safestreet

    safe street was a really good project and it was the best presented as well. the idea to make driving safer and to crack down on the drunk drivings, is beautiful and extremely helpful. drunk drivers are incredibly in-safe indivuals, either to themselves or others, also the accidents or death that come along with it is so high in rates that its just heart breaking. so of course I will think that an app to keep drunk drivers from not only hurting themselves but also the ones around them is a fantastic idea and quite possibly should become a real app. the only problem I found was that you cant make people download an app, and a person who drinks a lot probulay wont want the app at all, so it may not actually be a real working and efficient way, but hey I still think the concept is creative and if was more practical well then it would definetly be the most life saving thing ever.

mentality reality

   this project by far was the best one that I heard. the idea to give those with mental illnesses or problems a better place to deal with their emotions is fantastic. I thought they put a lot of good wrok into their project as well. making the videos themselves, even just the website was really good to, it was definetly well put together. of course like every other project, money comes in to play, but im sure if this was an actual plan, there would be no reason that they couldn't come up with the funds needed to represent this idea. all in all, I really did like this idea and thought that it could be really helpful. Im actually glad that a good group, took the time and effort to come up with a good idea.

Heat Guard

     I think Heat Guard was a good idea and one of my favorite projects that I got to see out of all the groups, and I like how well in depth they went into their research for their presentation. I also liked that it wasn't just an idea for a system that would save kids, but also pets because yeah nothing replaces the loss of a child, but owners can be pretty irresponsible when it comes to their pets too. Although, there seems to be more laws that punish for leaving pets in cars vs leaving kids in cars, I think  that the accidents and death rates when it comes to pets are probably (as they said) even less reported than accidents involving kids, so I think it was a smart idea to include a way for the system to help save pets. As a whole, I think that the idea for the system was good, although I do wonder, if the system would still be needed in the near future in case it's like a possible technology that is already being considered for futuristic cars? Although, then again, maybe cars will not be that advanced in two to five years, so it could still be worthwhile in the moment? Which brings me to another question, since the system would be connected via app and Bluetooth to a person's phone, wouldn't the system be pretty susceptible to hacking?

   

A Catfish with 15 Lives

In the movie Catfish, Nev first forms a friendship with a young girl named Abby. At first it consists of the sending and receiving of Nev’s pictures and Abby’s paintings, but as this friendship goes on, Nev begins to grow close with the rest of the family, especially with Abby’s mother Angela and sister Megan. In the span of six months, Nev develops a romantic relationship with Megan through Facebook, phone calls, and texts.

The truth about the family begins to unfold when Nev, his brother, and their friend discover exact recordings of the songs Megan claims to be originally sung by her online, but under different names. This leads to a flood of questions about who the family really is and what else they have been lying to Nev about. To get answers, Nev’s brother and friend convince him to go and visit the family. Before confronting the family, they decide to first stop by the house Megan apparently lives in only to find out that it is abandoned with no sign of anyone recently living there. This of course leaves Nev hurt as he is learning that this girl he’s been getting to know has been repeatedly lying to him.

The next morning, Nev, his brother, and friend go to Abby’s house to find out the truth, or at least meet whoever has been behind everything. They are first greeted by a woman named Angela who turns out to really be Abby’s mother. Nev plays along as she attempts to drag on the stories she has built up even though they can clearly see that she looks nothing like the woman she claims to be on Facebook. Nev does get to meet Abby, but while she is the same girl shown online, she was never the one who painted the paintings like they said. Everything points back to Angela as they discover more and more of the truth.

Nev ends up confronting Angela about the lies, and she finally gives in and reveals everything as she owes it to him. Nev learns that there was no Megan that he has been talking to and that it has always been Angela. Every Facebook account, phone call, and text message had been set up by her. Nev does not, however, get angry with her for all she has put him through, but instead feels bad for her for what has led her to do such a thing.

Usually when the intentions for catfishing are not malicious, they are for much more depressing reasons. For Angela, she lives a life where she is responsible for three children, two of which have disabilities. Although she does not seem to mind it all, she seems to feel trapped with the life she has come to have. For her, living through these fake accounts and personalities was her way of experiencing the life she wished to have. Although her intentions were not to harm another, it is still not morally right to do such a thing for the effect it will have on others like Nev.

Global Help

The purpose of the Global Help website is a great idea. It allows for easier donations for people who think the whole process of donating is inconvenient. I also like the idea of verifying charity organizations. It is a great way for people to build trust with these organizations and not worry if their money is actually going to be used for the cause. With people needing aid throughout the world, this is a great way to get more support for the organizations that provide aid. 

I really like the layout of the website. It is very easy to navigate and all you have to do is pick an area of the world and choose a charity from the resulting list to donate to or take a participate in. Due to this easy navigation, it would only take a person a few minutes of their time to get a website and send in a few dollars. Though, one thing about the website is the color of the text. The red makes the text a bit hard to read on each area's charity page due to the background messing with the text.

One thing that I think should be added or change to the website is the countries. There is only four countries and a continent featured on Global Help. Someone may also want to donate to a charity that helps people in Nicaragua or Zimbabwe for example. An expansion of countries featured on the website like Haiti or Eritrea would do great for it and bring more people to the social network. Maybe the website could have a layout like a person can select a continent, next, select a country and finally select a verified charity that aid in the vicinity.  Another thing is possibly filling out the About page some more? 

However, this is a great idea and it has a good start. If Global Help develops some more, this website is very worth looking into if I or someone I know want to donate to a charity organization. 

PTS-Talk

I think PTS-Talk is a great idea for a website. Personally, I think post-traumatic stress disorder is a huge problem that needs to be paid more attention to. I never really known anyone with PTSD but I have known or encountered people who have other mental disorders. So I have a slight idea of how problematic mental disorder can be for someone who have them. In my opinion, the mental scars can be potentially greater than the physical which it would  It would allow many people with post-traumatic stress syndrome or disorder to come together and help each other out. Sometimes it would do good to talk about your experiences as it is a coping method that helps people get past their trauma. The website would also be a good place to go for stories of people who managed to overcome their trauma for the inspiration of those who are still dealing with it.

I like how each person in the group gave their own personal experiences knowing or encountering people who have post-traumatic stress disorder in the presentation. I think it provides some huge background to the project and why it is needed.

 I like how there are different forums who share the same type of traumatic experiences like a combat experience or a medical accident. There's even a forum for miscellaneous for those who have experiences not covered by the other ones.

One of the things I like about this website the most is how "internet trolls" would be handled. We know how some of these trolls may look to this type of website to create problems for everyone like triggering someone with a picture or video. I like the plan that would be implemented to ensure that the people who go to PTS-Talk get the most of their experiences and not hindered by somebody who wanted to hurt someone.

If I or someone else I know develops PTSD, I would surely direct myself or someone else to the PTS-Talk.

Teddy bear Vengence

             This was one of the most disturbing films we have watched in this class. A women wanders a small town filled with strangers obsessed with filming everyone who isn't also filming. She meets two others, male and female, who are also unaffected by whatever is causing these people to seek out others to film, however she is quickly assaulted by a masked man with a shotgun and the male stranger is gunned down. As she and the remaining woman attempt to escape they run into more masked people, however these appear to be straight from the purge. They continue through their adventures and eventually she tries to kill on of the purge people with a shotgun, only to discover that the entire ordeal was all an act. She is reminded of a crime she committed and explained that her ordeal was all just part of her punishment. She is lead back to her starting point as everything is put back into place. As they erase her memory to reset the day she begs for death.
             The entire location is some sort of amusement park and all the seemingly hypnotized people were actually just paying customers. It's disturbing to see that all these people have come to witness the torture of this woman in what is essentially a living hell.

White Bear

“White bear” was about a lady who wakes up with amnesia. She later finds out that she is a target. The whole time people were filming and taking pictures with their phones. While getting shot at she hides with a girl is also suppose to be a target. The girl befriends her and tries to lead her to safety. We later find out it was all a show and it was a punishment for her. She and her boyfriend kidnapped a little girl. While her boyfriend tortured and killed the little girl and the woman filmed the whole. Her boyfriend took the cowardly way out by committing suicide. As for her, her punishment was reliving what the child felt over and over again and they made it an amusement park.  

The episode brought many questions including those about the mentally ill. Being mentally ill and committing a horrible crime can go two ways: either you knew about your illness, and chose not to take the necessary precautions to make sure they were in the correct mind, or they knew about their illness, but their meds were not working at all. For those who chose to not take their medications, then punishment is justified; they cannot use the excuse of being mentally unstable to stay out of prison. Of course, rehabilitation is a choice but what are the chances the culprit will continue to take their medication? The person is now a threat to society.

As for making it an amusement park and making her do it all over every day that is just wrong.

There is an anime that similar to it. Once you’re incriminated you’re taken to this facility. Next to the facility is an amusement park. All of the criminals have to wear a collar it’s for disciplinary and to kill you. In the facility, all of the people that are incriminated were sentenced to death. When it is your time to go the collar electrocutes you and you die. Since the “prison” is owned by a private owner the rules changed. You can get food and add time to your death sentence by competing in the games at the amusement park most of them a set to kill you and only one survivor is to win. At the park, you can see people of all ages and they are really enjoying it.

Even though if I had the chance to go to the park I would.

Be Right Back: Is this practical

I know we've all lost loved ones and have wished that we can get to see them one more time; well in the Black Mirror episode "Be Right Back" that wish has become a reality. After losing her partner a woman gets an android look a like to "cope" with the pain of losing her loved one. The question I believe should be looked at before we began developing technologies for this is: is this truly healthy and is this form of "coping"  actually helpful or more so harmful to the human mental state. I personally believe that this is a not a healthy way of coping with loss. It doesn't give you a chance to to truly deal with the loss and mourn like you should because technically the person is still there. The more damaging part I believe is the attachment that grows with the android. In the begining of the show the young lady broke her phone that she was using to communicate with her "deceased" loved one and had a horrific breakdown in the middle of the doctors office. The attachment grows unhealthy because you're attaching the feelings you once had with a true human being with an object that can not reciprocate those feelings and is just as likely to "die" which can bring back those feelings of stress and depression. Sending you back to that mourning stage and constantly recycling the process. You begin to associate these human characteristics with it but yet they are not a human so there will be moments when they act in "inhuman ways" or "unlike" you're loved one and in those moments you will be triggered and will act out in rash ways. In the episode the young lady attempts to force the   android to commit an extreme act and does not go thruogh with it due to the feelings she had attached to it. Although it may seem good that she has prevented this act it also shows that she has attached feelings to this android and this could eventually damage her mental well being later on. So no I do not believe that this is the most practical way of dealing with loss.

Catfish Rodeo

         The film Catfish is a perfect example of how easy it is to be anyone on the web. It may shock some people how easily it is to pose as either another existing person or your own Frankenstein creation. Note how easy Angela was able to be several people at once, and how long she was able to keep up this charade without even making Nev suspicious. However she eventually gets careless and her story begins to unravel as holes begin to form.
          It begins with her copying a song and posing it as, her as Megan. Nev and his friends find the original and become skeptical. As time progresses they uncover more and more of the flaws in her story. They find that Abbey's studio is not owned by her and that Megan doesn't live at the farm she mentioned. When Nev finally confronts Angela about her web of lies she confesses, almost. After meeting her she still continues to lie on several things. She lies about having cancer, and about Megan being in rehab. In the end she still remains in contact with Nev, but it is difficult to be sure what exactly is true of her, as she has proven that she will lie about almost anything.

Catfish: Not that hard to catch

Catfish the movie was made in 2010 and since then social media and technology has advanced tremendously. With the lack of privacy that comes with social media and influx of pictures  and personal information that people post through out the day it is very easy to claim someone else's identity and pass it off. On the latter the advancements in technology have made it so much easier to catch catfish since the 2010 movie. There is little room for excuses as to why you should end up caught in a catfish net when there are so many holes to escape. Somewhere around 223 million people have an smart phone of some sorts and all of these smartphones have the capability of video chatting in some way or another and so do most laptops and tablets. Now I understand that yeah not everyone has access to such fancy technology but you can always be a little old fashioned with it and purchase a handy dandy webcam; only $7.39 at your local Walmart. Now you're probably thinking "Omg not everyone has internet access, or a computer, or a cellphone..... blah blah blah." You're coming up with a whole slew of excuses as to why this person could possibly not be a catfish and hey it is possible that the person you met online has dropped there phone directly on the front facing camera so they can't face time you, and when they do finally get it fixed you find out that they're a vampire so y'all can only video chat in the dark. Lord forbid they contract an immuno deficiency disorder so you cant voice call them  because there throat is always soar and although they only live 30 minutes from your house you can't go see them because of there super over bearing parents keeper them locked away in a huge tower although they are 25 year old adult. Now lets have a moment of honesty; if the person you are communicating with has all of these different problems going on in there life they really should be focusing on themselves and not pursuing a relationship. Lol hold up... how did y'all even meet if they had no internet access in the first place ... aww ok. In order to spot a catfish you gotta be honest with yourself and look at the situation logically. So like the good saying goes, " if it quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, and walks like a duck then it must certainly be a duck."

Catfish

Catfishing" is a now problem. The process of presenting oneself as another or as a fraud completely is becoming increasingly more difficult to be involved in. You can never fully know whether that person that you met on some dating site is who they say they are. People ensnare individuals into their web and force those that were ensnared to develop feelings for them.

There are key factors involved in identifying a catfish. Most times a catfish will try to avoid all in person encounters as well as any type of interaction that may require them to show themselves to you in a real-time, live type of situation.

Most people that encounter catfishes react irrationally. However, Nev surprised me when he was being more understanding and trying to be more knowledgeable on the situation. He wanted to know the reason behind it. He wasn't just satisfied with realizing e was catfished.

Tech Know

     Tech-Know is a very ambitious and creative idea. They plan to have a massive collection of all sorts of technological advancements. They also plan to keep everything impartial so that the readers can form their own ideas on how technology is advancing. While I think it is a great idea to have all this information in one place, I think that Tech-Know is a little too ambitious. The fact that there is just so much going on in tech development means that the people working on the website would have to constantly looking up new information. This would be fine if they were focusing on a single type of technology. However, they clearly state in their website that they are trying to provide resources for all current technologies. This would require a large number of people to be constantly looking around at different sources and fact checking them so that their readers have a steady flow of information. It would be very difficult to build up this workforce and even more difficult to find a way to pay them.

     Another issue with Tech-Know is on their focus on being impartial. While this sounds like a great idea, it would be very difficult to actually go out and do it. They would have to go out of their way to make sure that there is not more positive or more negative information on each topic. Another major issue with being impartial is that it would be very difficult to find people who would support the website. It would be hard to get tech companies and the government to back the website because they do not really get anything out of it. Sure, they get the information on what they are doing out to people. But since Tech-Know wants to tell both sides of the story, they cannot be sure that Tech-Know will not hurt business more than help it.

     It has its flaws, but Tech-Know is certainly a good idea. While it may be very difficult to start up, it could easily become a valuable resource for people who just want to keep up with how tech is changing the world.

PTS Talk

     PTS talk was an interesting was a very interesting way to try and provide help for people to struggle with PTSD. It was simple easy to access and had several resources to help the people that have issues with their PTSD. All a person needs to do is find their website, sign up, and then they are able to find people with their own PTSD troubles. The many links to hospital websites really helps those who need more professional help. These small details along with the presenters’ personal stories really draws attention to the fact that they really are really dedicated to the idea of PTS Talk. They want to help as many as they can. Their presentation was also really easy to understand. They gave a clear definition of what PTSD is and they also gave clear idea of how PTSD is not easy to deal with by yourself. Everyone knew what they were talking about and they all had their own personal stories to tell. Overall, they had built up a really good idea that could probably help a lot of people.

     While the general idea was very sound, I still had issues with the website. While they have the general framework of the website down, it still needs a lot of work. A few ways that they could improve is by making the website a little bit more colorful and welcoming. As it is right now, almost everything is black letters with a white background. If they made it a little more colorful, more people would find the website inviting. Another issue that I had was with their forums. While they do have many different topics to share on, they seem kind of divided from each other. A good way to solve this is to set up a way to view all the forums together and set them apart through tags. This will really help people who don’t really know what the cause of their PTSD is from and will also help people whose PTSD stems from several different issues.

PTS-Talk, 12pm

     I have heard of forums before and chat-rooms where people of same interests or experiences can talk, but I have yet to hear of a forum and idea like PTS-Talk. I think the group did a great job with their presentation and their research, and I personally think their project was a really good idea. When it comes to PTSD, maybe it's just me and people are more aware now, but I feel like it is one of those conditions people have heard of but don't know what it is like or how vastly it affects people in their daily lives. I feel like with this project the group helped shine more light on the condition, while also coming up with a possibly good way of coping for people with PTSD. I liked that they split up the different forums by the type of event that caused the PTSD which I thought was a good way of organizing things and keeping it from being too chaotic for a website that is trying to do good, and the idea of having monitors for the forums was also good because hello, it's the internet--when do things not go badly in online chat-rooms? Besides keeping things organized, I also think that splitting the forums like that was a nice idea because usually when you think PTSD, you think war and veterans, but PTSD is more than that and can affect a wide range of people, so the splitting of forums was a neat feature for those with different cases of PTSD outside of war who also need a way to cope.

   I know that during their presentation they said that people that went with the intention of causing damage would get suspended or blocked from the site, but I was also wondering if they would maybe consider adding a 'mute-words' feature like twitter and tumblr? I mean obviously the site is to speak freely, but maybe there is a particular word that 'triggers' one user but doesn't affect others. I think this could be a possible feature to consider when it comes to users making their profiles, but other than that, I think the project was great as a whole and definitely well thought out.

Heat Guard Review

Heat Guard was very interesting to me. I had no idea how many children were dying from their parents are leaving them in the car alone. Most of the time it was just for them to run into the store or their house to quickly grab  something ,but then they wouldn't be very quick and come back to the car to late. It really shocked me to know how many there were. Their project focused on a way to help parents not to forget their children. It was a car seat that was connected to your car and phone. It would send you an alert if you forgot to get your child. They also had a sensor that would tell you that your pets were in the car. Some people's pets are like their children so this is a way to keep pets safe as well. It only works for pets like dogs and cats though.

The group that presented Heat Guard seemed to be able to answer all the questions ask with ease .They seemed to be prepared and they presented it with ease. I believe that this project was a really good idea. So many little kids lose their lives because their parents aren't paying attention, to either the time or the child. No child should have to die because their parent was being careless. This could help to  save so many children's lives. I understand that most of the parents don't mean for their child to get hurt or die, but they do because their parent wasn't paying attention to them. This is a way to help the parent not to be so careless with their child's life. The only thing that concerns me is the price. I understand that it would become cheaper with mass production and everything, but I don't believe that it would be all that affordable for people after they put all the stuff that has to go into in it.

Global Help Review

The first presentation that we heard about was Global Help. It was a website that showed you the different charities that you could donate to in different parts of the world. All of the charities websites were linked to the page. They had about five charities listed for each place. The only problem with this was that their was no background checks done to prove that all the websites were actually what they said they were.

I have to give them credit for being the first to present. They must have been extremely nervous. With them having less time to get everything done and also not knowing what some of the other groups did. Knowing how people react to things helps you to not be as nervous as when you don't know. So going first and not knowing what to expect must have been hard. I believe that they deserve recognition for being brave enough to go first. I'm not sure if I would have been brave enough to do that.

At times they seemed to not know who was suppose to be talking about certain things and when they were suppose to talk about them. That caused there to be confusion on what they were suppose to say and when they were suppose to say it .I'm not saying they did a really bad job or anything. I have to take into account that they must have been nervous and worried about what everyone would be thinking.

If they do decide to keep it up they should figure out how to make sure that the charities are legit and that they aren't keeping the money for themselves. They may also want to fix the way the the pictures look. I don't think that the website is a bad ide. I believe that it is a good idea actually. It helps people to know which charities to donate to. I believe that with the background checks  that people will see it as being a more safe place. People don't want to worry that their money is going somewhere they didn't attend it to go to. With improvements this website could be a really great.

Heat Guard

Heat Guard was very interesting because it focused on a topic that has been happening a lot lately with leaving children in cars unattended. I like this idea because I have seen many stories about children being left in a car for long periods of time especially on hot days. I have also witnessed small children being left in a car.

The group presented to us a car seat that would alert parents about their child or pet in the car. It also will be able to tell the temperature inside of the car. This group had a lot of advanced technology skills. They also would have face recognition to detect when there is a living being inside of the car.

If this could really help prevent children from losing their lives then this is amazing. Innocent babies have lost their lives because of careless mistakes made by their parents. This project had ideas involving technology that has not even been created yet and I thought it was very innovative that they came up with this idea. Some problems with this would probably be how would all the technology work? What if it malfunctions? These products would need a lot of testing before being put on the market.

Safe Street

Safe Street was a great proposal. Drunk Driving  is a relevant issue in our society. I enjoyed the presentation and the introduction of the app;it was original. The information,facts, and statistics seemed accurate and to the point. One thing I would like to suggest is maybe having one or two test or figure out another solution because you have to consider that the person who’s drunk,depending on how much alcohol that was taken, may not be thinking like they would normally. Overall I liked the idea of helping our city,state, and world become a better place by keeping the roads and streets safe from drunk driving.

A Better Meal

I liked the fact that “A Better Meal” project was a way of helping those who don’t have the finances to feed themselves or even their families. I was interested in the way the group brought about the app to engage others who are fortunate to give to others. The only thing that I do not agree with is the usage of an uber or a lyft. It would probably be better to rent out a spot partnering with the food bank in distributing foods and maybe it should be a seasonal thing like during thanksgiving or christmas that you and those who have the app would volunteer in creating food boxes that can sustain them for six months. Also since vegetables, fruits, and meats can spoil maybe you should consider canned goods. That way you wont have to worry about giving out old foods. 

PTS-Talk

On Friday the group presented PTS-Talk, which is a support website that can help people suffering from PTSD. It allows people who are suffering to find support and explain their experiences through different forms made specifically for what they are dealing with.

I loveeeeee this topic because I know someone in the marine corps, I have a cousin who served in the military, and my grandfather was a military veteran. This project was well put together and had a lot of thought put into it. They each had a personal connection to this topic which made it very genuine and had a deep emotional impact.

This could possibly become a real thing if they want to take it that far because most people who do have PTSD do not like admitting to it or talking about it to others and they struggle. Others do not even know that they have PTSD.

Some problems with this would obviously be internet trolls creating fake profiles and trolling people who are trying to get help so if this was to become a real thing they would have to figure out how to reduce the possibility. Overall this project was amazing and I hope they continue to spread this idea.

White Bear

White Bear confused me for a lot of the episode. I was very confused about the plot of the whole thing. It looked as if the girl had tried to commit suicide and overdosed on drugs and woke up the next morning with her memory lost. Pills were splattered across the floor and that weird white image was on every TV screen. Following this, she went outside in order to gain clarity on where she was because she didn't even recognize her own house. When she was outside, people saw her yet nobody was responding to her and it made me curious as to why. It was peculiar that somebody could just sit there and watch you suffer and almost go crazy yet wouldn't offer any help. Another thing that made me even more confused was the fact that through all of the video, everybody constantly had their phones out recording her and it added fuel to the fire. She found a friend who seemed to be unaffected by the transmitter that was " putting them in a trance." The whole video was revolved around them going 'South' in order to block out the signal and stop people from being in a trance. While they are headed South, they run into serial killers wearing animal masks and they seem to always show up where they are. That was odd to me because that's not normal, especially because they had NO way of tracking them.  Everything came together at the end of the show when we figured out that it was a punishment amusement park. The girl was responsible for torturing and killing a 6-year old girl that she and her fiancee had kidnapped from around the neighborhood. The point of the amusement park was to do everything to the woman that she had done to the girl. They kept her in close proximity of her house yet she didn't recognize where she was. This is exactly how the little girl felt. She put her trust in the other girl and assumed that she had her best interest in mind. However, it was not the case just like it was before this. The little girl trusted her and her fiancee with all her heart and she even became fond of them ( the video where she was playing with toys ). The little girl ended up being tortured extremely harsh and all she did was record it. That's where the amusement park does everything to her. She is tortured everyday trying to figure out who she is and where the girl is. All the while, everybody is just recording her and not saying a word just like she didn't stop her fiancee.

Turn the page review

      
 This project was a very good idea on how to get people study material for whatever they are studying all in one place. Many textbook companies will charge people a lot of money just to get access to a book that they would only use for a semester or  year and then never use again. It leads many people to having to take loans out just to get through the class and then do it all over again for the next class. The idea for this project was very good and I do agree that this is a good way to get information and textbooks for the classes all in one place. The problem I see is how would this not be considered plagiarism. We did discuss this in class and I do agree that just posting texts to rent or for people to look at can lead to one believing that it could be plagiarism by taking the book and posting it for a cheaper price. The group would need to figure a way around that or try to come up with another solution to this problem. If not, it could lead to many legal actions being taken against the group if this was ever posted up to be a real website. Other than that I think this is a very good way to help people who may need the study material for a class but may not have the money to get the books they need. Many people come from poor backgrounds or low income families so I can see the issue that the project raises. I think that the group also mention that the group plans to help those who are affected by DACA. I feel that this is also a good idea to help those who are affected by the changes and by the recent news of it getting removed all together. The group would need to iron out the edges and the problems with the idea but I could see that as being a really good idea for help those people. Overall, this project has some really good ideas that could make difference with the issue raised by this and can help with people affected by the targeted audience of what the group was going for. There are some problems that the group would need to fix and adjust but other than that it is a good idea.

A better meal review

        This projects has a good idea on how to help with food waste and helping feed those that may need food though there are some major issues with the idea that would need to be revised. First, I think that there are a lot of food that we waste, especially first world countries. Restaurants just throw out perfectly good food that hasn't been eaten and wastes it. I think that there should be an alternative to help reduce the waste produced. The idea raised by this group tried to help with the app and device that they made. The problem I can see with this is that they would need to find a way to deal with the problem of getting the food received  to people and eaten by those people in a short time. The device would let the owner of the device when their food would be bad and if they wanted to donate that food to their food donation bank but the food would probably go bad really fast if they decide to donate the food that about to go bad. It would leave very little time to get the food to people fresh. Another problem would be the lyft drivers they said would be the ones getting food from people and getting that to the banks. I think that they should make their own delivery service for that purpose. Other than that I can see this being a nice idea that could reduce food waste and feed people at the same time. I honestly do agree that we are very wasteful when it comes to food and that we have a lot of people that don't even know where their next food is coming from. I come from a low income family so I know the feeling of where is our next meal coming from. I think that it this idea were to be real with all of the problem fixed that this would be a really good idea and could lead to stopping hunger in many areas in the nation or even help in the world. Overall, this was a nice idea and could be a very impactful thing that could help a really real issue in the world. The problems would need to be fixed but other than that, I could see this being a real thing that can help a really big issue of hunger.

A Better Meal Review

            A Better Meal was an attempt to feed the hunger but the means were terrible. The idea to give hungry almost expired food bothered me. I almost did not like the idea of taking excess food from restaurants because what if the food is bad or burnt. Sometimes restaurants are not clean and can hurt the customers if the food is bad. How would the food be regulated? I think it would be better to focus on nonperishable food because you are asking the food banks to rush and cook whatever they are given. Another problem is what if the food the food bank is given has been tampered with? If the food bank received the food, they would have to cook it that day for the homeless and this is a bad idea. Since the food bank already has plans of what is going to be cooked that day, they would need some type of way of knowing what is coming in so they can know what they are expecting and what they may need to change.

            I thought the app was an interesting concept. I thought it was cool how it can look at a receipt and know when the food would be expired. But now that I think about that is problematic and unachievable. How would an app know what day it was made or selected and what kind of app is able to scan the exact food you are talking about? Would this app be tied to every grocery store and have a barcode system linked in? Also how many days would it be before the app lets you know that it is time to take it to the food bank? Final question about the app, will the food you already used automatically disappear or would you have to remove it from the app manually?

            The reach of this app is wild. First of all, no Lyft driver, or Uber, or any driver that gets paid in that way for that matter will driver all the way to someone’s house just to pick up almost expired food and drive it to one of the very few food banks in Memphis just for free. Also, this app is only aimed at older people who go shopping and cook often. Most apps are used for the younger crowds and this does not reach them. Overall, the idea was nice and important to acknowledge but it has more flaws that were not thought out. 

Heat Guard Review

Heat Guard is a creative idea to solve the problem of leaving a child or pet in the car. Many of us would say we wouldn't leave our loved ones in the car but it is something that can happen to anyone. We all have rough days and days when we can't even handle our own self. Those are the days when we make small mistakes like leaving your keys in the car, forgetting your phone in the store or even losing your wallet. Mistakes happen and it can happen to anyone. The problem isn't who will leave their child or pet in the car, the problem is how can we decrease the number of incidents that are caused by leaving a loved one in the car. Well, Heat Guard addresses that issue by creating a seatbelt that senses and alerts you when their is a living being left in the car. Especially, I believe that a lot of people leave their pets in the car on purpose and believe that by leaving the window cracked it won't affect them. I myself have done that, but I was also quick to leave the store and acknowledged the temperature outside. There is no excuse for leaving your love ones in the car and Heat Guard not only addresses the importance for it but also gives a usable technology to solve that issue.
     The only issue that is in my concern is that I believe this will only be effective for higher class people or people who are getting a vehicle. I know we addressed this issue in class but I do not see a way around it. The group mention that it would cost around $150 but I do not believe that is considered cheap for a lot of people. Yes, it is not expensive but let's be honest would we really buy something like that? The reason people leave their children or pets in the car is because they forget and many don't believe that they are capable of that. Other just believe that cracking the window is good enough. Most people do not have that kind of budget to spend $150 on something when they think they can avoid the incidents. I know that the group mentioned that they would place certain cameras and things in every car but it would still be a lot to work with. Keeping that in mind, not everyone buys new cars or cars from the dealership. Most people with economical issues by cheap used cars from the internet or from other people. Other than that concern, I believe that if the group finds a good way to promote the product and make it successful it would be an awesome idea and for a great cause!

Mentality Reality Review

I think Mentality Reality was a great project.  I think the website, if it were real, would help a whole lot of people. I believe the group worked very hard on the concept for their project. Mental health is something that many people tend to overlook but it is a major issue for lots of people in the world. The group was very thorough with and did a good job on explaining their mission and what things you could do to help. I like how they explained the different types of mental issues and that people with these problems are not alone in life. I also enjoyed that even some group members did videos of themselves drawing/playing an instrument and put it on the website. I especially liked when the dad had his little dancing video. I know of people that have mental health issues. I think music is a great idea for the website. Music has been said to be a great way to relieve stress and calm people down in some situations. Music is a great stress reliever for me, especially. Art is also a great addition. I was surprised by the art video and how calming it actually was. It made me want to look into it more. Some people love to look at art as a way to calm themselves. I would add some types of things that appeal to people who like to watch videos in hopes that the videos would help them relax when they have mental health complications. Like videos about how things are made, or videos about people painting or creating something. Another good addition would be to add an exercise section. Often, some people find doing physical exercise as a good way to relieve stress and relax from problems of mental health issues. For instance, some people like to run, or bike, or do things like yoga. Yoga for beginners and intermediate would be something nice. It could be added to give people an option on other things to do. I do not recall if this was apart of the presentation or not, but I think there should be some type of suggestion section for hot lines to help people talk through what they are feeling. Along with that I believe there should perhaps be a section for comments. Mentality Reality is probably one of the best presentations I have seen.

A review of Mentality Reality

Why would I visit a website that offers video complications of drawing, dancing and playing an instrument? There are Youtube channels based on doing exactly those things. So what the point in the website? I don't really know. There were offers for games on the website too but you have to buy them either way unless they create their own. Websites like Steam allow you to play games that can be free or you pay for. Mental health is a huge issue that isn't discussed that often. I think it would have been a better idea to offer a service to teach people about issues in mental health. I would have preferred to see a solution to combat mental health issues instead of a distraction from them. I do understand the need to relax, to get out of your head for a little bit. As someone who has depression, I find myself watching drawing videos on Youtube but I never probably cope with my problems if I constantly push them away. "Make your dreams a reality". My dream is to not have to deal with that complete numbness I feel from my depression but how can watching videos do that? They can't. There is no one cure for depression. Yes, I might feel slightly happy after watching a dad attempt to mimic a professional dancer but my issues aren't being properly dealt with. If I willingly ignore my problems and cope by distracting myself, I am not making a healthy decision. I am masking the numbness of depression with a temporary happiness. After a while, I will no longer feel that happiness from watching videos and I still have depression. All in all, I don't see how this website would be helpful to someone suffering from those kinds of illnesses.

A Better Meal App

https://marvelapp.com/32hh0cd/screen/35695979

PTS-Talk

PTS-Talk is a website that allows people who suffer from Post traumatic stress disorder to have a place where they can find comfort. Post traumatic stress disorder is a disorder in which a person has difficulty recovering after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. PTS-Talk gives people with PTSD a place where they can explain their experiences and view other people's experiences and learn from each other. In today’s society, the internet is where people feel more comfortable and PTS-Talk gives their audience the ability to be behind a screen and not have to feel judged. This creates privacy and allows people to express themselves without fear. There may a problem with people who abuse the website and may discriminate people's experience. Other than that, I think the website is a great idea and would help a lot of people. 

 I have to say, that the group did a fantastic job presenting their presentation and the meaning behind each person’s motive to build this website makes the idea even more meaningful. They were great with public speaking and knowing their information. I believe that if the group decides to pursue this idea it would become very successful. I think that the website could not only help people with PTSD but also people who have suffered tragic events in their life. The website gives an opportunity for people to stay anonymous. I do not suffer from PTSD but I personally feel that I benefit from this website. 

A Better Meal Review

A Better Meal was conceptually a good idea, but I can't see this being able to really work out. When the group first mentioned taking the excess food from restaurants at the end of the day, I immediately threw up a red flag. I remember asking my dad about why restaurants throw out so much food when I was a bit younger and I don't remember exactly what he said. However, I did look this up and, as mentioned during their project, there are really no laws against good faith food donations. The problem comes in because of liability concerns. If any of the food they donate causes harm or sickness to anyone, the restaurant can be sued. So the biggest feat in that area would be convincing chains and restaurants that they won't be held possibly liable.

The receipt scanner was a really unique idea. Getting notifications when you're food reached close to its expiration date makes it a lot easier to keep up with what you really have available. Having links to meals you can make with these items is so handy. My problem with that is donating it to food banks. I respect and agree with the statement the group made about any little thing being able to help, but I don't think it's right to donate basically spoiled food. Where is the good in giving someone what is essentially garbage?

The Lyft ride is somewhat flawed. Mainly for funding and demand. This app would have to be very widely used for there to be enough demand regularly to have lyft drivers making these trips and then not even getting paid for them. I definitely think that this pickup service could and should happen but the drivers would have to be employed directly and specifically through the organization. Any other way would cause to much hassle for the driver and for A Better Meal.

The only other thing that kinda bothered me was the fact that this idea wasn't really targeted at our age group. Not many college student are buying groceries right now, and if they are, they are buying close to exactly what they are planning to use. This application would have to be for someone more stable into their career and probably with a family. And then, I don't think this audience would really take the time out to keep their receipt and actually take action when they get this notification to their phone. Other than theses fixes, which I do believe can be worked around, the concept could be very fruitful. 

Catfish

The narrative Catfish exhibited how the web can be extremely beguiling and manipulative. You never know who is on the opposite side of the web. Unfortunately, Nev took in the most difficult way possible when he discovered that the lady, Angela, he was informing and conversing with on the telephone was an indistinguishable individual from Megan, Abby, and alternate various individuals engaged with the string. Actually, I wasn't highly amazed because I am completely mindful of the many phony advertisements, news, and so on that the web gives to individuals. I totally understood why Angela did what she did, however I trust she wasn't thinking clear about how Nev would feel about it. That is to say, Nev truly thought he had a profound association with Megan, yet tragically, he was deceived by counterfeit love, in spite of the fact that I trust Angela had affections for Nev, however not the a different way.

Comparative things occur in the web like misrepresentation and tricks, where obscure people influence individuals to subscribe to something, purchase something, or open something. When they have somebody on their snare, just the most exceedingly bad can happen: wholesale fraud. Although some may think about this the most genuine case, I trust that what Nev experienced is significantly more noticeable and awful. Envision what number of children and adolescents approach the web. Nev isn't the main casualty as there are numerous other potential more youthful individuals who may look far more awful destinies then what Nev experienced.

At last, Nev didn't confront Angela with outrage and sickness after he got some answers concerning her. He rather needed to know every bit of relevant information and only reality. In the end, Nev started to understand the thinking behind Angela's doings, yet it didn't ease his sentiments towards the phony association he had with the nonexistent Megan. Actually, I figure Nev made the best decision of standing up to Angela and discovering why she did what she did. I figure individuals ought to do likewise and discover more about the individual he or she is conversing with on the web since you never know who's on the opposite side. From Nev's involvement, I figure we would all be able to discover that we should be careful of the companions you have on any online networking locales like Facebook. Some place in that companion's will be somebody who isn't generally them like we have found Nev would say. It's each of the a matter of being subjective about it and making a point to hit the acknowledge catch when you fill you know the individual exceptionally well.

CatFish

This documentary showed me what some people are capable of doing. It was centered around Nev and his internet friendship with a little girl named Abby It was filmed by his brother and his brother's business partner. They first got in touch after Nev took a picture that got featured in a magazine, Abby then sent him a painting of the photo that he had taken. After th at they became friends. Nev would take pictures and abbey would paint them. Abby was a really good painter and her mom told Nev that her painting were selling for a lot of money. Intrigued by their friendship Nev's brother decided that he wanted to document what their friendship was like.

It starts super innocent. Then he start talking to Abby's sister Megan and they kind of started to have a romantic relationship. One night she asked him to give him suggestions for a song that she would write him one. After she was done they discovered that the song that she said she wrote for him she didn't actually write it, or any of the other song that it said on her page that she wrote.

After they found this out they decided that they should see how much Abby' family had been lying to them. They discovered that the art studio that Abbey's mom said she owned was just an abandoned building. After finding this out they decided that they would drive up there and see what was actually going on. During the road trip New started to have doubts and his brother told him he can stop whenever he wants to. They all agree to keep going,because they all  wondered what exactly they had been lied to about.

The first place they went to is Megan farm. When they get there they collect the mail, which included the mail they sent to her. They drive up to the barn and Nev looks in. There aren't any horse like Megan said there was. After they figure it out they decide to leave and start preparing for the next day.

When they arrive at Abby's house the next day her mother Angela answers the door. She doesn't look anything like the picture that is on Facebook and neither does her husband. She also tells them she has cancer. There are also two other children in the house that Nev and them didn't know about. They tell them that Abby isn't there, but at a beach house and that Megan isn't there either.Later on they all go to the beach house. Abby is there but doesn't seem to really know who any of them are.  After talking to Abby and her friend they learn that she hasn't seen Megan in a long time.

After they learn this they figure out that Angela is in love with Nev and also the person that he has been talking to this entire time. They confront her the next day and she does tell them the truth.She tells them that she has made a lot of different facebook acoounts. She also admits to being the one who New has been talk in to this entire time. While she is drawing him she tells him that she feels bad causing him so much pain. When she is done they leave.

Later on he gets the drawing in the mail. We then find out the Anglea didn't have cancer. She deleted all of the fake Facebook accounts. She now has one of her own with her own picture. Nev is one of her friends on Facebook. We also learn that she now has a website where she sells her art.

If something like this ever happened to me I'm not sure what I would do. I don't think that I would be able to forgive them like New did. If I did forgive them I'm not sure if i would ever be able to trust them really. I don't think anyone should ever lie and say they are someone they are not. The documentary showed me that people are capable of doing so many different things.

Turn The Page Review

Turn the Page, i think the idea for this project had a lot of really really great potential.

First the issue with the college textbooks. while yes we as college students are getting robbed blind on text books i really do not know how practical this idea would be by copyright alone. Personally I believe the problem is with the colleges/professors themselves. At the end of the day the professors are the ones that are picking what books they use for their classes. Having gone to a college that actually made special edition textbooks for the school only i think actually being able to get all the books that a student needs would be really hard. Most if not almost all colleges use different textbooks for each class and most are subject to change from year to year. That being said i think this would be something to maybe take off that part of the website.

Secondly, the DACA issue while yes it is something that truly does need to be talked about i think the information available on this issue is not sufficient enough to be included in the website. I'm not trying to say its not an important issue for lots of people but having talked first hand to relatives and friends that are affected by DACA being resended I think the website including this issue itself is not the best idea given that there is literally nothing that can be done for them at the moment. After their DACA expires they are just left in limbo and i think awareness is important but  that doesn't stop the issue of the people that have DACA not being able to do anything once their DACA expires. Even the scholarships and financial aid would not be of use to them.

The tutors for each section and the ASL section of the website is a really great idea. I personally know people that would really benefit from this even not being in school so this would be something really great to have someone actually make.

Final Project Review: Mentality Reality

Mentality Reality was a very great project.  I think this group really worked hard on the concept for their presentation. Mental health is something that lots of people tend to overlook but it is a major issue for lots of people in the world. Knowing lots of people that have mental health issues and also knowing people that have committed suicide i think this website if it were real would help lots of people. For me personally music is something that always helps me when i'm feeling upset and also art. I am in no way an art major or even someone that can draw well but i do like to doodle when i'm stressed. A suggestion or considerations i would suggest to put under the art section i think would be to include some adult coloring pages. I know in recent years these have come around more. I think it would be another way for people to be able to take part in the art section even if they aren't the best artist and it something that is really easy to include and wouldn't be too hard to include it in the website. Another suggestion i would have under possibly the music section could be some links to some calming or upbeat songs. Music I find doesn't always have to be making music i find listening to music to be very calming and as a stress relief. As far as the physical parts i think a good addition would be yoga. Yoga for beginners and intermediate would be something nice just like the musical instrument instructions it could be added to just give people an option on other things to do. Overall i think the project was well thought out and its a really great concept that if actually made would be a great benefit to many people.

EDU Battery Presentation

Project Title: EDU Battery
Group Members: Erin Aulfinger, Jared Schools, Ian Dover

EDU Battery is a service dedicated to the Christian Brothers University community. Through its circuit forums TextSwap and GroupWith, it allows students to network with each other and collaborate on ways to save money and improve their grades. TextSwap allows students to collaborate on the necessity of a book for a class, and to find cheap alternatives to purchasing a physical text. GroupWith is an application forum where students can find others in a course, or other courses, with similar study habits and create study groups and schedules.

Presentation: EDU Battery Google Slides
Website: EDU Battery
GroupWith Google Form: GroupWith Application Form
Instagram: edu.battery

I.O.U. Transport

One group that presented offered the idea for a college transport service called I.O.U. Transport. The idea was loosely based off of Uber and looked to fix all the small errors that Uber clearly has. The group thought of having student drivers to help new students who don’t have a car or friends get around town. Not everyone has a car and some students want a job so this service could fulfill both of those things. The group stressed how Uber has shortcomings and this service was meant to create a close network within the college and also to help keep students safe. There are countless stories of Uber trips going wrong and women often the victims. But I.O.U Transport makes me wonder, how will they stay safe and protect their customers. Sexual Assault is very common in college, in fact freshman girls are most vulnerable. What can be done to prevent a possible male driver from taking advantage of girls he drives? Yes, you could fire them and have them arrested, but the poor girl has to live with that. How could that be prevented from the onset? Or can it?

            As to whether or not this is a moral issue, I am not completely sure. The premise of it is to help people get place to place when they do not know anyone else on campus. But that is what a taxi service does too. Is the fact that it is trying to create a safer environment for college students that makes it solve a moral issue? Or is Uber itself the moral issue? I am kidding on the last part. This project idea seems more suitable for a larger campus operation, but it would be safer on a smaller scale college such as CBU. What I mean by that is on a large campus, more students will be without a car and plus its more space on campus to travel. A small campus like CBU has everyone know everyone else and it won’t be too hard to find rides. But the fact that it’s a small campus makes the student more likely to know and trust who is driving them. The overall idea of this service is not a bad one, may need small improvements but it is promising.