Week 11 – Using Microsoft Excel – Lecture Notes – Primer Screening

  

Primer

Based on a couple of guys (Hackers) that develope a time machine.  This fast paced, fast talking American movie was worth about 6 out of 10 in my rankings.  It all goes wrong in the end as they plan to travel into the future to gain stock and shares listings to then travel back and become mega rich.  They realise that they have their doubles are walking around and have to be very cautious not to blow their cover.  I wonder what questions are going to come up in the exam on this one!!

  

  

Tutorial Task:   We had to complete various exercises , and then write a report in our blogs about our experience doing these exercises.    Were there any problems?  What were your solutions?    Did you find it too simple, or was it confusing?    Can you see how this software might be useful to you?

Starting with problems, I found the instructions to this exercise a little confusing!  The first one was when we were asked to type this formaula =IF(F2>0,$Gain$,$Loss$) in one of the cells.  Well, the actual thing to type is just =f2>0 then press enter.  Also the $ signs should be ” signs!!!

Then when dealing with the ‘Macro’ I lost all my information in the cells.

I tried solving these problems by asking someone else and knowone else in the tutorial, tutor or student knew the solutions to these problems.  I will have to have another bash at this later!

I guess the only answer to this excercise is to dial the Griffith University HelpDesk on 55555 or go to Office on the Web.

So was the task simple or confusing?  Well, if the insructions were written in a more accurate way then it would have been as simple as following them to understand this exercise and have a better understanding of Microsoft Excel.  I have found all other excersises very straight forward and simple to follow.  No Worries!

I do believe this will benifit me (once i’ve learned it correctly) in my future business venture and can quickly refere to a particular product line and how viable it is to continue the production of this.   I did use this once when I asked for the Guild contacts list and it came on this grid, I never thought about Excel’s other possibilities, like Macro.

Excel Continued…

After another attempt at the excel I found that when clicking on the 3rd row the chart doesn’t appear but the other 2 appear!! AHHH!!!! Maybe there should be a sole Excel course here at Griffith… may be even a Bachelor of Excel!!

 Lecture Notes  

Cyber politics

Digital Divide is an interesting issue when people need access to a computer when wanting to involve them within a political debate.  Well, not only do people in developing countries have lack of resources and money to fund this source of communication, they also need educating, as some don’t even know how to read or use a computer.  Older people have a phobia towards technology also. 

 

On -line Democracy 

Cyber democracy simply increases access to people that choose to use the internet as their form of communication.  Just like our blog entries, we all have a right to speak out really.   But, politics in Cyber Space, using an avatar as your spokesperson and having him or her under a form of hierarchy is all a bit too out there!

  Defining Democracy

The representative democracy is, as stated in the lecture our current free speaking way of democracy, and it will, I believe become even freer in the near future.  Although we have a right to speak out and a feeling of freedom, free we are not as in other ways we are prisoners, given this false utopias.  But, it’s better than living in a communist way!!Discovering that Australians have to vote or they are punished is an interesting system, because the media has a powerful affect on coercing people, especially the less educated and the choice of government is decided on the best marketing promotion, and as Moira Rayner’s suggested, “there is ‘a genuine crisis of faith in the processes of democracy’ which she describes as ‘cynicism‘.”  Now on the other hand, if it was to by just like the direct democracy as used in the and Greek times, where people had more of a direct say, in turn they will have a better understanding on their voting choice and the government will be selected more logically and morally.  Chantel Mouffe has the right form of argument in her Dimensions of Radical Democracy saying that democracy has now actual definition.  These are the dialectics of democracy as they are ever changing because of the advancing technology and other factors.

Gaps in the Mass Media

 The ‘public sphere’ reminds me of the Parish Church in our home town of Hilperton, they would have a weekly meeting and talk about the goings on in the area.  An excuse to meet and drink tea and eat scones if you ask me!  Using the electronic means of democracy on a larger scale, is an interesting system with the use of comm. tech., targeting issues that don’t often arise in the usual democratic meetings and are not the usual war orientated ones!Now communicating in text for a form of democracy can have it’s disadvantages like the social netiquette in which people haven’t gained and may not understand, or they might misunderstand and reply something that can create even more confusion. As for TV a form of democracy, it’s like saying a one way street is two way!!  Yes you do have the choice to change channels but, you don’t have the choice to speak back.

 

Free Speech and Censorship

This is unfortunate for Australia to not have the right for free speak unlike the American way.  Or is it? 
Australia is a far better place to live in.

 

Citizen-Hacker: Doing Global Democracy

So it seems Hacker’s aren’t as bad as we think more like computer experts rightly freeing information that deserves to be freed!!!   Rather than letting the monopolising business people from hording all the information for their own profiteering.  Their bad name only comes from what other press gangs have released to defend or protect the major businesses rights, opposing the commodification of information.  Of course there are the vicious ones.  

 

Primer and the Pre-history of Time Travel

Time travel is something I believe should be left to the spiritual world and that alone, in a sense that Aboriginals don’t have a sense of time in their indigenous way, no past present or future, just a story.  Anyway, I do not believe it should be tampered with and it probably wont be possible in our lifetime if achieved. 

Here are Some Methods of Time Travel from fiction

The Time Machine

• HG Wells The Time Machine (1895)
• Dr Who (1963)
• Back to the Future (1985-90)

Wormholes

• Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

Faster than light time warp

• Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home (1986)
• Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (1978)

The body as device

• Terminator (1984/91)

Third party phenomena

• Time Tunnel (1966)

Tachyon messages

• Gregory Benford, Timescape (1981)

The Practicalities

Newtonian believed in God created everything and time is constant.  Einstein thinks that we all are in a different section of the universe and it is so vast a constant time can’t be depicted. 

Thought on all of this is that you can only change time I your second life as an avatar!