Atlanta – Emir's Blog

My Take On The CDC.

Emir Talundzic on April 1, 2016

The CDC Website From My Eyes.

“Civilized. Simple. Straightforward.”

These are the three words that I would use to summarize the CDC website. My adventure starts at the homepage of the CDC site where I was greeted with a large banner advertising “Zika Virus”. Immediately I began to question how much I knew about the virus and felt compelled to click on the banner since it advertised that it would provide me with the information I was seeking. This method of using large letters, combined with neutral but attention grabbing colors is an effective way to capture the attention of users going to the website.

The second thing that caught my attention was the layout of the website. Most of the site is blue or green combined with white lettering. The site also integrates images which are usually followed by brief captions justifying the context of the image. Everything about the CDC website’s layout is very simplistic and repetitive. This simplistic styling can also been seen in educational and most professionally oriented websites. While this may be a good thing, as the use of basic colors and backgrounds helps prevent the user from becoming distracted, it also can make everything seemed cluttered. For example, in the picture below, the repetitive use of blue backgrounds and white lettering makes everything blend in. As a result, less sticks out at the viewer and everything becomes blurred together. However, this layout may be beneficial to more mature age groups, as that seems like the target audience of the CDC website. Personally, this layout made me feel fatigued as I encounter it consistently with other websites on a daily basis.

As I continued to explore the CDC website, I focused on the information provided and usability of the site. The CDC website is a great place to keep up with the latest diseases and educate yourself about potential illnesses you may have and the steps you need to take to cure yourself. Unlike other sites that pop up when you google an illness, the CDC website is a credible source and the information they provide is backed by extensive research. As for the usability of the site, the CDC website is not too complicated to navigate through, however, as I mentioned before, the site can become confusing because of the repetitive use of the same format and colors. For example, when I used the search feature (below), a multitude of results piled up onto my screen in the same blue and white format. Once again, I felt overwhelmed by the amount of results that popped up as well as how they were organized.

Screen Shot 2016-03-31 at 8.51.30 PM — The results that pop up when you use the search feature on the CDC website.

Overall, the CDC website does its job well, which is to educate and update the public on diseases. I would recommend using this site if you wish to learn more, or identify a potential illness you may have.

Explore more…

First look: https://sites.gsu.edu/etalundzic2/2016/03/31/cdc-digital-record-1/
Exploring the disease of the week: https://sites.gsu.edu/etalundzic2/2016/04/01/cdc-digital-record-2/
Careers at the CDC: https://sites.gsu.edu/etalundzic2/2016/04/01/cdc-digital-record-3/
CDC search feature: https://sites.gsu.edu/etalundzic2/2016/04/01/cdc-digital-record-4/
CDC Newsroom: https://sites.gsu.edu/etalundzic2/2016/04/01/cdc-digital-record-5/

CDC Digital Record: #5

Emir Talundzic on April 1, 2016

This is the media part of the CDC. The color scheme changed from blue to green, however, the same font and format is used for everything else. To the left is a picture and a banner that usually represents the most covered issue. To the right are links to journal summaries and press kits with contact information below.

At the bottom of the page lies three small and vaguely detailed categories with help on how to view the formats present on the site.

CDC Digital Record: #4

Emir Talundzic on April 1, 2016April 1, 2016

I decided to explore the search feature of the CDC website. As seen in previous records, there is a search bar in the top left corner. I decided to search AIDS and see what it provided me with. Essentially the search bar uses Bing, as can seen below, and finds what you searched for. However, the results seemed to be filtered to all connect to the CDC website.

CDC Digital Record: #3

Emir Talundzic on April 1, 2016

This is the career/hiring part of the CDC website. In the middle of the page, you have the option to search for jobs at the CDC by keyword and location. This is convenient and hassle-free way to search for a job as it shows you whats available as well as the distance it is from you.

The rest of the page focuses on describing the different categories of jobs available at the CDC, hiring information, applications and a series of videos about the people who currently work at the CDC.

CDC Digital Record: #2

Emir Talundzic on April 1, 2016

I decided to explore the “Disease of the Week” part of the CDC website. Here you can see the featured disease of the week as well as the description of what it is. If you click the more button, it pulls up the full description of the disease as well a little quiz you can take to test your knowledge about the disease.

Quiz you can take about the featured disease.

Here we can see a simple drop down list of all the diseases to the left and a more detailed list in the middle.

Once again, there is a way to share the content from the CDC on social media. However, unlike before, now there are more options.

CDC Digital Record #1

Emir Talundzic on March 31, 2016April 1, 2016

This is the top of the CDC homepage. In the left hand corner there are options to connect and share information regarding the CDC over Facebook, Twitter and Google +. The top part of the site has five major categories, four that are popular topics/categories, with the fifth category covering the rest of the CDC topics. The top part of the site also has an index, as can be seen in the top right area of the website.

The middle part of the homepage is divided into a very simple manner, showing news and outbreaks.

The bottom part of the site covers the what the CDC is about as well as the director.

The Great Divide: Annotated Bibliography 10.

Emir Talundzic on March 25, 2016

“GREEDY RICH IS THE POOREST OF THE POOR.” Worldsupporter. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.

This blog post written by Cecile Cremer discusses the campaign started to help erase the socioeconomic gap that exists in Mexico. Cremer focuses on the images taken by Oscar Ruiz (featured image) that quite literally show a line between the rich and the poor. She also talks about how the general public is not aware of these slums that many people live in because of the image the media portrays. Instead of seeing the dirty, sewage infested slums, people see the attractive clean hotel resorts that are scattered all over Mexico. She ends her post with a call to action for people to step up and help this campaign erase the poverty that exists in Mexico.

Originally I was going to use the image as my source to write the Annotated Bibliography. However, when I clicked the image it led me to the blog post and effectively piped my curiosity as I wanted to see what this person had to say. Unfortunately, the blog post seems to be roughly put together, lacks proper citation and overall does not provide much in the way of detail about the topic. As a result this source can not be taken in a serious note as it lacks credibility. However, the image does remind of me the divide that exists here in Atlanta. The only difference is that in Atlanta, highways are the dividing line, not fences.

Architectural Defense, Not Just a Visual Thing: Annotated Bibliography 9

Emir Talundzic on March 25, 2016March 25, 2016

Source:

This video by CNN discusses the use of the “Mosquito device” and its effects on people. In the video, the business decided to implement the use of the mosquito device after a massive brawl erupted in the local metro station entrance and surfaced in front of the businesses. The area is known to be a popular place for the local youth to gather and interact because of all the youth oriented shops and places that surround the area. However, traditionally youth are associated with loitering, being noisy and causing havoc, making them prime candidates for exclusion.

I chose this video since it elaborates on the use of aural architectural defense, which was not familiar to me before. This video also connects with annotated bibliographies seven and eight, but focuses specifically on the aural method of exclusion. In the video, the business claims that the mosquito device is not targeted at youth, however when CNN tested it, only younger people were able to hear it. I know I have experienced this device in Atlanta when I was in an area where youth would usually collect. I remember the sound resonating in my head and being very annoying. Now I know why that happened and what it was.

Methods of Defensive Architecture: Annotated Bibliography 8.

Emir Talundzic on March 25, 2016March 25, 2016

“5 Ways We Design Our Cities to Make Them Inhospitable to Human Life (Photos) | Alternet.” N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.

The article by Allegra Kirkland discusses the five types of defensive architecture cities use to exclude certain groups of people. Kirkland talks about how cities and private spaces use defensive architecture like spikes, sprinklers, checkpoints and divided benches to exclude the poor, specifically the homeless. In addition to this, cities also use aural methods like playing unpleasant sounds to prevent people from selling or sleeping around businesses. Kirkland uses the example of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium which played an industrial sound track to keep people from sleeping on the steps.

spike_bench2 — Homeless deterrent bench. The spikes retract when a payment is received. Sourced from: David M. Boje

I chose this article because it relates with my 7th annotated bibliography which focused on the use of spikes and expands on the different methods of defensive architecture being used in cities to exclude the homeless. This source also relates to the built environment setting found here in Atlanta. Most of the methods mentioned in Kirkland’s article can be seen in use throughout Atlanta. For example, some parks and businesses in Atlanta do use split benches, sprinkler systems, checkpoints and spikes to prevent the homeless from using those areas.

The war on public space. Annotated Bibliography 7.

Emir Talundzic on March 25, 2016March 25, 2016

Andreou, Alex. “Anti-Homeless Spikes: ‘Sleeping Rough Opened My Eyes to the City’s Barbed Cruelty’.” The Guardian 18 Feb. 2015. The Guardian. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.

Photograph: Guy Corbishley/Demotix/Corbi

This image depicts the spikes that are placed to prevent the homeless from sleeping or sitting in that spot. These spikes are commonly found in use around stores, parks and under bridges. The use of defensive architecture is present in many cities and even in Atlanta. However, their use has been placed under criticism by the public because it openly excludes and discriminates against the homeless. In addition to this, the use of defensive architecture, like these spikes, has been criticized as it can prevent people that may need a place to sit down and rest as well as limiting the city public life.

I chose this image as my source because it shows architectural exclusion in a very blunt manner. Usually, architectural exclusion goes unnoticed by the general public, however, this image clearly depicts the war that exists on public space. This image was published approximately a year ago, but the use of spikes is still present in most large cities and areas with heavy human traffic. This image is similar to my other annotated bibliography on “Poor doors” as both images are methods of defensive architecture and under heavy criticism from the public.

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