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Effortless Way to Reduce Waste: Use your Container & Tumblers

We should all have some desire to save the planet if not for ourselves then for future generations. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, global climate change is still occurring from rising temperatures to rising sea levels, to the continuing carbon dioxide increase. If you think about it, there is much we can do as individuals to reduce waste, multiplied by many of us, we can significantly reduce waste. An idea I had not considered until recently was bringing a small container to store leftovers instead of using the restaurant’s to-go boxes as a way to reduce waste. Let's all be honest for a moment; those to-go boxes do not preserve the food well in the refrigerator. Leaving leftovers in a to-go box usually makes our food dry, and they do not help maintain the food well. Taking a small glass or plastic container to a restaurant helps in two steps: by reducing waste in not using their to-go boxes and by storing leftovers in a way that guarantees freshness from the restaurant to your refrigerator.  

The same goes for bringing tumblers whenever we ask for a drink to go, which I am sure is often. Discounts are offered in many places for bringing a reusable tumbler such as the Coffee House on campus or Starbucks, and even Nugget. Imagine how much you would save, the visits and purchases with the tumbler add up! According to a 2010  United States Environmental Protection Agency report, bringing your container per three hours reduces annual greenhouse gasses by 339 pounds and 378 pounds annually. (See chart below for details.) Carrying a small container with you to a restaurant is an effortless way to have fresher food, a cleaner environment, and fewer worries.  

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Hi Tania, I also wondered if HR looks at people's Linkedin so I asked the HR guy at my job and he said, “YES!” I was shocked! I did not know that now Linkedin was something that I needed to have professionally maintained. It is crazy how much information is out there especially for making a Linkedin account competitive, overall, I think it is a good thing. As someone who is new to the workforce, I would like to know what to do to ace that end of the year evaluation or how to strategically negotiate for higher pay … and so forth. I think having these resources helps in breaking glass ceilings too. I do think that it is interesting how you can use the data on Linkedin to see what recruiters and employers have been looking at your profile. I feel Linkedin offers an opportunity to network with other recruiters beforehand, showing initiative to those who have been reached out. Furthermore, if you have an interview lined up, it is not a bad idea to “learn” about the people, who are going to interview you, meaning looking into the profiles of the senior employees who work at that company.

I think an interesting piece of advice is one about rewriting things about you in ways that are appealing and marketable. Career Contessa says for example, " Student at the University of Something” definitely isn’t as appealing as “Digital Communication and Millennial Marketing Specialist.” Also, see: http://www.careercontessa.com/advice/creative-summaries-attract-next-boss/

Another idea that I had not considered for Linkedin is asking other professionals for recommendations or endorsements. I think this is an excellent idea because the recommendations make people stand out.   Read more at http://www.careercontessa.com/advice/linkedin-hacks/

Now, Shapr and Networkr are something I did not know existed. In the meantime, I will choose to ask my coworkers for advice and keep them as mentors as this technique has been working well for me. I feel that if I need to find a new mentor, then I would consider looking at Shapr or Networkr for help. Overall, interesting post and thank you for sharing. I agree that it is much work before the interview. After the interview, accepting the job offer or negotiating it, then behaving the best in the first 90 days where they have you on trial, and lastly the end of the year evaluation but I am confident the preparation for doing well at each of these steps does not go in vain.  Best wishes!

Job Hunting = Dating

I’m not going to lie, job hunting feels like dating. I need to be at the right place, at the right time, to meet the right people, AND do the right moves. There are certain rules about behaviors, common courtesy, certain ‘bases’. Everyone just seems to know how to do it, but nobody really does. Everyone seems to kind of figure it out in the end, but everyone has a different story.

I’ve sat in so many different workshops and lectures telling me how my resumé should look like to increase my chances of opportunities. I’ve read countless of articles on dressing to impress, asking the right questions, and finding the right one. It’s getting ridiculous. There are templates on writing the perfect cover letter, the perfect courting (e-mail), when to e-mail back after an interview, and the thin line between appropriate and obnoxious when networking on LinkedIn.

People are crafting their perfect bundle of experiences and knowledge to showcase to the potential employer, and it goes deeper than what you show professionally. Now, companies look into your personality, your hobbies, your family, and they definitely check out your social media accounts. Sounds like pre-date research in my opinion.

Even LinkedIn itself is basically a Facebook for job hunting. Newer apps have been showing up like LinkedUp!, Shapr, and Networkr, which are essentially LinkedIn and Tinder’s love babies. Yes, you get to swipe right (or left) on potential mentors/mentees.

It is what it is. Either we play the game, or we get left behind. Just like love, opportunities wait for no one.

#SingleAndUnemployed

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Raelyn, I agree that the choice for a person to be entertained or informed begins with the decision we take among the two options. Television and news are divided into massive corporations that dominate the United States. I believe that one solution is to continue backing listener-supported media. Thankfully, there are many platforms which we have to share our viewpoint with others, and we can also begin a movement towards important news through the things that we post. We can also be advocates of this through the conversations we have with others. While I do not believe this will solve the problem entirely, it is a start in the right direction. I am sure we will find likeminded individuals who will inevitably become allies in this movement. I am also sure mentorship and collaboration will be a part of the campaign. Thank you for your post. The blurred lines is an issue that needs to be more widely discussed and let us know if you need help in beginning such movement.

The Danger of Comedy as News

I was a senior in high-school during the 2012 election campaign (I graduated in 2011). My mornings would begin with AP Civics, and our teacher would begin many class periods with a clip from the Daily Show—this was when John Stewart was still the presenter. A common quote that was floating around the internet at the time was, “It’s a sad day when I go to Comedy Central for my news, and Fox News for my comedy.” The idea being that John Stewart, a satirist and comedian, was a more reliable source of journalism than an actual news source.

If we, i.e. those of us in UWP 111A, had had more time with Sasha Abramsky today, I would have asked him his opinion on this trend—which seems to have only deepened since 2011. Based on his disappointment in our generation’s reliance on social media as a news outlet, I don’t think he would have responded positively.  

There is something more troubling about this trend in recent years, and one specific example comes to mind. Because of the credibility our generation has given satirical and comedy sources, such platforms are being used as springboards to give legitimacy to things that would otherwise be relegated to the dumpsters of the internet.

In December 2016, Trevor Noah—John Stewart’s successor on the Daily Show and my future best friend—had on Tomi Lahren as a guest. Lahren is Satan’s little sister a conservative, political commentator. While she does have a degree in broadcast journalism, the content of her show is never original news, but exclusively opinion pieces based on information presented through other news sources. By the time Lahren reports on a topic, it has been distilled three or four times. Many other political commentators at publications such as the Guardian have criticized her for having inconsistent views, often being contrary for the sake of maintaining a contrarian persona, rather than having substantial, authentic views. Why then, is she so prominent? In discussing this question among peers, the general consensus has been, “Because she’s hot.” This answer diminishes her cultural impact, and borders on sexist. I’m inclined to believe that her success is a product of her hustle and social-media prowess.

Social media gives a microphone to anyone and a platform on which to pontificate whatever nonsense they wish. For whatever reason, satirical and comedic outlets hear these shouts the loudest and further legitimize them, even as they are poking fun at them.

Professor David Masiel mentioned to me once that news sources don’t bother publishing negative reviews—relating to books, movies, etc.—because if something isn’t written about, then it’s understood that it wasn’t worth writing about. Why isn’t this principle followed in other media categories? Most people agree that Tomi Lahren is full on nonsense, but then why is she given so much attention? The answer is because she’s entertaining. Watching Trevor Noah roast her on the Daily Show is super entertaining. We as a people must decide, then, what we value more: being entertained or being informed, because the line between the two is disintegrating, and the repercussions will be catastrophic for American intelligence.

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Hi Jenny, I can relate! I use Facebook or Instagram or even Snapchat to talk to friends who I do not interact with on a daily basis. Sometimes my comments are superficial, but they do help maintain connections. I feel that healthy friendships are ones that you can pick up from where they were left off and continue to grow despite the time that passed. I tend to get into more extended conversations with friends who I was initially close to from the beginning of the friendship. I believe social media brings us together. I've found this accurate on all social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter because it is a way we voice our opinions in these open environments while also sharing ideas. I recently learned that Facebook’s motto is, "Give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together" and I agree that their mission statement is accurate. Facebook has open groups which people can join, and their event invitation platform is terrific too in the sense that you can add much information and still market the event successfully to an audience. Regarding other applications like WhatsApp or FaceTime, Skype, or group chat - I love them, and I believe that they also help connect people. WhatsApp helps connect people globally for little to no cost. This is how I kept in touch with my roommate when she went to Guatemala. FaceTime and Skype are helpful tools too, especially for long distance relationships. They can also be used professionally and assist much when trying to explain data or troubleshooting the issue as screens are shared between you and the person who is helping. As you stated Jenny, group chat can be invaluable to completing a project. Collaboration is an essential trait of innovation as Walter Isaacson would preach and the different applications available to us today help us collaborate to achieve critical projects.

How instant messaging has impacted our group project

During the first week of school, one of my classes was split into teams for a quarter-long group research project, with each team consisting of 7 to 8 people. My teammates and I met for the very first time that week after class discussion – none of us had known each other beforehand. We began planning our project, assigning roles to each member and brainstorming potential research topics. Since our class only meets once a week, we agreed to start a Google Hangouts group chat as our main communication system throughout the quarter.

At first, our group chat served the sole purpose of being a quick and convenient way to contact each other about the project. We communicated through the chat to ask questions and update each other with our tasks. As the quarter progressed, a few of us (myself included) found it increasingly difficult to keep up with all our work, and shared through the chat that we were struggling with our workloads. In response, our team showed us an incredible amount of understanding, support, and encouragement. Our team leader chatted that he wants everyone to “feel welcome and as comfortable as possible” in this group.

Our team bond has only gotten stronger since then. Through our group chat, we share jokes, photos, and song recommendations with each other. We wish each other good luck on midterms, and good night at the end of the day. Our interactions through the chat developed a feeling of comfort with one another that has carried over to our in-person meetings. During meetings, we casually converse to relieve some of our stresses from the day. At least one member always brings snacks for everyone. We help and support each other through challenges. The strong bond within our team motivates us to work harder, and we have made very productive progress on our project so far.

I have heard arguments before stating that social media distances people from one another, and doesn’t allow people to truly connect because it isn’t genuine human interaction. However, this project experience has been the most connected I’ve ever felt with a project group, and I can’t imagine how we could’ve gotten here today without our use of an online communication platform.

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Reflection on Lessons Learned in UWP 111A

Inspired by Taylor’s Post, I learned much this quarter in UWP 111A, here are only a few of the many lessons I learned:

-          The Five C’s of Style

-          SWOT Analysis

-          The importance of websites

-          I learned more about the history of computers – The innovators

-          Five Tech Giants and the Acquisitions (thanks, Tanya!)  

-          VR and its applications

-          Blockchain Technology

-          Important technologies to follow: AI, automation …

-          Issues that Women in Tech face

-          Importance of writing process, like soup, “let your essays marinate and it will come out better.”

-          Newsjacking

-          Filter bubbles and ways of getting rid of them

-          Fact checking

-          Grammar lessons from submitted papers

-          “if a story bleeds, it sells”

From Guest Speakers:

1. Justin Cox and Eunah Cho on digital journalism and music photojournalism

- Importance of mobile journalism from Justin Cox

- How UCD Vet Med. Presents News Stories

- Photojournalism 101 and the importance of candid photos which can attract readers

2. Skye Dickenson

- Good journalism takes time

- Online website to write news stories (ticketprocess.com)

- Being careful with not writing fake information because it tarnishes career

- Preparing to interview people ahead of time and have questions

- Amazon is a good way to start publishing a kid’s book (possible idea to follow in near future)

3. John Marcotte

- You can attract journalist yourself

- Importance of posting content on a website at least three times a month

- Ted Talk – raising a kid without gender bias and importance of it

- Segregated Toys for kids/Too few action figures for girls

4. Sasha Abramsky

- Importance of reading printed newspaper

- Paying for newspaper subscriptions

- lessons from his books and articles

5. David Greenwald

- iBooks

- Starting a news website

- Truth behind Davis police incident

6. Steve Faith

- Culture at Apple

- “How to make yourself indispensable”

- Following the big five tech giant news

7. Oliver Jones

- From people magazine to life as a professor

- Prepared journalists have their questions memorized for the interview

- “When journalism ceases to be a process, it ceases to be a profession” – O. Jones

- “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want to be printed: everything else is public relations.” George Orwell

  -

:�L8

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Maxine, thank you for sharing this with us. I enjoyed learning about you and the associations you have to your name. I am impressed with the memories that you can recall from your childhood attached to your name. I enjoyed how it was a story with the history of its meanings and ancestry attached to your name. I also loved your  commical conclusion. Again, thank you for sharing this piece of writing. I will add this to my bucket list as it is seems like a fun activity. 

My Name

This is an assignment for my young adult literature class. We were tasked with writing a 300-word story about our names — in the style of Sandra Cisneros’ “The House on Mango Street,” specifically the chapter entitled “My Name.” Read on, and let me know what you think.

I am named after my grandmother, a woman with tragedy in her bones. I meet her enough times to worry, that I will be the same. That the person I love will forget my name. Maxine. My always unusual name.

I’m four, in preschool. It’s attached to the church. We go there every day except Saturday — small, interested. impressionable.

We play a game: What does your name rhyme with? “Vaccine.” I’m upset, because I don’t know what the word means. Why couldn’t I have been named Sam? Or Ally? At least I know what ham and rallies are. Everything about me is unfamiliar.

In Hebrew I am enchanted. In Latin I am the greatest. bright. noble.

In all languages, I am from a man. He came first; she followed. A counterpart rather than an original. Not great, but a great woman. Not Maximus or Aemiliānus, but a version of them. A combination of the men before me. A result, never the cause.

In middle school, I am the sanitary products we avoided talking about. A maxi pad. A mockery of the female sex. How dare I evolve.

My swim instructor opted for Maxi. It is my least favorite nickname to date. I tell her it bothers me. She laughs.

Before any of this, I am a leader. An honorable chief. For generations, I head tribes. The Mulveys are of Irish ancestry, an Anglicized version of the native. A name taken by force from its mother.

In between, I am stuck. Joining my now and my before is Rebecca. She ties me. In my snare, I am captivating. People tell me I am strong, full of heart. But I am still. And I writhe in the cage of my unchanging names. In between, I am combatant, a noose for those worthier. But at least I am beautiful. Always beautiful.

I am biblical. I come from noosed animals. I thwart men from their paths. It is my fault. I am so beautiful.

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Justin Baldoni and John Marcotte are two of inspirational speakers on gender equity with strong messages, and I wanted to share a few important lessons from them this year. Baldoni used Instagram’s statistics to learn that women were the ones following him, so if he had started advocating for women, his audience would mostly be women. (In a Twitter post, I once talked about how it would be useful for ourselves to analyze our data to report on our very own findings.) Baldoni needed to have men be a part of his Instagram audience to begin his talks about equity to all. Baldoni started to post more "masculine things" such as weightlifting or hanging out with his guy friends to gain more men on his platform. Upon having a more balanced audience, Baldoni began his advocacy. He begins by teaching us that words are not enough, “men put the glass ceiling there” Men need to become allies in the fight for women’s equity. Next, he teaches that it does not make a man any less of a man to, “be brave enough to be vulnerable? Reach to another man for help and be sensitive? To cry, whether happy or sad." Lastly, he says that "Men cannot do this alone and need the help of women because they will inevitably mess-up." Helping men is a value I agree with and will execute whenever possible. John Marcotte tells us that the change in society begins with our young boys and girls around us. The journey of creating equity “begins as we stroll down the segregated pink and blue aisles." Marcotte says that we start by, “Teaching kids, both boys, and girls how to use their hearts.” Marcotte also says we have a responsibility to teach kids that like rules, “gender lines are meant to be crossed.”  Lastly, Marcotte teaches us that, “We should all be seeing things from a different point of view.” For example, seeing women's issues despite being male or vice versa. I felt the need to say speak on this as news rose that Feminist was the word of 2017. With many problems that happen on a day to day basis, it can be challenging to figure out where to begin change. The above are a few ideas. Let me know if you agree or have more ideas to add for us to add as we continue the movement in a positive direction. 

Videos for reference: 

https://www.ted.com/talks/justin_baldoni_why_i_m_done_trying_to_be_man_enough

http://www.heroicgirls.com/tedx-girls-can-be-their-own-superheroes/

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Me

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About Me

If I were to have to have a short bio on myself as some journalists do above their articles, I would say something along the lines of:

My name is Marlene Amador, and I am passionate about STEM issues, Feminism, and all other important issues that affect us. I agree with Steve Jobs in the importance of people who can stand at the intersection of humanities and sciences. I also agree with Grace Hopper that, "There is not use to doing anything unless you can communicate it."  I firmly believe in helping others. I am a futurist, exited for new research and discoveries. I am a learner at heart and tree hugger too. I am also a healthy eating and exercising enthusiast. Follow me on Twitter @pinkstarrbust1, connect with me professionally on LinkedIn and if there is something you would like to see highlighted in the news, send me an email!

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I loved this! I think this is a good guide! I would only add for either D or F - Facts! Weather Detailed facts or just F for facts, which A touches on - writing with accurate truth. Thank you for this helpful post Maxine! 

The Alphabet of Journalism

Today in lecture we discussed the so-called “ABCs of Journalism”: as journalists, we should always strive for accuracy, balance, and conciseness. However, these ideals feel somewhat dated. Where is the attention to detail? To citation? To a captivating narrative?

Well, the alphabet does not end at C. For this blog post, I am going to attempt to create an A through Z guide of respectable journalistic practices — a news-writing acrostic poem of sorts.

Accurate — write the truth

Balanced — avoid bias; consider many sides of an argument

Concise — use as few words as possible

Detailed — add specifics (appropriately, and not in excess)

Entertaining — don’t write dully; add humor, vary sentence length, etc.

Focused — stay on topic, don’t go on tangents

General to specific — begin broad, gradually center in

Honest — don’t pretend to know more than you do

Intelligent — write scrupulously in terms of grammar, syntax, and diction

Just — be as fair as possible

Killing one’s darlings — remove lovely sentences if they’re not useful

Logical — be organized, follow a sensible order

Memorable — leave a lasting impression on the reader

Negotiating — seek to understand and unify rather than divide

Open-ended — conclude by pointing to further questions and implications

Pushing the boundaries — go beyond the expected, conventional argument

Qualifying — hesitate arguing in black and white; acknowledge gray area

Readable — use diction appropriate for one’s audience

Studied — research your topic before writing; research your sources before interviewing and quoting

Titled — intrigue the reader even before your lede

Unfiltered — don’t hide from making a meaty argument; avoid distractions

Verified — cite sufficient and reputable sources

Witty — write cleverly, keep the reader engaged

Xenial — be respectful of other cultures and inclusive of diverse identities; you as a writer are a host and should be considerate of your guests

Young — appeal to society’s key actors: 18 to 35 year olds (if possible) so that your article is relevant and has mass appeal

Zealous — let your writing show you’re passionate about the subject or at least passionate about telling a good story; make your reader care about the topic, especially if they didn’t before

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Turnaround at San Francisco Chronicle shows way for legacy newspapers

https://www.cjr.org/business_of_news/san-francisco-chronicle.php

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I had posted, not too long ago, on my twitter an article about how “Aligning your brand and culture has never been so important” an article by Forbes which teaches readers that, “You cannot build a differentiated product without building a differentiated culture.” I was amazed to read how the San Francisco (SF) Chronicle and learn how this company tried many new things, and in it, brought itself back to life. They did many things out of the ordinary, and experimented with many new ideas which I believe is something that everyone should try as often as possible despite how intimidating ideas initially are. The first thing I learned from the SF Chronicle is that they dove into writing new stories and investigations that others have not done before. Homelessness, AIDS, and marijuana... investigative reporting, collaborations with 80 other organizations, launching different sites, and new management are some of the things they tried. To me, news reporting with more than 80 news organizations was an incredible idea- imagine how much learning and insight into homelessness in SF was learned that could also be applied to other places. I went to explore their website and I was right. Their website is incredibly interactive and easy to explore with videos and articles well-laid out to explain homelessness in SF. I learned much about marketing and advertising within their company. SF Chronicle launched two new products because of it: 46 mile, a data-driven marketing consultancy and full-service advertising agency, and Story Audio, which enables Brands to tell their story. I was taken away by the new ideas that SFChronicle did to stay competitive in a changing market.  I must agree with the idea that “a diversified company that’s privately held and that cares about journalism” produces some of the best work. National Public Radio was another example that stood out for me because of their investigative journalism coverage and wide range of podcasts/shows. For all of the future leaders, remember to give employees enough time to complete their assigned tasks, to explore, and most importantly to try new ideas outside of the box.

http://projects.sfchronicle.com/sf-homeless/