Optional Post (#1)

I thought the library ethnography assignment was very useful. Not only did it involve us in doing homework, but it educated us on the simple things we can take for granted. Once I did the assignment, I realized how easy it was to look up books in the library. Now it won’t take me long at all to find books that I am looking for and books that relate and are helpful. Another thing that I learned from this assignment was the different ways of researching a book; not just putting in the search engine a book, but utilizing the tabs that narrow and refine your search. I think you should include this assignment next semester. It was something fun to do with our classmates and encouraged us to use the resources available to us at a great school.

All in all I think this class covered a good range of topics that we can definitely use in future classes. One topic that maybe could use a bit more time was the citations. APA and MLA were good, but some of the classes I took required a different style; maybe some practice on other popular styles. However, our practice on APA and MLA were good.

There is nothing else that I could think about in library research that I still want to know. Improving what I have learned so far is my goal from this class.

Facebookistan

The segment I will summarize is about Europe’s privacy laws and their effect on Facebook. The story talked about a man in Austria named Matt Shrims, who found over a thousand pages worth of data on himself. This launched an investigation on Facebook into what exactly they do with the data of each user. Under European law, each user should be in control of their data and know what is being done with it; therefore, Facebook is supposed to reveal exactly that. The reporter on the story, Christopher Worth, said that it shouldn’t be counted on that Facebook will do that.

This story is important to us because it shows exactly what is happening to our data as well. The U.S. doesn’t have as strict laws on Facebook as Europe does and that could be a very bad thing. So we should care about this because our data is being kept and could potentially lead to dangerous situations. Matt Shrims said that within the stacks of paper that he found on himself were coordinates of the computer he used. This is crazy! For our safety, our locations should not be kept. If there is no danger, we still have a right to our privacy of location and that should not be given to a worldwide social network

This relates to the first segment, in the sense of having information available in the good way. The segment talked about when people in Syria used Facebook to get any news about the troubles they faced. This was when the Syrian government and activists were clashing.

Another segment that relates is the third segment about Facebook China, where it is blocked. This was because the government was scared that their people would use Facebook to cause unrest. Still, there are other social websites that are much like Facebook that they use. This segment relates by the power that Facebook has in being a vessel of voice for people to get information out.

10/31 Sources and Uses

Book 

1. You will likely find more accurate and extensive information depending on the author. If it is a scholar, a professional, an expert in a certain field, or someone who experienced a certain event firsthand, then you can rely more on them. 
2. This is actually one of the best sources that you can use. It is a source that is actually printed in paper, instead of being circulated on the web, which is not a bad place to find a source, it's just that you can always count on books. 
3. Depending on what I'm researching for, I could use this source to support my argument and further my point. 

Blog post

1. This source really depends on who is the author of the blog post and what they are posting about. More likely with blog posts, you will find people who are more opinion oriented than fact oriented. 
2. Again, it depends on the author and what the post is about. I think this could be a very good source because, depending on when you get it, it could be something that is a really fresh topic and debate. So getting that most recent blog post can be a great positive for your paper. 
3. You could use this source to write about a certain person's view. In this case, opinion oriented blog posts wouldn't be bad, not that they really are. With that said, you could also use it to review what facts that person used, how they used them, and if they are even correct. 

Scholarly journal article

1. These can be as dependable as books because these are written by scholars, you know these are people who know their stuff and would give an expert review and good research for your topic. 
2. This is another great source to use because it is more reliable and carries a lot of credibility. 
3. You could use this source to quote what these experts say to, again, support your argument or facts. 

Wikipedia

1. You could find very detailed information, but you wouldn't be able to completely rely on it. Sometimes you can find a very broad description or summary too. 
2. Generally, this is not a reliable source, so it could be considered bad. Some of their info is taken from a more credible source, but most of it is stuff that anybody can edit. So, not good. 
3. I would not use this as a source in my paper, but one could use it to show how unreliable of a site it is. 

Podcast

1. All I remember from watching any podcast is that it was more about giving helpful information and statistics. 
2. It would be a good source to use, mostly depending on what you are writing about. ( I feel I am reiterating myself.) Especially if there are a lot of statistics. 
3. You could use this source like scholarly journals and books, to quote what a person has said.

10/29 Article Research Email Steps

The first thing that I did was look for the article under a medical journal. I did find it but it did not have the full text. So then I copied and pasted the title into the main search engine in Galileo. It was the first article that showed up. I clicked on it and made sure it had the full text. The next thing I did was click on the envelope icon to the right of the screen to email to Ms. Pashia.

10/24 Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is much like our citation pages for our papers, except they include summaries of what that citation is in reference to your paper. Annotated bibliographies, when published, help readers who are looking into a certain book, article, etc., know what that book is about, even what the pros and cons are too. Unpublished, they still help people, students like us so that we can know what that book or article is about so we don't have to read the book or article ourselves. Annotated bibliographies are also very important to our paper because they provide the citations for the books, articles, etc. that we have used.

I believe you are requiring us to do one in class because you are preparing us for our other classes. Much like our other assignments during this course, it's practice. Even if we are still not sure, these homework assignments are like trial and error, we learn from the mistakes and learn to perfect them. Not that an annotated bibliography is this masterful piece of work, but it is always good to have all these little things done well. In the end, it will reflect how we do our work and what is going to be seen in our papers.

10/24 Class Work Review

I feel like I have said this before in one of my posts, so here's to déjà vu and reiteration. You would not be able to do library research without dealing with plagiarism, paraphrasing correctly, copyright vs. plagiarism, and the different types of licenses. Research is about exploring a certain topic because you either want to find certain information to extend your knowledge or that and you need to for a research paper for a class. Research is also about finding facts, opinions, and related documents to your very topic. Those factors are key to research because they are the components of your paper that make up for your lack of knowledge and expertise in a certain area. Therefore, plagiarism becomes super important because you are quoting, paraphrasing, etc. someone else's work and you want your paper to be taken seriously. Sometimes you may do a slideshow or have a blog post where you need to research a image to post, knowing what the differences are between the types of licenses and copyright vs. plagiarism is the key roles for those components in library research.
Just as we have applied this knowledge in this class, we can do the same for our other classes. If I were to be doing a paper for my history class that required an extra source, whether it be newspaper, image, diary entry, etc., then I would be able to find those sources using my knowledge. I would be able to know how to cite so I do not plagiarize and know in what ways I can use it under the type of license. As for any questions, I do not have any at the moment.

License Research

http://pixabay.com/en/book-books-circle-curly-education-2869/
Image-Creative Commons
Petr Kratochvil. (Photographer). (2012). Book Tunnel.[Photograph], Retrieved October 22, 2012, from: http://pixabay.com/en/book-books-circle-curly-education-2869/

Segments

The first segment, Trouble for Elsevier, was about the academic journal publishing group named Elsevier, who is being accused from the pricing of their journal subscriptions to not paying the authors enough. The segment entails what started this news story- Timothy Gowers blog post about petitioning to not have his work published in the journals ran by Elsevier.

The second segment, New England Journal of Medicine's 200th Anniversary, talked of the many contributions the journal has made, not only to the medical world, but ultimately to the whole world. It pointed out early on in the segment its contrast to Elsevier, saying that they make their articles freely available, whereas Elsevier wants to charge people to read published articles that are supposed to be made available to the public in the first place.

The third segment, The Changing Nature of Knowledge, talked about how the access of knowledge has changed. Especially noted is the access of knowledge through the internet and how you could just enter your research topic in a search engine and have a plethora of information, including forum discussions and the like, discussing that topic. This available knowledge is a good thing because it helps countless other gain that knowledge and use it to better their lives.

The common theme that I found through these three segments was effects of how available knowledge and information is to the general public and scholars. My reaction to the first story was that I was pretty surprised. In the segment, it said that Elsevier stated that their prices for each article have dropped. If that is so, why are so many schools libraries suffering from the high prices of journal subscriptions? Why would librarians make such statements as done on the segment? My reaction to the second segment was appreciation for a medical journal that believes in the general public and their important role in the medical world. I loved the fact that they considered the availability of the journal to people in countries who could not afford to pay for them. You could tell what their goals are by what they are doing and that they genuinely care about people and not about earning money. Finally, my reaction to the third segment was mainly just agreement with what the author talked about in his book. I support the internet and its role in furthering the knowledge of many people. A word that has been used a lot in my post here is availability, what I think is key in knowledge! It needs to be available for others, in order for life to keep going.

These stories completely relate to me, especially in my role as an undergraduate researcher. The answer is in that one word alone- researcher! How can I research if there is no available information? How can I research if there are no journals due to the cost of the subscriptions? The internet helps not only me, but it helps the university; it is the central meeting place for millions of people basically to get whatever they want. Restriction on knowledge is absolute madness. I understand that authors need to get paid for the extensive work they do on researching, but to deny people knowledge through journal articles is absolutely ridiculous. Knowledge is essential for us to become experts ourselves; we are the next generation of teachers, scientists, engineers, etc. We need these articles, whether it be for homework or for our own personal interest. 

10/17 Plagiarism and Copyright Violation

1. Plagiarism is when a person takes another person’s work and calls it their own OR they may not call it their own BUT fail to give proper credit to the original person. The latter is the category what I believe many college students and other people fall into. I blame it on lack of knowledge and instruction. Plagiarism can obviously be very purposeful too. 

2. Plagiarism is different from copyright violation by technicalities. Copyright violation is when you are allowed so much room to use somebody’s work. This mainly deals with the fact that you have to get permission to use the work, which is usually work that has huge media attention, fame, recognition, or anything that is getting big profit in sales. Plagiarism is when you use work yourself, where you don’t have to get permission from the author themselves, and you fail to give credit or cite, where that is your permission from the author.

3. An example of plagiarism that is NOT copyright violation is when a paper is written, especially one of importance- college paper, research, analytic etc.- where you need sources. Failure to have a reference page, or citing page, or any type of citation to that author is plagiarism. Many times when you do not have proper or “to the T” citation, you could get in big trouble for that as well. 

4. An example of copyright violation that is NOT plagiarism is when an organization uses a clip from a movie or a part of a song that they do not have permission to use. Even though that organization may be using that movie clip or song bit in a positive way, or even to promote either, they have to get permission. This is because they are advertising that movie or song and that movie or song has rights. Maybe known as royalties, they get and deserve money for whenever it is used to someone else’s benefit.

10/10 Conversation Insertion

I'm not necessarily a person to try and impress people with what knowledge I have on a certain subject. This is because I don't want to make a fool of myself and say the wrong information. If I am seriously confident that I got my facts straight, then I say something. So for instance, let's bank that I do know and am really confident. I don't want to just straight up enter the conversation and cut the person off of what they are saying; neither do I want to tell them they are completely wrong and do not know what they are talking about. My English 1101 teacher, Mr. Taylor, taught me to always be accepting of the other person's side, not that I have to agree, but there is a certain amount of respect due to the other person's view and knowledge. Furthermore, you want the other person to be just as much open to what you have to say and your knowledge on the subject as much as you are. So how I jump into a conversation is I let them finish what they are saying and then start with agreeing with something that they said. If I want to contradict what they said, or further what they said, with evidence that disproves or proves what they said, I will make a transition into that after I make an agreement with them.

With that said, being that I am there in person at a party, I would not have any papers to back up what I say. However, I do have my phone (in this hypothetical situation, I would have a sick iPhone that has great quality for showing videos!) where I can pull up videos. I could even be specific on dates and names for this subject that could provide me credibility and reliability on what I am saying. I don't want to get too deep, but deep enough that I know what I am talking about. How I would bring this around to a close, is thinking of something that shows support on my part for what the other person says so as to keep that party-air feel. :)

If I am the other person encountering someone who comes up to join my conversation with a friend, I will first listen to all of what they say, while making note of certain things they say that might throw up red flags for me. Those red flags could be something that these people need to further what they say, clarify, or provide references to dates, names, or situations. On this side of this situation, it's just a matter of the person providing references that I could research on my own time and for that moment sound credible. It's not a matter of acting macho or being a know-it-all, but that is not to say that I won't be impressed by that person's knowledge; I'm always looking to be enlightened and taught something that I don't know, especially something of interest to me.

10/3 Filter Bubbles and Databases

I do not believe the basic idea of a filter bubble applies to the different databases. With the databases that we use through our library, we are controlling what we are seeing. This comes down to every detail, which is evident on how many different selections we can make to narrow or broaden our search. Such as selecting specific dates, your subject area, or if you want it to be full text or peer reviewed.

Also, because we are dealing with the library databases, we don’t have to worry about all the junk, spam, or unrelated matter that comes up when using many search engines. The databases are organized with the plethora of databases available. Granted there are those unnecessary articles that come up, but in some way they are at least connected to our search. You can see this by the common or similar word(s) and related articles in your search. At least it is related and is not something completely random.

 

Another point to make with the databases is that they are mostly known to be used for educational purposes, whereas when you search through common search engines, you’re dealing with sites that want as many visitors as possible. So as discussed in the video and steps to take to decrease our chances for filter bubbles, these sites/companies track our visitations and thus, filter our search to keep us within that area of searching. In conclusion, it is really nice to have these databases, because after all we want legit and credible resources!!

9/26 Research Question Reflection

I have enjoyed searching and finding books for my research question. In the midst of creating that relation between my research question and my audience, I have found so much more of a relation to it myself. I have not really given much thought as to the effect of art within the mathematics field before, nevertheless I am a person who has an aesthetic learning style, hanging on to pictures that depict what I am learning. Therefore, now that I am actually shining the light on that area and exploring the topic, I am enlightened! So far I have found an artist who is very influential, not only to artists alone, but mathematicians. That is a great find for my research topic because it will be able show concrete evidence of math and art’s cohesive relationship. I am realizing that I probably should find a book about the positive and potential effects of pictures and visual art in mathematics, because it would further my point immensely. With that said, I have rethought my research question in the sense of narrowing it down and finding a more relatable and pleasing argument. I look forward to bringing all this information and discoveries to my research paper!

Filter Bubbles

What do you think of the suggestions for getting out of the filter bubble? Are you going to try any of them?

As far as I know of computers and how they operate, I think they are wonderful suggestions! I did do what a few of them said to do, especially the ones where you delete your cookies and change settings on Facebook and my web browser, Google Chrome. I have heard before that deleting your cookies is good for your computer anyways. It helps with storage and keeping your computer running at a good speed, not slow! I think these suggestions are leading us in the right direction of “popping that filter bubble.” Like the page said, they are simple and easy to follow. I don’t want to have any of the junk that comes with filter bubbles, nor do I want other websites and companies tracking where I go. In one sense, getting things tailored to your likes and dislikes can be a good thing; one is able to do less searching. However, it is more constricting than anything because it hides other things that you would want to see anyway and (within Facebook) people that you want to see no matter what views and likes, whether the same or different, they have. I want to be able to see all the available results instead of those companies thinking they are giving me what I want. I echo what the video said; I want to be challenged and I want my knowledge to be expanded. If I want to filter my search, then I will; I do not want it done automatically. Taking the steps within the suggestions is leading me that way. Just say no to the filter bubbles!!

9/19 Applying Skills

There are a few ways I can apply the skills that I have learned in this class to work in other classes:

One way is that I can do research in a much smoother way; the process is not as time consuming as it would have been if I did not know what I was doing. It is a given that research is time consuming anyways, but what I am getting at is that I do not have to waste time taking every single step there is and looking up how to do each step. Like driving, once you get used to what you are doing, you figure out the shortcuts and faster routes.

Secondly, I can use research that I know is trustworthy and credible, through my references, sources, and citations. When you try to make a point or an argument, and in the process try to get your audience to understand or even persuade them to your side, you want back-up to it and back-up that is accountable. People count on those who really know their stuff, who are wise and knowledgeable on their subject.

Finally, I can apply these skills by reassuring that I have done my work the right way. Instead of just throwing something together, I have work that is thought out, backed up by scholars, and well written. I am not saying I am this great person who does incredible work; I am saying that I can at least count on the fact that I know what I am doing and am on the right path.

Interview

I interviewed Doris Sudduth, who is a junior here at UWG. She is also in my U.S. History Honors class. When I asked Doris about research papers that she has done, she could only think of one that she is currently doing. It is for her Sexual Revolutions in American History class, which is taught by Carey Pitzulo. Doris said that she is writing a paper on 18th Century Midwives. Her teacher is requiring 7 primary sources and 7 secondary sources. This just blew my mind and definitely does not make me look forward to papers that I have to do in my upper grades. Doris said that she is finding her 7 primary sources on GALILEO, through diaries of midwives. As for her 7 secondary sources, she said that those are more difficult to find. Looking through GALILEO for those as well, she stated that they are difficult because her teacher specified that the secondary sources have to be journal articles published since 1995. You could imagine that there may not be a plethora of journal articles by midwives; one has to persevere in their search. Doris did mention two of her primary sources that I thought were interesting to report. She stated of one midwife’s journal, that she was very professional and only recorded the medical issues. As for another midwife’s journal, Doris said that this woman was a gossip. This woman spoke of the affairs by men and women and stories that were supposed to be kept quiet. I thought this was interesting, one, because little did either of these women know that their journals were going to be read here in the 21st century, and second, that one of the women recorded the gossip of that time. I enjoyed this interview with Doris and saw that there is much hard work to do in my upper grades.

Extra Credit - Debate

Before you read my report on the debate, I would like you to know that I wrote down information as correctly as possible. I would like to apologize for any information that is incorrect. Each debater spoke fast because they were only given so much time to debate. 

The debate last Wednesday night was between UWG and Clark Atlanta/Spellman colleges. The subject of debate was on why you should attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Both sides used appeals to me and the audience’s emotions and fact-based research findings.

They appealed to our emotions by using quotes that were inspiring and moving. For example, UWG debaters quoted Nina Simone’s song Feeling Good, “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me, and I’m feeling good.” Clark Atlanta/Spelman quoted an African Proverb, “When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.”

They both used statistics: UWG, in argument against going to HBCU, said that:

1. The debt at HBCU is too great.
• 19 out of 21 HBCU have the highest default rates within their states.
• $2.5 billion go to HBCU, more government subsidies than states schools recording that $22,225 per student.
2. They argued that UWG and UGA have more African American students than Clark Atlanta and Spelman.
• They also said that UWG has 4 sororities and fraternities, backing that UWG does offer great programs and opportunities for African American students.

Clark Atlanta/Spelman for their argument of why you should go to HBCU used statistics and research such as:

1. They said that black on black crime is a serious issue: 93% are committed by African American in crimes against black people. They argued that going to HBCU will help you find cultural identity. Also, that you will be able to go into those communities hit by black on black crime and make a difference.
2. They also said that going to HBCU will teach you professionalism. They claimed that Goldman Sachs Bank has a partnership with one school, which is Spelman College. They have direct access to internships and job opportunities. Other companies offer this as well when you are in HBCU. 

Those are just a couple of the statistics and research each side used. Neither side told what sources they used. A notable fallacy that Clark Atlanta/Spelman used was tu quoque. They ignored when UWG debaters wanted statistics on how many students actually get hired from said companies above. Each side presented their argument in the order they did because it was the most effective way. For example, Clark Atlanta/Spelman started off with the black on black statistics to get everyone’s attention. Each time UWG came up for cross-examination, they would challenge the claims and then make their argument. UWG arguments started off with claims that it should not matter exactly what college you are going to, but it matters that you are going at all. This was extremely important because the name of the debate was Why You Should Go to HBCU. With that being said, I do believe that UWG won the debate. Although Clark Atlanta/Spelman provided statistics and great reasons as to why you should go to HBCU, UWG won because they had a much stronger argument in providing great reasons of just going to college no matter what, let alone going to UWG.

9/12 Comparison of Ingram Library to Others

My comparison of Ingram Library's catalog to other experiences in looking up books elsewhere is not hard to make. There is one major difference that I have noticed. That is the options available in the Ingram Library catalog compared to say Villa Rica Library, where I frequently check books and movies out. By options I mean the availability and number of books; also, the easiness and advancement of technology.

We all recently learned that the Ingram Library holds close to 500,000 books, which is amazing!! I do not think Villa Rica holds even a tenth of that. The number of books definitely contributes to what is available within the library. I do have to say of Villa Rica Library, which is a part of the West Georgia Regional Library and uses the Georgia Library Pines, that if a book is not found at their library and is at another brother location, will have it shipped to them. This is convenient for a small library; however, Ingram Library does that as well.

The easiness and advancement of technology within Ingram Library is another great option that has influenced my experience; it was surprising too. I have never dealt with a library like Ingram before. I love that there are so many computers available for the students to use. Another positive about the computers is operating them; they are easy and not complicated. Even if you have never used their system before, it is not hard to become familiar with it, especially with the great help from the staff. Yet another positive about the computers is the search engines available and advancement. It makes the search shorter to complete and leads you to books you never would have thought you could find.

Book Research

As I looked up books for our research project, I was doubting that I would find a book that was going to be key in me making my point; I did not think I would find a book that would help my readers understand what I was wanting to say. However, it was not so when I looked through my search results. The two books that I chose out of the search results were Math and Art: An Introduction to Visual Mathematics and The World of M.C. Escher. The first book is very obvious to what it is about; the second one is about a very influential artist, known for his inspiration in the world of art and in math as well. Those are couple of reasons why I chose to find these two instead of other books that came up in my search results. Another reason, probably the main reason, was when I went to find the books. I wrote down 6 call numbers just to have enough books to choose from and even more so, in case any of those books would not help my research project. These two books were the most intriguing and interesting; they were books that I would like to check out even if I did not have to for our research project. 

I chose The World of M.C. Escher as the book that would be better to use for my topic. This is because I feel that M.C. Escher’s influence is so great and so inspiring to both artist and mathematicians. That is also how I would use this book to answer my research question.

Library Ethnography Project

My partner was Katrina Carmona. We did our video from the view of someone who does not know how to look up a book in the library. What I did was play the person who knew what to do and Katrina played the person who did not. I pointed out what to do, within the video, for each step in the process, explaining what the call numbers were and what each level held. Now for behind the scenes, Katrina and I both worked on focusing on the important steps. I got the info on what a call number was and what each floor was for from a library aid. Katrina kept track of the info and also took the lead in directing the video; I was an assistant to the director.  ;) We had a lot of fun shooting this video and both learned how to look up a book in the library while doing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP1hEhHpySU

9/5 Refining Research Question

Refining my research question is a taste on both sides of easy and complicated. I’m wanting to research on the impact of art in math and its effects on students, teachers, and artists. While that sentence can be confusing, if you read it two or three times over, you’ll catch it. With today’s exercise, I will refine my research question by looking at what I want the reader to grasp, understand, and appreciate about art and its role in mathematics. Learning from the exercise, I do not want my research question to be too broad or too narrow; I want to have it specific enough where I will be able to extend on my points. I can also refine my topic by paying attention to what points and measures my question is looking at. I feel that my direction is good for my research question. It is always good to find a research question that everyone can relate to, in the sense that they feel they can agree on some level. To refine my research question, I am going to make sure that people will be able to relate to it, even if they do not have the same major as mine.

Research Topic

The topic my group chose to research this semester is art. We chose this topic from a news article that I found about an artist named Samuel Silva, who is an attorney and lives in Portugal. What is unique about Samuel is that he creates his work by using BIC ballpoint pens and only with 8 colors, which means that he "cross-blends" colors to get another desired color (par. 4.) Samuel's art is so life-like, so much so that it is hard to believe it was created by ballpoint pens! He draws anywhere from people to animals to scenery. 

This topic caught my attention by how amazingly beautiful each drawing was; moreover, it surprised me to find out that Samuel did this as a hobby! This highly interested me, which brought me to why I care about it. Samuel spends so much time on his art; for one drawing he spent 20 hours on! This speaks volumes because drawing is not even his career; he does it because he loves it. Someone who puts that much time into their art, most certainly has passion for what they do. I think that what Samuel does is so inspiring. It shows that you can make art out of anything; you do not have to have all the fancy tools or pencils to be able to create it. I love to see when someone uses their talent such as Samuel did and I believe he also inspires others to think outside of the box and go for your dreams. As for my major in mathematics, I think this could be a wonderful tool in teaching others and bringing out their creativity and imagination. 


Cite:
Cooper, Gael Fashingbauer. "That's Not A Photo? Amazing Artworks Done With Ballpoint Pen." Today Entertainment. 28 August 2012. Web. 28 August 2012. http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/08/28/13509781-thats-not-a-photo-amazing-artworks-done-with-ballpoint-pen?lite

3 News Stories

1) This first link is on what researchers are finding out about what teenagers think about themselves, their body-image, particularly with being fat or chubby. A study done in Norway found that 22% of its 649 girls who thought they were chubby or fat, when in fact they weren't, became overweight. This may not seem like a big deal, but self-image is a big deal. Although this study was not done in America, it is well-known that what teenagers think of themselves is a big issue, again, particularly in the body-image area. I chose this article because I think it can help everyone see where problems arise for teenagers and how we can help them. 
http://todayhealth.today.com/_news/2012/08/28/13508708-teens-who-feel-fat-eventually-will-get-fat?lite

2) My second link I chose is a news story on an artist who makes his art all out of ballpoint pens. I am always intrigued by stories and people like this. The artist takes 8 colors of BIC pens and creates his works of art; they are absolutely beautiful and incredible!! This guy does not even do it as his main career, he's an attorney, which is why I chose this article. I think that when people do what they love, share their talent in such ways can inspire others to do the same. It shows that you don't have to have a set way of doing things- the right kind of equipment or schooling. Taking art and going outside the box is true art!
http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/08/28/13509781-thats-not-a-photo-amazing-artworks-done-with-ballpoint-pen?lite

3) The third link is about the fuel standard being raised by Obama. He wants new cars to get an average of 54.5mpg by 2025. The main reasons for doing so is to decrease the expense on gas by Americans, consumption of oil, and environmental effects. This seems like a really interesting issue, which is why I chose it. It is obviously a great idea and would help people, like myself, in America tremendously to save money on gas. However, I am still not quite sure if I support it or not because of the potential effects this change can have, which is why I think it would be a great topic for further research.
http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/28/13527985-obama-raising-fuel-standard-to-average-545-mpg-by-2025?lite

Favorite Research Project

Honestly the only research project that I can remember doing was for a psychology class that I took while in technical college. I had to do a paper on a topic of my choice, obviously it had to do with psychology. I chose to do it on music therapy and its effects on certain medical disorders and illnesses. While it was not my favorite project, due to my lack of remembering other projects and the hassle of writing in APA format, I did enjoy it.

For this project I needed to research for journal articles that dealt with my topic. This was very much time consuming, but I still found them. My main reason for choosing and doing this topic was because of music. I believe that music is a very powerful tool to the human being. It can bring healing, open a hidden wound, encourage happiness, or cause anger; it can move any emotion into action. Music is not just sounds, or beats, or a set of instruments playing all at once, music is the heart. It is someone's heart, mind, body, and soul and allows for others to just dance, be free, and be happy!

So with that belief, I looked into what music did as a therapy for mental illnesses and such disorders as ADHD and autism. It was very interesting, but yet not too surprising to know the effects of music therapy. Music is universal to human beings; naturally, patients of such illnesses and disorders did react, positively! Not that these patients were healed, but it helped them in their everyday life struggles and made life easier. It helped them have different, more positive views. :) I certainly hope that music will be used more and more to help people dealing with these medical issues.

Introduction

Hello Everyone! My name is Nikole, but you can call me Nikki. I am a sophomore and my major is in Mathematics. This is my first semester at UWG. I'm loving the atmosphere of this campus and cannot wait to get more involved. I took this class because anything that has to do with the library world, I am in! A little about myself: 

• I have five brothers and two sisters. (I have a sister commonly mistaken as my twin. We are 9 days less than a year apart.)
• I am not Mexican (I get mistaken for being Mexican all the time, as well as being Hawaiian or Asian.)  I am half Navajo and half white.
• I was born and raised in Gallup, New Mexico until I was 13 and moved here to Georgia.
• I love life: Jesus, my family, my friends, and all that comes with it. (Rule #32: Enjoy the little things.)

I look forward to working with and meeting you all.