Blog This!

Amanda Knox, the girl who killed her British roomate now is starring in a book. The book "Take Me With You - Talks with Amanda Knox in Prison" by lawmaker Rocco Girlanda. It comes out Tuesday, about a month before Knox's appeal that begins on Nov. 24. I think this artical is a good example of what we've been talking about when it comes to goals and achieving them. Amanda has been in prson now for awhile and she now is setting goals for herself for what she is going to do when she get out. In order to achieve this master goal of getting married and adopting childeren, she is taking small steps by admitting what she had going on in her life and trying to move forward. It is a corrective motivation that is driving her along with the idea of discrepency. Does she really want to be a better person? She keeps telling people she does but we'll see if she can achieve that goal. She only has another 20 years or so to think about it.

I found an article from the Los Angeles Times titled “Mystery deepens over women at heart of L.A.s basement babies’ case”. LAPD is trying to find more information on a woman named, Jean M. Barrie, whose trunk held two mummified babies. The trunk had been in the basement of a Las Angles apartment building for decades. When the basement was getting cleaned out, the trunk was discovered and opened, unearthing the remains. The babies were warped in newspapers form the 1930’s. There were other things in the trunk, including medical forms with the name Jean Barrie on them. Jean Barrie had lived in the area and is suspected to have been a nurse. The detectives have not idea at this time if a crime was committed. Their goal will be to determine if the babies were stillborn, aborted, or killed. The detectives are also looking at another individual with the same name that was storyteller and performer in her day. She is also the relative to the author of the book “Peter Pan”. According to the person who first found the babies, that they seem to be fetus, most likely they were miscarried or aborted. Whoever this women is and her reasoning for keeping the babies, and the cause of death the babies is still to be determined.

This relates to the class, because police will want to know her motives for keeping two babies in a trunk all those years. The way it looks the babies were stillborn or aborted, so no crime was committed in that case. So she wouldn’t be keeping them hidden because they were evidence of murder. Did Jean Barrie have any intrinsic or extrinsic motives for doing this? Did she gain anything from keeping these babies in a trunk? Did she do this for her own sake or for the sake of someone else? Was her emotional state stable or was she suffering from something? She could have been abusing drugs or alcohol and was high or drunk when she stored these babies in the trunk. She could have had a mental disorder, which screwed up her brain chemistry. These are questions that will need to be answered and that can be answered in the scope of motivation and emotion.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/20/local/la-me-basement-babies-20100820

For each one of us, our life is a complete mixture of experiences, each unique in their own way. No matter what, we must endure life struggles, but why? This blog/website I came across provides several helpful reasons why dealing with life struggles can be seen as a good thing.

They are a way to teach us life lessons. The struggles that come our way and the way we cope and deal with them help to shape us in the end. Even though we may think it is doing nothing but harming us at the time, it is doing much more than we think. It is up to us to find it within ourselves to replace our resentment, frustration and anger in order to fully appreciate those bumps in the road in order to see them as a way of self improvement.

Life struggles are a way to build character in regards to our inner strength, intellect, integrity, compassion, courage and creativity. Without them, what kind of person would you be like today? This is a great blog to refer to for a few words of encouragement in difficult time. There is hope, and know your not alone.

“You desire to know the art of living, my friend? It is contained in one phrase: make use of suffering.” -Henri-Frederic

http://blog.self-improvement-saga.com/2010/06/lifes-struggles/

I found an interesting article that a woman wrote for the Waterloo/CF Courier (located via MSNBC.com) about how she did not like being asked by her friends to be listed as a job reference on their job applications. Most of the people who asked her were friend that she had never worked with and had never been the boss ever. This raises the question on what motivates people to ask certain people for job references over others and just how far some people are willing to go to get a good reference.

I feel that this would be an excellent edition to the blogs because it goes along with how motivated people are to find job references. Some people, as the author or this article alluded to, simply go through their list of friends and pick a person to ask. Are they really goal-oriented and motivated to get the job if they list three people they roomed with in college or their best friend from high school?

http://wcfcourier.com/lifestyles/article_8b188e9e-0fcb-519c-8167-48c12f6b7b5a.html

I found the article entitled “Toddlers & Tech: Are All Screens Created Equal?” on abcnews.com. This article discusses how parents and pediatricians view the overuse of technology among young children. The article begins with a quote that really caught my attention. Dr. Vic Strasburger, a member of the AAP's council on communication and media and a professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine stated, "There is absolutely no hurry to rush kids into technology, either old or new. And the AAP recommends avoiding screen time for babies under the age of 2." This quote struck me as shocking, as I realized how early technology is introduced to young children. Today, children are watching more television and playing video and computer games, spending large amounts of time in front of a screen. In fact, according to this article, “the Kaiser Family Foundation study found that children ages 8 to 18 spend an average of seven hours a day in front of a screen, but Strasburger said that number should be brought down to no more than 2 hours a day, and for toddlers under 2, it should be zero.” Researchers recognize that too much time in front of a screen may cause language delays in some children.
The article discusses the topic of touch screen technology, specifically cell phones. Today, cell phones can act as almost every source of information. For instance, cell phones can call, send and receive text messages, email, and have a bazillion other applications that I am not technologically aware of. Researchers are worried that the screens on these new devices may somehow be harmful to children. However, some researchers are thinking that touchscreens can help children with sensorimotor learning as more educational applications can be programmed and used on a technological device. More research is needed to learn whether or not these new technological advances are harmful to children.
As I continued reading, I was shocked to learn about how a father lets his two young children (both under the age of 4) play with his iPhone. He told reporters that some of the applications on his phone are educational. He explains that he feels that his iPhone is an educational tool that is useful and helpful for his children. This man’s iPhone seems to act as an intrinsic motivator practice school work. The kids seem to engage and enjoy using it. Although the educational applications on the iPhone may challenge kids to learn, I am still wary about logic behind this educational program compared to human and adult attention and teaching.
I find this article very interesting. In fact, I do not agree with the motivation behind letting children learn from technology. I feel today’s society is too dependent on technology. Today, technology can help us engage in communication and figure out and answer questions by touching a screen or clicking a button. Is that really how we want our children to grow up? What ever happened to “family time?” This article questions if technology is starting to become “a parent’s way out.” I feel that parents should fulfill a child’s need by nurturing and satisfying the child personally without the use of technology. However, I assume future generations will demand to play games and learn using more and more technology. I also feel parents need to be advised that these technological advances could possibly be harmful to a child’s physical and psychological health.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/toddlers-tech-screens-created-equal/story?id=11910667&page=2

I discovered an article published just today concerning a 'Tipsy' gene in relation to alcohol. The article 'Tipsy' alcohol gene 'could help curb alcoholism' by Michelle Roberts examines the notion that researchers believe 10-20% of people have a gene called CYP2E1 that may offer protection against alcoholism. Alcohol is broken down in the liver but some is also metabolized in the brain using the enzyme which the CYP2E1 gene provides. Individuals who have the tipsy gene feel the effects of alcohol sooner than those who do not and are less likely to form an addiction to alcohol.
A study was done on more than 200 pairs of students who were siblings that had one parent with a dependency on alcohol but did not present a problem themselves. The students were given a mixture of grain alcohol and soda which was equivalent to approximately 3 alcoholic beverages. After wards the results along with student genes were examined. The findings revealed that the CYP2E1 on chromosome 10 appears to dictate whether an individual can hold their drinks better than others.
More research is needed to know whether or not new treatments could be yielded in combating alcoholism. There are many contributing factors that lead one to drink in excess and this may just be one of them. The relationship between environment and genetics is still very present.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11572894

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101020/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_saudi_prince I found this story on yahoo about a Saudi royal prince who is getting life in prison (this is in Britian) w/out parole for at least 20 years. Hopefully he never gets out, as his crime is truly heinous. He beat his manservant (with whom he had a homosexual relationship with) in an elevator, then killed him later after they had reached their room. The medical examiers, according to story, said that the victim had so many injuries they couldn't tell which was the fatal one. This is truly sickening, but what is worse is that he didn't show any remorse at all. As I was reading this story, I was wondering what would motivate someone to do this. Clearly the prince had a very high need for power and a very low need for intimacy or affiliation. He certainly was motivated to hurt this person, although no reasons were given for why he felt this need. I can only speculate that his need for power was so great he couldn't take anyone (especially his slave) doing something he didn't like. Although I don't know if that's what caused the beating, I'm pretty sure that the victim either said or did something the prince didn't like. (This in NO way excuses his behavior, which was rightly condemned.) I suppose he figured that he had to provide negative punishment so that it wouldn't happen again. I feel very sorry for this poor victim and his family.

The growth of social networking websites over the last ten years is astonishing; Facebook alone is home to half-a-billion members and counting. Over 38 percent of the U.S. population is now on Facebook, which is half of our adult population. With such a large user base, Facebook’s billionaire creator is increasingly faced with the paradox of securing individual’s personal information (user interests) versus capitalizing on corporations’ external motivators (expanding his power). The present-ideal discrepancy faced by the creator/owner is reflected in growing discontent among users concerned with keeping their private media available only to individuals as they so choose. Facebook’s implementation intention of protecting the people appears to be losing an ongoing battle with corporations’ interest in tapping this vast market. At the interactional level, Facebook may operate to achieve social needs, enhancing relatedness and creating/maintaining social bonds. Does it affect day-to-day relations and competency in achieving social needs in “natural” environment?

Social networking is connecting people on a global scale never before seen. Vast distances and geographical boundaries are not impediments to building relationships. Affiliation, intimacy and/or predation may result from anonymity. As we have learned developing social skills is vital to healthy functioning but at what point does one become a high traffic user- how many hours before you are considered a full-blown addict? What about the religious users, some of whom never log off? An interesting note: the biggest sector of Facebook gamers, middle aged women. Could it be they are experiencing FLOW building their farms 1000 mouse clicks at a time? Soon, continued game play past initially free demos may be a reward for engaging in desired behaviors (purchasing advertised goods).

On the other hand, Facebook has taken it upon itself to divulge your personal information to its “trusted” partners—Yelp.com, Pandora, and Microsoft's Docs.com—in order to optimize user experiences. Access to personal information that would otherwise be publicly available to these sites flows without any extra steps. By automatically sharing your information with these sites it brings more traffic to the Facebook site, therefore, increasing revenue; keep in mind you can opt out, however, the process is not meant to be straightforward. As Facebook’s privacy policies are constantly being reshaped by big business opportunities it may be worth reflecting on the notion of oversharing your information and overdoing application downloads: installing the like button apparently consequences a 50 percent increase in Facebook traffic, mostly advertisements. How much are you sharing with everyone? The answer may surprise you.

Employers are already using social network profiles in screening possible employees. Where does the future lead us? Will Vis-à-vis interaction of later generations be increasingly sacrificed in favor of online relations? As we create new relationships, new phenomena such as “facebook friends” arise. As fulfillment of social needs is opened up to a broader audience, does this improve or complicate our individual abilities to successfully do so? Especially, considering the bureaucracy facebook has grown into: what are its organizational motivations and incentives as it regularly restructures its privacy measures? Whose interests ultimately win out? As the Facebook network continues to grow, what does the creator have to lose? Will the government decide to step in and regulate online privacy rights?

http://www.socialnetworking-weblog.com/

I picked an article titled Sports Motivation. The reason I picked this article is because I love sports and have a burning passion for them. On the other hand, I know some people who could care less about sports. I have always been interested in what motivated people to play sports, so this article was perfect. First, the article talks about the Personal investment theory. The personal investment theory as described in the article is a process in which a person uses his or her resources, time, talent and energy as they chose (Romando). There are two stages of the personal investment theory. The first stage involves external factors and how they affect the way a person perceives a situation. The second stage is how the person thinks he or she will personally invest time, resources, talent and energy to the situation. There is also an inner drive involved in the personal investment theory. Romando defines inner drive as a “desire, or intention an individual possesses as a reaction to external influences” (Romando). Finally, Romando talks about internal and external motivation. Extrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from external events. For example, rewards and recognition. Intrinsic motivation talking about someones inner drive that makes them want to accomplish a goal.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Sports-Motivation&id=429143

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101020/wl_yblog_upshot/college-student-named-police-chief-in-violence-plagued-mexican-town-after-no-one-else-would-apply
I thought this would be a great article for our class. It's about the 20 year old college student who is the new police chief in a Mexican city because nobody else wanted the job due to the increase violence from the drug cartels.
In the article, she briefly discusses her motivation for applying for the job and what she hopes to accomplish. I think she's a very brave woman.

I was recently made aware of the variety of research involving happiness ratings. I found this intriguing and was recently able to attend a presentation on campus about it. The presentation featured John de Graff who is the national coordinator for an organization known as Take Back Your Time. His main focus in this organization is to examine how overworking has detrimental effects on small and large scales. During his presentation, he began correlating overworking to various problems we are currently facing. Many of the problems he discussed dealt with health care.

I view this research as important and see it bringing about positive changes in our viewpoints toward various problems. His suggestions are backed by concrete and systematic research that has the potential to make great advancements.

Here's one link that discusses the organization that Graff is currently involved with. It also features links to YouTube videos that picture a variety of his presentations.
http://www.timeday.org/

This is one of the sites I came across while doing some background reading for my book (signature killers) that I am reading for this class. I thought this would be a good link to have on the blog for a couple of reasons. First, as the book I was doing the research for was on the list we could choose from I’m guessing there are other people in our class are reading it too, or will read it in a future class. Also profiling, which is what this site is about, is based almost solely on motivation.
Why do serial killers kill? Why do they leave signatures? Why do they have to kill more than once? Why do they repeat certain aspects of the crime? These are all questions that profilers ask themselves when faced with a case. In fact the motivational aspect is what defines a signature killer. The signature a killer leaves is something that is not necessary to committing the crime; it is done because something is somehow motivating that person to do it. For example the BTK killer (BTK standing for Bind Torture Kill) did not have to torture his victims to kill them, that was part of his signature, so why did he have to do it? It's a question of motivation.
I found this site useful for understanding my book and I hope it helps others reading it as well
http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/00206/nts_psychological_profiling.htm

I found this blog post (almost more like a cartoon) that relates well to what we have learned so far in Motivation and Emotion. In the post the main character struggles with autonomy and competence. She wants to be an adult who is able to make her own decisions and interact effectively with her environment (which is the definition of competence from our textbook), but she struggles with varying levels of motivation.

This particular post also provides a good example of goal setting, because the main character has the goal of being a “real adult.” In order to do this she believes she has to clean daily, pay bills on time, and answer emails promptly. This is a classic example of setting too big and vague of a goal. The main character ends up burnt out and not living up to her own standards, but if she would have set a smaller goal that was not soo different from her normal routine she may have been successful. In addition, this post shows how motivations aren’t constant, and that they often lead to increased or decreased behavior.

I picked this post because I thought it was funny and something that I could definitely relate to. Often I make lofty goals only to become burnt out. Then I take a break just like the main character, which causes me to get even further behind. Ahhh adulthood!

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-be-adult.html