CONTINUATION March 26^ 2008
2
Star Tech
Chelsea
McGlaughlin
Staff Writer
Clashes cont. from pg. 1
make an advance toward
her. While this behavior
is expected (and virtu
ally accepted) from a
hard-hat construction
worker on a New York
City sidewalk, Cofer tells
stories of such advances
from middle-aged busi
nessmen and many oth
ers. Cofer presents these
experiences in a very
negative light, accurately
indicating that the cul
tural miscommunication
is largely the fault of
the mistaken Anglo-
American male in the
story. Men, especially
those who are educated
and well-acquainted
with acceptable behavior
toward women in soci
ety, should know better
than to treat a woman
as a sexual object to be
sought after rather than
as a human being with
dignity.
The second problem
of traditional Puerto
Rican dress is that it con
flicts with the standards
of traditional profession
al attire. The flamboyant
style of Latin-American
women, coupled with
their love for excessive
jewelry, is not well-
received in the profes
sional community. Cofer
tells a story of when her
teacher asked the class to
dress for an interview on
career day at her school.
Cofer explains how her
teacher and peers criti
cized her and the other
Latin-American students
in her class for not dress
ing properly accord
ing to Anglo-American
standards. This fashion
misunderstanding pres
ents problems for Latin
American girls. First,
the ignorance of what is
acceptable professional
dress makes it difficult
for them to compete
with Anglo-American
job seekers who know
how to dress according
to professional standards.
Not understanding the
standard for professional
presentation of one's
self makes it difficult for
Latin-American women
seeking higher profes
sional positions, even if
they are well educated
and qualified for the job.
Secondly, the fashion
issue presented reiterates
the issue of men's mis
interpreting the signals
sent by Latin-American
women's dress. The
employer will see the
display of flamboyant
color, tight clothes and
exposed skin and dismiss
the woman because he or
she sees the applicant's
suggestive attire as a
come-on, or the employer
will hire her on the spot
for her seemingly bra
zen flaunt of her body.
Whatever the situation,
these women will be
seen only for the clothes
they wear and not for the
intellectual contributions
that they can make to the
community.
Professional dress is
largely an area where
Latin-American women
need to take some cues
from the women around
them. Even for the
properly dressed Anglo-
American woman, the
workplace is difficult to
navigate without expe
riencing some type of
harassment for being
a woman. Add flashy -
clothes and exposed skin
to the mix, and the situ
ation is a sexual harass
ment lawsuit waiting to
happen. Latin-American
women should consider
covering up and toning
down the color, not only
to advance their careers
but also to protect them
from the discrimination
in the work place that
already exists.
However, the issues
offered by Cofer in her
article do not exhaus
tively address the clashes
between Anglo-American
and Latin-American cul
tures. Perhaps one of the
biggest insults to Latino
Clashes cont. on pg. 4
Amazon.com has
launched a new e-book
reader called Kindle.
The device "lets you read
books, magazines, news
papers, blogs anywhere,
anytime." Measuring
7.5" X 5.3" X 0.7" and
weighing only 10.3 ounc
es, Kindle stashes easily
in a bag for on-the-go
reading.
If you're like me, you
assume an e-book reader
would be like reading
something on a tradi
tional computer screen.
Kindle, however, is far '
from this assertion. Its
unique six-inch "elec
tronic paper display"
makes reading outside
on a sunny day as easy
as reading inside.
Simply use the "previ
ous page" or "next page"
buttons on Kindle's sides
to navigate pages. A
scroll wheel and key
board make searching
for, finding and selecting
titles easy.
What about coming
back to a book? Kindle
automatically saves your
place, and you may also
bookmark a page (elec
tronic dog-earing...
pretty cool) to return to
later.
How do you get
books, magazines, news
papers, and blogs on
Kindle? Simply visit
Kindle Store right on the
device. From there, you
can search for an author
or title or browse elec
tronically for an appeal
ing selection.
With Kindle, you can
even read before you
buy—usually the first
chapter is available for
free. When you're ready
to buy, most best sell
ers and new releases are
just $9.99. Not only that,
but everything you buy
from the Kindle store
is automatically backed
up to Amazon.com—all
of your purchases are
still available in case the
device is lost or stolen.
Items are downloaded
to the device in under a
minute. Kindle uses the
same wireless technol
ogy that cell phones do,
so there's no searching
for a WiFi hotspot to con
nect. Unlike cell phones,
there's no monthly fee.
The only expense for
Kindle is the one-time
price for the device, plus
any purchases of books,
magazines, etc. With
Kindle, you can automat
ically get your favorite
magazines and newspa
pers delivered.
Kindle doesn't require
a computer. Its recharge
able batteries are said to
last many, many hours.
Depending on usage of
the wireless feature (such
as browsing the Kindle
Store), Kindle's battery
can last for a week or
more.
Kindle even includes
a dictionary, so if you
come across an unfamil
iar word, there's no need
to search for a traditional
dictionary. Access to
Wikipedia is also includ
ed for those research
needs. Kindle users
can also highlight, add
a note, or clip an entire
page for later reference.
If you want to read
personal documents—
such as a Word file—on
Kindle, you can email the
document and Amazon
will convert it to a
Kindle-friendly file.
Store up to 200 books,
magazines, newspapers
or blogs on Kindle. Want
more? Add an SD card
for additional storage
capacity.
Kindle is available
on Amazon.com but is
currently sold out. The
device is listed at $399.
Visit http://www.amazon.
com/Kindle-Amazons-
Wireless-Reading-Device/
dp/B000FI73MAtoget
all the information on
Kindle.
Kindle: hundreds of books
on one little device
Photo courtesy http://www.
amazon.com/Kindle-Amazons-
Wireless-Reading-Device/dp/
B000FI73MA
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