Final Economics Blog* Brit

Prices and price elasticity affect my behavior as a consumer. I learned this through an activity we did where we went shopping for certain people and bought items we thought would benefit them but the key thing was we could only spend between $90.00 and $100.00 but we had to spend at least $90.00. I learned that prices and price elasticity affect my behavior as a consumer because it was my choice on what and how much I wanted to spend on certain things for the person. Also with learning about calculating elasticity it helped me realize how this and price affects me as a consumer.


I have also learned about how an understanding of economic principles can give you more control and make better decisions. I also learned this through the activity we did when we bought items for other people. I found out that when you are in control of what others get, it helps you make better choices with the economizing principal.

So throughout everything we have done with economics and all of the different principals it involves, it taught me how to make better choices when buying things, and it also gave me better reasoning why price elasticity, prices, consumers, buyers, the economic principal and many other things are so important to the economics unit, and how you can bring these things into real life examples.

Economics Journal* Brit

So far in this economics unit I have learned many things I didn't know before such as definitions that are important. Words such as, opportunity cost, choices, cost, and scarcity never occurred important to me until now. I learned that there is always an alternative when making choices. For example, when we did the lesson on surviving in Alaska with very few things available, we had to learn that there is more than one use for everything. It was interesting to know that when making decisions, you have to consider the most important things, what can you produce with the things you have, how will you make things such as food and shelter with what you have, and how will you share everything with the others evenly. Throughout the past few weeks I have learned many different things about economics. Some of the things I have learned include, how Communism collapsed, about the silver market, how equilibrium prices vary with equilibrium quantities, and also many new vocabulary words.

Whenever we learned about Communism collapsing we did a worksheet which included two subjects. Market economy, and command economy. We took notes on each and compared how they were different. Market economy consisted of private property which meant that individuals owned the means of production. On the other hand, command economy consisted of public ownership which meant the government owned the means of production.

When we learned about the silver market we did a fun activity which included trading cards with other students. I learned that when I sold to the buyers I could sell for more than my card asked for. I learned throughout the process that my incentive was to earn more money than my card sold for. I learned that a lot the trades were not made at the equilibrium or market- clearing price because the prices vary with the number of buyers and sellers. As the game went on I lowered my prices and gained more money.

With doing all of these interesting activities, it helped me learn and understand economics better.

Ethos, Pathos, Logos

I think the most persuasive argument is the Ethos approach. I think this because it is very direct and right to the point. It tells you what they think or want they want to do. For example John McCain said "we're not going to do that in my administration" he is telling you that its something that WILL NOT happen and you get the point. Barack Obama says " We need to cut the business tax rate in america, and we need to encourage business" He gets his point across very well by using the key word needs. This is why I would say that the Ethos approach is the most effective.
*Justine

Final Blog* Brit

When we first started talking about politics and the election, I wasn't too fond of them. But after spending so much time researching and learning so many things about them, I am a little more interested than I was before.

Throughout the past few weeks I have learned a lot about the two candidates running in the 2008 election, John McCain and Barack Obama. After researching information about the election, I have changed my views about the candidates. Before I researched anything about this topic, I supported Barack Obama because of his positive outlook on Iraq. I was not aware of all of the other things Obama supported. He also supports in reforming the No Child Left Behind, he believes in investing in childhood education, and he too wants to make college affordable to all Americans unlike John McCain wants to do. John McCain believes the parents should push their children to to their best in school. He also does not believe in No Child Left Behind, and thinks we should no longer accept low- standards from some students and should only accept high-standards from the other students. I do not agree with John McCain on this issue. I found out that I support Obama on this issue along with many other issues such as, the economy, health care, and civil rights.


After I heard Barack Obama won the election, I was very pleased. I am glad I did more research on him because now I know exactly what he wants to do with our country, and what issues he supports.


When we had the mock election, my job was an exit pole person. I thought it was neat being able to participate in the mock election because I learned how a real election worked.The mock election helped me learn more about the candidates in the 2008 election. For this mock election, I researched the two candidates running in the national election, Barack Obama,John McCain, and our state senator, Ed Rendell. I chose to research the issue, employment and I retrieved facts about how each Representative wanted to improve or change employment in America. I learned that John McCain would like to create more good American Jobs, Barack Obama would like to raise minimum wage to help workers maintain a living, and provide for their families. And I also found out that Ed Rendell would like to increase funding for state job training programs. After finding out this information, I learned a lot more than I ever knew about the Representatives. It helped me make a decision in the mock election.

I thought this unit was very interesting because I got to learn about so many new things I didn't know before, and I am now more educated on politics. Also with learning about these things, it made me change my behavior on the way I look at politics. I used to look at them as boring and pointless people, but now I view them differently. I now understand that politics are important and each and every issue is important to our country no matter what that issue is.

-Brittany

Final Essay

In the beginning of this lesson i was bored to death with what we were doing didn't think that i cared anything about the election or the candidates. As we worked more and more in class i started to learn what was going on and took some interest in politics not a lot but some. Looking backing on everything that we did in class with the election I have learned so much. From the issues of Barack Obama and John McCain to the way that I now see the candidates. And how views on issues are very different form one another.

We looked at many different things in class. We took a survey on how we see other people as in color. I did not see a difference with myself but some people were the complete opposite. When they saw a different color skin they thought that they are very different from white people. This test was not to tell you if you were raciest or not but to see if you thought differently when you saw a person of different skin. Also we looked at the electoral college. We had to look into it then blog and say if we thought it was good or bad. In class we took a survey type of thing that got you to think and sometimes got people to change there mind on what they thought about the electoral college. Lastly we looked right at voting. We got hands on stuff to do. We did a mock election we got to vote, campaign, and do polls this was a very fun and interesting event that we did.

Looking more into the issues with John McCain, I have learned much more about him than what i knew in the begging McCain is for war. I thought at first this was a bad thing but then i looked more into the people who are actually fighting the war and they agree that we need to be there longer and not to just leave the war the way things are. Also McCain is not for abortion unlike Obama, McCain does not think that it is right to kill a baby rather it is 3 weeks or 9 months into the pregnancy. John McCain also supports the no child left behind, which means's we will probably be keeping the law. Barack Obama is against guns he doesn't believe that a person should not be aloud to carry a gun for protection. John McCain I would say is kind of like George Bush this in not good usually and i do think that we need some change in the way things are done! and i think that Barack will be able to help us make that change. Now that it is all said and done Barack Obama is now our president. I'm sure there will be changes lets hope they are for the better and things straighten out.
Justine

Lesson 2.4- electorial college - Brit

Now that I have read everything about the electoral college, I am more educated about it and know a little more about the topic. After comprehending what electoral college was and reading a little about it, I thought it should be changed because Americans votes were being filtered into the electoral college. I also found out that the winner of the popular vote usually wins the electoral college vote too. At first I didn't think this was fair. After reading this, I still thought the electoral college should be reformed. But after reading everything I realized the electoral college increases voter apathy, it creates political stability by encouraging the two-party system, and it also holds the intention that we live in a constitutional republic and not a democracy.With these statements said, I believe they are very important and I have reason to believe the electoral college should not be reformed. If I wouldn't have read into this subject, I don't think I would have changed my opinion on the electoral college.
- Brit

Lesson 2.4- Debate with the Devil's Advocate.*Brit

I think that the pathos appeal is the most effective because it has to deal with emotion. Appeals like this grab my attention because they have concern for another person. For instance, John McCain's pathos appeal includes, "You were going to put him in a higher tax bracket, which was going to increase his taxes which was going to cause him not to be able to employ people." This got my attention because it is saying if Obama went through and raised the tax bracket, it could have caused this man not to be able to employ people which would be bad for him because he would have no one to work for him. This is emotional because this man may not be able to provide for his family if he doesn't have anyone to work for him.

Barack Obama's pathos example also caught my eye because it concerns 2 women who lost their jobs which is an emotional appeal because they lost their job, and may not have a way to provide for their families now. Obamas pathos appeal was, "Two women, both of them probably in their mid to late 50's, had just been laid off their plant, neither of them have health insurance. "Obama is putting McCain down by saying this because he claims if he were in charge, he would make sure every American would have health insurance no matter what the situation was.

Overall, I believe the pathos appeal is the most effective persuasive appeal because it has to deal with emotions, and it focuses on techniques that generate strong emotions and feelings for the audience which grabs the listeners attention, and may make them feel bad about the situation.

Project Implicit

When I took the racial test it said the I show no difference in my automatic preferences for White vs. Black people. My data also suggested that i had a strong automatic preference for Barack Obama over John McCain. I do agree with my data I don't treat black people any different than I do white people. Also i do somewhat prefer Barack Obama over John McCain.
Justine =)

Project Implicit Results- Brit*

When I took the implicit association test I was very surprised. My results showed I strongly prefer white people over black people which I do not believe is true. I look at black people the same way as I look at white people. I believe there is no difference between them. Also my results showed that I have a moderate automatic preference for Barack Obama over John McCain which is true because I support Barack Obama's opinion on most of his issues.

Employment

In this lesson we looked into the different issues, and all the candidates. The issue that my group picked was Employment. Before we looked into this I never really knew what the candidates views were on employment. While looking into this i found out that, McCain's views on employment was to create more American jobs. Randell's views involved increasing funding for state job training programs, the retain displaced workers, and teach skills needed in today's job market. Lastly Obama's views on the issue of employment was to raise minimum wage to allow people to raise families, and pay for basic needs. I looked into other peoples blogs and everyone had very different opinions on how they felt. If I wouldn't of done any research I probably wouldn't of known the things I know today.

McCain.Obama.Rendell. * Brit

Learning about different issues and the candidates who represent those issues, I thought was very interesting. I learned a lot more about McCain, Obama, and Rendell than I ever knew. I now know how each representative feels about the issue I researched which is employment. For example McCain's plan includes creating many good American jobs. Obama wants to raise minimum wage so full time workers can maintain a living, raise their families, and pay for basic needs. Ed Rendell would like to increase funding for the state job training programs that retain displaced workers and teach skills needed in today's job market. As you can see, each candidate has a different view and different ideas but each one is important to the economy.

I also got some information and opinions about how other citizens feel about each Representative and employment. For example I got on some websites that contained blogs about the Representatives, and I explored other peoples opinions and I was very surprised. I found others talking about how minimum wage increased and how average weekly earnings rose .1 percent. Also I found that wages make up the largest part of a families income. I saw that everyone has different opinions on everything.

My view on learning more about McCain, Obama, and Rendell and their view on employment changed from before. I think each candidate has well spoken ideas about Employment. I now know that McCain wants to create more American jobs, Obama wants to raise minimum wage so that full time workers can afford to raise families and pay for basic needs. And lastly I learned that Ed Rendell wants to increase funding for state job training programs that retain displaced workers and teach skills needed in today's job market. Without researching this issue and each Representative, I would have never learned how they feel about employment.


*brittany

Political Quiz- Justine

My results stated that i was more of a spectator. I do agree with the results because i don't really get that much into political stuff. with political issues i am more of a go with the flow kind of person. I am some wat interested in the candidates but not interested enough to watch shows of them and things like that. the only time i really watch what is going on is when i watch the news and political things come on. Even then sometimes i dont pay attention.

Lets Get Political! - Brit

The results of my quiz showed i am an activist. I agree with the results because i am concerned with elections and debates but on the other hand I am not as involved as others. Such as I am interested with presidential debates and the presidential elections, but i am not out there being involved in them like some other activist's are. I am not that interested in politics though some issues interest me. Some political facts that have made an impression on me are how other people feel about issues such as abortion, the economy, and the war in Iraq. When i had to research these issues for an English project i really changed my feelings about political issues. I now care more about these issues than i ever have before. And i now realize who you vote for has an effect on everything, and you should learn about all of the politics and their issues before you vote. I am happy with how much i care and know about politics. I care and know enough about politics to state my opinion about them, but yet i am not too involved in politics to where i am out stating my opinion all over and persuading others to be an activist just because i am.
-Brit

First Blog

This is my first time blogging its something new for me. Im sure this will be interesting.
lJustine

practice post

this is my first post. i think blogging is going to be a new fun experience. Its something new for me and i think it will be intresting learning new things on the computer.