WRTG 391 UMGC Instances of Bias Based on Someones Name Discussions

For this discussion, you’ll practice research techniques that will help you understand how to find sources for the various assignments in WRTG 391.  

Here’s how to start: 

• Read the case below and complete the following tasks.

Assume you work for a company that is hiring more and more “Generation Z” employees.

Your supervisor has asked you to conduct research on issues regarding employees from Generation Z. She’s heard that Generation Z may have different expectations of the work environment from those from older generations. In addition, she mentions that Generation Z might have different habits with regard to their use of technology.

In short, she has a vague idea about this generation, but nothing very definite—and she’d like to learn more. 

Because she needs basic information, your task is to conduct a very general search on Generation Z and their work or technology habits. You don’t need to focus your topic now, although she may ask you for more information at a later date.

Here’s what you’ll need to do: 

(1) Using the strategies discussed in Video Tutorial #1, search on Generation Z and work to find your articles. Your search can be broad at this stage. 

– List the topic you searched (e.g., “post-millennials”)

– List your search terms. Include at least three (3) terms. (e.g., “employees”)

(2) Write the titles of the four articles and the journals in which they appeared.  (e.g., “Understanding Generational Differences in Workplace Environments,” Harvard Business Journal) 

(3) Using the strategies discussed in Library Video #2, conduct a new search on a topic that’s either related to your major or to your work. As the video demonstrates, use quotation marks around your search phrase. 

– List your search phrase(s). (e.g., “academic writing”)

– List how many search results you received. (e.g., 151,022)

(4) Focus your search from question #2 by using the SU-subject terms option from the drop-down menu for one of the rows.

– List the number of search results you have after limiting the search by using SU-subject terms. (e.g., 583)

(5) Finally, using the strategies mentioned in Video Tutorial #3, locate the subject guide for your major. If you haven’t declared a major yet, please select one that interests you from drop-down menu. 

– Describe any interesting resources you’ve discovered 

 Discussion 3- The Importance of Names

Your response to this discussion is due by this week Friday at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST).

You are also asked to respond to at least one other student in the class on his or her response.

Your response to your fellow student is due by this week Sunday at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST).

________________

Hi, Learners:

According to author, literary critic, and scholar,  Ralph Ellison, “It is through our names that we first place ourselves in the world. Our names, being the gift of others, must be made our own.” Many names carry and celebrate personal and family histories within them. Indeed, the word “namesake” comes from the practice of naming infants after friends, relatives, and grandparents.

Names can express a family’s culture, or obscure it. For example, there is a long-standing myth that officials on Ellis Island changed immigrants’ names upon their arrival in the United States. The truth is that many immigrants changed their own names to avoid, or mitigate, the effects of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and religion.

Often, names mark gender, class, race, and ethnicity. Studies have shown that advancement, bias, and discrimination often occur based on a name alone (Cotton, O’Neill, Griffin, 2008). Gender-neutral names have been shown to help women advance in careers in law and engineering. Hiring practices are often affected by the perceived gender, race, and ethnicity of an applicants’ name. In addition, some people choose names other than their birth names; this practice is particularly relevant in the transgender community. When people refuse to use the name chosen by an individual or discriminate based on the new name, this refusal can be considered offensive. 

Here’s what you’ll need to do:

Task 1: Provide a brief reflection on your name, nickname, your child’s name, the name of a pet, or the name of a personal hero. Here are some prompts to get you started: 

• Who, or what, are you named after and why?
• Where does this name originate from?
• Who named you?
• Who chose the spelling of this name?
• Why did you choose this name (for a pet/friend/family member)?
• What special meaning does this name hold for you?
• Do you have any memories or stories associated with this name?
• Do you like this name? Why or why not?
• If it is a name you chose for yourself, why did you choose this name in particular?
• What effect do you think this name has had on you? 

Then, after you post your reflection on the name you’ve chosen, please answer the questions posed in the anonymous survey. We will post the results at the end of the weekly discussion.

Task 2: When you’ve finished posting your name story, please visit the link for the Week 1 Discussion 3 Names Survey to present your thoughts. (You can also find the survey by going to Tools at the top of the screen and clicking on the last link in the dropdown menu titled “Surveys.”) The survey is anonymous and the results will be posted for everyone in the course to read. 

1. Did you write about your own name in the response to this question?
2. Did you choose to write about another name rather than your own? 
3. Have you witnessed any instances of bias based on someone’s name?
4. Have you experienced biased actions based on your name? 

Task 3: Please post a response to your peers about their posted name story. As you compose your post, consider how people use names to understand each other. Note when these assumptions might be incomplete or incorrect.   

Cotton, J. L., O’Neill, B. S., & Griffin, A. (2008). The “name game”: Affective and hiring reactions to first names. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23(1), 18–39. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940810849648