Web Browsing Privacy on Social Networking Sites

With the increasing number of social networking sites, computer security and user security are being brought into question a lot. Many sites employ “cookies” which track what users are browsing so that ads can target users/consumers specifically. For the most part these cookies can be harmless however hackers can use these to invade computers.

In the article “Risk and Riches in User Data for Facebook” writer Somini Sengupta outlines the problems and arguments surrounding Facebook’s plan to go public. Sengupta says that Facebook “is under pressure to find new ways to turn data into profit.” Facebook already uses user’s likes to direct advertisements on homepages. The US and Europe are arguing that user’s should have more control over their data and how it is shared. User’s joined Facebook to network and reconnect with lost friends, not to be the source of profit. But the bulk of Facebook’s profit does in fact come from advertising. Europe has put fierce constraints on Facebook in which it wants Facebook to “honor a consumer’s so-called right to be forgotten, by deleting an individual’s data at his or her request” and also requires containing user constraint. Lawsuits in the US have also brought woes to Facebook accusing them of tracking user activities even after logging out of Facebook.

Another article I found, “Putting a priority on privacy” by Steven Musil which introduces the White House and Federal Trade Communications “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights”. This bill suggests that consumers have the right to notify Web sites if they wanted to be tracked or not. Some people like the targeted ads because it leads them to products they may like, others find them as an invasion of privacy. What do you think? Should websites be allowed to use cookies to track user browsing? What are some privacy issues you see arising from online tracking?

Companies like Facebook and Youtube make their profits on the ability to sell ad space and target its users. I think this is okay because its makes it possible for Facebook and Youtube to be free for its users; however, I think users should have the choice of whether or not they are tracked. Many people who aren’t computer savy or are younger users may not realize that their browsing is being tracked and this is where I see the problem. Even though most of the tracking is used for marketing purpose some of it could turn out to be for malicious intent by hackers. For instance, they can gain personal information from these sights and then spam your e-mail with a virus. Therefore I agree with the proposed European policy stating that users should give their consent or have the ability to opt out.

Are College Students Learning to Think Critically?

College is usually viewed as a place where young minds go to develop essential life skills, such as time management, writing skills, and critical thinking. However, a study lead by sociologist Richard Arum seems to prove otherwise.

The study, which followed a group of undergraduates from 24 different colleges and universities, tracked the development of critical thinking, reasoning, and writing skills. After two years, forty-five percent of the students showed no significant improvement in these skills. After four years, the percentage dropped slightly to thirty-six percent. Students who majored in the liberal arts showed higher gains in these skills than other majors. Conversely, business, education, social work, and communications majors showed the least improvement over the course of the study.

One possible explanation for this trend is that some universities and colleges now promote a highly specialized learning process: general knowledge and reasoning is discarded in favor of teaching the student as much as possible about his or her individual career field. This method, while making the student more marketable for employers, severely limits their adaptability. Professors also often teach to the tests, rather than giving the student a comprehensive understanding of the subject material. It seems that the actual knowledge behind a degree has diminished in recent times, due to these changes.

Do students nowadays gain enough general knowledge? Which teaching method do you prefer: learning the material and how to apply it, or simply being taught how to pass the tests?

Fueled by Future Self Paper

I found an article that can directly apply to the paper we are working on writing. The article is called "College freshman face major dilemma" by Gayle B. Ronan and is at this link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10154383/ns/business-personal_finance/t/college-freshmen-face-major-dilemma/#.T0Mrp9WGgpo

The article talks about how many people do not know the major that they intend to go into and that it can cause some major problems. Some the of the problems is that it is taking students longer to graduate therefore they are spending more money in order to receive their degree. A problem for universities is that these students take up spots for the amount of new students they can let in. The article also discusses the steps that can be taken in order to help students be more decisive and choose a major that they will enjoy so they will not be tempted to change majors and graduate within four years.



Let me know what you guys think. Do you think that indecisive students are a good or bad thing? What do you suggest that colleges do in order to prevent students from changing majors? Do you think that Dr. Fritz Grupe test or Kate Brooks test is more effective in determining what major a student should choose?  And now that you know some of these statistics do you think it is fair to ask us to write about our future?

Hidden Messages

     In the article "Subliminal Advertising Leaves Its Mark On The Brain" researchers at the University College London discovered that even when people don't recognize subliminal messages, their brain still acknowledges them. Subliminal advertisement is legal in the United States, but what the "study doesn't address is whether this would then influence you to go out and buy a product".  The researchers also did a test to see if people’s brains still registered these subliminal messages when it was distracted by something else.  They did this by having people wear these two tone glasses and they have to pick out numbers from within pictures.  When people were asked to point out a certain number, their brain never registered the hidden picture, even though one of their eyes could barely see it still.  According to Dr. Bahrami "it challenges previous thinking - that what is subconscious is also automatic."  

     Do you think hidden messages in advertisements could be a problem in the United States? Do you ever notice any of these hidden messages? Could this affect our decisions on purchasing a product?

Are we Full of Ourselves?

An article came out in 2007 named "College Students think they're so Special." Apparently, college students are more self-centered than the decades before. Five psychologists actually studied this issue to see if this new finding could be harmful to the future relationships and our society. From the time we were born we always hear "you're special" and "you're great." The author, Professor Jean Twenge said that "kids are self-centered enough already." These psychologist made an evaluation called Narcissistic Personality Inventory and had about 16,000 students complete it between 1982 and 2006. This evaluation asks responses to "If I ruled the world, it would be a better place," "I think I am a special person" and "I can live my life any way I want to." The results showed that by 2006 two-thirds of students increased and had scores above average. So it's proven that we are somewhat self-centered.

Is that a bad thing though? Campbell doesn't think that it's a bad thing when it comes to meeting new people or auditioning for a show. But like stated earlier it can be a potential negative aspect when it comes to relationships. According to the article being a narcissist can lead to more romantic relationships which are shorter. It goes on to explain why we are more narcissistic. Apparently, we are more "confident, entitled and the article said more miserable than we ever were before." The article does bring up how we do volunteer. It also mentions though that we did that to stand out on our college applications. Also, it mentions how we did grow up being taught to not let anyone get in our way. So potentially we want to achieve our goals and if a relationship is in the way that's one of the first things that's going.  

This was written in 2007, do you think our group of college freshman are more self-centered or less? Why do you think that? Can you think of any examples that would make someone seem more self-centered?

Do you agree or disagree with it helping us audition/ talk to people?

Can you think of a reason why we may be more self-centered that wasn't stated in the article?

Will 2012 be the end of the World?

Doomsday approaches! Could the prophecies be true? No matter what your personal views on the subject are, one cannot ignore the hype that this theory has created. It is widely believed that it was the Mayans alone who predicted set date, however, there are a handful of other theories which also claim that the end of the world will be in 2012.

There is a theory which forecasts that the planet’s crust and mantle will suddenly shift, spinning around Earth's liquid-iron outer core like an orange's peel spinning around its fleshy fruit. Another mentions how Planet X, also know as Nibiru, will find itself headed towards Earth into what could result in a direct collision. Some others have even claimed that it will be our friendly star, the Sun, that dooms us all.

Even though scientists all around the world have denied most of these notions, one cannot help but wonder. Personally, I don’t believe any of these predictions, but they still make me consider a lot of things. What if it was true that we had less than a year to live? If we knew this was going to happen with certainty, we would treasure every day like no other. What would you do if you knew that in less than a year the world would end? Would you still get up at 9a.m. to go to Ms Clinnins class? Furthermore, would you choose to still remain at Tech? Would you go to your family or would you take time to travel? Do you think you’d be depressed or would you find the strength to accept the fact that the world was coming to an end?

P.S. If it where to end, Mr Elliot, it would be with a bang, not a whimper.

Are College Students Learning?

Jonathan Zimmerman argued in his article, Are College Students Learning?, that colleges are not focusing enough on the what students are learning and as a result of that, graduates are coming out of college without valuable skills they should have learned. He noted from President Obama's State of the Union address that college tuition is skyrocketing and that colleges need to do better. Obama's criteria for doing better neglected to mention whether the students learn anything. Two of Zimmerman's colleagues, Richard Arum from New York University and Josipa Roksa from the University of Virginia, conducted a study on more than 2,300 students from 24 varied universities in the U. S. by administering the CLA, or College Learning Assessment, to each student, two or more times throughout their college careers. The CLA is an essay test that measures critical thinking, complex reasoning, and written expression. All of these are valuable skills that students should learn in college. The results of the study showed that a third of the students did not improve those skills from their freshman year to sophomore year and nearly half of them did not improve from their freshman year to senior year. Everyone pays all this money for an education, but are they actually receiving it?
Would you agree or disagree that colleges are focusing a little too much on their research and not enough on what they are teaching and why? Do you think that Virginia Tech has this problem?