Class Reflection

The way that this class was formatted is one of the things I enjoyed most about this Science, Technology, and Inequality course. It was great to not worry about buying books or a reader. I really enjoyed everything being online at the tips of my fingers. Being that the class was about technology I found this to be very appropriate use of technology by really utilizing Blackboard. The fact that our grades were usually posted within a week was helpful as well. This allowed me to stay on track and know exactly how I needed to improve. It was very nice to have pizza on the last day of class as well! This is something that not many, if any, professors are willing to do for their students. It really gave a personal touch to the end of the semester, along with our “Technology Inequalities Over the Rainbow” song.

            The content of the course was also very interesting. Technology inequalities are everywhere even though we might not think about them on a regular basis. They are in the park, at work, in school, at the store, and even in forensic DNA testing facilities. It was made clear to be during this course that those who have money are often if not always privileged when it comes to technologies. This ranges from being able to afford a computer, to tunnels that are too short to allow public transportation into a specific area. I will take what I have learned in this class into my everyday life by simply being more aware of my surroundings and acknowledge the inequalities around me. Who knows, maybe I will be able to do something about one of these inequalities one day. 

Reflection #13

Science and technology is interesting to look at in emerging economies. These economies that we discussed this week were Vietnam and China. Something I learned about Vietnam is that it is a geo-politically important location and the safest country in the region. This is a great advantage. However this economy does have its challenges. Vietnam has a large intro-ASEAN common market. The US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement and accession to WTO are challenges as well. Vietnam saw little progress in the 60s and 70s. Since this time it has transformed to use a market oriented mechanism. The government’s standpoints towards innovation are liberalization or trade, liberalization of technology transfer, and structural reforms in the market economy. It is the general consensus that monopolies are bad and the state should not be in control. Some similarities between Vietnam and China are that they are both socialist, communist, in Asia, have large populations, centralized governments, and science and technology is a priority. Top students in these areas are pushed to go into the science and technology fields. However, politically and economically China is much more of a major world player than Vietnam. China has a major outsourcing industry. Vietnam and China are each emerging technologies where huge strides are being made in the field of science and technology. 

Reflection #12

I thought the speaker in the video we watched Thursday was a great speaker. He associated the automobile and its effect on the environment by using a little humor. He says the automobile drinks and coughs. What he meant was that it takes up lots of gas and then puts out lots of emissions. In fact, over 50% of carbon emissions come from gas. He also said how they (automobiles) ask for more infrastructure and highways.  What he proposes is for cities to take a local initiative. Mobility and sustainability are very important for cities. What the speaker proposes is using multiple systems of transportation such as busses, metros, bikes, and walking. If all cities did this we would be able to save much more and waste much less.

 

The lecture supported this video by suggesting that we make a livable city by linking land use transportation and urban design. It was also suggested to make innovative public spaces such as the “24 hour street.” The “24 hour street” is a place that is well lit and a safe place for young people to hangout at any hour of the day. Other examples of innovative public spaces are those that are for cultural heritage. This is a great way to share culture with the entire city. In order to achieve equity in the environment we can do several things. One possibility is to be able to exchange trash for bus tickets and groceries. Another is exchanging money for waste collection from waterways. Any one of these ideas proposed about these local initiatives will make any city a more environmentally friendly place to live. 

Election

This is the first election I have really paid attention to. Perhaps this is because it is the first election that I was qualified, and did, vote in. I think I enjoyed Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama fight for the position of democratic nominee just as much as the general election. I thought it was very cool that Hillary supported Obama after she was defeated. I think at one point I heard that she made over 70 appearances campaigning for him. Oprah didn’t hurt either. I also thought that McCain took his loss very well and was more classy November 4^th than he had been the entire election.

 

One of the most interesting things about this election are the campaign strategies that both sides used throughout the race. Many lies, jokes, and acts of degradation were persistent until the very end. Obama was accused of being an elitist and a celebrity. This is confusing because Obama claims to only raise taxes for the “elite” who make over $250,000 a year. I have to say that I thought that Saturday Night Live did an excellent job of covering the campaign, debates, and characters of the election. Tina was a perfect Sarah Palin. I also heard on ETV that there is a porn star that is dressing up as Palin and making money off of her character.

 

I also thought this was an interesting article:

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/obama-wins-why-all-americ_b_141159.html

 

Clearly Oprah and Will Smith are happy with Obama’s victory:

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/06/will-smiths-obama-happine_n_142003.html

Reflection #11

Thursday’s lecture was focused on how technology impacts students and their education. First we discussed the division of generations and how each generation sees the world differently. These different views are often influenced by technology. I learned a lot of information about my own generation that I didn’t know before. My generation is called generation “Y” or the Millennial generation. We are said to have grown up with more choices than ever and have never known a world without computers. Also, compared to our parents generation we have many more channels on our television. This leads to us being more exposed to marketing and advertisements than other generations. Supposedly all we are about are ourselves and achieving fame and fortune. Another thing I didn’t know about generations is that the “baby boomer” generation was named because after world war two all of the soldiers came home and there was all of a sudden tons of babies in the oven. Interesting correlation.

 

Clearly our generation has had a huge technological influence. This influences our education experience more than many other things. I haven’t seen a chalkboard since I was probably in elementary school. We know have white boards, overhead projectors, computer projectors, microphones, and powerpoints for teachers to use. All of these things make classes more interesting and visual. Without the reality of a visual it is much more difficult for me to learn abstract concepts. However technology can often be a negative influence as well. When students bring laptops to class there is a  strong temptation to check email, facebook, and surf the web. This goes for cell phones as well. Even if your phone doesn’t have internet capability, the temptation to text your friend you are meeting after class is hard to overcome, especially if that  type of behavior is tolerated by the instructor. Technology in the classroom and be both positive and negative. Just like drugs, if it is used in the correct way it can be extremely beneficial, but fatal if used incorrectly. 

Reflection #10

Without a doubt there are many inequalities between the northern countries and southern countries. In Latin America there are many inequalities. Dr. Smith spoke about capitalism and what it leads to. Some different things he mentioned were capitalism’s affects on healthcare, insurance, and technology. He talked about how these sects are monopolized. Some of what Dr. Wilson said I felt was not thought through as much as it could have been. I felt sometimes that his lecture was a little one-sided. For example, having students have all online classes might be beneficial in many ways but could be extremely costly as well. It is always interesting to have a guest speaker come in and mix it up.

 

Although I don’t feel like the U.S. is solely responsible for taking care of the whole world, I do think there are things that the U.S. could do to help some of the foreign countries like Latin America. At the least we could help give them strategies and guidance about how to get on their feet and get their economy rolling. That sounds hilarious however looking at how our economy is right now. Ultimately countries like in Latin America need to take care of themselves. They really can’t depend on anyone else. Any assistance from countries like the U.S. should be appreciated and not demanded or assumed. Although it is the right thing for the U.S. to do what they can to help.

Reflection #9

When people think about nuclear weapons it seems as though they often think about weapons, reactors, nuclear waste and Hiroshima.  Everyone knows that nuclear weapons are extremely dangerous and can cause untold amounts of damage. I am from Richland, WA which is right by the Hanford site where nuclear waste is being disposed of. Many people think of that area as being radioactive and that people who drink the water glow in the dark. This is of course false. Many engineers, project managers, and staff take up a large portion of jobs in the area. Although the waste is being safely disposed of many think that it is somehow getting into the Columbia River. For this reason there are many who stay out of the river just in case.

 

Nuclear weaponry has been around for a very long time. It was first used in 1895. We have learned many things about nuclear technology since this time. Nuclear technology can be used for positive things as well, such as curing cancer. However it is a fact that nuclear technology does have the potential to kill many, many people. I was very surprised to learn that there are 103 nuclear power plants in the United States. I always feel as though there is probably much more going on technology-wise that the public does not know about. I feel this is true especially when it comes to weapons of mass destruction. If the US public knows that means that the whole world knows.  I’m sure there are many things that the higher-ups keep a secret for this reason.

 

Reflection #8

There is a longstanding argument over whether climate change is all natural of induced by man. My take is that it is at least partially induced by man. It’s hard to go against hard science. The estimates of odds of abrupt change in climate are increasing. The world’s poor will suffer the most from this. Due to climate change the rates of extinction and ecological decay are rising. Sooner or later, due to this change of climate, Greenland will melt and 24% of all species will die. Of course the U.S. is the leader when it comes to amount of emissions doing damage to the environment. To my surprise Australia and Saudi Arabia came as a close second and third. As usual the richest 20% are doing the most damage while the poor suffer. Hunger, Malaria risk, and water shortage are just a few ways that the poor will suffer. Over centuries it is possible for sea level to rise many meters. This discussion was especially interesting during this election. Drilling vs. alternative fuels I think is a discussion directly related to climate change. It is interesting to compare and contrast both of the running mates and their views on these issues. I added a couple links to the blogroll regarding the position of McCain and Obama on climate change.

Reflection #7

Our discussion on gender, science, and technology was identifying that from the beginning of science and technology women have been a part. I found the different transformative actions that we discussed to be interesting. One of the most important I think is the equality of opportunity within schools. This could go for gender, race, or social status. However I think another great transformative action for women is to remove obstacles to women in science and technology careers.

 As far as the DNA discussion, I tend to believe that DNA is a great advancement in technology. We talked about if DNA is really good or bad. It seemed that we came to a consensus that it isn’t that DNA is good or bad, but what matters is how it is used, for positive or negative purposes. When DNA is used to exonerate innocent prisoners I think this is an excellent technological advancement. I can see how some may feel that having their DNA is a question of security or freedom. In my opinion someone’s DNA doesn’t need to be on file unless that have a first offense. I think that the first offense of any misdemeanor or felony should result in an individual’s DNA being on file. This way if you do nothing wrong, you can keep your freedom and still have security because those committing crimes are being put on a  little tighter leash. I think it would be only fair for those criminals to sacrifice a little bit of their freedom for the greater good.

Reflection #6

Many justice studies courses present the question directly or indirectly of “What is justice?” This week in class once again we were asked the pressing question of what justice really means. To aid in the lecture and discussion we viewed an assortment of You Tube clips. As usual when this question is presented, many ideas are formed but no solid conclusion really occurred. Different groups analyze justice in different ways. When I think of justice I think of words such as fairness, balance, retribution, restorative, equality, and merit.

We also talked about what it means to be utilitarian as opposed to liberal, conservative, or communist. These groups sometimes have similar ideas within the bunch of what a just world would look like. The moral however is that individually everyone has different ideas and frameworks of what justice truly means to them. This could be based on many things such as religion, family, culture, and morals.