Stop and Search App

Our final projects are over now but the ideas of all the ways people can use technology at the palms of their hands to make a better society is so interesting. I came across an article about this app called Y-Stop and it is meant to help young people who are harassed by officers and feel like they can't do anything about it.

“Young people repeatedly told us they were having negative stop-and-search experiences but were not inclined to do anything about them,” Natasha Dhumma, advocacy project manager at the charity Release, told BuzzFeed News.

I think the idea of being able to get justice for ourselves in an instant is amazing! So many of my friends have been racially profiled and have done nothing about it except hold on the fact that no one will help them. This app sends information, pictures, videos, and more directly to a lawyer or source of help for the person or group being profiled.

Here's and example of something from the app. It seems super easy to use and very relevant, just like majority of our projects. The really cool Buzzfeed article can be found here.

Study on College Students Drinking and Driving

I read an article about a study that found that 1 in 5 college students drink and drive. Plus, 40 percent of college admitted to have driven with someone that was under the influence of alcohol. There have been many studies about examining drinking and driving in college students, but this study was one of the first to actually examine how college students drinking behaviors change throughout their time in college using the same sample of students. The students in this study were interviewed once a year while they were in college. The questions they were asked consisted of if they drove drunk or with any amount of alcohol in their system and if they drove with someone who was drunk. The results in other studies showed that the underclassmen were more likely to drink and drive. However, this study revealed that "alcohol-related problem behaviors" increased with age probably because the older students had access to their own car and were old enough to purchase alcohol. Plus, the study showed that college men were more likely to drink under the influence than college women. There was a discussion about whether reducing the legal age to drink to 18 years old would reduce the likelihood of alcohol related accidents. This study shows that this is a horrible idea and would most likely increase the amount of alcohol related accidents because they would have less driving experience.


This article "BACed Up" our project because it showed the reason why an app like "BAC Up" would be helpful to have. Plus, the article showed that college students who were 21 years old and older were involved in more alcohol related accidents than any other age group. It seems that our app, wrist Breathalyzer, and phone case should be geared more towards college students because they are more likely to drink and drink. Of course, anyone can use this product, but it seems like it will be more useful for college students.


Here is a link to the article: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/childrens-health/articles/2010/06/02/1-in-5-college-students-admitted-to-drunk-driving-study-found

Recent Death from Alcohol Poisoning

I just recently came across a news report talking about the death of a 19 year old college student and thought it would be a good idea to share the article with you guys. The news article stated that the unnamed student had consumed "a substantial amount of alcohol" in a very short period of time. This article made me think of my group project, BAC Up and the video of the man drinking an entire bottle of Whiskey in 13 seconds. I feel that when people see things of this nature posted to the internet, they start to believe that they can do the exact same thing and be perfectly fine! In this case, that was clearly not the truth. The news article also went on to say that in the time before her death, the young student had consumed large amounts of hard alcohol. When the autopsy was performed, she was found to have passed away due to ethanol intoxication.
I strongly believe that if BAC Up (or something very similar to it) was out on the markets, alcohol related deaths such as this one could be prevented. Overall, there would be less deaths from both alcohol poisoning and alcohol induced comas. When people pass out from the over consumption of alcohol, it is hard (actually impossible!!) to tell how they are truly doing internally. People could have went to check on this young girl and just assumed she was drunk and had fallen asleep as a result of her alcohol induced state. Young people tend to think this type of consequence just comes with drinking when in reality it is a very serious occurrence. Honestly, this is a very idiotic way to think! If anyone EVER passes out after drinking they should be taken to the hospital. Individuals around them should never assume that they are sleeping! If young people were more educated about the effects of alcohol, they would understand that it is not all fun and games. 
Due to the constant occurrences such as this one, I strongly believe that a different approach should be taken to combat things of this nature. BAC Up would be of great benefit to people everywhere, and especially to young students who are killing themselves because they do not know when enough is enough!






I will add the link to the article down below:

http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1326875-alcohol-poisoning-caused-death-of-dalhousie-student-medical-examiner

Gideon the Safety App

Link to the Google Presentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1RcW8QpnWqeqQroY86Ex_iSLsLcH16ywjd8IJB0ySahs/edit?usp=sharing

A New Way of Teaching

I was reading an article about a teacher trying to educate her class on how terrible segregation was by hanging signs like "White Only" and Colored". You can find the article I read here. After attempting to show her class what life was like then and help them gain respect for others, she was suspended from her job.

This made me think about our final project and how it could be used to educate people of all ages about racism. But also how this teacher who seems to have had good intentions may now lose her job because she was trying to be a source of information for her students.
Technology might really be taking over sooner than we think. The conversations we had earlier in the semester about robot teachers and them being programmed to only teach specific materials is sadly upon us in a way.

Not only can teachers be replaced by technology but it is already an issue of having students obsessed with their phones during class times.
Who is really in charge of educating students?

BAC Up

http://prezi.com/pzjfflhw0wfx/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
Guys here is the Prezi link to view our group project BAC Up


Short Description: My group and I wanted to focus on finding a “real world” solution to the issue of drunk driving and alcohol poisoning. Our project is significant because it could greatly reduce the number of drunk driving related deaths and alcohol related injuries.




Group Members:
Jazmyn Broady
Baraka Douglas
Brenda Hurlbut
Fatima Escobar

Comments for Gabby

1. I totally agree that society's privacy is compromised by the government. It was very interesting to know that the government had access to our personal lives without even considering if we wanted them to or not. I wonder if they can access what we do on our computers every day, or are actually watching us through our web cameras. (Kind of like on "Scandal").
2. Learning about the future of revolutions based on social media was interesting to me as well. I would have never thought Twitter, Facebook or Instagram would be used as outlets to give people a voice or start a movement. I believe that the more the outlets are used to spread awareness about the things that really matter, things will actually change for the better. It's refreshing to see things other than pictures about getting money or about girls on my timeline. Seeing things like #BlackLivesMatters let's me know that people are worried and concerned about the bigger issues in society.
3. I'm intrigued to see the progression of technology as far as robots. I think it will be cool to see how advanced they will become, and how much intelligence they will actually have. I think artificial intelligence will thrive and become more prevalent in society. I wonder if the world will transform likes the movies "I Robot" and "Wall-e"; at least the good parts of those movies.

Where Will YOU be for the Revolution

I'm not entirely sure what this week's blog needs to be on considering we spent Monday and Wednesday working on presentations.  I decided to recap a couple topics that I particularly enjoyed learning about.

1. Edward Snowden: When someone approaches me on the street and asks me what I know about Edward Snowden, I am prepared to make myself (and random citizens) seem aware of current events.  One of the significant lessons that I will take from our course is extreme government intervention and our complete lack of privacy. I don't know about you all, but I was (somewhat) surprised at the NSA's power to view/listen to every moment of our lives.  Equally as important, that these moments are stored and they will never go away.  In our current age, there is absolutely no room for error because nothing we do or say is private. DAMN. 
2. Connectivity and Revolution: This topic fueled my fire for social justice throughout the semester.  As more people join the virtual world and have access to social media, knowledge will become more and more widespread.  Over the past few years, hashtags have provided a means of spreading information on a specific topic rapidly.  If most or all individuals have access to hashtag-like programs, then movements will be able to heighten like never before. I want nothing more than to see marginalized people's voices amplified. This is empowering for individuals and communities - some communities (virtual) that we have not even created yet!
3. Robots and Artificial Intelligence: Now this topic is far too big to cover in a portion of a blog, but I am hopeful for the fate of human-robot interactions.  I think artificial intelligence is inevitable and these beings will find their place in our twisted world.  Whether it be teaching children, providing company (a good lay?), or somehow serving the community, there is great potential for another being {This class also taught me that a lot of humans suck - JK I already knew that}. Perhaps robots' ability to think without biases will promote order and justice, fingers crossed.   

Where will you be for the revolution?

Hey... Can I Touch That?

Hey Class!  Below is the link to view our Prezi for me Erica, Amber, and Gabrielle's final project.  Hope you enjoy!

http://prezi.com/kblm5szowcyu/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share