The first Comment that i wrote was for "Arie and others" group. This was the lab that they created and they dressed up and tried to live the life of a hobo for a weekend. This is my Comment:
I really thought that this lab was very creative and a smart thing to do.. It would be really hard for me to not shower and to smell really bad. when you all talked about how no one really wanted to talk to you cause you smelled i thought it was really funny but it is sort of bad for social capital if no one will talk to you. But it was kind of cool that all of you got that experience of what it was like to be not as fortunate as other people. Homeless people always seem really alone and almost threatening because you think that they are faking it or that they have done something bad because they dont have money or a home but they are just trying their best to survive.I really wish i could have been there when your group acted like hobos because it seemed very beneficial.Written By: Mary Clements from the 1120 class
Monday, February 2, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
speed kills
Cars are an ideal in every ones lives these days. Without cars, the majority of Americans would not be able to commute to work, grocery stores, to visit a friends, run errands, etc. This is because if you do not live in a city, buses and taxis aren't that easy to get. So, for us, we would not be able to function right. I experimented with this on a Saturday and Sunday. Saturday I was going to go about my regular routine and use my car as a transportation like I usually do. However, on Sunday I was going to rethink if there were other ways of getting me to where I needed to go without a vehicle. This was a difficult task.
Saturday- I was picked up in a car at 9am to go home. I got home at about 9:35am. I returned back to my car at 11:00am and got to my desired area at 11:20am. Back in my car at 3pm for 30 minutes and used my car yet again at 7pm for 10 minutes and returned with it 11:30pm for 10 minutes.
Sunday- It was so hard not to use a car, yet I did have to use one 3 times. My only other option was to walk...I guess this is what you get for not living in the city.
All in all, I had used my car for one hour and 45 minutes on a regular day. I had lost an 105 minutes of an opportunity to build social capitol. I was not interacting with anyone besides my immediate family for that time and this was just one day out of the week. If every hour in the car was added up for a week, it would really show how commuting like this is weakening social capital. As I stated on Sunday, my only other option was to walk, and that would just not be practical. So, yes, speed does kill communities.
Saturday- I was picked up in a car at 9am to go home. I got home at about 9:35am. I returned back to my car at 11:00am and got to my desired area at 11:20am. Back in my car at 3pm for 30 minutes and used my car yet again at 7pm for 10 minutes and returned with it 11:30pm for 10 minutes.
Sunday- It was so hard not to use a car, yet I did have to use one 3 times. My only other option was to walk...I guess this is what you get for not living in the city.
All in all, I had used my car for one hour and 45 minutes on a regular day. I had lost an 105 minutes of an opportunity to build social capitol. I was not interacting with anyone besides my immediate family for that time and this was just one day out of the week. If every hour in the car was added up for a week, it would really show how commuting like this is weakening social capital. As I stated on Sunday, my only other option was to walk, and that would just not be practical. So, yes, speed does kill communities.
vacations
Vacations are a terrific getaway for all Americans, yet they help build as well as destroy social capital. It is a known fact that the average American takes about 13 vacations days a year. Indeed, that is not a lot of days off, but if any more were taken off social capital would gradually start to be destroyed. This is because if we vacation out of the US, peoples' roots become weaker and you are not there to continue to build the relationships that you already have with your community and comrades. Your community will then start building stronger social capital with others and you will not be as included. Yes, 88 percent of Americans take their electronic devices while on vacation, but those devices such as, cell phones, are also known to weaken social capital. In my own opinion, 25 days of out of the 365 days in the years, is the perfect amount of vacation time. It's not too much to actually permanently destroy your social capital but it also doesn't leave you over-worked. In Korea and Japan 25 days is average vacation time.
Sara just got back from a vacation to Mexico which was 7 days. Her social capital was indeed a little weaker due to the fact that she wasn't in contact, even with her cell phone, for many days and didn't know how anyone in her community was. However, Sara was bridging social capital because she met and became friends with many people that were of a different race. It was great! So, even though vacationing weakens social capital it also bridges social capital as well as relieves stress from your work!
Sara just got back from a vacation to Mexico which was 7 days. Her social capital was indeed a little weaker due to the fact that she wasn't in contact, even with her cell phone, for many days and didn't know how anyone in her community was. However, Sara was bridging social capital because she met and became friends with many people that were of a different race. It was great! So, even though vacationing weakens social capital it also bridges social capital as well as relieves stress from your work!
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