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Summary #6 Melissa King’s “Better Online Living through Content Moderation”

Mar29
Content Control Features do this theoretically.

Content Control Features do this theoretically.

This article, written by Melissa King, argues that content control features are valuable to people who need them. These people could suffer from online bullying, PTSD, and other types of harassment or mental illness that could make them vulnerable to the general public. Throughout the article, she defends her argument by dismissing arguments that those features are useless.

One argument she attacks is that people who use content control features are “weak” or “too sensitive.” She states by criticizing people who use these tools, the world is creating a culture that presses people to expose themselves to catastrophic things. The situation becomes the victim’s problem and that they should “just deal with it”. This advice becomes useless because not every situation is a difference in opinion about something. Content Control features are helpful to stop the effects of abuse and shouldn’t be discouraged.

FloodingCartoonsmall

The second argument she attacks is that people claim that not using the content control tools when in an abusive situation is a form of therapy. The type of therapy referred to is the Exposure Therapy. This technique, gradual and controlled exposure to the cause of anxiety, is designed to cure severe anxiety. The misconception of this argument, King states, is that this argument is misunderstanding human psychology. Exposure Therapy is not random internet insults and threats from strangers. If their theory was correct, the insults would have to be controlled. Since this isn’t the case, this argument doesn’t reduce the trauma but magnifies it. She proposes the solution that people should understand mental illness before declaring solutions to the cures and denouncing helpful mechanisms such as the Content Control features.

 

The third argument she attacks is that people who are in the “middle” of the situation claim that both sides are unreasonable and suggest a middle ground to be found between both parties. King states that the problem with this argument is that those people are measuring the targets of harassment equal to the harassment itself. These people also fail to realize how vicious and persistent online harassment can be. They fail to acknowledge to the difference between the aggressor and their targets. King goes on to say that this demonstrates a lack of empathy for people who suffer from these situations.

Diversity

Diversity need things like Content Control Features

King argues that easy one-size-fits-all solutions ignore the diversity of human psyches and experiences. Content Control tools take this idea into fact and allows people to be able to act on their emotional needs. Not everyone is able to ignore threats and still enjoy the internet. No one should be forced to deal with something if they do not wish to; especially if it is causing them emotional trauma. Telling people otherwise is wrong and inhumane. It creates a world of misinformed opinions about how to manage their own mental states. In turn, this increasingly allows a pattern for abuse. Therefore, the use of content control features shouldn’t be criticized but rather encouraged.

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

  • King, Melissa. “Better Online Living Through Content Moderation,” Model View Culture 28 (October 14, 2015).
  • Above All Else. Bullying? Stand Up! Digital image. Bullying? Stand Up!Blogger.com, 4 Jan. 2015. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
  • A comic representation of a exposure therapy. Digital image. How To Lose Control and Gain Emotional Freedom. Sean Burdick, 28 Oct. 2012. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
  • Cienpies Design. Isolated Diversity Tree with Pixelated People Illustration. Vector File Layered for Easy Manipulation and Custom Coloring. Digital image. Shutterstock. Shutterstock Inc, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.

Summary #5 Color Walking by Phia Bennin & Brendan McMullan

Mar24

Color Walking depiction

This blog post talks about the authors’ experience trying to experiment with the Color Walk. The Color Walk idea comes from William Burroughs, a novelist. It is described as picking a color or allowing the color to choose you and following it. It is said that if you get lost, then chose another color. If you happen to get really lost, then you have done really well.

 

The authors’ trip started at WNYC, in lower Manhattan. First, they followed blues that eventually led them to pinks and finally pulled them towards violets. From the authors’ own words “…the colors hung in our brains and eyes. We walked away seeing a world brimming over with colors…”

WNYC is a public radio station in New York City

WNYC is a public radio station in New York City

The importance of doing such kind of walk could be that it allows you to notice colors in a way that you never have before. The authors stated that after they finished it was as if all they could see was only the colors; like the colors were just lingering in front of them or maybe in their own minds. A person that might benefit from this kind of walk could be painters, writers, or other professionals that desire to be inspired. People who are stressed could benefit from this walk.

A lot of people think color therapy is effective

There is a popular theory that color therapy is effective.

 

 

Also something to be considered is the context. This blog post was written in 2012. This was a time when the United States was rapidly but slowly recovering from the Great Recession. People at this time were still struggling to make ends meet, finish school, hold jobs, and take care of their families. At this time, people could have been stressed and needed a suggestion like the color walk to inspire them with a new idea or solution.

A reminder to the American people of the Great Depression and how we should avoid it.

A reminder to the American people of the Great Depression published in 2008 because of the Great Recession

The authors go on to give tips on how to effective exercise this technique. They recommend at least an hour for wandering. They say to pick a color, or to let a color pick you- to follow the one that points out to you the most. Their final tip is to get lost! Getting lost is a sign that you are succeeding at the exercise.

Sources:

  • McMullan, Brendan, and Phia Bennin. “Color Walking.” Radiolab Blogland. WNYC Radio, 29 June 2012. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
  • Antiel_eldar/flickr/CC-BY-2.0. Digital image. Radiolab Blogland. WNYC Radio, 29 June 2012. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
  • WNYC Logo. Digital image. BuzzMachine RSS. WordPress, 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
  • TIME Magazine Cover: The New Hard Times – Oct. 13, 2008. Digital image.Time. Time Inc., 13 Oct. 2008. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.

Atlanta’s built environment: Walkability/Bikeability

Mar23

The claim: Atlanta’s exterior built environment is transitioning from a car-centered infrastructure to one that is more walkable and bikeable.

Two scholarly sources:

  1. Sarah Schindler’s article about Architectural Exclusion mentions the  the placement and size of public transportation and how it affects the public. She does mention Atlanta’s MARTA train transportation and compares it to a much bigger impactful public transportation system like New York’s. In Atlanta, there have been discussion of it’s expansion; however citizens of certain neighborhoods do not want this to happen because they do not want lots of outsiders near their homes. This means in Atlanta, it is hard to just depend on train transportation because it it limited to certain areas causing cars to still be a major form of transportation.
  2.  The annotated bibliography created by qmcclain2 talks about bike lanes in Atlanta. It states evidence showing how Atlanta is trying to incorporate bike lanes throughout the city. The lanes benefit not only the bicyclists but everyone else too.It provides more safety for the bicyclists and drivers of cars. The downfall of bike lanes are the city’s struggle to pay  for the cost.

Two popular sources:

  1. This website talks about the reasons for the construction of the Atlanta Streetcar. The name of the website is Central Atlanta Progress; Atlanta Downtown Improvement District which means that this information is coming straight from people who report improvement projects in Atlanta. The article goes on to say what the city of Atlanta have planned for the streetcar. One goal they described they wanted for the Streetcar is to decrease the dependence on cars. Thereby, promoting walking to get to certain popular destinations. The city also wants to promote the MARTA by having the Streetcar routes connect to certain transit stations. The audience of this website would be citizens of metro Atlanta; people who work in Atlanta, people who live in Atlanta, and people who visit Atlanta.
  2. This website promotes the accommodation of walkers within cities. It emphasizes the importance and the benefits of making cities walkable through street design. Walkability is explained to be inexpensive, healthy for residents, and beneficial to natural and economic resources: overall wellness. This website is clearly biased in that it only provides visitors with the advantages of walkable environments. An argument is vaguely stated, but it not fully reliable because of the lack of evidence and a counterargument. Therefore, the visitor can conclude that the website is to advertise the inclusion of walkable streets in cities in order to further accept people who rely on their feet as a means of transportation.

Evidence:

  1. Atlanta’s streetcar promotes walking through the city instead of driving your car to and from popular places in Atlanta. We choose this source because it relates directly to our topic and shows how Atlanta is becoming more walkable and bikeable. Atlanta residents and tourists can walk, bike, and skate to the streetcar pay a single dollar and ride to a particular destination in the city. The streetcar advances the walkability and bikeability of Atlanta.
  2. Bike Lanes are being constructed in certain areas to allow safe transit for bike riders. Most bike lanes are near major tourist attractions and parks. All bike lanes connect the attractions that they are near. For example, traveling from Freedom Park (King Center area) to Centennial Olympic Park isn’t a problem because of the connection of bike routes.
  3. MARTA is a great way for people to ride around Atlanta from place to place. Though MARTA has its flaws it is better than the Streetcar because it goes to more destinations in Atlanta. People are able to walk, bike, or skate to MARTA and bring these things on the train. This relates directly to our topic because it shows how MARTA enhances the walkability and bikeability of Atlanta.
Walkways in Centennial Park by

Walkways in Centennial Park by bjulmisse1

This picture shows how Atlanta is trying to adapt the culture of walking. Centennial Park is a popular park for tourists and residents. This park has walkways and bike routes. Residents have been known to walk or ride through and around this park. This park is surrounded by popular Atlanta attractions like The World of Coke, The Georgia Aquarium, The CNN Center, and many more.

Bibliography:

  • Goines, Tay. “Streetcar- Downtown.” Web log post. Tay Goines Blog. WordPress, 13 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
  • McClain, Quintia. “Annotated Bibliography 4: Bicycle Lanes.” Web log post.Qmcclain2s Blog. WordPress, 24 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
  • “Atlanta Streetcar.” Atlanta Streetcar. Central Atlanta Progress, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
  • “Bike Lanes, Cycletracks and Sharrows.” Central Atlanta Progress. Geocentric, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
  • “Walkable Communities.” Walkable Communities, Inc. Walkable Communities, Inc, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
  • Bjulmisse1. Centennial Olympic Park. Digital image. BrandonsBlog. WordPress, 9 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
  • SCHINDLER, SARAH. “Architectural Exclusion: Discrimination And Segregation Through Physical Design Of The Built Environment.” Yale Law Journal 124.6 (2015): 1934-2024. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Dec. 2016.

 

 

Class Notes – 3/23/2016

Mar23

Color Walking for a digital space could be to click on a predetermined color of a particular website. Color is very important in digital spaces because they act as visual cues. Visual content is very important in digital environments. All communication is multi-modal.

Digital spaces are like physical spaces in ways like

  • visuals
  • exploration
  • described as a “space”

Ways that a digital space is not like a physical space could be

  • not touchable
  • not a specific location

Descriptions of the digital space will sound a lot like the physical spaces. Navigation, design, character, purpose, comparison, and audience are all things that can be talked about.

Melissa King’s article about Better Online Living through Content Moderation

  • Haven’t developed rules of etiquette in the digital world
  • The problem of accessibility for the internet
  • The controversial idea of cyber bullying – is it really bullying? Are they just words? Do these words cause actual damage?
  • Spamming someone with hurtful messages (more harmful because you have to do more action in order for the harassment to stop) vs saying something hurtful to someone’s face
  • Types of things mostly happen to women
  • Cyber bullies are anonymous. The pro about being anonymous is the person can be truly honest but the con is also the same thing because the honesty can be harmful. Should we take away the ability to be anonymous?
  • The rhetorical situation matters. What is the intent?
  • Privately owned spaces are seen as publicly owned spaces which causes problems
  • Using content control features, authors taking responsibility, moderators discontinue being biased, and establishing rules could diminish these types of problems for users.

Unknown Phenomena of Atlanta: APEX Museum

Mar4
APEX Arc

The APEX Arc

Located on Auburn Avenue, the APEX museum was founded in 1978 by Mr. Dan Moore Sr. This museum was created to display culture and contributions of the African American community in the United States and especially in Georgia. The museum features artifacts, paper tour guides, group presentations, video presentations, and children’s shows. The APEX museum is special because it tells the African American experience (past and present) through the eyes of African Americans in a historically African American neighborhood.

There are two visible doors for entry. The front door is on the side of the building with a highly emphasized red colored walkway. It is indicated as the front door because when entering a visitor will be greeted at the front desk by a tour guide. The exit door is in front of the building that faces Auburn Avenue. The indication that this door is the rear door is because of the gift shop area that is normally at the end of a museum tour. This style can be confusing for a new visitor because of the placement of doors. Consequently, the museum isn’t that big. Visitors can only walk through three rooms; a main room with a gift shop, the Trolley theater room, and the arts/achievement hall room. All of the rooms are connected by a hallway.

 

The exhibits are about African kings and queens, the middle passage, slavery in the United States, and African American businesses and inventions. The exhibits are small but very informative. An ideal tour of this museum would be when entering from the front door, a tour guide will escort you through the main room to the Trolley theater room, passing a few exhibits along the way. In the Trolley theater room is an elevated seating area, the Trolley, with the style of pews. Visitors will sit down and watch two original videos about the history of Auburn Avenue and the African journey to the United States. After that, visitors will be given a paper tour guide that is mainly constructed for the main room around the rows of chairs. Afterwards, visitors can back track by walking to the arts/achievement room that is across from the theater room. Like the theater room, the arts room has two doors so that visitors can walk through the room and walk back up through the hallway to the gift shop at the front of the main room. Additionally, while walking through the hallway, visitors can look at the exhibit of African American inventions.

As of 2016, this museum is 38 years old. It is remarkable that it is still in its same place. The museum displays excellent exhibits and programs however the museum can often be referred to as a historical landmark than a public museum. This could be so because of the lack of space that limits the capacity of information presented. Plans of expansion are prominent but due to financial issues, that dream has been pushed further back.

Location of the APEX Museum

Location of the APEX Museum

Ultimately, what makes the APEX museum so significant is not the information it displays but rather the symbolic aspect of itself. People go to this museum to see it’s content but also to experience the museum itself. After all, it was respectfully considered the world’s largest African American Museum.

APEX Logo

Sources –

  • apexmuseum. The APEX Museum, n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.
  • Murray, Brendan. “Bank forecloses on property owned by APEX Museum” Atlanta Business Chronicle,  2 Dec. 1996. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.

APEX Museum Pictures

Mar4

Original pictures taken by Kimberly Oglesby on March 4, 2016

Kimberly Oglesby’s Midterm Reflection

Feb15

Writing on a blog can be challenging for many different reasons depending on the person. One reason could be that a blog is seen as pleasurable and not intellectual. Generally, an author would post tons of pictures or slang depending on the type of blog they want to display. Because this is an academic class, a student may get confused as to what may seem acceptable and what isn’t. The professor could place restraints or be very open. The idea of a blog doesn’t fit quite well with a student however it can be beneficial. If the student tries to become comfortable with the idea then there are endless possibilities as to what they can create. They may even see other things like Twitter, Instagram, and even Snapchat as another platform.

My strengths in this class are understanding the points in the required readings and displaying my work neatly and appealingly on my blog. My weaknesses are proofreading. I normally engage in peer reading so that others can inform me when the content is unclear. I like how this class allows me to be able to earn extra points. It is like I am creating a safety net just in case I don’t get the score that I wanted. I am more prone to the quizzes on D2L. I haven’t really used the Writer’s Help 2.0 because it looks overwhelming. The work requested seems too much or doesn’t apply to me. However, I am satisfied with the efforts I have made in class so far because of the pride I have accumulated in the work.

In the past, I’m used to just getting a prompt and writing an entire essay. Instead in this class, we write short descriptions, annotated bibliographies, and summaries that is essentially considered our research. The projects created in class, like the descriptions, are intended to enlighten someone about Atlanta’s space. For example, a student a working in California might want to know about different landmarks in major cities. Our research is used in our final analysis. In my English 1101 class, we had an essay about a group of people that we were a part of. We had to go to the place, sit back, and observe the area while taking notes. It was the first time I actually went out to a place to research others rather than writing an essay based purely on opinion. In English 1102, research is key to a complete ethical argument for an essay. With the work that we have completed so far, I have learned how to think critically about certain things and places. I begin to question “why?” to everything. I take into account what I consider to be a reliable resource because not every source is a good source. I have also learned that anything can be a platform. From social media to radio, television to newspapers, or song to poetry. There is a way to get a text of words, arguments, descriptions, or expressions across to the world. For the remaining of the semester an and in future projects, I plan to ask more evaluating questions more often while taking advantage of the resources around me.

Annotated Bibliography 2

Feb5

Roy, Parama. “Collaborative Planning – A Neoliberal Strategy? A Study Of The Atlanta Beltline.” Cities 43.(2015): 59-68. ScienceDirect. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.

Written by a Geo-sciences professor at Georgia State University, the article’s purpose is to assess the Atlanta BeltLine planning project. It will discuss the implications of the collaborative planning theory used for the BeltLine. It will also talk about how the collaborative planning theory could have been corrupted by market-driven decisions. The author proposes that market-driven decisions ruin the democratic process of planning. The example given is decisions regarding the historic Old Forth Ward neighborhood in Atlanta. This article will helpful to my research because it will give specific examples of the decisions for the BeltLine and how it changed historically African American neighborhoods like Old Fourth Ward. It will further show corruption amongst the decision makers. This article isn’t a primary source; therefore, the arguments proposed could be false. What if the decisions weren’t market-driven? What if the author missed something important? What if they used information that would  only support their thesis? These questions must be taken in consideration when using this source; however it is still an great source because the argument given is understandable based on the grounds given.

Annotated Bibliography 1

Feb5

Holliman, Irene V. “From Crackertown To Model City? Urban Renewal And Community Building In Atlanta, 1963-1966.” Journal Of Urban History 35.3 (2009): 369. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.

This article, written by a historian at the University of Georgia, studies the mayor, business men, organizations, and residents in Atlanta during the 1960’s during the urban renewal phase. There are two sides to the issue. Some wanted the money for public housing and others thought it should be spent to protect the property values of business districts. The problems arise because of site selections, limited funding, and planning. This article will further my research because it will provide information about the planning aspect of the urban planning time period of Atlanta. This source is the correct time period and place for my research. I will receive more details about the people’s resistance to the new plans and their plans to keep their homes. The article is not a primary source. Just like myself, the author of this article had to conduct research. The article could miss some information that could be useful; however, it is still relatively important because it will give informative insight on the city councils and business associates reactions to the troubles placed upon them. It will also show what precautions the public took to keep their neighborhoods from being torn apart.

Annotated Bibliography 3

Feb5

Hyra, Derek. “The Back-To-The-City Movement: Neighbourhood Redevelopment And Processes Of Political And Cultural Displacement.” Urban Studies (Sage Publications, Ltd.) 52.10 (2015): 1753. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.

This article was written by an associate professor at Virginia Tech. It talks about a study that assess the population influx of citizens in Washington D.C between 2009 and 2012. The concentration is solely on the redevelopment of the Shaw/U Street neighborhood, which is known to be an African American neighborhood. A population increase has forced residents out and new ones to accommodate them, making property values to increase. This is what the author calls “The Back-To-The-City Movement”. The effects of this movement is discussed and demonstrated in specific examples. I chose to use this source because it will give information about the effects of redevelopment of an existing neighborhood. It’s even more beneficial because the district being discussed is an African American neighborhood; which is highly relevant to the topic. The article is in the right time period; however the place in question could be a problem. My research is about Atlanta’s redevelopment. Although, the article studies a different place, it is still great to use because the information can be used to compare the effects of Atlanta’s redevelopment with another major city; thereby, showing it’s not just Atlanta’s issue but can be any city’s issue.