OR of the Future

Here is the Operating Room from New York Presbyterian Hospital. Cool, but who is this really for?

Social Media Revolution

I saw this last week and I thought it held an interesting relevance to what we have been talking about. After watching it, I just may create a Facebook page yet (maybe). Guess I need to manage that online identity before someone else does! Enjoy...

On the Internet, Nobody Knows You're a Dog (Or a Catfish)

Yesterday, we watched the movie Catfish and although we did discuss it a little bit, I think it is a movie that deserves a little more looking at.

There's a big debate about whether Catfish is a documentary or a mockumentary.  Did the events in the movie actually happen?  Phillip asked me yesterday whether I believed they did or not, to which I responded that I did.  But I don't think that should be the focus of one's viewing of the movie.  I think regardless of whether or not these events were documented as they were happening has no bearing on the fact that this movie accurately portrays life in our modern-day social networking lifestyle while also making a comment on the very idea of our perception of truth.

I posted on IMDb earlier today about the movie.  You can view my post here.  I'm at the very bottom.  Monsterinabox is my username.

The important thing to me about Catfish is that everything about the movie is inherently false.  Nev's brother Rel and his friend Henry captured hours upon hours of footage of Nev and edited it together into one 87 minute piece.  As I wrote in my post, someone crafted those 87 minutes.  It was crafted into a piece that was supposed to represent the ideas and beliefs of the filmmakers.  On an extra on the DVD, the filmmakers and Nev read off questions they have been emailed about the movie.  One of the questions about the idea of shifting identity read, "The 'you' in everyday life and the 'you' on the internet:  Same person?"  One of the directors, Henry Joost, commented that, "a Facebook profile gives you the ability to present yourself in the way you would like to be seen by other people."  Certainly made evident in the movie.

But, Nev also answered a question about being the subject of a documentary, having his life followed by two guys with a camera.  Nev responded, "The movie was edited in the way your online profile is edited."  That sentence right there is the meat of Catfish.  The entire movie is a representation of reality.  It's important to know that about the movies we watch and about the technologies we use.  Awareness of their effects on our everyday lives helps us understand who we are and how we use, interact with and are moved by them.

As I wrote on IMDb, don't be like Nev and just accept what's in front of you as fact.

Will the real Nev Schulman please stand up?

I'm interested in everyone else's take on the movie.  Not just in depth analysis, but, overall.  What did you think of the movie?  As much as I like to look at this movie with a fine toothed comb, it is a fun movie to just sit back and enjoy.  It's full of intrigue, lust, mystery, suspense and genuine emotion.  I'd just like to see how hoppin' this blog can get so comment and hopefully we'll have a lively internet discussion!

And one more thing!  A good follow-up documentary that deals with the crafting of truth like Catfish, and would make an excellent double feature, is My Kid Could Paint That.  Highly recommended!

iPods: A Social Antibiotic

Recently a study was done with high school age students. They asked the students questions about their social life and tried to render information that would prove valuable to parents and teachers in how to help them in that realm. The study found that students are becoming increasingly uncomfortable in even the most simple social scenarios. The number one fear among the teens was how to maneuver out of any given conversation.

Growing up I probably heard the phrase "practice makes perfect" a million times, but never has it seemed to be more evident in this particular paradigm. As I walk the University of Memphis campus and watch for visible signs of the concepts given in our text and how they perhaps directly relate to this technology of portable media devices and specifically the iPod, these factors begin to take shape. Forty years ago before an efficient and effective portable media device had been produced there was not an escape from a world in which you are very much present. The iPod in my opinion has allowed its users, for a moment, to escape awareness of visibility. Once the iPod ear buds go into my ears I now have an excuse to ignore all social implications that I might not otherwise be able to ignore.

After watching the documentary "We Live in Public" I was keenly aware on my way home talking to my wife on the phone that perhaps someone may be listening to our conversation. The only way to avoid uncomfortable conversation at that point is to convince yourself that no one is listening. There is something about visibility that causes human interaction to change. This panopticon effect really changes our behavior in a radical way.

Somehow the iPod creates a social space for its beneficiary that is tuned specifically to their current emotions. Using audio distraction the brain can function free from anxiety only to find itself more distraught once the earbuds come off. If I am a football player who needs to escape pregame anxieties I just pop my earbuds in and in an instant I am propelled into digital space. I am no longer human but become an avatar in my own head, inside the space between the earbuds I am powerful and I will pick songs that render that to be true whether it is Metallica, Nelly, or whatever song I may find empowering.

If I am on a train in the midst of people who I don't know and am crowded by, I can escape into my digital world free from cluster I close my eyes, choose a song accordingly and for a moment I extend my senses beyond the confines of the natural world. The iPod releases my neurotransmitters to fire according to the data I choose instead learning to cope in circumstances of which I am not in control.

The implications can be seen as that of an antibiotic. The iPod like an antibiotic gives me freedom from the symptoms of social discomfort in the short run, but once the ipod or the antibiotic is gone I have weakened my system to those interferences. I have not trained my body to cope with reality with its faculties alone but now I become dependent on the technologies to cope with the world around me. The iPod is a social antibiotic.

Body As Code

For today's class, I'll be presenting material based around our reading for the section entitled Body as Code:  Life in the Network.  Here's a video to watch and think about for today's class.  Think about and ask yourself, "How does this affect the idea of travel?  And how does this affect the ways in which one experiences travel?"

Identity Management Goes Mobile

From first to last… If seeing an iPad in real life can spark fascination and intrigue from the masses, imagine what it does in the virtual space. People have created, chatted, and dated in virtual space for a while now, but most of this has taken place behind a stable computer, but this is changing greatly. As previously mentioned, the netbook was thought to revolutionize mobile computing, but it just didn’t cut the mustard. Enter the iPad. Managing your online identity while on the move has grown exponentially over the past few years, with cell phones working to offer users some of the same functionality they could do on their computers, but small screens and cramped keyboards only allow for so much. Our book explains that “…the Internet allows you to completely rework your appearance in an online environment…” “You are free to describe how you look, your expressions, posture, gestures, reactions, and so on. You can “try on” other appearances and personalities that would be impossible (or embarrassing) to carry off in real life” (Slack + Wise, 164). The iPad has become the perfect solution. The issue many faced with computers is that they could only update their statuses, profiles, and blogs while they were in front of a computer. What does this mean for representational space? They could only occupy their online identities for a short period of time. If, as in real life, we facilitate many different identities depending on our situations, if these occupancies become mobile, then we can inhabit as many online as we choose. The transformational factor, though, is that the lines begin to blur as never before because we are managing our virtual identities at the same time we are embodying our “real” selves. This assemblage shifts and changes the independence of these identities. Although, they may never morph into one complete identity, the management of these different identities will continue to intermingle closer and closer together. The iPad makes this fusion of real and virtual identities easier than ever. With the iPad’s architecture, applications to manage your virtual persona are made specifically for it. One could manage a different identity in each app they use. From the Foursquares to the Twitters, to the Facebooks, they are all available and are with you anywhere you are, complete with a large interactive screen that you can touch and feel as if your digital friends were real ones (kinda sad in a way…). An app, such as Sociable, can even bring these various identities together in one interface. Apps such as Flickr and Photo Wall allow the users to present pictures of their glorious lives and travels, letting viewers from around the world into their lives. On another level, the virtual world, Second Life, where you create a digital avatar of yourself (whoever that is at the moment) and move around in an entirely digital world. It is one of the closest experiences to a fully functioning digital representational space you can find. The world can now be traversed portably through the iPad, by using the Pocket Metaverse. Now you can enjoy the digital world (the Matrix) while sitting on a train in the real world (Earth-or so you think it is…the Matrix has you).
With many more people able to navigate these digital spaces more frequently and efficiently, what happens to this space? Identity markers such as race and gender may be able to be kept oblivious online, at least for a while, but the outside “physical” world still has major influence in the digital space and this causes the same tensions and separations as it can in reality, although, in some cases, indirectly. When you think about cultural implications such as status…does this mean now that those who can afford these high price devices are the ones who will now dominate this space since they have the ability to affect the virtual world at any place and at any time in a more effective manner (Slack + Wise, 166-167) ? Ipads are becoming the dominant player in the mobile computing space and with them brings massive amounts of control, flexibility, navigation, and resources. In a sense, the iPad is a major tool where one can do their online management anyplace and at any time, which becomes a powerful medium.

Think about information sources such as news organizations. Who has the power; who draws the crowds? Those who can get as much information to the people faster than others can. Who gets the information the fastest? The ones with the largest amount of resources: larger teams, better equipment, better technology. In turn they become more popular because people learn who the popular informants are. Transition into the digital realm. Say you create a digital persona in Second Life, how do you rise in the ranks? By having a persona that people want to watch or follow. This means having an active caricature that is always active. How do you become more active? Having the ability to manage the persona anytime, anywhere… the iPad rises.

Blog 2...How Women Use and Feel about the Washing Machine in their home

Certain work in the household has come to be known a women’s job. Ellen Lupton, author of Mechanical Brides: women and machines from home to office, offers insight into the washing machine as the mechanical device that is holding them in slavery to their own homes. Lupton describes the home as a place for men to escape and relax from work. On the contrary, women see the house as a feeding ground for labor. The very idea of the washing machine stipulates that laundry must be done. In modern times because the machines have become sleek and more efficient there was the belief that women were being rescued from the task of cleaning. However, Lupton’s approach reputes that the modern day washing machines are in fact making household duties an even heavier assignment.






“Rather than sell a few larger machines to centralized businesses, manufactures sought to sell many smaller units to private households. The return of laundry to the home affirmed women’s role as consumers of individual products instead of shared central services.” Because this was the proposal of the manufactures, women became the target consumer for the washing machine. Thus, when the machine was brought into the home the women were the expected user of the machine.
In the 1830’s commercial laundries were used to serve seaports and gold miners. The commercial laundry services accommodates mostly men when they were first developed and later became a place where one would drop off their entire family wash that was required for the week. These services reached its height in the 1920s and then met its match with coin laundry mats and the newly discovered home laundry system. Later, when the machines reached the home, women were taught by to operate the machines on their own without any assistance from their laundry service or washerwomen. The control was now shifted into the hands of the consumer and no longer a profession commercial service.
In the text Culture and Technology, the authors discuss convenience in the form of wants and needs of a culture. Many times, convenience does not necessarily make life better for a culture. In some cases making things more convenient can cause the reverse effect and make life harder for people. The authors explain that our bodies do have basic needs that have to be met such as clothing, water, food and shelter, however, as time goes on we have expanded our needs and organized our world around our wants. This perception rationalizes that because we have altered our world around us to such links we have accepted necessities that technologies that are not biological. We have inherited these technologies because they have become cultural necessities. (Wise and Slack 2005, 32-33) The washing machine is a technology that our culture has acquired out of the necessity for clean clothes and has morphed into a technology that demands surplus and extensive effort on the consumer.
Victoria Leto, in the article, Washing, It Seems Like All We Do, explores not only the idea of how women are using the washing machine more than men in the household and that the machine has certainly caused more labor than convenience, but also how the idea of doing laundry inside the household has privatized the lives of many domestic women at home. It is a task that takes up much of the time spent doing chores and shuts women off from others while inside. Leto looks at how many women used to stand outside and place clothes on the line giving them a chance to feel the sense of community among their friends while doing their chores.
In this research, women were asked questions about their time doing laundry. The women interviewed revealed that washing machine is clearly a one person chore. Long gone are the days where women are crowded around the boiling water to wash their clothes together. The women viewed the washing machine as not only just a single person job but a controlling chore as well. The washing machine size determines the amount of laundry that one can do in each load, therefore, enslaving the consumer to repeat the task over and over. Essentially, women feel as though they are the consumer solely being targeted for the washing machine and are exclusively responsible for the operations of it in their home.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=XyIYOz1Y0pgC&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=the+washing+machine+and+its+effects+on+women&ots=LesdMN9B1f&sig=H6eNMPvJ93EnxDk0OQz7T-GWfX8#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=i9k8oapdbl4C&oi=fnd&pg=PA136&dq=has+the+washing+machine+affected+women%3F&ots=PuWPHIUele&sig=1vBuoCdUZBGG9vTfL7bsRqgQSes#v=onepage&q&f=false

Bicycles Technological Evolution

 

The bicycle is an excellent example of technological development and evolution. The original bicycle was inspired from the technology used to develop horse-drawn wagons, it was named the "Hobby Horse" and it's design allowed for no brakes, peddles, or springs.  This design was introduced in 1812.  Nearly fifty years later, the "Bone-Shaker" entered the bicycle scene.  The frame alone weighed 100 pounds, which proved to be very difficult to make sudden stops.  Due to such difficulties, the hand brake was designed.  Around 1870, bicycle designs took a great turn, with significantly disproportioned wheels.  Bicycles with an oversized wheel in the front, followed by a very small wheel in the rear are known as the "Ordinary Bicycles".  In 1885, Rover Safety Bicycle was designed, this bicycle most closely resembles the bikes we ride today.  The Rover bicycle was designed with a light weight diamond shaped tubular steel frame, chain, and mounted wire spokes.

The evolution and develop of the bicycle is crucial to note in our society. So many Americans own and use bicycles everyday, and we would not have such luxuries if it were not for technological evolution.  The original bicycle design was inspired by horse-drawn wagons, and in turn, bicycles inspired the design of baby carriages and wheelchairs.  All of these technologies have had, and will continue to have, a significant impact on our society.

The need for such transportation devices, stems from our desire to develop technologies that are an extension of our bodies.  A two wheeled instrument allows us to get from point A to point B, similar to our bodies ability to walk.  As an extension of our bodies, the bicycle is a much more practical and time efficient means of transportation.

http://www.pedalinghistory.com/PHhistory.html

http://www.phys.uri.edu/~tony/bicycle/bikehist.html

Cosmetics and Makeup

Woman, historically speaking, represents the “other” in comparison to man. That is, man symbolizes a superior level of mental and physicality in comparison to woman. Many theorists attribute this historical narrative as a direct contributor to the oppression of woman or subjugation by man of woman using technology. One technology that our text mentions as a technology of the body is makeup. The authors define the use of this technology stating, “Makeup is used to alter one’s appearance to fit within cultural norms of attractiveness and to exaggerate and emphasize gendered characteristics of appearance, such as the eyes or lips” (Wise and Slack 2005, 161).

Today, a prime example of a technology that subjugates women is the enormous cosmetic industry. The use of makeup has largely crossed cultural boundaries, globalizing cosmetic use in a sense. While cosmetics are no longer a luxury available to the wealthy, they have marked a distinct cultural norm of woman’s identity across the world. Consumers of cosmetics today, vary over cultural, racial, and socio-economic status. Our text also cites that makeup aides in altering racial characteristics. (Wise and Slack 2005, 161) The authors further, “For example, skin-lightening cream in sued to change the color of one’s skin so that it better meets the cultural ideal of fair skin and white identity.” This illustrates the critical role that cosmetics play in a definitive alteration of one’s identity.

Primary uses of cosmetics by women act to enhance, paint, conceal, and mask woman under a veil of cosmetic products. For example, cosmetics’ uses range from the desire to achieve a femininityy that is culturally recognized, to appear younger, to appear less tired and ultimately as a defining technology that aides in the construction of woman’s identity. That is, makeup as a technology acts as a marker of identity.

Aging also plays a critical role in the cosmetic industry. In a 2010 article from the Washingtonian titled “looking Younger” authors state that, “It's a given that collagen production diminishes as we get older. Collagen is the protein that gives form and firmness to the face. Likewise, elastin, which enables your skin to spring back like a perfectly cooked cake when it's poked or pressed, is also on the wane”(Hacinli, 2010). The article further stressed that gaining begins in the early twenties, therefore, concerns of gaining reach millions of consumers.

The cosmetic phenomenon is not limited to the United States or other Western countries. For example, in India, Bollywood actresses are subject to heightened scrutiny just as American actresses are to criticism and comparisons to these women with and without (gasp) makeup. This particular cultural use of makeup challenges widely held beliefs and breaks new boundaries regarding femininity and what is acceptable. Like India, Hollywood expects makeup as a vital identifier of women, particularly actresses. Like the Bollywood site, entertainment magazines regularly feature comparisons of starts without makeup.

In conclusion, the cosmetic industry has surpassed numerous expectations as cosmetic surgeries are becoming increasingly popular. While traditional “makeup” is removable, these innovative surgeries actually rearrange the anatomy of a woman to meet some ideal or cultural expectation. Like the historical hazards associated with traditional makeup, women now are engaging in life-threatening surgeries to change their appearance. Ultimately, all use of cosmetics and cosmetic surgeries provide human beings to overcome the limits of the body. Cosmetics are just one of the millions of technologies of the body marketed daily. Once again, we are faced with the dilemma of whom technologies aide. In this case, cosmetics create one more drudgery that millions of women subscribe to a daily basis. This essentially functions to subjugate woman to meet an idealized version of herself in order to meet societal expectations and femininity as a identification.

Too Much Pleasure Can Lead To Pain

Yes, we know Advil can help give us pain relief from an intense exercise at the gym or ease the pain away of a headache from a long stressful day at the office. But do we ever think about the side effects that could come with the relief and comfort this magical pill give us? In 1969, Ibuprofen was first used to treat patient with rheumatoid arthritis. Today, Advil is used to reduce fever, headache, toothache, back pain, arthritis, and minor injury. It is not safe for a person to take Advil if they have a history of heart attack or stroke. Also, ask a doctor or pharmacist if Advil is safe for you to take. Advil side effects can cause dizziness, drowsiness, headache, stomach pain, gas, and heartburn. Drinking alcohol while taking Advil can cause stomach bleeding. USA Today publish an article in June of 2010, called the Danish study on healthy people using pain relievers are raising their risk of future heart related problems. The article provides studies done, that proved cardiovascular risk increased when healthy people used NSAIDs such as Advil. Individuals whose average age was 39, that used ibuprofen had a 29% chance of fatal and nonfatal stroke. In the article, Cardiologist Dr. Michael E. Farkouh explain that drugs that raise blood pressure such as Advil are associated with an artery-blocking effect that can be harmful in patients who are healthy. The study also indicated that healthy people are more likely to take NSAIDs for muscle and joint pain do to regularly excising. (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-06-11-nsaids-heart_N.htm) Another article by the New York Times talks about a study done by physiologist David Neiman at the Human Performance Laboratory at the North Carolina Research Campus. David Neiman conducted a stress test on the runners that was racing in the Western States Endurance Run. Neiman saw in blood samples he took, that many of the runners were providing their own physiological stress in tablet form. The runners that took ibuprofen before and during the races showed more inflammation and high immune system than runners that did not take any form of ibuprofen or aspirin. The runners that used ibuprofen also showed signs of mild kidney impairment before and after the race. Neiman find out that 7 out 10 runners were using ibuprofen. Majority of athletes in a wide range of sports, take some form of painkillers religiously. Neiman research finds that many athletes took ibuprofen before a sporting event to prevent pain during or after the event. Furthermore, taking ibuprofen before participating in a sporting event can actually has an opposite of reducing pain effect for athletes. The soreness of the athletes that took ibuprofen was same as the non-ibuprofen taking athletes. Physiologist Stuart Warden found that NSAIDs actually slowed the healing of injured muscles, tendons, ligament, and bones. (http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/phys-ed-does-ibuprofen-help-or-hurt-during-exercise/) Neiman and Warden Research also confirm passage on page 61 in the textbook on how the technology we felt was created to help us, end up proving to harm us. MSNBC reported that Advil and other forms of ibuprofens can cause health risk for pregnant mothers. (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/9811838/ns/today-today_health/) Advil design assumption is to expect their consumers to read the warning label on the packaging box, but the emotional attachment to Advil is that this technology as articulation gives relief, joy, and comfort that distract the buyers to recognize the warning. Over the years with Brett Favre and other athletes admitting to being addictive to painkillers, have lead to the term painkillers to be identified with athletes in physical sports.

Just Give Me a Little Space...

Food is something everyone must consume for subsistence on a daily basis in order to survive and maintain health. This has not changed, but what has changed are the ways in which we get our food, the genderized and racialized meanings of food, and the spaces we occupy while obtaining and consuming food. We are dependent on food, and therefore dependent on the supermarket to produce and distribute the goods needed.

The supermarket changes the way we move and interact within space. Space here referring to “social space” which is not just created by one person, but “the space created through the interaction of multiple humans over time.” People fill the aisles selecting their products moving and stopping at different counters to sample foods, obtain their meats and pastries, or to view the advertisements on the televisions. Communication in the supermarket has greatly changed from personal contact and interaction with employees to an almost invisible interplay. Customers communicate on their cell phones to friends in distant locations, bringing them into the shopping routine and shaping the space in new ways. This expands the social space to people that are not even present, and yet closes the social space of the actual physical people by limiting the dialogue and personal encounters with them.

The shoppers are all moving towards their end destination, the register or the less social, self-checkout. The assemblage of self- service has altered the way consumers shop and modified the duties and quantity of employees. The consumers no longer have to communicate with store employees because they can now non-verbally interact with the machines. The consumers may perceive this as progress, making shopping an autonomous activity and seemingly more convenient, but the self- service concept also plays a role in benefiting the stores labor costs. If the store no longer has to invest in multiple people to work the registers, they can instead hire one or two persons to see over the self-checkout area and thus save money. But the ideology of self-service can only successfully happen if the shoppers see it as being beneficial and appealing to them in some way. As our book states, “the assumption that a customer is “waited on” must be disarticulated, and the customer must be convinced that this a convenience, a good thing, a pleasurable activity, and so on.”

The register itself has the power of holding information such as the cost of purchases, sales, and coupons. Once at the register, customers can scan their frequent shoppers card offering the discounts and sales. The customers receive the discounts on their items all while their selections of purchase are surveyed and tracked in a computer. With the advanced marketing techniques using a form of surveillance, the customer’s choices of items are modified by the offer of additional coupons that correspond to items and brands that they have already purchased.

Food also creates a spatial practice in the kitchen, where people gather to make and consume food. As detailed in our book “Spatial practice consists of the structures and activities that produce and shape space by articulating it in certain ways." The family space of the kitchen is thought to bring the family together and focuses on a healthy well- cooked meal ideally cooked by the mother.

The ubiquity of supermarkets in suburban areas means that mothers should cook more extensive meals and more frequently. Also, food media, whether in film or on the television, portrays the idea of that food can create a community of people alike that can be bought and purchased not only by choosing particular brands, but by the mother’s choice of choosing the brands of America. It then becomes the mother’s obligation to buy these products and display and cook them in a certain ways. This can be seen with Jell-O, the popular gelatin dessert that is seen as quintessentially American. In Edible Ideologies, Nathan Abrahams states, “What American in the 1920s and 30s could resist the appetizing photographs of the gently rippling Jell-O salads in the Ladies Home Journal?”(85) Well who could resist them? The Jewish communities of America could not consume it because it contained the skins and bones of non-kosher animals. Jell-O became a way of separating the Americans and non-Americans, which during the 50s communist scares, held a tremendous negative connotation.

As spatial practices change with more people viewing television more regularly, comes a new way of consuming food. With easy to prepare meals, such as TV diners that are created to consume while viewing the television. The spaces we occupy and create together while consuming food can change the way we view food and the meaning we create for it.

Photographers (And Those Who Look at Photos) are Space and Time Travelers

Take a look at this photograph.

"The Tetons - Snake River" by Ansel Adams, c. 1942.

One who's active in our class may look at this picture and recognize it from my previous blog post, but, other than that, what do you see?  Maybe you notice the sharpness and detail of the vast landscape photography.  From the tiniest ripples in the Snake River to the sun's rays peeking out from behind the clouds, the photograph captures a certain majesty and mystique of the area.  You might look at this image for several minutes and it may begin to evoke a feeling inside of you, as if you have been to this particular spot in Grand Teton National Park.  But have you?  This is the power of the camera as a technology.  The camera and the images it produces bends space and time, affecting the viewers to think differently about the way they perceive articulations [the contingent connections of words, concepts, institutions, practices and affects that form a specific unity (p. 127)] of space:  Representations of space and representational space.

"In an era when handheld point-and-shoot cameras were quickly becoming the norm, Adams and other landscape photographers clung to their bulky, old-fashioned large-format cameras.  Ultimately, Adams’ pictures turned photography into fine art.  What’s more, they shaped the way Americans thought of their nation’s wilderness and, with that, how to preserve it."  In 1940, Kings Canyon National Park was established, but it didn't come without a fight and technological aid.  FDR's Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes "took particular interest in the National Park Service."  Ickes turned his sights on the Kings Canyon region of the Sierra Nevada and enlisted the aid of Ansel Adams to drive home his fight for preservation.  President Roosevelt was so moved by the work of Ansel Adams that he signed Kings Canyon National Park into existence, even though "he would never be able to visit in person because of his inability to walk unaided. Instead, he would appreciate its magnificence through the photographs of Ansel Adams."

Looking southeast from base of Moro Rock, Kings Canyon National Park.

 As our book tells us, technology is spatial, meaning technology and our awareness of it affects the ways in which we perceive and move within space.  The camera, in particular the way Ansel Adams used it with the establishment of many US National Parks, has shaped the way our culture perceives, conceives and lives.  Adams' use of the camera has altered the way we see our countries wildlife as representations of space, "space as it is conceived . . . concepts we use to think about space" and representational space, "the direct, lived bodily experience of space, which include how we move in, through and experience space"  (p. 136-137).

Adams crafted representations of space through his photographs.  Our book describes how "scientists, engineers, planners, architects and others" (this includes photographers) "understand and represent space as something to be lived."  Adams' experiences, emotions and thoughts as a young boy visiting Yosemite translate onto the large sheets of photographic film.  The deep, black shadows of the mountains, fluctuating highlights and mid tones in the sky and wooded areas, and overall sharpness of the first, and even second, photograph are intentional of the artist.  The black and white photography and sharpness are meant to affect its audience into feeling the same way as the artist about the subject, the representation of space.

This establishment of emotions in the viewer begins to affect the way the viewer perceives the subject or representation of space and, in turn, changes "our awareness of space," or representational space.  Though the book tells us that representational space is the "direct, lived bodily experience of space," the photograph's strong evocation of emotions and feelings as a representation of space begins to affect a mind in a way similar to how the book describes representational space as "what space 'feels' like"  (p. 137).  The overall depth of the photo, how clearly we can see the drop in altitude from the high perspective of the camera to the river below and the distance between the camera and the mountains, evokes a "feel" of the area.  It's wide open.  It "feels" free to be explored.  The detail in faraway objects like trees is so fine that we "feel" the experience of walking through the massive forest, linking it to our own experience of inhabiting a similar space.

Even though you have probably never been to Kings Canyon or seen the Tetons and the Snake River, you "feel" like you have because of the representations of space in photographs.  In a way, the image allows us to travel through time and space in order to "experience" or "feel" something we have not.  Like previously stated, this is the power of photographers and their cameras:  Representing space and causing the viewer to have an emotional reaction to the piece.

For more examples of how photographs change the way we look and perceive space around us, check out this article.

Vacuuming: So easy even a cave man could do it!

Technologies make life better because they make life more convenient; that is, they save time, conquer space, and create comfort. Technologies perform tasks we might otherwise have to do for ourselves. They relieve us from drudgery, labor, and physical exertion. They minimize the everyday struggles that were commonplace for our ancestors. In all, they make life easier.(Slack+Wise)

Vacuum cleaners are convenient and they cut the time of cleaning a floor, rug, or carpeted area in half. This kind of technology enables us to get work done faster and more efficiently and this is why so many people use vacuum cleaners. According to Goodway, a prominent vacuum cleaner manufacturere, there are even industrial vacuum cleaners that are used in industries such as pharmaceuticals, plastic molding plants, and railroad stations just to name a few.

In my previous blog I discussed the various kinds of vacuum cleaners. To reiterate, they can range from battery powered hand held vacuums to very large industrial vacuum cleaners. The most common kind of vacuum cleaner is the upright which is a midsize machine. Vacuum cleaners are used at carwashes for the purpose of cleaning cars and you can even find people using them in the mining industry.

The vacuum cleaner as a technology has definitely had an effect on our culture. Years prior, cleaning was always considered the woman’s job but over the years in our evolving world men have also taken a larger role in this area. According to our textbook, Culture and Technology, from a technological determinism perspective, technology is key in defining what culture is. Also it cause effects and such effects are the main cause of cultural change. The way we as a people do practical things such as cleaning or even our methods of communication is what defines our culture. From this position, it is fair to say that the vacuum cleaner has essentially advanced our culture, or to say the least it has changed it.

In Marshall McLuhan’s “Understanding Technology,” he speaks on the ideal that “The Medium is the Message.” According to McLuhan, the personal and social consequences of any medium result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology. To put this in other words, technology changes us. It changes our perception of things. Vacuum cleaners can be found in use just about anywhere, because of this, people are doing twice the work in half the time. Their jobs are less strenuous and our environment is much cleaner. On the negative side, vacuum cleaners can even take the role of humans in some cases therefore, some jobs are eliminated. Compared to all of the positive advancements, this fact is minor. The idea is to know that the technology, the vacuum cleaner, is the message.

In conclusion, vacuum cleaners can be considered a technology that has helped shape our culture, our lives, and our world. Everywhere you go whether it be your home, the grocery store, car dealership, factory, or several other places you will find one. People use them in every walk of life and as time goes on and we continue to progress and change, the vacuum cleaner will be right along for the ride.

Why Use Shoes?

The use of shoes has been around for many years throughout different cultures. Shoes are designed to make us walk and run comfortably but are these the only reasons human beings rely on shoes? Definitely not especially in this new digital world we are living in. Shoes can sometime identify us for who we are. Identity plays major roles in our life; it is our characteristics which give cues to others to help them figure out what we represent. In our textbook Culture and Technology it states, “Identity affects how a person is placed in culture: how important they are, how they are treated, and what possibilities are open to them” (Slack 149). When we look at a commercial and see our favorite celebrity promoting shoes we run and buy the shoes no matter what the circumstances are. It doesn’t matter if we like them, the style of the shoe, or how much they cost. The only thing that matters is, Hanna Montana, Beyonce, or TI has the shoes on, therefore; it has to be the new trend. The funny thing is you can take those same shoes and someone who is not a celebrity can wear them and most people would say things like, “those shoes are old” or “nobody wears them anymore.” Shoes can say a lot about your character such as; if you keep yourself up, the type of style you like and you personality (outgoing, adventurous, quite, loud and soft spoken). When looking at someone shoes we tend to stereotype their lives at that very moment. In the reading, Cybertyping and the Work of Race, the author Lisa Nakamura states, “Stereotype itself an example of machine-language, albeit pre computer; the first stereotype was a machine device that could reproduce images relatively cheaply, quickly, and in mass quantities,” (Nakamura 318). In this day and time shoes are becoming more and more expensive. Prada, Gucci, Chanel, and even Nikes are all well quality shoes and all have been duplicated by cheap material and sold. The other manufactures know that everyone can not afford these shoes so they use cheap material to make the duplicates and sell them at a low price. If someone was to have on the fake Gucci or Jordan’s we atomically identify them as being cheap or having low income.

Technology is developed within shoes but why does this matter? Identity matter is one way of answering this question. Technology targets a particular group of people. Technology is designed according to who will use it. This is how they determine who they will distribute it to! In chapter thirteen of our textbook Culture and Technology, it talked about how technologies will be designed to work in ways that suite those use and users (Slack 150). When looking at a commercial in which a celebrity is promoting shoes, the commercial does not necessarily mean you are the target audience? If you are not a person who buys or will ever plan to buy expensive shoes the commercials is not meant for you. Although the purpose of these commercials is to get everyone to buy the product this is not possible. Therefore, when targeting an audience they use celebrities, people with nice skin, nice bodies, and gender depending on the type of shoe they are trying to sell. “The discourse of many commercials for the internet includes gender as only one of a series of outmode “body categories” like race and age,” (Nakamura 32). Race and gender is design to get the attention of the audience .When people wear shoes it is not just a shoe, it is culture, fashion, and above all their identity.

Cites: Slack, Jennifer Wise, J. MacGregor. Culture and Technology.

Nakamuar, Lisa. Cybertyping and the Work of Race.

Wee, DDT

     DDT is a pesticide and this means it kills pests, if you have read my previous blog post you would know this. I related that it had been banned, but the truth is that it is still made today. Despite the known dangers of DDT, it is still manufactured in the United States but it is illegal to use it here (link). The chemical is only used in this country in response to a dire public emergency, such as need for strict disease control (spread by insects) or body lice epidemics. A quick internet search did not pull up any results about whether or not DDT was used against West Nile or its ilk, so obviously these did not count as public emergencies (what classifies this?). The U.S. can manufacture and sell DDT to countries, like Kenya, Thailand, and Mexico. They use it to control pest populations, where many are desperately trying to stem the deaths from mosquito borne diseases.
     When DDT was first introduced, it was hoped that it would be able to eradicate things like Malaria, a tragic global pandemic. Many debate today if that was ever possible, with some pointing out the resistance insects developed to the pesticide through overuse. Though, we all know that DDT was not synthesized to help people, it was synthesized to control pests that eat our crops. This type of mentality, controlling nature, is prominent in western culture.  Due to this cultural need for control, this dominion of nature, DDT was used. This is technology, why it is used and made, can be thought of from a cultural determinism standpoint. I actually intend to argue both sides, with the other being known as technological determinism. I want to do this to show that yes, I do pay attention in class. Also, I find that to think of things from a single theory never bodes well with the idea of truly trying to understand something.  Even if that something is just a pesticide.
     Cultural determinism is the belief that culture develops the needs for new technology, meaning that it has a say in how it is used. DDT was made to be a pesticide, well it was accidentally made, but when its effects were known the creator won a Noble Peace Prize (link). Knowing this it is not hard to imagine that this was a happy accident. Killing is what DDT does and that is what it is used for, it was used to purify the bad wilderness and bring our civilizing good crops. It did have nobler aspirations, but because of its overuse for big agriculture, they could not be met.
     On the flip side, technological determinism is the belief that technology causes effects, and thus is causes the changes to culture. DDT caused a lot of effects, it killed birds, fish, and harms the environment, and this all affects us. It never just eradicated the bad bugs that destroyed our crops, but caused a wave of cultural changes that still is moving today. This chemical cause a generation of people to turn to organic farming (after reading things like Silent Spring), and reject big corporations. This organic movement (which has deviated from the original movement) is now a major player in the global economy. We know that DDT was an accidental invention, so its side effects were not really known until around the 40s, around 30 years before it was banned.
     DDT was just something to kill some bugs so our plants would grow better, it would be cheaper to produce them, and then cheaper for us to buy them. But, as time went on we began to realize that our technology began to have a negative impact on us and our environment. We determined what we wanted it to do, but in the end its effects forced our culture to change.

Beauty, Glamour, or Confidence...What IsThe Goal of Hairweave

Hair weave is considered to be, by most people, an aid to beauty and self confidence.It is almost certain that any woman feels better when her hair meets her approval, along with many other things.Glamour has become a significant way of life, and women a go through almost anything to reach that goal, such as implants, lipo suctions,breast enhancements, and long processes of applying hair weaves.Hair weaves is one of the biggest contributors to assumption of what is glamorous.Jennifer Slack and J. Macgregor Wise mentions in the book Culture and Technology that technologies of the body (ranging from make-up to surgery) can be used to alter identities to either conform to or rebel against cultural norms(pg.161).In other words, technologies such as hair weave can be used to help some one fit into what is culturally accepted for them, or to help someone stand out or be the outcast of thier group.Hair weaves are used to enhance a person's natural hair by adding lenght, adding volume and thickness, adding fashionable colors to the hair without the use of damaging chemicals ,and/or just to achieve a certain hairstyle.Celebrities are some the hugest users of hair weaves and wigs as an glamour statement.Celebrities have hairweaves shipped from places like India to ensure that they have the best quality hair that money can buy.The highest quality extension hair is Indian human remy hair.They sometimes spend up to 5,000 dollars for wigs and hair weaves, simply to look glamorous.

On the other hand, others use hair weave as a source to gain back self confidence,not as a fashion statement.Hair weaves give some people the opporunity to feel beautiful and normal.Hair loss occurs commonly with cancer patients who are going through Chemotherapy .Hair loss occurs over periods of days or weeks,starting with thinning to complete loss of hair.Most Cancer patients who plan to use Chemotherapy and experience hair loss choose to use human hair wigs and human hair pieces.Arthur Frank states,in The Body's Problems With Illness, that "When adult bodies lose control,they are expected to attempt to regain it if possible,and if not then atleast to conceal the loss as effectively as possibly (pg.33).Erving Goffman's classic work on stigma shows that society demands a considerable level of body control from its members(pg.33).Goffman shows that they are responsible for how they present themselves and manifest the signs of illness(pg.33).Hair weaves help to achieve the goal of appearing "healthy" and "normal".

http://www.cancercenter.com/chemotherapy-hair-loss.htm

http://www.atlantasalons.com/html/hair_weavingg.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_weave

Frank, Arthur."The Body's Problems With Illness." pages 161

Slack,Jennifer and J.macgrefor Wise."Culture and Technolgy."page 33