- Discuss the impact of TWO of the following figures on the development of digital technologies and digital culture: Ada Lovelace, Charles Babbage, William Gibson, Kevin Mitnick, Alan Turing, Ray Kurzweil, J.C.R. Licklider, Douglas Engelbart.
- Explain what Creative Commons is and, using examples, show how it is different to other forms of copyright.
- Why is privacy such a contentious issue for internet users? Discuss with reference to at least ONE social network service (or other web2.0 service).
- Is the “virtual community” (Rheingold, 1993) a useful way of understanding contemporary online life? Discuss using one example of an online community OR a video game world (Virtual community is not to be confused with a “social network” site).
- How do social media change our understanding of individual identity, with regard to the kinds of people we have in our social networks?
- Increasingly mobile devices are an aid to the gathering and reporting of information, both by professional journalists and “citizen journalists”. Outline the advantages and disadvantages of this sort of news gathering. How might it impact on journalistic practices and news values and ethics?
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Essay Questions 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Week 9 Tutorial Task & Tutespark
Assessment 2 (pt 2 of the blog) has been extended - and is now due by Friday of Week 10!
For Week 9's entry you should write about your chosen essay topic, (found under 'assessments' on learning@griffith), your initial thoughts about this topic, and where you think you may begin researching it.
Also you need to ensure that by the end of week 10 you have posted 'a final entry on your weblog that evaluates the course overall'. (This is included in the assessment description on the course profile)
For Week 9's entry you should write about your chosen essay topic, (found under 'assessments' on learning@griffith), your initial thoughts about this topic, and where you think you may begin researching it.
Also you need to ensure that by the end of week 10 you have posted 'a final entry on your weblog that evaluates the course overall'. (This is included in the assessment description on the course profile)
Monday, September 13, 2010
Week 8 - Tute Task & TuteSpark!
Many writers have utilised cyberpunk as prefigurative social and political theory in the realms of urban studies, cultural theory and the sociology of the body. Below are some of the main, recurring themes.
Negative Impact of technology on humanity: In a cyberpunked near-future, technology runs rampant, and usually manipulates most societal interactions. Dystopian near futures are very common, but so are futures where the impacts of specific technologies are played out in a world only slightly different from the present. Sacred societal boundaries are often crossed with regularity. Often the earth is severely damaged. Crime and drug use are often key supporting themes.
Fusion of man and machine: In addition to cyborgs, sentient programs and robots, cyberpunk often blurs of what it means to be human. Traits we take for granted as representing humanity disappear via introspective looks brought on by the fusion of man and machine. This fusion also affects the control of perception - numerous storylines explore with influences to perception, usually involving some method of virtual reality environment to either mask or take the place of the “real world.”
Corporate control over society: Cyberpunk almost always has an ever powerful controlling entity that directs society. Most often this is represented as a corporation. Some times its simply an ever present singular government. A common theme for corporate control involves a futuristic dystopia, where the last traces of high civilization exist only in an enclosed and protected city, where civil liberties are removed under the guise of protecting humanity.
Uprising of the underground: Cyberpunk almost always focuses on the underground of society. While the story may lead to revolution and toppling the power structure, the perspective is always that of the oppressed or the punk, anti-hero of the oppressed.
Ubiquitous Access to information: Cyberpunk often deals with the continual spread and access to information. Hacker themes and ever-connecting internets are common. Additionally, the connection of humans to this omnipresent information stream leads to the blurring of the virtual with the real.
In this tutorial students should select one of these themes & complete some basic research on it (ideally finding a short fiction online that deals with the topic (there’s heaps of online cyberpunk fiction, so this shouldn’t be a problem). Once students have a basic understanding they should try and identify a current news story that reflects their chosen topic.
Once they have found a story they should attempt to re-write the news story as a persuasive piece about how their piece of cyberpunk fiction has forecast the particular story/event & how it will inevitably lead to the world becoming a post-industrial dystopia (like every cyberpunk story does/is).
Negative Impact of technology on humanity: In a cyberpunked near-future, technology runs rampant, and usually manipulates most societal interactions. Dystopian near futures are very common, but so are futures where the impacts of specific technologies are played out in a world only slightly different from the present. Sacred societal boundaries are often crossed with regularity. Often the earth is severely damaged. Crime and drug use are often key supporting themes.
Fusion of man and machine: In addition to cyborgs, sentient programs and robots, cyberpunk often blurs of what it means to be human. Traits we take for granted as representing humanity disappear via introspective looks brought on by the fusion of man and machine. This fusion also affects the control of perception - numerous storylines explore with influences to perception, usually involving some method of virtual reality environment to either mask or take the place of the “real world.”
Corporate control over society: Cyberpunk almost always has an ever powerful controlling entity that directs society. Most often this is represented as a corporation. Some times its simply an ever present singular government. A common theme for corporate control involves a futuristic dystopia, where the last traces of high civilization exist only in an enclosed and protected city, where civil liberties are removed under the guise of protecting humanity.
Uprising of the underground: Cyberpunk almost always focuses on the underground of society. While the story may lead to revolution and toppling the power structure, the perspective is always that of the oppressed or the punk, anti-hero of the oppressed.
Ubiquitous Access to information: Cyberpunk often deals with the continual spread and access to information. Hacker themes and ever-connecting internets are common. Additionally, the connection of humans to this omnipresent information stream leads to the blurring of the virtual with the real.
In this tutorial students should select one of these themes & complete some basic research on it (ideally finding a short fiction online that deals with the topic (there’s heaps of online cyberpunk fiction, so this shouldn’t be a problem). Once students have a basic understanding they should try and identify a current news story that reflects their chosen topic.
Once they have found a story they should attempt to re-write the news story as a persuasive piece about how their piece of cyberpunk fiction has forecast the particular story/event & how it will inevitably lead to the world becoming a post-industrial dystopia (like every cyberpunk story does/is).
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Week 7 Tutespark
Try some free software - good examples which are free and easy to download are: Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, Gimp, Audacity, amsn, pidgin, etc.
Try to use it exclusively for a few days - then decide whether you like it or not! Say why/why not.
Try to use it exclusively for a few days - then decide whether you like it or not! Say why/why not.
Week 6 Tutespark
Leading on from the lecture on online privacy & social networking....
Who owns the content you put on the internet on various sites?
This includes pictures, video, text, etc?
Think about all the content you upload onto social networking sites - Do you own it?
Who has the right to use your creations?
Who owns the content you put on the internet on various sites?
This includes pictures, video, text, etc?
Think about all the content you upload onto social networking sites - Do you own it?
Who has the right to use your creations?
Tutorial Task Week 7
Research and provide short answers to the following questions. Provide references where applicable.
1. What is creative commons and how could this licensing framework be relevant to your own experience at university?
2. Find 3 examples of works created by creative commons and embed them in your blog.
3. Find an academic article which discusses creative commons using a database or online journal. Provide a link to and a summary of the article.
4. Have a look at Portable Apps (a pc based application) – provide a brief description of what it is and how you think this is useful.
1. What is creative commons and how could this licensing framework be relevant to your own experience at university?
2. Find 3 examples of works created by creative commons and embed them in your blog.
3. Find an academic article which discusses creative commons using a database or online journal. Provide a link to and a summary of the article.
4. Have a look at Portable Apps (a pc based application) – provide a brief description of what it is and how you think this is useful.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Blog Part 1_Marking Info
The marking information for your Blog Part 1 is now up on learning@griffith under the assessments tab.
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