Week 5 - Tutorial Task

Scavenger Hunt

1.       The world's first University was established in Takshila in 700BC.

Found on: http://www.indiastudychannel.com/bookmarks/1365-World-First-University-was-Takshila.aspx, 24.08.11.

Search engine used: yahoo.com

2.       Stephen Stockwell play keyboard in a band called The Black Assassins.

Found on: http://members.optusnet.com.au/~toxicoh/blackas.htm, 24.08.11.

Search engine used: dogpile.com

3.       The world’s biggest machine is a digging machine weighing 45,500 tons. The cost of building it was $100 millions.

Found on: http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Humor/Workshop/Trencher.htm, 24.08.11.

Search engine used: ask.com

4.       Justin Bieber’s lawyer is Kenneth Feinswog, and I think the best way to contact him is by calling him on: (310)-846-5800

Found on: http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/w0006112.html, 25.08.11

http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/90230-ca-kenneth-feinswog-83900.html, 25.08.11

Search engine used: lycos.com

5.       The cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne is by air plane.

Found on: http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090608074131AAyAcWV, 24.08.11

Search engine used: bing.com, where I searched for: cheapest form of travel from Gold Coast to Melbourne

6.       Hatsune Miku is a virtual singer whose voice is created by a software engine. She belongs to Crypton Future Media. Her birthday is August 31.

Found on: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com.au/news/2009-08-23/hatsune-miku-virtual-idol-performs-live-before-25000

http://www.crunchyroll.com/library/Hatsune_Miku

Search engine used: altavista, where I searched for: hatsune miku

7.       There is a live webcam for Belarus at Webcams Mania:

http://www.webcamsmania.com/webcam/livewebcaminbrest

In Antarctica you can stay at the Polar Star boat:

http://www.addictedtotravel.com/accommodation/polar-star_antarctica

Search engine used: yahoo.com, where I searched for: live webcam belarus

8.       Bryan Adams – (Everything I Do) I Do It For You, was number 1 at the Australian pop charts week 34 in 1991.

Found on: http://australian-charts.com/weekchart.asp?cat=s&year=1991&date=19910825

Search engine used: bing.com, where I searched for: top australian pop week 34 1991

9.       ‘Google street view’ uses the Opel Astra in Australia and Europe and the Toyota Prius in United States and Japan.

Found on: http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5114117_google-make-street-maps.html

Search engine used: yahoo.com

10.   Spanish:

1.       ¿Dónde estuvo la primera Universidad establecido y en que año?

2.       ¿Qué es llamada la banda de Stephen Stockwell y qué juega él? ¿Puede denominar un par de sus canciones?

3.       ¿Qué es el peso de la máquina más grande de mundo? ¿Cuánto costó construir?

4.       ¿Quién es el abogado de Justin Bieber, y qué son la mejor manera (más rápido, más seguro) contactar al abogado?

5.       ¿Qué es la forma más barata de viaje de la Costa de oro a Melbourne?

6.       ¿Quién es Hatsune Miku? ¿A qué compañía pertenece ella? ¿Qué es sus cumpleaños?

7.       Encuentre una webcam viva en Bielorrusia. Encuentre que un lugar para permanecer en Antártida.

8.       ¿Qué canción fue la cima del taponazo australiano traza esta semana en 1991?

9.       ¿Qué tipo de coche es utilizado para hacer 'Vista de Calle de Google'?

10.   Traduzca estas preguntas en español y entonces tradúzcalos atrás al inglés.

English:

1.       Where it was the first University established and in which year? 

2.       What is called the band of Stephen Stockwell and what plays he?  It can call a pair of its songs? 

3.       What is the weight of the largest machine of world?  How much it cost to build? 

4.       Who is the lawyer of Justin Bieber, and what they are the best way (faster, surer) to contact the lawyer? 

5.       What is the cheapest form of trip of the Coast of gold to Melbourne? 

6.       Who is Hatsune Miku?  Why company belongs she?  What is its birthday? 

7.       Find a webcam alive in Belarus.  Find that a place to remain in Antarctica. 

8.       What song was the top of the Australian pop outline this week in 1991? 

9.       What type of car is utilized to do 'View of Street of Google'? 

10.   Translate these questions in Spanish and then translate them behind to the English. 

Found on: http://www.freetranslation.com/

Search engine used: ask.com

Week 5 - Response to Content

”Rubber”

”Rubber” is a movie that’s based on a simple element, ’no reason’. The movie’s main character is a tire in the dessert that’s rolls around and blow up everything he meet on his way. In the start you can’t get a feeling on what the point with the tire is. But as the introduction goes by, there is an audio played in the scene. The song is a sad love song about being alone and all by yourself. It is a way of showing the tires feeling.  At this point you start to understand the tire and why the it blows things up, it’s because it’s tired of being alone. It’s so sick of not getting any attention, that it uses its inner power to destroy the once that overlook him. The movie starts calm and with simply no reason, then develops in a more violent direction. At the end of first act it reaches its first plot point when the tire blows up the bunny. The movie is now changing to a violent direction where the tire starts to kill something that’s alive. It also starts to show happiness as it kills the animals and people. The movie’s setting is moving from being emotional to having no feelings at all and is heading in an unsure direction.

Week 4 - Tutorial Task

MySpace

Like most other social networking sites, MySpace has Terms of Service you have to agree to join the site. Most people don’t bother to read the terms because there is so much text, they just press agree. Is that smart or should we take the time to read it? 

Considering the content, MySpace have no ownership rights in the content that you post through or in connection with MySpace. But, by signing the agreement, you give them a limited license to use the information you put out, through or in connection with MySpace Services to applications, widgets, websites and other services. This also includes distributing part or all of the MySpace Services and any content included therein, in any media formats and through any media channel. The only thing that will not be distributed outside the MySpace Services and Linked Services is the content marked “private”. Though, this license does not give MySpace the right to sell or otherwise distribute your content outside of the MySpace and Linked Services. If, or when, you remove your content or change the content’s privacy setting to “private”, MySpace will cease distribution as soon as practicable. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you have agreed to let them use the content in a linked service, MySpace have no obligation to get the content deleted.

Looking at the privacy, MySpace Members may choose to provide or store non-personally identifiable information (non-PII) in their profiles, including date of birth, interests, hobbies, lifestyle choices, videos and/or pictures and so on. The Profile Information in a member’s profile is provided at his or her sole discretion. MySpace members can change their registration PII and profile information at any time. Through the “Edit Profile” they can control how visitors, other members and MySpace communicate with them by controlling their account settings. 

References:

French, A 2009, Facebook terms of services compared with MySpace, Flickr, Picasa, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter, viewed 27 August 2011,

http://amandafrench.net/blog/2009/02/16/facebook-terms-of-service-compared/

MySpace.com Terms of Use Agreement, 2009, viewed 27 August 2011,

http://www.myspace.com/Help/Terms

Privacy Policy, 2010, viewed 27 August 2011,

http://www.myspace.com/Help/Privacy

Week 4 - Response to Content

Cybernetics

As the Second World War was reaching its end, cybernetics grew up in the environment of a group investigating problems of communication systems and anti-aircraft targeting systems. The last problem was Norbert Wiener concerns about a computing pioneer named Vannevar Bush, in 1940. Wiener was a physicist and mathematician who meant that object’s trajectory and speed must be calculated in order to target a moving object. Always attack the enemy where it will be. This theory is for example used by hunters, who have to calculate where the dove will be by the time the bullet reaches it. Another cyberneticist named John von Neuman, who was a computing machine pioneer, worked together with an economic theorist named Oscar Morgenstern. Together they developed an influential model of economic behavior known as ‘games theory’, which is today often used in strategic decisions in the daily social life. And finally, a cybernetic named Claude Shannon, who was in common with them all, worked with the theoretical design and practical installation of maximally efficient communication systems. His model has been used in the media, but more as propaganda than communication since it concerns only about the successful and one-way sort of communication. In the end it’s necessary to think of all communication as verbal and symbolic, and look at the response and reaction to understand the real message.

Readings

Lister, M 2009, New Media: a critical introduction, London: Routledge, 237-242, 281-283.

Week 3 - Tutorial Task

 Task 1:

• What was Stephen Stockwell's first article in an academic journal? What year? Provide a full citation. What database did you use? 

The first academic journal by Stephen Stockwell was published in 1981.
 I used this database located on the Griffith library website: Australian Public Affairs Full Text (APA-FT) (via Informit)        

Stockwell, Stephen, R 1981, 'Kuranda police shooting', Legal Service Bulletin, vol.6, pp. 48-49

• In which comic did Governor Slugwell appear? Which Issues? Give their full citation for the earliest. Where did you find this information? What database did you use? (Check the trial databases)

Governor Slugwell appeared in the comic named Flaming Carrot Comics, in the following issues: 7, 10 and 11. The citation for the earliest number is:

Burden, B 1985, “When the Shoes Aren’t Worth the Shine” in Flaming Carrot Comics no.7, Renegade Press, pp. 3-31

I found this information in the Underground and Independent Comics database, which I found by searching for comics in the trial database.

• What is the latest medical thinking on the dangers of mobile phones? Provide a full citation.

Schüz, J 2011, American Journal of Epidemiology: Long-Term Mobile Phone Use and the Risk of Vestibular Schwannoma: A Danish Nationwide Cohort Study, vol. 174, no. 4, pp. 416-422, viewed 26 August 2011 in the American Journal of Epidemiology database.

• In Bladerunner, what is Leon's reaction when Holden asks him about his mother? Quote the 1982 draft script and provide a full reference. (Check the trial databases)

Holden: Describe in single words. Only the good things that come into your mind. About your mother.

Leon: My ...

Leon looks shocked, surprised. But the needles in the computer barely move. Holden goes for the inside of his coat. But big Leon is faster. His laser burns a hole the size of a nickel through Holden's stomach. Unlike a bullet, a laser causes no impact. It goes through Holden's shoulder and comes out of his back, clean as a whistle. Like a rag doll he falls back into the seat. Big slow Leon is already walking away, but he stops, turns, and with a little smile of satisfaction fires through the back of the seat.

As Leon walks out of the room the Voight-Kampff begins to blink, faint but steady

I used the trial database where I found a database called American Film Scripts Online. Here I searched in the scripts for Blade runner 1982.

Hampton, F, Peoples, D. W, Roland, K. 1982, Blade Runner(1982): Draft script, Electronic edition by Alexander Street Press L.L.C. in 2007

• What does Paul Soukup say Walter Ong saw as the main paradox in 20th century communication? Cite your source.

Soukup says that Ong saw the main paradox of the 20th century communication being that human communication works, not only in the sense of its success but in the sense of its expending energy.

Soukup, P. A 2006, Contexts of Faith: The Religious Foundation of Walter Ong's Literacy and Orality, vol. 5 no. 3, pp. 175-188

Found in the Taylor & Francis database through Griffith Library Search.

 

Task 2:

Friendster was launched in 2002 and is recognized as one of the world’s first social networks. It is a social network that is similar to MySpace and Facebook, where you can create an account, set your page up the way you want it, add widgets and add friends to your profile. When it started it was used by different kinds of people all over the world, but today it’s focused on young Asians across the world. On Friendster you could communicate with other members, share online content and media, and discover events and hobbies. Through Friendster Games and Friendster Music you could play games, join groups, discuss and share pictures and videos. It was a good source to use to stay in touch with friends or meet new people. At its peak, between September 2003 and March 2004, Friendster attracted more than 1 million unique visitors per month and had 115 million users. When Facebook and MySpace came, Friendster stated to fade away. These new competitors offered a lot more features, like instant status updates and tagging. Friendster tried to make their site better by changing it in many different ways, but their members got more and more unsatisfied and left them in advantage for Facebook. Facebook was new, interesting and had more features, and Friendster did not manage to get to the same level, so it started to fade away. In an attempt to survive they changed their concept and went from being a social communication site to an entertainment site.

Even though it could not keep up with its competitors, Friendster still made an influence on the way we use technology. They introduced the social network and got people interested, some even addicted, to it. So when Facebook came, people were already aware of what it was and how it worked. All Facebook had to do was offering the features people wanted and that the competitors didn’t have.

Research:

Friendster, viewed 26 August 2011,
http://www.molglobal.net/?page_id=1321

Hahn, J, Friendster Seeking New Friends, With Little Success, viewed 26 August 2011,
http://www.dmconfidential.com/blogs/category/Web/608/

Internet Archaeologists Find Ruins Of 'Frindster' Civilization, Youtube.com, viewed 29 August 2011 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mFJdOsjJ0k

Pachal, P 2011, Why Friendster Died: Social Media Isn't a Game, viewed 26 August 2011,
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2384588,00.asp

Presley, A 2010, What is Friendster?, viewed 26 August 2011,
http://www.brighthub.com/internet/web-development/articles/28522.aspx

Stern, R & Berryhill, A, Friendster Deletes All User Profiles Today, viewed 26 August 2011,
http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2011/05/friendster-deletes-all-user-profiles-today.html

Week 3 - Response to Content

"Mind Control & the Internet"

In this text, by Sue Halpern, she writes about some researcher that worked on putting nanotubes and neural prostetics in the head of people and rats. The aim was to overcome problems like memory loss coming from diseases like Alzheimer’s, and restore the mobility to those who are paralyzed. When talking about this, she brings up a man named Michael Chorost, who has benefited from brain-computer interface after he got completely deaf in 2001. On each of his inner ears there are placed a cochlear implant to fix a deficit he got. In his ideal world we will all be connected to the internet by the help of small neural implants. Chorots is convinced that the rest of the population also should become cyborgs. He thinks that since it worked for him, why wouldn’t it work for the rest? 

A science writer named David Ritchie wrote about the same topic in his book, The Binary Brain. He talked about the “biochip” which could make people plug into computers’ memories bank. In only a couple of seconds you had information about everything, like French, history and geography. There would be no interests in going to school as you already had all the information you could possible get. According to Ritchie, this technology is right around the corner, I guess we have to wait and see what happens.

More readings: Michael Chorost's webside: 

http://www.michaelchorost.com/index.htm

Resources:

Halpern, S 2011, "Mind Control & the Internett", New York Review of Books

Week 2 - Tutorial Task

PART 1:

a) Please check the list to the right to see my blogroll.

b) Embed a video that’s related to new communication technology:



(This video need to be watched on youtube) 

I chose this video because I think it highlights some of the issues facebook has, but with a funny twist. As you read further down in Part 2 of this post you will see what I mean.

c)  Have you ever experienced the situation where you sit down to finally get some work done, but end up doing everything else? You just have to check your facebook and the new photos from the weekend, read the local, national and international news, read some gossip, and when you’re finally done there’s no time left to do the actual work. If you recognize yourself, I’ve found your solution. LeechBlock, which is an extra feature for Firefox, gives you the opportunity to block those time-wasting sites that can suck the time out of your workday. All you have to do after downloading it is go to the tool-line in Firefox and specify which sites to block. You just simply fill out the boxes as suggested below:

You can make different sets of sites to block, with different days and times to when they should be blocked. You can choose between fixed time periods, time limit or a combination of both. You simply creates the LeechBlock in the way it suits you best, and in the way you can get the most out of it.

I think this is a genius tool cause I know most people would recognize themselves in the situation. It will help people focus on their job and work effectively for a given time-period. You will absolutely hate it when you use it, but you will love it in the end.

PART 2:

I’m not on facebook... Yes, you heard right. When I say it people show me the same surprising face every time, like I’m the only person in the world that’s not on facebook. When my friends introduce me to their friends they just love to tell them about it, like it’s the most important thing about me. As most people you probably wonder why, why I’m not on facebook. If you saw the video above, although it has a funny perspective, it gives a good sense of why. I think facebook replace too much of the communication that should be done face-to-face. Some people use it to say things they don’t have enough courage to say directly to the person it concerns, both in the positive and negative way.  People also write way to much about their personal problems and what they are doing, like what they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner and how bad they feel after their boyfriend left them. I even know about a man that published on facebook: “Tonight I will drop the bomb”, before he left his wife later in the evening. In addition to this, facebook also contains lots of fake profiles and bullying, which can get serious affects on the people it concerns. But, there are offcourse lots of good things about facebook as well, like friends, family, pictures, events and social contact. I am not going to deny that I’ve never been checking out what’s out there together with a friend on their profile, but there is an unconscious thing that’s keeping me from making a profile myself. But, now when I’m here in Australia, far away from my family and friends at home, I’m considering it.

Week 2 - Response to Content

Evolution of the telephone

On June 2, 1875, Alexander Graham Bell while experimenting with his technique called "harmonic telegraph" discovered he could hear sound over a wire. In Marc1876 he invents and demonstrates the telephone. The day marked not only the birth of the telephone but the death of the multiple telegraphs as well. Gardiner Hubbard formed the Bell Telephone Company in 1877, and by the end of the year there were three thousand telephones in service. Hubbard named Theodore Vail as the new general manager of the Bell Company in 1878. This decision became the start of what would become the giant monopoly, the "Bell System. In 1878 the first manual switching board was located in New Haven Connecticut. 1891, a man named Almon Strowger got tired waiting for operators to answer the phone, so he invented a automatic telephone that allowed direct calling. As 1893 and 1894 went by, phones and phone systems were built all over America and the expansion started. Bell System completed the first coast-to-coast telephone line in 1915 from New York to San Francisco, which was the start of overseas cable installations. It seems the late 1940s were a time of innovation. The first commercial mobile phones were installed in 1946 in St. Louis. In 1947, the scientists at Bell Labs invented the transistor and the course of history changed. Electronic Switching offices began taking the place of the old mechanical switches. As the year 1974 was reached, the government announced it was filing suit to break up the "monopolistic" Bell System, and in 1984 governments wish was realized. But this did not stop the telephone from developing, and in 1997 the first camera phone was invented. For over one hundred years, telephone service has served as the basic communication link in this country and the world. Today, cellular phones and computers have revolutionized personal and business communication.

 

Readings:

McGaughey, W 2011, Some Dates in the History of Cultural Technologies, viewed 27 August 2011, http://worldhistorysite.com/culttech.html

Telephone History: 1876 – 1900, viewed 27 August 2011,
http://www.telephonymuseum.com/telephone%20history.htm

Telephone History: 1901 – 1940, viewed 27 August 2011,
http://www.telephonymuseum.com/History%201901-1940.htm

Telephone History: 1940 – today, viewed 27 August 2011,
http://www.telephonymuseum.com/History%201940-today.htm

The History of Communication, viewed 27 August 2011, http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_history_of_communication.htm

Week 1 - Tutorial Task

Hello! My name is Grethe and I'm from Norway. I've just arrived in Australia, where I'm going to study for the next four months at the Griffith University in Gold Coast. I'm really looking forward to exploring the country and what it has to offer, like meeting kangaroos and koalas, learn how to surf and diving in the Great Barrier Reef. Hopefully I'll go home with lots of amazing experiences.
During the semester I'm going to take a course name New Communication Technology, which I find really interesting cause technology affects my life in so many different ways. Through television I get affected by news and the commercials. Internet keeps me in touch with friends and family, as well as offering news from all over the world. We also have the mobile phone and the radio which affect me in similar ways. So, there are a lot of different sources, and my goal during the course is to learn more about them. What they are, how they affect me and how I can use them. Since communication technology is a big part of our lives, it would be good to know how to take advantage of it and what to avoid. Through this blog I will express my experiences and what I learn in the course.

Week 1 - Response to Content

In new communication technology the main issues are many. Hacktivism has become a bigger and bigger issue, although the security is getting better. Governments have lost control over important secret files, people’s identities have been stolen and people’s privacy has been destroyed. So, privacy is also a big problem. Bullying and racism is an issue as well. One reason is that people have the opportunity to write anonymous letters and posts, and post pictures and movies that is illegal do to the law. Although the information may be incorrect, it spreads fast and does a lot of damage.

We can distinguish between old and new communication technology. The old ones may be radio, television, oral, written, graphical and smoke-signals. The new ones include more recent inventions, like the computer, internet, e-mail, mobile phones, social media and smart phones. The way we distinguish between them are: When a better alternative occur and it has the same or more functions than the present one, the alternative becomes a new while the present one becomes an old communication technology. An example is the computer, which currently is a new one, but is moving against getting old. It has lots of new competitors that replace it on several levels, like the ipad and the blackboard. The technology develops faster than before, which make the new ones older faster.