Thursday, March 19, 2020

The Technology Effect Professor Ramos Blog

The Technology Effect When walking around campus, plaza, or anywhere you see people communicating, not face to face but these people are communicating through their phones. With technology advancing at a fast rate, who is to say that technology is going to help so much that we rely on it for everything that it actually hurts society rather than help it. With facts showing that people in this era rely on technology to socialize with other people because they are socially awkward, also kids growing up with technology in their primary years show to be less active, but rather than using technology for all the wrong reasons, technology can help nurture creative talent. Is technology limiting our creativity? We see people on the daily walking on their phones with their buddies texting each other through their phones rather than look at each other and spit words out their mouth. This is what technology is doing to a lot of people. At this rate people will probably not see sunlight because they will have futuristic robots running errands for them. We have difficulties having normal face to face conversations because our reliance on technology unlike back then when people would go outside and look for those new adventures and enjoy themselves. Technology like ipads, smartphones, video games, and even television is what has replaced our stone age fun. According to the Wall Street Journal, â€Å" A recent Pew Research survey of adults in the U.S found that 71% use Facebook at least occasionally, and 45% of Facebook users check the site several times a day.† Just because they are on this social app it doesn’t make these people social because they are talking to one another throug h a screen with no tone, and no body language and that’s communicating face to face, but however this statistic proves that people are spending far more time on their phones on social media than face to face conversations. Students at Connecticut College, about a total of 112 male and female undergraduate students were surveyed about their social skills, technology use, and social anxiety according to Cecilia Brown from The Department of Psychology. They predicted that the participants who took the survey that used technological communication a lot more than face to face communication or prefered it to face to face communication, would have high social anxiety and low social skills and came out to be right. According to Cecilia brown not only people in schools, outside activity, etc employers are complaining about the workers lack of interpersonal communication skills they have, and communication skills have on a rapidly rate to the top of the list of qualities required of employees. At work where we should all be working as a team communicating to one another rather than waiting for one another to say something or just being flat out weird. Looking at ourselves and how we grew up in the past, we grew up with our imagination and outdoor activity. Nowadays you see families stop their babies from crying with technology, and these kids aren’t watching Elmo or any type of educational videos. They are watching kids play with toys or watching kids play videogames and this blows my mind to this day. According to The Telegraph children are entering a â€Å"tragic decline† from the age of seven, with activity levels dropping from K-6th grade. Kids in this era have come to a â€Å"digital dependence†, fitness experts claim it will shorten lives with sedentary lifestyles, which means they will live lives with little to no activity at all. People who live these sedentary lifestyles are often lying down or sitting while engaged with an activity such as television, video games, or their mobile device. Head of ukactive Kids, Jack Shakespeare, said â€Å"Physical inactivity is society’s silent killer and big gest tragedy is that it’s creeping up on our children before they’ve even left the playground.† He believes to fix this is a â€Å"cultural shift† to protect inactive generation from a lifetime of health problems and creativity. Instead of using technology for the wrong reasons because you are bored and want to pass time, technology can be used to be educationally inclined if used correctly. It can be used to be exposed to new things, ask questions, tune in to the right distractions, brainstorming using digital tools, even things like blogging can have an effective way for the development of creative thinking and writing. According to Bentley University because of technology it gives entrepreneurs the power to fund their dreams via group funding platforms, also gives students the opportunity to learn new skills with professors and classmates remotely. As long as you are maintaining a balanced lifestyle between technology and creativeness outside of technology use, it will only help each one of us to become the best person we can be. In conclusion, technology is one of the great things we have today in this era and if not used correctly can have us humans live that socially awkward life, even have our kids less active so therefore giving them the possibility to having sedentary lifestyles, but if used correctly can help boost our knowledge on anything we set our minds too. To fix such problems its starts from the parents, will you be the change? Work Cited   N., Viraj. â€Å"Technology Is Making Us Socially Awkward.† The Day Creek Howl, 13 Mar. 2017, https://daycreekhowl.org/4168/arts-entertainment/technology-is-making-us-socially-awkward/. Brown, Cecilia, Are We Becoming More Socially Awkward? An Analysis of the Relationship Between Technological Communication Use and Social Skills in College Students. (2013). Psychology Honors Papers. 40. http://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/psychhp/40 â€Å"How Technology Is Boosting Your Creativity.† Bentley University, 19 Oct. 2018, www.bentley.edu/news/how-technology-boosting-your-creativity. Donnelly, Laura. â€Å"Children Become Less Active from the Age of Just Seven, Major Study Finds.† The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 14 Mar. 2017, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/14/children-become-less-active-age-just-seven-major-study-finds/.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Genealogy Research in Great Britain

Genealogy Research in Great Britain Once youve explored as much of your family tree as you can online, its time to head to Britain and the land of your ancestors. Nothing can compare to visiting the places where your ancestors once lived, and on-site research offers access to a variety of records that arent available elsewhere.   England Wales: If your family tree leads you to England or Wales, then London is a good place to start your research. This is where youll find most of Englands major repositories. Most people begin with the Family Records Centre, jointly operated by the General Register Office and the National Archives, as it holds the original indexes to the births, marriages and deaths registered in England and Wales from 1837. There are also other collections available for research, such as death duty registers, census returns and the Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills. If your short on research time, however, most of these records can also be searched online (most for a fee) in advance of your trip. Located within walking distance of the Family Records Centre, the library of the Society of Genealogists in London is another excellent place to start your search for British ancestry. Here youll find many published family histories and the largest collection of transcribed parish registers in England. The library also has census records for all of the British Isles, city directories, poll lists, wills, and an advice desk where you can get expert suggestions on how and where to continue your research. The National Archives in Kew, outside of London, has many records that are not available elsewhere, including nonconformist church records, probates, letters of administration, military records, taxation records, association oath rolls, maps, parliamentary papers, and court records. This is generally not the best place to start your research, but is a must-visit for anyone looking to follow up clues found in more basic records such as census enumerations and parish registers. The National Archives, which covers England, Wales and the central UK government, is especially important for anyone researching members of the armed forces. Before you visit, be sure to check out their online catalog and comprehensive research guides. Other important research repositories in London include the Guildhall Library, home to the parish records of the City of London and records of city guilds; the British Library, most notable for its manuscripts and Oriental and India Office collections; and the London Metropolitan Archives, which houses records of metropolitan London. For further Welsh research, the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth is the main center for family history research in Wales. There you will find copies of parish registers and family collections of deeds, pedigrees and other genealogical material, as well as all wills proved in the Welsh diocesan courts. The twelve County Record Offices of Wales hold copies of the indexes for their respective areas, and most also hold microfilm copies of records such as census returns. Most also hold their local parish registers dating back to 1538 (including some that arent also kept at the National Library of Wales).   Scotland: In Scotland, most of the main national archives and genealogical repositories are housed in Edinburgh. This is where youll find the General Register Office of Scotland, which holds civil birth, marriage and death records from 1 January 1855, plus census returns and parish registers. Next door, the National Archives of Scotland preserves a host of genealogical material, including wills and testaments from the 16th century to the present day. Just down the road lies the National Library of Scotland where you can search trade and street directories, professional directories, family and local histories and an extensive map collection. The Library and Family History Centre of the Scottish Genealogy Society is also located in Edinburgh, and houses a unique collection of family histories, pedigrees and manuscripts.   Go Local Once youve explored the national and specialist repositories, the next stop is generally the county or municipal archive. This is also a good place to start if your time is limited and you are definite about the area where your ancestors lived. Most county archives include microfilm copies of national records, such as certificate indexes and census records, as well as important county collections, such as local wills, land records, family papers and parish registers. ARCHON, hosted by the National Archives, includes contact details for archives and other record repositories within the UK. Check the regional directory to find county archives, university archives and other unique resources in your area of interest.   Explore Your History Be sure to leave time on your journey to visit the places where your ancestors once lived, and explore the history of your family. Use census and civil registration records to identify the addresses where your ancestors resided, take a trip to their parish church or the cemetery where they are buried, enjoy dinner in a Scottish castle, or visit a specialty archive or museum to learn more about how your ancestors lived. Look for interesting stops such as the National Coal Museum in Wales; the West Highland Museum in Fort William, Scotland; or the National Army Museum in Chelsea, England. For those with Scottish roots, Ancestral Scotland offers a number of clan-themed iteneraries to help you walk in your ancestors footsteps.