Artifact 10 Summary & Response

Link To Article http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/miss-g-a-case-of-internet-addiction/?emc=eta1

In a New York Times blog titled Miss G: A Case of Internet Addiction, author Virginia Heffernan examines the anxieties and fears surrounding internet usage. To begin  Heffernan questions why the internet is viewed so much more differently than other popular diversions such as newspaper and public radio. The internet has been labeled as addictive-while its users have been accused of being out of touch with reality. Moving forward Heffernan insist that out of date material on internet addiction, like the nearly 15 year old self- evaluation questionnaire that pops up on most search engines, has lead to a new form of self-hate. Ironically the questionnaire about Internet addiction which is only accessible by going online and viewing it, claims that all activities offline are richer and more fulling than those done online. The questionnaire reports that some tell tell signs of internet addiction are undone laundry and neglected chores. Heffernan contends the popular online  questionnaire be reminding us that it is not empirical in nature and that it holds bias against non-traditional pastimes. There are no book addicts, poetry addicts, nor music addicts. The people who love the arts are considered passionate while internet users are  tagged as addicts without taking into consideration a person could be online reading  novels or watching a live theater performance.  As the article begins to conclude Heffernan  takes a look a at a self described internet addict, Gabrielle. Miss G is a young college student who in her free time frequents the web to chat with friends, play games, listen to music, and  to research current events. Heffernan argues that people like Gabrielle should be not be labeled as an addict, which has a deviant connotation attached to it, rather Gabrielle should be viewed as a intellectual enthusiast. Gabrielle spends most of her time online thinking and acquiring knowledge there's nothing wrong with that and she shouldn't be frowned upon by society for doing so.

When I hear the term addiction, I automatically think whose the victim and how is there family coping with that persons struggle. When I think about addiction  I usually imagine someone with a tormented sole.  What I mean is a someone who has gone through some difficult times in there life such as death of a loved one or being abused as a child and as a way to cope with the pain they turn to alcohol and drugs as a means to escape their past. When I think of the term addiction I envision a person who will do anything to get their fix-lie, rob, steal, and even kill to attain that next high. So I am in agreement with Virginian Heffernan, we need to proceed with extreme caution before labeling someone an addict. That's a term that should not be thrown around lightly. In my opinion the hysteria surrounding internet usage is all about money..  A lot of people say that  addiction is a sickness, a sickness that can be cured. To cure this so called sickness you need counselors, therapist, doctors, rehab facilities, and literature on the subject. All these generate big bucks, so if there is another addiction added to the long list, then there will be more patients seeking medical intervention.  I believe the most classic case just happened recently with Tiger Woods and his extramarital affairs. He came out and said he was a sex addict. Now there's sex rehab facilities popping up, sex rehab reality shows, and sex rehab doctors/specialist going around the country holding speaking engagements.

Definitions:
Anxiety-restlessness, fear of something, fear of the unknown.
Pathological-compulsively doing something, doing something without thought.
Delinquency-failure to complete your work, mischievous/troublesome behavior.
Shopworn Rhetoric- ineffective argument, misused argument , unjust argument

Response To Artifact 9

It seems that every time I hear criticism about American culture, it states how highly impersonal and private our lives are. International travelers often experience culture shock and feel that as Americans we don't regularly interact with our neighbors, we don't connect with people we don't know, and rarely are we involved in activities outside of work/school. On the surface these assumptions may hold worth, but a deeper look into our culture reveals that we do value community and that the days of being completely private are over.  With the advent of the internet we instantly have access to court records, 10 k financial reports, and  to the business/professional profiles of anyone that's a member of a social networking site. It comes at no surprise that museums have taken advantage of our society's increased participation in online communities. After reading the article Spirit Of Sharing, the one statement that stood out to me the most is that on museum websites, everyone has a voice, and a vote. People can now go online and be actively involved in deciding what exhibitions frequent their local museums. Museums have long been perceived as destination for "old people"-most art museums have never been viewed as being hip or trendy. That has all changed. By having a continuous dialogue with patrons, museums have now added exhibits that our youth can appreciate. Not only do I admire the fact that museum curators are presenting exhibits that are more interactive, I appreciate that museums are becoming more transparent in their day to day operations. Although museums have historically been open to the general public, what goes on behind the scenes has long been a mystery. How museums acquire there artifacts, how much they pay for them, and the extreme measures they use to protect them have normally not been reported. With this information available to the public, we'll have a greater understanding of how historically significant  an artifact is, and we may be more inclined visit the museum to check it out in person. The greatest thing to come from museums implementing  the internet as a tool to attract people  to come through their doors, is that they've began to collaborate with other museums across the world to allow people access to artifacts from across all continents and time periods.  By digitizing their artifacts online museums have giving people an opportunity to experience history like never before. If we can learn about other cultures  historical artifacts we will inevitable learn about the people and with America being the worlds largest melting pot this will only strengthen ties between individuals from diverse backgrounds.





 

Response to Artifact 8

I was surprised to find out just how vast the landscape of  health online has become. An astounding eighty percent of all web users, gather information online to self diagnosis possible medical issues that they face. I don't have a problem with people wanting to acquire facts about potentially life threatening illnesses (diabetes, aids, cancer etc..) that they may face but  serious problems can arise if a person  misinterprets or receives the wrong information from one of the nearly 6,000 sites dedicated to health online.  Even more alarming, online health sites have become more interactive and are largely composed of patient stories, patient symptoms, and patient suggestions. Not every human is the same. Some have allergens, some don't. Our bodies vary and respond differently to the volume of medicine we are prescribed.  For example, what may take 1500 mg of ibuprofen to relieve the inflammation in my joints may only take someone else 200 mg to relieve the same symptoms. If we both go online and make posts about what cured our pains , which dose of pills should someone with similar discomfort take? This scenario is just one of many that could arise when people go online and self diagnose themselves without input from a qualified medical professional. I'm not advocating that doctors are 100 percent correct in their assessments, I'm just suggesting that there is a higher probability that  a doctor could find the cause of a patient's ailments sooner than that patient could find it themselves with information from an online health site. With  advances in  technologies such as  MRI, cat scans, and short turnarounds on blood-work doctors can find those little things that can be the difference between life and death. In the past few years I have heard of people  going online after a bad fall when they hit there heads and self diagnosing themselves with a  mild concussion. In actuality these people experienced serious brain trauma which went untreated by doctors and the injured person subsequently died. The most famous case happened a couple of years ago when Liam Nesson wife died after a fall, initially she thought  she was OK and refused medical attention, unfortunately her injuries were more severe than she thought and she passed away a few days later. In my opinion these online health sites can be helpful but expert advice should always be sought after and a second medical opinion is always a plus.

The one aspect about online health websites that I find rather refreshing is the encouragement that people find through websites similar to Patientslikeme.com. With  so many social network sites filled with f lamming and outright attempts at character assassination/defamation, its good news to hear that there are still online communities were its  members sole intent is to uplift the spirits of those in the group.  Facing a chronic illness can be a daunting task; filled with bouts of anxiety, depression, or feelings of loneliness. All these feeling can be overcome when chronically ill people have someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on. When a person knows thy're are not alone in their battle aginst a chronic illness and even more importantly when they can read about those who have come out on the other side ( victorious) it can really boost their morale.







           

Summary and Response to Artifact 7

In a 2008 article titled, Professors Use Technology To Fight Student Cheating, Kim Clark argues that recent anti-cheat technologies have empowered teachers and giving them the ability to catch students who don't uphold their schools academic integrity guidelines. Clark begins the article be reminding us that the landscape of higher education has undergone a dramatic change over the pas two decades. Nearly forty percent of all students have admitted to cheating in an academic setting and they also stated that cheating was made easier by using technologies such as "loaded" calculators & mobile devices. Clark claims that the internet is the main culprit behind this recent surge in student cheating. The internet is filled with how-to videos, where viewers can ascertain valuable knowledge on what tactics work best to achieve an A. What seems to be even more alarming to Clark, is that there are now dozens of websites where students can purchase custom made papers and use them as their own. These websites are known as paper-mills; students go there simply to cut and paste entire essays, students who visit these sites not only plagiarize but they fail to create any of their own original work.

The good thing to come from technologies that allow students to cheat, are the technologies that allow professors to be proactive in the war against academic dishonesty. Clark reports that more and more universities are installing anti-cheat software on their campus computers. This software only permits students to access the test they are taking. There is no internet access on these computers with anti-cheat software, no usb ports where flash drives can be inserted, and lastly some computers are even equipped with web cams-tracking both imagery and sound.  In addition to the new anti-cheat software, teachers are becoming more  tech-savvy. According to Clark, a growing number of professors are online under pseudonyms patrolling student activity. Instructors do promote student collaboration outside of class but they are aware that in these times students often concoct up ideas to cheat. By monitoring class discussion boards or student blogs, teachers can recognize students who need genuine help on assignments as well as they can thwart any attempts a student makes at illegally using information to get a head up on an exam/paper. Moving forward Clark observes that  tougher monitoring of students is a necessary step in order to shorten the gap between professors and students in the cheating arms race. Students are being asked to leave all electronics outside the classroom, put away all food/drinks, and most importantly remove all unnecessary clothing items (hats, scarfs, jackets) where notes can be stored. To conclude Clark insists that cheat proof homework and tests may be the answer to preventing students from copying from their peers. Randomly assigned questions coupled with mandatory outlines and rough drafts will not offer students any advantages if they do decide to cheat.

Overall Kim Clark's argument was credible. She did not use a wide range of rhetorical strategies to strengthen her claim, but the ones she decided to use were well developed. For example, throughout the article Clark injected a variety of quotes from both students and professors across the country. Theses quotes gave insight into the epidemic of student cheating.Clark also used great detail when describing some of the steps students took to smuggle information into the classroom. For example Clarke spoke of how students would get coke bottles, rip off the labels, scan them on their computers , insert new information on them , and finally print them off and take them to class. With Clarke giving so much detail about different instances of cheating , I as a reader was able to visualize what lengths students go to in order to cheat and I now understand why instructors have to take so many steps to ensure that their classrooms are free from cheating.

Response to Artifact 6

The one thing that I learned early in life is that there is always somebody watching. Whether it be at work , at school, or in the home rarely can someone's actions go unnoticed. The thought that a person can go about life in America with complete anonymity, is thrown out the door the day their born; given a name and assigned a social security number. From the time we are children, identity markers are attached to literally every aspect of our lives. We have student ids, employee numbers, license plate numbers, phone numbers , home addresses, and of course email addresses that allow people to identify us. Trying to achieve anonymity in the 21st century is almost beyond the bounds of possibility. I admire the creator of 4chan, Chris Poole for trying to do the impossible but I wonder just how anonymous the users of his sight really are.
It seems from the video, that the site is growing in popularity. It is empowering people to speak freely and  encouraging people to protest against various institutions of our society.  The empowerment this site has given it users could ultimately lead  to its downfall. From watching the video I felt like users of this site tend to challenge the the status-quo.By doing so they are going to step on a lot of toes and piss off a lot off people. It seems like in life when you began to ask too many questions or decide to "shine light" into dark places you get the attention of those in high places. I feel this site may come under the same fire that wiki leaks faced because of information streaming from anonymous sources. The site has already struggled to gain  corporate or commercial advertising dollars and  the site has been criticized for allowing child pornography to be viewed. Chris did acknowledge that he has opened up a Pandora's box he confesses that he does have some skepticism about what direction the sight is headed in.
Overall the video was interesting. The founder of 4 chan was well spoken and seemed to have the audiences attention throughout. The most intriguing  part of the speech is when Chris Poole mentioned that he created a list of rules to be followed by all. When I went online to investigate what they were I was shocked to find that a person can be banished from the sight for complaining about 4chan (its policies, moderation, etc.). In the video, Poole claimed that the sight had no barriers and it fostered discussion that was completely raw and unfiltered. That claim was not entirely accurate,  you can sound off about anything on 4chan except 4chan. If that is not a clear cut case of  hypocrisy, then I don't know what is.                    

Response to Artifact 4A & 4B

I really don't understand the hype that's surrounding the creation and production of droids. What's so fascinating about creating something that looks and acts like a human., when there are six billion humans already populating the earth. I've heard the argument that scientist will be able to create the perfect droid; a droid that's honest, caring, loving, courageous, and above all loyal to its owner. I've yet to met a man who says he is without flaw, so how can I expect a world that's full of flawed men to create a droid free of any vices. There's and old saying that if you live in a world full of devils how can you expect to live like an angel. In other words if droids become apart of our everyday lives and witness the cruelty of man, how can they not adapt. How can the droids exist and never once exhibit hate, envy, jealousy, or greed? I think the obsession with droids comes from mans desire to be in control, to dominate. For the most part humans are born with the power to choose; choose what they want to believe, choose in who they want to worship, choose who they want to date, choose what line of work , and the list goes on. Initially with droids, humans would be in control: programming them with what to say and how to act.  Humans would become puppeteers and the droids would be the puppets doing whatever their owner/master asked, whenever they asked, and wherever they asked them to do it.  Furthermore, the one aspect of humans that sets us apart from any other species is our ability to reason, I want to know how well will droids be able to do this. In war would a droid be able to asses a friendly from a hostile? In the event of a disaster like 9/11 would a droid have the wherewithal to coordinate rescue efforts and effectively communicate across several mediums in a time of chaos? For me there's just too many unanswered questions surrounding droids, I cant support any efforts to see them built and implemented into our everyday lives.
The second video on pencil sharpeners was just as intriguing. I never would have imagined a tool so critical in my development as a child would be almost obsolete by the time I reached adulthood. When I was in grade school a pencil, a sharpener, and an eraser were a must. Now that I'm in college I only use a pencil about once every five weeks on various exams, even then my instructor encourages the students to use pen because pencil smears. The one thing I've noticed at Fontbonne is that most classes are equipped with smartboards, TV's,  and DVD's but there are no pencil sharpeners. The only pencil sharpener that I've seen in the entire school is located in the computer lab in the library and ironically it doesn't even work.  Nowadays all my writing is done on a computer, I guess if you want to call typing, writing. What does this say about our society? I guess the only certainty in  life is change. The pencil is no longer the tool that it used to be and with its demise the sharpener has since long been forgotten. I only wonder what's next on to join the pencil and the sharpener in the grave yard, if I had to make a guess it would be paper. With the world going "green", advertisements on digital billboards, books being read on ipads/kindles, and homework assignments being submitted through email there may not be use for paper anymore. What has this world come to?      
   

(Week Six) Summary Of CMC Strand 2: Units 3 and 4

Unit 3 is entitled Online Communities: Real or Imagined. The four main objectives of this chapter can be found on page 107 of the text. The first objective is to be able to critique the notion that online communities are either good or bad. Before we can even began to look at this debate, we have to understand what the term community really means. A large portion of the chapter deals directly with  providing definitional clarity on the term community. According to the text, the term community can be interpreted several different ways. These interpretations are based on what the book calls empirical descriptions and normative prescriptions  Empirical descriptions are the ways in which people actually try to describe a community and normative prescriptions are when people present an idea of what a community should or shouldn't be. What's important to remember when seeking objectivity about the the definition of community is not to qualify the term with adjectives such as real, authentic, proper and genuine. Moving forward, the chapter refutes past ideologies that communities are largely defined by the their locality. The text argues that locality alone is not sufficient enough to define a community. There has to be shared social interaction over a period of time,  before a community can be established. With this in mind the internet can be credited with establishing many communities because it is a forum that promotes social interaction; shared interest, shared feelings, and a sense of belonging. However, the chapter does offer insight into the criticism that online communities face. For example, the text states that opponents of online communities believe they lack commitment between members and there is an absence of  moral cohesion. The text counters this argument by recognizing that there are thousands of online communities, some of which lack moral integrity and others which lack in rich relational ties among its members. Nevertheless, evidence suggest that the norms and practices within online communities are greatly influenced by offline communities, the bad practices we see online are not bleeding into our offline lives, it's the other way around.. To generate some optimism about online communities the text suggest that we refer to them as social networks. Social networks don't have defined boundaries, therefore people have an opportunity connect with a substantially higher number of individuals than they would in a traditional offline community. By eliminating the term online community, we also eliminate the perception that online ties and offline ties are two separate entities. In all actuality there shouldn't be separation in our social networks and our offline communities, they should be considered on in the same.
Unit 4 was entitled Language And The Internet. This chapter mainly examined the linguistic concerns of "netlingo" and "netspeak". CMC scholars want to know if how we use language on the internet differs from  how we use language offline. In addition the chapter examines  various speech communities and analyzes the different languages spoken on the net ( English, Chinese, Spanish. etc...). According to the text "netlingo" and "netspeak" should not be depicted as a form of communication that takes place solely in English, it happens across all languages and in all cultures. "Netlingo" and "netspeak" can be defined as a form of online communication that is focused on speed and informality. Some characteristics of  "netlingo" and "netspeak" are abbreviations, acronyms, letter homophones, and emoticons. All of these features blend traditional writing and speech together to generate creative dialogue among internet users. The growing concern with "netlingo" and "netspeak" is that they are eroding our youths ability to properly spell and write. The text calls this linguistic diffusion-when one way of speaking starts to seep into the other. Another topic of concern found in unit 4 examines the status of language online. One important note in reference to this topic is that people organize themselves into communities based on the way they speak, therefore the internet alienates the rather large demographic of those users who are not English-speaking. The chapter concludes by reminding us that language is constantly evolving. The text suggest that we not be overly critical of the changes in language because they are inevitable both online and offline.