Not much help if you’re stuck, but you’ll forgive the people behind iSquint and interrupt your frustration with a little laugh. Then maybe you’ll figure out the problem yourself because your patience just increased tenfold.

Venture into the advanced settings and they’ll ask: “What, think you’re better than me, or something?”

Notice I say ‘they’ll ask’ not ‘it will ask’. That’s worth something.

“Bittersweet Bilingualism“. I always did wonder how parents make the conscious decision for their kids to be bilingual? To me, it’s always been a cultural thing more than an advantage. I am of Chinese descent therefore it makes sense that I should learn the Chinese language to better understand my roots and my culture. There are some parents who think differently. They have the full intention of allowing their kids to be bilingual so that they can have the advantage they never had.

Having grown up in a multiracial country where Malay is the national language, and each ethnic group speaks in their own dialect, it has always been just a distinction between the cultures. However, these days with the opening of free trade in China, more and more parents of different descent are putting their children through Chinese primary schools so that they would learn Chinese as their primary language – therefore setting themselves apart from the rest in their community.

Before I was unleashed into the main stream schooling system in Malaysia, I only knew English. I had the concept of ‘other languages’ but they were just another language. The concept of multiple ‘other languages’ completely deluded me.

My parents, in the case of me and my brother, made a conscious decision to do it that way. To them, who graduated from university in Canada, they wanted us to have the advantage of speaking English, which they reckon was the most important language, natively. It worked for me, but not so much for my brother. Interesting, considering we were brought up in the same environment by the same parents.

I then continued to pick up Chinese at my primary school where we were prohibited from speaking any other language other than Chinese. This rule did not apply when we were taking language classes. Through that strict regiment I picked up Chinese in a gusto. In Year 1, I was exposed to Chinese and Malay, then in Year 3 English was added as an additional subject. We were taught ABCs in Year 3. For me it was child’s play. Interestingly enough, English was taught in English, unlike in countries such as Japan and Taiwan where English is taught in their native language.

While at school, I also picked up Cantonese which is a Chinese dialect and can now speak fluently. Some of my Hong Kong friends even say that I speak it like a native. Later on in high school, I proceeded to learn Japanese as a fifth language. I find that bilingualism is not necessarily easy for everyone. I myself spent years at Chinese primary school, and I would not even endeavor to say that my Chinese is anywhere near satisfactory levels.

The point, however, lies with the fact of whether or not excelling at a language is important as opposed to being able to communicate effectively in it. To me, I think that’s all that matters. Communication, be it sign language or klingon, is just a way in which human beings interact. It is certainly a convenience, but also a convenience we can live without in this day and age where pocket sized translators exist.

More on “Being a bilingual“.

Josette Sheeran, Samuel Worthington and Robert B. Zoellick - Photo Credit: World Bank

Yesterday, I attended an event at the Brookings Institution, the focus of which was the “silent tsunami,” a term coined by the World Food Program’s Josette Sheeran to describe the growing global food crisis. The panel was comprised of Sheeran, World Bank President Robert Zoellick and Samuel Worthington, President of InterAction, a coalition of U.S.-based NGOs that deal specifically with issues of poverty. To call the topic of discussion dismaying would be a profound understatement. I’ve covered food security a few times before, especially at the height of the crisis in 2008 when food prices around the world were leading political instability in several countries.. Things were bad then, but they can in fact get much worse in the years ahead.

As it stands, some 17% of the world’s growing population lives in hunger and 90% of malnutrition can be found in only 36 countries. Worse, with a little more than 5 years left until 2015, the Millennium Development Challenge goal of reducing global poverty and hunger by 50% seems highly unlikely. With the current global financial crisis, donor countries are finding it increasingly difficult to contribute to organizations such as the World Food Program. And the programs that do exist have neglected agricultural development. All of this while global food prices have increased by 50% since 2000.

According to World Bank estimates, more than 53 million more people will be pushed into extreme poverty as a result of the current crisis. What, if anything, is the solution? What is needed, according to the panelists, is for governments to take ownership of food security issues by implementing targeted safety nets. Food stamps here in the United States, for example, are an effective safety net. Sheeran mentioned Brasil’s Bolsa Família, a safety net program started in 2003 as part of the countries larger Fome Zero plan of eradicating extreme poverty, as a successful model. One reason that Bolsa Família is so powerful is that it is targeted. Under the program, poor Brasilian families are given stipends, but only on the condition that parents put their children in school and have them vaccinated and that pregnant women seek neonatal care. The highly successful program reaches more than 11 million families in the country, especially those in the Nordeste, where poverty is most acute.

The program’s success has also been credited to the fact that the direct cash transfers are preferably made to the mother. The program is hailed as one of the best anti-poverty measures in the world. According to the World Bank, “Ninety-four percent of the funds reach the poorest 40 percent of the population. Studies prove that most of the money is used to buy food, school supplies, and clothes for the children.”

What is needed is for all governments to adopt a similar strategy that gives agency to the poor but also makes the assistance conditioned on other development goals, such as education. The food security issue must shift from a humanitarian one and into a program of long-term stabilization. Simply put, as the food crisis grows and donors are less capable of dealing with it, national governments must tackle the issue head-on and take ownership of poverty.

One part of the discussion specifically interested me. In discussing the causes of the food crisis, Zoellick, who has long championed free trade, mentioned the current impasse at the Doha Round as a contributing factor to global food insecurity. In fact, he mentioned trade barriers and the practice of hoarding as contributing to the crisis. Both these points are very valid. The disconnect, at least in my eyes, is that while trade barriers do often exasperate some problems and lead to market inefficiencies, free trade itself can also make problems worse. For example, Sheeran mentioned the World Food Program’s program of buying all of its iodized salt from Senegal. Under free trade, iodized salt from Senegal would face a tough time competing with cheaper imported salt from the United States or China, putting Senegalese manufacturers out of business. If trade barriers produce negative results, what then are the shortcomings, if any, to the free trade paradigm advanced by Zoellick? Unfortunately, the question and answer session ended before I could ask him the question.

3110756    ความสัมพันธ์ของเชื้อโรคและโฮสต์    Host-Pathogen Interaction

กระบวนการก่อโรคของจุลชีพในระดับเซลล์ของร่างกายสัตว์ ปัจจัยที่ก่อให้เกิดความรุนแรง และการตอบสนองทางภูมิคุ้มกัน

(The molecular and cellular interaction that occur between animals and pathogens (bacteria and mold), molecular analysis of microbial virulence, and immune defense against microbes.)

(3110756 จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย)

What is the one device that people have with them at all times, whether they are at work, on vacation or at home watching television? More than 70% of the world’s population are mobile users and around the world more people use their mobile phones than PCs to access the Web. Mobile phones have evolved into much more than just communication devices. The mobile Internet is a reality. 

Tourism is an ever-evolving industry and this article provides an overview on one of the newest top trends – mobile marketing. Mobile marketing is the only media that allows direct, personalized, interactive and targeted dialogue between brands and consumers. This article takes a common-sense approach to explaining more about the key components of mobile marketing, how they can be used and what they mean to the tourism industry.

How Big is the Mobile Marketplace?

Worldwide mobile communications usage has increased dramatically since 2001. A significant number of cell phone subscribers now have access to the mobile Internet and use some kind of data service such as texting, email, Web browsing, etc. Mobile users expect instant access to information as well as an Internet experience that rivals the one via traditional PC’s and laptops.

Mobile is changing the way your customers search for, buy and enjoy your travel product!

• Mobile phones technology advancements, economic cost and small size have made them a constant companion for people worldwide
• Of the 6.7 billion inhabitants of Earth, 4 billion were cell phone subscribers worldwide at the end of 2008 – compare this to than 1 billion in 2002
• Around the world more people are now using their mobile phones instead of their PCs to access the Web.
• 26.3% of mobile phone subscribers will log on to the mobile Web at least once per month in 2009, for a total of 73.7 million mobile Internet users.
• 67% percent of travelers and 77% of frequent business travelers with Web-enabled mobile devices have already used their devices to find local services (e.g. lodging) and attractions.
• Over a third of travel companies will be investing in mobile this year

               Source: EyeforTravel, PhocusWright
Ways in which Mobile Marketing can be Used

Mobile Advertising

Mobile Websites, App’s and Text Messaging allow businesses to promote and market products and services. All businesses have a message to send. By utilizing mobile technology and text messaging you can market your message, product and/or service to the world’s 4 billion cell phone users. Mobile puts your message in the hands of your audience and by utilizing mobile strategies such as building a list of text message opt-in subscribers you will be able to stay in front of your audience consistently. GoChoice.mobi utilizes an informational on-the-go format in combination with SMS text messaging and money saving mobile coupons to provide travelers with a valuable tool which even facilitates mobile booking.

 Customer Relations Services

Finding ways to strengthen your customer relationship is crucial to a business’s success. NTA is using Meetings2Go.mobi to provide mobile info-on-the-go to all attendees during their annual convention via GONTA.mobi. By developing a list of opt-in mobile user numbers, NTA can regularly communicate with all attendees utilizing text messaging. NTA’s SMS alerts notify meeting attendees of upcoming meeting sessions and events; and they can even distribute mobile surveys for instant response.

Viral Marketing

Mobile and text messaging is an ideal viral medium. Creating and deploying a viral mobile strategy can generate a big buzz. America’s Premier Shopping Places utilized a viral component for a national sweepstakes. Sweepstake subscribers were given the opportunity to register via SMS for a chance to win the grand prize. Subscribers could also forward a text to win text message to their friends so that they too could enter for a chance to win the sweepstakes. You can imagine how quickly this campaign spread.

Marketing Support Tool

One of the biggest challenges of advertising is enabling an immediate response to a call-to-action. People are constantly enticed with outdoor and print advertising on-the-go; however, despite their interest they usually forget to act on it later. By including a mobile or text call-to-action response method, organizations can ensure that the interest sparked by print media is translated into action. Recent SMS integration by The Official Interstate Guide into their printed coupon guide is a good example. By including text message information in their publications hotel print ads, travelers are able to text the mobile id for any hotel they are interested in and be sent to a custom hotel page on TheOIG.mobi with descriptive information and photo’s telling the traveler more about the property. Travelers can then click to call their hotel of choice and book in real time on-the-go.

Mobile as Part of your Marketing Strategy

Can you see ways that mobile marketing could be used as part of your marketing strategy? Here are some of the areas you should be aware of.

Simple  

Mobile marketing strategies must be very simple. If the consumer does not get it the first time, they may not use it again. Mobile websites, App’s and text message campaigns need to be intuitive and easy to navigate. This is well demonstrated by the GONTA.mobi example

Targeted

Campaigns must be targeted and tailored to the audience. One of the most valuable components of  mobile websites, App’s and text messaging campaigns is the ability to provide users ‘urgent now’ information that is relevant to them on-the-go. For tourism mobile sites, the emphasis should not be marketing. Instead it should be on rapidly allowing users to navigate to information they are interested in to facilitate an immediate buy decision.

Permission Based 

People consider their mobile phone an important personal accessory and value their privacy. Ensuring that you are targeting users in ways which comply with the Data Protection Act is a must. Unwelcome intrusion into a user’s personal space runs a high risk of eroding your brand. A recent poll shows that when users gave permission to receive mobile marketing messages, 61% identified SMS as their most preferred way to be reached ahead of TV and radio. By using permission-based marketing best practices you can help ensure the success of your mobile marketing strategies.

Interactive

Mobile marketing should engage consumers in a true two-way dialogue. To best take advantage of the mobile medium, give users the opportunity to interact. Mobile website, App’s and text messaging campaigns should create interactive experiences for the user including location based searches, click to call phone numbers, text to win contests, surveys etc. The success of major brands such as GOChoice.mobi was in a large part due to this.

Measurable

Mobile marketing campaigns are very measurable; It is one of the huge benefits of mobile marketing. However mobile is not a medium of isolation and all mobile marketing should be integrated into your overall marketing mix to produce the desired return on investment. In the case of The Official Interstate Guide, one of goals was to drive more hotel bookings utilizing the publications coupons, which it did through close integration with participating hotels’ marketing efforts. In the case of America’s Premier Shopping Places the goal was to increase brand awareness, which it did overwhelmingly. Both examples demonstrate very different return on investment success.

Cost Effective

Mobile marketing is much more cost effective than other marketing channels such as Internet marketing, advertising and direct mail. Cost effective mobile website setup costs can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousands of dollars depending on the size and complexity. Text messaging credits available for a few pennies each are an economical communication tool to support your mobile marketing efforts. 

Summary

Mobile marketing for the tourism industry is here! It is no longer cutting edge, untested technology. Throughout the last 10 years mobile marketing has benefited from increased technical development and market testing and is now considered a proven and valuable medium. Most importantly, mobile demonstrates an attractive return on investment and is affordable and can be used by small and large business alike.

As you consider your future in mobile marketing, remember, there are many services that need to be brought together and the easiest route is often to contract with a experienced company who specializes in mobile marketing and who can navigate between and manage your various Mobile, App and SMS technologies as well as implement effective mobile strategies.

About ITI Marketing

ITI Marketing, Inc. is a leading provider of mobile marketing solutions within the tourism and hospitality industry. As one of the first agencies to apply Mobile Marketing inside a tourism environment, ITI Marketing’s unique experience of being marketers first, technologists second allows us to provide specialized proven mobile marketing solutions. The business model is simple – ITI Marketing helps organizations increase the effectiveness of their advertising, marketing, PR and CRM campaigns utilizing Mobile websites, text messaging and other cell phone features such as Apps and location‐based services, resulting in more successful marketing strategies. Having worked with hundreds of clients of all sizes, including: Choice International, The Official Interstate Guide, America’s Premier Shopping Places, NTA, The State of Georgia and Jacksonville, FL., ITI’s integrated marketing capabilities allow us to stand out among larger agencies, while our intimate size allows for a true marketing partnership. Contact ITI Marketing at (912)267-1558 or Info@ITI-Marketing.com

This article was published in the November E’Newsletter of the Destination Marketing Association International.

It is that time of year.  A time for you and your staff to join together to celebrate the holidays.  Everyone will be doing the restaurant reservation where they bulk by the guacamole and provide the complimentary alocholic beverage.  City Beach will infuse the right amount of energy into your holiday party to get things going. Whether you desire a little, or a lot, human interaction is what it’s all about and it’s what we do. We have created three programs for you to choose from for the holidays. From casual and off the cuff, to coordinated and choreographed, we have the program that will make your holiday event memorable!

HCI at the End of Life: Understanding Death, Dying, and the Digital
A workshop to be held at CHI 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia on April 10, 2010.
Workshop website: http://www.dgp.toronto.edu/~mikem/hcieol/
Submission deadline: January 6, 2010

As computing increasingly pervades all aspects of our daily lives, it is becoming important to consider the implications of technology at the end of the lifespan. This workshop offers an opportunity to explore the ways in which computing intersects with issues of mortality, dying, and death. Potential topics include, but are not limited to: digital memorials; social networking sites and the deceased; examinations of cultural, social, legal or technological practice surrounding dying or death; professional and lay-person perspectives; and the design of technological artifacts which engage these issues in new (and possibly provocative) ways. This workshop therefore intends to address how death
is managed, marked and reacted to in the digital/technological age.

Themes

Conceptualizing the design space surrounding end-of-life practice requires an interdisciplinary, open-minded, and culturally sensitive approach. This workshop will bring together researchers and practitioners to address the following themes:

• Technology & Design: Computationally enhanced artifacts which help groups of people to share, remember, and relate to the deceased or dying. Examples include technology heirlooms, online memorials, electronic gravestones/memorials/shrines, or traditional desktop software which addresses mortality, death, and dying in unique or novel ways.
• Social Practices: Obtaining a better understanding of how technology and other artifacts are appropriated, used, discarded, or incorporated into social practices surrounding death. Topics in this theme may include ethnographic analyses of end-of-life issues, sociological models of practice, culture-specific practices, or other forms of empirical qualitative research focused on the intersection of mortality, dying, death, and technology (e.g., interviews, questionnaires, surveys).
• Humanities and Cultural Studies: Insights related to mortality, dying,and death as understood in fields traditionally underrepresented in HCI (including, but certainly not limited to: archaeology, religion, anthropology, sociology, literature, philosophy, or the arts). Understanding how to incorporate these themes into research or design practice will be a major component of this workshop.
• Research Methodology and Evaluation: Discussions of how to conduct thanatosensitive research (that is, research is sensitive to issues of dying, death, and mortality). Topics of interest include (but are not limited to): epistemological approaches, empirical methods, conceptual or theoretical frameworks, analysis procedures, and standards and metrics for evaluation of systems. Discussions will also include how to conduct ethical and respectful research, either with respect to a particular methodology/setting, or more generally across contexts.

Call for Submissions

Participants are requested to submit a 2-4 page position paper in the CHI Archival format. Papers will be accepted based on originality and quality, and will represent a spectrum of viewpoints. Submissions from underrepresented disciplines in the HCI community will be particularly welcome (e.g., archaeology, religion, anthropology, literature, philosophy, or the arts).

At least one author must register for and attend the workshop, in addition to registering for at least one day of the CHI conference.

Submissions are due by January 6, 2010. For more information, please see the workshop webpage at http://www.dgp.toronto.edu/~mikem/hcieol/

Organizers

Michael Massimi, University of Toronto, Canada
William Odom, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
David Kirk, University of Nottingham, UK
Richard Banks, Microsoft Research Cambridge, UK

Endless PowerPoint presentations and stale ham sandwiches have been making attendees comatose at meetings and events for decades now. While many event organizers recognize the need for more interaction, few know where to start.

Most leap for technology tools and new formats.

By immediately starting with technology solutions, you risk over-engineering OR under-engineering your interactive experiences.

Ask The Key Question

In my opinion, there is a better way. I prefer to start with this seemingly simple question: What are attendees supposed to do as a result of this interaction (or session)?

Here are some possible responses:

• Stay awake & not fall asleep
• Stop playing with their mobile gadgets
• Ask questions
• Answer a question
• Give their opinion
• Learn a new skill
• Embrace the organizational change
• Feel better
• Accept an invitation to meet a sales rep
• Reinforce product benefits
• Experience the brand
• Find 5 new association members
• Purchase your products
• Go change the world
• Tell 47 people that your company rocks!
• Create 25 new ideas
• Be a part of the grass roots effort to ______
• Change their way that they work

Set the Interaction Dial

I view answering the question above as setting the interaction dial, because it sets a target for your interactive experience. Also, interactions have different intensity levels. Some interactive solutions are really simple (like having attendees ask questions). While others are complex  (like brainstorming with 500 people) and require additional planning, design, session time and sophisticated tech tools. By setting the target – you make it easier to match the interactive experience to your desired outcome.

After you set the interaction dial, don’t be shy. Get your stakeholders involved in creating a solution. Ask the speakers, facilitators, meeting designers, A/V team and technology services providers to help you. These are smart people. Don’t be afraid to use them.

Bottom Line

When you are planning interactions – start by thinking through the action that you want attendees to take afterward. Then, work on matching the right processes, event formats and interactive technology to your objective.

Where will you set the interaction dial?

On Wednesday the 18th of November third and fourth year Creative Media students took part in a workshop with Artist Nelly Ben Hayoun . The workshop was entitled ” LIFE AS A COCKROACH”, A KAFKAIEN WORKSHOP

Cockroaches are believed to be among the hardiest insects on the planet. Some species are capable of remaining active for a month without food and are able to survive on limited resources like the glue from the back of postage stamps. Some can go without air for 45 minutes to survive poisonous CO2 level, which will allow them to survive to climate change!
They also secrete lot of wax that contains proteins useful for the other members of the community.
NASA is even looking at them to build the next spacecraft for the future Mars Exploration.
In this workshop we will explore disaster scenarios, genetic evolution under extreme constrain,space travel, and home‐scale.
How thinking as a cockroach will actually help us to be able to get use to weightlessness and rethink our homes before we leave for Mars and have to deal daily with Zero G.
Get ready for an upside down design workshop!

Thanks to Ian Downes from CM4  who shot the video below and a very special thanks to Nelly for making the whole thing possible.

This day has been a great adventure for Michael. This morning he had so much to say that I thought that you would like to have a listen in:

This afternoon, we went to a Tzipora & Orah’s house. Tzipora and I met at the prenatal class that was held at her house. We had so much fun there. Michael has never had interaction with another baby and especially not this close interaction. I just would like to point out that Orah is a month older than our Michael – yes our boy is large!

How can one resist when your child takes to something like he took to this guy? Granted I do think that he was much more into it before I started the video…

There is nothing more satisfying than living life. With our interactions in the modern western world, we are surrounded (if not swamped) in contact with social media. The internet, one of many tools that we use extensively in our daily lives can be considered the basis of social media.

As we access sites like wikipedia, facebook, twitter, youtube, windows messenger, and many others, we are advertising and using the social media. We all cooperate in society, each taking a separate role to fulfill our duties while returning home to most likely enjoying our privacy. The question can be posed of how much privacy are we really experiencing? As we return home to our own “schedule”, we find that most people still feel the need to participate in society whether for professional matters or just leisure. The cyber societies that have been established throughout the years and use of the internet compose the social media; establishing a common basis for interest or communication amongst individuals.

The cyber societies and  complete picture of the social media can be seen as our interaction with a collective in our personal privacy. We can interact from our couch, share information on the go, or talk with friends in virtually any part of the world. The social media is the most used unseen (physically, to the naked eye) source of interaction.

http://willscullypower.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/social-media-landscape.jpg

The social media map portrays the choices and possibilities that society is presented with. These are all sources for information and interaction, giving some everyday examples of sites and communities that can be accessed and used to interact with by an individual. Keeping in mind that these are few examples, the possibilities are limitless.

Full papers due 1 March 2010.

Now that the world of HCI has united with the world of product design, and computers are no longer merely a means for doing our jobs but also an integral part of our lives, one might question the appropriateness of functionality and efficiency as the main guiding principles for design. The spectrum of efficiency, productivity and, in general, “getting things done” has been enriched by other values, such as those represented by curiosity, playfulness, intimacy and creativity. User experience and the aesthetics of that experience are becoming increasingly paramount.

Furthermore, when we look at the abundance of interactive products on the market, we can see a shift in aesthetic focus, moving from aesthetics of appearance to aesthetics of interaction. Can designers design products that not only look attractive at first sight, but are also beautiful to use? What makes for aesthetics of interaction, how can we design for such an interaction, and how can we model and study the interactive experiences that are central to such an approach? Some more specific questions might be: What is the role of embodiment and narratives in the interactive experience? Does aesthetics of interaction require a phenomenological point of view? Can one study aesthetics of interaction without using one’s hands, that is, without actually designing and building experiential prototypes?

The field of Aesthetics of Interaction is indeed emerging, and emerging in many different directions, with different definitions, different models, different implementations. This special issue of the International Journal of Design aims to reflect on the status quo and to find new paths toward a maturity of this area of research. We are seeking high-quality, original papers that address conceptual, theoretical, methodological and practical issues of designing for aesthetics of interaction—papers that will serve to enhance the overall body of interaction design knowledge. Possible topics include:

Schedule

Submission of Papers

Manuscripts should be prepared with the template file and guidelines found at the AuthorGuidelines page. Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. A double-blind review process will be employed for this special issue.

Manuscripts should be sent through the online submission page. Authors should choose “Special Issue on Cultural Aspects of Interaction Design” as the Journal Section when submitting papers.

Special Issue Editors

Download

• Call for Paper Flyer: PDF (45k)
• Manuscript Template:
  • For MS Word2003 on Windows
  • For MS Word2007 on Windows
  • For MS Word2008 on Mac

MIT Media Lab’s fluid interfaces research

MIT tangible media reserach

“Tangible Web” wikipedia

Designing with RFID

Visual Representation of Tangible Interaction

Touch

plug and play RFID peripherals

RFID game

Today’s event technology has the ability to engage audiences beyond your meeting, conference or event.

Consider Chalkbot. This tool allowed the virtual audience (those at home) to share messages of hope and join Lance Armstrong and Livestrong in the Tour De France. Chalkbot collected text messages and chalked them on the street along the Tour de France route. Watch the video here:

Bottom Line:

From time-to-time, your passionate members and raving fans will not be able to attend your events. While that is a pity – you don’t have to ignore them. Channel your Inner-Chalkbot and find ways to include these people!  You don’t always need sophisticated interactions – a simple text message will do.

Hello all!  After an extremely long hiatus, I’m back to blog another try-to-act-smart kind of post.

Shireen touched on a really interesting topic last week, about the world being flat a.k.a globalization.  I think ”globalization’ is a really big word.  So, below is a video that will probably aid in the understanding of what globalization really means.

Globalization is a really double-edged sword.

On one hand, the advancement of technology is bringing us closer and closer to each other.  Yes, shrinking world once again.  On the other hand, there are employment issues that most of us should be worried about because of globalization.

In my opinion, globalization is like a miracle that happened to us. I think it’s pretty amazing how the barriers that we used between us is being reduced to a state whereby it’s almost gone, in such a short span of time.  Our world is becoming miniature sized!

A gazillion years ago, the barriers were already this low

We can now chat with people from the other side of the world.  I used to do that in primary school, when I was a pretty active member of Habbo Hotel.  I had like a million friends on that networking site (Okay, exaggerating a bit too much).   But my main purpose of such sites were to socialize and get to know people.  MSN Messenger was simply a virtual ground for me to talk rubbish with my friends.

With the internet now becoming the fastest growing communication tool, Habbo Hotel and MSN Messenger have evolved into not-so-simple “places”.  Back then, I could live without the internet.  But now, the internet  has evolved into a habit, a life saviour, my dummies guide to anything and everything, my everything.

With the additions of many features that allow us to share photos and videos, have video conferences, share and discuss our opinions, have access to unlimited amount of information, communicate and do many other things, the internet is really no joke!  We are no longer limited by geographical location and what not.

I can partaye because I have the internet!

Since globalization is the integration of of economies, societies and cultures through communication (Credit to Lizzie for this definition), I now know a gazillion Korean celebrities because of OMONATHEYDIDN’T!, where people from all over the world gather at this community to share and discuss.  My daily dosage of entertainment is at this one-stop shop as well.  How convenient.  All thanks to the convergence of many many societies.  Hen hao!

After painting such a beautiful picture about globalization, I shall now highlight the down side of globalization.  Due to technology, we are now able to work from home.  There’s no need to travel so far just to meet up with international clients overseas or head down to your company’s headquarters in America as much as before.  So good eh?  So convenient and all.  But because of such luxury, we tend to become much lazier people.  Employers have to fork out huge sums of money to hire sloths like us.  Instead of investing their time, effort and money on us, they’d rather go for cheap and hardworking labourers.  The people in India are as tech-savvy or more tech-savvy than us.  The people in China are probably so much more smarter than us when it comes to Mathematical-related jobs like being a banker or an accountant.

I think a good example of a negative effect due to globalization is the scene in ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’, whereby Becky Bloomwood tried Googling good angles for an article.  Because of the availability of information on the internet, we simply google google anything and everythin when we need answers/solutions.  If we can’t get the answers, we simply stop there and start stoning.  Not good.  This leads to the debate of whether Google is making us stupid or not?  Maybe not stupid, but ultra lazy.

TOP's stone face? Stone also so hot.

In my case, I think globalization is still a good thing.  As long as I work hard, not be lazy and all, I think I should do fine, I hope!

Okay, shall end my post here!  See you all!

Our second big day out was to Nottingham to visit Gary Priestnal and Mike Sharples (and teams).  In addition, we managed to tempt Claire Jarvis from The University of Leicester up the M1.  Due to time constraints, we had to split up with Ben visiting the Jubilee Campus to meet Mike while I stayed on the main campus with Gary and Claire.

Gary has been running the SPLINT (SPatial Literacy IN Teaching) project for a number of years.  SPLINT is a collaborative Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).  The Nottingham arm of SPLINT is primarily concerned with the development of tools, techniques and strategies for enhancing the use of spatial data in curricula using Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Semi-immersive Virtual Reality, and mobile computing. This made them an obvious group to engage with for our scoping project.  Gary brought along Gemma Polmear who prepares much of the learning material used in the teaching in Nottingham.

Claire is also involved in the SPLINT project and brought along Jen Dickie.  They have been involved in making interactive learning material for students and information podcasts known as  Geopods.  We gained a great deal from the discussion which focused on enabling students to take devices into the field with Digimap data pre-loaded onto them.  This process is not entirely simple and may be a barrier preventing others from using Digimap data on mobile devices.

Meanwhile across the City in the Jubilee Campus, former home to the Raleigh bicycle factory, Ben met with Mike and James Goulding and Liz Brown.  Mike is Director of the Learning Sciences Research Institute at the University of Nottingham. Mike’s research interests include human-centred design of new technologies for learning, mobile and contextual learning, and the application of studies of human cognition and social interaction to the design of novel interactive systems.  He is the author of the report into the Big Issues in Mobile Learning.

James is involved in the D-Scent project jointly funded by EPSRC and the Home Office. A key element of this study is an exploration, within a location-based gaming context, of new ways of integrating geospatial, communications and behavioural data.

Liz Brown’s background is in teaching and her research interests lie in educational technology. She is currently collaborating with colleagues in the Centre for Geospatial Science to find out how geospatial data might inform and enhance learning experiences for a wide variety of end users.

From that session there seems to have been much discussion about clouds, APIs and thin clients which may mean more reading for me as my explanation of what a cloud is was rather woolly, or should that be fluffy? Anyway, it was another very useful and productive day out.  Here is a nice picture of the swanky new library on the Jubilee campus, certainly nicer than the Main Library in George Sq, Edinburgh.

Nice Building, oh and Ben

Uuurgggh!