blog 15

After looking at each of the three possible worlds that are likely to occur, I am personally hoping that we are headed towards a more transformed world. I also hope that we don't choose to incorporate any of the fortress world into our future society because the poorer people usually suffer the most in the fortress world. I would also hope to incorporate some of the market world ideals into the transformed world. Currently, this has proven true as some of the poorest people in the world only have a small portion of the world's income. Ideally, a transformed world could minimize the suffering of the poor, which could possibly be in the best interest of everyone as a whole. Through the many readings in the course, I have learned that society has been able to thrive and alot of this is because of the advancements in technological innovations. Such an example of this is with the advancement of "going green" into society, leading people to be much more sufficient and concerned with sustainability, such as the Green Revolution. While I believe that eventually we will become a transformed world, it will probably take a longer time to actually occur due to much social lag. The transformed world has many new ways to meet society's needs, such sa the protect the enviorment, and to expand education. Personally I think that by focusing on education, we can increase our knowledge and educate all who seek it. It is very encouraging that one day we might actually live in a world where everyone has equal educational opportunities. Compared to the past, I would honestly say that we already kind of live in a transformed world as we keep moving forward and making technological advancements. It is extremely important to keep moving forward with technology and just bettering society overall so that we can fulfill society's needs. Being in the great United States right now is such an exciting time in technological advancement as they are usually one of the front runners in promoting science and social change. I also think the market world has some good ideas that would benefit the transformed world of the future. Allen Hammond's article states that in a market world we will have global integration. Currently we already see this global integration through our technology and products that are produced worldwide. It is also important to be globally aware because the decisions the United States makes can greaty affect people all over the world. Honestly I hope to see an increase in jobs and economic prosperity during these tough economic times. In an ideal world, both the transformed and market societies would be combined to achieve the most success. Educational progression as well as innovative technology developments continue to occur for the betterment of society.

week 14

While many new technologies come with great reward, they also carry great risk as there are both positive and negative effects that come with technological advancements. Cowan points out that these positive and negative effects certainly aren't easy to predict. One thing is for certain however, there will always be technologies that are more successful than others simply based on the fact that they have been around longer. One example of this is how light water has always been more successful than nuclear energy. Persnoally, I believe it's a good thing that nuclear energy was discovered after light water because the of it's harmful health effects that have a history of hurting people. If light water hadn't been used before nuclear energy, we might be using nuclear energy more and exposing more people to it's harmful effects. One thing I noticed in the videos was just how harmful nuclear energy actually is. It seems that every area that uses nuclear energy is at risk for another Chernobyl type effect, just wiping out people in the area. While nuclear energy certainly does have great promise, it seems that there is just too much harm to continue using it in such widespread manor. The problems behind it can be catastrophic as it is very difficult to get rid of nuclear waste and its harmful chemicals. However, in the article "Why Nuclear?" it argues that nuclear energy actually greatly benefits us. It argues that nuclear energy provides us clean, safe, secure, and reliable energy. For me personally, I don't see nuclear energy as being that beneficial, it seems just like more harm than good. I believe that if we are going to continue using nuclear energy, that we certainly need to find better ways to dispose of it. Ways that dont' release harmful chemicals into the air or contaminate the ground. If we do this, then I can see why nuclear energy can be a great benefit to the advancement of technology. However, I do have my doubts that this can actually be achieved, and that nuclear energy shouldn't be used. It is just too risky to the people who live in the vicinity of the nuclear energy plants. There just has to be a better way to increase the amount of enery provided. If not, then we certainly need to consider decreasing our energy consumption as a country. Just as Cowan suggests, light water looks like a much better option because it pretty much fixes itself if it ever malfunctions. Light water has also been studied extensively and has even proven to be superior economically to other technologies. Personally, I believe the best technologies are the ones that do the most good and the least harm. Ones that do not release harmful toxins into the air or soil, destroying life all around it. As a human, I would much rather pay a little bit more in order to remain safe from toxins that could poison me, leaving me with cancer and my offspring with life threatening deformities, such as Chernobyl.

WEEK 13 Clean technology

The articles "Love Canal" and "Dark Side of the Chip" each show just how technologies have "dark sides." While technologies can have great things about them, more often than not they'll also be plagued with some sort of negative aspects. Some of the dark sides include when people become more involved with technology advanced careers or even live somewhere near where great technological devices are being used, there can be some serious health problems caused by the new technology. This is greatly displayed with the story of the Love canal which is located by the Niagara Falls. A chemical waste company continuously dumped harmful chemicals into Love Canal. These toxins eventually spread to a suburban neighborhood. The land was eventually sold very cheaply, and the dump site was thinly covered by a small layer of grass and clay. Then a playground, a school, and several homes were built on the land. The chemical ridden dump site created black tar, irritated feet, lead to Urinary Tract Infections, and some children even became ill with cancer. The residents had no idea what was going on as they did not know the harmful past of the Love Canal area. The residents eventually put up a fence around the area and declared it hazardous, all while moving the people out of the area. They then covered the area, created a barrier to the toxic waste, and even demolished the schools and homes. These harmful toxins can completely ruin an area and the people inhabiting the area. On Scorecard. org I entered by Mesa Zipcode of 85210. Mesa came in the last 20 percent or even 10 percent as far as the unhealthiest zones. Mesa carries a very high cancer risk as well as a very high environmental release and air and water release by toxins. Some of the highest toxins being released in Mesa are ammonia, copper and methanol. I had always known about the chemical risks about living in Mesa, such as the fear of drinking the tap water, but this puts things in a whole other perspective. It's not only shocking but yet pretty frightening to know that we can eat healthy, workout, and live productive healthy lives but things that we have no control over, such as toxin release, can still be slowly killing us. It's bad enough that living in Arizona automatically puts you at risk for skin cancer, blindness, and asthma but to have to worry about harmful toxins is just another added stress. This just goes to show that technology definitely does have dark sides. Even though technologies are created to help advance our communitites and society, they do carry some evils with them. Mesa and the Maricopa county in general are prime examples of this. Even though Mesa and Maricopa county have gone through great technological progress through the past few years and decades, it is also plain to see that much of the community is actually suffering covertly because of these same technology advancements. It just makes you think about what else you have to worry about in life while living in Arizona. As if rattlesnakes, Gila monsters, and scorpions weren't enough.

week 12

The Green Revolution goes into great depth talking about how some underdeveloped countries are marketing themselves to become more self-sufficient. The underdeveloped countries are hoping to utilize packages of tropical agriculture inputs of grain products, which then are able to produce wheat and rice at a much higher level per acre. For this idea to succeed, irrigation and fertilizer must be controlled. However, just because there is a great quantity of rice and wheat, there is also a drop off in quality as it simply isn’t as well made. One primary question that arises from this dilemma is whether or not programs such as the Green Revolution are actually contributing to the ecological crisis that plagues the United States. In my opinion, these programs are very much so hurting us in the long run as they are really only beneficial to a few areas in third world countries. Part of what we discussed in class was that when technologies are created, it is usually because the people who create them have some sort of idea what the outcome will end up being. However, there are always going to be side effects associated with newer technologies that were not as planned. For the most part these side effects prove to be negative on society in general. Despite these side effects being so common, it is almost impossible to determine exactly what and when they are going to be and happen. It will always be hard to predict the kind of social gain and whether it outweighs the social cost for new technologies, particularly because societies sometimes take a while to even feel the negative effects. New technologies often create tensions in societies. Tensions that may even take years before society can determine if they can even effectively integrate the technology into their society and the social structures. One important thing to note is that more often than not the frameworks of new technologies are connected to the elements of technology. Sometimes people only think about the possible gains of new technology, and often overlook the possible negative implications that they might carry as well. The real question is, does the gain out weigh the possible cost and negative impact on society?

week 11

The Quarry Village project is certainly an intriguing idea, as it’s an idea to build sustainable living communities. While a very interesting idea, it just doesn’t seem very logical to me. First off, to think that they want to build 900 homes in only 22 acres comes off as a stretch. While an acre is a relatively large area, to build 900 homes on only 22 acres just seems like a bad idea, as 900 homes would more than likely mean about 3 or 4 thousand people in such a small, compact area. This reason alone leaves worry that the idea is just a pipe dream, and will surely fail. I also wonder how exactly they’re going to make sure that this sustainable community will not have any automobiles in it, considering there are neighboring housing areas where vehicles are rampant. To be honest, if I were one of the neighboring housing communities I wouldn’t want Quarry Village to even be built because it would just increase traffic through those communities as they would not be able to drive through the Quarry Village. Another thing about the Quarry Village that I have a problem with is that some of the larger units of the proposed village are the furthest away from the available transportation. Some of these large units are likely to be grocery stores, clothing stores, and other shopping places that are designed to supply Quarry Village with the necessities. For the Quarry Village to actually work, and be completely self-sustainable, the inhabitants would have to be extremely self disciplined, as they would ideally only eat from places in the Quarry Village. However, knowing human nature, I’m willing to bet that they would travel outside of the community to get food from time to time. I’m also willing to bet that this proposed Quarry Village will also cost a pretty penny, as building “green homes” certainly can not be cheap. If anything, they would cost more than normal homes as the materials needed to make a house “green” are more likely to cost more and be harder to come by, while also relying on newer and more expensive technology. This in turn would more than likely lead to only predominately wealthy people living in the houses, and thus leaving poorer people out of the communities. This is unfortunate as I believe poor people should receive the same opportunities as wealthy people, and by making these “green” technologies available to all people, not just wealthy people, we would be doing the world a great service in general. While the “Quarry Village” is a pretty cool idea, it just seems too impractical for me to actually think that one day it will happen, and thrive as a “green” community.

week 9

1. Today’s dinner appeared to be just a regular sandwich consisting of ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomato on wheat bread. However, it was much more than that when you actually break it down and consider where it all came from. The main part of this sandwich, the ham, did not just come from the Fry’s deli. Instead it came from gentile pigs that roamed a farm in Indiana, feasting on nutritious slop and other things pumped into their veins. They were then transported to a slaughter house in Indiana, where they did everything for the last time, and were slaughtered. The chunks of ham were then sent to a packaging and distribution center in Kansas. From there they were sent to Fry’s, where two lucky slices found themselves on my ham and cheese sandwich. The next item on my sandwich was two slices of cheese. The cheese originated from cows at a California farm. The milk was taken from the cows and then sent to a place that specializes into turning milk into cheese. Once through the transformation process, in which milk solids are separated from the liquids, they are put in an area to complete the aging process. The process also included vitamins being added to the cheese and other precise slicing to turn it into the lovable cheese slices that sat comfortably on my sandwich. The other item on my sandwich was some lettuce. The lettuce came from a farm in Georgia, where lettuce heads were abundant. The lettuce was pumped full of water and the proper soil as well as tons of prolonged sun exposure to promote it’s growth. It was then ripped from the ground as well as many of it’s lettuce head friends and was harvested and packaged. It was sent here to the Arizona Frys’ supermarket, where it was purchased by me. It then was brutally butchered by my cutting knife and placed in my sandwich. The tomato was grown in South Carolina, and similar to the lettuce, was raised on sunlight, thousands of gallons of water, and plenty of fertilizer and pesticides. It too was harvested and packaged and then shipped here to Arizona to meet it’s demise. I guess I have never really considered all the effort and hardwork to put food on my plate. Each item has it’s own unique story as it’s been handled by all sorts of people, from all sorts of places, with all sorts of stories. It’s actually pretty cool when you think of it this way. The only thing I wish I hadn’t learned was the exact processes that it takes for some of this food to get here, and how it is made. Some foods that are “natural” are actually loaded with all sorts of junk that really shouldn’t be consumed any living organism. Sometimes however, we must sacrifice what is “natural” for what is convenient.

Blog 7 week 8 global warming

Today we are faced with many issues. With two unpopular wars going on as well as a struggling economy where a dollar is no longer the dollar it used to be, many of us find ourselves struggling to make it day to day. However there is another pressing problem that simply can't go ignored, as it might even have more unfavorable implications that will affect us for decades and maybe even centureies to come. I'm talking about global climate change. Also known as Global warming and to some it marks the possible end of this earth and the human race as we know it. Global climate change is no longer just something strewn up by tree hugging liberals to anger the coservatives and to keep loggers from tearing down trees. It is certainly a real disaster waiting to happen that has been plaguing us for years and only seems to get worse with every single passing day. there are simply more humans on earth than ever before, and with this there is much more waste and pollution. There are also much more technology, vehicles, power plants, etc. that all vastly contribute waste and pollution, destroying our precious OZone. Polar ice caps are melting and temperatures are at the highest they've ever been. Meanwhile entire species are dying off and massive cities such as Mexico City are overcome with pollution. the human race is killing itself off and most don't even seem to notice it. And worse, some know it and simply just don't care. At the rate we're going, we'll be lucky if this earth is even able to survive and support the human race for another hundred years. We have simply been using and latelye just downright abusing this earth for the past hundred years. We have become carless and wasateful, not thinking about the impact every single individuatl has on this earth. However, we all leave our footprings on the earth, our carbon flootpring that is. Each individuatl on this earth contribues to the waste and pollution. If everyone became aware of how much of an impact they had on the earth, they would htink twice about throwing that Skittles wrapper out the window, or putting a Pepsi can in the trash, rather than the recycling. It is the small things like these taht really add up to make a difference. As humans and the sole reason for global warming, it is our responsibility to do as much as we can to reverse the damage done, for our own sake.

week 7

Simon Cole’s “How much Justice can Technology afford?” documents the many effects scientific technology has on race and justice. Cole’s article explains the relationships of gender, class, and race and how technology through the development of DNA impacts all of them tremendously. Cole also states that DNA has the capability to change justice and race due to the increasing use of DNA to solve crimes and the ever increasing criminal database due to collecting DNA. Another person who debates the importance of DNA and its impact on justice is Marx. Marx believes there are two opinions on DNA and the ways in which it’s involved in justice. One way in which Marx believe DNA is used is to help the powerful and rich people and to “promote social control.” This indeed is a negative view but also a view in which I would have to agree with. Marx’s other view is that the new DNA technology is good in that it kind of keeps things even in regards to race and justice, as it is science and therefore does not discriminate. Marx also notes that DNA helps in regards to true justice because it has helped many falsely convicted men and women be exonerated and get out of their unfair prisons sentences. Cole’s article brings up the question of just how much justice can people afford? An example of this is that in some cases they guarantee you legal representation. However this certainly does not mean you’re getting the best representation. On the other hand, if you have the money to afford a top ranked defender or attorney you can get away with pretty much anything, even murder. You can just look at the OJ Simpson case for an example of this. Personally I like the idea of DNA technology as it is simply incapable of lying. DNA technology does not see race, gender or social class and is therefore unable to make certain biased assumptions and decisions. Simply put, it is a machine. DNA is perhaps the most effective weapon in combating crime and even discrimination in justice. DNA creates equality and truth while evening things out. I personally hope that DNA and forensic technology continues to evolve in order to combat crime and also rid our prison cells of innocent people serving time for crimes they did not commit.

week 5

To achieve true justice, we must also achieve true equality as there can not be one without the other. However it can be argued that true justice and equality can never be achieved, as people have different ideas of what justice and equality really are. So what is perfectly equal for some people, may not be enough to others. One type of distributive justice that we learned about is utilitarianism. The basis of utilitarianism is the idea that there is only justice if the set of norms and regulations work to increase the well being of all people. However even with this there are always going to be people who receive more advantages than others, which would still make it not completely fair and equal. Due to the unequal distribution, a new theory was put to the test: the contract theory. The contract theory was created in order to create “fair” distribution. The theory is based on the idea of the “veil of ignorance,” a theory that basically creates a fair distribution by making unknowns before the person can even pick or choose which set of rules and norms they were going to have to live by. This theory was created on the assumption that if people don’t know their starting point and who they were to become, then they would choose a set of rules and norms that were as equal as possible, so that they would not get the short end of the stick and everything were as equal as possible. This theory can only be possible through equal behavior however, and is just that, a theory. Another theory is “communitarian.” It relates to what it sounds like, a community, as it states that people must band together and achieve equality through socially held values. Personally I do not believe any of these theories are possible or even logical. I honestly wish that everything were equal though, but with billions of people comes billions of different ideas of fair and standards of living. There are all to many people that are just too selfish and even narcissistic to even want a fair and equal world. For any of these to even happen, it would require literally everyone to agree on what is equal, right, and fair. That is something that just simply will never happen. Through teamwork and working together, much is possible. However I must state that total equality and fairness is certainly just a pipe dream.

week 4

The term social constructivism relates to the ideal of how social constructs develop in a social world. They can form by a certain group of people who use them enough until they eventually become accepted and social norms. An instance of this was with the famous Bjiker created a simple enough 2 wheeled, metal framed man powered vehicle currently known as the bicycle. The problem with the bicycle was that it was created almost exclusively for men, and not for women. The early bicycle proved to be impractical for women as the wheels would expose women who commonly wore dresses back then, and the seats were just positioned so high up that this was almost certain to happen. It was also seen as a very dangerous device, much to the pleasure of men and dismay of women.. Another major social construct was the development of the car. The car, much like the bicycle, was also predominately designed for a certain group of people and not everyone. However the car, like Rome, was not built in a day. It took many years, man power, and prototypes to piece it together. The end result was a simple yet complicated buggy sans the horses. This vehicle certainly was not built for poor people, as it was the design of the wealthy, engineers, prominent scientists, and high working government officials. The car has proven to be a great example of social constructivism. The term “reverse salient” refers to a certain group in the front is falling behind in the advance. This term can currently be applied to the car situation of today, as American companies are falling behind that of the Asian motor vehicle companies. Not only are American companies falling behind economically and production wise, they’re also being beat in many areas such as technological advancements and the ever important hybrid capabilities. Recently however, American car companies are learning from the Asian car companies and starting to catch up as far as the technological advancements are concerned. Until recently, the American car companies were simply unable to compete with the cheap production and advanced technology of their Asian counterparts. Now however, they have learned from the Asian car companies technology and production techniques and are applying it themselves, which is leading to much greater success than they’ve ever had. Will American car companies ever catch up to that of the Asian car companies? Only time will answer that.

week 3

Lately we’ve been discussing how design (artifacts) are important to society and the governance they have. In one of the readings, “Do Artifacts Have Politics,” it states that artifacts are influential in two different ways. One way that artifacts can be political and influential is the way they were designed, structured, and how and where they were built, and whether they were designed based on issues in the community. The other way artifacts can be political is whether or not they were built in order to grant certain people political power and authority. The latter of the two has sadly happened, and will continue to happen, time and time again. One particular example we discussed extensively in class was the bridge situation in the 1950s. In the 1950s, the wealthy people wanted a bridge built in order to gain access into their city. However this bridge was to have specific guidelines, including that it would not be tall enough to fit a bus underneath it. Now why wouldn’t they want buses to be able to access the bridge? To keep the poor people out! That’s why! Just like today, back then the poorer people didn’t own cars. Instead they rode public transportation, the bus. The wealthy people realized this and did not want them accessing their rich city. It sickens me that something this blatantly racist and snobbish could occur.
A current design (artifact) that has a huge impact on Phoenix and Arizona in general is the newly designed light rail. In tough economic times, it provides thousands or people transportation to work and school, traveling all the way from Mesa through Phoenix. Besides providing cheaper transportation, the light rail was also created in an effort to go Green, or environmentally friendly. With Arizona being so polluted, Phoenix the most, a public transportation system definitely needed to be created in order to cut back on car pollutants and encourage people to take alternative methods of transportation. The lightrail, while extremely expensive, has certainly proven that it’s up to the task. With its sleek design and comfortable, quick ride it is quickly becoming a favorite for people who are conscientious of the environment and going green, or maybe they’re just conscientious about their wallets. Either way it’s proven a success so far in its early stages. However that does not mean there aren’t any concerns regarding the light rail. Some people argue that it does not cover as large of an area as needed. I must concur with this argument as while it does cover some main places, Mesa, ASU, and Central Phoenix, it also pretty much just runs in a straight line and skips out on many other vital places. Some people just simply don’t want to take it because they’d have to jump on another bus anyways if they were to rely on it. All in all however, I do believe the light rail is a great thing for Arizona and hope they continue to expand it.

Blog 2

Akash Kapur’s writing on the poor industrialized area known as Kerala offered an interesting insight into a socially advancing area,, despite being economically challenged. While most people’s perceptions of poor, industrialized areas are that of poor people who are disease ridden and have no education and no future, the city of Kerala continues to defy those odds. Despite living off little more than a dollar a day, their life expectancies are nearly the same as the people in the United States, who are much more economically advanced and have access to some of the finest healthcare in the world. In fact, their life expectancy is even better than that of the rest of their Indian counterparts. Amazingly, they were also taught how to read and become literate through the help of hundreds of thousands of volunteers. What the city of Kerala showed is that you do not have to have an economically strong country in order to promote social progress. While having the financial means does greatly help promote social progress, it can still be done through a variety of other ways. People have lived and sometimes even thrived through hundreds of years despite being technologically advanced. Just 20 years ago the internet was more of a dream concept instead of a reality and people got along just fine. While now if the internet were to be taken away for even a few hours, people would swear that the sky is falling and that they couldn’t survive without it. While technological advances are great and most are good for the advancement of people, it is easy to see that many people are simply too reliant on technology. It’s as if they forgot or rather, have never known, how to survive off of the basics. Instead they rely entirely too much on technology. What Kerala shows is that even though they didn’t have money or much technology, they have survived and are beating the odds. They are not only outliving many developed countries, they are also becoming educated. In many underdeveloped and industrialized countries, education is often just put aside. It is seen as more of a pipe dream than a reality. Books are instead replaced with shovels and other simple labor. However Kerala is showing just how being educated can lead to a whole new mindset and promote overall social progress. Kapur’s writing on Kerala, while dated, should be looked at by all as a modern example of not needing technology in order to thrive and become educated.

A) My name is Daniel Brinkmoeller. I like sports and I don't care who knows, from shooting hoops, to the Super Bowl.

B) I'm a Senior and a Justice Studies major.

C)I chose this class because I was familiar with the professor and liked her teaching style as well as it seemed like a very interesting class dealing with common issues. It also fulfilled one of my major's requirements.



With technology changing and advancing every single day, it only makes sense that it is now being tied to common every day issues, such as inequality. One technological device that is linked to inequality is the internet. I know that there are several countries in Asia that either place restrictions on the internet, or just ban people from using the internet all together. North Korea for example, is home to perhaps the most internet censorship in the world. Only about one in every 25 people in North Korea has access to the internet. However, even having the internet in North Korea is not as special as it may seem, because it is so heavily censored that most websites are either blocked, or information is changed. I personally have a problem with this as this is just a good way to keep the citizens of North Korea in the dark. They are in the dark about how people all over the world live, and the freedoms that many others experience. Instead they are being kept in the dark and dragged down by their dictator led government. This is precisely the way their oppressive government wants it. By limiting their access to the internet and computers in general, it prevents the citizens from realizing just how oppressed they are compared to many other countries. How can they be upset with their living conditions and lack of opportunities when they have no idea of how the rest of the world even exists? It is very hard for me to believe that this is still going on. Oppressive countries are still preventing their people from having access to technology, and thus preventing them from necessary knowledge. Instead they will never know exactly how other people live, the freedoms they have. They will never know that they are oppressed.