Exploration 10

Out of the three articles I read, I enjoyed the technology section. The news article was titled Russia Selectively Blocking Internet. The article was about Russia's communication regulators have required Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to remove material that the officials determined was objectionable. The thing that struck me the most about this article was that it benefits things that are wrong in todays society. It's trying to ban the negativity that is going on in todays social media and the internet. One of the things that caught my eyes while reading this article was that it said "The supporters of this law, which took place in November, say that it is a a narrowly focused way of controlling child pornography and content that promotes drug use and suicide." The thing that is most valuable to me is that the communication regulators are trying to control the content that promotes drug use and suicide. This is the most valuable to me because I know people who are addicted to drugs and are seeking help for it and I also know people who have committed suicide. Those are both terrible and tragical things that can happen to humans and I agree with what they are doing. 

My links

 Science: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/31/jobs/why-innovators-get-better-with-age.html?ref=science

Technology: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/technology/russia-begins-selectively-blocking-internet-content.html?ref=technology&_r=0

World: http: //www.nytimes.com/2013/03/31/world/americas/lowrider-culture-spreads-to-brazil-and-beyond.html?ref=world

Readings/Viewings for Exploration 11 research

Links on acid attacks and innocent civilians

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/03/world/asia/pakistan-acid-attack

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/25/opinion/sheppard-malala-schools/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/22/acid.attacks/index.html?iref=allsearch

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/world/meast/cnnheroes-jan-afghan-school/index.html?iref=allsearch

Links on the lingering effects of war on one veteran

http://mediastorm.com/publication/the-marlboro-marine

James Blake Miller and his wife




Dialectic Thinking Exercise to prepare for Exploration 11 

•Dialectics is a way of considering reasonable and different arguments and points of view.  The idea is to try to find out how and why people come to different rationale conclusions on difficult subjects.

•To do this, you have to be able to consider and to analyze opinions and ideas both similar and much different to your own.  Let’s try this.

•1st Goal: Brainstorm support and evidence for both of these positions.  Work to create three specific reasons to support each position.

▫Good reasons that people support the war in Afghanistan and wish it to continue.

▫

▫

▫Good reasons that people do not support the war in Afghanistan and wish it to cease.

Exploration 10

I read a bunch of articles, unexpectedly; I found a few that I found quite interesting. I didn't expect to find 'Technology' to be amongst the topic that these articles were found under. I figured Technology would be a boring topic, which is why I left that one for last. But I found that I actually could relate to a few of these articles.

Instagram and the New Era of Paparazzi

            This article told of a story normal paparazzi actions. They seem to always be out stalking thw celeberties, just to capture a meaningless picture, that actually ends up getting big hits by the public. The point of these article is to bring out the new social network called Instagram. This week a photo of Beyonce and her daughter was caught on the Internet, this picture wasn’t taken by a normal phtotgrapher though. It was found on instagram but by just a normal person. The article explains the new world technology that is making it easy for a normal person to just take a picture on there nice picture phone and immediately post it to a social network like instragm or twitter. There us no need for paparazzi anymore, people anywhere, whom just happen to be in the right place at the right time can take a wuick photo and be just a famous a paparazzi themselves! I liked this article because being from the genertation I’m from, these social networks are a big deal to me and people amongst my age! It’s kind of exciting to experience these new things that just keep continuing to make new world achivements and be apart of the new found glories, also called social networks.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/instagram-and-the-new-era-of-paparazzi/?ref=technology

Somalia: U.S. Recognizes Government

Somalia: U.S. Recognizes Government

This is the article I read for this assignment because it always interesting me to see what’s going on back home. To give you some background information before I get to the article and what the article is talking about. First you have to know that in the past two decades they were civil wars going in Somalia and they haven’t been a central government for all this time. So, last year Somali parliament elected a new president and 6 months later The United State government recognized the new Somali government. “Today is a milestone,” said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton after talks with Somalia’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. “It is not the end of the journey, but it is an important milestone toward that end.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/18/world/africa/somalia-us-recognizes-government.html?_r=0

Some other article I read are:  

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/business/staplers-the-attachment-thats-still-making-noise.html?ref=technology

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/science/good-news-spreads-faster-on-twitter-and-facebook.html?ref=science

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/business/soda-restrictions-and-a-clash-of-two-freedoms.html?ref=health&_r=0

Exploration 10

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/world/asia/us-and-south-korea-sign-plan-to-counter-north.html?ref=world&_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/technology/united-states-wants-to-attract-hackers-to-public-sector.html?ref=technology

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/22/technology/testing-a-new-class-of-speedy-computer.html?ref=science

The readings I found were quite interesting.  I scoured the World, Technology and Science sections of the Times as well as studying some articles on the main page and found some fascinating news.  In the world section a read an article about US diplomatic talks with South Korea.  The plan we signed with South Korea was a protective measure for South Korea against their aggressive neighbors, North Korea.  This article was important because of current events such as the nuclear threat North Korea made towards the US.  This article shows us that we are not alone in our fight against Communism and dictatorships and that we will reach out to those that are threatened by it.  This was the best article I read because it really ties into current events and it also effects every US citizen because North Korea has made it clear that they have no love for us and could even be dangerous.  I found this knowledge useful because we know who the threat is but this article also emphasizes that we also have allies and we won’t let them stand alone against the North Koreans.  The other two articles I read were from the technology and science sections.  Both were cool but I didn’t think they were as globally important as the World article.  The technology article was about finding young hackers that could eventually aide government programs such as the FBI.  The science article although, not as important as the world article, was actually the most interesting.  It is about a super computer called the Quantum computer.  Basically this computer runs a million times faster than any other computer which I thought was awesome!

Sun Storm Forecast: Tiny Chance of Havoc

Image of a solar flare headed towards Earth, and of Earth's protective magnetic field.

Out of the articles I read, I particularly enjoyed the one titled Sun Storm Forecast: Tiny Chance of Havoc. It gave a brief history of recent geomagnetic storms (AKA sun storms), the damage they did on electrical devices (even in the 1800's), the possible consequences if a large sun storm were to hit earth in the near future, and some prevention measures that can be taken.

According to the article, the last major sun storm to hit the earth was in the year 1860. At that time, reliance on electrical devices was minor. However, the 1860 storm and more recent minor storms gives researches an idea of the severity of damage to expect if a major storm were to hit earth in the electric-dependent society we live in today. They say that a large storm could put multiple continents off the electric grid for a month or more, which is a dangerous situation. In the article, one scientist, Mr. Kappenman, compared the potential devastation to a recent disaster, Hurricane Sandy, saying "Think of Sandy magnified a hundredfold."

The article makes sure to emphasize that the likelyhood of a large sun storm hitting earth in the near future is very small, but, as Kappenman says, these large storms "are 100 percent guaranteed to occur again." This is another perfect storm scenario that we have seen in recent history with the hurricanes that have devastated coastal cities in America. We should learn from the disasters like Hurricane Katrina and ensure that we are well prepared to respond to, and recover from, a large sun storm, even though its unlikely to occur anytime soon.

Links to my articles.
Science: Sun Storm Forecast: Tiny Chance of Havoc
Technology: Big Data is Opening Doors, but Maybe Too Many
World: U.S. Shifting Its Warning on Syria's Chemical Arms

Exploration 10

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/technology/in-some-schools-students-bring-their-own-technology.html?ref=technology

Digitally Aided Education, Using the Students’ Own Electronic Gear

This article caught my eye because I'm always interested in seeing what educators come up with to make school more fun for children, while still having an effect learning experience as well. In our society today kids are having much more access to technology at younger ages, and they are most likely to bring them to school regardless of rules or not. Technology in the classrooms can make things a lot easier for the students and teachers. "Officials at the schools say the students’ own devices are the simplest way to use a new generation of learning apps that can, for example, teach them math, test them with quizzes and enable them to share and comment on each other’s essays". This will also help the districts by not having to pay for every single student, since the majority probably already have the electronic device at home. They will only have to pay for the students that don't have it and that will save the schools a whole lot of money. This reason being is subjected to the fact that some schools, especially down south, are already having trouble paying for the normal computers that kids need to use, so they try to turn to this. Some critics of this idea say, "why are they allowing something that they banned not too long ago in classrooms"; well its obviously to help the district as a whole with their budget. I for one think it is a really creative new idea because because the kids are bringing different devices like iPads  iPods  laptops, phones, and much much more! 





My other readings: 

"Police Storm Squatters at Rio Stadium Site" (World)  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/world/americas/brazilian-police-storm-indigenous-squatters-at-maracana.html?ref=world&_r=0

"Cell Therapy Shows Promise for Acute Type of Leukemia" (Science) http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/health/altered-t-cell-therapy-shows-promise-for-acute-leukemia.html?ref=science

Exploration 10: Syrian Chemical Weapons

My article was meanly about the civil war that's going on in Syria at the moment. And how the Syrian regime is intending to use a chemical weapons against the rebels, which we all know it's prohibited to use.The article also stated how president Obama warned the Syrian regime several times in the past year and also this year. Drawing the boundary for use of the weapons of mass destruction, President Obama said "A red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus.” From my understandings, it become difficult for the U.S. government to take a noticeable and strong step to prevent Assad's regime to use the chemical weapons against his own people.  
This conflict was now going on for two years and led to the death of more than 60,000 people. The most shocking thing that I observed reading the article is that for the past four decades, this Syrian regime has collected the largest undeclared stockpiles of chemicals in the world.



World- http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/world/middleeast/syrias-chemical-weapons-moves-lead-us-to-be-flexible.html

Science- http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/22/world/asia/as-chinas-environmental-woes-worsen-infighting-emerges-as-biggest-obstacle.html?ref=science


Technology-http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/automobiles/plug-and-play-for-internet-connections.html?ref=technology

Exploration 10

One article I found very interesting was "The Stories That Bind Us". I found it under the most emailed stories section. I thought it was a really important article and really was useful for families today. The author, Bruce Feiler, spoke about how his family was falling apart all around him. He decided to look into why. He found an emerging theme that was families need to develop a strong family narrative. He got the idea from Marshall Duke, a psychologist at Emory University. They discovered that if children know about their family and their history than they will be more confident and able to handle tough situations. They decided to look into and developed a serious of 20 questions to kids. They would be like where did your grandparents grow up, or where did your mom and dad go to high school? I thought it was funny, I even tried to answer these questions myself and I couldn't answer them all. I thought this is probably true with a lot of kids these days. Nowadays, society is moving so fast, everyone is so focused on themselves, that I do not think kids sit down and learn about their families. I think that this knowledge is valuable for one to have. Dr. Duke realized that "the “Do You Know?” scale turned out to be the best single predictor of children’s emotional health and happiness". They saw that the more kids knew, the better they were at facing challenges.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/fashion/the-family-stories-that-bind-us-this-life.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&src=me&adxnnlx=1363878045-myg9wsNShLgoRhUH1qh28w

I wanted to get a picture of the family off Modern Family. It is a great show and it really shows what families are like today. They are not the typical family, but who is nowadays?

World: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/world/asia/south-korea-computer-network-crashes.html?ref=world

Science: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/health/altered-t-cell-therapy-shows-promise-for-acute-leukemia.html?ref=science

Technology: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/fashion/jay-parkinson-the-doctor-is-in-well-logged-in.html?ref=technology&_r=0

Metabolism to Sleep

"LOST SLEEP CAN LEAD TO WEIGHT GAIN"

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/lost-sleep-can-lead-to-weight-gain/

This article was very interesting to me.  Mostly because sleep is something that i've always struggled with, and weight gain is something I always keep in the back of my mind.  This article talk about a study that 16 healthy men and women participated and were watched closely by doctors.  They were put in a room where their metabolism could be watched closesly.

For these scientists, "The goal was to determine how inadequate sleep over just one week — similar to what might occur when students cram for exams or when office workers stay up late to meet a looming deadline — affects a person’s weight, behavior and physiology (Parker-Pope.)"

This is also perfect because, I am a college student, and late nights are almost always a necessity. It also goes on to talk about jet-lag, and other common problems that interphere with sleep commonly throughout people.  The overall conclusion of the article, is that your matabolism is overall healthier when you are getting fully rested at night. You eat more healthy when your body gets the proper amount of sleep and your metabolism is much more functional, along with other bodily functions.

 

My Other Readings:

"Hacker Case Leads to Calls for better Laws" by Amy Chozick and Charlie Savage
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/technology/outcry-over-computer-crime-indictment-of-matthew-keys.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

"Sectarian Strains Pit Some Iraquis Against Their Own Leaders" by Michael R. Gordon and Tim Arango
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/index.html

Iraq: Where Terrorists Go to School

The article i read from the new york times world section is titled "Iraq: where terrorist go to school".  this article is not only about where the terrorist train and learn their horrific craft but that since the united states waged war on al Qaeda the attacks and deaths have risen.  the article gives a staggering statistic stating that in the first 12 months of the invasion there were a reported 78 terrorist attacks, in the second 12 month the number nearly quadrupled to a reported 302 attacks.  to me this number greatly surprised me i expected to see the statistic being cut down but it rose to quadruple. one part of this article that stood out to me above the attacks was the deaths.  saying their is an attack is one thing but stating the human loss of life brings the attack home. "At the height of the war, in 2007, terrorists claimed 5,425 civilian lives and caused 9,878 injuries."  that number is simply staggering over 15,000 casualties due to this horrific craft.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/opinion/iraq-a-school-for-terrorists-thanks-to-america.html?ref=world&_r=0

this photo is from one of the deadliest terrorist attcks in iraq.  this attack was in sadr city and was the result of multiple mortar attacks and car bombs resulting in almost 300 deaths.
science article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/science/space/on-the-watch-for-a-solar-storm.html?ref=science
technology article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/technology/us-said-to-look-into-microsoft-bribery-allegations.html?ref=technology

Extra credit, free meal, and education

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY for Mike Lohre’s class

Attend the Farm to Fork Food Dialogues at Ohio State on

Thursday, March 28

6-8 p.m.

Archie Griffin East Ballroom

Ohio Union

You may earn up to 4% raise on your total final grade percentage by attending this event, taking notes, and participating.  You must then write a 500 to 750 word (2-3 typed pages, double-spaced) review of the event and summary of the main points covered, what you learned, and how you might apply it in your life.  You must use at least two direct quotes taken from your notes in this review.  You must turn in both the review and the notes by Monday, April 22 to Mike Lohre at The OSU Delaware Center or scan them and send to mikelohre@gmail.com.

Have fun, enjoy the free meal, ask questions, and learn!

IMPORTANT: You must sign up by March 21^st to participate in this event.

Farm to Fork Food Dialogues

"Farm to Fork Food Dialogues" is a new event hosted by Collegiate Young Farmers, a student organization at Ohio State. It is open to students of all majors and backgrounds and has the goal of bringing students together to learn from each other about agriculture, food production, and food safety. We hope that you will join us for dinner on Thursday, March 28th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in the Archie Griffin East Ballroom in the Ohio Union (doors open at 5:30 pm). There is no cost to attend this event, but you must be pre-registered in order to attend. Registration is open until Thursday, March 21st.

Go here to sign up to attend:  www.tinyurl.com/fooddialogues

sponsored by Ohio State’s CYF