Author: allisonjoyner

Born in Mobile. Raised in Birmingham. Educated in Atlanta. Adulated in Jackson. And back in the ATL.

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Dri-Fit keeping you dry? The LilyPad Temperature Sensor can answer that

In 2014, the last Father’s Day gift I gave my Dad was a lavender polo shirt made with  Dri-Fit technology and some khaki cargo shorts for him to wear on the golf course. He loved that shirt so much that he decided to wear it while working and taking my Mom on “hot” dates. He said he loved wearing the shirt so much because it kept him cool and prevented him from sweating so much.

Now, as I reminisce those special times I spent with him, I wonder did the shirt actually keep him dry or was that because the advertising said it would? Dri-Fit fabric is a type of material that is made of a polyester and microfiber fabric. This fabric helps evaporate sweat away from the fabric surface and from your body. As developers have tons of research to support their theory, I want to put it to my own test.

Using the LilyPad Temperature Sensor found on Sparkfu.com, it will determine if the body of a person wearing Dri-Fit clothing increases or stays the same during use.

LilyPadThe sensor detects temperature changes near its surroundings.  Sewing the LilyPad on the Dri-Fit garment of a test subject,  the sensor will accumulate the data and transfer to the Arduino circuit board and translate the data to code.

Formatting the code would go to the Adafruit Feather nRF52 Bluefruit app. Developed by the woman-owned Adafruit Engineering plant, The Feather is an all-in-one Bluetooth Low Energy board with a native-Bluetooth chip called the nRF53832. app imageThe Bluefruit acts as a data pipe that can transmit information to your iOS or Android device. The “Check Arduino Temp,” IFTTT applet connects with my Google Docs spreadsheet where the determination of the material does or does not do what is advertised.

“To use a smartphone microphone or not to use a smartphone microphone, that is the question”: A Field Test Proposal for Emerging Media Platforms

In mid April, I had an idea for a digital article that I’ve wanted to write relating to citizens of the African Diaspora (countries that have descent-ion from African people) making their decisions to leave their families to work on a cruise ship. Once I scheduled my interviews, I knew I wasn’t sure if I would be able to talk to them in a quite room. To relieve that possibility, I purchased the Motiv MV88 iOS digital stero condenser microphone from Amazon to get quality sound from my subjects and to make sure that I quote them accurately.

I think buying the microphone was a great investment into my journalism career because it will help me produce in several different forms including digital articles, podcasts, and YouTube videos.

Sadly, a large number of journalists use only the built-in microphone device on their smartphones for gathering soundbites which could lead to misquoting a source, causing liability for the journalist and the company that published the error.

For my submission of the final project for my Emerging Media Platforms class, I will be conducting a field test to see if the quality of the MV88 microphone gives better quality sound compared to the factory microphone and recording devices inside my Apple iPhone version 8 smartphone. The hypothesis of this experiment: does the smartphone microphone work better, or worse, in loud or public areas.

I will conduct a survey for consumers to take which will have samples of both the iPhone and the MV88 recording the same song. The first comparison will be in a quite, indoor space with both devices. The second comparison will be on a noise platform at the 47th Street/ Rockefeller Center subway station. The third comparison will be outside in the center of  Times Square in New York City. All samples will be taken between 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.

Wish me luck!

 

The Day Before Graduation: Frances Fortner’s Death Told By Empathetic Media

The end of May is always a special time in Mississippi; the weather creeps up towards the 90s, flip-flops are the it-accessory for every outfit, and visions of young people dressed in caps and gowns with the smiles of hope and excitement of the endless possibilities that are in store for them in the coming days, weeks, months and years. Sadly this celebration was shadowed with tragedy as an outgoing teen was taken from this earth too soon by what could be over a neglected oversite.

On the 17th of the summer month, 18-year-old Frances Fortner was driving down Ridgewood Road in the Capitol City of Jackson in her mother’s convertible when she ran over a manhole causing the vehicle to flip over to her death. What made things worse was that Fortner was driving to her Jackson Academy graduation rehearsal.

Fortner was well-loved by her classmates. The principal ballet dancer was accepted to the University of Missouri’s prestigious journalism program where she was planning to become a news reporter.

A local news station reported that the City of Jackson hired Superior Asphalt who resurfaced the street that same day but did not complete the job and left an open manhole, with no caution barricades, exposed. Witnesses saw several cars drive over the obstruction, earlier that day,  appearing to cause damage to their vehicles before Fortner making contact with the uncovered manhole.

“It definitely could have been prevented,” said a witness, “had somebody just cared a little bit, you know, and radioed a police officer to go park in front of it until the city could come [to] fix it. Completely preventable,”

So how could this story be told in a different way? Using one of the newest forms of storytelling called Empathic Media could be the answer.

Bangor University Professor Andrew McStay says empathic media is a collect-all-term to refer to affect-sensitive technologies employed to make influences about emotions, feelings, moods, perspective, attention, and intention. Artificial Intelligence compliments this format to transmit the scene of the untimely death.

If an experiment was a possibility, the hypothesis would be to use empathic media to give an accurate reenactment of the crash experienced by witnesses during the car crash that left Frances Fortner dead. A field test would be administered to witnesses, homeowners of the neighborhood and law enforcement and first responders that were present at the scene of the accident. A brief survey will be taken by the participants, after the completion of the evaluation, to determine accuracy and which will determine the success rate of the experiment.

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An idea for 3D Modeling: My Desk

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

This week, my intern boss and journalism sensei, Jacque Reid, allowed me to work from my NYC apartment that I am renting for the summer. Not only was it for convenience, but for the annoying sinus infection I have been blessed with.

As my weekly blog assignment was to think of a how 3D modeling can help with my work, I came to the revelation that the model should be where I work. But first, let’s go back.

My maturing friend, Wikipedia, told me that 3D Modeling (which is short for three-dimensional modeling) is the process of developing a mathematical representation of any surface of an object (either inanimate or living) in three-dimensions via specialized software to form a 3D Model.

Of course, I want to be creative and impress my professor (shoutout to Dan Pacheco) but then I thought the model should be of where I am the most creative. And until my lease is up at the end of this month, it will be at my desk.

desk 1

With a quick tour of this writing laboratory, it’s simply a table and a chair, which actually flattens my bottom if I sit there for more than an hour. Artifacts of my journies are revealed with the tote bag I received while at the National Convention of Black Journalist Convention and Career Fair in Detroit. Notebooks and papers surround the laptop or “centerpiece,” which store all of my work professionally, personally, and educationally. Living in New York I’ve found out that storage is a luxury, so I have my carry on suitcase which doubles as a file cabinet in between my travels. But to end with a sentimental finale. A picture of my heavenly cheerlead, Dad, to motivate me to keep going for my goals and my dreams. desk 2

RELATED: A loss of a father, a gain of a passion

So that concludes our tour! Make sure you stop by the Gift Shop or the comment section, since this is a blog and not an actual attraction, to give us pointers on your visit. Happy Creating Y’all!

 

Caribbean inspiration turned Titanic: My first experience using Unity 3D

I like to think of myself as a person that can handle anything. That’s why Philippians 4:13 (I can do all things through Christ who strengths me) is my favorite Bible verse. But a homework assignment proved me wrong this weekend.

In my new class, Emerging Media Platforms, identifies and embraces opportunities posed by emerging media technologies. An example of this which is part of this week’s lesson in Unity 3D, a program that helps developers create real-time 2D and 3D animation. My assignment is to create a tropical island with mountainous terrain and lush vegetation.

After hours of following Professor Pacheco’s tutorial, prayer and determination I came up with this masterpiece:

unity 3D

Not quite what I planned in my head but at least I tried. The originalVirgin Islands vision I had was a similar scene of my favorite island, St. John, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, before it was stripped of its natural beauty by Hurricane Irma and then Maria two weeks later. As you can see by the map provided by NASA, all of the greenery on St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix and the British Virgin Islands have been destroyed and devastated the citizens of the Caribbean Nations. The damaged homes and hotels have halted tourism which disrupts the main form of income for many of the people there.

Unfortunately, my mountains look like the icebergs that caused the demise of the Titanic instead. I’m so embarrassed by my work. I almost didn’t want to turn this in, but I want to so my Professor would know that I did try and I will get better. So here it is!