Logbook
Today was our first CATS session in which we were introduced to our course tutors and given a task to create a washing line of historical events in chronological order. We worked in small groups and between us we were given about 16 different pictures to organize, these pictures included The Beatles’ Sergeant Peppers album, the first Ford model and George Orwell’s 1984. We had to decipher the year that each of these historical events or objects took place, when we had a rough idea of the years; we began to peg the pictures to our washing line.
I found this task useful as it helped me get adapted to group work and learn a bit more about the people I would be working with throughout the course, the timeline task, although challenging, gave a good introduction to CATS and the sort of work we would be completing in the lessons.
27th September 2010
Technology discussion and research
In today’s lesson we had a lecture on technology and we discussed the advancement of technology over the years. We analysed past revelations in technology such as the first IBM model computer and how these have declined over time and fallen out of use with most consumers. Although still a major company, it is not the desired choice for most household computer these days as Windows and Mac computer are a lot more popular as they have advanced features and display. This shows how the two companies have met the consumer needs and continued to advance as new ideas have come to fruition. We also discussed other platforms like the first gaming console and how these have advanced from basic arcade games and puzzles to multiplayer action games which we can participate in with players all over the world with features such as Xbox Live.
I think today’s lecture gave me a good insight into the evolution of technology and just how quickly it has advanced over recent years. After completing my own research it is inevitable that technology will advance further as everyday new ideas and inventions are taking the limelight from the previous forefront of technology.
4th October 2010
Evolution of the Mobile phone
Today we were asked to discover the evolution of the mobile phone in small groups. We found that Motorola were the first company to come up with the concept of the mobile phone and it was conceived by one of the CEO’s of the company, Martin Cooper in 1973. Mobile phones used to be a lot larger in size and a lot smaller in memory, but over the decades the two have reversed and phones became smaller and smaller with various new capabilities such as video recording, gaming and internet browsing.
These are features that were barely imaginable to employ to the mobile phones we once had. The first mobile phones were also a lot higher in price, and calling charges were a considerable amount more. But as mobiles phones have become more widely accessible, a basic mobile phone today can be bought for around £20. 40 years ago the mobile phone was unheard of, and now it is an essential item to nearly everyone’s day to day life.
I found it interesting to find out the original size and weight of the first mobile phone, the charges of the mobile were also interesting, but as prices have dropped to meet the demands of more people, prices are now increasing for those who are seeking the latest mobile such as the iPhone 4. Inventors at the major handheld phone companies are constantly coming up with new ways to improve the mobile device, and this is tapping in to their target market who are always seeking the latest gadget to show off to their friends, the mobile phone has become more of an accessory in the recent years and making calls is only a minor function of the phone.
11th October 2010
Signs and meanings
Today we discussed signs and the different interpretations people may have of them. We analysed how road signs in triangles in this country are considered as hazards, but a person from another country might not be aware of this. Also we consider red signs to signify danger, whereas in other cultures or countries this could be interpreted as a sign of luck. Language barriers are also problems when looking at signs, for example a sign saying ‘keep clear’ can only be understood by people who know the English language.
After researching various signs, we discovered that the most effective signs will include an image so people from different backgrounds and countries should all understand it. Obviously, there are problems for the blind, so in these cases signs could be added in brail. We studied what makes a bad sign, and how some can be misinterpreted, for example, the road works sign is considered to be a poor sign as it should have an outline around the spade, as it is not immediately obvious that the person depicted in the sign is digging.
18th October 2010
Semiotics
Today we were given a lecture of semiotics, which is the study of signs. We discussed how signs can have a signifier which tells us what they mean, some signs can have a dominant signifier which most people will immediately understand when viewing the sign, but they can also have many other signifiers giving alternative or unintentional meanings. Charles Sanders Pierce and Ferdinand de Saussure are examples of semiotics theorists that pioneered in the subject.
Semiotics is concerned with signs we can gather from any text, we can view a painting and be alerted to a dominant signifier, in a similar way we can watch the TV and see signifiers, these are automatic reactions that are triggered in the brain and we could be attracted to a certain element of a painting for example due to the intention of the artist or perhaps our sub conscious. Everyone’s interpretations of texts are different, and we could gather an oppositional reading based of a text based on our background or views. Semiotics can be applied to virtually any sign that signifies a meaning.
1st November
Session cancelled
8th November
Communism and the history of Tetris
In this lesson we discovered the creator of the game Tetris and we discussed how it related to communism. I found that Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris in 1985 in Moscow, Russia. Tetris became hugely successful upon its release however there was a huge dispute over the rights and developers of the game. Pajitnov had little defence against the major companies in the game industry and he was forced into a long battle for his original game.
I discovered that the PC version of Tetris was introduced to Hungary, where Robert Stein first caught sight of the game. Stein knew the impact of the game and immediately attempted to sell its rights to Mirrorsoft before coming into contact with Pajitnov. Stein eventually gained a license to Tetris, without any agreement with the Russian company.
15th November
The history of Tetris presentations
Today we presented our findings on the history of Tetris to the rest of the group. What I found after completing this task was that Nintendo were the big winners overall, with the Game Boy grossing the most sales for the game and therefore most profit. After several disputes about the games rights, Robert Maxwell’s company began to decline and his organisation eventually collapsed. Robert Stein made about a quarter of a million dollars from Tetris; however this figure could have been a great deal larger if he had gained full rights from Atari and Mirrorsoft without having to pay royalties.
Pajitnov made almost nothing from his original creation; however he was happy that his game became so widely successful. He is now cited as one of the most influential game developers in history and has received several awards for the creation of Tetris.
I found today’s lesson useful as it gave me a chance to get used to presenting as I will have to make a presentation for my brief in this module.
22nd November
Feminism discussion and research
Today we discussed feminism and how the rights of women have changed over the decades. Women had little rights until they gained the vote in the 1920’s. But the role of women was still subservient to men in dominant society. Women had fewer job opportunities and were expected to cook, clean and take care of the children while the men are at work.
However, as time has passed women activists have stood up and fought for their rights and have gained a more balanced society because of this. The feminist movement was against the objectification of women; Laura Mulvey described this as the male gaze.
I had done some research into feminism at college previously so this subject was something I was well aware of, but it was still useful to refresh my knowledge in the subject and gain a better understand of perspectives.
29th November
Session cancelled
6th December
Feminism continued
Today we presented our work into the study of feminism regarding the character Lara Croft. Lara Croft is the lead character of the game series Tomb Raider created in 1996.
The character of Lara Croft is a young, athletic woman which breaks the stereotypes of the typical male video game character. She is a symbol of dominance for women, but there is debate about the depiction of Lara Croft and how she has been created for the male audience. Lara Croft possesses all of the conventional attributes that all lead video game characters should have, while breaking the mould by being female. Lara Croft demonstrated a big shift from the role of the female character in a video game; she showed status and dominance as the playable character.
The Male Gaze could easily be applied to the character of Lara Croft. The fact that she has little clothing and is made to look like the ideal woman could be seen as misrepresenting females and once again seeing them objectified. The image of Lara Croft proves to be the stereotypical attractive woman. Despite the role reversal it is clear that the developers of Tomb Raider created Lara Croft for sexual appeal, rather than to show the rising dominance of females in society. In Tomb Raider, Lara Croft is faced with complex puzzles and adventures. That fact that Lara Croft is capable of accomplishing these tasks, shows that she is intelligent, powerful and confident. This could well be used in the argument that Lara Croft is a role model, as her capabilities in the game should leave the user feeling as intelligent, powerful and confident as her.
These are clear reasons to prove the character of Lara Croft is empowering for women. But there is little doubt that the character is still superficial, her capabilities go hand in hand with her appearance and the female audience could be left believing they have to look like her to be as powerful and dominant as her.
13th December
Research of Surrealism and discussion session outcomes
Today we briefly began to look into surrealism which is an art movement pioneered by Andre Breton. I research some surrealist paintings and look into the history of the subject.
Surrealism was most prolific during the 1930’s with artists such as Salvador Dali at the forefront of the movement. Surrealism was a form of expressionism and it was not concerned with meaning, but rather the sub conscious and the manipulation of still life. Our first lesson back after the holidays will be a presentation on surrealism.
