What is Power?

“The possession of control or command over others” is how a dictionary may describe power, but I would phrase it differently. I would say power is the ability to act upon the wants and need of the thing in power whether it is a government authority such as a tyrant, a monarch, or a dictator or a large scale industry controlling the market. We have been studying power in its different forms in this classroom all year, yet it is still a hard issue to describe. However, the main point from what I understand, is that power has not changed since the dark ages of England in the 1760’s until the present moment and beyond into the globalized world. Power hasn’t changed and will never change, but the holders of the power have changed. Starting in England, the industrial revolution brought about many changes which later spread around the world. People, mainly the peasants, were pushed into cities to get jobs after the enclosure movement which divided up land to benefit the higher class and the threshing machine decreasing the amount of labor needed. Soon, industrialization was spreading across the world, including America where industrialization really took off due to the lack of manufacturing traditions, shipping canals and railroads moving goods around the country, and finally the advances in technology such as Eli Whitney’s interchangeable parts or Henry Ford’s assembly line. These all gave technology the power to develop and industrialize the world. The next phase of power, held by the Europeans over the Africans, would be called Imperialism. Imperialism, the policy by a stronger nation to attempt to create an empire by dominating weaker nations either economically, politically, culturally, or militarily. With Europe in need of land, labor, and capitol after the industrial revolution they sought out developing countries to acquire the materials needed. Most of the countries of Africa had been colonized and imperialized which had enormous negative effects on each country. The people of Africa were also used to the Europeans will by becoming slaves. These slaves were shipped all over the world to work for now pay or benefits. The imperialism of Europe over Africa lead to the many conflicts over power from World War One to the Cold War. Beginning in Europe, World War One was caused by Awful Governments, Nationalism, Imperialism, Militarism, Alliances, and the list of events leading up to its beginning. This left Europe with many problems due to instability, uncertainty, and economic collapse, which lead to World War Two. World War two left Europe divided into Capitalist and Communist. The Cold War followed within the next few years. These conflicts over power lead into the globalization of the world by developing each country to keep up with the technology based world. Globalization has flattened the playing field of the competing countries. Now, the countries of the world are being westernized and equalized. Globalization is where the world is now, and probably will continue to develop until the power is shifted from technology to the next holder. From the Industrial Revolution to Imperialism to Conflict and finally globalization, the power has changed hands many times over the past few centuries. However, the power that has been held has not changed, just been modified to each holders’ needs. Power has been, and will continue to be exchanged, but the difference now is the power might be shifted to technology.

Population Project Reflection

The population project was very useful to us eight graders studying at AES. It taught us many new skills and concepts that vital to our future education. One important thing I learned from PoP would be the process of a Data Analysis. We have never created a data analysis before, so it was our first attempt at graphing data, concluding such data, and synthesizing. We had done such things in math classes before with teachers’ help, but never for a formal grade. It was a new experience that required skills we will need later in our schooling. Another main skill I gained knowledge of was conducting an interview. We are used to researching and note taking, but not professional interviews. I conducted an interview during this project and needed several pointers on how exactly it should be accomplished. This was is a crucial skill needed in many situations, such as job interviews. Last of all, I became skilled at managing my time. I admit that I, as many other middle students, procrastinate on such school projects. However, PoP did not allow a lack of work ethic if you planned on finishing on time. This whole process has been informative, but more importantly a necessity for future education. Hopefully, we can take these skills with us on to high school and use them for the rest of our lives.

Technology

Technology is anything and everything that assists humans in complete daily activities. It can be anything from a ramp used to climb to a higher surface, or a cell phone used to connect people from distances. Technology facilitates our actions in much easier and efficient ways than before. I would say phones, computers, televisions, planes/cars/trains/boats, and cooling (such as air conditioning, refrigeration, etc) would be the five most important modern technologies used today. These are all the most important because they keep us in contact with the outside world, except for the last one. Cooling/Heating systems are important to our health, otherwise we would not be able to eat many of the foods we do today or our foods would rot and make us ill. We also would be extremely uncomfortable, and even make certain areas impossible to live in. I would not say there are many unimportant technologies used today. However, the zipper, clock, digital games, sound soothers, robot animals, air fresheners, etc. are not as important to us because they are all non-essentials. These are used for recreational purposes or have more efficient alternatives. I believe here, at AES, we use an enormous amount of technology. We have the latest laptops, smart boards, speakers, televisions, music/video players and so on. Even though it seems like a lot, it is necessary to our globalized world. We need such technology to prepare for our future education and lives in a technologically based world.
Image: http://www.becs.ac.in/images/it.jpg

Globalization

Globalization is a complex issue, which makes finding its net affect difficult. There are many in favor of this revolution, such as Thomas Friedman, as well as many opposed to it, such as Kurt Vonnegut. I believe that even though globalization has both negative and positive affects, it is overall beneficial to our lifestyles. Like we have learned from Thomas Friedman, we are currently in the third stage of Globalization, also known as Globalization 3.0. In this stage, technology has overcome machines. Many of us see this in our daily lives, whether it is walking down the street, working in our place of employment, or using it within our own homes. Now it is time for those of us who are not in favor of it, to embrace it, or be left behind. This is where Globalization may have some negative effects on our lives. We have seen the gap between rich and poor widen. While the rich are able to adapt, the poor are incapable of keeping up. Another harmful affect Globalization has had on our world is the risk of losing some of our world’s unique traditions and cultures through the spread of Westernization. However, Globalization has had, and will continue to have, some positive effects on our lives as well. Starting with Microsoft Windows, we are now able to digitize information, and share it with anyone anywhere in the world via the internet. Now, anyone who has access to the internet has access to never ending amounts of information using a usable search engine. Companies are catching on, and outsourcing and off-shoring for quicker and cheaper labor and products. This has allowed the pieces of our global supply chain to unite. All of these “flatteners”, as Friedman calls them, has allowed our world to evolve into an age where technology surrounds us. We are all affected by Globalization, so it is time to embrace this beneficial change.
Image: http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~rachelreeves/globalization.jpg

Cartoon Reflection

This cartoon is extremely relevant to the present and future of our lives. We are becoming increasingly reliant on technology, and this cartoon displays a common family’s use of such technology. The main visual elements help illustrate the author’s point. The contrast in height between the parents and the child represents the relationships between these people. The repetition of shapes, such as the parents’ packs, creates a unified look to the cartoon. Lastly, the use of black and white throughout the piece defines objects, creating a pleasing alignment. Using these visual elements, the artist clearly displays the issue of technology taking over personal interaction. The quote clearly explains that the child no longer needs to discuss his daily life with his parents because he has used a blog to express himself. The cartoonist is using irony to create an effective cartoon. The artist uses the slouch in the parents to portray disappointment. They would like to hear from their child about their day, but the child’s far off expression display his lack of concentration. The irony manages to come through this cartoon because this is being viewed through several computers, and commented upon in blogs. We, as a class, are reviewing this piece through our blogs for a public audience as we do every week. Therefore, it relates to our study of technology and the future because we, average students, are using such technology to get our ideas across. But not only is technology being taught in school, we use it for many other things, such as social networking. The child now does not need to speak, or relate with his family when he can just use his blog to describe his daily activities. In the future, this might continue until there is no family interaction, only technology interaction. This, technological interaction, is one of the many negative affects humans suffering from technology. One thing the artist could have improved upon would be making this cartoon more detailed. Whether it is pixilation from the computer, or just how the cartoon has been made this piece come across blurry and unfocused. However, this cartoon is very relevant to our world.
Image: Mr.Coyle's Blog

Population Project Work Week

We have class time to work on POP, so I am hoping I will be able to get a lot of work done. This is what I wish to accomplish:
Monday: I will create the "Positive" paragraph to my issue paper
Tuesday: I will create the "Negative" paragraph to my research paper
Wednesday: I will create the "Conclusion" paragraph to my research paper
Thursday: I will create a works cited page of all the sources I have used
Friday:I will have the paper peer edited by a classmate, and when finished with that
I plan to organize all of the different pieces of my paper
This is a lot of work for this week, but i believe i can accomplish these goals if i work hard.
Image: http://www.contracosta.edu/library/clics/chapters/Ch1/Graphics/PadNPencil.gif

Vonnegut and Technology

“Do you know what a Luddite is? That’s a person who doesn’t like newfangled contraptions. Contraptions like nuclear submarines armed with Poseidon missiles that have H-bombs in their warheads, and like computers that cheat you out of becoming. Bill Gates says, “Wait till you can see what your computer can become.” But it’s you who should be doing the becoming. What you can become is the miracle you were born to work—not the damn fool computer.”

- Kurt Vonnegut

I believe the "damn fool computer" doesn't actually not harm us, but help us. However, Vonnegut has a different opinion. As you can see from this quote of his, he does not like the idea of technolgy. And, he is not shy to share his thoughts with the world. Through his writing in "Welcome to the Monkey House", he shares his ideas through fictional short stories. In “The Euphio Question”, one of his short stories, the technology has negative affects on everyone involved. The machine that is created could posiibly destroy how our world functions. From this story, we can assume he believes that technolgy will lead humans in the wrong direction. There are similar happenings in “Harrison Bergeron”. This story is set in the future, when people have developed technolgy to make everyone equal. but, the people in the story have much lower qualities of life than we do now. This is another example of how Vonnegut feels technology will destroy our way of life. Lastly,"Epicat" is another short piece that he has created. This one consists of humans and computers falling in love, and acting as husband and wife. We obviously think this could never happen, but Vonnegut makes his point. I agree with Vonnegut in a way. I do not believe we should fully rely on computers for everyday needs. But, i also think technology is extremely useful to our world. Without technology, we would have not accomplished many of the things we have today.
Image: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/07/16/kurt_vonnegut_jr_associated_press.jpg