CIS2 Group Projects - Summer 2015 - Group B
Contents
- 1 Individual Wiki Lists and "Best" Resources
- 2 1. Introductions
- 3 2. Privacy and Freedom of Speech
- 4 3. Intellectual Property
- 5 4. Crime
- 6 5. Employment, Education and Entertainment
- 7 6. Midterm - Millennium Development Goals
- 8 7. Evaluating and Controlling Technology
- 9 8. Risks, Failures and Responsibilities
- 10 9. Anytime, Anywhere
- 11 10. Technology Advances, Social Trends
Individual Wiki Lists and "Best" Resources
David Chen - http://wikieducator.org/User:Chen808/finalProject?venotify=created
Christy Chen - http://wikieducator.org/User:Christychen
Mikayla Druhan -http://wikieducator.org/User:Mikayladru/finalproject
Marvin Mangligot - http://wikieducator.org/User:Marshanne
Mellissa Huynh - http://wikieducator.org/User:Melhuy
Min Seok Choi - http://wikieducator.org/User:Mchoi47
1. Introductions
Why we chose this article: In this article by Manuel Castells, he explores the Internet and how its technological infrastructure enables society to communicate openly through many platforms. He debunks the notion that internet brings upon anti-socialness and rather increases sociability in our culture. This article serves as a good introduction to the digital age and how it significantly impacts our society. Communication is the key with computers and society which affects the different topics we explored in this class such as privacy and risks.
http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_on_how_technology_evolves
Why we chose this article: Kevin Kelly explores the many aspects of technology such as biological evolution, technology moving towards complexity, and specialization and diversity over time. He believes that we as a society drive our own evolution by playing the “infinite game”. Kelly believes as technology advances so to does our society, and so it is imperative that we embrace technology and accept it as an important aspect of our lives.This article explains how our biological evolution is linked to technological advancement. Kelly believes that it increases our ability to see out different choices, possibilities and freedom.
2. Privacy and Freedom of Speech
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2031908/the-5-biggest-online-privacy-threats-of-2013.html
Why we chose this article: Melissa Riofrio sheds light on the different ways our privacy is being threatened online. This article makes us question how much privacy and freedom we really have over the internet. Businesses are able to track your browsing history and quickly build a profile on you. This raises concerns on privacy. Is tracking really convenient or an invasion of privacy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA6aiFeMQZ0
Why we chose this article: In this video by the Internet Society, the ramification of digital footprints and how it can be monetized by third party advertisers is explored. It also discusses how our information can be used against us if we are not careful with our data. The government is able to infringe on our freedom of speech and privacy simply making claims from our browsing history. This is a cause for concern as it violates our constitutional rights. This video touches upon the many aspects of privacy and freedom of speech.
3. Intellectual Property
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/11/david-byrne-internet-content-world
Why we chose this article: Most people don't understand the ramifications caused by online streaming services and how they affect the artists. While streaming videos and music can save us money, the money that artists make from it is simply not decent enough of a profit. A library of creative content costs much more time and money to produce than the cost of a $10 monthly Spotify subscription, so a question that remains how sustainable online streaming services are for production companies and artists. With the recent proliferation of websites like Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, the concerns brought up by the author regarding such services are even more relevant.
Why we chose this article: This article is especially interesting because it not only informs the reader about the specifics regarding copyright law in regards to the music industry, but also music copyright laws that are most commonly misunderstood by the general public. The author addresses common claims made in favor of piracy and why they lack a compelling justification. Control over how intellectual property is distributed should be left in the hands of the original artists, and the culture of online pirating not only prevents the original owners from exercising that right but also robs them of their proper share of earnings.
4. Crime
http://www.privacymatters.com/identity-theft-information/identity-theft-computer-hacking.aspx
Why we chose this article: While most people are informed of ways to avoid household robberies or conventional theft, they aren't often aware of how to protect themselves from computer hacking and don't understand unsafe activity can put more than just their computer passwords at risk. Not only does this website provide an overview of how someone can be affected by computer hacks and identity theft, but it also provides an overview of how stolen information can be bought and stolen through the interweb.
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/30/online-fraud-costs-more-than-100-billion-dollars
Why we chose this article: Online fraud has been a hot issue over the past few years not only in the United States, but its spread out worldwide. While early estimates predicted losses of around 100 billion USD, the amount stolen from banks, financial institutions, companies and individuals could be at least double. In the future, even a country's national infrastructure could become a victim to cyber crime (for instance, transportation systems and the stock market). This article talks about how the global economy has taken a hit because of cyber crime. It also talk about how big companies and corporations are exposed from criminal hackers.
5. Employment, Education and Entertainment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHfjvYzr-3g
Why we chose this article: This Youtube video discusses the value of productivity and how willpower is not the only tool necessary for achieving success. College students are often overwhelmed by the assignments we are tasked with, and the best thing students can do for themselves is to use disciplined studying and focusing on hard tasks in concentrated work sessions. Learning how to break down a project into manageable pieces will be beneficial to our productivity.
http://blogs.workday.com/how-technology-can-build-the-bridge-from-education-to-employment/
Why we chose this article: This page explains how online learning are creating an impact by making learning more affordable, accessible, and targeted. Currently, there is also a wide gap in the skills required to succeed in school versus the skills needed for the workforce. Older administrative systems in most college institutions are not built for these modern problems, and the benefit of online learning systems is that they can be built from the ground up to overcome these skill discrepancies. The author emphasizes how, moving forward, technology will play a huge role to our education and employment system.
6. Midterm - Millennium Development Goals
Why we chose this article: This article explains how Kenya is taking the steps to provide laptops to primary schools. Most of the article tackles the issue of geography. Schools are near the main power grid will get the laptops while schools away from the grid offers some issues. However bleak the article sounds, the Kenyan government is making strides by planning to install solar panels to the schools that are far away. If successful, this action plan could greatly improve the educational experience of children.
Why we chose this article: Bill and Melinda Gates couple discuss what they've done to help communities in developing countries and the gratification they get from their philanthropic efforts and research. Some of their concentration has been working with women and children's health and education. While they've had some failures along the way, those downfalls haven't impacted their desire to help people and create more equal opportunities. An interesting note they make is the importance of creating a culture of philanthropy among their colleagues and friends. By encouraging other innovators to take their minds and ideas and look at what can be done to help others, they can help make a dent in the inequality problem and inspire more people to make the world a better place.
7. Evaluating and Controlling Technology
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erCAp_Bd0AQ
Why we chose this article: In this TED talk, Keren Elazari, a hacker, illuminates us on who and what hackers really are. She compares them to our immune system: hackers exposes the flaws in systems and demands change. Keren goes on to give examples on how hackers have done civic duties to the people who need it. Despite the problems of activities like "hacktivism," she concludes that hackers are necessary because they force change or demand something better.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/big-idea-2015-you-controlling-meabh-quoirin
Why we chose this article: The big question in the article: are you controlling technology, or is technology controlling you? It seems that despite the benefits of technology, statistics show that people are not as happy as they used to be and people don't feel they have as much over their lives as it might appear. Appliances like the apple watch can monitor everything about ourselves, from Facebook notifications down to our heart rates. Tech like this seems to be an attempt for humans to reign over every aspect of their life. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the ability to know the unexpected is giving us more emotional and mental stability in our lives than would be expected.
8. Risks, Failures and Responsibilities
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/suren-ramasubbu/things-to-think-about-dur_b_7697118.html
Why we chose this article: This article discusses the safety risks involved when children use the internet, since most young people are not as cautious about the dangers of revealing to much about themselves online. For instance, most kids don't realize the dangers of mentioning the city where they live, the school they go to, sharing their phone numbers, and sharing their first and last name. Unsafe internet use could lead to "cyber bullying, cyber stalking, sexting, exposure to inappropriate material and identity theft." As such, the article discusses a few ways for parents to raise their children's awareness about internet safety.
https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/10/11/online-safety-is-a-shared-responsibility/
Why we chose this article: This article tackles the topic of online safety. A Canadian teen committed suicide after she posted a video on Youtube regarding about her depression. An unknown man convinced her to expose her nude body online and subsequently revealed those photos. She was bullied and harassed by online peers, which caused her to turn to suicide. The burden of keeping the web safe cannot be shouldered by one individual, but anyone that uses the Internet. We should be very careful what we do online because we do not really know the consequences of our activity. There are many hackers and scammers online, so responsibility and self-awareness can be a big help in subverting incidents like this.
9. Anytime, Anywhere
http://www.worldwidelearn.com/education-articles/benefits-of-online-learning.htm
Why we chose this article: This article by Mark Aspillera explains the benefits of Online Learning, which includes convenience and flexibility, student enrichment and saving money. With the rise of online learning in recent years, Aspillera tries to convince us to accept online learning and its merits. Online learning is beneficial for people with busy lives or people who have jobs that want to refine or enhance their education. Though there are still improvements to be made, he claims that the advantages of online learning - accessibility anytime, anywhere - cannot be beat.
http://venturebeat.com/2015/07/27/hands-on-with-google-maps-your-timeline-fascinating-but-freaky/
Why we chose this article: A Google Map feature called Your Timeline tracks a comprehensive "timeline" of everywhere the user has been. You can track where you've taken certain photos, retrieve public transportation history or even choose to delete specific periods or days from your history. However, data isn't always accurate and it's unknown as to how Google uses this information, so there are major privacy concerns involved. Nonetheless, this feature is useful to keep track of where users have been and at what time, making remembering the places that you have been easier. It truly exemplifies the capability and extent of technology's mobility.
10. Technology Advances, Social Trends
http://www.popsci.com/heres-look-facebooks-internet-dron
Why we chose this article: Facebook revealed a solar-powered internet drone, ‘Aquila’, which delivers wireless internet with lasers to connect remote regions. This drone will allow communities that did not have internet access before to get in touch with the technological world. This article shows the progress that technological advances do for society, which is to connect and globalize. Companies like Google and NASA had developed some form of technology that delivered information back to their database but it did not spread the use of technology back to society.
http://www.designyourway.net/blog/inspiration/30-cool-concept-gadgets-for-a-brighter-future/
Why we chose this article: This article presents concept gadgets of the future. The purpose of technology is to “make lives more enjoyable and comfortable”, with these imagined gadgets they will most likely be produced in the future. At the rate at which technology is advancing, it is probable to see these gadgets developed in the next few years. These gadgets can be incorporated into everyday life and in society to make living easier.
