Advice for the next time

Dear students,

Make sure you do all your work and you'' be guaranteed an A. This class can be time consuming if you procrastinate too much, which surprised me, but it is a piece of cake! :) You learn a lot about the many programs you never thought you'd ever use.

Good luck for next semester, Spring 2015 class!!

My new Website!

You are invited to visit my new website!
http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~cstallw1/index.html

I had a hard time making this website because of what I wanted to get my point across to people. I want people to reach out and try something new. Kpop is something that has been apart of  my life for a few years now. I think anyone can enjoy this music because even though it is in a different language and a different culture, I firmly believe that people can enjoy something out of their comfort zone. I gave multiple video links to different types of Kpop genres. I gave reasons for at least considering to try to listen to Kpop. At first, linking the pages was a problem. Then, the pictures and videos of all the different groups were a little hard to find. Even when I did find them, certain browsers would't recognize them.


My favorite websites were Thomas's and Judson's websites. They were both professional looking and expressed things they really enjoyed. I would gladly hire them if I wanted to make a website. The links were put within pictures in Thomas's and Judson's had an amazing color scheme with a tribute to someone. I thought they were both awesome!

Sweet Dreams

The above pictures were all altered. Can you tell? You probably can't. While I only altered the hue, saturation, brightness and contrast to make them look even more appealing, they were most likely pre-altered before they hit the net. These three gentlemen are Bruno Mars, G-Dragon, and Taeyang, all famous singers. The images came from different photo shoots had at some point in their careers. These pictures were most likely originally manipulated to appeal to their female audiences just a little bit more. Their faces might have had a little bit of a touch up on the computer as well as in makeup. I'm not saying this is a crime. Look at them. They're gorgeous! All I'm saying is it would be nice if we knew the pictures had been altered.

 An editorial done by PR Newswire stated this exact thing. "We're not saying advertisers can't continue doing exactly what they've been doing....saying that if they choose to keep doing his, they need to be straight and upfront about it." (1) Now while they are talking about advertisements with photo enhancements that have been affecting the psyche of women for years now, I believe this can apply to male celebrities as well as female ones. For example, if I met Taeyang, the one on the right, in person, I might be a little disappointed because he may not look as good in person as he does in this photo. Of course he probably looks close, but my perception of him is based on the photos I see of him. Now, if someone would post somewhere on or along with this photo a little note that says "pictures have been altered" or something like that, then I would not set my expectations so high. Not a lot of people believe that photoshop can apply to men as well. You get just as affected by the visual enhancement of a man as you would a woman. 

This is just a little a little food for thought, but photoshopping isn't the crime. It's letting people believe its the truth when that's not the case. It's like living in a dream :) Sweet dreams everyone!

(1) PR Newswire, comp. "Off Our Chest." Regional Business News. EBSCO, 22 Aug. 2011. Web. 5 Nov. 2014. <http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=7&sid=a249e141-da62-4b03-8372-6b486b1bd048%40sessionmgr4002&hid=4210&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=bwh&AN=201108220805PR.NEWS.USPR.LA55233>.

Postcard from Home!

Presentation Evaluation Time!

I believe my presentation was eye opening for a few people because it looked at a different culture's, Korean, TV show called RUNNING MAN. I liked how I got to show people an example of the sort of foreign TV I like to watch. The presentation could have included a lot more design elements like transitions, color, stacking pictures and the timing of the elements.

I was impressed by the Lord of the Rings game presentation and the slack-lining presentation. The lord of the rings one had the most technical design elements out of everyone and it really impressed me. I liked the slack-lining because I vaguely knew about the subject, but the video opened my eyes to how far you could take the recreation.

Overall I think everyone did a great job!

The Beauty in Culture

Photoshop...taking it a little too far, don't ya think?

I chose this picture about BP, the oil company, altering a photo to show that they were making an effort to clean up the oil spill from 2010. I chose this picture because it made me laugh. For them to have to alter a picture to show something that they should have been doing, is funny to me. The photo was a picture of two pilots in a helicopter, but it is unknown where the original picture came form. There might have been a helicopter pad next to an oil rig, but it is not confirmed.

The water in the photo where the boats are to the right changes hues and one of the boats gets cut off. There is evidence of bad cutting job on the shoulder of the right pilot, a traffic control tower is in the top left corner of the bottom picture and the pilot on the right is holding a pre-flight checklist when the picture suggests they are in the air.

The photo was manipulated to show people that BP was working to clean up the oil spill. It was harmful to their already crippling reputation because it showed that they did not care about the oil spill. Instead of actually cleaning it up, they chose to make us think they were cleaning it up.


Photoshop gone too far

I chose this video because it shows the effects of Photoshop and how far someone can take it When I first saw this video, it blew my mind. How much it can change is ridiculous and when you watch it you will see what I mean, There is so much it can change and it made me wonder if people should be allowed to take it that far.

Google

Chris Nolan’s, the Assistant University Librarian of Coates Library at Trinity University, was very informative about Google. He discussed how Google earns its money, how Google produces its results, how Google gathered their information about different sites and he provided a couple of minutes of a ted talk that discussed a filter bubble. Google started in 1998 and just recently had its 16^th birthday. Between 2004 and 2012, Google usage has increased around 40% from 42% to 87%. That means almost everyone uses Google. The company gets most of its money from selling ads to companies; at least 90% of its revenue comes from ads. Most people like Google because of the tailored to you results it produces. The search engines uses keywords, popularity, sponsored searches and many other factors to produce search results that fits your needs. The TED TALK on the “filter bubble” says that this can be a bad thing. It can keep you from seeing everything outside of your own personal internet “bubble”. I find it to be a good thing, but other people believe the opposite. Google also uses page rank algorithms to bring up the links that you most want to see and look at. We also covered the different ways to limit your search results by using things like site:edu or –site:com where one only shows results with .edu in the URL and one excludes all sites that have a URL with .com Chris Nolan also covered what makes a site credible like the author, intended audience, the regency of information and the intended purpose. This was a very informational talk and I learned a little more about Google. 

Forced through a Spyglass

After reading "True Lies" by Suzanne Salvo, I agree with her opinion that the photographer, or the person taking the picture has the power to change how other people will view the image. It is the photographer's vision we will see when he takes the picture. They decide on the angles, the lighting or any other feature that will make us see what they want us to see. We, the viewers, are at the mercy of he who takes the picture.

Salvo's example of of the field of tulips and a photographer's power to focus on the one dying tulip is also another great example of how the viewer is at the mercy of the photographer. Instead of seeing the entire field of healthy flowers, the photographer focuses on the only dying one.

My opinion is that everyone should be able to interpret the whole picture and not just what one person wants me to see.

Excel Experience

What I learned about Excel in this class that I didn't know before was how to use absolute cell reference, the two ways to time stamp the spreadsheet, the different types of spread sheets I could make and the different formulas associated with Excel. Future classes will be probably make me use the formulas more than anything, but for my real life, I would probably use the different types of spreadsheets, like the wedding planning one we were shown in class. I don't like how iffy excel can be sometimes. If I have work that needs to be done, I want the program to work with me not against me. Overall though, I believe excel is a great tool to use for both school and my personal life!

LinkedIN

I just updated my LinkedIn Account and would like to share it with you here!
Go ahead and check out some professional facts about me.

Internet Issues: Legal, Social and Ethical Op-Ed Blog Entry

Let's discuss ethical issues on the internet. Let's say that a grad student interviews for a law firm, but gets turned down. When he asks his friend who works at the firm what happened, the friend reveals from the confidential interview that the firm found a picture posted by another friend of the grad taking an illegal substance. The graduate did not even know the photo existed. So, who's to blame and is everyone's positions in this issue justified?

There are a few different aspects in this case. The college grad, let’s call him Jack, the friend at the law firm, Ben, the friend who posted the picture, Kyle and the law firm Jack and Daniels Incorporated. 
Jack who attended the interview went in believing the firm would focus on what was on his resume and his interview. However, that was not the case. There is no law that states a company cannot search potential and current employees on social media. Everyone can use the internet for their own personal reasons or for those of a company/business. The laws of the internet are new, flexible and fragile. While employees find it unfair that businesses can look into their personal lives with just a click of the mouse, who’s to stop them? Everyone has rights on the internet that no one wants to step on, so there is no reason why they cannot. There is the old fashioned way of thinking that the business world and your personal lives are completely separate, however, with the advance of technology, the line has become very blurred.

Jack underestimated the privacy of the internet, the line between his professional and personal life, and the people who post pictures of him. He might have thought that the firm would not search on Facebook for him. If he knew they would and he removed any suspicious pictures or posts, he forgot to factor in what his friends may have posted. From his point of view, this is unfair because he was unaware of the picture and the friend posted it years ago. Anything on Facebook, nowadays, stays on Facebook and the internet for years due to the new update “Timeline” if it was not taken down before the update went into place.
The friend hat told the college graduate why he did not get the job, Ben is also at fault. The interview was supposed to be confidential to prevent any lawsuits against the firm for things probably exactly like this. Ben should have never mentioned the reason behind not getting hired. Because he did tell Jack why he did not get the job, Ben has put himself in a tough situation. If Jack decides to sue the firm for a breach of privacy, Ben could get sued by the company for telling confidential information.  While Ben was being a good friend to Jack, he was being a bad employee to the company.  
The firm, Jack and Daniel’s Incorporated, wanted employees that are dedicated and won’t bring any “bad press” to the company because of their personal life. Mindflash.com claims that “45% of companies use social media sites to screen their employees”[1]. I believe that is why most businesses search you on the internet before they hire you. They want what is best for the company at all times. While it may be considered a breach of privacy, their employees make them money and bad employees that have a questionable background can decrease that amount of money. Most of what a company finds on social media is 35% negative and only 15% positive. Of that 35%, incriminating photos or information make up 53%.¹
For the friend that posted the pictures on to Facebook, Kyle, it was his right to do so. Again, everyone and anyone can post what they want, when they want. It is not the fault of Kyle. However, if Kyle did not tag Jack in the photo, then the blame does fall Kyle. This would have alerted Jack to the incriminating picture’s existence and he would have promptly asked for the photo to be taken down. If Kyle did not tag Jack in the photo, then he is partially at fault.

Everyone is a little at fault here. Jack for not checking his Facebook, Ben for telling Jack the reason for not hiring him, Jack and Daniel's firm for slightly violating his private life, and Kyle for posting the picture without tagging Jack. While Jack is in a sticky situation, his best shot would be to save money, go through all his social media and delete any and all suspicious posts, pictures or comments. This is the high road. If Jack truly feels wronged by the company, then it is up to him to decide what to do.

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[1] "Social Screening: How Companies Are Using Social Media To Hire &Fire Employees |." Mindflash. N.p., 3 Aug. 2011. Web. 01 Oct. 2014. <http://www.mindflash.com/blog/2011/08/social-screening-how-companies-are-using-social-media-to-hire-fire-employees/>.

Lynda.com Excel Triaining

While the last blog post was about Word, this one is all about Excel 2013. Lynda.com has a variety of training sessions for different programs.

Chapter 1 of the essential training deals with the absolute basics showing you where the different tabs are and only talking about what they do. I suggest only doing chapter 1 if you have never used or heard of Excel. Chapter 2 goes through more basics like how to copy and paste and how auto fill works. Again, if you have used Excel before for class or work, I suggest skipping this chapter as well. Chapter 3 has very slightly more advanced content like how to do if functions and averages. There is value in the last three lessons of chapter 3, but not too much you could just learn on  your own.

My overall thoughts on this tutorial are basic and long for no reason. I personally knew most of the first three chapters, but I was hoping for more advanced knowledge on it. Thanks to classes like Biology lab and Chemistry lab over the past year, my knowledge of Excel has grown. I recommend this tutorial to those who have never used or seen anyone use excel before. It would d be great for you!

Center for Learning and Technology

http://youtu.be/tQ9w6-etwH4

Above is a link to a video taken at the Center for Learning and Technology (CLT) here at Trinity University. We gained an incredible piece of technology last year. It's a new 3D printer that can print larger scaled objects and it's in the CLT!

The CLT is a great place located on the 1st floor of the library that has great technology for you to use for your classes. It includes a computer lab, some conference rooms, cameras, audio equipment and even screens to hook your own computer up to for group projects. It's a great place to get work done and even better if you are a technology geek like myself.

Lynda.com

Lynda.com is a great place to learn how to do almost anything. I simply searched for Word essential training and learned so much! The speaker was easy to follow and very straight forward. When I fell behind in what she was doing, I could pause or go back in the video to see what I missed. That is a lot easier than trying to keep up with the class! Two of the many things I learned with this tutorial was the picture styles and SmartArt. If  you don't know what I'm talking about, then head over to Lynda.com, search word essential training and find out! ;)

Just a hint...from my new logo

Adobe Illustrator was easy to use and self explanatory. I made this logo using it. The symbols represent my love for music, neuroscience (the brain), animals, peace, love, happiness, technology, fashion and Asian culture. I put Queen Cherry with a crown due to the fact that sometimes I can be a little diva :)

That copyright though....why you need to know the ins and outs

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright is the government guarantee of the right to copy and redistribute (sell), perform (plays) and derive works (something based on the existing work) any kind of “intellectual property”. Copyright is important because it encourages people to be creative and inventive. People want to invest their time and get a reward back on their hard work whether it be money or credit.

Copyright takes effect when someone makes a fixed tangible meaning of expression. This means when you put something physical or fixed, whether it be an article published or a post on a blog, the protection takes effect immediately. The protection lasts throughout your life and even 70 years after you die! Now, after that time span has expired, your work enters the public domain, the copyright expires and all bets are off. You cannot renew a copyright, but there are people, like Disney, who are trying to extend how long a copyright is in effect.

Do not get copyright infringement and plagiarism confused. Plagiarism is claiming something as your own, but it will not land you in jail. Copyright infringement is copying someone’s hard work without their permission and can land you in jail with a pile of fines. There are ways to use people’s work without getting pegged with copyright infringement. Fair use allows you to copy safely and it is lawful as stated clearly in 17 USC section 107.

 There are four factors related to fair use:

Purpose of copying: why are you using it?

Nature of original work: where did it come from?

Amount and “substantiality” of copying: how much are you using and what is the core of the source you are using?

Effect on market value: Is what you are using a big seller or is it big in the market?

These are only a few facts on copyright, but you can use these links to learn more:

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/

http://iraa.trinity.edu/iraa/x118.xml

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/article-30100.html 

Network Server Diagram

Here are two network drives and one folder that you can access on campus and use for all of your classes.

Have a taste of my personality...and what it meant to me

The VisualDNA personality quiz uses pictures to get a sense of your personality. They ask questions like "What would you do with $200 right now?" and give you around 8-10 pictures to choose from. While most of the pictures could be interpreted the same way (for example, a bunch of shopping bags would ndicate that you would happily shop that $200 dollars away), some of the pictures, like the ones that represent emotions might be interpreted differently.

This quiz characterized me as a seeker and here is a little bit about me from each category.
Time: I have tunnel vision when it comes to solving problems and I tend to put things off [hence why I am doing this blog so late :) ]

Energy: I am bursting with energy, but when I need downtime, I become a ghost and disappear! wooooo (attempt at a ghost sound)

Love: Just like my love language, I accept love in the physical sense and according to the quiz, I fall in love quite easily. You better watch out! ;) (lol jk jk)

Money: While this section did not really talk about money, it does say that I am adventurous and up for many things, so I should always have change lying around to accomplish those things.

Fun: I am a couch potatoe according to this quiz and hat is why I am adventurous. 

If you are looking for something to guess your personality in a new way, then this is the quiz for you!

Best Tech Tip

The talk Todd Siebold gave today on a few techniques to use with the technology on campus was very insightful. I did not realize that I could obtain a USB drive from IT services with software like antivirus for my own computer. While a friend of mine that works for ITS already taught me how to use the VDI website, it was still a good refresher to hear that I can log onto the school desktop computer from my own laptop. It would be nice to know if ITS has a list of websites or a list of different illegal downloading situations that I could use when I am on the web. I think it might decrease some of the downloading incidents.

Just a little taste...

Hello everyone and welcome to my first blog post.

My name is Chinyere Stallworth and I am a sophomore here at Trinity. I have played violin for 12 years and graduated from Bellaire High School. I love anime, Korean pop music and Korean dramas. If I am at a party, I prefer to dance the night away and have a great time. I am interested in Neuroscience and a hopeful brain surgeon (fingers crossed).

I was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, but I moved to Houston when I was around 7 and I consider Texas my home state. I love Texas and all its people because of the Southern hospitality, the great food and the amazingly open people.

Here at Trinity, I am involved in Black Student Union, Korean Student Association and the Orientation Team (O-team). I plan to rush APO, Sigmas, Gammas and the International Business Fraternity and become more involved in Anime and Pokemon Club and the Doctor Who Society

I know how to use Microsoft Office, Excel, BASIC (for computer programming), AUTOCAD, PowerPoint, Photoshop, Adobe Reader, most things from Google like Sites, Drive, Calender, Mail and Windows Movie Maker. I love Trinity and hope to learn a lot from this class!

Contact me at my email address: cstallw1@trinity.edu with any questions, concerns or comments! Have a great day!