Lyte315's Blog
Just another WordPress.com weblogFreewrite #6
My original inquiry question when I began this research project is how has online gaming developed into a public space where individuals can express feelings that they wouldn’t express in other public spaces? My inquiry question has changed to what forms of interactions take place during online gameplay and how are these interactions seen in other forms of public space? There isn’t much change in my question but the main difference is that the first question touches on unacceptable interactions, whereas the second question seeks to analyze different forms of interactions. Also, I want to find potential causes of such interactions based on different contexts such as the players’ backgrounds, the interviewees’ backgrounds, and source articles’ contexts.
Based on my primary data, I have learned that not all interaction that takes place during gameplay is negative. Before I started my research I thought that everything I would hear would be considered transgressive in other modes of public space. After the research I noticed that, in a sense, there was cooperative gameplay. I explored this by playing in the games and observing the interactions within team-based gameplay. This new knowledge has shaped the understanding of my topic by making me realize that I just can’t take a stance that projects online gameplay as being negative. I have to be able to breakdown the different types of interactions, explain how they are received in other modes of public space, and analyze the context from which these interactions may arise.
I want to find out more information on inclusion/exclusion issues. When I was undertaking my analysis I noticed that a primary reason interaction were conducted was to fit in. This can be seen as a result of social pressures. For research, I plan on looking at articles based on social pressures that individuals may face that make them feel that they have to interact in certain ways.
I’m seeing that within the research people are not always acting out how they feel. I’ve been seeing that sometimes this is being done as a means to fit in. I see this because there are some sources that talk about cooperative gameplay and the lack of negativity that is surrounded in it. I’ve also witnessed it firsthand. Now, I’m trying to see if there are social norms that the players are trying to fulfill.
I came to several of these realizations after analyzing Tuesday’s lesson. In class, we were taught of a progression of ideas toward an evolving thesis. Here are the steps I made to organize my thoughts and arrive at my own evolving thesis:
1. Category
- Racial Slurs
- Homophobic talk
- Accusations
- Insults
- Frustration
- Cooperative talk
- Map related talk
- Socializing
- Auditory-based interactions
- Fooling around
- Censorship
I came up with categories of issues that I had encountered while conducting my research.
2. Themes
- Frustration with teammates
- Frustration with foes
- Cooperative talk in effort to win
- Engage in gameplay to socialize
- Parents feel some of the talk is unacceptable
- Easier to say what you want when you can’t see the person
- People say things so they don’t feel like they don’t belong (exclusion)
I came up with themes that related to the categories of issues I had discovered.
3. Claims
a) Online gamers express sentiments to fit in
- Expectations for boys to win (Perry’s Article, Wypijewski’s Article)
- Issues of inclusion/exclusion (talk about roles to fit in at schools)
- Fooling Around
b) Easier to express how you feel when you don’t see the other person (use surveys)
- Auditory based interaction (Scollon & Scollon)
- Frustration with foes and teammates
* Using racial slurs and homophobic talk (primary research)
* Insults and accusations (primary research)
c) Parents feel some of the interactions are unacceptable (interviews)
- Censorship
d) Gamers play to socialize
- Cooperative talk (Ducheneaut’s Article)
- Map related talk (Wright’s Article)
I came up with four claims based on my research, categories, and themes. I also included articles and primary research that supported each argument.
4. Thesis
Online gamers express themselves not just because they feel a certain way but also to express themselves as an attempt to fit in.
Freewrite #4
Article 1: A Boy’s Life by JoAnn Wypijewski
JoAnn Wypijewski is the author of A Boy’s Life. Varies sites provide important information about Wypijewski. These websites list various works and her writing style:
JoAnn Wypijewski is an independent journalist and columnist for Mother Jones magazine. For eighteen years, from 1982 to 2000, she was an editor at The Nation magazine. She has written for that magazine, as well as for Harper’s, CounterPunch, The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian of London and other publications. She is the editor of several books including Painting by Numbers: Komar and Melamid’s Scientific Guide to Art, which was called “a wonderfully tricky work of art” by The New York Times editorial page, and The Thirty Years Wars: Dispatches and Diversions of a Radical Journalist, 1965-1994, the collected work of Andrew Kopkind. Wypijewski lives in New York City, where she has been active for tenants’ rights and preservation of the Lower East Side since 1980. She is one of the founders and president of Kopkind, a summer project for radical journalists and organizers based in Guilford, Vermont, and dedicated to the memory of Andrew Kopkind.
Source: http://www.lannan.org/lf/bios/detail/joann-wypijewski/
A brief description of the publication she works for:
Mother Jones is a nonprofit news organization that specializes in investigative, political, and social justice reporting. Why should you read or support us? Because “smart, fearless journalism” keeps people informed—”informed” being pretty much indispensable to a democracy that actually works. Because we’ve been ahead of the curve time and again. Because this is journalism not funded by or beholden to corporations. Because we bust bullshit and get results. Because we’re expanding our investigative coverage while the rest of the media are contracting. Because you can count on us to take no prisoners, cleave to no dogma, and tell it like it is. Plus we’re pretty damn fun.
Source: http://motherjones.com/about/what-mother-jones
Based on this information, Wypijewski delivers articles that are based on sensitive issues that are not easily discussed in society. In the description of the publication she works for it seems that there is a great sense of freedom to express things as the “way they are”. Wypijewski’s article was published in Harper’s Magazine. “Harper’s Magazine provides readers with a unique perspective on politics, society, the environment, and culture.” (harpers.org/harpers/about) This organization has been involved in several controversies concerning some of their articles. Some of the articles have been criticized for having misleading information. One of the articles deals with AIDS denialism (Peter Duesberg) and has been struck down by scientifically backed data. Regardless of a few hurdles, Harper’s Magazine is a publication that has received multiple awards and has been in circulation for approximately 160 years. This helps give Wypijewski’s article credibility.
The primary audience for this site is people who are well informed, have higher education, and want to learn more about politics, society, the environment, and culture. The demographics for this site are illustrated by nextmark.com:
Median Age 44.8; 38% Female, 62% Male
HHI $80,000; $400,000 plus net worth
81% professional/managerial; 21% top management
72% own their own home; home valued $215,000 on average
96.8% college educated; 55.6% post graduate
63.4% have a valid passport
90% have purchased via mail or telephone
Source: http://lists.nextmark.com/market;jsessionid=3F206BE5B76BD5F551EA211F4C 59B35F?page=order/online/datacard&id=93172
Harper’s Magazine may make assumption about their audience based on education, career, and political standing. Making these assumptions will help Harper’s deliver material that coincides with what the readers expect from this publication.
The primary purpose of this magazine seems to be inline with public advocacy. In other words, it urges readers and writers alike to advocate for a position or social issue. The source’s purpose is inline with the site’s purpose because A Boy’s Life raises issues about taking a stance on “what it takes to pass as a man.” The information from this source can be described as valid, credible, consistent with other information that I am finding, balanced, comprehensive, relevant, current, and controversial. The information Wypijewski provides is valid and credible because she provides information she has obtain from court documents, police reports, and personal interviews. She uses this information to gradually reach at questions of what are some of the motive behind Shepard’s death. This information is consistent with other findings, because articles such as Creative Player Actions in FPS Online Video Games by Talmadge Wright and War and Video Games by Nicholas A. Perry touch on similar issues of what manly behaviors are perceived to be. This information is balanced and comprehensive, because the author provides virtually all sides of the argument including the context in which Shepard’s death takes place. She establishes that this information is relevant and current by touching on issues of homosexuality and male identity. These issues are highly debated today and this adds to the controversy of the article.
Article 2: War and Video Games by Nicholas A. Perry
Nicholas A. Perry is a senior in the Honors Program at the University of Rhode Island. This paper was written for the Digital Commons at the University. The Senior Honors Project “allows undergraduate students to pursue independent research, scholarship, and creative work under the guidance of a faculty supervisor. It culminates in the production of the student’s own substantial creative work.” (digitalcommons.uri.edu) The affiliation with the school and his standing as an undergraduate student may raise doubts about certain issues. These doubts may arise based on the credibility of his videos. Though this may present itself as an issue, Perry substantiates his information by providing sources from the likes of The New York Times and other scholarly sources.
The intended audience for this site is mainly people who attend or teach at higher education institutions. Therefore, the demographics for this site can be classified as people that are done with higher education or are in the process of finishing it. I think the author of the source is making assumptions that are based around the age of the audience, because he touches on an issue that is primarily impacts people under 40 years of age.
The primary purpose of the website is to provide works that are related to public advocacy. The sources purpose is in line with the website’s purpose because he provides information that show his stance on how he feel about the negative impact of video games on war.
The source’s information is valid, consistent, biased, comprehensive, relevant, current, and controversial.
Putting the Sources into Conversation
For many years raging debates have taken place concerning the liberty of free speech. This issue has further been complicated by the creation of new public spaces. One of these new public spaces is the world of online gaming. The interactions that take place in online gaming shed light into transgressive behaviors that are conducted by the players. Though these behaviors are usually orally expressed, they still create profound impacts on the way people interact with one another. In her article, A Boy’s Life, which was published in Harper’s Magazine, JoAnn Wypijewski addresses issues on what it takes to be a man through Shepard’s case in Laramie. Wypijewski explains that, “Wussitude haunts a boy’s every move.” She makes this statement in attempt to identify one of the many reasons men act the way they do and one of the probable causes of Shepard’s death. This can also be one of the reasons that players act the way they do. From Wypijewski’s point-of-view, online players may be trying to prove their manliness by expressing themselves that are degrading toward others. Though stirred by social justice and the cultural upbringing of the assailants, the author is able to offer a virtually unbiased account on what social factors it takes to be considered a man.
Nicholas A. Perry a Senior Honors Projects participant, author of War and Video Games published in the Digital Commons at the University of Rhode Island, adds to Wypijewski’s argument by stating that, “Masculinity is defined by taking action, and violence is an acceptable response in boys and men.” Even though Perry is an undergraduate student, he substantiates his information by providing sources from the likes of The New York Times and other scholarly sources.
…
Freewrite 4/6
I classify this essay as an argument because the author is trying to bring to light different sides of the Shepard case. The author speaks about the context in which Henderson and McKinney were raised as well as Shepard’s, the media’s take on the story, the court’s point-of-view, etc. Ultimately, the author is trying to argue that there is more than just one cause to the Shepard case and that some of the causes presented now aren’t taking many other factors into consideration. It seems that the author is addressing an over-simplification of the case and also addressing stances or arguments that seem to be clouded by culture or different beliefs.
This article helps clarify our discussion about what it means to argue by showing that there doesn’t have to be a clear-cut answer to be drawn out from an article. I see that the main purpose of articles such as these should be to stimulate thought for the reader and to challenge established notions.
I think the writer would say that the purpose of her article is to challenge the reasons for McKinney’s and Henderson’s assault on Shepard. I believe she is trying to complicate the “standard” frame of thought that surrounds this case.
I believe this a good example of a good writer because the analysis that was conducted was very deep in terms of detail and the scope to which she sought information. The presentation that was presented was also clear and easy to understand but it provoked thought at the same time.
Online Gameplay Survey
1. Why do you participate in online gameplay? (Circle one below)
Just to play Socialize Both Other___________________
2. In order of importance, what are the motives for playing online videogames?
(1 – most important, 3 or higher – least important)
Just to play Socialize Relive Stress List any others
__________________
__________________
3. In general, is the way people interact online publicly acceptable or unacceptable in your opinion? (Circle one)
4. Do you interact more with others online when you join a group of friends online or when you play individually? (Circle one below)
Interact more in a group Interact more individually Indifferent
5. Is it harder or easier to interact with people online when you cannot see them? (Circle one)
6. Would it be harder or easier for you to interact with people online if you could see them? (Circle one)
7. Do you feel more or less “free” to say what’s on your mind when you’re playing online versus saying it in person?
8. When you can’t see how others are responding to you, do you feel freer or less free to say what we feel?
9. When you know you will never face other players, are you more or less likely to censor yourself?
Forum F
In Good.is/transparency, a blog that consist of the “graphical exploration of the data that surrounds us”, Robert A. Di Ieso, Jr. illustrates through his work, Tear Down This Wall, different barriers that keep people apart as well as accompanying statistics.
Ieso is a designer from Brooklyn, NY. He has designed works for The New York Times, Times Inc., and Fast Company. “[He has] worked on projects ranging from identity design, broadcast design, illustration work, print design, and environmental graphic design.” (thisisrad.com). Ieso focuses on environmental graphic design and currently works at Open. “[Open’s] work includes identity systems, print design (such as advertising, packaging or publications), motion graphics and web design. Many of [their] projects are integrated design solutions which exist in more than one of these categories.” (notclosed.com). He currently works on a project-by-project basis and hopes that through his work “scientific endeavor will gain mass appeal.”
Ieso’s Tear Down This Wall was published in the GOOD Blog. A description of this blog is provided in the About section of their website:
GOOD is the integrated media platform for people who want to live well and do good. We are a company and community for the people, businesses, and NGOs moving the world forward. GOOD’s mission is to provide content, experiences, and utilities to serve this community.
GOOD currently produces a website, videos, live events, and a print magazine. Launched in September 2006, the company has garnered praise for its unique editorial perspective and fresh visual aesthetic and is quickly positioning itself as a significant new voice in our culture.
Their social, cultural, and political values seem to revolve around justice, morality, or simply put, all that is “good”. I believe the unintended audience is students that are looking to do research on them, but don’t necessarily care about their cause or the message they’re trying to portray. This unintended audience may see conclusions that are being made on this blog as subjective and biased. This can occur because this blog touches on many cultural issues that are illustrated from the point of view of the specific designer.
In the image-text, Ieso illustrates six borders that are designed to keep people out. He shows statistics such as how long the borders have been up and their length. He has titled this work as Tear Down This Wall, and it is intended to serve as a vivid depiction of the lengths man has gone to segregate itself.
Freewrite #2
The most interesting thing that I have found about geosemiotics is how icons, symbols, and indexes take meaning based on their place in the world. For example, seeing certain symbols, icons, or indexes in different places in the world may have different meanings from place to place. Also, some of these signs have the same accepted definition universally.
The research I enjoyed the most was the primary research for the group project. I am more of hands on person and I’d much rather let the discourses in place be played out live in front of me than read about them. I also feel that this makes it more tangible and makes learning about geosemiotics, people’s body language in public space, etc. much easier.
A possible question that relates to public space and how people navigate about it could deal with the use of icons. Fore example, the question may be phrased:
How do the use icons and symbols that create icons impact the way humans interact with public space? How do the use of icons and symbols that create icons in conjunction complicate the communication of the message that is being brought forth by these icons?
The way this question can be researched is by setting up an index such as an arrow that shows how people should navigate through public space. After recording the way people react to the sign, the same index can be used but now accompanied by words point to the same meaning. Finally, the index would be used but the words would point to the opposite meaning (opposite direction) and record how people react to the use of conflicting indexes. The purpose of this study would be to see how people interact with visual indexes versus symbols that create an index. The research question can further be elaborated by asking several questions:
To what extent do people have a right to navigate space in the fashion they would like? Who has the authority to affect the way we navigate through space? How do signs that are accompanied by indexes written in a certain language exclude different groups of people that speak different languages?
The specific site of interest to me to conduct this research is the Syracuse University area. I could possibly use DPS in aiding me with the signs. I could place these signs where there is a constant flow of people so I can gather sufficient data to illustrate how people interact with sign as they navigate through public space.
Other ideas that can be used for the sustained research project can be the way people interact with surveillance cameras. Another idea that can be used is how people interact with signs, such as billboards, with and without words. I can then observe how people interpret the different meanings. These ideas relate to my questions in that they deal with interactions with signs and how people react to these signs in public spaces.
2/18/10 assignment
The five types of perceptual spaces are visual, auditory, olfactory, thermal, and tactile. Visual perceptual space is seen through our eyes. Auditory perceptual space is what we hear through our ears. Olfactory is classified as our sense of smell. Thermal deals with outside temperature. Finally, tactile refers to our sense of touch. These perceptual spaces help us analyze interactions and the formation of relationships amongst human beings.
Visual perceptual space can be classified as one of the first we use in any given situation. Because of its wide scope, people can analyze a situation from afar without conducting any interpersonal interaction. The closer a person is to an object the more they are able to take in more detailed information. For example, a person going to a job interview may look professional from a greater distance, but up close, upon visual inspection, the perception of this person may change. It should be taken into consideration that this situation only involves visual perceptual space and none of the others. Visual perceptual space is, therefore, the most frequent perceptual space we are involved in.
Auditory perceptual space can also be classified as one of the first we use in any given situation. Auditory perceptual space also has a wide scope, but it also depends on the loudness of the object emitting the sound. Because of this, auditory space can act as a distancing agent or proximity agent. If something is emitting a loud sound we can analyze we want to further investigate the source of the sound or if we don’t want to interact with it. For example, somebody is being obnoxiously loud with disregard to other people. If someone is in search of a quiet space to relax, they may analyze what’s going on and they may decide not to interact with this person. On the other hand, if something is emitting a low sound, out of curiosity, we may want to investigate what the source is trying to communicate. For example, if someone is whispering we may be inclined to try to pay more attention to try and understand the message that is being communicated.
Olfactory is the sense of smell. Olfactory also has the capability to have a wide scope. The concentration of the scent may determine from what distance we can communicate with the object that is giving off the scent. A sweaty person may give off a strong smell. This may trigger people to stay at a distance because the smell is discomforting. A person with perfume may be more approachable since they smell better. Even if the person is visually pleasing, and is not obnoxiously loud but they smell bad, people may find it harder to interact with the person.
Thermal perceptual space refers to the outside temperature. This perceptual space allows us to communicate with the environment. This, in turn, affects the way we interact with others. For example, weather during the winter in Syracuse is usually cold. If someone outside is seen in shorts and a t-shirt, we are more prone to draw up inferences about that person’s state of mind. In this instance weather is affecting the way we interact in our visual perceptual space.
Tactile perceptual space refers to our sense of touch. Touch can be considered the most intimate of interactions with others. For example, if a person smells, is not visually pleasing, is obnoxiously loud, and thermal perceptual space heightens the negative personal interaction with this person, we are more likely to not accepting tactile interaction from this person. On-the-other-hand, a handshake between to people that respect themselves is commonplace. Tactile can, thus, be considered the perceptual space with the smallest scope. All other criteria from the other perceptual spaces must be met in order for a person to allow tactile interaction. If this is not the case, we may be in violation of tactile interaction.
2/16/10 assignment
Depicted above is a picture of Porsche 911 GT3R racecar. It’s in orange racing livery and the car seems to be in motion. Everything seems normal until one reads the word “hybrid” on the windshield. This makes the sign transgressive because the index at play is in the seemingly wrong place to certain viewers. In general, when people think Porsche they think sports car not hybrid. On the flip side, when people think Prius they think hybrid not sports car. Among Porsche enthusiasts this is not particularly taken well. To the enthusiasts it’s a departure from tradition and a watering-down of the edginess of Porsche automobiles. This sign was created by Porsche to introduce the new racecar that will enter in Geneva and the Nurburgring 24-hour race.
As mentioned earlier, automobile enthusiasts find this sign transgressive. Many of these people hold strong values about the importance of keeping to the traditional layouts of automobiles. Enthusiasts feel that technology is taking away from the passion of driving cars. This passion is derived from the fun of driving cars and it is being hindered by driver aids such as traction control.
Interestingly, there really wasn’t a negative public uproar over this sign. When reading the article in depth, it becomes evident that this hybrid system has a different kind of advantage than usually associated with hybrids. Hybrids are usually associated with being fuel-efficient, but instead, this hybrid system is there to provide a temporary boost in power as applied by the driver.
Without an accompanying article, the reaction to this picture may have been different. The viewers may have assumed that the hybrid system was there solely for efficiency. The fact that it adds a boost in power adds to the fun factor. This, in turn, goes to the roots of racing in providing speed to provide maximum thrills. Automakers should take note and market future hybrid entrants this way instead of just being efficient vehicles.
An inquiry that may arise from this is to attempt to transform a seemingly transgressive sign to a sign that is accepted by the viewers. One can show a crowd something they feel doesn’t belong but by the end convince them that it is not at all that bad.
This picture can and its article can be found on http://jalopnik.com/5469456/ porsche-911-gt3-r-hybrid-coming-to-geneva-nooooooo. This article was posted February 11th. As of today there are approximately 8500 views of the article and 200 comments on it.
2/9/10 assignment
This ad presents a narrative structure. It shows unfolding actions by drawing the attention of the viewer to the caption that reads “Will only words remain? Time is running out! Visit ifaw.org.” The attention is then drawn to the elephant. The elephant is semi-transparent and is created using the word elephant. This becomes a visual representation for the phrase “Will only words remain?” The narrative itself thus becomes an unfolding of events that can lead to the disappearing of elephants.
The modality in this advertisement shows naturalistic representation. Aside from the elephant, what we see in the ad is what we would expect an elephant’s natural habitat to be. The elephant is not a naturalistic representation, though. The word “elephant” represents the elephant and it is fading out. The illustration of the elephant becomes a metaphoric representation of the caption.
In this ad, the interactive participants are the viewer and the elephant’s environment. Here it can be seen what the environment may look like if the elephant is no longer around. The elephant in this ad also takes up much space. So if the elephant is no longer around much of what its environment is about is also gone. The words also act to engage the viewer on the central point of this ad. The IFAW seems to be calling the viewer to action to avoid the disappearing of elephants from their natural environment.
In the ad there is one index, one icon, and one symbol. The index is the caption. It points to its meaning and it gives the reader a clear-cut description about what’s going on. The icon is the elephant. It is a picture of itself. This icon is mixed with an index because the word “elephant” points to its meaning. The IFAW logo is the symbol. The logo is an arbitrary representation of the IFAW. The only way to know that this logo represents the IFAW is by seeing the index next to it.
I chose this advertisement because it’s interesting to see how a word was manipulated to represent the physical shape of its own meaning. The word elephant itself is an index – it points to its meaning. This word is also an index by taking the actual shape of the object, and in that sense, it again points to its meaning.
The IFAW is trying to control human behavior that negatively impacts the survival of wild animals. The semiotic systems that are used here are narrative structures for represented participants, naturalistic representation for modality, and a relationship between represented participants and the viewer for interactive participants. This attempt is not problematic because it provides an effective way to communicate the message of wildlife conservation.
When I was conducting the research, I found it very interesting that many of the advertisements had words accompanying the graphics. It is noteworthy that advertisements without captions can take on completely different meanings. This shows that indexes are necessary to convey proper messages. A possible inquiry is to see the many different ways an audience would interpret a specific advertisement without the use of words. This could possibly shed light on how humans rely on indexes to communicate.
2/2/10 assignment
The one way signs in this picture can be categorized as indexes. The signs “point to their meaning.” (Discourses in Place, 26). The arrow itself points to the direction in which drivers must travel. The sign is located in the street. Interestingly, drivers are the ones that need to pay attention to these signs and not pedestrians. Pedestrians can walk in either direction because they will not interrupt traffic flow. These signs are placed in the street to regulate a driver’s behavior. This sign is showing the direction in which the driver must travel.
This picture is a mix between an icon and a symbol. The icon is the bicycle below the “not allowed” signed. An icon is a ” picture of the thing in the world.” (Discourses in Place, vii). Symbols “are completely arbitrary or conventional signs that do not resemble their meaning and do not point to it.” (Discourses in Place, 27). This sign is located in the street and it is there to warn bicycle riders that the bicycles are not permitted. In other words, the sign is their to control bicycle riders from riding their bicycles on that particular street.
Uncle Sam is also a symbol. The book states that “unless we know what [it] means . . . [it] basically means nothing to us.” (Discourses in Place, 27). This symbol is usually found in many different places. One such place is voting polls. In this instance, this symbol is empowering the people of America to act as citizens and participate in the government. Another place this symbol can be seen is at recruiting tables for the army. Here the symbol shows that “you” are picked to go to the army. In other words this sign is a symbol for American patriotism.
