Cancer Fighting Impant

After much deliberation and research, I formulated my Com 435 poster around the subject of a cancer fighting implant. The idea was brought to my attention through an RSS feed on the MIT technology review. This then led me to Harvard Medical’s web-site where I was able to get an in-depth perspective on the project. I quickly realized how revolutionary the implant was, and the implications it posed for the future of individuals affected by cancerous tumors.

The, smaller than a dime sized, implant is ground breaking because, unlike most cancer vaccines that work to prevent tumors, this disk actually fights against existing tumors in the body. The disk is a polymer scaffold which is made up of the same material that’s used in biodegradable sutures, in addition to ground-up pieces of the patient's tumor, which shows cells what to attack.

The disk has proved to be successful at slowing the growth of tumors and elongating survival time in mice, and a startup called InCytu, is now developing the technology for human testing.

I don’t think I can name one person that hasn’t been affected by cancer through family, friends or friends of friends so a technology like this could truly prove to be revolutionary if successful in humans. As someone who has seen first hand the effects of cancer, this is a technology I can truly back and root for, and am very glad it was brought to my attention through research for my class.

Overall, this past semester has truly been a great learning experience, and opened my eyes to all the technologies our society takes for granted including the ability to Blog. I have found great pleasure in being able to share my thoughts and opinions on my very own personal space. Also, I really enjoyed the ability to combine pictures and layouts schemes, bringing a little of my own personality into this Blog's design.

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24013/page1/

Research posters

This past Monday I was able to take part in my Com 435's research poster presentation. While I had no idea what to really expect, I was truly blown away by my classmates creativeness and ability to concisely relay a message via a poster board. There were ideas ranging from cyborg insects, to biomedical implants, and all of them were fresh and innovative.

Through the use of Twitter on my mobile device, I was able to give feedback to people who I thought went above and beyond on their project. It was very neat to be able to relay messages instantaneously via my phone, and share the thoughts with my classmates. This project easily showed the wonders of the capabilities we are now inabled with in this day in age.

After writing my final paper of the class on the topic of retinal implants, I spent quite a bit of time debating over whether or not I wanted to continue with this subject and do my poster for this Friday on it as well.

For a little background on the subject,the retinal implant works to target diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, which is the leading cause of inherited blindness in the world, and age-related macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness in the industrialized world. Through an implantable microelectronic prosthesis, visual messages will be relayed directly to the brain giving vision to those who previously went without.
http://www.bostonretinalimplant.org/

Although this technology is cutting edge and very impressive, I really would like to learn about another emerging technology so I guess I have a big decision ahead of me

Envision Center

As a Senior at Purdue, I really thought I had experienced the campus and most everything it had to offer until my com 435 class went and visited the Purdue Envision Center. While I had walked by the center several times, I never actually knew what is was. However, I was aware that it had previously been used as the old pool hall, so it was great to learn about what a collabaorative, technological based center it had actually become.

The amount of research available in regards to Data Perception was unreal. It was wonderful that we were all able to experience this novel program for ouselves, and see first hand, what a great learning tool this can be for the people of Purdue.

Abundant Technologies

The moment I walked into my Emerging Technologies class and my attention was brought to the subject matter, I became acutely aware of the vast number of technologies there really are. It seems all too familiar to when I bought a new car, and the next day I noticed that there were many people with the exact same make and model already. Somehow this fact had gone unnoticed prior to me focusing my attention on it, and I think that is very similar to how I have been in regards to all the emerging technologies there really are.

Through researching cyborg technologies, I have been able to see first hand how close we are to truly integrating robotic devices with the human body. While the thought seems out of the question and something you would only find in Hollywood movies, it is quickly becoming a reality as successful research phases are continually being completed with several different devices. It is not far fetched to say that people will soon have powers and abilities to perform in ways that ordinary humans are not able to do.

Freedom of Speech Through the Internet

I truly believe that everyone, including myself, over look the amount of freedom of speech we have through the internet. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. have brought a whole new dynamic to expressing oneself, and it’s safe to say that many others have found a great deal of entertainment in reading these social media channels. To put rules and regulations on one’s freedom of speech would defame the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and thus hamper the ability to express thoughts and opinions.

I know many people find great relief in being able to vent and share their true feelings through blogging and other social sites, and that convenience brought about by technology is honestly something to be appreciated, not overlooked. As Solove says in the, Free Speech, Anonymity, and Accountability reading, “Freedom of speech is an essential right in a democratic society… [it] gives us the right to express ourselves even if our speech is trivial, despicable, crass, and repulsive.”

Technology Pitch

My group, Arm and a Leg, Inc., presented a pitch introducing a new technology for amputee patients. The product actually allows a prosthesis to attach directly to the bone allowing for optimal stability, and comfort for the recipient. This technology differs greatly from more traditional prosthetic devices that slide on and off the “stump,” and do not allow for fluid movement. We believe that this device will create a great hope for people in need, especially the soldiers that lost their limbs in battle. Through innovation and technology, millions of ideas such as the one Arm and a Leg, Inc. are proposing, are being introduced into the medical field daily, thus bringing new opportunities to people in need.

To tweet, or not to tweet....

Today I succumbed to the pressures of Twitter and joined. While I have been a skeptic since the beginning of this technologies’ launch, it is easy to see why it has become vastly popular all over the world. It is nice to be able to share your thoughts with numerous people by just typing into your phone. This channel also allows individuals, ranging from movie stars to plain Jane's, the ability to disseminate tweets to a great amount of people, yet keep the message very personable and relatable to all the recievers alike.

Democracy- A Click Away

After reading, "New Technologies, Old Culture: A Look at Women, Gender, and the Internet in Kuwait," for my Com 435 class, I quickly realized just how important the internet is for people, women specifically in this case, and how the medium provides an area to throw aside gender stereotypes and expectations, and say what you truly want to say. Whether it be the veil of anonymity the internet provides, or the available access to share opinions, the internet has definitely provided a more democratic landscape for women to escape the stigmas of a patriarchal society and express their thoughts.
Even in my day to day life, I look for answers and suggestions from online sites such as, Wiki-answers and Yahoo Answers where individuals are able to ask and answer using anonymous identities or acronyms. In Kuwait, where women are much more hesitant to give advice and information on topics stemming from the gender expectations of their society where women are not expected or asked for advice from males even though they may know quite well what the answer is, the internet provides a space and channel for females to do so.

Gaming...duhn, duhn, duhnnnn

While games carry many connotations including happiness, fun, and adventure, or on the negative side...wasting time, and spurring violence, there is definitely a more serious side that people do not always associate with gaming. For instance, many games offer educational experiences, messages (i.e. health, ethical, and social) and social interaction. Games also help to develop motor skills, and stimulate brain activity.

While many people jokingly make fun of the "gamers," little do they know that these so called, gamers, are actually learning and making their brains work... for fun!

Geocaching

This Wednesday our 11:30 class participated in the geocaching contest. Before going out into the field, the field reporters communicated their contact information with the central reporting unit so we could send information both ways. The devices we used were cell phones and their capabilities such as picture messaging and internet connection, as well as walkie talkies and a video recorder. Using these technologies the field reporters were able to communicate back to the central unit on their locations and the clues they obtained. It was easy to see how important these communication devices really are. The ability to take a picture and send them proved to be very helpful in conveying a message. The old saying of “a picture speaks a thousand words,” couldn’t be more true, and in working together as a team to figure out a solution, the sending of pictures through mobile devices definitely helped. It was quite evident by the end of the class that the more use of effective communication the better.

Wikipedia

My freshman year of college I was fortunate enough to have a teacher who assigned the project of creating a Wikipedia entry. At the time, I was unaware of Wikipedia so it was a great learning project. I chose to write my submission about vintage warbird restoration because my father had been restoring airplanes for years, and I had payed attention.
Wikipedia did not have this subject or really anything else close at the time so it was a good opportunity to bring awarness and insight to warbird restoration.

Despite the bad rap Wikipedia gets about being a bad resource to use, I was absolutely impressed by how thorough the Wiki staff was at checking my sources and editing my work. Within a week, several different users had added more concrete information to the page.

With this in mind, the notion that Wikipedia creates a somewhat Democratic playing field for people to share their expertise is absolutely true. I would much rather learn about something as indepth as warbird restoration from people who are in and around it then from someone who has only researched the subject and has no first hand experience.



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

Crossing the line?

This summer I was fortunate enough to spend some time at John Travolta's house in Ocala, FL. Long story short: Travolta bought a Soko Galob classic jet, and my dad is a classic jet examiner for the FAA so he checked him out in the airplane. I went to help my dad with the paper work that had to be done, as well as to meet Travolta, of course.

While there, I was never asked NOT to take pictures or video, and Travolta was more than happy to pose for some pics with my Dad and I, but the whole time I had to question whether he was really okay with this, or perhaps, didn't want to offend anyone by asking us not to document the trip.

The moment I returned home, I added videos and pictures of my recent escapade to Facebook. With this in mind, I have to wonder if Travolta is really alright with these pictures and videos being posted to a social site. While I have security settings in place that limit who sees my profile, the information is still on the internet and in public view. This situation definitely made me realize the affects of technology on high-profile individuals, and the lengths they have to go to in hopes of monitoring their image via new technology.

link to Michael

Here is my link to Michael.

MTS - A Blog for Media, Technology and Society: From Blogs to the Theaters Near You

MTS - A Blog for Media, Technology and Society: From Blogs to the Theaters Near You

1 Man Show

In this day and age where people show their social engagements and happenings by downloading pictures to online sites such as Flickr, Facebook, and MySpace, making sure to document your night with the use of a camera seems to be a must. Anymore, it's a normal part of social decorum to ask someone to take a picture of your friends and you, and then return the favor by taking one for them. Everyone wants to have their fun night life and adventures documented and then shared online, but the trick is getting people to take the picture for you.

Unless you love interrupting people's conversations and daily lives to request their photog skills (and most likely explain to them how to use your camera) the alternate route is taken. This usually entails taking an awkard photo of you and your friends at your own arm's length. Often times a zoomed in picture of your nose and ear is the best you can hope for since you can't see if you are centered or not.

With this in mind, I recently became aware of a technology that serves to mend this awkward dilemma. The Samsung DualView Camera with a 1.5" front LCD screen, as well as a screen in back, lets you get out from behind the camera and get in the shot. You are able to perfectly frame yourself and take the picture!

This is Leslie's blog

link to my TA

This is my link to Zeynap

IPHONE...not so new

So, I recently decided to go big and purchase an iphone. Before coming to this conclusion, I was under the assumption that having one of these devices was a relatively new concept. However, the moment I had one in my hand, I was abundantly aware that every other student at Purdue had already jumped on the iphone bandwaggon, and was sporting their own dressed up (covers, tassles... bells and whistles) iphone around campus. Apparently the age of the iphone has been, and is, upon us.