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

Babies, Babies, and more Babies!! Babies for All!

I must admit, there was little that I was aware about when it came down to stem cell research. Thanks to the video, I now know more! With the knowledge that I have about stem cell research now, I can now say that I honestly do feel like stem research is a brilliant idea. Although, I am totally against destroying the unused embryos; simply because if an embryo is considered as a life, then destroying these will somewhat also be destroying a life. And if that really is the case I am totally against it.

Let's think about it for a minute. If stem cell research gives women the opportunity to produce, (especially those who could not before) this is a pretty good experiment. You are literally giving women hope that they may not have had before.

I guess I'm so excited about it because of my personal experience. (No I'm not afraid to admit this) I have a condition know as PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). It is a case where women have higher chances of contacting cysts on their ovaries. Although you do not necessarily get pregnant in your ovaries, your ovaries does play a portion in the who conception stage. In most cases, women who actually have PCOS, the chances of having a child is low compared to average. So the thought of stem cell research sounds like a good idea to me simply because of this particular reason.

My only concern is that if there will be any negative  consequences resulting from this. That is all. And if there are any consequences are they gonna be minor or major.

On My Own: Political Advisory App and Website

Here's a link to our presentation of our Final Project:


And here's the link to the On My Own website we created:


Group:
Kelsie Richardson
Michelle Elsberry
Emily Conrad

Why Must We Fiddle With Everything?

Why must we fiddle with everything?

As the semester comes to a close I have noticed a trend in the subject matters that we have discussed.  This trend is not a secret and more of you may have noticed it but throughout the different types of technologies we have explored I think that the trend is that we as humans have this nature inclination to fiddle with things.  And we fiddle with them because we think that one day our fiddling will lead to improvements.  I think this plays into one major issues with stem cell research.  What will come of it and how will we get there?

In doing research on the pros and cons of stem cell research I have found that the public’s general concern is with the method to which the cells are acquired and how they might be potentially be manipulated and the potential outcome.  While these are very important things to think about and be concerned with I honestly cannot give the majority of the human population credit for being as educated as they should be about stem cell research.

So my questions to our class is this, why do you think we as the human race have the natural inclination to fiddle with things and more specifically fiddle with stem cells?  What do you think the biggest issue with stem cells is?  What will come of our research or how we will get there?

Babies or naw?

The issue with using embryological stem cells (ESCs) is that there isn't a definitive time when "life" is considered to have begun. Few people argue that a 40 week fetus is a living, viable baby. The contested points at which people consider a zygote/embryo/fetus living are: preconception, fertilization, implantation, 8th week, quickening, 20th week, 25th week, and birth. Personally, I'm not sure where that line is, but I definitely don't believe it is preconception, fertilization, or any other time before implantation, and I don't believe that the threshold for life is after development of the functional nervous and cardiovascular systems. New genetic material, as produced by the mixing of the two parents' DNA, is not a definitive marking for new life, in my opinion, and the embryos that are used in ESCR are blueprints and raw materials for human beings, not necessarily human beings themselves. I can understand how people would believe that life begins at almost all of these points, but I don't buy the "potential to become a human" argument, nor do I buy the "fetus isn't breathing, and therefor not living" argument.

I do not have any qualms about embryonic stem cell research. The benefits of that research extend beyond those we can get from adult stem cell research, as we are just finding ASCs that are pluripotent (capable of differentiating into any type of cell), and considering the fact that those embryos would likely never be implanted and thus never become humans, I don't see anything wrong with using them. Hopefully one day, we'll be able to use ASCs exclusively, but until that day, I have no issues with using embryos.



http://brainblogger.com/2009/05/10/medical-controversy-when-does-life-begin/

The Problem of Stem Cell Research

I actually never understood much about stem cell research until watching this documentary, but instead of forming a solid opinion, I find myself conflicted. I can understand the argument against using embryos for stem cell research. I believe that an embryo is still cells, as it is not yet a fetus, but it still has the potential to become a human life. However, I disagree with unused embryos being destroyed. First of all, it seems contradictory to argue that embryos shouldn't be used for stem cell research because one believes they are alive, only to destroy them if they haven't been used by the donors. I feel like frozen embryos that are not used should be donated to infertile parents, or parents looking to adopt, or donated to help with stem cell research. I also agree with Amber, that the choice should be up to the donors. They are the ones that created the cells, and unlike a child in a custody battle or under the care of the state, there is no health risk in letting the parents decide what to do with the embryos. I understand that in some countries like Ireland, stem cell research using embryos is illegal, but then the donors should still have the option to donate the embryos to another couple or parent that might be trying to have a child. Stem cell research can change lives not only through the research it contributes to, but also by allowing individuals the chance at parenting when they might have never gotten that chance without the scientific knowledge we have today. Instead of choosing a side, I guess it's safer for me to say I believe that the donors should ultimately have the decision of what happens to their embryos. Donated to science, or to prospective parents, either seems better to me than throwing away what could potentially be a life or help discover a cure to life changing diseases.