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 I still think it's funny that I immediately thought it was an "outdated" version of the web :) Version 2.0 just sounds so old!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!