Essays

The research essays can be collected from Tama (in his office) from Wednesday 10th November.
Thank you to everyone for your participation in this unit - I know I learnt a lot from being part of it!
As the unit is now finished, this blog is no longer active (although if you really feel the urge to post there is nothing stopping you).

reflective post - aloy

weblogs:

the weblog was the thing i was most anticipating with this unit cos i thought that it would be a great way to share ideas and see what people think. and also cos i've seen my friends back in singapore doing modules in uni which require posting on blogs. and i was right. it is a great way to interact. yeah it's not like a tute in general but i think it's way more helpful than an actual tute. like how you're more likely to be more adventurous and stuff like that as your online self than your offline self, i was more into posting stuff on the tute blog than actually speaking in tute. and since stuff that appears in print appears more official, there's prob more thought put into the posts than whatever escapes our mouths in tutes. retrievability is also a big plus factor. i actually have a blog somewhere in blogspot since long ago and so that probably helped to fuel my anticipation for this aspect for the unit.

me a cyborg?:
i still can't really envision myself as a cyborg self. i get what the articles are driving at but to try to reconfigure my hard-drive into thinking im not an organic self but a symbiosis of forms takes quite a leap of faith for me. i know i rely on technology but i guess it's because i have experienced living without technology (not in the strictest sense though but in the electrical and communications sense) and it wasn't too much of a strain. you get used to it pretty quick. humans are adaptable. or at least they make their surroundings more adaptable to themselves. so i still feel that im pretty much still organic and not a cyborg. it would be tough and immensely boring yes, to live without this laptop i'm typing on right now, but it's not something that would kill me. my fingers are tapping the keyboard. not plugged into it.

general stuff:
i feel that this is a really interesting course. something which deals with issues that are pretty current and immersed in everyday life, at least for me. using the internet pre-self.net, i always wondered about the kind of life i'm living as opposed to pre-internet times. and now almost post-self.net, i won't say i've learnt much more in general scope-wise, BUT i have learned a lot more academically regarding cyberculture. and the one thing that i seem to have gotten the most out of this course is the skill of critical reading, which is really useful, and also unexpected. i might be wrong, but i had the notion that we were actually going to use the irc in this course. i thought i read that in one of the posters advertising the unit months back. so well i'm a little bummed out that we didn't get to do that. even if i read/remembered wrongly.

anyway yeah so that's it everyone. i like this unit and i really think more people should be doing it. and here's something to look at and hopefully have a laugh over to end with.

goombye and see you guys next semester. i can't wait for all the essay-writing to be over.

note/reminder to karen/tama

my "comment on another person's tute presentation" is posted (as you know I missed the last two weeks of presentations). it's in response to kate gooding's and it looks like you'll need to enter thru blogger.com to view it. thanks, duncan

Reflective Post

Weblogs?

I really like the idea of weblogs as part of the learning process, however I think it would be better if all the students in the unit could comment on each others posts. It isn't really a big step out of the normal university course for me though, because I've had to use the discussion boards on the old 'Forum' website. That participation was purely on a student level though, and was not assessed like our weblog participation was. I would've liked it more if my tute group had've had more (any) discussion going on rather than just the required posts. It would be interesting to include other bloggers (that weren't doing the course) opinions on our posts - make the weblog experience more public.


Am I a Cyborg?

Possibly. When I think cyborg I think of the Borg from Star Trek. Since I don't have any cybernetic implants (and don't need any mechanics to live my life e.g. glasses), my idea of a cyborg doesn't really apply. However, in the more transient 'definition' of a cyborg, sure, I am one. I have a thyroid defeciency and have to take tablets every single day for the rest of my life to make sure my body functions properly. I don't think I could live without electricity (let alone computers/the internet). My mobile phone is an extension of myself and an integral part of my independence/communicability. The list goes on...


Likes?

I really enjoyed the workshops, they were a lot of fun. I think with a unit that is based so much on an accessible format, there is no reason to not be hands on and investigate whats going on first hand. I would've really liked to try out some technologies that I wouldn't normally have access to, or haven't tried before (e.g. supercomputers, xbox/playstation, MUDs). The readings were really interesting and thought provoking. I would've liked the option to write on the 'leading question' (or something similar) from our webliography as our main essay.


Dislikes?

As a new unit quite a few people took this unit not knowing what to expect/knowing anything about the subject matter/content. It seemed half the students knew what was going on so the unit seemed introductory on what they already knew, and the other half didn't have a clue and the concepts were difficult (or they just weren't open minded enough to accept them).


Thanks very much for a wonderful unit, it was really great and I'll definately recommend it to my friends :)

reflective post

using weblogs: I think using a blog as part of the course was a good idea. It was really interesting and helpful to read other people's webliographies, since it's very seldom that you ever get to read other people's assignments, and I think it's a helpful and useful process. It was also good to get feedback for the weblios and the tute presentations.

being a cyborg: I might go out on a limb here and say I do kind of think of myself as a cyborg in some senses. I see my mobile and my iPod and my spaces on the Internet as extensions of myself (what can I say? I'm a total sucker for technology). My computer too enables me to communicate with friends who live a long way away, so I guess it's a sort of extension of me, too. However, they're not actually a part of me... I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it.

the course in general: I feel like I've gained a much greater understanding of how people use technology, the Internet especially, as a tool for communication and community building. I've always been a computer nerd, but I feel like I understand what I'm doing a bit better now. I found the lectures to be really good and interesting, and easy to follow for the most part. The assessment tasks were all relevant, too.

Reflective Blog post

What can i say? Its been an eventful 13 weeks. Firstly, i think that the weblogs were great in generating feedback and critical insight into the assignments and the presentations. Second, do i believe myself to be a cyborg? as said in tutorial, i'm not very sure... probably not in the cyberpunk sci-fi image of chunks of metal meshed with flesh kind of thing but possibly in the use of technology in our everyday; some so subtle that i don't realise its extent such as immunisation and wearing contact lens and the like. I guess i'm a cyborg if you consider the psychological extension of technology on my self, such as the reliance on mobile technology and the internet and the insecurity when these technologies are absent for more than a moment. I have to admit that the course has been a bit trying, simply because i didn't realise that there were so many issues regarding the internet in that respect, the course has been an eye opener and thus that was the best part of the course for me....that and the interesting media clips that we've been presented such as machinima.

All the best for your exams everyone! Take care. c",)

Reflective Blog Post

I like the use of blogs personally. I think they enhance the connectivity of the students and teachers which leads to a more positive mutually supportive learning environment. It would be nice to see it happen more often.

No, I don't consider myself a cyborg. I'm a human being pure and natural and yes I use technology but i'll be damned if i'm going to accept the label of part technology, or dependent on technology, or whatever. I'm not a big fan of Donna Harroway to be honest. A certain degree of classification is OK but to insist on dividing and defining things into categories male, female, human, technology, hybrid etc is a little bit too much for my right-brain to cope with.

Overall the course has been quite easy and relaxed. It's a fairly interesting field so I'm happy to have been a part of it.

Playin' Politics Workshop Response

Do you think the political simulation games you examined would have been "effective" in communicating with people via the internet?

Yep. The thing about them though is that, generally speaking, they are a case of 'preaching to the converted.' Not many people who aren't already inclined toward the particular views expressed in the games would end up playing. Presumably people would see them someplace on the internet and be drawn to it because they felt the same way, or perhaps they are told about the games by a friend who, more than likely, shares the same views as themselves and the creators of the games.

Was the political message underpinning the political simulation games you examined immediately obvious? If not, were you driven or interested to find out what the game was trying to "say" (apart from the fact that you have to as part of the workshop)?

The issues conveyed are quite obvious and the games certainly are an effective way to 'drive the message home.' Provided that you take the minimal effort required to understand the game and how it works, the message should be self-apparent. Of course some might be driven to research more what was specifically being said, however I wasn't driven to on this occasion. I'm quite aware already that most politicians are corrupt evil bastards and I suppose I don't feel that my knowledge base in this area requires expanding at this point in time.

If you had to write a political simulation game similar in size and structure to those you examined, (a) what would be the point you were trying to make and (b) how would the game be structured and operate in order to make that point? (just give a very brief outline)

It would be a game about the nature of politics and politicians in general. The point would be that the evil actually gains in influence within. Within a: the greed for power of the politicians, and b: the laziness of the masses. I suppose the quotes "All that is required for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing," combined with "know your enemy" (ie both without and within) would express the communicative thrust of the game.

It would be a game where everyone is given a "karma rating." For the politicians the karma rating goes down when they do things to people without the population's (passive?) consent, for the people the rating goes down whenever they do silly shit like violent protests and voting for warmongerers. In the end the side with the cleanest bill of karma wins. Of course within this game you can play only an individual and must somehow try to align your views sufficiently with the general populace, or find ways to influence them.

Reflective Blog

I thought that using blogs as opposed to the usual forms of communication and correspondence were extremely relevant to the conceps we were learning about. Having no experience with his meduim whatsoever it was interesting to learn about new forms of online communication, which will ultimately become more relevant to us as the internet continues to advance. It was particularly helpful in that it helped in emphasising the key developments in online communication and indeed in online communities.

Still not too sure whether i would could myself to be a true cyborg. This is something i have continued to think about throughout the course. In terms of "being connected"in a technological sense, i guess the phone, computer, mobile ect would mean i was. I also think the idea of medicine as it pertains to technology is a big issue in that any medical interference whether it be immunisations or pace-makers would make us all cyborgs in one way or another. Before this unit i always thought of cyborgs as something that came out the Terminator, but i truth, i guess scientific, medical, and technological advancements would make us all cyborgs somehow, and if not we are at the very least cyborg citizens.

This has been a really interesting unit mostly because of the current significance of the web. I can honeslty say that as a person who uses computers for studying and little else i have definately learnt that there is much more out there for any user.

Reflective Post

Weblogs
This area is new to me and it has never occurred to me that it can become a learning resource. In a way it's been good as it allowed me to look at how other people feel about the topic and the different ideas they have, which we don't have enough time to cover in the tutes. And for me, I don't speak up much, so typing is my way of communication.

Being a cyborg?
Like the others, I don't really think I am a "full" cyborg. I still rely on technology and connect to the Internet at least once a day, watch some television programs and listen to music, which are all digitally produced. But there are times when I like to get in touch with nature, with no technology involved. So I'm a "half" cyborg.

Likes and Dislikes about the course
Even after the course, I still think it's very technical. And there're loads of readings to be done each week, which contains jargons, and I have no idea what it's all about. But I do like the workshops and how it's been involved in group works with scenarios and movies to discuss about. Karen and everyone else has been a great help to me during tutes, because I really don't know how to speak up on the topic. Thanks everyone and good luck for exams!

6 required posts.

hey karen (or anyone who knows).

thought i'd ask here instead of emailing. in case there are people as uninformed as i am.

what are the 6 required posts?

i can think of 6 but i don't know they are the ones that are required:
- online workshop 1
- online workshop 2
- tute presentation
- intro. post (is this counted?)
- unit reflection post (the one tama mentioned in lecture today)
- weblio

are those it? and how many required comments are we supposed to make?

Tute presentation: A Rape in Cyberspace (from week 10)

"...I'm not sure what I'm calling for. Virtual castration, if I could manage it..."

Months later, the woman in Seattle would confide to me that as she wrote those words posttraumatic tears were streaming down her face - a real-life fact that should suffice to prove that the words' emotional content was no mere playacting ... Where real life ... insists the incident was only an episode in a free-form version of Dungeons and Dragons, confined to the realm of the symbolic and at no point threatening any player's life, limb, or material well-being, here now was the player legba issuing aggreived and heartfelt calls for Mr. Bungle's dismemberment. Ludicrously excessive by R(eal) L(ife)'s lights, woefully understated by V(irtual) R(eality)'s, the tone of legba's response made sense only in the buzzing, dissonant gap between them.

An article about magic, more or less. It describes events that occured in LambdaMOO, an online text-based virtual world. A player called Mr. Bungle violated others, and eventually paid the price.. appropriate punishment handed down (death), he was indeed transformed. Another issue explored: the intimate connection between body and mind. Net sex can be physiologically similar to real sex; feelings expressed or experienced in cyberspace are still feelings.

The article suggests that, in a sense, virtual reality is just as 'real' as physical reality...

All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream -- Edgar Allan Poe

Playing Politics Workshop Response

None from me, I was unable to attend. I have a doctor's note requesting extensions until tomorrow (Monday 18th), and will show this to Karen at the tute. Duncan

Playing Politics Workshop Response - aloy

sorry this is up late! i saved it on my computer as a .txt file and i forgot to post it up after i finished. and i just realised today.

Do you think the political simulation games you examined would have been "effective" in communicating with people via the internet?

to a certain extent, yes. i can imagine these type of games, not just the ones i tried out, to be spread around via forwarded emails or from friends who discover them from other sources. They kind of have a novelty value, and even if you didn't have any knowledge of the reasoning behind the purpose of the game, you'd still recognise that these games play on some big issue that's getting attention currently or some big significant thing. Sometimes, i go to addictinggames.com and in that site, you can find at least 3 different anti-bush type games, or just games using george bush as a character in the game. i've played one or two and the political message was never very clear to me, but it did bring to my attention that something was going on and it wasn't favourable for george bush. Just like how in playing donkey john, it's pretty clear that it's against john howard.

Was the political message underpinning the political simulation games you examined immediately obvious? If not, were you driven or interested to find out what the game was trying to "say" (apart from the fact that you have to as part of the workshop)?

i'd say it was quite obvious but not immediately obvious. Like i mentioned in the previous answer, you really don't have to know what's really going on to get the vibe of the game. But for the game donkey john, it's not really quite obvious the political leanings of the game if you don't read the instructions, while with a game like kabul kaboom, it really set in after you realise that you can't win. but perhaps that makes it even more resonant cos it makes you try to win and then leaves you empty handed and lacking when you realise you can't. The games are pretty explicit i think in what the message they're trying to convey, but if i discovered the game by an off-chance and not because of this workshop, i don't think i would actively search for information regarding the game. BUT having played the game, if i were to encounter any related information in the future, i would be more interested in finding out more. Even if it's just because of my relating it to the game and not the proper issue at hand, at least it brings about the greater awareness.

If you had to write a political simulation game similar in size and structure to those you examined, (a) what would be the point you were trying to make and (b) how would the game be structured and operate in order to make that point? (just give a very brief outline)

Well i thought for a game like donkey john to get the point across really effectively, you could intersperce moments in the game with real-life quotes from john howard regarding the oil issue (assuming you could find quotes to use to begin with). Like say if you reach set score levels donkey john would say something like "but oil is bad for you" (or something along those lines. i really don't know much about john howard.) that he would have said in regard to this issue in real-life. i think that this would really resonate as it would link it to "reality" much more. Otherwise if i don't bother to follow up the game by clicking on the link or if i didn't even read the instructions and just dived right into the game, i might just totally miss the point of the game.

Playing Politics Workshop Response

1. Do you think the political simulation games you examined would have been "effective" in communicating with people via the Internet?

September 12th: To be honest, I very quickly got bored of this simulation, and started to see how many civilians I could kill to try and fill the entire screen with ‘terrorists’. I think it would be more effective if the ‘baddies’ were called ‘freedom fighters’, as it would challenge the accepted norms regarding our (USA, UK and Australia) views on terrorism.

DonkeyJohn: Donkey Kong is a bit too old for me, so it would be interesting to see how the generation who grew up with those games would think (especially considering the older generations are more likely to be accepting of/vote for John Howard and/or his policies). I believe DonkeyJohn is more effective than September 12th, as there is actually an objective to the game, and it’s rather addictive (and of course, you can win).

The intro to September 12th and DonkeyJohn’s instructions page are the most thought provoking screens as they explain the ideas behind the ‘games’ and explicitly point out the parody/issues.

I think the main problem with ‘games’ like these is that they are only really viewed/played by people who are already aware of the issues (and mostly agree with the view of the creator, i.e. preaching to the converted).



2. Was the political message underpinning the political simulation games you examined immediately obvious? If not, were you driven or interested to find out what the game was trying to "say" (apart from the fact that you have to as part of the workshop)?

The political message for September 12th was immediately obvious in the start up screen explaining how the game was played, however this was not the case for DonkeyJohn. You had to read the instructions to find out what was going on in DonkeyJohn other than realizing the obvious that John was the ‘baddie’. I thought it was really great that Donkey John had the ‘background’ link, as I didn’t really know much about the East Timor oil situation. The September 12th simulation didn’t really need any further information, as the event was/is so widely publicized.



3. If you had to write a political simulation game similar in size and structure to those you examined, (a) what would be the point you were trying to make and (b) how would the game be structured and operate in order to make that point? (Just give a very brief outline).

a) I think its important to outline what exactly the issues are and what is going wrong (even if it seems obvious) in the way that DonkeyJohn did (mostly in the ‘background’ link). It is not enough just to point out there is something wrong (like in September 12th), you have to make the viewer/player feel that they can make a difference and help fix the injustices.

b) Like DonkeyJohn, there should be a way to thwart the ‘baddies’, or at least attempt to, rather than the futility of the September 12th simulation. It would also be good to have links to groups/activists that are doing something about the situation so you can learn more information or even participate.