Exemples of tecnologies that help people in everyday life

Miguel Sousa 10ºB

The Influences of Technology on Family Life

This is truly the age of technology. It has come to such an extent that even family life has changed to some degree.

Families these days have very busy schedules and the only way they can communicate with each other is by using cell phones and the computer or the laptop. Children and parents must learn how to multitask in order to bring some degree of normality to their everyday life.
Children are beginning to use technology mediums at a very young age. This causes them to depend on these mediums to communicate with others and by doing so they stop interacting with others personally.

In a way these new means of communication make the inexistence of love and comprehension within the family possible. The presence of some means of communication during meals decrease the communication between family members because they spend most of their attention on the TV and not between themselves. Families become in a way addicted to technology and may no longer be able to function without it.

But there are some positive aspects to technology like, when some family members live in other countries; the means of communication allow them to be virtually reunited. Another advantage of the means of communication in the family context is the online shopping and payments which allow parents to save some time that can be used for family recreation.

Examples of the exaggerated use of technology are:

• Some children and adolescents start their day by going directly to the computer or by sending text messages to their friends;
• Sometimes even the communication between parents and children inside the household is done through text messages;
• Children and adolescents tend to get sucked in by their virtual world and don’t pay attention to what is happening around them in their home;
• Due to the access to the internet parents may have the possibility to bring their work home and spend less quality time with their family.

The means of communication directly influence family life, as such the control of the use of these means is very important so that family life doesn’t get completely altered and no great consequences are experienced by all the family members. There should be a balance between spending time with your family and using the various means of communication.

Trabalho realizado por:

• Ana Maria, nº1
• Catarina,nº6
• Inês,nº13
• Isabela,nº14
• Jéssica, nº15

10ºB

Robots

A robot is an automatically guided machine, able to do tasks on its own. Another common characteristic is that by its appearance or movements, a robot often conveys a sense that it has intent or agency of its own. The Robotics Institute of America defines a robot as a re-programmable multi-functional manipulator designed to move materials, parts, tools, or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks.

* Miguel Sousa 10ºB

Space Exploration (Europe)

The Giotto mission was designed to study Comet P/Halley, and also studied Comet P/Grigg-Skjellerup during its extended mission. The major objectives of the mission were to:

• obtain color photographs of the nucleus;
• determine the elemental and isotopic composition of volatile components in the cometary coma, particularly parent molecules;
• characterize the physical and chemical processes that occur in the cometary atmosphere and ionosphere;
• determine the elemental and isotopic composition of dust particles;
• measure the total gas-production rate and dust flux and size/mass distribution and derive the dust-to-gas ratio; and,
• investigate the macroscopic systems of plasma flows resulting from the cometary-solar wind interaction.
  

Ulysses is a solar probe launched in 1990 that has made the first-ever measurements of the Sun from a polar orbit. In route to solar polar orbit, it made a close flyby of Jupiter and made measurements of the solar system's largest planet.

• The primary objectives of the Ulysses mission encompass the properties of the solar wind, the structure of the Sun/wind interface, the heliospheric magnetic field, solar radio bursts and plasma waves, solar X-rays, solar and galactic cosmic rays, and the interstellar interplanetary neutral gas and dust, all as 3 function of solar latitude.

• Secondary objectives of the mission include interplanetary-physics investigations during the in-ecliptic Earth/Jupiter phase, measurement in the Jovian magnetosphere during the Jupiter encounter, the detection of cosmic gamma-ray bursts, and a search for gravitational waves.
  

http://www.solarviews.com/eng/history.htm
by: Miguel Sousa nº24 10ºB

Dateline NBC: To Catch A Predator

Isabela Bica, nº14, 10ºB

Americanization

In the early 1900's, "Americanization" referred to the movement where immigrants were developed into Americans. Now, in today's world, the term has a different, but similar meaning - the globalization by the U.S. of the world. The American economy is an ever-present force in the world today.

Some people will argue that this kind of globalization has gone too far - Americans are using their advantage of being one of the world's most powerful nations in a dangerous way - by interfering and forcing their culture on countries that do not want to be "Americanized". Americanization can give other countries a false sense of the American way of life and, in the end, cause hatred for the U.S.

Since the United States is the greatest economic power in the world, its influence can have a large impact around the world. For instance, American television channels and programmes like MTV, CNN, and others are broadcast throughout the world using domestic carriers. The television commercials that some of these broadcast mediums carry advertise U.S. based brands such as Nike, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, GAP and Levi's around the world. American TV shows are widely distributed and the younger generations of the world are greatly influenced by shows like The Simpsons, Jackass, Lost, CSI, among others. Hollywood, the American film industry, is often considered the biggest and most influential in the world, people in other countries are often exposed to American ideals and way of life through movies. Music is also a form of Americanization, since many American ideals are spread by lyrics and music videos.

These aforementioned elements especially affect young people who are exposed to the "exciting" aspect of the American culture and are more receptive to the Americanization process. On the other hand, some cultures and countries, especially older people, might not have a positive reception of the U.S. cultural influence, afraid of losing their unique cultures and ideals to the more mainstream and popular American ones.

Americanization is not only changing the world, but it can also cause wrong judgments to be made about the American way of life. In Europe, Americans are stereotyped by globalization as being shallow, spoiled and shortsighted.

Americanization is also considered one of the possible causes of terrorist attacks on September 11th.

Isabela Bica, nº14, 10ºB