final post

It is the end of the semester and i feel that it was one of the better english classes that i have been in ever. Mara did a good job in helping me focus more on my content and what i am trying to prove rather than just making sure punctuation is correct and grammar is on point. I took her advice on revising my paper, and i was able to write a pretty good research essay. I learned more in this class than i have in all my years taking english, she helped me alot. thanx

Why We Fight...

I'll try to keep my frustration at minimum, but since I just sat down and am trying to start writing Essay #2, I just want to say that ever since I saw the movie/documentary "Why We Fight" this past week, I didn't realize how unaware I was about our corrupt American government. Have I really been living under a rock all this time? Pardon my rudeness (that is, if anybody takes any offense to this), but why was Bush our president again? There's a lot of things he deserves for all the unnecessary harm he committed during his presidency. Above all, I don't think he deserves our respect as people. I'll stop here and keep it short. :)

Military weapons

It is amazing as to how much money we spend on weapons per year, how many weapons we have and we dont use, and how artillery crazy america is. I dont know much about the economy and politics, but every says america is broke, i wonder why??? and the worst part is that nothing is being done about it to keep it a secret. There are a bunch of documentaries and online videos and articles that tells you much america spends on these weapons per year. there are also war simulation games that tell you how these guns work and how much they cost. When i say guns, thats a general term for missiles, ammunition, fighter planes etc. Too much money is being spent on this stuff. i wonder how much of it they dont use/over how much they do use. Why doesnt someone take some of the money being used for all this crap and give it to me to pay my tuition.

Technology and the Military

I was doing a little web surfing the other day and I found this really interesting article on technology in the military that I found incredibly pertinent to the the piece on the military and technology that we have to read for class. The article posted on the class blog talks about how the use of technology in the military has resulted in increased disengagement in warfare. This article that I found online discusses how the advancement of technology in the military may in fact increase engagement of soldiers, and is reported to increase stress levels. I thought it was a really cool article, so if anyone is bored over vacation here is the link:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,682852,00.html

Group Work: Anais, Tom J, Tom F, Dioane, Vassil, Chen

(Evening news theme music starts playing…fade out to anchor’s voice)

News Anchor: Good evening Boston, tonight we are bringing you breaking news on the escaped group of Subs, last spotted fleeing GENESIS (GENetically Engineered Sub-human Initiative for Success) facilities. These facilities are responsible for the enforcement of recent government mandates that all functioning social security numbers be limited to those humans that can essentially perform daily tasks without the extra risks associated with non-engineered DNA. The unfortunate anomalies that are unable to receive modification are, as we all know, weaker and not capable of higher brain function. According to official reports, this particular escaped group of Subs were scheduled for transit to the incubation barracks for cryogenic freezing and later experimentation when a strange (and irregular) breach in security allowed one of the more advanced specimens to use a guard’s keycard to swipe them out. His methods are still unknown, as these Subs are known to posses little to no real planning skills or ability to collaborate. The guard in question has since been taken in for questioning by National Security. The general public should not be at all concerned; these creatures present no danger to normally-engineered individuals. However, that being said, everyone should remain vigilant and on the lookout for the escapees until they are rounded up and delivered to the GENESIS barracks. If spotted, please contact this station or your local police department.

Join us after these commercial breaks for a scintillating debate on the merits of artificial lab-grown muscle tissue versus the innovative new bio-mechanical bodily supplements.

Announcer: This segment of tonight’s news has been brought to you by Albert Gene Technologies - Improving our future, one gene at a time.

(Fade to commercial)

Voiceover: As our society moves rapidly into the golden age of convenience, shouldn’t your family life improve in the same manner? With the aid of the dedicated team at Albert Gene Technologies, your loved ones can reach their greatest potential, without leaving all the important details to chance. Our patented gene-splicing technology . Tired of having unhealthy children, and constant trips to the doctors? Don’t want to deal with a potentially life-altering behavior issue? Or you simply want the strongest and smartest genes for your child? Then give the staff here at AGT a call, 1-800-GOOD-KID for more information. No loner will you have to contend with the angst and worry that often comes with raising an unaltered child. Your loved ones will thank you! Also, because AGT genuinely cares about you and your family, we give you the opportunity to take advantage of our discount plan - genetically engineer three children, and your fourth one is free! Again, the number is 1-800-GOOD-KID. Consultants are standing by 24 hours a day to assist you in the selection process.

idea about genetic engineering and future society: Chang

In some people's minds, genetic engineering is optional technology and accessory for better life style that will bring more comfort and convenience to us in future. the criticism about it depicts the flaws and undesirable situations such as disasters, social problems and ethical problems that genetic engineering will cause. In practical sense, there seem no problems that makes us realize that genetic engineering is necessary in everyday lives. it is still questionable and debatable weather development of this technology is right or wrong. but what if genetic engineering is absolutely necessary for our survival in future and it is inevitable that we develop this technology?

In the class reading, "enemies of promise" by Micheal Bishop, Bishop points out that In long run, research in science and technology improvement will offer the great achievement that we have had with science in history. he says " Price of science seems large, but to reject science is to deny future." Genetic engineering is one very small portion of study in science but still it offers the great potential and fortunes that will eliminate the problems and bring better qualities of life.

Weather that improved quality and convenience is necessary is questionable. but it is unquestionable that the problems occur constantly and we have to face that problem to survive. very obvious and crucial problems lies on our economy. such problems are the growth population and exhaustion of natural resources. we enjoy the benefits of cheep genetically engineered food that is much more efficiently produced than natural food and medical technology of human genes that eliminates the potential risks for lives. if we did not have the technology for these problem, we would not have reached the standard of living of today. no technology is perfectly developed. followed by the improvement, there will be unwanted consequences and those are another problems to solve or live with.

In my opinion, future society will mostly benefit from the improvement of the genetic engineering. however, the major problem will be timing of technology development that fails to meet demand because of circumstantial lags from conflict between public, government and private sectors. this major conflict can be caused by difference beliefs and ideology, misapprehended or misguided information or generally corruption. as society grow more and more complex everyday, in future fast and efficient technology development will be very important. also for some ethical reasons, debate among reasonability for technology development will cause many conflicts more than ever. possibly, some people will fail to accept the side effect caused by genetic engineering. these problems are a lot like the problems that we have in now a days but in future, these problems will be much more complex, difficult to resolve and intansified.

A World with Genetic Engineering (Amber, Emmeline, Hannah, Jazmine, Merrissa),

In 2010, we lived in a society in which gender dictated social status. While men and women were legally considered equal, women were only as empowered as men allowed. The development of genetic engineering only further engrained this notion of male supremacy in general society. Given the opportunity to select the gender of their children, couples rushed to bear boys into a world that would value their talents to their fullest potential.

As the years went on the males dominated the world. The female gender became smaller and smaller. With more time the females became more like a rare stone or a valuable piece of jewelry. Their absence was noticed and apparent in the world around them as the men fought to win the rare jewel. The women became revered. Females came to dominate the males’ affections. Eventually the females began negotiating on a higher level of thinking. In order to dominate, females took over male roles. This began the engineering of female babies. The lack of females created the role of the male mother. Women used their increased social status to allocate the less desirable tasks to men, turning things like house cleaning and grocery shopping into a more common male roles.

As females began to take over powerful aspects of the marketing world they persuasively negotiated their ways into government organizations as well. They were able to successfully overthrow the male dominance that had such a strong control over the army in their countries.

In summation, women began to take the leading role of dominance in society. Many became CEO's of leading companies and men worked for them; which was usually vice versa before the birth of genetic engineering. this uprising of female empowerment even produced the very first woman president. Overall the world was a significantly more peaceful and happier place

Movie Idea: Nelson, Dave, Laura, Jeff and Colin

In the year 2115, the world is far different than what it was before.

The mass breeding of livestock eliminates the need for farms and the agricultural industry deteriorates.

Forests are cut down for the sole purpose of creating more living space for humans and the oxygen supply on earth becomes limited. Oxygen creators are then put into place to artificially generate oxygen.

After the discovery of an inexpensive way to create unique human beings in an artificial manner, the people of the free world began to create mentally insufficient humans that could be used to complete simple tasks. The owners of these genetically engineered humans began to take advantage of their fake human counterparts by treating them unfairly and using them for slave labor. The ruling class consists of real humans that were not genetically engineered. They called themselves bloods. Because they were created artificially inside test tubes, the lower classes were given the derogatory name “Tubes”. The Tubes eventually serve no purpose once the Bloods realize that there are no simple tasks left to complete in the world. Machinery has reached the point of self-sufficiency and therefore require no human attention to function properly.

The Tubes are then relegated to mass camps that are separate from the cities where the humans live. Czechoslovakia is home to four Tube cities (TC’s); TC 316 being the biggest.

A Czech member of the bloods and Tube social worker named Montgomery Chase travels into TC316 on a mission to bring some form of education to the Tube population. On his excursion, Montgomery falls in love with a Tube and they have a child. This becomes the firstborn hybrid child. The hybrid child exhibits the traits of a highly intelligent blood and he becomes widely known among the Tubes as a leader. The Bloods know him as TX and he is considered by most Bloods a highly dangerous individual.

TX begins to educate the Tubes and creates an intelligent working class. TX and his group of intelligent Tubes then leave TC316 and enter adjacent camps in hopes of educating the rest of the Tubes. The Bloods attempt to assassinate TX on many separate occasions but fail repeatedly because of their inability to track him down. Years pass and the spread of Tube education reaches England. TX decides that it is time to overthrow the oppressive rule of the Bloods and organizes a mass Tube mobilization. The Tubes are successful in their Coup but TX becomes a casualty of war. The Bloods were able to kill him by luring him into a trap. They capture his parents with the knowledge that TX will try to save them. TX attempts this and fails when he is shot by a sniper awaiting his arrival at the hostage location. TX did not die in vein however because his death makes him a Martyr to the rest of the Tubes across the globe. A worldwide battle ensues resulting in a Tube victory. The Bloods and Tubes learn to live equally amongst themselves. The movie ends with a still shot of a statue of TX in the middle of the Red Square in Russia and a plaque beneath it that reads “You may have shaped our souls, but we will shape our Destiny.”

individual work assignment4

bishop's idea of misconceptions

- science is more like magic

- too much science is inhumane

- science is dangerous( fear)

these reasons are plausible assumptions about science for those who does not

know much about science as much as bishop does. because, if you do not understand

something very well, u are very likely to make speculations and negative assumptions

about it.

recent aruguement about science vs religion is about the moral issue. some poeple

think that it is just wrong and inhumane to go so far with science just to satisfy ourselves.

something in nature has to be natural and that is a essential part of our quality that makes

us human. for exmple, stem cell research is one big issue about the controversy of sicentific advancement. it can be immoral to use stemcell that comes from embryo but at the sametime,

it can be used for medical purpose to cure a lot of poeple.

science vs religion issue is basically about what is more important in ourlives. each individual makes his own value judgement about this issue and that is why there is a conflict. moral or reality seems to be the opposing arguements between science and religion. it will probably be on going issue for life depending on weather both parties are willing to make compromises or not.

assigment#4 group work

three assumptions

- science can not give perfect explanation to everything

Q: what are the questions or problems now a day can not be solved by science?

- technology development will be more limited as information for the technology grows lager

Q: how much information can we process to develop new technology?

- science is based on assumptions

Q: how does scientific knowledge gained or proven?

Technology - Anais, Emmeline, Dioane, Chen

1a. Technology is always positive.
b. We live in a society where technology advances our lives and enriches our every day activities; without it we would be an entirely different people.
c. 1. What happens if technology enables us in negative ways? (war, bombs, disease) (Emmeline)
2. There are societies that have less technology than we do; are their lives automatically less happy or fulfilled than ours? (Anais)
3. Technology serves to advance us and make our lives easier, but what if our lives get too easy? Then they wouldn't be worth living anymore. (Chen)

2a. Technology creates controversy.
b. There are many instances of technology causing problems with certain religious groups and other traditionalists, who don't appreciate the forward thinking that technology fosters.
c. 1. Isn't stem cell research similar to playing God, in that we are trying to master and change concepts in life that have always been the same and that we have no control over? (Emmeline)
2. Can't we all benefit from stem cell research, in terms of lengthening our lives and making us all more healthy? (Dioane)
3. Isn't it possible for controversy in society to be healthy, because it means that two factions with radically different opinions are conflicting on an issue and then working together to find solutions? (Chen)

3a. Technology takes away from human interaction.
b. We can remember times when people used to meet up in person or talk on the phone instead of texting, emailing, instant messaging, etc. Also, people do things like use conference calls and video chat instead of going out to meet people in person.
c. 1. Instead of making it more difficult, hasn't technology has in fact "made the world smaller" and made it easier for us to talk to more people at one time instead of limiting our interaction? (Anais)
2. What will we be like as humans if we don't even leave our houses to talk to eachother? (Chen)
3. Do we need to reach a middle ground for technology in human interaction? For example, will it be helpful for us to use technology somewhat to talk to our friends and family, but not too much, at the risk of becoming solitary and lazy? (Dioane)

2. Bishop writes that science has been rejected because of the conservative Christian religion, the postmodernist movement which dismisses science as "politics of another means," and the ignorance (and therefore fear) from the general public. We agree with all three of these points, but want to say that all three of them are probably based (on some level) on ignorance, because i doubt that any section of these groups of people know and understand science as well as they should to be able to make an informed decision about it. Science today hasn't yet gone too far. I believe that when it starts interacting FOR us, and getting in the way of humans living their REAL lives, then it goes too far. But as of now, with all the health, communication and travel benefits it offers, science is our ally rather than an enemy.

3. After doing this exercise, our viewpoints on technology have expanded, but not really changed. We still believe that technology, like everything else, is probably better in moderation. While we have come lightyears from the place we were even just 50-100 years ago, (and probably will be lightyears away in another century or so) it is always about moderation. Technology and science do not affect us adversely unless it begins to control us, whether by means of artificial brains (shown in technology doomsday movies such as Terminator and Eagle Eye) or simply by our lack of willpower to not use it all the time. However, at the current time, technology helps us more than hurts us.

Group post by: Jeff, Laura, Dave and Colin

1. Technology has helped to better our lives:
Social: social networking/communication
Theres no one that you can not reach at any time.
Question: Have social networking sites like faceook made our personal lives too transparent?

2. Technology makes people physically lazy:
Factor that influences our assumption: People take the escalator/elevator as opposed to the stairs (even though the stairs may be faster)
more productive mentally, less productive physically.
Question: Is our increased mental productivity worth the lack of physical activity we get each day?

3. Technology has taken over the world:
Factor that influences our assumption: you can't go through a day without using/dealing with technology
Question: Are computers going to surpass humans in intelligence?

FRONTLINE--DIGITAL NATION

Hi all,
This is the program I was telling you about. You can watch it online.
DIGITAL NATION

Group Work - Haneef, Merrissa and Tom

a) People have become dependant on technology.

b) The United States is viewed as a nation that spearheads the technological age. With immense pressure to maintain that status, scienctists are constantly toiling to create smarter and innovative technology. Additionally, in collaboration with other countires forming a cohesive bond, we are working towards the universal goal of developing efficient machinery, suppressing the demand of natural resources from Mother Nature. With so much technology bombarding our way of life, we are becoming intimately attached and relying on it.

c) Technology, arguably, cause more good than harm but what happens when it goes away or crashes to the point of catastrophic failure?

*Merrissa and Haneef, please post your assumptions as a comment to my blog. If you have any questions or concerns please email me at TomSFitz@yahoo.com*

Dan Devereaux, Vassil Dimitrov, Hannah Mcleod

Group Work: Vassil Dimitrov, Dan Devereaux, Hannah McLeod

Assumption 1: Technology is constantly evolving.
* Social, cultural, religious, or personal factors that influenced these assumptions:
o The transition from landlines to cell phones.
o Saw the creation and increasing popularity of instant communication.
* Question:
o Are there certain subject matters that people lack the intellectual capacity to delve further into? (Hannah)

Assumption 2: Technology improves quality of life.
* Social, cultural, religious, or personal factors that influenced these assumptions:
o Technology allows us to do fundamental tasks more efficiently and with less effort.
o Through the innovation of numerous scientific technologies such as vaccinations, we have been able to save the lives of many people.
o People are able to do more Òpleasurable activitiesÓ because technology makes it quicker and easier to do more mundane tasks
* Question:
o Can the simplification of tasks associated with technology cause people to take on more than they can handle? (Dan)

Assumption 3: Science is the most important method of obtaining new knowledge in the universe.
* Social, cultural, religious, or personal factors that influenced these assumptions:
o Science is the reason our technology is so advanced.
o Science is the reason we know so much about how to cure certain diseases, and often prevent death.
o My parents are molecular biologists.
* Question:
o What other ways of obtaining knowledge can inform us about things that nobody knows about in the physical world? (Vassil)




1/26/10 3:53 PM

updated syllabus on blog?

Hey Professor,

I think it would be very helpful if there was an updated syllabus on the blog. It would be easier to see what homework was upcoming and what the the due dates for different parts of the research paper are. Maybe then you could just add to it while you gauge how fast the class is moving. It would save difficulties of people misplacing it, missing class and not receiving it, or not having their syllabus when they needed it. Also it would increase traffic on the blog as students would open up the blog instead of their folder to view their syllabus. Let me know what you think!

FYI

If you are having access problems when retreiving articles on the English 102 blog visit this link www.accessmylibrary.com. e.g. I don't have a UMass Library account (I will get one soon) which means that I cannot access the required homework reading. I stumbled upon this website and typed in Enemies of Promise and the article popped up. BTW it is FREE to access!!

Blogging

Blogging is a great way to share information in a class by using the internet. People can share their own ideas/research to help move the class forward and to help everybody have a good understanding of what is being taught. I spent some time writing blogs for websites recently, and got paid for the amount of views my article received. Although I will not be getting paid for this, I will enjoy using this site to network our lessons and expand on ideas talked about in class. Overall, I believe that blogging will help this class exchange information that we all will need in order to do well.

Newbie Blogger

I've never blogged but participated in forums. I'm not sure if they are the same. This is a good way to share ideas outside the classroom setting.

What I think about the new blog...

I don't usually "blog", but I guess there's a first time for everything. :)

Hi class. . .

I never blogged before but this already seems fun. I think that the blog will be a good way to communicate with the class and share ideas about different things. I hope that the class keeps up with the blogging. :-)

What I think of the blog...

The blog as an interactive way to voice an opinion that some may not otherwise. It is a good place for shy people to sound off on their opinions because not everyone is confident with public speaking. This gives the quite people a means of having a voice. This will allow their class participation to excel, where as in other classes that do not offer this mode of communication, they may fail or be left as a fly on the wall.

Another great aspect of the blog is that opinions can fully be communicated with the use of supporting materials that further support a persons ideas. In class, some one may have a valid point but can't quite think of an example to back it up. With this technology a writer can research some supporting arguments before they publishes their post which allows for a more concise and well-thought out response making the persons theory more clear and persuasive.

I think a blog is a great idea. It is a good way for everyone to share their opinion and comment on others. I have never really blogged before so I think it's a good way for me to learn. I'm hoping this will be a helpful tool for our research and papers. It's always fun to pick other people's brains. This will be a nice way for us to speak up and really give an opinion. I am interested to hear what people in class have to say and hope that we have some good topics to discuss.

What electrecity-less technologies did everyone write about for the second assignment?

I decided to write about the development of soaps and sanitizers and how they have served a very important purpose in keeping the world healthy, clean, and smelling better.

What did you write about?

Comment below!

assignment for blog

blogging is good idea for this class
because you can dicuss the materials from class
remotely at home. and also u can get all of class readings from
the blog without having to look for it in library webpage.
It would be convineint for many of us.
I actually never used the blogging page before
so it would be interestin opportunity for me to learn
and play with.