Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Research Topic

   I will be researching Machiavellian Business and Leadership Practices for my topic. I am interested in majoring in Public Relations in College, so I decided to do research on a topic that has commonalities with the career I want to pursue. Unfortunately, this means I will not be researching Great White Sharks, Armadillos, Capuchin Monkeys, and Bengal Tigers.

Literature Question:
   What does literature reveal about Machiavellian Business and Leadership Practices?

Monday, October 27, 2014

Potential Research Topics

1. The migration habits of the The Great White Shark- What does literature reveal about the migration habits of the Great White Shark?

2. The abnormal defense mechanism of the Bengal Tiger- What does literature reveal about the abnormal defense mechanisms of the armadillo?

3. The sneaky qualities of the Capuchin Monkey- What does literature reveal about the sneaky qualities of the Capuchin Monkey?

4. The destructive ferocity of the Bengal Tiger- What does literature reveal about the ferocity of the Bengal Tiger?

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Bias Response: Mass. Nurses Worry About Ebola Preparedness

An ambulance carrying Amber Joy Vinson, the second health care worker to be diagnosed with Ebola in Texas, arrives at Emory University Hospital on Wednesday.     In the article, Mass. Nurses worry about Ebola preparedness, by Felice J. Freyer reports on the bias of how Mass. nurses in specific hospitals are in no way ready for an Ebola outbreak such as the one going on in this present day. This articles leans towards normalcy bias. Normalcy bias is the refusal to plan for, or react to a disaster that has never happened before. This is readily used in the article with it containing many examples of this particular type of bias.

     Normalcy Bias is used in this articles on several occasions. Ebola is a virus that is spreading like wildfires around the country and around the world. It is a virus that many medical many professionals aren't ready for because it is not a common type of virus that we see often. These professionals are having trouble starting the preparations for Ebola patients because they have no clue where to begin. Normalcy bias is the refusal to prepare for a disaster, so it is not a direct parallel to the article, but it has some commonalities because they struggle to stat preparing and are not sure how to prepare for such a horrific outbreak that is spreading over the globe. They are also struggling because they " are responding as quickly as they can to shifting circumstances and new knowledge".  This shows normalcy bias because they aren't sure how to plan because they are receiving new knowledge and information everyday. Many nurses " say they are equally concerned about being assigned, without adequate training, to care for an Ebola patient once admitted". This is another example of normalcy bias in the article because it shows the nurses being worried about caring for a patient without proper training to deal with the virus.

   This article is filled with examples of normalcy bias. The article explains how many nurses are worried about contracting the disease because they do not have proper training and cannot plan for the virus spreading. In the article, Mass. Nurses worry about Ebola preparedness, by Felice J. Freyer, Freyer shows how nurses aren't prepared for Ebola while using examples of normalcy bias throughout the article.

Work Cited:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/10/15/ebola/LhkBmkuYeG08RDpixPwC9I/story.html
http://quizlet.com/53722881/journalistic-bias-flash-cards/

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Bucket List Item Completed

I was able to do a one arm push up. It was pretty difficult, but I was able to complete it. It was all thanks to Adam Marcon for the training me and and taking the picture. I really hope that I will be able to muster the strength to be able to do more.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Semi-Structured Interview

Ladies and Gentlemen, I want you to meet Tara Kiley:

       In my interview with Tara I learned a lot about her. I discovered about her hobbies and some of her greatest accomplishments. I learned some strange, irrelevant information about her but it shows a lot about who she is as a person and her aspirations in life.

      When I asked a leading question about her guilty pleasure song, she stated, "Boom Clap because because its a really upbeat and happy song". She enjoys eating at Wendy's because its like gourmet food and its better than some of the other fast food restaurants. Her favorite hobby is to play volleyball. She enjoys volleyball because " you have to show sportsmanship  and be a team". Dance was a major aspect of her life, " My greatest accomplishment", Tara exclaimed, " would have to be when I made it to the top level of dance before I quit last year".

     Tara said that her happy place is on the beach in New Hampshire. She later explained that the beach is Lake Ossipee in New Hampshire. She loves how there is so much to do when she is there. She plays tennis, basketball, volleyball, and mini golf. The calm atmosphere that surrounds the Lake is what she enjoys the most. It is peaceful and a great place to be. We also discussed children in her future. " I would want a boy first", Tara stated, " then a girl, so he could defend his little sister". Tara enjoys her weekends just as another person would. "On Saturdays", Tara says," I normally hang out with friends". " On Sundays, I go to Church, then I do homework. After homework, I sometimes will hang out with friends or I will relax". She had many opinions on her favorite type of car: " Trucks", she stated, " Ford Trucks or Range Rovers". " Those are my two favorites".  This is some of the information that Tara Kiley shared with during our semi-structured interview.