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Home/ contemporary issues in public policy/ Contents contributed and discussions participated by Joette Carini

Contents contributed and discussions participated by Joette Carini

Joette Carini

Drug experiment - Boston.com - 0 views

  • But nearly a decade later, there’s evidence that Portugal’s great drug experiment not only didn’t blow up in its face; it may have actually worked
    • Joette Carini
       
      I really believe that if you make something that is illegal perfectly fine to do, there will be less of it. I do realize that is a little bit vague, so a good example would be how many people think that if marijuana use is made legal, then there will be less abuse of it and the number of users would deplete. My theory was definitely proven to be true with the way that they changed things in Portugal. 
Joette Carini

Terrorism - Jihad Etiquette - Islam - Militants - Middle East - Iraq - Jordan - Lebanon... - 1 views

  • With Islamist violence brewing in various parts of the world, the set of rules that seek to guide and justify the killing that militants do is growing more complex.
    • Joette Carini
       
      Who knew that there were actually rules and some kind of code for this type of thing...? It doesn't seem like a very complex thing, but apparently it is. It seems as if they are trying to make a moral code for killing people... ironic right?
Joette Carini

Jay-Z vs the Game: Lessons for the American Primacy Debate | Marc Lynch - 3 views

  • Should he use this power to its fullest extent, as neo-conservatives would advise, imposing his will to reshape the world, forcing others to adapt to his values and leadership?
    • Joette Carini
       
      I definitely do agree with Jay-Z having A LOT of power. I really do believe that he could do whatever he wanted and it would be accepted by most people, regardless of what it was. Of course, not everyone is always happy, but he can surely appease plenty of people.
Jonathan Omokawa

Two Questions on Healthcare - 22 views

started by Jonathan Omokawa on 03 Nov 11 no follow-up yet
  • Joette Carini
     
    I would agree with the fact that our healthcare, now, is more of a business than anything. I even think people go so far as to want people to be sick or unhealthy just so more people could add to the revenue of the healthcare providers. I do not see this so much in private practices, but I see it more in big hospitals. There are more business transactions than anything. Well... there might be more people helping patients than going through with transactions, but I think they they are pretty close. In terms of there being no morals, I would agree with this as well. Considering everything is based on transactions now, not many people care about if people are being wrongly treated as it relates to being charged for things, etc. Of course, people are treated properly medically, but who doesn't think that ambulance prices and things such as that are ridiculous?

    I do not think that the market can fix our medical fields. I think that there will always be a sense of craziness and inconsistency in the field. I think that it would be a good idea to have some intervention by citizens, but in all reality, I am not even sure if that would work. Everyone has their ideal way that our healthcare and medical fields could operate, but I do not think that areas such as those could ever be in a perfect state.
Joette Carini

McAllen, Texas and the high cost of health care : The New Yorker - 4 views

  • In Washington, the aim of health-care reform is not just to extend medical coverage to everybody but also to bring costs under control.
    • Joette Carini
       
      I am not entirely sure if either of these are possible... they have been working on universal healthcare for some time, and there has been an ongoing fight against it. Beyond that, though, bringing costs under control is something that is so widely utilized will be very hard to do. I believe it is something that is much easier said than done.
anonymous

Questions: The Story of Power (2:45 class) - 31 views

started by anonymous on 27 Oct 11 no follow-up yet
  • Joette Carini
     
    I definitely think that it is easier to get people to do what you want them to do. It is much harder to change society's thinking or all of the people around you. It is apparent that the manipulation of one person into thinking the way that you do is much easier than messing with the thoughts of many people. As far as the question of how people get power/rise to power,I believe that it all depends on the person. If a certain person is more amicable and charismatic than another person, they are more likely to be more respected than the other ans rise to power faster. Making friends with people is an incredible thing; it is definitely the first step into getting people to agree with you and be on your side. I believe that people who are more liberal are likely to be threatened by the government. They want to be free to choose and do things to their liking, and with government interference, they are not able to do that.
Joette Carini

Wired 11.09: PowerPoint Is Evil - 3 views

  • The standard PowerPoint presentation elevates format over content, betraying an attitude of commercialism that turns everything into a sales pitch.
    • Joette Carini
       
      (I just realized that I posted this as private... but I posted it on time I swear!) I definitely agree with this point. I remember when we used to start using Powerpoints in school back in the elementary days, and it was the plain black and white, and it focused more on information than format. However, starting in high school, it started to be more about whether or not the presentation was aesthetically pleasing. I never would have connected it to commercialism, but now that Tufte has brought it up, they do have striking similarities. 
Joette Carini

Edge: A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE By Steven Pinker - 4 views

  • Violence has been in decline over long stretches of history, and today we are probably living in the most peaceful moment of our species' time on earth.
    • Joette Carini
       
      I am curious to see what else is in this article, seeing as this fact seems completely false. It is hard to think that we are "probably living in the most peaceful moment of our species' time on earth" when we see violence everywhere, stretching from homes in a normal and quiet neighborhood to the huge OWS protest. I do not see how he came to this conclusion that it is so peaceful, but I guess I will soon find out. 
magen sanders

Magen Sanders Questions on-Patternicity: Finding Meaningful Patterns in Meaningless Noise - 17 views

question
started by magen sanders on 19 Oct 11 no follow-up yet
  • Joette Carini
     
    I do believe that it is beneficial to be extra cautious. We are cautious in Public Policy because we are attempting to protect ourselves. Everyone has an instinct for protection, especially when we are in danger, whether that danger is being lied to in politics or if something is chasing after you. Like Sarah said, this relates to policy because, sometimes, we need to see things as a possible threat so we do not fall into something that we shouldn't. We rationalize these stories because we would like to live in a perfect world where the politics are perfect and nothing goes wrong and no one lies to anyone, even though we know that that is completely unrealistic. These stories that we create rationalize our desires for this society. We would like to think that there is a threat so that we can be over-protective in an attempt to keep ourselves safe. These causal stories, whether they are good or bad, will never end. I think that, to some extent, they are good because everyone needs to be able to understand things in their own way and, essentially, protect themselves.
Lauren Petta

Questions on Alex Lundry's Chart Wars: The Political Power of Data Visualization - 20 views

started by Lauren Petta on 10 Oct 11 no follow-up yet
  • Joette Carini
     
    Lundry makes great points in this video, most of which I generally agree with. I do believe that visual data today is more persuasive than just straight statistical data, and it is something that the public is more inclined to believe and resonate with. To answer your question, yes, I definitely feel like I am misled in the world of politics on a daily basis. It is hard to find something to believe or find some way to be informed, seeing as most of the informational resources utilized by students, and people in general, are biased in some way. I feel as though we would be slightly better off if people were not always trying to inform us, but at the same time, I know very well that most people are far too lazy to go out and research EVERYTHING on their own. So, in summation, I believe that politicians should ease up on providing us with their false understanding of "information," but I also believe that we can only be responsible for conducting our own research to a small extent because most people probably wouldn't.
Kaitlyn Guilbeaux

Iweala, U. (2008) Stop Trying to 'Save' Africa-- washingtonpost.com - 13 views

question Africa
started by Kaitlyn Guilbeaux on 03 Oct 11 no follow-up yet
  • Joette Carini
     
    I do not necessarily think that "saving" Africa is a good idea, but I definitely think that helping and aiding Africa is a good idea. I do not think that the continent, as a whole, being seen as a helpless area is exactly a good thing, seeing as that image could prove to be detrimental to the thoughts that people have about Africa, and that is not the image that a continent necessarily wants to have. We should be able to help them without just seeing them as helpless, though.
Joette Carini

Question on "How Framing Influences Citizen Understanding of Public Issues" - 18 views

  • Joette Carini
     
    Based off of this interview, what is your view of framing effects? What are framing effects and how do they work in our society today? Out of all of the questions asked, take one of two that strike you, by either intriguing you or confusing you, and talk more about it-what your opinion is on the answer? Is there anything you could add?
  • Joette Carini
     
    I really like your answer... don't be surprised if i pick on you in class during my discussion. Thank you!
Joette Carini

HOW TO CHEAT AT EVERYTHING | More Intelligent Life - 5 views

  • A con man is essentially a salesman--a remarkably good one--who excels at making people feel special and understood. A con man validates the victim's desire to believe he has an edge on other people.
    • Joette Carini
       
      My question for this article was based off of this quote-- I think that a con man is simply someone who is a master of manipulation. This is a good thing sometimes and a bad thing at others, but conning is simply about making people feel like you really know them and then manipulating them. Do you think that this is something that just anyone can do?
Joette Carini

What Makes Us Happy? - Magazine - The Atlantic - 0 views

    • Joette Carini
       
      It is crazy that this random group of men would get into this study and devote themselves like this. It definitely takes true devotion to accept the complete invasions of privacy that occurred and extensive research done on them. I can't wait to find out what comes of this study...
Joette Carini

Joanna Moorhead on the best country to give birth | Life and style | The Guardian - 18 views

    • Joette Carini
       
      I really do wish that more people out there could read this type of article... it really is a reality check. It deeply saddens me to not only know this new information given to me about how it is in the world of Niger, but also to know that people like Carmen really do not know how good they have it. I myself have never truly been exposed to a type of environment like Dahara's, and I am so very thankful, but many people do not have the gratitude that I do for being raised in a generally clean and safe environment where people actually work for the well-being of children and where complications are minimal, and it bothers me to know that SO many people take it for granted. 
Joette Carini

The emerging moral psychology | Prospect Magazine - 10 views

  • So even when explicit reasons appear to have the effect of changing people’s moral opinions, the effect may have less to do with the logic of the arguments than their power to elicit the right emotional responses. We may win hearts without necessarily converting minds
    • Joette Carini
       
      Winning hearts without converting minds is definitely a difficult thing to do... but it is a form of manipulation. I do believe that people come into arguments, discussions, etc. with their own moral opinions, but due to a slight amount of manipulation (whether the person manipulating is sneaky about it or not) the opinion can change. So, this could lead to a new question... is manipulation, especially in this sense, immoral? Should people just let others have their own opinion and NEVER question why (knowing that "they can't come up with any compelling reasons")?
    • Joette Carini
       
      No one can say what is morally worse or better than something else. It makes sense that people are trying to make universal "principles" about how to think morally, but no one really can. I agree with some of these, but I do not agree with the fact that there is a test that measures moral senses. 
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