Flor McDaniel
Professor Kamari
English 1010
August 6, 2014
The
Benefits of using a GPS
In 1976 my parents
wished they could have had a Navigation device or (GPS). I was 5 years old and
I got lost for a day. I was playing outside in front of my house when I saw the
ice cream man. I started to follow him for hours until the man got tired of me
and decided to give me away with a family that was driving by. The ice cream
man said this girl has been following me and I do not know what to do with her.
The family picked me up and took me to jail. My father called the police to
report my disappearance. The police told my father that they had a girl with the
description he had given. My father went to pick me up quickly and I remember
that he was crying for me. He said to my mother that they were lucky to find
me. Now I am a mother of five kids and it scares me just thinking about losing
one of them.
Now in this era we have
the opportunity to use the tracking system or GPS to find people. What does a
GPS do? A Global Positioning System (GPS) is a universal radio-navigator
system. It is used to locate or trace cars, people or other assets to which it
is attached to. These systems were actually designed for the US. Military but
today its part of everyday life. GPS’s are generally used to navigate, whether
by land, sea or air. The technology helps to provide the exact information such
as date, location, time and speed. All the information is stored on the GPS
system tracking device and is transmitted over a wireless network. GPS tracking
devices have been very useful for many situations. For example, they can
collect data from different research and help to determining the position of a
person or object. GPS devices can provide security to parents to inform the
place where your children are at all times. Another way to use the GPS devices
is to find a lost pet or to track a stolen vehicle (Beragna). The GPS offers a
great potential progress in research of health and brings a new objective
method of monitoring our community.
GPS device are used
more often with police and emergency calls. This technology helps them to
monitor the activities of criminals and to have evidence to arrest them. According
to The New York Times there was a
case where a GPS devices was placed in a decoy pill bottle. The police officers
wanted to track an armed man recognized by the name Scott Kato 45, that has
been stealing painkillers from the Healthsource drug stores in New York a least
four times since 2011. Records showed this man was in prison in 1990 for 12
years for sexual abuse and robbery and additional 16 months for violating
parole twice. The GPS device was installed on the decoy bottle and it did not
contain pills. The bottle was located in a special shelf and when the bottle
was lifted, it began to emit a tracking signal. With GPS devices the police
officers were able to track that armed man and fatally shot him during the
confrontation. The New York police state that, this is the first time known
case where a GPS used in a decoy bottle helped the police to identify the armed
man from the robbery. The New York police department was not the first one to
use this program. The decoy bottles were introduced last year by the police
commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, who said that the department would begin to
stock pharmacy shelves with decoy bottles that contained GPS devices. A total
of 33 states are using the GPS in decoy bottles, and they have arrested thieves
in multiples pharmacy across the country. (Goldstein & Schwirtz).
According to Stenquis
Paul, “A virtual alternative to the hot pursuit. Star Chase’s innovation is a GPS launcher — a unit that
law-enforcement agencies can use to attach a tracking device to a suspected
lawbreaker’s vehicle without officers’ having to leave their patrol cars. A
vehicle fleeing from the police can then be followed on a computer screen, rather than in a
high-speed pursuit, while an interception that does not put others in danger is
planned”. New York Time. December 20
2013. Web July 30 2014.
BMC Public Health in
Netherlands used a GPS to study physical activity in children. The methods they
used is a GPS tracking device that is used to calculate the distance children
travel from their home to school. All measurements were collected between
December 2008 and April 2009. Seventy-nine children, between ages six and
eleven, were recruited from five different schools located in Netherlands. All
children wore a GPS while walking and cycling to school for a period of a week.
The GPS was designed so they could be used without interfering with their
activities. The GPS’s monitored that 79.2% out of all school trips were
classified as active transportation. Based on the GPS data the researchers are
able to determine and calculate the distance the children travel from school to
their home. Also how physically active the children are. The results of these
studies are, helping improve the cardiovascular risk, bone mineral density and
psychological life of the children (Dessing et. a)
The
Biologists using the GPS devices are using it to document unique animals like
wolf packs or bighorn sheep. The biologist are using GPS tracking collars, it
helps them monitor the movements and habits of animals during the year.
Particularly in bighorn sheep when they live in the harshest of winter
conditions.
GPS
device also help parents making their parenting a little easier. For example,
when teens have to go to a party and they have to drive for the first time with
friends. Parents can monitor where their children are, since it’s very usual
for teens to not go where they say are going. The GPS device give the location
address when they arrive and when they depart.
The GPS also helps parents monitor their children while driving, how? By
monitoring their speed. This benefits
the parents financially. The new car insurance premiums reduce their prices if
the car has GPS tracking device to monitor their teens. The number one cause of
teens killed is related to traffic accidents, and one of the main reasons is
that they drive with extreme speed.
Families
that have relatives with disabilities like Autism are using GPS devices. For
example months ago I heard on the news about this old man that suffers from
Alzheimer’s disease. He got lost, he left his house without anybody noticing.
It was not the first time this happened. His kids decide to put him the
tracking devices on him because he was always getting lost. For his kids it was
very easy to find him this time but they worry this device cannot save his
life.
According
to the web site Personal Tracking System. GPS device have been useful to people
that like to ski. For example, they are using gloves that have a tracking
system to help them keep track of their speeds when they travel in the
mountains. They said it helps them to improve their speed. However, there is no information provided
about helping the skier to be found if he gets lost in an avalanche.( GPS
personal device).
The
New York Times published that a tracking device can be
fitted in a child’s backpack or a ball cap. Jennifer Durst, and two partners
have patented a light-weight seven ounces, portable GPS designed to be
“form-fitted into a backpack, a baseball hat or a belt”. The purpose is to
track animals or people. The GPS devices can be programmed with boundaries.
GPS’s send messages directly to a cellphone, pager, two-way personal assistant,
traditional phone or even an e-email address.
If for some reason the GPS tracking devices is removed or lost, an alert
is transmitted. The idea to apply the GPS in the children actually started with
Jennifer’s dog. When her dog was lost in the rain. She was a single mom and she
couldn’t leave her kids alone in the house. She remembered the Lojack device
used in cars and thought why not use it on dogs. If this technology was
available a century ago it could have helped many children who were lost in
crowded amusement parks, beaches, and in shopping malls. Also could have helped Alzheimer patients who
wandered off, hikers who disappeared, and soldiers who were missing in action.
(Chartrand)
In conclusion, having a
GPS in 1976 could have helped my parents find me when I was lost. Now the
police officers that use GPS can be more affective to track criminals. For
example, the case that was publish in New York Time were a GPS devices was
placed in a decoy pill bottle. The researchers that use the GPS have accurate
results about their studies. The biologist use GPS and are able to help and
protect wild animals. Parents also have great benefits when their kids use the
GPS. Its helps the parents keep track of them, also parents are saving money in
car insurance with cars that use GPS. Using this technology also allows us to help
and protect our kids or senior citizens that have special disabilities. GPS have
the capability to find locations, people or vehicles The technology is part of
our world right now and the GPS has been used in some many situations for good,
and I think these probably will have some negative sides, but when we start
learning how to use it will be good for us. I have kids and I will do
everything to protect them. My purpose of is information is to inform of all
the good benefit the GPS tracking devices can bring to our society.
Work
Cited
Beragna,
Patrick. “How does a GPS tracking system work?” GPS personal tracking Device. October 26 2010.
Web June 25, 2014.
Dessing Dirk, De Vries, Sanne, Graham, Jamie MA,
Pierik, Frank. “Active transport between home and school assessed with GPS: a
cross-sectional study among Dutch elementary school children”.
BMC Public Health. March 5 2014. Web July 19, 2014.
Chartrand,
Sabra. “Patents: A tracking device that can be fitted in a child’s backpack or
a ball cap “.
August
5 2002. Web July 19, 2014.
Goldstein and Schwirtz. “Robbery Suspect Tracked by
GPS and Killed”
New York
Time May 16 2014. Web July 30 2014.
“GPS
Tracking Enable gloves Do it All” GPS personal device tracking.
Thursday 18, Feb 2010 Web. Jun 25 2014.
Stenquis Paul, “A
virtual alternative to the hot pursuit”.
New
York Time December 30 2013. Web July 30 2014.
