Society Resource Proposal
There is an increase in reliance and obsession with technology seen in the millennial generation. For many individuals in this generation there has never been a point in their life that technology wasn’t present and as they mature it only becomes more prevalent. Continue reading Society RP: Technology and Stress
As a senior in college, I can speak first hand regarding the increasing costs of a college education. This is an issue that has come to affect many high school seniors in our country in the decision of whether or not to continue their education and, if they decide to, where they should attend. Specific demographics are exposed to this decision even more than others. Recently, Starbucks launched a College Achievement Plan (CAP) which provides free online tuition from Arizona State University to employees. This plan made me want to examine further what changes could be made in order to bring down the costs of higher education for students and what corporate America could possibly do to assist this.
In order to examine this topic, I need to know what the current state of education is within the United States. Who is attending? Are students attending private or public institutions? What are the differences those who graduate from college face versus those that do not attend? By answering these questions, I will be able to examine the social situations that result from these different life choices. Thankfully, in Laura Perna’s Studying College Access and Choice: A Proposed Conceptual Model, these topics are addressed. Most importantly she addresses what students are most likely to attend college, what influences their decisions to do so, and the benefits of attending. Through her writings I will be able to gain an opinion of just want college graduates have to gain aside from their mounting student loans. Furthermore, these writings will allow me to examine exactly why companies offering free tuition is worthwhile, both for the students, the company, and society as a whole.
In regards to reliability, this source uses a wide variety of sources as well, ranging from government policies to economics to education. I will be verifying any possible existing biases through additional research.
Source:
Perna, Laura W. “STUDYING COLLEGE ACCESS AND CHOICE: A PROPOSED CONCEPTUAL MODEL.” Ed. John C. Smart. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. Vol. 21. Dordrecht: Springer, 2006. 99-157. Print.
Clearly I lack creativity.
Regardless, I imagine Steve Jobs had a domineering, “better than you persona”. While I’m sure I could Google his characteristics and find out what his overall tone was, for the purpose of this script, I am going to refrain from doing so, and go with my instinct.
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Me: There has been a lot of upset regarding the treatment of Foxconn workers who manufacture your company’s products. Do you feel as though Apple is responsible?
Jobs: Apple is not the company implementing the harsh working conditions in such factories, nor is Apple the only company whose products are manufactured in these factories. Plenty of our competitors’ products are manufactured under the same roofs, and I do not see them under fire. Continue reading Steve Jobs the Jerk?
The first time I saw this video, it seemed clear to me that the reason behind the decrease in meaningful relationships in Japan was the changing gender roles. I had the impression that the current bi-gender system that has been around for thousands of years had a purpose. For a long time I believed that the expression “opposites attract” also has a societal significance: that the social constructs of male-ness and female-ness were beneficial for society. In other words, two parents responsible for opposite roles in a family were a necessary part of a healthy family structure. While this may or may not be true, I believe I have come to find a deeper understanding of the economic/social drivers for changing gender roles, and it all revolves around one thing: We are becoming too busy for meaningful relationships. Continue reading Too Busy for Meaningful Relationships
What is the American dream? The white picket fence, nice house, two splendid children (a boy and a girl), and a wonderfully domestic wife to come home to. This is the ideal image that people have strived after for decades, but does it still apply to U.S. society today? Continue reading The American Dream
“My cultural background is slightly different, am not that crazy into social media and feel I politically lean differently than many of my peers” were some of my thoughts that raced through my mind before I took the quiz on PewResearch.com. And behold-91 out of 100. I am much more of a millennial than I thought, even though I grew up in a different culture. This made me realize how Millennials are much more connected and much more aware of society worldwide, making them prepared to deal with the challenges that the U.S. and the world faces.
The overwhelming feelings of sadness, guilt, helplessness, and ignorance will almost certainly follow a story like the one told by Mr. Daisey regarding his visit to FOXCONN. How can Apple executives (and many other companies) let these conditions persist while maintaining consistently high profit margins? Perhaps, like Kathy, they have convinced themselves that the workers’ experience is an experience that too far disconnected from their own as to be compared to that of someone who is mentally ill. It is impossible for many to judge how it feels to be in a workers’ position, and so it is similarly impossible to empathize. To be able to trully understand transcends the ability to conduct everyday business, and is in many ways counterproductive. Also saddening, is the realization that we too are trapped in a society where it is no longer possible to be detached from our “machines” while maintaining a standard of living. Go ahead. Stop buying phones and computers.
So, It seems that we are all guilty of being complacent. While these conditions continue, we collectively nurture a social pressure to buy and use Apple products. Meanwhile, any story of the horrors that we have helped cause must be repressed. This is not the first time I have heard that FOXCONN employees attempt to commit suicide, yet I have largely just repressed any thought of it. It is too harsh, too ugly, and too foreign for many of us to ponder often. It is horrible, yet true, and we are all guilty.
Despite this knowledge, it seems that we have no choice. Similar to the dystopian society in 1984, most of us would suffer immensely if we tried to give up all of the bits and pieces of technology that we have acquired. It is a part of us, and we are a part of it. In this way we are slowly becoming the machine; an economic machine that encourages blind purchasing, complete with physical devices that break down real connection.
At this very moment, I am typing thoughts into a computer, instead of embracing the life that Socrates believed dialogue possessed. Ironically, I am contradicting the message that I may have been eluding to. Should I stop writing now? Should a passionate Apple fan refrain from buying the next big thing? I’d say probably yes to both, but we will ignore these things and continue on. More likely than not, we are preparing the future for a dystopian society in more ways than we can count, and this is a sad truth. If a radical solution were to exist, it would probably be ignored; repressed because incompatible with current society.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 