Sunday, August 16, 2015

Week 3: Task 1: Answering Questions and Blog


How might the internet be controlling our minds? Directly? Indirectly? By setting our expectations? By becoming our psychic environment?
The internet is controlling our mind as we are always digitally connected, and are constantly anticipating updates and using it as a means of replacing older media and streamlining all forms of modern media.

Are neural implants the way of the future? Would you have neural implants inserted? Under what conditions?

I believe that yes, it is the way of the future I would have them inserted once the technology has been extensively tested and released to the public, or if there was a way to ensure my mental safety.

Does Google's personalisation of our internet interaction assist us? Or is it exploitation? Does it deny our freedom or is it all part of being a collective? How is it affecting the climate change debate?

Googles personalisation of our internet interaction can in theory assist us, however it is commonly perceived as a neusense and most people are skeptical about the first party that is selling to them, especially if the interaction is incorrect, and can be perceived as exploitation; however it varys person to person. It affects the debate on climate change as more media is being released to the public for awareness, people can then generate their own belief based on the evidence presented to them, which is usually on social media.

Is commercialization destroying the web or is the web improving the way we do business?
Will Moore's law give out in 2015? What will happen then?

Commercialization is improving the way we do business, as business are accurately able to target their audience online based on their online viewings and interaction, with technology giving rise to Moore's law in 2015. If technology were to falter based on Moore's law in 2015, you would see business and technology slowing, which it just does not seem to be doing, as it is perpetually and continuously growing



Blog 1:


Internet was invented by Robert E Khan, as a means of sharing communication between parties. Since the origins of the internet it has expanded to incorporate an all encompassing aspects of our existence, progressively taking over the majority of daily tasks that we take for granted, as a means of making our lives easier and things more convenient. According to Bell & Munoz-Solomando (2006) the Internet has the capability to control minds; and by doing so are able to control our actions and the way we lead our day-to-day lives. We are perpetually connected, regardless of whether or not we like to admit that we are or not, or like to admit as to what extent digital media controls us. This can be seen in our daily routines and how connected and in turn, dependent man has become to technology, and how technology is seamlessly integrated into our lifestyle. This begins from the moment we wake up, by checking our smart phones or computers, leading to driving and using GPS technology linked with the internet to match our days, to our digital swipe to get into our fitness facility, to our car parking at university, to paying for things with pay-pass, all the way until the time we go to bed and set our alarms for the next day; we are perpetually connected in one way or another to the digital world, and by being connected constantly we are inclined to always be checking updates on our lives and interests.


  • Bell, V., Maiden, C., Muñoz-Solomando, A. & Reddy, V. 2006, "'Mind Control' Experiences on the Internet: Implications for the Psychiatric Diagnosis of Delusions", Psychopathology, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 87-91.
  • Binhi, V.N. & ebrary, I. 2009; 2010, Electromagnetic mind control: fact or fiction? a scientific view, Nova Science Publishers, New York.
  • Sun, W., Zhang, G., Zhou, J. & Bhuse, V. 2014, "Next-Generation Internet and Communication", SCIENTIFIC WORLD JOURNAL, vol. 2014, pp. 1-2.







Sunday, August 9, 2015

Week 3 Task 3

Steven Stockwell Book references

1. Secret History of Democracy (edited with Ben Isakhan) Palgrave Macmillan London 2011 (Publisher's site: Palgrave Macmillan, Facebook page: The Secret History of Democracy)

  • Isakhan, B., 1977 & Stockwell, S., 1954 2011, The secret history of democracy, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke; New York.

Can be found at:
2. Rhetoric and Democracy: Deliberative Opportunities in Current Electoral Processes VDM Saarsbruken 2010 

  • Stockwell, S.E. 2010, Rhetoric and Democracy: Deliberative Opportunities in Current Electoral Processes, VDM Verlag Dr. Müller.
Can be found at:
  • Full text can be found online

3. Political Campaign Strategy. Australian Scholarly Melbourne 2005

Stockwell, S., 1954 & Scott, P., 1961 2000, All-media guide to fair and cross-cultural reporting: for journalists, program makers and media students, Australian Key Centre for Cultural and Media Policy, Nathan, Qld

Can be found at: 



References for Jean Luc Godard's Alphaville


  • 2. Italian Neorealism and global media
  •  
  • Godard, J.L., 1930 1984, Alphaville: a film, Rev. edn, Lorrimer, London.
3. Tech-noir: the fusion of science fiction and film noir
  • Ruberto, L.E. & Wilson, K.M. 2007, Italian neorealism and global cinema, Wayne State University Press, Detroit.


References for research methods for exploring social media:
Intelligent Data Engineering and Automated Learning - IDEAL 2014 : 15th International Conference, Salamanca, Spain, September 10-12, 2014. Proceedings / edited by Emilio Corchado, José A. Lozano, Héctor Quintián, Hujun Yin.

  • Corchado, E., Lozano, J.A., Quintián, H., Yin, H., SpringerLink (Online service) & Springer-Verlag 2014, Intelligent Data Engineering and Automated Learning - IDEAL 2014: 15th International Conference, Salamanca, Spain, September 10-12, 2014. Proceedings, Springer International Publishing, Cham.
Can be found online


1. What is the latest medical thinking about internet addiction? What database did you use? Full citation.

Internet addiction is a disorder, as stated in the reference below: I used the Griffith University Peer-reviewed website in the Library referencing section

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences

  • Shaw, M. & Black, D.W. 2008, "Internet Addiction: Definition, Assessment, Epidemiology and Clinical Managemen", CNS Drugs, vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 353-365.
Text can be found online

2.What are IT engineers saying about surveillance cameras?At least one paper, full citation.

Security and Privacy in Distributed Smart Cameras

  • Serpanos, D.N., Serpanos, D.N., Papalambrou, A. & Papalambrou, A. 2008, "Security and Privacy in Distributed Smart Cameras", Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 56; 96, no. 10, pp. 1678-1687.

Text can be found online


3. Internet and the social media revolution

a) The social media revolution
  • Wylie, L. 2014, "The social media revolution", British Journal of Midwifery, vol. 22, no. 7, pp. 502-506.
  • Can be found online
b) The Social Media Revolution
  • DUBOSE, C. 2011, "The Social Media Revolution", Radiologic technology, vol. 83, no. 2, pp. 112-119.
  • Text can be found online
c) The Social Media Revolution
  • Bussert, C.P. 2010, "The Social Media Revolution", Franchise Law Journal, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 210.
  • Text can be found online

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Week 2 - Video Post - An Evening with Egyptian Activist Wael Ghonim


The video above is a sit-down with one of the powerhouses that lead the social media uprising in Egypt in 2011.

Week 2 - The Power of Social Media in Society

My thoughts on the power on social media...

Although social media can play an integral part in day-to-day life, there are a myriad of downsides which can start with the over monitoring of people, their actions, and social media policies that can ultimately influence how and what we do, and the manner in which we do them. 

The negatives that social media can bring to society are heavily outweighed by the positives. The instantaneous interaction from friends and family from around the world, as well as minute-by-minute updates on life, news, pop-culture, arts, sports and a series of other cultural phenomena allows us to be constantly connected and 'tuned-in' with one another. This ability to connect brings forth a new community and sense of belonging and pride which previously has been unmatched.

Most recently, we can see a change of oppressive governments through the use of the internet and social media in Egypt, and the instantaneous updates that can allow for people to communicate and connect. This ability to communicate brings forward social change and an ability for an oppressed people to become democratic and rise up in a positive way #socialmedia




The video above shows the power of social media and the Egyptian Revolution.