First Source

Authors: Sjöqvist F, Garle M, Rane A.

Title: Use of doping agents, particularly anabolic steroids, in sports and society.

This is an article about the effects, impacts, and problems that are directly and indirectly caused by doping agents in the world of sports and in real life. Steroids is the primary doping agent discussed in the article. It shows how steroids is changing sports and then in turn changing people and society.

Research Idea

I am interested in writing my paper on steroids in sports. I would be exploring the biggest problem in sports. I would prove in my paper how big a problem steroids is in professional sports and then I would eventually focus my paper on the social effects on profession athletes using steroids. For instance, What kind of effect does steroid use have on young athletes in high school and college?

My Very First Source!

Title: Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Among First-Year College Students

Authors: Virginia Ross and William DeJong

Summary:

This piece addresses three main issues when dealing with what was presented in the title: Alcohol and drugs with college freshman. First, they ask the question, "Is it really that bad?" Is having a society where adolescents are not allowed to drink at home, and then sent off to someplace where they still "can't" drink, but have plenty of access to booze a legitimate way to run a country? Why are college students (especially freshmen) so susceptible? Because they haven't seen this type of culture before, and it's new and exciting to them. It then lists ways that professionals and other school staff can help to ease this transition with the least number of stomach pumpings possible.

War on Drugs

I have singled down my topic to the point in which i will talk about the modern day war on drugs in the United States in the past decade, representing both sides of the "war." This will take into account the social, economic,legalization and medical/healthiness of specifically marijuana presented by both sides and in the end draw a conclusion as to who i feel is winning this modern day war on drugs.

Exposure to the Above the Influence Antidrug Advertisements and Adolescent Marijuana Use in the United States, 2006-2008, Carpenter C, Pechmann C. Am J Public Health. 2011 Mar 18. [Epub ahead of print]

This article describes the above the influence anti-drug campaign and its effectiveness in young teens across America. This article also goes in depth as to describe the use of marijuana by young teens and the short and long term effects both socially and physically.

Social Media Research Paper

Title:Persistently present:college students, social-mobile technologies, and the transformation of social life

Author: Mark A. Gammon

Format: Thesis/Manuscripts

I think this source just pretty much sums up what I wanna talk about in my paper. The source tackles everything I want to cover, social-mobile technologies, college students, and the transformation of social life. The source is also very recent, written in 2009, so i think the information from it will be accurate and up to date. I really think the aspects of how social life has transformed is portrayed well in this piece and will be a vital part to my paper.

Modest Mouse: A Pretty Good Read

Author - Alan Goldsher

The book is a biography of a band that unconventionally took hold on the indie music scene and became international superstars. There's a close look at the background of front man Isaac Brock and how his wild style influenced the band and their fan base. It highlights their first and only major hit 'Float On' and everything before and in between. The book was written in 2006 so its a little behind in terms of their new music but it seems like a really interesting read and its purported to be witty and pretty funny so I'm hoping it will provide me with a lot of good information!

Potential Research Paper Choices

Potential Ideas:

1. The effect of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on South Africa. I wanted to get into detail as to how the World Cup addressed negative situations such as the separation in cultures (originating from apartheid) and the widespread poverty, which prevents many from proper medical treatment, education, and a quality lifestyle.


2. Preservation of Natural Environment/Nature. I would get into detail as to explaining how the preservation of the environment will enhance our quality of life aesthetically, health wise, and how these negative patterns affect the earth physically.

Ideas for English Research Paper...

I've been having a lot of ideas on what I'd like to do for the research paper... graffiti? I find it interesting because some people feel like its within their rights to deface property and I just don't see how that makes sense at all... also a lot of times I find graffiti wonderful and inspiring and I'd like to delve into the art more. I was also considering researching the idea behind indie music because one, its the main genre I listen to, and two it seems like its transformed into a culture and I'd like to learn about and document the transformation through the years focusing on bands that have paved the way for indie musicians to come. Also I was thinking about doing 'Janeites' which are a fanatic group of Jane Austen fans that were apparently prominent in the nineties. I think it would be an interesting topic because I love Jane Austen, and I find it very odd when people take it upon themselves to let something fictional dictate their lives in such extreme ways. Also in the back of my mind for ideas are hallucinogens, because I'm just super curious, and pop culture but that is just way too broad I would have to specify it to the extreme... I don't know I have a lot of thinking left to do!

2 possible topics

1) The editing or "photoshopping" in the media of celebrities' and public figures' pictures. I was thinking of going in depth on how it effects our society and more specifically american teenagers. I don't know if this is in the topic of "the arts" enough maybe I can spin it that way. After all digital editing is an art I would just like to see how it effects teenagers perceptions of themselves and others.

2) My second topic is veganism and if it is actually beneficial or detrimental to ones health or somewhere in between. I was thinking about relating it to the views that different cultures have on the lifestyle

Unit 3 Topics

Lady Gaga:
Lady Gaga has gained notoriety through her pop music and bizarre attire. Even to those who do not like the singer have to respect her for the fact that she writes her own songs and is a classically trained piano player. And unlike her peers in the pop industry, Gaga uses her fame to gain attention to issues such as political equality amongst the gay/ lesbian community, spreading her words and informing the youth of the Don't ask, don't tell (DADT) law that exists in the US military. And while her music videos and songs have much to do with sex, she is a strong advocate of safe sex, making deals with companies such as MAC to raise money for AIDS research. She stresses the seriousness of a lack of protection and makes it clear to her fans and anyone that will listen; it is not something to take lightly. Those who do not recognize Lady Gaga’s intelligence and commitment of teaching the youth of both political and social issues should start to take notice. I don’t think Gaga’s going to be one to fade out in the music industry.\

Grammys:
Anyone that watches the Grammys in the past couple of years can see how terribly trendy it has become. This award show has snubbed so many talented artists, even decades ago, such as Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Doors, and the list just goes on. But “artists” such as Britney Spears and the Black Eyed Peas are Grammy winning artists. One has to think how is it not evident that the credibility of actually winning a Grammy has gone down significantly. Justin Beiber has been nominated for a Grammy, but the incredibly talented singer/ songwriter Regina Spektor has not. If this is what society is telling the world is good music, then many will listen to it. It’s important for people to know that the Grammy’s is not, at least most of the time, the place to go if one is looking for talented artists. If society learns to not take the Grammy’s so seriously, it might be possible for those involved to take notice and change their ways.

-Rebecca Fredericks

Research Topic Ideas

1. The Benefits of Socialism vs. Capitalism

2. Overpopulation and its effects on the world

3. Assisted Suicide



-Katie Sheffy

Possible ideas

1) The current expenditures of the United States government in the current war on drugs, more specifically that of the cost versus benefits of marijuana use across the country and the ongoing prohibition against marijuana.

2) Does the popularity of modern day music on pop radio follow a very basic formula? The addition of synthetic beats, remixing pre-existing songs, and singing primarily about drugs and sex seems to be key components to all popular songs nowadays.

3) Another topic that has always interested me, similar to my first topic is the intentional misleading and deceit by our government about many popular street drugs such as marijuana, lsd, and mushrooms.

1. Discussion of censorship in modern media

2. Role of ethnic identity in social environments

3. Affects of technology on privacy

COMPUTER LAB MONDAY, 3/21

Hello folks,

Hope you've had a splendid break.

On Monday, we will not meet in the classroom. Instead, we'll gather in the "Calipari Room" at the UMass DuBois library. These directions should get you there:

When you enter the library, turn right (passing the cafe), and go down the set of stairs. Once downstairs, veer left and walk toward the far end of the building (you'll see a lot of Mac computers on the way). The Calipari room will be on your left. There are plenty of library workers able to point you in the right direction if you become lost. In any case, give yourself a little more time to get to the computer lab, so as not to arrive late.

See you then,
M Harrison

Topics

1) My first idea would have to be either the social media we use everyday. With the social media I would explore the failure of myspace, the rise of facebook and twitter and there significant impacts our society, culture, and lifestyle. I would take a look at the impact each social media has on the different age groups that use them and in general how it has changed the way we communicate and interact with each other.

2) My second idea is the lack of creativity in Hollywood and the movie making industries and the transition from the going out the theaters and video stores movie viewing to staying at home cinematic adventures. All there are nowadays are bad remakes of originally good movies. I would investigate at the decrease in movie theater ticket sales and the increase in the number of closing theaters.

3) My third idea is the struggling US education system. The US public education system is not even close to competing with countries like China and India in terms of testing scores and economic competitiveness. I would compare the difference in learning and teaching styles and how this effects the students performances and ultimately the countries economy.

-Matt Foley

Research Paper Topics

1. The cultural significance of the prohibition of various psychedelic drugs such Cannabis and LSD-25, as well as the cultural/social effect that has been examined within the American Population since the inception of the War on Drugs.

2. Rise of the Heavy Metal scene within the 1980's and its subsequent modern standing among popular genres of music; also, a brief history various other genres that rose to prominence from the mainstream progression of metal such as Doom Metal, Hardcore, Thrash Metal, and etc.

Three Interesting Topics

I have come up with three topics that I find thought-provoking and would be interesting in researching and writing about:

1. Music theory has always been an interest of mine, and there are a couple of controversies that I think would lead to a good paper:

1a. (All in classical, not modern, notation) Triad chords are three notes separated by the interval of a third ( with components such as I III V, II IV VI, VII II IV, etc) and the normal form of a chord always has the root in the bass. However, sometimes this is troublesome for making bass lines or voicing chords, so it's much more convenient to have one of the other tones be the lowest note of the chord. Musicians developed a method for coping with this issue: If the third of the chord should be in the bass, the chord is denoted by the roman numeral of the bass note with a superscripted 6 (Called a "one six" or a "two six" etc.). If the fifth should be in the bass, the roman numeral is shown with a superscripted 6 and a subscripted 4 (referred to as a "one six four", "two six four" etc.).

One of the elementary composition techniques called a nonharmonic tone is an appoggiatura. The idea behind this is that you can start a chord with a wrong note, but then resolve it to the right note and still have a composition that follows the rules. (Like for a I in C with CEG, you could play an A, then resolve to a G)

In the key of C, a I 64 chord has the notes CEG with a G in the bass. A V chord has the notes GBD with a G in the bass. Some music theorists propose that there is, in fact, no such thing as a six four chord, and that it is simply a chord a fifth above it with two appoggiaturas. This is what interests me and I would like to research: the sides of the argument and why people think the way they do. I'm not, however, too sure how this pertains to culture...

1b. I had a friend Michael who moved to Deleware in 10th grade, but he was under the impression that great composers are born infused with natural musical skill that requires no knowledge of theory or techniques. I think that greatness can be learned to an extent and that most people are capable of becoming (at the very least) adequate composers.

This has a larger cultural aspect: Are we born with what it takes to succeed? Does hard work play a part in our lives? More generally, the nature vs. nurture debate is found in this topic.

2. Completely different from the prior topics, this one was conceived in class when you were talking about drugs and alcohol. It is appalling to me how people are in a constant desire to alter their mental state with drugs or alcohol. Do we really lead lives that are that pathetic and miserable that the only way to improve them is to escape from them and drown ourselves in alcohol?

One of my friends says she likes to, "Drink away the cotton mouth and smoke away the nausea." Another one of my friends was recently arrested for having a meth lab in his dorm room. Is it worth it? Do we need these things just to lead happy lives? Why aren't we trying to make lives that are euphoric without the addition of alcohol and narcotics?