The article “Hottest seat in Town” speaks about a trivial thing, the water closet, describing innovations and modern design available for very sophisticated consumers. Many people feel uneasy speaking about the water closet and its convenience, but they often forget that it plays an important role in the life of every person and the whole family. Probably, the word ‘Bidet’ sounds too French and is associated with women. The author underlines that the attention of a consumer should be given to such products as Toto’s Washlet and Brondell’s Swash. The idea of this innovation is that “it’s better to clean yourself with water than paper” (Spurrier F4). This solution could help to decrease the consumption of toilet paper and improve personal hygiene. This trend shows that convenience and comfort are the main criteria for modern industry. In terms of Faith Popcorn’s vision of modern life, this innovation can be seen as ‘small indulgences’, a chance to reward yourself with “affordable luxuries” (Faith Popcorn, p. 93). A dominant characteristic of modern society is the desire for more. The new design of the water closet highlights such trends as ‘Egonomics’. That’s Egonomics – thinking about an individual consumer comfort” (Faith Popcorn, p. 128). A warm seat proposes pleasure and comfort to everyone despite his age, class, salary, profession, and family size.
The article “LAPD scoots for the Future” discusses new devices used by police officers. The importance of this innovation is that smart cars and high-tech three-wheelers allow police to improve their patrol functions and get to any point in a short period. The only image that LAPD scoots allows police to avoid traffic problems and improve everyday surveillance facilities because the automobile and traffic are among the knottiest of problems. They involve not only questions of safety on streets and highways but also of traffic congestion and parking control. LAPD scoots propose great opportunities for police officers and society improving monitoring and surveillance. LAPD scoots are a means for police managers to regain some control over their most significant resource, patrol officers’ time and activities.
Following Faith Popcorn, this innovation can be characterized as the ’99 Lives’ trend. For a police officer, LAPD scoots can replace at least 5 lives ‘heated by’ speed, time, monitoring and independent surveillance. This trend explains the nature of the innovation and shows that advances in Technology have resulted in the availability of new channels of communication, an increased flow of information, and sharply lowered costs. While innovations in high technology often receive the greatest publicity, advances have been made in many fields and at many levels of the police field. Also, I would describe this innovation as an “Anchoring” or “a focused search’ (Faith Popcorn, p. 108). A modern man tries to improve his activities and all spheres of life, save time and energy spend on performance. This trend reflects the nature and functions of LAPD and explains that the rapid growth of technology and the dramatically falling cost of computing. As the most important is that a ‘focused search’ helps police officers to improve their functions and maintain control in their area.
Works Cited
- Spurrier, J. Hottest seat in Town. LA Time, 2007, p. F4.
- Pool, B. LAPD scoots for the Future LA Times, 2007, p. b12.
- Popcorn Faith. Clicking. Collins; Rev Sub edition, 1998.