Finish line!! final Blog

Age? 19

Sex? female

What is your degree subject (both if joint)? English

Does ‘Being Bad’ relate well to the other modules you are taking? Not really, but it was good to have some veriety from all my other modules

If so, how? And if not, why not? Aspects of beiong bad are not discussed in my other modules as they tend to be literatyre based modules.

Have you found ‘Being Bad’ too demanding, too easy, or at an appropriate level? The assessments have been at an appropriate level. Although to be honest in the lectures i never really felt like i did much work to be honest apart from listening to the lecturer.

Do you think the list of topics covered on the module was appropriate? Yes in someways all of the subjects of the lectures were in relation to the topic of 'being bad'

Are there any topics not included in the module that you would like to see included? I think the inclusion of the alcohol topic should be bought into the module, as many people wrote about it in their blogs also.


Do you think that the format for classes has worked well? Generally yes, although people at the back where talking, i think it would be a good idea to have us all sitting closer to the front, Because when some people where speaking it wasnt always possible to understand what they where saying.

What did you think of the module team? Good, i liked the way there was a different lecturer for each topic

Do you think it would have been better to have had more:
Small group discussions?
Discussion and debate among the class as a whole?
Information and talk from lecturers?
I think that having small group discussions would be better, as the class is rather large to be having class disscussions, and there are always lots of people who want to say things.


The approach taken in the module is interdisciplinary (drawing on perspectives from English Literature, Film Studies, Creative Writing, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies and Politics): do you think this a useful way of approaching the topics covered in the module?
Yes very useful, i do english and although being bad is not directly related to the subject i found it useful in the fact that, it has made me think more about things that maybe I wouldnt have beforehand

Would you like to see more modules that cover this kind of subject matter? I think being bad and the follow up to it in second year 'It shouldnt be allowed' is enough as it allows people from different subject areas the cahnce to do it.

Are you planning to take the follow-up module PH2004 ‘It Shouldn’t Be Allowed’ at level 2?
Yes i am doing this module in second year

Would you recommend ‘Being Bad’ to a friend?
If they showed an interset into this type of module, covering different aspects of being bad, then yes i would

Do you think that the blogs (web logs) were a good idea?
Yes it is good to read evryone elses views and opinions that are different from my own, as it makes you think about things in a way in which you may have never thought about them before. I think it would have been better if we were made to put more comments on peoples blogs, as this would encourage peer interaction on subjects of being bad.

What did you think of the other assessments (e.g. would it be better to have one longer assessment rather than two shorter ones?) I would have prefferd to have had one long assesment aswell as the web blogs, as i didnt feel i could write all that i wanted to say on the assessments beacuse of the word limit restrictions taht were in place.


What have you learned from the module? That no one is right, everyone has and is entitled to their own opinion whether you like it or not.


What parts do you think were a waste of time and why? All of it has been useful in some way

Alcohol!!

ALCOHOL!!

It is a legal sunstance, well for over 18's anyway. So why is it seen as being so 'bad' then. Well Britain inparticularly has been given a bad name by the media where the issue of alcohol and drinking is involved. Britain is often reffered to as 'Binge Britain' or 'Booze Britain'. Drinking is a personal choice as to whether you want to do it or not many people do not drink for numerous reasons, some of them being becuase they dont like the taste, becuase they dont want to waste money on it when it could be spent on something else and for religious reasons.

Britain is one of the booziest countries in Britain, most people go out at the weekends after being at work all week and go out for drinks with friends etc etc...this is what leads to binge drinking,

Here are some facts about binge drinking

Men should drink no more than 21 units of alcohol per week
Women should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week
One unit of alcohol is half a pint of beer or a small glass of wine
Binge drinking is classed as consuming more than 10 units of alcohol in a single session for men and seven units for women

I got these facts from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3121440.stm

So therfore if you go out at the weekend and have more than three or four medium sized glasses of wine in one night, which if you drink - most people drink that equivalent on a night out then you would be classed as a 'Binge drinker' even though you may never drink in the week. Other european countries have a more relaxed approach towards drinking, children are allowed to have the odd drink and they have a glass of wine making it a family and social occasion, so children when they grow up do not feel the need to rebel and binge drink such vast quantities that they pass out, like many teens here who do that and end up in hospital.

I think the introduction of the 24hour drinking license into pubs in the u.k has been a good thing, but only time will tell if the binge drinking rates will fall. i think by introducing the license people will not feel the need to go out and get absoloutleyt off their face as they wont need to as they can do it anytime they want, they wont feel forced into doing all their drinking over a certain time restraint over the weekends.

Here are some facts you may or may not know, some of them might be suprising, or then again maybe not!?

Over 90% of British adults drink alcohol
One in three men drink more than they should
One in five women drink more than they should
Teenagers are drinking earlier and more heavily than ever before
Young, white, unemployed men are more likely to abuse alcohol
Women in skilled jobs drink more heavily than other women

I obtained these facts from

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3121440.stm

Kids!

I will be honest i was not in for this lecture becuase I was ill throwing my guts up im guessin from some rotten food i had eaten the night before, from broad street! :( :(

Anyway! i did not want to miss out on this lecture so i got my friends to take notes (mental or otherwise) and to tell me about the lecture. When i caught up with them they told me they watched a film called kids, they said they didn't really like it in the fact that it was a bit shocking in the sense of what they got up to in the film. So i decided to have a look on the internet at the plot outline myself on the internet. I was quite shocked that a film about teenagers would have a storyline about a girl getting HIV as it is rather disturbing taht a person of that age would get that, I think it is more of a disturbance to the viewer becuase films of this nature have never been made before.

But i think it is also a good thing that films are allowing for issues of this nature to be bought into the for front as we are living in a society in which these issues are around us everyday.

Here is one of the websites i used to have a look at the reviews of the film

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113540/plotsummary

response to http://beingbadjess02.blogspot.com/

Response comment to http://beingbadjess02.blogspot.com/ blog on the smoking ban!

I read your blog and i would like to say I commend you for not being 'anti - smoking' even though you have made the decision never to try smoking yourself.

I find that many non smokers are very anti - smoking and do not want to be near smokers who stand outside pub entrances etc etc.. I was the same as you, even though i never smoked i was not anti smoking. As i feel people should have the freedon and choice to do whatever they want to do with their bodies and if they want to fill it with chemicals then thats their choice, just as long as they are not harming anyone in the process.

Since coming to university i have the odd cigarette (more of a social thing with friends) and i do not mind the fact that i have to stand out in the cold, as i appreciate the fact that non smokers dont like going home smelling of other peoples tabacco and smoke smell that sticks to their clothes.

I also agree with you that the way the government is goin with rules and the like, it is becoming ridiculous. Rules in modern society are going to get out of hand.

(Bad) Comedians!?

What makes a bad comedian?

Many people have different view on what makes a bad comedian. And i suppose it is all down to an individual taste in comedy. What might be fuuny for one person another person viweing the same thing may not find very funny. It is personal choice, comediens such as the late Bernard manning and Roy chubby brown that were bought up in lecture, can be seen as 'being bad' as their acts focus on a particular kind of comedy often picking on facts about people such as their race. Roy chuuby brown is known for his racist jokes, which can lead aundiences who arent used to his material rather shocked or even at times disgusted.

If you are unsure about whether you find that material funny, it's probably because you find the material in the sketch uncomfortable, i watched a documentary on Bernard manning sometime last year on itv. I found it hard to differenciate where his act stopped and his views on racism began, on camera when he was not on stage he made a racist comment about an ethnic minority. Surely this couldn't have been his act or stage persona......could it!? personally i just find his jokes very fuuny or humour worthy. Although the audiences at his shows seem to love his material and roar with laughter, these can be considered his fans as with any comedian the audiences are there to watch the comedian with a shared passion and sense of humour for them.

Each comedian has a different following as they perform different types of comedy it just depends on what sense of humour you have. I like comedians such as jimmy carr and bill bailey, although jimmy carr does pick on people he is not racist but picks on people in a different way. This still may offend some people, is it possible for comedians not to offend people??

This clip on youtube shows bernard manning being interviwed by a black man about his racist jokes.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHLNUmtnMM8&feature=related

These clips show Bernard manning and jimmy carr doing what they do best - 'being funny'!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AnW3bmiky98&feature=related This clip shows Bernard manning performing jokes of a racist nature, it highlights the time when he got a lot of bad press becuase he was secretly filmed at a police function making racist remarks. THis is one of the reasons why i do not like him as a comedian. Although i am not saying he is a bad man, i just dont like his 'act' material or 'persona'.

This clip shows jimmy carr performing his stand up act.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ysc85tTDKWM

Reply comment to http://thehumanstrain.blogspot.com/

Response comment to - http://thehumanstrain.blogspot.com/

Is that the only time you have stolen from a shop? when you where younger. I'm sure you've been forgiven for that. Atleast you didn't steal from a person!! And you had the excuse of being a child.

See i know its bad to steal and have been bought up to know right from right and wrong and although i would never steal from a person, i have stolen the odd grocery or two, when going through the self scan checkouts...I know this is bad and i sometimes feel guilty. But it is my view that it is from a chain such as asda or tescos that are worth billions, they aren't going to miss a cucumber or a few pick and mix. Let me make it clear i do not make a regular habit of it and i would never rob from a person becuase that is personal. And i wouldn't want that to happen to myself. So dont feel bad for robbing when you wre younger!! ...atleast you know better now!! :)

Masturbation

http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00303174?single=1&query_type=word&queryword=masturbation&first=1&max_to_show=10

This weblink is for, The Oxford english dictionary online, it offers this definition of masturbation.


The stimulation, usually by hand, of one's genitals for sexual pleasure; the action or practice of masturbating oneself or (less commonly) another person; an instance of this.

Here are some statistics that may help in the understanding of how many people as a percentage masturbate - it may be either more or less than you expected! they are taken from the website

http://marriage.about.com/cs/masturbation/f/masturbatfaq3.htm

Cory Silverberg: "Kinsey’s survey found that almost 40% of men and 30% of women in relationships masturbated. A study of Playboy readers found that 72% of married men masturbated, and a study of Redbook readers found that 68% of married women masturbated."Source: Sexuality.about.com

It is an act that is totally normal and natural to carry out, it can provide pleasure and joy to the individual pleasing themselves withou having to worry about having to please a partner etc ...

In some situations it can be seen as a taboo topic, many people do not really like talking about it as it is seen as personal and that it should be kept private. Although people masturbate - whether they be female, male, married, in a realtionship or single. The choice to do it is personal, some people choose to and some people don't.

I found the lecture on masturbation the most intercative out of the lectures so far, just because it wasn't just a presentation where we had to listen to the lecturer go on for two hours.

It was good that the results of the survey where given at the end of the lecture and presented in a graph form, the look on some peoples faces at the results was funny. Although at times i felt abit incomfortable answering the questions via the remote control, as i felt people where looking at the number i was pressing on the remote, that corresponded with the answer to the questions.

Although i do agree that in todays society it is a lot easier to talk about masturbation and topics that are considered to be taboo as i think people are more open and willing to talk about things like this.

Infidelity!

The first lecture of Being Bad infidelity was one of the lectures that to be honest if found one of the best ones. I found the handouts we got given with quotes from books and others ources helpful in finding out more information on the topic. The statistics that were given for the number of people that commit infedelity were a shock. And it was shocking to hear that in the first lecture when we sdmitting our acts of being bad even though it was anonymous, the fact that people admitted that they had cheated on their partner with some cases
ranging from a one night stand to infidelity that had been comiited over several years.

What is infedelity??
Some people have different views on this, where some people would not class kissing another person whilst already in a realtionship as cheating, where as some people might class that as cheating, and therefore an act of infedelity. It all comes down to personal opinion and sometimes tolerance. People might know about their partner. husband/ wife cheating but might not say anything for fear of dirupting their relationship/ marriage and destroying their family structure.
Infedelity is an issue that disrupts not just one person but everybody that is involved.

Here are some statistics that people may find shocking or not so shocking about inedelity
taken from the website:

http://www.infidelitycheck.org/statistics.htm

"Only 46% of men believe that online affairs are adultery" DivorceMag

"One-third of divorce litigation is caused by online affairs" The Fortino Group


In my opinion, i know that infedelity is wrong and i would not like some one to cheat on me beacuse i would not do it to anyone myself, but i understand that people have different reasons for doing it, so i realise that not everyone can be condemned for doing it. It can be selfish but i think there is a difference in the effect it has uopn people whether the infedelity is a one night stand or a long term affair. I can understand why people who have had a one night stand might not want to confess, in this case it might just be better not to own up along as it is never going to happen again, rather than destory your realtionship or the structure of the family you are in.

Lying!!

This evenings lecture about Lying with integrity i found particluarly interseting. There was not much theory or facts about lying, for example which of the sexes lie the most and what it is particularly that they lie about the most - which would have been interseting. But I found it interseting to hear what other people had to say on the subject.

Before the lecture i never really gave much of a thought about lying and what causes people to lie, i just accepted that yes people lie for various reasons whatever they may be. In my opinion everybody lies whether it be little white lies or large lies, although i would not condone lying, most people do it, it is a part of everyday life, i myself lie i am not ashamed to admit it. Life would be pretty boring without the odd white lie, although i dont go around compulsive lying and i would not lie about major issues.

So i have this question, is it acceptable for both white lies and major lies? Because really at its most basic form, both are lies just at varying degrees. Sometimes lies can protect people from the truth, beacuse sometimes the truth hurts. But i think that i would rather be told the truth than lied to. For example, if i tried on a dress and looked like crap i think i would rather be told the truth than be lied to into thinking i looked good. But each person to their own, if people want to tell lies they will.

http://www.truthaboutdeception.com/confront_a_liar/public/compulsive_lying.html

This website is helpful it gives an undertanding into the types of liars and the characteristics of particular types of liars for example compulsive and pathalogical liars.

Drugs, drugs, drugs!

This picture shows the effects that drugs can have upon a person after a few years of abuse. Drugs can destroy a person both mentally and physically, making their health deteriorate leading to health problems, sometimes even death.

I know people are warned not to do drugs and everyone is aware of the damage they can cause, some cases it leads to addiction or the moving onto other drugs that are harder. Sometimes people only use drugs recreationally between friends in social circumstances etc etc. But my personal opinion is that if people want to do drugs they will, ther is no stopping them, as adults everyone can make their own choices whether they are percieved as others as right or wrong. Using drugs recreatinally can lead to addiction there are many celebrities in magazines who are seen taking drugs or who have admitted to having an addiction, such as Amy Winehouse and Kate Moss, this is glamourising the use of drugs to the people who choose to read gossip magazines, not setting a good example to younger children who see these people as role models. The picture in my blog of the woman shows the change in her physical appearence over a few years from using heroin.
If more things like this were published although i am not making out that it would stop poeople taking drugs it might make them think twice.

When i was at secondary school a man came in to give us a talk about taking ecstasy and the effects it can have upon a person.

The man was the father of Leah Betts, in brief - she had taken ecstasy numerous times before, on this particular occassion it was her birthday. Her and her friends had taken ecstasy. A few hours later her mum and dad found her in the bathroom screaming in pain that she had in her head.She went into a coma and sadly never came out of it. It was believed that the amount of water she drank when taking the pills contributed to her coma.

To read more about this story and to see some shocking sad pictures of leah that her parents allowed to be published look here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/13/newsid_2516000/2516593.stm

http://ecstasy.org/info/dangers.html

To here the devastation that ecstasy bought to this family, and to hear her father still get emotional when talking about it after years of going round schools giving the talk, was really upsetting. And this will stay with me.

I feel like although the lecture on drugs was not condoning the use of drugs, it never really bought up the awareness of the effects drugs can have upon you.

Comment response to,thedarkside2.blogspot.com

Response to
http://thedarkside2.blogspot.com
I agree with what you are saying about people changing their looks to give themselves more confidence. I do agree that chnaging your body image will not alaways change the way you think about yourself mentally. People have to be ready to be prepared to change menatally, before they change the way they appear physically. Although lots of people think that by chnaging themselves physically, that it will change the way they think mentally. Although sometimes when people who have low self asteem change their appearence to the extreme it can give them the confidence to be the person that they have alaways wanted to be.

Religion

Religion is a topic that divides people. It is a subject that people have different thoughts and opinions about. We live in a society that is multicultural, with people from different religions and minorities living together and for the most part being tolerant of each others religions and beliefs. I went to a christian school and have been bought up as a christian, although i never attend church apart from weddings, funerals and christenings. I feel i am an atheist as i have never really believed that there is God as such. Although at certain times in my life such as when someone dies, it gives me reasurrance to think that they have gone to 'heaven' to be looked after by God, although i am not to sure that this exsists either, i would like to think that there is a place where people go when they pass away. I find comfort in believing that, even though i am not to sure what it is i belive in.
This website offers an explanation on what atheism actually is.
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/mathew/intro.html

I found the lecture on religion informative but also a bit uncomfotable especially at the begining when, the whole lecture theatre was subjected to hearing a prayer. I didnt like the fact that we were not given a choice to listen to it or not, and the fact that i felt awkward for the people from other religions who may have not wanted to listen to it.

Under age smoking

I know that this is personal opinion, but this picture on the left makes me feel really sad. It is a picture of a three year old little boy smoking a cigarette, i think the only reason why i think it saddens me is beacuse the fact it is a child. If it was an adult over the age of 16 i don't think it would bother me.

The child in this picture, his family may ignorant to the risks of smoking such as cancer, and emphaseima not throught their own doing but maybe because they have never been properly educated. Maybe children are allowed to smoke becuase their families view it as a social activity.

And i understnd that even though child smoking at such a young age is a rare occurance, i still think it needs to be stopped, even though in England the law for smoking is that you have to be over sixteen years old, although in some countries it is legal for children to smoke. According to BBC news onlinehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5134218.stm

"One in 10 under 15s smoke, but prosecution rates for shops which sell cigarettes and other tobacco products to under 16s tend to be low and fines are small". This makes both the under age smokers and the government at fault. Because the children who are smoking are breaking the law and it is obvious that the goverment are being too easy on shop keepers who sell gigareetes to children.

Tattoos

Personally i do not see getting a tattoo as 'being bad'. It is not harming anyone else and it is the individuals personal choice as to whether or not they want to choose to ink their skin that will permenantly stay with them for the rest of their lives.

In my opinion the only time when it becomes 'bad' is when tattoo parlours give tattoos to under age people, as this is against the law.
There was a case in the town where i live in where the tattoo parlour got shut down because they where giving tattoos to minors without checking i.d. I know this is true because i myself had a tattoo done there when i was 16. They did not ask for any form of i.d and performed the tattoo straight away. The only thing they required was my signature.

looking back now i know this is bad practice and people should not do it!!!

This is a website that offers tips about getting tattoos and some considerations that should be taken into account

http://www.msu.edu/~krcmari1/individual/getting.html

drugs and alcohol - eastenders and hollyoaks

If anyone has recently been wtaching eastenders and hollyoaks recently, you probably noticed that there is an issue of substance abuse in both of them. Shirley from eastenders is drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and there is drug abuse in hollyoaks.

Alcoholism and drug addiction is a reacurring theme throughout most soaps at some point or another and thinking about it, actualy many other television programmes.

Issues like this can be seen as 'being bad' bacuse it goes against social norms set by society, and people are scared to talk about these things. But how much do you have to drink to become an 'alcoholic' or how many drugs do you have to take to become a 'drug addict', this is why these issues in my opinion are part of 'being bad' as for example drinking is something most people like to do socially, down the pub with mates or to relax, but it would seem that there is a line upto where it is ok to drink or do drugs and then there is overstepping the line leading to addiction. This is then not 'being bad' but it becomes an illness. But at which stage is it classed as a social activity and how easy is it to lead to addiction.

Field trip for being bad

My suggestion for the field trip would be to go to a court. To sit in the public gallery and witness a trial for a crime that is bad, but not too bad.