Senior Project Online Source (5)

“Specific Page Title or Article Title”	“The Media and Influence on Body Image and Beauty”
Primary Contributor to the Website (if given) (author, editor, producer, etc)	Timothy Sexton
Title of the Entire Website (not www. )	Yahoo! Voices
Publisher or Sponsoring Organization of the website (if given)	Yahoo! Inc.
Date Page was Last Revised	6 April 2006
Date You Read It	3 February 2012
<URL address> (ALL of it)	http://voices.yahoo.com/the-media-influence-body-image-beauty-28406.html

FIVE FACTS FROM THE SOURCE (Embedded):

The media is so open and free to the public that if you were to “Turn on any television show, flip through any magazine, go to any movie and if you do happen to come across someone who doesn't fit into the narrow mold of what is considered good looking”, those people usually play the role of the “bad guy” or the “nerd” (Sexton).

·         Evidence suggests that the “constant flow of images that stem from a certain ideology do have an effect on the masses” there is “little doubt that modern society's obsession with appearance can be traced to an onslaught of images holding out as the ideal a physicality that is not only unrealistic for the majority of people, but also unhealthy” (Sexton).

·         Sexton specifically mentions women and that they “objectified by an unrealistic expectation of beauty put forward by models and actresses who do not reflect the average appearance of women in society”. Not only women are affected “but men are affected as well” (Sexton).

·         He states that “Print advertising” is probably the most “egregiously unrealistic” media representations of how people should appear. In fact, “the unhealthily thin look has gotten to the point where a new term was coined to describe it: heroin chic” (Sexton).

Homer Simpson states that “statistics are meaningless; they can be used to prove anything” Today, the average woman usually “fits into a size 10 and above” and the  average model “fits into a size 2 or 3”. Nearly “80% of ten year old girls have dieted; twenty years ago the weight difference between the average woman and the average model was just 8% while today it is a staggering 23%” (Sexton).

Summary of Source (Three-Four Sentences of the Who, What, Where, Why, and How in your own words. NO OPINION):

The article was written about the topic of media’s influence on society and the way that people view themselves. It talks about multiple problems that the media has cause. To add to the credibility of the article the author himself uses different references and statistics and provides a sort of biased opinion about the topic.

Credibility of Source:
Author or Site: Who is the author? What training have they had? If there is no author, examine the site. What is the purpose of the site? Who funds the site?

The author of the article is Timothy Sexton; he’s a minor contributor to the website.

This website is a place for people to write their articles and post their opinions about different topics.

Attachment: Does the author or site have anything to gain from writing this, or is it simply informative? For example, is it a cigarette business posting an article about the benefit of cigarettes, or is it a scientific community unaffiliated with the cigarette business?

The author seems to have gained some knowledge through his article. He’s very informative at the same time and provides excellent examples and rather than speaking in an informative tone, the author writes as if he’s speaking to someone personally.

Bias: Do you detect a bias (a favoring of either side) in the author's writing?

The author doesn’t give a clear biased opinion but does seem to favor the fact that society has a negative influence on the way that everyone thinks about appearances.

References: Does the author cite references in the writing? If so, do these add or take away from the credibility?

The author does cite some references in his writing which help to add to the credibility of his article and make the topic more believable.

Use of Source: How will you use this source in your project?

I will use this article in my project to refer to many of the sources he’s given. I will also be able to use this article to show how he feels and how some other people feel about the topic. It will allow me to give better information and to make my topic and my opinion more clear to others.

Senior Project Online Source (4)

“Specific Page Title or Article Title”	“Media Influence”
Primary Contributor to the Website (if given) (author, editor, producer, etc)	POV
Title of the Entire Website (not www. )	Rader Programs
Publisher or Sponsoring Organization of the website (if given)	Rader Programs
Date Page was Last Revised	2011
Date You Read It	3 February 2012
<URL address> (ALL of it)	http://www.raderprograms.com/causes-statistics/media-eating-disorders.html

FIVE FACTS FROM THE SOURCE (Embedded):

Women, starting at an early age, are reinforced and given the idea that “to be happy and successful we must be thin” (Rader Programs).

·         Statistics show that “35% of occasional dieters progress into pathological dieting”. A lot of younger girls diet as well, nearly “One half of 4th grade girls are on a diet” and “51% of nine and ten year old girls stated they felt better about themselves when they were adhering to a diet” (Rader Programs).

·         Younger children are most vulnerable and are easily affected by the idea of being skinny, “81% of ten year old girls are afraid of being fat” and “42% of girls in first through third grades state they want to be thinner” (Rader Programs).

·         The average U.S. woman is “5’4” and weighs 140 pounds”, yet the average U.S. model today “is 5’11” and weighs 117 pounds”. The weight difference is huge and very noticeable (Rader Programs).

·         Statistics has shown that “One out of every four television commercials sends out some sort of message about attractiveness” and that videos featuring “thin women” lead to an increase with “body dissatisfaction”. Nearly “80% of women who answered a People magazine survey responded that images of women on television and in the movies make them feel insecure” (Rader Programs).

Summary of Source (Three-Four Sentences of the Who, What, Where, Why, and How in your own words. NO OPINION):

This article was written to simply be informative about the topic of societies influence. The anonymous writer of the article has broken down different types of media and has listed specific problems each cause. The writer of the article also provides miniature tips on how to be happy with yourself and how you can avoid the negative message.

Credibility of Source:
Author or Site: Who is the author? What training have they had? If there is no author, examine the site. What is the purpose of the site? Who funds the site?

The author of the source isn’t given.

This website contains more information on bulimia and anorexia and where you can get help with such issues. It provides treatments and facilities and also helps you along the way with your issues.

Attachment: Does the author or site have anything to gain from writing this, or is it simply informative? For example, is it a cigarette business posting an article about the benefit of cigarettes, or is it a scientific community unaffiliated with the cigarette business?

The author is simply informative but like the previous articles, seems to put more emphasis on the fact that society is a negative influence. The author would’ve gained some insight onto the problem.

Bias: Do you detect a bias (a favoring of either side) in the author's writing?

The author doesn’t give a biased opinion.

References: Does the author cite references in the writing? If so, do these add or take away from the credibility?

The article does not include specific references as to where they have received their information, but the article does cite different scientific facts on the topic.

Use of Source: How will you use this source in your project?

I will use this source for the facts given, I want to use the percentages given and be able to show how big the problem is in our society. I want to be able to use the given tips to be able to help others.

Senior Project Online Source (3)

“Specific Page Title or Article Title”	“Running Head: SOCIETY’S EFFECTS ON WOMEN’S BODY IMAGE”
Primary Contributor to the Website (if given) (author, editor, producer, etc)	Ashley Grebe
Title of the Entire Website (not www. )	Digital Commons @ Cal Poly
Publisher or Sponsoring Organization of the website (if given)	Bepress
Date Page was Last Revised	Winter 2010
Date You Read It	2 February 2012
<URL address> (ALL of it)	http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=socssp http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/seniorprojects/

FIVE FACTS FROM THE SOURCE (Embedded):

Companies use many mediums which “manipulate women such as advertising, products being sold on the market and clothing” (Grebes).

Women all around the world “are being manipulated, molded and shaped by this type of mass media” and are also “taught from very early on in their pre-teen years, what is important and valuable as a woman” (Grebes).

Americans are exposed to and “bombarded” by advertisements daily, “according to Jean Kilbourne, Americans are exposed to 3000 advertisements per day”. (Grebes)

Magazines tend to appeal the topic of weight loss and being skinny towards women, “according to one study, women's magazines have 10.5 more ads and articles promoting weight loss than do men's magazines” (Grebes).

The television “perpetuates this mass media driven phenomenon”. Many of the female characters in movies and television shows have also become “noticeably smaller in body size during the last half a century”. Matter of fact, “evidence shows that women who are below average in weight are overrepresented, while overweight women are underrepresented” (Grebe).

Summary of Source (Three-Four Sentences of the Who, What, Where, Why, and How in your own words. NO OPINION):

The research paper is written by Ashley Grebe who covers the topic of society’s effect on teenage girls. She covers a broad area of the topic with the use of statistics and references to previous or other people. Grebes gives her own opinions of the topic as well as different statistics or opinions given from others.

Credibility of Source:
Author or Site: Who is the author? What training have they had? If there is no author, examine the site. What is the purpose of the site? Who funds the site?

The writer is Ashley Grebe, she is a small contributor to the website.

This website contains essays from multiple college students and about their senior project topics.

Attachment: Does the author or site have anything to gain from writing this, or is it simply informative? For example, is it a cigarette business posting an article about the benefit of cigarettes, or is it a scientific community unaffiliated with the cigarette business?

The writer of the essay is being informative about the topic and it seems like she’s gained a bit of knowledge about the topic because of the way she brings up all these statistics.

Bias: Do you detect a bias (a favoring of either side) in the author's writing?

I don’t really detect a biased opinion from the author, she’s simply stating facts.

References: Does the author cite references in the writing? If so, do these add or take away from the credibility?

The author cites many different credible sources and includes bibliographies at the end of the entire essay, they add to the credibility of her topic.

Use of Source: How will you use this source in your project?

I will use this source for the statistics given and the multiple charts, I will be able to use the charts she’s given me to prove my opinion and my topic.

Senior Project Online Source (2)

“Specific Page Title or Article Title”	“Mirror, Mirror”
Primary Contributor to the Website (if given) (author, editor, producer, etc)	Kate Fox
Title of the Entire Website (not www. )	SIRC: Social Issues Research Centre
Publisher or Sponsoring Organization of the website (if given)	SIRC
Date Page was Last Revised	1997
Date You Read It	2 February 2012
<URL address> (ALL of it)	http://www.sirc.org/publik/mirror.html

FIVE FACTS FROM THE SOURCE (Embedded):

Fox writes that the more “attractive children are more popular” with both their peers and teachers, the “better chance of getting jobs”, being found “guilty less”, and have many more benefits that help to “improve performance”. The problem with appearance starts at a very young age, it is quiet inevitable. (Fox).

Fox accuses the media for letting people become “accustomed to extremely rigid and uniform standards of beauty”. Now that we have more access to things like the television, billboards, magazines, and the internet “we see ‘beautiful people’ all the time, more often than members of our own family” (Fox).

In reality, “Standards of beauty have in fact become harder and harder to attain” especially for women. As a matter of fact, the current thinness for women is only “is achievable by less than 5% of the female population” (Fox).

The way people view themselves in the mirror will differ from “species, sex, age, ethnic group, sexual orientation, mood, eating disorders, what they've been watching on TV, what magazines they read, whether they're married or single, what kind of childhood they had, whether they take part in sports, what phase of the menstrual cycle they're in, whether they are pregnant, where they've been shopping – and even what they had for lunch” (Fox).

Research shows that “women are much more critical of their appearance than men”, men can look into a mirror and either be “please” or “indifferent” with what they see (Fox).

Summary of Source (Three-Four Sentences of the Who, What, Where, Why, and How in your own words. NO OPINION):

The article is written about the topic of how people view themselves. Fox writes and lists the multiple problems that things like the media have on women. She gives many statistics and scientific research, information, and details to support her topic.

Credibility of Source:
Author or Site: Who is the author? What training have they had? If there is no author, examine the site. What is the purpose of the site? Who funds the site?

The Author is Kate Fox who is a contributor to the entire website and the author of this article.

This website contains articles and publications about Social Issues in society.

Attachment: Does the author or site have anything to gain from writing this, or is it simply informative? For example, is it a cigarette business posting an article about the benefit of cigarettes, or is it a scientific community unaffiliated with the cigarette business?

The article and the author don’t seem to have an emotional attachment, it seems to be written to be informative rather than having the author gain or learn anything. Although the author seems to be more attached to her article than the previous article I’ve read, she still is more informative.

Bias: Do you detect a bias (a favoring of either side) in the author's writing?

I feel like the author is a bit biased and favors the topic that society has a negative effect on the way that women, men, and teenagers think.

References: Does the author cite references in the writing? If so, do these add or take away from the credibility?

The author doesn’t refer to any specific people, but does generalize in most of her references.

Use of Source: How will you use this source in your project?

I will use this source in my project to aide me in proving my point. I will use the information listed and given to strengthen my opinion.