Refugees charge their phones at Keleti Railway Station in Budapest, Hungary.
For my research project, I am interested in looking at the complex layers of cyberculture and refugees. I’ll be looking at how refugees participate in cybercultures, ranging from recording abuse in detention centres to using Google Maps to make their way through Europe and tracking their journey through social media.
“Alvand, 18, from Syria takes a selfie with his friends as they walk along a railway track after crossing into Hungary from the border with Serbia last week. Cellphones are widely available in Syria for relatively little money. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)”
I will also be extending my research to how countries are using technologies to monitor and control the movement of refugees. The current crisis has lead to many radical discussions and actions towards ‘monitoring’ refugees. This extends to the EU maritime agency using drones to monitor refugee boats and…
Children’s gaming is a fast-paced and growing industry that aims to do more than just entertain. Educational games are created to help children build necessary skills beyond the classroom environment. While there are many that argue that these games are harmful to education there are those that believe this technology is allowing children to develop and learn more than ever before.
For the research project I will be aiming to investigate educational games and the role of digital technology in children’s digital culture. This includes the growth and development of these games, as well as the effects on children and education.
This year I am also completing DIGC310, where I will be creating a pitch for the development of an educational game for children, which aims to teach children about health and nutrition. This pitch will be the case study for my research and I will be integrating the research I do…
Data. It seems like such a simple concept. However in the 21st century with the immense proliferation of social media and the continual advancement in technology, this four-letter word has become much more complex and essential to our everyday lives.
We live in a time where information (data) is often translated from words, into zeros and dashes (binary data) and then back to words, but a staggering 65% of the world are visual learners. Images are processed much more efficiently than text at a speed of 13 milliseconds, compared to the 250 milliseconds taken to process text.
Neuroscientist agree that text simply can’t do what images can do, visual stimulus amplifies any message by accelerating communication, increasing comprehension, improving retention and stimulating a greater emotional responses.
Data journalistDavid McCandless states that by “visualising information it turns it into an info map to follow. Data visualisation therefor combines…
For my digital artefact this semester for DIGC335, i’ve decided to continue my digital artefact from last years DIGC202 class, Chattr. What began as a weekly video series with my friends, became a registered business over the summer holidays. So for my first blog post, i’ve decided to give a brief overview and introduction as to what Chattr was, what Chattr is, and what Chattr will be. You can check Chattr over on Facebook!
Was:
Last year, Chattr recorded and released a video series called “Uni Life Savers”, where we aimed to interview students around campus about topics regarding the university lifestyle. As well as just recording and editing a short video series, we also did extensive research into media platforms to release onto, advertising through Facebook and did some serious statistical research. We also experimented with looks for the show, and using different equipment to create a different feel…
Since my fascination of the cyberpunk genre began in high school I have been constantly drawn to the stories because of the imaginative, yet almost realistic “imaginaries” of the genre. From the total mental virtual reality device in Sword-Art online to the Bladerunner Voight-Kampff test scanner, these devices have constantly intrigued me.
Because of this, for my digital artefact, I have begun developing the idea of a website that catalogues and explores these types of Cyber-Mythologies and objects. The aim of this site is to portray and explore not only specific cyberpunk creations but to also delve deeper into the history and societal fears and concerns over such items.
In order for my site to be effective, it is obvious I must conduct deep research into the Cyberpunk genre and its surrounding culture. This will include films, books, anime series and literature surrounding these texts which will provide helpful and…
My original broad concept for my research project was to look into the ways in which Cyberculture might be seen to reflect aspects of oral cultures. I would examine specific case studies from Cyberspace, such as fanfiction, let’s plays, and forum threads in order to discuss where this digital space interaction does or does not take the shape of some new iteration of orality. Building from this idea that that there’s a legacy of the past in the present, I’d like to focus on the performance of tragedies online and the ways in which they recall Aristotle’s ancient oral/performed tragedian forms and structures.
According to Aristotle’s Poetics: “Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is admirable, complete and possesses magnitude […] effecting through pity and fear the purification of such emotions”, this ‘purification’ referring to a cathartic release of emotion through empathy. His definition requires the technical elements…
Robots, Androids and Cyborgs have long been the talking point among scientists, it may well be the pinnacle of what mankind can achieve. My interest in Androids first started whilst playing Fallout 3. A post apocalyptic action RPG developed by Bethesda. What seemed as fantasy once upon a time is now becoming all too real. From killer robots threatening the human race in I,Robot (2004) to the sentient , compassionate kind in Bicentennial Man (1999) we have dreamed of what may become of our race in the near future. Are these games and films giving us hints to what is in store for us? One thing is certain though, how much of a machine is a machine that wants its own freedom?
The Replicated Man is a side quest that can be obtained throughout the game . You are tasked by a Dr Zimmer , who works for a group called…
Cyberculture can be referred to as the “response to the ubiquitous presence and use of computers and networks for aspects of contemporary social life” for example entertainment. I like to link ‘computers’ to a broader extension of what is thought of, in a PC or laptop, but to a motherboard of controls to arduino to smart robotics. This leads into my fascination with drones. Over the last year I’ve built an expertise looking into Drones In Agriculture as well as Production, Consumption and Representation of Drones in China which allowed me to then extend the interest into FPV Drone Racing. In an attempt to break down what FPV drone enthusiasts actually do, I’m going to, from a complete beginners perspective, attempt to educate and isolate various elements so that eventually a league or club can be formed under my knowledge.
FPV or First Person View racing can firstly be catergorised into…
Refugees charge their phones at Keleti Railway Station in Budapest, Hungary. 
“Alvand, 18, from Syria takes a selfie with his friends as they walk along a railway track after crossing into Hungary from the border with Serbia last week. Cellphones are widely available in Syria for relatively little money. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)” 
developing the idea of a website that catalogues and explores these types of Cyber-Mythologies and objects. The aim of this site is to portray and explore not only specific cyberpunk creations but to also delve deeper into the history and societal fears and concerns over such items.
