Lec 7 Political Possibilities

Today we have a guest who talked about the Political Possibilities.

The definition of Democracy is introduced. Democracy has both broadened and at the same time narrowed. It does not address the impact of the present period of rapid transition from an industrial to an information economy and the consequent challenge to the power of nation states by global economic and cultural processes. The increasing concentration, centralisation and commercialisation of the mass media appear to have foreclosed avenues for democratic participation in currently existing representative democracy. Deliberation and discussion are key attributes of democracy, however, the conflict between free speech and copyright continue to emerge in strange ways. In Australia we don't have the constitutional right to free speech. Only recently did the High Court find that free political expression was implied by the constitution and that was at the behest of a TV station concerned that they would revenue if political advertising was banned. Hacker has become synonymous with computer criminal. Hacking has developed beyond its anti-social and avant garde origins to incorporate any approach to any media that seeks to use hidden potentialities and anomalies in that media to open interpretation and debate. Thus the work of 'culture-jammers' in adapting bill boards to carry anti-corporate messages is a kind of a hack just as is doing similar adaptation to a corporate web site.



What opportunities can you find for political participation via the internet:How many of the following can you achieve while sticking to your political beliefs?
1. Sign an e-petition.
Signed “protect heritage” petition.

2. Respond to a professional blogger at a major news site.
http://www.bloggernews.net/123179.


3. What is Barak Obama up to today?
President Obama plans to speak to Americans via a prime-time address December 1 about new plans for the war in Afghanistan, which has now lasted about eight years.
http://blogs.america.gov/obama/2009/11/30/changes-to-afghanistan-strategy-in-store/.

4,.Find out who your local, state and federal representatives are.
"In the Australian federal system there are three levels of government: Federal, State and Local. Each level of government is centred on a body (a parliament or a council) democratically elected by the people as their representatives. Each level of government has its own responsibilities, though many responsibilities are shared in various ways." Gold Coast city Council: http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_standard.aspx?pid=4351standard.aspx?pid=4351Local Representatives:"Gold Coast City Council is a Local Government Council - part of the third or lowest level of government in Australia, often seen as being the most accessible to the people. Local government bodies such as Council have specific responsibilities, duties and limitations on their areas of responsibility or influence. You may have concerns involving an area of government where local Council is unable to act or advise. In these cases you may wish to contact your State or Federal government representative."http://www.qld.gov.au/government/levels-of-government.html#section-local-government-informationhttp://www.localgovernment.qld.gov.au/http://www.localgovernment.qld.gov.au/LocalGovernment/StructuralReform/Localgovernmentstaffinfo.aspxrnment.qld.gov.au/LocalGovernment/StructuralReform/Localgovernmentstaffinfo.aspxhttp://www.lgaq.asn.au/web/guest;jsessionid=696625EB4508F076BBFBD3C33DCC6721http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_standard2.aspx?pid=5785ww.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_standard2.aspx?pid=5785(http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/attachment/factsheets/fs357_government_members.pdf)Federal Government Member:"The Australian Federal Government is the highest tier of Government in Australia and consists of two houses of parliament - the House of Representatives and the Senate. Members of the House of Representatives represent specific areas of their state (electorates). Decisions made by the House of Represenatatives are then reviewed in the Senate. Senators represent their state as a whole, rather than a specific electorate region - the List of Government Representatives of the Gold Coast Region is a handy reference of members of State and Federal Parliaments representing areas of Gold Coast City."Mr. Stuart Roberts MP LiberalContact details:Ph: (07) 5580 0355Fax:(07) 5580 0366Email:Stuart.Robert.MP@aph.gov.auPh: (02) 6277 2106 (Canberra)Fax: (02) 6277 8441 (Canberra)Electorate Office Address:5 Cottonwood Place OXENFORD QLDhttp://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/attachment/factsheets/contacts-federal.pdf

5. Look up the Queensland or Australian hansard to find the last time your local member spoke in parliament.Qld Parliament offers condolences to flood, bushfire victims
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/10/2487274.htm.

Lec 6 Academic Study of Video Game

Today, the topic is focus on academic study of video game.At the beginning of the lecture, teacher showed us a video about digital game. Nowadays, video is more and more popular than TV and movies because people think they can be a party of video game. A player said that she is fond of video because she can do things which she could not do in the real world. With the developing of technology, the video is tendency commercial, and it makes lots of money. Some people put the game staffs on to eBay to sell, and then some people use real money to buy them. However, produce a video game is a complicated process. It needs artist and animation staffs work together. For example, artist draws the pictures, musical produces music and then animation staffs will connect all elements and put them into computer to make the video games. In order to be accuracy and reality, the video games makers need to do more references before they establish the 3D environment. For instance, they have to look up the map to find the location and reading papers to understand the different times’ situations and create the characteristics through watching the picture or photos. Also, a video game need a good story to attract more people to joy in and this is a difficult part of game that game maker mentions. Last, people like video game because not only can they create a new society and world by themselves but also can enjoy different life in the video games.


I am going to write topic 4. I did researches and now I am going to summarise the useful paper that I am going to use in my essay.

These are journals and books that I am going to use:

Bimber, B, & Davis, R 2003, Campaigning online: the Internet in U.S elections, Oxford University Press, New York.

Carty, R.K. (ed) 1988. Three Canadian party Systems: An interpretation of the development of national politics. In Perlin, Party Democracy in Canada: the politics of national party conventions (pp. 15-30).

Gunter, B. (2006). Advances in e-democracy: Overview. Emerald Group Publishing Limited 58(5), 361-370.

Galston, William 1999, “Does the Internet Strengthen Community?”, Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, Maryland School of Public Affairs, accessed

Jansen, H 2004, 'Is the Internet Politics as usual or Democracy's Future?', The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Vol.9.

Rainie, Lee et al 2006 (John Horrigan, Barry Wellman, Jeffrey Boase), “The Strength of Internet Ties” in Communities, Social Networking (Jan 25, 2006). Pew Internet & American Life Project, accessed viahttp://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2006/The-Strength-of-Internet-Ties.aspx

Rubin, A 2000, ‘Security Considerations for Remote Electronic voting over the Internet’. Viewed 30 November 2009. via
http://www.publicpolicy.umd.edu/IPPP/fall1999/internet_community.htm

These researches argued that the something about the internet and politics. It also addressed the situation about the nation/state in the age of networks that have the potential to span the whole planet and the idea of "community" in the age of networked digital media. Those researches are very useful to my essay.

Lec 5 Virtual Philosophy

Today’s lecture focuses on virtual reality.

Virtual Reality is a system that enables one or more users to move and react in a computer-simulated environment. Various types of devices allow users to sense and manipulate virtual objects much as they would real objects. This natural style of interaction givesparticipants the feeling of being immersed in the simulated world. Virtual worlds are created by mathematical models and computer programs. There are some types of VR: 3D simulation on computer screen, control generally by mouse or joystick, utilizes VRML or similar program to give the sensation of moving through an environment. Due to this lecture is partial to theory, teacher shows us video to explain the virtual reality. The video is amusing; it presented a ‘real world” in the computer. For example, the popular game second life, people in the fabricate world can do exactly things just like in the real world. In that game, people can earn money, go to bar, shopping etc. and do business with the people who are from around world. Meanwhile, people can adjust their appearance they like and take adventure in the different places.





IM program is simple and easy to use compare with the 3D environment. Usually, I only use MSN to communicate with family and friends. Sometimes, I write blog or upload photos to share my life with my friends. However, 3D environment is more unique. People can choose their own appearances and personality; even they can choose their own special talents in the 3D environment. Due to people face lots of stresses from their work and life, more and more people are willing to choose 3D environment because 3D environment can help them reduce the stresses. For example, a friend of mine is infatuated with 3D environment games. He said that the 3D environment is exactly same as our real world, and you can do anything what you want or like in the virtual world. It can satisfy your desire in that world. However, 3D environment is not perfect. It wastes our time and energy. Some teenagers addictive on 3D environment, and did criminal and finally ruin their own life.

Lecture 4 Free culture, Free society

Today, the lecture mainly talked about free culture and open software.


Last lecture talked about the virtual community which means that people get tother on the internet. This lecture not only motioned that but also talked about collaboration and choice. People should have choice in a free culture. However, in the free culture the copy right is very important issue. Usually, copy right is related the knowledge and creative common (CC) is the area the people share.

In the free software section, the code breaker defined that short edited cip from BBC documentary about source software. There are some software principles, for example, the freedom to run the program for and purpose and the freedom to study how the program works. The open source is attend to free software into the business it emphasis open rather than free. Free software like Linux and friefox can be seen it, use it , edits, under limited-right line. Software developed by teams of volunteers in the community, development goals set by community. Business modal is providing series support in the software.

Lecture3

Today, the lecture talked about the social media.

New media contains virtual community and individual identity. Virtual Community was defined that when people carry on with sufficient human feeling to form webs of personal relationships. Generally, people use internet to share their interests with other people who have the same hobbies. People use internet to exchange emotion, some people use internet to look for friend or pictures or profiles. Ego-certric social network was mentioned in the lecture. It focus has moved way form groups of people with common interest (people are no individual any more, people are net work). Here comes ’web 2.0’. It was a new era in the web’s history. It is kind of marketing strategy and creates the community. Web 2.0 is mostly a technical definition design a new technology to do with the creation of web services with emphasis on the user experiences. It had three features: follsonomy, the idea of user-generated content and open API.

Social media describes web blog (twitter), social network servos (my space, face book) and content sharing communities (youtube).

1. What did Allen Turing wear while riding his bicycle around Bletchley Park?
The search engine I used was AltaVista. I used a Boolean search and plugged in “Alan Turing AND bicycle AND Bletchley Park”. The last result on the first page of results was a link to a short biography for Alan Turingon a Generic Universal Role Playing System Game software for WWII website.
Alan Turing use to wear a gas mask while riding his bicycle around Bletchley Park to prevent hay-fever symptoms.

2. On what date did two computers first communicate with each other? Where were they?
Using AltaVista again, I typed in the entire question into the search engine. The fifth result down was to a page with a timeline for the history of computers. This only gave me the year in which two computers “talked to each other” so I went back to AltaVista, plugged in “computers AND communicate AND 1969″. Still no luck because the website,I was referred to only gave the year. It did, however, give a location. According to Communication and Computer Network, the Department of Defence in the USofA started a network called Advanced Research Projects Administration Network, or ARPANET.
The first computers talked to each other in 1969 through a network called ARPANET. The computers were located in California and Utah.

3. What is Bill Gates’ birthday and what age was he when he sold his first software?
To search for this, I plugged in “Bill Gates biography”. The first result was Bill Gates’ biography on the Microsoft website. This told me his birthday. To find out when he sold his first software, I plugged in “what age was Bill Gates when he sold his first software” and the fourth result down was for his biography on Answers.com. This told me that Bill Gates had sold his first commercially developed software for $3,000 in 1975. With a little bit of math, I was able to determine what age Bill Gates was when this happened.
Bill Gates was born on the 28th of October, 1955. So if Bill Gates first sold his software in 1975, that would make him 20 years old.

4. Where was the World Wide Web invented?
I know that the WWW was invented at CERN. I found out in Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. But I had to double check. I plugged the question into AltaVista and the first result confirmed my answer.
The World Wide Web was invented at CERN.

5. How does the power of the computer you are working on now compare with the power of a personal computer from 35 years ago?
So I figured for this one I would have to do two searches. One to find out the power of a computer made 30 years ago and one for the power of a computer made today. I first went back to the timeline for the history of computers. This told me that in 1979, Intel released the 8088 8-bit processor to the public in June. Back at AltaVista, I knew that finding the average power of computers in 2009 would render with lots of results so I went to the Dell Computers website for a little Window shopping (stop cringing, that was a good pun). This told me that an Inspiron computer had a “Intel(R) Pentium(R) Processor E5300 (2.60GHz, 800FSB, 2MB)”. I don’t know what that means.
• A computer in 1979 had a 8088 8-bit processor.
• A computer in 2009 has a 2.60GHz, 800FSB, 2MB processor
• You decipher what that means and work out the power differences

6. What is the weight of the largest parsnip ever grown?
. Using AltaVista I found the Guinness world records website. No answer there so I searched for “giant parsnip” on AltaVista. The second result was for the Port Lincoln Times. This told me that a man by the name of Ken Holden picked a giant parsnip from his garden in July of this year. This isn’t a record but I can’t find any other large parsnips.
Ken Holden grew a parsnip that weighed 2.3 kilograms. Mr Holden has also previously grown a cauliflower weighing 3.2 kilograms and carrots weighing 2.7 kilograms.

7. When did Queensland become a state and why is the Tweed River in New South Wales?
It’s Queensland’s 150 birthday so I am assuming that Queesland became a state 150 years ago, in 1859. To double check this, I searched for the history of Queensland in AltaVista and the second result was for the Queensland Government’s website of Queensland history. This confirmed that “Queen Victoria gave her approval and signed Letters Patent on June 6 1859 to establish the new colony of Queensland.” For the second part of the question, I did a Boolean search in AltaVista for the “history of the border between QLD and NSW”. This lead me to another Queensland Government website, this time for Mapping and Surveying.
Queensland separated from New South Wales and thus became a state in 1859. There were many reasons for why the boarders between states are the way they are and these reasons can be found on the Queensland Government Mapping and Surveying website.

8. What was the weather like in south-east Queensland on 17 November 1954?
For this question, I was pretty sure that the Bureau of Meteorology would have this information so in AltaVista I plugged in ”History of Meterology in QLD” and the first result was for the BOM website, History of Floods in QLD. I followed a few links and came to the BOM page for the history of floods in the 1950s in QLD. This told me that in the first half of November, 1954, the southeast of Queensland experienced heavy rain and thunderstorms.
I can only presume from the information from the BOM page for the history of flooding in southeast Queensland that on the 17th of November 1954, it was raining in southeast Queensland.

9. Why is Lord Byron still remembered in Venice?
I did a Boolean search in AltaVista for this one. I plugged in “Lord Byron AND Venice history” and came up with a BBC History website as the first result. This was a particularly easy question to search for.
Lord Byron is remembered in Venice because he wrote some of his most famous works including ‘Don Juan’ in Venice.

10. What band did Sirhan Chapman play in and what is his real name?
For this question, I plugged in “Sirhan Chapman” into AltaVista and the fourth result was for the Revolution Rock Oral History of Brisbane Music website. This told me the bands name, The Black Assassins, but not Sirhan Chapman’s real name. To find his real name, I searched for “The Black Assassins biography” in AltaVista. The first result was for The Black Assassins’ 10th Birthday Bash CD Launch Party 2005 website. Looking through the photographs of said band, Sirhan Chapman looked suspiciously like the lecturer for New Communication Technologies, Stephen Stock well.

Lecture 2 Summary

Today, the lecture introduced the history of computer and internet.

The first part talked about the history of computer. Computer is process information. The Origen computer was used of mathematic calculation. The Second Word War, computer was use to calculate and it mainly used in military contents. With the developing of computer, it stared to broadly use in business areas. Computers were first commercially produced by IBM in the 1950s. The first generation of computers were large, unwieldy and expensive machines for military, government and corporate work but it quickly became apparent that computers would get smaller, quicker and less expensive at an exponential rate. In 1975, the first PC (personal computer) was released, however, the biggest problem is it didn't have a language - a set of terms by which the user could communicate with their computer. Bill Gates was the first people who writing a language called BASIC for the Altair. And then Microsoft/Bill Gates made a decision to promise an Operating System. GNU/Linux is a beautiful example of the idea of Open Source software development where a community comes together to work on a project for the sake of a job well done. Meanwhile, the computer hikers appear as well. These hikers are computer export; they create software and share it with each other.


The second part talked about the history of internet. The internet is a network of networks. These networks include servers, mainframes and personal computers and many other devices that use CMC (computer-mediated communications) technology, loosely interconnected by the telephone system and, more recently, broad-band cable and satellite services, to link people around the world into an information-sharing system. The idea of the Internet came from RAND Corporation in the 1960s. By applying game theory, RAND developed a scheme for a communication, command and control network that could survive a nuclear war because it had no central control, and could reform around communication services left intact. Web is one particular use of the Internet that emerged in the 1990s. Some of the early internet applications that were instrumental in defining the nature and use of the internet are as follows: Electronic mail (Email), File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Internet Relay Chat (IRC).At the last part, a video simply illustrated how the internet work.


This vedio introduced the histroy of internet.This Video is closely relates this lecture



*How long have you been using these communication technologies?
I have been using these communicztion techologies for alomst 10years

* What influenced you to start using these particular technologies? How did you find out about them?
People who around me are all use it . And it very convencies and simple to use. I can find my favourite music, movides etc.On the other hand, I use it to contact with my family and friend.
I find them by searching net and some were introduced by friends.

* Is privacy an issue for you when using new technologies? What do you think of companies like Facebook and Google who collect information about their users? (How do you deal with issues around privacy?)
There is no problem about my privace, because most blog has limited conditions. Those cmpanies collect infomation can take more convences for there customers. For example,I use facebook find many classmates by searching theri profiles.If I do not want other people to read my pricacy information I will set up limitation or establish password.

* Do you have friends whom you know only from the internet and have never met in person? Is this different to people that you know in person? Describe the difference.

I have no friends whom from the internet and have never met in person. However, some my frindes does. They saied that they prefer to share their secret with stranger. Because they did not konw each other and it feel easy to talked about thier secrets. Sometimes they will give good ideas. Because they did not know each othre, it will reduce more embarrassed.

Lecture 1 summary

I am TingTing. I am doing hotel management in Griffith Uni. A friend of mine did media major and she recommended me to study this course. This is my first lecture and I were quite enjoy this lecture.

Now I am going to summarize my first lecture.

Communication Technology is closely connection with people’s daily life. Some communication technology tools, such as email, face book, MSN, online music, shopping and YouTube etc. are broadly used by people. In this lecture, the general knowledge about technology and media were introduced.

Communication is any process that transfers, transmits or makes information known to other people. Technology is the scientific study of mechanical arts and their application to the world.
It is extension people’s ability to do something. Media is message and technology used in a cultural or social way named medium. A research from lecture shows that communication technology played an important role in people’s daily life. For example, people use email to contact with their friends who are far way from them. Some people write blog on the net and upload photos to record their daily life and share those staffs with other people. Some people purchase goods from internet and it not only can save time for the busy people but also can save money.

In conclusion, communication technology reduced the distance of people and enhanced people’s relationship