Essay 2: Final

Although our changing lifestyle for business and pleasure has become more on-the-go, it is this same on-the-go lifestyle that causes our current boom in technological advancement because businesses have expanded to require quick communication, people have become information dependant, and swift travel has become a must in both pleasure and business. It has taken centuries for our technology to advance this far, but it is quickly advancing even farther, and there is still a demand for even more advancements. It is our want and need of better tools and toys that has driven this technology boom.

Communication has grown from men carrying letters via horseback to our cell phones that can access the internet as well as make calls almost anymore. At first letters were slow, only being as fast as the man and horse that carry the letters. The next invention better from the horse born letter, was the telegraph which came in the early 1800s. This was not practical for every household and was used in stations that relayed messages. Though it was the telephone invention in 1876 that would change the way we communicate today. It was slow at first, but eventually phones became available in every household and now everyone has the opportunity to talk with almost anyone in the world when they want to. In 1969, the first network was created and thus the creation on the internet. It wasn’t until 1992 that the internet was offered to the public and no longer just for educational foundations and governments. Cell phones were first thought up in 1947, but the first cell phone wasn’t made until 1973. Phone companies became testing cell phones in 1979 but they weren’t approved by the FCC until 1982. And in 1999, the first full time internet was available on cell phones in Japan.

Not only did our way of communication become faster, but it also became more portable. When cell phones first came out, they were about the size of a brick, and almost just as heavy. When we carry our cell phones now, we almost never think of where they originated, or how they became the way they are. All we care about is the features that our phones have. When we look at our phones now, they are about the size of a deck of cards, and some are even smaller. It is the advancement of the computer chips and batteries that have made the ability for phone companies to make smaller phones.

With the advancement of our communication with our phones and internet, a new demand has arisen, a need to know. The internet and modern libraries are a vast source of information at anyone’s fingertips. The first libraries date all the way back to 1300-1200 BC, but these were reserved for nobleman and scholars. Public libraries didn’t become available to all classes until the mid nineteenth century. It was then that public libraries became available to everyone and thus provided people with almost any book ever written. The internet started as an experiment, but has quickly become an all access pass to almost anything you can think of, as long as you have a computer. The internet has not only become one of our main forms of communicating, but also our main form of getting information, even above a library. The internet has become so demanded, that it is even offered on our phones, and also wireless networks for laptops in different areas.

Not only has our form on communicating and getting information changed, but also how we travel. For the longest time, humans relied on their own two feet for travel, and it wasn’t until about 3700 to 3100BC that horses were first tamed. It is thought that chariots weren’t invented until around 3000BC, and thus travel increased even more. But at first horses and chariots were reserved for nobleman and kings. Though horses were probably also used on farms, and chariots were also used on the battle field. Men started thinking up other modes of transportation that did not rely on horses, but rather self propelled vehicles. Around 1335 there were a few ideas drawn up on self-propelled vehicles, one of these designs by Leonardo Da Vinci. It wasn’t until 1769 that the first self propelled vehicle was made, but it was a long way from a practical car. The first self-propelled vehicle to use an internal combustion engine wasn’t until 1807, though this was a very unsuccessful design. The first engine that runs on liquid gasoline wasn’t made until 1870. It wasn’t until 1886 that Henry Ford built his first automobile in Michigan. This was the day that a better mode of transportation was introduced to the public, and a few years later became affordable to the public.

Since Henry Ford’s automobile, cars have come a long way. Our modern cars now have built in blue-tooth that allows us to us our phones thru our cars, and they even have built in GPS for navigation. These are only a couple of the features that our offered on our vehicles nowadays, but when automobiles first came out there weren’t any features offered. It was slow at first, but some of the first accessories offered in automobiles were headlights, windshield wipers and eventually air conditioning. At first, these were thought as luxury items, but now we take these few comfort items for granted. It has taken a couple thousand years for us to find better ways of getting around than just by walking, but even today we still like to walk places.

Our technology has come a long way in these past decades, and it still has a long way to go. Our demand for better tools and toys will drive the development of better and more efficient technologies. Our cars will become more powerful, better fuel efficiency, and safer. While our phones will become smaller, faster internet, and someday all phones will have built in cameras, mp3 players, and internet access, instead of only a handful. And eventually all books and library databases will be available electronically, and paperbacks may be eliminated altogether.

Plagiarism

I did not realize that the difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing was so great. I would have thought that the plagiarized copy would have been close enough, though I would have worded it a little more differently.
What happens if you unknowingly plagiarize something that you think you have reworded properly?

Week 6: Response 2

The argument between the two newspapers definition on looting has sparked quite the controversy. I believe that the caption on the image of the black man carrying food he just took from a grocery is technically correct, it is looting. But on the other hand, the caption for the photo of the white couple is both right and wrong, the food originated from the store and was still in front of the store, therefore it was also looted. The difference between the captions is not those that are being depicted in the photos, but rather what the photographer and newspapers deem what is and isn’t looting. The controversy therefore is not if the newspapers were being racist, but rather what the newspapers should deemed looting, and they should give exceptions to the term. Both newspapers claim they have a standard for what should go into a caption, and both have stated that the photographer must think his caption through thoroughly before publishing it. It is hard for a photographer to write in a single sentence what they saw and how they can describe it. If both photographers had been able to write an article on what they had seen both in around to the photos they took, I’m sure the discussion would have gone differently. I believe that Chris Graythen’s caption should have been on both photos. In a time of a natural disaster, it is important for people to survive and if they must take food from stores that have been abandoned, then so be it. Chris gave a great response to the heat he received about his caption, and I agree that he did write his caption correctly, the couple was finding food. It is true that stores would have written off the food in them, and that it all would have been thrown out after the water subsided, so what would be the point in protecting the food from people who need it most. It was better for the stores to leave the food for people to take and eat it, rather than try to protect it or give it out. Because if they would have protected it, then they would have been looked down upon, whereas if they openly gave it out they would have been responsible for the health of the people especially if they got sick off the food they received.

Week 6: Response 1

Between these five cartoons, each does have some similarities, and each has their differences. The first one by Mike Lester shows us that the Supreme Court is a bunch of clowns and that it is easier to get into college by simply being of a specific race. It shows us that because someone of a specific race, who would normally not get into college, is allowed in because they are a minority. The second cartoon by Dennis Draughon shows the Supreme Court thinking over the Affirmative Action issue and shows us how the Supreme Court isn’t diversified either, being that there is only one African-American judge while there are eight white judges. Mike Thompson’s cartoon depicting what an African-American goes through growing up in Detroit’s Eastside, shows that the only reason he gets into college is because of the Supreme Court ruling on Affirmative Action. Signe Wilkinson shows us that it is harder for the average white student to get into college, especially after the top pick and minority students are allowed in. Lastly, Dean Camp depicts one student excelling in front of another to get into college because he has paid the extra money to take extra classes and a tutor in order to succeed. I believe that Dean Camp’s cartoon is the least effective for depicting the Affirmative Action decision, and also you do not need to spend the extra money on tutors, SAT classes, or summer programs just to get into college, and in fact most students don’t do these. These are all optional things to do, and I think are only required if you truly don’t understand the material and require extra help. I believe that Signe Wilkinson’s cartoon is the best depiction of college admissions because it does become harder for the average white student to get into college, especially after alumni kids, donor’s kids, athletes, out of state, and minorities are allowed into college. Because after these decisions, the college has usually reached its goal, or maximum number of students that they allow in. So it is this reason the it actually becomes the average white American student who becomes the minority in college.