PORTFOLIO I

JUNEL M. ALBACITE
Science Technology and Society

Ms. Elaisa De Paz

I...Think of a device with special features

that you can develop to help improve lives
in our society. It could be something that
you can develop to help in
communication, transportation, health,
and the like. Illustrate your device in a
short bond paper. Show your output in
class and explain. NOTE: You can draw and
insert picture/s here.
 MOBILE/GADGET is the best device in the life
which develop us.because it helps for learning and
maintain healthy life.
I've been passionately following mobile technology
for decades. In the beginning, the mobile devices
weren't very mobile and a strong back and arms
were required to lug them around. They always
had to be next to a power outlet, as there was no
such thing as batteries.

The technology that drives mobile devices has

improved a lot since those days, and especially in
the last ten years. Mobile gadgets have gotten
smaller, more powerful, and very useful.
They are everywhere and play increasingly greater
roles in the lives of most everyone. Availability of
mobile devices is rapidly spreading throughout the
world and making significant improvements in
many lives.

It's worth taking a break from our obsession with

how thin, light, and adaptable the hardware of
mobile gadgets might be. While wondering what
the next great phone or tablet may be is fun, it's
not everything. What is important is how
profoundly it's improving our lives, and the major
roles these gadgets are assuming.

Mobile technology, in the form of phones, tablets,

and notebooks, is making our lives better than
ever before. It does this in many ways, not the
least of which is making communications routine.
We can be in touch with those we need to reach,
whether work-related or personal in nature.

II...
think about these questions
1.)Define information age.

2.)What other technological

advancements can possibly
develop in the future?
Describe evolution of man
and information.
 1.) Define
Information Age

Some have begun to call it the Information

Revolution. Technological changes brought
dramatic new options to Americans living
in the 1990s.
From the beginning of the decade until
the end, new forms of entertainment,
commerce, research, work, and
communication became commonplace in
the United States. The driving force
behind much of this change was an
innovation popularly known as the
Internet.

Personal computers had become

widespread by the end of the 1980s. Also
available was the ability to connect these
computers over local or even national
networks. Through a device called a
modem, individual users could link their
computer to a wealth of information using
conventional phone lines. What lay
beyond the individual computer was a
vast domain of information known as

cyberspace .
The INTERNET was developed
during the 1970s by the Department
of Defense. In the case of an attack,
military advisers suggested the
advantage of being able to operate
one computer from another
terminal. In the early days, the
Internet was used mainly by
scientists to communicate with
other scientists. The Internet
remained under government control
until 1984.

One early problem faced by Internet

users was speed. Phone lines could
only transmit information at a limited
rate. The development of FIBER-OPTIC
cables allowed for billions of bits of
information to be received every
minute. Companies like INTEL
developed faster microprocessors, so
personal computers could process the
incoming signals at a more rapid rate.

In the early 1990s, the WORLD WIDE

WEB was developed, in large part, for
commercial purposes. Corporations
created home pages where they could
place text and graphics to sell
products. Soon airline tickets, hotel
reservations, books, and even cars and
homes could be purchased online.
Colleges and universities posted
research data on the Internet, so
students could find valuable
information without leaving their
dormitories.
Companies soon discovered that work
could be done at home and submitted
online, so a whole new class of
telecommuters began to earn a living
from home offices unshaven and
wearing pajamas.

New forms of communication were

introduced. ELECTRONIC MAIL, or
EMAIL, was a convenient way to send a
message to associates or friends.
Messages could be sent and received
at the convenience of the individual.

A letter that took several days to arrive

could be read in minutes. Internet
service providers like America Online
and CompuServe set up electronic chat
rooms. These were open areas of
cyberspace where interested parties
could join in a conversation with
perfect strangers
Advocates of the Internet cited its
many advantages. The commercial
possibilities were limitless.
Convenience was greatly improved.

Chat rooms and email allowed

individuals to converse who may never
have had the opportunity in the past.
Educational opportunities were greatly
enhanced because of the wealth of
knowledge now placed at the
fingertips of any wired individual.
"SURFING THE 'NET" became a pastime
in and of itself.

Critics charged that the Internet

created a technological divide that
increased the gap between the haves
and have-nots.

Those who could not afford a

computer or a monthly access fee were
denied these possibilities. Many
decried the impersonal nature of
electronic communication compared to
a telephone call or a handwritten
letter. Hate groups were using the
Internet to expand their bases and
recruit new members. The unregulated
nature of the Internet allowed
pornography to be broadcast to
millions of homes.

Protecting children from these

influences, or even from meeting
violent predators would prove to be
difficult.

Regardless of its drawbacks, by the end

of the 1990s, the world was fast
becoming wired.

2.)What other technological

advancements can possibly develop
in the future ?

1.Energy storing bricks

Scientists have found a way to store energy in
the red bricks that are used to build
houses.Researchers led by Washington
University in St Louis, in Missouri, US, have
developed a method that can turn the cheap
and widely available building material into
“smart bricks” that can store energy like a
battery.
Although the research is still in the proof-of-
concept stage, the scientists claim that walls
made of these bricks “could store a substantial
amount of energy” and can “be recharged
hundreds of thousands of times within an
hour”.
2.Robotic guide dogs
A student at Loughborough University has
designed a “robotic guide dog” that will help
support visually impaired people who are
unable to house a real animal.

The product, designed by Anthony Camu,

replicates the functions of a guide dog as well
as programming quick and safe routes to
destinations using real-time data.

Theia, named after the titan goddess of sight,

is a portable and concealable handheld device
that guides users through outdoor
environments and large indoor spaces with
very little input

3.Sweat powered smartwatches

Engineers at the University of Glasgow have
developed a new type of flexible
supercapacitor, which stores energy, replacing
the electrolytes found in conventional
batteries with sweat.

It can be fully charged with as little as 20

microlitres of fluid and is robust enough to
survive 4,000 cycles of the types of flexes and
bends it might encounter in use.

The device works by coating polyester

cellulose cloth in a thin layer of a polymer,
which acts as the supercapacitor’s electrode.
As the cloth absorbs its wearer’s sweat, the
positive and negative ions in the sweat
interact with the polymer’s surface, creating
an electrochemical reaction which generates
energy.

4.)Self-healing 'living
concrete'
Scientists have developed what they call living
concrete by using sand, gel and bacteria.

Researchers said this building material has

structural load-bearing function, is capable of
self-healing and is more environmentally
friendly than concrete – which is the second
most-consumed material on Earth after water.

The team from the University of Colorado

Boulder believe their work paves the way for
future building structures that could “heal
their own cracks, suck up dangerous toxins
from the air or even glow on command”.

5. Living robots
Tiny hybrid robots made using stem cells
from frog embryos could one day be used
to swim around human bodies to specific
areas requiring medicine, or to gather
microplastic in the oceans.

“These are novel living machines,” said

Joshua Bongard, a computer scientist and
robotics expert at the University of
Vermont, who co-developed the
millimetre-wide bots, known as xenobots.

“They’re neither a traditional robot nor a

known species of animal. It’s a new class
of artefact: a living, programmable
organism.

6.Tactile virtual reality

Researchers from Northwestern University
have developed a prototype device which
aims to put touch within VR’s reach, using
a flexible material fitted with tiny vibrating
components that can be attached to skin.

The system, known as epidermal VR, could

be useful in other cases as well, from a
child touching a display relaying the
gesture to a family member located
elsewhere, to helping people with
amputations renew their sense of touch.

In gaming, it could alert players when a

strike occurs on the corresponding body
part of the game character.

7.Internet for everyone

We can’t seem to live without the internet
(how else would you read sciencefocus.com?),
but still only around half the world’s
population is connected. There are many
reasons for this, including economic and social
reasons, but for some the internet just isn’t
accessible because they have no connection.
Google is slowly trying to solve the problem
using helium balloons to beam the internet to
inaccessible areas, while Facebook has
abandoned plans to do the same using
drones, which means companies like Hiber are
stealing a march. They have taken a different
approach by launching their own network of
shoebox-sized microsatellites into low Earth
orbit, which wake up a modem plugged into
your computer or device when it flies over
and delivers your data.
8.Heart monitoring T-shirt
KYMIRA
Wearable sports bands that measure your
heart rate are nothing new, but as numerous
studies have shown, the accuracy can vary
wildly (especially if you rely on them to count
calories). In general, that's fine if you just
want an idea of how hard you're working out,
but for professionals, accuracy is everything.

Using a single lead ECG printed into the fabric,

this new t-shirt from smart materials company
KYMIRA will accurately measure heart beats
and upload them to the cloud via Bluetooth.
Once there, algorithms process the data to
accurately detect irregular heartbeats such as
arrhythmia heart beats, which could prove life
saving.

III...
Select at least five (5)
of the article “Truths of
Information Age” and
 elaborate each based
on how you understand
the details.

1. Media space must eat.

The information industry is built on a certain

quantity of information flow. The daily
newspaper has dozens of pages which must
be filled each day--both to please the
expectant subscriber and to fill in the area
around the advertisements. The TV news
must fill its allotted time each day. The book
publishers have budgeted costs and printing
schedules for a certain number of books next
year. But what if there is no important news
tomorrow, no really good book manuscripts
submitted? The space must still be filled--with
whatever is available. With the explosion of
the Internet and increasing competition with
ever more magazines, the media content
appetite continues to grow rapidly. "Give me
content," cries the media space.

During periods of too much information,

media must omit, select, or condense. In a
scarcity, media must spread out, repeat, or
include the unimportant information. News
can be invented readily. For example, a
reporter can travel to the grocery store, buy a
handful of products, and create a story, "Do
you know how much fat [or sodium or sugar]
is in the food you eat every day?" The
reporter then will read the labels for the story,
perhaps adding a comment about federal
guidelines being exceeded.

2. Information must compete

There is a need for information to stand out
and be recognized in the increasing clutter,
the data smog, that surrounds us. The flood of
information such as advertising creates
distortions in the presentation of information.
Here are some ways competition is mounted
in the information arena:
Exaggeration. Overclaims are made, or
implications made in headlines or ticklers
(Dangerous threat to your health, film at
eleven) that are not fulfilled in the stories
themselves. Ever more advertising vies for
attention (on fruit, spam email, TV
commercials, down from 60 seconds to ten
and fifteen).
Information one-upmanship, the stunt
ratchet, where each story is more bizarre than
the previous one or than the others available.
Violence, disasters, fires, help attract us. Get a
little more detail than the previous or
competing story. There is a tendency to tell
more than one knows, under such
circumstances. Our media (both news and
entertainment) seem obsessed with "pushing
the envelope," which often means moving to
ever more excess in search of attention (and,
of course, revenues).
Scarcity. In a world where information is a
commodity, information that can be
positioned as scarce, exclusive, or secret will
have more value than common information.
The pose of exclusivity makes information
seem special. The reader or viewer becomes
an insider, privy to information his friends do
not have. Thus, we see everywhere, "The 10
secrets of X," "Exclusive interview," "What Y
doesn't want revealed." "Tonight, A Special."
3.The early word gets the perm.

The first media outlet to cover an issue often

defines its terms, context, and attitudes
surrounding it. The first statement often
becomes the permanent concept. How the
issue will be viewed, what the alternatives
are, etc. Are those people who are attacking
some other people to be called freedom
fighters, rebels, or terrorists, revolutionaries?

Journalists love repeating familiar epithets, so

if one person is dubbed early on by a
memorable phrase, it will often stick. "Tricky
Dick," "The Teflon president," and "Slick
Willie," for example
4.The frame makes the
painting.
Those who frame the terms of discourse
influence the choices and the outcomes. If an
issue is framed as a battle between tolerance
and bigotry, then whatever side is the tolerant
one will be preferred. The fallacy of false
dilemma is often used, where one side is
presented as highly undesirable and the other
as attractive. We are then asked to choose.
"This is a conflict between justice and
oppression." Sometimes only certain
alternatives will be permitted. "Should we
remodel, rebuild, or just fix as needed?" What
about tear down or move? Political
considerations often determine which
alternatives will be silently excluded from the
discussion.

Photographs do not speak for themselves. A

photograph is instant in time, with zero
context. What happened before and what
happened after? What was really going on in
the area not included in the photograph?
Suppose you see a truckload of people looking
through a grate. Are they prisoners? refugees?
or ordinary people from a rural village going
to vote? Often pictures are not worth a
thousand words, the pictures are ambiguous
until explained by words.
5.Selection is a viewpoint.

Selecting certain stories to report on while not

selecting others, or selecting certain details of
a story while omitting others reflects not just
the interests but the agenda of the media
outlet. Whatever is ignored is seen as not
important and in effect non existent. You
cannot consider an argument you never hear,
nor can you think about an event you have
never heard of. For media outlets to say they
report on "What is important," helps little,
because importance is a selective judgment. If
you want to receive a more balanced view of
reality, choose multiple sources for your
information.