Beyond the Horizon

Online Presence

2005-12-02T12:42:00.000-06:00

The focus of our last English project is presenting ourselves in the digital environment. How are we composed and shown online?
During the class, we had the chance to make a list of the places where we write or are written by others. It was surprising to find out that there are so many places where I write. I send emails to people with different reasons each time. I ask questions or answer to questions through email or webpages. I make discussions or share information with people in discussion forums. I keep my diaries on one of my personal blogs. I make posts and comments on blogger. I chat online with my friends. These are only a few of the examples. Moreover, I've been composed online through many other ways - through images, statistics, etc.

Although I'm the one who's been composing myself in various ways online, I've not been able to recognize or think of seeing the whole picture - how I'm positioned in this digital environment and how much influence I'm making on it. I've been too focused with just each of separate parts - making compositions each time with different reasons and formats.

The answer to the questions of where I stand and how much difference I make online is not determined. Depending on each time of my activities and willingness, the answer will differ from time to time. One's presence online signifies more than what we usually think. For some people, cyberspace might merely be a place for entertainment or getaway from the reality. As I've done some reading and discussed in my English class, however, I can now say with confidence that the cyberspace is neither an unrealistic nor insignificant space. Rather, it has become the hub of almost every professional world. The digital environment can be where one can set his or her goals and make achievements. That's why it is so important to display oneself carefully and thoughtfully in this environment.

Digitality,
Online

Answers.com

2005-11-28T09:24:00.000-06:00

I've received an email from a communications coordinator of Answers.com, who introduced me to the website. I took some time to look around the website and found it a very helpful website. Especially for those of you who have a website or a blog, you can let your visitors get answers by simply adding Answers.com search box directly onto your website or blog. Moreover, you can make your own blog an Answer on Answers.com. Go to this link.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day

2005-11-27T21:06:00.000-06:00

If you want to increase your vocabulary, subscribe to Dictionary.com Word of the Day. I've been getting daily email from the website, and I find it pretty helpful. It gives the definition of a vocabulary as well as example sentences from other sources.

My Chicago Trip

2005-11-26T14:07:00.000-06:00

I went on a short trip to Chicago with my friend, Minjoo, during Thanksgiving break. Since it had almost been four months since I'd gone nowhere but stayed in West Lafayette, I'd desperately been wanting to go somewhere else, to leave all of my work behind and take some rest. It was nice to get away from school for a while.

We stayed in downtown most of times. Minjoo had a friend who lives there, so we could get a tour in downtown by her friend, Pat. We went to see the Field Museum, parks, and Northwestern University. Pat was kind enough to ask us to stay at her apartment during the trip. We also got to know some of Pat's friends, Mint, Oil, and Thaii, who were the nicest people I've ever seen. All of them are from Thailand and are studying law in Northwestern. Although I hung out with them only for a short time, I really enjoyed the time I spent with them. They were people with a sense of humor and friendliness.

The trip was great. I did some wonderful sightseeing in a lively city; I met some of the nicest people there. I'm refreshed and ready to get started with the last three weeks of this semester.

Chicago

How to revise a paragraph?

2005-11-20T15:37:00.000-06:00

This is an excercise for revising a paragraph.

Here is a paragraph:

Other than the graphics this system has some impressive features that even the Playstation 3 doesn't have. Xbox, the predecessor to the Xbox 360, really started online game play for video games. In an article in PC Magazine dated October 11, 2005 it states that the new system will carry on those impressive online features and has built on it beautifully. Everyone who has this system will be able to connect to the internet where you not only have the option to play your games online but you can do other things like have video conversations with friends through your Xbox 360. You can even buy new games and music on your system. Free demos will be provided that you can download for free. The system also has wireless network capabilities. That means it can connect with your computer and you can share your music, photos, and videos from your computer and put it on your 360. Microsoft made it so it's compatible with all computers using Windows XP. The system will also have USB ports so you can connect your ipod or digital camera to the system.

After revision:

Other than the graphics, this system(use a specific word for clarity) has some impressive features that even the Playstation 3 doesn't have. Xbox, the predecessor to the Xbox 360, really started online game play for video games. In an article in PC Magazine(use italics for titles) dated October 11, 2005, the author("it" is ambiguous) states that the new system will carry on those impressive online features and has built on it(what does "it" refer to?) beautifully. Everyone who has this system will be able to connect to the Internet where you not only have the option to play your games online but also(be careful of correlative words; in this case "not only A but also B") do other things like have video conversations with friends through your Xbox 360. You can even buy new games and music on your system. Free demos that you can download for free will be provided(always check for antecedent). The system also has wireless network capabilities. That means it can connect with your computer and you can share your music, photos, and videos from your computer and put it on your 360. Since(avoid using the same structure repeatedly) Microsoft made the system(avoid use of ambiguous words), it's compatible with all computers using Windows XP. The system will also have USB ports, so you can connect your ipod or digital camera to the system.

A Strategical Approach to Writing

2005-11-19T12:56:00.000-06:00

In last week's English class, we focused on how to improve our writing more strategically. We went over mechanics as well as some other "tools" that'll help us write more effectively. Such tools include balance, classification, comparison and contrast, description, emphasis, metaphor, narration, pattern, point of view, proportion, and unity. Applying these concepts to your text, you might be surprised to find out how greatly the quality of your writing has changed. Depending on which tool you choose to use, the attractiveness and influence of your writing will differ greatly.

My First Worktrip

2005-11-13T13:48:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I went on a contruction trip with other Habitat for Humanity members. We were divided into a few groups to work at different locations. My group and I were assigned to clear out an abandoned house in Lafayette. There was a behind story related to the house. The house had been built by HFH for a family of several members; they were either disabled or mentally ill. One of the members died from illness and a few years later, the other family member, who had been mentally ill, was murdered by a friend. The house was then inherited to a relative of the family, who currently live in a trailer. The house would've been a great opportunity for the relative to live in a better place, but they recently refused and gave the house to the Habitat for Humanity as a gift, for even poorer ones than they are. I felt moved by the story.

Clearing the house was not an easy task as it seemed to me at first. We started out from taking out all the garbages, some furnitures, old carpets and curtains from the house; we washed out all the walls inside. Since everything inside the house had been abandoned for at least five years, it was pretty filthy. I was covered with dusts in less than an hour. The neighbors across from the house was kind enough to offer us foods that they were having. Freshened up with food and drinks, we started working washing out the outside walls, which seemed to take forever to get finished. After seven hours of working, we were pretty much done with cleaning. I was exhausted but glad to see the progress we made. It was rewarding just with the thought of having been some help to restoring a house, which would become a new home for a family.

Habitat for Humanity

Vocabulary of the Day

2005-11-11T00:17:00.000-06:00

Explicate: To make clear meaning of; explain; elaborate

A good writer explicates his or her point of view or argument using support from facts, experience, authorities, statistics, testimonial, or generated data.

Ready for This World?

2005-11-09T22:36:00.000-06:00

On my previous post, I had asked whether people were prepared for this swiftly moving world or not. Today, it’s all about more speed, efficiency, and collaboration as frequently mentioned in Thomas Friedman’s book, The World is Flat. In the middle of the book, Friedman talks about “the untouchables” and “the quiet crisis”, both of which deal with each individual and nation being prepared for the world.

Globalization has led us to the free-boundary world; digitization has enabled us to freely access to tons of information; information era has made it possible for us to expand knowledge and build upon it more new things. The main driving force of these outcomes is nothing but the brainpower of people. It might seem that it has become more convenient and easier for people to live at present; however, it’s becoming more difficult and stressful for people to survive. There are more competitions than ever, to catch up with one another with such a speed that it'll overwhelm those who don't stay on focus. Working hard isn't enough for success anymore. To succeed in this era, one must make oneself an "untouchable", as Friedman mentions.

When I was young, I was often told that since my country, Korea, lacks in natural sources, we need to focus on increasing the brainpower that would strengthen my country's economy. Starting from elementary school, Korean students are expected to do loads of studies and go to different institutions after school for extra studying. Especially, students struggle to learn other foreign languages such as English, Japanese or Chinese, because they know that with those language skills, they can advance more easily in their careers. Furthermore, students are now going abroad for college. It's been one of the hottest issues in Korea that our brainpower - the main source for our economy - is being sent out to other countries. Friedman's concerns over America's unreadiness in competing with other countries, my country's concerns with draining workforce - both of them manifest that dealing with those concerns is one of the utmost importance to every country.

To meet the higher expectations of today's society, people are putting all their efforts to advance more swiftly and differentiate oneself from others; each nation is competing with each other in producing superior workforce. "Ready for this world?" The question is now thrown to be answered by both individuals and nations.

Globalization
Untouchable

Another Side of Technology World

2005-11-06T23:15:00.000-06:00

When I read this article, I could observe and think about some other sides of today's world, aside from its dynamic development and prosperity from endless technologies. As the article’s title, Speaking in the Third Person, Removed From Reality, shows, the article tells a story about a teenager who’s facing an identity disorder. When the boy had a conversation with his doctor, he would position himself as the third person and call himself “he” instead of “I.” The boy’s doctor mentions in the article that “The growth of technology has cleaved us from the reality of self, as well. We say that we are “going” places on the Internet without ever leaving the room.” The doctor pointed out a problem resulted from which, otherwise, would’ve been seen as the wonderful “world flattener” mentioned in The World is Flat .

Although technology has brought to people some prosperity, it has also created many problems. Detachment from oneself is only one of the many. I remember some news that happened a few years back in Korea: A computer game addict, who didn’t eat and sleep for days, was found dead, his entire body paralyzed. Police arrested some members of a website, which planned and helped its members to commit suicides. A hacker made a bank panicked by paralyzing its website for hours. These are only a few of examples.

While reading The World is Flat, I was asking whether this fast-moving world is ever going to slow down a little. But after seeing this article and some of today's troubles, I now ask this question: Are people prepared enough to face this world, to pace with the world and defend themselves from these frequent confusions generated by the present world?

Technology

Handwriting or Typing?

2005-11-04T14:41:00.000-06:00

While surfing on the web, I've come across an interesting post(some of the comments on the post as well) and article on handwriting and typing. As mentioned in both of writing, people, including myself, are now more used to and feel more comfortable with typing than writing on paper. A research showed that while handwriting, students become less efficient in writing because they would be distracted with the task of shaping letters. Do you think this should be seen as a problem or a natural thing to happen in this technology era?

Handwriting
Typing

To Become a Free Thinker

2005-11-03T23:56:00.000-06:00

If someone asked me what kind of person I would like to become after graduating from college, one of my answers would be “a free thinker.” Thinking freely – it’s one of the things that I want to achieve during my college years. With that being one of my desires, I’ve come to college, but it doesn’t seem as simple a task as it seemed before. It’s hard to figure out where to start. It’s difficult to get out of my old habits, another task that I have, to find new ways to better myself.

My English 106 class is one of the classes that have been showing me and even assuring me of the worthiness of my want – becoming a free thinker. The class is also one of the toughest classes because it always deals with things that stimulate your thoughts and challenge with your thinking. For instance, some of the topics for our discussions were social roles of documents, globalization and its direction or effects, copyrights, etc. While talking or writing about the topics, I felt myself struggling to come out of the cage I've been in. It’s always been a hard job for me to break myself away from the habit of thinking the way I suppose I should. Through many discussions and readings done in class, though, I’ve learned to see things from other sides as well, which is fascinating.

I’ve also learned from this class that writing is the best way to make one become a good thinker. It’s not just the writing skills such as a good use of grammar or vocabulary that make one a good writer. Without any process of thinking for one’s writing, such skills would be useless. Improvement in writing would also mean improvement in thinking or vice versa.

Thinking with my willingness and in my own way - this is my goal.

Organization in Writing

2005-11-02T09:06:00.000-06:00

Organization is one of the most important things to be considered in writing. Depending on how sentences are arranged and structured, the effectiveness of the writing will differ remarkably. Moreover, the organization itself shows a writer's logic.

This is a sentence rearraging exercise that was given in my English class:

In an article describing the preparation of a dictionary for schoolchildren, Alma Graham recounts the imbalance discovered in schoolbooks in all subjects in use in the early 1970's. In general, the pronouns he, him, and his outnumber she, her, and hers by a ratio of four to one. Not only are women put off, they are also put down, numerically and otherwise. In the real world, women slightly outnumber men. The numbers alone tell us a lot: men outnumber women seven to one, boys outnumber girls two to one; girls are even in the minority in home economics books, where masculine pronouns outnumber feminine ones two to one. But the world created for American schoolchildren presents a different picture. A computer analysis of five million words in context revealed many subtle and not-so-subtle clues to the status of women in American Society.

I have rearranged the writing like this:

A computer analysis of five million words in context revealed many subtle and not-so-subtle clues to the status of women in American society. In the real world, women slightly outnumber men. But the world created for American schoolchildren presents a different picture. In an article describing the preparation of a dictionary for schoolchildren, Alma Graham recounts the imbalance discovered in schoolbooks in all subjects in use in the early 1970's. In general, the pronouns he, him, and his outnumber she, her, and hers by a ratio of four to one. Not only are women put off, they are also put down, numerically and otherwise. The numbers alone tell us a lot: men outnumber women seven to one, boys outnumber girls two to one; girls are even in the minority in home economics books, where masculine pronouns outnumber feminine ones two to one.

Organization
Essay

The Importance of Writing Skills in Career[2]

2005-10-28T00:07:00.000-05:00

Continuing with the topic of importance of writing skills, we had a guest speaker, Professor Mark French, in my English class. Professor French teaches at the department of Mechanical Engineering Technology. Since he had worked as an employer at a company in the past, he shared with us some of his work experiences, which showed me the real and ruthless business world. Money is high-priority to people in the business world; there's no compassion for any worker who is considered to be incompetent at his job.

"A lack of communication skill is a hindrance to your career," Professor French said at the beginning of the lecture. Whichever field a person is in, he is expected to have the command of writing if he wants to get his desired job in the business world. For instance, even as for engineers, 20-30% of their jobs is those that have to do with communication. In short, writing is "a ticket to work... or a ticket out" as expressed in the previous report that our class had read previously.

Our lecturer also talked about some of the things that were mentioned in our reading, The World is Flat. Explaining the efficiency of outsourcing power, he told us why communication skills are especially important to American employees. Writing or oral skills are probably the key factors that will distinguish American workers from other workers in foreign countries. This is why the writing skill is one of the essential abilities an employee must have in today's world.

Lastly, Professor French told us the ways of improving our writing skills. He advised us to read many books as well as to practice writing and develop our own style of writing. He recommended us a few books such as Lectures on Physics, Chaos by James Gleick, etc.

Business World

Project #2 - Writing Career Development

2005-10-27T15:46:00.000-05:00

My English 106 class has started on project 2.

The objective of this project is:
*To find a field of one's interested career and explore how the career composes itself through writing.
*More specifically, we explore "the many ways writing is used to structure, communicate, and sustain the longevity and effectiveness of the profession."

I've just started on planning out for my next project. From my first project, I learned that I should use more sources to effectively present my ideas.

These are my sources to be used(for right now):

1. The lectures given in my PHPR class, most of which are related to pharmacy field.
2. From A9, CORE, Purdue libraries, TDnet, etc, I'll try to look for journals related to my profession.
3. Readings/discussions from class : The report by the National Commission on Writing , The World is Flat, class discussions, etc.

The Importance of Writing Skills in Career

2005-10-26T22:38:00.000-05:00

My English class read a report of the National Commision on Writing, and discussed the importance of writing in careers; we also talked about some of important things to keep in mind when we do writing.

The following is a summary of the report that my group did together:

According to the survey conducted by the National Commission on Writing, good writing skills are essential to success in the professional world. It’s important to have the ability “to say things correctly, to say things well, and to say them in a way that makes sense” (Kerrey,3). Educational Leaders should take this survey to heart to prepare the graduates for the professional world. The survey points out that e-mails and oral presentations with visual aids are ubiquitous in the American economy. Applicants can either be hired or lose the position due to their writing skills (Kerrey,11).

These are necessary skills for writing:

1. The ability to make a definition
2. Paragraphing skill
3. Critical analysis skill
4. The ability to find evidence for your thesis
5. Organization
6. Citation
7. Technology (e.g. powerpoint)
8. Diction (choice of words/order of words)
9. Vocabulary and Sentence complexity
*Sentence complexity reflects the extent to which one can think.
10. Accuracy and Clarity

Writing skill,
Citation,
Diction

Adaptation

2005-10-21T11:25:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed reading Rita's post, which is about adaptation. The subject 'adaptation' caught my eye especially because I'm going through adaptation right now. It's been less than three months since I have started my life in a completely different setting from where I'd lived. Different people, different language, different food, different culture, etc - they were all excitement for me at first. Having gone through half a semester, however, I've realized that there's more than just cultural difference that I should make adjustment to. Being in the first semester at college, I’ve come to face many new things as well – new relationships, different studies, frustration with time management, lack of sleep, etc.

Until my high school year, almost everything worked out smoothly as I had hoped. But things have changed now. Things don’t always turn out as I want. There’s nobody who’s looking after me anymore. I’m the one who is in charge of every work that’s to be done - it gave me much of pressure at first, but I'm getting used to it now. In addition, I'm learning to make full commitment to my work.

Thomas Friedman, the author of The World is Flat, mentions that “every person should figure out how to make himself or herself into an untouchable.[…] Being adaptable in a flat world, knowing how to “learn how to learn,” will be one of the most important assets any worker have.” Although he's talking about the adaptation needed in the business world, I thought that his idea - the importance of adapting constantly to one's surroundings - can also be applied to success of my college life.

Adaptation,
Untouchable

Copyleft

2005-10-19T00:17:00.000-05:00

Starting the second half of the semester, my English class has started focusing on the ownership of information. "Who owns what?" This question arises because of the interaction between information and people. A data is created and then distributed among people who do not simply accept the data as it is but build more to it or even convert it into other various forms. The question includes more than just protecting an innovator's property, though. Copyright law has been a controversial issue because the protection of one's property can lead to restrict the fluidity of information. Reflecting the two sides of the issue, “copyleft(also called free software movement)” is a movement that is face-to-face with the idea of copyright.

According to Wikipedia, “a copyleft license uses copyright law in order to ensure that every person who receives a copy or derived version of a work, can use, modify, and also redistribute both the work, and derived versions of the work.” The movement was started by Richard Stallman who insisted that information shouldn’t be restricted to become controlled by a minority, for all people have the right to share information. This links to an interview with Richard Stallman, which shows his opinion.

Copyleft,
Richard Stallman

Implosions of information

2005-10-18T15:58:00.000-05:00

In yesterday's class, we had a discussion on one of the hottest issues in this information era - implosions of information. With overwhelming amount of information in diverse forms of documents, images, audio files, people are now virtually accessible to any use of those materials whether or not they have the right to do so. In the middle of the discussion, our professor asked us this stimulating question: "which data belongs to whom?"

I post my writings on my own blog, but does it mean all those writings belong to me? Some of my writings include other people's work or ideas, with no doubt. How should all the works that include any form of data created by others be treated? Isn’t it inevitable that a creation is built upon a previous one? Many thoughts occurred to me as I've become aware of this interesting topic. Besides, I could start to sense and get closer to recent controversies concerning copyrights.

My English class has just started on working with podcasting, using a few websites such as Ourmedia, Podcast Alley, Digital Podcast, and Singingfish. Using podcast for the first time, I’m quite excited to discover its distinguishing features from others. Moreover, I believe podcast work will help me not just get familiar to the use of podcast but also become a more cautious user on the web.

This is my first podcast.

Ipodcast,
Copyright

Personality Test

2005-10-16T22:09:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I had a personality inventory and assessment time during my pharmacy orientation class. My assignment was to take a personality test called Jung Typology Test, and write about the careers that match with my personality type. The project gave a nice opportunity for me to evaluate myself.

According to Jung - Myers-Briggs typology, there are sixteen different types of personality. After taking the personality test, a person is given four letters that define his or her personality. This test is focused on finding one's "most natural energy orientation." For instance, the first letter is either a E or I, depending on your tendency to act. Do you act first or think before act? Do you get motivated by outside world of people and things, or motivated internally? 'E' stands for an extrovert and 'I' stands for an introvert.

It is, however, important to remember that one's four-letter type doesn't entirely set one's character or no one type is superior to another. It only shows which side of nature one feels more comfortable with or prefer to another. I took this test a few year ago in my high school, and I was surprised to see that two letters out of my four letters have changed; my former personality type was ISFJ but changed to ENFJ this time. The guest speaker, who explained my class how to interpret these personality types, emphasized that although one's nature can't be changed, one can still utilize other characteristics for one's advantage as long as one puts efforts in it.

Most of people have the tendency to be satisfied with what they have now and don't look for any more of change. Sometimes, people, however, surprise others by showing unexpected behaviors. After taking a while to think about personality types and the nature of people's behaviors, I thought that these unexpected behaviors of others shouldn't be ignored as a one-time surprise or a mere mistake. It could've taken a person some effort to overcome his nature, which is more comfortable for him. From this personality assessment, I learned not just about my personality type but also about efforts that are needed to overcome our weakness and become a more balanced self.

Jung Test,
Personality

Meeting with a Purdue Habitat for Humanity officer

2005-10-11T21:58:00.000-05:00

Today, I finally had a meeting with one of the officers in Purdue Habitat for Humanity. I've been asking questions concerning my project to Shun, a Construction Co-chair at HFH, and he gladly asked me to come over to their office.

Although I just had a brief meeting with him, I could get some information about their organization. I've asked him questions such as history of their organization, interactions with other groups, etc. Purdue Habitat for Humanity website didn't have any information on their history, which I think is one of the important things to be mentioned. Shun gave me two magazines, Habitat World and Frameworks, which seemed very nice sources for my project.

Purdue Habitat for Humanity

Exploration of Google

2005-10-03T17:09:00.000-05:00

In today's English lab, we spent time on exploring Google. I use Google whenever I want to find out information; however, I've just found out today that I had been missing some other features of Google. I'm so surprised to see how various kinds of services google are providing to people.

If you follow this link, you'll see that there are many ways by which you can do searches.

Once again, I've realized that I need to keep looking for new things and be up-to-date with the recent information and surroundings. New things come up so frequently that sometimes I feel overwhelmed. People can live without these new technologies; it's not necessary for one to keep pace with this fast-pacing world, but this whole progress being made and its wonderful outcomes are so fascinating to me that I don't want to miss it!

Google,
Information

Flattener #8 - Insourcing

2005-10-02T12:07:00.000-05:00

In Thomas Friedman's book, The World is Flat, the author talks about insourcing power, which is one of the ten forces that flattened this world. The author shows the impact of this flattener from the roles of UPS (United Parcel Service).

The extent to which UPS functions is just unbelievably broad; UPS does not only show its distinction in capacity but also in its acute perception in handling its business. Its task of delivering packages – which I had thought as the only job that UPS does - is just a portion of its work. UPS has its own workshop and repairmen to fix computers; it has its own meteorologists to predict weather and to determine what it should do under a certain situation; it has its own financing arm; it also does “logistics,” helping its clients with managing or redesigning their supply chains. Due to this wide range of work, UPS has been able to make small companies to act big and big ones to act small. Furthermore, UPS is adopting the same rules, which harmonize trade, so that people can send or receive their goods more easily and efficiently. This “deep collaboration” among USP and its clients and its client’s clients is the key factor of the concept, insourcing – it is also what has made the “world synchronized.”

UPS,
Insourcing

OWL Tutor

2005-09-28T00:55:00.000-05:00

Today, I went to OWL, which is a writing lab at school, to get some help on my writing. The tutor and I worked together on some of my recent writings and made changes in structures of sentences and corrected grammatical errors. Having been at the lab for the first time, I thought it was helpful. Although I've spent only thirty minutes with the tutor, I've learned several things that would help me in writing. She taught me about the use of semi colons and dashes, which I had been confused about.

Use of semicolon:
1. It joins two main clauses, each of which could stand alone; the two statements should be closely connected to each other when used.
2. It may replace commas in a series.

Use of dash:
1. It is used when there's an abrupt break in a sentence.
2. It is used when the word or group word that follows it has a summation, amplification, or reversal in tone.
My friend was sophisticated, well educated - and boring.
3. It is used to introduce a list of items.
My English class has been introduced to several websites - bloglines, statscounter, technorati, de.licio.us, flickr - to experience them and to be able to realize ourselves in the digital environment.

Writing,
Semi-colon,
Dash

History of Habit for Humanity

2005-09-27T12:23:00.000-05:00

This is the link to the history of the organization, habitat for humanity.
It dates back to 1976 when Habitat for Humanity was founded by Millard and Linda Fuller. They had developed the concept of "partnership housing" to build houses for those in need. So far, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 175,000 houses, sheltering more than 900,000 people, in more than 3,000 communities worldwide.

The Social Life of Documents

2005-09-25T02:41:00.000-05:00

I had a chance to think of this information era we live in, after reading The Social Life of Documents by John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid. In this era, the documents and information are not just "a powerful means for structuring and navigating information space." But they also take part in forming communities and creating new social practices. Since the writing was mainly focused on the influence of our new environment, the cyberspace, on documents and information (or the reverse), I wanted to take a closer look at Korean cyberspace from this aspect.

During the last several years, Korea has emerged as one of the developed IT(Information Technology) countries. It was clear to sense the ongoing transition of society as Korea had just stepped into the information era and begun to make advancements in the field. Since then, Korea has become driven by the forces of the cyberspace to a considerable extent. It is communities within the cyberspace that has been giving much of impact on almost all aspects of society: fashion, education, politics, economy, etc. For instance, the victory of the President Noh Moo Hyun in the last Korean presidential election was largely due to the support from the cyberspace organization, Noh Sa Mo, that had formed to support the president. Although the organization had soon disintegrated, it was enough to demonstrate how influential forming of a community could be. Such tendency to form communities has influenced on politics overall; some of politicians try to take advantage of the powerfulness of such a crowd, a trend called popularism.

technorati tags:

Document,
Community,
Cyberspace,
Popularism,

The tags system

2005-09-20T00:15:00.000-05:00

We've set up an account for technorati in today's class. Through this website, I could actually sense the change in the system of information, just like what I had talked about on my previous post. When I clicked on the tags link, I saw the most popular 250 tags, which were organized in alphabetical order. There were words such as amusement, baby, car, development, ebay, etc. The heading of the tags webpage said, "Tags: The real-time web, organized by you."

I clicked on some of the words on the webpage, and I thought that the number of links to my search was just so overwhelming. For instance, there were about 13,000 posts tagged related to my search word, amusement. Having so accustomed to doing my searches by previous systems, the trees system and the faceted systems, I thought it would take me a while before making use of the system.

The tags system has brought us to a new era; it would not just influence on the way of searching information but also bring a break from the previous frame of thinking. I'm curious how much change there will have been made when this seemingly small but influential innovation had fully settled into our lives.

technorati tags:

Tags

The systems of knowledge

2005-09-16T00:42:00.000-05:00

During today's class, we've talked about the three orders of organizing information: trees, faceted systems, and tagging systems. I realized that I have been using the systems without paying much attention to their influences on my way of thinking.

First, we talked about the history of how people started to deal with knowledge. It started with Aristotle, who designed the trees to arrange information. The key point of trees is a branching structure. The method is one of the easiest and most effective ways of organizing things. Just like computers, people would start without any effort to draw and come up with several branches when categorizing different sets of information. Maybe, the terms that people use to define and classify objects, and even the ways how people observe things are controlled by the system. The influence that Aristotle has had on people is as great as that. In another sense, doesn't the system of branches limit the way of people's thinking? In class, our professor showed us an empty water bottle from a trash can and asked us to describe it in our own way. Most of the response were a bottle, as if we had made a promise. Some other responses were plastic, trash, and germs. Of course, there was no correct answer to this question. The demonstration showed me that many people, including me, were confined in a frame of thinking.

Thanks to the digital revolution, however, people have started to set up other systems of organizinig information. There's a faceted system, which enables users to search by their interest; another one is called tagging system, which breaks away from the hierarchical way of categorizing things and enables us to navigate loads of information related to what we're searching. Because it is up to users to sort out and create their own organization of information, the tagging system can be too much time-consuming. From another point of view, however, the system seems fascinating in that it enables people to break away from the previous frame of thinking.

technorati tags:

Information,
Digital,
Frame

Non-profit organizations

2005-09-12T00:35:00.000-05:00

I'm about to decide on a non-profit organization, but it's pretty hard to choose one. I have narrowed it down to two - YWCA and Habitat for Humanity.
YWCA is an organization that focuses on eliminating racism and empowering women.
Habitat for Humanity, which I've gone to their callout last week, is an organization that seeks to eliminate poverty housing.

The New Ecosphere

2005-09-11T22:17:00.000-05:00

With the fast-growing development in computer technologies, people have created an ecosphere that is never like anything we had before. The World Wide Web ecosphere has significantly changed the ways of how people communicate and make interactions with each other, not to mention the influences that each person online can have on not just individuals but also on their communities. Furthermore, the Web has enabled people to easily access to the four worlds of writing, which include personal, professional, public, and academic writing.
Since the transformation from the only readable Web to the current blogs or readable and writable Web, the population of writers in WWW ecosphere has changed. One major change is that there's no specific boundary line between readers and writers. Besides, all kinds of writings in diverse formats can be seen on the Web. For example, weblogs are hosted by anyone and cover just about any topic - personal thoughts, political commentary, professional writings, etc. Just as Jay Rosen mentions, blogs are "extremely democratic form of journalism." Weblogs are a medium of communicating from many to many, and few to few. Because of these characteristics, these weblogs can make a writer to become face-to-face with a group of critics. Besides, there are email lists and forums, which are a great source of providing a wide range of information to people.
It seemed, at first, just a simple change to be able to use the read/write Web. If we look around the swiftly changing environment, however, it can be sensed almost immediately how much we have become to depend on our new ecosphere. This is the beginning of our new era, Globalization 3.0, as Thomas Friedman puts it; it is just unbelievable to see the extent to which our new ecosphere has affected the way of how we live.

The Outsourcing Powers

2005-09-10T12:06:00.000-05:00

I've come across an article related to the outsourcing power, which was mentioned in The World Is Flat. Although it's two years old, it still made me realize how countries like China and India were in constant competitions to overtake each other in providing outsourcing powers to the U.S.
The world is indeed going flatter, and even Americanized in a way.

The cyberspace we live in

2005-09-06T20:31:00.000-05:00

Today, I set up an account for a website called StatCounter. It is a very useful website because it helps the users manage their personal webpages or blogs easily and keeps them informed of almost everything about their webpages or blogs. It shows not just a statistics of how many vistors came to one's website but also shows where and when the visitors came; it even enables one to look up an IP address and find out about a visitor. It's amazing to see how much technology has enabled every person to freely establish and use such systems.
This kind of system is convenient, of course. On the other hand, it seems unavoidable that people's privacy is now being exposed to a huge community of cyberspace. Nowadays, it's not just the hollywood celebrities or public figures that are exposed to the public. Anybody can get attention from public.
Although I've been using the internet oftentimes, I haven't been aware of the reality of how much information about me could be revealed to others until we talked about the influence that cyberspace can have in English 106 class. Since my English class usually works online, I thought it would be interesting to observe how much influence and how far interactions can be made with people using this blog.

The World Is Flat [1]

2005-09-06T15:37:00.000-05:00

I've started reading The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman. When I first heard the title of the book, I thought it was peculiar since the title is contradictory to what is known to people. Nobody thinks this world is flat anymore. It's an obvious fact that the world is round.
As I read through several pages of the book, however, I finally started to understand what the author meant by the title. Friedman sets three eras of globalization, just like Alvin Toffler divides the human history into three waves in his book, The Third Wave. Both of the authors are interested in predicting and analyzing their third eras - Toffler's information age and Friedman's Globalization 3.0, which will be driven by groups of individuals of more diverse backgrounds than ever before. In the first chapter of Friedman's book, Friedman writes about his discovery of the world's getting flatter. Whereas it was the Western countries that drove the world into a certain direction and led the way, it has started to change, with the rise of non-Western countries which started to make investments to set out to advance in technology, and to make profits from their outsourcing power.

What is a non-profit organization?

2005-09-01T10:25:00.000-05:00

I've made a list of some non-profit organizations:

ACORN(Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now)
AmeriCorps
Amnesty International
Red Cross
WWF(World Wildlife Fund)
World Monuments Fund

*Note* Some of the non-government organizations can also be non-profit organizations. Amnesty International is one of the examples.

Link

2005-08-29T18:00:00.000-05:00

This links to the body electric, which is one of my English professor's blogs.

Freedom of Speech & Responsibility

2005-08-28T12:17:00.000-05:00

I read one of the articles that was related to the First Amendment right.

A fourteen-year-old boy, who had been expelled from his school because of having written threatening rap lyrics about school, will go back to school, after a federal judge decided that the boy’s action didn’t mean any real threats. The people who supported the boy said, “The school may not like Anthony’s songs, but it is beyond their ability to dictate what he reads, writes or even raps at home,” and his father said, “It is our job, not that of school officials, to decide what music Anthony can compose and listen to in our home.” Both of statements were emphasized upon an individual’s right and had a firm belief in the First Amendment right.

Having the freedom to speak out one’s ideas and thoughts is important, without any doubt. It’s necessary to consider the outcome or effects of one’s action, however. This is why I’ve become to think again about the boy’s action and the true meaning of the First Amendment right. Although the boy really didn’t intend to put into actions like the lyrics that he wrote, he is responsible for his lyrics that aroused many worries and concerns. His expulsion from school was probably harsh, but he should have considered the possible results of what he did.

Can we simply say that a person has the right to freely speech and can be protected from any troubles caused by the speech? That would be the underestimate of the power of speech. Words are probably one of the cleverest and influential tools that people can ever have; thus, people should not only be concerned with keeping their freedom of speech but also be prudent with their actions and beware of the responsibilities that follow.

This is me

2005-08-28T11:25:00.000-05:00

Me

There's a reason why I chose 'gilofmine' as my blog URL. 'Gil' means a road or path in Korean. Most of Korean names can also be written in Chinese. If my name were written in Chinese, it would have another meaning. 'Gil' means the taste of water(I know it sounds a little strange), and 'wan' means being complete or perfect. So does my name mean the taste of water is perfect? I haven't figured that out yet, but I think there's a more meaning to it. I wanted to make my URL address unique, and that's why I came up with this idea of mixing a Korean word and English word together. 'gil of mine' means the path of mine. Since this blog will be focusing on not just writings but also finding myself, I thought this would be nice :)

What is REAL?

2005-08-25T23:31:00.000-05:00

When I heard this question at first, I simply couldn't think of anything. The English 106 class wasn't just about composition after all. Since the question triggered me to think upon the subject, let me write down some of my thoughts.
What is to be real?
Something that is tangible? Something that can be seen right in front of our eyes? Something that everyone says is real is real?
How can we define this term, "real", which we often use in everyday life, and yet which is so obscure?
I heard a saying that "life is continuation of finding one's direction and defining oneself". I think it is one's mind that eventually leads one to take a direction - to judge what is real - even if what is real to one may appear to be different to other people. This might be confusing, but I think the definition of the word "real" is relative, in a sense.
I like the fact that one of the focuses of this English 106 class is on (real)izing oneself. Although it might be tough at times, I think the journey with this class will be rewarding.

Introducing myself as a writer

2005-08-22T19:37:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things is to travel; I like it not just because of my appreciation for exotic and beautiful sightseeing but also because of my satisfaction from learning and understanding the differences and similarities among people while traveling. I believe this passion of mine has, in some ways, motivated me to fly all the way here to spend my college years from Seoul, South Korea. That is why – as well as studying my intended major, pharmacy – I’m thrilled and full of expectations more than ever right now. I can meet and observe people from diverse places with different cultures and thoughts. What is more exciting, I'll be able to share my ideas with them and broaden my ways of understanding.