Week 2 Integration
Hello Everyone, this week we going to talk about the topic of integration. Integration is a process that brings individuals or groups together. When I first came to UCF, I wanted a degree in business. I also had an interest in humanities and interpersonal/ organizational communications. I wanted to be able to study all of these, but I didn't know which one was the right choice for me. So I decided to make my major IDS, I got to use all of my choices, and I was able to integrate my major. By integrating my major, I found it helped me experience more ways to progress in my education and career course!
A news story that I find to be very interdisciplinary is the Occupy Wall Street movement. This current event is about the wealthy holding one percent of all the wealth in America and the ninety nine percent of Americans are not wealthy. Many people in that 99% are students with unpaid student loans, unemployed people looking for jobs, and people in financial difficulties. They are protesting all over the United States to make a stand against economic inequality. The Occupy Wall Street demonstrations have rallied many people who would like to see a change for Americans and less corporate greed.
Through my major of IDS I was able to integrate my areas of study and analyze this news story interdisciplinary. The Occupy Wall Street movement has many disciplines that it effects in many ways. For me I was able to integrate my areas of business, humanities, and I/O communications to take everything into consideration and look at this news story interdisciplinary. The Occupy Wall Street movement has many different views, and it is our job as interdisciplinarians to integrate those views together to form a diverse view!
Now it’s your turn please give us your thoughts on these questions: Write 2-3 sentences for each question. Post as a comment.
Also, make sure to respond to at least two other students posts.
What is integration? What are examples?
How have or haven't you integrated your areas and minor?
Why is integration of areas/minor important in terms of professional, academic, and/or personal developing?
How can your areas/minor be better integrated?
Now think of a news story, past or present, and explain its interdisiplinarity or what an interdisciplinary solution might be.
Am I looking in the wrong place in the blog? I don't see anyone posting any comments for week 2 INTEGRATION. I might be looking in the wrong place, not sure, still getting used to the whole blog thing. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think people just hadn't gotten to posting this weeks topics yet. You are in the right place, though. We have to type our respones in the white box at the bottom of the page, then reply to at least two other student's posts.
Delete@Cohen
DeleteThanks,wasn't sure.
To me integration means combining or merging two or more things. In respect to Interdisciplinarity it means combining 2 or 3 disciplines effectively.
ReplyDeleteWhen looking at my areas and minor, I can easily see how anthropology and Women’s Studies can go hand in hand. For example in understanding some women related issues in certain communities it can come down to understanding the culture more than anything else. But I am having a bit of a hard time making health services administration fit in this puzzle, as I don't see how it would always apply. Not every issue I will encounter will be health related. I can see WS and health services when it comes to women’s issues, especially in regards to the news story I found that deals with the anti-abortion “personhood” bill (http://news.yahoo.com/anti-abortion-personhood-bill-clears-oklahoma-senate-072954544.html) I see this as much as a health related issue as it is a women’s rights issue, because this has to do with health related rights being taken away from women. It can also lead to other negative consequences, such as doctors refusing to perform in-vitro fertilizations for fear of being persecuted.
I can see combining two of my disciplines, but when trying to combine all three at the same time it doesn’t always work. So in answering the question, “How have or haven't you integrated your areas and minor?” I guess honestly I really haven’t.
~Sara
You might be able to integrate health services with women's studies and anthropology by stating how mostly women work in the field of health services. I'm not an expert, but I believe anthropolgy has to do with the study of human cultures. I know women's studies has to do with women. So, make the connection of how, socially and historically, we see health as more of a field that women tend to excel in.
Delete@ Sara
Delete@ Sara
Because I did not originally plan to be in the IDS program I too have a hard time integrating all my areas/minor. I originally was a Business major but wanted to get into Education and found that this was the best way to do it the sooner. So I have a hard time relating Education to Business. Yes I can go the aspect of relating to more government funding for school etc but besides that I don’t see how I can. I think with your areas of study and minor I would probably look into how women’s health services compare to men’s in different societies/countries.
Integration is the combination of two different things or concepts. These two different things may help to form a solution. An example might be an engineer integrating his skills with the knowledge of a doctor to create a new machine that helps to preserve cadavers for scientific research.
ReplyDeleteI haven't really integrated my areas of study just yet. I am hoping to integrate them to find a job in writing or communcation. I can use what i learned about human behavior patterns (humanities), communication and english to write and edit for an advertisement company.
Integration is important because it draws from multiple areas. A problem can't always be solved by one profession or discipline.
My areas and minor can be implemented in many ways. Communcation, Humanities and English can all be combined to create an adverstising campaign for a product. If I use humanities to draw on what I know about people, English to be able to deliver my message in a way people undertand, and communication as a basis to find ways to reach the people.
A news story that could have used integration to solve the problem would be the firing of Joe paterno. If Paterno communicated why he was never in the wrong and how he tried to solve the problem when he found out, this controversy could be avoided. He could have used communication and English to communicate his innocence and we could have used Humanities to understand how people sort of fall into this "mob mentality" to attack an issue or person when we hear something we don't like.
@ Grant
DeleteI really enjoyed your post and how you define integration and the example you provided. I do have a question... Did you go into the IDS program when you started with UCF or was it something you were told about after starting a degree in one discipline? The reason I ask is because you seem to have a good grasp on how you plan on integrating all your areas of study and minor.
- Zenya Moreira
Grant,
DeleteI can see how you can integrate your areas and minor quite seamlessly. I'm also curious as Zenya is on how you came into IDS. Were you advised on which areas and minor you should select?
I picked 3 things I have great interest in because I thought that is what IDS was about, not knowing I was supposed to make them work together. I wish someone had told me, maybe I would have reconsidered one of them.
~Sara
@ Grant,
DeleteLife is crazy sometimes, we start out one way finding our self being pulled in another direction, with that said have you ever consider law school? Your major would serve you a lot of purpose as far as being able to write dispositions and the the communications would help you to understand how people are and why they think the way they do. Its just food for thought. Trying thinking outside of the box rather than doing the same old thing. I know that's what has helped me.
-Sandy
I would define integration as taking two or more things and combining them to make a new whole. I believe a great example of integration would be smart phones. One product has the capabilities to do so multiple things that in the past could not be done, such as phone use, internet, music player and camera/video.
ReplyDeleteMy areas of studies are Business, Humanities with a minor in Education. I don’t feel I have really integrated all areas/minor to its fullest because I have not gotten into my minor just yet. But I do feel that I’m able to use what I’ve learned in Humanities and Business in my current field of work. I currently work for a special events company in operation so when I am dealing with clients and other employees I can relate when they come to me with personal problems about financial hardships, etc but at the same time have to look at what is best for the company as a whole.
Integration plays a big role in all aspects of one’s life. Since we are able to learn about different areas we are able to then look at problems from different point of views. Because in real life there is never just one solution; life is multifaceted.
I plan on becoming a teacher in the future and while I am teaching young minds I hope to integrate my Humanities education and help develop into open minded individuals that can create make changes in our society.
I found the following video that a friend posted on her Facebook page. It’s a video of the speech that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan delivered at the “Askwith” Forum this year. During the speech he talks about how Americans are fighting the wrong battles. He goes into how the government should “invest” (financially) in their schools to help prevent poverty. I feel this article is a good example of interdisciplinary because school plays a huge role in eliminating poverty and gives underprivileged children opportunities that they would not have if teachers and administrations do not get involved.
(http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news-impact/2012/02/live-stream-and-online-chat-arne-duncan-askwith-forum/news story)
- Zenya Moreira
I think that is also another reason I haven't been able to integrate my areas; I haven't gotten into one of them yet. Perhaps once I get into health services administration classes I will see the light. Or perhaps I should have waited till after that to take this class.
DeleteI can see how Humanities and Education will fit together nicely for you, but definitely, how do you fit business?
Which makes me wonder, do we have to integrate all 3 disciplines all the time? I really do not think every problem, issue or phenomenon we will encounter will require all 3 every time...
~Sara
@Zenya
DeleteI agree with you 100% about life being viewed from different perspectives; real life is much more complex and acquiring the ability to solve problems or view issues from different perspectives is extremely important in this ever growing, ever changing, and diverse world.
I too feel that there is a lack of attention being put on todays youth. The youth of today is the working and productive generation of tomorrow. Honestly, I have three kids in elementary school and I sometimes wonder why some of the people working in the education system are even there. My kids tell me horror stories of substitutes who are so mean that my kids are scared to speak. My daughter had a teacher one year who would yell at students all the time. Sometimes, I have walked in school offices where the people in front are just miserable. What, does that say about the people above them? The ones who have more organizational power. How much more is F-cat helping students learn as opposed to giving them outlets to express themselves(financially investing) such as right brain thinking classes or the high school we Capstone students just read about in an article a couple weeks ago? Great post Zenya.
Melissa
@Zenya
DeleteThe article can be found at:
http;//www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content/view/print/240309
@ Zenya,
DeleteYou bring up an interesting fact however with all the financial cuts that the government is cutting from the educational system it its it more and more difficult for us the citizens to have more say. Unless we can start to private funds our our educational system or elect people into office who care, it make it more difficult to be able to invest more into programs that would help with the development of our children in schools.
However with that said you mentioned, why are these people in the educational system? Everywhere in this world there is a bad seed or someone who is simply just living, i believe that with the way the economy is changing those who really want there jobs are stepping it up and those who don't will not succeed anymore in this economy. If you hear or see something not professional you should report it or confront those individuals, because sometimes people don't realize something is wrong till they are called out on it.
I think integration means combining more than one thing, which in turn creates something new. Going back to the smoothie example last week, I think that the smoothie would be an integration of the various fruits.
ReplyDeleteI can't really give an example of how I have combined my majors and minor. I am focusing on English, Humanities, and Interpersonal/Organizational Communication. I can see how they can work together - especially English and Humanities. I haven't taken many classes for my communication minor so I am still unsure how this will work with the other two.
I think integration is important for professional reasons. Having a background in more than one area would be a perk for many positions.
I think that as I learn more about my different areas of studies, it will give me a better idea of how I can better integrate them.
I think that an interdisciplinary issue was the Orlando Not Bombs group that was feeding the homeless in park. The group was severely restricted by the city of Orlando on the number of times they were permitted to feed people. Members of the group started to be arrested for violating these rules and continuing to feed people. I think it is an interdisciplinary issue because it involves a variety of disciplines to understand this issue. Because of the laws passed and enforced, and the fact that people were arrested, it involves law and politics. It also involves a variety of disciplines that relate to the homeless situation as well such as psychology, public services, economics, and sociology. I think it is a good example of an interdisciplinary problem because you cannot understand or solve this issue without looking at it from a variety of perspectives. There is the city of Orlando who claims that too many public feedings of the homeless is bad for the city and creates problems for other citizens. Then there is the fact that it just seems flat out wrong to tell people they are not allowed to feed people who are hungry. Plus, people getting arrested for feeding homeless people seems like a PR nightmare for the city. And then there is the issue of homelessness itself which seems like an interdisciplinary problem in and of itself.
I enjoyed reading your section on the news article. I’m not one for news so it was something I enjoyed learning about. I also completely see how you related this as being an interdisciplinary article. I do believe that it is a horrible thing to place rulings on helping those in need but when I stop and step back and look at the situation as a whole I notice all the different reasons for why, and it starts to make more sense. I never realized what I was doing was an interdisciplinary process but in fact it is. I’m pulling from different areas and combining them to understand the issue at hand just as you did.
Delete~Joy Perez
@ Paulie
DeleteI actually had not heard of this Orlando Not Bombs group you speak of, but it seems really interesting. There are definitely a number of issues going on here. To add a few more to your list, there is the idea that, aside from the 'people being arrested for feeding the hungry' type of PR nightmare for the city -- how about the fact that tax payer dollars are being used when these people are arrested for a crime that doesn't seem all that severe in comparison to others who are in jail for rape or murder? Or what about the fact that a lot of people argue that if you continue to feed the homeless, they won't make strives to better themselves and just take the free handouts? You're right, there are a ton of different perspectives to take here, and integrating them seems to be the only efficient way to even begin trying to solve an issue such as this one. Greta example!
@ Paulie
DeleteReally good news story! I also haven't heard about this. It's a shame how people can see giving homeless people food as a bad thing. Your right about how many different disciplines fit into this situation even some of yours. Don't worry about not knowing how to integrate your disciplines. Once you have classes about communication you will find a connection between all of them.
In my opinion, integration is the combination of two group who work together to come up with one view. The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking of integration is how we come up with a batter of different ingredients, mix everything together and in the end we’ll have one cake. I think of it as how we can have all these disciplines and find a connection between them.
ReplyDeleteMy disciplines are Humanities, Behavioral Science with a minor in Early Childhood Education.
I do not feel that I have integrated my areas and minor because I’ve mostly worked on my minor. I work at an elementary school and each day I am presented with scenarios where I can put my minor into action. Now I have done some work with my areas in Behavioral Science (Psychology) at my job also. I haven’t had the opportunity to integrate Early Childhood Education and Humanities. I know there’s a way I just haven’t gotten the chance to work with them.
I see the integration of areas as very important. In interdisciplinary studies it is essential to combine different disciplines into one career. It is important professionally because you way find a solution to problems others couldn’t find, but being an interdisciplinary studies student I think we have an advantage of seeing things through a bigger picture.
My areas can be better integrated by focusing more on parts that will allow me explore deeper within the disciplines. By integrating I can have a better challenging understanding on the main point of view.
A news story from the past that is interdisciplinary is Thanksgiving. Pilgrims and Indians came from different backgrounds. There was a combination of issues and in the end both groups integrated with not just themselves, but with their cultures.
All my disciplines will integrate because in reality all have things in common within each other.
@ Carmen
DeleteI love your example of integration and coming up with a cake in the end! I think you are in a great place right now, in that, you are already working in an elementary school. In terms of humanities and behavioral science we might have to think outside the box a little bit to get them all to work together. The first thing that comes to mind when you talk about psychology though is how much you will need that when working with children and even other teachers. It's a great way to gain understanding. Now I had to look up humanities in order to have a scholastic definition to try and help you out and from my understanding it is the study of different areas, such as, language, literature, history, philosophy, religion and the arts. It seems like a great area of study to incorporate into your classroom! And you probably be more knowledgeable than a lot of teachers in those areas, making you more well rounded! Hope this helps!
Integration is defined as an act or instance of combining into an integral whole. Integration in relation to Interdisciplinary can be looked at as involving two or more academic, scientific, or artistic disciplines. Some examples of integration are: racial integration refers to social and cultural behavior, economic integration, refers to trade unification between different states, and educational integration of students with disabilities.
ReplyDeleteI’m still figuring out, especially through this semester how I will integrate my areas all together. While I finish up the political science portion, this summer I will finish the commerce; marketing area of study. I am as well applying for internships so hopefully through that I can figure out how to tie them all together.
Integrating different areas of study can make one a more diverse candidate when it comes to workplace against per say a candidate that focused solely on one area. Being able to take thoughts from one place and intertwine them with a completely different focus can show that there is creativity in maybe problems solving which is part a the job requirement. It allows one to think outside of the box. Especially with the complex issues in today’s society, we are always looking for new ideas and solutions.
When the Gull oil spill happened not only did environmental knowledge come into play but economic, ethical and social areas of expertise that were needed to fix the issue.
I think it’s great that you are trying to figure out and integrate your disciplines. I only hope we are all able to figure it out eventually. I completely agree with you on the idea that it makes us a more diverse candidate in the work place since we have multi focuses integrated into one rather then one narrow view of our job. I hope it works this way for me as a teacher, because I hope that they will see my multi abilities by having a degree and having gone through an IDS program rather then just the traditional route of the education department which only focuses on the one area you want to teach.
Delete~Joy Perez
What is integration? What are examples?
ReplyDeleteIntegration is messing more than one idea into one final product. It’s like cooking, you have all these individual ingredients but when you mix them up together you get you final product of dinner. Dough, sauce, cheese, put them together and you get a pizza!
How have or haven't you integrated your areas and minor?
I’m integrated my areas with my intention of a final product to be a Social studies or Music teacher. Other then the final outcome I don’t think I’ve really integrated much else between my disciplines until now, just because I never really gave it any thought. With each class I entered, within each discipline, I would feel as if it were a different world from one another and would adjust to that setting. It’s almost like I had split personality.
Why is integration of areas/minor important in terms of professional, academic, and/or personal developing?
It is important in all aspects of life because it helps to give one a better rounded grasp of what is going on around them and helps to make more empathetic to the ideas floating around them since they’ll be able to find new and different ways to relate.
How can your areas/minor be better integrated?
I’m not trying to be lazy with this answer but to be honest, I’m not sure?
~Joy Perez
Now think of a news story, past or present, and explain its interdisiplinarity or what an interdisciplinary solution might be.
ReplyDeleteI’m not going to lie, I don’t follow the news that much and all I can think about because it is recent is the News of Whitney Houston’s death. Many people are more interested in the fact of whether or not she O.D.ed but I feel people should integrate their own feelings of loss or for those who haven’t experienced loss how they think it would feel? They should relate more to the idea of what a said situation it is and how many people she left behind and are morning.
~Joy Perez
@Joy
DeleteCome onnnn, Joyyy! I'm sure you can think of SOMETHING! You certainly don't live under a rock ;-) Try to think about the national news you'll hear about: America's involvement in the war overseas, the American national debt, or the whole SOPA/PIPA nonsense that recently threatened our use of the internet. And those are just general examples. Talk about the issues involed in these sort of things, or better yet, do a little reasearch and google a news story that might interest you and talk about that. This is an exercise designed to help you apply what you're learning to what's going on in the real world. You can do it!! :-D
To be honest Joy I also had trouble trying to find a news story and I am a person that follows the news. As I read all of these comments I noticed how a lot of story's have so many interdisciplinary issues involved. I should have searched like how Heather suggested, but instead I talked about the first thing that came up. You have to be positive! Good luck.
DeleteThanks Carmen.
DeleteI did search but I guess its just not that easy for me to correlate IDS to everything yet. I read through new articles and tried to see the correlation but didn't seem to. As for the examples Heather gave...I have no clue as to what any of those things are?
I'm totally serious about how I do not follow news or twitter etc...I tend to learn things more from my friends when they bring it to my attention...
@Joy
DeleteThis was a really difficult thing for me to do when I was in Cornerstone as well. The nice thing about Cornerstone is that that's the whole point of Cornerstone -- to learn and figure things out! Do exactly as Carmen says: stay positive! Just keep trying, think outside the box, and make an effort to step outside your own boundaries. As the course progresses, I think this might become easier for you. As long as you just keep on keepin' on, you will figure it out. If you ever have any questions or need more explanation, never hesitate to ask! That's why we're here :)