Abstract: The prevalence of obesity in Australia and western parts of society is on the rise; Obesity can be contributed to by unhealthy eating and exercise habits. Several studies have explored some of the reasons for this epidemic, including one by Anne Kavanagh into “healthy suburbs” using a longitudinal study in Victorian suburbs. The first aim of this essay is to summarise and explain this research into developing healthy suburbs, the second aim is to summarise how this information can be used to better our society in the future.
Due to recent trends of obesity and unhealthy eating and exercise habits of Australians, Victoria Health funded a study into “healthy suburbs”. According to Victoria Health, 54 percent of Victorian men and 38 percent of Victorian women are overweight. With this in mind the “healthy suburbs” report looked into what factors influence the obesity trend. This study was the first of its kind to examine the relationships between the individual, household and environmental factors that impact on health. The recent VicLANES research by Anne Kavanagh is a longitudinal study into varying Melbourne suburbs, focussing on their food purchasing, alcohol consumption and exercise habits. The study, funded by Victoria Health was done in order to promote “healthy suburbs”. The research was part of a recommendation by Victorian Lifestyle And Neighbourhood’s Environment Study (VicLANES). The research was conducted over three years on almost 5000 people in 50, low, medium and high socio economic neighbourhoods around Melbourne. The report found that where you live, can influence what you eat, how much you exercise and even how much you weigh. The purpose of the research was to share the findings with a range of professionals, who work in health and other areas, that can have significant impacts on the trends and shaping of people’s local environments. Several findings disproved some popular myths that surround issues such as exercise and eating habits.
The first research area was that of food purchasing, this data was collected by using the “Food Purchasing and Your Household” survey. The survey was directed towards the person who did most of the shopping in the household. Physical activity and alcohol consumption was measured using the “You and Your Neighbourhood” survey. The behaviours, knowledge and attitudes of the people involved were measured in all three areas of the research.
The study found that compared to those who live in high socio-economic status areas, those in low socio economic areas were less likely to exercise at the level needed to maintain good health, walked less, and had a higher body mass index. The study found that only 46 percent of people in low socio-economic areas do enough exercise to maintain good health, compared to 54 percent in medium socio-economic areas and 60 percent in high socio-economic suburbs. The study found that those in lower socio economic areas weighed, on average three kilograms more than those with higher incomes. The factors that were found to influence this were the quality of footpaths for exercise, the location of parks and the price and availability of healthy food. Another factor was that people who lived closer to major roads had access to many take away food stores; this was found to contribute to obesity. High-income areas were found to have greater access to parks and more recreational activities; this in turn leads to less obese residents. With the exception of not having enough time, other reasons for not exercising were greatest in low socio-economic areas. Some of the reasons were having an injury or disability, not having someone to exercise with and not being the sporty type.
The study also found that people who lived in lower socio-economic areas were less likely to purchase healthy groceries, didn’t eat as much fruit and were twice as likely to purchase take away food to eat at home on a weekly basis. This may have been due to the fact that lower socio-economic areas had twice as many fast food outlets. There was an interesting finding that showed that surroundings had a greater impact than income on health and wellbeing. The study showed that living in a low socio-economic area is harmful, whether a person is on a high or low income. The popular belief that those in lower socio economic areas have more places to walk to is true, but the study found that the residents do not feel safe walking in their local environment and there is too much traffic. Another myth that was disproved was that people in lower socio economic areas had less access to fruit and vegetables; in fact they have more access to these items. However, they also have more access to the cheap fast food. They found that although fruit and vegetables were cheaper and more accessible in these suburbs it also took up a greater proportion of people’s incomes. Another factor that discouraged these people from purchasing healthy items were that up to a quarter of those surveyed had trouble carrying their groceries, and were likely to run out of money to buy food. All these factors could be an influence on their shopping habits.
Another major factor in the study was the lack of knowledge shown by people in low socio-economic areas about things such as healthy food and exercising. The report states that these people have less good nutritional knowledge and make food choices based solely on price. People in low socio economic areas also were less knowledgeable in the benefits of regular exercise.
Alcohol consumption was found to be generally higher in men then women in all suburbs. Men in low socio-economic areas were more likely to consume alcohol at least once per week at a level that can cause them short term harm. Low socio economic areas had more alcohol stores than other areas.
Victoria Health Chief executive Dr Rob Moodie said the study showed that there is a connection between health and urban planning. He said that as the urban sprawl develops and has a lack of recreational facilities and public transport, we see that people are less likely to be active and more likely to be overweight. He also made the statement “We always say, we are what we eat. Well, we also are where we live.”
Dr Moodie also said that it was not enough for governments to just promote healthy activities such as walking and cycling. “ We need to invest much more heavily in our environments… so that we prioritise the pedestrian and the cyclist. For far too long Australia has been a completely car-dependent society.”
In an article titled ‘Councils Leading the Way to Healthier Communities’, it shows the way in which councils are embracing the fact that people’s surroundings do have a significant impact on their health. In August 2005 the Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion identified the challenges and ways to address the determinants of health in a globalised world. It examined the health effects of inequities, urbanisation and environmental damage. This shows that the matter of healthy suburbs and communities are of great and worldwide importance.
The findings in the VicLANES report are supported by several programs for councils to promote healthy living. “Leading the Way” is a resource that gives practical advice on how to embed health and wellbeing into their social, economic and environmental planning. Ged Dibley who developed Leading the Way said that most councils now recognise the long term effects on valuing health and wellbeing in planning, whether it is new roads, parks or housing estates.
The Study by Anne Kavanagh is an instrumental and important report into how we can develop “healthy suburbs”. By looking at factors such as shopping and exercise habits, valuable information was gathered about different suburbs with varying socio economic statuses. This information can now be used in areas such as councils and land planning, to make sure that health and wellbeing is a top priority for all people in Australia.
References
Kavanagh, A, M (2005) Urban area disadvantage and physical activity: a multilevel study in Melbourne, Australia. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Nov 2005, 934-940
DHS, MAV & VLGA September 2001, Environments for Health, Municipal Public
Health Planning Framework, Department of Human Services, Municipal Association of Victoria, Victorian Local Government Association.
VicHealth 2002, Leading the Way: Councils Creating Healthier Communities,
Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, Melbourne.
http://www.kcwhs.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/61398/VicLanes_Report.pdf accessed 18th Sep 2007
www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/6gchp/bangkok_charter/en/index.html
accessed 16th Sep 2007.
Appendix A:
Self- assessment
Research and theory:
I found that it was in fact quite easy to find information on this topic, because my topic was so specific and on one article in particular. The other bits of information I added were still related specifically to this topic. I think that I did make effective use of the article; it was quite a long report with lots of information, which made it somewhat difficult to relay all the information I wanted to. At some stages I felt I could have added more information from other sources, but after looking at my question again, didn’t find it necessary.
Written Expression:
I think that my blog is well spaced out and is quite easy to read, it is in size twelve font and consists of medium sized paragraphs. The blog is written in APA style, it includes an abstract, introduction, main body and conclusion. As opposed to my first blog, a concept map wasn’t an appropriate technique to use as this essay is describing and explaining someone else’s work. The readability of my blog was shown as being 13 using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. This is not as low as I would have liked it by still makes it accessible to a wide range of people.
Online Engagement:
Yet again this is my downfall, I started off after blog one determined to increase my amount of online engagement. I did offer some comments on other people’s blogs and wrote a short blog on my own site about the topic I had chosen. This is an area where I really need to improve; I need to be more consistent with my comments and posts.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Healthy Suburbs
I have finally decided on my blog 2 subject, healthy suburbs. Although i had never heard of Anne Kavanagh or the Viclanes project after a quick google i found this subject quite interesting. VICLanes stands for the Victorian Lifestyle and Neighborhoods Environment Study. The study was conducted over 3 years and looked at 5000 people in different socio-economic status areas around melbourne. The report says that where you live can influence what you eat, how much you exersise and even how much you weigh. Some of the interesting findings were that lower socio economic areas had twice as many fast food outlets, and less walking tracks. Some obvious findings were that lower socio ecomic men drank to dangerous levels. One of the more unusual findings was that those people in lower socio economic areas had greater access to fruit and veg. In saying this the cost of buying fruit and veg took up a big percentage of these people's wages. I think this report is really interesting but can't really be applied to rural areas or inner city areas. The first thing i thought of when i read about the fast food outlets was my recent trip to inner city melbourne, i couldn't walk 3 steps without being confronted by the flashing lights of a fast food outlet! The inner city is made up of units and apartments with people of high economic status living in them, it would be difficult for these people to find fruit and veg in there local 7/11's. Anyway these are just a couple of ideas for my blog! If you are interested you can find some findings on
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Are we Accepting of both Adam and Eve and Adam and Steve?
In Australia we have many minority groups, based on religion, ethnicity, race or gender. These groups are characterised as minorities as they are groups that have less control and power over there lives then those in a dominant or majority group. This leads directly to these groups being stereotyped. A Stereotype is a generalised (sometimes accurate but often over generalised) belief about a group of people (Myers, 2004). A minority group that over many decades has been negatively stereotyped are homosexuals. 'Homosexual' is simply an adjective meaning 'the same sex' 'Homo' is not from the Latin for 'man. It's from the Greek for 'same.' In many regards attitudes towards homosexuals have changed, although not to the point that homosexuals are of equal standing with heterosexuals. Homosexuals, especially men are stereotyped on many different levels, these include that all male homosexuals are “not normal”, paedophiles and that they are all effeminate.
Stereotypes exist because they allow humans to take mental shortcuts and conserve mental energy and effort. Over the centuries in all cultures, groups have displayed a tendency to discriminate against groups that are different to their own. Humans are believed to have an innate tendency to stereotype others. Stereotypes and prejudice often exist due to learning through socialisation (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). Once people learn these stereotypes, they stick to these beliefs and are not willing to change their beliefs about a minority group. This socialisation process can be due to media, parenting or schooling.
One major stereotype is that male homosexuals are men wanting to be, or be like women. This is in most cases a mistaken identity. This stereotype draws on the stereotypical images of what it is to be a man in our society. A man is seen to be the ‘typical Aussie’, a man who is masculine and tough. Gay men on the other hand are ‘not real men’ and are stereotyped by being feminine in their manner and gestures. It is, therefore, a compounded stereotype. It operates at two levels: a stereotype about gender roles, and a stereotype about people who are perceived as not conforming to those roles. Another stereotype is that homosexual men are sinister and corruptive. This is usually expressed in terms of homosexual men being a danger to children. People believe that on this premise, male homosexuals should be excluded from areas in life that bring them into contact with children. It is frequently assumed that homosexuals are child molesters.
These stereotypes can be backed up by the contact hypothesis (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). The contact hypothesis occurs when a person comes into contact with a very feminine outgoing homosexual, this means that their stereotype of a homosexual being like this is confirmed. Every time a person hears that a homosexual is a paedophile, there stereotype is confirmed about all homosexuals being deviant. This is called the confirmation bias.
The media coverage of events such as the Woods Royal Commission in NSW (http://www.aic.gov.au/policing/wood.html) serves to reinforce this stereotype. Much media coverage concentrates its attention on male paedophilia involving boys, this means that not only are homosexual men stereotyped to be molesters, the truth, that the majority of paedophile activity involves heterosexual abuse of girls is largely ignored. Many media outlets have been cited in largely manipulating the belief that there is a connection between homosexuality and paedophilia. The current focus on homosexual paedophilia is considered both misleading and negligent, considering that the majority of child abuse occurs in the family home. A common misconception is that most paedophiles are homosexual. Paedophiles are in fact, not easily recognised because of their diverse representation among all occupational, socio-economic and sexual preference groups within the community (James 1996).
In some sections of society both homosexuality and paedophilia are considered deviant, therefore they are often equated, this leads to people believing that being ‘double deviant’ is worse than ‘single deviant’.
This stereotype is maintained in the highest order in Australia, the law. For example in the Queensland Anti-Discrimination act, (http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/1991/91AC085.pdf) it states that “it is not unlawful to discriminate on the basis of lawful sexual activity” when the work involves the care or instruction of minors, or “when the discrimination is reasonably necessary to protect… wellbeing of minors”. This section maintains and reinforces the stereotype that male homosexuals are dangerous when working with children and minors. Therefore, just being a homosexual can stop a person from working with children in any sense.
Sexuality, in particular male homosexuality, is an issue that many people have deeply held beliefs about. Some believe that from a religious sense, homosexuality is wrong; others believe that tolerating homosexuality undermines family values and beliefs. Another belief that maintains the negative stereotype of homosexuals is that HIV and AIDS are “gay diseases” meaning that homosexuals compromise the health of the rest of the community.
The Stereotype of male homosexuals being “wrong or not normal” was originally formed in the religious sense. Those who are deeply religious regard homosexuality as being a sin, and although attitudes in Australia are changing, the religious view holds firm on the belief that homosexuality is wrong. In Australian societies Christian churches have traditionally expressed hostility to many expressions of sexuality. There is a long history of the church attempting to regulate and control sexuality, they used fear, shame, guilt and when all else failed, the law. Conservative religious people believe in the saying that “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve”.
The negative stereotype of male homosexuals has come a long way since the days of “gay bashing” but there is still a long way to go. In Australia being homosexual used to be against the law. All states and territories have now de criminalized the act of being gay. Tasmania was the last of the states and territories to change its law, this happened a decade ago, in 1997. In most states anti-discrimination laws protect homosexuals from being discriminated in areas such as employment and housing. This does not change the negative stereotypes though.
Replacing people’s schemas about male homosexuals can positively influence the stereotype of homosexuals. To change the stereotype of homosexuals, we need to contradict the wrong ideas people have about them. This can be achieved through mediums such as the media promoting homosexual public figures as positive role models eg, gay football players, actors, and politicians. They can be portrayed positively for their skills and not their sexual orientation. Some religions have made positive steps in accepting homosexuals into their faith and adapted their doctrine to include those in this minority group. This needs to continue in our society, in order to make homosexuals of equal standing. In order to stop the stereotyping of male homosexuals being paedophiles, the media needs to correctly display data and stories on paedophilia.
Conclusion
Male homosexuals are often portrayed as not being ‘real men’ and in some cases deviants. These stereotypes are maintained due to socialisation. In Australia there are a lot of stigmas associated with being homosexual. Although Australia has come a long way in reducing the stereotypes of male homosexuals, a lot more can be done and achieved through the media and beliefs of general society. In order to balance out the effects of stereotyping, efforts must be maintained to make homosexuals equal to all other people in Australian society.
Concept Map See
http://sarahmaggssocial.blogspot.com/2007/09/concept-map-homosexual-stereotypes.html
References
Baumeister, R. F., & Bushman, B. J. (2008). Social psychology and human nature (1st ed.). Belmont, California: Tomson Wadsworth
Bessant,J, Watts, R(2002) Sociology Australia, Allen and Unwin Crows Nest NSW
Bosson, J. K., Prewitt-Freilino, J. L. & Taylor, J. N. (2005). Role ridgity: A problem of identity misclassification? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, (4) 525-565
James, M(1996), Paedophilia in Trends and Issues, Crime and Criminal Justice no 57, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra.
Myers, D (2004), Psychology, 7th ed, Worth Publishers, Belmont, California.
Queensland Anti- Discrimination Law
http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/1991/91AC085.pdf
Royal Woods Commission
http://www.aic.gov.au/policing/wood.html
http://www.anzacatt.org.au/prod/parlment/publications.nsf/0/35B46C6265B17B28CA256ECF0007B113
http://www5.health.nsw.gov.au/pubs/a/ar9697/a1800.html
What is Homosexual
http://www.onemansweb.org/jan/studies/sexes/s04.html
Appendix
Theory:
There were vast amounts of literature on the topic of homosexuality. I think stereotyping is an easy theory to grasp, and many theories can be easily applied to stereotyping homosexuals, including contact theory and confirmation bias.
Research:
This part of the blog was the most time consuming, although there is a lot of research done, there is not a lot of relevant Australian material. Once again finding scholarly articles was difficult and it seemed easier to use people’s opinions then actual studies. The main problem was that most of the research was based on male homosexuality so although I was going to concentrate on homosexuality as a whole, I ended up focussing solely on male homosexuals. I think this is where I could have done better, I needed to find more research surrounding to stereotypes of homosexuals instead of just using examples off the Internet.
Written Expression:
I found it extremely hard to structure this assignment the way I wanted to, although the question was split into different sections I couldn’t use these as sub headings because it didn’t suit the flow of my essay. There was so much information to include in not a lot of words, in saying this I think I succeeded in making the essay flow and making it reasonably easy to read. I found it quite hard to reach to readability scale of 12 on MS Word. In order to eventually achieve this I split up my essay into smaller paragraphs, improved the font and made my font size larger so that reading could be done with ease. To complete the essay in APA style was quite easy to achieve as we have been doing this since first year, the easiest part was the referencing. The concept map helped in sorting out my ideas and displaying them in a unique way.
Online Engagement:
I would have to say this is my major downfall, I have never been very technical or organised, and so I’m afraid my online engagement failed because of this. I was one of the first to set up my blog but was unsure what to do after that! I did make one late posting just to throw ideas around about what my essay topic would be; I received a very informative reply. In future for the next blog I will aim to become more active in my postings.
On the whole I think that I have done reasonably well in attempting something that I have never done before! The essay part of the assignment was my strongest point, as I am quite used to completing these. My total downfall was my lack of online engagement. To improve in future I will research further into my topic and aim to become more insightful into the subject of social psychology.
Stereotypes exist because they allow humans to take mental shortcuts and conserve mental energy and effort. Over the centuries in all cultures, groups have displayed a tendency to discriminate against groups that are different to their own. Humans are believed to have an innate tendency to stereotype others. Stereotypes and prejudice often exist due to learning through socialisation (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). Once people learn these stereotypes, they stick to these beliefs and are not willing to change their beliefs about a minority group. This socialisation process can be due to media, parenting or schooling.
One major stereotype is that male homosexuals are men wanting to be, or be like women. This is in most cases a mistaken identity. This stereotype draws on the stereotypical images of what it is to be a man in our society. A man is seen to be the ‘typical Aussie’, a man who is masculine and tough. Gay men on the other hand are ‘not real men’ and are stereotyped by being feminine in their manner and gestures. It is, therefore, a compounded stereotype. It operates at two levels: a stereotype about gender roles, and a stereotype about people who are perceived as not conforming to those roles. Another stereotype is that homosexual men are sinister and corruptive. This is usually expressed in terms of homosexual men being a danger to children. People believe that on this premise, male homosexuals should be excluded from areas in life that bring them into contact with children. It is frequently assumed that homosexuals are child molesters.
These stereotypes can be backed up by the contact hypothesis (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008). The contact hypothesis occurs when a person comes into contact with a very feminine outgoing homosexual, this means that their stereotype of a homosexual being like this is confirmed. Every time a person hears that a homosexual is a paedophile, there stereotype is confirmed about all homosexuals being deviant. This is called the confirmation bias.
The media coverage of events such as the Woods Royal Commission in NSW (http://www.aic.gov.au/policing/wood.html) serves to reinforce this stereotype. Much media coverage concentrates its attention on male paedophilia involving boys, this means that not only are homosexual men stereotyped to be molesters, the truth, that the majority of paedophile activity involves heterosexual abuse of girls is largely ignored. Many media outlets have been cited in largely manipulating the belief that there is a connection between homosexuality and paedophilia. The current focus on homosexual paedophilia is considered both misleading and negligent, considering that the majority of child abuse occurs in the family home. A common misconception is that most paedophiles are homosexual. Paedophiles are in fact, not easily recognised because of their diverse representation among all occupational, socio-economic and sexual preference groups within the community (James 1996).
In some sections of society both homosexuality and paedophilia are considered deviant, therefore they are often equated, this leads to people believing that being ‘double deviant’ is worse than ‘single deviant’.
This stereotype is maintained in the highest order in Australia, the law. For example in the Queensland Anti-Discrimination act, (http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/1991/91AC085.pdf) it states that “it is not unlawful to discriminate on the basis of lawful sexual activity” when the work involves the care or instruction of minors, or “when the discrimination is reasonably necessary to protect… wellbeing of minors”. This section maintains and reinforces the stereotype that male homosexuals are dangerous when working with children and minors. Therefore, just being a homosexual can stop a person from working with children in any sense.
Sexuality, in particular male homosexuality, is an issue that many people have deeply held beliefs about. Some believe that from a religious sense, homosexuality is wrong; others believe that tolerating homosexuality undermines family values and beliefs. Another belief that maintains the negative stereotype of homosexuals is that HIV and AIDS are “gay diseases” meaning that homosexuals compromise the health of the rest of the community.
The Stereotype of male homosexuals being “wrong or not normal” was originally formed in the religious sense. Those who are deeply religious regard homosexuality as being a sin, and although attitudes in Australia are changing, the religious view holds firm on the belief that homosexuality is wrong. In Australian societies Christian churches have traditionally expressed hostility to many expressions of sexuality. There is a long history of the church attempting to regulate and control sexuality, they used fear, shame, guilt and when all else failed, the law. Conservative religious people believe in the saying that “God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve”.
The negative stereotype of male homosexuals has come a long way since the days of “gay bashing” but there is still a long way to go. In Australia being homosexual used to be against the law. All states and territories have now de criminalized the act of being gay. Tasmania was the last of the states and territories to change its law, this happened a decade ago, in 1997. In most states anti-discrimination laws protect homosexuals from being discriminated in areas such as employment and housing. This does not change the negative stereotypes though.
Replacing people’s schemas about male homosexuals can positively influence the stereotype of homosexuals. To change the stereotype of homosexuals, we need to contradict the wrong ideas people have about them. This can be achieved through mediums such as the media promoting homosexual public figures as positive role models eg, gay football players, actors, and politicians. They can be portrayed positively for their skills and not their sexual orientation. Some religions have made positive steps in accepting homosexuals into their faith and adapted their doctrine to include those in this minority group. This needs to continue in our society, in order to make homosexuals of equal standing. In order to stop the stereotyping of male homosexuals being paedophiles, the media needs to correctly display data and stories on paedophilia.
Conclusion
Male homosexuals are often portrayed as not being ‘real men’ and in some cases deviants. These stereotypes are maintained due to socialisation. In Australia there are a lot of stigmas associated with being homosexual. Although Australia has come a long way in reducing the stereotypes of male homosexuals, a lot more can be done and achieved through the media and beliefs of general society. In order to balance out the effects of stereotyping, efforts must be maintained to make homosexuals equal to all other people in Australian society.
Concept Map See
http://sarahmaggssocial.blogspot.com/2007/09/concept-map-homosexual-stereotypes.html
References
Baumeister, R. F., & Bushman, B. J. (2008). Social psychology and human nature (1st ed.). Belmont, California: Tomson Wadsworth
Bessant,J, Watts, R(2002) Sociology Australia, Allen and Unwin Crows Nest NSW
Bosson, J. K., Prewitt-Freilino, J. L. & Taylor, J. N. (2005). Role ridgity: A problem of identity misclassification? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, (4) 525-565
James, M(1996), Paedophilia in Trends and Issues, Crime and Criminal Justice no 57, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra.
Myers, D (2004), Psychology, 7th ed, Worth Publishers, Belmont, California.
Queensland Anti- Discrimination Law
http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/1991/91AC085.pdf
Royal Woods Commission
http://www.aic.gov.au/policing/wood.html
http://www.anzacatt.org.au/prod/parlment/publications.nsf/0/35B46C6265B17B28CA256ECF0007B113
http://www5.health.nsw.gov.au/pubs/a/ar9697/a1800.html
What is Homosexual
http://www.onemansweb.org/jan/studies/sexes/s04.html
Appendix
Theory:
There were vast amounts of literature on the topic of homosexuality. I think stereotyping is an easy theory to grasp, and many theories can be easily applied to stereotyping homosexuals, including contact theory and confirmation bias.
Research:
This part of the blog was the most time consuming, although there is a lot of research done, there is not a lot of relevant Australian material. Once again finding scholarly articles was difficult and it seemed easier to use people’s opinions then actual studies. The main problem was that most of the research was based on male homosexuality so although I was going to concentrate on homosexuality as a whole, I ended up focussing solely on male homosexuals. I think this is where I could have done better, I needed to find more research surrounding to stereotypes of homosexuals instead of just using examples off the Internet.
Written Expression:
I found it extremely hard to structure this assignment the way I wanted to, although the question was split into different sections I couldn’t use these as sub headings because it didn’t suit the flow of my essay. There was so much information to include in not a lot of words, in saying this I think I succeeded in making the essay flow and making it reasonably easy to read. I found it quite hard to reach to readability scale of 12 on MS Word. In order to eventually achieve this I split up my essay into smaller paragraphs, improved the font and made my font size larger so that reading could be done with ease. To complete the essay in APA style was quite easy to achieve as we have been doing this since first year, the easiest part was the referencing. The concept map helped in sorting out my ideas and displaying them in a unique way.
Online Engagement:
I would have to say this is my major downfall, I have never been very technical or organised, and so I’m afraid my online engagement failed because of this. I was one of the first to set up my blog but was unsure what to do after that! I did make one late posting just to throw ideas around about what my essay topic would be; I received a very informative reply. In future for the next blog I will aim to become more active in my postings.
On the whole I think that I have done reasonably well in attempting something that I have never done before! The essay part of the assignment was my strongest point, as I am quite used to completing these. My total downfall was my lack of online engagement. To improve in future I will research further into my topic and aim to become more insightful into the subject of social psychology.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Homosexual Stereotypes
I know this is really late but i am not very technical and just realised i did't post this four days ago when a was trying to!! anyway i have also chosen to do the topic on stereotypes, I to have found a lot of information on aboriginals but i think i will stick with what i first thought! I think that although we have come a long way, homosexuals in today's society still attract far to many negative stereotypes. After looking at a few articles on what people stereotype homosexuals as, the most interesting was that gay men are often regarded as child molesters, even though research proves otherwise!
I thought it was interesting as it looks at a different kind of view then what other people are looking at!
Good Luck everyone
I thought it was interesting as it looks at a different kind of view then what other people are looking at!
Good Luck everyone
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
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