Medical Devices

My research paper is focusing on the advantages of wireless medical technology and how it helps to lower the cost of health care, overall. Many of the population now own smart phones and so technologists have created devices and applications that can be attached to them.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1691146/how-wireless-technology-will-change-global-health

This image was used to advertise this device for diabetic patients. This specific device monitors blood sugar through an application on the smart phone. The image I found showcases three separate images of the device to enhance the features as well as generate curiosity for potential customers. The angle on the bottom right hand corner gives the customers a general idea of how the device looks as well as illustrates the size of this device. It shows that it is small and can easily fit inside somebody’s pocket. The top right hand corner’s angle of the device shows the extension of where the diabetic patient would have to place their blood to get a reading. Any person can look at that image and would not be confused as for what the device is used for – it clearly illustrates that the purpose of the device is to read blood sugar levels. At the same time, the customer can look at the site of attachment to the smartphone and recognize it to only be compatible to iPhones. iPhone’s are universally known and anybody looking at this image would realize that this is a device used for a cell phone, even without any text on their to explain it. On the iPhone, they have a screenshot image of the application to illustrate the functions of the device, rather than listing them out in text on the side.  

This image has a white background so that the main focus can be the device. At the same time, the simplicity of this advertisement does not create any confusion for the customers. It is crisp and clean in the information presented – it does not show more than what the customers need.

TV Shows

Many of the TV shows I grew up watching (Full House, Boy Meets World, Fresh Prince of Bellaire) had a moral or lesson taught in them. The episodes would play out a story where the audience could connect with the characters and kind of ‘learn’ from their mistakes. They were more family friendly and appropriate for everybody. However, these days TV show’s jokes in sitcoms center around sex and makes it inappropriate to watch around children (even on Nickelodeon and Disney).

It is interesting to see how the new generation’s TV shows have changed and it makes me wonder why. The old shows dealt with the same issues as the new TV shows but they just were not shown as explicitly or as openly. I have a younger sister and my parents are always worried about what she is watching, because children are easily influenced. There are issues that can be understood at certain ages and I do not think having children exposed to certain issues at an earlier age will allow them to full comprehend the meaning. Sure it does no harm for them to get exposed to it, but they probably will not know what is right or wrong without because they are not mature enough to make that judgment yet.

Festival of Colors

One of the things I love about the Indian culture is their extravagant festivals. Any festival celebrated in India is over the top – everything from the music to their attire to the food cooked is done with lavishness. This Wednesday, on March 27^th, was the festival called ‘Holi’, also known as a festival of colors. This is a huge festival that is celebrated all over the country to mark the beginning of spring. During this event, participants all wear white clothing and throw colored powder at each other. At the end of this event, you will not know the difference between yourself and the person standing next to you. This illustrates the other significance of Holi – it brings people of different backgrounds together to show that we are not all that different from each other.

Many of the festivals in India are in honor of the arrival of different seasons and have a great social significance but many times they also have religious influence. For example, the celebration of Holi also celebrates the conquering of good over evil. It has me wondering of how in India the religious and cultural aspects are intermixed and one aspect has an influence on the other. 

All though I am not in India to celebrate this festival, various cities are hosting this event and an organization at Texas A&M hosts this event every year and this year it will be on April 7^th from 12 – 4 pm on Simpson Drill Field. The whole event is free and is a tonne of fun. Just wanted to let you know if you wanted to come! 

Writing as a Foundation

When I lived in India, I attended Canadian International School (CIS) – this school had students from all over the world but the curriculum was based on the Canadian school system. My dad had my sister and I attend this school because he knew we would return to America in a couple of years and he wanted to make sure we would get an education that was close to the American curriculum.

I was back in Houston, TX for my eighth grade. While I was in CIS, I was one of the top students in my English class – I had good writing skills and could detect the basic structures and elements in English. We had to have introductory paragraphs, body paragraphs, and a conclusion but the writing style was freer. However, once I started my English class in eighth grade, we were asked to analyze books and write essays that analyzed the author’s techniques that were utilized to convey his message by using support from the novel. This formula of essay writing was completely new to me and I had trouble in writing this style of essays. I could analyze the book and understand the author’s message but I had issue in elaborating the author’s message in my essay. I thought providing direct quotes from the author’s book was sufficient in providing my analysis but I would always have my teachers urging me to elaborate more on my essays.

As I got into high school, my English classes were always focused on writing essays that revolved around providing analysis of an author’s work. Very rarely were we required to write narratives or poems (creative writing) of our own. I believe these writing styles are important as it builds on a person’s writing skills as well as their verbal skills that is useful in their life later on.

Hocus Pocus

I read an article on CNN about the witch culture in Romania. There are communities of witches and gypsies that the Romanian government is embarrassed of but many local civilians seek out the assistance of witches for various matters. They go to witches to ask for advice and talk to them about any problems they may be facing. In the article, one person said it does not matter whether or not the witch can really perform magic, it just provides comfort for many people to have somebody listen to them and support them – that is their ‘magic’. In Romania, the people are afraid to approach a psychiatrist or psychologist to get help because they do not want to be labeled ‘crazy’ but it is normal to have the witch’s aid.

I found this article very interesting because of the contrast between the American and Romanian perspectives of witches. In American culture, the witches are pictured in Hollywood movies and inspire Halloween costumes; they are often times the villain in many fairy tales and movies. You would be considered ‘crazy’ for seeking help from a witch or participating in any witch rituals and quite normal for seeking help from a psychiatrist. However in Romania, many seek a witch's assistance and are rather their 'hero' or 'mentor'. This article is a perfect example of showing how each country and region has their own practices and views on various subjects that distinguishes one culture from the other.

What do you think about this?

http://cnnphotos.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/01/witch-reveals-heart-of-roma/?hpt=hp_c1

Life Experiences

Our discussion of the various purposes of story telling during class this week got me thinking on the kind of stories that are shared in my family. Many times, when my parents get together with their siblings, they reminisce on their childhood – talking about their old neighborhood and college days. At the same time, academics are a major part of my family’s life as my dad has come from a family of prestigious lawyers. Since the age of 9, my dad would repeatedly tell me the story of how he came to America and the struggle he endured to get to where he is today. Usually, I would just nod my head while zoning out to what he was saying or groan whenever he would start telling his story.  

There’s the saying ‘actions speak louder than words’ and this statement definitely applies to this situation. To fully understand or empathize with the struggles another person has been through, one must have experienced it on their own. Our parents give us advice based on their past experiences, but one can not fully grasp the importance of their message unless you personally go through it on your own.  As I am in college right now and trying to pursue a career in my passion, I know understand my dad’s struggle. Who knows – one day I might be telling me story to my kids and they will be rolling their eyes at me too.

Do your parents try to give you advice through their stories as well?

Should we make movies based off of books?

I have been a book nerd from the earliest time I can remember. Whenever I would go to a bookstore I would search for the fattest book I could find and read it. Reading is relaxing for me – I can escape into the book and forget about my problems for a little while. I can get lost in the character’s world and the problems they face; in other words, I use my imagination while reading. These days, I feel like movies have taken over the role of books. On top of that, books are being remade into movies.

While reading from General/Kress/Hayles, it got me thinking on how media affects our imagination when movie makers base movies off of books. I believe taking a book and turning it into a movie has a couple of disadvantages. Many times, the director’s make the movie from their perspective and what they imagine it to be. This can skew the author’s original message that he/she was intending to make. People who have read the book and watched the remake of the movie are commonly disappointed with the movie. This is because no movie can make up for an individual’s imagination and how they pictured the book in their head. An example would be the Harry Potter series. By movies being created off of books, it allows the younger generation to watch the movie rather than sitting down and reading the book. It starts to remove the ability of a child to imagining things for their own but rather starts to have their imagination based off of what the director and movie makers produce.

Do you think having books made into movies has more gains than losses or vice versa? Comment below!