week 23 online learning material

I enjoy this style of studentship task because it is online so I am able to complete it easily wherever I am and whenever I want. I like that the tasks both provide information and questions so I know that I am taking in the information provided, yet it does so in a relaxed manner so I do not feel as though I am being graded on my responce. I also like that the information can be customised in different colours and fonts, however some of these options do not work at all and some unsuccessfully so that some of the information goes missing. Althought it is handy being online, I generally prefer information in a physical format so that I am able to highlight or annotate particular bits of information to help me to remember it and this was the only thing that I dislike about this style of studentship task. To improve it, therefore, I think it should be available in a word document so that people who prefer hard copies of information are able to use that instead of only having the option of using a computer screen. I think that this style of studentship tasks have been useful for my learning because I have the ability to go away from lectures and labs and reiterate what I have learnt and by repetiution I feel that I have been able to remember a lot more of the new information.

The Queen visits DMU!

The Queen is celebrating her diamond jubilee this year, 60 years since she began her reign and to celebrate this event she is touring the country with other members of the royal family. Her visit starts in Leicester tomorrow at De Montfort University and she will be joined by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh and the newly crowned Duchess of Cambridge, Kate. Students at DMU are going to be very involved in the visit, with a lot of entertainment being provided by staff and students. There will be a De Montfort Fashion and Cultural Show, which will include fashion lines designed by DMU students. The Queen will receive a head scarf designed by a student and a shawl designed by a graduate of the university, while Prince Philip will receive a hologram from Martin Richardson, a Professor of Holography and Kate will recieve a pair of shoes designed by a Footwear Design student. There will also be face painting, jugglers and magicians as well as DMU’s own radio channel, Demon FM, broadcasting live throughout the day.

Social media users have been able to follow the lead up to the big day through the official Facebook page and using the Twitter hashtag #royalDMU, which will both also be updated throughout the day, showing how the university is taking advantage of media to increase aticipation for the visit from both the students and people of Leicester.

This will be a very memorable event for all involved, not only at the university but by all of Leicester.

Leap Year!

Today is February 29th, a day that only occurs every 4 years and with it comes many traditions and unusual superstitions.

Traditionally, women can only propose to men on a leap year, with some places restricting it to February 29th. This is believed to be in order to balance out the traditional roles between men and women, the same way that adding a leap day balances out the calendar. In 1288, a law introduced by a five year old Queen Margaret of Scotland stated that if this proposal occured a man had to accept, otherwise he must owe compensation at; a pair of leather gloves, a single rose, £1 and a kiss. In Denmark, females can propose on February 29th and a refusal must be compensated with 12 pairs of gloves. Supposedly, the gloves required allow the women to cover up their hands so people cannot see their lack of engagement ring!

Many people also consider leap years to be unlucky. In Greece this is especially true with one in five couples refusing to get married in this year due to the superstition that marriage in a leap year is doomed. Many countries also see February 29th as a day of bad luck, similar to that of Friday 13th.

So, this day only comes every four years and with it comes with many, often unusual, traditions and laws, many of which follow old, superstitious traditions that many people still believe today.

The Pirate Bay

Today, I read an article online on the Guardian about filesharing website The Pirate Bay. It said “The Pirate Bay is one of the world’s longest-running and biggest filesharing sites. According to record labels, it generated up to $3m in advertising revenue in October last year by making 4m copies of music and films available to its 30 million worldwide users. The site has 3.7 million users in the UK”. This got me thinking about the way the introduction of the internet has dramatically altered the way that we receive media. Websites like The Pirate Bay allow for the illeagal sharing and downloading of media which infringes UK copyright laws.

It is similar to software like Napster or Limewire which allow for the illegal sharing of music. Chris Cutler’s theory of Plunderphonics explains how new music producers often steal and, through digital technology, manage to manipulate it in order to create new music. Because riffs and melodies are difficult to patent, this is so easily done by modern music producers which, essentially, prevents the introduction of new media. In this, it is arguable that advancements in technology have somewhat damaged the media landscape.

Pancake Day

We tried to make pancakes for pancake day but some were rather unsuccessful!

Social Media

When I turn on my laptop, the first thing I do, like many other internet users,  is type in “facebook.com” in the url. Social media has become embedded in our every day lives, so much so that we do things like this subconsciously. There are many different types of social media which all serve a different purpose, but together they allow us to stay in touch with friends and family, share information about ourselves, even meet new people and arguably, take over our lives.

Virtual worlds are an interesting part of social media, in which the user is able to create a virtual you. Virtual worlds, like Second Life, allow the user to hide behind an internet persona and live a “second life” in which they are able to do anything they wish. 

Sharing social websites, like YouTube or SlideShare allow the user to upload media for other users, usually to inform, educate and entertain the audience. Websites like this allow the audience to become the producers making an interesting twist on the standard creation of media, emphasising the benefits of advancements in technology.

Social Networks sites, like Facebook, allow users to keep in touch with family and friends, share photos and videos and let people know what they are up to. Twitter takes an interesting stance on this by only allowing status updates. It also allows users to follow celebrities and increases the interest in celebrity culture. 

Radio Waves

Radio Waves

View more PowerPoint from Katie Clark

This is a slide show I created on SlideShare about the use and importance of Radio Waves

Charging for the internet?

With the dramatic advancements of technology, the internet has become a huge sensation. Because of this, many companies have moved to the internet.  Although the internet has many upsides, there are also many downsides too and newspapers, in particular, have suffered from this move through losses in profits due to the fact that people would rather read stories for free on the internet than pay for the physical newspaper. 

Rupert Murdoch, owner of a huge news corporation, including The Times, has found a way around these losses. He charges £2 a week or £1 a day for consumers to read The Times online. This, on one hand will deter non loyal customers from using his website, opting for free online papers, like competitor The Guardian, however on the other hand, it can deter his customers who are willing to pay the online fee from visiting his competitors as they wish to get their moneys worth.

Tim Burners-Lee is the inventor of the World Wide Web and in creating it, he wanted to allow people to share information easily and freely, without charge. So, is charging for the internet really fair or even worthwhile? I suppose there is no right answer, most companies exist to make money and the internet, in some circumstances is damaging for businesses. However, the internet was made to be free and available to everyone. Is it fair that businessmen have become too concerned about making money to keep to the original concept of a free internet? Or is the internet making companies go bust?

Chinese New Year!

Today marks Chinese New Year, the start of the current year of the dragon and in China, the year 4710! Each year, Chinese New Year occurs on a different date because they use the Lunar calendar to calculate it, but it always occurs in late January or February. The tradition last for 15 days, until the date of the full moon.

The Chinese calendar is made up of a cycle of 12 years, each being named after an animal, similar to our 12 signs of the zodiac and many people believe that their characteristics are dependant on the animal of the year that they are born.

This year is the year of the dragon. Dragons are supposed to be confident, hard working, determined, inspirational, loyal popular and fun loving. The dragon is the only mythical creature on the Chinese zodiac who is thought to be incredibly lucky.

Sheep Shearing, an Olympic Sport?

Today I read an article in the Telegraph about how New Zealand were campaigning to make Sheep Shearing an Olympic event. There are almost ten times as many sheep as there are people in New Zealand, making sheep shearing a popular ‘sport’, which has already benen recognised by SPARC, the governments Sports and Recreational Council, which helps to run competitions such as the World Shearing Championships. This campaign got me thinking about which other unusual ‘sports’ had occurred during the running of the olympic games..

The 200m obstacle swimming race was held only in 1900 and was a combination of an obstacle race and a swimming event. Competitors had to climb over a pole, scramble over a row of boats and then swim under another row of boats, all done in the River Seine, so they were also competing with the current!

Equestrian high and long  jump were also both only held in the 1900 Olympic Games. The high jump competition ended in a tie with both winning horses clearing 1.85m. The long jump was won by a Belgian horse who managed an impressive 6.10m!

So, with the London 2012 Olympic games looming, maybe some new, unusual sports will be thrown into the mix, or even bring back some of the wacky, discontinued ones? I personally would love to see the obstacle swimming race!