The End

I can't believe the semester is over - time flies when you barely have time to breathe!
Just wanted to say great job to everyone on the final presentations! Quite honestly, when we had the guest presenter on the hypertension awareness campaign earlier in the semester, I was pretty doubtful that any of the groups in our class could come up with such a professional campaign. But I was wrong - everyone did an equally impressive job in our class. Way to go, guys! Seeing what a difference all of the groups made was truly inspiring. Thanks to everyone for a great class!

Week 14

Last week...last blog!! Hooray! Sorry to say, but I'm still not a blogger. I have had fun writing and gotten a good laugh out of it sometimes, but I guess I usually prefer to read things other people have written rather than write my own thoughts. I am stuck with my own thoughts 24 hours a day - why not read what others have to say instead??? So I hope everyone else keeps blogging so I can keep reading - ha, ha, ha!
If anyone is applying for a PhD program and would like any advice/help, feel free to contact me. Granted, my program is in Psychology, but it's similar enough, I think. Applications suck, as someone else wrote, but all the work pays off in the end - I promise! You have job security for the next 5-6 years if you get in...they just can't guarantee a top-notch starting salary :)
I've enjoyed getting to know y'all this semester, and I hope to have you guys in classes in the future! Good luck to everyone on presentations next week!

Week 13

So, I forgot to blog by noon today - thanks for the reminder, Shelby! Like finally getting access to our real target population this late in the game, better late than never, right?!? Hopefully Dr. E will agree :)
As everyone else has already said, kudos to all of the groups on their presentations this week! I, too, was incredibly impressed with the quality of the posters in all of the other groups. Admittedly, I was largely responsible for the comparatively sub-par quality of the Walking School Bus posters. In my own defense, however, I don't have any fancy-schmancy publishing software - just good 'old MS Word for me (2003 Version, at that - my trial version of Vista ran out a month ago). So...looks like we need to find a "friend" who is poster-savvy and has a soft spot for preventing the childhood obesity epidemic one walk to school at a time! Anyone, anyone? Bueller, Bueller?

Week 12

Not to sound like a broken record, but I totally agree with the other posts about how interesting this week's class was! Talking about movies and tv shows is always fun, and relating them to health was extra cool :) I loved the Saved by the Bell and other classic show examples that were already brought up in other posts! Those shows definitely were awesome - and they sneaked in those health messages without creating too much stir or controversy. Another one that came to my mind was the short-lived Nickelodeon show "Fifteen" - did anyone else watch that?? It was SOOO good! One of the characters (a jock, Todd) had an alcohol problem, and his poor little Miss Perfect girlfriend Ashley was beside herself. I think that brought attention to the fact that alcoholism can hit anyone at any age (to an extent). Anyway, lots of stuff is out there. Unfortunately, I think that more negative health messages (e.g., unsafe sex) are presented than positive ones, but maybe that's just me...

Week 11

Learning about Web 2.0 was pretty interesting. I still think it's funny that I immediately thought it was an "outdated" version of the web :) Version 2.0 just sounds so old! SPSS is already at 15.0 or later. The web certainly needs to catch-up...or maybe it's just that SPSS makes a lot more money everytime they make an update that more people want to purchase.
Anyway, I agree that Web 2.0 is changing the way things are done. I heard something on GMA or some other show like that - they said that people now are not taking action to evoke changes like they used to by writing to their congressmen or starting a lobbying campaign, etc., because they are just blogging about it instead. They feel better after getting their feelings out, and they feel like they're making a difference because other people will certainly see their blog; also, they read other blogs by people who agree with them, so they feel validated. But then the momentum just stops at that - nothing happens because of the blogs. They just remain in cyberspace, and life goes on. Interesting point of view, I thought. Although allowing everyone to have a voice on the Internet is nice in theory, if you really think about it, the more blogs, information, etc. that is out there, the fewer people will read each one because of the diffusion. Maybe our voices aren't heard so much as we think!

Week 10

I don't really have strong opinions either way about PR. Seems like a lot of people in the class are very anti-PR, but maybe only the few who were quick to blog about the lecture (only six people have posted so far) really care that much. Maybe the rest of us are a little less passionate about the topic - I know I am. I do admit, however, that I frequently roll my eyes at the allegedly objective news that I hear on tv or read in the newspaper. Almost all reporters have an obvious slant, particularly when politics are involved. No wonder politicians can go from #1 to #10 in the polls nearly overnight - they are so scrutinized that something they say can be taken completely out of context and blasted all over the media with a completely different meaning than they originally intended. That said, politcians are essentially PR people themselves, especially when they are running for office, but that's another topic.
Anyway, the FEMA ordeal was crazy - I had heard about it before class (fortunately saving me from being lambasted by our guest speaker...) and thought it was utterly ridiculous. Many other PR stunts are also laughable, so I'll just laugh and move on with my day :)

Week 9

Wow - what else is there to say about the fires? Devastating, sad, depressing, scary, all-around terrible. My heart goes out to everyone affected directly or indirectly. I can't even fathom the idea that someone may have started one or more of them on purpose. What in the heck could drive someone to do such a thing??? Since that person or people will likely never be caught, I just hope that he/she/they are feeling so guilty that they can barely take it anymore. But more importantly, I just hope that everyone who had a home that was destroyed is able to rebuild as quickly and painlessly as possible. What an amazing display of San Diegans' hearts through all of this, though. The community has really come together. And the news coverage and other health communication has been phenomenal, in my opinion, as nothing else was even on tv or radio for a few days (on local stations for those of us who do not have cable). However, I have heard a few people interviewed who have said that they were not given word about their neighborhoods' mandatory evacuations until they were almost too late (i.e., the fires almost consumed them). I wonder what went wrong...why were they not made more aware? What were they doing, if not watching the news 24/7 like the rest of us?
On another note, I have come across a few articles unrelated to the fires during these past few days, as I have been wasting hours of time doing nothing at my computer. The first one is about the lack of health literacy among poor people, as we discussed a couple of weeks ago: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071023/hl_nm/india_health_information_dc;_ylt=AvjGA7cSMLBG26qsqDoaD4MQ.3QA
The second one addresses different kinds of ads (e.g., emotional appeal, informative, etc.), as we discussed the last time we met (I think) in the context of the obesity epidemic: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071022/ap_on_he_me/diet_obesity_ads;_ylt=Aqd4fpSDv2qLZ5vUpDYCYX4R.3QA
Finally, the last one pertains to my group's cause (the walking schoolbus), as it talks about the nationwide attempt to get these things started in various locations: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071026/ap_on_he_me/fitness_school_commuters;_ylt=AkD7Hz7pUz_6CH0ZH92M1Xpa24cA
Stay safe, everyone!