WARNING ABOUT REFERENCING

After copying my notes from word, I found that the web page doesn’t recognise superscript font formatting. This means my footnoting has been effected, the numbers within the essay are my footnoting but aren’t sitting correctly.

Olivia.

The Internet Censorship proposal: Clean Feed.

The Internet has become an important part of everyday life throughout the world. Nevertheless, it has also created a breeding place for numerous threats including identity theft, unauthorised publishing of photos and videos, computer and Internet addiction, personal information being accessed by strangers, cyber bullying, harmful viruses such as ‘trojan’ (it hides within software programs disguising itself as an important application and has the capability to steal important personal information) and ‘phishing attacks’ (the copying of existing websites which are used to steal peoples personal and financial information as well as passwords)1 2 3. It is due to these threats that the Australian Government, specifically Kevin Rudd’s labor party, has put forward a proposal for Clean Feed. Clean Feed will be implemented to eliminate selected sites from the Internet that do not adhere to Australian Media Casting Authority (ACMA) standards in an attempt to make the Internet safer to use4.

Clean Feed as it has unofficially been named will directly affect “all households… schools and other public Internet points” due to Internet Service Provider(s) (ISP) and Internet Content Host(s) (ICH) mandatory compliance with Internet blocking systems5. As aforementioned, the blocking of sites will be in accordance with ACMA standards which has created a ‘blacklist’ of prohibited content6. Prohibited content is classified under R18 (information harmful or disturbing to under 18s which only applies in Australia), X18 (material that is non violent, but sexually explicit) and RC (Refused Classification). Material found on the Internet cannot be prohibited unless it is placed within one of these categories7. Although classifications seem sufficient, the government’s failure to provide the public with a complete list of goals for the clean feed leaves society unable to calculate whether the overall proposal is feasible8. It is also further questioned to what extent societies’ values, attitudes and beliefs will be taken into consideration in this Clean Feed. Australia hosts a wide range of cultural backgrounds and therefore values and beliefs which may create further friction in this already delicate proposal9.

Clean Feed as a system, will operate on two filtering levels known as ‘black list filtering’ and ‘content filtering’. Black list filtering will require all ISP(s) to provide content filtering to all homes, schools, libraries and public internet points which can be used by children10 11. This filtering will be in conjunction with the AMCA black list, in addition it will be made illegal to work around these restrictions12. This filtering will only operate on Uniform Resource Locator(s) (URL), and cannot block content from peer to peer systems, encrypted channels, chatrooms, MSN instant messaging and mobiles13 14. Whilst this system will ensure that a certain amount of materials will be made prohibited throughout the web, this will not entirely eliminate the passing of inappropriate, explicit, dangerous or threatening information. Therefore the circulation of such content will continue, together with a rise in attempts to ‘bypass Internet censorship devices’ through tools such as GPass, GTunnel and Freegate which are specifically created to infiltrate systems such as Clean Feed15.

With this in mind, ‘content filtering’ will create an opportunity for further censorship of the Internet for R rated materials. However, this is not a mandatory form of filtering as the materials which are not illegal, rather more suitable for adults than children can be avoided legally. This provides an advantage for families as they can control the extent to which their entire family is censored on the Internet16.

Despite valid concerns regarding safe Internet use, there are a number of problems that will come with the implementation of Clean Feed. Problems include further slowing down the Internet by approximately 80%17. This alone will cause significant difficulties for businesses and workplaces relying on the Internet to carry out daily work demands. Furthermore it will place greater strain on teachers, students in schools and universities who already work with slow Internet connections18. In addition it is estimated 10,000 legal sites will be blocked to every million and the government has not yet put forward proposals to remedy this19. This could ultimately damage the quality of information found on the Internet, as wading through irrelevant and unreliable sources occurs every time you run searches, without legal sources being blocked. Maintaining the ‘black list’ is a problem in itself, both adding to and rectifying incorrect black listings is a task that will take a great degree of organization and thoroughness which cannot be promised or ensured20.

Although Clean Feed would be enforced to primarily protect children, it will undoubtedly affect all Internet users. With this in mind, it seems necessary to outline programs which are readily available for families around Australia to filter the Internet and therefore create a safer Internet environment for Australia’s younger generation. Content Filters include but are not restricted to Optenet PC Filter, Net Nanny, Content Keeper Web, Safe Eyes, My Child My Values, Surf Control Web, iShield Plus, K9 Web Protection and URL Filtering Module, all of which protect different age groups ranging from under ten year olds to fifteen year olds and over21.

It is clear that despite the aforementioned programs being implemented and available this has not entirely disrupted the threats encountered when using the Internet. However, it has also been put forward in the Clean Feed proposal that children should be educated about cyber safety upon first contact with computers22. If the Government was to concentrate on this aspect specifically, instead of implementing internet censorship that will further slow down Internet access and not sufficiently block all illegal material, they would be able to better protect the children of Australia (which they have indicated as a major concern). Education is the best tool in creating awareness and prevention so this would be a key step in creating greater Internet safety. In providing this education not only could youths learn how to safely use the Internet, but adults would become more aware of the importance of safety programs. This awareness alone would undoubtedly trigger the use of more Internet safety programs, which would reduce threats to Internet users and more specifically children.

Once again it is clear that this would not entirely eliminate threats which are prominent on the Internet, however this is a commonality that is shared with the filtering system in the Clean Feed proposal itself. Realistically and as research has shown the complete elimination of illegal materials will not occur. Therefore, the Australian Government should reconsider spending an estimated 24.3 million dollars on a system, which will only slow down and create further faults to the Internet23. A better approach to the Internet censorship issue, would be to concentrate on properly educating the Australian public on cybersafety. This means cybersafety programs, information and initiatives should be marketed widely to the Australian public in order to promote and ensure an ongoing practice of Internet safety and control, whilst minimising damage to the internet.

References:
1. Conroy Stephen 2007, Labor’s Plan for Cybersafety, pg 1-8.

2. Webopedia n.d, phishing, http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/P/phishing.html

3. Tech-faq n.d, What is a Trojan Horse Virus, http://www.tech-faq.com/trojan-

4. Electronic Frontiers Australia n.d, Labors Mandatory Internet Blocking System, http://www.efa.org.au/censorship/mandatory-isp-blocking/#SS_1

5. Electronic Frontiers Australia n.d, Labors Mandatory Internet Blocking System, http://www.efa.org.au/censorship/mandatory-isp-blocking/#SS_1

6. Electronic Frontiers Australia n.d, Labors Mandatory Internet Blocking System, http://www.efa.org.au/censorship/mandatory-isp-blocking/#SS_1

7. Watt Renee, Vaile David 2009, Inspecting the Despicable, Assessing the Unacceptable: Prohibited Packets and the Great Firewall of Canberra, paper 35.

8. Larme Anthony 2001, How to IMPROVE Australia’s Internet Content Regulation System: A Joint ACS/ ALIA Policy Proposal to the Federal Government, ITN330: Information Issues and Values.

9. Conroy Stephen 2007, Labor’s Plan for Cybersafety, pg 1-8.

10. Maurushat Alana, Watt Renee 2009, Clean Feed: Australia’s Internet Proposal, paper 7.

11. Maurushat Alana, Watt Renee 2009, Clean Feed: Australia’s Internet Proposal, Paper 7.

12. Maurushat Alana, Watt Renee 2009, Clean Feed: Australia’s Internet Proposal, paper 7.

13. Henninger Maureen 2003, The Hidden Web: Finding quality information on the net, University of New South Wales Press Ltd, Sydney.

14. Smart Jason, Tedeschi Kyle, Meakins Daniel, Hannay Peter, Bolan Christopher 2008, Subverting National Internet Censorship - An Investigation into existing Tools and Techniques.

15. Maurushat Alana, Watt Renee 2009, Clean Feed: Australia’s Internet Proposal, paper 7.

16. Electronic Frontiers Australia, No Clean Feed, Stop Internet Censorship In Australia, http://nocleanfeed.com/learn.html

17. Grayson Ian 2008, The Dangers of Web Filtering, http://www.hydrapinion.com/index.php/work/2008/01/07/the_dangers_of_web_filtering

18. Electronic Frontiers Australia, No Clean Feed, Stop Internet Censorship In Australia, http://nocleanfeed.com/learn.html

19. Internet Industry Association 2008, Guide For Internet Users, 1.

http://www.iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=416&Itemid=9#list_of_filters.

20. Conroy Stephen 2007, Labor’s Plan for Cybersafety, pg 1-8.

21. News.com.au 2008, Internet ‘clean feed’ useless – group, http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,23703848-421,00.html

Bibliography for Clean Feed Essay.

Australian Government 2009, Cybersmart Parents, http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/Parents.aspx

Australian Government 2009, Cybersmart Schools, http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/Schools.aspx

Conroy Stephen 2007, Labor’s Plan for Cybersafety, pg 1-8.

Electronic Frontiers Australia n.d, Internet Censorship Laws in Australia, http://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Censor/cens1.html#prohib

Electronic Frontiers Australia n.d, Labors Mandatory Internet Blocking System, http://www.efa.org.au/censorship/mandatory-isp-blocking/#SS_1

Grayson Ian 2008, The Dangers of Web Filtering, http://www.hydrapinion.com/index.php/work/2008/01/07/the_dangers_of_web_filtering

Henninger Maureen 2003, The Hidden Web: Finding quality information on the net, University of New South Wales Press Ltd, Sydney.

Internet Industry Association 2008, Guide For Internet Users,
http://www.iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=416&Itemid=9#list_of_filters

Larme Anthony 2001, How to Improve Australia’s Internet Content Regulation System: A Joint ACS/ ALIA Policy Proposal to the Federal Government, ITN330: Information Issues and Values.

Maurushat Alana, Watt Renee 2009, Clean Feed: Australia’s Internet Proposal, Paper 7.

News.com.au 2008, Internet ‘clean feed’ useless – group, http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,23703848-421,00.html

Smart Jason, Tedeschi Kyle, Meakins Daniel, Hannay Peter, Bolan Christopher 2008, Subverting National Internet Censorship - An Investigation into existing Tools and Techniques, Unacceptable: Prohibited Packets and the Great Firewall of Canberra, Paper 35.

Tech-faq n.d, What is a Trojan Horse Virus, http://www.tech-faq.com/trojan-horse-virus.shtml

Watt Renee, Vaile David 2009, Inspecting the Despicable, Assessing the Unacceptable: Prohibited Packets and the Great Firewall of Canberra, Paper 35.

My essay.

Research, research, research....those have been my movements for the essay so far and with these movements comes a new plane of attack. So I have now chosen to outline the importance of the internet throughout the world and how it has become something that is used daily.

Outline although it is useful it carries the following threats.....i.e cyber bullying, identity theft.

The above will lead into why the government has put forward the proposal for Clean Feed and define what it will do.

Elaborate on how the system will operate....looking at ratings etc and outlining positive/negative that can be seen in these.

Outline the overall concerns about Clean Feed....the slowing of the internet by up to 80%, the incorrect blocking of sites etc.

Outline what is already available (programs and educational websites) and how these could be improved and worked with instead of implementing clean feed.

Outline what benefits would come of using the above alternatives.

Reiterate why Clean Feed should not be implemented.

So there is my new plan of attack after doing research.

More Essay Info....

InternetCensorhipLaws

The link above holds information on Commonwealth Law and State and Territory Criminal Laws in regards to the censorhip of the internet. I think this will be a valuable source in my essay.

I will be able to see some of the legislation that is currently in force and how the classification process works. There is also a link to look to the definition of prohibited content. Will be very helpful.

Report

This site hosts a report from the Australian Communications and Media Authority on developments in internet filtering technologies and other measures for promoting online safety.

Cybersafety

This is a fact sheet from the election in 07 looking at issues such as online identity theft, cyber-bullying and computer addiction, although there are more covered. Another source which will help with my essay.

Censorship

This site looks at other applications that can be used to make the internet safer and how internet censorship by the government is chipping away at free speech via the internet.

Also Borrowing out of library-

Exploring the Internet: A Technical Travelogue

Protect Your Privacy on the Internet

The Hidden Web

Internet Ethics

My Moon My Man-Feist

I really like this song and thought I would check out the film clip. It is not exactly what I expected from listening to the song, but I still liked it. It's quirky in a way.

(H-Ref 1).

Reference:

H-Ref 1: Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uSJsJ5Fl5s
Accessed: Thursday October 8, 2009.

Clean Feed Info

http://nocleanfeed.com/learn.html

This site is a great starting point which has helped me to wrap my head around what clean feed is and what I should be researching.

From this site I know I need to research how clean feed will work as in how will the government decide what is appropriate to be seen on the internet, how accurately will clean feed block sites-what will the government do when they block the wrong sites.

These are just starting points for research. I may not answer all of these questions, but a starting point is important.

Essay Topic

My topic- Clean Feed

Rough plan of attack-(keeping in mind this is bound to change a little once I start research).

Define what clean feed is and why the Government wants to implement it.

Outline how it will be implemented and who by-be more precise than just the Australian Government.

Outline what the positives of implementing Clean Feed will be (to give the essay balance).

Outline the negatives about implementing clean feed....brief reading tells me that the internet wasn't made to handle something like this.

Outline what effects clean feed will have on the internet for the future.

Restate why clean feed should not be implemented.

Eddie Murphy's Delirious

This is a stand up comedy from Eddie Murphy. There are two that I know of Raw and Delirious, but I think Delirious is the funniest. I have put embedded my favourite part of it. Eddie is talking about family bbq's and how his Dad gets drunk and has a go at his Uncle Gus about his wife Aunt Bunny....that should be enough info so you know what's going on...SO FUNNY!

(H-Ref 1).

Reference:

H-Ref 1: Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awrfIReVQtA
Accessed Thursday October 8, 2009.

Today's Lecture (Week 10) Video Games Studies

(H-Ref 1).


Studies prior to 2005 on video games showed that games were played by 80% of 18-25 year old males. It also showed that there was a boom in the use of games between 25 year olds to 40 years olds. 59% of these gamers were male and 41% were female (which seemed to amaze Josh). It was also said that mostly girls play games on their mobiles. However, games via the internet are mainly played by males.

Why was their a rise for males playing games?

Because all the males that were 18-25 years old prior to 2005 are now in the 25-40 year old bracket.

Genre plays a major factor in the choice that women and men make between the internet, playstation and mobile. Mobiles have games that have puzzles and appeal more to women than they do to men who would prefer to play grand theft auto on playstaion or Tony Hawke.

(H-Ref 2).

It seemed that Josh would rather play the play station than puzzles on his phone because he can play Tony Hawke and grand theft auto.... making him closer to the dream of being pro skater and or a gangster.



We also found that Josh doesn't like dealing with reality in his entertainment/leisure time. Working, earning and learning is something he can do in real life and he finds it interesting that people would choose to do that in their leisure time when they could be running around with guns and shooting people which you clearly couldn't or maybe shouldn't do in real life.

Approaches to Video Games:

Social Science- Effects of games on people. People who are inherently violent may not be effected by violent games as a person who is not inherently violent may.

Humanities: Video games usually involve a narrative element if we take out puzzle and fitness games. Humanties is also interested in Games as artifacts or mediums of art in the given time. So you would compare violent games of the 80's and now in 2005 and it would signify the difference in they way people are at these different times.

Industry and Enterprise Problems:

Development of games to make them faster, better graphics etc is a major driver in New Technology.

(H-Ref 3).

References:

H-Ref 1: Wikinomics
http://www.wikinomics.com/blog/index.php/tag/mp3/
Accessed: Thursday October 8, 2009.

H-Ref 2: Indie Youth Fest
http://indieyouthfest.wordpress.com/activities/e-sport/official-games/
Accessed: Thursday October 8, 2009.

H-Ref 3: Shopping.com
http://uk.shopping.com/xPO-Tony-Hawk-s-Proving-Ground-44133099
Accessed: Thursday October 8, 2009.

My Art

Computers and art- two things that I am pretty bad with, so I was happy (for me anyway) with what I made. I did this in paint shop pro, playing around with different effects, colours etc. Above is what I came up with...not too bad I think.

My Google Map Complete with Lines and Explanations

View I want to travel to.... in a larger map

Other Blogs I like.

woonyoungstudio

I like this first blog because as you may have guessed I love art, considering can't even draw a stick figure. There are some great pencil sketches on this site which really caught my eye.

I LOVED this next blog...I found it really interesting not that I plan on getting married any time soon this blog has a lot of stuff on weddings, organisation, dresses, other peoples weddings. It has some nice pics and some random stuff too check it out on: Eastbride





Here are some of the pics I liked from it-








I LOVE HORSES so that's why I liked this next blog. I had a pony, a foal and another horse when I was little and miss them so much. The horses are pretty cute and remind me how much I loved having them as a child although I had a few stacks and the pony was a bit crazy and the foal would bite and kick. http://nztbs.blogspot.com/

The Reader

The Reader is a book created by Bernard Schlink and has been made into a movie. I had to read this book in grade 12 and I loved it. It is about a 15 year old boy who has an affair with an older woman and where there separate lives take them (not to give away the story). It is set in World War Two and is quiet sad, but a great story. The movie itself follows the book quiet closely and the images and places where made as I imagined them to be in the book. I would recommend you read the book and then watch the movie as I remember being left with questions in the book that were answered in the movie. The trailer for the movie is below...

(H-Ref 1).

This is the cover of the book if you are interested in reading it...

(H-Ref 2).



Reference:

H-Ref 1: Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgqVyWcfXqI
Accessed: Wednesday October 7, 2009.

H-Ref 2: Illiterarty
http://www.illiterarty.com/reviews/book-review-reader-bernhard-schlink
Accessed: Wednesday October 7, 2009.

Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs

(H-Ref 1).

I saw the preview for this when I went to see Up and as much as I loved Up, I think this would be great to see in 3D because everything really jumped out to you in the preview. Not sure that the story line will be as good as Up, but I definitely want to see this. I really like the idea of 3D now more than ever....any you get cool glasses if you go to Robina instead of those dodgey paper ones with green and red lenses!

Reference:

H-Ref 1: Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pox3xsmWqQg
Accessed Wednesday October 7, 2009.

20 MOST AMAZING AND UNBELIEVABLE SHOTS

Some of these made me cringe, some made me wonder how the pictures were even taken, one was just plain wrong and you have to feel sorry for some of the animals.



Reference: Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aCic2cmC8I
Accessed Tuesday October 6, 2009.

More Art ....

I am ridiculously bad at art so I think it is amasing how well people can draw, even more amasing that they can use a flat surface and make a picture jump out at you or make it into a realistic setting. I found another video with some more 3D Steet Art.If you go to youtube there are HEAPS of these!

(H-Ref 1)

Reference:

H-Ref 1: Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6oNm13rtfw&feature=related
Accessed Tuesday October 6, 2009.

I love these kinds of art work.

These are some art works I have found by Edgar Mueller, as you can see he does it in publis spaces on concrete ground and makes it look so realistic.

(H-Ref 1).


(H-Ref 2).

This video shows how he does it.

(H-Ref 3).

References:

H-Ref 1: VERUM SERUM
http://www.verumserum.com/?p=3938
Accessed Tuesday October 6, 2009.

H-Ref 2: Wordpress
seaneyb.wordpress.com/2009/04/
Accessed Tuesday October 6, 2009.

H-Ref 3: Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SNYtd0Ayt0
Accessed Tuesday Octover 6, 2009.

What place does censorship have in democracy?

Censorship and democracy....yet another thing I didn't think of. But wow. Censorship could (to a certain extent put holes in democracy). In my previous blog I was saying how the internet in particular plays an important part in democracy as it provides so many ways for 'citizen to citizen' communication.

Censorship in regards to the internet would greatly damage this ease of communication and therefore have a significant role in damaging democracy. Especially if 10000 in every 1 million sites are going to be wrongfully shut down. I'm not saying that censorhip will destroy democracy but it definitely has a significant role in its being. If the clean feed was to go ahead I think that 'citizen to citizen' communication will greatly decrease, leaving a wide hole in democracy as their will be a world of silence where there once were voices, ideas and opinions.

On the whole censorship and democracy don't really go well together, one can't really exist with the other when it comes to the internet.

Clean Feed In Australia

(H-Ref 1).



Well I can see both the positives and negatives in implementing Clean Feed. The internet when put into perspective is quiet a dangerous place, with numerous chat rooms that leave young men and women open to sexual predators. The availability of material such as how to commit suicide, not to mention the circulation of inappropriate photos of the young and the adult. I can see the need for Clean Feed and it would be great to see everything illegal wiped off of the internet, but at the same time wiping that which is legal off as well is not necessary.

With this in mind an important point has been made.....what age will we make the internet appropriate for? (H-Ref 2). How can you possibly make the internet suitable for everyone?

Another big issue is that $44 million dollars has been budgeted for this initiative (H-Ref 3). Like I said the internet is a dangerous place, but so is the world and you can't clean feed that. I read in S. Stockwells lecture that once something has been created on the internet (although it can be deleted) it still has some form of existence, so that in itself makes me question how accurate this clean feed could be.

Yet another issues is that 10 000 sites in every million will be incorrectly blocked, if it can't been done accurately then why do it at all? (H-Ref 4). These sites could be vital to businesses or even education.

With these points in mind the idea of an accurate clean feed seems impracticle. In theory it seems like a great idea, but what are the chances of the Government pulling this off? I suppose that is the ultimate question. If it could be carried out so that it would cut out all sites that are purely illegal than I would support it.

However, the chances of this happening in my opinion are slim. It has also been stated that the internet may not be able to manage this sort of system (H-Ref 5). So, it seems that whilst this is a good idea in theory practicality needs to come first. Therefore I think that Clean Feed should not go ahead unless in some case of a miracle it could be carried out without complications and world wide anger....I don't think that will happen.

References:

H-Ref 1: acidlabs
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3028/3023435191_1f32d77c75.jpg
H-Ref 2, 3, 4, 5: Andrew Harrison
http://nocleanfeed.com/learn.html
Accessed Monday October 5, 2009.

Participatory Democracy......WHAT THE?

Call me stupid, but I have never actually heard of this hence why I thought I would look into a bit further.

Participatory democracy is something that is aided by the ease of communication in the 21st Century. This can be said as participatory democracy relies on the 'capability for expression' which can take place via the phone, blogs, txts, emails, tweets, facebook comments, myspace comments, online forums and numerous others. By having so many ways in which 'citizen to citizen' communication can take place we are given a bigger handle over our governance like never before (H-Ref 1).

In regards to technology I think that it is a key factor in participatory democracy. If the aim is to get as much support as possible what better way to do it. As said above technology and more so the Internet has provided so many different ways in which to keep in contact and communicate. It seems that time and space doesn't create limits anymore, with the Internet correspondence is pretty much painless.

In regards to participatory democracy I think that we do need to have more of a say rather than just voting and letting the rest get left to whoever is elected. Through participatory democracy it would be ensured that all who have a voice and more to say than a straight forward vote and agreeance with candidates would aid society in its refinement. For me I understood Participatory Democracy as just that-You participate, you have a say beyond the voting booth which is something that needs to be brought into play more often. I don't think anyone would be 100% happy with the politicians in their state or of their nation. More particpatory democracy would benefit Australia as a nation as we could work with our politicians instead of gritting our teeth and bearing it.

Reference:

H-Ref 1: Georgetown.edu
http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/bassr/gaynor/partic.htm
Accessed Monday October 5, 2009.

FreeRice

FreeRice is a game that has been created to help with world hunger. To play you can pick from a number of categories including art, english and math. It is multiple choice and for every answer you give correct 10 grains of rice are donated and distributed to third world countries by the UN World Food Programme. I think this is a great idea as I'm sure all of us who do any work on the internet are guilty of waisting hours stuffing around on games. At least this way you can help other people.

Go to http://www.freerice.com/subjects.php?t=13745362061....you even get a little rice bowl on your screen next to your game and you can watch it fill up.

An Idea from S.Stockwell's Lecture

THE PUBLIC SPHERE

For me this was an interesting concept addressed in lecture which I thought I would do some further research on. I find it hard to grasp things if I don't look for myself so here is my understanding of the public sphere from my research-

The 'Public Sphere'(to my understanding) consists of people from society who gather together to voice their opinions on the needs of the state (thi can be done both physically and verbally through gatherings and other forms of communication....it donesn't necessarily have to be a physical gathering as such). Through these gatherings it was hoped that some form of guidance would be given to the state. Ultimately the 'Public Sphere' was a way in which to ensure that the main authority operated appropriately in a democracy.

This Pulic Sphere became prevalent in the 18th Century within coffee houses and knowledgable societies (for example literary societies) and also through the press. While the Public Sphere aimed to gain minor control of the State, the State found it necessary to keep on top of the Public Sphere.

The key for the Public Sphere to succeed was for its members to have rational, logical and equal participation. Communication was of great importance.

It seems that as society developed this took a toll on the publis sphere, especially in regards to the media. As this grew the want for money became greater and manipulation more prevalent. So there was no longer a level ground where information and knowledge was unbiased and available to all. Instead it was more readily available to the privileged (H-Ref 1).

For me the Public Sphere seemed to promote the idea of general society coming together to ensure that their rights and needs were met. This particular Sphere also seemed pure to a certain extent, where educated opinions could be voiced and acted upon. However, I think that the rise of the media tarnished this as it allowed for bias and manipulation. Propaganda conned people into believing certain things or thinking a certain way. The Public Sphere may still exist today, but I don't think it would be in a pure form, it would be open to bias, manipulation and propoganda as the media feeds to us what we should believe.

For me the Public Sphere kind of demonstrates how we are told what to think. Its beginning shows to a certain degree how we would all like to be, educated with out bias. We want to know the facts, we don't want to be fed propaganda, but in our day and age we don't really form our own opinions and if we do they are formed off of what other people have told us and not what we personally know or think ourselves.

I think I've made my point. Not entirely sure how to put it in words, but I hope you can understand that.



References:

H-Ref 1:Marshall Soules
http://records.viu.ca/~soules/media301/habermas.htm
Accessed Monday October 5, 2009.

News Websites

Like you may have read previously I am doing a bachelor of journalism and I found two news websites Upstart and Newsfix. Both of these sites encourage not only uni students but the general community to submit there works whether it be a news story, information about a current event or photos these sites want to publish your work. All they ask is that it be something that the public would be interested in. I really like this site as I have been told in my course that whilst in Uni it is pretty much mandatory to make a portfolio and this is a great starting base. Creating a portfolio is pretty daunting, but I have spoken to the editor of Newsfix personally and he is so flexible that he is prepared to make a category if your news story doesn't fit in one already previously made. Upstart is a Melbourne based site, but one that hopes to grow....Newsfix is a little closer to home in Brisbane.

So this was just a site that I really liked and thought I would share on my blog.

You can have a look at Newsfix at http://www.newsfix.net.au/

and

Upstart at http://www.upstart.net.au/

Application-Winamp

The Application which I have downloaded and now use is Winamp which is a primarily a music based application which you can do a number of things with.

With Winamp you can:

> organise your music collection
> create playlists
> tag mp3 files
> you can download skins to enhance visuals that will be seen whilst playing your music
> download plug ins to make it i-Pod friendly
> watch movies
> listen to the radio

For me this showed me just how versatile technology is and how we are becoming more and more dependent on it. I'm not saying it is taking over the world, but for those who seek easier options, there is more and more technology coming out that lets you do multiple things through the one unit.

I think it's great that applications like Winamp can be accessed on your personal computer at home or your lap top and allow you to not only listen to your own music, but allow you to listen to the radio and watch movies. I like how you can customise it to suite your needs, even though it's not a necessity it's good to be able to put pictures of what you like to make it yours.

This application really shows where technology is taking us and brings me back to the i-phone as an example. If we can access the Internet, take photos, listen to music, make phone calls, text people, read books all from a palm sized machine what will come next? Is everything going to become converged? I think that we will be coming across many more inventions which will let us carry out numerous actions in all the one place. Personally I find this exciting.

This is the link to Winamp:

http://www.winamp.com/

....if you love you music this is great!

UP

I saw this movie in the holidays and I have to say it is a must see. I love movies like Toy story, Finding Nemo and Shrek, but this is definitely the best I have seen so far....well ever actually. You can see this movie in 3D, I'm not sure that 2D is an option at the Cinemas. It has a mixture of comedy, seriousness and also sadness and tells a really good story. The animation itself is incredible and although it doesn't feature the same bright and wonderous colours that won us all over in Finding Nemo, there is just something about it.

This movie was amazing and it being 3D just added to the affect, it was very realistic for animation and definitely something you could relate to. I give it a 10 out of 10, not that I am in any position to be giving ratings.

Below are the two main character Kevin from the Wilderness Explorers and the Old Man (can't quiet remember his name). They were my favourite including Kevin (a bird) and a dog that could talk.

(H-Ref 1).




(H-Ref 2).










(H-Ref 3).
















References:

H-Ref 1: About.com
http://kidstvmovies.about.com/od/up/ig/Up---Movie-Photos/Yee-Haw-.htm
Accessed Monday October 5, 2009.


H-Ref 2: The Sydney Morning Herald

http://blogs.smh.com.au/entertainment/getflickd/2009/09/melbourne_is_on.html
Accessed Monday October 5th, 2009.

H-Ref 3: The Sydney Morning Herald

http://search.hp.my.aol.com.au/aol/redir?src=image&clickedItemURN=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.smh.com.au%2Fentertainment%2Fgetflickd%2F&moduleId=image_details.jsp.M&clickedItemDescription=Image Host URL
Accessed Monday October 5th, 2009.