Final Reflections: Rachelle Elbert

"Truths, are more likely to have been discovered by one man than by a nation."

- Descartes

My Self-Directed Learning

One major source of learning for this course was 'The Discoverers' by Daniel Boorstin. I discovered that thedevelopment of science and mathematics changed the world. I typically began my research on Wikipedia, and felt that it led me to different sources of learning. I reviewed theses by Isaac Newton, Descartes, and Mersenne. These fathers of mathematics and language helped create what we know as the Digital Age. I also enjoyed talking to older generations: my grandma, parents, and fellow cast-mates, and they helped describe the kind of world they grew up in, in comparison to today's society. As science and technology has evolved, so has society. There are types and shadows within history: consequences for the actions of people dabbling in new technology and power. More about that topic can be found in this blog post by Nathan Lambert. This blog post also goes in depth of how we can learn from history.
 I wish I had studied more in depth, each time period and everything that happened. It takes a lifetime of learning to understand the evolution of society. I felt that through this class, and how it was organized (groups assigned certain topics), I was able to get a glimpse into history. My favorite time period was the Enlightenment. It was the beginning of the French Revolution, Scientific Revolution, and progress. The ideas of the Enlightenment undermined the authority of the monarchy and the church, and paved the way for the revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries. As said by Jolene Kirk in a Digital Dialogue post, "The Enlightenment is a time for people learning to continue to change their ideas of “truths of the universe” because their “truths” are always changing with the discovery of new truths." When society emerged as a unit outside the reigns of the church, individualism and humanism blossomed. I am so grateful for the Renaissance.
 Besides art and festivals, I knew little about the Renaissance. Through this course I learned more about the government side of things, as well as who was leading technological development. I struggled with knowing what to say on blog posts and on Digital Dialogue, because I was so enthralled by my classmates thoughts. I was way busy this semester, and regret not participating in more discussion. What we learned in this class is vital for the development of our future. We must learn from the mistakes of the past. And we must take what we have learn and build upon it, so we can unite our society and continue to progress.

My Evolving Project
At the beginning of the group project, I knew I wanted to talk about the effects of Social Media on society. I knew it effected our emotions, and slowly required us to rebuild a new identity online. With Bryce's topic of "Security vs. Privacy" I knew that there was a connection. Bryce Romney's Post. I was impressed by his passion and knowledge of today's security breaches and privacy rights. It encouraged me to do my own research into our human rights. We eventually combined our efforts into a final blog post about how our security and privacy is being controlled by our emotional efforts. I enjoyed using video in our blogs. I really liked this groups blogpost about how technology is deteriorating our communication today. We have a tendency to put ourselves online, that it becomes our new identity. Sometimes this identity gets in the way of outside communication. Also, by communicating online, everything we say is forever on the cloud, in our service providers records, and our information can be hacked. There is a greater need for security than ever, and I believe that Bryce and I brought up a very important and relevant topic.


Communication and History
Ways of communicating has evolved drastically over history. With the invention of vernacular languages and the translation of them, and especially the advancement of technology, has communicating between countries become easier. In Ancient Rome, people communicated by way of writing on tablets that were posted in the town square. Government and political figures would give speeches in that town square, and society bonded over community events like the Olympics. Many countries tried to reciprocate what the Romans had, because communication in that country was successful and people flourished. With the development of written language did communication become man's search to improve upon shouting.
What used to be 'pigeon post' that began in oriental countries and Germany, became letters and what now is the postal service. This helped communication between countries, and the start of international affairs. In Europe leaders were heavily influenced by the Catholic church, who help historical records in Latin. Latin became a dead language, and the church had a monopoly on the language. When the Royal Society formed in the 16th century, scientists collaborated their ideas about math and science and developed a universal way of thinking. Mathematics became the universal language, and helped monetary systems. Technology really developed during the Industrial era. Between the 18th and 21st century, technology development accelerated with the invention of cars, computers, and especially the internet. When the interstate was built in the 1900's, postal service could reach different parts of the country much quicker. Letters and packages could be sent overseas with the invention of airplanes. Before that, mail could take weeks, even months, to reach other countries because ships were slow moving across choppy waters.
We are finally at the Digital Age, where communicating is fast, simple, and dumbed down. We have changed the way we speak, to be precise, quick to the point, and less eloquent. We talked differently 100 years ago, but now we speak more casually. The internet allowed for fast communication to any part of the world, through AIM Instant Messaging, Email, and now Facebook Messaging. Cellphones allowed for calls at any time, anywhere, and now with text messaging, you have no excuse for not communicating.
Communication is vital for keeping peace among countries and society. We have come so far, and we are now in an age where communicating should be easiest. Yet, we hide behind our devices, and our casual way of speaking can make it harder to say what you want to say. There needs to be a balance in all things, and today's technology allows for instant communication, as well as enhancing personal communication.

Security vs. Privacy: Our Vulnerability is Just the Beginning

My name is Rachelle Elbert, and within the topic of Open vs. Controlled I am focusing on how our emotional vulnerability online is increasing security breaches and privacy hacks. 

The most recent software update for the Apple iPhone, makes it impossible for even Apple to access your device without a security code. This makes it difficult, but not impossible for hackers to potentially steal your identity by accessing your device.

The Apple experience is designed to focus on our emotions and enhance our lifestyle; passions, dreams, empowerment, and imagination. They do this by providing sleek designs and easy-to-use devices. Apple has branded itself as trustworthy, secure, and simple, but even Apple has it's flaws. Although Apple is a safe product to use, we must be aware that our emotional attraction to brands like Apple can lead to dangerous vulnerability.

I believe that when new technology came out, and styles changed in the beginning of the 2000's, we became more worldly. Worldly in the way of liking nice stuff. It can boost our confidence, sets us apart from others, and makes us unique. Especially in the past two years have we been able to get away with any hairstyle, fashion sense, and activities we want. This growing empowerment has made us emotionally attached to our sense of identity as interpreted by other people, especially on social media.

Cyber attacks happen an average of 50 million per second.

Cyber War: It's happening now 

In order to fully understand how important personal security and privacy is, it is imperative to understand today’s constant threat of Cyber War looming over our heads. James R. Clapper, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, ranks cyber crime as the No. 1 national security threat. In the last year alone, our federal government fell victim to 61,000 cyber-security breaches that exposed records dating back to 1985 (time.com). This exposure to personal files of U.S. government employees gives enemies personal and financial information that can cause their ruin, and the spilling of government secrets; coercion by information being a popular tactic in the war on information.

Our online presence defines us to the rest of the world, and with the accessibility hackers have to personal accounts, your personal and professional life can become victim to irreversible damage. Facebook admitted that in 2011, it was the target of 600,000 cyber attacks every day. On top of this, Iranian hackers broke into major U.S. banks causing millions of dollars in damages, and tried to shut down a dam in New York state. Also, two Pentagon officials admitted that in 2013, “Chinese computer spies raided the data banks of almost every major U.S. defense contractor and made off with some of the country’s most closely guarded technological secrets.” (time.com)

Social Media Trolls

Did you know that there is a special troll army in Moscow, that is specifically hired at a salary of $400,000/month to wage a massive disinformation campaign? They pump out 135 comments a shift, and are reportedly required to post 50 news articles while maintaining at least six Facebook and ten twitter accounts. (time.com)


Not only are we vulnerable to misinformation and life-ruining hackers, we are vulnerable to the chance our identity is stolen. Not only through social media, but through credit card and social security theft. So what are you going to do to protect yourself?

You can learn about security vs. privacy more in our group video here.

Emotionally Driven

With today's technological advances, our senses are the target of advertisements, articles, movies, television, and internet blogs. Our emotions are heightened as we are constantly exposed to emotional videos, visual threats, and computer screens, because every part of our senses are being ignited. This emotional spark can easily overrule logical thinking. Today's young adults seem to lack the motivation young adults had in the 1970's, and there is reason to believe that it is because of the simplicity and accessibility of information today. There is an ease to open communication and open accessibility, that when things go awry, emotions also go awry.

My name is Rachelle Elbert, and I am graduating with a BFA in Music Dance Theater. I call Brookfield, Wisconsin my home, although I plan on living in Orem, UT for the next few years. As a single female whose worked in many low-paying jobs, I have experienced a wide variety of people in this here Utah. I enjoy humans, and I enjoy listening to their problems and opinions. I have a passionate personality, but I pride myself on being a middle-ground peacemaker. I have opinions, but I accept the opinions of others and optimistically tolerate them. I believe that a society that quarrels is one that constantly develops new ideas and ways of doing things.

Open vs Controlled: When Resources are Restricted

The above video depicts Bryce trying to gain access to the MDT practice rooms. The MDT (Music / Dance / Theater) rooms are controlled with codes that only MDT students are given. They are also scheduled out, weekly by hour, to specific students.

Bryce first asks Heather for the practice codes. She rejects him, explaining that they are not supposed to give the codes out. He then asks Whitney, who doesn't hesitate to not only give him a code, but let him have all of them. With the codes he tries to access one room, but is kicked out as soon as he enters, so then continues to another. Once he has been in that room a while, Rachelle lets him know that she has been assigned that room, and so asks him to leave.

This scenario is representative of what we see when resources are controlled. Relationships and inefficiencies are taken advantage of by those in need of the resource. These kinds of situations insight uprisings and revolutions, as we've seen all throughout history. However, they also promote trade and innovation when handled right.

In order to fully understand how important personal security and privacy is, it is imperative to understand today’s constant threat of Cyber War looming over our heads. James R. Clapper, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, ranks cyber crime as the No. 1 national security threat. In the last year alone, our federal government fell victim to 61,000 cyber-security breaches that exposed records dating back to 1985 (time.com). This exposure to personal files of U.S. government employees gives enemies access to sensitive personal and financial information.

As an example, you know that moment in Criminal Minds when the FBI agents can’t enter a house because they lack a warrant? At their moment of frustration, they must abide by the law and comply to the homeowner's request for a warrant. What exactly is a warrant and how much does it protect us? According to a general Google search, a warrant is a document issued by a legal or government official authorizing the police or some other body to make an arrest, search premises, or carry out some other action relating to the administration of justice. Recently, there has been a major dispute between the FBI and Apple over a rejected request for a “warrant”. But how much access does a warrant give? And is it always justifiable in sacrificing privacy?

Both Bryce and Rachelle relate the scenario back to their individual takes on the issue of being open vs. being controlled, and relate it back to historical and current relevance.

Bryce's Take

Bryce has related the scenario to the balance of security versus privacy. The controlled resources present an opportunity in which privacy means more security but less efficiency. Here are some of his thoughts.



"I noticed that there were resources going unused, and I personally had a need to use the rooms as a performer. I took the initiative to even out the playing field by getting access to those resources. How terrible to have perfectly good practice rooms go to waste!

Once I determined what resource I wanted, I knew exactly where to look for someone who had the codes - the other practice rooms. By using public information, I was able to track down who had what I needed. This happens all the time on LinkedIn and other forms of social media. Only absolute privacy of who owned/had access to the resources would protect them completely, but that's not feasible in our society.

Once people came along to grab the rooms that belonged to them, I was happy to leave. But at least, up until that point, I was able to use the resources. Rachelle may have felt a bit uncomfortable asking me to leave, but I didn't feel like that was such an issue that I shouldn't use the room at all.

There is a level of privacy that is advantageous to society. Personal issues should be kept very secure, and nobody should have access to those. Depending on how they are stored, the government shouldn't have a right to those things either. However, when it comes to logistical and operational things, privacy should be avoided to allow resources to be shared as freely as possible.

While we should keep some information private, who owns and has access to the practice room codes is NOT one of them."

A more detailed explanation of Bryce's position can be found in his personal blog post, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Other Stuff that's None of Your Business.

Rachelle's Take

Rachelle has related the scenario to the issues of manipulation when it comes to how we present ourselves, both in real life and online. With limited information, we are more susceptible to  being manipulated into strong emotional responses. Here are some of her thoughts.



"By asking Whitney for the codes to the MDT (music dance theater) practice rooms, Bryce puts her in an awkward situation. He obviously knew where to find a student that had the codes, which meant that the MDT students make their presence in the RB known. This is similar to putting private information up on the Internet for all the see: there are people out there that know us just by what we post in the Internet. 

Whitney believed that it was her obligation to share the code information because she was asked in a friendly way, by a friendly person, and in an open environment she was comfortable in. The more time we spend on personal blogs and Facebook, we become comfortable sharing personal environment to possible predators. We most likely do it out of niceties and a feeling of personal responsibility. 

What Whitney may not understand is that Bryce did not present her with any information regarding his activities in the practice room. She allowed him to use a limited resource without knowing his intentions, or possible consequences. 

We are constantly being stimulated by emotionally charging articles, videos, and posts. This can result in impulsive actions and negative emotions that can inhibit our logical thought process. I reacted to Bryce's presence in my practice room in a kind way, but some people may not have. Other practice rooms were obviously available, but I made sure to kick him out of mine- the one resource I for sure knew I had. We often rely on these resources (Facebook pages, bias news websites that may not give full information, and YouTube clogging) that make us feel emotionally and personally protected, when instead there is a likely chance these resources can be hacked. 

Stay safe on these sites, and protect yourself from biased opinions by securing your resources, and not sharing private information. Like practice room codes."

A more detailed explanation of Rachelle's position can be found in her personal blog post, Security vs Privacy: Our Vulnerability is Just the Beginning.

Information Manipulation: Open or Controlled? - V2

SCENARIO

The following is commentary made by the members of our group, relating the scenario to our individual topics of interest.

Rachelle: By asking Sariah for the codes to the MDT (music dance theater) practice rooms, he puts her in an awkward situation. He obviously knew where to find a student that had the codes, which meant that the MDT students make their presence in the RB known. This is similar to putting private information up on the Internet for all the see: there are people out there that know us just by what we post in the Internet. 

Bryce: I noticed that there were resources going unused, and I personally had a need to use the rooms as a performer. I took the initiative to even out the playing field by getting access to those resources. How terrible to have perfectly good practice rooms go to waste!

Rachelle: Sariah believed that it was her obligation to share the code information because she was asked in a friendly way, by a friendly person, and in an open environment she was comfortable in. The more time we spend on personal blogs and Facebook, we become comfortable sharing personal environment to possible predators. We most likely do it out of niceties and a feeling of personal responsibility. 

Bryce: Once I determined what resource I wanted, I knew exactly where to look for someone who had the codes - the MDT lobby. By using public information, I was able to track down who had what I needed. This happens all the time on LinkedIn and other forms of social media. Only absolute privacy of who owned/had access to the resources would protect them completely, but that's not feasible in our society.

Rachelle: What Sariah may not understand is that Bryce did not present her with any information regarding his activities in the practice room. She allowed him to use a limited resource without knowing his intentions, or possible consequences. 

Bryce: Once someone came along to grab the room that belonged to them, I was happy to leave. But at least, up until that point, I was able to use the resources. Rachelle may have felt a bit uncomfortable asking me to leave, but I didn't feel like that was such an issue that I shouldn't use the room at all.

Rachelle: We are constantly being stimulated by emotionally charging articles, videos, and posts. This can result in impulsive actions and negative emotions that can inhibit our logical thought process. I reacted to Bryce's presence in my practice room in a kind way, but some people may not have. Other practice rooms were obviously available, but I made sure to kick him out of mine- the one resource I for sure knew I had. We often rely on these resources (Facebook pages, bias news websites that may not give full information, and YouTube clogging) that make us feel emotionally and personally protected, when instead there is a likely chance these resources can be hacked. 

Bryce: There is a level of privacy that is advantageous to society. Personal issues should be kept very secure, and nobody should have access to those. Depending on how they are stored, the government shouldn't have a right to those things either. However, when it comes to logistical and operational things, privacy should be avoided to allow resources to be shared as freely as possible.

CONCLUSION

Rachelle: Stay safe on these sites, and protect yourself from biased opinions by securing your resources, and not sharing private information. Like practice room codes.

Bryce: While we should keep some information private, who owns and has access to the practice room codes is NOT one of them.

Open vs. Controlled - An Example Video - V1

We decided to demonstrate an example of being open vs being controlled as it pertains to the MDS practice rooms. We briefly discuss what open vs. controlled means in the case of this limited resource, and why it's important for us to figure out a correct balance for both.

Video:

This second video is a more in depth look at how Bryce's and Rachelle's topics relate back to the example shown.

Video:

Distorted Worldview: Why are unimportant matters getting more news coverage?

The TED talk entitled "How the news distorts our worldview" by Alisa Miller was very enlightening. Although this information was taken 9 years ago, think about how this has changed (for better or worse?) because of the Social Media Undertaker.

This map is the number of seconds that American network and cable news organizations dedicated to news stories, by country, in February of 2007.

The month this map was designed from, there was massive flooding in Indonesia, North Korea agreed to dismantle its nuclear facilities, and the IPCC released its study confirming man's impact on global warming. 79% of total news coverage was accounted for by the U.S. The remaining percent was filled with news of Iraq, and little else. The combined coverage of Russia, China, and India reached just one percent. 

When the news stories were analyzed, one was removed and here's how the world looked. 

What was that story? The death of Anna Nicole Smith. The story eclipsed every country except Iraq, and received 10 times the coverage of the IPCC report. Why did this even happen? One reason, Alisa Miller explains, is that news networks have reduced the number of their foreign bureaus by half. 

THE REALITY: Covering the Kardashians is CHEAPER. 

As our world becomes interconnected, is this the world view we Americans should have? 

Social Media has an incredible influence on our daily lives, and it has slowly become our generations main media source. So this begs the question: are the news articles that are spreading throughout Facebook and Twitter distorting our image of the world?

I can honestly say I know more about popular hairstyles in Denmark then whether or not the country is run by a President (Spoiler Alert: They have a Prime Minister- I googled it). I was interested in how many people around me also knew about Denmark's political leader and so I asked... and then made more interesting questions. I took a poll among my friends, cast mates, and a few random people in the RB hallways. 

Here was the first question: Who will you vote for as President and why?

(out of 20 people)

7- "Not Trump, because he is racist, dumb, poor business man etc.."

3- "Hillary because America needs a women president."

4- "Not voting."

6- "Bernie Sanders, because no one else is good enough."

Second question: Where do you get information about our presidential candidates?

14- Facebook

2- CNN/Yahoo

4- Friends

Third question: Can you name a current international event?

4- Pregnant T-Rex

6- Pope is making Mother Teresa a Saint

9- No 

1- Russia withdrew from Syria

Last question: Who is the President of Denmark?

18- No idea

2- Trick question, they don't have a President. (One of them was a Geography major, the other was in a World Religions class and apparently it was brought up.)

What can we do to make important news coverage more accessible? There are apps we can download, websites we can bookmark, newspapers everywhere on campus. But why are we not focusing on the big important events? My theory is that the anxiety that is coupled with the truth about our depending doom is too much; and so we'd rather watch cat videos and PewdiePie play video games. If you are stressed just thinking about the impending environmental collapse, current cyber war, the upcoming economy crash that promises no job after graduation, then here is a video for you,Enjoy

Project Log: Rachelle Elbert

Individual Project- My Progress

• 3/14/16
• Who's In Control?
• http://criticalcomms.blogspot.com/2016/03/whos-in-control.html
• I actually googled "Why Facebook and YouTube use advertisements?". It led me to this page: http://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-youtube-video-ad-buy/297010/. It talked about that you only see YouTube ads when you are logged into your account, and that they show specific ads based on your demographics (age, gender, location). This led to another internet search and very interesting discussions with friends about being targeted by social media- and how much of it are we actually seeing. 
• Next, I will actually try to add facts and statistics to my next post to back up my claims. I can go a lot farther with these thoughts, but at the time I didn't necessarily have any. I am excited that this is where my topic is going. 

Group Project- My Contributions 

• http://criticalcomms.blogspot.com/2016/03/whos-in-control.html : "Who's In Control"- Here I discussed how Social Media is being run by our opinions, which are not always enteirely educated.
• http://criticalcomms.blogspot.com/2016/03/understanding-humanism.html; "Understanding Humanism" - Here I played with my first topic on how humanism has changed throughout the ages, but asked myself: is our humanism taking over the society and making it crumble?
• 3/21/16 Bryce and I made a video introducing our topic of Open/Controlled. We finally linked our topics together- because of video accessibility and bias information being spread through different web sources, we are losing our control over logical reasoning, and are being emotionally motivated. Acting on emotions can lead to an over-sharing of personal information that jeopardizes personal security and privacy. 

Who's in Control?

We all have opinions. But how much of these opinions are being shaped by what we see on social media and the news? Did you know that Facebook automatically posts the articles and videos that are trending around the world? Which means, if Facebook is your main outlet and news source, you are only viewing the most popular opinions from around the world. This also means, you will be missing about 75% of the information that is needed to come to a valid and supported opinion. So...

ARE YOUR OPINIONS REALLY YOURS?

What is even MORE exciting is when you base your opinions on someone ELSE's opinion. Who's to say they were educated about both side? Who's to say they are correct? This goes into the subject of expert vs. amateur. YouTube is a popular site for DIY and how-to videos: thousands of vloggers and beauty 'experts' give their OPINION on how to do things. For example: how to correctly tweeze your eyebrows, how to bake the best pancakes, and my personal favorite- how to calm a crying baby.

My question today is, "Who is in control of our opinions: Social Media or The People?"

My answer: YES. We the people ARE the social media. We are continually being influenced by each other, and it is our duty to make sure that the part of society that survives off of social media, be clearly informed. 

TRUMP

I've noticed that one reason Donald Trump continues to gain popularity through the internet is because we keep discussing him. The way Social Media sites stay afloat is by how many clicks they get. This is why YouTube videos have advertisements, and why websites pay a lot of money to be in the top two spots on Google Search. This is why Facebook posts trending videos that are certain to get enough clicks. (You can take this as my opinion, but I saying this as a general observation. My opinion about this is that IT IS SILLY).

Stay tuned for more passionate opinions about these observations.

Understanding Humanism

My name is Rachelle Elbert, and I am a performer. I have the opportunity to play multiple characters a year and get an in-depth perspective on their life, personal experiences, and personality. What an incredible, transcendent experience!

Me as Millie Dillmount in Sunset Playhouse's production of 'Thoroughly Modern Millie"

Because of this involvement I am keenly aware of humans and their need to be individuals, have thoughts, and to create. Throughout history there has been an increase in individualism that has furthered the creation of technology. Every invention comes from a littler spark within the imagination. But is our imagination being controlled by our addiction to technology?