Thursday, November 1, 2012
Beauty in the 21st Century
Recently, as one of my projects, I created a website that has some information about beauty. There are statistics, beauty in different cultures, and inspiration to females out there. Check it out by clicking here!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Reflection on Ted.com Videos
Ted.com is a website that contains thousands of videos of people talking briefly about ideas that they have about different concepts that they would like to shed light on or their theories that they have created. We were assigned to watch three of these videos and reflect on them and mine include: "We are all Cyborgs," "Why we have too few women leaders," and "Women entrepreneurs, example not exception."
The video above, presented by Amber case, is discussing something that is ever so relevant to the 21st century and how we function and that is technology. She brings up many points in a short amount of time, but the ones that I particularly agree with are her concepts of a second self and a technological adolescence. Case talks about how people have their human persona and then they have the online persona and they are two different things. I have found in my own experience, that it can be night and day with the way people make themselves to be on the internet. What goes hand-in-hand with this concept is adolescence She mentions that children will go through their physical adolescence and then they have their online one. I feel that part of the reason there is a distinction is because of the fact that some people remain in adolescence online and through technology even though they have clearly passed that stage in their real life. I know a few adults who will argue constantly through Facebook but will be composed and calm in person and not voice their opinion a often as the do on the internet. Because of this they create a second self on the internet that is immature and naive in comparison to their adult self. In addition many teens and early adults will say things online that they would never dare say to that person face to face creating an online persona that is immature and rude.
The second video that I watched, presented by Sheryl Sandberg, brings up the topic of how women are not getting ahead and becoming successful. She has three main topics that she calls "always sit at the table," "make your partner a real partner," and "don't leave before you leave." Though these sound simple, they defiantly have much though behind them because they are complex and require effort and planning to an individual. Sitting at the table is a concept of asserting yourself as an equal rather than a women sitting on the sidelines. Sandberg brings up a story of when she was at a meeting and there were two other women who chose to sit in the corner along the wall rather than sitting at the table. They not only demoted themselves, but they removed themselves from being involved in the conversation and allowed themselves to be put in a positions of inferiority. The next topic of making your partner a real partner has to do with creating a bond other than "you are my boss and I work for you." By creating a relationship along the lines of a friendship women are able to be seen more equally than someone who is simply an employee at a company. The ultimate goal in her first two concepts have to do with keeping women in the picture and having them be created equal rather than some peon that works at the company. Her last concept addresses something that has to do with women withdrawing their efforts from a job before they physically leave. Sandberg used the analogy of when women plan on becoming pregnant they focus all of their attention on what will they do when they leave work and in turn withdraw from work. Although they have yet to leave, or possibly even become pregnant, their efforts have decreased and therefore they are forgotten about. In that time that they withdrew they could have "kept their foot on the gas" and plowed through what had to be done until the physical day they had to leave. So, rather than being remembered for their lack of effort the would be remembered for their commitment to the company and their job even though they had personal issues going on. Overall, Sandberg suggests that women should assert themselves in the work force and maintain confidence in the fact that they are doing a good job and should maintain it to get farther.
The last video I watched, presented by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, was introducing the fact that women are more influential then they are given credit for. She brought up the fact that she has been going to various places in the world and finding an over whelming amount of women entrepreneurs that are not recognized. In one instance she asked a man if he knew of any women entrepreneurs in the area and his reply refereed to a women who sold cheese. The man laughed and went on his way and she later proved him wrong by finding an overwhelming amount of women having their own business Many of these businesses where started and run on their own ambition and funds. Lemmon also brought up the point that when women want to expand their small business into a corporation, that loan givers are not as willing to trust their money with women in small business as they are with larger corporations. Overall she brought new light to the fact that women should not have "micro-hopes" and "micro-dreams," but they should strive for the larger things in life and seize the opportunity that has been given because of the "new market."
All the videos and many more can be found at ted.com.
The video above, presented by Amber case, is discussing something that is ever so relevant to the 21st century and how we function and that is technology. She brings up many points in a short amount of time, but the ones that I particularly agree with are her concepts of a second self and a technological adolescence. Case talks about how people have their human persona and then they have the online persona and they are two different things. I have found in my own experience, that it can be night and day with the way people make themselves to be on the internet. What goes hand-in-hand with this concept is adolescence She mentions that children will go through their physical adolescence and then they have their online one. I feel that part of the reason there is a distinction is because of the fact that some people remain in adolescence online and through technology even though they have clearly passed that stage in their real life. I know a few adults who will argue constantly through Facebook but will be composed and calm in person and not voice their opinion a often as the do on the internet. Because of this they create a second self on the internet that is immature and naive in comparison to their adult self. In addition many teens and early adults will say things online that they would never dare say to that person face to face creating an online persona that is immature and rude.
The second video that I watched, presented by Sheryl Sandberg, brings up the topic of how women are not getting ahead and becoming successful. She has three main topics that she calls "always sit at the table," "make your partner a real partner," and "don't leave before you leave." Though these sound simple, they defiantly have much though behind them because they are complex and require effort and planning to an individual. Sitting at the table is a concept of asserting yourself as an equal rather than a women sitting on the sidelines. Sandberg brings up a story of when she was at a meeting and there were two other women who chose to sit in the corner along the wall rather than sitting at the table. They not only demoted themselves, but they removed themselves from being involved in the conversation and allowed themselves to be put in a positions of inferiority. The next topic of making your partner a real partner has to do with creating a bond other than "you are my boss and I work for you." By creating a relationship along the lines of a friendship women are able to be seen more equally than someone who is simply an employee at a company. The ultimate goal in her first two concepts have to do with keeping women in the picture and having them be created equal rather than some peon that works at the company. Her last concept addresses something that has to do with women withdrawing their efforts from a job before they physically leave. Sandberg used the analogy of when women plan on becoming pregnant they focus all of their attention on what will they do when they leave work and in turn withdraw from work. Although they have yet to leave, or possibly even become pregnant, their efforts have decreased and therefore they are forgotten about. In that time that they withdrew they could have "kept their foot on the gas" and plowed through what had to be done until the physical day they had to leave. So, rather than being remembered for their lack of effort the would be remembered for their commitment to the company and their job even though they had personal issues going on. Overall, Sandberg suggests that women should assert themselves in the work force and maintain confidence in the fact that they are doing a good job and should maintain it to get farther.
The last video I watched, presented by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, was introducing the fact that women are more influential then they are given credit for. She brought up the fact that she has been going to various places in the world and finding an over whelming amount of women entrepreneurs that are not recognized. In one instance she asked a man if he knew of any women entrepreneurs in the area and his reply refereed to a women who sold cheese. The man laughed and went on his way and she later proved him wrong by finding an overwhelming amount of women having their own business Many of these businesses where started and run on their own ambition and funds. Lemmon also brought up the point that when women want to expand their small business into a corporation, that loan givers are not as willing to trust their money with women in small business as they are with larger corporations. Overall she brought new light to the fact that women should not have "micro-hopes" and "micro-dreams," but they should strive for the larger things in life and seize the opportunity that has been given because of the "new market."
All the videos and many more can be found at ted.com.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Women in the World
The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World by Joni Seager is a book that has various, short chapters that contains a lot of information. The topics include women in the world, birthrights, body politics, domestic violence, etc. Each of the sections contain a brief description of the topic or an influential document and many different statistics regarding each issue. The first chapter is called "Women in the World" and as a group, Women of the World, my classmates and I created a short video describing different issues addressed in the book. Overall, the topics in this chapter show how women are not equal all over the world and how they are being restricted. No one should ever have to be restricted, in any way, due to their gender and that is what we summarize in our video. Check it out below!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Ms. Magazine Essay Contest
In celebration of Ms. Magazine's 40th year they are having an essay contest where readers can send in their reflection on a Ms. Moment featured in the magazine. Limited to only 150 words, it may seem difficult but I took a crack at it. My submission is the following...
In 1977, Ms. Magazine brought up the crucial issue of body image. Not only was it monumental then, but it is ever so pertinent now. Confidence is everything now and, thought it seems lacking at times, an article like the one in Ms raises awareness about a topic that is becoming very crucial. Women and girls now-a-days are in need to continually be empowered so there is not a need for girls to harm themselves to fit in with social norms. I have found in my own life that it is because of empowerment and the message of self-confidence that I am comfortable with my body image, even though I am over weight. By shedding light on body image, not only can there be awareness of self harm, but the opportunity to prove that you don't need to look a certain way to be accepted.
If you are interested in entering this contest yourself the information and rules can be found here! Just be warned that the deadline is January 31, 2013.
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| Photo via Stanford University |
If you are interested in entering this contest yourself the information and rules can be found here! Just be warned that the deadline is January 31, 2013.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
"So You Want to Change the World?"
In the fall 2012 edition of Ms. Magazine, there was an article very pertinent to Women, Community, Technology because it discussed the rise of Women Studies classes in universities! The article asked various people with Women Studies degrees, including a civil rights lawyer, a bio fuel entrepreneur, sexual-assault-victims advocate, and even a male basketball player. The article tried to focus on how this career path had shaped them as a student and their current living style and choices.
The overall consensus was that going for a degree in Women Studies, even a minor, had a great effect on their life. Many mentioned that it prepared them for community organizing and gave them meaningful ways to combat inequality. Something that was striking was that even men are benefiting from Women Studies programs, like D.J. Gay of San Diego University Toreros. He claimed that such courses provide a new way to look at the world and that their is a sense of ownership in their education. For men, Women Studies can have various benefits and there are a few reasons that men will go into a course that is seemingly exclusive to women. Some will go into Women Studies if they grew up in a household who had a self proclaimed feminist so they can find their role in feminism. Another reason men seem to go into Women Studies is if they are homosexual because they find it a comfortable place to be.
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| Photo via Ms. Magazine |
For more information on a Women Studies degree at Southern Connecticut State University, feel free to click here!
The Ms. article discussed is entitled "So You Want to Change the World?"
Friday, October 5, 2012
Latest Wiki Post
I have received another term to look up and it is posted on my wiki. To check it out, feel free to click here!
Monday, October 1, 2012
State Trooper Presentation
One of the requirements for the Women, Community, Technology class is being knowledgeable in the major legal, ethical, privacy, and security issues in informational technology. To fulfill this part of the rubric our teacher invited two members of the state police, Sargent Kevin Albanese and Trooper David Aresco of the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit. Aided with a slide show presentation and their personal experience they emphasized the key points of knowing the settings on your accounts, watching what you put out there, and knowing the risk up putting something on the internet.
Although it may seem simple and harmless, once a picture, status, video, etc. is placed on the internet, it can never be deleted permanently. Some where there will be record of you posting what ever it is to what ever site. Most people know about this, but don't take into consideration the effects it may have later in your life. Sargent Albanese emphasized that what you put up can be used later in life when you are on a job interview and your future employer asks for your username and password to a site. Even though this may seem intrusive, the employer is simply trying to get all the information possible about you and how you function. Not only do employers look at your social networking but cops do as well. Both Sargent Albanese and Trooper Aresco pointed out various instances when something as dated as myspace was used to gather evidence on a person.
In addition to that another point that had great importance was to make sure you know who you are talking to and stay away from anonymous chat rooms. If you have never seen the person in the real world and can't make the connection in your head as to how you know the person then don't give them the light of day. Many people have been taken advantage of because they were talking to someone who they began to trust, but should not have in the first place.
After about two hours of slight paranoia and much discussion I have found that you have to be very careful of what you post and who is able to see it. By simply turning of location apps and changing your privacy settings on your account, you are on your way to making sure that you are relatively safe on the internet.
Although it may seem simple and harmless, once a picture, status, video, etc. is placed on the internet, it can never be deleted permanently. Some where there will be record of you posting what ever it is to what ever site. Most people know about this, but don't take into consideration the effects it may have later in your life. Sargent Albanese emphasized that what you put up can be used later in life when you are on a job interview and your future employer asks for your username and password to a site. Even though this may seem intrusive, the employer is simply trying to get all the information possible about you and how you function. Not only do employers look at your social networking but cops do as well. Both Sargent Albanese and Trooper Aresco pointed out various instances when something as dated as myspace was used to gather evidence on a person.
In addition to that another point that had great importance was to make sure you know who you are talking to and stay away from anonymous chat rooms. If you have never seen the person in the real world and can't make the connection in your head as to how you know the person then don't give them the light of day. Many people have been taken advantage of because they were talking to someone who they began to trust, but should not have in the first place.
After about two hours of slight paranoia and much discussion I have found that you have to be very careful of what you post and who is able to see it. By simply turning of location apps and changing your privacy settings on your account, you are on your way to making sure that you are relatively safe on the internet.
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