Cover Letter

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Dear Portfolio Committee,

I didn’t really have any doubts coming into this class that I was not going to succeed in making the most of my work. In addition to learning new lessons in strengthening my writing skills. From structure to new advanced styles in writing I believe that all of my abilities as a writer have not only enhanced but lengthened as well. Writing is definitely a strong suit of mine and I am always prepared to learn innovative ways to improve my writing techniques. In the next few paragraphs I will walk you threw a few of the assignments I thought fit best to present to you guys to experience my hard work I put into this class.

My last assignment I decided to put first for one reason only I thought it the closest to my style of writing and that I really captured it perfectly. This Topic was within the pure idea if technology is killing communication. The writing assignment asked me to make a claim that along with references can be proved while still allowing  an argument to be made. Then while analyzing and backing up the main point someone would be able to provide reasons why  this may have been misinterpreted. This was a great way to present something I believe in back it up with formed opinions on top of facts while allowing myself to see the view from someone elses eyes.

My second writing assignment  was interesting because it was a summary on a writing journal from a man named Nicolas Car in regards to an argument which stressed the fact that technology is in fact making us stupid. He goes on a couple different tangents which properly back us this point as such from web skimming to scenarios which go out on a whim to say that the internet is more or less changing our frame of thought like some type of clock work. I did enjoy writing a summary response to this topic because if the obvious growth in technology in the last couple decades. I will say I didn’t entirely agree with his rant about the online use dumbing people down although only because there is millions upon millions of different things to explore online that most people wouldn’t bother to research without quick access to it. So my response was more or less in the opposite context saying that the internet when used properly is actually improving peoples minds.

One of my favorite of class work was the Ethnography again not a style of writing I was used to but was able to nail the format of it and hit it home. In this project I was asked to walk you threw the culture which makes up my Verizon store between the feel along with the interaction between customers and a sales associate and what made up the community of the business. I do believe that I was able to take a screen shot of a small yet brief moment at my store which in turn would make up a better understanding of the subculture in what makes the store run. This was also an exciting task because it allowed me to share something I live everyday in my professional business outside of classes.

My Final writing assignment was a memoir, which challenged my writing because of my theme I had chosen for the semester. My subject was Technology and my story was in regards to my early experiences in high school and how architecture became the major that was re enforced directly motivating me to go to college. I do believe that my growth threw these moments really did provide me the motivation to choose my career in architecture. I am proud of this piece because it does show the improvement to such a uncommon writing style that I am not used to, which you will see in the excerpt.

This class was exciting from the start as I say all the time there is always something to learn in English. I did have a great time in this class in exception to a couple hang ups I had throughout the semester but my teacher was is the greatest and had given us far more time than most needed but is was a kind gesture.

Are Cell Phones killing communication?

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I decided to write on the subject revolving around the case of whether cell phones are killing our communication. The reason why I decided to write alongside this topic is because in my opinion technology in itself beside cell phones are innovating connection in our society.  At the same time I will be bringing to the table a few of the cons that also comfort the issues that certain parts of society may be struggling with from our kitchen table to our schools. Once again my main point will be surrounded on the reasons they benefit us in this day and age.

One of the larger questions about the effects of cell phone usability and social connection can be presented as an argument between someone’s actual face to face skills versus the convenience of a cell phone in exception to its non face to face speaking. In my eyes I can see how not only cell phones but tablets and even just passive social media is making it easier to communicate. A contrary explanation to that would be that we as a whole are constantly innovating in general cell phones just happen to be the largest as a whole.

Ever since I have had a cell phone available to me I have been more in touch with friends and social issues that in some circumstances is a vital piece of technology to have handy. I am able to receive important emails, text messages (for short concerns), and voicemails for more urgent problems.  An equally significant point would be the use of many types of social transmissions, everyone uses it and more are getting into it as well. As a Result more and more people are getting into this part of the era. This I know from my personal experience because along with becoming my own manager with Verizon I noticed how easy and simple it was to get people into such a program.

As a Consequence, more and more people are getting into cell phones and not just the basic flip phones actual internet required “smart phones” such as Iphones and Android to name a few brands. There was a blog that was written by “Your Wireless Life” of CTIA Association stating that from 1997 to about 2012 the increase in cell phone use in general households more than tripled. Such as the 19.8% of Equals # of active units divided by the total U.S. and territorial population (Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands) to the astonishing 102.2% presented in 2012 which has grown consistently for 15 plus years. Evidently I would say I’m proving my point pretty well when I say that this is some type of trend or phenomenon that will be around us for a great deal of time. In addition to that while more and more are looking for these innovations so much more frequently, it is only making this need greater.

Other Evidence I researched for support of this position was found further into this article which included the percentage of households that were wireless only. From 2007 till about 2012 there was an increase of 22.4% again increasing over the course of further advancement in technologies over just a few years. However there was an unexpected fact that I did encounter which included statistics in relation to the voice versus text ratios. The average calling went staggeringly up and above from 63 billion calls to 2.3 trillion calls a year while texting went from 362 billion to an insane 3 Trillion annually. As you can see plainly there is a rising need, and use for cell phones in general society, but I will say that this number most likely based against the children of this decade growing up with these steadily developing tools.

On a more reasonable term most families do provide these phones as a sort of social networking as well as some of the more grown using it for strictly for emergencies. In this manner children keep in contact with friends as well as allowing for some type of drama creation which for them is the equivalent to going outside to play. But parents like them so that they know where they are at all times.

There is also a question on how interaction and communication are different from the previous decades before technology took its huge debut. I can honestly say that I believe like anything else that this was all within a good change of the times. This is obviously strictly an opinion but as was said in an excerpt titled “How Cell Phones Are Killing Face-to-Face Interactions” it was said on quote “Whether you are dating someone, interviewing someone, or just meeting someone for the first time, there is a special quality about face-to-face interactions; You can catch the subtle tone in their voice, see their expression as it changes from sad to outraged, and you can look them in the eye to see if you trust them.”

Text Wrestling

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Summary

The issue proposed here is that google as would be described as utilizing the internet, is changing our research and communication skills. Thus while providing some form of advancement in how we use online sources it is overwriting our way of thought and creating laziness in writing and exploring information.  The allegation that the use of the internet has no benefit is viewed in different ways as Nicolas Car explains and I will highlight in the following sections. Examples

The Claim that Nicolas Car is addressing in this excerpt is that Google to a certain extent is dummying people down while changing mental integrity. Where the internet allows people quick access to vital information without any actual groundwork this less groundwork with obtaining information. Questions being raised regarding this topic include how the web is shaping the mind not only to him but multiple others. As well as how the growing technology is either advancing us or changing us completely from many types of technology include cell phones including how it is changing writing vs. typing/texting.

In the framework of this topic I believe that there is a general idea that certain groups actually believe that the internet in particular Google in its entirety is dummying people down because of it simplicity. While other points direct the thought that Google really is just a reference tool just like we used in the earlier days when card catalogs were still the only ways to retrieve information. Testing has been done on this point of thought to prove otherwise if this is actually true. Beyond that to me in the grand scheme of things technology is a great part of this decade and many more decades to come. This comes mainly because of its rapid enhancement and need on most of the public’s everyday life.

There is the issue that arises from the mist regarding the struggle of literacy and how it is claimed that people have a harder time reading and writing because the internet allows someone lose their hands on skills. The problem I see with this is that granted the resources are easier to find why would that make it more likely to understand and transcend the information in the form of paper in addition to the reading aspect of it seeing as you clearly have to read any information you would find in any form of the type. Yet another theory that was being derived from the critics trying to analyze this social media epidemic also claim that “media is not just passive channels of information, but they supply the stuff of thought in addition to shaping the process of thought” (referenced from Nicolas Carr) (P.2). This can also be described as a way of jumping ship and going through hoops to get information rather than researching and examining the sources. When anyone thinks about this sort of skimming or web jumping that is being done what would anybody claim to its impact on the younger communities growing up in this a technological era.

Nicolas Carr had also brought up a couple points more within the fact that computers form our thoughts and regulate our mental abilities rather than our physical abilities to read or right. According to what was said in quote, “we inevitably begin to take on the qualities of technologies more willingly than our intellectual abilities” (Nicolas Carr) (pg.4). Consequently, he was thinking about our mind as obeying a clock always deciding when to do something for example when to eat, work, or to sleep, ( as referenced by Nicolas Car) (pg.4).

Beyond what I have discussed so far there is also the part of the research that are giving pros towards the thought of using the internet for web based information outside of just reading all of your text hands on. Within some aspects of the studies done they found that there are people actually reading more than in the 70’s or 80’s (referenced by Nicolas Carr) (P.3). At that point could anybody venture a guess that maybe we are benefiting from the internet rather than harm but I suppose that is the topic that we are faced with? The way I see it technology is going nowhere as far as I am concerned, this is a trend and a healthy one in my eyes I help people better themselves on a daily basis with technology. Moreover it really all depends on how you use it and to what extent. Like anything else if you abuse the internet if become less relevant to its quality and more towards a time killer.

Ethnography

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Hundreds of thousands of people Worldwide believe that Verizon is a leader in cell phone communication. Amongst its various other technological advances this is one thing people know Verizon for. Whether it’s a cell phone or a tablet many consumers all over the world come into stores to take advantage of these innovations on a daily basis. I personally know from experience working at Verizon myself certain characteristics regarding customer interactions on a daily basis. But how do I work on the inside compared to the average everyday customer. Well the best way to explain is to put you on a first person basis on a scenario at my Verizon store not as a customer but through my eyes. This will present a well-organized description between what an employee does and trained to do compared to a customer and what they expect coming into my store. Additionally this is directly what the customer looks for when they stop in, because of its cultural more comfortable feel. In a way it is like they know that they know they will leave with exactly what they came in for and some.

Walking towards the front of my store every morning the first thing I notice are the two large glass doors with a closed sign on it. There are multiple large Flat screen T.V.’s  immediately seen throughout the store representing a great sense of technology to motivate the day. Walking through the narrow open path leading to the cash rep you can see islands of display phones in all directions. Once at the cash rep, I am able to start all of the morning procedures which only take about twenty minutes or so. This includes clock in, cash count, and inventory count to be sure there was sufficient merchandise in the store before opening. On a typical day there would be customers waiting in their cars ready waiting to be helped. On this day a women was waiting in her Toyota sienna so in a way you can tell she was on the move based on a few facial expressions she was making as I was opening the door. As She walked into my store wearing her work attire, she wasted no time in letting me know she needed help with her phone curious on why her emails were all of a sudden not working. This was a pretty common issue with regulars because internet servers and passwords were constantly updating creating issues with email fetching. As she made it to the counter she was also telling me that she had been considering a new phone at some point soon anyways. I pull up her account on one of the pivoting computer monitors we had at the main counter, which was half moon shaped and tall. As I’m researching her account and checking her phone settings to get her email fixed and check on her upgrade, we begin to have a friendly conversation talking about where she works to what she likes to do when she is done to minor interests in her spare time. Now as this seems farfetched most of this information is essential multiple reasons. These include as well as learning  what she would need it fora new phone and or when she would use it as well as gaining a common comfort between us which will most likely strike a revisit. This goes without saying because there is nothing worse than having a bad experience at a store you had high hopes for. So after the email is fixed and the account is updated, we realize that there is no upgrade available as of yet but she was eligible for a tablet. For the most part customers know what a tablet is, but don’t know that the pricing is discounted when activating it on an account. Following a short introduction on the benefits of owning a tablet such as the larger screen and advanced capabilities that would inevitably replace her laptop, she decided to purchase one. After a happy and helpful transaction with Mrs. Customer she had left praising that my store was the best store she had ever been to because of the information and service she was given. In a nutshell 90% of customers are like this coming in with tech issues and looking for our expertise to help them along the process of repairing their problem while giving friendly advice and offering new services to them to assist with their everyday lifestyles.

From a perspective of a shopper the first impression as you were to walk in thru the tall glass double doors and look around you would immediately be greeted with a rep with a friendly hello and good day with a courteous smile. My store with its fresh maintained Verizon rich black and red signs and the surrounding windows decorated with promotions and information on new and upcoming sales and deals. The lush carpeting and long columns help create a comfortable open environment while the TV’s are playing back to back previews with details regarding new phones and Verizon only ads. These things really bring a bit of excitement to every person that stops in because it begins to create some type of mindset of what to expect to what services we provide. Typically you can see other buyers shopping around `to your left and your right talking while trying to settle on what they want. Young children are playing with I Phones while parents are chatting about price plans alongside the half mooned counters filled with other signage, displays, and live demo devices we have on the counters which are playing short movies to entertain the small children that have immense amounts of energy. There are always such a variety of customers that stop in throughout the day from the business attire early morning clients to the customers that come in from a workout closer to the afternoon hours, this is not excluding soccer moms and construction workers. The most interesting part is that they all come in looking for a similar item or device. In addition to the actual process of picking a phone or device an interesting interaction is created between the client and the staff. This comes into play by asking open questions to allow essential communication to be generated to allow the customer to get what they need while allowing the staff to sell what is needed and requested of each customer.

 

Do Video Games make people happy?

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This particular article does provide some outside information on comparisons to reason why people play video games and why but im to venture a guess and say that no matter what the reason the general public play games has everything to do with the rapid increase year after year of people that play games in general let me explain. Very similar to what was being said by Jane McGonigal ” are these games good for us what is the benefit of playing these games”. To m,e they are rotting the brain in exception to a few that are made for you to learn from like “Luminosity” or “Rosetta Stone” most games are for entertainment . Additionally what I have noticed over the years is that for the most part games that are strictly surrounded on keeping someone occupied basically destroy ample down time that one can reading or writing with something far less significant “Flappy bird” or “Clash of clans”. As much as these games do provide some type of strategy or lack of  they are again simply for play.

 

https://www.bigquestionsonline.com/content/how-might-video-games-be-good-us

Fast and Company

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Basically This video segment by Joe Berkowitz on Social networking involves the evolution of face to face communication and how technology is taking its role in how relationships escalate and become problematic. Lamest terms to me would have been that a situation by what people are now using social networks for a  quick escape and ability to basically hide information and quickly shut down certain scenarios via Facebook/Skype or any other similar site. In Addition to  that more and more of the general public are using certain sites and media to conform themselves when they are feeling down and out as was shown when this Teen Noah went threw a stunning breakup revolving around his girlfriend soon to be ex girlfriend decided to break up with him via skype with no actual words. Just to have his friend encourage him to face scoop her by logging into her facebook to realize that she was starting to talk to someone else. Which honestly to me is very typical regardless because of age but the time at this point is was strategically making it worse. I always say that technology is great and bad at the same time I do miss when the web used to literally be research based now with all the social media the games and everything else you can do online I believe its corrupting the general basics of one on one communication to the point where people are learning how not to talk normally. Basically people are not intentionally becoming antisocial.

 

http://www.fastcocreate.com/3017108/you-need-to-see-this-17-minute-film-set-entirely-on-a-teens-computer-screen

The Atlantic Post

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This Except From Johnathan Cohn Describes a test in the innovation starting in the field of medicine. Since there introduction with Watson a super computer that is basically smarter and more accurate then a human, there has been  strong interest and fascination with this new robot. Says Jonathan Cohn “Just how far might the automation of medicine go?” (The Atlantic Monthly Group).And I would say this is a valid question if this new technology takes off who will it inevitably benefit and who will lose out on the deal. And so I think this can definitely be a unique type of project. I also believe that this does say a great deal in the direction that technology is heading to begin with. As was also said in this selection “In Brazil and India, machines are already starting to do primary care, because there’s no labor to do it. They may be better than doctors. Mathematically, they will follow evidence—and they’re much more likely to be right.”( The Atlantic Monthly Group ). This piece of knowledge in itself is letting us know that this has been a long thing coming.

 

Works Cited

Johnathan Cohn, The Atlantic Monthly Group, 2014

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/03/the-robot-will-see-you-now/309216/

My Constructional Architecture Passion

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I always thought of myself as a growing artist when I was in my early years in high school which actually motivated my interest in the background of architecture. As I was sitting in class day after day staring at the old analog computer screen while my teacher was explaining how to draw a standard floor plan which literally consisted of a couple of vertical and horizontal black lines. I thought to myself most days “hmm, is this really something I can see myself doing for the rest of my life?” I was constantly curious on what I can do? Where I would be able to go? And what benefit if any that I would receive in a trade of such a manner? My teacher in his old age with his short grey hair and cheerful bright smile had continually believed in me knowing that I would go somewhere in this line of work. Day after day he would remind me of how productive I was. He would say things like “wow you are already done” and “your techniques are beyond anything that I have ever seen in your grade”. I was always one to show other students the ropes and I enjoyed it. For instance there was onetime we were all working on a group project which consisted of illustrating a roof plan which consisted of computer and hands on work. We had to translate our computer diagram onto paper of which I also had great talent and in the process learned the importance and pleasure it gave me to provide to my team mates. From then on I always had architecture in the fore front of my goals moving forward in my life. I had applied for three colleges majoring in architecture towards the conclusion of my senior year of high school and actually got accepted to all of them; these included Umass Boston, Wentworth, and Northeastern. At the time although I really did want to fallow my now solid dreams as a professional Architect I just didn’t want the debt that would have inevitably resulted.
Instead I decided that I would go directly into the labor trade in construction in the mean time to continue my interest in an associated trade. In the years that I was what they considered a “grunt” I had educated myself on more of the hands on portions of structural design from a different standpoint. This included projects from the muddy holes I had to dig for such things that needed to be installed like copper piping for hot and cold water, to leak protecting the four and a half ton concrete blocks that sat in the post parking lot. Ever wonder where the sewage goes when you flush, ha-ha its right below your feet when you get into your cars to head home. Most of these projects where exceptionally uncomfortable and irritable for the simple fact that it rained all the time and for some reason even in the summer time was like a heat wave it was almost like mother nature was challenging the crew to see if we would drill those thousand holes in the 50 foot irrigation pipes or just stay home. Big Shocker this wasn’t the only tedious job I had fire proofing was obnoxious to anyone who has ever done it for the simple fact that you can literally stain your hand and it is just the stickiest material in the world. Interesting enough while being employed in construction I gained extra skills in finish work, physical craft, and codes which provided me with an edge in any advancement that I would be able to participate in. Additionally I became extremely familiar with my foreman and how he directed his workforce and crew “including me” to see from yet a third view what is anticipated of blueprints. This included such things as the formation of certain sections of the site plan. All of these different aspects gave me a sense of will and fortification back into what I really wanted to do with preceding years. During my last years in construction due to the huge hit in the economy my roads had closed within the previously wealthy sub-career. This stuck me in a very tough way and was very upsetting not only on physical level money wise but mental level as well due to my comfort zone. The inevitable outcome of this was over three other jobs that fallowed after motivated me to be more ample with time to reconsider my career paths on the basis of where my mindset was at this point.
What then inevitably fallowed this decline was my reintroduction in drafting and architecture. Of course this didn’t come on its own threw out the years as I was away from my true passion. I was always on a consistently looking at housing and designs “thinking to myself this is my true passion and I really want to get back into it”. So I decided I was going to take myself back into school to reconstruct my genuine infatuation with design. When I first started with my classes again I had got beyond what I would have ever thought possible in the techniques in Cad work and drafting. Such as the actual blueprints with such different details outside of just drawing lines everything I reworked on was more involved. For example if I was sketching a floor plan I would actually pick a type of floor whether that was wood or vinyl and so on. To then structuring and building walls and how they would come together from 2+4’s and sheetrock to insulation and the shingles on the outside you would actually pre-generate a category for what you’re working with. Then you would be able to pick different ceiling types from sheet rock yet again based on style to dropped ceilings to then adding lighting. Keeping in mind that there will need to be proper structure for the actual exterior roof and what it would need to be building in its entirety on the outside portions. In addition to the main parts of the house or building that most anybody can identify I learned about the proper foundation plans that need to be created vital to the final draft such as foundation plans and concrete groundwork. All of these components in their entirety were required as learning objectives in order to be a successful architect.

Updated Final Technology Draft

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My first job in the cell phone industry was unforeseen and unexpected. This came by circumstance when I had gotten laid off from my major job which was in the field of construction, a vast passion of mine. When I was first offered the job in the cell phone industry I really had no interest in any type of technology, which was very nerve racking because I had no idea what to expect . When I found out that I would be working, fixing and building phones as a tech the thought really did make me quite anxious. I still remember my first phone that I was asked to work on at the silver city galleria mall, at my little kiosk, on top of the fact I was out in the open with all of the walking customers made me severely uneasy. There were motherboards, ribbons and screens that I needed to systematically be removed and replaced. When I started I was frightened I would ask myself if I would break some part of any customer’s phone I would be solely responsible. How upset would my client be. And I would have to explain and replace anything I had broken. So you can see a bit how challenging this job actually was. But as I ended up getting used to the lingo and gained experience things started to look up. I became more involved with the average consumer and with the types of cell phones and needs that kept them coming for my business. There were literally so many types of phones at the time and steadily increasing.  And I started to think to myself this is a very interesting and popular growing phenomenon. As I had got more and more involved with this type of business it seemed as if the industry grew with me and I with it. Before I knew it I was what people would consider a pro while also inherited the name the “cell phone guy”. Like I had literally blown up, and what I had thought of as a commodity ended up becoming a new passion of mine. Over the years as I continued with this job assignment the more physical labor had dissipated and more advanced devices had come to the light. One of my most avid memories that I had involved the release of the Apple Devices this to me was the real launch in technology for most of the cellular market. I still remember the eagerness I had to own one of these amazing devices. BY this time the accessory service had decreased slightly and I was in a position to move on to something bigger and better. I advanced my line of expertise to the Consultant side getting customers into the best phones with the best service provider out there Verizon Wireless. This day I find myself as the store manager at my own store selling something again that I had never had a second thought of succeeding in.

The rapid advancement.

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First of all I would like to state that what I will be writing about is not going to be geared entirely to the technology savvy. I would like to gear this excerpt on one or more experiences that I had with technology and why I believe people should be into some type of tech their lifetime particularly in this era. My considerable reason for this statement would be because this specific topic is an ever growing line of work that is getting more and more involved as the years pass.

This amazing Journey into this vast profession started when I first put myself in the jump start of the technology industry by being offered a job at a local kiosk that revolved in cellular accessories and phone housings (basically taking phones apart and putting them back together with new external parts). I learned very quickly that the cell phone industry in itself was a huge part of the crucial advancement that was quickly making its way to the top of the consumer market. As I was getting more knowledgeable within such a popular market I noticed everybody was getting more and more into cell phones.  This primarily allowed me to realize that this was not the only style of technology making a rapid appearance. From standard flip phones (which I still see as a regular style phone used up until this day) I was able to see in increasing value that included the improvement that introduced the first touch screen phones, Apple.