Content Analysis Research

One of the main issues I have encountered in my research of the Evansville Courier and Press is the economy. The economic decline our country is experiencing right now is clearly affecting our community. We are hopeful that the county will receive more money as the year progresses. Many stories have been published about local people losing jobs due to this recession. It also seems that the community is experiencing a decline in the job market as well.
Crime also seems to be a recurring theme in our community. The main crimes seem to be rape and shootings. This is disconcerting, as it seems to be enough of an issue that i have seen several times just in the past month.
School issues have also been popular recently. Issues dealing with tips for doing well in school, new schools opening, and school budgets allow me to infer that school is very important in our community. Our community seems to realize that the future lies in the hands of young people, and their education will enable them to better our community. With that in mind, the community seems to try to do it's best to further and improve education for young people.

Initial Findings of Content Analysis

According to www.census.gov, the population of Evansville in July of 2006 was estimated to be 350,356 people. According to factfinder.census.gov, around 49,200 people are white males, and 55,655 are females. 13,275 of the total population were African-American. About 6,000 were males and about 7,000 were females. About 1,400 people in Evansville were found to be Hispanic of Latino. According to infoplease.com, the main manufactured products of Evansville are Machinery, plastics, primary metals, pharmaceuticals, food products, and fabricated-metal items. It is also home the the University of Southern Indiana and the University of Evansville. It was founded in 1819 and is located in Vanderburgh County. 62,393 people over the age of 16 are in the labor force, while 4,103 are unemployed. That's all my demographic information for now. More to come!

Memo

The topic I chose was the 30-hour famine because it is honestly the only service project I can think of that I have ever done. I didn't even realize when I started writing that I this event changed me very much as a person. Hopefully after reading my essay you will understand the importance of helping others, and how it can better you as a person as well. My main idea is that by helping others, you can help yourself to grow as a person. I think that was communicated fairly well in my draft. I hope you enjoy it.

Autoethnography

In February of 2006, I participated in a volunteer service project at Mt. Vernon First United Methodist Church called “30-Hour Famine.” This event started at noon the first day and ended at 6:00 pm the next day. The point of this project was to not eat for 30 hours and to raise money and goods for the hungry. During our fasting, we collected canned goods, picked up litter around the city, and held a pancake breakfast. Obviously, I felt very hungry after about 10 hours, but I also felt somewhat accomplished. I knew that what I was doing was a sacrifice for me to help others, and that felt really good. Even today, I am very proud of the work I did to help my community and the example I set through my self-discipline. At the time, I knew I was doing a good thing, but I was not doing it for the reason that I would do it now. Back then, I was just having fun with my friends, and making my grandmother happy by going to church. Now, I realize that I helped a lot of people that day, and though I wasn’t recognized, it was still worth the effort. Knowing that I helped people, even if they don’t know it was me, makes me feel appreciated by a higher power.
I have different values now than I did back then. In high school, my main priority was hanging out with my friends and obeying my parents. My grandmother pushed me to do this event, and though I am glad I did it, I probably would not have done it of my own volition. My priorities have shifted greatly since then. Now, the most important things in my life are my fiancé and school. Honestly, I don’t have much time to be with my friends or go to church. Unlike in high school, when I was forced to go to church, I only go to church when I want to, and I no longer feel guilty when my family tries to make me feel bad for not going. I don’t mean to make it sound like I’ve become selfish and don’t do any community service anymore, but I have become more independent. I do still value helping others, and the 30-Hour famine was a great way to do that. I have stayed the same in a few ways, though. My family’s opinion of me is still very important, and I want to make them proud. That is one reason why school is so important to me now. They will just have to be proud of me for going to college, and learn to live with the fact that I am not particularly active in organized religion.
As I mentioned earlier, the Famine was important to me then for a few reasons. For one thing, my friends went, and I tended to follow my friends. More importantly, I knew I was helping people. However then, unlike now, I wanted recognition and honor for all of my good deeds. I wanted to appease my grandmother and convince her that I was a good Christian. Now, the event means much more to me. I realize the sense of goodness that comes from helping others for no reason other than to help them. The people I helped have never even heard my name, but through my example, they know that there are people out there willing to help. Hopefully, it helped to inspire others to do the same. As a person, I have become busier, but also more understanding of what it really means to be a truly good person.