SAM KAMANZI

“TOP REASONS WHY I BLOG”

msbpkmaa — Sat, 24 May 2008 18:06:55 +0000

Name: Samuel Byamugisha Kamanzi

Subject: “Top reasons why I Blog”

On this link,an experienced blogger offers interesting reasons for blogging. Follow the link: http://online-social-networking.com/top-reasons-why-i-blog

SOCIAL NETWORKING CITES IMPRISON THE MINDS OF TEENAGERS

msbpkmaa — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:14:49 +0000

The Londonpaper issue of May 20,2008 has reported that an increasing number of school going teenagers in UK, spend most of their time on social networking cites such as Myspace,Facebook etc, at the expense of their school work. It reported some significant findings which indicate that on average,a London teenager spends 82 hours per week on digital media,compared to 13 hours which s/he spends on travelling,eating,and home work per week (Monday to Sunday). The time such a teenager spends at school is 35 hours,while another 35 hours is spent sleeping. The paper, however reported one positive develpment to the confort of parents. It was observed that such teenagers only spent 3 hours on the so called “teenager obsessions” which were named as sex,drugs,and alcohol”.

PHYSICAL FITNESS DIGITAL GAMES LAUNCED IN THE USA

msbpkmaa — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:46:59 +0000

Nintendo launched its digital physical fitness exercises in the USA on May 19,2008. The games which are already popular in Asia, are expected to arouse alot of interest among young people in the USA. Here is the link: http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=82582&newsChannel=newsOne

PHYSICAL FITNESS STUDIOS GET VIRTUAL COMPETETORS

msbpkmaa — Sat, 17 May 2008 18:08:00 +0000

On May 21,2008,Digital vedio games master, Nintendo, will release their latest games that will provide almost all that people go to look for in physical exercise studios. It is argued that they will particularly be good for kids, as they normally don’t have the patience for physical exercises like Yoga. Follow the link: http://www.reuters.com/article/blogBurst/investing?type=hotStocksNews&w1=B7ovpm21IaDoL40ZFnNfGe&w2=B7pJeHult9GszE37UXlSpmUm&src=blogBurst_investingNews&bbPostId=Cz7sXeT87w4rGBCfXKodTve1JBA1mw0LWnWxSCz9P95x2j9mmD&bbParentWidgetId=B7gSUbux1hpbz8uOa7TWsLnV

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER GODON BROWM PRAISES BLOGS

msbpkmaa — Sat, 17 May 2008 16:54:55 +0000

British Prime Minister Godon Brown has praised the power of Blogs to make change. He was refering to Human Rights activists led by Monks in Burma, who have successfully utilised to power of blogs to appeal to the world community for intervention in the current Burmise humanitarian crisis caused by fllooding. Follow the link: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pressass/20080517/tuk-pm-sets-out-moral-framework-6323e80.html

THE NEW MEDIA AND SOCIAL NETWORKING SCAMS

msbpkmaa — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:09:11 +0000

New Media and Social Networking Scams

By Sam Kamanzi.

One of the advantages associated with the New Media, is the enhancement of social networking which has attracted a lot of young people from all parts of the World. Research in this area reveals that lots of young people spend a lot of time making friends through social networking websites on the internet. One of the most popular aspects of social networking are “Dating websites”

Some of these websites are so popular that their membership is over 10,000. One such website is called “Sluppicks” with a total membership of over 12,0000 members. However, new information reveals that these dating websites are being targeted by seasoned criminals to cheat their users.

The Londonpaper issue of May 7,2008,has reported that members of “Sluppicks” dating website, have recently lost more than £4 million through fraud. It reported that some of the so called women people meet through the web, are actually men looking for ways of eventually landing on the details of the Bank accounts of their so called lovers.

One victim of such a scam is said to have met her partner through such a website, but after a few days, he claimed he wanted to travel to Nigeria on a business trip. He asked her for help in terms of cash to pay for his Hotel bills, because, he claimed, in Nigeria , travellers cheques were not popular. The victim ended up loosing £40,000,in addition to falling in debts of another £50,000.

To counter this threat,Sluppicks is said to have set up another website dedicated to exposing these criminals who use social networking websites for personal gain. The website does this by publishing the photographs of known criminals of this nature, and the pseudonyms they commonly use on line. This website is found at: www.romancescams.org.

THE NEW MEDIA AND “THE CULTURE OF A REAL VIRTUALITY”

msbpkmaa — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:00:56 +0000

Name: Samuel Byamugisha Kamanzi

This article was originally written as a class assignment at Aarhus University. It is reproduced on this Blog because both the Blog, and the purpose for which it was written, are part of the M.A in Media,communication and Culture which the author is pursuing.

1. I totally agree with Castells, when he says that new communication technologies have developed “horizontal networks”, as fundamental features of an emerging new communications order, largely attributed to the widespread use of the internet in the world since the mid-1990s. From his insightful article entitled “The Culture of Real Virtuality: The integration of Electronic Communication, The End of the Mass Audience, and the Rise of Interactive Networks, we learn that the emerging Computer Mediated Communication systems, have irreversibly changed the traditional Mass Media systems, which were characterised by centrally controlled sources, and channels, of news and information, such as traditional Radio, Television, and Print Media systems, to mass audiences.

The system that has emerged, which he correctly calls Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), has significantly revolutionarised this once top-down flow of news and information, that mainly involved a few players, such as Journalists,Transnational news Agencies, and mass audiences as consumers, to involve varied audiences as producers, and distributors of news and information through the internet. By using the term “horizontal Networks”, he means that the flow of news and information is no longer vertical. It now flows all ways among, and within, communities of varied characteristics around the globe. This mainly takes the form of websites, e.mails, cellphones, podicasting etc.

But what Castells emphasises in this article, are the informal and formal social networks of similar interests and values that have taken advantage of the internet, to better inform themselves, and others, to promote their causes. This has enhanced the promotion of popular causes, such as building democracies, and the promotion and protection of Human Rights. One important feature of these “Horizontal Networks”, which he calls “Virtual Communities”, is that they are normally diversified, specialised, and in most cases, involves strangers to one another. The internet builds, and natures bonds of relationships among members of these networks, and between the networks themselves.

Therefore, it is not an accident, that traditionally disadvantaged groups, such as women, the youth, the disabled, and politically marginalised groups, such as people living in exile, have taken advantaged of these new technologies, to freely exchange ideas with their members worldwide, and to share with the whole world their grievances.

In Uganda, there are limited “Horizontal Networks” that are actively using the internet to enhance their causes. This is because of the limited penetration rate of the internet in the country. For this assignment, I will use a political chat group called “Ugandans At Heart Group” to demonstrate how such networks operate. It is found at: http://groups.google.com/group/ugandans-at-heart?hl=en

An examination of the messages posted on this website reveals that it has many contributors on a regular basis. At any given time, when you open it, you find an average of 15 messages, posted by many people from within, and outside Uganda. The content of the messages is mainly political. Most of the messages are mainly critical of the current regime in Uganda. In fact the first time I found it in my mail box, I was surprised to find that many of the participants were Ugandans exiled in European capitals. The significance of these networks lies in the fact that these people who couldn’t dare set foot in Uganda, for fear of political persecution, are freely exchanging ideas with fellow Ugandans living within Uganda, and many other people outside the country, and no one can stop this interaction.

Other “Horizontal Networks” common in Uganda are social networks that use popular websites such as www.jaxtr.com,http://www.facebook.com,and linkedln, to keep informed about each other, as members of the same profession, or of similar backgrounds, such as former schoolmates. However, an examination of the members of these networks reveals that they are mainly well educated groups. This is not surprising, because internet use in Uganda, is still in its infancy, as less than 1% of the population has access to the facility.

2. In the article “The Future is Here, But Do News Media Companies see it?” Bowman and Wills, further confirm how the new technologies have transformed news, and information, distribution in the world. They introduce a new concept which they call “The Citizen Media”. Their main argument is similar to what was presented by Castells above, but their focus is on the “Blog Sphere”. The new element they have added to this debate is that traditional Mass Media will have to integrate the “Citizen Media” in their operations, if they have to survive.

They quote a Director of the BBC External Service, conceding that the BBC has had to transform itself from “broadcaster and mediator, to facilitator, enabler, and teacher”, in order survive the challenges paused by the entry of Ctizines, who were formerly mere consumers of news and information from the “Old Media”, into the field of News gathering and distribution via the internet.

“Citizen’s media”, which is credited for limitless contributions of content, and involving everybody in news gathering, is so significant that Time Magazine named, “YOU”, as Man of the Year for 2006, in recognition of everybody that contributed to the development of this communication medium. A professor of Journalism is quoted confirming the importance of this development because “where as traditional Journalists are sent out to cover events they really don’t care about, Citizen Journalists, cover events because they want to share them with others”.

The internet has limited websites about Uganda, which qualify to be called “Citizen Media”. As already stated, this is because of the limited penetration rate of the internet in Uganda. Most available Blogs on the internet on Uganda are contributed by a few specialised writers to promote popular causes like the need for peace in Northern Uganda. The nearest Blog that could be called Citizen Media is found at: www.radiokatwe.com .This blog is popular both within, and outside Uganda. An examination of its content reveals that it focuses on current affairs, especially political developments in Uganda. The contributors of this blog are anonymous or sometimes they use code names, as most of the content seems to originate from contributors within Uganda. The articles posted on this blog are clearly against the current government of Uganda.

In fact the Government of Uganda regards this blog as an enemy outlet. That is why a few days to the February 2006 presidential elections, the government tried to block this website but failed. The publicity sparked off by this failure, instead increased the number of visitors to the website Personally, I did not know of its existence until Ugandan News Papers published front page stories about government attempts to block it. Since then, I have been visiting it at least once a week. However, I must say that most of the stories posted on this website are highly exaggerated which proves the dangers posed by unprofessional “Citizen Journalism”.

THE NEW MEDIA AND ITS SOCIAL USES

msbpkmaa — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:18:02 +0000

Name: Samuel Byamugisha Kamanzi.

This paper was originally written as a class assignment at Aarhus University. It is reproduced on this Blog because the class assigmnet for which it was meant, and this Blog, are both part of the same M.A Program in Media,Communication and Culture which the author is pursuing.

NEW MEDIA AND ITS SOCIAL USES.

The concept of “New Media”, as presented by Niels Ole Finnemann, in an article entitled “The Internet and the Public Space”, refers to the latest Media systems that have emerged since the early 1990s, as a result of improved technology in communication media. This is mainly digital technology, especially the Internet, broadband connections, and cell phones, which have greatly enhanced public accessibility to more and improved information, entertainment, and games.

Finnemann argues that in recent years, many countries have embraced the “New Media”, as opposed to the “Old Media”, which he describes as the traditional Print Media, Television, and Radio. He quotes an over enthusiastic web expert by the names of Jakob Nielsen, who had predicted that “by 2008, traditional Media formats would have been replaced by a web medium”. He argues that this hasn’t happened, although in some parts of the world, especially the Nordic countries, which are dominated by the middle class, internet use which is about 80% is as wide spread as the print media. In countries like Denmark, this is attributed to the inclusion of digital technology as a component of the welfare state policies.

We are further made to understand that the “New Media”, especially the internet, has indeed threatened the very existence of newspapers, television, and radio, in their old forms, because it combines all their functions in just one medium. In order to survive, at least for the moment, all the “old media” have resorted to integrating themselves with the “new media”, by making themselves available to their respective audiences on the internet in various formats.

This is a significant development which is to the advantage of the public. For example, almost all news papers in all countries have opened web pages on the internet, which has increased their readership both locally, and trans-nationally. In some countries like Denmark, desparate attempts by the print media to retain readership has led to the emergence of free Dailies. Most Television and Radio stations all over the world, have not only made themselves available on the internet in their visual and audiovisual forms, but they have also made themselves available in textual forms. The public can view and listen to them, as well as read their websites on the internet for the latest news. In this way, it is argued that the “old media” have greatly contributed to the development of the internet. In fact latest studies strongly suggest that the most widely visited web pages on the internet, are those of the “old media”, especially the print media.

Another important issue highlighted in this article, is the threat paused by the internet, to the Translational News Corporations such as Reuters, the Associated Press, Tass, United Press International, etc, that have for decades monopolised the global flow of news and information in the world. They have lost this monopoly to the advantage of the public. This is because the internet is available to all players, be they individuals, institutions or companies. These days’ companies use their own websites to pass on information to the public, while civil society organisations have effectively used the internet to promote their causes. In order for the trans-national news agencies to cope with this threat, they have also made themselves available to the public on the internet.

Finnemann raises a valid argument when he says that given the poor infrastructure in developing countries, the only way to improve public accessibility to digital technology, will be through the cell phones. This is because as long as their prices drop, they will take internet services to the remotest parts of the world. This would be a significant development, given the fact that currently, the world digital divide is determined by accessibility to the internet. In the whole world, only 15% of the population has access to internet. Of this small group, 90% live in the most industrialised countries.

Other important uses of the internet as a public space are outlined. It has reduced the importance of Journalism as a profession, because anybody can use it to disseminate news. That is why even terrorists from their hide outs have ably exploited it to transmit psychological terror to the world population. One important case that clearly illustrates this function was the only pictures of the execution of the former Iraq dictator Sadam Hussein. The pictures showing how the former dictator was hanged were taken by some one outside the journalism profession using a cell phone camera. They spread to the whole world as if they were distributed by one of the transnational news agencies.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN DENMARK AS A RADIO SOCIETY.

Denmark’s internet penetration rate is about 80%, which is one of the highest in the world. Finnemann argues that, where there is a middle class, there is internet, and where there is internet, there is a middle class. This is the case in Denmark, as the majority of the people fall within this class. The country has digitalized most of its media systems, but the “old media” still survives, by making itself available on the internet, and by adopting other measures, such as the circulation of free Dailies, to retain readership. It therefore provides a good example of what Finneman calls the coexistence of the “old and the new media”.

We shall use an article entitled “Nordic Radio in the Digital Era”, by Marko Ala-Fossi and Per Jauert, to illustrate how Denmark has improved its media systems by digitalizing Radio broadcasting. According to this article, the introduction of digital broadcasting (DAB) in Denmark was a result of state policies, initiated and adopted by the Danish Parliament between 1998 and 2006. This responsibility was entrusted with Danish Broadcasting Company (DR). DAB broadcasting in Denmark officially took off in 2002, with only 8 channels, and a limited number of receivers. Initial attempts were frustrating, as DR discovered that very few people were willing to buy the expensive DAB radio sets, which also discouraged companied from investing in this area.

This article tells us that when DAB broadcasting eventually took off, its infrastructure comprised of a national MUX channel, and two MUX channels. “Today, 70% of the Danish population can access digital signals indoors, while the out reach is 80%”. Country wide, there are only 34 transmitters, which are not enough to cover the whole country. At the time the article was written, it was estimated that the national coverage would be 100% in 2007.

The article further tells us that DAB commercial Radio was introduced in 2003. It mainly involved SKY Radio Company, which had a penetration rate of 75%, and the Dutch Talpa Radio, which had a penetration rate of 36%. However, the market share was still dominated by DR. In 2005, SKY Radio Company, pulled out of the deal having lost a lot of money.

We are further informed that DR introduced DR Web Radio with 35 different channels. 13 of these are devoted to music. Its latest innovations include the introduction of Pod casting in 2005. It is said to have proved very popular, as in the first two weeks of its introduction, 64,000 programs were down loaded. The article says that in Denmark, Web Radio can only be operated by DR. Other players are not allowed.

From this article, we can conclude that DAB broadcasting in Denmark is a reality, but is still faces serious challenges, such as competition paused by internet, as it offers a variety of pod casting options, and the market size of DAB broadcasting is still small.

THE NEW MEDIA (INTERNET THREATENS MERICAN PAPERS)

msbpkmaa — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:53:37 +0000

The Economist of (May 03-09,2008),has reported a serious threat to the American Press from the Internet. Worldwide,the old media, in their traditional forms of News papers,Radio and Television, are facing challenges from the New Media, particularly the Internet. The old media have responded by adopting the use of the New Media, for example by making themselves available on internet, but the Economist report strongly suggests that even then they are lossing out to the New Media.

The Economist, quoting the latest statistics from America’s Audit Bureau,says that the average circulation of 530 biggest Dailies in the USA,has fallen by 3.6 % in the last six months compared to how it stood one year ago. During the same period,the average circulation of Sunday papers has fallen by 4.6 % .

The competition has also affected the total advertising revenues of the Print Media in the USA. In the year 2000, total advertising revenues realised was $48.7 billion,compared to what was earned in 2007 which was $42.2 billion. At the Media General,advertising revenues are said to have fallen by 22.3 %. Presently,the New York Times has had its revenues fall by 12.5 %,while its circulation has dropes by 3.9% from last year.

Although the Economist acknowledges the contribution of the the general slump of the American economy to the current predicament of the Print Media in the USA,it is obvious that the rapid adoption of the internet as the main source of information in many parts of the world is seriously affecting the operations of the Old Media. Particularly mentioned are the advantages offered by the internet such as easy accessibility 24 hours which had has made it a favourate for advertisers.

The Economist talked to some experts in the field who suggested that the print media will now have to define their audiencies strategically and carefully. One such expert,Lauren Rich Fine of Kent State University, suggested that if the audience is national,then the editorial policy could focus on international and business coverage. If it is local,then the focus could be intensely on local issues. This means the papers will have to provide something exclusively theirs if they have to servive.

E-LEARNING BY MARTINE FRYER

msbpkmaa — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:50:41 +0000

April 25, 2008

Martine Fryer

Advance of e-learning continues to be overstated

There is an interesting discussion on the JISC Champ-curriculum listserv about the usefulness of e-learning. The CPD annual survey report 2008 on Learning and Development. The report states:

the expected use of e-learning has possibly been overanticipated, with less than half (47%) using more e-learning and a quarter (26%) saying they don’t use or no longer use e-learning. This is possibly because few feel it is the most effective learning and development practice (7%).
More than three-quarters (79%) of respondents feel e-learning is not a substitute for classroom-based learning, while the vast majority (92%) feel that e-learning demands a new attitude to learning on the part of learners.
Almost all (95%) feel that e-learning is more effective when combined with other forms of learning.

The Becta survey of FE learners and e-learning (October 2007) has some interesting key findings that relate to students finding using computers/IT useful in their studies. However, I would say that it mainly concentrates on the e-equipment, eg VLE, mobile technologies rather than the actual e-activities. There is mention of quizzes and tutor feedback but no indepth research on actual e-learning.

The MSc in eLearning Technologies (University of Portsmouth) course that I am presently studying has been delivered entirely online. I agree that to maintain the motivational momentum over the past two years has been difficult at times (especially for a procrastinater, like me!). However, the course was well structured and I have learnt a lot, especially through the online tutors, forums and the group and individual assessments. I agree that some online courses or e-learning activities can easily be clicked through without much (if any) learning taking place.

My dissertation is on How can the College make better use of the VLE (Moodle) as a learning tool? There is a lot of evidence of Moodle being used primarily as an intranet and/or a resource repository. I would be very interested in finding out how many further education colleges are running effective/successful e-learning and/or blended learning courses? and, also, what makes the course effective/successful?