Digital Story

FYS DS on Prezi

What's in your computer?

Hexavalent Chromium

1. Where and how is it mined?

It is mined by underground and open pit mining methods.
It is mined in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Finland, India, Kazchistan, and the Phillipines.
It is mined as Chromites

2. What is the environmental impact of the mining? Is it regulated? If so, by whom?

It contaminates water and soil resources and is diposited into many water sources. Deposited into the air, affecting the growth of trees and forests.
Regulated by the OSHA. OSHa set exposure limit to 5mg/m^3.

3. What are the human health concerns when used to manufacture consumer electronics?
4. What documented health impacts are associated with its demanufacturing?

--> 3&4, Inhaling increases risk of lung cancer and damage to the nose, throat and respiratory system. Damages dna. Can cause asthmatic bronchitis and dermatitis. Causes brain damage.

WebLog 12

I choose to take no action. I choose this because I currently use mostly all Apple products, and after reading their website, it turns out they are trying their best to make their products more environment friendly already. First, through manufacturing they are working to make their products "smaller, thinner and lighter". Through this they are able to use less material which helps "generate less carbon emissions." Apple is also working on "reducing or eliminating environmentally harmful substances." Each and every product they sell no longer has brominated flame retardants, elemental bromine and chlorine. Also, every type of display they make "features mercury-free LED backlighting and arsenic-free glass." Another way they have tried to make things greener is buy creating smaller packaging. This "reduces materials and waste” and "helps reduce the emissions produced during transportation". Apple is also working to make their products more energy efficient. According to the website "Apple product not only meets but exceeds the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s strict ENERGY STAR guidelines." (There is a graph at the end comparing the energy used by their products compared to other common household products.) One of the most important parts is how they recycle their products. The products that they make, as mentioned earlier, use less materials, which lead to less needing to be recycled. Out of the materials that are being used, they are all "reclaimed by recyclers for use in new products." Even their packaging can be recycled. Also, their products are made to last. I can personally defend this because I had the same Mac computer for over 4 years. I just recently got a new one, but that was only because my roommate spilled water on mine and broke it. If it wasn't for that I would be going on 5 years with the same computer. I have never had any other computer last as long. They also recycle their materials very well. Nothing is shipped overseas to be recycled; it is all recycled where it is produced. Their goal for 2010 was to recycle up to 70% of their products, and they achieved that. After doing all of the research on Apple, I assume other companies are making efforts to try to be more green also. I do not support these other companies either by not buying their products, there for I do not feel it is necessary for me to complain to them.
http://www.apple.com/environment/

DS

FYS DS on Prezi

Ants

Annotated Bibliography

1.
AnJuan. "Bridging the Digital Divide in Africa." Black Web 2.0. 3 Nov. 2010. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. .
This article mainly focuses on the ways in which Africa is attempting to bride the digital divide. It states that they plan on expanding broadband penetration along with creating services that support the African people in becoming more connected. It also explains how the African government is going to accomplish these tasks.

2.
Mutume, Gumisai. "Africa Takes on the Digital Divide: New Information Technologies Change the Lives of Those in Reach." Africa Renewal. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. .

In this article, it gives you a sense of where Africa stands with the rest of the world. Explaining that Africa "has the fewest telephone lines, radios, televisions, computers, and internet users of any part of the world." Also, it explains that the digital divide is primarily due to Africa's extensive countryside. Additionally, it discussed a different way of bridging the digital divide. This mechanism of bridging the digital divide is the "digital solidarity" program. Advances that are enabled through new technologies and internet access are also discussed. For example, a South-African group of academics produced an online dictionary.

3.
Shiner, Cindy. "AllAfrica.com: Africa: Closing the Digital Divide." AllAfrica.com: Home. 16 Feb. 2009. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. .

This article covers the challenges Africa faces when developing information and communication technology (ICT). Some challenges include poor connectivity and congested lines. There is a huge pile up in the "provision of broadband internet." This also discusses how Africa is prevailing in it's efforts to bridge the digital divide. One other topic is the things that the usage technology in Africa is helping with. For example, it helped create a CD-ROM in which provided a truing course for HIV/Aids health care providers.

4.
Kent, Daniel. "Daniel Kent: The National Digital Literacy Corps." The Huffington Post. 26 Oct. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. .

This article main;y discusses a way of bridging the digital divide in America. It states how "seniors, minorities, low-income and rural Americans" do not have as many resources or opportunities to become "digitally literate." It then discusses the "Connect to Compete" program, which helps "promote and teach digital literacy.

5.
Dyson, Lauren. "How Will Gov 2.0 Address the Digital Divide? | Code for America." Code for America | A New Kind of Public Service. 15 Feb. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. .

What the digital divide is, is described in the beginning of this article. It states that "the digital divide refers to the gap between those with access to information technology, and those with ineffective or no access." It also explains how "access" does not just pertain to those are unable to utilize the internet physically, but also to those who do not have the "skills and knowledge" required to use technology effectively. Common factors that attribute to the lack of internet usage are also discussed. Examples are income and education, along withe race. One other point is the advantage that urban residents have over rural residents. Finally it discusses the mission of "Code for America", which is to improve citizen access.

6.
Hertz, Mary Beth. "A New Understanding of the Digital Divide | Edutopia." Edutopia. 24 Oct. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. .

The beginning of this article explains what the digit divide is, and how it has expanded. It touches on other groups affected by the digital divide, like the Americans that have disabilities. Also, it explains a solution that has been provided, which is Comcast launching Internet Essentials. Internet essentials is a "low cost internet service provided for families" that receive a free school lunch.


Each of these articles listed connect to my initial proposal in basically the same way. In my digital story, I question "what is social justice and digital media"? My conclusion was when people of the world do not have the same opportunities to access the digital media tools, such as the internet, or as stated in several of the articles, information and communication technology (ICT), as other people. Mostly in my initial proposal I discussed it was mainly because these foreign countries do not have access to ICT, but upon further research I learned it also has to do with having access, but not knowing how to use such things like computers, smart phones and the internet. Both of these types of social justice and digital media are discussed throughout the articles I have found.

WebLog 10

Is Facebook a superorganism?

First, what is a superorganism? "A superorganism is a group of individual organisms or cells that functions as an integral social or biological unit" (http://www.bugsinthenews.com/Definition%20of%20Superorganism.htm). In a superorganism, each individual unit involved does not have to work with the other to contrive the superorganism. In this sense, yes, Facebook is very much a superorganism. Millions of people, each day, make Facebook what it is today. Each user individually contributes its own to Facebook, but it doesn't necessarily effect every other user on Facebook. Each user has their own individual goals, and through that, make Facebook a superorganism. It is not entirely like a superorganism in the sense that, the components of a superorganism are unable survive without their superorganism for very long. It is evident that people are able to live without Facebook, therefore, it is not a true superorganism.

WebLog 9

“Describe an example of Emergent Behavior that you participated in or that you witnessed”
Justify why your example constitutes Emergence, describe the scenario from both your individual perspective and a global perspective (outside observer)

Before I could accurately describe and example of Emergent Behavior, I had to first do research and figure out what exactly Emergent Behavior is. Through my research I found that Emergent Behavior is "behavior of a system that is not explicitly described by the behavior of the components of the system, and is therefore unexpected to a designer or observer" (http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?EmergentBehavior). To explain that definition, I interpreted Emergent Behavior as when you have a bunch of parts, like in a bike. And each part has its own set of properties, like the bell, chain, and wheels. When you put all of the parts together they make something completely different, in the case a bicycle that is used for transpiration or a sport. Another example of Emergent Behavior would be something I participated in during class Wednesday. Everyone who participated had on colored shirts with letters on the back and numbers on the front. The group as a whole was asked to do different tasks. The one task that sticks out the most was when the group as a whole had to create a letter. Half of the room started forming an M, then it turned into a W, and then without knowledge of everyone participating it turned into the letter e. Only part of the group was affected by turning into the e, and the rest was pretty much clueless that they were in an e. Another form could be traffic jams. Each individual is contributing by either slowing down, stopping or speeding up, yet half of the time none of them know how exactly they are contributing.

WebLog 7 & 8

Question 1: The US government should institute formal policy that bars overseas sales of systems that provide targeted Internet surveillance if such systems are used to violate human rights or freedom of speech (such as the current internet censorship in China).

Google, an American based company, is known for helping Internet users find websites and general information. If there is something one is unsure of, we can use the phrase, “just Google it”! Is it right for an American based company to “violate human rights or freedom of speech”? To continue my example, Google is expanding oversees to China and they are agreeing to comply with Chinas censorship, even though that is against our rights as Americans. After looking at the history of Google on the Google website I found the Google mission statement, which is “Google’s mission is to organize the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful”(Google). After reading their statement it sure doesn’t seem like they would branch to China and then censor their products. To answer the original question, I do believe that the US Government should be able to keep businesses like Google from selling their products to other countries if it means violating human rights. We as Americans are one hundred percent about freedom of speech and human rights, and if American companies are then agreeing to censor material in other countries we are no better than them. I believe that this is going against everything we stand for and isn’t right.
Yet, in Google’s argument is they are reportedly “the second-most widely used information-gathering service in China after that of Baidu, a Chinese company, and is the least censored, according to one study”(Figliola 7). After reading an excerpt from “U.S. Initiatives to Promote Global Internet Freedom: Issues, Policy, and Technology”, I also learned that when searching on Google in China and a page is blocked, it doesn’t just say error, it just says that by the Chinese laws one is unable to view this web page, so the searcher knows there is more information, but the Chinese government is just not allowing it. I personally think that shows that Google obviously does not agree with the laws in China. They also claim in a congressional committee that working with China isn’t easy for them. They feel as though the censorship in going against their beliefs. In this case, I still question, why do it then? Overall, I can’t really try to defend Google, because I personally do not agree what they are doing is right, and clearly neither do they. I feel like it is going against the basic nature of us as Americans.

http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/148797.pdf
This pdf has a lot of information not only on Googles relations with China, but Yahoo, Cisco and Microsoft.

Question 2: The evolving capabilities to speak out and criticize the Chinese government using microblogs and other Internet social media will lead to more and greater freedoms for the Chinese people.


I was discussing China’s censorship with a friend of mine who is from China, and it helped me form the opinion that in the long run the Chinese people will not gain more freedom from microblogs and other Internet sites. As my Chinese friend, Kahim, put it, with Internet or no Internet, you can’t stop freedom of speech. They still have the capabilities to say way they want, no matter what, they just have to be careful what they say and how they say it, so they do not offend the government in a way that could get them in trouble. Using the social media in a way to criticize the government, I feel, will only lead to less freedom because they will just censor more and more material. After watching a YouTube video provided in class called “Great Firewall of China (Hungry Beast),” it is clear that no matter what new media the Chinese receive they are still significantly held back. For example, if they even upload something to the Internet that the Chinese government doesn’t agree with, their whole computer gets blocked. In this case they are banned in the way in which if they wanted to use certain pictures to put in their microblog that the government felt was offensive they would not be able to do so. Therefore, in this sense they cannot gain more freedoms, they are still just held back. After reading an article on a website titled ChinaVeiw, I almost changed my opinion. In this article it talks about how a man named Ai Weiwei, had an essay he had written censored. It was published in a magazine, and it stated a lot about the government that the government did not approve of. It was then ripped out of the magazines so the Chinese people were unable to view it. Even though the Chinese have the great firewall the article still circulated around online, so people were able to view it. This backs up what I stated earlier, the people are still able to say what they want, the government can only try to stop them to an extent. I am confused on why the government did not censor that article online though. This also proves that the use of the Internet does not necessarily give the Chinese people more freedom, just another way of expressing their opinion.
Overall I feel as though the Internet and microblogs do not give the Chinese people more freedoms. Their rights have not changed at all. They still are not allowed to do certain things on the Internet and if they choose to, they risk the chance of getting censored or what ever else the Chinese government may do. Yes, their horizons have broadened in the way in which they can now express themselves in multiple different ways, but they still have the same laws to abide by, and certain rules to follow. If people continue to ignore these laws and rules, it will only get them in trouble and possibly lead to more laws and more censorship.

DS Initial Proposal

To come up with a story based on social justice and digital media you must first thoroughly understand what social justice is and what digital media is, and what they are when you bring them together. Through out the readings we have done in class like “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Le Guin, and “The Scope of Social Justice” by Miller, we truly find an understanding of social justice. In Le Guins story you begin to understand a little about social justice, and how it is equal opportunities for everyone. Then in Millers essay you receive a deeper understanding. After these reading you see that social justice is the even distribution of the good and the bad in a society. The good being distributed would include, happiness, jobs, money, opportunity, etc. In a normal world, obviously this is not the case. Now, digital media is a little simpler. Put simply it is the anyway you can connect with other people through the Internet, like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and news sites the MSNBC and CNN. Each of these sights are ways for people to stay in touch and to stay updated on what is happening in the world. Social justice in digital media is when people are not able to utilize the digital media for whatever reason. For example, in some foreign countries people are unable to have computers and utilize the Internet. That is were the social justice occurs. Why do these people not have these opportunities? With out them they are not fully involved in what is happening all around the world. These people cannot grow with the rest of the world when it comes to gaining new “digital media” skills; therefore they are one step behind everyone else. They may be at a disadvantage but I believe everyone has an opportunity to expand with the rest of the world.

10/27
I plan on discussing what the digital divide is, and examples of it in America and Africa. I will explain what is causing this divide in each country and their similarities will be presented. I also will be informing you of how each country plans on bridging the digital divide.

WebLog 6

I just recently started using Twitter. It was my second attempt, since the first time failed. I had no clue what I was doing. I had to ask everyone how to use it. It took me a while to figure out the difference between "re-tweeting" and "replying". I was definitely confused. Once I started spending more time, I got the hang of it. Now it's pretty simple. You just need someone to explain it to you. 21st Century Literacy skills are expanding a lot. It used to just be reading and writing and what not, and now its computers, cell phones, cameras, tvs, iPods, iPads and so much more. Computers are being taught in schools, but I feel as though they are more self learning. Same with everything else, there isn't really anyone to teach you unless you go to best buy or the place where you bought your electronics and the sales person can try. I think it's a lot easier for the younger generation to learn also. The older you are, the less likely you're going to understand all of the new advancements.

WebLog 5

Through out my life I have always been really good with computers. Ever since I got my first computer in first grade, I always was on it just figuring everything out. Even then I would help my parents with things. I wouldn't say I learned much of it from school, half of the time the students knew more than the teachers. As I got older and technology got more advanced, I easily adapted to all of the new advancements. I can easily figure out e-mail, blogs, word processors, and pretty much anything else. When it comes to a digital divide, there is one. Not everyone has the internet or even a computer so they do not have the opportunity to learn like more privileged people.

WebLog 4

After going through "Where Race Lives", I learned a lot about the government policies along with what leads to communities becoming slums. In the 1950s a lot of the government policies led to the minorities receiving unequal treatment. For example Social Security. It provided security and pensions for many workers but it excluded agriculture workers and domestic servants. These minorities were then unable to save, had little chance for pensions and they became more likely to fall into an economic recession.
When I was growing up, the area I lived in was a nice middle class area, and as I got older it really started going down hill. My family and friends all believed it was due to the people moving into the area and we all eventually moved away, and that was that. After reading “Where Race Lives,” I realized it wasn’t entirely due to the people moving in, it was do to the people thinking the minorities moving in would cause the neighborhood to decline, and therefore, moving out. This caused the housing process to decline, causing more lower income families to move in, leading to taxes going up. The community starts getting poorer and poorer leading to public services to suffer since not as many people can afford to use them. Leading eventually to rock bottom. I never knew all of this went into the deconstruction of a community.

WebLog 3

     Throughout Miller's "The Scope of Social Justice", he covers mainly what social justice is and how social justice works in a society and social justice in welfare and freedom.  Each of these ideas correlates with my two contrasting theories of social justice in Le Guins short story, "The One's Who Walk Away From Omelas." These theories were based on the people who stayed in Omelas, which did not have concern for the social justice, and those who left Omelas, who were more "socially just."
     In the beginning Miller discussed more of what social justice is, which is "how the good and bad things in life should be distributed amongst the members of a human society(Miller 1)." For something to be unjust it would mean that a person/persons would have less advantages than one "ought" to have. After stating this, I will return to the ideas from Le Guins short story. At the end of the story you find out how one little child is left locked in a dirty basement with nothing. He is left there to bear all of the sadness of the society on his shoulders. This, according to Miller's definition, would clearly be unjust.  The good and bad is not being evenly distributed, the bad is being solely placed on one little child, while everyone else in the town is enjoying all of the advantages they receive due to the suffering of the little child.
     When it comes to social justice in the society it requires everyone in the society to cooperate. Which in the case of Omelas, everyone does cooperate, yet it is still not socially just, due to the fact of that one little boy. When it comes to the advantages and disadvantages being evenly distributed I will return to Miller's writing. He gives the example of people who live below the poverty line. Is that just? Even when it comes to people who are living above the poverty line, yet, do nothing to aid those who are homeless and in need. Clearly, in Omelas, everyone is living better than the little boy, and none do anything to help. Even those who agree it is wrong, they still opt to leave the city instead.
     Welfare and freedom are also two concepts brought up in Miller's writing. First to touch on welfare, Miller states how out of all of the different advantages which should be regulated in a socially just society, like money, property, jobs, etc., none are personal welfare( happiness ). He states, "social justice has to do with the means of obtaining welfare, not with welfare itself (Miller 7)." In this case, it almost makes social justice seem rather materialistic. It the things that are distributed that are meant to make us happy, and if they don't, that is in no ones control, since that is psycological. Connecting that with Omelas, does that neccesarily make the little boys situation unjust? It may or may not, depending on how you look at it. It is unjust in the way that he does not receive equal advanteges or opportunities, yet just in the way that he could try to make the most of what he as, which is obviously a slight extreme. Going back, we look at how he doesn't have the same opporunites, which correlate with freedom. Miller discusses "whether and when lack of resources constitutes a constraint on freedom (Miller 13)." In Omelas, the little boy is locked up, therefore has no way of leaving his hell. This society is in no way a just society. The little chid is forced to recieve all of the burdens of everyone else, and is in no means able to escape and revieve the fiar distribution. This is due to the fact that the people of Omelas would rather have all of the advantages and none of the disadvantages. Even though this society is meant to perfect and just, as long as that little child is suffering, it never will be.
   

WebLog 2

Social justice is basically the view that everyone deserves equal opportunities. In Le Guin’s short story the people of Omelas are all faced with the option to live freely and happily in return for one persons suffering, or to leave Omelas because they can’t bare the thought of one person suffering for everyone else. The people of Omelas feel no guilt, as stated in the story, so the fact that there is a child suffering as no affect on them what so ever. Which is completely opposite from the whole idea of social justice due to just the fact it is based on everyone having equal opportunities. The suffering child is locked in a basement and malnourished, and all of the sorrow and anger of the town in put on its shoulders. Therefore the people who continue to live this way and be selfish have no care for the idea of social justice. On the other hand there are the people who leave Ophelias. After seeing the suffering child they feel the guilt, and can not bear living there life in complete happiness knowing that there is one child suffering for them. They understand that it is not fair.

WebLog 1

Personal information1. Name, hometown, primary email.
- Emily, Pittsburgh, eeicher15@jcu.edu

2. What name do you prefer to be called, nick name, etc.?
-Emily is fine.

3. Please insert a picture of yourself in the profile of your new blog.

4. What are you into; what makes you special? Share a few “unique” aspects about yourself that would help our classroom community get to know you a bit.
-I don't play any sports mostly because I worked all through out high school, kind of a workaholic. So it is nice that I will have a little break at school. I plan on getting into the intramural volleyball though because I enjoy playing and I'm decent at it. I think I am really friendly and I will talk to anyone, I love making friends. I enjoy the basic girl things like tanning and shopping. And I really love naps.

Learning Style and more:
5. Being as specific as you can, what must be in place for you to feel comfortable taking intellectual and creative risks in a classroom?
-It really doesn't matter, I try to be as out going as I can so as long as everyone is nice and friendly I shouldn't have a problem.

Technology Section
6. What do you believe was the most important technological invention in history? Why?
- the cell phone, because you can use it so many ways now and it makes it so much easier to communicate with anyone and everyone

7. Please list a number of technologies you currently believe to be essential to your life.
- computer and cell phone, for sure.  

8. Briefly describe your experience working with 1. computers, 2. digital media, and 3. social media and then rate your technical proficiency on a scale of 10 (I invented Facebook) to 1 (what are you talking about).
- I am really comfortable with computers, my parents always ask me how to use them, 10. I am also really good with digital and social media, so 7 and 10.

About Dr. Shutkin:
9. Write down two or three questions you would like to ask me about myself or the class.