Internet Freedom vs Net Neutrality

In this post I am going to play the devils advocate because I see benefits to both sides.  Internet freedom seems to be the more American choice.  By American I mean if you work hard and earn enough money you can have whatever you want in life.  I can see how some people could believe that that Internet freedom could favor the richer people, because those who could afford the better Internet service would buy it, however those who were poorer and couldn't afford it would have to deal with the slower and less convenient Internet access.  Net neutrality is a little bit different because it forces everyone to be entitled to the Internet on a network that is fast and reliable.  I personally feel that net neutrality is the better option. I would like to be able to access a fast Internet server wherever I go. Also, this seems to be the fairer option because so much is generated around the Internet today. In fact, I believe that if you don't have access to the Internet you will most likely be out of the loop on a lot of important things. I also believe that eventually you will actually NEED to have access to the Internet to do daily tasks such as pay bills or deposit money.  When this happens, we are going to need a national Internet server that everyone can use and access.  The only negative of net neutrality would be that there would be one Internet server and no room for competition for the better service. We would have to be content wit the Internet server that we have. I still believe that net neutrality is the better option for Americans today.

Hactivism

In regards to the form of hacking that damages the product being hacked and is only used for a profit, I think these should be illegal, however, I think there should be no laws agianst hactivism as a form of protest.  I believe that if you are smart enough to hack into someones electronic device, they should be allowed, but once you get to the point of damaging other peoples personal belongings there should be laws put in place and enforced.  The argument was stated in class that how would you feel if someone broke into your house, however, they didn't take anything, but instead left a note saying "You need a better security system".  As unsettling as this act might be to me, I feel that it is ok.  Aside from the point of breaking and entering, they didn't break any laws, and in fact are trying to help me.  The same goes for hackers breaking into companies computer systems.  It is actually beneficial to the company because it gives them a heads up that they need to get a better firewall before someone with bad intentions hacks into the system.  I am for havtivism as a form of protest and don't think any laws should be put in place against soley hacking into a computer.

Taking Action Against E-waste!

What You Can Do

Thanks for telling the computer companies that you want genuine green options!

It really helps when they hear this from customers or potential customers.
Here are some other things you can do to help solve the e-waste crisis in the U.S.

	Help stop U.S. “recyclers” from dumping our e-waste in developing countries. Tell Congress to support HR 6252, which would make it illegal to send toxic e-waste from the U.S. to poor countries. Click here to send a message to your Representative in Congress.
	Find a good, ethical recycler for your old electronic products, in the U.S. and Canada. Click here
	Find Greener Products. Click here for resources for work, school, & home – by the Center for Environmental Health.
	Find out who is working on e-waste in your area. Click here for a list of groups in the U.S. and also other countries.

All About Lead

1. Lead is extracted from ores dug from under-ground mines.
The top producer of lead is Australia, followed by the United States, China, and Canada.
2. In 1989, the Missouri Legislature passed House Bill 321, which was known as the Metallic Minerals Waste Management Act to regulate the waste produced from metals mining.
3. The concerns that humans are dealing with are that Lead if its inhaled or ingested then it can affect humans on a bad level. Lead is hard to get rid of and when it is thrown out in electronics, it causes a real health concern in the wild.
4. In Adults, Lead poisoning can have poor muscle coordination, nerve damage to the sense organs and nerves controlling the body, increased blood pressure, hearing and vision impairment, reproductive problems, and retarded fetal development.

E-waste

Judging from the lecture on Monday, I believe that the social justice implication of e-waste is that of most of the people who fully understand the subject.  Most people (including myself) don't really know what happens to our cell phones, computers and televisions when we are done with them.  All we know is that we want them gone, and we would like to make money off of them if possible.  Generally, people don't look into where the company they give their old electronics to take them to be "recycled".  Some companies are reliable and do the right thing with them and recycle them properly, however it is often cheaper and more profitable for companies to dump them on the shores of worse-off countries.  What I think the social justice implication of e-waste is that we should educate others on what happens when one gets rid of their old cell phone, and encourage the proper disposal and recycling of these electronics. 

"The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas"

     Social Justice can be defined in many ways, and can mean a lot of different things.  For example, Wikipedia states that "a socially just society is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, understands and values human rights, and recognizes the dignity of every human being" (Wikipedia 9-5-12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice).  Conserveapedia defines social justice as "a term describing the redistribution of wealth for the common good of all" (Conserveapedia 9-5-12  http://www.conservapedia.com/Social_justice).  Both of these definitions have the same basic principles: equality and well being for the good of all who live in that society.  Other sources, such as Dictionary.com define social justice as "the distribution of advantages and disadvantages in a society" (Dictionary.com 9-5-12 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/social+justice).  Answers.com defines it as "The distribution of the benefits and the hardships in society" (Answers.com 9-5-12 http://www.answers.com/topic/social-justice) These definitions focuses not only on the well being of the people, but more so that the advantages and disadvantages are shared among the community.  The last source I went to was BusinessDictionary.com.  They defined social justice as "   The fair and proper administration of laws conforming to the natural law that all persons, irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, possessions, race, religion, etc., are to be treated equally and without prejudice" (BusinessDictionary.com 9-5-12 http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/social-justice.html).  This definition branches into the political side of things by discussing that the laws should be socially just.  I personally feel that social justice is best defined by Answers.com.  A socially just society doesn't necessarily mean that all of the citizens are rich, happy and powerful, but rather that they are all equally rich, happy and powerful together, or poor, sad and powerless together.  No one group of people is better off than another in a socially just society.  The definition of social justice can mean so many things, in so many ways, but all of the definitions come down to the same basic theme: equality for all.

I believe that in the story "The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas" everybody was selfish.  Although some people decided to walk away from the town when they learned about the suffering child, nobody was willing to actually help the suffering child.  This is not an example of a socially just society because not everybody was happy.  The child was in pain and being treated horribly so that the rest of the town could be happy, and because everyone was not equally happy or suffering this society was not socially just.

I believe that this story relates perfectly to everyday life.  Sometimes (most of the time) we are not willing to sacrifice some of our own happiness to help the less fortunate people in our town.  Also, it doesn't only have to be happiness that we wont sacrifice.  It could be money, or time, or even just prayers.  Sometimes we are too absorbed in our own lives to realize the difference we could make in someone elses'.

A Little Bit About Me

Hello, my name is Grace Noall, I am originally from Concord Township, Ohio (near Mentor).  The email address that you can reach me at is gnoall16@jcu.edu.  Some unique things about me are I absolutely love sports! All of them, another unique, and semi-weird thing about me is that my two favorite bands are Green Day and One Direction. I told you it was weird!

The best way for me to learn is interactively.  I find it so much easier to learn how things work when I can be submerged into the information.  Also, I am quite shy so it is hard for me to speak out in class when I have a question.

I think the most important technological invention is the Internet.  Nowadays, people rely so much on the Internet for such a vast amount of things from getting information to socializing.  It has made, in my opinion, the greatest impact on the world today.  Some technological things I find essential to my life are my phone and my computer. This might sound terrible, but I think it would be extremely difficult to live without these objects in this time period.  I like to consider myself to be quite technologically savvy, but there is no way I could have ever invented Facebook! I'll rate myself a 5 on the technologically advanced scale.

A couple questions I have about the class are how will the use of social networking be incorporated into the class, and how will social networking be incorporated into service?