Week five - Tutorial task

Where was the first university established and in what year? 

 "A woman by the name of Fatima Fihriyya founded the University of ‘Al-Qarawiyyin’ in the year 245 A.H. in the middle of the 9th Century C.E.

Al-Qarawiyyin is a central mosque located in the old city of Fez, Morocco whose name, ‘Jami’ Al-Qarawiyyin,’ means ‘The Central Mosque of the Townspeople.’
The role of the university historically wasn’t merely religious. Rather, it has played a cultural, social, and political role in educating, directing, and reforming the lives of the individuals of the Muslim world community.
Al-Qarawiyyin is also argued to be the first ‘university’ in the world ever to be established, which rivals Azhar University of Cairo, Egypt in this claim. Al-Qarawiyyin gave birth not just to religious scholars. It also at one time in its history produced great jurists, hadith specialists, historians, mathematicians, time observation experts, astronomers, physicians, ascetics, doctors of literature, language, and poets."

I found this by searching in yahoo.com, it took me to this site:

http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6190

What is Stephen Stockwell 's band called and what does he play? Can you name a couple of their songs?

The name of the band is called "The black assassins". Stephen Stockwell plays the keyboard and sings vocals. Some of their songs are Pain Barrier, This state must pass, White lies and Death take me now. I found this by searching for him on youtube.com, where I found one of their videos. Under the video I found a link to the bands web site: http://www.blackassassins.net/index.html

What is the weight of the largest machine in the world? What does it cost to build?

I used bing.com to find this information, and it lead me to this page: http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Humor/Workshop/Trencher.htm
The worlds largest machine is a digging machine.

•  The machine is 95 meters high and 215 meters long (almost 2.5 football fields in length)

•  Weight is 45,500 tons (that's equivalent to a bumper to bumper line of jeeps 80 miles long)

•  It took 5 years to design and manufacture at a cost of $100 million

•  Maximum digging speed is 10 meters per minute

Can move more than 76,000 cubic meters of coal, rock, and earth per day.

Here is a youtube video showing pictures of the machine: 

Who is the lawyer for Justin Bieber, and what is the best way (faster, more reliable) to contact the lawyer?

After searching for "Justin Bieber lawyer" on ask.com, I found an article about him, and then searched his name alone. His name is Kenneth A. Feinswog, and the best way to contact him is by calling (310)277-8211.

What is the cheapest way to travel from the gold coast to Melbourne?

 The cheapest way is to walk, skate, ride a bicycle, or hitch-hike. But if you want to fly, then the cheapest one I found was for $99. I searched in www.statravel.com.au. 

https://flights.statravel.com.au/price.do

Who is Hatsune Miku? What company does she belong to? What is her birthday? 

"HATSUNE MIKU" is a computer music software that enables users to create synthesized singing of unprecedented quality and remarkable realism by

just typing in lyrics and melody. Powered by YAMAHA's VOCALOID(= Vocal + Android) technology, HATSUNE MIKU was developed by Crypton Future.

Her birthday is August 21st. She was born in 2007. 


This information was found on Facebook.com

Find a webcam live in Belarus. Find a place to stay in Antarctica. 

I searched in yahoo.com, typed in "Belarus live webcam" and found this site. It gives you different links to webcams in Belarus. 
http://www.webcamgalore.com/EN/webcam/Belarus/Minsk/498.html


Since there are no hotels in Antarctica, the only way to stay the night there, if you are not camping, is to sleep in the boat you came in. There are cruise ships going there, and they are the only places you'll find food and beds.
I used yahoo.com for this search.
http://www.mapsofworld.com/antarctica/hotels/


What song was top of the lists of Australian pop this week in 1991? 

The number one hit in Australia in 1991, week 34, was Bryan Adams with "everything I do, I do it for you". Again I used yahoo.com and searched for " australia number one hits week 34 year 1991" and came to this site: http://tsort.info/music/yr1991.htm

Here is the song from youtube.com

What kind of car is used to make 'Google Street View'? 

It is a Volkswagen New Beetle. I found it using bing.com, searching for "google street view car". Gave me this site:  http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/01/take-a-look-at-the-vehicle-thats-taking-a-look-at-you/

Translate these questions in spanish and then translate them back into English.

From english to spanish:

1.¿Dónde estaba la primera universidad establecida y en qué año?

2.¿Lo que se denomina banda de Stephen Stockwell y lo que él jugar? ¿Puede nombrar un par de sus canciones?

3.¿Cuál es el peso de la máquina más grande del mundo? ¿Cuánto cuesta para construir?

4.¿Quién es el abogado de Justin Bieber, y lo que es la mejor manera (más rápida, más fiable) ponerse en contacto con el abogado?

5.¿Cuál es la forma más barata de viajar desde la costa de oro a Melbourne?

6.¿Quién es Hatsune Miku? ¿Qué empresa ella pertenece a? ¿Cuál es su cumpleaños?

7.Encontrar una webcam vivo en Belarús. Encontrar un lugar para alojarse en la Antártida.

8.¿Qué canción era tope de las listas de pop australianas esta semana en 1991?

9.¿Qué tipo de coche se utiliza para hacer 'Google Street View'?

10.Traducir estas preguntas en español y, a continuación, se traducen en inglés.

From spanish to english:

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

2.What is known as Stephen Stockwell band and that he play? Can you name a couple of their songs?

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

4.Who is the lawyer of Justin Bieber, and what is the best way (faster, more reliable) contact with the lawyer?

5.What is the cheapest way to travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?

6.Who is Hatsune Miku? What company it belongs to? What is your birthday?

7.

Find a live webcam in Belarus. Find a place to stay in Antarctica.

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

9.What kind of car is used to make 'Google Street View'?

10.Translate these questions into Spanish and then translated into English.

Week five - Respose to content

NO REASON!


Movies may be the best thing ever invented! They can make you laugh, cry, angry, annoyed, scared, confused, shocked, smarter, dumber and any other type of feeling you can thing of. It is magic.
But how do people create this magic? It's not as easy as it may seem. That is why some movies does better than others. If you want to make money, you need to make a good movie, and that is why you need to know HOW.


A man named Syd Field knows how. And this is how he explains it (sort of).
A regular movie is divided into three acts: 
Act 1: Setup 
Act 2: Confrontation
Act 3: Resolution
                                                                              Act one- The setup  

Syd Field

This part of the movie is the most crucial one, you have to get the viewer interested right from the start.
This is where you find out
-Who the film is about?
-Who is the lead character?
-What kind of person are they?
All of these questions should be answered within the first 30minutes of the movie.
By the end of this act the first plot point comes. A plot point is a hook in the action that spins it around and creates direction.


In a normal Hollywood movie there are five elements of a plot:

1. A believable/sympathetic lead character
2. Their urgent/difficult problem
3. Their attempts to overcome that problem (the hurdles)
4. The last stand/climax
5. Resolution

In this movie, "Rubber", you get no sympathy for the main character. The main character here is a small car tire who discover that he has telepathic powers, and uses these powers to kill everything on his way. It is a very mean tire! The plot point 1 in "Rubber" is when the tire tries to kill the woman in the car, but fails. It gets frustrated cause she got away, and makes it his mission to find her. 

"Rubber"

Week four - Tutorial task

Pick a social networking site that you either regularly visit or know about, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Bebo, Livejournal, Tumblr, Google+, etc., and discuss in 200 words how you understand the Terms of Service that all users must agree to to be invited into the site.

* Some things to consider:

+ what are the kinds of content they allow?

+ what can the service do with your content?

+ what guarantees of privacy do they offer?

If, for example, Twitter wanted to make and sell a witty coffee table book from yours and others' status updates, could they do so and would this be 'ethical'? What are your thoughts?

Facebook

Facebook is known worldwide and is used by millions of people. It is made so you can keep in touch with your friends and see what they are up to. You can also share your interests, play games and make groups for special occasions. Most people post pictures, updates their status, share links, music, what ever you can think of really. It’s the new way to communicate with the world and the ones close to you. But every good thing has its down sides.

Over the years Facebook has changed its privacy settings so many times, it’s hard to keep track. And these settings are crucial for you and your information. On Facebook you can decide what you want to share, how you want to share it and who you want to share it with.

It says in the terms of Facebook that you own everything you put out there. But at the same time Facebook can’t control everything. They have advertisers and applications that facebookers use through Facebook, and when they do that they agree to share some of their info with them. This is completely up to the facebooker.

Your profile picture and your name will be shown no matter what, even to people who doesn’t have Facebook, this is so it’s easier for people to find each other. But everything else is up to you, and how you want share your life with the world. Facebook does not like to be messed around with, so they have very strict policies, but they can’t guarantee that there are maintained by everyone.

You agree to this when you get a Facebook account. Not many people read it, because it’s so long. But it shows that they take peoples privacy wishes seriously and want to create something that everyone can benefit from in a positive way.

I think many people have used Facebook in many wrong ways. But that happens everywhere. And at the end of the day it is you who decide what you want to share. If you don’t want a nude photo of you passed around or a pervert to get hold of it, don’t post it on Facebook, or let others do it. Easy as that.

I found my information on Facebook, under “Terms” and “Privacy”.

http://www.facebook.com/terms.php

http://www.facebook.com/policy.php

Week four - Respose to content

Media and cyberspace - a part of our day to day life, but would you let it take over you life?


Media is a huge part of our lives. We see it every where, we use it every day, and we enjoy it. It can be fun and it can be useful. We have the real life media, such as TV news, newspapers, magazines etc. And then we have the fun media, the games. The world of video games can be exiting, scary, funny, and cool. The best part of it is, it let's you use your imagination and takes you on the ride of your life. It is all just fantasy. You enter a world called "cyberspace".

Today we have video games for people in all ages. The ones that are a bit scare are the ones with violence in them. It has been a debate going on for years about if the age limit for certain games should be higher, if it should be allowed to promoted on TV and web sites. If there should be rules of how much violence and what kind of violence there should be in the games. This could go on forever. No one has come up with an answer yet.


Yes, people have committed crimes that has been inspired my TV games, and some has done crimes because they have forgotten the difference between reality and the game. 
A good example of this is the movie we saw in this weeks lecture, "eXistenZ". It was an extreme movie. But it showed us how difficult it can be to separate real life and the game, cause you get so into it.

But there are also games that helps people cope with difficult situations and make them feel safe. Online gaming sites make gamers feel like they are a part of something. When you play a game, you let your mind run free, and that might help your creativity out in the real world. 

A lot of time and money are spent on these games. And that money has to go some where. We can't forget the people who make the games. They have devoted so much time and energy making something extraordinary for their customers. This is what they do for a living. And each negative and positive effect the game has on the player, it has on the game maker. If someone does a crime that out sprung from a game, the maker would get sued, and feel very guilty. They make the games for your entertainment. Not for them to take over your life.

Week three - 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 article was called Kuranda police shooting, written by Stephen Stockwell, February 1981.

Full citation: Stockwell, S. 1981, "Kuranda police shooting", Legal Service Bulletin, vol. 6, no. Feb 1981, pp. 48-49. 

I managed to find this on HeinOnline Law Journal Library.

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)

He appeared in the comic “Flaming Carrot Comics”. In three different issues, number 7, 10, 11.

Full citation:  Flaming Carrot Commics, No, 7, by Bob Burden. (Burbank, CA:Renegade Press, 1985) 36 pages.

Found it in Underground and Independent Comics Database.

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



Regular users of mobile phones were not statistically significantly more likely to have been diagnosed with brain tumors compared with nonusers.

Full citation: D. Aydin, M. Feychting, J. Shulz, T. Tynes, T. V. Andersen, L. S. Schmit, H. Poulsen, C. Johnason, 2011, 'Mobile Phone Use and Brain Tumors in Children and Adolescents: A Multicenter case - Control', Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol 103, Issue 16, June, Pp. 1264-1276.

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)


He reacts by checking if Holden was really asking about Leon’s mother. When he get’s that confirmed he offers to tell Holden about his mother. Then Leon shoots him.

- Leon: My mother?

- Holden: Yeah.

- Leon: Let me tell you about my mother...

   [Leon shoots Holden]

Full citation: Fancher, H. Peoples, D.W. Kibbee, R. (1982). Blade Runner. [Script]. American Film Scripts. Chicago.

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



He says that Walter Ong saw "That a society given so much to the use of diagrams and to the manoeuvrings of objects in space... should at the same time develop means of communication which specialize not in sight but in sound.”

Full citation: Soukup. P, 2004, ‘Communication research trends’, Centre for the Study and Communication of Culture, Vol 23, p.14.

Task 2

Research and write 250 words about an old internet community / medium that has faded from popularity – like the BBS or Usenet or the original AOL or Compuserve --- please use at least 2 references to show where you found your information, but DO NOT use wikipedia as a source. 

Friendster

This was a website very similar to Facebook. It was founded in 2002. Friendster became very popular in Asia and over 90% of its users are Asian. When it was at its peak it had over 8.2 million users. It started out as a social network, but ever since Facebook took over it turned into a gaming site. So instead of competing with Facebook, they changed their image and purpose and saved themselves from loosing everything to Facebook. This meant that they deleted all content that had to do with social stuff and started focusing on the gaming. This resulted in a membership of 1.2million. They lost a lot of users, but is still going strong in Asian counties.

It is obvious why Friendster had its downfall. But it has been very important to the social network world. It is considered the founder of social networks and has been an inspiration to other networks, such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter etc.

http://www.crunchbase.com/company/friendster

http://www.molglobal.net/?page_id=1281

Week three - Respose to content

Neural implants - yes or no?


Neural implants, also known as "brain implants" are small technological devices that are placed into your brain to make it function better.It was first meant as a tool to help paralyzed and people with prosthetic limbs to be able to move them with only their mind. Then the idea has grown into something bigger, they now want to use it to make your brain better. So when your brain usually goes "oh wait, I'm to tired, this is to much for me", it will keep on pushing and make it say "yes, I'm ready for more! Bring it on!".

But is this something we want? Do we want a computer for a brain? Is it safe? There are many ethical questions popping up when it comes to putting a technological device in you body, especially your brain. 

What will it be next? Will we be able to connect it to a computer, and upload information from the Internet. That way we would never have to read anything ever again. 

There is so much talk about Internet virus and hacking. Imagine if everyone walked around with a chip in their brain, and everything they had on that chip is saved on a computer. If someone where to hack into that computer and ruin everything you know. Now that's violation of privacy. 

But then again, if you're in a life and death situation, and someone needs to know who you are, your blood type etc. Then a chip wouldn't be to bad to have. 

We live in a world where technology is taking over. We are so addicted to our cell phones and computers, we wouldn't be able to go a day with out them. But is it really necessary to physically make it a part of us?

Week two - Tutorial task

Cellphones of the future!

As we all know, people are more and more aware of how their phone looks. It is not just a communication devise, but also a fashion statement. Our generation is very focused on our appearance. This is something designers and phone companies make a lot of money on. the way we style up our phone reflexes our personalities. As you can see Nokia has some pretty awesome and advanced ideas for our future phones. If it goes the way they want, we will soon be able to do absolutely everything on our phone. The "smart phones" has already taken away our need for a computer, with all the different applications to choose from and the wireless Internet. You have everything in one little phone. But as Nokia sees it, very soon we will not even have buttons or screens. You may be able to wear your phone as an accessory.

Wouldn't that be awesome? I haven't made up my mind yet.

I chose this video because I find it relevant to our topic, New Communication Technology. It shows how "old" technologies are being updated and improved every day. It also shows the influence a normal person can have on a huge company and their decisions, just by showing the world who they are through their phone.

Stumble upon it!! 

http://www.stumbleupon.com/

This is a web site that helps you find pages you might not think of checking out on your own. Personally I'm not that good at searching the Internet, and this web site helps a lot. All you do is write down your interests and click on "stumble", and it gives you a site regarding one of your interests. If you don't like the site, you just click on stumble again and it gives you a new one. Awesome!

Stay connected

Today we have so many ways to stay connected to each other thanks to modern technology. We have phones, e-mails, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, blogs etc. All of these are social and easy to use. If you have Internet connection. 

The things I use the most are my cell phone, Facebook and Skype. I think I've had a cell phone since I was 14 and I use it to text and make calls. It's easy and everyone has one. 

I've had Facebook for about six years now I think, and I use it to update my self on what my friends are doing and update them about me. I do that mostly through pictures, I'm not really the "update my status five times a day" kind of girl. But now that I have moved to Australia it's good to be able to share experiences with my family and friends. You can also share links and interests that others may like as well. The thing about Facebook is that I don't like sharing too much and I don't want people I don't know to have access to my profile. The reason is that information and pictures can end up in the wrong hands and be used in ways you don't want. That is why I keep updating my privacy settings and double check that they are the way I want. I think it is mean and wrong of Facebook to change their settings so often and not let us know. Cause then you thing you're all good and safe, but you're not and everyone can see your profile. Not OK!! 

But one thing I have grown to appreciate is Skype. When I was in Africa and now that I am here in Australia, Skype is used a lot. I Skype with my parents, my sister and my closest friends. You can talk for hours and it doesn't cost you a thing. AND you get to see each other through web cam!! I've heard people can hack into your computer and into your camera, so they are filming you. But that is a risk I am willing to take, so I can talk to my friends and family. Hehe.. 

A new thing I've started with now is blogging. I can't say I'm good at it, but I'm learning. I'm glad I'm taking this class, cause my family is forcing me and my sister to make a blog so we can keep them updated. So we'll see how that goes.. 

Week two - Respose to content

The History of Communication


We live in a world that used to "know" things, based on stories they'd been told and what they saw.We have come a long way since then. Then we started writing on things, writing on paper, the phone and radio came, the TV. The first walkman from Sony that came out in 1980, playing cassettes, has become a tiny little shuffle from apple, you plug into a wireless computer that downloads free music. We have fancy phones, cars, planes, busses and trains. A walkman can't even count as "old" anymore, "ancient" may be a better word for it. "Old" now is the first ipod that ever came out. 

There are invented new things every day. There are more and more competitors out there who's trying to come up with the newest and coolest idea. If you buy  iphone 4 today, you miss out on the iphone 5 that comes out two days later, or another smartphone. Soon we won't need computers, we have everything in this phone. 
But what's next??
What seems to be a big focus now is to get people to seem more alive and present when they talk to each other on the phone or computer. So a 3D solution might be on the way. If this is a good thing or a bad thing is yet to be discovered. But what ever it is, it's going to be big. 

Week one - Tutorial task

Hello

My name is Annette. I`m from Oslo, Norway and moved here to the Gold Coast four weeks ago. It is my first time in Australia, so I`m very excited!! I`m here to get my Bachelor of Communication. I`m not quite sure what I want to do, but I`m thinking of something in Public Relations.
I chose to come to Australia because I wanted to experience something new and different. Norway is a beautiful country, but it is also very cold and small. Australia is the complete opposite! I love the warm weather, the beach, the people, nature and animals here. I would have to say that I`m very happy with my choice and that I really don`t mind living here for the next three years!
One of the best things I have ever done is going to Namibia, Africa, and work as a volunteer with animals. I love animals, and it has always been a dream of mine to do something like that. I went for two months and created memories I will never forget. Not only did I learn a lot about animals, but also about working in teams, being independent, patience, how to deal with difficult tasks and conquering your fears. These are all things I know I can bring with me in everything I do, where ever I go.
So I`m hoping my experience here in Australia and at Griffith University will be just as good!


This class, New Communication Technology is pretty new to me, I`m not the best with computers and other technological things, but I really want to learn. So I know I will get a lot out of this class. I never knew how to make a blog before, and look, here I am!

In Africa we learned how to communicate with each other and the animals with out technology.

Week one - Respose to content

New Communication Technologies 

Today we have so many ways to communicate it is hard to pick one out and stick to it.

And it has all developed in just a few decades. I can't even remember how the first computers and cellphones looked, I don't even think I was born. Modern technology has it's positive sides and negative sides to it, as everything else. 

This is how the scientists from RAND corporation pictured a home computer in the year 2004. 

I can tell you know, they couldn't be more wrong.

Positive

- Almost no matter where you are in the world, you can get a hold of each other. 

- You can travel easier

- Learn more, do more. 

- You can have a say in what's going on in the world. 

- Update yourself faster.

Negative

- People are less active and social. They stay at home and play video games in stead of going out to play. - Or talk on the phone or chat on the Internet instead of meeting up for a coffee and talk face to face. 

- People get mean, cause they think they can't get caught writing evil things to others or planing bad things. It's like they turn into someone else. A lot of bullying goes on through web sites, and may lead to terrible things for the one being bullied. 

- Information about things and people that were not supposed to come out, leaks out. People get addicted, which can lead to health issues. 

- Kids gets influenced by violent games, you might get cancer from cell phones etc. 

Martin Cooper with the first public sold cell phone

Yes, there are many good things about modern technology. The fact that you can just pick up your phone or laptop, google something and have the answer to you question in your hands in two seconds, is pretty awesome. There are so many games you can have fun with, so much music to listen to and insanely much to read. But the fact that we trick ourselves into believing that being on Facebook is more social than taking that step out the door and meet up with someone, is horrible. 

Then we have things like Skype. When you're on the other side of the world missing someone, wishing they were there with you, it's great to be able to see their face when you talk to them, and be able to show them things and see them smile. Even though it's just a screen, it feels a bit real right there and then. And who knows, maybe in a few years they will have developed something that can make holograms of the person your talking to appear in your living room. Would be pretty cool if you ask me.