Reflections #8-Subject Closure

It seems like lessons had only just begun not long ago, too soon to end. But here I am now blogging my last reflections for EIR.

I guess I have really learnt a lot in this 15 days journey. It's not easy picking out one particular lesson that I find the most important, because really, everything I learnt was important one way or another.

However I guess the one lesson that will really come in useful in future is the one which thought me how to carry out my research effectively using Boolean operators and by maximising the use of search engines' features to my advantage. I really saw the difference in results when using and not using Boolean operators. It is especially drastic because my chosen research topic is so specific. This will really come in useful when I am carrying out research in the future, no matter what the topic is.

Reflections #7-My Dream Holiday

We were told to pick a dream holiday destination, so here's mine!

It's Oia, in Santorini, Greece:

The place is well-known for the most beautiful sunsets,

and interesting architecture and charming shophouses.

Oia by night.

I first knew about the place when it was featured in a novel I read, called Since I don't Have You by Louise Candlish. It's about a mother who lost her child and went to Oia to find herself back, and later set up a shop of her own selling old photographs of Oia, which the picture above reminds me of.

Novel aside, I feel that this place is really fun and charming with its friendly locals and relaxed town pace. There might not be as much to do in Oia as places like Paris or Japan, but it still seems to me like a really good place to go for a short vacation. I could visit the beautiful shophouses in the day and watch the sunset in the evening, and revive myself a little before heading back here to face the bustle of the city.

I got all these pictures from VirtualTourist.com. Evaluating this website, I find that it is well presented and the arrangement is easy to understand. It has a clean layout with little graphics, which tends to make websites distracting. It provides good, comprehensive coverage as well. There is a lot of first hand tourist information and reviews from many tourists, and it covers everything from hotels, to trip planner, to travel deals.

Reflections #6

Day 07 of lessons

Today we were showed 2 videos, where Singaporean celebs like Hossan Leong and Dick Lee sang songs about Singapore. And then we were told to go to talkingcock.com. Our class then split up into groups and each group had to take on a role and reflect our reactions to the website based on our new perpectives.

My group took on the role of Singapore's Prime Minister and we thought the PM might really be insulted if he were to go through the content of the website. However, it should also be understandable that the website is meant for pure fun. This is a good way for allowing Singaporeans to vent out their frustrations and get a good laugh out of it.

I think the role play was an interesting way for analysing this site, as we were given a chance to think through the purposes and effects of the website thoroughly. Thinking about how the PM and a foreigner will respond to the website has given everyone food for thought. We also had fun seeing the many jokes made about general issues in Singapore.

We were then taught how to review the website according to criteria to evaluate the sustainability of the website. And judging on its currency, this website is probably a popular hit because of its frequent updates. It never fails to make Singaporeans laugh on a daily basis.

Reflections #5

Day 06 of lessons

Today was Class Test 1. I scored only 14/20. But I guess it was quite alright since some of the questions really were quite tricky.

Anyway, we continued with our lesson and today's topic was on the invisible web. We tried out a few like TP's Digital Library Portal site and Research Gateaway.

The invisible web is also known as the "deep web" or "dark matter", and is a collection of information stored in a from of data. The data is not acecssible by general search engines, thus the invisble web is a very useful tool for additional resources. It makes searches more effective because it locates information that a search engine cannot retrieve.

This is something I had been aware of but have not used it often enough for my projects I feel. I shall try to make full use of it in future to enhance the effectiveness of my research in future projects.

Reflections #4

Day 05 of lessons

Today was supposedly the submission date for our Portfolio Part 1. However, the deadline is postponed to Monday. I did not complete my work too but I had more than half done already. Ms Faridah went through my work as she did with the others to comment on it and I'm glad that I'm on the right track.

Doing the portfolio made me observe and analyse the differnt search facilities in detail. Before these lectures and typing up the report, I was unaware of these search features available on the net. Doing the report made me see all these and learn how to use them effectively. I feels almost like a whole new world is opened to me.

When using different search facilities, I get varying types of results which I can apply to my research in different ways. A larger range of results appear, and I can carry out my search more efficiently with all the features of the search facilities, be it the "I'm feeling lucky" function from Google or the function of searching across a range of search engines at one go with a meta search engine. The ease of finding more relevant articles is obvious as compared to using just one search facility.

Before the class ended, we were told to add RSS site feeds to our blogs. Initially we thought they were just typical web links, but it turned out that these links, instead of bringing us to another webpage, should bring us to a full text document of the website. We had to edit the html of the layout to get the site feeds up and it took us all awhile to manage to get it correct, but I guess it was all worth it and I felt that this is something new I've learnt today. Site feeds are really convenient and actually quite easy to use, and we are able to read updates without being distracted by the layouts of the webpage. I shall try using this soon for my own personal blog soon.

Technology in (fashion)design #2

We won't get to see all these without the technology in design:

.

Diesel Show: Underwater Magic

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/crblog/underwater-magic/

(a video of the show is also available)

Diesel’s Spring/Summer 08 catwalk show, staged at the Pitti Immagine Uomo fair in Florence, was nothing short of stunning. While regular human models paced up and down the runway, a host of polyp-like CGI characters appeared in mid-air to interact with them within an underwater landscape. And in a unique twist, these animated holograms were entirely viewable from both sides of the stage. But this was no Paul Daniels Magic Show trickery – more a perfect blend of cutting edge digital art and performance.

Diesel’s Creative Team (under the direction of Wilbert Das) based the show on an aquatic theme entitled “Liquid Space” and brought together Barcelona animation studio Dvein – who worked on the CGI visual effects and 3D animations – and Danish multi-media production agency, Vizoo, who provided the innovative technology for the show, which they had created themselves. Neither studio, say Diesel, had previously worked on anything like this before.

.

Virtual Shoes

Have fun looking at the following shoes. Click for bigger images. For more head to http://www.virtualshoemuseum.com/

Applying technology in (graphic)design #1

Adrian Knopik

(click for bigger images)

Art going digital?

Here's an article I found from http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/designandcreate/.

.

Does Graphics Software Weaken Drawing Skills?

Saturday April 15, 2006

In contrast to the story of my last post about the Electric Paint exhibition, a recent article in the Washington Post talks about how university instructors today are lamenting students' use of graphics software, saying it weakens classic drawing skills.

Computer graphics allow artists to move briskly. By contrast, drawing on paper can be frustrating, forcing concentration, introspection and revision as an idea or vision takes shape. The process hones essential skills and sensitivity and personality that make artwork unique, instructors say.

Read more »

Reflection #3

Day 03 of lessons

Today's lesson was simpler and more straightforward.

I really felt I learnt something new and more useful today. We had to go through Practical Worksheet 3 in which we had to carry out our own research and compare between 2 search engines, namely Google Search and Google Scholar.

Before I go into the comparisons of the 2 search engines, I'd like to touch on something else that I got to try today and have found useful. I remember in my previous post I said I would try this soon:

Instead of just typing keywords into the search box, we were required to use brackets, asterixs and words like And/Or/N to define our search. My query went like this:

(use* OR application) AND (IT OR informatics OR information technology) AND (design OR innovation* OR art)

So anyway, I tried Google Search first and the results were quite relevant as compared to Google Scholar, because the latter took me some time longer to find a relevant link. Thus I prefer Google Search over the Scholar even though they each have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Before this I never knew Google Scholar existed. I find this useful in helping me in my research, whether now or in the future. There is so much more to search engines for me to discover and make use of.

I have also joined a forum that is related to my topic and posted a new thread. However, there is still no replies. I shall also try joining another forum because the one I had joined is quite newly established so there aren't many members yet. I hope there will at least a few replies soon and that they will help me in my research topic. Anyway, I think posting in a forum is also fun as you do not know one another and when you start a new thread, you're just waiting for anyone to reply. There is a kind of exciting antipation while waiting for a reply.

With all the search results, we have to do citation and bibliography to credit our sources. Without citation, the information we use in our reports and works are a kind of plagiarism. Therefore it is very crucial to cite our sources accordingly and rightfully.

Reflection #2

Day 02 of lessons

We were given a summary lecture about Internet search facilities, and the different resources we can depend on to get our research from, but we were mainly on our own to do our own learning. From the slides, I learnt that each resource has it's own purpose, be it for information, business, news, personal, or entertainment. We were shown a variety of different sites as an illustration of this point.

Going through the lecture notes, I also learnt things like before carrying out a research, a strategy has to be planned in order to obtain the best results. Things like identifying crucial points in research topic and picking the most appropriate search facility are some of the crucial points in a good strategy. Before this, I had never put much thought into considering which type of research facility to use.

There are also ways of narrowing your search. For example, like this:

I had never thought we could narrow our searches like this. Shall try this soon.

Lastly, we also learnt what blogs, wikis, forums and RSS exactly are, among many other internet terms.

Although we had to do our own learning most of the time, I find that we can concentrate better, therefore absorbing more information, when we do it at our own pace in our own time. I shall begin my research soon and hope that I am able gather enough information.

Reflections #1-What can I buy with $500?

Update your Blog with the following reflections:
a. photos and description of your shopping list items
b. what is the purpose of the shopping website you had visited
c. briefly explain how this purpose is different or similar to the purpose of any of the other resources you had found.

I can order U.S. currency by the sheet, fresh off the presses. A series of eight 50s rings up at $460 with plenty left over to buy a sleek pair of scissors:

Or I can play celeb and rent a bodyguard for the night at $75/hour:

But all the above are kind of pointless. Good way to splurge, sure. But I think I would rather spend the money on:

NIKON F100 (with original body cap)

$498.10 on Ebay. (:

I want to explore photography. But instead of the usual DSLR that is very common now in the market, I am interested to try out a film SLR for a change. I kind of like the feeling you get when you begin to wonder how the photo would turn out after the shutter is pressed. Digital cameras spoil this moment because you get to see the outcome seconds later on a screen. I can also compare the outcome of photos to those taken with my compact digital camera.

The original price of it was around $1400, but since I'm buying it second-hand from an Ebay seller, I managed to get it at $498.10, which is within my budget. It is probably more difficult to find similar deals on other websites.

Technical details:

Product Information
The F100 is professional performance redefined. This is a compact, high performance professional SLR with a high speed Dynamic Autofocus system and a 10 segment 3D matrix metering sensor for supremely exposed, sharp pictures. The tough but compact magnesium body makes it the perfect lightweight partner in the field.
Key Features
Lens Mount:
Nikon F
Camera Type:
SLR (Single Lens Reflex)
Film Type:
35mm

Focus
Focus Type:
Autofocus, Manual Focus
Focus Lock:
With Focus Lock
Number of Focusing Points:
5

Lens
Interchangeable Lenses:
Interchangeable Lenses

Shutter
Shutter Speed:
30 - 1/8000 sec
Max Flash Sync Speed:
1/250 sec

Exposure
ISO Range - Automatic Setting:
ISO 25 - 5,000
ISO Range - Manual Setting:
ISO 6 - 6,400
Frames per Second:
5 fps
Manual Shooting Modes:
Aperture Priority, Fully Manual, Program Shift, Shutter Priority
Light Metering Modes:
Center Weighted, Spot Weighted
Auto Exposure:
Yes

Flash
Red Eye Reduction:
With Red Eye Reduction

Technical Features
Bulb Shutter Speed:
With Bulb Shutter Speed
Self Timer:
Yes
Waterproof:
No

Viewfinder
Dioptric Adjustment Range:
from -3 to +1
Viewfinder Frame Coverage:
96 %
Viewfinder Magnification:
0.76X

.

Description aside, I actually found this deal on http://www.ebay.com/. So what is the purpose of Ebay? Ebay is called "The World's Online Marketplace" and aids online buying, trading and auctions. It is a good online shopping website if online shoppers are looking for good deals.

Another website where I can get this too is at http://www.amazon.com/. Amazon.com provides shoppers with the choice of buying either first hand or second hand goods. Similarly to ebay.com, amazon.com is a place where online shoppers can find good deals. Types of goods ranging from electronics to grocery can be found, though it is more well known for selling electronics.

The very first post

Hello hello!

I'm yingying, blogging for the subject Effective Internet Research (EIR) from Temasek Design School, specialising in Apparel Design and Merchandising.

I like inspirational stories, and innovative designs in fashion, products, gadgets, architecture, etc.

We were told to create a blog for this subject, and pick a research topic, which we will have to research on throughout the course of this subject, thus my chosen research topic is "To discuss the use of IT/informatics in the design industry.". This will probably also be the suject of this blog, besides my reflections on the lessons.

I hope that throughtout the course of this module, I will learn intersting things about the internet that I never knew about, and I hope that this blog will aid me in tracking what I have learnt.

Cheers,

Ying Ying