Eportfolio #3

Artifact #8: 3/30/11 at 3:36 pm

http://cerutti102.blogspot.com/2011/03/artifact-8.html

Artifact #9: 4/7/11 at 9:26 pm

http://cerutti102.blogspot.com/2011/04/artifact-9.html

Artifact #10: 4/13/11 at 9:53 pm

http://cerutti102.blogspot.com/2011/04/artifact-10.html

Artifact 10

This particular article talks about the internet and how it can be very addictive.  Dr. Young, a professor at St. Bonaventure University, states that the internet is addictive because it allows us to create new personalities and use them to meet our psychological needs.  Dr. Young created a test to see how much people are addicted to the internet.   Some questions from the test ask if you ever neglect household chores to use the internet and how often you ignore stressful situations and think about soothing thoughts about the internet?  I have never personally done that, but I believe if you think about the internet that much, you might have a bit of a problem.  Later in the article, it talks about a 20 year old college student from New York who is absolutely hooked to the internet.  She sleeps with her laptop in her bed and listens to her music to put her to sleep.  She took Dr. Young’s test and she too believes that she has a problem.  Signs that she is a true “internet addict” is that she is constantly surfing the web.  She goes from Facebook, to Twitter, to looking at pictures.  It is constant action on the web.  I agree that there needs to be a balance between reality and virtual life.  I personally am on the internet a lot, but do not believe I am an addict.  I know my limits and know the difference between what is real and what is on the computer.  The internet is a powerful tool and can be an addictive one as well.

Artifact 9

When you think of an art museum, what do you usually think of?  I always picture people walking around, examining every piece of art very closely.  Back before technology was introduced to the art scene, this is what would happen.  No one ever thought of it ever being so interactive.  Nowadays, this is the norm.  Shelley Bernstein, chief technology officer at the Brooklyn Museum, gets hits everyday on either Facebook Twitter about the museum.  Her goal is to keep people visiting the museum and the website.  The article explains how a decade ago, museum websites were no more than online advertisements.  They displayed the hours,  admission, and directions.  Today, people like Shelley Bernstein are changing that.  Not only are museums fun to visit, but social networks are turning them into virtual communities.  On Facebook and Twitter, everyone has a voice to speak about them.  Some however think art online isn't really art because the people may not really be seeing the artwork.  Shelley’s goal is for people to be able to have a voice so that if they think the museum needs improvements, their voice can be heard.  As technology advances, the museums also have to.  Their wireless internet must stay updated, demands of social media must be met, and what goes on the walls of Facebook must be handled.  The idea of museums all around the world being more technologically advanced is brilliant, and Shelley Bernstein is really the motivator for it.  I would not be surprised if one day, all art museums become interactive.

Artifact 8

After watching this video, I was quite shocked straight from the beginning.  Out of the three statistics that were given about online health, the one that was most shocking was that almost 60% of people go online for a health problem.  Who needs to ask a doctor in person when you have the internet?  WebMD was one of the first sites visited for online health was very useful for getting information, and still is.  However, as society becomes more advanced, there are now interactive sites where not only can the expert teach the user, but the user can teach the expert.  As they describe it, a two-way interaction.  With the iPhone being so popular, there are over 6,000 mobile health apps.  One very popular app that is talked about is an app created by MentalWorkout.com.  Their mission is to change the world of Psychology.  There is a variety of apps this company offers which includes how to deal with stress, anxiety, insomnia, etc.  Also, their meditation app is the #1 selling app in the world!  The great thing about having this sort of application on your phone is the time in between appointments when you need a quick answer, you can go straight to your phone.  One reason why Facebook is so successful is because it brings people together as a community, and with websites like patientslikeme.com, people with chronic illnesses can go to this site to see what other patients, who have the same problem, are talking about.  What is great about this site is that the patients are the ones putting the information on there and researchers are observing and seeing what new research can be done.  The final example of helping people with health problems was gaming.  Currently, there are games out there that are specifically for cancer patients.  The game the video showed, called Remission, is very cool because it has a nanobot that shoots chemotherapy at cancer cells.  Studies show that after kids play Remission, they had a better compliance with antibiotics, chemotherapy, and overall just better outcomes.  There are over 400 of these games.  Being a personal user of the iPhone, after watching this video, it makes me want to download these health apps, just to see how they work.  People who do not have insurance could use these sorts of things to make sure they are in good health when they cannot afford a doctor appointment.  As the apps become more popular, and going online for health questions, and using gaming to treat cancer patients, I wonder what the future could be like for the overall health of people.  Will it be gradually become better and there be less of a need to go to the doctor?  Obviously doctors are needed when a person gets sick or just needs a checkup, but as technology advances, maybe there will no longer be a need for that.  This video was very interesting and it makes me happy to see that many things are being done to help people in need and improve the overall health of a person in many ways.

ePortfolio #2

Artifact 4 A & B 2/24/11 12:45 p.m.

http://cerutti102.blogspot.com/2011/02/artifact-4-and-b.html

Artifact 5: Tweets

http://twitter.com/#!/cerutti92

Artifact 6: Status Updates

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1338751780

Artifact 7 with comment to another blog:

3/16/11 9:23 a.m.
http://cerutti102.blogspot.com/2011/03/artifact-7.html

http://injcalone.blogspot.com/2011/03/article-7.html

Artifact 7

After reading this article I was very shocked.  I still can't really fathom all the ways professors are trying to crack down or eliminate the way for students to cheat.  The article talked about cheat-resistant computers, anti-plagiarism software, anti-cheating hardware, etc which are used today to prevent students from cheating.  These techniques must have helped considering the percentage of cheating has dropped 10 points since 2002.  The article does however talk about the ways the computer can allow a person to cheat. One clever example was that some students will scan the nutrition label of a bottle, replace it with notes from that class and paste the label back on to the bottle without the teacher having a clue what is going on.  I personally would never do something like that just because I would be too afraid, and simply because it would take too much effort and time.  I do agree that college classrooms allow students to cheat easier because of the fact of how big the class is and you can just pull your cell phone out right on your desk.  Every class that I am in, someone has their phone out and it is so easy to look something up on it and get the answer, while being sneaky.  Coming from high school, I'm so used to teachers just taking away students' phones and sending them to the office.  In college, that can't really happen, so it is much easier to use it as a way to cheat.  Some online classes even require students to purchase anti-cheating packages that can cost up to $150 so it can monitor the student for sights and sounds in the room and can lock down computers when taking a test.  I think this is a really good idea because it is much easier to cheat when you are not in a classroom and no one there to monitor you.  Barbara Christe, a program director at Indiana University, sets up fake webpages with out-of-date information just for her tests and homework so if a student decides to go to that site and steal that information, she will know right away.  However, rather than punishing that student, she will teach him or her how to correctly analyze a site.  This article was very interesting and shocking at the same time, knowing all of the different ways professors are trying to prevent cheating.  I hope one day, we will become a "cheat free" society and be able to depend solely on our own knowledge.

Strand 2: Units 5 and 6

I feel like I probably have two of the most exciting/controversial units to talk about: women and the internet, and cyberporn and cybersex.

Unit 5 talks about women's role on the internet.  A key term to remember is Digital Gender Divide which is the inequity of a women's access to the internet compared to men.  Years ago, women were rarely ever on the internet and had little access to media and communication.  Men were mostly the dominant inhabitants of the web.  Today, women on the internet are the norm rather than the exception.  The unit goes on to talk about gender in gaming and chat.  The majority of games embody a sort of hypermasculintiy which means sexualized women are featured.  However, Lara Croft is an exception to that.  This game is hypersexualized because she is tough and in control.  Statistics show that women are more likely to derive enjoyment from long-term gaming.  Also, they are more likely to engage in online chat and emailing.  With the internet, there are downsides such as cyber violence and online harassment.  Types of violence include cyberstalking, online contacting which leads to offline abuse, and degrading representations.  At the end of the unit, it discusses how CMC is used in poor nations.  In many regions, women are prohibited to access to media and the internet because it is controlled by men.  However, in some nations, women are working on building online communities between the Global North and South.  CMC is important for these women because it is their way to voice their concerns.

Unit 6 discusses interpersonal attraction and, cybersex and cyberporn all three which are very important issues.  Statistics show that as a result of online romance, one in ten web dates end in bed, one in ten say they are addicted to sex and the internet, and one in three view online porn.  Some reasons why people enjoy meeting others online is because of the promise of meeting the other person in the future, the idea of associating with like-minded people, and to boost his or her self-esteem and humor.  The unit then goes on to discuss cybersex, or "Vsex."  Cybersex is basically erotic messages sent through the computer.  It allows people to express them sexually.  A study showed that 52% of the respondents said they have had cybersex, 36% of whom reported having an orgasm, and 25% said they had faked it.  Online pornography is another big issue.  It revenues millions of dollars.  Cyberporn is also big business.  The book discusses how people or unaware of the effects of pornography because of how much it is lost in the moral and political maze such as the issue of the Time magazine in 1995.  Random fact: almost half of all child sex abuse is committed by parents and almost always by people known to the child.  Overall, sex and pornography is all about relationships and identity, whether it is right or wrong.

Artifact 4 A and B

The way I interpreted the two videos was that they showed how technology has advanced over time.  The pencil sharpener, in my opinion, is very old school.  Even though some still carry them around just in case they need a quick sharpen, you don't see many people using them just because not many people use regular pencils.  Mechanical pencils and pens are the most popular kind of writing utensil.  Also, many schools will have either electric sharpeners or ones that are attached to the wall where you have to physically sharpen the pencil yourself.  To me, those are even considered a bit old school.  I myself have an electric pencil sharpener for pencils, colored pencils, etc just because it is much easier and quicker.  From the hand-held sharpener to the electric sharpener, this is an example of how technology has advanced over time with this particular item.  After watching the video of the droid I was confused at first.  Even though it was obvious it wasn't a real person, it seemed so real and that's why it threw me off at first.  This a great example of how far technology has come.  Technology now allows us to create human-like machines that look and act almost like a real person.  The droid was kinda scary too.  It had a very creepy voice and the way it moved its head and smiled and also towards the end when the eyeballs started moving back and forth.  The comparison between the sharpener and the droid show that technology is advancing and will continue to and shown with the droid.  Many people are still very old school and probably still use the hand-held sharpener, but the majority of us have advanced are keeping up with the new technologies.

Artifact #3

How is the internet changing us as human beings?  This is the question that Nicholas Carr proposes in his book, "The Shallows."  I agree with Carr that even though the book and the internet share the same general purpose, (to gather information), they are also very different.  Back when the first book was created, one would sit and read it and solely focus on that one particular thing.  Reading a book requires a person to be fully engaged in what they are reading; paying attention to only one thing at a time.  It allows you to filter out what is going on around you because you are distracted by the words you are reading.  Today, we are a people of multi-taskers.  For example, when a person gets on the internet, they will usually do multiple things at one time:  check email, check Facebook, watch a Youtube video, etc.  The internet is filled with distractions.  It allows us to navigate very easily between multiple things at a time.  The internet is also an interruption system.  It promotes multi-tasking which is a big reason why it interrupts us from doing something.  Carr mentions that as a society, we crave new information.  We are constantly checking our email, Facebook, news updates, etc.  If new information is able to be accessed, then we will most likely stop what we are doing to see it.  All these little glances we do when we are doing multiple thing at one time are little distractions that change they way are brain runs.  Carr mentions that a study was done that showed office workers, who worked with computers, would glance at their email 30-40 times in an hour's time.  I actually wouldn't be surprised if the number of times I checked my email was close to that number. I am constantly checking my email and my Facebook because I thrive on getting new information sent to me.  The problem with this, how Carr describes it, is if we are gathering all of this information at one time and it is all being put into our brains so fast, then it denies us the ability to move messages from our short-term memory into our long-term memory, which allows us to connect other information that we have remembered to our experiences.  So, if we are constantly getting new information and constantly being distracted, then we can never really store that new information into our long-tem memory.  I am very dependent on the internet.  It would be very hard for me go even one day without using my phone or the computer because I am so dependent on them.  Like Carr mentions, the way we receive information and stay updated with what is going on is usually through Facebook or Twitter or text messaging, and that is exciting to us.  He gave an example of well-known artists who built our amazing monuments and sculptures.  That was done by deep thought and full attention.  Today, because of the internet, we don't usually use that mode of thought.  I believe that as technology advance, this form of thinking will no longer exist.

ePortfolio #1

Artifact 1 (1/23/11 at 6:18 pm):

http://cerutti102.blogspot.com/2011/01/artifact-1.html

Status updates to Artifact 2 (2/11/11 between 11:04 am and 8:15 pm):

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1338751780

Artifact 3 (2/16/11 at 10:30 am):

http://cerutti102.blogspot.com/2011/02/artifact-2.html

Response to blog entry of artifact 1 (1/28/11 at 11:27 pm):

http://lyssib1291.blogspot.com/2011/01/convenience-of-internet-artifact-1.html?showComment=1296286048464#c6501066611675091944

Unit 4-Describing CMC: Interpersonal Dynamics Summary

This unit deals mostly with the downsides of the Internet.  CMC, to some people, prevents people from communicating with members of their own family and decreases their social circle and increases loneliness.  Two terms used to describe CMC are Allegation of asociality, bad communication because the quality of communication is reduced, and Allegation of antisociality, bad communication because it has a negative impact on offline communication.  Three approaches that suggest CMC lacks important qualities of FtF communication are Social Presence, Cuelessness, and Media Richness.  However, the idea of Hyperpersonal Communication suggests that CMC can be friendlier than FtF because of online group support, being more relaxed and happy with oneself, and being able to compose messages more thoughtfully.  Overall, CMC can either be a cause of asociality and antisociality or can allow a person to be more expressive.

Unit 3-Theorizing CMC: Technology and Social Interaction Summary

In unit 3, CMC deals with a range of questions about the relationship between humans and technology such as how people interact with technology, how people incorporate technology into their everyday social lives, how people interact through technology, and how people talk about technology.  This unit also describes how the internet has come from a long line of communication including the printing press, telegraph, telephone, radio, and television and humans continue to manipulate information and messages.  An important term discussed in this unit is Determinism which makes the assumption that technology is the primary cause of major social and historical changes and profound social and psychological influences at the microsocial level of the regular use of tools.  The internet has an impact on people's lives with its design and commercial ideologies, its practical and material affordances and is uses and gratifications.

Artifact #1

This study shows that the Internet is now the main source for national and international news rather than television.  In 2010, 655 of people younger than 30 stated that the internet is their go-to source for news, which nearly doubled from 2007, while the number for television dropped from 68% to 52%.  Out of all the 1,500 Americans who were surveyed, 41% said they get their news from the internet, up 17% from 2007, while 66% went to television, down 74%.  Of those 1,500 American adults surveyed, 48% of those ages 30 to 59 cite the internet as their main source for news which went up from 32% from 2007.  14% of people who are 65 and older now use the internet which has risen from 5%.  All of these statistics, go hand-in-hand will the rise of social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.  Since 2008, tweets have risen from 5,000 daily in 2007 to 90 billion in 2010, while Facebook has grown from 30 million users in 2007 to 500 million users in 2010.  Because the internet provides things such as online streaming and internet-t.v. connections, people have more viewing options.  As much as I love to watch television, I hardly ever watch the news on T.V.  I use the internet for my source of news because the minute I get online, I see what is going on in the world.  However, I do not really pay much attention to the news anyway.  If I do watch the news, it will most likely be through the computer.