MM Food

Feedback from the class

brucebanner87 — Mon, 12 May 2008 02:09:09 +0000

The feedback that I recieved from class was certainly a mixed bag, but I would say the majority of the comments were positive, which is nice. I had many comments that I did not speak very much but when I did it was important and insightful, but to balance that out there were the comments that Im really saying nothing when I speak and I dont do enough in class. Cant win em all I guess. I am not exactally sure how my roles within the group are coming into play with this feedback. A theory I have is that maybe the explination for some comments being positive and some negative is that these people have placed me in different roles and are evaluating my performance within them. As for the recievers fact in relation to the feedback I recieved, I feel that I did learn a certain amount about myself through the words of others. The recievers fact states that, “The reviever is is totally in control of feedback, but the control is not necessarily concious.” I agree with this statement in a few ways. The reciever is in control of feedback in the sence that the recievers actions have helped shape what feedback he/she will recieve. Therefore the reciever is in control, although they are likely not aware of that control, which is where the “control is not necessarily concious” comes into play. If we were completely concious of our control as reciever, we would constantly be mindful of our actions all in attempt to shape positive feedback as the group interaction proceeded. As for what I learned about myself as a group member, I would say that I am more flexable among different roles than I had previously been aware of. In the past I was comfortable soley as a follower, with the hopes that someone would designate me a task and I could do my thing in peace. However over the course of the semester I have taken on many different roles, both falling into leadership and following. I can make use of this feedback from my classmates in the future when I am working in groups, whether it be a situation at work or elsewhere. Whatever role Imay currently be in, I am pretty happy with my feedback overall.

Cierto o Falso??

brucebanner87 — Mon, 05 May 2008 03:41:28 +0000

4.) True, I feel this because setting and accomplishing a goal within a group is totally a group task. As a part of a group I share the responsibility of setting a group goal.

10,) True, I feel that the group has all of the necessary tools and roles to achieve optimum growth and productivity. We have a group of willing and capable participants, and there should be no reason why we can not be extremely productive and show growth.

11.) False, because who is to say that we have not generated effective group work? Our roles though not set in stone seem fairly certain, and we are accomplishing a lot.

15.) True, I feel that I have role flexability in different situations in class. In the fishbowls I often act as the opinion giver, but other times play the role of opinion seeker by prompting others to offer their ideas and views. At the same time in group work I can sometimes play the role of energizer in attempt to increase productivity.

18.) False, I definitely feel resistance and anxiety in many situations in class still to this point. I honestly cant see how anyone could have answered true in this situation. As far as how it relates to my roles, the fact that I resist and question may go against more of the leadership roles but I am fine with that. There needs to be an element of anxiety and even confusion for things to become clear and effective.

What the Music Group Accomplished

brucebanner87 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:06:01 +0000

As a group we accomplished a fair amount toward the wiki project during our time off. Alex and Aly met up, worked on, and practiced the song for the site which Alex wrote. I researched local venues (Amherst/ North Hampton) and upcoming shows that I feel the class will possibly be interested in attending. I created a layout of show dates, band names, pictures of the band, genre of the band, and link to the bands website where their music can be attained.

Link to My Interactive Window

brucebanner87 — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:52:47 +0000

http://kevan.org/johari?name=BruceBanner

Eye Contact

brucebanner87 — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:48:26 +0000

“I didn’t think the author was literally referring to his eyes. Instead, I thought he meant it figuratively. That is, he meant to say, examine me closely . . . as I read I found there was a double meaning.” —-I agree with this assessment of the symbolism of making eye contact. I dont think that the author was somehow inviting you to look in his eyes through the name of the book, but rather finding a deeper meaning.

“I thought I was being told to look the author in the eye…”—-This is interesting because it is a direct contradiction to the last comment. This shows the wide variety of interpretations that the class has about the book’s title.

“The image I had was a book about truth and integrity, with looking someone in the eye traditionally being a visual clue of honesty.”—- This was also interesting because it takes on a different side in looking at why the “looking in the eye” is being questioned. It considers the eye contact representing honesty and truth, which I had not thought about previously.

What can I contribute?

brucebanner87 — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:01:17 +0000

I feel that the key to this wiki project is the contributions of everyone one in the class, and more specifically, each peron adding what they are genuinely interested in and excited about. Although if asked what we are individually interested in, many of us would probably answer with simple things like; music or movies. However, a music project is what I am interested in contributing. My idea is to start a resource for us and other students/people in the area to get info about concerts in the area, and other events. I would give show schedules for local venues, and info about the performers themselves. I would then provide links to where one could find these bands music (like myspace) and possible review the bands or the shows themselves.

Who are the true “Hippies” among us?

brucebanner87 — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:40:25 +0000

In chosing what cultural label to read about and analyse, one of the words jumped out at me as a must-pick, and that word is “Hippie”. I think I chose this word because of how often i hear it in day to day life, especially here at school. But what interests me about this is the fact that I hear the word ‘hippie” used in many different contexts, and to describe various types of people. So who are the true “hippies” among us? Here is what I learned from the paper I read: First off, I was suprised to learn that hippie is actually an international term! (Frequently used in Spain as well as America with the same spelling.) One thing that I always assumed but was reinforced through reading the piece was that the word “hippie” comes from the word ”hip” which comes from the old slang “Hep” which means; well informed, wise-to, up-to-date, and stylish. These words then transformed over time into a label known as a hippie, which is said to mean hipster (a person, usually exotically dressed, known to be a “beatnik” due to the use of hallucenogenic drugs.) I also learned that the term “hippie” first appeared in 1953. This piece on the cultural label of ”hippie” expressed that the word almost always has connotations of drug use, bad hygene and a general unkempt nature. I feel that in many ways the analysis of the hippie label relates to our class and us as a group. (Im not saying we are all hippies, or any of us for that matter) Not just in this particular word, but in cultural labels in general there is a lot of power in identification. Who we identify somebody as. “Is he a hippie?” He seems like a nerd.” ” Looks like a punk”. Though likely not to this extreme, we all make judgements on the people we meet, and especially people we work with in groups. Im sure most of us have some assumptions and preconcieved notions about our classmates, it seems to be a natural human instinct to judge and thus label others. But what is in a label? Am I too clean to be a hippie? I enjoy nature, I like music and granola bars, and I may have tried a drug or two. Am I a hippie? But wait I have a job and regularly shower. So I can’t be right? Confusion. The point is, socially constructed labels that we thrust upon groups of people are just that, labels. They are as useful to identifying someones true identity as what shoes they wear. Its not a bad thing to relate to a group or label, but the unfairness comes when you are labeled by society. After all, who are the true “Hippies” among us?

Class over Protest

brucebanner87 — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 00:07:27 +0000

My decision making process on whether or not to attend the No Mas FARC protest in Boston was honestly, not an overly complex one. I have a class that I would have to skip falling at the same time as the protest, so I have decided not to attend. Normally I am definately not anti-class skipping, but being the second week of school I figure it may not be the best idea. I have read up on the issues at hand with the FARC and I am certainly in support of the cause, it just isn’t in the cards for me to attend. I am not sure however how my decision reflects the subject matter of the course, but i do think that these decision making processes are influenced by the “small group” we have formed. Instead of making a clear decision thats right for you, I imagine that many pondered what the others would think if they did or did not attend the rally, so in that way I would guess that the group dynamics effected some decision making.