The first topic from which I will be drawing upon is that of structural design. I took an Architecture class last semester which left me with one specific quote forever engrained in my mind; “form should follow function.” This quote directly relates to the term defensible space; “. . .a way of fighting crime through careful arrangement of the physical aspects of communities, retail buildings, and residences” (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012, pp. 298-299). Many times, retail owners, building owners, and the like, team up with applied social psychologists to create architectural features to deter crime. As I have learned from a private security class, security personnel team up with scientists to perform a “. . .risk analysis (or risk assessment), which is the process of identifying potential areas of security problems and loss, and the development and implementation of effective measures or countermeasures to deal with these problems” (Dempsey, 2011, p. 58).
For example, as many of us are aware, the Superbowl was on Sunday. Sure, the “big game” was played in a football stadium; but that stadium was not ready for the massive volume of people who were about to crowd the seats and surrounding areas. Although I am not 100% sure because I wasn’t there, I’m almost certain that security forces would have had to team up with applied social psychologists to devise security strategies to deal with this. For instance, portable fences, bathrooms, and other moveable objects can be placed in certain arrangements wherein to make people avoid certain areas, deter them from other areas, while at the same time avoided unnecessary crowding. This would allow for security to keep a better eye on the crowds. Lighting can also be implemented in certain areas as to brighten up dark places where potential crime could occur.
The second topic that I will be discussing today is one that I learned about living in Seattle through an environmental science class; this particular topic will be an example of resource dilemmas. “These are situations in which individuals must choose between self-interest. . .and the interests of the community or the environment. . .”. (Schneider et al., 2012, p. 298). As we are well aware, our natural resources are being consumed at an alarming rate. Our populations continue to grow, while our food sources seem to get smaller and smaller. This calls for the need to use alternative products when available. “. . .genetically modified organisms (GMOs), by taking a bit of DNA from here, a bit from there, and even synthesizing artificial sequences to create desired characteristics in engineered organisms” (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2011, pp. 172-173).
With the use of GPOs, scientists can change the DNA of resources such as wheat, and even genetically change poultry to grow faster, therefore creating more food. This seems all fine and dandy, but the long term effects of GPOs are not really known. Although we are creating new forms of food and creating food faster, scientists are more or less playing the role of God. The 2008 film Food, Inc. makes a compelling argument, According to Eric Schlosser “. . .now 70% of processed food in the supermarket has some genetically modified ingredient [GMO]” (Kenner, 2008). The film depicts how some chickens have been made to grow so fast, that they cannot even stand under their own weight. Conditions in slaughter houses are laughable at best; imagine what kind of horrific toxins we are consuming. Relating back to resource dilemmas, I must ask, in this case, what’s more important, our self-interest or our environment?
Works Cited
Cunningham, W. P., & Cunningham, M. A. (2011). Principles of Environmental Science. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Dempsey, J. S. (2011). Introduction to Private Security. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Kenner, R. (Director). (2008). Food, Inc. [Motion Picture].
Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, Inc.
Progress comes in many forms. The ability to produce more food to feed the population is obviously an improvement compared to the issue of starvation. However, with every step toward solving issues there are more problems created concerning many variables. I imagine we must always be diligent when attempting to solve one issue we ask ourselves if the costs of the solution outweigh the costs of the problem we are trying to solve. And, even if the costs of solving the issue do not outweigh the costs of the issue, shouldn’t we attempt to minimize potential problems we create while trying to solve the problem at hand?
While in psychology there are ethical guidelines to follow, we as a society, are still growing in that we are still defining social ills and how they should be addressed. Inhumane treatment and altering growth hormones may be helping produce more food, but I wonder why there isn’t a larger public outcry at the means of which we are arriving at our solution? Have we been so desensitized to the treatment of animals that we as a society accept behaviors as long as our needs are met? I ask myself, can I abstain from the delicious chicken picatta in order to sustain my moral beliefs? What would it take for me to become aware enough to “just say no” especially when the product is so readily available and the many ways in which to prepare the product are advertised or the menus that have the various delectable dishes offered in restaurants?
I would imagine that if I were to sit down at a table and handed a menu that shows the conditions of the product before it made it to my plate, I would no longer be able to ingest the product. While this is not exactly a realistic idea, after being desensitized to the conditions of our food sources, there may need to be some drastic measures taken in order to increase the sensitivity to our world.
–Hi there! I really enjoyed reading about your experiences. When I read this chapter, I found it intriguing that people could talk with social psychologists and create spaces to minimize the risks of crime, and promote socialization. I notice that many public places are structured in ways to do these things, but I had no clue that people actually band together to create these designs for social purposes. I, like many others I know, have always wondered how tight security and how hard their jobs are when something, like the Superbowl, occurs. There are thousands of people, and it was great that you tied this example into the ideas of socially influenced buildings and public spaces.
–As for the GMO’s, I often wonder what this “war on GMO’s” is going to get us. I find myself conflicted by the ideas of having enough food to sustain our growing population, and the fact that non-organic foods are cheaper but can yield a greater impact on health for humans and animals alike. To rely less on GMO’s in the future, I think that a possible intervention is introducing gardening to kids in schools. This can provide them with the knowledge about plants, and can help reduce their needs for store-bought foods, thus reducing the need for GMO’s. Other GMO’s like GloFish (which I find absolutely cool, yet potentially harmful) can also impact the world. There was a report that stated the GloFish threaten the natural species
>> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1299107/
First, I also have great fondness of that quote, “form should follow function” – applicable in nearly every realm. As for the Super Bowl assessment, it captured my attention, having been one of the heads of security for Super Bowl 36. You are absolutely right, we teamed with everyone from NORAD to logistical specialists, WMD experts, every three letter agency imaginable, forensic and criminal profilers. The amount of time and energy that goes into planning for such an event takes months and months. GMOs are another topic I have particular interest in coming from Hawaii. Our island is so small that all the GMO planting in Hawaii is impacting all the non-GMO crops because of the genetic modified organisms cross-contaminating the non-GMO crops all the crops are becoming “contaminated” – it is a growing concern and one that is on the front of everyone’s minds. Great blog and post.