my life as a uni student

Well this will be my last post for this semester…YEHHHHH.  Not that I have not enjoyed my classes because I have.  Jules has been fantastic and a great teacher…there should be more of you out the Jules.  I am frantically trying to complete assessments and study for this exam, which quite frankly is alot of material to cover for such a small time.  I will survive, I always do.  If I do happen to fail then I can always come back, bigger, better and wiser, I hope.  As there are no things to learn and to practice this week I would like to say have a fantastic 5 weeks before I see you all again. xoxoxox

Excell as mentioned is a very handy program to use in basic accounting.  Now days though most people have upgraded to use Quickbooks and MYOB. These are programs that i use and have no real use for Excell anymore.  I currently work at a car mechanics and use MYOB daily.

 Getting a little stressful with having all my assignments due and having to come to class and do these tasks.  They are helpful but rather time consuming.

At the moment to Excell on my computer is playing up so I am currently sitting and waiting for it to come around.  All the same the program is still widely used and very benefical for smaller companies or soletraders.  It is a little confusing to get your head around the formula’s but when you set up the table then you can basiclly just reuse the same one over and over.

Now what can I say about Microsoft word….It is very easy to do once you have learned… I have never really been successful at the mail merge and this time was no different.  I got right through to the end but did not know if I was merging the end product correctly.  When I was in high school computers were not that new but not that old.  I supposed we missed out on a bit of training there.  Over the last 15 years out of high school, I have often come in contact with computers but my extent and knowledge was very limited.  Over time though I can do nearlly all the basic things and have survived so far.  I will go on and practice the mail merge tool at home as I do believe it will come in hand one day in the very near future.  Great for creating your data base if you are not planning on using software like MYOB or Quickbooks which can create all of the things that you would need to do, like letters for all things, reminders, to do list ect.  My sister actually taught me how to use MYOB in about 2 days, and then my next job that I went to thought that I was unreal and had soooo much knowledge…Funny for me…. I would recommend for anyone wanting to learn to go ahead and learn,  it won’t do you any harm to become alittle more knowledgable and alittle more useful….

Introduction

With the 50th year of reign for the Communist Party of China, Tiananmen Square is a perfect example of the control that is exerted by the Government today. Since the arrival of the Internet to China in 1995, the massacre of the peaceful protesters in the Square is just one among many other events and issues that is blocked by sophisticated Internet software. It is almost like the incident never happened. It is a matter of Big Brother letting information that is deemed appropriate to be available to the public. One Great Wall comes down but is replaced and some Chinese resident’s are managing to defeat “The Great Firewall of China”, but at their own peril.

Research

All incoming and outgoing data sent to and from China is thoroughly searched by a team of internet police of an estimated 40, 000 people (McDonald, 2004). The main controlling organisation of internet content is the Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department (CDP) who co-ordinate with other parties such as General Administration of Press and Publication and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (Zissis, 2006).These departments are there to monitor specific words and to block or filter sites that deal with sensitive issues and key words such as, Taiwan; human rights; Tibet and Falun Gong Meditation Group (McDonald, 2004). The ‘Great Firewall of China’ uses technology that is built into the basic web infrastructure that enables the Government to block undesirable sites, disable links that may lead to restricted sites, scan for key words in web sessions like ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’. It also has censoring software that automatically deletes words. They also have the power to hijack web sessions when these taboo words are being used. The most common is to freeze the computer until the offending party corrects or deletes the words themselves (Pan, 2005).

In any country the Internet service providers are just that, they provide the service and the person who takes up that service is held accountable for their actions. In China this is not the case, any service provider is held directly responsible for objectionable material and makes them liable for the content (Pan, 2005).

In 2006 there were a reported 111 million internet user in China (Zissis,2006) and with the closing of over 8600 unauthorised internet cafes around China, every person in China must log onto the internet with their official identity card when using internet cafes (McDonald, 2004). It would also seem that private blogger sites also must comply and publish the full identity of the persons responsible for the site, with heavy fines of up to one million Yuan being dealt to publishers and advertisers for not complying with Government regulation (BBC News, 2005). It was estimated that in 2004 over 47,000 internet cafés were closed, to help the Government have more control over the users of the net (Pan, 2005).

China as of September 2006, was rated 159^th out of 167 on the 2005 index of press freedom by Reporters Without Borders (Zissis,2006) and has 32 journalist and 49 cyber dissidents imprisoned for criticising the regime over the internet and in print media (Smith, 2006). By exerting harsh penalties for not complying with the strict media controls the Chinese Government has censorship tactics that cross over all forms of media for Chinese journalists. These include dismissal and demotions in the work place, libel, fines, complete closure of media outlets and imprisonment (Zissis, 2006).

Yahoo provided personal information to the Chinese Government which led to the arrest of a Chinese journalist Shi Tao, by giving authorities the telephone number where an email was sent from, to a Chinese dissident in the U.S about the Propaganda Department’s direct orders not to write or have any media coverage about the Tiananmen Squares 15^th Anniversary. Yahoo defended itself by saying that they were following the laws and customs for that country, but when it came from a subsidiary located in Hong Kong, which China has no rule over, it was more for capital gain rather than following the law(Taipei Times, 2005). Microsoft has barred a blog that is critical of the Chinese Government and has blocked words like freedom and democracy and Google have self censored their website as have most of the major players(Times, 2006). In 2002 all of the majors were told to sign a ‘self discipline’ or self sensor document which asked them all to follow China’s censorship laws to enable them to operate within China ( Taipei Time, 2005) & (Zissis, 2006) Alibaba.com is one of China’s leading e-commerce auctioning groups and a 40 percent share was successfully purchased by Yahoo for $1 billion in August of 2005 (Pan, 2005).

It seems that these multi national companies are in it for the all mighty dollar. They are all aware of just how massive the Chinese portion of internet use is today and what it will be in the very near future. It is estimated that in the next few decades there will be over 750 million internet users in China alone (Pan, 2005).

Conclusion

There are many creative ways that are currently being used in China to get around the censors. With more than 350 million mobile phones in China in 2005, SMS is widely used but is rather risky as it can be tracked to a single phone. The government can also send a single text messages to every mobile phone in an area if they are aware of a protest or gathering and SMS back to warn the people/protesters not to attend (Pan, 2005).

Hackers and savvy computer users are using tricky passwords as the censoring systems do not always work. Typing in words like ‘elgoog ‘ which is google spelt backwards, this lead to free internet searches, but was found and shut down by authorities. Hacking is a time consuming method and is really only for the high tech and advanced users (Pan, 2005).

The use of overseas service providers is said to be one of the safer ways to access information that is censored by the Government.

The technology firm Anonymizer is currently in the process of developing anti-censorship software that will enable any citizen, Chinese or anyone anywhere in the world the ability to search the entire internet free from filters (Smith, 2006). To get around the standard internet restrictions, some computers with the help of Electronic Frontier Foundation allows Windows to be used as a proxy server for internet users so they can use servers that are outside the confines of the Chinese government (Smith, 2006).

Even when an internet site gets shut down, another will arise as it seems that political critics have strong feelings that their words need to be heard (McDonald, 2004). It is necessary to say that this article itself, when posted on my blog, would not meet the current government regulations and would be inaccessible to anyone located in China.

Bibliography

Fuller, S & Pagan, K (1997) Intranet Firewalls, Planning and Implementing your Network Security System,Ventana:USA

Mirkovic, J, Dietrich, S, Dittrich, D & Reiher, P (2004) Internet Denial of Service, Attacks and Defense Mechanisms, Pearson Education, Inc: Massachusetts

Westby, J (2004) International Guide to Cyber Safety, ABA Publishing:U.S.A

Morgan, K & Spector, J.M (2004) The Internet Society, Advances in Learning, Commerce and Security, Witpress: Boston

Stallings, W (2003) Network Security Essentials, Applications and Standards Second Edition, Prentice Hall:New Jersey

Zissin, C (2006) Council on Foreign Affairs Media Censorship in China Retrieved from: www.cfr.org/publication/11515/media_censorship_in_china.html

Pan,E (2005) Council on Foreign Affairs China’s New Internet Restrictions Retrieved from: www.crf.org/publication/8913/chinas_new_internet_restrictions.html

www.web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasal170072002 People’s Republic of China State Control of the Internet in China (2002)

BBC News Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4617657.stm (2005)

Smith,C (2006) www.falundafa.org Media Report Bureau of International Programs, U.S. Department of State

www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/220/09/21/2003272580

Armitage, C (2005) www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,16570813%255E421,00.html

McDonald, H (2004) Sydney Morning Herald www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/06/1083635279853.html

Times on Line (2006)

www.business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/china/article721120.ece

Goossen, C (2006) New Media America Internet keeps Tiananmen Square Alive Retrieved from: http://news.nconline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=25e667ab7509fc72117

A part of our tutorial assignment this week was to look into the world of the 3d sites.  I chose active world as it was suggested that it is one of the easier sites to access and to control.  It allows  for a complimentary walk through and gives you advice and help.  Genevieve greets you when you enter the 3d world and asks how you are and if you need help.  When you respond the reaction is almost instant if she is not in a conversation with someone else.  You can create your own indentity and your own world.  You can also purchase items in the 3d shop.  I personally find this experience to be unsettling as i am sure this and many of the 3d sites are very popular all over the world.  It would take alot of time and effort to maintain yourself in this world.  It would take alot of extra time that could be well spent actually getting out and meeting real people in the real world doing real things.  I may be cynical but i am an old fashion person with old fashion views.  Just like would you let your child sit and play the sims for hours on end and have no real friends or do any excercise?? I don’t think that this much time should be put into a fantasy world where anyone can be hiding praying on the poor and innocent people that submerge their lives into the unreal world of 3d.  I was watching a doco on sbs about second live and one of the most famous avatar characters, and she his now selling virtual realestate.  People are actually paying rent on properties in Cyberspace.  It was orginally created by and American of course but in huge in Korea.

motoHad a busy holiday, took lots of photo’s for ephotographics class.  Spent plenty of times with the human conraceptive…the niece and nephew.  Beautiful but i can hand them back…..couple of pics for all to see.  The first motorbike shot I used the Hue saturation adjustment to blow this pic out to make it look very fake.  The colours are super unreal.

Well I was looking forward to sinking my teeth into fantastic afternoon of photshop today but we could not get photoshop on the computers in our tute room…..devastating……Jules being as patient as always is telling us we be looking at doing the 2 hour tute on a program called the gimp!!! Funny name funny program.  But Jules came up with the goods, we moved buildings and have spent a fantastic hour playing with images.   For your viewing pleasure today i will let you view my new man(wishing!!!) and the attack of the massive killer Shitzue>>>>>>>

Task 1 Internet censorship is my essay topic.

Task 2 the 3 journal articles that i have chosen

Nixing the News
Jackie Granick. Harvard International Review. Cambridge: Summer 2005. Vol. 27, Iss. 2; p. 11 (2 pages)

A look at Iraq today, they are told that they have freedom by reformist President Mohammad Khatami  but then sites get shut down and people get arrested, among those are journalist and technicians.

Internet censorship hits “all-time high”
Anonymous. Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom. Chicago: Nov 2003. Vol. 52, Iss. 6; p. 226

Internet restrictions, government secrecy, and communications surveillance have reached an unprecedented level across the world. A year-long study of Internet censorship in more than 50 countries found that a sharp escalation in control of the Internet since Sep 2001 may have outstripped the traditional ability of the medium to repel restrictions.

Iran, Cuba dictate Internet rules
Nikki Swartz. Information Management Journal. Lenexa: Sep/Oct 2003. Vol. 37, Iss. 5; p. 10

Repressive regimes are playing a key role in drafting new United Nations-backed rules on the worldwide use of the Internet that could be passed at the World Summit on the Information Society, scheduled for December in Geneva and organized by the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Telecommunication Union. Their proposed rules, if adopted, would not only allow but also encourage widespread Web censorship as well as increased state control of TV and radio.

Task 3. the mailing list

http://www.nettime.org/info.html

Boasting not just  mailing list but also has publications on line and books and websites in many languages.  It also states that it is not just there to sell things or believe the ramblings of the older forms of media that have no idea how to communicate through the newer form of living media.

A internet web based site that was created for the new century.  It is a space that is dedecated to the new media art community.

task 4 the hunt

http://www.users.on.net/~lenus/nct/2005/04/nct-week-6.html

What is the weight of the world’s biggest pumpkin? http://www.aj.com
The worlds biggest pumpkin weighs in at 1061 pounds.
http://www.104english.com/Astonishing/The_Biggest_Pumpkin.htm

What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Grant Hackett? http://www.google.com/
Miami Olumpc heated pool, 80 pacific ave, Miami, qld, 4220.
http://www.geocities/collesseum/court/5449/from_Creator.htm

What is the length of a giraffe’s tongue? www.a9.com
A giraffe’s tongue is 18-20inches long.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-giraffe.html

How would you define “ontology”? What does it really mean? http://www.dictionary.com
Ontology is one of those things where it helps if you don’t think about it… It is the metaphysical study of the nature of being, and existence
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ontology
a
What was David Cronenberg’s first film? http://www.yahoo.com
His first film was transfer in 1966
http://www.empirezine.com/spotlight/cronenberg/cronenberg1.htm

When was the “Hacker’s Manifesto” written?
Written in 1986.
http://www.mithral.com/~beberg/manifesto.html

Why do do all phone numbers in Hollywood films start with “555″? http://www.aj.com
555 was used as a prefix, as when naming the telephone exchanges in the US, no exchange was allocated the 555 prefix. So to prevent actors etc, being rung up and harassed, movie makers were encouraged to use the 555 prefix. It is also coincidence that many phone numbers on the gold coast, also use the 555 prefix.
http://www.omegarobot.com/article/555.html

What is the cheapest form of travel from Crete to Rhodes?
Given my total prior lack of prior geographic knowledge… and my lack of being able to find answers on the internet, my logic would have me believe, that walking is the cheapest form of travel.

What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1965? http://www.google.com
Rock and roll music – the beatles
http://www.onmc.iinet.net.au/top/1965.htm

What band was Stephen Stockwell in? http://www.a9.com
The Black Assassin
http://jojow.tblog.com/ << Damn google bombs…

As the first day of the 3rd week slowly peels away, like the layers of an onion, so to do the ever present assessments become more of a reality than the week before.  I have 2 due next week and with very little preparation, I am feeling a little anxious at the outcome.  Another weekend has now been demolished and I will not see that date again, until next year when it rolls around again.   Had a fantastic class this morning on writing for the web.  Found the lecturer very amusing as well and educational.  I hope that I pass all my classes this semester as i really don’t want to have to take any of these subjects again,,, but then who really sets out to intentionally fail……

As I draw nearer to the end of my second week at university for this semester I am hit with the realisation that I have only 12 weeks left at the end of the week.  The uni holidays seemed to drag on forever as your working your ass off to save enough money to pay for the following semesters classes, books and to live a little.  Last semester was the hardest as not having studing in this type of environment for over 15 years it’s a little hard to get into the swing of things,,,, i passed all my subjects and even got a distinction…. yeah for me and also just passed 2 subjects (with a wipe of the brow).  All in all I was pleased with my resuts.  I would like to say that I will do better this semester and i will certainly try.  It’s so easy to get distracted by the things going on in your life, your family, your friends, your partner shagging someone else cause your so busy at uni…. but I know it will all be worth it in the end.. I will have a degree and he will probably have caught a diesease…..