestly, the whole, "truth is relative" thing doesn't make sense, the world has proven that someone is always wrong, and normally there are only a few "rights." I mean, if I said a cucumber could fly, and I believed that in my mind, does that make it true? No, it just means I'm slightly off the deep end.
So, my own definition of critical thinking, something that I believe it may be, is this: A means of thinking using reasoning skills, based off of research and evidence pointing to discernible facts, and based off of what you know to be true, you make judgments and off of those judgments you act. Seems complicated and convoluted enough to get into a dictionary! Where have I heard the term critical thinking? Pretty much everywhere in school. I mean, the teachers practically force the term down your throat. They say, "use your critical thinking skills to solve this problem", or, "based on this fact, using critical thinking, determine if blah blah blah." Normally in a text book when you see, "use critical thinking to," it normally means, don't actually think critically, come to the answer we want you to.
(Please note, this next paragraph is filled with excess sarcasm)
I was told to find an "expert's" definition of what critical thinking is. I had to ask myself, what the heck is an expert on critical thinking? Google to the rescue! How wonderful it is that there was a site devoted to critical thinking, why, it made my search so much easier, and I mean, if the person has a website, it means they're an expert right? Right! Here is the link to the Website!!! that I found, is is run by a guy named Dan Kurland, who is all for critical reading, and he has a nice page on critical thinking. His definition, loosely used, is that Critical Thinking is a complex combination of skills primarily: rationality, self-awareness, honesty, open-mindedness, discipline, and judgment. Who knew that it took so many skills to think critically!?
The expert says this: "Critical thinkers are active, not passive. They ask questions and analyze. They consciously apply tactics and strategies to uncover meaning or assure their understanding. Critical thinkers do not take an egotistical view of the world. They are open to new ideas and perspectives. They are willing to challenge their beliefs and investigate competing evidence." So basically, you have to be doing that particular process to think critically. The connection between this class, Research Strategies critical thinking is that I assume we're going to be "challenging our beliefs" in hopes of coming into agreement with whatever the motives of the class are.
We'll see how this all works and goes, I am gonna try to keep an open mind and not let my "jaded" views get into the way too much. The irony of it all is that as a Senior I am taking a diversity course and only because it was required to graduate. I am pretty much at this point set in my views, with my own facts and evidence to back them up, am I going to ignore other peoples opinions and evidence? No, but my mind is no longer as mailable as it was when I was a freshman and sophomore. I like challenging courses and I feel like this one might stretch me in ways I have grown unaccustomed too, here's to a new (final, for now) semester.
So, my own definition of critical thinking, something that I believe it may be, is this: A means of thinking using reasoning skills, based off of research and evidence pointing to discernible facts, and based off of what you know to be true, you make judgments and off of those judgments you act. Seems complicated and convoluted enough to get into a dictionary! Where have I heard the term critical thinking? Pretty much everywhere in school. I mean, the teachers practically force the term down your throat. They say, "use your critical thinking skills to solve this problem", or, "based on this fact, using critical thinking, determine if blah blah blah." Normally in a text book when you see, "use critical thinking to," it normally means, don't actually think critically, come to the answer we want you to.
(Please note, this next paragraph is filled with excess sarcasm)
I was told to find an "expert's" definition of what critical thinking is. I had to ask myself, what the heck is an expert on critical thinking? Google to the rescue! How wonderful it is that there was a site devoted to critical thinking, why, it made my search so much easier, and I mean, if the person has a website, it means they're an expert right? Right! Here is the link to the Website!!! that I found, is is run by a guy named Dan Kurland, who is all for critical reading, and he has a nice page on critical thinking. His definition, loosely used, is that Critical Thinking is a complex combination of skills primarily: rationality, self-awareness, honesty, open-mindedness, discipline, and judgment. Who knew that it took so many skills to think critically!?
The expert says this: "Critical thinkers are active, not passive. They ask questions and analyze. They consciously apply tactics and strategies to uncover meaning or assure their understanding. Critical thinkers do not take an egotistical view of the world. They are open to new ideas and perspectives. They are willing to challenge their beliefs and investigate competing evidence." So basically, you have to be doing that particular process to think critically. The connection between this class, Research Strategies critical thinking is that I assume we're going to be "challenging our beliefs" in hopes of coming into agreement with whatever the motives of the class are.
We'll see how this all works and goes, I am gonna try to keep an open mind and not let my "jaded" views get into the way too much. The irony of it all is that as a Senior I am taking a diversity course and only because it was required to graduate. I am pretty much at this point set in my views, with my own facts and evidence to back them up, am I going to ignore other peoples opinions and evidence? No, but my mind is no longer as mailable as it was when I was a freshman and sophomore. I like challenging courses and I feel like this one might stretch me in ways I have grown unaccustomed too, here's to a new (final, for now) semester.
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