What is Plagiarism?

            What is plagiarism? When I first heard the word “plagiarism” in the fourth grade I did not know what it is, but I knew it is a bad thing because I heard it over and over in every school year. Plagiarism is a fancy term for taking somebody else’s words or ideas and presenting it as if it is your own without bothering to give credit to the original author, both intentionally and unintentionally. Plagiarism is every teacher and administrator’s fear in every school settings; from grade schools to universities. They fear that students will plagiarize and they have to punish them, which can be harsh, and they do not enjoy doing so. Plagiarism can also occur outside school, like at a work place. Plagiarism can result from getting a zero on the paper, a suspension, an expulsion from an institution, getting fire on the spot at a job, and a hefty fine or sentence to jail time.

            Plagiarism is not ethical in our society. In the United States words and ideas can be stolen. According to PlagiarismdotOrg, an “expression of original ideas is considered intellectual property, and is protected by copyright laws, just like original inventions.” Plagiarizing in America is breaking the law. It is like stealing another person’s work and turning it in saying it is yours. That is lying. It is dishonest and unethical. Plagiarism is not okay if it is done by accident either. You may turn in your assignment and not citing your work by accident, but your instructor may not think it that way. Either way you will get in trouble.

There are many ways to plagiarize other then copying words or ideas from someone else and not giving credit and turning in someone else’s work as your own. Buying, stealing, or borrowing a paper is plagiarizing. Using your own writing that you have wrote from your other class without asking both teachers for permission is plagiarizing. Even asking a family member, a friend, or hiring another person to write your paper for you is also considered plagiarizing. Simply by doing your own work is the best way to avoid plagiarism. You can have outside sources and incorporating other’s ideas and information by giving them credit. Most cases of plagiarism can be omitted through citing your sources. By acknowledging that a certain information has been borrowed, and providing where you find those sources in your paper or in the bibliography of your paper is usually enough to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism will occur when you fail to put quotation marks and stating where you’ve gotten the passage of information from. So make sure you use those quotation marks when you need to. A student can avoid plagiarism by always making sure to cite your work, even if you fail at it miserably. Although you cited your work poorly, it is not consider plagiarizing. Your teacher may give you a poor grade, but it is better than getting a zero, so learn how to cite your work accordingly whenever you can. Citing your sources is important because it tells the readers that some materials in your work came from another source. It gives the readers the necessary information to locate those sources again if they want to learn more about it. It also shows the amount of research you’ve done. Copying a chunk of someone else’s writing and putting it in your work without using it in your own words is plagiarizing. If you are not going to use that material as a quote then you should really paraphrase it into your own words so that it fits in your writing. You should always use citations when you paraphrase. This way you can avoid plagiarism and it distinguishes your ideas from those of your source.

Remember if you are plagiarizing intentionally or unintentionally you are breaking the law, and you will face the consequences. Using outside sources and other’s ideas to incorporate in your paper to help you get your point across is only alright if you are citing your sources. Throughout your educational life there are many papers and research that needs to be done and avoiding plagiarism is the first step in getting a successful education. So always state where you get the information from.

My Night at Muckle-Shoot Casino

            What pleasant surprises have you had happened in your life? Was it a surprised birthday that someone held for you, or was it an unexpected event that occurred? My recent pleasant surprised was probably four months ago. My parents were on vacation, and they were back in Vietnam. Before they left they gave me a small amount of money to spend while they were away since I was just a student; therefore, I have no income at all. So I stayed home with my older brother and my nephew. It was one week before my parents would return from their vacation, and I’ve already spent almost all my money. On that day I was hanging out all day, until later at night I stopped by my friend house to hang out before I go back home.

            I got to his house, and his older brother asked me if I want to go down to Muckle-Shoot Casino with him. At first I was reluctant to go, because I was wondering what I’ll do down there. I’ve never gamble or played slot machines at a casino before. I do gamble with some friends once in a while when I have extra cash on me but that was it. He kept on asking and tried to convince me to go with him. He said, “Just go down there with him and grab some coffee for an hour or two.” I was like getting coffee would be alright. And so we drove down there, just the two of us.

            It was supposed to be an hour drive from his house to Muckle-Shoot Casino, but he was speeding all the way through. We got there in 25 minutes. It was a little scary because he was going way too fast at night in heavy rains. Somehow he managed to get us there safe and sound. As we entered the entrance, we got our IDs checked by the guards. It was loud, but pleasant at the same time due to the background music. We walked around to the coffee stand, and mix our coffee. I love my coffee with cream and sugar. I never like it too bitter or too sweet. There were

hundred of slot machines lying up in roles. It was an amazing site. It was colorful everywhere and the slot machines were played by old and young people.

            We both walked around in a circle with our coffees in our hand, and before I know it, my friend’s brother sat down at a roll of slot machines call Lucky Lamp. It’s a typical one cent machine with Aladdin’s magical lamp. At first he stuck a twenty dollar bill in and played, while I stood there sitting on the machine next to his. I watched him hitting the buttons and his numbers keep increasing and decreasing. After ten minutes or so he snuck in another twenty dollars. Then I asked him how long a twenty dollar will last if you play small. The smallest amount you can bet is one cent, twenty cents, forty cents, eighty cents, and so on. The max play is four hundred cents per round. He told me that if you bet twenty cents it would last you a long time. I had eighty dollars left in my wallet to spend before my parents come back home. If I play I might lose it all, but I can always ask my older brother for more cash, which I don’t like to do so.

            It was getting boring sitting there watching him play and drinking my coffee and smoking cigarettes. So I said, “Alright, I’m bored…so I’ll try it out.” I put in a twenty dollar bill, and bet twenty cents per round. It was interesting because I have no clue what symbols I need to get bigger pays, and it’s all random each time it spins. Any ways, those twenty dollars lasted for a good twenty to thirty minutes. My friend had already lost a hundred or more, but he kept on feeding his slot machine. I went to the restroom, and came back and put in another twenty dollar bill. I played forty cents per bet this time. Rounds after rounds, my coin points keep getting higher and higher. My friend’s brother was like, “Bet higher, you’re on a roll man,” so I did. I started betting eighty and one hundred-twenty coins. Unexpectedly, my screen flashes and almost all the lines were symbols of magical lamps. My coins kept rolling in and it won’t stop. I turned to my friend’s brother and said, “What happened?” He shouted, “Damn, you almost hit the jack-pot!” Although it wasn’t a jack-pot, it was a high paid play. We both were laughing and very happy sitting there seeing my coins being collected. There’s a button to make it collect all instantly, but what would be the fun in that? We sat there finishing up our coffees, and enjoying the “ching-ching” sounds coming from the slot machine. It finally ended, and my coins went up to a grand total of almost seven thousand. Since it is a one cent slot machine, seven thousand would be equal to seven hundred dollars. We printed the receipt out, cashed it, and went home.

            I was very shocked at the amount I’ve won, but at the same time I was very happy. I gave my friend’s brother the amount that he lost, which was almost two hundred dollars. In the end, I put in only forty dollars to play, and went home with five hundred dollars. I was glad I did not lose any money, and now I wouldn’t need to worry about not having enough money to spend until my parents return. I was fortunate enough that I was lucky that night. My first time trying out a slot machine at a casino, was a very pleasant surprise.

Natural Disasters in Japan

            The earthquake and tsunami in Japan is something we should all take note of. America should begin reinforcing every building with earthquake and water protection because this disaster is going to hurt Japan’s economy. With China right on our tail, we can’t take any chances. Japan’s leverage on India and Germany for the largest economies will probably be minimized. The tsunami has got to be the worse thing that could happen to Japan because it’s in the mdidle of the Pacific Ocean.

 I’ve seen images and videos on Yahoo, Youtubes, and many news channels of the aftermath in Japan and it honestly looks like a scene from that one movie, 2012. There are cars on roofs and boats in the streets, along with major rubble everywhere. It’s a good thing for those charity foundations that rushed into action upon media coverage of the disaster. I heard that the Red Cross Foundation has raised over six million dollars already. This is only a small fraction of what will be needed to repair such colossal damage but time heals everything.

            In the past two years, there have been several natural disasters, The Haitian Earthquake, flooding in Pakistan, and now the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami. This is probably a sign that global warming is in full throttle. It’s something that we humans should begin to acknowledge before it’s too late.

            The flooding in Pakistan was worse than the Haitian Earthquake and yet not even close to being covered in the media. Why was it not in the media as much? Is it because they harbor terrorist? Most likely. A majority of those affected by the flooding were not terrorists but just normal Muslims. I believe we, Americans, are still holding a grudge for what happened on September 11, 2001. Upon hearing the disaster in Japan we sprung into action but this was not the case for Pakistan. The animosity we have with the Muslims should be relinquished because it not all Muslims at all. The ones that attacked and are attacking us now are the extremist but I have friends that are just normal Muslims and they are a peaceful people. We shouldn’t judge a group of people based on what some of those individuals from that group has done to us.

9th Grade Students Trying WEED!!!

            On Sunday my nephew confessed to me that he had smoked marijuana the other day. After my little lecture about how he shouldn’t do it, he disobeyed and ignored it and smoked it any ways. He told me that it didn’t work. They weed did not get him high at all. It was a good thing that the weed was unable to provide him any average effects. But I am a tad bit angry at the fact that it did actually tried smoking it.  Someone at his school maybe trying to scam for his money by giving him bad weed, or maybe he and his friends are just idiots and did it wrong. The funniest part that he told me was he had brought his black friend along but the black guy had asthma so could not join him and his friends on this stupid experiment. The black guy was just there to show them the procedures on how to smoke their ten dollars worth of bad marijuana. The stupidest part must be how they had tried smoking it outdoors, rather than safe inside a sturdy home.

I’ve tried marijuana when I was in high school as well and was smart enough to try it inside my friend’s home, away from the public. Doing it outside raises your risk of getting caught and even increases the risks of getting hurt (getting hit by a car, falling off somewhere high, etc.) When done inside you are safe from the various dangers of the outside world. I remember the first time I smoked marijuana; the feeling was so awkwardly bad and I don’t know why kids these days are so eager to attempt reaching it. Maybe it’s the media these days. Every time I turn on the radio, on my way to school, I always hear some rapper/entertainer singing about doing drugs. Television is similar too, depicting cool kids/adults smoking or doing drugs in almost every show on the HBO network. I just hope this experience my nephew has gone through will change his mind about ever trying any other drugs out there because the next time he might do it successfully and end up severely injuring himself or worse.

Psychology Final Exam

Today I’ve finished typing up my study notes for my General Psychology class’s final exam which is on Wednesday, March 24, 2011!

-         -Stanley Melgrim research obedience to authority

-          -Personal weakness do not cause mental illness

-          -Critical thinking: Process of objectively evaluating, comparing, analyzing, and synthesizing information

-          -Hallucination: Imaginary sensory perceptions that occur without external stimuli

-          -Delusion: Mistaken beliefs based on a misrepresentations of reality

-          -MMPI test is an objective test

-          -Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): test is a projective test (subjective?)

-          -Freud’s 3 part of personality: id, ego, superego

-          -Instinctual motivation is the: id

-          -Mental retardation: ALL

-          -Cognition: ALL

-          -Flynn Effect: ALL: Nutrition, education, better test taking skills, and rising level of education

-          - Not associate with hypnosis: Unfocused attention

-          - Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): shock therapy

-          -Suicide- Do not ignore

-          -Opposite attraction: ALL

-          -Operant condition- Positive reinforcement: Adding or presenting a stimulus, which strengthens a response and makes it more likely to recur

-         -Operant condition- Negative reinforcement: Taking away or removing a stimulus, which strengthens a response and makes it more likely to recur

-          -Not enough dopamine: Parkinson’s disease

-          -Too much dopamine: Schizophrenia

-         - ECT, medication…: Biomedical therapy

-          -Humanistic: Everyone born good

-         - Psychoanalytic: Everyone born bad

-        -  Behavioral: What you can’t see, don’t bother with it

Therapy:

-         -Freud’s: Psychoanalysis/Psychodynamic: bring unconscious conflicts into conscious awareness

-          -Ellis: Cognitive: Analyze faulty thought process, beliefs, and negative self-talks, and change these -destructive thoughts with cognitive restructuring

-          -Beck’s: Cognitive-behavior: Focuses on changing faulty thoughts and behaviors

-          -Rogers’s: Humanistic: Work to facilitate personal growth

-          -Behavioral therapies: Use learning principles to eliminate maladaptive behaviors and substitute healthy ones: uses classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning techniques

- Psychology: the scientific study of behavior and mental process

- Goals of psychology are describe, explain, predict, and change behavior

- The father of psychology is Wilhelm Wundt

- Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic perspective is associated with Freud, Adler, and Horney

- Cognitive psychology focuses on mental processes, language, and perception

- Psychological science often questions to what extent we are controlled by biological and genetic factors or by the environment and learning is known as nature-nurture controversy

- Psychological perspective that emphasizes objective, observable environmental influences of overt behavior is called the behavioral perspective

- Scientist who seeks knowledge for his/her own sake is conducting Basic Research

- Statistical procedure for combining and analyzing data from many studies is Meta-analysis

- The first step in the scientific method is reviewing the literature of existing theories

- Scientific study of biology of behavior and mental processes is called Biopsychology

- Dendrites and cell body receive incoming messages

- Neurotransmitters: Chemicals released by neurons; Released from the terminal button of a cell, responsible for electrical communication within a cell, part of the power house of a cell

- Evolutionary psychology is the branch of psychology that looks at the relationship between evolutionary changes and behavior

- Sensation: process of detecting, converting, and transmitting raw sensory information from the external and internal environments to the brain

- Perception: Process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory information into meaningful patterns

- Nightmares occur in REM sleep; Night Terrors occur in NREM sleep

- Learning: Relatively permanent change in behavior or mental process as a result of practice or experience

- Classical Conditioning: Learning that occurs when a previously neutral stimulus (NS) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) to elicit a conditioned response (CR)

- Unconditioned stimulus: Any stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response without previous conditioning

- Operant Conditioning: Learning through the consequences of voluntary behavior

- Which school is Watson from……Behaviorism

- Hypnosis is use in the medical area

- Neuroplasticity: Brain’s ability to reorganize and change its structure and function throughout the life span

- Social Readjustment Rating Scale: good and bad events in one's life can increase stress levels and make one more susceptible to illness and mental health problems; life changes

- Consciousness: Being aware of surrounding and oneself

- Sensory memory (few seconds):::: STM (working memory; up to 30 seconds)::::LTM (permanent)

- Memory: Internal record or representation of some prior event or experience

- Skinner Box: apparatus used to study the effects of reinforcement on animal behavior

- Ebbinghaus forgetting curve, forgetting is initially rapid, then slows

- Linguistic Relativity is based on culture and environment

- Naturalistic Observation: Observation and recording behavior and mental processes in the participant’s natural state or habit

- Experimental Bias: Occurs when researcher influences research results in the expected direction

- Flash Bulb Memory: distinctly vivid, precise, concrete, long-lasting memories of a personal circumstance surrounding a person’s discovery of shocking events; can be alter

- Abstract: which does not exist at any particular time or place, but rather exists as a type of thing (as an idea, or abstraction)

3 Myths of Hypnosis:

-          Forced hypnosis: people cannot be involuntarily hypnotized; they must be willing to

-          Unethical Behavior: hypnotized people retain awareness and control of their behavior, they can refuse to comply

-          Superhuman Strength: does not affect strength; whatever u have before will be there after being hypnotized