Select and Click

My Weekday Morning Routine:

1.       Wake up (Good moooorning wor--Ugh. I have school today. -_-)

2.       Check the time (Am I late yet?)

3.       Eat breakfast (I need energy!)

4.       Take a bath and brush teeth (Rub-a-dub-dub)

5.       Get dressed (I need to look good because you’ll never know...)

6.       Check facebook and emails for important announcements (Please give us free cut. PLEASE.)

7.       Pack bag (and lunch bag)

8.       Leave for school (Oh no, I’m gonna be late!)

In a about an hour and thirty minutes immediately after waking up, I have already used/consumed several forms and products of technology: my watch, the light bulb, my clothes, plastic containers, the car, etc. In this day and age, it is evident that technology is no longer just tools—but a lifestyle, especially for us living in the urban areas.

Through several subjects I am taking up this semester, I have seen how technology has evolved through the years. Today’s innovators have shifted their focus from creating industrial technology, to devices that will maintain connections among individuals, give students easier access to information, and aid employees in effectively and efficiently performing their jobs. Technology nowadays has also become a source of entertainment. When I was a kid, I watched a lot of TV shows or VHS tapes during the day, but I still spent time playing with my cousins and my neighbors. These days, I rarely hear children playing on the streets in our neighborhood. Perhaps they are in front of their TV sets or computer screens.

Not only does technology make life easy, it has also become more accessible to the public, no matter what social class an individual comes from. I feel that for these reasons, we have become more dependent on technology that we seem to be controlled by it. Because it is a universal extension of ourselves, it is almost impossible to live in a regular society without it. As a modern student, I cannot submit a research paper written on leaves or on stone tablets, nor can I be excused from submitting a homework that was announced online just because I did not have access to a computer or the internet. Just like my cousin and her boyfriend living in Australia, many relationships are held together by technology, particularly social networking. Nevertheless, I believe that no matter how prevalent technology is in our lives today, it will always a matter of choice whether we will allow to be in control, or be controlled by technology.

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Fifth blogpost made by Danielle Trance

Four-word Lifesaver

Global warming. Floods. Pollution. These are just some of the major world issues that we have faced, are facing, and will continue to face here in the Philippines if not acted upon. Even though these issues have so many contributing factors, they have one common denominator: improper waste disposal. The improper treatment of our waste contributes greatly to the diminishing quality of our environment and may, for the worst, even disrupt the ecological balance in our community. To illustrate, our everyday wastes clog up dams, dams, which, inturn, has led to dangerous floods that have been traumatic for many Filipinos. The scatteed wastes in our surroundings have led to air pollution which can cause respiratory diseases.

Unfortunately, since these adversities we are facing are big issues, coming up with solutions requires a lot of hard work and time. But this should not stop us from doing the best we can to contribute to our society’s betterment. We have heard of sayings like “large waves come from small ripples”, and I do believe them. I believe that we can start a big change in our world if we always keep in mind these four words: Clean As You Go.

Similarly, the smallest pieces of trash people carelessly throw away can cause the most detrimental changes in our environment. Many people are familiar with the image of a sea turtle choking on soda rings in which they get trapped while swimming in the ocean – with this being said, we can might as well see ourselves getting the lives of living beings with just the way we handle the things we throw away without care.

I first encountered the sign “Clean As You Go” or CLAYGO during my freshman year in Ateneo. The signs are posted in cafeterias, and they served as reminders for the students to put the kitchen utensils in the right place after eating. But then, after having been given this topic, it became more than just a “cafeteria reminder” for me. I came to realize that CLAYGO is actually a reminder of our responsibilities as caretakers of nature – to throw away or put back in the right place any harmful material immediately.

CLAYGO policies are being implemented in different areas such as schools, offices, and other work stations for the people to be able to work more efficiently, to have a clean and convenient surrounding, and for them and their environment to be kept from danger. The CLAYGO policy should not be taken for granted, as it can also save us just as it did to those who are already practicing it. Besides, the future of our lives depends on our hands, literally.

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Fourth blogpost made by Yana Angeles

Freeware Cat and Mouse

            Pioneered by the printing press developed in 1440 by Gutenberg, the printing press led to the world’s exposure to vast amounts of knowledge. This spur of knowledge resulted to a series of continuous innovations in science and technology particularly in the industrial revolution characterized by the introduction of the assembly line and mass production. Mass production is now a staple in the different economic processes across the globe for the easy transmission of products and information contained in software. Science and technology has come a long way to deduce the monopolization of bits and pieces of information and products locked away in libraries and factories – and create vast systems of trade that extend beyond the eye could see. Beginning with cheap labor industries in developing countries like China and Indonesia to the advent of different communication technologies that envelope the internet, people can easily stream through information and data, and even create their own, wherever they go.

            Although the boom of data sharing and rise of underground economies may seem to catch the good eye of the everyday consumer, it raises the eyebrow of large corporate industries due to the danger of lost profits and more importantly, the use of their intellectual property in creating their goods by the consumers themselves and active participants of the underground economy – which may well spell their doom due to the consumer’s mindset of trying to get more for less, that is, get cheaper imitations of their favorite goods. Considering the danger of creating an imbalance in world trade, several organizations have advocated the rules which govern the rights to intellectual property which will safeguard the knowledge and information kept by corporations and individuals from intellectual theft. Nevertheless, the ongoing development of technology continues to take advantage of loopholes found in the systems created by these organizations to counteract these measures and persist on the spread of plagiarized data. Taking for example the art of fabricating vinyl records; re-recording cassettes and burning CDs with songs, the music industry has failed to suppress the people’s demand for pirated products which puts recording companies in danger of going under. Moreover, any packet of data can be easily copied and pasted from one computer to another thanks to the open-source nature of the internet. Currently with the development of more sophisticated data sharing media, most notably the peer-to-peer network, the proliferation of pirated materials is at its peak, so far, which might as well yelp the hoorah of happy consumers but in the expense of the death of industries and losing the integrity of intellectual property owners. As part of the consuming community, majority of us who use the internet practice file peer-to-peer sharing and can admit to the petit crimes and continue our lifestyle as if it didn’t matter. However this nonchalant attitude of the rapidly growing community of data sharers strikes a certain fear in me that soon enough cause a shift in the paradigm which may as well inevitably change the way we use data and share it. Therefore, I question both the advocates of IPR and the sharers; once the system catches up, again, to the trend of how we freely share our information and all-in-all annihilate it – will these sharers be able to outrun them again?

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Third blogpost made by Jared Formalejo

           

Double-Edged Sword

The information age is known as the shift from traditional industry brought about by industrialization to a period wherein people can gather, transfer, and access information freely. This has been made possible through the internet. The power that the Internet has over many people is truly overwhelming. Social networking sites, search engines, and other websites give people access on pretty much everything. Through the Internet, many people can shape the thoughts of anyone and everyone. Anyone can access the Internet and anyone can create websites that can influence millions of people. Through the Internet, too much power is given to one person therefore big spheres of power that go against each other are presented in society.

 As students majoring in Communications Technology Management, We are supposed to be equipped with technological skills that are an integral part of modern-day communication. We believe that information technology is essential for our future careers. The continuous development of technology is inevitable and we must be able to cope up with this development. The internet is widely used for communicating with people anywhere in the world. It is very easy to get in touch with anyone and communication is no longer bound by space and time. As a student, I make use of the internet all the time. I find it convenient because I can get information with just a click of a finger. It does not take so much time and effort to be able to learn new things however, we should not believe everything that we read. The information age has made life easier and complicated at the same time. As students, we cannot simply agree with every information that we receive. We have to be discerning individuals particularly when it comes to information received through the internet. In the earlier times, a book or any reading material goes through a lot of processes before it is published but now, anyone can post their opinions and thoughts online.

Information Technology has truly improved the quality of life but it also has its flaws. The internet has been a global platform that accelerates the flow of information and it is slowly replacing older forms of media. We cannot escape this phenomenon. We are bound to utilize information technology in our future line of work but we must be aware of its consequences. The internet is a double-edged sword; it can work for us or against us.

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Second blogpost made by Rosario Reyes

Two ends of the line

Science has always been a part of our generation as we have witnessed how the community of thinkers produces discovery after discovery. There are subtle and obvious good ways on how it has affected us, just like how shampoo and hospital made differences in our lives. When we were young, we have always assumed that shampoo existed because we needed it in order to take a bath. It was "magically" there when we wanted to use it, a tub full of fragrant goo, and it "disappeared" when our attention turned to the little bar of soap. Little did we know that this goo helped us maintain healthy and shiny hair. The case of hospitals is a little different though. We realized as kids that we went to that large, towering white building to meet doctors, people who specialize and treat our sickness. We knew that the bitter syrup they gave us was made in places called laboratories and factories.

However, now that we are old enough to analyze things more critically, we know that science not only contributed human milestones and achievements, but also created problems. Two of these troubles are the atomic bomb and drugs. Atomic bombs were created by scientists who were simply curious if they can create a weapon more powerful than guns or handmade bombs by just combining a few theories, metals and chemicals. Indeed, they succeeded and everyone recognized their abilities not only as experts of their fields but also as innovators. However, their discovery turned powerful military countries against each other. North Korea, for example, has never failed to build tension whenever they launch a nuclear testing. The USA is worse- they used "Fat Man" to force Japan to surrender in the expense of 90,00-166,000 lives in Hiroshima and 60,000-80,000 in Nagasaki during the World War II. Drugs, in the same context, are like atomic bombs. They were first conceptualized to nurse the sick into his former healthy state. And yet, the idea of being intoxicated by these little pills launched an arsenal of illegal drugs. Today, many kids of our age have fallen victims and are now facing criminal charges and a medical condition called addiction.

We are not blindsided by just the advantages of science but we are not antagonistic towards it.  We do hope that as it continues to pave ways, its remarkable contributions will outweigh the consequences it will bring us. After all, we still believe in its utter magnificence. We still believe that this body of knowledge was conceived to make lives better and not for the worse.

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First blogpost made by Chel Caritativo