Samstag, 26. Juli 2008

3.3.) Infringement of copyright

When I set up my web page I used several pictures and text written and formatted by myself. The text as it was produced by myself does not constitute any violation of copyright. Different is the situation in respect of the pictures.

The first picture is are three painted bananas loaded down from the net. Furthermore I used a photographed salad prepared on a dish. A cartoon figure from Joe Bartons web page tutorial and a painted can of motor oil. All also downloaded from the web.

There are two laws which have to reviewed in respect of violation of copyright and eventually compensation of damage. The first one is the copyright regulation itself.

With the bananas, the salad, and the motoroil can no copyright note was attached. It might still be possible to claim copyright but the note would be required in order to sue for any damage compensation.

With Joe Bartons cartoon cook the situation is different. There is a copyright notice attached to the tutorial as such not only copyright is violated but even a damage compensation might be claimed.

In this case the fair use condition has to be checked also. This is made up of the following conditions:

1. Purpose of use non-profit educational or commercial
2. Nature of the copyright
3. % of violation
4. Reduction in market value of copyright.

As purpose was non profit, the % of violation was minor (only small part of tutorial), and the market value of the tutorial is probably only little reduced by the use of the cartoon no damage might be assumed.

Nevertheless to avoid any doubts we are going to remove Joe’s chef immediately and replace him through a German chef, who will be cheaper in a law suit.

Furthermore by resizing and only using parts of the picture the original copyright law might have been taken out of effect.


When a student is using the Curtin university logo the situation taking Curtin’s copyright and intellectual property policy into account would be as follows.

1.) The Curtin university logo is a design which can be protect as intellectual property by the design act 1906.
2.) The design has been created by astaff member or by an external party, e.g. a web designer, as a commissioned work for Curtin University.
3.) Curtin claims the intellectual property of such work as clearly stated in the copyright and intellectual property guidelines of Curtin University.
4.) Both staff and students are requested to respect these guideline and not to use Curtin University intellectual property. (This might not refer to scientific work cited in the normal way, but to work used for commercial purposes or purposes extending any scientific use).
5.) The option for the student in order to get permission of using the Curtin University logo would be to apply to the intellectual property committee.
6.) If the student does not get permission upfront Curtin University might take disciplinary action, sue the student for damage resulting from intellectual property infringement and additional might get an legal order forcing the student to restrain the student from further use of the logo.

3.2.) The 5 most important things for writing on the web

Actually by reading through the texts from Nielsen, not only the 1997 text but the others also, I found reflecting on my own reading style and behaviour in respect of web pages and e-mails a lot of congruence.

The first thing is clearly I have a tendency to scan a web page, and I normally read words marked in colour or bold letters and with bullet points attached. So rule no. 1 would be for me:

Highlight important key words of the text.

I have further a tendency to dump web pages, which go across several pages as I find reading such a long text on a computer screen exhausting and inconvenient.

Use short paragraphs which in itself provide all necessary information.

A tendency to use marketing speech by using superlatives or flashy adverts undermines credibility and gives in my personal impression the page a strong commercial appearance.

Avoid exaggerating and marketing speech for an informational text.

Links offer a convenient way to provide background information and certify own views but supportive other sources, but to much links are also just distractive.

Links used in reasonable numbers help to extent informational depth and reliability.

I like texts which come to the point and give me already in the first paragraph a good idea about the topic.

Put a concise summary upfront and get later on into more detail.

Coming from these advises the research undertaken by Nielsen clearly still holds. A problem which today with broadband internet is probably reduced are waiting times as downloads are much faster today.
Also web design is much more professional today, taking into account much more of these “web page ergonomics” then in former.

3.1.) Web Page Experience

The set up of the web page was a very positive experience and did not pose any problems. O.k. I did not create a very senseful web page but this is probably in line with a quite nihilistic attitude.
What I found a very tedious process was the upload of the web page to the presentation area. As I had an error in the title line the wizard could not recognize the index.htlm file. So I tried for ages until I finally reviewed the code to realise my error.

When I had the web page finished and then even uploaded I felt like the master of creation – simply great.

I like the blog thing but is more restricted in hindsight of the creative elements. This is something I can find in a web page, where I can play around with colours, fonts and attachments. This is somehow a bit more in line with my personal nature. O.k. it takes longer to work with html then writing a block.
I positive aspect of blogging is that one can get comments so that there is a direct feed back provided.

Donnerstag, 10. Juli 2008

2.4.) Group chat

Hi there all I found the group chat a very nice experience. At first I was very worried because of the time difference between Australia and Europe if I could find the time to do the chat,but finally this prooved totally unjustified.

I am not a very experienced chatter is this course forced me actually to set up all the stuff like MSN, Skype, ICQ for very much the first time but everything worked wtihout any problems at all. I like especially the skype thing very much as enables also spoken communication.

So thanks again to both ladies I had the chance to chat with. In the copy of the chat I took out all the surnames for privacy reasons, spelling mistakes might be excused.

2.4.) Group chat

[10:04:47] Stefan: Hi Kylie, its me Stefan speaking from net 11. Just want to test if you get my message.
[10:05:20] Kylie: hi stefan
[10:05:26] Kylie: it worked :)
[10:06:08] Stefan: Are you participating in the 8.30 group chat???
[10:07:24] Kylie: not sure, if i'm able to stay on that long i might
[10:07:27] Kylie: are u?
[10:08:29] Stefan: Yes I try, but first have to take someody to the airport and then return.
[10:10:15] Kylie: so is it 8.30 perth time or eastern time?
[10:13:49] Stefan: Good question, I already asked myself. Suppose its perth time meaning I am anyway 6 hours back. So I can have my lunch easily before.
[10:15:02] Kylie: for me it's 2 hours away if it's perth time
[10:17:22] Stefan : Do you think we can count this already as the group chat???? in case we miss it.
[10:18:13] Kylie: i guess, if u like we can add people now, how long do u have?
[10:19:33] Kylie: i'm sure Fiona will join us
[10:20:38] Stefan : 20 minutes to 25 minutes
[10:21:00] *** Stefan hat jeytiger zum Gruppen-Chat eingeladen ***
[10:21:11] Kylie: ok, i'll grad FI
[10:21:22] Kylie: hiya jey
[10:22:29] *** Kylie hat fiona.***** zum Gruppen-Chat eingeladen ***
[10:23:03] Kylie: well 4 counts as a group chat?
[10:23:24] Fiona: it sure does!
[10:23:59] Fiona: i added you both to my contacts.. Hi
[10:24:24] Kylie: i think stefan may be at work?
[10:24:38] Stefan : Half
[10:24:46] Fiona: who is jeytiger?
[10:24:57] Fiona: Hi Stefan..
[10:26:12] Kylie: i love watching that little pencil writing on the right hand side (chuckle)
[10:26:35] Stefan : I thought that were you fiona. Thats the unfortunate thing I suppose with glamorous names. Might be Silke. But not there anyway. Hi Fiona.
[10:28:19] Fiona: Go the pencil! I watch it like something possessed and when it erases I wonder what has been censored from the conversation...
[10:28:33] Kylie: lol me too
[10:28:34] Fiona: I am Fiona!
[10:28:48] Kylie: he thought u were jeytiger
[10:28:53] Fiona: Hmmm, the mysterious jeytiger
[10:29:06] Kylie: i'm going to check lol
[10:29:12] Stefan : Hey can you help me out I ask myself all the time what the lol stands for???
[10:29:14] Fiona: there is a cutpaste too, but I think that is Joel
[10:29:25] Fiona: laugh out loud
[10:29:29] Kylie: cutpaste is joel
[10:30:13] Fiona: and brb is be right back, i didn't know that one until i started using skype
[10:30:46] Stefan : ok. got it. Where are you both, how many lake macquaries exist in Australia???
[10:30:55] Kylie: i hate this one....asl?
[10:31:07] Fiona: what is asl??
[10:31:17] Kylie: age sex location
[10:31:21] Fiona: ohhh
[10:31:27] Stefan : o.k. then drop it.
[10:31:33] Fiona: 29 female nsw central coast
[10:31:41] Kylie: there is only one lake macquarie in australia
[10:31:46] Kylie: that's where i am
[10:31:58] Fiona: where are you Stefan?
[10:32:21] Stefan : 41 male Düsseldorf trying to slim down.
[10:33:05] Fiona: really? not the slim down bit, the Dusseldorf bit..
[10:33:33] Stefan : Yes, why not. Have you ever been to Düsseldorf?
[10:33:35] Kylie: jeytiger is Kathy Wright btw
[10:34:04] Kylie: not me, i 've never been outside NSW lol
[10:34:20] Fiona: Kathy! of course i remember seeing that in the DB
[10:34:40] Stefan : Kylie I suppose today I learn more abbrevations then in my whole live but not bad.
[10:34:51] Fiona: no, I haven't been.. i wish i had
[10:35:01] Kylie: i was the same when i first started
[10:35:40] Fiona: Stefan if you are there, then why did you study through OUA? Are you travelling or do you live there?
[10:38:37] Stefan : Good question. I started studying with OUA in 2002. In Germany university programs are very rigid, meaning there is normally a lot of physical presence requested. And I was working already. And the Aussies where just a bit further with internet based course and study options.
[10:39:14] Kylie: how do you find the time to study while at work?
[10:39:27] Fiona: Go the Aussies!
[10:40:16] Fiona: Yes, it is such a flexible course and it offers so much in the way of employment options.. what do you do now? and are you doing the BA internet studies?
[10:43:05] Stefan : I found the whole studying so far very interesting but also sometimes really hard, sacrifiying a lot of weekends and evenings and even some holidays, but if I here some of the others are mums having three kids to look after I think it is still relatively o.k. for me.
[10:44:26] Stefan : No, Fiono, I am doing the BA in Human Life Science, and this course is one of my three add on courses.
[10:44:47] Fiona: Good answer... Kylie and I are both Mums!
[10:45:03] Fiona: So what can you do with human Life science?
[10:45:59] Stefan : I am not sure. I try to work that out myself. Perhaps become Dr. Frankenstein.
[10:46:50] Kylie: lol
[10:46:55] Fiona: Thats funny! You can use the computer to control him... Sorry guys, I have to go :( My son needs his bedtime story... tomorrow??
[10:47:15] Fiona: You on tomorrow kylie?
[10:47:23] Kylie: i am yes
[10:47:30] Kylie: have a great night Fi
[10:47:45] Stefan : Iam off alos. Thanks for the nice conversation. Have a great night you both
[10:47:54] Fiona: Thanks... See ya. Nice to meet you Stefan
[10:48:10] Kylie: nice meeting you too stefan
[10:48:12] *** Fiona left ***
[10:48:12] Kylie: have a good day
Kylie
Fiona
[10:48:10] Kylie: nice meeting you too stefan
[10:48:12] *** Fiona left ***
[10:48:12] Kylie: have a good day
[10:48:23] *** Kylie left ***
Kylie
Fiona

Dienstag, 8. Juli 2008

2.3.) Contribution to newsgroup

This is an inquiry in German at a newsgroup in repsect of the final of European Masters in football, where Germany was playing Spain and lost out. The game itself was terrible dissappointing the Germans where playing like primary school pupils and the Spanish appeared to be already in grammar school.

The newsgroup is an internet fan club of one of the local football clubs. So I hoped to get some comments on the final.


Endspiel-???‏
Von:
Stefan2000

Diese E-Mail ist möglicherweise gefährlich. Weitere Informationen
Gesendet:
Montag, 30. Juni 2008 22:06:54
An:
Lucky Zebras 97 (lucky-zebras@googlegroups.com)
Hi, bin per Zufall auf der MSV Seite hier gelandet und dachte mir alsalter Duisburger schau doch mal rein, hoffe das ist o.k.. Also klar war schon toll das unsere Mannschaft überhaupt bis insEndspiel gekommen ist. Leider waren dann aber nur die ersten 10Minuten gut und danach erinnerte ich mich leider nur noch an dasKroatien Spiel. Spielanalysen oder Meinungen vorhanden??? GrussStefan

2.2.) Pros and cons of email lists vs discussion boards

Pros and cons of email lists versus discussion boards and suitability for certain communication and purpose
E-mail lists offer a good chance of regular information about a certain topic. They do not offer quick answers but rather a continuous and somehow formalised flow of information. The issuer of e-mail lists often have good expertise in the specific subject. E-mail lists are normally maintained on one list server. Sometimes the topic on list servers become to narrow and concentrated as such making it less interesting for some participants.
Different is the situation with discussion boards. A discussion board is made up of people of an certain area of interest and is also normally maintained on a single server. A discussion group does not offer answers in time critical situations but offers the opportunity to an interactive exchange of information and opinion. Thereby the topics can vary more compared to information supplied by a list server. Also the form will be less formalised in a discussion group compared to the list server

2.1.) E-mail communication

a.) Within the e-mail header one can see from whom the e-mail was sent and a what time. This is important is e-mail is a good example of asynchronous communication, when the mail can be sent much earlier then read. If the e-mail is resent by sender previous senders of the e-mail can be seen within the body of the e-mail.

b.) The cc function of e-mail is useful if somebody else should be informed additionally. This can be to comply with convention, e.g. the boss is included in cc so he or she is not passed by or one might signal to the receiver of the e-mail that other people are informed also, for example an request to do something should not be ignored. Furthermore if other people need to become active in respect of a certain job cc might be useful as kind of request of their support. BCC is normally rather used for documentation that information has been send out, to give an example, when the boss asks the employee to sent out a quote for an order and the employee wants to document his action for the boss.

The received function is similar as it documents that the addressee of a mail really has received it. This is helpful where time critical activities should be initiated by the mail or there is a semi official situation where some form of documentation of receipt is required.

c.) To ensure that attachements can be read sending them in a standard format like rich text or RFT is helpful. Even better to read are attachements sent in ASCII format. Good practise sending attachements is to refer to them by citing the program used to create them like Excel or Word.

d.) The set up of e-mail filters can help to categorize e-mails in certain groups but also to prevent the receipt of junk or spam mail. A good example here for is an e-mail filter I created for Lotus Notes when my mail boxes was floated with e-mails offering all kind of medical support. I was able to stop most of these e-mails by creating a filter blocking all e-mails containing the word Viagra.

e.) I organised my e-mail folders according to major topics and persons and sort my e-mails by date. Effectively sorting my e-mail by person is very similar as by topic as certain persons would fall very much always in one topic category, for example most of my mates could be assigned also to leisure time. Sorting by date helps to deal with oldest stuff first.