Review on Politigo

       Even though the thought of politics bores me, I was actually intrigued by the last group's presentation app called Politigo. It is an app created for Americans to stay in touch with our political system and give us unbiased news. This app was designed to provide accurate data on politicians so that us Americans can see who we have similar views with. It provides information on current candidates and where their views on current issues our country is more worried about like abortion and the death penalty. They also include what is called a Politigo quiz. This allows us to take a quiz that shows us what candidates have similar views as us and also which party we migrate more to.

      This app is really beneficial for us young voters, especially college students, who may not have the time to focus on our political system like they would like to. I like this app because I think it can really provide better facts for us young voters. A lot of us, like myself, are misinformed or do not really know what is going on in our political system. We vote for reasons that may not be fit for our country without actually realizing what our politicians goals really are. I believe this app would have been really great for our recent election since it showed many people not voting, I think a lot of people, including myself, did not vote because we did not understand what was really going on in our political system truly. We got a lot of our information from social media which was not enough to go on for most people. This app would be beneficial in providing unbiased news to help us voters really figure out who to vote for.

       I would personally use this app to get more into politics since it does benefit my life and my country. I also think a lot people would use this app to their own benefit also. I really liked how this app provided us information on where candidates stood on different issues and the quiz you could take to see whom you were more similar to. I especially like the quiz because unlike other quizzes you can take online to find the same information this app actually tells you exactly how you are more like a certain party and etc. As discussed in class, one thing they could improve on is making the app more local as in having candidates who are running for mayor or governor. It was also questionable how the would be able to have unbiased news because that seemed sort of impossible. All in all I thought this was a really good concept and something that could actually work as a good app that would provide a lot of information for electorates.

A.D.A.P.T. Concerns

I thought the A.D.A.P.T. group's idea is a very useful idea because mental health issues touch a large portion of the population. According to the World Health Organization, roughly one in four people will be affected by a mental or neurological disorder in their life time. Due to the negative stigma mental illness has, many people do not reach out for help because they are embarrassed or ashamed. This is why I feel like the A.D.A.P.T. platform is useful because it give a place for people to not feel alone, or like they are the only one who has these feelings. Even though I think the A.D.A.P.T. platform is useful, there are certain aspects that concern me and I feel like they need to be addressed for this platform to be successful.

One of my concerns is that individuals may use the blog for purposes other than supporting each other, or use it to support each other in a negative way. For example, I have learned in a nutrition class I took that there are similar blogs for individuals with eating disorders. The individuals with eating disorders share the things they do to cut calories or reduce hunger to help other individuals with eating disorders. For example, one of the tips on the blog is to chew gum to reduce hunger. I fear that this could be used in a similar way for people with depression, anxiety, or other mental health problems. For example, individuals could help people learn how to hide self injury. I feel like to counter act this the A.D.A.P.T workers would need to make sure to monitor the activity on the site very closely.

Another concern I have is that the negative energy on the blog could just cause more negative energy. I feel like having a bunch of depressed people talking to each other may not be the best idea. To counteract this, I feel like they might need to have uplifting videos and happy things on the website and blog to help keep positivity up.

Additionally, I feel like their should be professionals giving advice on the blog, not just users giving advice to each other. To counteract this the professionals could add tips, or comment on incorrect tips made by other people. I feel like they just need to make sure the advice people are giving each other is healthy and correct. For example, some bad advice people could give each other to "feel better" would be to have a drink of alcohol or smoke to calm down. While this may fix thing temporarily, it is not a long term solution. Finally, I feel like they need to provide a resources for people in the area to find free or low cost counseling. I think that while this platform is useful for not feeling alone, they need to make sure that it is not viewed as a long term solution or treatment method.

Politigo Review

The app Politigo caught my attention with its name. In Spanish, "contigo" means with you; I thought Politigo was very creative and catchy. I liked how its features were made for common people instead of appealing to just certain groups. It would certainly benefit all those members of our society who are both uninformed and disconnected about presidential candidates. Personally, I would have downloaded for this past election because I was never up to speed with it. Politics is not my area of interest, so to have this app readily available for me to discover each campaign would have been a life saver. Last semester during election time, I hated not knowing what was going on and hearing everyone talk about a topic that I was unfamiliar with made me lost. It is very important that everyone understands who it is that they are voting for and what attributes apply to each. I thought that their choice of infographics makes the information easier to understand and the general public can certainly understand. 

I was a bit confused about how the information for each candidate was composited in their dot system, but the topics they chose of taxes, guns, and abortion were certainly major areas of interest for the public. I would also suggest adding immigration into one of the areas because it was one of the major topics in this election. 

If this were a working app I would definitely suggest it to family and friends who were planning on voting. It would guarantee reliable information with their unbiased generator that uses information from various parties. Who wouldn't want political information that is completely objective and to the point?

This app would open up new possibilities by impacting society's misinformed voters. Also, within the app, user can be trust that the positions are not funded by campaign affiliated donors. Politigo could possibly change the way people view elections as either resulting in a democrat or republican president. Perhaps, in the future third parties can be given a better chance at winning with the appropriate recognition through the app. Who is to say that a new rising party can't be a better choice than our traditional choices. Change can be positive, especially in today's day where everything has become corrupted or flawed over the years. I can imagine this app providing the next election with new opportunity and giving the spotlight to those parties that truly deserve it.

Pawtential Review

Pawtential Match was an adorable idea. I like the idea of bringing dogs and people together. Dogs are such therapeutic animals and so loving, who would not want to match up for a doggy date? I think it is a great way to be social and find new friends that share your love of dogs as well. Even though some people in the group did not talk the ones who did did a great job explaining the project.

Help Memphis

The group that presented help memphis did a very good job with the app they designed. I really like this idea and I really hope that this is something that we could see in the near future. The app is targeting people who could use help either with abuse or drugs, and don't know were to seek help. I agree with that fact that not a lot of people are informed with the help that is out there and most of the time for free. This app could be the link of communication with the people here in Memphis and help center that open to help people that truly need it.

This app basically gives a list of help centers in the Memphis area for people that are facing all sorts of problems. From being homeless, and finding shelter, to having a traffic ticket or problem with the law and finding useful information that could be great help. Every help center in the app has a description of what they do, phone number, and even website if they have one.This app went into great detail with everything they feel like people would be using. I know I would probably use this app for help with a ticket or to help someone find help with whatever it is that they need. Although this could use some improvement in developing certain ideas I think this is a great app that could be for the better. 

Project Reviews

   In our class, we listened to five presentations by different groups. The purpose was to provide a solution for a social, political, or moral problem. Each group had their own unique idea of what to do in order to solve these types of problems. The two presentations that stood out to me are SOS (Sustain Our Society) and Politigo.
   First, I think that SOS is a great way to encourage people to go green. Although this something that we have been hearing our whole lives, no one really took the initiative to tell us what we can do and why it;s important. I believe that this group did more than what any teacher and expert has ever done in any of my years of school.  I liked how they gave their audience actual statistics and gave information on terms that I know I wasn't educated on. I liked how even though the group gave a little lecture on the environment, I wasn't bored. I was actually quite intrigued. The only part I really could not grasp is the rewards part. I could not understand that concept for the life of me. This is very amusing to me. All in all, this project deserves the number one spot.
   Next, we come to Politigo. I think that this app is perfect for people who want to understand politics better. The way the media puts out the news and the candidates' opinions makes the whole experience very confusing. When it's time to vote, most people are confused and don't really take the time to care about who they're voting for. I like how this app puts everything in simple terms for people to understand. I think that this presentation was very well thought out. My favorite thing about this app is the quiz that matches you with not only the political party, but the candidate as well. I've always been confused about where I would actually. fit. I would definitely use this app, especially if it can used for local elections, too.
   To conclude, these two projects are the most well-planned and eye catching. They both do an amazing job of informing the audience and simplifying the issue they're trying to solve. SOS actually made want to care about my environment more and help others to understand why it's important. Also, Politigo made me want to pay more attention to politics and actually care about who runs our country. Summing up, this was a great listening experience and I hope I can apply this new information to my daily life.

Dream Catcher Bracelet Review

The group who presented the dream catcher bracelet, I thought, did very well. Everyone who spoke on the project caught my attention. They sounded like they put a lot of effort into this project as well. I also really liked the concept. I personally know someone who suffers from PTSD and they told me that their dreams are really bad and they also go to therapy because the event they keep reliving is so horrid and traumatic. I like how the group put their focus on people with mental illnesses as well. In today’s times, I feel like a lot of people suffer from some kind of mental illness but people do not talk about it since there is such a negative stigma on the issue. Mental illness is a subject that is far too familiar to people but no one talks about it. I love that you all chose PTSD specifically because I do not know much about the way it works. I also like how they explained exactly how PTSD works in the brain too, that was quite impressive to me.

The bracelet itself was really nice. I like how they designed it to look like a fitbit so people do not have to explain what is on their arm. It is stylish and it was also presented in many colors. I like how it is water proof and can also track many things like the heart rate. I honestly think a lot of people would buy this project seeing from class that several people suffer with PTSD. I would most definitely recommend this product to my friend who suffers from night terrors and PTSD. 

Cohesion

The group that presented the idea of Cohesion did a very good job explaining and presenting. The presentation was very well done, their powerpoint looked very clean and it had my attention. I think that Cohesion is a very good idea that CBU could probably use. Cohesion is somewhat that social media that is trying to unify the school and allow everyone to be included and feel welcomed at CBU. This app is also trying to improve the way we are informed with a different kind of electronic board. Although their ideas were good I feel like it could be further developed. The one think that I found unique about this app is that only CBU students would be able to access it, which gets to their main point to bring the school together.One of our classmates brought up the fact that CBU already does a lot to inform students and to encourage participation. I do agree with that classmate, but I think that this app would be much better because students would be more prone to download the app rather than looking at an email. I honestly think that this app would be better organized and student would like it more. Overall I really liked this idea and I think it can be something that could improve and hopefully it can be something we see in the future here at CBU.

Cohesion: Keeping CBU students together one board at a time

Cohesion CBU has to be one of the best ideas to improve this school. As a resident  here at Christian Brothers University, I see and hear about more event than the average commuter. This app will better inform the commuters of the school about meetings and events that they may be interested in. Emails from the school sometimes are received too late so that is not very helpful for anyone here at the school. As far as the billions of flyers taped and posted up around school and laying on the ground in the wet puddles or dirt spots go, no one really has time to stop and read them to know what they really are. Alongside having the app, students like myself will  be able to keep up to date with different events at the school via a touch screen board in the quad. This is very convenient because everyone passes by the quad and if they put it in a common place such as near the benches and chairs, students will have no choice but to look at it. The app is designed as a social media site specifically for CBU students.You will be able to communicate with other students about parties and other things that go on around campus. You also will see pictures of things that students post. On “The Wall” there will be sections based on your major for teacher assistance and tutoring for students. One of the features I particularly liked is the shopping/ food section. Students will be able to carpool to go get groceries or will even be able to share food. I’m sure the school funding for this project is coming out of the student’s tuition, but I would rather my money go towards something as helpful as this rather than something that I’m not going to be able to use for all my four years of school here (such as the Rosa Deal School of Arts Building...no shade thrown here). This app should include teachers but only in sections such as school work and letting students know when we do not have class. Overall I love the idea of this app and the C-board. This group did a great job and I see this app being successful on CBU’s campus.

Politigo Review

I am reviewing the final project "Politigo App". This app was an informative app that would essentially educate people who know little about politics, people who want to know more, or even those who are simply clueless about the subject. It had a section in which it showed potential candidates for presidency, the house, the senate, etc. and each one of their stands on a certain issue. Related news and decisions made is also a feature. We can also see the bills that are being signed and by who. I see this to be beneficial because we need to more informed about what really goes on in the government because as the saying goes, Knowledge is Power. 

Being able to see a candidate's (or even someone already in office) position was my favorite part because it was basically an easy way to know someone's stand on a certain topic. However, this would of been even better if the topic, people (we) were interested in, was clickable, that way we can see their actual stand on the topic and what they have said/ their stand over the years. I also like how we also have the option to take a quiz to see which candidate matches our stance and perspective on certain issues. This allows us to connect with potential presidential candidates, for example, who we didn't even know were running for office. I, for one, have taken an online quiz to see with who I matched best with and surprisingly Hillary and Trump were my least matchable. So, this totally opens you up to other people from different political parties, aside from the two heavily known democrats and republicans. This can be great for those parties who don't have the financial help to promote themselves, to be put themselves out there and get known. Because, a lot of these other candidates have great ideas but are not known due to their lack of self promotion. Aside from all of this though, the only flaw I see in this project would be actually getting the unbiased information. Nowadays, each media leans either far left or far right. Getting unbiased sources for information will be a challenge. Looking over, I also saw a grammatical error on the section of the quiz.

Other than that, this app will definitely be of great use, specially during presidential elections. This form of self education can prompt people to make better voting decisions, instead of voting for opposite runner-ups just because they don't like the other. This is an app I absolutely see myself using. Overall a great app!

Defrost is fire

The Defrost project was one of my favorite projects because of the relevance and importance of its mission. First of all, I thought it was really clever how the name Defrost ties in to the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). The presentation was very organized and appealing. There was a lot of information that was hard to take in and fully understand about immigration laws and the general information, but the group explained it very well. The research and facts on immigration were very interesting. Many important points and different perspectives were addressed. I thought the app was very useful, efficient, and well put together. I agree that a lot of people are uniformed about the facts concerning immigration and certain laws because I am one of those people. After the presentation, however, I feel more enlightened and informed on the subject.

Help Memphis App Review

It is still surprising that an app like ‘Help Memphis’ has not yet been developed. The app focuses on many issues that our city faces. I believe the idea behind ‘Help Memphis’ has potential to become a resourceful app for all Memphians. I believe this app can help expose many of its users to the different resources available, which they may not be aware of. Although these resources can be searched and found, the app attempts to minimize the resources into one app.

            An important issue that affects the city of Memphis, homelessness. Memphis is Tennessee’s biggest city and second largest metropolitan area, with a population of 655,155 people in 2012. It is estimated, at 31.7 percent, the 2012 rate of homelessness per 10,000 people in Memphis-Shelby County. This app offers many resources for many homeless people living in the Memphis area, for example, shelter resources. One of the questions which arise about this app is, “How will homeless people be informed about these resources and services?” Although not all homeless people have smartphones, some homeless people do. I think the app could also benefit those who do not have a smartphone. I believe it is very likely that those who do have a smart phone will inform other homeless people like them about the services available for homeless people. I also believe the app can educate and inform users who want to aid homeless people about resources that homeless people can receive. Thus, directing them to receive help.

The app also focuses on providing multiple hotlines for assaults, and suicide. I believe this app can be an efficient alternative to simply just searching these hotlines, especially in some crucial time-restricted situations. The simplicity of having these resources at our fingertips makes receiving help more efficient and convenient.

I believe a useful addition to this app would be adding a section for a calendar. I believe the app could also inform users about health fairs or free health services.

Overall, I think the app has great potential and I would defiantly download this app because it is packed with helpful information and it is very convenient. As stated before, I believe this app can help expose many of its users to the different resources available, which they may not be aware of. Even I was not aware of many of the resources which were presented by the group. In the future I hope this app gets developed.

Dream Catcher Bracelet

The dream catcher bracelet project was a project that I thought had a lot of potential. This whole idea was that a bracelet they designed could help people that are living with PTSD. PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is a disorder that can come along once going through a traumatic event. This can be car crash victims, war veterans, rape victims, robbery victims, etc. The symptoms of this disorder include: flashbacks, anxiety, mistrust, insomnia, nightmares, etc. This group created a bracelet that monitored the heart rate and blood pressure of people with this order. When this bracelet senses that its users are going through a PTSD event, it will attempt to calm the user. If they were experiencing a nightmare it would wake them, or wake the spouse so that the spouse can wake them up as they see fit. This group also created a dog necklace that will give the dog a signal when their owner was going through an episode so the dog can comfort them.

As I said earlier, this idea has a lot of potential. The only thing that I questioned was the blood pressure aspect of it. I was confused as to how the blood pressure could be taken from this bracelet. The other thing that I thought this group could improve on was finding a way to specify when the user was going through an episode, or when they were just doing something else that could raise their heart rate and blood pressure.

One thing that really intrigued me in their presentation was the statistics as to who experienced PTSD more. I always assumed that people who were in war struggled with this the most. I was actually surprised to see that rape and sexual assault victims were the biggest group of people who experienced PTSD. It was also very interesting to see what goes on in the brain when someone has PTSD, and to learn about the aggressive night terrors that victims have.

In conclusion, I really liked the idea of wrist bands to help people suffering with PTSD. If I were suffering with PTSD I would definitely try this bracelet in order to get some type of relief. I also like that they targeted people with this disorder, because often times these people are overlooked when in reality this is a very serious thing.

Defrost Defrost

        The group who presented Defrost did a magnificent job! The name itself was a great pun that I learned. You could tell they were very interested about their topic and they were very informative. Unlike others in my class, I knew the severity of this particular situation which made it an even better project because many people overlook this issue in society. They gave information on immigration statistics and deportation by ICE. Defrost, the name of the app, is about taking away ICE. Each person in the group gave their own testimony about their life situation. I feel like that had an even bigger effect on the app because it shows just how much we need it. The app gives many ways you can become a citizen and more, but there is not really anything describing or informing the major problem with deportation. I do like the section where a person can anonymously send in what i0s going on at that very moment, like a help call. I also like the section on Refugees, Citizenship, and Immigrations. This app will help many  people and change many lives just by a click of a button. This app focuses on Dreamers and regular Noncitizens who are looking to be a citizen. I think they should add a section called “sanctuaries”. Just like CBU is a sanctuary school, I am sure that there are other institutions and companies just like it. This section could have addresses and phone numbers of people who can help them stay away from ICE. This section could be very helpful because it gives people more opportunity to have a job or go to school. I feel this is needed because let us be honest, everyone needs an education and a job in this society to get anywhere. Defrost will give anybody who is under the circumstances relief and a breath of fresh air. It was an app created to help others and keep people safe. And at this point in the world with the new POTUS, some people need this type of relief. It would also be better if there was a website aside from the app. In the app there is a section that leads you to the forms of citizenship, but it would be easier to get these from a website.This app needs to be made ASAP because it is very well needed right now.

Help Memphis decide

Decision, decision, To figure about whom to talk about was hard. Every single group had great ideas and I had many input for all of them. They all deserved to be up there. One thing I loved was help Memphis, I believe it a great app. First is resourceful,people will benefit from this app. This a local so finding option to put on the app will not be impossible and they will be plentifully. I found flaws to the other presentation, well technically things I could add or such. One thing that I had was nothing to add, except maybe a donation site but I do not think it was needed since well it is part of the resources provided. This helps mostly everyone that might needed. One thing is that what of the people that cannot receive it. For example,the utility help that people get because of the government but you need a status resident or citizenship, The legal help can be accessible for people with some sort of status. It helps people but not everyone. Please target some other people that could not get help other wise. in another hand, everything else is helpful, from where to go and such. The presentation was great and the statistics were realistic, keep it up. One idea is to add organizations and maybe consider reaching out to some, By having this information it will be great for people. Other thing that might help people is having an option to help people reach out to these many organizations,maybe talk to a representative or simply know about them and their purpose. I know that many of this organization have links so there is that. I know it would be difficult having to go by your self but by having this it might be easier for them and people that need get could get help and is this app not about that? The only problem with that is finding all of the organizations here in Memphis. Combing through all that data could be hard. overall this app will help people and I recognize that. I honestly would not change anything majorly, the idea is all put together. I mostly do not remember a lot since it was over two weeks ago but the thing that I can remember is that it was great. Keep the work up and keep up helping people.