Final Project Topic taped by Zheng Shirley

Classes That Involve Technology can be Beneficial for Some but Unhelpful for Others

listen to ‘Blended Classes’ on Audioboo

An iPad's Light Weight is a Large Advantage Over Laptops

listen to ‘iPad Fan’ on Audioboo

A Young Girl Shot by the Taliban in Pakistan for Advocating Education for Women

On Tuesday earlier this week, Malala Yousafzai was attacked on her way home from school. She was shot twice, once in the head and then in the neck. Malala is now in critical condition from the gunshots. The Taliban intended to kill the fourteen-year-old girl, but there is hope that she will survive. Unfortunately, according to a Taliban spokesman, if Malala survives, the “militants will certainly try to kill her again.” The Taliban is greatly intimidated by this girl and they refuse to accept her contrary opinions and beliefs. The spokesman also claims that Malala is symbolizing Western culture in the area and it is her own fault for getting attacked since she is so openly against the Taliban.

Malala Became Widely Recognized Through Different Methods of Supporting Women's Educational Rights

Malala Yousafzai has been in the eye of the public ever since 2009 when her school was forced to close down. At only eleven years old, she was extremely passionate when it came to learning and was not going to give up the fight to defend every woman’s right to earn an education. Malala began to write a blog under a pen pal name of Gul Makai for BBC’s Urdu service. In her array of blog posts, she talked about how she was affected by the Taliban’s prohibitions, and what her hopes and dreams were regarding education. Other media outlets became interested in everything Malala had to say so she was incorporated into different documentaries. As Malala got older, her fights grew stronger. She was gaining intelligence and popularity at a rapid rate. In 2011, Malala was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize. Shortly after, she was honored to receive the first National Peace Award for Youth. If Malala survives and avoids the Taliban, she will only become a stronger force with enough determination to help guide her to achieve all of her wishes.

American Newspaper Coverage of Malala’s Story

All American newspapers report on international news in addition to the news stories that take place in our country. Therefore, there are multiple options for a person to choose from when researching breaking news. Not all newspapers share the same perspectives on topics so it may be beneficial to read the same story from more than one source.  In this case, I chose to look at an article from The Washington Post. Faheem Younus wrote the article in the Washington Post and he took more of an informal approach with his writing style.  The article contains a lot of good information and almost all of the details relating to Malala’s story. Younus is very opinionated throughout the article. It is obvious from the start that he is strongly disturbed by the Taliban’s actions because he opens by saying “when I was wondering if extremists could do anymore damage to Islam’s image, they committed yet another despicable act” (Washington Post). Younus has every intention of sharing his views on the matter with the readers because it is such a large ordeal and most Americans will probably have similar perspectives. He even closes the article with his own message to Malala telling her that she is not alone, millions of people are on her side, and that the Taliban will never win. The Washington Post provides their readers with a story that incorporates much more than just factual information.

Pakistan Version Takes a Different Approach 

The foreign newspaper, Al Jazeera, also published an article about Malala Yousafzai. This article gave readers the same details about Malala and the attack, but other than that it was very different from The Washington Post article. Al Jazeera’s article was much shorter and only provided readers with general information regarding Malala’s story. The author of the article describes the attack and Malala’s background of being an advocate for women’s education. No other pieces of information or opinions were included in the article. There is no bias considering readers cannot determine what side of the story the author is on just by reading the article.  Overall, the article is concise and well written.

Reliability on Accurate Information Differs Depending on Certain Articles

I believe that one newspaper may not always be the best source to use. Looking at multiple newspapers that report on the same topic is the best method in order to gain the most accurate information. In this case, Al Jazeera may be the better newspaper to trust because the article itself isn’t biased, even though I actually trust both articles. The Washington Post article has all of the same factual information about Malala and what happened earlier this week, but the author incorporates extra information focused on defending Malala. Trust also depends on the readers themselves. Everyone has different opinions so some people may trust other newspapers more based on their own personal interpretations. I gained good insight about Malala Yousafzai from reading the article from the American newspaper, as well as reading the article from the foreign newspaper. 

Feel free to check the articles out and see which one you like better!
Washington Post
Al Jazeera

Technology Affects Everyone Differently Depending on Types of Accessibility

Digital Divide vs. Participation Gap

Kevin Guidry expresses his thoughts pertaining to the unequal factors technology causes and what effects the diverse population of the United States encounters in his article "Digital Divide or Participation Gap? Will Mobile Affect it?". He explores two different theories, a “digital divide” and a “participation gap.” The “digital divide” states that there are major differences between those who have computers and technological devices at home opposed to those who do not. The “participation gap” goes even further by looking into the particular ways people view and use certain aspects of technology. I believe that the “participation gap” is the proper explanation for what the United States is currently experiencing throughout this technological age because even if a person does not have a computer at home, it is now extremely easy to access the Internet using other methods at many different places. Here is a chart that has an overview of Internet and cell phone use from 2010, categorized by ethnicity:

Whites have the highest percentage in each category, and Hispanics’ percentages trail closely behind Blacks. The main explanation for these results could be that Whites typically have higher incomes than minorities in America, which means that more Whites can purchase technological devices. Each ethnicity proves that it is more common for people to have cell phones than to have computers at home, but more than half of the citizens under each category do find a way to use the Internet. 

Cell Phones are Playing Larger Roles in Technological Differences Between American Citizens

Guidry’s article was released in 2007 and since then, cell phones have increasingly become an essential component of technology. According to a study done by Pew Research Center this past August, “88 percent of American adults have cell phones.” A large amount of these adults are fortunate enough to have smartphones, which provides them with access to the Internet. For those who don’t have computers in their homes, smartphones give them the opportunity to attain access to the Internet at any moment they find necessary. Unfortunately, cell phones also provide users with many problems that they have to deal with on a regular basis. The main problems include dropped calls, unwanted sales or marketing calls, unwanted spam or text messages, and slow download speeds. The occurrence of these issues are usually not often or nonexistent, but some cell phone users have to deal with these burdens multiple times a week or even worse, several times a day. Surprisingly, smartphone users encounter mobile phone problems more often than those who have ordinary cell phones. Among cell phone problems, a larger number of Blacks and Hispanics experience these problems when compared to Whites. The “participation gap” seems to mainly be divided by ethnicities because they tend to share similar characteristics involving how often and in what specific ways they access the Internet.

The Future Will Continue To Be Affected By a Participation Gap

Hopefully, Americans will eventually be able to solve all of the varying components involving citizens’ connections to technology and their understanding of it. I believe that the “participation gap” will become narrower as time goes on, but I do not believe that it will be completely resolved in the next three to five years. A few of the results from the Pew Research Center’s study will still prove to be true, while some of the results will alter to better our society. Ethnicities will still provide divisions between factors of cell phone usage, but the amount of people within each ethnicity who have cell phones will continue to increase along with the number of people who own smartphones.  Unless entirely new problems arise, mobile cell phone problems will diminish largely in the future because cell phone companies will develop different methods in order to solve these dilemmas.