Post #8

With the semester full of various guest speakers, each with their own bounty of information on different pressing topics, I found myself favoring the guest speakers Scott Christiansen and Ann-Marie Foley.

I found Scott Christiansen’s lecture on the role “exponential” technologies to be very informative in how they are to play into the future. In both the business sector and society. In regards to the technical information we were given about the history of exponential growth, I found it to be very interesting. It got me thinking.

Looking back at the last 20 years, even just 15 years, technology has really grown fast. It wasn’t too long ago that the nearly indestructible Nokia phones were popular until flip phones and then touch screens soon after took over. Now, it seems as though phones don’t last too long and each year a new model is out anyway.

To reiterate, technology advanced fast. And it is only continuing to do so. Christiansen’s lecture put this into perspective with his explanation of Moore’s Law and the idea of exponential growth. But he also brought up that these advancing technologies (Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, 4D Printing, Blockchain, etc.) generally go through a cycle. This cycle was visually informative for me because I don’t think I really thought about the cycles these emerging technologies have. This is especially so for technologies that are in the “Peak of Inflated Expectation” and the“Trough of Disillusionment.”

It’s easy to look at new technology but then pass it on and move on if it doesn’t kick off and then later, when it’s ready, reemerges as something more appealing to consumers.

The other guest lecture by Ann-Marie Foley, I found to be inspiring. Her lecture in particular helped kick start my interest in finding an internship through the Office of Service Learning where she works. Through the Office of Service Learning I will hopefully have the opportunity to intern with a NGO. Dr. Foley really inspired me to reach out and challenged me to stay informed about where I am working.

Her lecture also taught and reminded us to be mindful when working with NGOs. We must always take care to see how the help they provide will affect then communities they are working in. We need to be critical about NGOs. While she discussed the work she did with orphaned children, she highlighted several questions that I believe to be essential when working in a community that is not your own. — Do they need help? What kind of help do they need? Are you bringing more harm by trying to help? Did you communicate with those of the community and ask what they need? — These critical questions have stuck with me since then.

The Republic of Suriname is the country that I chose to research throughout this semester and I have to say that I feel better informed. Admittedly and regrettably, I did not know a single thing about Suriname, let alone that it is located in South America. Although the official language is Dutch, because of the various ethnic groups, Dutch is primarily learned as a second language.

While exploring a number of topics, I learned that Suriname is an extremely diverse country due to its history. Much of its economy depends on its natural resources and up until recently, bauxite was the most prominent. Oil has recently gained its footing. As another economy booster, Suriname is working on promoting tourism that is centered around its environmental beauty.

Lastly, Suriname is also working to improve how they manage human trafficking. While they haven’t completely met the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking, the country is working to build shelters for victims and increasing convictions.