8. June 2009 by student.

Today I reviewed an article on CNN.com about the ever-growing phenomenon of social networking and the connection that it has with the work environment. FaceBook is a very popular website that enables people to stay in touch with relatives and friends. It can be a great outlet for anyone who has distant loved ones. I personally use my FaceBook account quite often. However, this article talked about the fact that some people feel uncomfortable about having “friends” from work on their FaceBook account. To me, if you don’t have anything to hide, then it’s really not a big deal if a co-worker wants to be your FaceBook “friend”. Realistically, everyone has a personal life and things like pictures with alcohol or silly comments from friends are understandable. It is obviously a personal preference about who you want to be your “friend”. Other issues the article touched on was the use of FaceBook & other social networks in the business office and how personal business & work business is very much so overlapped these days due to the technology that we are priveledged with. Some of the devices that Americans use today are BlackBerry phones, laptops, instant messages, email accounts… and the list goes on. The writer also brought up the fact that by using all these methods of communication, the need for face-to-face meetings and discussions are somewhat going out of style. I think that the “new way” that people communicate is much more convenient, which can be great; however, there are definitley cicrumstances that call for an in-person meeting. As far as using work time for personal things, I feel that workers should respect their work environment and use discipline when it comes to things that have to do with their personal lives. An occasional email, phone call, or (fill in the blank) message is completely understandable. But when it becomes a priority over the business that someone is paid to do, then I really don’t think that is right. FaceBook has much more to do with one’s personal affairs than work affairs, so using it in the office is most of the time just not necessary. The truth is that most people are going to do what they want, but the people that are empolyed should appreciate the fact that they have a job because there are so many people that do not; therefore respect should be shown.

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8. June 2009 by student.

I am a student nurse. Recently I was in clinical and was taking bloodsugars. For those of you who dont know what this is: it is when you have to poke someones finger to draw a little blood and put it on a slide to measure the glucose in someones blood. I put on my gloves and poked the patients finger. I had a little trouble getting the blood to the surface and had to squeeze it a couple times. The patient was a jerk, but I got it done. Later it was brought to my attention that this patient was an AIDS patient. Standard precautions were followed and I was at no risk of contracting the virus, but I was outraged! It was my first time dealing with a patient with AIDS and i did not know that there would not be some sort of information on the fact that he had AIDS! I think it is absurd that noone told me that the patient had AIDS. When I brought it up a nurse laughed coyly and said “patient confidentiallity! HIPPA!” ARE YOU KIDDING ME? What about student nurse rights, or protection??! I understand that the patient has a right for his own information to be private, but I think that when a health care professional is at risk that is when the patients rights are of lesser concern! I think there should be a little sign on the door with like a flower or something so you know to be extra careful! I mean when a patient has a history of MRSA they have contact procautions all over theyre door! Yaya universal precautions, well universal percautions do not protect you from splashing!

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8. June 2009 by student.

    It has been a recent trend in the U.S. educational and social systems to stress the importance of self-esteem in children.  The old adage “Children are to be seen and not heard.”  has been replaced with “A trophy for all.  Everyone’s a winner!” attitude.  Half-hearted efforts by today’s youth are met with thunderous applause as the message of “You are special!” envelops them.  Young parents are even re-educating the grandparents in the fine art of tolerance over discipline with unruly children.  As the children who are products of this philosophy enter the work force,  feedback is forthcoming.  Many supervisors interviewed revealed that many young people today are dependent on “warm fuzzies” and feel that the basic expectations such as promptness, effort, and ethics are not inclusive of them.  A new study out entitled “Egos Inflating Over Time” warns of the increase in the “self-regard blossom” as My Space, Facebook, and You Tube exacerbate the perception.  The study by a San Diego State University psychologist warns of a future generation with potentially disabling narcissistic behavior.  This “ego rush” mentality can cause future social and personal problems as those afflicted are easily insulted and have increased difficulty forming emotional bonds with others.  Social implications indicate a society that treats each other badly.  Researchers from four universities recently asked students to fill out a “Narcissistic Personality Inventory”.  The results showed that two thirds had narcissistic scores higher than those of 1982.  It seems as we promote high self-esteem for our youth, in actuality, we are teaching something quite different.

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8. June 2009 by student.

  A generation facing the highest academic expectations in history is spending more and more time texting friends using mangled English.  According to an article by Joni Balter from the Seattle Times, terms like “cu” and “lol” will lead “good grammar and spelling 2b4gotten”.  How will students ever be able to differentiate between “you’re” and “your” while writing only abbreviated language.  Linguistics professor David Crystal, in an article entitled “2b or not 2b?”, argues that texting actually improves writing and spelling.  His counter argument is that “a trillion messages are but a small ripple in the sea of language”.  For generations, we have been amusing ourselves with abbreviations that have not been standardized.  The “SWAK, msg, and xlnt” of past generations are easily compared to the text abbreviations of “cos, wot, and 2bctnd” of today’s texters.  He also notes that the latest studies from Coventry University have begun to dispel the myths.  “The more abbreviations in their messages, the higher they scored on tests of reading and vocabulary.  The children who were better at spelling and writing used the most textisms.  The younger they received their first phone, the higher their scores.”  Although this study by David Crystal sounds impressive and reassuring, I question the conclusions.  How can a student “play” with the language if they don’t know the language?  How do we know that those high scoring children are scoring high relative to others  in spite of their crippled grammar skills via texting habits?  More studies will surely continue to follow the impact of texting on the written language. 

How good are you?  YY UR YY UB I C U R  YY 4 ME.  (By the way, this was actually taken from a Christmas card several generations ago.) 

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