Altered States of Consciousness and Culture Discussion

Due 01/31/2020 at 11:00 A.M. Eastern standard time

 

For this post, evaluate, discuss, and compare information about the effect of culture on perception, including altered states of consciousness. This is an “Individual Only” discussion response, therefore there is no small group discussion for this assignment. The small group discussions are assigned in Week 8. Follow the steps below to complete the assignment:

1. Make sure to read the instructions provided in the module under Week 4 Assignment details and repeated again in the assignment area here.
2. Under the “Altered States of Consciousness and Culture” discussion topic, click the “Reply” button in gray to start your response.

Watch the classic movie )  (available for free and streaming-do not download; stream only film by clicking the linked text here; This site is a high volume ad site due to the free content. Do not download or enter financial information). (Please note: there are other free options of the movie available streaming online; however students concerned about internet security may also purchase rentals through Google Play, Itunes and Amazon for $2.99)

After watching the movie, make sure to read Chapter 4 and discuss the following:

In your response you must address all of the criteria below:

1.Altered States of Consciousness Experienced & Defined: (this criterion should take approximately 1-2 paragraphs to fully address)

a. Chapter 4 discusses different types of altered states of consciousness (ASC), briefly discuss whether or not you have experienced any of the ASCs discussed in the chapter. If so, which kind? Be sure to clearly define terms.

b. Here students should clearly define and discuss altered states of consciousness (ASC). This discussion includes, what an ASC is, and what types of ASC they have experience. Overall, students should clearly define an ASC, they should provide examples of ASC they have experienced and define those examples. If they have not experienced an ASC their discussion may focus on the definition of ASC and connections as to why they may not have experienced one before.

2. Psychologically Relevant ASC: (this criterion should take approximately 1-2 paragraphs to fully address)

a. Which ASC  appears to be most psychologically useful? Why?

b. Here students need to discuss which ASCs may be more useful or psychologically helpful. This discussion must identify a specific ASC or ASCs and make a clear argument for why it would be psychologically beneficial or helpful. Students should be able to connect this with the textbook discussion of the various ASCs

3. Identify Altered State in Movie: (this criterion should take approximately 1 paragraph to fully address)

a. In the movie The Exorcist, what kind of altered states of consciousness can we recognize in the main character of the movie?

b. Be specific when identifying the ASC. Make sure to use the proper terms as discussed in Shiraev & Levy (2017). A full credit response will provide the correct term, definition and examples.

4. Altered State Development in Movie: (this criterion should take approximately 1-2 paragraphs to fully address)

a. Briefly define and discuss how the state(s) of consciousness developed.

b. Be sure to clearly link definitions and discussion to ideas/concepts discussed in the text. Provide examples and descriptions from the movie where appropriate to support your response.

5. Spirit Negotiation in Movie: (this criterion should take approximately 1-2 paragraphs to fully address)

a. There is a tradition found in many tribes around the world, such as in the Mission Indians in California to assign special duties of communicating with the spirit world to a medicine man (Caprio, 1943).

b. In the movie, who was given the duty to negotiate and eventually expel the spirit from the girl’s body? Describe what was specifically done?

6. Summary of Diagnoses/Culture Identification: (this criterion should take approximately 1-2 paragraphs to fully address)

a. Summarize the diagnoses given to the girl by various doctors. Based upon the character’s symptoms which of these diagnoses seems to fit best? Why?

b. What other cultures were mentioned or can be seen in the movie? If the character had been a member of a non-Western culture how do you think her family, friends and others exposed to her would have reacted? The same or different? If different, how so?

7. Opinion on theme of Possession in Entertainment: (this criterion should take approximately 1 paragraph to fully address)

a. Briefly try to provide an opinion of why the theme of possession is still popular among educated people.

8. Textbook/Research Connection:(should be used throughout response to support, define, and explain concepts)

a. Clearly identify and link concepts/ideas or theory presented in the textbook  to support your response to the questions above.

1. APA style in-text citation and reference is required. Students may not use websites, of any kind, as a primary source in their responses. Submissions which do not contain both APA style in-text citation and reference and/or which use websites of any kind as a primary source may receive a zero.
2. Discussion formatting must be:
   1.  Use of APA style in-text citations and reference is required.
      1. Do NOT use bullets, numbering, headings etc. 
      2. Essay format required.
      3. Submissions which do not contain both APA style in-text citation and reference and/or which use websites of any kind as a primary source may receive a zero.
   2. Responses which do not meet the content and formatting requirements listed above will receive point deductions.
3. As stated in the syllabus and Obojobo modules on Avoiding Plagiarism, responses which do not contain BOTH in-text citation and references will be flagged for plagiarism and receive a zero.

 

Competency

Examine how a data warehouse is created and used to support reporting and dashboarding.

Instructions

You work for a tourism board at a top destination within the United States that among other tasks, sends information out to potential visitors, provides advertising for the destination, sells tickets to local events and parks, and helps drive economic growth by attracting visitors to the region. The market research team for your organization has decided to try and gather more insight into how their ticket sales are impacting the local economy and have asked for your assistance.

The IT team has all of the data from the cash registers to show what tickets have been purchased and when, and the website has also provided reports of sales of different products. The marketing team also has data regarding who has requested information packets to be mailed to them about the local area and then came to visit. Partnerships with several national travel agencies and popular travel booking websites have also provided some great information on shopping patterns, time of year for bookings, and much more.

The teams agree that a new data warehouse might be an option for bringing the information together, but the CEO is historically reluctant to spend money on something other than promoting the destination for fear it won’t generate value. Despite this, they are a big fan of graphs, factual data, and other bits of information around the destination.

Your boss has asked you to help contribute to the argument in favor of a data warehouse–as this is going to be discussed at an executive level, you feel a presentation and information packet is the best approach to get your message across.

The questions they are presenting you with include:

• What is a data warehouse, and why do we need it? What are the benefits of this technology?
• Why would a data warehouse be a lucrative investment for the tourism board?
• How would we go about implementing a data warehouse?
• What would a dashboard be useful for? What kind of information could it show that we don’t already have in separate databases?

The task:

Record a presentation using the screen sharing Webware/software of your choice (an Internet search will reveal many free options). Your presentation can be recorded with your own voiceover and visuals, just as you would if you were giving the presentation live.

Your presentation should outline the benefits of a data warehouse as opposed to only using separate databases in isolation. Show specific examples of how the separate sources of data available today could be brought together to gain insight, and discuss the benefits of an executive reporting dashboard.

Create a summary report to accompany your presentation as a takeaway for your executive management team.