Finishing notes: Wireless AMBER Alerts Project

I am currently doing a school project of the AMBER Wireless Alert program. I am nearing the completion of the project and it has been really interesting to learn about the functionality and history of the program. It is really amazing on how many people don’t know about this nationwide program. The project that I’m currently creating and developing is a narrative story composition that expands over radio, television, and Internet. While doing the project, I believe that this program is very important and successful. After I apply the finishing touches, I will have a link to it.  I hope to educate and raise awareness. I’ll keep you posted. Remember, this project is for educational use only.

 

Final Project

Future and AMBER Alerts

As more and more mobile devices such as cell phones, PDAs and smart phones are becoming more advanced with their wireless capabilities, these technological devices will assist the AMBER Alert program to become a program that can be accessible to anyone and everyone at anytime. In the future, the AMBER Alert program will find a way to include GPS technology. The location-based services  includes location itself, navigation (route-guidance), real-time traffic information, local search, social networking, and entertainment and recreation could all be incorporated with the AMBER Alert program and service. I guess time will tell.  Read more about GPS-Wireless Technology.

Amber Alert in Chicago

On Monday afternoon of April 21, 2008,  an Amber Alert was issued after a woman was found dead with a plastic bag over her head. Police are currently looking for the woman’s three missing children. Police believe that the children were abducted after they left school last Friday. I hope that they find the children before it’s too late. I know that local and federal law enforcement will work endlessly to find them. The AMBER Alert program has proven to be very successful and will be in the tragic case. For more information, read the full story, Mother found dead, Amber Alert issued for 3 children

 

Guidelines for AMBER Alerts

The AMBER Alert program is very successful and has proven to work. All 50 states have now since established AMBER Alert programs. Some people don’t know the criteria or guidelines to an AMBER Alert. According to guidelines for issuing an AMBER Alerts, here are the guidelines:

 

1.  There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred.

 

2.  The law enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.

 

3.  There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction for law enforcement to issue an AMBER Alert to assist in the recovery of the child.

 

4.  The abduction is of a child aged 17 years or younger.

 

5.  The child’s name and other critical data elements, including the Child Abduction flag, have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system.

 

For more information, you can go to National Center of Missing and Exploited Children.

 

Fwd Text messages can be the future for AMBER Alert

Forwarding can be very positive for the AMBER Alert program. We live in an age where people receive information faster.    Information can be reach to anyone and at any time without any boundaries. I don’t think the process of forwarding AMBER Alerts to others is by mistake. 

When a child or teenager is reported missing or abducted, people know how serious the topic is and want to help. Forwarding alert messages to family members or friends in another state will result in furthering a state alert to nationwide level, and without the help of law enforcement or government agencies. I think that the AMBER Alert program designers should pay very close attention to this. The ability to forward text messages can prove to be very helpful.

Links:

Text Message Poses As Amber Alert

 

Safe than Sorry: Use/Misuse of the AMBER Alert program

On April 3, 2008, ABC News ran a story about the uses and misuses of the AMBER Alert program called, Tough Call: Dilemma of an Amber Alert. This issued came to surface when a 7 year old girl in Salt Lake City was reported missing from her family’s apartment and there wasn’t any AMBER Alert issued.

 

Officials of the police department of Salt Lake City said the there wasn’t enough   information to make an AMBER Alert. A lack of evidence about the girl was incomplete under the criterias of the AMBER Alert guidelines. So the AMBER Alert was not issued.

 

I feel that regardless of the occasion or lack of information, if a child is reported missing, then law enforcement should take every precaution to the recovery and return of that child. I know this could be a hard discussion for any law enforcement agency to mistreatment issuing a missing person alert. However this could be a program that could be overly misused. It is better to be safe, than sorry later.

 

The success of the AMBER Alert program has been truly successful. The recovery of missing and abducted children is one of society’s most important issues. Over using the program might have it disadvantages like money spending issues or overuse of law enforcement man power, but the return of an endanger child is priceless and worth saving.

 

 

 

 

The Amber Alert program really works

On April 3, 2008, an AMBER Alert was issued for a 16 year old girl named Crystal Ann Beck of Bedford County, PA.  Police issued the AMBER Alert after Beck was reported missing.

 

The AMBER Alert contained important information of Beck, which included her description. (White, 5 feet 2 inches tall, 110 pounds, straight brown hair, and brown eyes). Police also gave the description of the car the Beck was last seen in, a Nissan Sentra with Pennsylvania license plate FDS-7415.

 

Beck was safely found a day later in Riviera Beach, Florida by police at a motel with her boyfriend, Timothy Wayne Mock II , of Schellsburg, PA. Mock didn’t give himself to police at first, but later came out after a police officer convinced him to give up. Mock is being held at Palm Beach County Jail and is being charged with abducting Beck.

 

Beck was recovered and returned safely to her parents and the AMBER Alert was canclled. The AMBER Alert program is a program that works. And with the help of technology and the wireless industry, the program will become more successful in the future to our society.

 

Links:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,346428,00.html

http://www.wpxi.com/news/15791252/detail.html

 

 

Future of GPS technology

In 1993,GPS navigation system achieved initial operational capability. GPS technologies can be found in many mobile devices, especially in mobile phones such as cell phones, PDA’s, and Smartphones, and car navigation systems. The future of GPS technology will continue to be used, explored, and developed in years ahead.  Every mobile device will have at least one GPS program in them. Even though not all people know, use, and take advantage of GPS technology, the future of GPS programs and applications will become an important part in peoples’ daily lives. I predict that GPS technology could to be use as a very valuable application for the future of mobile devices.

  

The use of GPS emergency programs will become very important to everyone. In today’s society, almost everyone has a cell phone or a portable communication device. No longer will the cell phone be only two way communication tool, but it will become a “three way” communication tool through GPS tracking communication. GPS technology will add and aid a helping hand for emergency services to assist people in need of help. Once people in the need of help calls 911, they can state their problem to authorities. Thanks to GPS technology, emergency services know exactly where they are and can give time estimates for arrival. And to go further, people can track and see visual through their cell phones how far emergency services are away to provide comfort and safety. I predict that all mobile devices will have an emergency service application with the use GPS technology.

   

GPS technology will be combined with other technologies to create new applications. SMS or text messaging will allow cell phone users to communicate through GPS applications. Cell phone users will have the option  to send a text message to acquire information .  Information can be sent back to the users based on their GPS location. For example, you are about 15 mins away and you want to know where a good restaurant is located. You can use your GPS application to see where it is and display travel time. Then you can select one restaurant and send a text like “How long is the wait?” An automatic response will be sent to you saying, “Dinner party of two is 15 mins wait time, Dinner party of 3 or more will be 25 mins. We see that you are 15 mins away, would you like to book a reservation?”  I predict that more and more applications in mobile devices will include GPS technology.

 

I also predict that mobile devices will be paired to other mobile device through a shared GPS network. When Verizon commercial says that you can add a phone to your family shared network, it will also have an option that will allow that main user to track any other phone that belongs to that mobile phone number. This would prevent lost or stolen cell phones. When someone loses their cell phone, no longer will the have to call it 100 times to find its location, now they can simple contact another shared member and ask to locate their phone.

 

GPS technology will change the way people use their mobile devices. It will use emergency services programs for emergency, combine other applications to make new mobile applications, and will be paired with other devices to prevent lost or stolen cell phones. The future is approaching and the development of GPS technology is increasing. It is only a matter of time that everything that we know will have some type of GPS technology in it.

The most Evil search engine!

I just found this article and it reminds me of the reading!

The most evil search engine?

Search Engines and why libraries won’t be around in the future!

The development of Internet search engines has truly changed the way society acquires information. When information about varies topics are instantly transmitted to our personal desktops or laptops in seconds, (except those users who are still in the ancient dial-up age) it creates an interesting relationships in supply and demand. Search engines allow users to provide information at anytime and whenever they want or need it. It is true that search engines are replacing traditional ways children look for information. It is mind blowing that children today lack the importance of a library. They just think it is a building with many books and an old lady to watch them. Years ago, it was a place where people search for information, read and analysis the information, and develop new ideas and thoughts from the information. But the increase use of search engines has changed the way people look for information. It will change the way people look for information in the future. I will first start with an example on how times have changed.

 I will recall on my next door neighbor Kenny. Kenny was 13 years old at the time when we had this conversation. As I came out my house, he was in the street dribbling a basketball.  I’ll try to recall the conversation to the best of my memory.  I asked him where he was going? He replied, “I’m on my way to the basketball court on Market Street”. I answered, “That’s good and practice those skills.” I remember I would try to study at the library, but I couldn’t concentrate with my friends outside.” He looked at me and said, “Library, where is that?” “Across the street”, I said. I couldn’t believe that he didn’t know where the public library was. I asked him, “You never went in there?” He said, “No, for what?” I replied, “To study, do some research for class or something.” As he walking away, he looked back at me and said, “Naw, I have a library at school and I don’t even go in there. I just use Google.”  

Has times changed so drastically that children don’t realize the importance of libraries? Could they think that Google is the answer for everything? I remember doing research projects when I was young. In order for me to do some research, I would look through many cards in a card catalog to look for books in the library.  Then after writing down the book number and location, I would physically walk around to find that book or ask a librarian where I can start looking. This is a lengthy and timely process. And don’t get a book that doesn’t have the right information that you need, you would have to start all over again. It sucked, believe me. However, search engines allow users and children to speed that process up and with more accuracy. Once a user input a word or phrase into a search engine like Goggle, countless links are displayed in ranked order on the computer screen in seconds. (By the way, the next time you conduct a search in Google, notice at the top right corner the display of seconds shown in response to your search. I mention seconds, but some searches are less.) Information can flow over the Internet faster, and in greater numbers then ever before.  

 Someone recently asked me about the future of libraries. Will they still be around when I have children because of the development of the Internet?  I think that the structure (A place where people can search, read, analysis, study, and develop new ideas and thoughts from the information) will still be present, but not the way people use it. People will use the Internet for research instead of using information outlets. I fear that books, newspapers, magazines, and any other hardcopy information outlets will cease to exist.  We live in a digitization age where everything is becoming digital files and is being spread across the Internet. Hardcopy information outlets has become digitalized so they can be updated faster, spread quicker, and reach farther destinations. Search engines are leading the way for children to search for these outlets in the future. I think that children know the importance of looking for information, but just not in the way I was used to do it when I was young. Many children are using Google or Yahoo! as a first resource rather than going and using the library. Could it be that search engines will be the downfall of traditional libraries? Only time can tell.