Updated Bibliography for Digital Story

"Genre and Game Studies: Toward a Critical Approach to Video Game Genres." Genre and Game Studies: Toward a Critical Approach to Video Game Genres. Sage Journals, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://sag.sagepub.com/content/37/1/6.short>.

Anderson, Craig A. "An Update on the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games." An Update on the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games. Science Direct, Feb. 2004. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140197103000976>.

"Violent Video Game Effects on Aggression, Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior in Eastern and Western Countries: A Meta-analytic Review." Psycnet.org. PsycNet, Mar. 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2013. <http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/bul/136/2/151/>.

Anderson, Craig A. "Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions." Tomorrow Counseling. Psychological Science Agenda, Oct. 2003. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. <http://www.tomorrowcounseling.com/TDE_CMS/database/userfiles/Violence%20in%20Video%20Games(1).pdf>.

Call of Duty. "Call of Duty: Ghosts Trailer." YouTube.com. YouTube, 02 Nov. 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNxh7umVOZ0>.

Playstation. "Official PlayStation 4 Perfect Day Commercial." YouTube. YouTube.com, 14 Oct. 2013. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0d9d-cdxhk>.

Dickinson, Amy. "Video Playground." Ebsco Host. Time, 5 Aug. 2000. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail?sid=8d3dcc05-4d55-46cc-b96b-53ddc063819c%40sessionmgr115&vid=7&hid=106&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=tth&AN=3043371>.

Molina, Brett. "ESRB: 9% of Ratings for 2012 Video Games Were Mature." USA Today. Gannett, 6 Feb. 2013. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2013/02/06/esrb-ratings-mature-games/1893507/>.

Final for FYS-93 Digital Story

http://prezi.com

FYS Storyboard for 12/2

I used Powtoon as the multimedia mode for my storyboard.

Link to Storyboard: http://www.powtoon.com/p/fqiJZyH3yJp/

Edward Snowden: Traitor or Hero?

I was surprised by the poll from the Huffington Post. It said 51% of American citizens thought Snowden was some sort of a hero, while 49% thought he was a traitor. I thought the majority of citizens would have thought he was some sort of traitor. I believe he is a hero on some level. He did do the citizens of America a favor by telling us about this great injustice, I think there could have been a better way to go about it. I am not sure what that way would have been, but I am sure there could have been a better way.

Link to article: www.huffingtonpost.com

MLA Formatting: Edwards-Levy, Ariel. "Americans Still Can't Decide Whether Edward Snowden Is A 'Traitor' Or A 'Hero,' Poll Finds." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 Oct. 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/edward-snowden-poll_n_4175089.html>.

Blog post for 11/21, originally posted 11/8 games

My blog post this week is about the games I played on Monday during class. Since I have previously blogged about, and played Phone Story so I am familiar with games that advocate a social action message. A game I have played was Personal Trip to the Moon. I really did not understand this game at all, and did not play it for that long. I was not sure what the point of this game was. The next game I played was called Clockwork Cat. It was a fun and simple game. I enjoyed the game for the most part, it was relatively simple. The character was a cat and the goal of the game was to maneuver through a maze which was in the air while trying to turn back time with doughnut looking objects. If the large clock in the back ground hit midnight, you lost. There was also candy looking icons which did something, but I'm not sure what exactly. The next game I played was called Those Darn Nipples. This game was quite weird to say the very least. The goal of the game was to align the nipples of different sized breasts and there were incorrectly placed nipples to throw the user off. Like I said, very weird. The next game I played was called Unmanned. This game, unlike the games before it, had a social justice aspect to it. The main character to this game was a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) operator. The social justice aspect being highlighted is to alert the people who are playing this game to covert military operations that are occurring in the Middle East. While this is happening the game is implying that video games stress a militaristic environment today.  

Digital Story - Annotated Bibliography

Digital Story Annotated Bibliography

"Genre and Game Studies: Toward a Critical Approach to Video Game Genres." Genre and Game Studies: Toward a Critical Approach to Video Game Genres. Sage Journals, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://sag.sagepub.com/content/37/1/6.short>.

This source is from Sagepub.com and pertains to violent video games by saying there are several different genres of video games today which are loosely connected. This separates people into two groups. Narratologists stress narrative as the primary way to understand games. While Ludologists do not stress narrative.

Anderson, Craig A. "An Update on the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games." An Update on the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games. Science Direct, Feb. 2004. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140197103000976>.

School shootings have significantly increased since 1997, almost one every year since then and several other instances of violent actions across the US. This can be attributed to video games according to the article. One study used modern techniques to combine the results of empirical studies of violent video game effects on five types of outcome variables: aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, helping behavior, and physiological arousal. The study found significant effects of violent video games in all 5 categories.

"Violent Video Game Effects on Aggression, Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior in Eastern and Western Countries: A Meta-analytic Review." Psycnet.org. PsycNet, Mar. 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2013. <http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/bul/136/2/151/>.

A study’s evidence showed exposure to violent video games caused a heightened chance for increased aggressive behavior. The study also showed there were minor differences in different cultures vulnerability to more violent actions, and there were no differences with different sexes being affected differently.

Anderson, Craig A. "Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions." Tomorrow Counseling. Psychological Science Agenda, Oct. 2003. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. <http://www.tomorrowcounseling.com/TDE_CMS/database/userfiles/Violence%20in%20Video%20Games(1).pdf>.

This source uses Craig Anderson again and goes through a brief history of violent video games with the features that renewed interest in the debate of violent video games. Then it lists several myths and truths of violent video game surveys and studies that includes older studies and newer more advanced studies.

Call of Duty. "Call of Duty: Ghosts Trailer." YouTube.com. YouTube, 02 Nov. 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNxh7umVOZ0>.
         This is a trailer for the very popular Call of Duty: Ghosts game, which is the latest in the Call of Duty              series. The trailer is graphic and violent with four friends having an “epic night out” (that is the name of            the trailer). The video shows machine guns, a rocket launcher, and even a helicopter between the four            friends and the bad guys. The video ends with a helicopter being blown out of the sky and the caption            “there’s a solider in all of us” saying everyone should play this violent game.

Playstation. "Official PlayStation 4 Perfect Day Commercial." YouTube. YouTube.com, 14 Oct. 2013. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0d9d-cdxhk>.

This is a trailer for the new Play Station four and shows two friends in three separate games. The two friends are fighting in a rivalry in all three games. The song that goes along with the trailer is saying how the two friends are having the best day ever, saying if you play this game you will have a lot of fun and the best day ever.

Dickinson, Amy. "Video Playground." Ebsco Host. Time, 5 Aug. 2000. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail?sid=8d3dcc05-4d55-46cc-b96b-53ddc063819c%40sessionmgr115&vid=7&hid=106&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=tth&AN=3043371>.

This source uses reports from a study that says violent video games can contribute to violent behavior in “real life” as it says in the article. The game sites a few very graphic games such as Doom and Mortal Kombat. It also brings up Columbine as a reference to what violent video games can do to kids. This article even goes as far as to suggest less violent games for kids to play such as Donkey Kong and Crash Team Racing. 

Prezi for gender roles

Prezi link: http://prezi.com/f4hxsll72cy_/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Digital Story - Proposal

I.                    For my Digital Story proposal I have decided to do it as an outline

A.                  Violent Video games are affecting kids attitudes and behavior in a negative way

1.                  Kids are becoming more violent because of certain video games

2.                  Kids behavior is being negatively affected by replicating actions seen in video games

a)                  Ex: Grand Theft Auto series

b)                  School shootings have become more and more common since 1997

B.                  Video games strive to achieve a “M” rating

1.                  Kids who play violent video games want a gory, violent game

a)                  Game producers are responding to the demand for a more violent game by increasing the violence, blood, and foul language used

2.                  Graphics are becoming more and more life-like which users enjoy

a)                  Kids want a more life-like game

C.                  Advertisements for games/consoles encourage violence

1.                  Kids playing video games act as if they are soldiers

a)                  New Call of Duty: Ghosts game uses advertisement saying “There’s a solider in all of us”

(1)               Game encourages violent gameplay by telling consumers to release the solider within themselves

2.                  Advertisements use violence as an incentive to play their game/console

a)                  Play station 4 “perfect day” ad uses three games which contain violence in all of them

(1)               Ad depicts a “perfect day” by playing violent games as a perfect day. There are two characters singing a cheerful” perfect day” song while acting violently. The song says how the characters would not want to spend the day any other way, or with anyone else. This is suggesting they are friends.

(a)               First game-section is a duel between two middle age soldiers  where the one clearly kills the other before the camera jumps to the second ad

(b)               The second game is between the two same characters who are now racing. The one driver runs the other driver into the guard wall which then flips the driver.

(c)                The third game is a futuristic game where both characters now have armies and are shooting laser guns at each other, still while happily singing.

D.                 Studies conclude that violent video games make kids more violent

1.                  Not all studies prove that video games are a link to more violent tendencies

a)                  Not all studies of any subject prove a certain point 100% of the time

"Genre and Game Studies: Toward a Critical Approach to Video Game Genres." Genre and Game Studies: Toward a Critical Approach to Video Game Genres. Sage Journals, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://sag.sagepub.com/content/37/1/6.short>.

Anderson, Craig A. "An Update on the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games." An Update on the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games. Science Direct, Feb. 2004. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140197103000976>.

"Violent Video Game Effects on Aggression, Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior in Eastern and Western Countries: A Meta-analytic Review." Psycnet.org. PsycNet, Mar. 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2013. <http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/bul/136/2/151/>.

Anderson, Craig A. "Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions." Tomorrow Counseling. Psychological Science Agenda, Oct. 2003. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. <http://www.tomorrowcounseling.com/TDE_CMS/database/userfiles/Violence%20in%20Video%20Games(1).pdf>.

Call of Duty. "Call of Duty: Ghosts Trailer." YouTube.com. YouTube, 02 Nov. 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNxh7umVOZ0>.

Blog post for 11/8 Games

My blog post this week is about the games I played on Monday during class. Since I have previously blogged about, and played Phone Story so I am familiar with games that advocate a social action message. A game I have played was Personal Trip to the Moon. I really did not understand this game at all, and did not play it for that long. I was not sure what the point of this game was. The next game I played was called Clockwork Cat. It was a fun and simple game. I enjoyed the game for the most part, it was relatively simple. The character was a cat and the goal of the game was to maneuver through a maze which was in the air while trying to turn back time with doughnut looking objects. If the large clock in the back ground hit midnight, you lost. There was also candy looking icons which did something, but I'm not sure what exactly. The next game I played was called Those Darn Nipples. This game was quite weird to say the very least. The goal of the game was to align the nipples of different sized breasts and there were incorrectly placed nipples to throw the user off. Like I said, very weird. The next game I played was called Unmanned. This game, unlike the games before it, had a social justice aspect to it. The main character to this game was a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) operator. The social justice aspect being highlighted is to alert the people who are playing this game to covert military operations that are occurring in the Middle East. While this is happening the game is implying that video games stress a militaristic environment today.  

Discussion questions for 11/06

Discussion questions for 11/06

1. Why do you think video games are so important today in society?

2. What do you think video games are good for?

3. Would you play a video game for a social action cause?

4. When you play a video game what insights does the game provide you?

5. How can a video game can influence your views?

Blog Post for 11/1 on SAP project

My post this week is about my group's SAP project, and has to do with a charity my group has selected to be a part of our SAP project. The charity is called FOTC, Friends of the Congo, and has its own website, friendsofthecongo.org. FOTC has two objectives. First being to create networks across the world to connect the Congolese with others internationally. The second being to work with the Congolese to realize the enormous human and natural potential in the Congo.  FOTC has several different aspects of their charity. One aspect is their Youth Program called the Congo Connect Youth Project. It raises money to establish youth centers to raise the standard of living for the 32 million children fourteen and under living in the Congo. Sixty four percent of the 75 million people living in the Congo are twenty four years old or younger. This project creates youth centers called Technology Networking Centers that raise the standard of living by giving the Congolese access to computers, internet, and other digital means. These TNC's would be built by donations, monetary and digital items, given to FOTC, currently there are 3 centers in the Congo. Other ways a person could help with FOTC if they wanted to are teach-ins, making a financial donation, donating digital equipment, organizing a FOTC representative to come to a person's local community, or hosting a Congo Week in a person's community. Congo Week is FOTC's main goal is to educate people on the issues going on in the Congo and to break the silence.

Charity source - http://www.friendsofthecongo.org/strategic-overview-117.html
Population source - https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html

Coltan information

My article this week is on my Social Action Project (SAP) topic which is Coltan mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (commonly known as DRC) which is located in central Africa as shown in the picture below. About 64% of the world's supply of Coltan, also known as Columbite-tantalite, is in the DRC. Coltan is a vital metal in so many electronic products from HD televisions, to hearing aids, to wind turbines, to even x-ray film. Many of the surrounding countries, but Rwanda and Uganda are the two big players in the Coltan extraction game. Those two countries alone do not contain much Coltan, but they pillage the DRC for its vast resource of Coltan. The United Nations said in a 2001 report, according to friendsofthecongo.org, said "The consequences of illegal exploitation has been twofold: massive availability of financial resources for the Rwandan Patriotic Army, and the individual enrichment of top Ugandan military commanders and civilians; the emergence of illegal networks headed by either top military officers or businessmen." The UN also cites multinational corporations are also to blame for the fueling the war in the DRC and exploiting of Coltan. From the article it lists a total of seven US based companies, and five other non-US based companies. Three of the seven US based companies are actually based in Ohio. OM group, Eagle Wings Resources International (a subsidiary of Trinitech International), and Trinitech International are all based in Ohio, with OM Group based in the Cleveland. According to their website OM Group http://www.cpt.org/work/africa_great_lakes/corporate_complicity all seven listed companies profited from the conflict in the DRC, including the three from Ohio. I found the website for OM group, omgi.com/product-recycling.html , based in Westlake, Ohio, which states they have a smelting factory in Lubumbashi, DRC. Factories such as these process and prepare the raw Coltan for big corporations like Foxconn, Nokia, and Sony. I was unable to find websites for Eagle Wings Resources International, and Trinitech International.

Link to article: http://www.friendsofthecongo.org/resource-center/coltan.html

Blog post for 10/18 "A Contentious Issue"

My blog post this week is on an article from Recyclingtoday.com, and is about a proposed bill. This proposed bill is known as H.R. 2284 in the House of Representatives, and S. 1270 in the Senate respectively. This bill is more commonly known as the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act (RERA). This article has debate from both positive and negatives of the RERA. There has been lobbying groups in support of RERA and also against it as well. Several electronic recyclers, industry groups, and environmental groups have publicly supported RERA. The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) has come out against this bill. In 2012 the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report that coincides with the view of the ISRI as well as the Basel Action Network (BAN), an activist group already discussed in class. RERA’s purpose would be to prohibit the export of some electronics that, if improperly disposed, could create environmental, health, or national security risks. RERA would accomplish this by adding a new sect to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) which is designed to protect developing countries from receiving our E-waste.  RERA lists several materials, or chemicals in particular that would make a product restricted waste and could not be legally shipped to another country, unless that country approves of the transfer. RERA also calls for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set minimum standards for the toxic substances, and clarify which materials are toxic, and which are not. These bipartisan actions are consistent with most other developed nations, and are a step in the right direction from keeping E-waste out of the wrong hands.

Source: http://www.recyclingtoday.com/rt0412-responsible-electronics-recycling-act.aspx

Blog post for Digital Story Proposal

I.                    For my Digital Story proposal I have decided to do it as an outline

A.                  Violent Video games are affecting kids attitudes and behavior in a negative way

1.                  Kids are becoming more violent because of certain video games

2.                  Kids behavior is being negatively affected by replicating actions seen in video games

a)                  Ex: Grand Theft Auto series

b)                  School shootings have become more and more common since 1997

B.                  Video games strive to achieve a “M” rating

1.                  Kids who play violent video games want a gory, violent game

a)                  Game producers are responding to the demand for a more violent game by increasing the violence, blood, and foul language used

2.                  Graphics are becoming more and more life-like which users enjoy

a)                  Kids want a more life-like game

C.                  Studies conclude that violent video games make kids more violent

1.                  Not all studies prove that video games are a link to more violent tendencies

a)                  Not all studies of any subject prove a certain point 100% of the time

"Genre and Game Studies: Toward a Critical Approach to Video Game Genres." Genre and Game Studies: Toward a Critical Approach to Video Game Genres. Sage Journals, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://sag.sagepub.com/content/37/1/6.short>.

Anderson, Craig A. "An Update on the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games." An Update on the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games. Science Direct, Feb. 2004. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140197103000976>.

"Violent Video Game Effects on Aggression, Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior in Eastern and Western Countries: A Meta-analytic Review." Psycnet.org. PsycNet, Mar. 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2013. <http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/bul/136/2/151/>.

Anderson, Craig A. "Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions." Tomorrow Counseling. Psychological Science Agenda, Oct. 2003. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. <http://www.tomorrowcounseling.com/TDE_CMS/database/userfiles/Violence%20in%20Video%20Games(1).pdf>.

Social Action Project Intro for 10/11 - Coltan in the Congo

For my Social Action Project (SAP) I would want to advocate the social justice issue of Coltan extraction from the Democratic Republic of Congo, or simply the Congo. Since its independence from Belgium in 1960 the Congo has had a lot of civil violence, corruption, and country wide instability (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html). This instability and civil war has led for the mining of Coltan to keep on going. According to BBC news an US refugee agent reported the parties involved in the war are continuing it solely to mine natural resources. Coltan is one of these natural resources. Companies starting with Sony in 1999 fueled the mining of Coltan with the Play Station 2, later by LCD TV’s and smart phones. (http://citizenshift.org/node/32169&term_tid=6) Due to Coltan’s nature it must be dug up by hand, which separates it from other minerals mined in the Congo. Heavy machinery cannot be used to mine Coltan due to its heavy and bulky nature as raw ore. It is easier for the local people to mine it instead. It is very dangerous for the Congolese people to mine Coltan by hand and often they are injured on the job. Most of the labor that mines Coltan used to be run by villages, are now run by warlords to finance their military operations. There are two main military groups in the Congo; Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL) and Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie (RCD). Ethically speaking the mining of Coltan is a disaster. Large corporations negotiate with ruthless warlords to get their hands on Coltan is a frightening practice. What is more frightening is that hardly anyone who uses these products knows about what is going on in the Congo, and even fewer are doing anything about it.

For my Social Action Project I want to do something with guerrilla art, or a guerrilla campaign. Examples where this has been used in the past are everywhere. An example of guerrilla art was in one of my blog posts, Friday October 3, 2013. In that blog post I talked about the World Wildlife Fund’s guerrilla campaign to raise awareness of the decreasing number of Giant Pandas in the world by placing 1,600 pandas in a town square in France. This is an example of the type of demonstration I would like to do because it gets the intended message across without harming anyone, and is also creative. The WWf’s demonstration was peaceful, did not harm anyone, neither physically or emotionally, or damage any property. Another example of guerrilla art is from Keri Smith (http://www.kerismith.com/popular-posts/how-to-be-a-guerilla-artist-2/). Her suggested formats range from harmless and legal demonstrations such as posters or book inserts to more illegal actions such as graffiti. I would want to use the concept of guerrilla art to make posters to spread my SAP topic of Coltan. The posters would show a smartphone and a child digging by hand for Coltan to invoke the emotions of a person who is looking upon the poster. On the bottom of the poster would be link to a website or wiki that would easily explain the problem with the Coltan mining process and show other websites, foundations where people can go to help if they want to. My hope is for people to be moved, or at least intrigued by the poster and want to learn more about how Coltan affects the people of the Congo.

Discussion questions for 10/9 group six "Challenging the Chip"

1. Did you think that a chemical problem such as this could ever happen in the United States? Please explain why you feel this way.

2. Would you have thought the waste described was from chip manufacturing or a different industry? If a different industry please say which, and why you thought it would be that specific industry.

3. Based on your own experiences what do you think can be done in your local community to prevent the spilling of chemicals into the drinking water?

4. What do you think is more important to regulate, the manufacturing of computer chips or the disposal of E-waste? and why.

5. Should the US government have a say in how (US based) businesses dispose of the E-waste overseas if the E-waste is coming from the US?

World Wildlife Fund guerrilla art in France

Blog post for 10/4 based on Social Media

In 2009 the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) placed 1,600 paper mache miniature Giant Pandas in the town square of Nante, France. This article is some what dated, but the message is still quite important. The point of this demonstration was to encourage the protection of this majestic creature. By showing all 1,600 pandas in one spot a person can see something must be done to help the pandas. Their message is to raise awareness for issues that surround the Giant Panda. These issues include poaching, large scale construction, bamboo harvesting, and conversion of forests for agricultural uses. The reason they selected to put specifically 1,600 paper mache pandas in Nante is because that number represents the number of remaining Giant Pandas in the world today. The digital media aspect comes from the publicity of the guerrilla campaign. When the pictures of this event went viral, all of the world saw what happened in France. The WWF has used guerrilla art style campaign in the past to raise awareness for endangered animals. This important message from the WWF shows the worsening condition of pandas with only 1,600 left in the world. Although this number is up from 1,000 in 1985, pandas are still considered endangered. 

Picture of pandas in France:

Link to article: www.trendhunter.com/trends/panda-bear-wwf-france

Strike Three comic

Link to pixton post: http://Pixton.com/ic:owfz4xee

Weblog post 9/27 Smart phone app Phone Story

Phone Story is an application available on smart phones that satirically shows the horrors of the process necessary to extract the mineral Coltan, which is used in almost all phones today. The app’s purpose is not  to actually be played. Its purpose is to raise money for the people affected by the horrid process of Coltan extraction and to raise awareness of this social justice issue. The app has four games aimed at educating the users by taking them through the process of extracting Coltan. The four games are; extraction in Congo, assembly in massive Chinese factories, the United States obsession with consumerism, and E-waste in Pakistan. The developers of this app, Molleindustria, receive 70% of the money paid to acquire this app. With that 70% they donate all of it to worker’s organizations and non-profit charities who are fighting company abuse. An example of one these companies is Foxconn. An example of the philanthropy of Molleindustria is they donated $6,000 to a Chinese worker for Foxconn for serious injuries received from a suicide attempt. The worker, Tian Yu, attempted to take her own life by jumping off the roof of the Foxconn factory in 2010. Phone Story was taken off the Apple app store only three hours after its launch due to the negative press caused by this app. However Phone Story is still available on the Android app market for $1.00, a small fee for a good cause.

Link to website: http://www.phonestory.org/#about

Discussion questions for group six on 9/20

1. What explains the coming and going of democracy over the past twenty five hundred years?

2. Why was democracy only apparent in smaller city-states, and not across entire countries in its earlier years?

3. After reading about democracy and how other countries set up democracy over the years, do you feel better or worse about the way the US is set up?

Weblog post 9/20 E-waste in the United States

The article I have selected is from Forbes.com and is about E-waste in the United States written by Phillip Fava who works for an E-waste recycling corporation, Suffolk Industrial Recovery Corp. This article is from December 2011 so it is somewhat recent. This article explains how E-waste is being increased every year due to technologies rapid advancement. Technology is being advanced much quicker than in the past and we as a country have much more E-waste because of it. This could help our economy in the next couple of years Fava argues, and I agree as well. In 2002 the E-waste recycling industry contributed less than $1 billion dollars and 6,000 jobs to the United States economy. In 2010 the recycling industry generated $5.2 billion dollars and 30,000 jobs to the United States economy. About $4.2 billion dollars of extra revenue is due to the recycling industry. This is a large increase in only 8 years and is a good addition to the economic growth of America. In 2002 only 600,000 tons of E-waste was recycled. In 2010 a whopping 3.5 million tons of E-waste was recycled. I think this is a significant increase and it is good that there are companies in the United States who are recycling E-waste. A part of this article that surprised me was only 26% of E-waste originated from households. I thought this number would be much bigger, the other 74% came from businesses, which also surprised me.

Link to article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/philfava/2011/12/20/new-study-on-e-waste-in-the-united-states/

Weblog post 9/13 Green and not so Green manufacturing companies

The article I have selected is from Greenpeace.org and is from October 2010. This article lists the top eighteen manufacturers based on what each company is currently doing to make their products safer, their policies for the future to limit the toxic chemicals in their products, what programs they offer to help recycle, carbon footprint of the company, and even the energy efficiency of their newest models. Most of the companies on this list are actively trying to make safer products by reducing the chemicals in their products which was a surprise to me. I just found out about this issue not even a week ago, yet these very large companies clearly new about it and have policies or programs in place some through 2020. I did not know many of these companies had any take back program in place when in fact most of some sort of program in place. I currently own a Samsung laptop and before that a HP laptop, yet I have never heard of any take back program from either of these companies. I feel that these programs are not advertised enough, which is confirmed by the data from the pdf from Greenpeace.org. It seems most of these companies offer programs in the US, but lack programs elsewhere in the world. I will certainly be on the lookout for a take back program in the future when trying to correctly recycle my old technology.

Link to article: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/toxics/hi-tech-highly-toxic/company-report-card/

PDF that explains in detail what companies are doing right or wrong: http://www.greenpeace.org /usa/Global/usa/planet3/publications/toxics/Oct2010-Rankings.pdf

My name is Kyle Shaffer, I am from Brook Park, Ohio and if you would like to contact me by email it is kshaffer17@jcu.edu. I do not have a preference for my name, most call me Kyle, but others refer to me as Shaffer, or Shaff. My interests include eating, cooking, soccer, working out, and telling jokes. I plan on helping out with the men's soccer team this year, as I am big on soccer. In order to take risks in a course I would have to feel comfortable with the professor and my classmates around me, and be in a setting where people are willing to ask questions. I firmly believe that the most important invention in history was the printing press. The printing press revolutionized the education of people and made books much cheaper and easier to access. Technologies essential to my life are my iPhone, computer, Internet, and electricity. I have a decent amount of experience from computers so I would put my computer experience as 4/10. I do not think I have as much experience with digital media, I would put my experience at 2/10. I no longer have a Facebook page, but I do currently have a twitter account, but no other social media. Based off of that I believe my experience is a 4/10. I have two questions for Dr. Shutkin. 1. If you were not an education professor what do you think you would have become? 2. What is your favorite sport, if you have one what is your favorite team/team you follow the most?