News Item Response

The article i decided to write was Internet Skills and The Digital Divide, i found this article to pertain to me significantly after seeing my Technology Diary. The article had to do with "internet skills often focus on specific aspects of internet use, we have applied a definition of internet skills that is derived from multiple research directions and subsequently arranged in a particular order."(Deursen). When i saw how much technology is involved with my every day life, i found this article interesting in that contrast. I believe our society has become completely evolved with the digital era, especially seen with the amount of use in Face book and twitter. I would have never of thought about the people that aren't able to gain access to the Internet due to the overwhelming amount of people on Face book. I myself don't have a Face book account, however i view this as a good thing for me. I would not consider myself in the digital divide of the population. "The term ‘digital divide’ initially referred to gaps in access to a computer. When the Internet diffused rapidly into society and became a primary type of computing, the term shifted to encompass gaps in not only computer but also Internet access. Early research on the digital divide focused mainly on a binary classification of physical access."(Deursen). It's hard to even think there is a digital divide since everyone i personally know has access to cell phone, which can be used to access the Internet and its amenities to social media sites. It is interesting to see how some people don't have the internet skills as kids in college do, for example my parents are very behind with internet use. I feel as if i have to teach them everything there is to do about the internet and how it works, i would consider them part of the digital divide. I found the digital divide most prevalent when dealing with our parents and older generations, since they did not grow up on these technologies. I believe that we will see in the coming a huge increase in the amount of digital devices for everyday use. With technology advancing as much as it is, who is to even guess what the next latest and greatest device will be. The Iphones from Apple have shown the dramatic increase in technology since 2000, the first Iphone had one camera and a very basic voice command software compared to the new Iphone 4s that has two cameras front and back as well as the most advanced voice command software to date.

van Deursen, A., , & van Dijk, J. (2011). Internet skills and the digital divide. New Media & Society, 13(6), 893-911. doi:10.1177/1461444810386774

Medical Marijuana Concern in the U.S.

News item

Medical Marijuana has become a very debatable topic in the United States lately, many people believe it should be used as a medicine and others believe it should remain illegal. I personally believe that marijuana should legalized for medical purposes and decriminalized for anyone else that has it under a certain amount. There are numerous surveys that show Medical Marijuana is very prevalent in athletics and entertainment industries but many of these people don’t admit it openly due to the stereotypes on nation has put on people that smoke Medical Marijuana. “In the poll, conducted for CBS 5 by SurveyUSA, it found that 56 percent of Californians support legalization and just 42 percent oppose it. Only three percent were unsure”(CBS). California and the nation have an opportunity that could lead to a dramatic increase in tax revenues but they would have to put their stereotypes on hold and understand that Medical Marijuana is everywhere being used behind closed doors.

“The last global statistical analysis of the damage caused by this drug, undertaken in 2000, found that 3.2% of deaths worldwide were the result of use”(time). When looking at the previous information one might assume that it is referring to a serious drug however it is referring to alcohol. With that being said, there has never been a recorded incidence where Medical Marijuana has lead to death. Rather Medical Marijuana has been used to help people who are terminally sick from a disease. The statistics listen above strictly correlate with California; if Medical Marijuana were legalized in the country and all fifty states began to open Medical Marijuana shops. The overwhelming debt we have in the United States will slowly start to diminish with the amounts of tax revenue coming through to the government. The potential job market in California would raise from the creation of 60,000 to 100,000 new jobs for the society. If the all States joined in on the movement and we began to legalize Medical Marijuana it is estimated that there would be 2,940,000 to 5,390,000 newly created job opportunities nation wide. This would dramatically alter the substantially high unemployment rate in the United States. With Medical Marijuana being something that we can grow here, the nation would not need to import the drug therefore paying no outside taxes for a domestic product.

CBS, prod. "CBS 5 Poll: Most Californians Want Pot Legal." CBS News. CBS Broadcasting. CBS 5, San Francisco, California, 21 Apr. 2010. CBS5.com. CBS Broadcasting, 21 Apr. 2010. <http://cbs5.com/watercooler/california.marijuana.legalization.2.1648704.html>.

Harrell, Eben. "Stemming the Rise in Global Alcohol-Related Deaths." Time.com. TIme Magazine, 29 June 2009.

<http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1907408,00.html>.

The Fast Five

Movie Review

One of the most recent movies I have seen is The Fast Five, which is latest movie from The Fast and Furious series. After having a dilemma about seeing this movie, I finally gave in and proceeded to watch. This one is the most action packed of the series, from cars racing down the street to avoid police while dragging a safe to bullets flying in every other scene this movie kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Having watched it in my apartment, I really lost the advantages of seeing the movie in theaters. Had I been aware of the amount of action throughout the movie, I would have spent the absurd fifteen dollars without hesitating to see this movie in IMAX. “The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make you feel as if you are in the movie”(IMAX). This movie would have be quite the adventure in IMAX, however I still arranged my speakers to make the sound much more vivid and crisp. I watched the movie in high definition on a “50” DLP (digital light processing) television, “With BrilliantColor™ Technology, additional colors are added including Cyan, Magenta and Yellow to expand the color pallet for even more vibrant color performance”(dlp.com).

The setting for the movie takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil the landscape varies from ocean scenery to lavish skyscraper skyline cities where the cars are seen dragging a vault through the city. The scene has a vast majority of sounds coming through the speakers, the vault scraping the pavement was hinting in the background behind the car engines roaring and bullets firing off. It seemed like every other scene was showing a car being flipped over or smashing into something that would cause the subwoofer to rumble the ground. Being a fan of The Fast and Furious series, you can see how the movies have progressed over time with the help of technology. When the first movie came out it was in 2001 it was solely based on street racing with about half of the graphics that are used in the present one.

Fast Five: The IMAX Experience Movie | Fast Five: The IMAX Experience Movie Tickets & Trailer | IMAX 3D Experience." IMAX. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. <http://www.imax.com/movies/m/fast-five-the-imax-experience/>.

How DLP Works – DLP Projection Technology – Projection System – DLP Chip | DLP – Texas Instruments." DLP Technology - Projectors - Pico Projectors - Digital Cinema - HDTV | DLP - Texas Instruments. Web. 21 Oct. 2011. <http://www.dlp.com/technology/how-dlp-works/default.aspx>.

Everyday Use Of Technology

Technology Log

8am- Woke up to the sound of my Ipad going off- 10 Minutes

Take a shower hook my Iphone up to listen to music while I shower- 15 minutes

Going to class I listen to music the entire time off my IPhone- 15 minutes

Answer text messages on my Iphone- 10 Minutes

First Class 10:30 Am- Use my Ipad throughout the entire class taking notes- 1h 48min

Class Ends- Start listening to music again until my next class- 1 hour

Answer text messages on my Iphone- 10 Minutes

Reading magazines on my Ipad while I wait for class to begin- 1 Hour

Afternoon class is in a lab using a computer the entire class again- 1 Hour 48 Min

Answer text messages on my Iphone- 10 Minutes

Walk back to house listening to music again- 10 Minutes

Listen to music while I change to go work out- 5 Minutes

Listening to music while I walk to the JO- 5 minutes

Listening to music while working out and running- 2 hours

Continue to listen to music after working out while going to chipotle, continuing listening while waiting in line and walking back home- 10 minutes

Answer text messages on my Iphone- 10 Minutes

Another shower with my music playing- 20 Minutes

Begin working on my MAC for homework- 3 Hours

Call my mom- 30 Minutes

Listening to music while I drive to the bar- 15 minutes

Watch television at the bar- 2 hours

Driving back from the bar listening to music- 15 minutes

Watch television after returning from the bar- 2 Hours

Time spent:

Cellphone: 70 Minutes

Computer (Ipad)- 466

Music- 280 minutes

TV: 240 minutes

Total time on technology: 1,056 Minutes= 17.6 Hours

After having logged all of my media use, I was shocked by how much media is used in my everyday lifestyle. The total amount of time that had media incorporated in my day was seventeen and roughly a half hours. If I look back on the times that I wrote down, the only one I would try to alter is less time watching television. Even though I watched it at two different locations, it still allotted for four hours of my day. That is time that I could have bee doing a different task, such as writing these blogs or doing other homework. Its shocking to think that if I didn’t have a cell phone in my pocket I wouldn’t know what time it was in the day. I check numerous times throughout the day what time it is on my phone not a watch. I believe that most of my day was sufficient with media use, one of my classes is located in a computer lab and is two hours long. That is something that is used for two hours without my control of it. I didn’t realize how much of my day I spend listening to music, I believe however that music doesn’t alter my day in a negative way of media use. The theory that would relate most to my everyday media use would be The Uses and Gratifications theory. Our book defines it as “a descriptive approach that gives insight into what people do with technology. This approach sees the uses as actively seeking to use different media to fulfill different needs”(p. 52). Throughout the day, I have different needs that require different uses of technology. Whenever I work out I find that I listen to music every time, it fulfills the need to listen to music while working out. Class requires me to be on a computer, which is a necessity in the class. The technology I used throughout the day was very much needed besides the television. By being able to type my notes on my iPad in my morning class, I am therefore able to stay more organized with note taking which will be a help when making a study guide. In conclusion, I believe that technology has taken over a big role in everyone’s daily lifestyles, whether its listening to music or working on a computer technology always seems to be incorporated.

August E Grant, Jennifer H Meadows. Communication Technology Update and Fundamentals 12th Edition. Boston. Elsevier. 2010

 

Link to Textbook:http://www.coursesmart.com/communication-technology-update-and-fundamentals/grant-meadows/dp/9780240814759