Progressive Era / Anti-War Voices

    In my opinion, the reason for having to seek out obscure websites to hear strong anti-war voices is because us as a society are pro-war. Economically, the production of military machinery such as weapons and high performance vehicles (Tanks, Ships, and Aircrafts) makes us money. The United States sells machinery to allied countries, so war is profitable for us.

    Due to this, many large corporations with control maintain websites that are displayed on the internet, such as Google or Bing putting certain websites at the bottom of a search engine, meaning that websites will be viewed and visited far less. The reason for having to dig deep into the internet to find these voices has to do with political bias. If one idea is believed more by the public, ideals that are deemed “illogical” are silenced and hidden away to ensure that there is no rioting and protests.

    This can also be seen throughout the political season. Large search engines are known to be biased towards one party or another and will push some news articles and information towards the bottom of the page to ensure less of the public have access to that information. I personally have never heard or seen any of these websites and that is mostly due to the media silencing the unpopular beliefs to reduce “manic”, which I believe to be unfair. I believe that all information should be equally distributed so that American citizens can develop and create their own opinions and ideas based on the information they find, whether it is true or not.

USNews

Amazon Kindle EOTO

 

    The Amazon Kindle was introduced as a revolutionary electronic book reader as a personal handheld library. The Kindle permitted books to be purchasable through the Internet, via the Amazon services, and viewable at any time through the tablet. This introduced an entire new avenue for electronic reading and allowed publishers to extend their reach and reduce printing costs.

    The first Kindle series was released in November 2007 and sold out within hours on Amazon's website. It was a convenient e-reader for the consumer, rather than carrying a multitude of books, the Kindle is a lightweight and portable way to read on the go.

    The success was so well received that Amazon launched a new version of the Kindle in 2009. The only changes that were made to the device consisted of a more visually appealing display of the keys and storage boost. Many attributes stayed the same such as the 6-inch E ink display. The new updates that really caught the eye of the public was that the Kindle two refreshed at a much faster piece than their previous tablet. The Kindle 2 was even more successful and shortly after became a household name. To keep up with the rising demand, Amazon released another Kindle three months after the release of the Kindle 2, in May 2009. The new Kindle was known as the Kindle DX, however after two years of being released the DX was discontinued from lack of demand for a “magazine reader”.

    In 2010, the Kindle Keyboard was released and was the first Kindle sold outside of the United States. The Kindle Keyboard was a huge hit in the United Kingdom and sold millions. The difference between the Kindle Keyboard and the previous Kindles was that it was more compact. The Kindle slowly evolved like other technology-based devices such as cellphones to be smaller and more compact to make traveling with them more efficient.

    In 2011, Amazon took a huge leap in the technological community and developed the Kindle Fire which adapted from clunky buttons to touch screen compatibility. This piqued the interest of many consumers since touch screens were becoming overwhelmingly popular. The changes allowed users to search the Kindle store for books and apps much faster than the previous Kindles and overall made consumers happier.

    Amazon released the Kindle Paperwhite in 2012 and made a huge advancement. The Paperwhite was designed to allow users the ability to read in the dark or direct sunlight. Now consumers could read outside, inside, in dark surroundings. After the Paperwhite was launched, a cheaper alternative was created to ensure a larger consumer demographic was able to get a hold of their product. In 2014, Amazon launched the Kindle 7 that only cost US$79, which provided an affordable variance for larger groups to buy and use their product in mass. The Kindle Voyage was also released in 2014 and provided the same amenities as the other Kindle launched in 2014 other than it offered a 3G option and a 300 PPI resolution.

    The Kindle Oasis was released in 2016, this version of the Kindle was completely remodeled to have a lighter and thinner frame which was not only perfect for traveling but catered those who traveled a lot and wanted a more convenient alternative to previous Kindles or hard copies of books. Two more versions of the Oasis were later released in 2017 and 2019. The idea remained similar but both options contained more storage, a better retina display and were more compact than before.

Pocket-lint

Age of AI

 

    Artificial Intelligence is a morally conflicting topic. Will it rapidly increase job productivity, or will it cost workers catastrophically? In my opinion, Artificial Intelligence should be used for speed or rapid transactions that would rather take the human hand significantly longer to complete. This includes personal identification records, financial management, and countless others. In today’s world of business, some processes may take extensive time for humans to complete, from sending or receiving data between stations or companies to storing that data for reference or use at a later notice.

    My belief is that humans aspire to do tasks as quick and easy as possible. Creating a system in which technology performs most or all tasks in replacement of human hands could be detrimental to many job positions. With the wish of total ease of access comes a strand of laziness or neglect for the job at hand.

    In addition to human versus robot jobs, artificial intelligence creates a new privacy and security risk. If a system is considered malicious, it can collect and spread personal data among other sources, which in turn leads to identity theft, unverified purchases, or security hazards for the person with leaked information. These sources of information include bank and credit card details, address, phone number, and connections.

    In my opinion, it would be beneficial to keep artificial intelligence partially incorporated into society without letting it run major systems or functionalities. Allowing this setup would benefit smaller companies who would need the assistance more than the large companies due to the connections or positions that can currently settle this line of work.

Final Blog Post

    There is always a point where too much screen time becomes unhealthy. In my personal experience, my relationship with technology is relatively healthy. Typically, I can manage my time between gaming and schoolwork. On the other hand, there are also occurrences where I lose track of time and forget about my other responsibilities. In the long run, I frequently manage to complete the assignments that are required of me, somewhat coming in close on time. Since I am a Game and Interactive Media Design major, I do spend a significant amount of time in front of a computer screen. In all honesty, I do believe it takes up a significant portion of my day to day life.

    On another note, I believe technology and the internet to be valuable tools if used correctly. Unfortunately, the internet also provides countless amounts of false or uncredited information that can be misleading. Oftentimes, this information is disguised as credible information, but after delving deeper it turns out to be false. It is not necessarily technology that provides the misleading information, but rather the people using the technology for personal gain. For example, during political elections many opposing sides will spread false information via social media and the internet to sway potential supporters away from the opposing candidate. The internet can also provide truthful information in a way that can be accessed quickly which is useful if the information required is needed in a timely manner.

    I know several people who have both a positive and negative relationship to technology. In my opinion, the negative relationship usually consists of overindulgence in social media and the internet which can be time consuming and takes away from more important things such as schoolwork and time spent with family. On the contrary, the positive impacts I have noticed with close friends and family consist of a balance between social media, school, and time spent with family. A positive relationship does not technically mean limited screen time but finding the equilibrium between the two.

    In relation to future employment due to my online footprint, I believe I would be in the clear. I rarely use or post on social media, so my online footprint is very minimal. I know employers use social media to see what kind of person the applicant is and who they are outside the work environment. Since I never use social media, it would be hard to find any negative posts in relation to my online footprint. After Googling myself, everything I found was to be expected. I found a few articles online that show my wins as the captain of the bowling team at my high school. I also found my LinkedIn page that shows my customized for my previous occupation. To be fair, I am happy with what I found because it paints me as a hardworking and dedicated individual with varying experiences under his belt. I think potential employers who look at my online footprint will be pleasantly surprised at what they would find. 

Modern Day First Amendment

    On January 6th 2021, the United States Capitol was stormed by individuals attempting to overturn the decision made in the 2020 election. The protesters who showed up to the election were infuriated by the fact that Biden won the election. Many of the protesters who participated believed that President Joe Biden won due to voter fraud and that the election was ‘rigged’. This caused protests to quickly turn violent as protestors started to force their way into the capitol building. Many officers and security guards were harmed in these protests as well as protestors. After successfully breaking into the capitol building, many managed to enter Nancy Pelosi’s office and vandalize her desk in acts of rage. This caused many congressmen and women to shelter in place. The U.S government cannot intervene when protests are taking place unless they break laws such as curfew, trespassing, or any violent crime. In most circumstances the government will not disrupt a peaceful protest, but because many protesters showed up armed and did not obey CDC COVID-19 guidelines, so intervention was needed to ensure no government officials were harmed.

Washington Post Article

    Starting off civil, the January 6th protest was protected by the First Amendment in Freedom of Assembly and Petition. This quickly faded when protestors began storming into the Capitol illegally with violent intentions towards federal administration. Property inside and outside were vandalized or thrashed, meanwhile the crowd motions to press forward. This series of events results in an unprotected action by the First Amendment and sanctions for subsequent punishment for a great deal of the intruders. Many aggressive protestors were convicted, jailed and fined for their recklessness and public endangerment to a federal facility. 

Eight Values of Expression

    As far as I can see in American society and culture, the majority of those living in the U.S take their patriotism very seriously. As a society, freedom of speech is probably one of our most valued expressions of freedoms. Though every U.S citizen has freedom of speech, there are some settings in which saying or acting in a certain way will have consequences. As Americans, we can do or say what we want so long as it does not directly cause harm to other individuals, but in professional environments, such as school or work, freedom of speech is hindered in certain circumstances. For example, there might be a dress code that is enforced in both work or private school environments requiring the patrons to wear proper apparel. These dress codes do not go against the Constitution since they are run by private administration. In environments that are deemed to be more professional, it is considered a social norm to dress professional as well. Freedom of expression is more than just being able to say what you want.

    There are many different forms of Individual Self-Fulfillment, yet many choose to express themselves based on their personal wardrobe. This type of self-expression leads many to feel more comfortable showcasing who they are as an individual rather than a group. Additionally, there have been several case studies conducted by Georgetown Behavioral Institute to observe how self-expression affects behavioral patterns. In these studies, it was clear that positive changes in both mood and personality occurred when an individual was allowed to express themselves, whether through clothes, art, or music. Self-Expression is important because it allows individuals to manifest their thoughts and feelings on the outside instead of holding them in. It is also a great way to communicate our emotions and thoughts that lay in our minds non-verbally toward others. Many feel pride when they dress a certain way this form of self expression is a birthright when in other places it is a luxury.

    Another prime example of self-expression is in artistic designs. Artists can illustrate a message or mental image through vivid designs. From there, observers can make their own interpretations of the composition that best express their personal emotions. Take into consideration Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night. The painting illuminates a dusk sky scene crossing the horizon of a small village. Some people may symbolize this scene as an ease into peace resting upon the civilians. In other words, art is the depiction of the one who creates or the one who evaluates.

The Supreme Court

    In the article by History.com, there were several points which I found interesting. One piece of information I obtained while reading was that the Supreme Court was founded in 1789 by Article III. The Supreme Court was put into place after the Judiciary Act of 1789. Initially, I was unaware that George Washington was the individual who signed off on the Act. After the Act was passed, there were several cases that followed after.

    The most crucial takeaway I gathered from this article consisted of a court case in 1974 known as “U.S vs. Nixon”. The case went to prove that a President should not be able to hide or cover up evidence. This is important because it is a perfect example of what the Supreme Court was designed to do, ensure justice. For example, if a law passed by congress is thought to be unconstitutional, then it will first be put through the Supreme Court to be further examined. At the time, the Supreme Court was initially established there were only six judges appointed. In modern day, the Supreme Court has nine judges to break a tied vote and have more voices which was intriguing. Before reading this article, my initial thought process regarding the Supreme Court consisted of bits and pieces that were fed to me over public news. I believed the Supreme Court was always used for high-level court cases. After reading the article, the Supreme Court has more critical functions. In the article, it mentioned a case called “West vs Barnes” which entailed a farmer disputing a family in which he owed debt to. This case was a low-profile case that still made its way into the Supreme Court’s trial room.