As I read through this weeks assignments I realized that while researching has become more complicated by the introduction of technology, it has also been made easier. When I first entered the days of being a student and having to research topics all I had to do was go to the library and open the card catalog. Simply put..one catalog, lots of books. Now it's many catalogs or databases, tons of ways to seek and find. If I simply learn how to select the proper database and the manner in which to narrow down my search based on key words which relate to my topic, I can find the material I want. I can recall being very frustrated when I first attempted to research via Chapman's electronic library. I could never find what I want or when I did get a return on my search it wasn't what I wanted. This weeks reading helped me to realize that not only are my results a product of my lack of skill in searching but also based on the vast amount of resources at my disposal. If I learn how to make the most of the tools available at my fingertips.
My research this week revealed that there isn't much specific information available on my topic of focus and that if I am to continue on with this idea I will need to devote more time and energy into locating resources. Young people have grown up on the world wide web. Most were introduced to the world before they were even born thanks to social media. Parents use it and children are starting to use it at younger and younger ages. Our youth are developing their peer networks through social media. At an age where being accepted is so important to them, this platform opens up a whole world to our youth. Unfortunately, they are also exposed to a new form of school yard bullying or violence. Historically kids settled their differences in person. A bully would hang out and inflict his torture face to face. Social media now allows the bully to torture and harass from a keyboard with digital words or images. There are times when the two meet and the common access to internet capable phones with cameras allows the bully to record and publicize his or her activities in an effort to gain popularity, acceptance and fame. While they obtain their 15 minutes of fame, the damage that occurs to the victims lasts considerably longer.
Understanding this topic and finding ways to discourage it is becoming ever more important. As technology increases the ability to participate in such activities also has the potential to increase. We must find ways to stop it and assist the victims in recovery.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Week Two: Thoughts on Researching and Analysis of Findings
I struggled to narrow down my topic to a subject that was
both relevant to my field of study and that would be of interest to my fellow
students. I chose to address the impact that
social media has on perpetuating violence among our youth. Having children that grew up during the
digital age, I have been very aware of the trend to engage in, document and
publicize violence among our youth.
Sadly this phenomenon extends beyond school age children and reaches out
to the adult population as well. Recently there was a video circulating
on Facebook of an African American female brutally attacking a Caucasian woman who
made the mistake of walking through the wrong neighborhood with her young
child. It was horrible to
watch. Sadly, it seemed the
purpose of the attack was to gain thug credibility amongst this young ladies
group. She posted it on her
YouTube channel like it was something to be proud of.
Almost everyone has a cell phone equipped with a camera and
Internet connectivity. It’s
so easy to point and shoot and post. I question that if the popularity of such videos were
to drop, would the instances of violence drop as well. So many seek their 5 minutes of fame on
YouTube by participating in the most ridiculous stunts, aiming to “break the
internet” with millions of hits or just simply be cool amongst their social
network. If we remove the
audience, do we remove the supply?
Should sites that allow such things to be posted be held accountable? Should law enforcement be doing more to seek out these attackers and bring them to justice? How do we support the innocent victims and help them to recovery?
As I started my research I quickly learned that there is so
much to think about. This topic
covers so much from internet gang banging to school violence. Who are the victims and who are the
perpetrators? Cyber bullying is
such a hot topic and there seems to be much available on this topic but digging
down into the correlation between the use of social media and violence among
children and young adults required me to really narrow down my search
terms. Most of my searches did not
return the results I wanted.
I had to use more specific search terms and make use of the areas of
focus within the Leatherby Libraries.
Having the ability to select databases that focus on Criminal Justice
and Sociology made it easier to find relevant materials.
I learned this week that I have much to learn about
effective research and use of online resources. I am off to make use of the Online Writing Community to
learn how to conduct better research.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Aloha and Welcome to My Blog
Aloha Readers! My name as you can see from the title of my blog is Rebecca. After a much needed break (but probably a bit too long) I'm back to school to finish my degree in Criminal Justice with an emphasis in Victim Advocacy. I've been attending classes with Brandman since 1998 back when they were known strictly as Chapman University. I started while I was on Active Duty stationed in San Diego and then years later on Whidbey Island, WA. Now I'm retired and trying to make the most of my GI Bill attending online while working full time as a Government Civilian.
I initially started with Organizational Leadership and after going through some serious issues with my oldest child decided that Criminal Justice was really my passion. I switched my major and began delving into this topic. I unexpectedly had the opportunity to attend a Reserve Police Officer academy through the Island County Sheriff's Department so I stepped away from class to experience life in Law Enforcement first hand. After three great years of working as a volunteer police officer, a change in military commands forced me to step away due to deployments to the Middle East and a command that was not so supportive of my dangerous volunteer activities.
After those deployments I decided it was time for a change in career fields and I retired from the Navy after 22 years. I've moved a couple times since then, met and married my amazing husband and ended up on the island of Oahu. He has a couple more years left until he retires and we will move back to Whidbey which will hopefully be our forever home where we can settle down and I can pursue employment as a Victim Advocate.
Why a Victim Advocate? Well I'm glad you asked. I have had a lot of experience in this area in my own life growing up as a survivor of domestic violence as well as sexual abuse. During my military career I was a near victim of date rape and a witness to instances of rape as well as domestic violence. During my time as a leader in the Navy and my time as a police officer, I was exposed to the impact that crime and abuse has on innocent people and how badly things can go when the victim is made to feel like they are somehow responsible for what happened. Strong victim advocacy is so important and I believe there is a shortage of advocates that can relate to a victim in a way that a textbook cannot teach. I've had my own experiences in that area.
When I first started attending college, the use if the internet was a relatively new thing and finding research materials available was a difficult task. Unlike many of my fellow students, I did not grow up in the digital age. When I first joined the Navy in the early 80's, we were still using at typewriter to do many of our tasks. The internet did not exist and computers were big hulky things that most of us were just getting accustomed to. Researching anything, professionally, educationally or personally generally involved a library and paper books. I can say in many ways, I miss those days immensely. If I needed to learn how do to something in my career field, I went to the book case and found the appropriate paper instruction. The instruction itself was only as current/valid as what was most recently mailed to us, often times requiring pen and ink changes.
Now I often find myself overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information and resources. Until I started this course I never really thought about the term "information literacy" and what it meant to me. After reading "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education" (ALA, 2000), I realized that I have a lot to learn to be a good student. Not only is it important to be able to read and comprehend but it is critical to have the skills necessary to "evaluate and use effectively" any resource I retrieve.
As a student and a professional, I find that the standards laid out in the ALA's report all apply to me. Standard Two (pages 9-11), "The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently," is probably one of my weakest areas and the one that I need the most improvement in. Knowing where to look is half the battle. I find in the past that I have gotten frustrated looking for information I needed. Where to look, how to look what is legitimate and valid and what is not...all left me more confused than when I started. If we don't know how to efficiently research much valuable time is wasted.
Standard Three (page 11) addresses the students ability to evaluate information and determine what is valid and legitimate and then employ that data to the task or activity at hand. Back when publishing was not something that anyone with money could do, the concern over the validity of information was not as great. Now that anyone can publish information to the internet or even in a paper/e-book, one must be critical of the data and it's authenticity.
This information super highway we call the internet is a long and winding road that can lead us to great knowledge and power but along the way we must learn to navigate the many exits, potholes, road blocks and detours. If I, as a student and a professional, can learn to effectively navigate through all of the information and resources available, my ability to grow is only limited by my efforts. To be competitive both in school and in my professional world (current and future) I must be able to continue to grow my knowledge base and keep up with current and relevant data.
Reference:
I initially started with Organizational Leadership and after going through some serious issues with my oldest child decided that Criminal Justice was really my passion. I switched my major and began delving into this topic. I unexpectedly had the opportunity to attend a Reserve Police Officer academy through the Island County Sheriff's Department so I stepped away from class to experience life in Law Enforcement first hand. After three great years of working as a volunteer police officer, a change in military commands forced me to step away due to deployments to the Middle East and a command that was not so supportive of my dangerous volunteer activities.
After those deployments I decided it was time for a change in career fields and I retired from the Navy after 22 years. I've moved a couple times since then, met and married my amazing husband and ended up on the island of Oahu. He has a couple more years left until he retires and we will move back to Whidbey which will hopefully be our forever home where we can settle down and I can pursue employment as a Victim Advocate.
Why a Victim Advocate? Well I'm glad you asked. I have had a lot of experience in this area in my own life growing up as a survivor of domestic violence as well as sexual abuse. During my military career I was a near victim of date rape and a witness to instances of rape as well as domestic violence. During my time as a leader in the Navy and my time as a police officer, I was exposed to the impact that crime and abuse has on innocent people and how badly things can go when the victim is made to feel like they are somehow responsible for what happened. Strong victim advocacy is so important and I believe there is a shortage of advocates that can relate to a victim in a way that a textbook cannot teach. I've had my own experiences in that area.
When I first started attending college, the use if the internet was a relatively new thing and finding research materials available was a difficult task. Unlike many of my fellow students, I did not grow up in the digital age. When I first joined the Navy in the early 80's, we were still using at typewriter to do many of our tasks. The internet did not exist and computers were big hulky things that most of us were just getting accustomed to. Researching anything, professionally, educationally or personally generally involved a library and paper books. I can say in many ways, I miss those days immensely. If I needed to learn how do to something in my career field, I went to the book case and found the appropriate paper instruction. The instruction itself was only as current/valid as what was most recently mailed to us, often times requiring pen and ink changes.
Now I often find myself overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information and resources. Until I started this course I never really thought about the term "information literacy" and what it meant to me. After reading "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education" (ALA, 2000), I realized that I have a lot to learn to be a good student. Not only is it important to be able to read and comprehend but it is critical to have the skills necessary to "evaluate and use effectively" any resource I retrieve.
As a student and a professional, I find that the standards laid out in the ALA's report all apply to me. Standard Two (pages 9-11), "The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently," is probably one of my weakest areas and the one that I need the most improvement in. Knowing where to look is half the battle. I find in the past that I have gotten frustrated looking for information I needed. Where to look, how to look what is legitimate and valid and what is not...all left me more confused than when I started. If we don't know how to efficiently research much valuable time is wasted.
Standard Three (page 11) addresses the students ability to evaluate information and determine what is valid and legitimate and then employ that data to the task or activity at hand. Back when publishing was not something that anyone with money could do, the concern over the validity of information was not as great. Now that anyone can publish information to the internet or even in a paper/e-book, one must be critical of the data and it's authenticity.
This information super highway we call the internet is a long and winding road that can lead us to great knowledge and power but along the way we must learn to navigate the many exits, potholes, road blocks and detours. If I, as a student and a professional, can learn to effectively navigate through all of the information and resources available, my ability to grow is only limited by my efforts. To be competitive both in school and in my professional world (current and future) I must be able to continue to grow my knowledge base and keep up with current and relevant data.
Reference:
The Association of College and Research Libraries, (2000). Information literacy competency standards for higher education. Retrieved from website: www.ala.org
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