I watched the TEDtalk titled “My identity is a superpower-not an obstacle” by actress America Ferrera. I watched this TEDtalk before for another class and was inspired of how she overcame her obstacles she had to experience as she worked to reach Hollywood. She spoke about her experiences of being an actress of color and having to work against the adversities agencies and Hollywood has against people of color. No directors wanted to hire her because unless she played a role that fit their idea of a stereotypical Latina (sassy, aggressive, dumb, broken English), they did not see her useful for the part. The need for more of these narratives is necessary to increase diversity and inclusivity in Hollywood.

Similar to most industries in America, there is a lack of diversity within leadership roles in the film industry as well. Looking at actors and those who win academy awards, the majority are white males.  America was rejected a part in a movie because “the movie [was] not financeable” without casting the main white role first. Those that lead in Hollywood refuse to cast diversely. This creates a lack of representation for all other people who watch films that are not white, males, or rich.

Here is the video for anyone would like to watch:

I watched a TEDx talk called “How Not to Take Things Personally” by Frederik Imbo. He became a referee to teach himself how not to take things personally. Referees will always deal with judgment from spectators, coaches, and players about the decisions they make on the field. Not everyone will be 100% happy. This reminded me about how having a leader lead large groups and how difficult it is to ensure everyone is happy with the outcomes that results from decision making.

He spoke about two strategies about how to be mindful of how you view situations. The first way is to realize the situation is not about you. It can be hard to determine if someone’s intentions but if you are feeling hurt by someone else’s actions, you should reflect on why they are doing what they are doing. If you have done this and still feel hurt by it then you move on the second strategy. The second strategy is to realize that it may be about you. it may be how you feel insecure about the situation and you should speak up about it instead of assuming why. Opening up without blame will allow the other person to see how to accommodate for how you feel.

I think this applies to how leaders are not perfect. You can always try to accommodate for everyone by asking everyone’s opinions on decisions. However, the result still may not please everyone. Whether you lean one way or another, there will always be someone not happy about the decisions. In our country, we choose presidents between the usually two main political parties: Democratic or Republican. Whoever gets voted in leads a whole country of varying perspectives and world views. I can imagine what our presidents endure whenever they’re in office as not everyone is going to agree on decisions of policies or laws. I assume they have to learn to not take things personally as in our large scale societies, we are always going to have varying views and ideas of who we like better or who we don’t.

Here is the link for anyone who would like to watch:

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

COVID-19 Warning

I watched a TEDtalk by Bill Gates called “The next outbreak? We’re not ready”. It was recorded 5 years ago but watching it connected to so much of what is occurring today. It’s scary to see how 5 years later, what Bill Gates was talking about is now reality, almost like he made his speech during the current pandemic. He talked a lot about what ended up being current problems we are facing like: lack of doctors, lack of appropriate response to the increase of cases, failing health systems and properness for an epidemic. I know he was not the only one with these concerns so it amazes me how unprepared we really were for this pandemic.

Bill Gates is a well known leader as he is an investor, philanthropist and software developer (Microsoft, of course). He is however, not the first person I would think of doing a talk about global health. It’s interesting to see how passionate he is about global health. The Bill Gates Foundation has a Global Health Division meant specifically for issues like we are facing today. 5 years ago, someone not in the healthcare field warned about an epidemic that was bound to happen and he knew we were not prepared for it. We saw the effects of Ebola and how the world was not prepared to face something so serious. This disease was not air-borne and caused about 10,000 deaths in 2015.

It’s interesting to see how much has been affected by coronavirus. The economy, job market, healthcare field and access to- everything in society has been affected. It’s kind of amazing to see how other leaders should have been concerned about this as some were. The world was not prepared for something major like this to happen.

Here is the talk for anyone that is interested:

https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_the_next_outbreak_we_re_not_ready

COVID-19 Warning

The “Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizens Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear” by Paul Rogat Loeb was an amazing read during the times we are living now. It is easy to forget about the good in the world, especially when things are so uncertain right now. CoVID-19 has uprooted all of our lives in a way no one has really known before. Maneuvering in our current climate right now is difficult, stressful, and confusing. This reading really reminded me to look at the glass half full instead of half empty. As difficult as it may be right now, it’s important to not lose sight of hope and our happiness.

It was very powerful to read how change and activism really begins with an idea or just one person. It reminded me a lot of the quote “be the change you wish to see in the world”. Many people believe that you need to gather an audience in order to do good for others. Especially now in mainstream media, it seems people do good deeds for just views and not from the goodness of their hearts. It is refreshing to read about how something small or how just one person creates an enormous impact. Danusha Goska receiving a ride back to her home from strangers at a food bank really shows how something that may seem small to some creates a huge impact for others. The world seems so selfish now as greed has taken over many’s mind and goals- small acts of kindness really goes a long way.

The article Howard Zimm wrote reminded me a lot of one of earlier readings about how we always focus on the bad. Our generation tends to center the bad outcomes and often forgets about the good in the world. We especially tend to want fast results from movements and expect progress to be made overnight. The beauty of movements is the journey it takes to build up community and audience. It relates back to Danusha’s point of how progress really starts with one person. To expect change overnight is an expectation that will not always guarantee happiness. However, looking back at history to see how movements took years and different routes to get to the effectiveness and power they have today is fascinating to see. It’s kind of like the light at the end of the tunnel. The more you work towards something, the more of the light you’ll end up seeing.

I watched the ads of the 1952 campaign Eisenhower vs Stevenson. My favorite ad was “Let’s not Forget the Farmer” supporting for Adlai Stevenson. The ad was a jingle that begins by mentioning  the Great Depression in the 1930s and how it affected the agriculture and economy. The recession in the economy greatly affected farmers, who depended on selling their crops to sustain themselves. Because of the deflation of crop prices, they were not able to afford their livelihood (like many other Americans during this time period). The jingle then leads to their current time of 1952 and talks about how the farmer will vote for Stevenson because Stevenson would know what to do during a time of recession.

This ad used the jingle that everyone knows about – old McDonald. It was a tune that I imagined resonated with many Americans. Especially as during the 50s, farming and farm families was still a very big business and very prominent. I imagine hearing this ad provided comfort to farmers who Eisenhower did not mention about at all in his campaigns. The jingle created a unity between all people.

Although Stevenson did not win the election, watching his ads showed he was for the common man. However, his ads did not show any concern for the Korean War and his input on it- which many Americans were worried about. I liked the ad I chose because it was easy to follow the jungle and rhyme of his ideas. I think this was the best ad out of the others as I thought the others to be boring and repetitive, not giving himself the platform to share what he would do with his presidency if he were elected.

Here is the link below:

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1952/lets-not-forget-the-farmer#3950

I’m pretty sure many of you have seen and heard this ad growing up on television or as a meme on social media (especially recently). Education Connection ad was always a favorite for my brother and I growing up because it was very catchy and was on often– we may have seen the commercial at least once or twice everyday because of how popular it was. Although watching as a kid and nowhere near college then, this ad was a staple because how popular it was and how easy it was to remember the lyrics. It provided new view of technology and new paths people could take, which as a young kid, I assumed there was only one path to follow.

This commercial definitely used some of the factors we learned about in our readings for today. The Education connection slogan uses catchy music and lyrics to entice their audience to listen about the package deal of finding the right online college for them. The commercial shares a value that is common in American society which is continuing your education which can lead to a higher salary in your career. The lyrics share a story about a woman who did not do well in highschool and now ” taking my classes online, getting my degree on [her] own time” to get a better career and better salary. She emphasizes being able to get her degree at her own pace which is critical to education connection’s mission of finding the ideal program for you. This emphasis on an education made for you also appeals to an audience who has probably been in her situation, creating a relatable experience for them. It is also around this time that getting an online degree was a relatively new concept and appealed to many people who cannot do a ‘regular’ college path.

Here is the link to the commercial if anyone would like to jam to it.

Michael Harvey explains how leadership depends on a groups distinctive social reality. There are many concepts that and frameworks that contribute to the group and how it affects them. One of the things I really like about leadership studies is how it shows an interconnectedness of many different types of studies. It is these studies that groups take into consideration when deciding on leadership.

The idea that leadership concerns with every identity of the individuals in a group is interesting. Numerous people have a variety of different goals and interests and as a group becomes larger, the more need there is for leadership. A good leader takes into account of all the varying interests and identities of group members to make sure they are all represented. This ties back to how everything essentially intersects in leadership. It comes in a variety of perspectives and a good leader is able to communicate and emphasize those differences in a way that brings the group together. I think modern society has difficulty in embracing differences, as many judge others based on interests, identity, and perspective. I definitely agree that when a group becomes bigger, the harder it is to maintain the cohesiveness in a group.

The readings emphasize how easy history can be misconstrued or taken out of context to convey certain messages. I know personally in school, I did not learn everything about Columbus and his actions once he reached the Americas. We were taught that he sailed from Spain to what he assumed was Asia, in order to achieve gold for his people. Although his actions were gruesome, I believe they should not be covered up in order to maintain his image. It is important to know all details of history as leaving out information creates a distortion of America’s past. To unacknowledge everything that occurred that led up to our modern society leads to ignorance of people’s actions in the past. As seen in our modern day society, we continue to celebrate Columbus Day and his ‘heroic’ actions but don’t seem to acknowledge 1). he did not make it to Asia as he assumed he did, and 2). brutally killed many natives of the land he visited for a reason I really don’t understand. There is much more to unpack in the actions of Columbus. There is valuable knowledge in knowing what was done as we try to understand our society’s history.

Having Dr.Hayter for my Justice and Civil Society class, I always appreciated his honest truth of history and acknowledgement of the systems that affected where society is today. Reading his article really reminded me that there is always a deeper look and meaning into history. Racial segregation in Richmond stems back from very long ago and is still prominent today in communities and government. It is unfortunate that these issues are still seen today, but it is important to understand them as it could help with the solution of moving towards a more inclusive and equal society.

The idea of the Gestalt “closure” principle and its connection to stereotypes reminded me of the reading we did about Small scale societies. Evolutionarily, people look to those that were physically strong and serious to become the face of a leader. The example of the Warren Harding Error emphasizes how easily people try fitting others into a narrative in their head. Through physical appearance paved the way for his nomination and election of POTUS. This is a dangerous way of thinking because people who do not have the criteria to fill certain positions are the ones holding them because of the evolutionary idea people have as leaders. The implicit bias that people hold about what a leader ‘should’ look like is what prevents leadership positions from becoming diverse.

I learned a lot about the Stanford Prison experiment in my LDST 102 class and how an experiment like that could never occur again. The experiment created long-term detrimental affects to those that participated in it because of the humiliation they caused to the volunteers in front of parents, neighbors, and to each other. Human beings have a natural instinct of survival, which I believe was very prominent in this experiment. Those that were randomized into the group of guards adapted to the dominant and aggressive traits. Those that were randomized into the prisoner group felt vulnerable and actually felt like prisoners. This experiment, although lasting less than half of what it was originally planned for, shows how easy human instincts arise in situations where they feel vulnerable. It also shows how quickly people are to adapt to certain situations and become a leader or follower for their cohort.

COVID 19- Warning

In the Logic of Failure, the game simulation replicates political power in towns and how exercising that power affects the common people. In the issue with Tanaland, every population contains a carrying capacity. Factors like food supply, water source, and medical aid can affect how much a population is able to handle before a population declines. It’s interesting to read how the Tsetse fly affected the Southern African population because the biology lab I currently work in tests on tsetse flies. The tsetse fly can be carriers of a parasite that causes African Sleeping sickness in mammals. We test certain genes to mutate to determine if it would cause less transmission of the disease. A question my lab and our partner labs have asked is how would discovering the gene that affects transmission affect the population of cattle and humans in Africa? We would first have to find the gene that affects transmission but it is important to ask what would we do with that information once we have discovered it.

I’d be interested to see if a simulation like this could show the events leading to an outbreak, like the pandemic were currently living in. A simulation like this could have the option of being the highest power (president of the United states) or something below it like a senator or governor. I would like to see how many would react upon knowing about the virus initially and what decisions would be made to combat the outbreak. I wonder if people would keep the decisions that many governors have made of ordering a mandatory curfew and lockdown of the state. It would be nice to see if there was a possibility to have prevented this virus from becoming the pandemic that it has to be able to prevent it from happening again in the future.