LAST BLOG-#14

Today’s class was very interesting to say the least! For it to be the last class of the semester I was kind of upset because I truly enjoyed it. The teacher asked all of the students to come to the front of the room and discuss to the class what they have learned throughout the semester. At first, I was very nervous because I extremely dislike public speaking! However, when I realized that half the class had walked out I was not as scared because small group discussions do not bother me. When I went in front of the class to speak, the teacher had her laptop open and I could see myself speaking. I then realized she was filming us and I got so anxious. I have no idea what I was saying, and I most likely did not make any sense. I think I was talking about how poor people are always left behind when it comes to the advancement of technology, and the rich are always at an advantage. My favorite part of this class was when the teacher bought us pizza, and sang a song while playing her guitar. She also gave all of the students who stayed extra credit. The song she sang was Somewhere Over the Rainbow but we changed the words so it pertained to science and technology. That was very nice of her, and I can not wait to take cyber politics with her next semester!

Blog 13

This week in class we discussed economic issues and inequality and technology with regards to Vietnam and China. Tuesday’s class was focused solely on Vietnam. While, Thursdays class was focused on both Vietnam and China. We conversed about their similarities. The readings went into further detail however, class condensed the topic and helped me better understand the issues. It shocked me that so many products are being exported from Southeast Asia and Vietnam. Such as, oil, textiles, fisheries, rice, coffee, tea, electronics, garments and much more. They spend over 25 billion dollars a year on exports alone, and spend 31 billion on importations. The population of Southeast Asia is 82.7 billion people so all of these products are manufactured by the hard working people. Businesses and investments thrive in this area. However, most of the people are literate which gives them an even larger advantage to further technology and science issues. Their economy has embraced the capitalist view but their government remains communist and socialist. They are having issues with regards to foreign advancement in technology and science, and promoting such issues to investors. They are having trouble promoting high tech parks to these investors. However, their main concern is the future accomplishment in the year 2010.

I also enjoyed presenting on Wednesday. It was very interesting to see everyone else’s topics, and see how they were thinking. I felt that every topic was really great and their presentations were very informative.

Blog 12

In class this week we watched a video from TED: Ideas worth spreading. The speaker was Jamie Lerner, and his speech was titled Sing a Song of Sustainable Cities. He wanted to turn Curitiba, Brazil into a sustainable city that exerted less carbon, and consumed fewer natural resources. However, he wanted to make Curitiba the first example of a sustainable city, and then turn the whole world into something better. His main ideas were with regards to transportation. He felt that every city in the world could be improved in eleven years with his amazing ideas. Lerner also had many interesting analogies that related to this city. For example, the turtle he described is a way people live and work together in cities. One analogy that stood out was the car and mother in law. He said that you should have a good relationship with her but you do not have to praise her; meaning you do not always have to use a car for transportation. Lerner wanted to connect the subways and the bus system in Rio so the people can use this way of transportation more than they would use cars. This would cut down on all the pollution and carbon emissions that are killing this world. Plus, this way of transportation is reliable, efficient, and much safer than driving a car. Most people in the world have one car per person and most households have four to five people. This would cut down on car sales but would help the environment greatly.

blog 11

This week in class we discussed technology and how it relates to students and the educational system. I really thought it was interesting when we discussed the different generations. I never knew we were known as generation Y or the Millennial. When my parents where growing up they were known as the Baby Boomers. However, as my generation continues to grow we are becoming more and more dependent on technology. We have never known a world without the use of a computer because it has always been a click away. For some reason my generation seems very lazy, and somewhat self-centered. For example, eight out of ten people say that getting rich is the most important goal in their lives! We also admire entertainer’s more than political leaders.

When the T.A. told us to work in groups and discuss technology and education I really enjoyed it. It made me realize that we use technology in class all the time. The computer, power point, electricity in the room, the class blog, and pretty much everything else that we use connects back to technology. Furthermore, the movie clip we watched was very powerful. It shocked me that so many students in college have so many distractions, and multitask all the time. I feel like my generation bought our major’s instead of buying knowledge from universities. In my opinion, this should change but I do not know how.

voting blog (extra credit)

Today is the day everyone who is a registered voter can vote for the next President of The United States. It is an extremely life changing choice because for the first time in American history an African American man could potentially be the next president. For some strange reason I did not need to go out and vote. I received an absentee ballot in the mail. I was a little disappointed because as a first time voter I wanted to experience what my parents have gone through for many years. They said I was really lucky because I did not have to wait in line for two hours just to vote. When I was voting in my living room, I noticed that I received a small booklet. It was all the propositions being explained in great detail. This really helped me in my decision making because I did not understand the propositions on the ballot. The propositions on the ballot were hard to follow because of the way it was worded on the ballot. I was confused if I was voting against a proposition that I wanted to vote yes for. I was really glad that I had the booklet at the time because you do not get one when you go into vote. I voted for my choice of president last because I wanted to make sure that I was making the right decision for myself.

When it was time for me to vote for a presidential nominee, I went online to both of their webpage’s and looked up their policies and beliefs. I also made sure I watched the debates on television to see which nominee was strongest. It was not until the last debate when I realized I was going to vote for Obama. He is an amazing public speaker, and I feel like people want someone who can give us hope, and change this nation for the better. He has a great plan to create more jobs, and ease the burden on hardworking Americans by offering middle-class tax cuts three times the size of McCain’s. Plus, his health care plan will provide accessible, affordable coverage for all, and it will reduce health care costs for families. These are two issues I felt were very important to most Americans and my family. However, if McCain wins I will not be disappointed because he too is a man of his word, and has great plans for this country. I think this race is going to be very close! No matter what the outcome, someone is going to have to change the crumbling economy, and help out the average Joe!

Blog 10

This week in class we had a guest speaker named Dr. Smith. I have been looking forward to a guest speaker in this class because the topics interest me very much. However, when Dr. Smith started his presentation he was extremely hard to follow but very passionate about his views on the economy. He also stated the causes of war and poverty. I did not like that he just read from the slides. Although, when students asked him questions he did answer in full detail. I am not quite sure but I think his views to help the diminishing economy of the U.S. would be socialism. To me this is not the answer and very unrealistic. One thing that he stated and believed strongly about was that people should only work two times a week. I do not think this is realistic because people will become lazy, unmotivated, and lose touch with others. People who only work twice a day may volunteer more but I do not think this will happen if they are unenthusiastic and spending most of their time at home. I really liked that once he was done with the presentation he said that his views on helping the crumbling economy may not work, and we may never know what the future will bring.

Blog 9

This week’s lecture was extremely interesting. The topic we learned about was nuclear power and technology. Most people know of nuclear power because the media shows it to us through images. These images include weapons, nuclear waste, Hiroshima, and explosions. Most nuclear power plants in the United States are being built in peoples backyards. However, most people do not want them there because people feel that nuclear power plants are very dangerous. The citizens of today also want peace, and want to stay away from all kinds of nuclear power. The map we were shown in class had all the areas marked with nuclear power plants. Most of the power plants were along the east and west coast of the U.S. Out of all the states, Nevada had the highest amount of test runs with regards to nuclear power, which was 935. Since 1895, nuclear power has been around and most people did not know such power has been in our presence for so long. Scientists have learned a lot since then and can use nuclear power for good. Such as radiation to cure cancer. However, nuclear power can get into the wrong hands. For example, Iran is attempting to obtain a full nuclear cycle involving nuclear power plants, fuel manufacturing and more. Also, certain military groups could kill millions of people, and this could be devastating for certain countries. I feel, the United States and other countries need to stop this from happening.

Blog 8 (Extra Credit)

This week in class we discussed climate change and inequality. Particularly man verses nature and what man is doing to hinder nature. There was a graph showing a rapid increase in temperature over one hundred years. Even though nature goes through cycles, humans have greatly affected this rapid increase. It is estimated that more “abrupt” changes will occur. This change could cause an ecological imbalance. The Poles will start to melt and this will cause animal extinction, and the whole world will suffer negative consequences.  For example, weather patterns will change, and larger and more frequent storms will occur. There will be droughts, and more people will be going hungry because farmers will not have adequate supplies. As usual, the world’s poorest nations will suffer the most if global warming takes into an effect. Our world cannot keep up with this sudden increase in temperature. Scientists do not know what to do if the world temperature increases two degrees Celsius because this goes beyond our recent range of experience. The larger nations have caused great greenhouse gas emissions unlike poorer and smaller nations. However, they will one day catch up and it will be devastating to the world. There is nothing we can do to stop other countries from giving off large amounts of emissions. The nations with the highest emissions are the United States, and Australia. The nation with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions is Bangladesh. The poorest nations account for two percent of emissions while the richest account for sixty three.  

Blog 7

In class this week we discussed gender issues in science and technology and DNA. Science was always seen as a woman, and as long as we have been human woman and men have had an active role. However, the roles of women in science and technology have been diminishing since the Enlightenment Era. For example, educated and active women during the 17^th and 18^thcenturies had no where to perform scientific studies because academies and associations rebelled against aristocratic rule and discriminated against women. Women were even being accused of witchcraft and heresy by Joseph Glanvill who wrote novels that deeply influenced the Salem witch trials.

The other half of class we discussed the issues of DNA. DNA has changed the legal system as we know it. It provides the courts with better evidence, and changes the way we think. DNA has both negative and positive aspects. DNA helps convict criminals, and it can remove the wrongfully accused from jail. Even though DNA testing is a new technology this brings inequality into play. According to the article, there is a higher percentage of minorities being DNA tested. The more money one has the better legal advice and help one gets. Even if a person is DNA tested and they are a match that does not always mean they will be convicted. For example, the O.J. Simpson case. He obviously murdered his wife and her lover. The DNA and evidence pointed to him but he was not convicted because of corruption in the criminal justice system. Overall, DNA can have good and bad outcomes because someone will always find ways to abuse the system.

Blog 6

This week in class we discussed the definition of justice. We were shown a variety of Hollywood movie clips and youtube videos made by students. Most of the movies showed the definition of justice in a courtroom. However, all of these clips made justice seem unfair. The lawyers had to defend people who were truly guilty and lie about it. In one clip a lawyer shouted and screamed like a madman that his client was guilty. He could no longer defend his client because it was unjust in his eyes. He was then dramatically removed by a bunch of officers while he kept screaming and thrashing about. Of course, Hollywood always makes life seem more dramatic than it truly is and wants to show justice in a negative light. The students movies we were shown asked people to define justice and it also discussed the different forms. Then, in Thursday’s class we went into great detail on distributive justice and were shown examples. Distributive justice concerns what is right with respect to the distribution of goods in society. For example, someone who evaluates a situation by looking at the standard of living, absolute wealth, wealth disparity, or any other such utilitarian standard. Utilitarian thinking is moral as long as it increses the total happiness for the group or community not the individual. However, economic growth at a national level helps the poor everytime.