I contributed to the website, How Stuff Works. The specific webpage being on "How Serial Killers Work". A woman stated a comment (which you can see above) pondering on whether there are different types of serial killers. Since I, of course, studied how serial killers work, I knew very much on the different types of serial killers so I stated the types that there are in my comment (which you can also see above).
I chose this contribution because I used that exact webpage that I contributed to, to learn more on my topic when I was researching it so I thought that maybe the woman who commented was trying to extend her learning, as I was at one point. Since I knew the answer to what she was wondering, I thought it would be a very good contribution to help broaden her learning and others that will be reading my comment.
I thought that it was easy to contribute because she was clearly wanting help on what she was wondering so I should not feel timid to contribute. I also found it easy because I knew what I was talking about right after I read her comment, I knew exactly what to say! To prepare to make the contribution I had to make sure that the information I gave her was valid so I looked through reliable sources and came up with the best answer I could put forth.
The TED theme that I focused on was "How the Mind Works". The specific topic that I have narrowed down to is the mind of a killer. I am interested in this topic because since I want to major in sociology in crime/forensics, I am very much interested in what actually makes one become a killer. Gaining very great knowledge on this topic will not only help me become a homicide detective but will also be very interesting to me.
Some investigative questions that I have accumulated after watching a few TED talks from the "How the Mind Works" theme are...
Does a killer's mind have to actually have something "wrong" with it for them to become killers in the first place?
Does having all of the same qualities (referring to the brain) of a killer, are you for sure going to become a killer? Or is there some choice towards it?
Are there any ways that someone with the same qualities of a killer can prevent becoming one at a young age?
What are some of the reasons that people kill?
Are there reasons that some killers only kill once and other killers kill numerous times?
Misha Glenny speaks on his investigation of organized crime networks worldwide.
Organized crime has become way more expanded, becoming 15% of the world's GDP. I am surprised by how much money and education affects the amount of crime around the world. I used to think that the more knowledge you have, the better you are to get away with crimes, which could be an initiative to become a criminal. Even though that may be true, the LACK of education may also cause one to become a criminal. They do not have the education to have a good job causing them to (most likely) have little to no money, which is an initiative to become a criminal for money. They also are (most likely) not educated enough to realize how terrible it is the crime they are doing because they think that the only way for them to survive is to live a life of crime. It is the sad truth behind many criminal's minds. The history of one's childhood may also be a huge effect upon them becoming a criminal... The area where they are living can have a HUGE effect upon their criminal acts, the higher the crime surrounding them can influence them to become criminals as well.
My learning goal for this talk is: I will learn about the history of global crime and the influences for said crimes.
To help ensure that you can complete this learning goal, here are some questions that you should be able to answer at the end of this talk:
What triggered the expansion in organized crime?
Who (mainly) greatly influenced what was going on in Europe?
When Europe's communism collapsed, causing the state to collapse, what did that also cause to collapse?
What are smugglers sending down south to the United States?
What does organized crime operate similar to?
Philip Zimbardo speaks on how easy it is to become "bad" or "evil" and why it is that they do.
The picture Zimbardo showed that looks like angels but when you looked closer you also see devils is very interesting to me. The world will always have goodness and (sadly) the world will always have evil as well. Many people want power and when that power is achieved it is sometimes used in negative ways. That usually categorizes them as evil for using their power to hurt people physically and mentally. How do you know when people are evil and/or when they are good? Is there a strong line that divides good between evil?
And what makes us kind or cruel, heroes or villains? How exactly can you determine when someone is one of those things? It is more of a opinion than a fact.
My learning goal for this talk is: I will learn what exactly it is that causes one to become "bad" or "evil".
To help ensure that you can complete this learning goal, here are some questions that you should be able to answer at the end of this talk:
What did Lucifer do that caused him to go from being an angel to a devil?
What is the key to evil?
How do pyschologists understand transformations of human character?
What is the "Lucifer Effect"
What were the results for the Stanford Prison Experiment?
These past few days I've looked at what exactly I want to major in and what exactly I am planning on doing.
I was researching what school has the best sociology programs and the highest education in sociology... Throughout the long searching I forewent.. the university that seems to be the best for me is the University of California at Berkeley.
The Department of Sociology at UCB is held in high regard in the United States and around the world. Undergraduates at the UCB majoring in sociology will benefit enormously from the top ranked research center, the award winning faculty, and the comprehensive course offerings. The University studies and analyzes every corner of society from one end of the globe to the other and endeavors to impart the knowledge gained to their undergraduate and graduate students.
Sociology majors are required to complete an introductory course, statistics course and a research methods course. Additionally, students must complete two semesters in theory, three sociology core courses in various specializations, three upper level sociology electives and a seminar course. Students have the opportunity to achieve honors status through the completion of an honors thesis or by maintaining a 3.0 GPA and being invited to join the University of California chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta. The curriculum is designed to ensure undergraduate students achieve a firm command of sociological concepts and an in depth understanding of the field.
How to get into UCB is to those who appear to have the highest potential for graduate study and who, with the benefit of a graduate education, are the most likely to contribute substantially to their academic or professional fields through teaching, research, or professional practice.
The minimal graduate admission requirements are: (1) a bachelor's degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution; (2) a satisfactory scholastic average, usually a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale; and (3) enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in the chosen field. Satisfying minimal standards, however, does not guarantee admission, since the number of qualified applicants far exceeds the number of places available.
Extras to help better the chances of admission includes academic degrees and records, the statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, test scores, and relevant work experience. (In addition, consideration may be given as to how background and life experience would contribute significantly to an educationally beneficial mix of students)
Throughout all of the sub-fields within the broad field of sociology, the ones that I narrowed down to wanting to major in are... sociology of art, sociology of crime and sociology of peace.
I learned myself as a learner that I really need no distractions when I am learning or else it will just go in one ear and out of the other. I need to be really relaxed and comfortable so that I can learn at my highest potential. I was very successful with my learning goal because my goal was to know exactly what I want to do in sociology (what subfields), how i'm going to successfully become a sociologist, and what exactly sociology is. I definitely covered all of those things and that will really help me with my future career.
I am now looking in what is the path to becoming a sociologist...
I found that the field of sociology offers its graduates a breadth of possible career paths. A degree in sociology enables graduates to pursue and be qualified for many types of professions.
Ways to become a sociologist is to pursue a college degree in the subject, decide on an area of specialty, and apply for an internship and research assistant position. With the appropriate education and training, an individual can become a sociologist at a university, a government agency, a private research institution, or a large corporation.
The path to become a sociologist typically begins with a bachelor's degree program in sociology from an accredited four-year institution. Undergraduate sociology courses provide students with the basic understanding of the fundamentals of research and the history of the subject. Many students also take classes in psychology, anthropology, and biology to gain a broader understanding of humans and their behaviors. In addition, advanced courses in communication and statistics can help individuals hone the skills that will be essential when they begin conducting research and writing scholarly papers.
While enrolled in a bachelor's degree program, a student wanting to become a sociologist can look into assistant jobs and internship positions at private institutions and government human services agencies. An internship grants a prospective sociologist the opportunity to learn about research techniques and practical applications of studies from established professionals in the field.
A Ph.D. program in sociology typically lasts about four years, during which time a student takes a number of courses dedicated to study design and research techniques. In order to earn a degree, an individual may be required to conduct an actual sociological research project under the guidance of a mentoring professor. The student chooses a topic to investigate, reviews previous literature on the subject, and carries out the project. Upon completion, they compose a thorough dissertation and presents finding in front of a panel of professors and practicing sociologists.
After earning a Ph.D., an individual is qualified to become a sociologist in many different settings. Some new sociologists decide to obtain faculty positions at universities, where they can split their time between conducting research and teaching courses. Others pursue positions in government to help promote better living conditions for citizens. Many corporations employ sociologists to make suggestions on ways to market certain products and maintain a quality workforce. With enough experience, a productive sociologist may be able to dedicate all of his/her time to independent studies.
The progress that I have made for my learning adventure in the past few days is the basics of what sociology is and what it means to be a sociologist.
I learned that sociology is the study of society. It is a branch of science, social science--a term which is sometimes synonymous--which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity. For many sociologists the goal is to conduct research which may be applied directly to social policy and welfare, whilst others focus primarily on refining the theoretical understanding of social processes.
The main subjects within sociology is: cities, class, crime, culture, deviance, demography, education, economy, environment, family, gender, health, industry, internet, knowledge, law, medicine, politics, mobility, race and ethnicity, rationalization, religion, science, secularization, social networks, social psychology and stratification. Those are MANY broad topics within sociology (there are up to one hundred sub-fields of sociology), so I was even thinking... to be a "sociologist" you probably are not working on all of those subjects, you are probably narrowing into only a few of them (or to one sub-field)
I also learned of the history behind sociology.
Sociology emerged mainly after the French Revolution in the late 18th century. Its genesis owed to various key movements in the philosophy of science and the philosophy of knowledge.
Some of the major famous sociologists were...
Karl Marx (studied economics, capitalism,
technology, class struggle and ideology)
Max Weber (dealt with the rise of capitalism,
bureaucracy, and the rationalization of society)
Ferdinand Tonnies (interested in the forms
and patterns of social ties and organizations)
George Herbert Mead (addressed interpersonal
relations and communication; believing that the
"self" was constructed and reconstructed through
interactive behavior)
Emile Durkheim (produced comprehensive analyses
of Suicide, the Division of Labor in Society,
and the Elementary Forms of Religious Life)
My learning goal is to know the field of sociology. I want to know everything ("everything" meaning everything that I can know before taking classes designed for sociology) that there is to know about sociology and what it means to be a sociologist. By the end of these two weeks, I would like to know the answer to any questions that one would ask me on sociology.
I will know that I am successfully when I can decide whether I want to be a sociologist or not based upon the information I learned. I will know that I am successful when I can answer any questions that one may ask me on sociology. I will also know that I am successful when I feel content and confident in the information that I know on sociology.
I need to learn every aspect on the field of sociology. I also need to learn what college courses include sociology in them for my future career. The resources that I will need to successfully learn about sociology is the internet, books and hopefully an actual sociologist. I can not really see me having any challenges with researching what it is to be a sociologist...
