MORCAL

https://docs.google.com/a/cbu.edu/presentation/d/1pR8EX4_SeuovvIi3iQszk_Qj0kPUOzP_DR-RyNatEDw/edit?usp=sharing

Voting App

This was my favorite app out of all the technological inventions because I believe that this will be increase in voter’s response from now on. Being able to vote from the convenience of your home or during your own time is what this society needs. Now people do not have time to wait in lines or have the ability to leave their house. Because our society is so tech savvy, having the ability to vote right at our fingertips is what we need in this country. Our voting decisions are made by only a quarter of the citizens in our population, and people who did not vote are never pleased with the people in our government. So to be able to change this unbalanced scale around you can create an app where you can vote from anywhere and more people in our population voices will be heard. There might be a few problems that this app might run into such as hackers, but we are facing this issue now with the voting machines we are using now. If we put up a government security system around the app I believe that it will give people more of a relief by knowing that their votes are secure. In my opinion, this app will create a lot more opportunities for people to let their voices be heard.

When A Women Flos, she flos forreal!

This topic wasn't my first intrest because I was confused at first, but once it was explained, I was swayed and shocked that women everywhere from college students to homeless women, they can't afford the natural essentials they need such as feminine products like tampons and pads, essential products for women. When women are deemed with homelessness, they require more than a man because she has physical needs that a paper towel can fix. Homeless women are not influenced to keep themselves up because of their situatio, but this app is nothing different. I loved thi idea and keep up the great work. This idea was significant to me because I have sisters and a mother and if they were homeless, I wouldn't want them to experience the same. This idea was superb.

The Issue of Absences and a Possible Solution

How many times have you missed a class because you were sick, had an appointment, had another commitment, had work, or were simply not feeling like going to class that day? Well what if there was an app that could help you keep track of all your absences so that you don't miss too many days in your classes or so that you can be sure to miss just the right amount. The Course Connect app promises to do just that.

First, this group, like many others, started off by presenting some facts about how often people miss class as well as their reasons for missing class. Based on the reasons that were given in the presentation, it seems that most people skip class for what most people might consider a "bad" reason. And, the information also pointed out that an overwhelming majority of college students have skipped class. These students' skipping class then makes it easier for them to procrastinate. It also leads to a failure of communication between the the skipping student and his or her classmates as well as his or her professor. Ultimately, both these things are then likely to cause a student's grades to drop.

So, this is where this group's app comes into play. The apps main purpose seems to be to make it easier for a student to keep up with his or her absences in each class. It does this by having each student provide his or her student id number and then accessing their schedule. The app, however, doesn't stop at being able to keep track of absences. The app can also access a student's Moodle and display that student's grades. As well as show important events and due dates that may be coming up for that student. From this app, a student could also access important documents and information that may be uploaded by a professor.

Now, the main problem with this is that this app is that there is no guarantee that a professor will keep track of most of this information. So, the app would then be meaningless, and would only be useful for keeping track of absences. And, although it is useful to keep track of your absences, one could simply type up a document or get out a sheet of paper and pen and keep track of their absences in each class on their own. On the flip side, if all professors were to use Moodle, this app, other than the attendance tracker, would become obsolete because Moodle is a mobile friendly website that is already run by the school.

Help For the Homeless

The other project that I really enjoyed was Hotspot for the Homeless. Growing up in Memphis, I never personally experienced being homeless, but I know several people who has. Memphis has a higher percentage of homeless people than the state of Tennessee’s percentage. Even though this is quite an issue, most people do not think about it much, which is natural. If something does not effect a person directly they naturally push that to the back of their mind. I have heard personal stories from homeless people of how during the winter they have to go from place to place to find warmth. They put on all of the clothes they have, which is not much, to provide extra warmth. They keep moving in hopes that moving will keep them warm, until they cannot take any more on their raw, bloody, and blistered feet. If they have friends, they all huddle together, but they never are able to create enough body heat. Some of them even commit crimes just so they can go to jail to be warm and get a meal. The logical answer to this problem is shelters, but most shelters are overcrowded and people are turned away once a shelter gets too full.  The next logical answer to this problem is to build more shelter, but it is easier said than done. Building more shelters is not as simple as it seems, because where will the funding come from, where would it be, how many people will it accommodate, etc. I think that the first choice is to build more shelters, but seeing how complicated that can be, the second choice is to set up a Hotspot. The Hotspot for the Homeless is a brilliant idea. The use of solar power makes it cost efficient for the city, and it helps keep people from freezing to death. Also, it helps to prevent the spread of diseases, which can happen fairly quickly in a shelter, by allowing room for the people to spread out. The fact that Hotspots have Wi-Fi, so that if a homeless person does have a phone they can look up the weather and etc., is pure genius. I think that a major obstacle for implementing the Hotspots is how they are going to convenience people to allow a Hotspot to be put in their community. I am sure that a lot of people would think that Hotspots are a great idea, just as long as they are not in their community. I love this project and hope that one day someone actually creates Hotspots and they are put up in cities across America.       

Rape Button: The 50/50 savior

The Rape button that was made to supposedly save girls that were scared of the risk of rape due to a button that they could wear as jewelry would most likely not help a thing.  If you think about it most of the time someone is going to do something as ridiculously risky as rape someone they are most likely hyper vigilant they would probably notice the movement of someone going to touch their jewelry and take it as a sign and probably just harm them even more if they were not just going to rape them in the first place now they me be found hurt or beaten.  Also if you think about it even if they do not notice the woman push the rape button on whatever piece of jewelry they are wearing the likelihood that the woman is not already raped before the police are even able to respond is highly unlikely.  Yes it would be nice if this product existed if it could 100% prevent rape without over stressing the police force more than they already are but if you want to be honest it would probably not decrease rapes much and this is hardly a unique product this has already effectively been made before such as the app available on the iphone and android that will do basically the same thing as this button and everyone has a phone and is very easily accessible.  As far as this group goes their presentation was only about 15 minutes long which was much less than the requirements stated and their products also looked quite odd, called by our very own Dr. Johnson looking like a condom, which it definitely did look like after you noticed it.  If anything the large amount of questions that people asked since rape is a very controversial topic in this world since it seems these days most women do not feel safe going out in public and that women should not have to feel this way when they go out in public by themselves but to be fair it is the reality.  Therefore there were quite a few questions because it is such a value-laden problem in America and around the world and if anything saved this presentation its because no one stopped asking questions about the product and how it works and how it would truly help society better than any other product like it.

The Future Way of Recycling

The BioCan presentation was very well put together, and the idea was complete genius. I never realized how many pounds of things, such as food, plastic bottles, and other materials, are wasted each year in America. In America alone, 28 billion pounds of food, 35 billion plastic bottles, and almost 1 million pounds of materials per person is wasted. Seeing how the American population keeps growing, finding that information out was very disturbing, but finding out where all of that waste goes was even more disturbing. All of our garbage goes to landfills which is fine now, but what happens when all of the current landfills are filled? Will all of the garbage start just magically disappearing? Of course not, more landfills will need to be made. That is a fine and feasible solution for now, but what happens when most of the world is landfills? Since landfills create a toxic environment, I’m sure that no would want to live by them, but what is a simple solution to cut down on the waste dumped in landfills? I think that most people attempt to recycle and do other things to save the plant. However since it is not second nature to them, they do not do it as often as they should. The BioCan is the perfect solution to help minimize and hopefully prevent completely the expansion of landfills. The BioCan makes recycling as easy as throwing away a bag of trash.  The use of bacteria to get rid of waste without causing anyone any harm is smart. I know that if BioCan ever came out on the market, I would definitely invest in a BioCan. I think that this product would intrigue most people, maybe not the sanitation workers. The Bio-Can is smart, cost effective, and it is a source of green energy.  The app that goes with this product is an awesome and simple way to keep up with BioCan cycles. The app lets the owner know how many days until the BioCan will be completely empty, the time of the next cycle, how many pounds of trash is in the BioCan, it has an activity log, allows the owner to manually start a cycle, and to request maintenance. This is so convenient for the owner, because most people keep their cellphones on them at all times. Besides the great effects it has in the home, the BioCan also has a great effect in the city. The BioCan reduces the need for so many sanitation workers. Yes, that does suck for sanitation workers, but the money that money can be used towards city betterment programs. I hope that one day the BioCan will be more than idea, but an actual product. 

My Thoughts on Course Connect

Well with how excited I was to hear about this app goes to show how much would help students.  I think the app Course Connect would be largely beneficial to the Christian Brothers University community.  Having an app that would allow quick and easy access to grades and syllabi would improve the quality of a student’s life tremendously. 

I recall having many problems last semester where the teacher would not announce assignments in class and they would not be on the syllabus.  The teacher posted them to a website and assumed we would check it religiously.  Well, as a first semester freshmen student, I had so much going on that the thought to check it did not always cross my mind.  This same problem occurred with several of my classmates as well.  This led to problems of missing assignments, which led to my lesser understanding of the material, and a lower grade in the class.  If the teacher could post them an app where students have quicker access, and could receive notifications about it then students could perform better in that class.  Aside from that it would help students to keep track of assignments and allow them to plan their schedules more appropriately to not fall behind in classes. 

I know that some teachers do not avidly keep up with grades so this may not help students who have classes with those teachers.  But if a student were to have a central point to check their grades, other than flipping through pages in Moodle, they could be more moved to either improve their grades or keep them where they are.  Otherwise in some cases students are in limbo and have no idea where they stand in the class.  This can be very frustrating to students to students.  However, even though this app will help with seeing the grades for the classes with teachers that post them, it will not fix the problem of the teachers who do not post them. 

Over all I think this app would help students greatly.  The idea is well thought out and directly improves the lives of students.  While they did have some issues with where the funding would come from, the discussion in class helped guide where it could come from, saying CBU would most likely pay for such an app.  I would be excited to see something like this actually created, and I hope that one day it may be real.  

Needed: Hotspots for the Homeless

Hotspot for the homeless is an excellent idea. It not only benefits the homeless, but also shines a light on a major issue. Specifically, in Memphis, it is normal to see homeless people sleeping and walking on the street, but that should not be the case. They hold signs asking for work, help, food, and money because they have no resources. Some homeless people even have children that are forced to endure such harsh circumstances.

Personally, I am thankful that I don’t have to worry about living through the terrible conditions that homeless people do. No matter what anyone says or thinks, the homeless are in need of serious help. I think because most don’t consider how a homeless person truly feels, we overlook these people. For example, these people are left to sleep on the dangerous streets during all weather conditions while we sleep comfortably in our beds. We automatically think that if they want help, they will go to a homeless shelter, yet we don’t think about how fast homeless shelters fill up so some homeless people have nowhere to go.

As a solution, Hotspots would help relieve some of the problems that homeless people face. They will provide warmth in the winter seasons. This would also aid in eliminating the various illnesses faced by homeless people. Lastly, there is no need for staff supervision, only normal regulation. Therefore, they are not expensive like a shelter. 

Working on Your Stress

Stress. Nearly everyone in the world is affected by stress. Yet, many people don't address the issue nearly as often as they should. Thankfully, this group decided to think about for a longer period of time than most other people. This lead to their research and they found some facts that I myself wasn't aware of. The facts were all quite shocking and I was surprised by a significant amount of them. The one that stood out the most, however, is that 9% of college students from 2007-2008 had seriously considered suicide because they didn't know how to cope with their high levels of stress.

The facts that they found let to their coming up with a brilliant idea for an app that can help relieve some of the stress that some people may experience. The app "Stress Less" is a good concept for an app and it's features will without a doubt help people cope with stress. The best part about this app, I would have to say, is how it can be personalized to fit different individuals. The app even "checks up" on you once a month so that it can measure your progress and determine if the choices you've made thus far have helped you with your stress. And, if it finds that it didn't it will even give you new suggestions that are also tailored to you that may help. Something else that the app does is give you some available outside resources that can also help.

However, having said these things, this app does have its faults. For one, although the pictures and suggestions of the day could be easy to personalize for people, it would be much more difficult to do with music and videos. This is because it would take longer and cost more to develop a program that can "listen to" and "watch" videos in order to determine which would best fit a certain personality type. So, consultants would have to be hired to actually analyze these videos and music in order to determine which videos would lower stress in a particular personality type. This, although a cheaper and quicker solution compared to a program, could be very expensive. Another major problem is how easily corruptible this program could be in respect to the products and business that it displays under its resources section. I believe that it could be easily corrupted because a company and/or business could pay for their goods and/or services to be displayed ahead of others despite what might benefit the users. 

Let`s Have A C.H.A.T.

Rape is not a issue that most women are comfortable talking about, especially with the people they love. Rape doesn't devastate an individual, it devastates famalies and the fact that C.H.A.T offers an array of light out of this dark situation is superb. I wasn't present that day for thus presentation, but obviously, it was and still is a great idea and I don't even know what C.H.A.T. stands for but I wish I knew. The awareness of rape is something that most people don't know about, but honestly society doesn't always care about the matters of rape and the fact that we in this class can have a C.H.A.T about it is great. Rape is a touchy issue that most of the time people can't grasp the severity of. Women are a pillar of strengh in society and the fact that C.H.A.T helps them be even stronger is a positive move for society and I wish this project had a sense of actuallity in the community so that a women's life does not diminish after the darkness of weight. I don't feel as though that their college life or family life shpuld end at the stupidity and evilness of someone else. The unique thing about C.H.A.T is that it provides a sort of life after death situation to anyone that would be grateful to take advantage of it. Whether society acknowledges it or not, rape is an injustice that can be bestowed on anyone and apps such as C.H.A.T. can offer an outlet of technical support. What would be great is if this app could benefit men. By that I mean is what if could benefit the male college students who are and were raped. C.H.A.T should not only be an app, but a societal norm that can battle this injustice in any way shape or form. But, this app does not only have to benefit a damaged individual, it can benefit everyone from a university campus to someone`s family that has been victimized by rape. C.H.A.T. can go beyond the handiness of an app to the greatness of a movement. It has the goal of not ensuring the stop of rape, but assuring that you don't lose yourself after the fact and that you as an individual obtain your dignity. This is a great idea that not only an individual can take advantage of, but an individual as well. C.H.A.T can span its greatness to rebuild a person after they have been mentally and physically torn down.

Homeless vending machine evaluation

The vending machine for the homeless was something that I thought for my group project, but we ended up choosing something else. Even though the idea was similar to this group, my concept was a little different of what this group presented. I do have to agree that super markets and restaurants throw out tons and tons of food daily because is expire. Therefore, what a better way to use that food for those in need, in this case for the homeless. I like the idea of the vending machine for the homeless, but there are certain procedures that can be improved in order to make it work. Therefore, since they classify themselves as a non-profit organization they will need financial support in order to get the vending machines out on the streets. One way of raising financial support is through donations. If people are willing to give money to homeless while they wait at the red light why not establish a small donation center (boxes) around town where people can deposit their changes or any amount they feel like. For example, setting these boxes at big companies like Walmart. The reason I use Walmart is simply because they have nothing to lose and thousands of customers attend their stores daily. By Walmart doing this, they will not only help the community but also give their customers a chance to participate in this great project. Another aspect that I will like to improve is the setting of these vending machines in the back of restaurants. Dr. J made few comments about the reasons why is not a good idea. One of the reason is because it segregates the homeless from those who are actual customers of the restaurants. This idea reminds me of the separate but not equal, when colored people were not allowed to travel in the same wagon as white people. One idea I had in mind was to explain and try to convince local restaurant owners in helping homeless by offering them the leftovers instead of throwing them out. If owners decided to join in, another important step to follow will be letting the homeless inside the establishment dine in and enjoy a great meal like any other customer. Even though not every owner would like this idea, but if at least they try to make the homeless feel like value customers by dining in before the restaurant opens to the public or before they close would create a great impact on their lives. 

Safecessories

The issue with sexual assault in America and all over the world is horribly looked over. Most of the time women are blamed if they are assaulted because of the way they dress or act. However, not in every situation is a woman to blame. In the same way, not in every situation is the man to blame, because it can go both ways. This group presented a solution to what we may encounter at any moment, a situation where we have no help. I personally would buy these items. However, I do not like the idea of having to pay such a big monthly fee. It would be nice if the price was lowered to about $5.99 and it would be a convenient price for those who are in an underprivileged community. Many women/men who live in dangerous areas may not have the money to pay for this, when they are the ones who are at risk the most. On the bright side, the design was really well made and looks very elegant and would sell well in my opinion. It would also be nice if you could send in your own jewelry and have the signal installed into it so it won't be as obvious that you're using their brand of jewelry. I like the idea of having a primary contact and the police as a secondary contact. The only issue with this is that fact that the other person must have the app, but it will be better if it was sent to them as SMS. I know that if I bought this, sometimes people don'y want another app when they have so many that already spam them with notifications. Overall, I really liked this idea and I think that if it became an actual thing, it would benefit not only young guys and girls, but older people also. The group did a great job at presenting the issue and offering this a possible solution. I think it would also be nice if they made a partnership with small stores like Claire's, hot topic and forever 21 to sell these undercover to young girls. Another question which popped up was, will this be sold worldwide? If so, then it would be a major business and life saver! I know many instances where this device would come handy and be a little pendant of security and hope.

Finding Courage

Girls, are you worried about if someone is going to come behind you and take and possibly hurting or raping you on a college campus. Many girls are getting rapped on big college campuses in todays world. Have you ever been rapped but never had the courage to talk about it or was able to confront the rapper about it? Many women that have been rapped never has the courage to tell or talk to someone about it their situation. Maybe you feel comfortable talking to someone one on one or maybe a close friend about what has happened to you. The app, C.H.A.T., gives women an opportunity to speak up and talk about their rapping situation. You are able to set up an appointment with a consultant that would guide in you in the right place about your situation. Say that you aren’t comfortable about talking to anyone face to face yet about being rapped, you will be able to have a conversation with a consultant behind your phone screen. This allows you to be able to tell your story without being scared to say it in front of someone. If you are wanting to talk to someone but is scared to go alone then they will allow you to bring as many friends that you would like to bring. This app is designed to help women today, speak up and to seek help from someone that has been rapped. Many women are being rapped but do not have the courage to speak up because they are afraid of reaching out to the police. I know that if I ever had gotten rapped that this app would be helpful because I know that right away that I would not feel comfortable to talk about it to anyone, not even my best friends. I am the type of the person that will bundle up all the emotions and then will finally will burst and everything will come out at once. But I am also the type of person that if it isn’t anybody else’s problem then it is no reason for anybody else to worry about it. I don’t want to make my problem anybody else’s problem. If I was to get rapped, then I would use the app to contact the consultant behind the screen because I know I would not be able to find the courage to talk to someone face to face.  

Living Legend.... Living Lie

This episode was your average hour of drama. Catfish definitely did its job when it came to this episode, which included Angela. Angela has taken on different personas online, and I'm not talkin about some wigs and a pair of glasses in order to not only be sneaky and decisive, but to find what she unfortunately does not have embedded in her home life. Angela has created these people who she is not because her home life was hopeless and there was no love in her partnership and she wanted that. For Angela, attention, is definitely, a drug and unfortunately, Angela is hooked. When you are the center of attention, of course it can be a drug, simply because it feels good to have people's thoughts on and about you. This was a technical escape for Angela and it helped to not be Angela, but to be Carol or Pam or whoever she wanted to be that was happy. The question is was she wrong for what she did? Honestly her lie was absolutely wrong, but her intentions were absolutely pure. Angela was genuinely attempting to be happy and if she had to lie to do that, then that waa exactly what she was going to do. She found exactly that in her relationship with Nev and honestly I was happy for her, but there was always the question of if she was really the person she said she was, could she had been happy with her new life. But, Angela isn`t the only person that is out there that does this and the only difference between Angela and them, is that she wasn't looking to be malicious, she wasn't actually looking for something she emotionally didn't have. But, I believe what she is doing is unhealthy and obviously I feel as though she didn't have to do that, she should have just gotten out of this situation just like any other empowered woman. Angela was desperate and in a way I am happy that she found an outlet of escape, but dissapointed that she had to lie to do it. The question that in in my mind is does Angela certainly fit the description of a catfish and if she really persued a relationship with Nev and what if he was able to look pass her lies and accept her for who she was, what kind of relationship could have flourished?

Lifting Yourself.... Out of a kiddie pool.

    I would like to preface this blog post by saying I understand far too well the struggles of the severely depressed. I have had immediate family members that have been hospitalized due to the severity of their depression and I myself have occasionally danced with it, having once spent an entire summer laying in bed eating once a week because I lacked the energy or motivation to get up and eat. So I understand very well how difficult life can be for those with depression and how daily life can be a struggle. I also believe that mentally ill college students should have more resources available to them to help them with this struggle. I just do not think this website does an adequate job filling this role.
    I would like to start off by praising one aspect of the blog that I found important and that was mentioning that this is intended to be a supplementary treatment to go along with psychological/psychiatric treatment. It can sometimes be incredibly helpful to individuals with certain mental illnesses to be able to speak with other people that have the same disorder, have had similar experiences, and thus can understand their life far better than a typically-developed individual could ever be capable of. However, I do not think this website provides a service that the patient cannot receive elsewhere. As indicated in the presentation, other websites/chatroom services exist to allow a person with depression to speak with other patients around the world. Additionally, many therapists provide opportunities for group therapy sessions, allowing patients to work to manage their symptoms together. In this aspect, Lifting Yourself does not deliver anything revolutionary. Its main selling point is the centers located in each major city that offer group activities to patients that come out. However, I believe this assumes a certain level of functioning of the patient that it is not safe to assume. As mentioned in the presentation itself, many people with a depressive disorder find it hard to muster the energy to do basic things like clean their home or go to class. If these basic tasks can prove to be a challenge, I find it hard to believe that they would be willing to drive to Shelby Farms to engage in yoga. If I, at the nadir of my depression, would not go to the kitchen to make a sandwich, I doubt I would have driven to Dance-a-Thon either. The opportunity to meet and socialize with other patients in a non-clinical setting is an important aspect, to be sure, but it shouldn't be the main focus of a depression program when it is only the least severe cases that will benefit from it.

Being in Debt or not to be in Debt?

Have you ever wondered how you were going to be able to pay for college or if you were going to have to take out student loans? Ever thought about if you were ever going to be able to get out of debt if you have to take out student loans? Finance University is this place that will help you make the right decisions when you are trying to pay for college. College students do not know how to manage their money these days while trying to pay for college. A lot of college students like to go out and have fun during the week but never realize how much they are spending until they need groceries or need to pay something for school. Finance University allows a worker to sit down with you and plan out your weekly payments. They show you how to manage your money while paying for college. Many college students, like me, do not have to worry about paying for college so during the week we think it is okay to go and spend all your money on things we don’t even need. Because for most of us our parents are paying for our school or gives us everything we want, in other words, we are being spoiled. I now that today if I was supposing to be able to pay for my own college that I would not know how to manage my money. I am the type of person that will go and spend all my allowance on stuff that I do not even need, but if I need more money then I know to call my parents and they will give it to me. I am a very spoiled child as you can tell by reading. This app would benefit people like me to learn how to manage my money so I know how to manga my money when I graduate college and become financially stable on my own. I would definitely use this app in the future to help me stay on track with my expenses. It would help me see how much I would be able to spend when I want to go out with friends one night or trying to buy groceries for the week. If this app was to ever become a real thing, then I would use this app all the time even if I was good at managing my money. I think the app would help me stay on track on what I was spending.