Final Blog Post

I had heard of blogging before this class, but I was not extremely familiar with it and had never read any blogs. I didn’t think I would enjoy blogging at all, but I was surprised to find that it was actually kind of fun. Although I don’t feel the need to continue adding to my blog after this class, I enjoyed adding pictures and choosing the way my blog would look. Although Facebook doesn’t allow me to express my lengthier thoughts as well as Blogger does, I miss the social-centered feel of Facebook when I am writing on Blogger. I also question my ability to write something other people would want to read, although I might find the topic interesting.

My favorite blog was the Advocacy project blog just because it had the most pictures in it. I enjoyed driving around and finding things to take pictures of for that project. I also enjoyed sharing my views on the appearance of a community, because studies show that the way a community looks affects the way people act and treat others within the community.

If I could rewrite or edit any blog entry, it would by my podcast script blog. I found the story about the train wreck in Chatsworth, CA very interesting and I enjoyed researching it, but I wish I had written my podcast script differently. I feel that I wasn’t as creative as I could’ve been. Had I the opportunity to revise it, I would be more creative in order to make the hypothetical podcast more interesting.

"Isms" Slideshow and Reflection

Egotheism: identification of oneself with God.

A. Atheism was the most difficult “ism” to find an image for because it is difficult to find an image to represent the lack of something, as opposed to representing an object or something that can be easily pictured.
B. I think the images for Egotheism, Siderism, and Holobaptism most effectively represent their definition. The man in the Egotheism slide looks powerful as if he were a god. The image for Siderism seems to give the stars different personalities as if they were influencing the people on earth. The two people in the Holobaptism slide show clearly a baptism in which the person is entirely submerged.
C. When deciding on specific images, I chose ones that I thought had the most relevance to the topic.

Podcast Script

Episode 1: Tragic train wreck in Chatsworth, CA
Intro music: What Would You Say - Dave Matthews Band (30 seconds then fade out)

Hello everyone, and thank you for tuning in! This is Kayleigh Lemon here to discuss a recent incident in Chatsworth, CA. Now as many of us know, it is foolish to talk on our cell phones while driving. Lately more light has been shed on the issue of texting while driving, which has also proven to be extremely foolish and irresponsible. However, we don’t hear much about texting while conducting a train. As ludicrous as it sounds, that’s exactly what happened on September 12th, 2008 and resulted in many deaths and injuries. Here’s the story:

(train wreck sound)

With the many modes of transportation used daily in the United States, it seems inevitable that there would be accidents and malfunctions. And while this is true, it didn’t keep many people from being shocked September 12th, 2008 when a Metrolink commuter train conductor continued along a track that a Union Pacific freight train was given the “right of way” to use and the two machines collided in Chatsworth, CA (Sky News). The tragic accident was responsible for taking twenty-five lives and injuring at least one hundred thirty people (Sky News). It is believed that the conductor of the Metrolink train, Robert Sanchez, missed the red light that was given to him because he was busy sending text messages (Sky News). While the severity of this incident could labeled it as a bizarre accident, it sheds light on some pressing issues concerning the safety of train travel, and text messaging as a common and sometimes deadly distraction.
Although trains are used throughout the United States, and for many people it is a common inconvenience to be stopped in traffic as a train rolls by, they still seem to be out dated. After hearing a story from a friend that the train she traveled on to California actually hit and killed a person on the way there, and having been on a train myself on which the conductor claimed to have “just nearly hit a pedestrian,” I am beginning to believe that trains are simply unsafe. Although train travel and safety has certainly improved over time, there are still more train fatalities than automobile fatalities per one hundred million vehicle miles traveled. According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 1.37 fatalities due to car accidents were reported per one hundred million vehicle miles traveled. This compares to the ninety eight fatalities reported from the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis per one hundred million miles traveled.
While I would hate to put all the blame on a single person for this tragic accident, it cannot be ignored that the Metrolink conductor is reported to have been sending and receiving text messages at the time of the accident (Sky News). According to Sky News, “Sending texts while driving a train is a violation of operator Metrolink's policy but not illegal.” Text messaging is almost ubiquitous in America, but people need to realized that in many cases it is a deadly or harmful distraction. According to Steve Vogel, “revealed that text-messaging while driving is becoming as dangerous as drinking and driving, in terms of inhibiting a teen’s driving abilities” (Vogel). And even though text messaging while driving is most prominent among teenage drivers, it is certainly equally a distraction for those adults who choose to text message also.
The train accident in Chatsworth has brought due attention to the rail system and the deadly distraction of text messaging when one should be paying attention to what they are doing. While the train industry may not be affected by the incident too heavily, as texting while conducting a train is not generally thought of as a common issue, this accident will most likely add to the effort to outlaw texting while driving. I believe the law would not be welcomed by many teens, but it would certainly be helpful in the promotion of safe driving. Laws like this would affect everyone on the road, because everyone driving is put in danger when someone near them is distracted by sending or reading a text message.

Music: How to Save a Life - The Fray (play seconds 0:46 to 1:00)

Conclusion:
Although many of us have been guilty of texting while driving, I am hoping accidents like the one at Chatsworth will encourage all of us to make wiser and safer decisions. Thank you again for tuning in, and have a great day!

Comp 106 personal blog

My senior year of high school I was having trouble figuring out where I wanted to go to school the next fall. Although I heard from everyone that it was normal for high school seniors to not know what they would like to continue studying, I still felt intense pressure to figure it out. I also felt like I was not as equipped as other high school students in exploring what I would like to study because I went to a very small school that didn’t offer a wide selection of classes.

So while never deciding what I would like to study, I chose to attend U of M Dearborn in the fall because I was offered a scholarship. However, after taking some classes I began to feel like I needed to find out what I would enjoy studying in order to avoid wasting time and money on classes that I didn’t enjoy and were unnecessary. I decided that it would be best for me to study what I enjoyed the most.

I feel like I see too many people choosing careers that give them the most money over careers that they will actually enjoy, and I would not like to be one of those people. I would rather not only live after five and on weekends. Sometimes I feel even my parents are working so hard that they don’t have any time to enjoy their money. I don’t want to live a life in which most of my time is spent somewhere I don’t want to be. Because of this, I decided to study something I love.

After some reflection, I realized that I would love to study anything that was either applied art or art-related. I’ve always loved sketching, painting, and visiting art museums. The only reason I didn’t think of going to an art school before was because I wasn’t sure I was good enough to get in, but I love it so much that I decided I would have to try anyway. Since deciding this, I’ve been visiting art schools, looking into art programs, and building my portfolio. Honestly, part of me is afraid to even try to pursue what I love because I might fail, but the rest of me is eager to try in order to escape being stuck on a career path I hate.

Moreover, after seeing and hearing about people working for a certain company for decades and then being stuck without a job when the company decides to close or relocate, I think it would probably be wise of me to have multiple flows of income. I occasionally mull through ideas in my head of how I could make money aside from working for someone else, but haven’t settled on anything yet. From what I’ve read, one of the best things to do is to start multiple businesses, but structure them so that after some time they require little effort from the owner. This sounds great in theory of course, but I’m assuming it’s very difficult and possibly to stressful for me to bother attempting. However, I still think that working for one corporation for the duration of one’s working life and then retiring with pension from that corporation is becoming a thing of the past.

Comp 106 Critical Essay

When Vaidhyanathan writes that those who are comfortable with and excel at using digital technology tend to be those who are “socio-economically privileged, English-speaking, white, and male” he is asserting a generalization that I believe to be true. There will always be exceptions to the rule, but Vaidhyanathan is just stating a general guideline. I believe that the assertion is correct for the majority of people. While not progressive, it is honest without being condescending.

I believe his argument is correct because it is supported by the research of Eszter Hargittai, an expert on digital communication. Young people can only become “Web-savvy” if they have a computer readily available to them, and access to the internet. This rules out many people who do not have the finances to afford these luxuries, or people who’s local schools or community centers do not have the adequate funding for this. So, in order for young people to be very familiar and comfortable with navigating the web, the will need to be socio-economically privileged.

Although I don’t think it is any kind of requirement that a person be English-speaking in order to be “digitally adept,” I believe Vaidhyanathan was correct when he listed it as one of the top groups of people who tend to understand more about digital technology. English-speaking countries are some of the wealthiest countries, which causes digital technology to be more easily accessible to young people. When young people are able to gain experience using digital technology, they become more skilled at it.

It makes sense to me that white young people would be more comfortable with using digital technology because, in America, majorities tend to be wealthier than minorities, so white people would most-likely have easier access to computers and the internet. While all types of people could excel when using digital technology, young people in minority groups are usually not given the opportunities and the exposure to digital technology that majority groups are.

The most-likely explanation to why “digitally adept young people” tend to be male is that they are usually drawn to technology and figuring things out more than females are. This could be attributed to the nature of males in general, or it could be attributed to the history of males being involved in mathematics and scientific studies more than females are. Males would enjoy figuring out things on a computer or other digital technology the way they usually enjoy building things or figuring out how things work. While this is purely speculation, it is displayed when one observes how male-dominated the sciences are.

I don’t believe that Vaidhyanathan’s argument is progressive, but if he were to make a statement that all people excel at using digital technology it would’ve been a lie. In order to make a more progressive statement, Vaidhyanathan could’ve mentioned that as time goes on the numbers of less socio-economically privileged and minority groups that are gaining a good understanding of digital technology are continually increasing. He also could’ve said that many programs have been created to bring better digital technology and other resources to underprivileged American classrooms. It would’ve been easy for Vaidhyanathan to say something more progressive, but I do not believe there is anything wrong with what he did say. He was simply reiterating a conversation that he heard in which a well-known expert on digital communication was answering a question honestly.

Some people may feel that the argument that people who understand digital technology more tend to be socio-economically privileged, English-speaking, white, and male, offensive or condescending, but I don’t believe it was intended to be either of those things. Simply stating which groups tend to have more skill when dealing with digital things doesn’t mean that they are any smarter or have a better capacity to understand or learn things. Because the people who are more comfortable and skilled at using digital technology are those who are exposed to it more, the argument is more or less telling who has easier access to digital technology. Those who are offended should remember that it is a generalization, and does not apply to every individual.

Breaking down all the varieties of people in the world into groups may seem simple. Because every person is so unique and has a different background and upbringing than everyone else, not every person fits easily into a group. However, the groups used in the argument are so general that many people can fit into them. Vaidhyanathan’s argument is not oversimplified. It is a generalization that is usually true and gives us insight into who is taking the most advantage of digital technology.

I feel that it is important for communities to be beautiful, and for citizens to be able to take pride in the appearance of their buildings and surroundings. The man-made structures in the places we live serve as the constant setting and background for our daily activities. Because we are continually surrounded by human-crafted things, I believe that slight improvement in the visual aesthetics of each thing could make a dramatic difference in every person’s life. If something is going to be built, I think it should be made beautifully. Incorporating artistic details into every space, structure, or building should be encouraged and, in some cases, should be funded by the community through the local governing bodies.

Generic, unsightly buildings seem to cause people to lose respect for their community and the buildings themselves. This loss of respect could greatly affect the mindset of the people and possibly be a factor in a rise in crime. Also, a lack of applied creativity and effort pertaining to appearance can make a person have negative thoughts towards the community as a whole. Contrary to this, beautiful surroundings could lead to a greater respect for the community and those involved in it’s upkeep.

In order to show how I feel about the importance of incorporating artistic and pleasing visual details into a community, I chose to create a photo and caption series. I took the pictures used for this project in some of the places around my home, or places that I commonly drive by on my way to school. I put certain pictures next to each other so it was easier for the viewer to compare them. The pair of pictures may be of basically the same thing, but one is slightly more creative, or prettier than the other. It was my intent that the viewer would be able to look at each picture and notice the difference in their feelings toward each one. Without saying anything, I would like my audience to realize that one of the pictures is more aesthetically pleasing and evokes more respect for the community it belongs to.

It is my wish that through seeing the pictures I have prepared, and through thinking about the surroundings around their home and workplaces, my audience would gain a greater appreciation for the art and creativity applied to architectural details and other small, but important, details around a community. I hope that a greater interest in the overall appearance of one’s environment will gradually lead to a clean, well-designed community. In a place like that, the people would respect their surroundings and appreciate living there.

While working on this project I realized how varied the buildings and structures can be within a relatively small distance. All the pictures used were taken within a few miles of each other or less. I noticed that elaborately and nicely decorated or created things could be standing very close to plain, ugly things. However, the mood was very different in places with pleasant surroundings than in those with unpleasant surroundings.

Comp 106 Project Plan

My topic for the Advocacy Project is the government funding of art projects and art programs created to improve the appearance of communities. I believe it is important for buildings and structures in cities to be visually pleasing and not too industrial-looking. Clean, beautiful surroundings encourage people to take pride in their community, and decrease crime.

My audience is the Comp 106 class and professor. I believe it is important for young people to understand the connection between art, architecture, and crime in communities because it may be something that they want to become involved in. I also think this topic affects everyone because we all live in communities with buildings and surroundings that we may or may not enjoy.

I plan to use photographs to show my audience examples of communities and buildings that could use improvement and those that set a good example. I will also research programs that are going on currently to improve the look of cities and towns, and what effect they have on the people they affect.

I chose Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal as the composition I wrote about for my first Comp 106 assignment. I am very impress with Swift's creativity and risk-taking in the article, and think it is very entertaining to read. I enjoy learning about history and the way things were (like the economy in Ireland during Swift's time) through the perspectives of the people who were there. I believe it is good for society to have independent thinkers who are able and allowed to express their ideas.

Comp 106 Screen Capture

I chose to take my screen capture while I was working on the assignment to take a screen capture because I had trouble figuring out how to do it.

The picture of my computer screen makes me think of how much the internet has helped me throughout my life, and especially in my academic career. I do not consider myself especially computer savvy, but thankfully there are websites I can go to that explain how things work. I had difficulty taking a screen capture of my computer, so I searched “how to take a screen capture on a pc” on Google. I quickly found instructions that were very helpful. Search engines like Google and Yahoo have saved me hours of research by grouping together the information I am looking for.

Composing is different in digital spaces because there are also plenty of resources immediately accessible, and there are plenty of different modes of sharing a composition. A person could send an email, post a blog or note, or set up a web page to share written compositions. A visual composition such as a picture or video could be shared in all of those ways, along with being shared on Photobucket or displayed in albums on Myspace or Facebook. These things are also much faster due to the internet and technology. Social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook encourage people to compose things to share with friends, and to review pictures, notes, or messages created by others.

It may be helpful to read about digital composing processes or to take a classes on different processes, but probably the best way to understand digital composing processes is to gain experience creating digital compositions.