Research Sources: Birds on campus

At first I was very indecisive about what I wanted to do for this project, but after much deliberation, I have decided to follow the various kinds birds on campus. I want to explore this topic for the duration of this project because I feel that following birds on campus is much more interesting and less embarrassing than stalking an actual person. At first I thought that I wanted to follow sorority girls around campus to see what exactly they do, but I also thought about how hard it would be to convince someone to let follow them for an extended period of time. I also wanted to follow birds around campus so that I could observe what places they are attracted to and also what characteristics about those certain places that the birds like. I will try to evaluate my topic by visiting various places on campus and seeing where birds like to flock. I will attempt to evaluate the birds and see if certain types of birds like to travel together to certain areas of campus.

 I am planning to go to ‘A’ Mountain to see if there are birds there and also if other critters go there. I also want to visit other campus areas like the Memorial Union patio, the Life Sciences building, the new North Campus grass area, and the Student Recreation Center field. I usually see birds at these places so hopefully I can evaluate these areas without much trouble. I also wanted to observe the birds and whether or not they react with any people and evaluate the behavior of both parties and what their interaction is like.

The scholarly journal article that I am considering to help aid my research in this project is entitled: “Energetics, lifestyle, and Reproduction in birds” by Richard Sibly. The source was obtained on EBSCO Host and is approximately one page in length. This scholarly article basically documents the behavior of birds in general with no specific focus on a type of bird. It discusses what food they like, their reproductive habits, and how they have adapted to urban areas.

Secondly, the book source I am using for project two is entitled: The National Geographic Complete Birds of North America by Johnathan Alderfer. This book is 640 pages in length. This book is a guide to various types of birds and it teaches you how to identify birds and also offers an explanation of why they behave the way they do.

Lastly, I chose a website dedicated to birds called Arizonesis.org. This website offers a description of the various birds that live in Arizona and I thought that this would be very helpful when identifying the birds and determining the behavioral patterns of certain birds. I learned that there are 24 common types of birds in desert-like environments like Arizona.

Overall, I am happy about the topic I chose and I have confidence that these sources will be very beneficial in the rest of my research for this project.  

Evaluation: Modern Family

As the years have gone by, social norms have changed. The weird thing about our society is that it is constantly evolving and transforming and this is evident in the ABC comedy show Modern Family. People seem to gravitate towards this show because not only does it show how different each family is, but also because it does a good job of making people laugh. Modern family made its debut on the ABC network in September of 2009 and since then it has proven to be a hit amongst viewers. Its last season was the most successful season so far with an average viewership of approximately 12.93 million viewers. I have never really followed the show up until my parents started watching last year and I admit that the show got me hooked. What I found interesting about the show is that it aims to destroy social stereotypes while also satirizing the relationships established within the show.

Like I said, the show's main goal is to destroy expected stereotypes and it shows the audience that not all families are the same and that every relationship has its problems. In the past, the media has force fed us this perfect image of what a family is and what they think it should be. They told us that families are supposed to never fight or get into disagreements, that children are supposed to act a certain way, and that a family must consist of a couple of the opposite sex and their children, and that it is inappropriate for a man to marry a woman half his age. This is the mold that society has created for us and this show’s main objective is to shatter that expectation.

In one episode entitled That Time of the Month, Phil Dunphy, the patriarch of the Dunphy household, tries to convince his son to pull a prank on his mother and his two sisters so that the two of them could go to a trapeze class alone. Phil wants to leave the three females at home because they are all coincidentally on their period. In attempt to get out of the house, Phil tells his son Luke to rub fake blood on his hands so that the two could escape and pretend to go to the hospital. When Luke tries to pull the prank, he accidentally slips and he appears to be drenched in blood and there is blood all over the wall. Claire, Phil’s wife, figures out what is going on and eventually the three ladies start yelling at the two males telling them that they are inconsiderate jerks.

That is just one example of the crazy stuff that goes in this show, there are many other instances where a different topic or issue is tackled. The show tackles issues in relation to same sex couples, one’s role in a marriage, and even problems that teenagers go through. Personally, I think that the message this show is trying to convey is one worth sharing. This show not only does a great job showing viewers that families are complicated and that you cannot truly define them, but it also does a stellar job of providing its audience with some laughter.