Questions:
1. Explain, in detail, how Facebook has kept you in contact with others. Explain why you prefer to use Facebook over other mediums of communication for keeping in touch with certain people. Agnes
2. In your opinion, what is appropriate behavior and content for your Facebook; and how does your age affect this? What creates a "professional" looking Facebook? Jordan
3. According to the article, how do most librarians feel about Facebook? Why do they feel this way? Do you believe there is such a thing as Facebook addiction that causes people to use Facebook from the library? Amouna
4. According to the article, what are the advantages and disadvantages of Facebook; do you agree or disagree? Allison
My question for the paper: How does Facebook affect student teacher relations? Is this a positive or negative thing?Use examples to prove your point.
Experiment:
Survey of how many people actually go to the library to check out books, and do research. Then, break it down and see how many are graduate and undergraduate students.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The Digital Space and the Lack of a Race
In his article, “Generational Myth”, Siva Vaidhyanathan argues the, “Once we assume that all young people love certain forms of interaction…young people rush to adapt to those changes we assumed all along that they wanted”. Vaidhyanathan’s assertion that assumptions are often made about young people that cause them to conform to a “one-size fits all” persona is , while somewhat accurate, in the sense that the atmosphere of many educational institutions in modern times do behold a strong trend to becoming incredibly technologically advanced, mainly an inaccurate generalization due to the fact that it advocates that “young people rush to adapt”, clustering all the individuals in a certain age range as technological adapters, when such is not the case. His use of hasty generalization, zealous over-defense to his supporting side, and the preference of many young people in these cases, all contribute to the inaccuracy of Vaidhyanathan’s claim.
“Generational Myth” is a deep interpretation of how technological advancements affect certain viewpoints and cause stereotypes to erupt, and give a hiding place for racism and class differences to seem virtually inept, as all races and classes “unite” under the World Wide Web. The author disputes the ideas of generations, from those that were around during the hippie movement to those that exist now, in the “Digital Native” (page one, paragraph three) phase. While he makes many valid claims, Vaidhyanathan himself inadvertently generalizes by grouping “young people” into one specific category when discussing them, and trying to infer that they all have different personas and cannot be classified as Digital Natives. By stating that “young people rush to adapt” simply because they assume that all older generations expect them to and long for them to be tech-savvy, Vaidhyanathan has assumed that all “young people” are willing to rush off and follow the rules of all older generations simply because of the expectations of others. There are many people who fit into the category that he describes who would be very unwilling to change, no matter who expects them to. While discussing that the white middle-to-upper classes ( page three, paragraph four) are the people who have access to technological advancements and that generalizing everyone into one group because of this aspect is wrong, Vaidhyanathan overlooks the fact that high school dropouts, people who choose not to continue their education after high school, and students in lower level schools and low class urban neighborhoods that do not have computers or where the majority of people cannot afford them, are often not forced to adapt nor are they pressured or willing to. Many students and young people who do “rush to adapt”, on the other hand, due to school assignments or outside pressure, do nothing more than learn the basics of Microsoft Word, internet search engines and social sites, and in some cases, PowerPoint (page two, paragraph six). While there are few that may decide to go past this phase and take into consideration web-building and computer design, they are a minority who are generally interested in the topic to begin with, regardless of outside influence.
By vastly defending this younger cohort, stating that they are all individuals and are not all technologically-obsessed simply because they’ve grown up with computers in their lives, Vaidhyanathan goes on forcibly overestimating their plight, making it seem as though this age group is so stressed about needing to be technologically advanced to satisfy the supposed requirements brought upon them by older people that it is affecting their daily lives. In reality, the majority of “Digital Natives” do not think twice about what they do or how they act. Unless individuals are either interested in technology or need to use a new form of it for some sort of presentation or school/work assignment, their daily use is usually consistent of mindlessly sending a text message or checking their Facebook messages at most. Hardly any of these people rush to understand how to hack Facebook, how to fix html and create digital designs for Myspace, or how to program a flaw by changing the source code on Linux, regardless of whether they are expected to or not. If they are assigned to do this, the person teaching it to them is usually of a different time and age group, yet understands the topic much more in a depth fashion than his or her students do. Then, of course, when the assignment and/or test is over, many of those students go on to forget what they learned anyway.
I believe that there is not a “one size fits all system” existent in modern times, as many educational institutions only require basic knowledge of simple programs, ones that are much less complicated than the use of typewriters was long ago. Special classes that teach detailed computer understanding are usually electives, available for students who either show interest and choose to learn more, or for those who are lost in their paths of interest, to try to give them a new route to try. A hybrid system is definitely the best ideal for education at the moment, as the world is rapidly moving to adapt to the technological takeover, something that saves valuable time, money, and resources, yet there are still computer illiterate people and places out there in which case traditional forms of information and production work best. As technology becomes available all over, traditional sources and methods are still important and useful. If electricity suddenly became unavailable, many people would be unable to comfortably function, regardless of age. Knowledge of basic methods is always necessary and important as, if not a first priority, a second source or backup way of doing things.
Vaidhyanathan’s essay, “Generational Myth”, does a very good job of investigating the truth behind the idea and structure generations and proving its argument. It’s assertion that “young people rush to adapt” to technology because of the standards that have been set up for them disputes itself and is questionable because of the fact that many young people, especially those without access to computers, do not rush to adapt. The existing hybrid of methods in the educational system and in most social cases is likely the best path to follow, giving a taste of the best of both worlds.
“Generational Myth” is a deep interpretation of how technological advancements affect certain viewpoints and cause stereotypes to erupt, and give a hiding place for racism and class differences to seem virtually inept, as all races and classes “unite” under the World Wide Web. The author disputes the ideas of generations, from those that were around during the hippie movement to those that exist now, in the “Digital Native” (page one, paragraph three) phase. While he makes many valid claims, Vaidhyanathan himself inadvertently generalizes by grouping “young people” into one specific category when discussing them, and trying to infer that they all have different personas and cannot be classified as Digital Natives. By stating that “young people rush to adapt” simply because they assume that all older generations expect them to and long for them to be tech-savvy, Vaidhyanathan has assumed that all “young people” are willing to rush off and follow the rules of all older generations simply because of the expectations of others. There are many people who fit into the category that he describes who would be very unwilling to change, no matter who expects them to. While discussing that the white middle-to-upper classes ( page three, paragraph four) are the people who have access to technological advancements and that generalizing everyone into one group because of this aspect is wrong, Vaidhyanathan overlooks the fact that high school dropouts, people who choose not to continue their education after high school, and students in lower level schools and low class urban neighborhoods that do not have computers or where the majority of people cannot afford them, are often not forced to adapt nor are they pressured or willing to. Many students and young people who do “rush to adapt”, on the other hand, due to school assignments or outside pressure, do nothing more than learn the basics of Microsoft Word, internet search engines and social sites, and in some cases, PowerPoint (page two, paragraph six). While there are few that may decide to go past this phase and take into consideration web-building and computer design, they are a minority who are generally interested in the topic to begin with, regardless of outside influence.
By vastly defending this younger cohort, stating that they are all individuals and are not all technologically-obsessed simply because they’ve grown up with computers in their lives, Vaidhyanathan goes on forcibly overestimating their plight, making it seem as though this age group is so stressed about needing to be technologically advanced to satisfy the supposed requirements brought upon them by older people that it is affecting their daily lives. In reality, the majority of “Digital Natives” do not think twice about what they do or how they act. Unless individuals are either interested in technology or need to use a new form of it for some sort of presentation or school/work assignment, their daily use is usually consistent of mindlessly sending a text message or checking their Facebook messages at most. Hardly any of these people rush to understand how to hack Facebook, how to fix html and create digital designs for Myspace, or how to program a flaw by changing the source code on Linux, regardless of whether they are expected to or not. If they are assigned to do this, the person teaching it to them is usually of a different time and age group, yet understands the topic much more in a depth fashion than his or her students do. Then, of course, when the assignment and/or test is over, many of those students go on to forget what they learned anyway.
I believe that there is not a “one size fits all system” existent in modern times, as many educational institutions only require basic knowledge of simple programs, ones that are much less complicated than the use of typewriters was long ago. Special classes that teach detailed computer understanding are usually electives, available for students who either show interest and choose to learn more, or for those who are lost in their paths of interest, to try to give them a new route to try. A hybrid system is definitely the best ideal for education at the moment, as the world is rapidly moving to adapt to the technological takeover, something that saves valuable time, money, and resources, yet there are still computer illiterate people and places out there in which case traditional forms of information and production work best. As technology becomes available all over, traditional sources and methods are still important and useful. If electricity suddenly became unavailable, many people would be unable to comfortably function, regardless of age. Knowledge of basic methods is always necessary and important as, if not a first priority, a second source or backup way of doing things.
Vaidhyanathan’s essay, “Generational Myth”, does a very good job of investigating the truth behind the idea and structure generations and proving its argument. It’s assertion that “young people rush to adapt” to technology because of the standards that have been set up for them disputes itself and is questionable because of the fact that many young people, especially those without access to computers, do not rush to adapt. The existing hybrid of methods in the educational system and in most social cases is likely the best path to follow, giving a taste of the best of both worlds.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Gender Roles and Specifics: Advocating for Equal Pay in the Job Market
My advocacy project is about gender equality in the job market. I find it fascinating that despite the Equal Pay Act, so much talk of how far we’ve come as a country in terms of racial and gender understanding, and with a woman being able to run for President without a shortage of supporters, there is still a huge pay gap in the job industry that women face for being just that…female.Some of the statistics were ones I already knew, just nothing I really thought deeply about until now. The details and facts I was able to pick up, from reliable websites, (mainly the American Federation of Labor), were absolutely shocking once they had enough time to process in my mind.
As a female undergraduate college student, I am working and striving to keep a high average, allowing my parents to help me pay tuition, and cutting back on both spending and free time so that I can buy books and in turn, study from them, all to earn a piece of paper that certifies that I majored in such and such at said university so that employers will know I have experience and knowledge and will hire me. Students of both genders in the same situation go through the same thing, give or take a few setbacks. We all pay roughly the same price, take the same required courses, and suffer through four or five years of being robotically programmed to follow what professors assign, tell us, or “suggest” we do. Then, of course, beside the aspect of grad school, we apply for jobs and pray that employers accept us or hire for a decent wage and hopefully some good benefits. Yet, somehow still…the female degree is worth a little bit less. It’s not because we didn’t work as hard, or because we’re not as smart as men are. The degree the university will give us has the same basic fundamentals behind it for everyone. However, when it is applied in the long run, the guy who sits next to us in the prerequisite for our major is going to be earning about $0.33 per dollar more than we will. If we are so privileged as to become lawyers, we’ll be earning more than someone working a more remedial, or lesser paying job, however we’ll be getting less than out male colleagues; about $373 dollars worth a week, to be exact. That’s only a 76.8% gap though: if we work at a restaurant waitressing as a summer job or as a way to pay the bills, we’ll only be making about $46 less per week, but the gap will be 87.1%. Even jobs traditionally seen as “women’s work” and that contain 90% of women in their force, still often pay men more. Female nurses earn about $119 less a week than men, who only make up about ten percent of that field. Basically, we earn less no matter what we do.
The pay gap is not just something that’s unfair to us either; it’s unfair to our male partners and family members as well. An employer afraid of appearing biased may pay women more, simply to avoid lawsuits. If a woman’s husband is injured or laid off, or the woman is a single parent, and the sole provider for her family,the family is at a huge loss due to her earnings, versus if the household were run by only a working male or a single male parent. Families with two salaries would earn more too, as the average woman working a full time job in the U.S. makes about $700,000 to $2 million less per year as opposed to her male counterparts. That’s enough money to pay for college, buy a house, and a car, of decent quality, nonetheless.
The figures I found were absolutely striking to think about in the year 2008, but it made me realize how blindsided we can often be by media perspectives and by personas put out from opposing views. Women have come a long way since the traditional days of working only in the home, but we still have a long way to go before we truly reach “equality”. Being able to work the jobs we do is a privilege in itself, but earning our fair share for them should be our true goal.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Project Thingy...
I am still unsure of what I'm going to do exactly, but know it will likely be in the form of a PowerPoint and a MovieMaker video. Right now I'm thinking of making a video about child abuse using Warren Zevon's "Keep Me in Your Heart for Awhile" as a background song. I'll use Google images of abused, depressed, and
happy children as a comparison and look up statistics and etc. to add to a PowerPoint so we have information, and not just video. If I have trouble with this, I may make a PowerPoint on a video I previously made, either on Hurricane Katrina (while adding pictures of the new hurricanes), on how advertising for a product can often times make musicians famous and on how the world and music industry are changing due to technology (which relates to both this class and my job), or on how philosophy and meditation influence health and/or ideologies, using Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance as my reference. Not quite sure yet, but I have all the concepts pretty well mapped out in my head.Final Decision: Gender Equality in the Job Market, A study into the difference in pay rates for the same jobs worked by men and women
Sunday, September 14, 2008
My Desktop...
Yeah. A Daria allusion to Hamlet and a Youtube video opened up. That's my Desktop.
And a wonderful desktop it is. A bit bright and colorful, but entertaining nonetheless. I really love that cartoon (though I don't think I'm anything like her, contrary to what people tell me or may believe). The color on the desktop does make it harder to see images sometimes, but it also means that it's harder for other people to see my images and things, if they choose to do so without my permission. It also kind of forces me to maximize whatever screen I'm using, which seems more organized and neat. Firefox has tabs, and that allows me to organize my email, Facebook, and school research into one internet box, all while having my assignment in another box of Microsoft Word. My background takes getting used to, but also grows on you and helps increase concentration in a way.
But I do think we have tons of distractions as modern day teenagers. The days of going to the local diner with all the cool cats and doing the hop are over. Who needs people when we have computers? In all honesty, these things have become our best friends. Everyone's busy Saturday night? Hey, log onto the internet, I'm sure there will be something you can do. Computers have not only increased technology, they've taken it over. Our computers are now our television sets, our music players, our "phones" (yes, you can do voice chat), and even our in person talks (if you choose to use a webcam). I think that technology is amazing and that items like Facebook can be useful to us in terms of keeping in touch with people we love, or those we really don't care enough to keep in touch with through other mediums. But as wonderful as these new mediums are, they have their downsides. I haven't seen my closest friends in months because of school and different schedules. But I have talked to them on Facebook, and once in awhile on the phone. The problem? If we are all on Facebook or on the phone, what forbid us from making plans to see each other instead? In the two and a half hours we reminisce on my wall, we could've reminisced over ice cream and Subway (where most of those memories happened anyway). Or, instead of even talking on the phone for four hours on Saturday, making up stupid raps about people, we could've seen each other in person (..and possibly taped them for Youtube). But then, we wouldn't have been doing our "homework".
Yes, homework. Although, Facebook isn't the only distraction. Type in any word into Google, and beheld with at least 5,000 results. Great for vaster research and knowledge. Horrible if most of it is inaccurate, outdated, or just plain unnecessary. In the "olden" days, when you had an assignment, you went to the library. And then you thanked old Melvil Dewey for his idea to decimalize those cards so you didn't have to look through books, like before. Then asked the librarian where to find it. Now you just type in what you need and it's found. And there are 9 million printed out signs pointing you in the direction of where it is. If you go to the library, that is. Either way, there were about five books you would find, and then skim through to get your research. Now, the are 56,734,790 results for any given "narrowed down" search, half of which don't relate, seventy-five percent of which have ads, etc. Happy searching.
The internet is great for times when you feel like staying in, remote times who need shopping done when the closest place is 30 miles away, finding rare finds on eBay, and keeping in touch with people in far places. But it also rids of cultural distinction, boundaries, and good old plain, real in person friendships. It is a great tool to be used...in moderation and with careful technique.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Honey & the Moon by Joe Arthur
So we made these things for class and I suppose I should start using mine...I've been meaning to for months just never got around to it. Was sitting around, playing Warren Zevon's "Keep Me In Your Heart for Awhile" on a cheap steel string acoustic guitar, it sounded nice...when my best friend IMed me a song she loves that she thought I'd like...completely fell in love with the video too. Thought I'd share.
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