Week 4 Discussion: Profiles

Technological innovations continue to impact nearly every aspect of our lives. George Orwell‘s prediction in his novel 1984 of “ubiquitous surveillance” may have come true. Every click you make, every webpage you view, and every communication you make using digital technology can be tracked. Marketing researchers analyze this data to tailor advertising campaigns targeting you as an individual. Talking about cute clothes at a specific store while your phone is “sleeping” may generate ads for that store on your social media feeds. Researching a political issue may result in targeted political ads. Every day, your digital profile is expanded and revised—as are the profiles of others.

For this Discussion, you explore people significant to your chosen field of study and what their profiles might say about them.

Imagine that you are a magazine writer assigned to write a profile of:

• A person who influenced your choice of degree program—not just going back to school or pursuing an education, but choosing your specific field

OR

• A person who has contributed to your chosen field of study significantly.

The person can be living or dead, but it CANNOT be you. You will be writing about yourself in the Week 4 Assignment.

Write 200–300 words describing:

• Your chosen field of study
• A brief background of the person you chose (No need to include details like eye color or height, but do include birth and death dates, if applicable.)
• WHY this person was important to your decision to pursue education in that field OR
• HOW the person you chose has contributed to your field
• A couple of sentences responding to ONE of the following questions using the biographies located in the Learning Resources:

• • From among this week’s biographies, who do you think your chosen person would have wanted as a friend and why?
  • From among this week’s biographies, who might have been a good mentor for your person? Or who might your person have mentored?

Don’t forget to list the specific profile resource at the bottom of your post.

Tutorial for Profiles