Here is the link to my presentation about how big data affects the medical field.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Wd1OWWeW7IVywTd-zQItZBf80zUYFfsxMJMxqm5UmVk/edit?usp=sharing
Working Thesis: Big data will affect research studies in the medical field not only related to the test subject’s (patient’s) private medical history, but also the speed at which a study could be completed.
- An idea to think about: could it link other researchers with similar research studies together to help solve medical mysteries faster…?
Possible Sources:
- Design and Development of a Medical Big Data Processing System Based on Hadoop, Qin Yao:
- This source was a research paper that discussed how the medical field uses big data, but that it doesn’t work efficiently enough to help them all of the time. The objective of their research was to build upon already existing database systems, and to add their own processing agent (Hadoop) to greatly enhance the speed at which data is collected. They also used many algorithms to not only enhance speed, but to gather user’s data and match them with similar users quicker. (Research Paper)
- A data analysis framework for biomedical big data: Application on mesoderm differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells, Benjamin Ulfenborg:
- This source was mainly focused on the research of the stem cells, but it also talks about ways to improve the medical databases currently available. They also touch upon finding new and better ways to input information so that other users can access it more quickly. Their hope was that it would also connect them with other researchers doing similar work. (Research Paper)
- Medical big data: promise and challenges, Choong Ho Lee:
- This article is going to help me discuss the naysayer argument of my paper. It focuses on the negatives of medical big data and how they will affect the medical field in the future. Although it was a naysayer piece, it did not neglect to touch upon the positives related to medical big data. (Research Paper)
Next Steps: I still feel that I need to find another naysayer argument to help strengthen my own argument. I’ve found a lot of positive pieces related to medical big data which is good, but I need one more naysayer to broaden and expand on the argument. I also want to take another look at the New York Times article to see if it will align with my argument. I think my sources are very heavy on research papers, so I think I might try to find an article or educational journal post to compare that source to my others. I’m not quite ready for a rough draft because although I have my working thesis, I need to strengthen the claims I think I may be using in the paper.
The TED talks that we were assigned to watch taught me a lot about big data that I didn’t know. Cukier talked about how big data has transitioned society to collect data on a global scale. He also discussed how data is transferred at the speed of light. It’s crazy to think that data can be collected and shared so quickly. It was also interesting to hear some of the potential benefits to big data such as helping with car safety to avoid crashes due to someone falling asleep behind the wheel. Golbeck discussed the girl who was pregnant, but hadn’t told her parents yet. Target sent her adds for baby products based on a pre-natal vitamin purchase she had made. It’s crazy that Target knew she was pregnant before her own parents. Some downsides to big data discussed were that it quite possibly will take over jobs if we don’t implement the technology correctly. Some questions that I had were could big data ever hit a capacity where it stops collecting data? If every person is contributing to the data pool, you would think that it would cap out at some point. Also, would people ever have the opportunity to chose to protect their data so that companies couldn’t use it/find it? I think the idea of big data is very interesting and will be beneficial, but as Cukier pointed out, we need to use it right so that it doesn’t consume our world.
I personally think that I leave an huge data trail with my use of Netflix. I watch it a lot and I feel like it would accumulate quickly. I also use Facebook and Snapchat regularly and assume that this leaves a trail. Between all the pictures, status updates, and page likes, these things are never deleted and pretty much stay there consequently leaving a data trail. Snapchat also leaves 24 hour trails if you post to your story. As far as school goes, I use Google Docs and my online homework websites very regularly. Also, having an ePortfolio page, I assume, leaves quite a large data trail. I also think that the internet knows my interests and likes. For example, I had Googled Crocs, and shortly after there was an ad on my Facebook feed about Crocs. This happens very regularly. I have even noticed that it happens on my phone if I talked about a product, but never searched it. This is crazy to me because essentially our cellular devices are listening for opportune times to present products to us to encourage purchasing. This must be how companies make so much money. By using people’s data trail to customize ads ultimately caters to the customer and makes it easier to find what they want because the company already knows.
For my global edits I spent at least 50-60 minutes editing my paper. After reading the comments from my peer editor I realized that my connections didn’t really make sense. My naysayer argument had essentially nothing to do with my main claims or argument. So, I added a few new paragraphs that made more sense with my main argument. I then re-wrote my naysayer argument paragraph to help it align better with the paper. I also tried to cut down on quote length, but to also add some new quotes to help the argument.
Anonymity online, particularly social media profiles, allows for people of targeted groups to communicate and relate with each other. As danah boyd described in her book It’ Complicated, teenagers often use false identities to connect with other teens who have similar interests:
I met a teen girl who was obsessed with a popular boy band called One Direction even though her friends at school were not. She didn’t bother talking about her crush on one of the band’s members in the lunchroom because she know her friends wouldn’t find the topic interesting…Instead she turned to Twitter, where she was able to gush about the band with other fans. (boyd 40)
This example points to the idea that teens use social media to interact with people or groups with similar interests as them. The girl described above turned to Twitter to express her true feelings about the band because she knew her friends in the 3D or physical world wouldn’t care. She most likely had an anonymous name to help hide her identity, but she didn’t fabricate how she felt about her boy band passion. Similarly, this scenario occurs frequently with targeted groups; a prime example of this is the LBGTQ community. People who are insecure or unsure about their gender or sexuality often resort to social media to find other like-minded individuals. Boyd highlights this point in her book:
I ended up chatting with a teen girl who was working through her sexuality. She had found a community of other queer girls in a chatroom online, and even though she believed that some of them weren’t who they said they were, she found their anonymous advice to be helpful. (boyd 52)
People who question their sexuality or gender often feel that they cannot be forthcoming about their situation with the people they know. Oftentimes this causes them to reach out to others who are in the same situation as them; they accomplish this by creating profiles with pseudo names to hide their true identity. By hiding their real identity, they are able to speak freely without fear of judgement. The girl described above was afraid to come out to her parents, but found comfort by chatting with other LGBTQ individuals. So, by being anonymous, she was able to find her authentic self and the self that she wanted to be. It could be argued that online anonymity is an issue and misleads audiences due to deceitful profiles, but the positives outweigh the negative connotations surrounding pseudo profiles.
danah boyd’s argument in the first chapter of her book entitled It’s Complicated, is compelling and eye-opening related to the issue of audience targeting. I agree that people, teen’s especially, target a specific audience when posting on social media. They intend to be communicating with specific followers and expect others to ignore the context if it was not directed at them. As boyd highlighted, when teens audience target they can find themselves in situations that can lead to misrepresentation:
The applicant had written a phenomenal essay about how he wanted to walk away from the gangs in his community. In an effort to learn more about him, the committee Googled him. They found his MySpace profile. It was filled with gang symbolism, crass language, and references to gang activities. They recoiled. (boyd).
Although teens intend for specific people to be reading their posts, it is hard to know if others are reading it, or if the intended audience is even reading it. In the situation quoted above, an applicant of a prestigious university was denied admission because the committee thought his social media posts contradicted his application essay. But what the committee didn’t question, as boyd discussed, was if the boy was using such crass language and gang references to simply survive living and avoiding being ostracized in his community? Some may argue yes and and some may argue no, but I believe that this idea of audience targeting for survival is situational. It may be applicable in some scenarios, but not in others. The situation above was most likely for mere survival, but others may and will argue that the applicant lied.
The idea of misrepresentation is a concept that occurs frequently. People of the counter argument will contend that teens choose what they are putting on social media and they should bear the repercussions. They will also argue that teens choose anonymous names in hopes of hiding their identities, so that they can post content that won’t appeal to all audiences. The idea of Pseudonymity is one that can and will get teens into trouble, especially when it comes to applying to important opportunities such as college.
For most of my social media profiles (Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter) I am more open with what I post. But when it comes to Facebook, I am a lot more reserved because I know that my family and employers are friends with me. Overall I don’t post anything that would jeopardize my future career or job. But, sometimes sharing political posts in particular allow people to feel the need to argue with you via social media. So for the sake of my sanity, I don’t share very much on Facebook for my family to argue against.
In Sherry Turkle’s talk Connected, But Alone?, she suggests that technology is disconnecting us from our interpersonal relationships. She emphasizes that technology allows us to edit and present ourselves in a way that suits us. It allows us to control how we are viewed, and ultimately makes us feel less lonely in the world. But by avoiding conversation and replacing it with internet connections, we lose sight of those relationships that mean so much. She encourages us to make more time for face to face connections, but she also does not deny that technology is valuable. It’s all about how we use it. By replacing screen time with real conversations, we can build more relationships. She asserts that it is ultimately up to the person to find the balance between their online profiles and their actual reality. By expecting more from people and less from technology, we can find the importance and value of interpersonal relationships.
R.I.P to the twelve year old who took to many blurry pictures, whose only reason for Facebook was for games, and who never shared someone else’s post for fear of arguments.
