Matt2242's Weblog

Taking books off the shelves and disturbing images

matt2242 — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:09:27 +0000

The first thing that I want to discuss is the “And Tango Makes Three”, the book that deals with two homosexual penguins that appear to be raising a child. First, I think it is ridiculous to think that an elementary school child will understand what the real message of the book i. Second, what is the point of making a book that is going to tackle a subject such as homosexuality for children? Does a gay couple want to sit down and explain their situation to a child with a book about two daddy penguins? I did a little research on what the story was behind librarians removing this book from the shelves. In Shiloh, Illinois parents were concerned about the nature of the book that was being taught to their children. Some were enraged when the found out that the school would not be removing it from the school. The administrators said that the book was fine because people come from all walks of life and what not be right to others, is fine to some. A vote eventually made it so that you a parent had to be with a child when checking out the book from the library. The last part of my post I wanted to discuss the images that are blended into some of the Disney movies. It is hard to believe that someone would take time and put something perverted into a kids movie, but they are in plenty of them. Alladin, Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Rescuers Down Under, are just some that I can name. It makes me think what are some other products, like Pepsi, is this one or just a coincidence? (Some say it spells SEX downward) http://www.ciadvertising.org/student_account/spring_01/adv391k/hjy/adv382j/1st/pepsi.jpg

First Amendment and Library Confidentiality

matt2242 — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:34:56 +0000

For this blog I decided to read about the first amendment and how it applied to library confidentiality. We discussed in class about how people check out certain “red flag” books and the how the librarian does not rush to judgment about what the individual is doing with that book. Just because someone is reading a book on how to commit suicide, it does not mean that he is going to commit suicide or something like that. I think it is good that in most cases the librarian does not become involved, but I feel if someone is showing signs like something might be wrong or out of whack, its good to ask if they are okay and if necessary contact someone about help for the individual. But with 9/11 and Columbine comes a whole different problem, what if the person is checking out books that makes you suspicious of them attack his classmates or random people? The Patriot Act allows the government to dig deep into the lives of the person they are investigating, well into their library records. But how does a librarian treat a situation like this? Do they report that person? For the most part, I would think it comes down to using good judgment, and if necessary do what’s needed to remedy the problem. You want to respect the confidentiality and assume the best on most people. The First Amendment protects an individuals rights of freedom, and the freedom of protection from the government is part of that, and we should keep it that way also.

Slander and Libel

matt2242 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:35:47 +0000

Slander and libel are two forms of defamation, slander is the written form of defamation and libel is speech that could defame ones character and is untrue. In most cases of libel, it is considered to be libel when the speech is over a wide audience, like if you were to say something untrue about someone on national television. Slander on the other hand, is mainly dealing with published articles that defame and are untrue about someone. For example, say Kobe Bryant is accused of cheating on his wife by a New York Times columnist, but what he saw was Kobe going into a hotel with his sister. The columnist assumed that he was cheating on his wife, this was untrue, and caused a list of problems for Kobe. Kobe could sue not only the columnist who wrote the false statements about him, but also his employer. But again, these cases are very hard to prove in court. Although celebrities such as Elton John have settled or won court cases that paid them a fair share of money for their stresses over the situation. We discussed this subject in class and I feel that it is good that people can face civil court charges for written or false speech. If you work for a prestigious newspaper or television program you should be 100 percent sure the information you give is not false or vehement to the point of slander or libel. Essentially no one wants people to say things that are not true about them, so the best thing to do is to make the consequences for the action heavy on the pockets.

Blogs and flaming

matt2242 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:17:46 +0000

One thing that we discussed in class which I never got around blogging about is “flaming” and the general use of blogging itself. I am not really a blogger, meaning that before this class I had never written a blog post in my life. But, I have in the past used blogs for many purposes. They are very helpful when trying to find things such as medical stories, sports information, news breaks, and just about anything else that might interest you. We discussed the issue of flaming in class, where someone threatens, or uses an aggressive tone against someone else when blogging. I find it unbelievable in the first place that people spend their time discussing certain topics in a heated form over the computer, but I find it even more unbelievable that a person would threaten another persons life over a disagreement. We talked about the lady who had to change her plans and not attend a conference or seminar because she feared for her life. Even if it was an idle threat, would you want to take that chance? People need to censor what they are going to blog about someone else, and I do believe if someone posts something like “IM GOING TO KILL YOU”, to someone else, then there should be government intervention. By this I mean a set of rules that you have to abide by when blogging, and if you do not, then you could face criminal prosecution. I know that someone people in the class will probably find this a little crazy, but when you threaten someone’s life, it should be taken seriously.

Illegal downloading and Pirating

matt2242 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:06:48 +0000

I read an article that discussed the wave of illegal music downloading that occurred in the year 2003. In 2003, the music downloading company Napster was taken down, music companies thought that this would end the wave of free music downloading, but instead it fused a new wave of spawn websites which made file sharing and the trading of music that much easier. Aries, Bear Share, Lime Wire, are just some that I can name off the top of my head. These all became big time after Napster was eliminated. To make the situation even worse lawsuits were filed and handed down to people randomly who were downloading music, from college students to retired senior citizens. In my own opinion, this is a problem that cannot be solved. The technology was made available where you realistically never have to pay for a CD ever again. Another issue that is hidden behind the music scene is the illegal pirating of movies. With today’s technology, you can illegally download movies and watch them without ever being tracked. Movies, such as “American Gangster”, leaked on the internet in DVD quality weeks before it even hit the theaters. This is a problem which it will be hard to find a remedy for, when millions are downloading these movies or CD’s, it makes it impossible to prosecute everyone. One solution that the government is looking towards is shutting down the exclusive member websites that first get these movies on the internet. But again, I do not think this problem will be solved anytime soon.

Databases and research

matt2242 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:06:57 +0000

Something that I thought might be interesting to post about is the databases that UNCW provides for students to use for researching for a project or a research paper. The one that Cassen and I used for our group presentations is Blackwell Synergy. Blackwell Synergy is very helpful in the ways which you can search the site, it provides three different ways which you can search for the topic you are looking for, and in most cases would be very helpful for writing a criminal justice paper which is very specific to a certain topic. But, when using the databases (not just Blackwell Synergy) in my research for a project/paper on antisocial personality disorder, I found little information on the UNCW provided databases that would help me with my research. First, I used the databases to find a case study. PSYCarticles was the database that I figured would be most helpful in finding a case study, or any reasearch on APD. I was disappointed when it did not yield the search results that I had anticipated, it did not have a case study on antisocial personality disorder, or any cross cultural research that would help me. I figured that I would try Blackwell Synergy, it retrieved a couple of good articles which discussed the correlation between alcohol and APD. After trying a couple more databases EBSCO and a few others, I thought it would be best to try and find a couple of books with case studies. To my surprise, I found a lot of information in the second time around by modifying my search. I found a great case study and a book that basically covered all the information needed for a great presentation on antisocial personality disorder. So in this scenario, books were more helpful then the internet and databases.

Fox News

matt2242 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:14:53 +0000

I think it was last week we watched a video that featured a fox news report on a new safety device that could be “safer than airbags” if I remember correctly. First of all, fox news is a very right wing based news program, and most people who watch the news realize that the kind of takes sides on a certain topic to which they are covering. With the war in Iraq, fox news always tries to report more positive toned stories instead of giving the news for what it really is. In the case of the OnStar which was the feature of this report, it is only available on a certain type of car, I think it is Chevrolet. So many people kind of make the assumption that fox is giving a running commercial of a Chevrolet car, and telling how safe the OnStar can be in certain situations. To me this is not really a surprise, news stations have always kind of altered the news or done certain things to appease the people who pay them. That is just kind of the way the business runs, if you get critical, that a percentage of the investigative reporting done helps someone out without even realizing it. There is a good chance that if you see a news report that is bashing some certain product, or a safety device, or something like a medication. There is a competitor on the other side smiling because they know this will boost sales for there product. So its not that surprising to see fox news bending the rules like the traditionally do.

Google

matt2242 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:03:39 +0000

Today in classed we discussed many different pro’s and con’s that google provides to its users. The part which we read about before class was the most disturbing to me. It is hard to believe that google basically takes a record to everything you search for. While I don’t mind personally if people know what I am looking for on Google, this is a violation of your rights. Cassen discussed how it is good that we search for certain terms, to prevent another terrorist attack or an assignation of the President. I agree with him, but you have to be very careful to not go to far, or go fishing for some information. But if there is suspicion about something that could potentially be a threat, and we have a basic idea or hunch on something, I do not see the problem of cross-referencing certain things which were searched for to a potential list of names to say. Something else that bothered me about Google is that when you type in a listed phone number it brings up information on directions to that persons home and in some occasions a picture of that house. I know when I did the search I was able to pull up my grandmothers home and my moms home, and actually see pictures of the front of the house clearly. But My dad lives off a private road and there is a picture to the private road, but not further down than that. I know that they are able to drive around in the Google car and go through neighborhoods, but I wonder if they are allowed to get pictures of homes off of private roads or in private neighborhoods. It would be interesting to find out if they are capable of doing that.

Second Post 3/26

matt2242 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:24:23 +0000

Blackwell Synergy is a database that is provided by UNCW which is very helpful when researching certain fields for a paper or whatever. It is very easy to navigate the site and I think that the quick search option that is provided allows you the find the information that you need in a short amount of time. The Advanced search, which features the boolean searching method is also helpful, it allows you to search in depth on certain topics while omitting ones that you are not looking for. You can also perform a catalog search, which allows you to click on the field to which you want to search, then browsing different areas that pertain to that field to find the information which you are looking for. In class on Monday, we did an assignment which involved looking at fake websites, and pointing out some flaws in the sites. The male preganancy site was very interesting and very funny, it givesyou the image of a pregnant asian male, and saying that this is real and it is going to be a modern miracle. It was funny to navigate through the site and find all the errors.

First Post 3/26

matt2242 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:19:35 +0000

I was unable to attend class on this day to to an injury that I sustained while working out. It was a brusied rib with a slight case of amenohrenna (I think that is the correct spelling). Since I am unable to discuss what occurred in class for that day I will tell you what happened and some things about Blackwell Synergy, the database Cassen and I will be presenting on today. While working out there is a certain exercise that involves putting two weights directly below your chest and pressing up and down while your feet are elevated above your heart. It is very difficult and I just started to do this with one of my friends. For some reason while in the middle of my repetitions my left are bucked which caused me to fall on the weight. While there was no pain at first from the injury, I started to feel the effects two days later, or Wednesday morning. It was a sharp pain in my chest like I had never felt before. I went to the hospital that morning and they told me about the bruise and the amenorehnna, which is the slight movement of the lung. I have to go back in two weeks to make sure that everything is ok. In my next post I will discuss Blackwell Synergy.