My social Change Project

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: Bank of America, Citi Bank, Sallie Mae.

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Imagine this- A 23 year old woman sits in her bedroom in her parent’s house. She went to college just like everyone always told her to, got her degree and hoped to find a job soon. Now she just sits waiting, waiting, waiting. While she doesn’t move on, what does keep growing is her student loan debt –thanks to the high interest rate. With no way out of it, all that she’s left to wonder is whether going to college was the right choice.

Although it would be nice for all colleges and universities to lower their tuition prices or at least make it so that each student only pays what they can reasonably afford, that’s a pipe dream ( at least for now). What can be done is eliminating the interest rate of student loans. Right now, the average college grad leaves with 27,000 dollars in debt, while the seemingly cost effective Stafford loan is at 3.4%. This can amount to such a huge amount of money over the years, especially for someone who couldn’t afford college in the first place. Even though it might seem like a lot, banks can afford it. Sallie Mae earned 82 million dollars from federally guaranteed student loans just in the first quarter of 2012 alone! Money from struggling students and graduates and their families! Bank of America earned 653 million dollars in the first quarter of 2012. Compared to the average college graduate its not like their executives are taking much of a pay hit either. In 2011, Citgroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit’s 2011 salary was 14.86 million dollars. Obviously these are corporations that can afford to trim off student loan interest rates. Even so there are still some positives for banks in this too. There are so many people that default on student loans every year, and the higher the interest rate the harder the loan gets to pay. By having all student loans with no interest rate, that might lead to more people keeping current with their loan payments which is better for the banks and everyone involved.


I will admit that I am only a junior in high school, but this issue is one that comes to my mind every time I think of college and what my parents and I will have to deal with before and after I graduate. This issue might seem over my head because it is- it’s something that concerns not just me, but people across the country. A study shown in the New York Times showed that since 1985, college tuition costs have risen by 559 percent. This is an astronomically high increase, especially compare to the fact that the cost of just about everything else has only doubled. Especially since the economy has been down and people have been losing jobs, (as of April 2012 the unemployment rate was 8.1%)
parents can’t afford to pay what they used to. The cost of sending children off to college is making college become a less and less attainable dream. Paying a say 5% interest rate on top of an already high student loan is crippling to so millions of people. This piling of debt follows people around forever since student loan debt in the one debt is un cancelable. If we as American citizens stand together there is nothing we can’t do. We can make a change that will not only affect us but the youth of tomorrow. Please sign this petition to make all of the major lenders make student loans have 0% interest rate. It’s not right that people have to pay an arm and leg to get an education and have to pay interest on top of it. We deserve better.

Sincerely,

Aaliyah Dillion
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http://www.change.org/petitions/bank-of-america-citi-bank-sallie-mae-make-the-interest-rate-on-student-loans-0

Please sign this petition on change.org at the above link!

Project Proposal

Things That Bug Me

Human Trafficking in the U.S

Teen Dating Violence

Redistricting of Bridgeport

Mc Donald’s and other fast food places sponsoring schools

Affordable College Education

Child Abuse

Animal Cruelty

Stereotyping of Bridgeport

Depicting unreal standards of beauty in magazines

No Child Left Behind

Sports Players being paid un-necessarily high amounts of money

For my project I have chosen the topic of affordable college educations. This is a dilemma that is facing many high schools now and anyone that desires to go to college. For example, a study shown in the New York Times showed that since 1985, college tuition costs have risen by 559 percent. This is an astronomically high increase, especially compare to the fact that the cost of just about everything else has only doubled. Especially since the economy has been down and people have been losing jobs, parents can’t afford to pay what they used to. The cost of sending children off to college is making college become a less and less attainable dream. Even if a person is able to pay for college using loans, they graduate with debt and more often than not, without a job. Student loan debt just happens to be the one debt that is non forgivable for banks. I just think that something needs to be done to make college more affordable because as a nation, people are so supposed to be encouraged to go to college to get ahead but with these prices , its saying just the opposite.

I can use change.org to start a petition. It’s helpful because there are many different sections, including one about education, in which people write about anything pertaining to educational system. I found that it would be a great section to get my petition started. This is especially true because there seems to be a high success rates with the petitions on change. Org. One petition in the education section to stop Sallie Mae from charging  an unemployment penalty got them to at least stop pocketing those fees. Also, it showed me how to write an effective petition. For example, many started out with a vivid description of the situation and were full of pathos in addition to some logos. I found it to be a great jumping off point.

Global Warming timed synthesis essay

The earth. 70% water, 30% land. Host to all of the humans in the world. The earth is the only place that humans have to live. Over the years there has been much controversy over the issue of global warming and how people treat the earth, especially in the political arena. In all, I believe that there are three main things that politicians should focus on when making legislation pertaining to global warming. The rising ocean temperature, the fact that humans have contributed to global warming and that many places inside and out of the U.S are already making more comprehensive global warming legislation.

Global warming has affected many things that humans and therefore politicians should be focused on when making legislation, one of them being the rising ocean temperature. As the earth has heated up, so have the oceans. Over the past 150 years, the ocean temperature has risen by about .20 degrees (source b) . That might not seem like a lot, but for the way nature works, that is a large amount in a relatively short span of time. Politicians should be concerned about this because rising ocean temperatures mean that the ocean is expected to rise by around a meter (source e). Rising ocean levels and such could wreak havoc on some seaside communities and affect us all, which is why politicians should have this in mind when making global warming legislation.

Although there are still some skeptics, it is widely accepted that humans have contributed to global warming. Shockingly, the United States and Australia together account for one-quarter of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions (Source A). To think that the U.S plays such a large part in global warming and yet we are a relatively small portion of the world.  Even more, our carbon emission level had risen 12% above the 1990 level in 2004 and was predicted to rise by 30% in 2012 (source e). Since we as humans and more specifically as a nation have contributed so much to global warming, we now have to take steps to protect the environment and keep if from getting any worse. Politicians need remember this when deciding on how comprehensive legislation should be or if we should have any at all because… global warming is to a certain extent our fault.

Finally, when making global warming legislation, politicians need to consider that other states in the U.S and countries across the world are already making comprehensive global warming legislation.  For example, with the Kyoto Protocol, which is meant to reduce global warming, “One hundred forty one countries ratified the treaty.” (source a) The U.S, which is one of the biggest contributors to global warming, did not ratify it. Right there, there are one hundred and forty one nations that are progressing past the U.S at least in terms of environmental reform. More over, starting in 2005, “eighteen states, including power hogs California and Texas, have set requirements or goals for renewable energy” (Source C). Even individual states in the U.S are choosing to get one step ahead of global warming. As a nation we are supposed to try to be progressive in every sense of the word and we are not. So much so that states within the nation have realized it and are changing. Again, this is something politicians need to keep in mind when making global warming legislation.

It is time that politicians get up,  shake the dust off of their shoes and get going when it comes to global warming. The environment depends on it. Hopefully these reasons will light a fire under them to get moving.

We are all going to die ( because of global warming)

It’s a beautiful summer day. The air is fresh with the smell of flowers, you can here the bees buzz and the birds chirp all around you. Little children play in the background and their giggles and chit chat blend in with the chirps, buzzes and all the other sounds. Natures perfect symphony.

The scene represented above is beautiful, isn’t it? Something many people have experienced before and hope that the younger generation will get to see too. While this might seem all and well, I have some relatively startling news; we have been slowly killing off everything in our planet. That includes our future and current generations. Thanks to humans’ lack of care regarding global warming, we are ensuring the extinction of the human race!

To all those idiotic skeptics who believe that all this talk about global warming and its consequences is just a bunch of hot air, there are numbers to back it up. For example, as shown in an Inconvenient Truth, the average surface temperature of the earth has increased by 1.2 to 1.4°F just in the 20^th century. That might not seem like a lot, but in terms of the earth, that is a RIDICULOUS amount of increase. If we keep going like this, the human race might eventually burn itself to a crisp.  If heat isn’t your thing, experts think that sea level could rise by about two feet in the next 100 years. How do they know?  Well, sea levels have already gone up by 4-8 inches across the world this last century. While this seems unthinkable, it's happening right now. As Al Gore in an Inconvenient Truth so clearly showed in his diagram, New York, India and other parts of the world will be completely under water.  Our families and everyone and thing on earth will drown if climate change isn’t reversed  (kind like the poor, poor polar bear). This is not much better than burning up if you ask me.

Please, recycle, reduce your carbon imprint and be kind to the earth. Your life depends on it, and so do the lives of others ( Al Gore taught me that). Maybe you might feel like eliminating the human race and all living creatures, but I am sure there are many other  people who would like to live, so be considerate. Again, this is the only earth we have to live on so take care of it .. or face the horrendous consequences.

Silent Spring Chapter 5: Cycle is the Word

Cycles. Six letters, two syllables, one word. Yet, this word is a significant one, as I believe it is the most important word in chapter five of Silent Spring. This word, although small sums up Carson’s argument in chapter five fully and clearly.

In chapter five, Carson goes into the complexity of the soil and its different relationships. Low and behold, these relationships happen to be in cycles. For example, there is the relationship between the soil and the earthworms. The earthworms feed on the enriched soil, they aerate it by digging holes and bring the good soil to the top, help nitrate it for smaller organisms, and their excrement helps enrich the soil again.  Every organism therefore has its place and purpose. Thanks to DDT and other insecticides, these perfect, cyclical relationships have been disrupted or broken. Studies have shown that “BHC, aldrin, lindane, heptachlor and DDD all prevented nitrogen-fixing bacteria from forming the necessary root nodules on leguminous plants”. (pg 57) Cycles could not be more important in this chapter because they are the clock that nature runs on, as Carson shows. Even her structure in this chapter was a cycle. She goes from writing about how the soil is the basis of life and is constantly changing, to the small bacterial organisms that effect the soil , then the larger ones like earthworms and how the insecticides are affecting them and then  to the human race and how we are being affected by the soil’s destruction. Carson even gives a great example of how a company that makes baby foods got into financial woes because they refused to use food from pesticide treated land and couldn’t find any. Instead of coming back to the beginning of the cycle with the soil being left alone,  Carson shows what it is like when the soil is destroyed, showing the plight of Hops growers in Idaho , where Heptachlor destroyed their soil and therefore their crops. By structuring her chapter like this, Carson shows the effects of this broken soil cycle.

The circle of life, it’s a path unwinding. (Thank you Lion King!) That’s exactly what Carson stylistically shows in her writing in chapter five. A perfect example of this is when she says “The soil exists in state of constant change, taking part in cycles that have no beginning and no end” pg 53). In doing that she creates almost a visual of this cycle and something that people can understand and relate to. Its almost as if she has a reverence for the cycle, even pointing out that  pointing out the soil supports the earths “living green mantle” and that’s because its constantly changing. She remains with this tone throughout the chapter. So in chapter five… cycles.. they’re important.

Proposal

According to Kids In Need Foundation.org, 14.8 million students are below the poverty line and are in need of school supplies. On average, teachers spend $500-$1,000  of their own money per year to purchase supplies for their students and classrooms. We know that McDonalds has continually been providing to 31,000 schools across America.  Many kids, in the schools you sponsor,  are being rewarded for their various good acts by your food . In order to improve what you have already done, we suggest that you use that money for providing notebooks and other supplies needed by the schools and students in place of the food.

On the contrary, it might make sense in some ways for McDonald’s not to change their current ways of giving back to the community. That’s because the company has already given back so much.  The Passport to  Play program is already in 31,000 schools nationwide. It is true that kids need food  and adequate nutrition to perform well in school and in sports and many of the areas you provide for are impoverished  and children may not get the food they need. BY giving them food vouchers as rewards McDonald’s is providing a great service to them and their neighborhoods. However, school supplies are necessary for children to thrive and do their work in school. Without notebooks, pens, pencils and such it’s impossible to retain any knowledge from school.

As shown by the previous statistics, kids and schools are increasingly in need of school supplies. It’s well known that McDonalds does a lot to contribute to the learning of students everywhere; notebooks and other school supplies are essential to student learning. By having notebooks, pencils and pens, folders, etc. they can absorb all of their information that they receive from their teachers on a daily basis. They can  have artistic supplies for when they are doing a project,  and multipurpose paper for when they need to print an current event out for their history class.

We suggest that McDonald’s creates their own line of school supplies; basic notebooks, pens, pencils, etc. to give out as a rewards for good student acts. They can incorporate themselves into these supplies by placing their logo, the famous golden arches, on each thing. This supply idea already coincides with McDonalds relentless  wish for a better education, for students. In my school, Brien McMahon in Norwalk, CT, we tend to have a problem with our supply of paper every year. Suddenly all the paper is used up and teachers are forced to bring in their own supply of paper for themselves or print out their  hundreds of sheets at their own home,. The teachers typically opt to do neither, and end up using the flip sides of previous printed pages to print out their  things for class. Or they can only print out a small amount of papers and have their students share. This causes stress for the teacher along with the students, especially the students who rely on the school printers for printing out their assignments.  When schools move smoothly, learning for students do as well; the availability of school supplies enables this smoothness. The students that work hard to earn these cool and new supplies, should be given the requirements to continue their learning.
By supporting schools, McDonalds desires to improve the education and  bring in more and new customers. Many comments from parents suggest that by majority, most parents are against the advertising of McDonalds in schools. Imagine if parents saw their children receiving new supplies provided by McDonalds, in support of their child’s achievements. This could definitely play a huge factor in swaying the opinions of parents about McDonalds being involved with schools across America. Along with their sway of opinion, comes the acceptance of McDonald’s foods. The chances of parents being willing to bring their children to McDonalds for a meal would rise if they were happy with the providing of the new school supplies. This school supplies benefitting students, would ultimately benefit the corporation of McDonalds as well.
We believe that rewards for students accomplishments are extremely important. They are proof that when one works hard, their hard work pays off. They are used to encourage students to continue to work to make high achievements in school. Although a voucher for a free cheeseburger from McDonalds is enticing for the average American teen, it is not something that will benefit their learning nor their future, which is something that  holds importance for McDonalds. Providing school supplies in place of the regular hamburger award will get what McDonald’s real desire is to all those that oppose of it, it’s desire to help the children in need.

Food Ads aimed at kids : Emotional Much??

Mc Donalds will make you stronger. Reeses Puffs cereal will make you a rap star. Ring Pops will make you a celebrity. Lies. At least those who create these false advertisements know that that the above statements aren’t true but by golly they want their best customers to believe that they are. Those great customers, the vulnerable youth are paying the price for it. Food advertising aimed at children manipulates

 the emotions of children to now only get them buying junk food but to keep them buying junk food while simultaneously sending a message to parents that getting their child the fast food will make them a better parent.

A young man eats his Recees puff cereal in the moring. All of a sudden he is on a stage in the middle of his kitchen rocking out to a catchy tune with his favorite rappers “ I want ,my r double e e s es “ Reeses Puffs, Reeses Puffs, peanut butter chocolate flavor” What kid wouldn’t want to be him? Poised, hip and full of swag, he is the ultimate in cool. Many times while growing up children can be insecure and will do anything to fit in or appear cooler and that’s what these food companies count on. Building on that, “emotional appeals of social enhancement and peer acceptance were found in 34% of food advertisements, in general, and 54% of fast food ads.” (Arch Pediatr)

 Although it seems low down to prey on a child at their most vulnerable stages  it works and these kids will come back like lost sheep and graze again ( well buy again)

Every child wants a good relationship with their parent and every parent wants a good relationship with their child (or at least that’s how it should be) According to these food advertisements aimed at children, so it can be. At least under one condition.. You eat their food.                      

Take this commercial for example

Mom goes with her son to  Mc Donald's, and they have a sweet bonding moment. How nice.. Not to mention that the food is “healthy” ( only if chicken nuggets made from cast away meat scraps can be considered healthy).  If I didn’t know any better I would want to bond with my mom at Mc Donald's too. They already knew that “the ads aimed at 'minivan parents' would carry an unspoken message about taking your children to McDonald's: 'It's an easy way to feel like a good parent.” (Schlosser, Eric) And let’s just say these other food giants have a similar thought process.

So what have we learned today? Well, food advertisement aimed at children are EVIL . Okay maybe not evil, but not only does it toy with their emotions but the emotions of their parents in order to sell food. Although a genius strategy well employed by Ray Kroc of Mc Donald’s fame, it is wrong. Unless something is done, children will end up in this foolish food fantasy that is well; fake.

                                                                        Citations

"Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med -- Trends in Exposure to Television Food Advertisements Among Children and Adolescents in the United States, September 2010, Powell Et Al. 164 (9): 794." Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a Monthly Peer-reviewed Medical Journal Published by AMA. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/164/9/794>.

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LzMtL6cT4I

Food advertisements aimed at children

A young child sits waiting patiently for their favorite show to come on. It’s the new episode that they just can’t miss; all of their friends will be talking about it tomorrow. While they wait patiently for the show to come back on the child is bombarded with advertisements for food. From Wendy’s to Fruit Loops to Juicy Drop Pops the food advertisements are inescapable. Ooops.  Did I forget to mention that this child was overweight like so many Americans are? Wait. The shows back on. But the damage has already been done.  Having food advertisements aimed at children only helps further the childhood obesity epidemic.

            Between ages 8 to 18 children spend an average of 44.5 hours a week watching television, on the computer or behind some kind of screen. This is the most time consuming activity children have besides sleeping. (American Psychological Association) So it’s no wonder that the food industry aims their advertisements at children. The fact that kids want what they see is nothing new, especially younger, more impressionable minds. These food companies make sure that they are visible. “Food ads on television make up 50% of all the ad time on children’s shows. These ads are almost completely dominated by unhealthy food products (34% for candy and snacks, 28% for cereal, 10% for fast food, 4% for dairy products, 1% for fruit juices, and 0% for fruits or vegetables)” ( American Psychological Association)  Zero percent advertising for fruits and vegetables. Seriously?? If all kids see are ads for soda and candy and fast food, surprise surprise, they’re going to crave soda and candy and fast food. The correlation between the rising obesity rates and these advertisement are pretty direct. For example, “Other research has found that children who watch more than three hours of television a day are 50 per cent more likely to be obese than children who watch fewer than two hours.” ( American Psychological Association) . Point blank, the more t.v a child watches the more likely they are to be obese, especially with all of these food ads.

So are the food industry and their advertisements completely to blame for childhood obesity? Certainly not. A lot of it also has to do with the dynamic in the child’s home. Are they a large part? Definitely so.

"The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity." American Psychological Association (APA). Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://www.apa.org/topics/kids-media/food.aspx>.

Barfblog ( Don't worry; this isn't a blog about barfing just about a website on barfing

Cheese with listeria that can harm pregnant women. Yum. A catering company for kids that gave their customers salmonella. Great. Just when I thought that food couldn’t get any shadier after reading Fast Food Nation; there it went. Barfblog, where all this wonderful information came from uses an interesting mix of statistics  and stories  that not only inform readers but scare them into reconsidering how safe their food is.

            To be completely honest, some of the statistics and stories Barfblog used completely scared me out of my mind. For example, after reading some of their blog post I found out that “gastroenteritis-associated deaths from all causes increased from nearly 7,000 to more than 17,000 per year.”, and that even rain could be a factor in causing salmonella. Nice. I have to worry about the rain getting me sick. But on Barfblog that wasn't the fact to shock. Stories of students getting violently ill due to salmonella at a New York restaurant and people barfing after getting sick at a Detroit High School hockey game all added its unique brand of nauseating but informative information.

            While I had been aware of some of these issues before hand I never knew that

they were to such a great extent. Even though the news reports about these

microbial outbreaks, they only report the major things such as the listeria in

cantelopes or mad cow disease. With Barfblog I was able to see the things that

affect others and I everyday like that restaurants may not be as up to code as

they should be ( celebrity Aubrey o day was able to put her TWO dogs on a restaurant table in LA). Most importantly it drilled into me that these bacteria that I only heard about and never thought twice about were mostly affecting my grandmother, my little nieces and nephews and I and others like us because these bacteria like the young and elderly. Although a bit scary to think about; it’s true.

            In sum, there are germs and bacteria on fruit, there are germs and bacteria on meat, there are germs and bacteria in our lunches, there are germs and bacteria everywhere. For the most part you can’t live with them and you can’t live without them. Barfblog gives everyone an incentive to remember that fact just when we think our food is completely safe. I just know that as long as the gears are still turning in my head I will never look at food the same after Barfblog. For the better… possibly; for the worse… definitely not.

                                              Citations

"Food Poisoning, Foodborne Illness Information and Research | Barfblog." Web. 16 Mar. 2012. <http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/barfblog>.

Outsourcing Blog part tres

Imagine this. All of a sudden, your culture was slowly slipping away. Every shirt you wear, and the language you speak is of some one you don’t know. Scary huh? Well in Egypt, that is a reality due to outsourcing. Now, especially since call centers are moving there, in Egypt its becoming somewhat of the norm for all of their students to learn English from a young age. Dr. Hanan Khalifa from the University of Cambridge ESOL examinations put this clearly when he said “School programmes where different subjects are taught in English are increasingly achieving high standards in Egypt which is really encouraging. English Language learning is high on the agenda for the Egyptian government and through these programmes students can increase their education, employability and mobility. This all plays a huge part in raising the standards of English in Egypt and across the world.” ( News) For their generation that might be the quickest way to get a job in the future since many jobs continue to get outsourced to Egypt from the west. One other big cultural issue that arises due to outsourcing is the clothing. While one of their main exports is cotton and other textiles, much of what’s sold in malls is the same as what’s sold in America. Stores like Aeropostale are popular with the teenage crowd. As the country is 90% Muslim, that can represent a problem. (CIA) I can see this from personal experience with the female host students that visited from Egypt.  For the most part, they were excited and shopped till they dropped in the Trumbull mall here in Connecticut (the same clothes are cheaper here than in Egypt) and wear the same “Modern Clothing” that they wear back home but they also wore the hijab as a sign of respect for their religion. The younger generation has to learn how to balance clothing from the west that may not be particularly modest with their religious values because they have few other choices besides traditional garb.

            Issues of inequity between Egypt and other countries and between Egyptians themselves are rising due to outsourcing. There are issues of inequity between Egypt and other countries because they are so dependent on them due to outsourcing. For example, the U.S is Egypt’s biggest trading partner and they receive food, clothing, wood, money and such from them, necessities in other words. This is extremely evident from a quote by Ahmed El Sayed El Nagar (Chief Economist for the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies) said in an interview with Frontline reporter  Amanda Pike “The second source of incoming foreign currency into Egypt was from the United States (also remittances), which represented 32 percent of the total incoming funds”. (PBS) It just means that they have to pay greater attention to what the U.S and their other suppliers say, especially with that much money coming in. Also, with youth unemployment around 25%  ( The Economist) and the little outsourced jobs tricking in ( and not very well paying ones at that) ; it just means that there is greater competition between those looking for and that have jobs and tension can even come between family members (mainly youth versus adult). As Ahemd El Sayed El Nagar also said “The young population of the middle, educated class is made up of liberal arts graduates and is unable to earn a decent living. So they become a burden on their families, who have to support them since we do not have unemployment benefits.” (PBS) Although it is sad, it is true. Families have to take care of educated youth that should have but can't get jobs. ... Shocking             

                                                                     Works Cited

"News." Egyptian Schools Are Raising English Language Standards, Says Cambridge ESOL. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. <http://www.cambridgeesol.org/about/news/2011/esol-egyptian-schools.html>.

PBS. PBS. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/egypt804/interview/extended2.html>.

"CIA- The World Factbook." Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/eg.html>.

The Economist. The Economist Newspaper. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. <http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2011/02/youth_unemployment>.

Outsourcing Can Be Fun! My Outsourced Experience

Who knew Outsourcing was so fun? Apparently the creators of the sitcom Outsourced did. After watching the pilot and the episode The Measure of a Manmeet of the lighthearted show, I was really able to take away a lot from the observations I made about the show.

For one, throughout the show they had very dynamic characters and cultural portrayals. In the show the Indians are portrayed as at first backwards and not yet up to speed on American customs but generally nice people and fast learners. Like they don’t know what mistletoe is in the beginning but they make an effort to learn about it and the other catalog items and they invite Todd to sit at their lunch table. Americans were portrayed as somewhat slow to change, for example Charlie still only ate peanut butter and jelly for lunch. They were also portrayed as either kind or cutthroat. Seeing as Jerry wanted Todd to fire an employee Todd couldn’t bear to do so.  I would consider they characters appropriately round for a sitcom because they are like people everyone can relate to, like the stupid-mean well friend in Charlie ( he never even learned his employees names) or the person that talks too much in Gupta. Like many sitcoms, certain characters archetypes are apparent. Gupta is the witless because he truly doesn’t understand what is going on around him and that he talks too much and people hate his stories although they make it clear by hiding from him and Todd even telling him in his employee evaluation. Rajiv is the want to be wit because he thinks that he understands how to manage the employees when he really has a lot to learn, such as fear through firing isn’t going to make them work any more efficiently. Todd is the true wit because he understands that he doesn’t understand everything and it takes a truly smart person to get that their job is to be adaptable and learn as they go along.

Also in observing the sitcom Outsourced I was able to come up with some reasons as to why it might have been canceled. First of all, outsourcing is portrayed as a nonchalant thing that sometimes happens that you have to go along with. Also it showed that outsourcing can happen on a whim. This can be seen by the fact that when Todd went to work one day his boss Jerry just told him that the company was being outsourced to India to make a bigger profit and that he would lose his job if he didn’t go. Also, there were also other people, including another American named Charlie whose job was outsourced too. Maybe it hit too close to home with people because they realized although its funny, it’s happening in the real world. On the same coin, maybe some people couldn’t relate to it enough since as Americans we rarely think of where our services come from. That could have taken away some of its appeal. Secondly, Cultural issues like food and dating are emphasized while things like religion and the sacredness of the cow are taken lightly. For example, in The Measure of a Manmeet, Todd is constantly seen craving beef even though he knows cows are considered sacred and not to be eaten ( even in the pilot Gupta told him not to touch the cow outside the office).  India is portrayed as a hot, muggy, colorful, busy place with lots of open bazaars and people. Basically a common stereotype.  It just makes me wonder how much responsibility the sitcom has and whether it’s to the general populace or just gaining viewers. Although it was a funny show, if the sitcom had not gone the stereotypical route which could have offended some people or hit either too close or too far away from home it wouldn’t have been canceled.

All in all, Outsourced was a wonderful show that did try to make outsourcing fun. It gave Americans a look at what does happen when jobs are outsourced and made us step back and see our pre conceived notions of others from a new perspective. Maybe the world wasn’t ready for it, but it will be missed. 

Outsourcing Can Be Fun! My Outsourced Experience

Egypt and Outsourcing

 

Egypt- the land of sand and pharos. The place where you can say hello to a mummy on your way to school or work and those pyramids make a cute picture backdrop. A country as old as civilization itself. Not exactly the first place someone thinks about when talking about outsourcing and off shoring. But not so fast. Recently Egypt has begun to throw its hat in the outsourcing ring.

As a country where the youth unemployment rate was about 25% in 2011, Egypt needed an economic boost and jobs and outsourcing has provided just that. (Youth Unemployment)  Much new outsourcing business has come from the Information Technology world. For example, they have opened a 600 acre Smart Village of Cairo where all of the IT businesses are going. (Outsourcing to Egypt) This center is predicted to make up to 2 billion dollars by 2013 and 10 billion in ten years. Although with the technology outsourcing the employees don’t make an exorbitant amount of money ( A junior software analyzer with about four years of experience only makes about 12% of what their U.S counterparts do ) it has proved a step in the right direction. (Outsourcing to Egypt)  Also, there is still the old stand by of oil. That is especially true since they produce about 155, 200 barrels of oil a day (Egypt Trade).

Sadly, outsourcing when it comes back to importing has not been all that good to Egypt. That’s because they don’t produce many of the basics. For example, they need to import wood, equipment and some food from other countries like China and the U.S. Due to that their imports increased by 24%  in 2009, giving them a negative trade balance. (Egypt Trade) So although more technology jobs like call centers are being outsourced to them, Egypt still needs to make some more strides before out sourcing and off shoring can impact their economy in a completely positive way.

           

Still, Egyptians remain positive that outsourcing and off shoring will turn around and benefit them  more than it has in the past.  When asked why outsource to Egypt and Raya, Raya Technologies said it best when they said “Egypt is strongly emerging as a global call center destination, consented by international business intelligence pioneers - A.T.Kearny and Datamonitor, with a highly competitive industry offering a combination of operational expertise, people skills, cutting-edge technology, and competitive pricing schemes.” (Raya) Egypt has the youth and drive to succeed.  There is a reason that they were chosen outsourcing destination of the year in 2008 (Outsourcing to Egypt).  Now that the actual revolution has passed, Egypt has the chance to start over and really make a change. Hopefully with ambitious people and great outsourcing partners like Vodafone and Microsoft, Egypt will go nowhere but up. In this era of a shrinking world due to instant communication, things like off shoring and outsourcing have become easier than ever.

                                                            Citations

"Egypt Trade, Exports and Imports | Economy Watch." World, US, China, India Economy, Investment, Finance, Credit Cards | Economy Watch. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/egypt/export-import.html>.

"Outsourcing to Egypt | Country Profile & Statistics | 2011." SourcingLine | The Line on Top Services Firms. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.sourcingline.com/outsourcing-location/egypt>.

"Raya - Why Outsource?" Welcome to Raya - Pulse of the Future. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.rayacorp.com/ShowPage.aspx?PID=63>.

"Youth Unemployment: Young, Jobless and Looking for Trouble | The Economist." The Economist - World News, Politics, Economics, Business & Finance. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2011/02/youth_unemployment>.

                                      

 

Foreign Products and Me!!

Outsourcing. The very thought of it brings fear to the hearts of many Americans. I mean, wasn’t it part of the reason that all the good manufacturing jobs left America? Exactly how much of what we use is outsourced?  If you guessed a lot- you’re a winner!! The large amount of items made in other countries shows that as Americans, we have unconsciously become dependent and addicted to foreign made products.

I am an addict. Without my Paper Mate erasable pens that were assembled in Mexico and imported from Canada, and my Jansport backpack that was made in China; I start to get the shakes. If the Chinese made computer I am writing this blog from gets separated from me, I begin to sweat. Yes, I am addicted to foreign products through and through and I didn’t even know it.  The kicker, most Americans are too. Truthfully, I couldn’t on without some of these items and I know many Americans couldn’t go on without some of their foreign made products either. Where would we be without our Japanese phones, Pakistani towels and favorite pajamas made in Mexico? That’s right. Nowhere. These and other foreign items dominate everything we use from the time we get up to the time we go to sleep (even my bed was made in Taiwan). Because people hardly pay attention to where their things come from, foreign products have become like a drug unwittingly slipped to us until we are dependent and have reached the point of no return. As a country and humans in general, we are cheerful robots and we don’t think; we use. The really sad thing is that all of this never had to happen. In the 1950’s, America was a manufacturing powerhouse. What happened?  At this point, finding made in America on anything seems a rare occurrence (only one lone College Edition notebook I had was made in America) and it shouldn’t be.  Although outsourcing and gaining back jobs is a concern, we have a long way to go before we kick our addiction and dependency to foreign products and see the label made in America prevalent again.

Unreal Depictions; Ads and Media Today

      There is a girl leaning against a thriving green tree. A plush rain forest lies in the background, with a waterfall flowing and mist flowing in the air. The girl, she's otherworldly with wet , raven colored hair strewn across her face and lips pursed in a seductive smile. Her eyes, they are a piercing green, almost animalistic. Who wouldn’t want to be like this beautiful creature? That’s exactly what this ad for Aqcua di Giorgio wants people to think. The ad is built upon people's insecurities. Most people will never look like this model and this model probably doesn’t look like what her picture portrays in real life anyway. Even though people know she may be photo- shopped and her eyes are most likely contacts, we as humans fall for the ploy anyway.  It is exactly ads like these that are destroying us. According to this ad, women are now supposed to be  these almost beautiful animals kept in solitude, which isn't true at all. Images like these are shown time and time again.
      So although there is no perfume apparent in the ad, only the tagline of the fragrance, it still works. All we need need to know is thats it's "The Fragrance" and requites no more explaination. That’s because we are buying into the image that it portrays not the product. For women, when they see the beautiful women in the ad, they may want to emulate her. So if it’s saying to buy Armani perfume, why not if it will make them look like the model. For men sex sells, and this ad has no shortage of it. With a gorgeous woman on a deserted rain forest , practically screaming come hither off the page ; what man wouldn’t find someone to buy the perfume for? With her you will "Experience the essence of joy"  and whatever sexual implications that goes along with. That is exactly what kind of thinking the marketing executives count on. Essentially, buy the woman. Who cares about perfume?

Final Reflection

Due to consciously observing Fairfield County for the first time, I was able to see it through a whole new set of eyes and learn so much in a short amount of time. For example, I learned that the cultural and physical places in Fairfield County are so dependent on one another. When children are in an adult physical space they are expected to behave with respect while amongst other children in a children physical space, they are beholden to little values and feel a little freer. Overall, I could see that talented children are very valued due to shows like glee, I Carly, Victorious, etc. At the same times bad behavior is rewarded with shows like Jersey Shore, Bad Girls Club and all of the different “Housewives”. Whether or not that’s because we like bad behavior or because we like to compare ourselves to them is another question. This is surprising because while bad behavior is such a huge focus, there are so many groups that get ignored and are practically invisible. Some would be Native Americans, the disabled, the lgbt community, etc. Although they are apparent in our communities they are hardly apparent on television. That’s a problem because television a lot of the time is the first way children learn about the other parts of society. Because of that I feel that people are very obligated to act in the interest of bettering society. While they don’t have to spend their days picketing at places considered to perpetuate inequalities, they do have the responsibility to call it out when they see it. If not for them, for their children who deserve to have an honest, fair, and unbiased look and chance of success in this world. So if society now doesn’t change us, nobody else will. Now that I have looked around me I will do what I have asked of society and try to change things that I have noticed that I consider to be unjust. Most importantly, I will continue to look around me and consciously think about what I participate in or allow to happen on a regular basis. The least I owe to society is the think before I act and consciously object if I disagree with it; or in other words follow in the footsteps of Thoreau.

Television

Hail to the spunky, talented children , to the spirit of competition and people behaving badly. As an outsider to Fairlfield County looking in on what’s popular on TV, those are the things humans revere the most. From Glee to X factor to Bad Girls Club these things dominate television. Sometimes stereotypical, each group has their own role. For example, men of color are often the villains or side characters in the shows. This can be seen in NBC's show Grimm where Detective Griffin plays sidekick to Detective Burkhart when solving fairytale like crimes. Furthermore African American women are often seen as nagging, demanding and sometimes "ghetto". The Parkers are a perfect example of these traits. Kim parker, the main protagonist of the series is always seen as wearing outrageous clothing, never passing her classes and saying “Heyy” or “Dang Mamma” in a very loud, stereotypical fashion. Surprisingly, this program airs on BET which is supposed to refute these stereotypes.  The portrayal of black women isn’t very far off from how women are shown in general. That is a bossy person that demands attention all the time. Nothing is a more perfect example of this than the children’s cartoon the Fairly Odd Parents which airs on nick. Wanda, the fairy wife is famous for demanding her husband Cosmo get her chocolate calling him a "Stupid idiot" and being "Naggy". Although these shows are showing a reversed gender role, with men now being seen as incompetent or complacent and women as more assertive, whether it is a good or bad thing is the real question. It seems that women are either portrayed as too bossy or too weak. In general there seems to be no happy medium for any group, with Asians, LGBT's Native Americans and the disabled underrepresented or ignored. My only hope is that at some point that happy medium can be found.

ads

·         -“Red Bull gives you wings”, “Chips pancakes are the best pancakes in Connecticut”. These are some of the advertisements that bombard people in Fairfield County everyday. Not to mention the subliminal messages on t.v like a character holding a coco-cola bottle, label side up for an extended amount of time when taking a drink. Overwhelmingly, these ads are selling us the image and lifestyle of the rich and famous. If we aren’t already, they want to make us cool and hip. These advertisements get us to buy into this by using models, our favorite  t.v characters and anybody else most people aspire to be; the pinnacle youth, success and popularity. An example of this is the new commercial for Dior. There is a jet setting model that uses their perfume just before she goes on the runway, and rubs elbows with her fabulous friends. Things like these are exactly what are promised to everyday people through the ads. Explicitly, you will smell like a model but implicitly, if you use Dior perfume you could also be a woman of beauty and intrigue. Some of the most popular slogans are “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe its Maybeline by Maybeline and “Because you’re worth it” by Loreal. What they promise through their ad campaigns is the exact opposite of what will happen if too much money is spent on their products. Sure they say that a seventy-five dollar   will buy a care-free lifestyle, but after a few two many of those while on a fixed income, debt will occur. Generally, debt doesn’t lead to a glamorous life. On a whole, these ads have to be taken with a grain of salt because at the end of the day, the job of the ads is to get a product or service sold, not to better mankind or make its users rich. In advertisement sometimes what they promise, implicitly or explicitly and reality are two different things.

Eaves dropping

Eaves dropping

Hollister at the Trumbull Mall

Girl 1- How does this look?

Girl 2- I love that color. It looks really cute

Girl 1- (see’s girl across the room) what the f-ck does she think she’s wearing? She looks like an f-ing elf.

Girl 2- (laughs) yea Santa’s helper on crack

Girl 1- Yup that sh-t cray!

Girl 1’s house

Girl 1’s mom- Hurry up and get in the car, we’re going to be late for the doctors!

Girl 1- Coming mom let me finish getting on my shoes.

Girl 1’s mom- I swear, if you don’t get down here in the next ten seconds.

Girl 1- Alright, alright I’m here.

Girl 1’s mom- Good and don’t make me have to wait for you again.

After a lot of observation I noticed that there is a big connection between a physical place and a cultural space it creates. In general, it seems that clothing stores like Hollister and Aeropostale and game stores like game stop attract and cater to teenage crowd. On the other hand, places like peoples bank, stop and shop and Macy’s attract a crowd of people in their mid twenties and older and at home adults rule to the roost. Due to the differences in the age groups each place attracts, each has its own atmosphere. For example, in the teenage atmosphere it creates a feeling of freedom, invincibility and power. This is evidenced by the two girls’ blatant disregard for the other girl’s feelings and the fact that they find humor in tearing her down. On the other hand, when in an adult controlled environment, everything completely flips. Now girl one is mild and subservient as opposed to at the mall. It just goes to show that the dynamics can change quickly depending on the place at hand and how big the connection is between a cultural space and physical place.

Physical Place and rules/ social codes

Rules and social codes. Whether spoken or unspoken, they dominate our society. While observing my surroundings I noticed some interesting things. The social codes and rules of appropriate clothing, language and noise level change depending on the place. In general, it seems that the more expensive and public the place the stricter the rules and codes. I received some first hand experience in this when eating out and going about town with my family. A perfect example of this is when I went out to eat at Café Tavolini in Bridgeport, an upscale Italian restaurant. When I went there, there were no young children (12 and under) all of the men wore button down shirts and the women dress pants or skirts. One man was even asked to leave the restaurant because he was talking too loudly on his cell phone and disturbing the other patrons. This is compared to the Burger King I went into on my way to New York on the 26^th where all of the restaurant patrons were in various states of dress, from pajama pants to suits. Volume wasn’t an issue since the place was so crowded that you were expected to yell your food order to the staff in order to be heard. This just leads me to wonder if the rules and social codes are meant to attract a certain group of people or if the people a place attract unconsciously create the rules and social codes.