assignment - analysis of newspaper articles
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8/14/2019 Assignment - Analysis of Newspaper Articles
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Diana J. L. Lai
PSY6112 AssignmentNews Articles Analyses
(1)
11-Year-Old Girl Raises Money for Red Cross With Pop-Up Internet
CafPhilly managed to, largely, escape the wrath of Hurricane Sandy with minimal damageand only a day or two of cancellations and issues. In New York City and the surroundingareas, though, people are still just managing to make it out of their apartments.Buildings are flooded, the power is out in many places, and public transportation isbasically non-existent. In Hoboken, New Jersey, one 11-year-old girl set out to make adifference by providing people with some juice for their iPhones. Lucy Walkowiakestablished a pop-up Internet caf on one of the only blocks with power. With the helpof her father, Steve, Lucy has helped dozens of people get back on the grid, if only for ahot second.
People are donating money to the Red Cross and coffee to the impromptu baristasworking the portable tables. Steve says that hes only heard of one or two other instancesof people having power in Hoboken and was quick to give his daughter credit for thecaf. Lucy does a lot of community service through her school, so this is on par withwhat shes been learning, he said. Lucy and her dad definitely win the Internet forWednesday.
This is a piece of news about a girl who came up with a great idea in helping out
her neighbors after her town was hit by Hurricane Sandy, leaving most peoples homes
without electricity. As she was one of the few who, luckily, still got electricity at her home,
she set up a temporary Internet caf outside her home to provide electrical outlets for
neighbors to charge their phones and other portable electrical devices for free. This
altruistic act was interesting as it was an 11-year-old girls idea, and that she was able
to creatively share what she had that most others did not. It was probably Lucysability
to sympathize with others who had lost the means to connect with the outside world,
understanding how extra difficult it would be in this Internet era that one could not
connect with friends and family via smartphones that gave her the idea.
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While some may feel that what this young girl did was not too altruistic anyway
since it was just electricity she provided. Yet according to the definition of altruism, any
act performed voluntarily to help others and when there is no expectation of receiving
any reward in any form is considered an altruistic behavior. Lucy appeared to not have
expected any rewards when she decided to set up the temporary Internet caf because
according to her father she was often involved in different types of community services.
Finding ways to help others seem to be a nature within Lucy for a while.
Lucys behaviors can be analyzed using the Social Exchange Theory. According
to this theory, human interactions are transactions that aim to maximize a persons
rewards and to minimize ones costs. The benefits for Lucy in setting up the Internet
Caf and providing free electricity to the neighbors are probably social approval from
her father, the neighbors, and in this case even the news reporters and news readers.
She might also benefit from relieving the distress she experienced from knowing how
must people in her town were out of electricity. Doing this also helped boost her self-
image as a kind-hearted and caring person. Relatively, it appeared that theres much
smaller costs in doing this altruistic behavior. The most obvious cost was the monetary
aspect of providing electricity for days for many people in town, which Lucy most likely
would not have to pay anyway. For the father who was so willing in putting Lucys idea
into action, the benefits of encouraging her daughters good acts and recog nition as a
good father are probably much higher than the expensive electric bill he would have to
pay. So according to this theory, Lucy and her fathers actions in the aftermath of
Hurricane Sandy were very understandable and explainable in the context of social
psychology.
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(2)Ex-Wife Donating Liver to Ex-Husband Two Months After Their Divorce
2012 11 01 02:39 (2159)
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http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2012-11/01/content_385528.htm?div=-1http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2012-11/01/content_385528.htm?div=-1http://weibo.com/xjb?zwm=newshttp://weibo.com/xjb?zwm=newshttp://news.sina.com.cn/s/2012-11-01/023925482623.shtml#J_Comment_Wraphttp://news.sina.com.cn/s/2012-11-01/023925482623.shtml#J_Comment_Wraphttp://news.sina.com.cn/s/2012-11-01/023925482623.shtml#J_Comment_Wraphttp://news.sina.com.cn/s/2012-11-01/023925482623.shtml#J_Comment_Wraphttp://news.sina.com.cn/s/2012-11-01/023925482623.shtml#J_Comment_Wraphttp://news.sina.com.cn/s/2012-11-01/023925482623.shtml#J_Comment_Wraphttp://weibo.com/xjb?zwm=newshttp://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2012-11/01/content_385528.htm?div=-1 -
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This news is about a Chinese woman who divorced with her ex-husband for just
two months but decided to donate part of her liver to him when she found out he was
diagnosed with a severe liver disease that required a liver transplant. The ex-husband
at first refused her request because he believed he should not let his ex-wife took the
risk. He explained that their daughter was still very young so the ex-wife should not risk
her life for him. The ex-wifes explanation for donating her liver was that she did not
want her daughter to lose her father at a young age. The ex-wifes only request from the
ex-husband was that they remarried. They ended up remarrying each other and the liver
transplant was successful.
This is an interesting news in that the wifes behaviors appeared altruistic yet by
definition it was notshe had expected rewards for her action of donating part of her
liver and risking her life. The question that becomes, does the benefit of remarrying
someone who you had a lot of relationship problems with that ended up divorcing with
you bigger than the cost of risking your own life? This indeed brings out the important
aspect of the Social Exchange Theory, that cost and benefit are totally subjective. For
some, it may not worth the risk even if it is their married husband or wife; for others, it
may be worth the risk even if the ex-husband or ex-wife would not agree to remarry.
This news can also be viewed from a different theoretical background. Robert
Sternbergs famous triangular theory of love may shed light onto the kind of love that the
ex-wife was having towards the ex-husband when she decided to donate part of her
liver in attempt to save his life. According to the theory, love has three components
intimacy, passion, and commitment. Different combinations of presence and absence of
any of the three components described the many different types of love experienced by
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different people. In the case of this ex-wife, it appeared that she still feel some
attachment and connectedness towards the ex-husband that gave her the desire to
remarry him (intimacy), and that she felt commitment towards this previous relationship
that she decide to make this relationship work in the long run by first saving his life and
then have a chance to make their second marriage work (commitment). The presence
of intimacy and commitment characterize the type of love called Companionate love
according to this theory, which is a type of intimate, non-passionate, stronger than
friendship type of love where the person feels a deep affection and commitment towards
the partner.
This news is a good example in illustrating how couples facing marital problems
often still have certain loving feelings towards each other, even though these feelings
are often obscured by the anger and hatred they expressed. By being able to
understand the components of love, marriage counselors can better help distressed
couples in saving their marriage and improving their relationships.
(3)
Sunday, Nov 04 20123AM 24C6AM26C5-Day Forecast
Chinese man sues his wife for being ugly,and the court AGREES... awarding him75,000
Jian Feng was confused after his wife gave birth to an 'incrediblyugly' baby
He accused her of cheating and she admitted to spending 62,000on plastic surgery
He then claimed she got him to marry her under false pretenses
BySARAH JOHNSON
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/weather/index.htmlhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/weather/index.htmlhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/weather/index.htmlhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/weather/index.htmlhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/weather/index.htmlhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/weather/index.htmlhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/weather/index.htmlhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/weather/index.htmlhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/weather/index.htmlhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/weather/index.htmlhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Sarah+Johnsonhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Sarah+Johnsonhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Sarah+Johnsonhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Sarah+Johnsonhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/weather/index.html -
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PUBLISHED:21:40 GMT, 26 October 2012 | UPDATED:00:25 GMT, 27 October 2012
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
But for one man from northern China, this was not the case.
Earlier this year, Jian Feng, divorced and sued his wife for being ugly.
Before and after: Jian Feng's wife spent US$100,000 on plastic surgery before she got married
He won his case and was awarded a little under 75,000 by the judge, Fox 31reported.Mr Feng said he took issue with his wifes looks only after the couples daughter was born.
He was shocked by the childs appearance, calling her incredibly ugly and saying shelooked like neither one of her parents.
Mr Feng was so outraged that he initially accused his wife of cheating.
Faced with the accusation, his wife admitted to spending around 62,000 on plastic surgerywhich had altered her appearance drastically.
She had the work done before she met her husband and never told him about it after theymet.
Mr Feng filed for divorce saying his wife had deceived him and convinced him to marry herunder false pretenses.
The judge agreed with him and awarded him the damages.
This is an interesting news that challenge peoples beliefs about the part beauty
plays in romantic attraction and love. I got hold of this piece of new article from
facebook. Obviously it had stirred up emotions and discussions among friends, whether
http://kdvr.com/2012/10/26/chinese-man-sues-wife-for-being-ugly-wins-120000/http://kdvr.com/2012/10/26/chinese-man-sues-wife-for-being-ugly-wins-120000/http://kdvr.com/2012/10/26/chinese-man-sues-wife-for-being-ugly-wins-120000/http://kdvr.com/2012/10/26/chinese-man-sues-wife-for-being-ugly-wins-120000/ -
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it was the wifes fault or the mans fault that this marriage faltered, and whether it was
fair for the court to order the wife to pay the husband for damage because the wife
never told the husband about her plastic surgeries that were clearly done before he met
her. When plastic surgeries are getting more and more popular and beauty and youthful
looks are more highly valued in the modern societies, it is important to understand
peoples attitude towards these beautifying procedures and the risks involved, be it
physical, mental, or in this case familial.
The reasons for plastic surgeries being so popular is because physical
attractiveness is extremely important especially in romantic attraction. People usually
automatically attribute many positive characteristics to those who are beautiful, like
being mentally healthier and more socially skilled. Because of this positive stereotype
mechanism, people not gifted with attractive faces often suffer from disadvantaged
evaluations or judgment from others. Studies have shown that a persons appearance
matters quite a lot even during job interviews which were supposed to assess the
interviewees abilities, not looks. For those who dare and are willing to pay the heavy
price tags, plastic surgeries then become a good solution to this unfairness they
experienced.
So why did the husband react the way he did, not just divorcing his wife but also
sued for repayment for his damage? Was there real love between the couple, or was
the relationship solely an exchange of resourcesI gave you a family and stable living
condition while you contribute your beauty genes to bear beautiful babies for me?
According to Ganong & Coleman, couples who are divorced or separated usually stay
emotionally attached to each other. If that is true, the husbands reactions appeared to
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show no emotional attachment towards his wife, that all he cared about was justice and
fairness in the exchange. But if he did have at least some level of loving feelings
towards his wife, his reactions may be explained by the cognitive dissonance theory.
His feeling of attachment and passion towards his wife was in conflict with his extremely
anger and disbelief about his wifes dishonesty in hiding the fact of having done plastic
surgeries. Therefore he chose to deny any love feelings he had and went on to express
his anger and disgust by suing her for the damage he got from this marriage and hence
decrease his dissonance.
(4)
In Hong Kong, star tutors earn $1.5 million salariesIn the Hong Kong cut-throat world of Chinese education, star tutors drive Ferraris and earn $1.5-million salaries.
By Isabella Steger, Contributor/ March 2, 2010
In Hong Kong, star tutors can earn salaries of up to $1.5-million.
Newscom/File
Their confident faces smile out from billboards across the city. Their promotional grins are plastered
across double-decker buses, subway light boxes, even on TV.
http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/2010/0302/0302-hong-kong-tutors/7493141-1-eng-US/0302-hong-kong-tutors_full_600.jpg -
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These areHong Kong's "star tutors," accorded near-celebrity status for their ability to make learning fun
and help students pass exams in everything from English to chemistry.
Tutoring is common inAsia,whereintense emphasison grades and exams means parents are willing to
shell out. More than half of Hong Kong's youths get assistance outside school, a recent survey found.The industry here is especially competitive and commercialized as tutors mimic the city's showbiz industry
to attract students and grab a share of the $460 million market.
"Those images of fame and stardom have been sustained and re-invented in different forms, resulting in
tutors now packaging themselves as the superstars of the education sector in order to appeal to
students," saysGerald Postliglione,a professor at the University of Hong Kong.
Star tutors spare no costs on publicity. Even tutors who belong to one of the four major chains here must
self-promote. But successful tutors can command hundreds of students.
Those at the very top see their lives splashed across the pages of the city's gossip magazines, revealing
how many luxury cars they drive or properties they own. Some reports put their salaries as high as $1.5
million a year. One English tutor,Richard Eng,is famous for his love ofFerraris.
Critics worry that the emphasis on good looks and brand names sends youths the wrong message, but
some tutors say the gimmicks are indispensable and that the results are real. "The marketing is only for
attracting studentswe still need to deliver to keep the students coming back," says Antonia Cheng,an
English tutor at Modern Education, a major chain.
Ms. Cheng says she tries to make English fun, using interactive methods and discussing contemporary
issues. Cheng gives out her phone number; many tutors also are on Facebook.
"Teachers communicate in a way we understand, unlike at school, which we find really boring,"
saysCasper Chan,a high-schooler.
Tutors have capitalized on changes roiling the educational system since 1997, when Hong Kong reverted
toChina.The government introduced "mother-tongue teaching" to popularize Cantonese in the classroom,
but that weakened English proficiency and was scrapped. It also recently switched to a more US-style "3-
3-4" system for junior high, high school, and college. This year it introduced liberal studies in high school,
to improve critical thinking skills.
"There's been a lot of confusion ... in the last few years. Tutor centers have to be result-oriented,"
saysTrino Chan,who recently opened his own center. "When the system doesn't deliver what parents
expect, they are willing to pay for tutors. This is why there will always be money to be made in tutoring in
Hong Kong."
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2009/1119/hong-kong-developer-profits-off-lucky-88th-floor-apartmenthttp://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2009/1119/hong-kong-developer-profits-off-lucky-88th-floor-apartmenthttp://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2009/1119/hong-kong-developer-profits-off-lucky-88th-floor-apartmenthttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Asiahttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Asiahttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Asiahttp://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2010/0223/In-China-kindergarten-costs-more-than-collegehttp://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2010/0223/In-China-kindergarten-costs-more-than-collegehttp://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2010/0223/In-China-kindergarten-costs-more-than-collegehttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Gerald+Postliglionehttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Gerald+Postliglionehttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Gerald+Postliglionehttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Richard+Enghttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Richard+Enghttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Richard+Enghttp://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0722/072246.htmlhttp://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0722/072246.htmlhttp://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0722/072246.htmlhttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Antonia+Chenghttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Antonia+Chenghttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Antonia+Chenghttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Facebook+Inc.http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Facebook+Inc.http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Facebook+Inc.http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Casper+Chanhttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Casper+Chanhttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Casper+Chanhttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Chinahttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Chinahttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Chinahttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/United+Stateshttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/United+Stateshttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/United+Stateshttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Trino+Chanhttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Trino+Chanhttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Trino+Chanhttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Trino+Chanhttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/United+Stateshttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Chinahttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Casper+Chanhttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Facebook+Inc.http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Antonia+Chenghttp://www.csmonitor.com/1981/0722/072246.htmlhttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Richard+Enghttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Gerald+Postliglionehttp://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2010/0223/In-China-kindergarten-costs-more-than-collegehttp://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Asiahttp://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2009/1119/hong-kong-developer-profits-off-lucky-88th-floor-apartment -
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In Hong Kong, academic tutoring has always been a hot topic because Hong
Kong Chinese are mostly achievement oriented and doing well academically is one of
the most important goals for school age children and teenagers. Attending tutorial
classes outside of school is so common and getting steadily more popular in the past
two decades that it appears to be a necessary part of the current Hong Kong
educational system. The interesting thing about these tutorial schools is that their goal is
solely to improve their students grades at schools and especially in public examinations.
Going to these tutorial classes is never about increasing your knowledge nor enhancing
students academic interests.
About 10 to 15 years ago, the advertisements for these tutorial schools focused
mostly on the success of their students. They often showed how many As their students
have obtained in the most recent public exams as well as how accurate the tutors were
in predicting public exams questions. However, in the recent years, the advertisement
strategies appear to have changed. Tutors are often portrait as stars, dressing in
glamorous tuxedoes and night gowns with beautiful hairdos and posing like super stars
on magazines and billboards. It appears that instead of the central route of persuasion,
the peripheral route has been more frequently used in recent years. The tutorial school
advertisements attempt to enhance liking by making the star tutors appear attractive,
smart, eloquent, and impressive.
The popularity of these tutorial schools may also be explained by the concept
named social proof, which is also known as informational social influence. Social proof
is a form of conformity. This psychological phenomenon happens when an individual is
in an ambiguous situation and therefore will look to others for the right way to behave. It
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is because the person believes that other peoples interpretation of the uncertain
situation is more accurate than his or her own. When a Hong Kong student is unsure
whether attending tutorial school classes is going to help him do better academically, he
may follow what many others are doing and decides to enroll himself anyway.
(5)Chinese Supermarkets Dominance Led to Dissatisfactions Among
Argentineans
90 1
59.8 20
250 9800
This news article explains the situation and possible reasons for the recent
upsurge in robberies of supermarkets opened by Chinese in Argentina. The Chinese
supermarkets in Argentina have been developing rapidly in the recent years because
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they have strong cash flows which allow them to buy large quantity of goods and
provide cheaper prices compared to the local stores. And because Chinese usually hire
Chinese employees, the rapid growing number of Chinese supermarkets and stores
greatly threatens the employment opportunities of the local Argentineans. Before the
beginning of these robberies targeting the Chinese stores, there have been talks about
using legal ways to limit the development of the Chinese supermarkets which led to the
closings of many local small-scale shops and stores.
These robberies could be explained by the Relative Deprivation Theory. Relative
deprivation is experienced when a group of people is deprived of something that they
believe themselves are entitled to. When members of an in-group see that out-group
members have things they need but do not have, in this case employment opportunities,
it can lead to feelings of stress, frustration, and hostility. The subjective feeling of being
unfairly disadvantaged results from group-based social comparisons may foster
collective actions that aim at rectifying the unjust deprivation. This is exactly what
happened in Argentina as reported by this news article.
This is interesting news as it shows how discriminations and hate crimes can
result from actual negative impacts an out-group is bringing to an in-group. When an
out-group is focusing too much on protecting and helping their own members without
considering how their actions are affecting the people of the in-group, their successes in
strengthening and increasing their resources may turn against them and become a
leading cause to further discrimination and race-base aggressions towards their group
members. Maybe, in certain times or situations, prejudice and discrimination are not
solely the in-groups faults or responsibilities.
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