Topic 2.1: Power, Economy,Community and Indetity: 2

Tutorial: discuss,in relation to an online community of your choice:

• a. How is this a community?
• b. Connections and gaps between the world of this community and face to face life.
• c. Who are the powerful in this community, and how is this power acquired?
• d.Is there a difference between ‘virtual’ and ‘real life’? What do these terms mean , nowadays?

In the last study period (SP4 2009) I wrote the following item in my blog at http://dusinkaustria.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/module-5-information-ecologies/ regarding Information ecology. Thinking about the current topic of community, I think that this item answer the questions. Nardi and O’Day specify in their book Information Ecologies (1999) that the following dimensions define and information ecology. I believe that these also are characteristics of a community.

* System
* Diversity
* Co-evolution
* Keystone – Species
* Locality

You can read for yourself an extract at First Monday.

After you have read it , think about our class in Study period 4 in NET11. Our ecology is the members of our class (including tutors). We have all come together and have developed relationships between each other and are dependent on our tutors to guide us along our journey. We have also been dependent of the information that each of us has contributed in the various forums we have utilised (blogs, twitter,ICQ etc).

We all definitely are a very diverse group . We all come from different backgrounds and ranges of experience. I would find it difficult to say that we have not evolved over this study period. I know that I have learnt many new things and have grasped new tools to take away and experiment with. Some I have used during the last few months, others will be very useful as I think more about uses.

I puzzled a about a keystone species. The definition is a species that is crucial to the survival of the ecology. The easy answer is to say that Cynthia and Peter would cover that definition. But have a look through the discussion board. I think that we can honestly say that at various times each of us played that role at various times during the period, by giving advice and help to others in the group.

As to locality, you could argue that we are all in a different place, but I would argue that we have all come together in a place in cyberspace. Our physical locations may differ, but we all have a common location during this study period.

Nardi and O’Day summarise it well when they say :”only the participants of an information ecology can establish the identity and place of the technologies that are found there. Indeed, this is a responsibility, not just an opportunity. Designers of tools are responsible for providing useful and clear functionality, but they do not complete the job. As users of tools, we are responsible for integrating them into settings of use in such a way that they make sense for us.”

Even though this article related to SP4 of 2008, I believe that the same thing has occurred in this study period (SP1 2009)for NET12. We as as a class formed our own community that existed for a common purpose. Elaine, Peter and Kate can be considered to have the power in the community , as it is they who will issue marks for assessment. However power is also held by each of us as we impart our opinions on various topics. It is unlikely that many of us will ever meet face to face, but I would not discount the possibility.

Topic 2.1: Power, Economy, Community and Identity: 1

1. Power operates in many ways on the Internet, let’s take one example, that of Internet access, to discuss power:

• a. Are there limits to when, what (sites), how much, and where you access the Internet?
• b. How can you transgress those limits and what are the possible consequences?
• c. Is it possible to lose your access and what are the ways this might happen?

I had never before considered any of the above issues. I was aware that it was possible to for my service provider to cancel my service but I had not explored the how and why. This exercise gave my the perfect opportunity to explore the Terms and Conditions that relate to my Optus Cable Account and also the Acceptable Use document.

My Optus subscription for Cable internet is on the unlimited Plan. This plan allows me a data allowance of 12Gb in peak times and 24Gb in off peak times per month. If I exceed this allowance there is a speed limitation of 64kbps. In all the time have been connected I have not exceeded my data allowance. I must admit that since starting the BA(Internet Studies) I have regularly reached 50-60% of my peak allowance.

According to the Acceptable use policy “You must not use the service for any activity that breaches any law or violates any local, state, federal or international law, order, regulation or industry code of practice. ” By definition this includes but not limited to posting, disseminating, or in some cases accessing, content which is unlawful, including:

• (i) content that is or would be classified by the Classification Board as RC rated or X rated and that is or would be classified by the Classification Board as R rated where a restricted access system is not in place,
• (ii)content which violates the copyright or other intellectual property rights of others. You assume all risks regarding the determination of whether material is in the public domain

There are also sections that make you responsible for anything that you may publish in blog, on forums or other websites.
In my opinion and from my perspective the acceptable term of use are common sense.

Optus can suspend my Internet service if I transgress the acceptable use policy or if I become an unacceptable credit risk by not paying my month account . They are also able to suspend my service if the believe I am fraudulently using my account.

References:
Optus Consumer Terms and Optus Internet Acceptable Use Policy. n.d., retrieved from www.optus.com.au

Topic 1.5: Faith and Spirituality Online 3

Analyse and discuss the interrelation between faith, spirituality, daily life and the Internet.

From my own perspective organised religion does not play any particular role in my everyday life. However I do believe that there is a God, so I suppose my everyday actions are affected by this basic belief. I try very much to live life by treating everybody as I would want to be treated and thus follow the commandments handed down to Moses. This may be a simplistic view, but one that makes sense in my mind.

How though has the internet become part of this equation. I went to www.catholic.org , a website of the Roman Catholic Church. The one thing you notice is that the site is mainly used to disseminate information and beliefs of the Church. There is nowhere( that I could find) that asks for discussion or interaction with the site. Similarly with the Jehovah Witness site . These and other mainstream religions use the internet to distribute information about their beliefs rather than a means of allowing people to experience their faith. (Dawson,2008)

The one thing that I had thought about of the years is how some religions were very pragmatic about how they practised their religion. I only wish that I could remember specific examples, but I do seem to remembr ist was mainly the jewish faith that was referred to. But Dawson (2008) gives a great example of use of the internet to observe part of one’s faith. www.prarthana.com offers to arrange ceremonies and offerings to the various Hindu gods for marking a birth or assistance in averting illness all with the click of a mouse and a credit card number. In return the user receives a parcel certifying that the ceremony has taken place.

To be fair, years ago local television did screen “Mass for you at home: for those unable to attend mass on a regular basis. There were also several evangelists that appeared regularly on the main television networks. Today there is a dedicated pay TV channel (Australian Christian Channel) that screens religious programs 24 hours a day.

As a final thought, Time magazine in 1996 documented a rich world of online religion sites. This is further borne out by Pew Internet who in 2001 said” The act of searching for spiritual material online has been done by more Americans than have traded stocks or bonds or mutual funds online, or done online banking, or participated in online auctions or used Internet-based dating services or placed phone calls online.”

References:
Finding God on the Web, Time Magazine, 16/12/1996.
Cyberfaith:How Americans Pursue Religion Online,2001.Pew Internet & American Life.

Topic 1.5: Faith and Spirituality Online: 2

Navigate to this popular site, www.beliefnet.com, do the Belief-O-matiquiz: what do you think of the results and the process of completing this quiz? Why would people want to do this?

I actually did this quiz twice. The first time I was categorised as Reform Jewish. After I read about what Reform Jews believed in, I deduced that I had misinterpreted the answers to the questions. I then redid the quiz. This time taking care to read all the selections carefully. The results of the second quiz are as below:

I was raised as a Roman Catholic, but as I pointed out in the previous blog, I no longer take part in any of the organised religious services.

The general overview of what a Liberal Protestant believes states ” Also sometimes referred to as secular, modern, or humanistic. This is an umbrella term for protestant denominations , that view the bible as the witness of God rather than the word of God, to be interpreted in its historical context through critical analysis. Examples include some churches wiithin Anglican/Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodist. Presbyterian and United Church of Christ. There are more than 2000 Protestant denominations offering a wide range of beliefs from extremely liberal to mainlaine to ultra conservative and those that include characteristics on both ends” (http:/www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2001/06/What-Liberal-Protestants-Believe.aspx)

The results in my case seemed to bear out most of my beliefs, most importantly that life needs to be lived by treating people in the same way as we would like to be treated. But the results could differ very widely depending on how you select one of the multiple choice answers. The first time I did the quiz I did not read the offered answers closely enough, I chose what I though was best fit. The second time around I was more careful.

Why would anybody do this quiz. I suppose the glib answer is for fun, or as somebody pointed out because we are Internet Studies students and it is part of our curriculum. I would rather think that it may cause people to think about their belief systems. I think that the object of the quiz is not how you categorise yourself, but to reassess what you actually believe in and how you actually live your life. Having said that, the website is owned by News Corporation and is part of the Fox Entertainment network. So any results need to be seen in that light.

Topic 1.5: Faith and Spirituality Online – Activities : 1

What part does religion play in your life and those of your friends and family? Map out your own personal history with religion, whether as a believer, agnostic or atheist: how have you encountered different religions, what and how do you know of other religions, are there close friends or relatives whose beliefs have affected your own life in any way?

When required to state religion on a form, I write Roman Catholic. This is the case even though I no longer partake in any organised religious activity.

My parents raised me as a Catholic and I was educated through the Catholic education system (both primary and secondary) by the Sisters of St Joseph and th Marianist Brothers. Throughout this time I attended Mass and regularly confessed my sins to the local priest. I was also an altar boy. You could describe me as a devout Catholic.

The Marianist brothers (an American order) were more open than the nuns and the local priests an allowed discussions about various aspects of our religion. It was during this phase of my life that I began to question the teachings of the Church. Around the time of the Six Day War in the Middle East (1967), my father was reading an essay I had written. I cannot remember the exact topic but I seem to remember it was regarding that war.My father said to me :” You cannot help that you are born”. This simple statement took me a little while to process, but I ended up rewriting the essay.

After this statement, I began to question other aspects of my faith. I started to see the hypocrisy in organised mainstream religion. The idea of confession and forgiveness was an aspect that even now I find rather hypocritical. The idea that on Saturday we go to confess our transgressions, Sunday we worship God and then on Monday we go back to swearing at a driver because he cut us off, or we cheat on our employer or in the worst case the priest is inappropriate with a parishioner. And then the cycle begins again.

At the age of 20-21 I was no longer a part of organised religion. I came to the conclusion that religion was more about how you treated other people(regardless of race, politics or creed) in your everyday. It was how you lived your life, not whether you went to Church or prayed to God . As my father said to me all those years ago:”YOU CANNOT HELP THAT YOU ARE BORN.”

Karl Marx is often quoted as saying “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” The local priest every week would stand at the pulpit and deliver a sermon. The expectation was that the congregation would follow the pronouncements blindly. I on the other hand would usually take issue with thing that were said. At that point of time contraception was a big issue. I also remember one of my friends making the comment in a religion class ” If you do not play the game, you cannot make the rules”. As I intimated earlier the American brothers did allow us free debate on many things. I often discussed these thing and my fathers advice was to make up my own mind.

Module 1.6: Politics: Kevin Rudd is a MySpace Friend : Part 2

Discuss: Does the Internet encourage Democracy and political participation? Why/why not?

I have procrastinated over this statement for quiet some time. My original thoughts, were that it does encourage participation the political process. But then I re-examined actual statement. The internet cannot by itself encourage or discourage participation. The internet itself does not do anything. The internet makes it easier for those interested to involve themselves on the process.

Hirst (2007, p.350) suggests that “where the power of the internet lies is in the ability to act as a resource system for political activism.” He further suggests that the aim is not to reach the least committed but to reach those who have an interest in politics and vote.

The internet certainly ,makes it easier for those interested to access information. In Australia and the USA all the major political parties have a website presence. The offer party information as well as major policy initiatives. However there are also various political commentators that offer opinion by means of blogging. On of the better known sites is Crikey.com.au Part of Crikey’s mission statement is as follows:

Crikey’s aim is very simple: to bring its readers the inside word on what’s really going on in politics, government, media, business, the arts, sport and other aspects of public life in Australia. Crikey reveals how the powerful operate behind the scenes, and it tackles the stories insiders are talking about but other media can’t or won’t cover.

Crikey sees its role as part of the so-called fourth estate that acts as a vital check and balance on the activities of government, the political system and the judiciary. In addition, Crikey believes the performance and activities of business, the media, PR and other important sectors are worthy of public scrutiny.

However, it is not just information. For those interested in politics in general or in specific issues it is possible to set up a personal blog to express opinions about the goings on in Canberra or in your local neighbourhood. Flew (2008) makes mention of how blogging and the traditional newspaper media co-depend on each other. I had not thought of this , but the newspaper will report on an item that a blogger may have a strong opinion on. Rather than write a letter to the editor to be published (or not) the following day, a blog can be written and published in a matter of minutes. The opposite can also be true.

ELECTION CAMPAIGNS
One of the most obvious ways to participate in the political process and democracy is the right to vote. In Australia, voting is compulsory for all (bar a few exceptions) persons over 18 . As a general observation over many years, most Australians look at voting as a chore and turn out on election day to avoid being fined.

During the 2007 election campaign in Australia, the major political parties took their first steps in using the internet to reach,in my opinion the younger and newest voters who were more familiar with this media. Flew (2008) points out that the ALP had a strategy to utilise the internet, through Facebook and MySpace as well as Twitter. In fact the whole election became focussed on Kevin07 rather than the traditional methods of Labor versus Liberal. On the other hand the Liberal Party did not appear to have a strategy to utilise the new media. They appeared to be more comfortable with the traditional methods of radio and TV.

The same situation was true in The USA. Obama and the Democrats had a strategy to utilise the internet whereas the Republicans did not. Adam Nagourney in the New York Times (November 4, 2008) wrote:

“The 2008 race for the White House that comes to an end on Tuesday fundamentally upended the way presidential campaigns are fought in this country, a legacy that has almost been lost with all the attention being paid to the battle between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama.
It has rewritten the rules on how to reach voters, raise money, organize supporters, manage the news media and mold public opinion, and wage – and withstand – political attacks, including many carried by blogs that did not exist four years ago….”

Personally I tend to be disinterested in politics. My view is that those standing for election are in it for their own self aggrandisement rather than having any particular interest in the community. This is a very cynical attitude, but one grown from many years of involvement with local community groups and having worked in the public sphere at different times of my working life. However for those that do not share my cynicism, the internet offers ways of finding information and espousing personal views.

References:
Flew, T. (2008). Not Yet the Internet Election: Online Media, Political Commentary and the 2007 Australian Federal Election. Media International Australia: 126.5-13.
Hirst, Martin. (2007) Communication and New Media:from Broadcast to Narrowcast. Chapter 15 Politics and New Media

Module 1.6: Politics: Kevin Rudd is a MySpace Friend

1. Navigate around and discuss the following sites in terms of the kinds of involvement they encourage:

• www.kevinpm.com.au
• www.malcolmturnbull.com.au
• www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au
• www.getup.org.au

www.kevinpm.com.au
During the election campaign of 2007, the whole focus of the ALP campaign was on Kevin07, rather than of the traditional Voter Labour message. The ALP utilised social networking sites to advantage to engage with the voters. With this in mind,I was expecting Kevin’s site to be better than what it was.Instead Kevin Rudd’s personal website is a portal for the official Australian Labour Party. The site lists several hot topics that when selected display the latest ALP media release along with a picture of the responsible Minister. The site itself contains two forms, one that asks you to sign up to Kevin’s email list and the other which allows you to send a message expressing your opinion to the Prime Minister.

Apart from the two forms this site is uninviting and does not encourage any real interaction.

www.malcolmturnbull.com.au
Malcolm Turnbull’s site also does not encourage any real interaction. Upon logging into the site you are asked to register for a newsletter. The site also has a contact Malcolm page which allows interested persons to write a note expressing opinion. The Leader of the Opposition’ site is however a lot more comprehensive than Kevin’s . The site contains a biographical piece on Malcolm as well as the latest media statements. Interestingly, unlike Kevin’s site these do not take you to the Liberal Party site. The only reference to the Liberal Party is a Menu Logo on the right of the page.

Similar to the Labour Party , the social networking sites have not been updated for quiet some time.

www.getinvolved.qld.com.au
My immediate thought on logging on to this site was that the site was used to recruit volunteers to assist various parts of the community. When I looked further it was much more than this. The website is sponsored by the Government of Queensland and as well as getting community volunteers it also gives interested people an opportunity to “Have Your Say” on various issues that the government is considering.

This is the first time I have seen this type of invitation to contribute to government discussion online. I then started to search around to find a form or a link that I could use to make a submission. These are not readily obvious without reading the “how to” pages. In my opinion , a great idea, but it needs to be easier for everyday people to find and make submissions.

The same is true for the community volunteer areas of the website. The site describes teh various areas that you can et involved with, but stops short of being specific. I think the idea is good, but inorder to have people participate as community volunteers, the site needs to provide details of specific volunteer opportunities. Interested parties have logged to the site only to find that they need to search further. I think this is a great opportunity wasted.

www.getup.org.au
When you log into this website, you are left in no doubt what they want you to do. You can straight away recognise that this is some sort of citizen action group.Immediately you are presented with the latest campaigns and a note that says “Take Action” .

If look a little further in the about page you find that Get Up is an independent, grass-roots community advocacy organisation giving everyday Australians opportunities to get involved and hold politicians accountable on important issues. (www.getup.org.au). GET up suggests various methods to get involved that include signing petitions, attending events and financial assistance with advertising.

Summary:
Of all the websites Get Up is the most direct in encouraging citizens to take action. I am reminded of something I heard “Find something you are interested in,learn as much as you can about it and then get involved.” This is what I think Get Up encourages.
The get involved website, fall short of this type of encouragement. It tell you about volunteering and involvement, but it is not obvious how to get involved.
The two politician websites have a form that you can use to express an opinion, but there is no encouragement to get involved in the political process. If history is any guide a reply from the politician or his staff is highly unlikely.

Topic 1.4: Games: At Work, No One Knows I am a Wizard: Portfolio

Is it fair to say online gaming is more a part of everyday life in Korea then,say, Australia? Discuss reasons for the unique aspects of Korea’s gaming. Classify the reasons presented by others in both comments and the blogs, e.g. technological infrastructure, cultural, etc.

The short answer to this question is yes. If you Google ” Gaming in Korea” , the number of resulting references is 18,800,000. A quick scroll through revealed the headline “Korea to invest $242million in Games” (Virtual Worlds News ,Dec 2008). This is a massive amount of money in anybody’s language. My question after reading this was “Why?”

Korea has a population of around 49 million people (OECD, 2007) and broadband penetration exceeds 30 subscriptions per 100 household as compared to the OECD average of 21.3. (OECD 2008). Especially notable is the number of subscription on a fibre network. One other important point to note is that the population is very concentrated. Seoul (the capital) contains around half of the country’s population.

In essence to understand this investment we need to understand some of the Korean Culture. This is a subject in itself, but an important element of Korean society is education. According to Park Youngmok, Communications Director at Blizzard, quoted by Schiesel (2006), “In Korea its all study, study,l earn, learn, learn.” This is a reason for the domination of personal computers over game consoles. Families, are willing to purchase computers , because they can be used for study and research, whereas a game console is seen as an expensive toy. The fact that games can be played on them is an “added extra”. According to a father in the same article (ibid 2006) The playing of games helps to relieve the stress of studying.

According to Fife ((n.d) one of the cultural drivers is a desire for collaboration and group communication through networked games and the use of games as a social activity. Despite the penetration of home computers, Koreans “flock to PC Bangs to get their games on” (Schiesel, 2006). A PC Bang being a gaming room where players can play together, in my mind not dissimilar to the arcade parlour in the mid 1970s that I used to frequent. It seems that gaming is a more social activity than in other countries where players play mainly from home (Parker, 2008).

Gaming in Korea is also accepted as a mainstream sport. In Korea there are national bodies for professional game players . According to Parker (2008) competitive gaming is televised on two game channels and the actual tournaments are played in stadiums. These players are sponsored and treated with the same esteem we reserve for our footballers, cricketers and swimmers in Australia.

In comparison Australia has a population of around 21million people (OECD, 2009) and our population is spread out. As can be seen from the broadband statistics, penetration is just above the OECD average . According to recent report in The Age (9/4/2009), during discussions for the National Broadband Network, the speed of our current connections is rated at 12.13Mbps. However this is advertised speed, it would appear that the actual speed is considerably less than this. Whereas in Korea the average speeds are 45.6Mbps (The Age,2009 )

Gaming in Australia does not have the same level of community acceptance as it does in Korea. Anecdotally, the average gamer is a young male, who plays alone in a room and tends to be anti social. There does not appear to be a lot of research into this, but The Australian experience is probably not that different to the American situation as reported in Fife (page 6, n.d) where American gamers seemed to be indifferent to the role of social interaction.

Parker (2008) reports that Australia does have several competitive gamers, but like many of our sportsman and women, they need to have jobs to pay to attend tournaments. Parker (ibid) writes that “Competitive gaming is something that we are beginning to see on the increase as technology pushes forward and improvements in inetrnet infrastructure and speeds allow more and more people to play form the comfort of their own homes. However, when compared to other countries, Australia has a long way to go.”

References:
Australian Statistical Profile (2007) Rettrieved April 2009 from OECD Stat Extracts

Barker,G. (2009, April 9) Changing Bit by Bit. The Age, p.15

Brookes,G. (2008). Counting Rupees:Korea bangs. Retrieved April 2009 from http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/08/counting-rupees-korea-bangs

Fife,E.,Hillebrandt,M. & Pereira,F. (n.d). The Diffusion of Networked Gaming in the united States and Korea. Retrieved April 2009 from http://project.hkkk.fi/helsinkimobility/papers/Mobile%20Applications_1_1.pdf

Hyatt,N (2008). What Makes Gaming Social? Retrieved April 2009 from http://gigaom.com/2008/05/23/what-makes-gaming-social/

Ihlwan,M.Online Gaming: Korea’s Gotta Have It. (2006) Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_37/b4000070.htm

Korea to invest $242M in Games. (2008). Retrieved April 2009 from http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2008/12/korea-to-invest-242m-in-games.html

Korean Statistical Profile. (2007.) Retrieved April 2009 from OECD Stat Extracts

OECD Broadband statistics. (2008) Retrieved April 2009 from OECD Broadband Portal

Parker,L. (2008). Paid to Play?The state of pro-gaming in Australia. Retrieved April 2009 from http://www.cnet.com.au/paid-to-play-the-state-of-pro-gaming-in-australia-339291476.htm

Schiesel,S. (2006). The Land of the Video Geek. Retrieved April 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/arts/08schi.html?_r=2&pagewanted=print

Module 1.4: Games: At work,No one knows I am a Wizard : Activities

Discuss in the tutorial your personal experience of games. It may be difficult to give a really full account, but try to remember the games you played as a child on the street, in your home. Include all sorts of games (e.g. cards, tic tac toe, hopscotch).
I was actually struggling to remember the games I played as a child, until I started to go through a pile of photos that my mother recently gave me.
My earliest memories of game playing are from primary school (around the age of 6 or so). The games we played at school, during recess, were marbles, tag, and even our own version of hand tennis. At lunchtimes we could venture to the football oval to play kick to kick. There was much emphasis placed on exercise and there was at least 3 hours of PT (physical torture training ) a week.
At home after school we would play outside until dark. Usually we were playing with the football or we would catch tadpoles in the open ditch gutters. We lived in a new development where the roads and gutters were not made and we could roam the paddocks for as far as the eye could see (at least for the first couple of years until roads and footpaths were made). I actually learnt to ride a bike in the prickle bush infested paddocks. I only fell off once into a prickle bush. If the weather was bad, we would play inside. Board games such as snakes and ladders, chinese checkers, ludo, scrabble and monopoly come readily to mind. I also seem to recall barrel-of -monkeys and pick up sticks. My father tried to teach me chess, but I was never very good at it.
During my secondary school days, our recess and lunch time games included basketball and volley ball.During the rainy weather I learnt to play card games such as poker and pontoon, I never did learn games such as 500 or bridge. I guess they was not games for deprived western suburbs kids. During secondary school there was also an emphasis placed on physical training. Not as much as in primary school, but there was at least 2 hours a week devoted to exercise. This would range from volley ball, football, and athletics to a cross country run.

During this time I was also a member of the local boy scout troop. The games we played were designed to teach us various outdoors skills. Many weekends were spent camping and hiking.

After secondary school,I went on to work and further education.  Before I got married and had a family the local pool hall was a popular haunt. I played billiards and learnt to play snooker. The pool parlour also had various pin ball machines,which were always popular. I was never very good at them but I did enjoy the odd game or two. I kept up my basketball playing  for several years until I got married and started a family. In our circle of friends we would often have card nights or trivial pursuit nights. These were enjoyed with much food and drink. Of course as a father, I would play with our daughter. as she grew up. I learnt to play with her tea set as she made pretend cakes and cups of tea. As she grew up we would play twister, scrabble and monopoly.  I think she was around 8 or 9 when she received her first computer game. It was a hand held Donkey Kong.  I tried to play it but my coordination with this type of game was pretty much non-existent.

In my later life, I still enjoy the outdoors. I am a keen cyclist and will spend hours riding the bike around country Victoria, and on occasion overseas.

In summary, all of my game playing was in the outdoors. When I was growing up computer games did not exist. All of our activities were basically done outside rather than indoors.

Were there people that you tended to play with?
As a youngster without any means of transport, my earliest playmates were the local neighbourhood kids. This circle also included friends I went to school with. As I became more mobile, the circle of friends grew with the team sports that I participated in. In general, the people that I played with shared similar interests as I did. I played with people I went to school with, participated in team sports with as well as members of the scouting movement.

What about nowadays, what type of game player would you classify yourself? An enthusiast, casual or occasional gamer?
If anything I am a very casual game player. My hobby is long distance cycling. Most weekends and often during the week I am indulging in my passion. This hobby is my game playing. It can be done solo or it can be done with a group of like minded friends. On the bike there can be no pretence or hierarchy.

Why do you play games, if you do, and what part do they play in your daily life?
As I indicated in the above, my cycling is my game. Cycling is a large part of my life. I often spend 8 or more hours on the bike during club events and spend several hours on the bike during training sessions. If anybody ever ask my stock answer is “Because I can!” I have a sedentary job (when I do decide to work) and cycling is my way of staying fit. During my career I would often use the bike to commute to and from work.

Cycling has introduced my to many people in Australia and from many parts of the world. This is a direct result of being involved in the administration of my cycling club, serving as State, National and International President. I have also been fortunate enough to have ridden in France and The United States in long distance events.

If I summarise it, my love of cycling has fostered a love of travel and fostered friendships with people in many different parts of the world. I should add that not all of these friendships are strictly cycling in nature. During our travels we have enjoyed the company and friendship of many other people who share a common bond of the love of life with us.

Read the other accounts on the discussion board and post your observations regarding similarities and differences in the accounts.
The major difference between the discussions on gaming is the amount of computer games that many of my fellow students have played. This difference I think is mainly due to age differences. I did not touch my first computer until I was in my mid thirties,in 1985.

I played the odd game or two, however I could never get interested in the shooting games or the task orientation of the various games available. Since then I have been involved in other activities and like some of my fellow students, study and family have taken precedence over gaming.

Module 1.3: Health: What My Doctor Didn’t Tell Me – Portfolio

Select a particular Health topic that interests you for any reason:
Find out more about the topic using the internet.
Over the previous ten years or so I have had about a dozen attacks of gout in my left ankle. The first time this happened I had no idea why I woke up in excruciating pain at around 3am in the morning. I was unable to get any relief from a couple of Panadol and it was painful having any weight on my ankle. No position in bed was comfortable. It was difficult to hobble from the bedroom to the phone. I managed to get an early appointment with the doctor and the diagnosis was performed in about 10 seconds. One look at the ankle, one touch to confirm that it was hot and a prescription for a painkiller. Man those drugs were good! A few hours later I could at least sit comfortably with minimal pain.

The doctor did not give me much advice and I really did not think about it again until several years later when I was once again struck down. At least this time I was aware of what was happening. I took myself off to the doctor who once again prescribed painkillers and a day or two of rest. I was warned this time that the drugs were strong and needed to be taken immediately after food as they could affect the stomach lining.

Once again I took this on board. I did some cursory reading about Gout and read up on what could trigger the attacks. Since then I have ensured that I keep a supply of non steroidal anti-inflammatory capsules in the medicine cabinet at home.

While you are using this, note down the main ways you’ll begin looking and your process of selecting useful sites.

I began my search on Gout , using my preferred search engine,Google. This search returned 22,400,00 records.

I did not try to filter this down any further at this stage. I simply looked at the brief description under each heading. In this particular case, I was looking for general information from what I considered to be reputable sources. As you can see from the above search results the one stand out and well known source (for me anyway) was the Mayo Clinic. I also noticed one site from the British National Health Service. I also decided to have a read of the very first source on the list.

Obviously there are ways of filtering down the information. I could have specified Gout Cures, Gout treatment or Gout diet to narrow the focus but I wanted general information.

How would you say your knowledge of the topic has changed in the course of this research?
During the course of this research my knowledge was increased. I was aware of the generalities of the condition, but more specifically I found out that if left untreated you can end up with :

• Advanced gout. Untreated gout may cause deposits of urate crystals to form under the skin in nodules called tophi (TOE-fi). Tophi usually aren’t painful, but they can become swollen and tender during gout attacks.
• Kidney stones. Urate crystals may collect in the urinary tract of people with gout, causing kidney stones. Medications can help reduce the risk of kidney stones.

(from Mayo Clinic)

What are the criteria by which you select sites?
What I was looking for was information from a well know and reliable source. I had heard of the Mayo Clinic previously and I was aware of the National Health Service in in the United Kingdom. I had not previously heard of MedicineNet, but after reading the about and comparing the information provided from other sources I surmised that I could trust this source.

In general I would trust medical and government provided resources when researching for Health matters. I am not discounting the myriad of other sites, but,as a layman I do not have the knowledge to identify whether all these sites. In some of the student discussions,it has been pointed out that as long a site has information consistent with that of known reputable sites than it is probable that the site is reliable. I am not completely sure of this premise, but am not prepared to fully discount it.

Finally, describe in your portfolio 2-3 of the most useful sites and Internet applications and the ways in which they’d be useful to people visiting them (no more than a page)

1. The Mayo Clinic

Launched in 1995 and now visited by millions of people a month, this award-winning consumer Web site offers health information, self-improvement and disease management tools to empower people to manage their health.Produced by a team of Web professionals and medical experts working side by side, MayoClinic.com gives users access to the experience and knowledge of the more than 3,400 physicians and scientists of Mayo Clinic. MayoClinic.com offers users intuitive, easy-to-access tools such as “Symptom Checker” and “First-Aid Guide” for fast answers about health conditions ranging from common to complex; as well as more in-depth sections on more than 25 common diseases and conditions, a wealth of healthy living articles, videos, animations and features such as “Expert Answers.” Users can sign up for a free weekly e-newsletter, “Housecall,” which provides the latest health information from Mayo Clinic. (http://mayoclinic.com/health/about-mayoclinic.com/AM00073)

The above quote taken directly from their website summarises why I chose this website as the first port of call in my search for information.

In a more practical sense the website is laid out in such a way that it is easy to find the information that you want. Each page only contains information on one idea. Thus you do not need to scroll down the page to find Symptoms as these are contained on a separate page.

The disappointing thing with this site is the lack of further resources. In this case there is only one additional link provided for the Arthritis Foundation.

The information contained on this site is clear and well laid out. Each page is in a logical sequence and there is no need to use the sidebar menu system unless you wish to skip to a particular section.

2.NHS Choices
This website is produced bythe National Health Service in Britain. The NHS is a fully funded by the British Government.

the NHS has grown to become the world’s largest publicly funded health service. It is also one of the most efficient, most egalitarian and most comprehensive.
The system was born out of a long-held ideal that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of wealth – and that principle remains at its core.
(http://www.nhs.uk/aboutnhs/Pages/About.aspx)

Similar to the Mayo Clinic site the NHS site is well laid out and not cluttered by any extraneous advertising. The site contains a video which explains in simple terms what gout is as well as a treatment regime and some preventative measures. Also include on the site are stories by two people suffering from the condition.

The NHS site also provides links to Arthritis Care and the UK Gout Society. Both of these sites also provide information about the condition as well offering other resources.

3.MedicineNet.com

MedicineNet, Inc. – Owned and Operated by WebMD and part of the WebMD Network

MedicineNet.com is an online, healthcare media publishing company. It provides easy-to-read, in-depth, authoritative medical information for consumers via its robust, user-friendly, interactive web site. Since 1996, MedicineNet.com has had a highly accomplished, uniquely experienced team of qualified Webster’s New World Medical Dictionary – authored by MedicineNetexecutives in the fields of medicine, healthcare, Internet technology, and business to bring you the most comprehensive, sought after healthcare information anywhere. Nationally recognized, Doctor-Produced by a network of over 70 U.S. Board Certified Physicians, MedicineNet.com is the trusted source for online health and medical information. The Doctors of MedicineNet are also proud to author Webster’s New World™ Medical Dictionary First, Second and Third Editions (May, 2008) John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; ISBN-10: 0470189282. (http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=12510

The information contained on this site is comprehensive and complete but not as easy to read and find as the the other two .

The MedicineNet site actually gives a better description of the treatment of gout than the other two sites. I suspect that the site is written by doctors for doctors rather than for only patients. I base opinion only on the style of writing used in comparison to the other two sites.

Other

I did not deliberately ignore any Australian Resources. My search criteria was only the word Gout. I did however use Google to search Got AND Australia. One good reference site was Arthritis Victoria. Apart from the information about Gout the site contains links to The UK Arthritis Campaign and the US Arthritis Foundation. Both these sites were also referenced in the Mayo Clinic and NHS sites.

References:
Arthritis Victoria (n.d) Retrieved April 2009 from http://www.arthritisvic.org.au/pages.asp?d=5A4C5A717251477C7008060A070104

Gout -MedicineNet.com (n.d) Retrieved April 2009 from http://www.medicinenet.com/gout/article.htm

Gout -Mayo Clinic.com (n.d) Retrieved April 2009 from http://mayoclinic.com/health/gout/DS00090

Gout -NHS Choices (n.d) Retrieved APril 2009 from http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Gout/Pages/Introduction.aspx?url=Pages/What-is-it.aspx