When I was young, from ages 2-11 or 12, I was always the skinny, energetic kid. What can I say, I was young, of course I would be energetic. Once I hit the end of my elementary school years, right before 5th grade, I started gaining weight. I don't know how much weight I gained, but I know I was bigger than most kids in middle school. All of the other kids would pick on me, and make fun of me. Because of that, I really didn't have many friends, just a few here and there. I would wear the old, out-of-style clothes that would fit me, but I didn't like them that much. I remember for my eighth grade I.D. card, I used the one from 7th grade and replaced the 7 with an 8 using a sharpie since I absolutely hated my picture and how I "looked fat" as I would say and "ugly." I remember me and my mom getting gym memberships and I would go but I didn't know what I was doing. All I did was eat bad, and play games. But the weight gaining didn't stop at middle school. After middle school graduation, that summer of 2009, my family had it really hard financially. This made me eat even worse because of the stress we all endured. That was a really hard year for me.
By the time 9t grade hit, I wasn't really big but I had to wear large t-shirts when all my friends were wearing smalls. And again, I was getting picked on a little bit here and there but it wasn't as bad as middle school. I didn't have many friends in my first 2 years of high school but I had a couple good ones. When junior year hit, I was wearing about x-large shirts and 34 to 36 waist size pants. I didn't go to any of my homecomings at all the first 3 years because I was self-conscious about the way I looked. I remember one class where these two kids made fun of almost everyone in the room and talked about them and all I could think was "they are talking about how fat I am and how stupid I look." Junior prom came along and I didn't even go because I was embarrassed by the way I looked. I know most kids wouldn't even care what others thought about them, but that's all I could think about.
Summer of 2012 hit and I was transitioning from 11th grade to 12th and I started thinking about losing weight. I joined a new gym, Gold's gym, where I felt more comfortable than Planet Fitness. I barely went to the gym though. As soon as school started back up, my parents hit it hard financially again and it forced me, my mom, and little sister to move in with my grandmother and my uncle in their tiny house a couple miles away. I had to sleep on the couch in the living room. This, I said, was my chance to improve the way I look. Since I wasn't in my house, I didn't feel comfortable going through the cabinets and eating every hour or so even though it was my grandmothers house and she didn't care if I did. But, for one, I don't like to be judged, so me thinking my uncle and grandmother would be judging me scared me to get food and for another, I just don't feel comfortable about going through someone else's stuff. The only things I really ate were apples they had on the counter for us and when my mother cooked dinner I ate. Also, I got my first job at Best Buy and I was always on my feet working.
When I first started my job, I was "chunky" and "big." But after living at my grandmothers from September to December 2012, and working a lot after school, I started seeing some weight come off. It wasn't much, but I could tell. This gave me a little bit more confidence in myself. I went to my first ever homecoming in October, even though it would be my last, I still went. I went down to a large shirt size and 34 pant waist size. Before Christmas break at school, we were able to move back into our house and were able to leave my grandmothers. Although I am thankful my grandmother opened our house to us but I was glad to get my room back. When I came back to our house, I was determined to keep losing weight since I was starting to feel good about myself. I taught myself to not eat the junk we had in our cabinets and to pick up an apple or other fruit. I was also working a lot more since it was the holidays. By the time spring break of senior year hit, I was a medium shirt size and still 34 waist size. Senior prom wasn't too far ahead, and I actually went, though without a date, but I was determined to go. I even got an awesome new hairstyle for prom.
When graduation hit, I said goodbye to all the people I hated that made fun of me and I was determined to stun them within the next year. Well, I started going to the gym about once a week to do some cardio, and changed my diet. I am now a sophomore in college and a local community college, and I now wear a small shirt size and a 28 waist size. I went from 215lbs at graduation of high school to now 155lbs, for a total loss of 60lbs. I am now starting to gain weight again, but for muscle as I am going to the gym every night working on myself. I have a lot more friends and I go out of my house everyday to do something that I would not have done in high school. I have never felt this good about myself and the way I look. I see people from my high school and now old job at Best Buy, since I got a new job, and they cannot believe its me.
Since high school graduation, I lost 60lbs, got a new car to fit my new look, kept my extremely cool haircut, got a new job, and got a new sense of pride and confidence. I now feel confident enough to go up to cute girls and say hi, or go out and have fun, or confront people that are just mean and give them a piece of my mind. I also had to recently get new glasses because my old ones didn't fit my face. I can no longer wear my class ring as it just slides off and I had to get more links taken out of my watch. I don't feel like people are judging me or making fun of me and I feel very healthy. After losing this weight, I feel like I have a purpose in life, and I feel like I am now able to just have fun. I am only 19 and I have a goal to finish college, get a good career, and keep my body looking healthy.
If anyone of you are having trouble, just remember you can do it! Have confidence in yourself and believe you can do anything you want to do! If I was able to do it, so can you! Everyone has a chance to feel good about themselves and I encourage each and everyone of you to get out there and fulfill your life to the fullest!
Monday, December 29, 2014
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Help this lady
Many of you seeing this, my oldest sister Krista has a friend named Vicki. I personally do not know this woman, but her story is just heartbreaking. Vicki has cancer and has worked for Apple Inc. Back in 2013, Vicki had to go on disability due to being sick. In October 2014, Apple fired her for missing too much work, right before Christmas. Now, Vicki and her husband live off one paycheck and she has 2-3 doctors appointments and tons of medicine to buy each month. They have 2 daughters, one 2 and one 10. They would like Santa to come visit on Christmas, but Vicki thinks it won't happen. I don't know Vicki, but I know she is desperately asking for some help to give her kids a good Christmas and she even created a go fund me page. This is the link, visit and donate if possible. http://www.gofundme.com/hqafo0
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Tech Chapter 8 Blog Post
From the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show, the three products I found most interesting are:
1. Self Driving Audi A7:
-This Audi A7 sedan is designed with radars and cameras to detect vehicles on the road. This car is designed sort of like an auto pilot on airplanes, to give drivers a break while sitting in traffic. The windshield mounted camera and the radars positioned on the sides and rear of the Audi monitors lane lines, and detects other cars driving near it. The Audi is able to automatically adjusts its speed to road hazards that happen unexpectedly, like when a vehicle cuts you off, the Audi backs off and slows down. On the instrument cluster, the cameras showed an lcd representation of the traffic around the Audi. All of the sensors and computers are hidden in the body of the car so that noone gets annoyed by huge antennas or "skycrapers" as I call them on top of your car like the google cars. This car, as you can probably tell, is going to cost a lot of money, and take a long time in the production line. Also, personally, I know you can always control the car whenever you need to, but I love to drive and I don't feel comfortable letting a car do it for me (CNET).
2. Intel's charging Bowl:
-This is very interesting and awesome, in my opinion. This is a bowl like design, like the bowl Sheldon and Leonard use to put their keys in in the Big Bang theory, however its for electronics, not keys. The purpose of this bowl is to charge all of your handheld electronics (cell phones, cameras, tablets, ...) wirelessly without you plugging in your devices. Though this bowl only works with Intel powered devices, Intel is creating new software for it to allow it to charge other phones, tablets, etc. The bowl is 10 inches in diameter and has a cool, sleek design. Intel hasn't released any availability date or pricing just yet. All I can say is, I want one, only if it can charge my apple products (CNET).
3. Lumus DK40 Smartglasses
-These glasses are designed by an Israeli-based company named Lumus. The purpose of these glasses is to provide consumers with great vision, great styling, with a touch of futuristic personalities. These glasses portray a personal Heads-Up-Display on your lenses. I know it doesn't seem safe to walk around with blue images covering your eyes, you might get hit by a car, but that is what Lumus thought of. Lumus knew they couldn't display those images over both lenses, so they designed it to only portray images over the right eye, that way you can still see out of the left eye. I do like this technology, as I do wear glasses to see, but they are not a priority in my opinion, I'll just stick with my cheap glasses. Also, the heads-up-display is really cool and all, but one of my car's has a heads-up-display, and although its awesome to drive a car and see your speedometer in your windshield, I would not want to walk around with it directly in front of my eye. But this is very interesting (CNET).
Technology is wonderful in many aspects, and the technology presented in the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show is very futuristic. Out of the many pieces of technology presented, these three products caught my eye. They are neat, cool, fun, exciting, and many other adjectives. Just think of what the world is going to create next.
References:
CNET, Audi A7 takes the Wheel at CES 2014, http://www.cnet.com/news/audi-a7-takes-the-wheel-at-ces-2014/, 07 January 2014, accessed on 23 November 2014
CNET, Intel Dreams up a Smart Bowl that will Charge Gadgets, http://www.cnet.com/news/intel-dreams-up-a-smart-bowl-that-will-charge-gadgets/, 07 January 2014, accessed on 23 November 2014
CNET, Lumus DK40 smartglasses are your personal HUD (hands-on), http://www.cnet.com/products/lumus-dk40/, 07 January 2014, accessed on 23 November 2014
1. Self Driving Audi A7:
-This Audi A7 sedan is designed with radars and cameras to detect vehicles on the road. This car is designed sort of like an auto pilot on airplanes, to give drivers a break while sitting in traffic. The windshield mounted camera and the radars positioned on the sides and rear of the Audi monitors lane lines, and detects other cars driving near it. The Audi is able to automatically adjusts its speed to road hazards that happen unexpectedly, like when a vehicle cuts you off, the Audi backs off and slows down. On the instrument cluster, the cameras showed an lcd representation of the traffic around the Audi. All of the sensors and computers are hidden in the body of the car so that noone gets annoyed by huge antennas or "skycrapers" as I call them on top of your car like the google cars. This car, as you can probably tell, is going to cost a lot of money, and take a long time in the production line. Also, personally, I know you can always control the car whenever you need to, but I love to drive and I don't feel comfortable letting a car do it for me (CNET).
2. Intel's charging Bowl:
-This is very interesting and awesome, in my opinion. This is a bowl like design, like the bowl Sheldon and Leonard use to put their keys in in the Big Bang theory, however its for electronics, not keys. The purpose of this bowl is to charge all of your handheld electronics (cell phones, cameras, tablets, ...) wirelessly without you plugging in your devices. Though this bowl only works with Intel powered devices, Intel is creating new software for it to allow it to charge other phones, tablets, etc. The bowl is 10 inches in diameter and has a cool, sleek design. Intel hasn't released any availability date or pricing just yet. All I can say is, I want one, only if it can charge my apple products (CNET).
3. Lumus DK40 Smartglasses
-These glasses are designed by an Israeli-based company named Lumus. The purpose of these glasses is to provide consumers with great vision, great styling, with a touch of futuristic personalities. These glasses portray a personal Heads-Up-Display on your lenses. I know it doesn't seem safe to walk around with blue images covering your eyes, you might get hit by a car, but that is what Lumus thought of. Lumus knew they couldn't display those images over both lenses, so they designed it to only portray images over the right eye, that way you can still see out of the left eye. I do like this technology, as I do wear glasses to see, but they are not a priority in my opinion, I'll just stick with my cheap glasses. Also, the heads-up-display is really cool and all, but one of my car's has a heads-up-display, and although its awesome to drive a car and see your speedometer in your windshield, I would not want to walk around with it directly in front of my eye. But this is very interesting (CNET).
Technology is wonderful in many aspects, and the technology presented in the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show is very futuristic. Out of the many pieces of technology presented, these three products caught my eye. They are neat, cool, fun, exciting, and many other adjectives. Just think of what the world is going to create next.
References:
CNET, Audi A7 takes the Wheel at CES 2014, http://www.cnet.com/news/audi-a7-takes-the-wheel-at-ces-2014/, 07 January 2014, accessed on 23 November 2014
CNET, Intel Dreams up a Smart Bowl that will Charge Gadgets, http://www.cnet.com/news/intel-dreams-up-a-smart-bowl-that-will-charge-gadgets/, 07 January 2014, accessed on 23 November 2014
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Globalization Blog Post
The use of technology has greatly improved the way people think, act, and say. Technology, for instance, has improved health care greatly by preventing and controling emerging infectious diseases, faster response times to the ill, and more ways to cure the sick (New York State University). Computers and digital images have made it possible for doctors around the world to share information and offer advice. Mobile technology, cell phones or iPads for example, allow nurses and doctors to communicate whenever they need help with other doctors or nurses in remote locations where they have no access to a computer or workstation. These advances in technology give people the help and care that they need in order to be healthy, or recover from a disease (New York State University).
Technology also gives doctors and nurses the resources to help a person prevent a disease. Doctors are now able to perform x-rays, and other various diagnostics on people to tell if they have anything in their bloodstream, or lungs, or heart that may transform into a bigger problem (New York State University). For example, a person who goes into the hospital to have an x-ray on his/her lungs is told that she may be getting lung cancer. The doctor that performs the x-ray and evaluation on this patient can tell, with the use of an x-ray machine, and computers, and digital images, that they have a tumour that may become canerous. However, since this doctor used technology, he/she can give the patient the necessary treatments and medication required to get rid of this tumour and prevent this patient from getting cancer.
But, how has technology affected distance learning? First, what is distance learning? Distance learning is a way for teachers to interact with their students and teach them in remote locations using technology (New York State University). For example, a teacher in Florida can use skype or other software to teach her students in Maryland. Online classes, for example, are great examples of distance learning. I have an online class, and I get taught the material from my instructor in a different location than where my instructor is. Countries that can benefit the most with distance learning are countires that have a high percentage of scholars, people that attend school. The U.S., for example, can benefit from distance learning because there are so many people that attend school in the U.S. and the use of technology in the U.S. is so large compared to countries like Brazil. Students in the U.S. can use technology to improve homework, and allow students to gain the education they need. Other countries that are poor, like some countries in Africa, can also benefit from distance learning. These countries can use technology to connect them to more rich countries, like the U.S. for example, so that they can achieve the education they need in order to get their families, as well as their country financially stable (New York State University).
In my culture project, I chose the country of Belgium. Belgium has always been a country that wasn't technologically advanced. When technology really grew in this era, Belgium had to change some of its ways. Belgium uses technology in its hospitals to allow doctors to communicate with other doctors in other nations. According to Jacques de Toeuf, "Belgian hospitals are equipped with the most advanced technologies and run by highly qualified staff. With a large number of specialised centres and internationally renowned doctors they provide optimal care in the best conditions and have considerable capacity." Belgium has the software and technology to compete with higher nations, like the U.S. Even though Belgium wasn't always the most technological advanced country, they have improved their health care greatly with the use of technology. As far as schooling, Belgium does use technology to connect its teachers and students with other nations. Belgium uses blended courses with online resources to give students proper learning. Belgium tries to implement as many technologically advanced systems as possible to give the best education to students (Belgium Summitt).
References:
Belgium Summitt, Scaling Technology in Education: Building on the Web, accessed 22 November 2014 http://belgium.appsevents.com/conference-sessions/scaling-technology-in-education-building-on-the-web
Jacques de Toeuf, Healthcare Belgium, accessed 22 November 2014 http://www.healthcarebelgium.com/index.php?id=healthcarebelgium1&no_cache=1
New York State University, Technology and Education, accessed 22 November 2014 http://www.globalization101.org/education/
New York State University, Technology and Healthcare, accessed 22 November 2014 http://www.globalization101.org/health-care/
Technology also gives doctors and nurses the resources to help a person prevent a disease. Doctors are now able to perform x-rays, and other various diagnostics on people to tell if they have anything in their bloodstream, or lungs, or heart that may transform into a bigger problem (New York State University). For example, a person who goes into the hospital to have an x-ray on his/her lungs is told that she may be getting lung cancer. The doctor that performs the x-ray and evaluation on this patient can tell, with the use of an x-ray machine, and computers, and digital images, that they have a tumour that may become canerous. However, since this doctor used technology, he/she can give the patient the necessary treatments and medication required to get rid of this tumour and prevent this patient from getting cancer.
But, how has technology affected distance learning? First, what is distance learning? Distance learning is a way for teachers to interact with their students and teach them in remote locations using technology (New York State University). For example, a teacher in Florida can use skype or other software to teach her students in Maryland. Online classes, for example, are great examples of distance learning. I have an online class, and I get taught the material from my instructor in a different location than where my instructor is. Countries that can benefit the most with distance learning are countires that have a high percentage of scholars, people that attend school. The U.S., for example, can benefit from distance learning because there are so many people that attend school in the U.S. and the use of technology in the U.S. is so large compared to countries like Brazil. Students in the U.S. can use technology to improve homework, and allow students to gain the education they need. Other countries that are poor, like some countries in Africa, can also benefit from distance learning. These countries can use technology to connect them to more rich countries, like the U.S. for example, so that they can achieve the education they need in order to get their families, as well as their country financially stable (New York State University).
In my culture project, I chose the country of Belgium. Belgium has always been a country that wasn't technologically advanced. When technology really grew in this era, Belgium had to change some of its ways. Belgium uses technology in its hospitals to allow doctors to communicate with other doctors in other nations. According to Jacques de Toeuf, "Belgian hospitals are equipped with the most advanced technologies and run by highly qualified staff. With a large number of specialised centres and internationally renowned doctors they provide optimal care in the best conditions and have considerable capacity." Belgium has the software and technology to compete with higher nations, like the U.S. Even though Belgium wasn't always the most technological advanced country, they have improved their health care greatly with the use of technology. As far as schooling, Belgium does use technology to connect its teachers and students with other nations. Belgium uses blended courses with online resources to give students proper learning. Belgium tries to implement as many technologically advanced systems as possible to give the best education to students (Belgium Summitt).
References:
Belgium Summitt, Scaling Technology in Education: Building on the Web, accessed 22 November 2014 http://belgium.appsevents.com/conference-sessions/scaling-technology-in-education-building-on-the-web
Jacques de Toeuf, Healthcare Belgium, accessed 22 November 2014 http://www.healthcarebelgium.com/index.php?id=healthcarebelgium1&no_cache=1
New York State University, Technology and Education, accessed 22 November 2014 http://www.globalization101.org/education/
New York State University, Technology and Healthcare, accessed 22 November 2014 http://www.globalization101.org/health-care/
Monday, November 17, 2014
Tech Chapter 7 Blog Post
1. The textbook discusses assistive devices for PCs to help individuals with visual impairment. Research and post apps that Google and other developers are creating to help visually-impaired users use smartphones.
Google Talkback is an "Accessibility Service that helps blind and vision-impaired users interact with their devices." "Talkback adds spoken, audible, and vibration feedback to your device. It is a system application that was pre-installed on most devices and is updated when the accessibility service is improved" (Google). Google Talkback is an innovative way for visually-impaired users to use their smartphones correctly to type, make calls, or listen to music. University of Minnesota researchers have developed a" smartphone app that can detect upcoming work zones and provide routing instructions." The app uses Bluetooth beacons that communicate with the GPS receiver on a user’s smartphone. When a beacon is detected, the phone vibrates and provides an audio message (University of Minnesota). Even though this app is convenient for visually-impaired individuals to cross the street, it does require that signs and hazards in the way to attach bluetooth signals to, which many cities do not want to do because of the labor-intensive, high-cost.
One way we can reduce our e-waste is to buy Energy Star electronics. These products are designed to use less electricity and run more efficiently so you won't have to buy another one the year after. Another way is to donate unused electronics to charity. You can donate unused electronics to veterans, college students, families, etc so they can reuse them instead of you throwing them away. Also, take good care of your electronics. If you keep your laptop in a case and do not overcharge and overheat the battery, it will last longer and you won't have to keep buying new ones and throwing the old ones away to a trash dump.
References:
Internet World Stats, Digital Divide http://www.internetworldstats.com/links10.htm
RisingVoices, Bridging the Digital Divide http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2014/01/17/bridging-the-digital-divide-mobile-and-social-media/
Google Talkback is an "Accessibility Service that helps blind and vision-impaired users interact with their devices." "Talkback adds spoken, audible, and vibration feedback to your device. It is a system application that was pre-installed on most devices and is updated when the accessibility service is improved" (Google). Google Talkback is an innovative way for visually-impaired users to use their smartphones correctly to type, make calls, or listen to music. University of Minnesota researchers have developed a" smartphone app that can detect upcoming work zones and provide routing instructions." The app uses Bluetooth beacons that communicate with the GPS receiver on a user’s smartphone. When a beacon is detected, the phone vibrates and provides an audio message (University of Minnesota). Even though this app is convenient for visually-impaired individuals to cross the street, it does require that signs and hazards in the way to attach bluetooth signals to, which many cities do not want to do because of the labor-intensive, high-cost.
2. The textbook gives the example of the OLPC project as one method used to lessen the digital divide. Post examples of other products and ideas that are emerging that could help lessen the global digital divide.
One product that could help lessen the digital divide is WEBAim. WEBAim is a web site featuring the basic concepts of accessibility and the specific techniques for helping Internet access to people with disabilities (Internet World Stats). Another good product is Ushahidi, which is a company that specialises in "developing free and open source software to enable users to share, interact and report on what's happening in their society, available for anyone with a mobile phone" (RisingVoices).
3. The EPA estimates that the e-waste generated by digital devices produces more than 2.5 million tons every year. Research and post "green" initiatives to promote sustainability and reduce the amount of e-waste.
One way we can reduce our e-waste is to buy Energy Star electronics. These products are designed to use less electricity and run more efficiently so you won't have to buy another one the year after. Another way is to donate unused electronics to charity. You can donate unused electronics to veterans, college students, families, etc so they can reuse them instead of you throwing them away. Also, take good care of your electronics. If you keep your laptop in a case and do not overcharge and overheat the battery, it will last longer and you won't have to keep buying new ones and throwing the old ones away to a trash dump.
References:
Internet World Stats, Digital Divide http://www.internetworldstats.com/links10.htm
RisingVoices, Bridging the Digital Divide http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2014/01/17/bridging-the-digital-divide-mobile-and-social-media/
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Tech Chapter 5 Blog
1. The Arab Spring has been called the bloggers revolution. What role did social media play in this revolution?
2. Lindsey Stone was fired over a picture she posted on her Facebook page. Is it fair for 30,000 individuals, most of them probably strangers, to have the power to determine the course of an individual's life and livelihood based on one poor choice made on a social networking site?
To me, Lindsey Stone deserved to be fired. First, a little background about myself. I work for a well known company here in the U.S. When I was at training, my instructor told us that "anything done on the company's grounds, or while on a business trip that ruins the reputation for this company, that person is said to be fired." I respect that. If I were on a business trip, and I was doing something disrespectful, as Lindsey Stone was, that would ruin my company's reputation, jeopardizing my job. Lindsey Stone can be seen at the national cemetery, bending down in front of a sign that reads "Silence and Respect," holding up her middle finger and she has her mouth wide open like she's screaming. First of all, this is very rude and offensive. Here we have veterans who fought for our freedom so we can go to work everyday and have a wonderful life, but to get disrespected at their place of rest. Not only is this disrespectful to the veterans, Stone is now seen as a disgrace to the company she works for, as she was on a business trip at the time the photo was taken. This photo shows the world, on social media, that this company she works for is disrespectful and a disgrace to the world. Since Stone has brought negative attention to her company via social media, she was to be fired, as stated in most and maybe all companies contracts for employment. If she wasn't on a business trip, I would say she shouldn't have been fired. I would still say this picture is unjust and disrespectful, but since she would not have been with her company, she shouldn't be fired for that.
3. Your online reputation can make or break you. In fact, college admissions officers and prospective employers look at your digital presence. Do you monitor your digital presence? Can you get rid of your digital footprint? Research and provide tips for managing your online reputation.
When you apply for a job, or apply for admission into a college, most companies and schools research your reputation online. "A survey commissioned by the online employment website CareerBuilder has found that 37 percent of hiring managers use social networking sites to research job applicants, with over 65 percent of that group using Facebook as their primary resource" (HuffingtonPost) The data is based on a nationwide survey conducted by Harris Interactive in February and March of 2012. I know many people have social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Flikr...) including myself. However, with my social media accounts, I monitor my digital presence. Think about it, if you were going to hire someone only to look on Twitter to see they party every night down at the club or they take home software from the work computer and download it onto their personal computer to "save some money," would you hire them? I sure know I wouldn't. I know I don't want to take the risk of my financial records being incorporated onto my employees computers for them to share to everyone, and I certainly don't want my employees being late for work every morning or not functioning properly because they had too much to drink. And remember, what you put online, is hard to remove. Your digital footprint is your reputation digitally on the web. To keep a good digital footprint, you might want to refrain from posting negative comments, or offensive photographs, like Lindsey Stone did, or tweeting a bad tweet. All that stuff is very difficult to remove, yet easy to copy and paste to emails, or other websites. Lauren Riley suggests that you should change your privacy settings on your posts or profiles to keep your information private, and you should also search yourself. Riley suggests you open up google.com and type in your full name to see what pops up. If you find anything wrong, or provocative, ask the publisher to remove it to increase your reputation (Riley).
References:
Deborah Morley Understanding Computers in a Changing Society
Primoz Manfreda Definition of the Arab Spring. http://middleeast.about.com/od/humanrightsdemocracy/a/Definition-Of-The-Arab-Spring.htm
Catherine O'donnell New Study Quantifies use of Social Media in Arab Spring. http://www.washington.edu/news/2011/09/12/new-study-quantifies-use-of-social-media-in-arab-spring/
Huffington Post, 37 Percent Of Employers Use Facebook To Pre-Screen Applicants, New Study Says.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/20/employers-use-facebook-to-pre-screen-applicants_n_1441289.html
Lauren Riley, How to Clean your Digital Footprint and Improve your Online Identity. http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/cleaning-your-digital-footprint/
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Today I watched a video on pbs.org about a classroom being divided based on the color of students' eyes. This video was titled A Class Divided. This video was published back in March of 1985, so times back then were a lot different (PBS). Today's blog is going to show you all my perspective on this video.
This video started out with a normal school teaching talking to her students, young students probably 3rd grade, about the colors of people they are surrounded by. The teacher performs an exercise where she separates her students based on the color of their eyes to see how it would be like if everyone was treated differently as how they treat people based on the color of their skin. The blue eyed students got more privileges like, for example 5 more minutes of recess, while the brown eyed students had to stay inside. The blue eyed students got to go to lunch earlier than the brown eyed students and the brown eyed students had to be punished if they did something "bad" (PBS).
In the first chapter of the video, a student with brown eyes claimed that another student called him "brown eyes." The teacher goes to ask why is this a problem, and the brown eyed student explains that "calling me brown eyes makes me stupider." The teacher also explains that she aw "wonderful kids turn into bad, vicious, discriminating little third graders," just because of separating them by eye color (PBS). In the second day of the experiment, the brown eyed students got more privileges to show the blue eyed students how it feels to be discriminated against.
The one thing I did like about this video is that this is teaching kids how to respect everyone they are surrounded by no matter what their skin color is. This experiment taught children that if you treat someone differently based on their appearances, it really hurts that person. The teacher also tells the students that "discrimination is filthy" and "should not be used in life" (PBS). At the end of this experiment, these students learned a very valuable lesson, that just because someone may look different, means that they should be treated differently.
One thing that I did not care for was the way these students were referring to other people in the very beginning of this video. I do not particularly care for the use of some language in children's voices. I did not like the way these students were able to describe other people by calling them names. I know this teacher was not able to control what the students said, but there is no reason for a child of that age to know that language and to know that that is what they should call the people of other colors.
I was not surprised at how the kids with blue eyes treated the kids with brown eyes because, going back to the beginning of the video, all the children knew that people that looked different needed to be called out on. When the teacher separated the students' based on eye color, I knew that the children with blue eyes would call out the students with brown eyes and treat them bad because the teacher straight up told them "the brown eye children are bad" (PBS).
I will always remember the very first scene in the video, and how the students described people in the world that had a different color to their skin. Its like these students were taught by their peers, family, or even school teachers to call people on the street of a different color names, or make fun of them. I, personally, do not like making fun of somebody and I think its just wrong to talk that way about someone, so seeing little children calling black people horrible names, and Indians names, its like whats the point of that, why would you do that?
References:
Pbs, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html, A Class Divided. Created March 1985. Accessed 02 November 2014.
This video started out with a normal school teaching talking to her students, young students probably 3rd grade, about the colors of people they are surrounded by. The teacher performs an exercise where she separates her students based on the color of their eyes to see how it would be like if everyone was treated differently as how they treat people based on the color of their skin. The blue eyed students got more privileges like, for example 5 more minutes of recess, while the brown eyed students had to stay inside. The blue eyed students got to go to lunch earlier than the brown eyed students and the brown eyed students had to be punished if they did something "bad" (PBS).
In the first chapter of the video, a student with brown eyes claimed that another student called him "brown eyes." The teacher goes to ask why is this a problem, and the brown eyed student explains that "calling me brown eyes makes me stupider." The teacher also explains that she aw "wonderful kids turn into bad, vicious, discriminating little third graders," just because of separating them by eye color (PBS). In the second day of the experiment, the brown eyed students got more privileges to show the blue eyed students how it feels to be discriminated against.
The one thing I did like about this video is that this is teaching kids how to respect everyone they are surrounded by no matter what their skin color is. This experiment taught children that if you treat someone differently based on their appearances, it really hurts that person. The teacher also tells the students that "discrimination is filthy" and "should not be used in life" (PBS). At the end of this experiment, these students learned a very valuable lesson, that just because someone may look different, means that they should be treated differently.
One thing that I did not care for was the way these students were referring to other people in the very beginning of this video. I do not particularly care for the use of some language in children's voices. I did not like the way these students were able to describe other people by calling them names. I know this teacher was not able to control what the students said, but there is no reason for a child of that age to know that language and to know that that is what they should call the people of other colors.
I was not surprised at how the kids with blue eyes treated the kids with brown eyes because, going back to the beginning of the video, all the children knew that people that looked different needed to be called out on. When the teacher separated the students' based on eye color, I knew that the children with blue eyes would call out the students with brown eyes and treat them bad because the teacher straight up told them "the brown eye children are bad" (PBS).
I will always remember the very first scene in the video, and how the students described people in the world that had a different color to their skin. Its like these students were taught by their peers, family, or even school teachers to call people on the street of a different color names, or make fun of them. I, personally, do not like making fun of somebody and I think its just wrong to talk that way about someone, so seeing little children calling black people horrible names, and Indians names, its like whats the point of that, why would you do that?
References:
Pbs, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html, A Class Divided. Created March 1985. Accessed 02 November 2014.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Being an American means it does not matter what color skin you have, or what beliefs you have. Being an American means you are free, free to do and say what you want, where you want. You, as an individual, can be of any culture in order to be considered an American. Culture is what defines you, it is your learned values and beliefs that you acquire from the previous generations in your family, according to Richard Bucher as he explains it in Chapter one of his book Diversity Consciouness. Being an American also means being diverse. Diversity is a key subject in the definition of an American as it refers to all the ways people are different (Bucher). Everyday people get up early and hit the 9-5 shift or 7-3 shift or whatever shift they have in order to provide for their family. But, not a single person is the same as the other. This is the beauty of being diverse. These people going to work are of many different cultures, and races, but are all American. You see, being American, as like I said above, doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, every single person has the same rights as another.
To me, the reigning Ms. America does not represent being an American. Ms. America does not reresent the different cultures and the diversity of America. Ms. America pageants are represented with tall, skinny women from each state in the United States trying to represent being Ms. America. However, all those women are practically the same. If you look at them, they all are tall, beautiful, skinny, and are probably athletic. But, America isn't about everyone being the same as the next, its about diversity. So if you put 50 beautiful, tall, athletic women in a row to contest for Ms. America, tell me, where is the diversity at?
By looking at the given website, zipskinny.com, I compared my zip code (21222) with another zip code (21237). The zip code 21222 has a current population of about 54,923 people, with 50.7% of people married. The percentage of caucasions is 87.9%, african american is 8.3%, hispanic is 1.4%, and Asian is 0.7% (zipskinny). The zip code 21237 has a population of about 25,414 people with 76.7% of people being caucasion, 16.2% being African-American, 2.1% hispanic, and 3.3% Asian (zipskinny). By the looks at this chart, there is diversity in these two areas, but the majority of the population is caucasion. This being said, sure we have a diverse community in each of these areas, but its still not as diverse as what we think it should be.
In the year 2050, the U.S. demographics will be changed completely. Rob Wile suggests that the total population of the U.S. will increase by another 100 million people, with nearly a fifth of them being born in other countries, and the hispanic population will just about triple. Rob also says that the Asian population will grow by 192% and the African-American population will grow by 56% (Wile). The caucasion population will flatline. This, for me, means that the U.S. will become more diverse and the caucasion population looks like it will become obselete.
References:
Richard Bucher, Diversity Consciouness. 2010 Baltimore City Community College.
Zipskinny, http://zipskinny.com. Accessed on 1 November 2014
Rob Wile, businessinsider.com. Written on 9 October 2012. Accessed on 1 Novmeber 2014
To me, the reigning Ms. America does not represent being an American. Ms. America does not reresent the different cultures and the diversity of America. Ms. America pageants are represented with tall, skinny women from each state in the United States trying to represent being Ms. America. However, all those women are practically the same. If you look at them, they all are tall, beautiful, skinny, and are probably athletic. But, America isn't about everyone being the same as the next, its about diversity. So if you put 50 beautiful, tall, athletic women in a row to contest for Ms. America, tell me, where is the diversity at?
By looking at the given website, zipskinny.com, I compared my zip code (21222) with another zip code (21237). The zip code 21222 has a current population of about 54,923 people, with 50.7% of people married. The percentage of caucasions is 87.9%, african american is 8.3%, hispanic is 1.4%, and Asian is 0.7% (zipskinny). The zip code 21237 has a population of about 25,414 people with 76.7% of people being caucasion, 16.2% being African-American, 2.1% hispanic, and 3.3% Asian (zipskinny). By the looks at this chart, there is diversity in these two areas, but the majority of the population is caucasion. This being said, sure we have a diverse community in each of these areas, but its still not as diverse as what we think it should be.
In the year 2050, the U.S. demographics will be changed completely. Rob Wile suggests that the total population of the U.S. will increase by another 100 million people, with nearly a fifth of them being born in other countries, and the hispanic population will just about triple. Rob also says that the Asian population will grow by 192% and the African-American population will grow by 56% (Wile). The caucasion population will flatline. This, for me, means that the U.S. will become more diverse and the caucasion population looks like it will become obselete.
References:
Richard Bucher, Diversity Consciouness. 2010 Baltimore City Community College.
Zipskinny, http://zipskinny.com. Accessed on 1 November 2014
Rob Wile, businessinsider.com. Written on 9 October 2012. Accessed on 1 Novmeber 2014
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