Well it has been a fun and interesting semester! I thank you all for your participation and opinions. You all have future goals you are aspiring to, whether they include family, more academia, or the job market. I wish you all good luck in your endeavors; and again, thank you for all your hard work.
Bye!
27 July 2009
24 July 2009
Legalities...
I'm sorry about this week, but I've been in court all week. It ended favorably for me today (thankfully)! But I was able to get a firsthand look at our legal system. Scary as it was, it is a fair system I think. Anyone ever think about law school???
The judge, law clerk, court reporter, bailiff, lawyers, jurors, plaintiff, and defendant were all very civil and respectful throughout the process. Although I have to say the entire episode made me reflect on the status of morals and ethics in our society. Any thoughts on the state of our society's morals or values?
So, now that that huge burden is over, I'm here for questions or comments again. Just a reminder, next week we sign off so let me know if there is anything more you want to chat about. Thanks to all of you!
The judge, law clerk, court reporter, bailiff, lawyers, jurors, plaintiff, and defendant were all very civil and respectful throughout the process. Although I have to say the entire episode made me reflect on the status of morals and ethics in our society. Any thoughts on the state of our society's morals or values?
So, now that that huge burden is over, I'm here for questions or comments again. Just a reminder, next week we sign off so let me know if there is anything more you want to chat about. Thanks to all of you!
23 July 2009
philosophy
My new philosophy is to come to a job with a game face. I want to establish a certain level of respect and a good working relationship.In life, I realize that image is very important and people will treat you accordingly. I feel that there is a time and place for everything and at work its business. I may joke at times during a break or I may have brief and open conversations but I will never cross that line. My job is important for survival so there is things that I will not compromise.
18 July 2009
Careers & Philosophy
So I was in a conversation the other day about my personal philosophy. Don't ask me to define it because I have no idea where to begin! Nonetheless, I was asked how my personal philosophy would integrate into my future career? I was stumped. I didn't know how to approach the question, let alone explain my answer (whatever that was)! Therefore, I set out to categorize some philosophies within my desired field and to compare them with what I believed. A tedious task, I've noticed.
Well, this is what I'm asking: are you able to define traits of your personal philosophy and compare it to the philosophy of your future career? In my opinion, thinking about this makes sense if one of our goals in our jobs is to be content with what we do. Also, it may help you localize what exactly you care about in life.
This is just a suggestion; you don't actually have to do it. But if you think about it for a few minutes, you might gain some insight you never knew you had! Thanks, Karyn.
Well, this is what I'm asking: are you able to define traits of your personal philosophy and compare it to the philosophy of your future career? In my opinion, thinking about this makes sense if one of our goals in our jobs is to be content with what we do. Also, it may help you localize what exactly you care about in life.
This is just a suggestion; you don't actually have to do it. But if you think about it for a few minutes, you might gain some insight you never knew you had! Thanks, Karyn.
16 July 2009
future plan
I want to be in the medical field. I am making the nessary steps to accomplish my goal. I will have a B.A degree, finish nursing school, continue my education in graduate school while working as a nurse, and receive a master degree as a family practitioner. I'm hoping to have my own practice and possibly be a boss for some medical facility.
I'm hoping that I can be a part of an organization that will help those in need to pay for any medical bills. I would like all of the leaders of the U.S to take part in planning a better way for all to be insured. I think there should be better checks and balances of how the money is distributed and collected. There should be caps made on the amount of money the "big shots"makes. Regulation have to be made in our economy which should be a main concern.
I'm hoping that I can be a part of an organization that will help those in need to pay for any medical bills. I would like all of the leaders of the U.S to take part in planning a better way for all to be insured. I think there should be better checks and balances of how the money is distributed and collected. There should be caps made on the amount of money the "big shots"makes. Regulation have to be made in our economy which should be a main concern.
Bill being pass
I feel that the employer should pay into the health care system for the employee but at what cost. The idea is great for the short term and the companies will find a way to get back that money that they will be spending. Our country is all about making money and the people in power always find a way to get it. Physical change is nice but if we do not change our mind set from greed then we will be in the same boat that we are in right now. The change is still great and it will install hope for the people.
Future Plans
I would like to begin by apologizing. I have had a few crises in my life the last two weeks and they have affected my level of participation. I know everyone gets busy, and I am not trying to excuse myself; but things have been exceptionally dismal for me lately and I am sorry I haven't posted anything.
That being said, I have also decided to change things up a bit. I am tired of our blog together being so formal and dry. For my part, I'm going to attempt a change of philosophy. From now on, if no one has any suggestions or questions, I'll simply blog whatever I feel like saying. I'll try to keep it relevant for you, but I don't want to continue to post essay-like content! We should all agree there should be some structure, but let’s try to venture outside our weekly monotone dialogue! Also, thank you Devon for posting your own stuff. This blog is for all of us and you can post items also.
This week, since there has been so much legislative changes (and subsequently news coverage) for the healthcare field, I'd like to discuss that a little.
That being said, I have also decided to change things up a bit. I am tired of our blog together being so formal and dry. For my part, I'm going to attempt a change of philosophy. From now on, if no one has any suggestions or questions, I'll simply blog whatever I feel like saying. I'll try to keep it relevant for you, but I don't want to continue to post essay-like content! We should all agree there should be some structure, but let’s try to venture outside our weekly monotone dialogue! Also, thank you Devon for posting your own stuff. This blog is for all of us and you can post items also.
This week, since there has been so much legislative changes (and subsequently news coverage) for the healthcare field, I'd like to discuss that a little.
- Senator Kennedy's bill for the nation's healthcare reform passed the committee vote. Also in health news, a proposed bill to make employers cover health insurance for their employees or pay a fee is in talks.
- What do you think? Is there anything else in the news you would like to discuss that relates to our major concentration areas or minor?
This post is called future plans not only because it covers the upcoming changes for this blog, but also because I am interested to hear about your future plans. Thank you for those of you who responded to the email I sent; but after graduation, do you intend to enter the workforce or attend graduate school? Also, what does your future career entail: not just job title, but also I'd be interested to hear a typical day of what you want to do.
- For me, my future plans lie with traveling and graduate school. After this semester, I'll be traveling to the Middle East and to Southeast Asia (again)! I'm applying to graduate school for next year, so I'll also be working. I plan to apply to the Anthropology program. Mostly I want to teach and do consulting work. Archeology holds little viable opportunities for me, so I will probably look into cultural or social anthropology. For the next year, however, I intend to continue working where I am.
Anyway, share your thoughts, opinions, and suggestions. Again, sorry for being so late!!!
09 July 2009
work equality
I feel that my degree may cause a problem for a few people at the work place. People always looking at the next person trying to get a head in the game. If they feel that exposing something will affect your job and boost them up, they will do so. Many people may not understand the whole dynamics of our degree. Conclusion may be drawn up and be taken in a negative manner.
There is still those who may be open minded and see the benefits of my degree. The main thing is, if the people in power understand and give us a chance, then we can prove that we are a great asset to the organization.
There is still those who may be open minded and see the benefits of my degree. The main thing is, if the people in power understand and give us a chance, then we can prove that we are a great asset to the organization.
06 July 2009
Workplace Equality
I hope you all had a great holiday weekend. If you haven’t responded already, I’ve emailed you a question and would like you to go into as much detail as you feel necessary to answer.
One question I find lurking at the office water cooler is the question of equality in the workplace. While there are many resources about gender equality, I’d rather talk about workplace equality in regards to your degree. Do you feel you will be treated equally with the type of degree you’re earning?
Workplace fairness has been around for some time now and has been advocated for my many diverse groups. But how far have we come? According to an article by Stephen Ohlemacher of Washington, employees with bachelor’s degrees earned an average of $50,000. Ohlemacher also portrays the message that of states with numerous high school diploma graduates the number of college degree graduate will also be high. ***By the way, Florida doesn’t rank high!*** What does that mean for people who earn a degree in a less than well known area of study? Currently, the mentality in the United States is centered on specialization of work to the extent that our universities offer degree programs just for those specialized jobs. For example, if you wanted to be a human resources manager there is a degree program for that. But you can also have an interdisciplinary studies degree and be a human resources manager. So the question becomes, with the trend in specialization that our society has, do you think the employee with the interdisciplinary studies degree be treated equally with the employee with the specialized degree? In an article by James Lardner, upward mobility is discussed relative to several factors, one of them being degrees. Lardner states, "upward mobility is determined increasingly by a college degree." And a New York Times article regarding the economic disparity of college graduates asserts that the gap between college graduate and high school graduate employees is diminishing. According to the NY Times article, the reason for the rise of inequality is a "lack of strong policies and institutions that broadly distribute economic gains."
If your answer to the interdisciplinary studies versus specialized degree question is no, I have another question for you: what can be done to correct the situation?
Revamping the workplace is one start point. The Out & Equal Workplace Advocates provide several steps for creating equality in the workplace. Granted they are more concerned with inequality related to sexual orientation, but a few of their suggestions can be applied broadly: create an employee resource group, hold degree diversity seminars (or cross training sessions), market and advertise employees varied backgrounds and degree studies, and advocate for leadership development in employees with different degrees.
Another way to correct the workplace inequality is to update policies and create organizations to advocate for benefits. This is what was encouraged in the New York Times article by Levy and Temin. They argued that we had unions and affirmative action groups years ago and today we don’t have those benefit advocates anymore. They also state that employer policies are outdated and should be revised.
If you find that you’ve been discriminated against based on your degree you should pursue the matter further with risk management or human resources. This may not always be the case, however, as you are the marketing tool for your degree. Do not hesitate to promote your education to your employers. Hopefully, you will never experience workplace inequality. If the situation ever arises, I think you should reflect on ways you can work with your employer to correct it and then advocate with your local workplace equality group.
“Economic Life After College.” 11 June, 2007. New York Times. Retrieved 06 July, 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/opinion/11mon3.html?_r=2&oref=slogin.
“Fifteen Steps to an Out & Equal Workplace.” Out & Equal Workplace Advocates: Workplace Resources. Retrieved 06 July, 2009 from http://outandequal.org/steps-to-equal-workplace.
Lardner, James. “Mobility Check.” The Progress Report. Retrieved 06 July, 2009 from http://www.progress.org/2004/labor06.htm.
Ohlemacher, Stephen. “Monetary Success a Matter of Degrees: Bachelor’s Brings in $23,000 More a Year.” 26 October, 2006. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 06 July, 2009 from http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2006/oct/26/news/chi-0610260286oct26.
One question I find lurking at the office water cooler is the question of equality in the workplace. While there are many resources about gender equality, I’d rather talk about workplace equality in regards to your degree. Do you feel you will be treated equally with the type of degree you’re earning?
Workplace fairness has been around for some time now and has been advocated for my many diverse groups. But how far have we come? According to an article by Stephen Ohlemacher of Washington, employees with bachelor’s degrees earned an average of $50,000. Ohlemacher also portrays the message that of states with numerous high school diploma graduates the number of college degree graduate will also be high. ***By the way, Florida doesn’t rank high!*** What does that mean for people who earn a degree in a less than well known area of study? Currently, the mentality in the United States is centered on specialization of work to the extent that our universities offer degree programs just for those specialized jobs. For example, if you wanted to be a human resources manager there is a degree program for that. But you can also have an interdisciplinary studies degree and be a human resources manager. So the question becomes, with the trend in specialization that our society has, do you think the employee with the interdisciplinary studies degree be treated equally with the employee with the specialized degree? In an article by James Lardner, upward mobility is discussed relative to several factors, one of them being degrees. Lardner states, "upward mobility is determined increasingly by a college degree." And a New York Times article regarding the economic disparity of college graduates asserts that the gap between college graduate and high school graduate employees is diminishing. According to the NY Times article, the reason for the rise of inequality is a "lack of strong policies and institutions that broadly distribute economic gains."
If your answer to the interdisciplinary studies versus specialized degree question is no, I have another question for you: what can be done to correct the situation?
Revamping the workplace is one start point. The Out & Equal Workplace Advocates provide several steps for creating equality in the workplace. Granted they are more concerned with inequality related to sexual orientation, but a few of their suggestions can be applied broadly: create an employee resource group, hold degree diversity seminars (or cross training sessions), market and advertise employees varied backgrounds and degree studies, and advocate for leadership development in employees with different degrees.
Another way to correct the workplace inequality is to update policies and create organizations to advocate for benefits. This is what was encouraged in the New York Times article by Levy and Temin. They argued that we had unions and affirmative action groups years ago and today we don’t have those benefit advocates anymore. They also state that employer policies are outdated and should be revised.
If you find that you’ve been discriminated against based on your degree you should pursue the matter further with risk management or human resources. This may not always be the case, however, as you are the marketing tool for your degree. Do not hesitate to promote your education to your employers. Hopefully, you will never experience workplace inequality. If the situation ever arises, I think you should reflect on ways you can work with your employer to correct it and then advocate with your local workplace equality group.
“Economic Life After College.” 11 June, 2007. New York Times. Retrieved 06 July, 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/opinion/11mon3.html?_r=2&oref=slogin.
“Fifteen Steps to an Out & Equal Workplace.” Out & Equal Workplace Advocates: Workplace Resources. Retrieved 06 July, 2009 from http://outandequal.org/steps-to-equal-workplace.
Lardner, James. “Mobility Check.” The Progress Report. Retrieved 06 July, 2009 from http://www.progress.org/2004/labor06.htm.
Ohlemacher, Stephen. “Monetary Success a Matter of Degrees: Bachelor’s Brings in $23,000 More a Year.” 26 October, 2006. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 06 July, 2009 from http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2006/oct/26/news/chi-0610260286oct26.
01 July 2009
Interdisciplinarity + Everyday Life
How do you find ways to utilize interdisciplinarity in your life? We can all talk to people about how interdisciplinarity applies to our education; but what about everyday life? Can the tools we learn throughout our program of study be applied to our daily lives?
I believe we can not only apply interdisciplinarity to our day by day actions, but we can also advise others to take notice and try it themselves. Consider applying interdisciplinarity to organizing your workspace. Now you may think of it as simply straightening up, but to really organize, you may include elements from some of these disciplines: architecture, organizational psychology, anthropology, and design. Four different disciplines have come together to maximize your workplace organization! Now bearing in mind we all maintain health, psychology, or criminal justice components of our interdisciplinary studies degree; how can we apply aspects of interdisciplinarity of one of these areas into our daily life?
Besides applying interdisciplinarity in academia, what other organizations utilize this tool? On a global scale, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations published a research study in 2001 employing an interdisciplinary approach to field research and case studies. http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/X6996E/x6996e00.htm#Contents Also, the state of New Jersey has developed a linguistics program using interdisciplinary studies in the education arena and also the corporate workplace arena: "an interdisciplinary, systems thinking
approach—is needed to provide cohesion and foster the development of workplace readiness
skills." http://www.state.nj.us/education/frameworks/worldlanguages/chap1-4.pdf
Let's consider specific characteristics that are incorporated into an interdisciplinary lifestyle. Are there traits that are essential for the application of interdisciplinary studies? One characteristic I find necessary is curiosity. Although the desire to create something, conduct the research and find ways to apply those findings to any market is useful, it all begins with curiosity. You wouldn’t have the desire to create, the stamina to research, or the proficiency to apply the results if you weren’t curios about what was being queried. Curiosity, in moderation, is a great tool that can be used to advance your career, jumpstart new projects, or even improve livelihoods.
When assessing or applying interdisciplinarity, are there standards to measure against or should everyone be considered individually? What are pros or cons of each?
I believe we can not only apply interdisciplinarity to our day by day actions, but we can also advise others to take notice and try it themselves. Consider applying interdisciplinarity to organizing your workspace. Now you may think of it as simply straightening up, but to really organize, you may include elements from some of these disciplines: architecture, organizational psychology, anthropology, and design. Four different disciplines have come together to maximize your workplace organization! Now bearing in mind we all maintain health, psychology, or criminal justice components of our interdisciplinary studies degree; how can we apply aspects of interdisciplinarity of one of these areas into our daily life?
Besides applying interdisciplinarity in academia, what other organizations utilize this tool? On a global scale, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations published a research study in 2001 employing an interdisciplinary approach to field research and case studies. http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/X6996E/x6996e00.htm#Contents Also, the state of New Jersey has developed a linguistics program using interdisciplinary studies in the education arena and also the corporate workplace arena: "an interdisciplinary, systems thinking
approach—is needed to provide cohesion and foster the development of workplace readiness
skills." http://www.state.nj.us/education/frameworks/worldlanguages/chap1-4.pdf
Let's consider specific characteristics that are incorporated into an interdisciplinary lifestyle. Are there traits that are essential for the application of interdisciplinary studies? One characteristic I find necessary is curiosity. Although the desire to create something, conduct the research and find ways to apply those findings to any market is useful, it all begins with curiosity. You wouldn’t have the desire to create, the stamina to research, or the proficiency to apply the results if you weren’t curios about what was being queried. Curiosity, in moderation, is a great tool that can be used to advance your career, jumpstart new projects, or even improve livelihoods.
When assessing or applying interdisciplinarity, are there standards to measure against or should everyone be considered individually? What are pros or cons of each?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
