Tat7's Blog
Just another WordPress.com weblogCommunication Models
Communication Process Definitions:
Sender: the person sending the message
Receiver: the person who receives the message
Encoding: the action of transforming message into an appropriate format
Decoding: the action of converting the encoding message into a right form for the receiver
Channel: the medium that delivers the message to receiver
Noise: the action which distract the message
Examples:
Sender: The client
Receiver: The executor
Encoding: Order
Decoding: Computer
Channel: Email
Noise: Wrong format of file
Scenario:
Being an Engineering graphic designer means that you also can work as a freelance designer (receiver), you will find a specific order (encoding) to do your work for a client (sender). You will receive the email message (channel) from the client to the computer (decoding) with explanations on the project you will need to work on. Sometimes, the explanations message came in a wrong format (noise), which is not readable or have some errors which prevent you to start working on the project.
Communication Model:
Sorry, I was out of class last week, but I think the Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication.
“Washington state has to play the add-value card, not low-cost-leader ace” by Jon Talton
I read the article “Washington state has to play the add-value card, not low-cost-leader ace” by Jon Talton. I agree with John Talton’s statement that:” Once the distortions of the dot-com crash were cleared away, Seattle went on to become a jobs magnet. From 2004 to 2008, Washington’s job growth surpassed the national average (and that of South Carolina). Even Boeing emphasized that commercial airplanes and their design would remain headquartered in the Puget Sound region”.
I’m new to America, but I already found out through research that Washington State has a lot of big companies working here. For example, in Seattle we have the headquarters of corporations such as Microsoft, Starbucks and Amazon.com. Also, the headquarters of Boeing were in Seattle until 2001, because during that year the company announced their intentions to divide their manufacture and headquarters. The new headquarters of Boeing are in Chicago.
Now, in a current employment crisis, like John Talton says in article:” …jobs went to developing countries paying even less and lacking the relatively less-stringent worker and environmental protections of Southern states”. This is sad. Our mayor needs to do something to keep our sate in good shape. I like Seattle, my husband works for Microsoft, my goal is to work for Boeing, and we want to keep our friends, family, etc. here in Seattle. This it is hard, because Seattle has a high cost of living expenses. Our government and mayor should help people to easily get a job, to have the ability to get their payments without problems, to be able to pay for their homes, and certainly, to give an opportunity to receive maximum education.
1st Amendment Interviews
Who were the people interviewed (names are not necessary, but basic age and relation is sufficient)–include any pertinent information.
I don’t have my relatives here, except for my cousin and friends. Because of this, I interviewed: My cousin-18 years old, my female friend-27 years old, my male friend-28 years old, my husband-37 years old, my male friend-60 years old, and my cousin’s father-61 years old.
How were their answers similar and different?
All of them said almost the same things. But they did not recognize the law and that it was the first amendment. They knew it is from the Constitution, but did not know the specific name.
My friend said:” I never had to memorize it, so I don’t know what it is called, but I agree with this law…”
Consider the demographics of those you interviewed: Were there similarities in how men answered versus women? Did people in similar age groups answer similarly? Any patterns at all?
There is almost no difference between what the men and women said. Their answers were similar, but some gave more details than others, for example: my husband said: “I support the freedom of speech and press. However, I think this law should have an exception so that the freedom of religion doesn’t harm other people”.
My female friend answered:” I support all of them, because I think it would be unfair to just have the freedom of speech and not, for example, the freedom of press”.
Share how your subjects judged the freedoms–summarize their responses and spotlight any major points of interest.
My oldest friend says:”Yes, I would approve it… Because if we did not have this freedom we would be an enslaved society…”
My cousin’s dad says:” All laws should stand as they are. The original Constitution laws should remain the way they were written”.
Personal summary:
Since my friends, my cousin, and I are new to America, we are not very familiar with American Constitution. But almost all of them agreed with this law. They like the American laws more than the Russian ones, because in our country the laws work poorly, but here they work well.
Obama Campaign Poster (Shepherd Fairey)
Intellectual property is various types of creations that deal with the mind such as literature and art, inventions, and designs used in business…
Artist Shepard Fairey used a 2006 Associated Press photograph of Barack Obama. He turned the photo into the iconic “HOPE” poster during the 2008 campaign. He recognized that his artistic transformation of an image was protected according to the opinion of the fair use. But Associated Press proves that he illegally stole the rights on the image. Also the photographer, Mannie Garcia, who took the photo at a National Press Club event notices:’ He owns the rights to the image because he worked as a freelancer at the time and was not an AP employee’. On October 16, 2009 Shepard Fairey admitted that he was wrong. In his interview he says:’ In an attempt to conceal my mistake I submitted false images and deleted other images. I sincerely apologize for my lapse in judgment and I take full responsibility for my actions which were mine alone’.
I understand that Shepherd Fairey was wrong when he “stole” the original image and then submitted false images, but I think that the creative art work he did turned out good. Now when people drive by and see the posters on the street they associate them with Obama’s company and no one really starts thinking who or how this poster was made, legally or illegally.
An example of intellectual property issues from my engineering graphics design field is: I was working as a freelance designer where I was able to use my creative skills. The client gave me an original photo, and my task was to add some fantasy and design skills to it. I had to create it all in the Soidworks program in 3D modeling, which can be rotated 360’ degrees. I did it and my client liked it, but now I would like to show my work to other companies so I can continue my business and here is problem:” If it is design work you did for your employer, make sure you’re not violating the company’s policy by sharing it on the web”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepard_Fairey
The Making of a Design Thinker by Tim Brown
In the article ’The Making of a Design Thinker’ by Tim Brown the thesis is: ‘Only gradually did I come to see the power of design not as a link in a chain but as the hub of a wheel’. He came to the world with various sets of operational principles, and at the end he comes to a way of creative potential and productivity. I agree with him. His opinion imposes to my vision of the design process. Any time when I want to do something creative or an interesting design I start to think a lot of this idea and it takes time, but without the ‘powerful way of thinking’ you can’t use all your fantasy and new vision. I began to reflect about each project, and now I use it as a way of describing a set of principles, which can be applied by various people to a wide range of problems.
Brown was completely right when he said: ’the reasons underlying the growing interest in design are clear. As the center of economic activity in the developing world shifts inexorably from industrial manufacturing to knowledge creation and service delivery, innovation has become a survival strategy’. Yes-the innovation became a strategy of a survival, because every company, big or small, tries to do design things now, even when they open a new position in their company they now hire creative designers. The developing of design reflects a growing recognition on a part of today’s business leaders, to who design is very important.
Design – is a means of research of new opportunities. With the help of design, business began to be more favorable, and also our own life is richer and has more variety… With ‘design thinking’ our world became better!
Book Review “The Design of Everyday Things”
According to Donald Norman, hidden frustrations are always present, even in everyday things. In his book, “The Design of Everyday Things” Norman discusses this topic. I believe his thesis is “Warning labels and large instruction manuals are signs of failures, attempts to patch up problems that should have been avoided by proper design in the first place.”
This book is made into seven chapters which are easy to understand for almost any user. Also there are two prefaces, notes, more readings, references, and an index. I think the organization is good, because if somebody just wants to know about the psychology of everyday actions they would just have to read one chapter. Also this book has interesting prefaces and conclusions that explain the author’s feelings, ideas, and opinions and provide references for those that want to do farther research or read more books about this topic. Each chapter is not too long. This book does not just give examples about design; things like a running man dropping a ball are also explained. Also a lot of visuals are used to help people understand the concepts being explained.
The argument provided in this book is that everyday things such as computers, TVs, and telephones all have hidden frustrations which make them hard to use or operate. The author supports this argument by giving lots of examples of frustrating things that happened to him, his friends, and others living in the US or Europe. Also each of the seven chapters in this book focuses on one main point from the thesis, which it explains. For example in chapter one, author focuses on the psychopathology (study of mental disorders) of everyday things. In chapter one Norman talks about frustrating design. In this chapter he provides an example about how his friend was trapped in a doorway of a European post office and then explains how this could happen, and how he designer wanted to make the doors beautiful, not easy to use. In addition, the author provides several other examples such as the front/rear speaker selector of an automobile radio and a seat adjustment control in a car and tells the difference between the two and how one is easy to use and the other is difficult. In the second chapter Norman explains who people usually blame for things that go wrong. The third chapter talks about the information that is necessary to figure out what is right, and human memory. Chapter four is about knowing what to do in different situations, while chapter five talks about human mistakes and errors. Chapter six covers the design challenge, and how designers work to keep producing new models of the same things (not always improved). The last chapter focuses on user-centered design and things design should do, such as make use of constraints make things visible and easy to evaluate.
In my opinion this is a good book not only for designers but also for regular people who have had troubles with modern technology. The author does a good job focusing his book on the thesis, supporting his argument and organizing his text. People who read this book will have a new way of looking a design and will find it easier to deal with frustrating technology. Also this book will let people see what they can do to make modern technology easier for them.
Internet and Wireless Media Scavenger Hunt
Open Source Software
Open Source Software is defined as software that can be copied and changed by the user. In the beginning free (libre) software was the only kind available after that came proprietary (not free) software and now the software industry is thinking of bringing back free software again. Open source software (OSS) was used for 30 years from 1970 to 2000, however before this time it was something that was taken for granted because almost all the software back then was open source. Throughout the years it became a widely used movement which produced some of the most commonly used software packages in history.
Sources:
http://www.timr.ca/RecentArticles/Online/terminology.html
http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=libr_pubs
GPS Evaluation for 10 Heuristics
A GPS is a relatively easy system to use and comes in very handy when you are on a trip or just going somewhere new.
Visibility of system status.
When you look at a turned off GPS you cannot really tell what it is made to do if you have never used it before. However once it is turned in, it is easy to realize it is a vehicle navigation system.
Match between system and the real world.
This is a simple system to use; easy access is always provided to whatever you need (enter address to go somewhere, create a new address, etc.) if something is misunderstood there is a manual.
User control and freedom .
To control a GPS you can vary how loud, bright or what language it is. Also you can choose the map color and menu color for you screen. For freedom you can always turn it off and you get to decide where to go with this system. You do not just have to use this in a car, this can help you find your way on hikes or on mountain trails.
Consistency and standards.
There is more than one way to use a GPS. It can also play music and some even give access to the Internet. Other than that, this system is consistent and easy to use for any person, with visuals and voiced buttons on the touch screen.
Error prevention.
Sometimes errors can happen with a GPS. For example, if you type in the wrong address or click on the wrong button when saving, you might not end up where you planned on going, but if you read the manual first, this should not be a problem.
Recognition rather than recall.
If you had typed in an address of a place you wanted to go and in a couple of days you wanted to visit that place again, all you would have to do is look up the saved addresses and press the address of the particular place. This way you do not have o remember addresses or keep looking them up in order to go somewhere. Also you get to type in a name for every address so it is easy to recognize.
Flexibility and efficiency of use.
Almost anyone can use this as long as they know how to read and write/type. All an inexperienced user would have to do is follow directions given and select what best matches their choices.
Aesthetic and minimalist design .
There is no extra information when you are on the vehicle navigation part of your GPS. However on the screen before that, it gives you a choice of what you need such as music, photos, etc.
Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors.
If an error is made while you are driving, it is very easy to get back on track, because the GPS says “Calculating route” and gives you a new road that gets you to the same place.
Help and documentation .
There is a user’s manual that comes with a GPS that has all the needed information about it and how to work it. If something is misunderstood you can look it up in the manual or just restart you route.
New Media and Your Background
My A-Ha moments from the Podcast and The Medium and Message are the fact that media plays an important role in any field and can be helpful to anyone. This relates to my field of study because if Mechanical Engineer has to draft something in SolidWorks for homework and they don’t know how to do that they can always look it up online and find tutorials on this program.
Historical examples of Mass communication impacted my design field, because when I am looking for something that I need to draft in programs such as SolidWorks, AutoCad, Catia I can look it up on the computer and find pictures of it and how it was made that make it easier to draft this object. One example of this is in the Mechanical Engineering field we needed to find how the leg of a rotating chair fits into the bottom and draft all the dimensions and tolerances of the chair. Before I did this I looked online and found pictures of how the rotating chair was made and after that it was a lot easier for me to draft the chair.
New media technologies have touched my field of study because before this new media was invented mechanical engineers like me had to get drafts and hand print copies for themselves or ask someone else to do it which consumed a lot of time. Nowadays people can use the copying machine or quickly e-mail the files they need to anyone. New media technologies such as the Internet have made it easier for people around the world to look at different engineering designs at any time they want, and do it quickly. Before new media, people had to go and actually personally see the design they liked and that took too much time and money, because the engineering project could be far away. I think new media influenced my field in a positive way because it gave engineers and costumers a faster and easier way to see what they want or find out what they need to know.
Ancient and Modern Mass Media: The movie 2012 and the Mayan Calendar
The movie ”2012” is directed by Roland Emmerich who is also the director of several other disaster films such as “The day After Tomorrow” , “Independence Day” , and “Godzilla”.
Some forms of mass media in this film are, the movie itself, the music, cinematography and special effects. The movie is a form of mass media, because it was designed to get the attention of many people and it did. Most people are interested in watch catastrophic events or disastrous things take place on earth. Music is a form of mass media because it aims to deliver information to huge audience through songs or melodies. Cinematography and special effects both relate to mass media because in movies, pictures and images are used to help people understand film. Also dramatic effects get attention of many people. It is much more interesting to watch something with good effects and acting than it is without.
In the beginning of the trailer there is a news report which is one form of mass communication. A news report is mass communication, because it uses television to send diverse messages which inform the audience about what is happening. In the movie lots of people are pray which is also a form of mass communication. Another example of this is when authorities in control tell others what to do. The Mayan calendar is also a form of mass communication, because it tells us about the Mayans and their thoughts. The Mayan calendar also influenced this movie.
I am an Orthodox Christian. I don’t agree with this movie or think that it is a true story. In my religion people follow the Bible and God’s rules. I’m not interested about the end of the world and I am not worried about it. I am more worried about what is happening to our planet today and how to save it. The director of this film takes different cultures and uses them to create movies using his imagination about the end of the world. This is kind of annoying because all the movies he makes are disastrous. The Mayan calendar ends on December 21st, 2009, but nobody knows if the Mayans thought world would really end on this day.
In the movie father with two kids is driving in the car when they see meteors falling from the sky, then there were huge waves crashing onto the land, but the dad said, “No matter what happens, we will always stay together”. I think the implications of this movie are that you should stay with and support your family no matter how bad the circumstances are. The media in this film and all special effects and disastrous happenings helps us better understand this implication.
Bibliography
Book – “Mayan Calendar Systems” by Cyrus Thomas; Washington Government Printing Office, 1904
http://books.google.com/books?id=z5AEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA290&dq=the+mayan+calendar#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Website – Official movie site for 2012: http://www.whowillsurvive2012.com/
Website – Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Emmerich
