For your final exam, you will write your literature review for your research study.
How to prepare:
1. Gather your sources!
2. Categorize sources by subtopic.
3. Alphabetize sources within subtopic.
4. Use template one (outline) or two (map) for your prewrite.
Here is an example of a lit review: http://faculty.mwsu.edu/psychology/Laura.Spiller/Experimental/sample_apa_style_litreview.pdf
Here is an example of how to map out a lit review: http://blog.thinkbuzan.com/training/trainer-showcase-mind-mapping-for-university-students
researchcore 
Jordan Black & Karla Guzman
Period 2
Media Influence on Adolescent Body Image and Behaviors
Thin models, actors and actresses appear to be taking over today’s media. They portray what is considered an ideal body through television, magazines, movies, and various social media platforms. Advertisements targeting young teens feature thin and beautiful models that influence the way that they feel towards their own body image. The current high level of body dissatisfaction is generally attributed to sociocultural factors, and particularly, the powerful and pervasive influence of the mass media (Tiggemann & Polivy, 2002). This ideal intervenes with adolescents’ perceptions on how they should look (Bell & Dittmar, 2011). Media exposure to the unattainable physical perfection is shown to be detrimental to adolescents and their behaviors (Haas, Pawlow, Pettibone, Segrist, 2005). Media pressure to be thin causes the youth to have negative feelings about their appearance, and that ultimately affects the way that they perceive the ideals of beauty and perfection, self-esteem, and health. Results support calls for early educational interventions to help adolescents deconstruct advertising and media images.
Images that are portrayed in mass media prompt women to evaluate their own body image against the normative standards. Self-objectification theories support the tendencies of people to look at their bodies as an object of observation rather than a developing and healthy human body. When people see themselves as incomparable to the beauty standards set forth by the media, people tend to only see their body as an object in which they feel body shame, appearance anxiety, and lowered self-worth and self-esteem (Krahe & Krause, 2010). Self-objectification is examined in Harper and Tiggemann’s study in which 90 Australian undergraduate women, aged 18-25, were randomly allocated to view three magazine advertisements featuring a thin woman with at least one attractive male, an advertisement featuring a thin women, and an advertisement in which no people were featured. Participants who viewed the advertisements featuring the thin women reported a greater state self-objectification, related appearance anxiety, negative mood, and body dissatisfaction than participants that viewed the advertisement with no people (Harper & Tiggemann, 2007). This study correlates with Krahe and Krause’s study as the social comparison theory suggests that comparing oneself to a very thin media model may lead to a negative self-concept with regard to body shape. Self-esteem is defined as a “positive or negative attitude toward… the self”, and can be viewed as a key indicator of psychological well-being (Clay, Dittmar, Vignoles, 2005). People often construct their judgments on probability of occurrence on the basis of attributes of the information they retrieve from memory, what is believed to be the beauty norm. Media effects build up over time due to frequent representation and repetitive viewing. The viewers begin to see this ideal as realistic as well as physically attainable. Once an idea is consistently pressured it becomes what is believed to be the true and the right way to be (Clay, Dittmar, Vignoles, 2005).
Young teenagers that feel compelled to fit into what media describes as perfection, which is only attainable through photoshop, tend to develop eating disorders. Many studies have demonstrated that exposure to thin media models has an adverse effect on women’s eating behavior. Women are reported to have eaten less after viewing thin media models than after viewing heavier models or neutral images (Krahe & Krause, 2008). Body image and eating disturbances occur when perceptions and attitudes become distorted or agitated and include eating disordered behaviors. This includes being dissatisfied with ones body, overestimating ones body size, and chronic thoughts about weight loss or weight gain. Research has shown that female adolescents tend to be more vulnerable to body image disturbance and eating disorders than male adolescents, yet research has been done emphasizing muscularity for men. Indeed adolescent boys engage in similar behaviors such as taking steroids, pills, powder, and supplements in order to gain muscle thereby causing irreparable damage to their bodies, in much the same way as adolescent girls. Adolescent girls take part in behaviors such as vomiting, abusing laxatives, exercising excessively, bingeing, purging, and fasting to lose weight (Botta, 2003). Simultaneously, Haas, Pawlow, Pettibone, and Segrist’s study showed that women developed unhealthy eating habits because the media portrayed thin ideal body types. In another research study both male and females were associated with dieting to gain or lose weight and with the use of pathogenic weight control practices (Kalin, Morrison M., Morrison T., 2004).
The sociocultural influences that contribute to eating disorders and other related behaviors greatly impact the importance of appearance for women’s societal success. One of the strongest of these sociocultural pressures may well be the mass media. Indeed, one study found that women magazines contained ten and a half times more advertisements promoting weight loss than in men magazines. A second and third study found that women who were exposed to pictures of thin models produced an increase in depression, stress, guilt, shame, insecurity, and body dissatisfaction (Schupak-Neuberg, Shaw, Stein, Stice, 1994). During early adolescents girls become more focused on their appearance, weight, and shape as key aspects of their identities. Girls become concerned about the difference between their developing bodies and the societal ideal for female thinness. These influences leave many girls vulnerable and feeling that they will not succeed if they are not thin (Choate, 2007).
Based on the articles gathered, mass media platforms such as television, magazines, movies, and various social media websites act as areas of exposure to the negative and unrealistic expectations of beauty. Female adolescents have been found to be more associated with the negative effects of the media. Moreover, women tend to be the target group of study as they are portrayed to take more drastic measures in attempt to achieve the thin body ideal. Also, males are slowly being more exposed to the judgments of attractiveness and face similar difficulties in trying to achieve the impossible. Media has a great influence on adolescents’ perceptions on what beauty truly is. The age and gender of adolescents affect their interaction with the media and ultimately lead to potential body dissatisfaction, dangerous eating habits, and behaviors.
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I will attempt to cover the subjects of how women are beginning to become big faces in the gaming community and the percentage of the population they take up and how poorly treated they are in the gaming community and industry, dispel the myth that girls don’t play games, and provide facts and statistics to proof the point that women should be more respected in the gaming community and they very well deserve it. Gamespot editor Carolyn Petit wrote a review for the heavily anticipated Grand Theft Auto V shortly after its release in the summer of 2013. In her review she credited it as a game with a great story and having well developed characters, but criticized the game calling it “profoundly misogynistic”. She says the game has “little room for women except to portray them as strippers, prostitutes, long-suffering housewives, humorless girlfriends, and goofy, new age feminists.” People responded, almost expectedly, in outrage, calling for Petit to be fired, even creating a petition for Gamespot to do so. Many defended Petit, but she was verbally assaulted online, with many people calling her the usual list of unsavory sexual slurs. To top it off, many people were disgusted that Petit had the absolute audacity to give the game a 9/10 and that her review was clearly distorted by her own personal bias and radical feminist views. (Malcolm, K. (2014, January 20). Sexism and Women in Gaming – Strong Whispers. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from http://strongwhispers.com/sexism-women-gaming/) Petit is not the only woman to receive this treatment. Another woman named Anita Sarkeesian has also recieved this same treatment from the gaming community. Sarkeesian is the author of a video blog titled “Feminist Frequency” and two blogs (Tropes vs. Women and Tropes vs. Women in Video Games). “Sarkeesian started a Kickstarter for Tropes vs. Women in Video Games and the community responded with utter and complete hatred. It got so bad to the point where an online game was made where players could beat up Sarkeesian. She was personally attacked online with threats of violence and sexual abuse on social medias. Tim Buckley, author of gaming comic “Ctrl Alt Del” and Luke Plunkett, Kotaku writer, created a picture of sarkeesian being chained naked and labeled her as a sex toy for her male backers.” (Malcolm, K. (2014, January 20). Sexism and Women in Gaming – Strong Whispers. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from http://strongwhispers.com/sexism-women-gaming/). It’s not only developers and bloggers that are affected, the gamers themselves recieve the treatment especailly. “In 2012 Miranda Pakozdi entered the Cross Assault video game tournament in hopes of winning the grand prize of $25,000. Her coach, Aris Bakhtanians, however, verbally berated her on camera, telling her to take her top off, and demanding to know her bra size. The incident came to the attention of the gaming media, and Bakhtanians eventually issued an apology. But in his apology he said something that was potentially much more upsetting; that “sexual harassment [was] part of the culture” of the fighting game community.” (Malcolm, K. (2014, January 20). Sexism and Women in Gaming – Strong Whispers. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from http://strongwhispers.com/sexism-women-gaming/). According to the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) the average gamer is 31 years old, 48% of gamers are female, 71% of gamers are 18 or older, and 53% of gamers play games on their smartphones. Although the amount of gamers that are women is fairly high players and developers alike do not credit them as players or take them into consideration when making their games. Studies have consistently shown that that at least since the 1990s, the percentage of female characters in video games has remained steady at around 15%. “There’s also a lot more word games, it’s quite widely accepted that females tend to be more competent linguists.” Smartphone and tablet apps have had a huge impact in recent years and turned us into a nation of gamers, with 33.5 million people in the UK now engaging with gaming, 69% of the population. Women now account for over half of people who play video games, a study has found, driven by the ever-burgeoning app market A major study carried out by independent research agency Populus for the Internet Advertising Bureau found that 52% of people who have played some form of video game in the last six months were female, up from 49% three years ago and pushing women into the majority. The growth in women gamers can has been driven primarily by free mobile apps, with six in ten games acquired in the last six months having been free. “There are three key reasons why there’s an upsurge in women playing video games,” commented psychologist Dr Simon Hampton. “Gender stereotypes say women don’t play video games so mobiles allow them to do so on the quiet. Many games now don’t feature characters to beat or kill which appeals to women as they’re less likely than men to simply play for competition’s sake. (Hooton, C. (2014, September 17). More women now play video games than men. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/gaming/more-women-are-now-playing-video-games-than-men)The average age of today’s gamer is 31. The average number of years gamers have been playing is 14. 71% of gamers are age 18 or older. 48% of gamers are female. 62% of gamers play games with others, either in-person or online. 53% of gamers play games on their smartphones. 41% of gamers play on their wireless device. 91% of parents are present when games are purchased or rented. 88% of parents feel that the Entertainment Software Rating Board rating system is helpful in choosing games for their children. 87% of parents believe that the parental controls available in all new video game consoles are useful. 68% of parents believe game play provides mental stimulation or education. 55% of parents believe playing games helps the family to spend to time together. (http://www.theesa.com/facts/gameplayer.asp). The video game industry is in no way a safe haven for women and is a prime example of how women are still oppressed at a low grade in today’s society. There is show of a change of heart coming in which women are equally, if not more considered and incorporated into the gaming industry’s thought process of developing video games.
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Running Head: Skin Tone Bias
African American Skin Tone Bias Effects
D’Yonna A. Student
Princess S. Student
Proviso Math & Science Academy
Over the years, the darker the complexion a person was the more they were looked down upon. Much of this is resulted from slavery. Blacks were looked down upon and punished for being a darker shade than whites. Even back then blacks were separate. Light skin blacks were closer to that of whites so they were treated better than dark skin blacks. If we look at history, light-skinned slaves were deemed as ‘house slaves’ because they were so light that they could pass for white, which made them more acceptable [Breland, 2001].
Now in present day, instead of whites dividing African American people, African Americans are dividing themselves. They have identified the lighter skinned blacks as pretty and the darker skinned blacks as ugly. Many blacks prefer to be light or describe themselves as “mixed”. Most common colored groups are: light skin, caramel skin, and dark skin. The skin tone of an individual really matters in the African American community. [Maddox, 2007]. For many years the Brown Paper Bag test has been used. The brown paper bag test is a test by African American who discriminates against those that are “ too black”. The test was given by placing the paper bag against the individual’s face. Those who were lighter than the bag were seen as acceptable while those who were darker were excluded from the social circle. The lighter an individual was the closer they were to the “perfect white”. Therefore light skins were seen as a high-class citizen than their darker counterparts [Edwards, 2000].
The separation of African Americans is not fully racism; it’s more like colorism. Colorism is a persistent problem for people of color in the USA. Colorism, or skin color stratification, is a process that privileges light-skinned people of color over dark in areas such as income, education, housing, and the marriage market [Hunter, 2007]. . Issues such as skin color conflicts over other physical features; and the presence of anger and hostility toward themselves, Whites, and other Blacks have been among a number of social artifacts and presumed social behavioral indicators of Black self-hatred. The Black self-hatred theory has been the focus of more research studies in the area of Black self-concept (Hopson & Hopson, 1992). This process shows that although both light and dark complexions are of the same race, they’re treated as thought they are separate races. Giving the darker complexions low self-esteem. Many lighter complexion African Americans actually feel as if they are the ones being put out of ethic activities. This may be because darker skinned African Americans feel threatened. They don’t naturally get along with light toned African Americans because they feel as though they are better than them. In this case they distance themselves from light skinned African Americans and make them feel as if they aren’t welcomed in the African American community [Landor, 2006] .
Within the African-American community there are many problems including the brightness of their skin. African-Americans of lighter complexion are treated with more respect and more kindness than the darker skin toned African-Americans [Breland, 2001]. Although they are all form the same ancestors and share the same race and background they consider themselves as being different “races”. There are even some African-Americans that are angered by being called black. They see themselves as other races such as Cuban, Dominican, Trinidad, and etc. They don’t realize that when it comes to slavery they still are considered black because of their skin color not being purely white [Basu, 2005].
Many of our articles were talking about the same subjects and explaining the same stories. I feel as if that was a weakness within out articles because we kept receiving the same data over and over. Although, many articles did contain the same information they were helpful. One article would help fully explain the situation at head with different points of views with different races explaining their thoughts.
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Women in Cartels and Gangs
Angela Martinez and Melissa Diaz
Period:5
Angela Martinez
Period 5
Research Core
Final Test : Literacy Review
Women In Gangs or Cartels
This literacy review will explore drug usage in the lives of female gang members. Gang research has traditionally neglected the roles that females play in street gangs. Recent efforts have begun to examine the social life of young women and uncover the extent in how women get themselves into a male dominated environment. Due to the culture of drug usage in gang life researchers were able to uncover the extent to which women use illicit drug in a highly way. We will try to focus on the way in which female gang members use drugs in a recreational manner, in which drugs now seen as a normative behavior when being consume. Female gangs have become what they are due to wanting to belong to a family and having the feeling of power.
The most common reason as to why women join drug cartels is in need of money. “Family is everything” (Cardona, 2010, pg. 1, paragraph 3) is very controversial in this situation because although these women are in the business to make a better future for their children, they are risking their life and family. By this, I mean that every day is a struggle to survive because at any point they can get killed and loose everything for what they have been working for. “They wind up in jail, addicted to drugs, or find themselves stuck in this life through their adulthood”. (Cardona, 2010, pg.1, paragraph 6) No matter what privileges and benefits they get during their time in this business ,at some point everything they have will come to an end .Things can go from having the most pristine life you every wanted, to the most dreadful life you wish you never had. “Young folk are recruited because they’re potentially more aggressive and less likely to care about the consequences than adults”(Cardona,2010,pg.2,paragraph 8) .Teenage girls take more risks because at that young age they tend to want the best things that only money can buy and don’t care what they have to do to get it. Women are willing to do anything possible to protect and care for their family and dying is something they are willing to do.
Women also join gangs due to not having the family they wanted to have. Many girls have had very strained relationships with their families. Girls barley even have contact with there father or mother. Many of the girls have been on their own since they were kids. (Molider,pg3,para5) Some of the girls parents are into alcohol and drugs and don’t care bout the children. Many parents that also are so over protective make the girls want to leave the house or there mothers just act like children and they have no one to go with. (Moldier, pg 9, para 4)For the girls the “group” has been the family they never have had before. They say that they give them “protection” and help them earn money. (Moldier, pg 5, para 9)The group overall serves them as a surrogate family, providing a fictive kinship network and resource to draw upon for emotional and economic support.
Women are attractive employees for drug trafficking because they are less likely to be searched in drug raids in Mexico, which makes them the perfect candidates for drug dealing .Most of the time they involve their children in these dealings which makes them look less suspicious. “Organized crime has become a job provider for a section of the population who don’t have a lot for other options” (Graham, 2011, pg.2, paragraph 2). Since most of Mexico is filled with poverty, drug cartels are fast and easy money for them which is what grabs their attention. “A new pattern is emerging in the world of organized crime” (Graham, 2011, pg.2, paragraph 9).Drug dealing has become so famous in the world that it has become a pattern for Mexico to transport drugs into the United States. “Live fast, die young” (Graham, 2011,pg.2, paragraph 7) basically explains the life of anyone involved in drug cartels but especially women .The women live their life with millions ,which brings them happiness because money buys happiness in their eyes. Yet they rather risk their young life and die young, just to have a few seconds of fame and money.
Girls in cartels and in gangs have to go to several initiations. The most common one are “pull train”, “walk the line” or get a tattoos. What “pull the line” means is to have sex with several of the male members in the gang or cartel. What “walk the line” mean is to walk through a double line of gang members and let them punch you or kick you. Girls have to get tattoos in order to show what gang they come from. Females will take all this just to feel the “love” of a female, have money and power.
Melissa turn in our citations to you .
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