Response to Klosterman

I agree completely with Klosterman. I think laugh tracks are stupid and annoying. I feel like they are used because the producers feel like we aren’t smart enough to get the jokes on our own, if there even are jokes to get. I think Klosterman is right when he says “canned laughter represents the worst qualities of insecure people.” It seems like laugh tracks are used to the writers will think that they wrote something funny even if people don’t think it is. The canned laughter makes them think at least someone is laughing at the script they spent so much time on even if it is prompted in-studio laughing. When he moves into laughless sitcoms he says that we take them more seriously which is totally true. We don’t have to be prompted to laugh at something or feel awkward if he don’t laugh with the laugh track. They give us the opportunity to think for ourselves instead of conforming to what others believe.  Not only does he talk about laugh tracks but he talks about how Americans laugh at everything even when it’s not funny just to fill in space which I see every day, or I do every day. When in an awkward situation I just laugh even if nothing that was said was funny, it’s reaction. We have been raised and taught to use laughter even when it’s not needed so now when people laugh you don’t know if it’s real or fabricated. 

Topic for the Research Paper

We are supposed to talk about topics that we are thinking about writing about for the research paper, but I've already decided to discuss Criminology Theories. Criminology Theories are the basis for the field since Criminology is literally the study of crime and the theories are how we explain crime. Each theory has its own strengths and weaknesses and not one is thought to be the reason crime occurs. The theories fall into broad categories such as; Classical or Neoclassical, Biological, Psychological/Psychiatric, Social Structure Approaches, Social Process Theories and Social Conflict Theories. Under the broad categories are more specific theories by various people in the various fields including; Lombroso "The Father of Criminology", the famous psychologist Freud and multiple theories put forth by Hirschi and Gottfredson. Various key figures in other fields come into play because Criminology is interdisciplinary. I'm not really sure what exploratory questions I have but I want to look at the causes of violent crimes rather than property crimes even though property crimes are more common because I feel like violent crimes effect people more severely. I want to try to explain why a theory is good, what the problems with some are and how they can be approved as well as which ones I agree with the most and why. i am then going to propose my own theory by combining a few of the ones together rather than keeping them to certain aspects like social problems or biological problems. 

Annotation-

Annotation:
This article outlines a study done to test when college age students were more likely to get into a car with an intoxicated driver. The results showed that a student was more likely to get into a car if there was no one with them or if someone with them refused to get into the car. However, if they were alone or if someone was with them and refused to get into the car they tended to refuse also. This is applicable to my research because Criminology is all about why people do things, criminal or deviant, and the factors in this experiment help explain why people get into a car with an intoxicated driver.


Bibliographic Information: 
Powell, Jack L., and Aaron D. Drucker. "The Role of Peer Conformity in the Decision to Ride with an Intoxicated Driver." ERIC – World’s Largest Digital Library of Education Literature. Web. 05 Feb. 2011. <http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=EJ567198>.

Response to Richtel

I think Kord Campbell is out of control with his technology addiction. I understand the urge to check your e-mail , Facebook and other things but when it starts controlling your life you have a problem. I know his job is technology but it doesn't mean he needs to be emerged in it at all times, everyone needs a break from their job. His love for and addiction to technology is even spreading through to his kids which leads to his son doing poorly in school. Technology is a wonderful thing but it needs to be limited in some way, you can't spend all of your time online, there are too many negative effects. There are some good things like it is mentioned in the article that some video games help kids focus and find things that don't belong faster. However, it takes away from real human interaction, the kind you can't get by typing to someone. Granted, there are things like Skype now that let you video chat to interact but it still isn't the same. We need activity away from electronics. I understand where he is coming from because I know how hard it is to put your phone down, but when there is a time you need to, like during family vacations it needs to be done before the family becomes distant and falls apart. I personally think multitasking is a crazy concept. I don't know anyone that can do more than one thing at once and completely pay attention to what it going on, I know I can't. I try constantly by texting when studying or doing homework but it's too hard to keep track of where I'm at in the reading or what I just read a million times to memorize. Everyone is pulled to electronics whether it's video games, your iPod, iPhone, iPad, laptop or any other type of smart phone and even TV however, there needs to be a line drawn and we need to be less dependent on all these things. Mr. Campbell is the perfect example of someone who is controlled by technology and he should be the example that we don't want to follow.

Welcome to My Life

Hey everyone, I'm Sara. I'm a sophomore and I'm majoring in Criminology with a pre-law track and have a political science minor. I'm from a tiny town in northeastern PA called New Milford, it's about 5 hours from here. I want to be a prosecutor in criminal court but I get freaked out really easily so it's going to be hard. I want to live in Chicago one day but I absolutely despise snow. I'm a die hard New England Patriots fan. Music is my life. I'm listening to it all the time, unless I'm in class. I even have my iPod on while at work and when I'm sleeping, it's an addiction. I love reading but don't have enough time to do it as much as I'd like to. I'm outgoing, love to laugh and am with friends constantly. That pretty much sums me up!