What is Power? (Final Exam)

There are many things that could define Power, but I think that the best definition, however, is the ability to rule and benefit other people. A person with power has to have the qualities of a good leader. Once a person is given the ability to rule, it doesn't make them more important than everyone else; though they will be a lot more respected if they can rule but still act like every other person.

An example for misuse of power is Animal farm; Napoleon and Snowball were given power, though they both misused it. Napoleon decided that because he was given so much power and authority, he was able to rule over everyone else. This is exactly the opposite of the definition of power. Power means that you can rule but still relate to everyone else that are 'beneath' you. It means that you can make sure everyone is 'equal' and gets equal shares in everything.

When Europe was colonizing Africa, they thought that since the Africans were very poor and did not know any better, they were somehow 'better' than them. They decided that since they were given power over them they could also treat them like animals. This is another example of the misuse of power. Not many people that are given the ability to rule can do it without it getting to their heads, and that's why many leaders are selfish and abuse their power.

An example of good use of power is from the book 'The Giver'. The Giver is very highly respected in Jonas's community. He was given the power to hold all the community's memories and advise the elders whenever they are faced with a situation they have never faced before. The Giver and Jonas have the power to change the community, but they don't use it to feel like they are more important than others. Jonas still goes out to play with his friends, still sits to eat dinner with his family. Even though he was given so much respect to receive the memories from the giver, he didn't abuse it and treated everyone around him like he always did.

In conclusion, the word power means to be given the ability to rule without misusing it. Most leaders think that because they were given power, they are more significant than everybody else. Though other leaders don’t abuse their power and treat everyone the same as he would like them to treat him.

Net effect of Globalization

Over all, after all that we've learned in class, i think that the net effect of globalization is negative.

Through the videos we watched, I understood that due to globalization, the rich are become even richer still, and the poor are staying the same, if not getting even poorer (if its possible). I also learned through the video we watched from a show called '30 Days' that cultures are being destroyed. India is becoming more and more like America, more Indians celebrating Christmas and becoming christian, old customs being forgotten and jumbled up with new ones, everything is becoming the same. Through our class discussions I learned that more and more technology is being produced, which also causes E waste, and results in everyone depending on it. Humans nowadays cannot live without at least one computer in their home, and we're all becoming fat. Also, at the beginning of POP we had an activity where the teachers asked all the students that are holding a blue square to stand up. This indicated the percent of people that actually do own a computer. Only about 5 people stood up. This emphasizes the point I made earlier, of the poor becoming even poorer. As the rest of the world races ahead of them, they lag behind even further.

However, there are positive things about globalization.
For example, a person in China can now go to a McDonald's and buy a hamburger. A man in India can go into a store and buy a Nokia phone; and someone living in Egypt can buy Nike shoes. The world has become so flat, meaning that (according to Friedman) everyone is becoming the same, you can buy anything, anywhere, and at the best quality and cheapest cost possible. New companies from America are emerging everywhere in Asia, and adapting so that they can sell their products in the different culture. (Like McDonald's not selling beef in India). Countries are experiencing different cultures, ideas, and new ways of doing things.

Even though there are many good things coming out of it, I still stand strong that the over-all effect of Globalization is negative. That is because the negative results are more severe than others.

Feedback- POP!!!!

The three most important things I learned in the population projects this year are:


1. MANAGE YOUR TIME!!! I wasn't one to do all my work the day before its due, but I also didn't research enough and finish it a week before. This is a skill that will help me with other projects and tests.


2. Another more general thing I learned is that a lot of girls in India are being mistreated because of their gender. Hindu families prefer to have boys because they continue the family line, they can help with farm work, they are more accepted in society, and they are the only ones in the family that can conduct the funerals for the parents. This leads to families not caring for their daughters and treating her like an object to be owned and then taken away.


3. Finally, I also learned that when researching don't put all your faith in one source. I got all my data from Indiastat and it didn't end up being so good. My graph was small and didn't prove my point very well since I didn't get all the data I needed. Also, the data I got might not have been correct.

cartoon feedback

• What are the main visual elements?

A family having dinner at their house and talking

• What issue is this cartoon about?

Its about lazy, unsupportive parents who prefer to ask their kids about their day instead of using the computer to go on his blog :)

• What is the cartoonist’s opinion on this issue?

Parents this days hardly ever talk to their kids because now everybody communicate through technology. This cartoon shows that the kid prefers to let his parents go on his blog and read about his day instead of just telling them and getting it over with.

• What evidence in the cartoon supports your opinion on how the cartoonist feels?

The fact that the word TELL is underlined suggests that the cartoonist wanted to emphasize everything that i said above. Also, the look on the child's face shows us that he think his parents are right, which could mean that the cartoonist is actually the parents in the picture.

• Why is this cartoon ironic?

The child in the picture looks really young, kids in his age would sit and eat dinner with his family and talk about his day; yet technology is taking control of the young minds and eating our brains, and now even the young kids know how to blog and spend their day on the computer.

• How does this cartoon relate to our study of technology and the future?

In just a few years, technology would become so popular, that there would be no child above the age of three without at least two computers in their house. It would take complete control over our lives that we wouldn't even need to come out of our house and see people, we would just communicate through the computer. Then we'd be like the people in the movie Wallie

• What other techniques could the cartoonist have used to make this cartoon more persuasive?

Maybe add a bit more color to make the facial expressions clearer

POP 'calender'

Monday:
-Finish research
-Start on note cards and works cited

Tuesday:
-Finish outline
-Start on intro to research paper

Wednesday:
-Finish first paragraph of paper
-Start and finish the second paragraph

Thursday:
-Start and finish third paragraph
-Start on fourth paragraph

Friday:
-Finish fourth paragraph
-Do conclusion

Technology

1. What is technology?

Technology is what new machines developed to help make life for humans easier are called.

2.What are the 5 most and 5 least important technologies used today?

5 most:

• Computers and Printers
  
• T.Vs
• Stove
• Washing Machines
• Refrigerator
  

5 least:

• Rice maker
• Vacuum cleaner
• Walkie Talkies
• PlayStation, Xbox, Wii
  
• iPods

3. How do you feel about the amount and use of technology at AES?

I feel that AES, being the huge school that it is, uses its technology pretty well. Kids learn about recycling and reusing in their classes, learn to turn off the lights when they're not in the room, and learn that you don't HAVE to have the lights on when you're in it too. We have special days about two times a year or more when we turn out ALL the lights in the school. But even though AES teaches the students about not wasting electricity, it's still a school and we do need to use the computers and the projectors to help us learn. So, all in all, AES is a very good school when it comes to not wasting electricity, but we still need to use the avarage amount of it in order to learn.

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

Even though I love the damn fool computer, ( :] ) I agree with Vonnegut and think that we are better off without technology. Computers definitely make life easier by not wasting paper, sending emails easily without it taking a week to get to it's destination, and machines make everything happen a lot faster in factories. But if humans stay so dependent on technology (T.Vs, computers, cooking machines, and other household things...) we will all die eventually and the world will end. We'd become obis once they invent a robot that can do everything for you. We'd sit on a couch the whole day and watch T.V, eat, and watch more T.V. If we could just stay smart without using technology, life would be a lot funner to live. People would go out and play sports and stay fit, food would be healthier without a stove, and people would have less headaches if they're not starring at a screen the whole day (Even as I wrote this, I noticed that my face was inches from my laptop and leaned back in my chair). In the story The Euphio Question, Vonnegut explained quit clearly that technology would make people believe things they don't believe, and it makes us all 'fake happy'. We wouldn't really be happy, it would just be some other machine that now injects feelings into our body. By comparing this to my own life, I know that I'd rather sit and watch my favorite show on television than go and jump rope outside in the boiling heat of the summer. I know that life without computers is much, much, healthier, but I think that it would be extremely hard to get rid of my computer and try to live without it. Humans have developed a need to know everything that's going on, and to be connected with the rest of the world. Technology makes that happen. If we just had to stop using technology, we'd be able to do it, but it would be hard.