Internet Privacy and Anonymity - an Oxymoron?

“We need less anonymity on the Internet. And we need more privacy. And the two

should go together.” (Segan, 2007)

With the growing popularity of the Internet, privacy can be a huge concern and so can anonymity. In essence everyone should be able to write anything he or she wishes with a guaranteed level of anonymity if they so choose; that is, not being able to link it back to the person who wrote it – protecting anonymity. Likewise, everyone should be able to retract words they posted thereby protecting privacy (after all they wrote it). I think that these two items should be compatible in most online communication even though many times they don’t seem to be implemented all that well or at all. Take for instance Facebook. Users too often don’t know how to tighten down their privacy while using it and a lot of the users simply think that somehow their postings can be anonymous simply because they wish it so. Inherently, anything that is posted on the Internet should be treated as entirely searchable (most if not all is), and privacy online should be handled with extreme care.

References:

Segan, S. (2007). Less Anonymity, More Privacy. PC Magazine, 26 (21/22), 63.

Kingston Technology

HE IS THE ICON KNOWN AS REX; WHO IS HE?
If you don't know who this is then maybe you haven't purchased anything from Kingston Technology. The Kingston Technology Company is the world's leading independent memory leader which was founded in 1987 and has become known worldwide with their trademark Kingston Redhead or "Rex" Icon. Initially, the company which is based out of Fountain Valley, California carried only one product the SIMM (Single In-Line Memory Module) and now carries over 2000 memory products which support nearly every electronic device that is currently available on the market. Research shows this Technology Company as being a worldwide leader in customer service and for its model work environment ("Kingston technology," 2010). I recently purchased a 4GB flash drive Data Traveler from Kingston Technology and was very pleased with this product.

Kingston Technology Company, Inc has been regarded as one of the "Best companies to work for in America" by Fortune Magazine and is focused on promoting respect, reliability, and integrity within its company (Levering, Moskowitz, Munoz, & Hjelt, 2002). Founded by John Tu and David Sun the company employs over 4000 people and serves an international network of distributors and retailers also spanning six continents.

Prior to 1994, people were limited when it came to memory solutions for their given electronic devices and now with companies such as Kingston Technology around and leading the way those solutions are much easier to deal with.

Ref:
Levering, R, Moskowitz, M, Munoz, L, & Hjelt, P. (2002, February 04). 100 best companies to work for.. Fortune Magazine, Retrieved from http://Fortune magazine.com
Kingston technology. (2010, June 25). Retrieved from http://www.kingston.com

Fill it up or Plug it in

Fill it up or Plug it in?
It's the night before your trip to visit some friends that live 200 miles away; you look down at that good old gas gauge, yes that part of your vehicle that we all dread looking at. The gauge says empty and you pull into the local gas station. Current price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $2.65 and you fill it up($53.00).Now depending on the amount of miles the average driver gets per gallon, they will pump roughly 5000 gallons of fuel into their vehicle if let's say they buy a new car and it takes them down the road for 100,000 miles. Besides the fuel consumption, other maintenance like oil changes and a host of other problems will plague this vehicles owner not to mention all the emissions that just this one car will put into our environment.

On the other hand, imagine another driver looking down at a battery gauge meter in their vehicle, and instead of pulling into the gas station they go home and plug the vehicle in and in less than 1 hr that vehicle has the ability of taking them over 200 miles before having to be recharged, all at a cost of about $4.00.This All electric car technology exists today with Ford, Toyota, and a few other companies leading the way in this revolutionary but much needed change to our transportation needs.

One company that is spearheading the way is Tesla Motors Inc which is based out of San Carlos, California. Tesla is in the final stages of rolling out their sedan in 2012. On its website, Tesla calls Model S "the world's first mass-produced electric vehicle" that can carry five adults and two children. The company says the car will have a range of up to 300 miles and can be charged in 45 minutes "from any outlet" for about $4, "a bargain even when gasoline is $1 a gallon” http://www.teslamotors.com/. Big car makers Ford and Toyota as mentioned earlier have been in this new technology for a few years now and are improving on their own all electric models.

With all this new technology and with the price of owning an All electric vehicle becoming more attractive and soon people will be asking themselves at the pump if they should switch from” filling it up to plugging it in”. Now that’s something to consider.

Reference:
http://www.teslamotors.com/

Do we need that cell phone or computer?

"Working class United States Latinos' Perceptions and uses of communication Technologies" Leonardi,P.M.(2003)

For years, I wondered why my parents were reluctant to purchase a computer and cringed at the thought of a cell phone.My great-grandparents came from Spain and settled here in the USA with all the generations that have followed being slow to perceive or even accept any new technologies in communication such as the cell phone or computer.The reason for such a slow acceptance is rooted in our Latino culture of living a simplistic life and not getting too involved with any complicated ideas of modern communication like computers; the main focus was always on family values and culture.

For my grandparents and parents, life was simple with the most modern form of communication being the telephone(land line). I can recall my father paying bills with cash or money orders compared with today's Latino father who has the option of direct deposit, online banking and a host of other modern technologies. Myself, being a "modern day Latino"well, I guess I have broken the mold of generations past and have modernized myself in regards to technology.

The simple times of the past Latino generations didn't have the choices in communication that we now have. We as Latinos must blend the technology of today with our culture and values, to keep pace with and use all of the modern communication that is available.

Ref:
Leonardi,P.M.(2003).Problematizing "New Media": Culturally Based Perceptions of Cell Phones,Computers, and the Internet among United States Latinos.Critical studies in Media Communication.

Vote IQ Gives Facebook A Run For Its Money

"The mainstream media has been losing credibility for 30 years," states Vote iQ vice president, Rick Shenkman in response to the trust deficit that has occurred with voters looking for candidate information (Nagesh, 2010). Mr. Shenkman should know; his varied resume gives him a unique perspective. He is an Emmy award winning investigative reporter, a history professor, author of five books of that genre, and a lecturer on presidential politics. Mr. Shenkman's knowledge of presidential history, voters, and the corruption of main stream media appears to be the reason for his inclusion in the startup of Vote iQ to provide a unbiased platform to not only educate voters, but help them link to the best possible candidate based on their values without the spin of the MSM.

Download:

FLVMP43GP

Vote iQ is a brand spanking new social networking site recently launched to provide a political discussion platform that goes beyond what Facebook can readily do. The creators have found that divergent policy and values beliefs create tension among friends on Facebook. They wanted to build a site that was based around politicians' and candidates' positions to encourage the sharing of knowledge to enable voters to make more informed judgments. Rick Shenkman believes that Americans' political knowledge has been declining over the last half century, and wishes to give the public a ground level voice that encourages trust.

Mr. Shenkman also believes that there are some seven to eight million "political junkies" who are the initial target audience. I personally think that it is highly possible that number is much greater considering the last decade of congressional spending and the tea party movement's growing influence in the political ring. I believe the November mid-term elections will be a defining moment.

Vote iQ is headquartered in Gig Harbor, Washington, and is using a highly detailed algorithm that matches people and politicians through policy questions and the importance of each issue to the user. Shenkman wants to make politics simpler with "issue-based summaries for every topic" under the Hot Topics section. An added bonus is that Vote iQ will be tracking lobbyists on each issue.

With the additions of James Carville, political consultant to Bill Clinton's winning presidential campaign in 1992, and Dr. Frank Luntz, considered to be the "Nostradamus of pollsters" who is well known for his instant response focus groups, to the advisory board, Vote iQ has gained some political powerhouses to lend more credibility to the project.

Savvy political operatives like David Plouffe, Obama's chief campaign manager, know that the internet became a political tool in 1992 with the Clinton/Gore campaign. Plouffe used Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to revolutionize how political campaigns get their message out and receive instant feedback. Hopefully, the creators of Vote iQ can take this form of bullet train communication to the next level, and help voters' trust level increase due to a focus on the political landscape without the paid spin from the media.


Reference: Nagesh, Gautham, May, 2010

Source: Hillicon Valley, The Hill, Vote iQ takes swipe at Facebook as a political platform

What is Web 2.0?

Today, our children grow up with computers and the internet as part of their daily lives. They are called ‘net genners’ (Howe and Strauss 2000), digital natives (Prensky 2001), the net generation or net kids.
Social networking, also know as social web has grown rapidly among the younger crowd in last few years.
What is social web? What is SNS? (social networking service). The so called social web allows users to create and manage their own information and also share their information with friends and possible make new friends. They are learning to communicate their thoughts and put them in writing. In doing this will it make better writers out of us? The opportunities are great and so are the risks of social web for the young. Web 2.0 involves blogging, vlogging, sns, gaming, downloading, uploading. Sharing our own information and then learning how to bring this information together and share with others on an electronic basis is where we find ourselves today.
In a recent brainstorming meeting done by Tim O'Reilly of O’Reilly’s Media, formulated their sense of Web 2.0 by the following example:

Web 1.0 / Web 2.0
Double Click / Google AdSense
Ofoto / Flickr
Akamai / BitTorrent
mp3.com / Napster
Britannica Online / Wikipedia
Personal website / Blogging
Evite / Upcoming.org and EVDB
Domain name speculation / Search engine optimization
Page views / Cost per click
Screen scraping / Web services
Publishing / Participation
Content management systems / Wikis
directories (taxonomy) / Tagging ("folksonomy")
Stickiness / Syndication

The chart above clearly shows that the way we use and distribute information is changing. The older crowd is involved heavily in Web 1.0 and our younger crowd is doing more of the right side of the chart which is Web 2.0
Recent studies show that Web 2.0 (social web) offers an abundance of new and extensive possibilities for e-learning, which means no more minimal amounts of learning materials. Are we heading for Web 3.0? (Wageneder and Jadin 2007). Will it be our kids that will take us there? Let’s watch them closely.

International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics
Volume 6 Number 1

iPhone 4 Could Be the Answer

“I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to show you much…” Steve Jobs

    On June 8th, true to form of Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs love for showmanship selling,  Apple announced the release of the much talked about and even leaked, iPhone 4. Jobs has always been known for elaborate presentations to highlight the latest technological breakthroughs by Apple and this presentation was nothing short of what the man loves to do and that’s awe an audience. The iPhone 4 was leaked by a blog site known as Gizmodo months before the presentation after one of the editors of the site supposedly found an iPhone 4 left on the table in a bar by a careless Apple developer. Photos were shown and minute details of what the first impressions were of the phone were given. This sparked a fire in Apple products user groupies and of course the rumors began to abound and the much awaited release presentation was all anyone could focus on.
    Steve Jobs took the stage and began a very lengthy presentation of the iPhone 4 beginning with the new design. An all glass front panel and rear panel wrapped around the edges with a metallic band, gave a rather visually sharp first impression of the new phone. As Jobs proceeded to demonstrated some of the new features one could see that Apple really struggled to fill the new iPhone with features that would set it far apart from the previous versions. Also noted with the new features were big name companies that seemed to have jumped on board such as Netflix, to provide services to the iPhone that are not found on any other smart phone as of yet. Video conferencing, sharper display, better usage of apps, and faster processors made the icing on the cake that much sweeter. Overall, Apples new iPhone will be impressive for any smart phone user willing to pay the money to purchase one and with the integration of some of the latest tools written by the big names, this iPhone could be the answer to everyones smart phone needs and then some.

References:

Author(s):Yukari Iwatani Kane,  Ian Sherr

Publication title:Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Jun 8, 2010.  pg. B.1

Internet Addiction and the Online Classroom

An interesting article from NY Online Education Examiner that talks about how some people that use the internet are struggling with a craving of the stimulation they get from electronic gadgets after they have logged off. They also talk about how this is impacting the focus on the family. In a New York Times published on June 6th 2010, it mentions the following: “Scientists say juggling e-mail, phone calls and other incoming information can change how people think and behave. They say our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information. These play to a primitive impulse to respond to immediate opportunities and threats. The stimulation provokes excitement — a dopamine squirt — that researchers say can be addictive. In its absence, people feel bored. While many people say multitasking makes them more productive, research shows otherwise. Heavy multitaskers actually have more trouble focusing and shutting out irrelevant information, scientists say, and they experience more stress.”

I know in my line of work if I don’t have both monitors running, my instant message moving with at least five conversations, my wireless headset on mute and an IPod earplug listening to music in the other ear, then I do not feel efficient. Now I need to rethink what efficient really is.Or isn’t.

Sax, Boria. June 7, 2010 http://www.examiner.com/x-45810-NY-Online-Education-Examiner~y2010m6d7-Internet-Addiction-and-the-Online-Classroom

Ritchel, Matt. June 6, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html?scp=1&sq=hooked%20on%20gadgets&st=cse

Cyber Bullying

The National Crime Prevention Counsel's definition of cyber-bullying is "when the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person." What it comes down to is the biggest kid on the playground has gone hi-tech and can now torment their prey 24/7. Ironically enough, the very world in which many victims once fled to every afternoon has become just as abusive as their school day. Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook allow for slanderous statements to be made with little retaliation. In my opinion, much of this I view as petty since it can do little to disparage an adult but in the highly impressionable world of a teenager it can be as devastating as a pantsing at prom. These formidable years of youth are rife with infighting, cattiness and cruelty; all of which can lead to depression which long outlasts the years past 12th grade.

In the wake of several teen suicides, cyber-bullying has become the matter of numerous news stories. What was once parents' largest fear being online predators, they must now ensure their child's well-being from what we think are their friends. Of course, being parents we have the disadvantage of not knowing the intricacies of our children's relationships with their peers other than what we are told...because of course, we've never been in their shoes and couldn't possibly understand. Perhaps they're right, though. We didn't have cell phones and we certainly didn't have texting, camera phones to capture every embarrassing incident, e-mail or youtube to publish our worst moments.

Legislation is being passed in numerous states making cyber-bullying a crime. To what degree should it be though? Does it rate a felony or a misdemeanor? By making it a felony, the perpetrators face having a lifelong mark against them but does a misdemeanor fit a crime which could possibly lead to suicide? This brave new world we live in will require an adjustment to the potential and the dangers it creates.

Breaking Down the Walls

Computer mediated communication (CMC) is partly a reengineering of education. Not only in the sense of rethinking the organization of site based schools, but also in the sense of finding ways to unite computers and telecommunications. Hence bringing down the schoolhouse walls; to deliver instructional content when and where it is needed-whether in the home, the work place, or the school.

CMC promotes a type of interaction that is often lacking in the traditionally-based classroom. It allows learners the freedom to explore alternate pathways--to find and develop their own style of learning. What if content could be delivered in the form of graphics, text, and/or full-motion video, whenever and wherever in the world it is requested? Computers are not a threat to the teacher; however, they may threaten the chalkboard.

Reference: Collins, A.(1991, September). The role of computer technology in restructuring the classroom. Phi Delta Kappan, pp. 28-36.

Foreword

Business, Politics and culture are increasingly dominated by global ingormation technologies. When it comes to ethics in Cyber Space virtual reality is more advanced as well as challenges context. A moral problem exists when it comes to assigning information technologies equally, it confronts the imorals of the divide between rich and poor information. Ethics are coming to its own, identifying that culture is symbolized in cyberspace.

Mainly ethical issues are undeveloped in cyberspace and have not been clearly focused as of yet. Additionally to virtual reality, two other fundamental issues exist; social structures and the nature of the human. Social structure cant exist annonimously.

authored by Clifford Christians University of Illinois

The Culturally Customized Web Site

Singh and Pereira (2005) wrote The Culturally Customized Web Site: Customizing Web Sites for the Global Marketplace. At first glance, this read combines a balanced amount of text and visuals and is deceptive in its simplicity. Moving through the book is easy enough. The table of contents highlights what is to come and the book is singularily focused on culture and web design. The complexity comes in the depth of the topic.

Culture is defined differently among varying disciplines and it often encompasses more than people realize. Singh and Pereira (2005) discussed perception, gender, power, patterned-ways of thinking and behaving and described how aspects such as languages, symbolism, and color mean different things based on one’s culture. They illustrated the importance of considering these and other factors while designing web sites.

The strength of this book lies in the authors’ ability to combine the what, why, and how into one. There are graphs, statistics, principles, resources and instructions for readers. The impact of globalization in terms of communication and the online marketplace was written about throughout each chapter. The only criticsm of note was that the authors assume some basic knowledge of web sites and web design that the general public may not have.

- Nick Frush

Reference:

Singh, N. & Pereira, A. (2005). The culturally customized web site: Customizing websites for the global marketplace. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann

Computer Mediated Communication for the Phobic

"For you fear of people is a thing of the past. In its place you are courageous, unconcerned, brave, dauntless[,] and self reassured. From now on, and more so over time, the intrepid outlook of your free spirit grows stronger and this incorrect fear fades away. You take normal precautions and nothing more."- UNK

Case A; in 1992 there was a 26-year-old, single, male college graduate and a company employee who had been taking excessive sick leave for one year. Case B; was a 25-year-old housewife who had been married for 3 years.

These two cases are fairly similar both have a phobia that is not very familiar. Anthrophobia, Anthropophobia, or Interpersonal Relation Phobia is the fear of people or society. Thanks to Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) these people and the other people that are affected by this phobia can connect to the outside world and get the things they need such as groceries, clothing, and even entertainment. Life has definitely been changed by this added advantage for these people. Thanks to the CMC the people that are affected by this phobia may live the most normal life available to them.

Reference:
Wen-Shing Tseng, Handbook of Cultural Psychiatry PP 239,240
http://books.google.com/books

When Cultures and Computers Collide

Online communication is suppose to be a tool that allows people from different backgrounds to communicate directly with one another. However, there is the burden of losing the more traditional way of communicating. The rhetorical difference of how certain cultures react to expectations. The reaction of cultures in cyberspace should be studied to help understand any international conflicts. Especially in the work place where lost time may occur.

New research agendas need to be adopted focusing on the nature of intercultural communication practices in CMC environments. A good way to start this would be to compare trends noted in the CMC literature as well as in the intercultural communication practices to see if any contention exists.

Cross Gender Communication in Cyberspace

Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), has changed the way individuals communicate. There are no mediators or censors. CMC allows individuals to communicate with one another no mater their reace or gender with fewer judgements and miss understandings than any other communication available.

Research has been done on how CMC helps woman and non english speaking in educational environments. It has been proven that Latin American Woman recieve high marks when allowed to post annonymously have recieved high remarks, even though they did not engage in heated debate or critiques in their classes.

Sexism and Racism is a continuing issue in todays society. No matter how old it gets or how tired people are of hearing about it. Communicating via internet allows people to by pass any racism or sexism as gender and race are a non issue.

Senior Citizens and the Internet-a Growing Love Affair

"The internet makes my life much easier by keeping me easily in touch with people at their convenience." -John, 72

A love affair has been growing in a place where incompatibility was previously thought to exist-between the internet and senior citizens.

According to a study published in 2008, senior citizens are one of the fastest growing segments of internet users in the world; 68 percent of individuals aged 55-59 , 55 percent aged 60-64, 57 percent aged 65-69, 27 percent aged 70-75, and 17 percent aged 76 and older regularly utilize the internet in some fashion. Many senior citizens appreciated the wealth of medical knowledge available at just the stroke of a key or a click of the mouse, as well as the ability to easily connect with friends and relatives. Additionally, senior citizens polled in the aforementioned survey are technologically savvy, many utilizing the internet in their current job functions.

As "baby boomers" continue to age, websites catering to "all things senior" will undoubtedly begin to dominate the internet landscape. As the sophistication of older internet users grows, it will be interesting to see what enterprising company (or perhaps individual) will emerge as the gold medal winner in the senior citizen internet olympics!

Reference:

McMillan, Sally J.1 sjmcmill@utk.eduAvery, Elizabeth Johnson1 ejavery@utk.eduMacias, Wendy2 wmacias@grady.uga.edu
Source:
Information, Communication & Society; Oct2008, Vol. 11 Issue 5, p675-697, 23p

Who ARE you?

"The only place I can be myself is online" -Vork from "The Guild"









John Suler's article "Identity Management in Cyberspace" tackles this very subject matter when it comes to alter ego's created in the anonymity of cyberspace. The fantasy world people create amongst various online communities, be it forums, games or chat lines. Recently an Asian couple were sentenced to prison for the negligent death of their newborn child due to starvation as a result of their online obsession with a game which ironically enough, involved raising a child. It's understandable how a person can find themselves a sense of freedom or disassociation from the daily drudgery of life, but to completely entrap yourself in multiple personalities...what cost does this have on their actual psyche? Does this allow for the development of positive attributes of ones personality or does it lead to acting out and negative behavior? The cloak of invisibility afforded by the Internet and it's long-reach into both deviant and positive groups. The influence which can be presented to those seeking validation or friendship can be a dangerous one. Suler's position concerning this is "Negative aspects of identity can be acted out or worked through. Positive aspects can be expressed and developed".

For some, this escape is all one feels they have available to them. The fear of actual interaction can be frightening to some in real life, but may quickly form a deeply emotional relationship through an online format. The problem with this is how much is this persona TRULY them and how much is a concoction which has been created and built up over time. Do the silent and passive-aggressive find themselves to be outgoing and carefree in their online universe? Can these online attributes change a person to become what they believe, or are they just living in a world of fantasy? It would seem easy to find a sense of belonging within certain online groups which may or may not be in their best interests such as terror/hate groups, pedo-bears or lumberjacks as they use cyberspace to entice those looking for a connection.

To me it seems as the technology becomes more prolific to people, the less need they may seek personal contact. Driving through neighborhoods, it seems terribly different from when I was growing up. There's no children running wild through the streets, hanging from trees or trying to ride their bikes/skateboards off ramps. They're all inside and I believe losing that summertime connection of interacting with other kids. Instead they have playgroups...a limited time frame after which they become enthralled in all things electronic. It's this time that I fear we're breeding a generation cut off from each other without the benefits of growing up without ever being in a fistfight, unrefereed ballgames and learning the hierarchy of life.

Cited:
Suler, J.R. (2002). Identity Management in Cyberspace.Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 4, 455-460

DIRECTV vs. Netflix

As you look at your DIRECTV bill and you see the amount you want to scream. Yes there is a grace period when you have Showtime and HBO and a lower price but that ended last month and no one told you to unsubscribe to the added channels that you found less entertaining than the non pay channels. Now you have a bill that has gone up twenty five dollars or so with nothing to show except a few movies that you have seen and recorded.

DIRECTV is fairly inexpensive in the beginning but after a certain grace period the savings all come to an abrupt halt.

DIRECTV COSTS

150+ channels is $29.99 a month without any of the amenities

210+ channels is $34.99 a month without any of the amenities

225+ channels is $39.99 a month without any of the amenities

285+ channels is $85.99 a month without any of the amenities

Each of these will increase $29.00 a month after a year into your contract and after the second year they will increase $14.00 more dollars. All of these prices are with no high definition or recording apparatus.

For the Netflix side of things it is much simpler $8.99 for one check out movie at a time and unlimited instant viewing of their library. If you want to ad $2.00 you can get high definition movies. Netflix also has no contracts that people have to sign. for more movies to check out at a time you will have to pay more.

NETFLIX COSTS

1 DVD out at-a-time (limited 2 rentals a month) $4.99 or $5.99 for Blu-Ray

1 DVD out at-a-time + unlimited instant watching $8.99 or $10.99 for Blu-Ray

2 DVDs out at-a-time + unlimited instant watching $13.99 or $16.99 for Blu-Ray

3 DVDs out at-a-time + unlimited instant watching $16.99 or $20.99 for Blu-Ray

4 DVDs out at-a-time + unlimited instant watching $23.99 or $28.99 for Blu-Ray

This pricing goes up to 8 DVDs a month at $47.99 + unlimited instant watching and $56.99 for Blu-Ray.

There are no hidden costs or fees no contracts except you will be charged for the movies if you decide to keep them after you unsubscribe.

You decide

Cyberterrorism and Censorship-is it Plausible?

"In most cases, radical movements are quite unchallenged as they use the web to promote their views and policies."-David Livingstone

In the article "Taking on the Radicals," David Livingstone refers to a group of young British Muslims who were charged with terrorist acts after discovery of radical, Islamic-related material was found on each of their respective computers. Destructive action was not taken by any member of the aforementioned group, so it would seem that the question now becomes one of the appropriateness of censorship to potentially stop trouble before it begins.

A fine line exists between freedom of speech and the protection of innocents. Should the internet employ a type of policing/censorship system to block perceived harmful materials, or should the internet remain a conduit for the free exchange of ideas? Livingstone enumerates the many difficulties of trying to introduce censorship into the web and chat rooms, bemoaning the near impossibility of policing the enormity of cyberspace. Livingstone instead brings forth a new set of ideas such as a "web-engagement" strategy that would depict real world events to discourage individuals from subscribing to "fringe" or radical ideals.

In any case, development of a strategy to curtail terrorist acts is not only encouraged, but (unfortunately) necessary if we wish to continue to enjoy a peaceful existence.

Reference:

Livingstone, D. (2007) Taking on the radicals. Censorship. 36 (4),148-153.
Retrieved from Ebsco database May 25, 2010.

Workspace Orientation

"When a building needs a lot of space they build vertically...my room has a high ceiling, so that's what I did, I designed a desk which was under my bed".
-Joel Vardy, 17 year old student

It would appear as though Joel took a hint from the European ghettos of the Middle Ages, when Jews confined within walled off parts of town would build upon the tops of older buildings to accomodate their growing population. To walk the alleyways is reminescent of walking through a deep ravine...the sunlight barely peeking through.

Tonight we discussed the different set-ups of our workspaces and how their effects on our work habits; how differently they enabled us to achieve optimum accomplishments in our daily tasks. Ironically, Lifehacker.com published an article about this very subject and readers have submitted thier own examples of how they cope with limited area or have revamped it to meet their needs. These examples can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/groups/lifehacker-workspace-showandtell/.

Coming up with an original redesign when you're limited by space, location or company/spouse's dictates. Were it the desires of most of us, our desks would easily become an all encompassing "Command Center", with everything perfectly placed and at our fingertips. Multi-screen displays, surround sound and a kegerator within arms reach allowing us to multitask to our hearts content...be it work, play or just a little bit of both. To be honest, most of us would just be happy to have our own little place of solitude where we can accomplish the goals we have in place for ourselves or by another. When we're they're, we just want to be comfortable enough so as not to be stiff at the end of the day but not so much where we doze off for the better part of the afternoon. For some of us, just to have room to set a pile of papers or a book to scan from while at the computer is enough. For others it's all about a room with a view, whether that's photos tacked to the cubicle wall or a glimpse out the window every so often to check on how the squirrels are doing.