Intro to Disability studies

For another one of my classes we had to create a list of things that can value or devalue certain groups of people.  These were not our opinions only things we though society could or would come up with.  What are your thoughts on the list.

college students
Value:
Striving to contribute to society
Hard working
Problem solvers

Devalue:
Self centered
Rowdy
Quick to judge

people with mental illness
Value:
Accepting
Open to change
Understanding

Devalue:
Constantly need help
Dependant on others
Strange

bankers
Value:
Good with math
Conscientious
Organized

Devalue:
Need everything in neat categories
Aloof
Stingy

people who are homeless
Value:
Experience surviving
Wisdom
Non judgmental

Devalue:
Unproductive
Drain on society
Worthless

adults with cerebral palsy
Value:
Perseverant
Open to try new things
Intelligent

Devalue:
Needy
May need constant attention
Helpless
1. the family next door consists of a mom, a dad and two children, one of whom is blind
Happy
Stable family
Accepting of differences
Not Happy
Heightened vigilance while performing outdoor activities
Stressed neighbors from dealing with their child’s disability

2. the people next door are four college students
Happy
Same age range as myself
Same likes dislikes
Not Happy
Party time
Untidy

3. the family next door consists of a dad and a child with Down syndrome
Happy
Good to see a single dad raising his child
Exposure to different types of children for our kids
Unhappy
Stressed single parent
Possible precautions we must take to protect the child
4. the house next door is a group home for four children with physical disabilities
Happy
Good that the children have a stable home
Positive environment the neighborhood can provide for them
Unhappy
Possible disruptions that could come from the home eg noise
Construction on the home to accommodate the children’s disabilities.

5. next door live three adults with mental retardation
Happy
Striving to live on their own in society
Always trying to do better
Unhappy
Inability to affectively communicate with them
Unknown how they will respond to our children or animals and the possible negative implications of both.

6. next door is a hospice for four adults with AIDS
Happy
Providing adequate care for people in need
Providing a service to the community
Unhappy
Possibility of infection
Lack of understanding in the community

Creating the feed back tool

After creating the tool for this week I found it very fun to send and recieve feed back.  The tool allows for some customization around color and layout.  I changed the color of mine.  It was very intersting to add the html portion for the feed back choices.

Week nine

Well we are near the end of the semester and we are using Java this week to update our websites.  I found the use of color and font really interesting.  I had no idea really how websites created the look that they have, but now I have a little appreciation for what web designers go through to create a site that is visually pleasing.

Jquery

This assignment was the hardest of the semester.  I didn't think after watching the videos it would be that hard.  I had trouble getting not only my blue borders to show up but also posting the game to the web site and getting it to work.  I know from all the emails lots of other folks had problems, it is good that you all worked together to solve the problems with the assignment.

Web Applications

After completing this weeks task of finding and reporting on a web application it amazes me what is out there on the Internet.  There are applications that will do almost anything.  I reviewed an application that will create multiple choice tests and vary the order in which the answers show, I thought, for a free program that was pretty good.

Apartment Prices

Has anyone recently priced apartments in the metro-west area?  They are outrageous.  $1300 for a one bed one bath apartment?  It seems a lot to me.  What do you thing is that a lot.  I am looking for an apartment now, and I was considering a two bed two bath but they start at $1500 and go up plus utilites etc.  Maybe it is just that the current economic crisis has forced them to raises rents?  I know many places don't even have open apartments because people are too strapped to move out, so this could be driving the premium price tag on the open apartments.

Media Convergance

The Internet has obviously had an affect on all aspects of media. Some major areas where the internet has changed how the majority of people access media are the areas of music and news.
I can remember a time when you actually had to drive your car to a store to purchase a new cd, and if you wanted an old cd it would take multiple phone calls or trips to different stores to locate the cd you were looking for. Now we have many options that deliver music over our Internet connection from I tunes to Amazon. We have easy access to a wide catalogue of music spanning generations and genres. This trend has also helped to consolidate the industry, they no longer need vast distribution networks and some artists now only release their albums through online venues.

The second large area where internet has become a dominant player is news media. Cable and broadcast outlets all employee some form of web-site with up to date information on the current news. Some especially the cable outlets may have streaming video of their live news programming.

Copy right law has had to evolve at a fairly rapid pace to keep up with the internet, I can remember in high school being able to download songs for free from file sharing sites without much concern, but now if I was doing that I would really take a step back and say is this worth the RIAA coming after me? I believe artists and companies have a right to enforce their copy rights. I also agree that people are subject to the laws of the country in which they reside. Copy right laws are there to protect everyone not just super rich artists or recording industry executives. Some day one of us could have and idea and we would benefit from these same protections. While the constant flux of the internet has allowed easy and free access to copy right material I think in the near future companies and law enforcement will catch up with the trend and we will see a marked decrease in the availability of pirate material.

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The Big E

http://www.thebige.com/

My wife and I are meeting some friends here this weekend.  The day will including eating too much I am sure.  I am not sure if you are all familiar with the Big E but it is a carnival street fair and animal show all rolled into one.  They have many great sights and sounds and it is worth driving out to western mass if you have never been.

Week 3

I think the internet has changed the way my family and I communicate. While I am not able to physically see someone in another state, I can check their facebook status, send and receive emails from them as well as text messages. The internet has touched every part of our everyday lives, it would be hard to imagine not being able to communicate by email with a distant relative.

I do also believe that in some cases this has replaced telephone and face to face converstations, especially with family memebers who you feel obligated to contact but don't really want to. Email and text messaging allow for an impersonal type of contact that shows you are thinking about a person without actually investing that much time into the personal relationship.

Adding Images to a Blog post

For this post I though I would post an image of an 08 R32 like the one I used to have that is now for sale at a local dealer, soon I will have pictures of my new Touareg to put up.

Personal Links

Here are some of the web sites I frequent.  Feel free to check them out.

VW vortex -
I am a fan of my VW and I have owned three in my life.  My first was a 2001 Passat W8 my second was a 2008 R32 and my current VW is an 05 Touareg

Club Touareg -
This is a site dedicated to owners of VW's SUV the Touareg

And this site is a surprise but I am sure you are all familiar with it, I use it almost everyday
Click here

Links to Other Sites

For this posting we are creating a list of links to other Internet resources.

click here to go to my neighbor's blog

Now that we have started learning how to make hyper links we will gain even more knowledge from a site named annunziato.com

Couse expectations

While trying to pick a course to meet a graduation requirement may seem easy, it can actually be quite hard.  At the last minute my advisor informed me that I needed another course in the computer science field.  I wanted to take a course that would expand my limited horizons while also not being too challenging.  I expect that this course will teach me many things that I do not already know.  For starters I have never blogged before so we are off to a racing start.

I do not currently read any blogs.  I am looking forward however to getting in to this type of media the concept is very interesting. 

Getting Started

Hello everyone,
My name is Patrick.  I am a full time student at UML I also work full time.  I am currently employed in the field of Nuclear Pharmaceuticals and work in the Boston area.  I will be graduating at the end of this semester with my BLA with concentrations in Psychology and Legal Studies.