Outsourcing
Outsourcing can be seen as both a good and bad thing. It can be seen as a good thing because this means that companies that decide to relocate offshores are giving opportunities and creating jobs for people offshore, who need them. However, such action of relocation can be seen as a negative because it may mean that companies are taking away jobs to people who need them within their own country or depriving people who need jobs within their own country in order to possibly save some money off shore.
Outsourcing also faces privacy issues. If a company moves offshore to a country that does not have the same confidentiality laws when it comes to intellectual and personal property, those who have their personal things set within the company can be at risk.
Google Glass
Google Glass and technology such as smart watches, are all evolutionary steps in the direction of technology. The advancements being in technology and brought about through products like Google Glass are the ones feeding into the lazy, good for nothing, society we are building up slowly. Although Google Glass may seem like something cool, the fact that it requires almost absolutely no energy, or even intelligence, is not helping our society in developing humans.
The downsides of such technology is the impact it has on society. Such technological advances make our people useless. Not having to take out your cellphone to text or to even take a picture, is the absolute laziest thing I’ve ever seen. However, many view this as a benefit because it allows people to multitask and get through things faster and easier. But is easier always better?
What Is Privacy?
What I consider private is not necessarily so. I consider my personal life private; things such as my permanent address, my date of birth, my cell phone number and my location. However, it seems like nothing is private anymore. Due to technological advances, it is harder than ever to have a private life. Simple things as freely and privately browsing the internet no longer exists. Advertisements are now drawn based off of our “private” searches. Although this may seem as something that isn’t necessarily harming anyone’s privacy, when we think about Facebook it’s all different.
When I created my Facebook page i was not aware of the fact that my location, cell phone number, and cell phone contacts would be drawn out of my phone and posted on the “about” section of my page without my consent. Along with my number, contacts and location, was my email. I had the absolute most random people call my phone and send me emails, people I had never met in my life. As I mentioned before, I consider such things posted on my Facebook page without my consent to be private yet they weren’t. Privacy just no longer exists.
Illegal Downloading
Illegal piracy is not a victimless crime, however, the intentions behind illegal downloading are not harmful ones. Illegal downloading harms the original providers of the product being downloaded. For example, if I illegal download Lorde’s entire new album instead of downloading it from iTunes, which I have to pay for, then I’d be harming the distributors in the sense that they will not be making a profit from me because I won’t be spending any money and so that’s a loss for them. However, I do not think those who download “illegal” should be penalized for doing so. It should be those who put up websites from which others can download illegal that should be penalized. With websites like MP3 Skull and 4Share being so open, it seems almost impossible not to download songs without having to pay for them.
Because illegal downloading is not a victimless crime, it can be said to be similar, if not maybe even the same, as stealing. Stealing means taking something from someone without legal right or permission and having no intention of returning it, or in the case of illegal music downloads, paying for it. Since when illegally downloading music or anything without paying one clearly shows no intention of returning or paying so anything, nonetheless asking for permission to do so, illegal downloading is by definition the same as stealing.
Political Science and Philosophy
I’m currently a Political Science and Philosophy major, studying american politics as I question my existence and everything around me. The reason I’m studying political science is fairly obvious, politics makes us how we are as Americans although many of us do not like to admit. The way we drive down streets, hold up strikes and are able to live free of dictatorship is because of politics and government and all those good things. Along similar lines, I’m studying philosophy because once it’s my turn to make policies or run our country i’d like to be able to approach situations from various point of views and be able to be and provide the best I can because I’m well aware of not only who I am but my surroundings as well.
Now how do computers play a role in what I plan on doing with what I’m studying? It’s simple. Without computers I would not be able to promote, nonetheless create my campaign in a couple of years when I run for city council woman of my district. I would not be able to communicate with a mass audience from around the globe to ask for donations and support. I also wouldn’t be able to organize my life. I’m not used to keeping notebook looking planners nor physical calendars and so my life would be chaos.
Aside Posted on
Aaron Swartz was a computer programmer associated with the development of RSS web feed format and Reddit. Aaron was known for being against SOPA. On January 6 of 2011, Swartz was arrested and charged for downloading academic journals from Jstor. Later on he was charged with 35 years in prison and a million dollars in fine because he was prosecuted federally and charged with two counts of wire fraud and 11 violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Sharing and download things from others shouldn’t be a problem! If there’s a way to get things off the internet then people shouldn’t be charged for harshly like Swatz was reason being why twoo days after Aaron committed suicide. The charges given to Swatz based on US laws are absolutely harsh. 35 years in prison and such a crazy amount of fines is too much for a person to handle. The laws should treat people differently and realize that they are humans and some things should be charged differently than others.
Yang, W. (2013, February 8). The Life and Afterlife of Aaron Swartz. New York Magazine. Retrieved from Publisher’s homepage URL http://nymag.com/news/features/aaron-swartz-2013-2/
Wikipedia:Aaron Swatz. (2013, November 1). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Swartz
Stem Subjects
Say NO to MOOCs
Massively Open Online Courses, most commonly referred to as MOOCs, is an online based course that is open to thousands of people throughout the world. The topic on MOOCs has been one that has stirred up a lot of controversy. To some, MOOCs are the greatest thing to strike our future because of it’s convenience and its idea of keeping up with our modern world centered around technology. However, to others the idea of MOOCs is a terrible one because of the negative affects it can bring upon students and professors and like those people who believe MOOCs are horrible, I agree with them. The idea of even being part of a MOOC is a terrifying one because it brings about so many questions. For example, how could I possibly be graded on a paper based off of a computer program? How will that program be able to grade me based on my writing style? What will happen to academic honesty/integrity? How will professors be able to monitor students to make sure that they aren’t cheating on exams? These are just some of the millions of questions that can’t possibly be answered in a positive way and maybe not even answered at all. I am totally against MOOCs because in reality they are just centered around enticing business opportunities between MOOC creating companies, such as Coursera and Udacity, and higher education institutions. Having MOOCs in higher education benefits only institutions because it lowers their expenses but by lowering their expenses they take away jobs from professors and therefore negatively affect students who learn best through lectures.
Kolowich, S. (2013, May 9). As MOOC Debate Simmers at San Jose State, American U. Calls a Halt. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Technology section . Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/As-MOOC-Debate-Simmers-at-San/139147/
Petriglieri, G. (Post Date -2013, October 2013). The Harvard Buisness Review:Let Them Eat MOOCs. Retrieved fromhttp://blogs.hbr.org/2013/10/let-them-eat-moocs/
Information and Internet Access 