Expanding Your Vocabulary

Having the right words with which to talk about a subject will help you immensely in both communicating and understanding information. If you're not sure where to start expanding your vocabulary, I suggest going to www.vocabulary.com, signing up, and practicing at least 30 minutes a day.

Class Wiki

On Scholar there is a Wiki tool that I'd like to use to answer any questions you have. You may ask me to clarify information or to provide more information about any class assignment. Note that sometimes my answers may be reserved because I don't want to think for you. It's important to adapt to writing situations that you encounter. Questions related to writing process and grammar are welcome as well. I'll make a note to introduce this in class next week.

New Blog Assignment

For Sept. 13^th, I would like you to post your opinion on some aspect of the news in your blog. You could comment on online articles from news sources, such as USA Today, the Collegiate Times, the Roanoke Times, the Washington Post, and the New York Times, among others (I would steer away from news satire, which would include papers like the Onion). The articles can be about anything that interests you: world news, national news, local news, sports, economics, entertainment, science, technology, etc. I am looking for is clear and concise writing and interesting/critical thinking. I have posted an example on my blog with the title: "Surveying Our Times," which is the post below this one.

Keep the following in mind:

• You should cite/hyperlink the original article you read as well as any supplemental reading, and make sure that your audience knows what you are talking about from the beginning of the blog post. For example, notice in my blog that whenever I use information from a source, I create a link in my text that goes to that web page. If you’re confused about how to create these links, tell me and I will cover it in class Thursday.
• Don’t summarize the article, but make sure that your opinion takes the forefront. Think of yourself as having a discussion with the author of the article. The way you’ll know that your writing has your opinion is that someone else would be able to argue against the point your making. In my case, someone might make an argument against me that I am only focusing on the negative aspects of technology (forgetting about how it served Egypt’s revolution) or that capitalism and democracy were never in balance, or perhaps when we use the word democracy we aren’t talking about equality, but about a specific system type of governmental representation.
• Take your time and read around about the issue you’re interested in. Also, I suggest reading a little of the news every day. It’s important to stay up to date and anticipate changing events either in your field or the world at large.
• You need to have the blog entry posted before class on Tuesday Sept 13th.
• If you aren't sure how to post on Blogger, see http://www.google.com/support/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=41378
• If you need more information or would like to work on your template, see http://www.google.com/support/blogger/?hl=en
  

Surveying Our Times

A post on NPR’s The Two-Way blog reports that Cisco is helping China put up as many as 500,000 cameras across a city as part of a network project called Peaceful Chongqing. The cameras are claimed to provide a means of surveillance for cracking down on dissent. A Washington Post article notes that “Several U.S.-based companies, including Cisco, HP and Alabama-based software maker Intergraph, have either signed on to help create the network or are poised to do so.” This raises the evident question of whether corporations in a democracy should be contributing to large scale projects in non-democratic nations that create the conditions and means for abuse, and this case demonstrates how the antitheses of democracy and capitalism have been thrown out of balance, with capitalism taking charge. Note that when I say democracy, I am not referring just to the meaning of electing representatives to government, but to principles of social equality and respect.

But let me not proceed too far down that track without recognizing that what Cisco builds in China is similar to the structure already in place in the United States—only under a different government. We can easily be tracked by cell phones, financial transactions, and e-mails that we send on a daily basis. Additionally, next time you’re in a store, a government building, a parking garage, or a stoplight, see if there is a camera nearby. Consider facial-recognition software, phone tapping, and browsing information saved by ISPs. The means for a government to track anyone is already enmeshed in the activities of our daily lives and our nation’s infrastructure. Some might make the argument that “if you’re not doing anything wrong, then there isn’t a problem.” But the problem has less to do with following the law, and more to do with the volatile future and potential abuses of this tracked information—not just by governments, but through the threat of cyberattacks. Any user of technology should have a heightened awareness of how both privacy and security are lost.

While Ethisphere notes Cisco as one of the world’s most ethical companies, Cisco faces a lawsuit from the Human Rights Law Foundation for allegedly customizing their technology to serve China’s political purposes. On Cisco’s web site, they have a section about ethics that targets employees. There is even a decision tree for difficult to handle situations relating to Cisco’s ethical standards. Employees are asked in one step of the ethical decision-making process to consider “Does this reflect Cisco values and culture?” Perhaps Cisco should ask itself the same question. This is the action of a corporation more concerned with capital than the effects of its technology. But if Cisco doesn’t create the network, then won’t someone else? Probably so. Then will American corporations begin to lose their foothold in the global economy? They probably would. So we return to the opposites of capitalism and democracy, understanding the need for human rights, but also economic health. How do we find the balance between the two or is a balance possible? I begin to think that a balance is not possible and that, due to its competitive nature, capitalism trumps democracy. This is evident in political campaigning, income brackets, and the growing of corporate culture.

Perhaps the most telling quote from the bidding process was from Todd Bradley, an executive vice president who oversees HP's China strategy: "We take them [China] at their word as to the usage." He added, "It's not my job to really understand what they're going to use it for. Our job is to respond to the bid that they've made."

Welcome

This is the class blog for the Fall 2011 VT ENGL 1105 class taught by David Duckett.

If you would, please go to http://www.blogger.com/home and create an account (if you don't already have a Google account), and send me the link to your blog when you are finished.

If you have some time, definitely explore How to Write Your Best, which is an excellent blog about writing from a retired college teacher here at Virginia Tech.