“www.flickr.com/photos/marklaflaur/5697717285/”

Through the present time, most people have the financial resources to

relish in simple luxuries such as air conditioning in homes and other

finer establishments. Unfortunately, there are many people who struggle

to put food on their table because they face economic strife on a daily

basis. English writer Charles Dickens was deeply disturbed by the

depravity of the poor population and used extreme measures urging the

government and society to reassess their economic power. A Christmas

Carol, recognizes and brings to light its darker and frequently ignored

problems. In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge continues to remain blind

towards humanity’s issues. His attitude portrays much similarity to the

government and power during Dickens time of the Industrial Period.

Work houses, greed, and the growth in population are all major factors

that affected the economy hardships he wanted to be addressed.

During the Industrial Revolution, people who could not afford a

decent place to live or the means to support themselves were sent to

the work houses. At the time, workers were reluctant to work there

due to the harsh treatment of work labor. Dickens used A Christmas

Carol as a way for people to see how degrading life was for the people

who worked and to acknowledge there are those who needed hope.

After the publication of this story, he brought to light the forgotten

people who were poor and at a disadvantage during the Victorian

period of England. Regarding work houses, the story brought in how

people who were not well-off lived under a stringent class oppression

and poor sanitation simply because they could not afford it. For

example, the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge who was bitter and

frugal with his money, refused to give money to two gentlemen who

wanted to give charity to the destitute for the hope of a better life.

Because of his cold exterior, Scrooge questioned them in regarding

whether there were enough prisons and Union workhouses. When

they replied that such developments were open and “many can’t go

there; and many would rather die,” Scrooge does not show any

sympathy (Dickens 15). This is a prime example of showing how

society’s sense of humanity was questioned toward such people in

their dire time of need. This book shows that work houses were in

retched conditions and not sufficient enough to preserve the life of

those who could not properly take care of themselves enough to be

comfortable and financially stable.

Although the holidays are a time to give charity to those who

need it, Dickens shows how that is not the case for those who

suffer at the hands of greedy people. Ebenezer is so greedy and

frugal that he does not willingly choose to help his employee Bob

Cratchit out in such a difficult time. Not only is Cratchit and his

family poor, their youngest son Tiny Tim is very sick. On the night

of Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former

business partner Jacob Marley. Marley attempts to warn Scrooge to

loosen tight grip on his money and forewarns him about three

visitors who will later prove his point. However, Scrooge denies

such happenings. In the night the Ghost of Christmas Past wakes up

Scrooge and takes him to Cratchit’s home in order to observe the

family. Through this experience he is able to realize the young child

suffering from sickness. Through this part of the story’s plot,

Dickens exposed that selfishness and greed were dominant

problems in the Victorian period of England. He showed that

greed is the backbone to the economic sufferings that is taking place

in society. In this situation, the story is a way to urge the wealthy

and privileged to part with some of their money and express

humanity to the poor.

Through harsh times, money plays a fundamental role in

determining one’s status in society. Without being able to afford a

sturdy living space, many people are forced to live on the streets or

in dilapidated buildings. Unfortunately, with space being limited,

people have nowhere else to go. With the growth of population, as

exhibited in A Christmas Carol, there is an increase in surplus. As

with regarding work houses, Scrooge, without a care, states that,

“If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the

surplus population” (Dickens 15). This directly proves that

economics and surplus are related closely. Dickens has proven

that society needs to take better care of the people around them

and take the time to create social reforms that would secure

them and ensure they have an equal chance to live properly.

Charles Dickens was a man of vision and integrity who used

whatever he saw while living in England to integrate common

happenings into the accounts of his literary works. He believed

that all people have the right to live in equality. If they could not

afford their living space, the government and other people

should be do whatever they can and help those who truly need

it. Dickens shows that through kindness and generosity,

miracles can happen even in the most dire of times.

Unlike a concrete book that can easily be handheld,

preserving digital history is a tricky situation. In case the

technological interface malfunctions or chooses to delete the

stored information, it is best to print a concrete document

out. If it is possible to save data without it disappearing, it

would be helpful to. On a computer it is best to also take a

screen shot to preserve something in case the web URL is

not capable of running the same way as it is when opened.

Also, with the advancements of viruses, it would be wise to

have multiple hard copies that are kept in safe places just

in case. Books can easily fade and tear, but as long as a

digital copy is in hand they can last for several more

generations.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl

View Charles Dickins and “A Christmas Carol” in a larger map

Zoom In

Zoom Out

    
Full Image

Worldle: The Paper Portion

According to Wordle, three words stand out the most: “people,” “Dickens,” and “Scrooge” because during the Victorian Era and after the publication of A Christmas Carol because the theme behind the story is to show that there are numerous people at the time who were considered to be like Scrooge, but Dickens believed that all people are equal in the eyes of society.

Google Ngram Viewer

Scratch is a programming language that is structured in the way in which someone can generate a personalized design of something and allow it to manifest into an image based upon their own ideas. It is a fun and interactive way of creating animations, games, and stories. In addition to its abilities, the creators primary purpose of its creation was for the program to be simple and easy to be learned by young children. However, this is not to say that it can only be simple. This program has the capability for someone to think outside of the box and create something more intricate and more challenging. Because of its diverse appeal to all ages and disciplines it is useful to numerous institutions such as museums, schools, home environment, and many other places. It is useful for students when they want to do a project for school because of its many features that are very adaptable. With each change, the image or document is in constant motion of evolution. A person could start with one figure such as a cat and soon that one image of a cat can become anything such as a movie or story; it is in constant motion. The good thing about this is that the person does not need to have any knowledge on programming since there are directions that shows the person what to do. Similar to any other mass communication, Scratch users are able to communicate with other Scratch users which could allow for collaborative projects. The screen is also a massive space of capabilities. There is a scripting section and a preview window that allows the user to manipulate the objects as a method of testing it before perfecting it along with color-coded modes that could create multiple things. The simple notion of constructing something that is so interactive such as moving a figure a certain amount of steps is a way the program permits ideas to become reality.

I think this is a fun and useful tool for different reasons because it seems to be useful for classes and more animated multimedia enhanced projects. The instructions for this program is interactive all on its own. Its environment is in constant motion because working with it is similar to playing games: by testing every instruction and changing things about it, the user is learning in a more interactive way. Although when someone first opens the screen and is confused by what is visible, the instructions reveal the steps someone would need to take in order to create animations and video games. It is a tool with numerous concepts that provides the user with the chance to create opportunities. By taking the time to read all instructions for it, it might be easier to work with in a frame. Just because it has been said to be simple enough for young children to use, does not make it an instant tool that one could just use on the spot. Once the user can learn everything there is to work with this language program, it can be a useful tool.

Preserving the past in the Digital Age is a necessary way to protect information from disappearing. For example, in the past information was written on acidic paper, paper that would literally melt away within years. Unfortunately, that is a prime reason for why the past has remained unknown.  The only way to preserve information is to somehow get it transferred into the Internet or any other digital location. From the Internet, people are able to read documents that were able to be saved. Digitally, things have been preserved through things such as images and text. In images, someone is able to photoshop a picture to make it look like something else.

In the article “From Babel to Knowledge: Data Mining Large Digital Collections,” the purpose of the article is to describe a process called data mining. The process of data mining is very useful in terms of collecting large amounts of data and analyzing a big part of the data in order to discover a needed pattern regarding the search subject. With an infinite amount of search options, using this method might make searching for things much more faster since everything has already been put into organized categories. An example would be the Syllabus Finder which is a program that detects what something is on the basis of connected terms that go together. For example, someone can tell if something is a syllabi based on specialized key terms such as “reading assignments”, “due dates”, and the “grading scale“. However, it is not completely without any faults, just like any other technological program; it is a work-in-progress that has room for improvement.

In The 2009 Feltron Annual Report, the author describes how a mass communication field is important because it requires other people to voice their opinions. Feltron, himself, monitored who he gave invitations to in order to enter their experiences using text form. Although he felt the information was unorganized, he was able to manipulate the information received to create order including tools such as Processing and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. In The Feltron 2007 Annual Report data is embedded within the digital pages mapping out calculations and data. It is an interesting method that places the pictures according to subject matter.

Such methods of relaying information through networks and online sources is an intricate way to process multiple accounts from numerous people. The designs for many of the reports are different depending on the author. In the past, reports were just plain text. However, in recent times things have changed according to the progress of technology. For example, the usage of statistics has endless possibilities regarding the format.

The article introduces “historical GIS,” or Geographic Information Systems to provide statistical analysis’s of any work to study anything from the past. It is very useful in the function of digital history that allow historians to conduct research. For example, the GIS can create numerous detailed maps and tables to show exactly what a certain location looks like; this idea could be similar to Google Maps in that the viewer is capable of viewing roads and streams that surround it. The GIS can include data revolving on the data on weather, climate, and global patterns. This production of the GIS is very instrumental for historians and anyone else who is fascinated about learning about the world around them, the past, present, and future. I find this an interesting source of information that puts everything possible into one place.

Each of the selected readings has to deal with online security hacking and virtuous destruction, leading up to the eventual demise of a person’s cyber life. For example, in both of Mat Honan’s articles “How Apple and Amazon Security Flaws Led to My Epic Hacking” and “How I got my Digital Life Back” include how his MacBook, Twitter, and other email addresses had been corrupted by hackers who were not shy about admitting to their smug crimes. He describes how his Apple account had been hacked into with the simple knowledge of how easy it appears to have an account hacked. His hacker, Phobia, had blatantly admitted that he used Mr. Honan’s name, address, and the last four digits of his credit card number to contact his AppleCare. Mr. Honan also points out that it was not wise of him to use a specific app that could locate any of his electronic devices, such as his IPhone or MacBook. He describes how easy the process was and how deep it could render someone hopeless, knowing that the ITunes and Amazon company that was meant to safeguard someone’s personal security were, in fact, easily being manipulated from other people who claim they are the correct individual. Mr. Honan admitted that he should not have daisy-chained his Google and iCloud accounts together. By doing so, the hacker was able to easily gain entry to his personal information and “troll” his Twitter account. Although he eventually got partial personal data, such as digital pictures of his family, knowing that he was not safe online has forever changed his belief of the digital world.

I know that once you turn on your brand new computer for the first time, many vital steps have to be completed in order to ensure that everything will be safe and secured. It is best not to put too much personal information online such as providing your credit card account to online venders such as Amazon or other websites. Every school year I try to empty or clean up my computer in order for it to work more efficiently. However, this past summer I took it easy, always telling myself I would clean up my MacBook next weekend. As the weekend came and went, I still procrastinated and pushed this activity to the next weekend. However, after reading these articles, I have begun to clean up my MacBook and back important files up. College is back in session and it vital that I have a computer that can function through those late nights studying. I, as well as many other students, have no time to waste precious time with personal computers. It is best to print every document out and have a hard copy in case something happens. If you put it on a disk, the disk might not open up or the work might be different. For example, unless the computer is able to change a Pages document into a Word file, it will not open and the document might have to be redone..