Dear Readers,
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the student-run undergraduate research journal The Portage Review, the brainchild of Rhetoric, Theory, & Culture students Silke Feltz and Kimberly Tweedale, and the product of the combined efforts of a dedicated team of enthusiastic graduate student editors, who volunteered their time to bring this journal to you. We are honored to share the submissions of these talented student writers, both with the Michigan Technological University community and, we hope, beyond.
The subject of technologies, as both “things” and “practices,” runs through this collection of student essays. In “Do Artefacts Have Politics,” Langdon Winner argues that rather than neutral or autonomous, technologies definitely have politics; that is, the design, creation, and promotion of technologies institute certain social relationships, with some harmed by technologies and others empowered by them. Winner cautions that rather than jumping on the technophilic bandwagon, we must carefully consider the ethical, social, and political ramifications of the technologies we produce. It is fitting, then, that at Michigan Technological University, the concerns of Winner seem to inform these undergraduate research essays, many of which ask tough questions about technology, power, and ethics.
Breanne Heusdens (“Social Media: The World’s Newest Source of Profit”), Anders Erik Palarz (“My Dog Ate My Computer”), and Nick Maitrejean (“Introducing Recycled Plastics Into Big Industry) take balanced approaches when addressing integrating new technologies into, respectively, marketing strategies, the classroom, and the auto business. Heusdens argues for the potential of social media, developing the claim that small businesses should exploit the cheap marketing strategies offered by social media in order to achieve both visibility and sustainability in a changing market. In particular, because of its low-cost advertising, social media allows business to communicate with customers and reach a wider audience while using this feedback to improve business practices. After addressing the benefits and drawbacks of technology in the classroom, Anders Erik Palarz concludes that blending learning “encompasses the best qualities of both online learning and traditional learning, creating an environment where students can use technology to its full potential without losing out on social growth” (7). Nick Maitrejean’s paper focuses on the prospects of using recycled plastics in the automotive industry by overviewing the process and durability of recycled plastics. Recognizing that there are both limitations and technological hurdles to overcome (particularly strength and temperature concerns) in integrating recycled plastics into the automotive industry, he urges that companies must eventually address the environmental problem that is plastic pollution.
The technology of the internet takes center stage, but in different ways, in two of these student papers. In Colton Stanislawski’s paper entitled “Echo Chambers,” the author defines the echo chamber, that “group of people or an organization that controls a groups’ the media taken in by the participants, potentially leading to the absence of dissenting or external views” (1), before explaining how echo chambers become exacerbated by both media control and by social media environments, with detrimental effects on critical debate, the political atmosphere, and, most recently, the election. Addressing questionable security in his “The Rising Threat of the Internet of Things,” Javen Zamojcin analyzes several startling examples of attacks on IoT devices before advocating for improved security measures. He understands, though, that, when it comes to internet security, businesses cannot be trusted to police themselves: “Rather than allow market solutions to control the security standards, increasing regulation from the government will be more effective at addressing and reducing the rising threats from the Internet of Things” (9).
Lastly, three of these student authors address the serious ramifications of technology intervening on what is construed as “natural.” Tackling a subject closer to home, in “Isle Royale Wolves,” John Baker makes a plea for reintroducing wolves back into this failing island ecosystem, arguing that it is the responsible thing to do. In the unique topic of the “Implications of ExtraCorporeal Support,” author Katelyn Ramthun considers the complex ethics of the artificial womb, a technology challenging both legal and medical professionals while also raising tough questions about both fetal and maternal rights. In a similar vein, Ethan Burghardt, after addressing the potentials and problems of biochemical advances in his “Ethics and Biochemistry” paper, suggests a serious extension and revision of current bioethical codes and standards. He stresses that we always “consider the ethicality of our actions” and not be “seduced by ‘services to science platitudes’” (8). Technologies, in other words, are hardly neutral.
Once you read these student papers, we hope that you will help us to make future editions of this journal a success. The editorial board respectfully requests that you support this journal by encouraging your peers and your students to contribute submissions, by spreading the word about this journal both inside and outside of the MTU community, and by continuing to engage in the tough conversations about technology started by these skilled student writers.
Again, please enjoy the first edition of The Portage Review!
Sincerely,
Shelly Galliah & Megan Pietruszewski
& The Portage Review Editorial Board
