Media Convergence Initiative

Finding the Right Spot: How a Student Found Study Solace

Posted on February 24, 2014 by felicia saunders

Where are you most productive? Do you need to work in total quiet or do you like some background noise? Sometimes I end up in the most awkward places at the most inconvenient times in search of a productive hour or more. I’m sure we’ve all been there before. As a freshman, I was used to studying at home (what little I did) but when I came to the University of Central Florida, the game completely changed.

In my first few months I tried it all. I felt like Goldilocks. The bottom floor of the library was too busy, and all the upper floors were to quiet. I’d get a dirty look just for walking up there. The Student Union is of course organized chaos and fighting for a seat wasn’t worth suffering through three chapters of American Government. I felt the same about the bookstore, with the added obligation to buy something.

The worst spot for me was my dorm room. I loved my roommate, but he didn’t know quiet. He and his girlfriend were often in and out during all hours of the night. The squealing of the hinges and eventual slam of the door on his way out were nails to my chalkboard. He taught me all about EDM. I like it…in small doses…particularly not during homework time. This brought me to the doors of All Knight Study. Like an Immigrant to Ellis Island. Tired and Weary at 5am. The lounge feel was great…for a while.

Suddenly it became too loud and crowded. Without a desk in front of me, I was quick to turn to other distractions. Soon I moved off campus and All Knight Study was too inconvenient for me. I needed to be near my classes. Thus began my love affair with the Collaboration Lab in Tech Commons. It’s quiet because everyone’s on a computer, but not too quiet. It has a great central location, and desks! I’ve been frequenting the spot for a while, but even now my tastes are changing, and I think I’ve found another exclusive study spot hidden away somewhere else.

Posted in Education | Tagged Campus, Commons, Habits, On, Places, Quiet, Reading, student, Students, Study, studying, tech, UCF, University of Central Florida, Writing | Comments Off

Zello app explodes in popularity among Venezuelan and Ukrainian protestors

Posted on February 24, 2014 by brianbachman

Zello has been swelling in popularity over the past few days as protests in Venezuela and Ukraine reach historical sizes. This little app run by a company in Austin, Texas is helping to fuel protests that could change the world. It is currently the most downloaded app in Ukraine and growing massively in popularity in Venezuela despite an attempted block from the government.

This app which was invented in 2011 allows users to creat custom channel where a couple, dozen, or even thousands of people can be invited to join. Through Zello, much like walkie talkies, multiple people can speak with each other over large distances.

The app is useful to protesters because it provides an easy to use multi-channel walkie talkie way of communicating. As long as they have a mobile broadband connection, protester groups can move strategically by relaying information over the push to talk channels Zello provides.

As it grew in popularity the Venezuelan government caught on and began blocking service to it through their government owned internet service provider. Zello’s twitter than began to receive complaints from protesters in another part of the world. Zello than began working with protesters inside Venezuela to figure out and circumvent the ban.

This event reminds us of how social media sparked the events now known as the Arab spring, where people for the first time used the internet to overthrow their abusive governments. 450,000 people in Velenzuela belong to the most popular chat channel in their country, showing just how powerful a little app can be in uniting its people.

Posted in Politics, War and Conflicts, World News | Tagged apps, civil war, War | Comments Off

Is Social Media a Platform for Revolution?

Posted on February 24, 2014 by grichards

Over the last couple of days I noticed that people constantly resort to social media (Facebook, Twitter,YouTube, etc) to share stories regarding social change. It made me wonder if the ability of voicing one’s opinion through social media is enough to cause an impact on government action. I have always thought the marketplace of ideas doesn’t always offer the best idea, but instead the idea that is supported by the most people. So I thought it would be interesting to see how not only our government but all governments in the world react to the new tool available to citizens. Would the best ideas rise to the top?

An excellent example is what is going on in Venezuela. People are protesting their government’s actions through social media use. In addition, citizens protest in the streets. The situation has grown to a volatile state, you can find videos in the internet that was uploaded by witnesses. The footage shows S.W.A.T law enforcement beating up protestors and even opening fire on civilians. The protesting civilians hope to gain the attention of the United Nations in order to bring peace back to the country.

I hope this incident doesn’t reflect the overall image of social media as a tool for the public. We live in a world where everyone should be heard.

Posted in General | Comments Off

New Drug Test Can Detect Over 500 Drugs Using a Single Urine Sample

Posted on February 24, 2014 by rhinopm

There has been a major advance in drug detecting technology as Uwe Christians turns over new leaves in mass spectrometry. Current urine sample tests can be misleading or simply wrong. Other tests take different types of samples, like blood, hair, saliva, and sweat. Of all the options, urine tests offer the most simple as well as being able to detect drugs in a reasonable time frame.

Christian’s original plan was to use the mass spectrometer to identify steroids and hormones in urine, he planned on marketing it to sports organizations. He found though that this was too much of a niche market. With the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado, he decided that he could put his technology to good use. In order to make the test marketable, he had to find a way to take the massive amounts of data that the machine generates, and process it into usable information. The machine is able to identify compounds in 500 different drugs, from over the counter medications, to illicit drugs.

What this means is that employers will be able to require drug tests for their employees, and this new technology can tell them more than just if they’ve taken drugs in the past week. The test will be able to tell if a person is a regular user of illegal or legal drugs. It can also identify which prescriptions a person takes, which brings concern because employers might use this information to decide if they want to hire someone with mental health issues or are casual drug users. I think this is great news because it will hold people to higher standards, and maybe help combat the rampant use of illegal drugs in America.

Posted in Business, Science and Technology | Tagged Colorado, Drug Test, Spectrometry, Urine Test | Comments Off

10-ton Australian icon stolen overnight gains worldwide attention

Posted on February 24, 2014 by jfishpaugh

Australia is known to be the land of ‘big things’. From the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour, the Big Merino in Goulburn, or the Big Guitar in Tamworth, there is over 150 big things around Australia. The novelty sculptures were built from 1960s as tourist attractions and have developed into a famous phenomenon, or at least an excuse for a road trip.

Over the weekend, the Big Mango was stolen during a late night heist from the small Queensland town of Bowen and has drawn media attention from around the world. The 3-storey tall, 10-ton sculpture was removed with the use of a heavy machinery crane and left many people baffled. The bizarre event attracted nationwide news coverage to the mango-producing capital of Australia and the big mango has since been located in bushes behind the Bowen Tourist Information Centre.

Paul Mclaughlin, Bowen Tourism board chairman revealed that he had truthfully stated that he was not involved in the disappearance of the sculpture, however he was in on the plan. Once it was found uncovered, he admitted that it was staged PR stunt and the culprit was a local fast food restaurant.

In a statement, the management team of the fast food restaurant, Nandos said they promised to “take good care of the mango, and would return it to its rightful position soonish.”

As a result of the stunt, Bowen has attracted worldwide media attention, particularly online where the story went viral on social media. It definitely positively promoted the town on a large scale in a way that advertising could have never achieved. Well played Bowen, well played.

Posted in Entertainment, General, Odd News, World News | Comments Off

To Work or Study: The choose to work while going to school and the consequences of doing so

Posted on February 24, 2014 by lauren gould

As we know, the prices of school have shown a steady increase in the last few years with no sign of slowing down. Students sometimes have to work to put themselves through college, but doing so comes at a price. Some are forced to by circumstance while others simply want to start making money. There are trade offs for both that lead some to make a choice in a no win scenario.

Students who do not have to work have the advantage of either finding a job to garner some money, or just focus on their studies. While most use their time to socialize and sleep, others need it when it comes to harder classes that require many hours outside of the classroom to study and pass their classes. Some professors see their classes as jobs in themselves, and therefore offer little support or understanding when students have to choose between work or class. However, more schools and universities have more lenient policies regarding students, as many have been in a similar situation themselves.

One of the upsides to working, however, is the experience that students gain from their jobs that can help them with finding a job in their field of study, as most companies entry level positions require a minimum of five years experience. It’s a tough choose between work and school, however, if one can not succeed in the classroom while working, the minimum wage job has less of a future than a college degree, and the student must make the best decision for themselves, regardless of the immediate consequences.

Posted in Economy, Education, General | Comments Off

nuSTAR Telescope Explores Supernovas

Posted on February 24, 2014 by jessica_houts

Cassiopeia A, a star that is eight times the mass of our sun, exploded into a supernova some years ago. Scientists have been eager to explore the inner depths of the explosion but have not had the technology to do so. the nuSTAR telescope takes the scientists deeper into the reaction and have found remnants of titanium which is why we can still see it’s light on earth. This telescope has found traces of x-rays in the core of this supernova explosion which have baffled current scientists. However, even today scientists do not know how exactly a supernova explosion works but they do know that it could eventually affect earth. The mass array of light and energy shot out into space has been known to destroy solar systems. Supernovas happen when stars die and their energy collapses making a giant explosion in space.

The nuSTAR telescope has developed a new theory for scientists which is that supernovas hold just as much radioactive titanium as iron since they can see deeper into the explosion. The new and improved telescope has helped with showing the science and physics that make up the biggest explosions of all time. The radioactive ash that the supernova produces has been available for the first time for nuSTAR which now scientists can detect high-energy x-rays since they haven’t before. Since the universe is expanding our technology is also expanding and will continue to fascinate even the smartest scientists of today.

Posted in Science and Technology | Comments Off

Mixed Feelings of a NASCAR Fan, Part 3: Dale, Jr. Wins Daytona, History is Made

Posted on February 24, 2014 by wnmcelveen

Perfectly tying into my previous two posts, in which I spoke to why I nearly lost my love for NASCAR racing, and what roped me back in for another year before I said goodbye for good, this past week has made NASCAR history and shown promise for the future of the sport.

Tradition was already on NASCAR’s side this year, as I mentioned in my previous post, due to the return of the number 3 car, most famously driven by late NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, Sr., who passed away in a last lap crash of the 2001 Daytona 500. The number 3 car hasn’t been in a Sprint Cup race since that day. But now, driven by Earnhardt’s best friend and ‘brother’ Richard Childress’s grandson, Austin Dillion, the 3 car has returned to Sprint Cup racing. Dillion started the Daytona 500 on the pole (in 1st place for racing novices), marking the first time the 3 car had started on the pole at Daytona since 1996.

With Dillion on the pole, the 2014 Daytona 500 got off to a perfect start Sunday afternoon, with 38 laps of racing before rain moved into the area. After severe weather and a nearly six and a half hour rain delay, the race resumed under the lights in primetime.

After the rain delay, as one driver noted after the race, it seemed like everyone ‘flipped to shootout mode’. No one played it safe, it was all out bumping, sideswiping, three-wide, edge-of-your-seat racing nearly the entire rest of the night. As a result, there was no shortage of good crashes either, including one that took out the number 10 car of fan favorite Danica Patrick, the only female driver in NASCAR at the moment and the first woman to ever lead a lap of the 500, spinning her nose first hard into the wall.

In the closing laps, NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhart, Jr. was leading after choosing to stay out in a pit-strategy gamble that left him short on fuel. There were two cautions in the last 20 laps, giving Jr. a break, allowing him to save fuel. The second caution extended past the 500 mile mark of the race, leading to a ‘Green-White-Checkered’ finish (NASCAR’s version of overtime, one green flag lap, followed by the white flag last lap before the checkered flag ends the race). During that caution, Jr. picked up a piece of debris from the accident, sticky-tape that attached itself to the opening grille of his car. Under most circumstances, this would be disastrous, however, with only two laps to go, it actually helped Jr. by creating more downforce on the car. Jr. held on to the lead during the restart, and during the white flag lap, coming to the checkered flag, there was a massive crash behind Jr. bringing out a final caution flag, but as per NASCAR’s rule, once the white flag flies, the next flag ends the race. The running order was frozen at the moment of caution, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. officially takes the checkered flag. His victory marks the end of a year and a half long winless streak.

In a historic Daytona 500, the outcome couldn’t have been more poetic. In the race that his dad’s number 3 car returned not only to Sprint Cup, but also the pole, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won his second Daytona 500, exactly 10 years after winning his first. Jr. is only the 11th driver in history to win the 500 more than once, a feat that his father, ‘The Intimidator’, couldn’t achieve.

The only major trophy missing from Jr.’s collection is a Sprint Cup Championship, and this victory at the 500 has put him in a great position to make that happen this year. Last year’s Daytona 500 winner, Jimmie Johnson, went on to win the Cup, could that happen again this year for Jr.?

For me, as a Jr. fan myself, I couldn’t be more excited about this season of NASCAR. Between the changes I mentioned in my previous posts and the events of the past week, I see the potential for this to be the most exciting season in years.

Posted in Entertainment, Sports | Comments Off

Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill can imprison gay people for life!!

Posted on February 24, 2014 by chrisba1986

This evening the president of Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni, expressed to CNN how he is disgusted by homosexuals. After signing an anti-homosexuality bill that made homosexuality laws tougher on gays in Uganda President Museveni said, that he had commissioned a group of Ugandan government scientists to study whether homosexuality is “learned,” or some sort of a genetic distortion you were born with concluding that it is a matter of choice. In addition, it was after he concluded that it was by choice that he believed it was right to pass this bill which is much tougher on some homosexual acts by making them punishable by life in prison.

President Museveni said that “Homosexual is unnatural and inhuman.” He stated that he was regarding it as an inborn problem, Genetic distortion and that was his only argument. But now that scientists have knocked this one out, there was no question as to why it should be accepted as humane.” The National institute of Health wrote an open letter to the Uganda Scientist in New York last week urging them to reconsider and revise their report. Among scientist’s responses to President Museveni’s anti-homosexuality law, scientist Dean Hamer at the National Institutes of Health stated that, “There is no scientific evidence that homosexual orientation is a learned behavior any more than is heterosexual orientation.” I believe this bill is unfair and irrational, in addition i cannot believe that although third world countries may be a little far behind on certain aspects like, technology, news, electricity and ect. that it would have such a closed minded and unfair president that would pass such a bill to punish his own people for simply liking someone of the same sex.

This bill was introduced in 2009 and originally included a death penalty clause for some homosexual acts. The nation’s Parliament passed the bill in December, replacing the death penalty provision with a proposal of life in prison for “aggravated homosexuality.”The bill also proposed prison terms for anyone who counsels or reaches out to gays and lesbians, a provision that could ensnare rights groups and others providing services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. In conclusion, I feel like as a nation that stands up for justice, peoples individual rights, freedom of human rights, speech, self expression, discrimination, privacy, religion and so forth we must some how come together and try to help third world countries like Uganda with leaders that are so close-minded as to criminalize homosexuality that may end their own country by violating their peoples human rights and as a result may end turning its own people on them and make matters worst. The U.S is not only a nation that stands up for peoples justice but it is also a country that has the power to set an example for leaders like President Museveni in order to try to impose world peace by helping the foundation of a nation which is indeed its people.

Posted in Environment, General, Health, Politics, War and Conflicts, World News | Comments Off

Recreational Marijuana Bill Pushed by a Local Legislator for it to Become Legalized

Posted on February 24, 2014 by the one and only

Further in the year, voters in Florida will decide whether to legalize medical marijuana but now there is a local lawmaker that wants a bill to be able to smoke pot for fun to go through. Washington and Colorado are the only two states in the United States that allow people to use marijuana for “non-medical” purposes. Legislator Randolph Bracy wants Florida to do the same as Colorado and Washington.

Randolph Bracy wrote a 54-page bill and he says: “Currently we have no oversight as to what’s going on with this product.” Bracy represents District 45 in legislative in Florida. What Bracy calls for in the bill is, oversight and regulation, not allowing the possession and sale by people under the age of 21 and he wants to create a fund that is an enforcement trust that marijuana sales could pay for this fund. The fund would be paid through the marijuana sale.

Channel 9 exposed people in California on November 2013 that would claim medical aliments in order to obtain pot and this was easier for them to buy marijuana despite anything because they had a paper from the doctor that allows them to buy medical marijuana. Randolph Bracy wants Florida to meet the same issue to create that check’s and balances to stop the people from cheating the system. When it comes down to marijuana, it is a very tricky subject to speak about because a lot of people want it legalized in Florida and they at the same time, there are some people that do not want that too happen.

The mentality that Bracy has is that the marijuana would no longer be in the hands of the drug dealers but would now be in the hands of actual legitimate business owners. The legislator knows that this might not make it just yet to the polls (recreational marijuana use) but that sooner or later, Florida will pass the law for people to be able to use marijuana for recreational use. I am sure that people in Florida would try to vote for this because it has been talked about for a very long time and two states already passed the law so why shouldn’t Florida be the next state to have this? We will find out what happens later on this year and take it from there.

Posted in Odd News | Comments Off