This song is a parody of the famous "Tik Tok" song by Ke$ha. This parody works because the song that they decided to change was a hit that a lot of people are familiar with. The people that created this piece only changed the lyrics of the original. They kept the same beat and melodies of Ke$ha's original song. This parody appeals to the audience (particularly a young audience) by making fun of the famous Mtv character, Snooki. The song consistently makes fun of the famous characteristics of Snooki's character on the show, The Jersey Shore. As a group we feel that the group that created this parody did do a good job of changing every word in the song to make it a work of their own. However, this song could still be in trouble for copyright and plagarism because they used, and did not change the background music of the song.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Copyright Infringement
With the new technology bombarding us daily it is hard to keep up with copyright laws in the first place. However, with the people on sites such as YouTube taking advantage of new technology to create new or change existing works the person who created the original work would have a hard time keeping track. But, are these works really copyright infringement? It's hard to say. However, people like the Gregory Brothers are changing every aspect of the work, even the tone of the voice being spoken. Yes, the persons speech is copyrighted but that is the only thing that can be said to be theirs. So in that light it seems that the work created is not copyright infringement because it is not the original work but a new one all together. Most modern art can be put into the same argument. Does the artist have to pay John Deere because they use an emblem of the deer in their work? That is why we believe that it is not copyright infringement because it is a new work and it is their idea.
The first sign of copyright was in 1709, the British Statute of Anne. The copyright laws began with the printing of books, and only applied to copying books. As time progressed we discovered that many other works deserved to be protected under copyright laws. Maps, photographs, movies, music, paintings, and any other pieces of work that are considered personal creativity became protected under the copyright laws. Copyright did not protect ideas.
The first sign of copyright was in 1709, the British Statute of Anne. The copyright laws began with the printing of books, and only applied to copying books. As time progressed we discovered that many other works deserved to be protected under copyright laws. Maps, photographs, movies, music, paintings, and any other pieces of work that are considered personal creativity became protected under the copyright laws. Copyright did not protect ideas.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
As Americans, we see many moral issues with child labor and sweatshops. This stems from the fact that at one point in tiime, children in America worked on the assembly lines and in the factories. They would lose limbs and be scarred for the rest of their lives. Pay wages were low, hours were incredibly long with no breaks, and the companies had free reign with no labor laws.
As we progressed through the industrial revolution, the working environment improved slowly. Workers began to protest, which led to child labor laws, minimum wage, and many other labor laws. Almost a century later, we have completely reversed those practices, and have created safe working environments beneficial to both the company and its employees.
A developing country cannot simply skip its own industrial revolution. It has to experience the growing pains just like America did. Eventually, the country will begin to set up its own labor laws as economic growth occurs. Economic growth leads to raised living standards, along with working standards. In some developing countries, a family cannot survive unless every family member works. They are desperate, just like an American family in the early 20th century. Until the family can survive on the parent's income alone, child labor is a necessity.
Outright banishment of child labor and/or sweatshops would force the unemployed to find other, likely illegal, sources of income. Prostitution, the drug trade, and theft are several ways to make money fast. For some families, sending their children to work is the last option. Taking away that option would be a devastating mistake and would make illegal sources of income that much more tempting.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Topic 2 Sweatshops Draft
From what we have learned by reading the two articles we have come to the conclusion that there is not a clear answer to the sweatshop debate. There are definite pros and cons to the argument. One side is motivated, as a consumer, to support the sweatshops to permit children to make money. The other side of the debate argues that as consumers we should not support these sweatshops so that we can prevent the children from the harsh working conditions.
No matter what side of the argument both sides have certain responsibilities. As consumers against sweatshops the best way to make a significant change would be to advocate fair wages and acceptable safety standards in their workplace. On the other side we should be knowledgeable of the processes and procedures that go on behind the scenes.
Both sides of the argument should keep in mind where their clothes are being made. If a person is in favor of sweatshops and wants them to prosper then they should, to some point, avoid contributing to the market in developed countries and purchase clothes from companies that are notorious for using sweatshop factories. Same thing goes for those against sweatshops. These people should buy clothes from countries that are developed and do not use sweatshops.
Our group has agreed that as a whole we do support the sweatshops. Barboza's article used examples of children being kidnapped and forced into the sweatshop labor. The evidence that Barboza presents is a great point, but as a group we have decided that the kidnapping of children from their families does not compare to the pain and suffering that the children go through when they are forced to sell drugs and prostitution to survive. To help the situation, anti sweatshop organizations could focus on gaining rights and better working conditions for the workers.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
What are your earliest memories of reading?
Nathan:
My earliest memories of learning to read come from my kindergarten class. I remember reading through several sound and small word books as a child in kindergarten. Some I found hilarious, others difficult, but it was not long before I could sound out them all. I believe we would have just a few pages to read, which really meant we read about 20 words or sounds. Beyond that, I remember beginning to understand when a teacher was mad at me or another student. Teachers were always intimidating when I was younger. Teachers were possibly stricter at my school though, because I attended a Christian school through sixth grade. I also remember learning to sense when something was wrong, either around my family, friends, or anyone else. Most of my learning experiences I can recall happened when I was in school or checking out books from the library.
Dean:
The earliest memory I have of learning to read and write was before kindergarten. I was trying to write my name and my mom showed me how to do it. I then pushed myself to learn the alphabet out of shear competitiveness with my sister. She knew her ABC’s and I didn’t. After learning the ABC’s I tried to apply it to my normal everyday speech, I did not know however, that English, the language I grew up around, had so many rules. I would spell things such as; fon for phone, tok for talk, and moter for motor. This way of learning caused me to learn how to write before reading, which definitions are a must and forced my vocabulary to skyrocket. So, even though I read much slower than my kindergarten class, I was the only student using words like; enthusiastic, phenomenal, and even indubitably. This system I feel worked well for me, but I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone because my boring childhood had a factor in the way I turned out today. That is why people don’t like to stand too close to me.
Scott:
I do not particularly remember the first time I began to read fluently, but I do remember that when I was in kindergarten I had a speech impediment and was required to read from flash cards with an instructor once a week. I remember feeling different from the rest of the class and therefore resenting reading. I eventually grew out of my speech impediment and once I did, reading became enjoyable. I remember my favorite books to read were the Dr. Seuss books. My grandmother rented them from the library, and she would then read them to me. My learning how to read ultimately brought me closer to her.
Nathan:
My earliest memories of learning to read come from my kindergarten class. I remember reading through several sound and small word books as a child in kindergarten. Some I found hilarious, others difficult, but it was not long before I could sound out them all. I believe we would have just a few pages to read, which really meant we read about 20 words or sounds. Beyond that, I remember beginning to understand when a teacher was mad at me or another student. Teachers were always intimidating when I was younger. Teachers were possibly stricter at my school though, because I attended a Christian school through sixth grade. I also remember learning to sense when something was wrong, either around my family, friends, or anyone else. Most of my learning experiences I can recall happened when I was in school or checking out books from the library.
Dean:
The earliest memory I have of learning to read and write was before kindergarten. I was trying to write my name and my mom showed me how to do it. I then pushed myself to learn the alphabet out of shear competitiveness with my sister. She knew her ABC’s and I didn’t. After learning the ABC’s I tried to apply it to my normal everyday speech, I did not know however, that English, the language I grew up around, had so many rules. I would spell things such as; fon for phone, tok for talk, and moter for motor. This way of learning caused me to learn how to write before reading, which definitions are a must and forced my vocabulary to skyrocket. So, even though I read much slower than my kindergarten class, I was the only student using words like; enthusiastic, phenomenal, and even indubitably. This system I feel worked well for me, but I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone because my boring childhood had a factor in the way I turned out today. That is why people don’t like to stand too close to me.
Scott:
I do not particularly remember the first time I began to read fluently, but I do remember that when I was in kindergarten I had a speech impediment and was required to read from flash cards with an instructor once a week. I remember feeling different from the rest of the class and therefore resenting reading. I eventually grew out of my speech impediment and once I did, reading became enjoyable. I remember my favorite books to read were the Dr. Seuss books. My grandmother rented them from the library, and she would then read them to me. My learning how to read ultimately brought me closer to her.
These three stories don't even begin to show the infinite number of ways people learn to read. It is a very individual experience that reaches beyond paper and pencil. The surrounding environment greatly influences how people learn to read. We may learn to read first, write first, or learn to communicate in other ways such as sign language. The three of us went through kindergarten. Reading is taught across the country to children at a very young age. Some may say this has turned literacy into a mass production effort that leaves the experience stale. However, reading goes beyond what we learned in school, and what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch all contributes to our language.
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