SWA 3

I would like to do my English research paper on cyber defense. I think it would be interesting to research this topic because of the recent social security hacking in South Carolina. Securing cyberspace is an engineering grand challenge. As an engineering-major student, I think it would be amusing to pursue this topic to see what actions people are taking to make cyberspace safe. Personal privacy and national security in this century is hard to protect because of the modernized system-sets that are being used for cyberspace. Cyber defense is vital to America for protecting identities and keeping certain things confidential. Electronic information flow is now embedded in nearly every aspect of modern life, so the topic needs to be addressed. 

SWA 2

Always-On/ Always-On-You reaches more than one stage in the stasis theory. The first stage that this article reaches is fact. Sherry Turkle writes about the usage of mobile electronic devices increasing. They are literally “always on” and close to the owner of the device. Not only that, but most people consume more and more of their time on them, which is affecting public social skills. She writes, “for the most part, our everyday language for talking about technology’s effects assumes a life both on and off the screen; it assumes the existence of separate worlds, plugged and unplugged (Turkle 136).” She later goes on to explain how we spend so much time on the devices by communicating to people, being on web pages, voice-mail, games, and artificial intelligences (Turkle 136).

Another stage that this excerpt reaches is quality. From this writing, Turkle believes that the communication devices are becoming a serious issue. However, a reader can be unsure if this issue is a good or bad thing because she uses a device as well. But, she does state that “the self, now attached to it device, occupies a liminal space between the physical reals and lives on the screen (Turkel 137).” This writing would also be the quality stage because Turkle is talking about our society learning a new communication style of sending and receiving speedy messages. For this she is left wondering if we are taking our time with anything anymore.

               Lastly, I think this excerpt would be causal because Turkle is talking about the long term effects that communication devices may have on the society we live in. She gives examples of what we are doing with these devices and how they contribute to our everyday lives. She also writes how these acts are affecting our lives on a daily and the time we may be wasting with them “always on” and so close to us. She uses the example of how a train station is no longer a communal space, but a space of social collection; tethered selves come together, but do not speak to each other (Turkle 137).

ILP 4

1. I should find articles that are from scholarly and credible sources. Some searching methods that would procure credible sources would be using online sources that one initially knew were credible, such as CNN, New York Times, or other news sources. Another method would we be using Google scholar or news. If one is unsure if the person who wrote the article is credible, one could try to look up some background information on the writer.
2. I chose to analyze “Dissecting Twitter’s Role in Tech, Society, Politics” written by Edward F. Moltzen, from CRN, and “How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live” written Steven Johnson in the Times Magazine. I was able to identify the writes of both articles with ease. They both also had a time stamp on their work, which made them even more credible. I do not think the articles were peer reviewed by academics, but I know the publication of Time Magazine is known for its reliable information.  
3. To research the topic, I simply typed in “twitter in the society” into Google and then proceeded to an advance search.  By doing this, I was able to put a limit on the sources I would receive via my search. This also increased the amount of credible sources I would be receiving. To find more reliable sources next time when researching, I would probably start by looking at online sources that I already knew were credible. Then I would probably do a search on Google scholar.

ILP 3: The Carolina Reader

“Organic Foods: Do Eco-Friendly Attitudes Predict Eco-Friendly Behaviors?” by Molly J. Dahm, Aurelia V. Samonte, and Amy R. Shows is an article written for the Journal of America College Health. This article is focusing on awareness, attitudes, and behaviors of university students towards organic foods (Dahm 333). The three writers are trying to prove there is association between the consumption of organic foods and other environmentally behaviors (Dahm 335). “Environmentally things” could range from recycling, energy conservation to carpooling or driving hybrid cars (Duhm 334). In order to prove their argument, they decide to sample and survey 443 political science major college students at a university in the southeastern part of the United States. They stated, “the sampling method ensured a representative sample of the student body (Dahm 336)."

After gathering a sample group, Dahm, Samonte, and Shows then issued surveys out to the students. The survey consisted of questions  about demographics, knowledge on organic food,  one’s attitude about organic food, eating behaviors, and behaviors regarding other eco-friendly behaviors. From the surveys taken, the writers were able to collect much data and display many results. They were able to determine statics about the university student who had taken the survey. Such as, race, age, gender, grade level, household annual income, if they were knowledgeable about organic foods, if one purchased organically grown food, and much more. Dahm, Samonte, and Shows were also able to construct tables, charts and graphs to display their results. 

Dahm, Samonte, and Shows were able to conclude from their experimentation that attitudes towards organic food was found to be suggestively linked to buying and consumption of organic food on campus, in restaurants and at home via multiple correlations they examined (Dahm 339).  They wrote, “attitude was found to be a significant predictor (p<.01) of all three behaviors (Dahm 339)”. They stated as well, “most students (56.4%) were neutral in their opinion about organic foods, but 41.3% either “accept organic foods” or “only eat organic foods”(Duham 338).” Through this article, Dahm, Samonte, and Shows were able to prove that there is an association between the consumption of organic foods and other environmentally behaviors. They wrote, “the respondents’ attitudes about an eco-friendly behavior such as recycling, energy, conservation were significantly related to supportive behaviors such as recycling, energy conservation, driving hybrid cars or carpooling, and ozone protection (Duham 340).”

Work Cited

Bauknight, Lee, and William W. Garland. Organic Foods:Do Eco-Friendly Attitudes Predict Eco-Friendly Behaviors? The Carolina Reader. Southlake, TX: Fountainhead, 2013. 333-44. Print.

ILP 2

1)            I simply looked at the most recent news articles that have been posted on the home page of Google News. I did not type in any keywords or have to narrow my search to find a current event.

 2)            “Immigration Issue Gets a Renewed Push as President Obama calls for Action” written by Eric Adler from the Kansas City Star is the article I chose. The article is discussing President Barak Obama calling on congress to develop a plan for immigration reform. Included in the article is a bipartisan group of senators that are also working toward reform.  They are striving to create a “pathway to citizenship.”

The article starts off by presenting the standpoint of immigration reform by using logos. The writer, Adler, purely states the current situation with immigration reform.  Instantly after, the writer uses pathos. The emotional appeal the writer uses makes his article seem slightly biased. After reading Adler’s article, readers may think differently about if immigrants should stay in America. They may possibly have the mindset that immigrants should.
             Alder uses pathos by writing about Pacheco in his article. Alder writes, “Age 34 now, Pacheco, who is an undocumented house painter, came to the United States on his own from Mexico City at age 19, nearly half a lifetime ago, “for more opportunity, a better life (Alder).” He later goes on to explain that Pacheco had two children that were born U.S. citizens, but one of his children passed away from leukemia.  Even though he is an illegal immigrant, “the overarching reason Pacheco wants to be a U.S. citizen, he said, is to honor the memory of his son, to provide his daughter with the American dream of a college education and the better life he wanted them to have (Alder)." Readers may have sympathy for Pacheco after reading the article. If so, they may be in agreement with President Obama about having immigration reform. They may want them to stay in the United States.
             Not only does the writer use Pacheco to persuade the reader by using pathos, but also Lesley. Adler writes, “Lesley is one of about 40 students at Alta Vista soon to receive a Social Security card, giving her legal status in the U.S. under “deferred action,” the policy enacted by Obama in June that allows hundreds of thousands of young people brought illegally to the United States as children to remain as law-abiding residents (Adler).”  He also writes in his article that Lesley said “the prospect of lasting reform takes away the fear that parents will be ripped from their children (Adler).”  That statement alone could possibly persuade a reader to fight for an immigration reform because they may sympathize with the fact that some children will be growing up without parents. 

Readers may interpret the article written by Adler contrarily, if they were indifferent about immigration reform.  They may sympathize with Pacheco and Lesley, but still have their opinion why they should not stay in the United States. They may also give reasons or state facts on how immigrants are negatively affecting the nation. Readers may even come to the conclusion that the predicaments that some of the immigrants are facing in the United States would have been avoidable if they stayed in their native country. 

3.            I did not put any thought or effort into my research because the current events on Google News were easily available. However, in the future, I may have to search harder for an article and use keywords that can be beneficial to finding accurate information for research. I think this article gave was useful. Readers were able to get insight from an actual immigrant’s point of view. I was able to identify with the article because my grandparents are immigrants. If they were not able t become citizens of the United States, I would not be who I am today, or where I am at this very moment.

Work Cited 

 Alder, Eric. "Immigration Issue Gets a Renewed Push as President Obama Calls for Action."KansasCity.com. N.p., 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.

ILP1: Defining Digital Natives

I found many news articles related to Digital Natives during my research.  Each article seemed credible. Two of the articles found were from popular sources where most people read or hear about their current events.” I was successful at finding articles on the CNN and New York Times websites. The other two sources were not on credible sites, but referenced a specific person who researched and wrote a book about “digital natives.” I think each article gave good insight about Digital Natives and were fitting in their own way. Some articles had different opinions about Digital Natives, but had a persuading argument with credible sources to make me understand their viewpoint.

Oliver Joy’s response in "What Does It Mean to Be a Digital Native?" and Erview Lewin’s response in his interview in "Digital Natives Customs and Their Customs," are similar from the excerpt in Born Digital. Both Joy and Lewin agree on there being a participation gap in the digital society. There are the “natives” that have grown up with technology, and the “immigrants”, that grew up in an analog world. They are also similar to the excerpt by showcasing that there are both positives and negatives to being a Digital Native. They both agree that being Digital Natives do not have the traditional friendships or relationships with people where they talk on phones or in person. They rather text or instant message, but they get along with any ethnic background or culture with ease. Last, the responses come to an agreement that too much of the uncontrolled digital environment could be bad because it can attract pedophiles, bullying or an addiction.

VanSlyke has different views from the excerpt from Born Digital. He explains in his article that he finds it hard to believe that “ a neurological structures could change to such a dramatic extent from one generation to the next.” He later goes on to say that even though the “Digital Natives” think and learn somewhat differently than older generations, “they may be doing them a disservice to de-emphasize "legacy" content such as reading, writing, and logical thinking, or to say that the methodologies we have used in the past are no longer relevant.” He gives the example of the younger students using the web, but not being able to perform advance searches. Last, he states that today’s electronics cause for as much critical thinking and research skills, contrary to believe of some.

Each article is similar in the aspect of identifying “digital natives” to be a renovated generation that is comfortable with using technology on a daily. One article explained that there was a generation gap separating today's students, known as the "Digital Natives", from their teachers, known as the "Digital Immigrants (Timothy VanSlye)." Another article expressed that the “digital native-immigrant” concept describes the generational switchover where people are defined by the technological culture which they're familiar with (Oliver Joy).  

A couple of the articles went into detail of the pros and cons in having “digital natives”. The New York Time’s article writes, “These are kids who come with real digital skills, who are interested in global issues and who deal with diversity better than any generation before them (Erview Lewin).” On the contrary, Lewin also wrote, “This generation is not very good at face-to-face relationships.” He later goes on to explain that the “Digital Natives” all want to have intimate relationships, they want to get married and have kids, but that’s hard to do if you don’t know how to talk with another person (Erview Lwein). 

Works Cited

"Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants: Some Thoughts from the Generation Gap." The  

              Technology Source.Timothy VanSlyke, May-June 2003. Web. 22 Jan. 2013.  

             <http://depd.wisc.edu/html/TSarticles/Digital%20Natives.htm>.

Joy, Oliver. "What Does It Mean to Be a Digital Native?" CNN. Cable News Network, 08 Dec.

                2012. Web. 22 Jan. 2013.

Lewin, Erview By Tamar. "Digital Natives and Their Customs." The New York Times.

 The New York Times, 04 Nov. 2012. Web. 22 Jan. 2013.

"The Definition: What Makes A Digital Native  Different? “ Threeminds." Threeminds. N.p., n.d.

Web. 22 Jan. 2013.

SWA 1

Hello! Welcome to my blog.  I’m Najja. I am a freshman at USC studying to be a mechanical engineer. Go Gamecocks! I have lived in South Carolina for ten years. The other eight years were spent in Indianapolis, In. And yes, I am a die-hard Colts fan. I love the warm weather here in S.C, but I absolutely miss the snow in my hometown! Other than going to school, I spend time exercising.  In high school I was a cheerleader and played lacrosse as well. Since I’m not on any sport's teams now, I work out and take classes at Strom Thurmond. My favorite class is zumba. I will also be a cheerleading coach this upcoming summer.

When I’m not focusing on my education or staying fit, I’m most likely on my computer or on my phone. It’s a great way to kill time especially living in a residence hall with no car. I am usually on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube, U-verse or Facebook when on my phone or computer. On Twitter, I am more interested in seeing what other people tweet than tweeting myself. I like to see the opinions of my friends and follow famous celebrities to see what they have to say about certain topics. My favorite celebrity on twitter is Rihanna.  Twitter is also a great way to find out current events fast; although, the tweets are not always valid.  I only use Facebook to keep in touch with my extended family. I post pictures of everything from food, scenery, music I am currently listening to, or pictures of me on Instagram. I use Tumblr to look at fashion, cars, food, and to read blogs and I use U-verse online because I don’t have a television in my room; I'm usually watching movies or catching up on television shows. I consider my (e)dentity to be quite random because I’m not just into one specific thing on the internet.

My favorite endeavor so far is YouTube; I go on this site daily.  I look for fashion tips, outfits of the day, make-up guidance, natural hair tutorials, the newest technology, and just pure entertainment. I also watch videos on how different technology works and how to solve math problems. This site alone impacts my life because I find so much on there that helps me with every day things. I have gotten help in a variety of areas from the people that I am subscribed to. I enjoy watching people on here so much, that I created my own channel.  I love talking and YouTube is my outlet for that. On my channel, I vlog (video blog) about my day, fashion, and my hair. With my videos, I hope to provide entertainment for others and also help. I'm also recording to see how I grow and transform over time as an individual.

           I look forward to learning more about (e)dentity, since I spend so much time on the world wide web.