Assignment 3 : " Essay-in-lieu-of-examinatiion"

Question 1 -. ‘It makes increasingly less sense even to talk about a publishing industry, because the core problem publishing solves—the incredible difficulty, complexity, and expense of making something available to the public—has stopped being a problem.’ (Clay Shirky, ‘Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable’, http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/03/newspapers-and-thinking-the-unthinkable/). How much do digital and networked media dismantle the “publishing industry”? Is it being replaced? If so, what is replacing it? If not, what is surviving of the older publishing industry, and how is it doing so?

The Influence of New Form of Media towards Publishing Industry

The history of publishing industry started in the year 1450 in Europe when Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press, a movable printing machine inspired from the wine presses device (Briggs A & Burke P 2002, p.15). In other part of the world, such as in China and Japan, block printing has been employed to print ideograms since eighth century (Briggs A & Burke P 2002, p.15). Since then, block printing and printing press has served as the base to the development of contemporary publishing system of the 21^st century.     

The birth of the World Wide Web in 1990 has had a significant impact on the publishing industry. The Internet has intensified the employment of digital publications and assembles various sources of information under one accessible platform. Modern publication systems such as e-books, online newspapers, texters, smartphones and interactive multimedia are currently transforming the traditional publishing methods at a rapid pace across the globe (O’shaughnessy M. & Stadler J. 2008, p.3).  On top of that, multi-functional tablet pc such as Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy tab and the recently launched Acer Iconia makes it more pleasing for consumers to shift towards the digital and networked publications.

Besides that, globalisation is another factor that promotes the transition towards the new digital and networked media. In relation to publishing, the key elements of this worldwide occurrence are global interdependence, increase in digital interactivity, hybridisation of various media forms, interconnectedness and virtual exchange of information (O’shaughnessy M. & Stadler J. 2008 ,p.463). This new forms of media enables us to overcome several problems associated with traditional publishing system, whereas in general improving the features of publishing industry. This essay will analyze the effect and influence of the new digital media towards the publishing industry.    

Generally, the digital media is more pleasing and attractive. Mitchell (2004) describes that this new form of publishing is hard to ignore due to several good reasons; digital files can be stored in light data storage devices, it is accessible in almost any place that have internet connection, it is always available, never run out of physical copy, can be printed out as hard copy, as well as connected with other virtual database (Thornburn D. & Jenkins H. 2004, p.203). These are some of the factors that influence the shift and transition in media.

Besides,as has been mentioned earlier, digital interactivity is another appealing feature of the modern media (Thornburn D. & Jenkins H. 2004, p. 218).In this context, Thornburn (2004) defined the concept as an active relationship between participants and medium.  Nowadays, almost all book publishers have their own website as a medium to interact with general public, suppliers and possible buyers. Web pages for well known publishers such as Cmbridge University Press, Sage and MIT Press provide a lot of information rather than just being an online catalogue. Oxford University Press website, for example, offers information about current news of the company, publisher’s contact and employment opportunities.  On top of that, as publishers found that digital publications are more profitable, they began to gradually change several aspect of the traditional publishing industry.  

Furthermore, as some traditional publishers found out that their sales have drop and demand for their publications is fluctuating, they began to counter the problem by adapting the concept of printing on demand (POD). In most cases, digital printing has greatly affected the demand for customary practices of offset printing. According to Kleper (2000), the idea of printing on demand was discovered after the existence of digital printing. This system has replaced the practice of printing books in a large quantity without knowing the real amount of order.    

The other area that experienced significant transition is advertising. Over recent years, digital media consumers are witnessing a gradual growth in the quantity of online advertisement, especially the one which employs the Internet and World Wide Web. According to Interactive Advertising Bureau (2011), revenue gained from online advertising in the first quarter of 2011 is $7.3 billion, which is the highest figure ever recorded since 1999. This proves that more producers are advertising their product online. In this context, online commercial have several advantages compared to advertisement in printed publications. The most superior feature is there are a lot of forms of online commercial, which ranges from text, display, pop-up, streaming sidebar, pull down banner, motion graphics, interstitial, video, e-mail and on-site sponsorship (Types of Online Advertising 2011). Almost all of them are designed to be attractive and eye-catching to grasp the attention of internet users.

Other than that, online advertising enable corporations to track the number of internet users that access the commercial, having wider spatial scale and to some extent cheaper compared to its traditional predecessor. In my opinion, it is quite difficult to comprehend the degree of effectiveness of advertisement in printed publications since advertisers could not really monitor its progress.With the shift of advertisers towards the new digital and interconnected media, players of customary publishing industry which rely heavily on revenue from commercial have to develop a new business plan to retain their company’s position in the market.

In certain cases, printed publications have been fully replaced by its digital successor. Fisher (2010) claims that printed encyclopaedias, certain scholarly books and loose –leaf publications have been totally transformed into digital form such as PDF (Portable Document Folder) and Microsoft word documents. These PDF files can be viewed either by computer, tablet pc, or e-books. A good example of online encyclopaedia which was formerly published in printed form is Australian Dictionary of National Biography (Fisher J. 2010, p. 119).  Fisher (2010) also argues that digital database can be easily updated and altered, as well as facilitate the process of addition of new information. Furthermore, he also adds that funds allocated for printing of inventory could be directed towards investing in more research and improving the features of online database.In this context, it is quite clear why some publishers have brought to an end the production of printed encyclopaedia. First of all, this hardback is usually bulky, heavy and inconvenient to be carried around. Next, online encyclopaedia and search engines offer faster access to a particular subject compared to the hardback version. In addition, user can explore more information about the topic such as related images and videos through the World Wide Web.  

Despite various seductive features of the new digital publishing system, printed text still exist in the market and does not become obsolete. Greco (2010) argues that older publishing industry which produces printed materials will continue to survive in the foreseeable future. He also adds that Americans regards book as special in a way that it allows the reader to engage with complex educational, intellectual, and cultural topic (Greco A. N., 2005, p.3). In addition, they did not treat book as common goods that can be easily traded away. Furthermore, Briggs (2002) claims that the birth of internet in 1990 could not results in a situation of completely ‘paperless publishing’. He also adds that the society’s adaptation and engagement with digital media would not put an end to the customary process of writing, reading, and publishing.

This draws our attention towards the intrinsic value of the printed materials. Some people are more likely to engage with hard copy books, newspaper and magazines compared to its digital version. In most cases, it depends on individual’s personal preferences. Usually, from the perspective of senior citizens, they resist to change since they find it hard to change the lifestyle of reading newspapers early in the morning while having their breakfast.  In addition, for the current generation of students, some of them find it irritating to read notes from the screen for a long period of time compared to books or notes printed on paper. This is closely related to the issue of eye fatigue and discomfort. In the case of magazines, usually the printed edition is more preferred compare to the digital version due to the facts that user can make remarks on the margins, cut out interesting articles, and some people regard their magazines collection as something valuable that is different to assemblages of invisible digital files in the storage devices.      

Moreover, the Internet, digital files, and other new form of media can only be viewed through computer, tablet pc, smartphone or e-reader. In this case, not all people have access to these devices due to economic and financial constraint, whether at household or government level. This situation may sound irrelevant in developed western countries such as European nations, the United States and Australia. However, poor and less developed countries such as Republic of Congo, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Nigeria and Ethiopia have not develop their capacity and invest in information technology due to severe economic constraint. A large share of the country’s income is being spent to address problems such as starvation, malnutrition, and terminate the spread of harmful diseases like HIV and AIDS (Annan. A. K. 2000).Since less attention is given towards the progress of information technology, printed books and hard copy publications will still be used by a large proportion of the population.     

Other than that, a report from Productivity Commission (2009) reveals that Australian book market has gained annual revenue of approximately $2.5 billion. This indicates that the traditional publishing industry is still making money despite mounted competition and challenges from digital publications. In addition, the report also shows that a large percentage of the book sales go to general title , whereas academic titles only account for 40% of the total revenue in 2009. This indicates that the demand for printed books does not only come from students in universities across the nation, but from the general public as well.

However, despite the fact that newspapers and magazines still survive until today, statistics shows that their sales are dropping. In this context, the figure for sales of national, metropolitan and regional newspaper in Australia has been decreasing by 2.7 % from September to December 2010(Jackson S., 2011). The titles that experience reduction in sales are The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, and Australian Financial Review. Therefore, it can be deduced that the newspaper readership have experience a slight decline. The director of Newspaper Works, Tony Hale describe the dip in sale is the results of drastic media fragmentation in the digital age (Malik S., 2010).

Furthermore, Mr. Hale’s claim is further supported by data from Australia Bureau of Statistics which illustrates that in April 2011 the number of internet subscribers has reached 10.4 million  (Australia's internet subscribers exceed 10 million ,2011). In other words, approximately 47 % of the total population have internet connection at home. This would pose threat to the older publishing industry in a way that the senior generation who regard printed newspaper as their best friend would change towards the more interactive online news and other engaging forms of media.

            In conclusion, the new interconnected digital media have transformed some aspect of the publishing industry. We have witnessed the growth in online advertising, more publisher have engage with the idea of printing on demand, and some books have been made fully converted from physical to digital form. Despite technological advancement and innovations made in this area, publishers of printed newspaper and books are still gaining revenue from the sales of physical publications. Additionally, right until now, the general public are still reading tabloid newspaper, magazines and hardback books although the more appealing digital copy is available around them.   

References:-

Annan A. K. 2000, Making Globalisation Work for the Poor, The Independent, accessed  7 June 2011, <http://www.un.org/News/ossg/sg/stories/articleFull.asp?TID=27&Type=Article>

Australia's internet subscribers exceed 10 million, Internet Activity 2011, Australia Bureau of Statistics  , accessed 6 June 2011,     <http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/8153.0Media%20Release1Dec%202010?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=8153.0&issue=Dec%202010&num=&view= >             

Briggs A & Burke P 2002, A Social History of The Media, From Gutenberg to the Internet, Polity Press, United Kingdom

Fisher J. 2010, E-books and the Australian Publishing Industry, Meanjin, Vol. 69, No. 3, Sep 2010,pp. 117-124.

Greco A. N. 2005, The Book Publishing Industry, Second Edition, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Publishers, pp. 3-42

Internet Advertising Revenues Hit $7.3 Billion in Q1 ’11 2011, Interactive Advertising Bureau Press Release, accessed 5 June 2011,  <http://www.iab.net/about_the_iab/recent_press_releases/press_release_archive/press_release/pr-052611>    

Jackson S. 2011, Newspaper and magazine sales dip but there are bright spots, The Australian, 11^th  February , accessed 3 June 2011,                                                                                                                                    <  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/newspaper-and-magazine-sales-dip-but-there-are-bright-spots/story-e6frg8zx-1226003980691 >

Kleper, Michael L. 2000, ”The Handbook of Digital Publishing”. Vol. II., Rochester Institute of Technology, Prentice Hall

Malik S. 2010, Australian newspapers post drop in sales, The Sydney Morning Herald, 14^th May, accessed 3 June 2011,                                                                                                                                                        < http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-business/australian-newspapers-post-drop-in-sales-20100514-v2dc.html >                 

O’shaughnessy M. & Stadler J. 2008, Media and Society, Fourth Edition, Oxford University Press, Victoria

Productivity Commission, Restrictions on the Parallel Importation of Books, Research report, Canberra, 2009, p.21

Does the idea of 'Making is Connecting' relates to aggregation and distribution?

          This week, there are two important concepts that have been highlighted in the lecture; aggregation and distribution.  In addition, as the technological world is becoming more interconnected and intelligent than ever before, more things become surfaces and platform for publishing (Lecture 11).

           One of the reading for this week draw our attention towards a book entitled ‘ Making is Connecting’, written by David Gauntlett, Professor of Media and Communications at the University of Westminster. In his book, he wrote about three key ideas concerning the reasons of why making /creating something is highly associated with connecting:-

1)      Making is connecting since you have to connect things together (materials, ideas, data)  in order to come up with something new

2)      Making is connecting because creativity involves social interaction and dimension which connect us with other people

3)      Making is connecting because through making things and sharing them at the global scale, we improve  our engagement and connection with our social

                                                                                                              ( Gauntlett, D. 2011, p.2)

             In my opinion, all the ideas are acceptable and can be better explained in relation to things around us, including the process of publishing. A good example to describe these points is the stages involved in publishing a case study or journal articles.

             First of all, researchers have to find relevant information and data in accordance to the research topic. This can be achieved through literature review, interview, questionnaire and other data collection methods. Thus, unrelated materials are linked together and connected to form new meaningful information, which is quite similar to the first point above.  Next, if researchers come up with the idea of investigating a topic that have never been examined before,  he/she have to ask for other people’s viewpoint about the idea. Expertise and scholars in the appropriate field are the best people to give advice and viewpoint. Therefore, researchers have indirectly interacting with epistemic communities around them. After that, when the research is accomplished and research paper have undergo peer review process, it can be published for the benefit of other members of the society. Over recent years, large amounts of case study are available in the internet. In other words, more research papers are being published at global scale, rather than just regional or national level.

              Other than that, the concept of ‘making is connecting’ can be associated with the theory of aggregation and distribution. Aggregation involves the process of gathering, combining, and brings anything that can be clustered together. In addition, a new relationship and new form of organisation can also be established through aggregation. Hence, aggregation is quite comparable to ‘creating ‘and ‘making’. Furthermore, distribution deals with spreading and sharing of materials through different platforms. Nowadays, news and current affair are the most common information that are being distributed, whether by printed or digital media.

              However, in certain cases, publishing of confidential information of a particular organisation could pose harm and danger if the information falls in the hand of wrong people. This is actually one shortcoming of Wikileaks.  Simply put, not all things can be made available to the general public, thus drive the need for data filtering and stricter regulations in distribution of information.  

            Last but not least, this video illustrates the flaws in our current distribution process. Surprisingly, these errors have a significant negative effect towards our environmental wellbeing. 

Reference:

Gauntlett, ,D.  2011, Making is Connecting: The Social Meaning of creativity, from DIY and knitting to YouTube and Web 2.0, Polity Press, pp. 1-14

  

Metadata in publishing

          The connection between bodies, data and publishing are important in data visualisation and distribution or aggregation.  In this case, bodies can be described as the source of data. First of all, data are extracted from a like range of literatures like books, newspaper, government annual report, and case study. Data are also available online from websites and blogs.
         
         The process of finding useful information from a large database is known as data mining (An Introduction to Data Mining 2010).However, it is important to point out here that the sources of information  determine whether the data is reliable or not. It is inappropriate to make a research by based on facts from a personal blog. Government websites such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics is probably the most reliable sources for available online. In the case of published literature, it has to be peer-reviewed by the expertise in the area.

          Then, data are stored in archive. Usually, digital information are often saved in the hard drives of computer, whereas useful hard copies of publications are gathered together and being keep in one place. In this context, digital data can be retrieved easily and more organized compared to its hard copy. However, the soft copy of information is exposed to threat such as virus, malware, and malfunction of drive failure. On top of that, the concept of archive fever suggests that data are being modified and altered frequently. This would eliminate the links between information and eventually loss its meaning.   In addition, hard copies of information are vulnerable to physical risk like fire and termites. The best solution is to keep data in both forms.     

          Next, as various forms of data are assembled together, metadata is formed. Probably one of the important concepts put forward in the lecture this week is metadata. Generally, metadata can be defined as data within data or information about other information. One good explanation about metadata is it describes, explains, locates, and assists in data retrieval, facilitate discovery of relevant information, organize electronic resource, as well as managing information resource (Guenther, R. &Radebaugh, J. 2001).     

          Another point mentioned in the lecture is metadata could produce new forms of expression/content and distribution/aggregation. In this context, metadata generate new systems of visualizing and communicating data to the public. Besides, varieties in the form of expression influence our social engagement with the information being presented. A good example is the representation of information about the threat of rising sea level which can be accessed through this link:-

                http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/when-sea-levels-attack/

This video gives a brief explanation about metadata and its application in business sector. In most cases, we did not realise the application of metadata in simple things around us, which can serve as the base for us to understand this concept.  

References:-

Guenther, R. &Radebaugh, J. 2001, Metadata Made Simpler , A guide for libraries, NGO Press

An Introduction to Data Mining 2010, accessed 11 May 2011 <http://www.thearling.com/text/dmwhite/dmwhite.htm >

Effective and Helpful Data Visualisation

          Over recent years, the process of publishing through various types of media often involves a range of visualisation. The common visuals involves are images, vibrant colours, map, graph, animation and videos. In this case, there need to some balance between design and function. Simple images might be dull and boring, but extremely complex mind map possibly will disregard the element of functionality. On top of that, any form of data visualisation should communicate information clearly and effectively as well as assisting readers to make sense of the data (Friedman 2008 ).

          Most of the reading for this week provides a range of examples of data visualisation regarding the topic of climate change, global warming and the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In this context, these examples prove the idea of overwhelmingly powerful feature of visual experience (Lecture 9). Two specific examples that are appealing and remarkable are visuals and data presented in these websites:-

1)http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/climate-change-deniers-vs-the-consensus/

         This website portrays the issue of global warming from two perspective; The Global Warming Sceptics (Sceptics) and The Scientific Consensus (Believers). A lot of issues and thoughts centred around global warming are analyzed from both parties. In my opinion, analyzing this issue from two different sides provides the reader with a greater and broader scope of the topic. In addition, images, maps, and graphs are utilized in order to assist with the visualisation process by providing the visual aid. 

            However, there are too much data presented in this websites which makes it difficult to for the reader to reach the final conclusion. Even worse, each side put forward reasonable and convincing arguments, together with several facts for each point. In this context, emphasizing important key issues and data will assist the process of communication of information to the reader. 

2)http://co2now.org/

          ‘CO2 Now ‘deals with the rising amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Information about carbon emissions are represented as graphs, series of images, and tempting large fonts. Unlike the previous example, facts and statistics in this website strongly support the believers of rising carbon emissions, and the arguments for the sceptics about this issue are absent. In this case, one of the strength of data visualisation is the use of real images in one of the entry entitled ‘Global Carbon Emission’. Real images may shift individual experiences which he/she have been exposed with man-made graphics and expression for a long period of time.

           On the other hand, some scientific terms used in this websites might not be understandable for people without science background or those that only acquire low educational level. Publishing is about making something public, which must consider the fact that there are different types of people in the society. Not all members of society can interpret information that contains technical jargon. In fact, it must be avoided and replaced with simpler expression.  

         This video demonstrate how geographical data can be presented using ‘ Treemaps’. Treemaps offer a compact data visualisation of large amount of quantitative data. In addition, each unit of data can be assigned with different colours and sizes.

References:-

Friedman , V. 2008, Data Visualisation and Infographics, accessed 5 May 2011  <http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/14/monday-inspiration-data-visualization-and-infographics/ >

Data modulation and the new insight about lines

           The reading and lecture for this week is centred on the topic of visualisation. As has been discussed in week 7 by the guest lecture, visualisation of data is closely related to archive fever. In this case, our engagement and commitment with this fever is portrayed in the form of visualisation. In addition, the examples of contemporary, various visual forms of expression and content are also being presented.

              In week 8, the focus is more towards the modulation in visualisation, conversion between different forms of data, functions of the visual and images as sign. First of all, modulation in visualisation can enhance our experience and engagement with the information that are being presented. Usually, attractive images and vibrant colours are employed to provide added value of the data. Furthermore, this technique have been widely used in publishing, especially digital publishing. A good example of modulation is shown in the lecture, which can be accessed through this link.

      http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2010/how-much-do-music-artists-earn-online/

            In  my opinion, modulation is really effective as human mind is better in comparing things in relation to size rather than figures. This link here provides information about how much money does music artist earn online. In this case, the pink dot and the figure represent the same data. However, changes in the size of the dot provide a better comparison between the data rather than the figures itself. Despite the fact that data are represented effectively, in certain cases, modulation in visualisation can makes it too complex and difficult to understand. In addition, there is no fixed framework of data modulation, so we could expect different and various form of data representation which not all are understandable.

             Other than that, one of the reading for this week discuss about the application of lines (double-lines, solid, dashed, or dotted) in various situations, including its usage in publishing. According to Dave Gray, various forms lines have the similar purpose in the same way as different types of fonts.     

‘I think of lines: double-line, solid, dashed, dotted Similar to typeface conventions such as black, bold, regular, light. It’s a matter of emphasis. The thicker and more solid the line, the stronger the emphasis.’

                                                                                                    (Dave Gray in The dashed line in used 2006) 

           In general, we come across different types of lines every day. There are several lines on the road which divert the traffic correctly and straight lines together with arrow on the signboard at UNSW to show directions. In term of publishing, lines can be found in manuals of equipments, it links the entity in a cycle of events and in publications which involves geometrical process. Other than that, lines represent movements, paths, and ephemeral material (The dashed line in used, 2006).  In this context, lines serve as a simple yet effective way of representing information. A movement and path in a manual, for example, is better represented in forms of lines rather than words. Furthermore, the application of lines will provide an interactive interface between the reader and the data. On the other hand, lines can be misleading if it is not properly understood. In addition, in certain cases, lines itself is not sufficient and must be accompanied by words for further explanation. Furthermore, lines in printed and digital publishing is different, since lines in printed materials could not be made to move compared to its counterpart on the computer screen.

Last but not least,this video demonstrates my points about lines and arrows that did not work successfully in explaining a process. This is because there is no explanation at all in form of words and text. 

Reference :

 The dashed line in used 2006, Touch, accessed 21 April 2011,                                                                      < http://www.nearfield.org/2006/09/the-dashed-line-in-use >

Affiliations between archives and its destructive fever

        Nowadays, we live in the world of archive. Archive is a way of storing and arranging information and data, so that data can be retrieved in the future. The most common examples of archives are library, book, journals, e-mails, Facebook and even YouTube.

                     

Image 1- All sorts of archive around us

       What is the relationship between all the archives involved? First of all, the emergences of some particular archives are dependent on the existence of its predecessor. For example, ‘snail mail’ is the antecedent the current electronic mail, whereas the iPad are the successor form of books, journals, and clay tablets.  Besides, each set of archive completes and access information from each other. For instance, the UNSW library websites provides information about the location and availability of particular resources, whereas the library shelves act as the ‘house’ for these items. However, in certain cases, new form archive may cause its predecessor to be disregard and threaten its subsistence. In week 2, the topic of transition between paper-based and electronic publishing have been discussed. In this case, the future of contemporary modes of publishing has been given a greater concern since e-reader makes its debut a couple of years ago.

Image 2 - Snapshot of Omeka, a web publishing system where you can create various types of online digital archives

         

       Furthermore, Jacques Derrida, a French philosopher is concern about the phenomena of ‘Archive Fever’. Basically, this situation is closely related to our desire to rearrange, rebuild, and customizing archives.   

Image 3 -Jacques Derrida and his book, Archive Fever

“The archivist produces more archive, and this is why the archive is never closed.”                         

                                          Jacques Derrida, Archive Fever, 1994

                    Derrida also argue that archive fever is detrimental, violent and destructive to the culture. This is because frequent addition and changes to existing archive could alter and modify the generally-accepted model into a new form which may not be understood by each member of the public.          

             In conclusion, archive can be destructive and preservative. It also deal with the issue of ‘dead memories’ and at the same time relieving the pain of memorizing a particular subject.

Simplifying Actor -Network Theory and Metaphor as a Double-edged Sword

             The dynamism (of ideas, concepts, technologies and practices) and metaphor are two significant elements that shape the current world of publishing. These topics have been addressed successfully by the lecturer in the class.

            Nowadays, there are various media theories and models that are applied throughout the globe. One of the theories, which are addressed by the course reading, is known as actor-network theory (ANT). This theory focus on the ’material-semiotic’ method. It explores the relationship between material (things) and semiotic (concepts).   In my opinion, there are a lot of examples ANT in our daily life, form the simplest situation to the most complex connection. In addition, in order for a particular ANT to work perfectly, the presence of material and semiotic is compulsory. A simple example to illustrate this situation is a LCD Projector could not establish its connection with a laptop computer without human effort to join the cable and accomplish necessary setup.

Figure 1 - Some important element of the actor- network theory .Source = Wikipedia

         Other than that, the usage of metaphor is the important aspect of theory. Metaphor can be applied in a lot of situations, such as to express opinion, contentment, critics, and sympathy. Nowadays, metaphors are conveyed in the form of text, image, and even video.

                                                  Video 1 - A controversial Australia Tourism Advertisement 

        Why theories and models do involves a lot of metaphor? Generally speaking, metaphor allows us to make a statement which has indirect subject or implicitly understood by the subject. The other point mentioned in the lecture is metaphor ‘naturalize ‘something that have been constructed. In this context, models and theories can be applied in different culture and society. However, there are some drawbacks of metaphor. In certain cases, it touches on sensitive issues which might make the subject feel embarrassed or discomforted. The image below shows an image from a local newspaper in Malaysia which is subjected of humiliating tsunami victim in Japan.

Image 2 - The Japanese icon, Ultraman is depicted as trying to run away from the devestating tsunami.

           In conclusion, ANT is the theory that can explain the complexity of a particular network, especially in relation to how actor-network is formed. In addition, each individual metaphor has to be reviewed critically in order to prevent misleading information and embarrassment.   

Author's Qualification and The Uncertain Future of Paywall

                  The reading for this week covers a lot of issue in relation to the topic of ‘transition from scrolls to  e-readers and contemporary events’. I notice that two of the reading deals with the procedure that must be followed by a particular author to publish his/her work at a publishing company like Pan Macmillan Australia and MIT Press. The flowchart below will explain the process in brief.

            In general, the system is appropriate and properly-designed in ensuring the quality and originality of the author’s work. Some of the compulsory information that are required from the author are education background, previous research carried out, and other preceding publications. In my point of view, this information is really important to determine whether the proposed work would be accepted or rejected.The mind map below briefly described the criteria necessary information that are required by The Mit Press(MIT Press Service Area 2001).

Figure 1- Compulsory information required by the MIT Press

         Other than that, the other interesting issue explored in the reading is the proposal of introducing paywalls to news websites. Recently, Richard Murdoch, the CEO of News Corporation reveals that the visitors to his news websites will be charged. This idea was criticised by Alan Rusbridger , the editor  of The Guardian ,a British national daily newspaper. Rusbridger argue that paywall would not bring much benefit to News Corp. It lead the company to a ‘sleepwalk of oblivion’, reduce online readership and have to compete with free news websites such as Sky Tv and BBC(Busfield, S. 2010).

Image 1-Snapshot of Newscorp Website which is the proposed paywall site by Richard Murdoch

Image 2 - Snapshot of BBC-free homepage. Note that there is  an advertisement on the top of the page.

            I am totally agreed with Rusbridger.  In my point of view, there are several drawbacks of paywall.To begin with; this would discourage the public to access news websites. In the world of digital revolution, a large number of people in developed countries access digital media in pursuit of current issues. Obviously, charging the public for information would leave them clueless about recent national and global news update. On top of that, diminishing online readership would result in withdrawal of digital advertising contract. This is a serious issue since the income from advertising make up  a fraction of the total revenue for News Corp.

          To sum up, the sector of book publishing and printing have undergo significant transformation, as well as the publishing procedure and requirements. Besides, charging the public for accessing digital mass media would bring detrimental effects to the industry.  

Reference :-

MIT Press Author Services Area 2001,accessed 18 March 2011                                  <http://mitpress.mit.edu/authors/Author-Questionnaire.pdf>

Busfield, S (2010) ‘Guardian editor hits back at paywalls’, The Guardian, accessed 18 March  2011 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jan/25/guardian-editor-paywalls>

E-book : How does it shape the world of publishing



             In recent years, technological advancement had brought about abrupt changes and transforms the world of publishing to a state that has never been imagined before. Perhaps the greatest concern about this issue is the emergence of tablet PC and e-book such as Apple iPad, Amazon Kindle , Samsung Galaxy Tab and NOOK e-reader. In my point of view, both conventional paper-printed books and e-book have its own advantages and setback.



Amazon Kindle DX,Kindle 2, NOOK and iPad 



            To begin with, there are several good sides of e-book. Undeniably, it is more portable since a whole bundle of literature is compiled together as digital data rather than a collection of paperbacks.  Thanks to a great capacity of e-book memory, students do not have to carry heavy textbook around anymore. Besides, through the wireless function available on most e-book, we can gain access to digital media, such as websites, blogs, and social network sites.  On top of that, this feature also enable instant search about a particular topic to be accomplished instantly. However, not all people can afford for an e-book reader. For example, an iPad will cost you about $500, whereas the price for Amazon Kindle is around $260. Not only that, e-book seems to challenge the conventional process in the publishing and printing sector. This would pose economical threat to a lot of party, for instance author, publisher, and retailer that earn a living on the current publishing system.

Book vs e-book. Note how thick books are compared to the Amazon Kindle

             On the other hand, paperback book and paper-based publishing would not be affected by the automatic deletion of illegal publications by the content owner. This situation had been experienced by Amazon Kindle’s owner in July 2009 which left them shocked and speechless (Daughton 2009). Furthermore, we have more authority towards our hard copy book as it can be lent to anybody or sell it when it is not needed anymore. In contrast, an electronic form of book is constrained by regulations that prohibit any form of distribution, lease or trade (Daughton 2009). In spite of this, as has been mentioned before, it is not really practical to carry a whole chunk of book around which concerns the issue of lacks of portability for paperback books.

The Australian's digital version on Samsung Galaxy Tab



             In conclusion, the process of publishing has entered a new era with the invention of e-book. It has also affects the other sector related to publishing such as business, education, and newscast. Hopefully, e-book will bring about positive outcome in those areas in the foreseeable future.     

Reference:

Naughton, J 2009 , The Observer, The original Big Brother is watching you on Amazon Kindle , weblog, accessed 10 March 2011 , < http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jul/26/amazon-kindle-book-deletions >