Final Essay

Here is a link to my final essay titled Open Access in the Digital Humanities

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dhSFt2WTP0-pT-QFOdBzMRr0FpnmNFiRoXAkhZhpQ0c/edit

Open Access in the Digital Humanities

A Brief Overview of My Final Essay

 First, what is open access? Just like when you ask an individual to define digital humanities (DH), each person has their own spin on what it means. The same can be said for open access, but on a much smaller scale. For purposes of this blog, I will use the definition offered by Peter Suber who is a respected advocate for open access: “Open-access (OA) literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.” In my essay, I will elaborate on the meaning of OA because before you can analyze why or why not something should exist, you must first understand what it means.

As we know, DH reflects the Humanities meeting the digital age which makes it easier for information to be readily available to the public. However, OA, as a practice, has been a topic of debate. There are those who speak loud and clear as to the benefits of OA, both for the author and the public. Then as with many things, there are those who raise concerns about the information being made accessible and the potential drawbacks especially to those who are concerned about the future of scholarly communication. In my essay, I will address both sides of the debate. Ultimately, you will see that my opinion is to open the floodgates and let the information flow through, and I will discuss why I am in agreement with those who are in favor of open access.

 Additionally, I will touch on what the future might look like for DH open access. Even though DH is not limited to one field, it is clear that it has a strong presence in academic institutions. Therefore, the academic institutions can play a large role in the future trend of open access. As Jason Heppler states "If the philosophical goal of the university is to serve as the sanctuary of knowledge, then the work we do should be publicly accessible. Not just open access for students, but open access for anyone seeking exposure to the world electronically."

 Finally, I will share some open access works from the DH field that I found of interest. Well, got to get back to working on my essay so I am signing off for now.

My Story

My alarm starts buzzing and wakes me out of a deep sleep. I look out my window and see that it is a cold, dreary Tuesday morning. I am tired and miserable, but I got to get on with the day. I decide to go visit James and Jeff, but only Jeff was there. As Jeff and I were chatting, he was making fun of me and that set me off. I told him to stop over and over again, but he just kept teasing me. I became so angry that I killed him. Jeff, that will teach you not to make fun of other people. After I killed Jeff, I  I took his room keys so I could return later and dispose of his body. I knew at that point that I had missed most of my Digital Humanities class so I decided to go to Hickory Hall to hang out with my friend Ryan hoping that would help me calm down. Ryan was not in his room, and needless to say, this made me angrier. I started making a raucous in the hallway so the RA Matt called me into his room. He told me that I was in trouble and he was going to write me up. I asked Matt not to write the report, but he would not listen to me, so I killed him. I think Matt gets the point now that I didn’t want to be written up. I stuffed Matt’s body in a trash bag and dragged it outside. I loaded the bag onto a UPJ cart and drove to the Student Union where I had earlier texted James to meet me for dinner. Before heading to the cafeteria, I went to the mailroom to pick up a package since it would be closing in a few minutes. As I am standing in line, Justine comes up and jumps the line by getting in front of me. I was not happy, but decided not to say anything. After Justine got her package, the mailroom attendant told me they were now closed for the day and that I could pick up my package tomorrow. I was so furious I did not get my package because Justine had cut in front of me in the line that I followed her as she entered a side bathroom and told her, “See Justine, it isn’t always ladies first.” I shoved her dead body into a trash bag and loaded it onto the UPJ cart I had stolen earlier. I went into the cafeteria to find James, but at that point, he was already gone. I figured that before James gets back to his room, I had better drive the cart back to the Living Learning Center so I can put Jeff into a trash bag and put him in the cart with the other two bodies. Then I would need to find a place to dispose of all three of them. I used the keys I had taken from Jeff earlier and let myself in the room. Just as I was ready to put Jeff’s body in a trash bag, James walked in and saw me. He was now a witness to the fact that I had murdered Jeff and when he said that he was going to report me, I told him that if he did that, he would end  up like Jeff. He started to walk away to notify the campus police and I said “Go ahead James, make my day.”

My Analysis of Convergence

By definition, convergence is the process by which several things come together from different directions so as to eventually meet. Or as Henry Jenkins states on the cover of his book Convergence Culture, "where old and new media collide." It was interesting when Jenkins talked about the reactions from the salespeople when he asked to buy a cell phone that would just make calls without all the bells and whistles. They probably thought he had been living under a rock to not know that those types of phones don't exist anymore. I do remember some years back when I had my iPod shuffle and flip mobile phone and must admit, now with my iPhone, I do like having both my music and my phone in one device. Let's not forget, I can also take pictures, surf the internet, watch movies, and so much more with one "simple" device. Knowing that you could do multiple things with one device makes me question why Jenkins does not believe that a single black box will ever exist. Probably because as he states in his book, "convergence refers to a process, not an endpoint."  However, I must admit, it was true when he said he is seeing more and more boxes instead of less and less. I look at my game room and surrounding my TV is a DVD player, multiple game systems, cable box, etc. I guess the future will tell if a single black box option is just a misconception or not.

 Another interesting point that Jenkins touches on is transmedia storytelling which he indicates came to light in response to media convergence. This involves active audience participation in the telling of a story across multiple platforms. The end result - the audience enjoys a "richer entertainment experience." One of the examples Jenkins uses is The Matrix franchise; read more about what he has to say about this and transmedia storytelling in general by clicking here.

 Convergence is bringing about change and lots of it; in fact, Jenkins says so much so that he wouldn't be able to describe or document all of the changes. I believe that change can be good because many times with change comes improvement. After all, it isn't that old media is going away, it is just going to look new and different as it emerges through each stage in the process. I will be curious to see how the convergence culture plays out especially technologically.

 For more insight into the connection between convergence and DH, check out Defining Digital Humanities where convergence is listed as one of the top ideas and practices that begin to describe DH.

My Thoughts on Ender's Game

I enjoyed reading Ender's Game. I had seen the movie on DVD last year which probably made reading the book a little easier for me even though there were differences between the movie and the book. Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is a six year old boy genius being trained in Battle School by the International Fleet (I.F.) to become a commander and save the world from buggers during an anticipated Third Invasion. Each chapter of the book starts with a conversation between two adults, typically I.F. officers; then it gets into the meat of each step of Ender's training. Here you have a young boy who was only allowed to be born as a "third" child so he could be given to the I.F. As a third child, he was lonely and bullied not only by his older brother Peter, but by kids at school. Like Peter told Ender at one point, "You're a Third, turd, You've got no rights." Ender just wanted to be a normal kid who did kid stuff like playing with friends; however, he would soon find out that wasn't meant to be the case.

 A few things really struck me in this book. One was that I was glad that Ender enjoyed a good relationship with his sister Valentine. This was the one person that Ender really loved and cared about and she loved and cared about him. So when the I.F. needs Ender, who is now ten years old, to continue on his mission, they use or you could say force Valentine to convince Ender to save mankind and make a difference in the world because they know he can't say no to his sister. Another thing relates to human behavior - Ender's struggle between good and evil. Ender showed real feelings and emotions, and he did things that he might not have otherwise done in order to survive. It was clear that Ender did not want to wind up like his dangerous and mean brother. There were many times, like when Ender hurt a bully named Stilson, that he would cry and believe he was just like Peter. Then there is the manipulation by the adults. Ender's relationship with the I.F. officers especially Graff shows that although they liked Ender, they manipulated him to get the results they needed. Technology was also used to play mind games with Ender like when he looked in the mirror and saw Peter's face looking back. However, the biggest example of manipulation was when they made Ender believe that the last battle is a simulation of the future battle with the buggers when in fact it was the actual Third Invasion. This definitely reminded me of what I said in my blog on eXistenZ - it raises the question of what is real and what isn't. Ender thought he was playing a virtual reality game, but it was real. You could feel the devastation that Ender felt when he realized he had been manipulated; he cried to Mazer Rackham, "I didn't want to kill them all. I didn't want to kill anybody! I'm not a killer! You didn't want me, you bastards, you wanted Peter, but you made me do it, you tricked me into it!"

 It is sad that Ender missed out on his childhood and he can't go home to Earth because Peter will control him. However, he can finally be happy and find peace by making his own choices and doing what he believes is right. Full circle now shows that he is Andrew Wiggin, speaker for the dead, and he's intent on rebuilding the bugger community again. And he can do it with Valentine by his side.

 A good story. But one, just like eXistenZ, that makes you wonder about the technological future of gaming.

 

eXistenZ

My Thoughts on eXistenZ

 

Strange and weird are two words that come to mind if I am going to describe my reaction to the movie eXistenZ. This movie was definitely not about your typical video game. In fact, as Allegra said at the beginning of the movie, it was about an entirely new game system. One of the things that made this strange and weird was that the power source for this virtual reality game system was the human body (nervous system); the gamepod which looks like a wiggly piece of flesh is inserted into a hole in the player's back.

 
I enjoy playing video games and using different systems. Playing video games provides a temporary escape for me to relieve stress and forget about all the things on my to do list for awhile, but at least I know that I am in control of what I play and when I want to quit playing. Control was something that Pikul didn't always seem to have like when he was rude to people and especially when he was eating the "special" and said "I find this disgusting, but I can't help myself." Playing this type of virtual reality game would cause me stress because I wouldn't like the feeling of losing touch with reality, and  this movie definitely raises the question of what is real and what isn't. When I start playing a video game, I prefer to know as much about what I would be facing in the game ahead of time. In this movie Pikul has to enter the game being unaware of the goal; Allegra tells him that he has to play the game to find out why he is playing the game which to me is a scary proposition. At the end of the movie, you see that it was a game within a game, but you are still left to wonder "Are we still in the game?" when the real video game designer and his assistant are shot dead by Pikul and Allegra.

It is clear that the future of video game systems and video games will become even more technologically advanced. We are seeing that with the graphics in the new consoles and the emergence of Oculus Rift. As Allegra said, "the possibilities are so great." No matter where video game systems and games go down the road, I think I will stick to my traditional game systems. That way, I will always be able to know if I am still in the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well...DO games "count?"

Gaming is an important part of people's lives; I know it is for me and for so many others (consider the billions of  dollars the industry rakes in). When I was younger, I played computer games like Zoo Tycoon and Rollercoaster Tycoon. The chance to use my imagination and build zoos and amusement parks was so cool. Then of course, there was the first handheld gaming system, Game Boy that provided endless hours of enjoyment. Now, I mostly play video games utilizing the gaming systems: X-box, Playstation, Wii. Video games allow you to have fun and escape from reality. You can be part of a battle (yes, sometimes a violent one) or you can imagine you are on a football field, a basketball court, or on the ice playing hockey with the pros. You can have alone time or engage in social interaction like with X-box Live. I mean chatting with and "battling" people in the U.S. and other countries is fascinating. I enjoy playing video games and love the creativity involved that sometimes I think the best job in the world would be to design video games.

 One aspect that I am becoming familiar with because of this Digital Humanities (DH) class is alternate reality games or ARG for short. CNET defines alternate reality gaming as "...an obsession-inspiring game that blends real-life treasure hunting, interactive storytelling, video games and online community..." ARG is definitely a different way to play games from the traditional video games. Dr. Jane McGonigal, a Game Designer and Inventor for the  Institute for the Future describes the difference, "... traditional gaming is designed to help people escape from reality, alternate reality games are actually designed to make reality more engaging..." Interested in knowing what are the "5 Most Insane Alternate Reality Games?" Click on the link to find out.

http://www.cracked.com/article_19346_the-5-most-insane-alternate-reality-games.html

 

I have talked about how gaming can be fun and provide social interaction, but it can also promote thinking. Jeremy Antley wrote an article titled "Games and Historical Narratives" published in the Journal of Digital Humanities (Spring 2012) which describes games particularly video games as visual digital objects that "can be platforms for building, and not simply consuming, knowledge." There are universities that teach courses on this subject.

 There is much debate on whether games are considered part of the digital humanities. In his book "The Emergence of the Digital Humanities" (2014), Stephen E. Jones comments that his one problem with the DH field is that it has ignored games. I believe that DHers need to see that gaming belongs not just as part of the discussion, but part of the work. As the field continues to emerge, that is the likely scenario.

 One more thing that I took note of in my research is that Dr. McGonigal believes game designers are on a humanitarian mission and her #1 goal in life is to see a game developer win a Nobel Prize in Peace or Medicine.

Well...DO games "count?" I would instead ask, How can they not?

 

Broken Image

This is a broken picture.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gameinformer.com%2Fb%2Fnews%2Farchive%2F2014%2F02%2F24%2Fseth-rogen-making-film-about-console-wars.aspx&ei=Jhb2VPyrGouVNpShhPgG&bvm=bv.87269000,d.eXY&psig=AFQjCNE8bbQ2ItbLoH7iXv-tdLwyahXQSA&ust=1425498847865482

What is Digital Humanities? Essay

Here's an essay on Digital Humanities

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tqa9zk6wwVidIENiQQ0sXtrDbs64-fA5ARgLUQLesVw/edit

Reaction to Week Seven Literature

 

 

Ok, I need to get my reaction to CTheory's NetNoise out of the way before I discuss some of the other electronic literature pieces that I viewed this week. For me, NetNoise was totally confusing; a hodgepodge of sounds, distorted voices, flashing words, colors, etc. I couldn't make sense of what I was viewing so I moved on after a few minutes.

 

I then viewed Red Riding Hood by Donna Leishman. We all read the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood who was stalked by the big, bad wolf and saved at the end. It is interesting to see how a fairy tale can be interpreted when done electronically with basically no words. This interactive piece is definitely a more adult version of the tale (a baby, a gun) where the viewer can choose a path of either allowing Red to dream or waking her up when she "falls asleep" in the field. Since I wanted to know a little more about this literature piece than I was interpreting on my own, just as I had with the AH piece previously, I did additional research. There are a lot of reviews and interpretations out there on this piece which were helpful. I found one in particular that was short, easy to read and provided more insight about the piece; click the link if interested. https://shasthriellegedara.wordpress.com/2012/03/22/leishman__redridinghood/

 

Finally, I viewed selections from Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries.  I looked at the ones that were recommended: "Dakota," "Lotus Blossom," and "The Sea" in addition to "Mr. President" and "What Now?"  The pieces were not interactive, moved quickly, and at times the music would distract me from following the stories, but I still found it challenging to figure out what was happening. An interesting note about "Dakota" is that right after the author and title are shown, profanity appears on the screen. At that point, you knew you were in for a trip which is exactly where the group was headed in their car with beer cases in the trunk. However, the selection I enjoyed the best was "Mr. President" about a letter written by Maria Cuervos to the president. It was easier to follow than the others since it was slower moving. Even though there was humor in the letter, Maria who was experiencing many troubles, was reaching out for help. The fact is that the problems she wrote about depicted real-life for many Americans such as the death of a spouse, losing a job, being evicted, living on a small pension, dealing with numerous accidents and health issues, and having scary neighbors. When I have more time, I would like to view some of the other selections presented by Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries.

 

Google maps essay

 

As  a sports enthusiast and die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan, I had a dream come true when I had the chance to attend Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in February 2011. I take you from the start of the regular season in Pittsburgh to the Super Bowl in Texas.

 Join me as I relive my emotional round trip journey of the highs and lows of the Steelers 2010 season. Here We Go!!!

Introducing "Going for the Seventh Ring"
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zS4367TaCUes.kXQOWOg9uowk

Reaction to Week Five Literature

 

 

There were a number of different electronic literature pieces that I viewed and read this week. For this blog, I am going to discuss two particular ones. Since I have never been one to read much poetry in hard copy, I thought an electronic piece might be more interesting. The Sweet Old Etcetera by Alison Clifford which is based on the poetry of E.E. Cummings is a totally interactive piece. You go nowhere unless you click on various spots (usually red highlighted words) on the screen starting with the branches of a tree that sprouted out with words. Clicking on the words to move forward with the poetry wasn't always easy since the tree sways back and forth. I was able to read and understand the areas where the words formed sentences; other areas were more confusing and I couldn't make sense of what was on the screen. Also, it was frustrating because there were times that I wanted to leave the screen, but couldn't until I clicked on all the highlighted words. This piece did have sound - when clicking on a highlighted word, you hear a single beat similar to a chime sound. There were spinning stars you could click on and make "music" (similar to playing a piano with one finger). All in all the piece was too confusing and didn't give me a better appreciation for poetry.

 

The second piece I am going to discuss is the total opposite of Clifford's especially from the standpoint of being interactive. AH by K Michel and Dirk Vis shows words flowing across the screen, most of the time in a straight line, at a fast pace to the point where it made me dizzy as I was trying to make sense out of it. There was nothing to click on, no color, no sound and nothing else to see except this flow of words that were meant to represent the moves between the breathing and singing of someone in the shower. In order to figure out more about this piece, I did some research and found an analysis of AH that gave me some additional insight. Check it out if you are interested. http://nkelber.com/engl278w/?p=2089#

 

 

Brief Thoughts (about this week's literature)

 

 

The Last Performance by Judd Morrissey is somewhat confusing to follow. There are three sections: The Dance has words dancing in different formations; The Performance Space introduces you to the 6 "C's"; sectors such as Consider the style of old words in new times and Collaboration as architecture: double building and The Dome where you see hundreds of words and non-words all across the screen. The Dome which has most of the information takes you through different  sectors and lenses. To be honest I became more confused - too much information that didn't make sense, at least to me. I did get to one quote that was just plain and simple; it read "Last words by Conrad Hilton, founder of the international hospitality empire. Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub." Ok, so where does this fit into a dance performance??? And also why do we hear goat sounds???  I clicked on the bottom right of the page which cleared up the goat sounds and the meaning of the title - Morrissey was a member of Goat Island, a Chicago-based collaborative group, who gave their Last Performance in 2009.

 

88 Constellations by David Clark is another e-lit piece that takes you "all over the place." It focuses on the philosopher Wittgenstein's thoughts on life. When clicking on LEO, I did learn a bit of trivia on how the MGM studio mascot lion got his name - from one of the founders Samuel "Leo" Goldwyn. I also got a laugh when some of Goldwyn's sayings were mentioned like "anyone who goes to a psychologist needs to have their head examined" or "this verbal agreement isn't worth the paper it is written on." I clicked on Blog and it links to a website dedicated to 88 Constellations and gives you Clark's own view of the piece. It also helped clear up why the words "to be played with the Left Hand" are in parenthesis next to the title - it was a tribute to Wittgenstein's concert pianist brother Paul who lost his right arm in WWI but still played with his left hand.

 

Almost Goodbye by Aaron Reed contains no sound, just text. The story is about Muriel Ross, a scientist leaving the earth forever who has yet to say goodbye to 5 people on her list. The reader has the option to click on who (her daughter, former lover, biggest fan, mentor and best friend), where she should meet them (diner, the park, etc.) and how the conversation should end (always a choice of two, for example, say you will or say you won't). As you move through each person, no matter which order you use, Muriel doesn't get to see the last person on the list because the time has come for final boarding. She does have the option of sending a message to that person or not; if you click on send message, you see that it is only one word, "Goodbye." This is an interesting piece that gives you a snapshot into Muriel's life where you can sense the sadness and even the regrets that she has about her life.

Reaction to E-Lit

Reaction to E-Lit

 

Since I am someone who learns better visually, electronic literature, or E-lit, makes the learning more interesting for me. However, until this class, I never really read literature on my computer - I always read it the old-fashioned way - in print. But when a story is on the computer, it really comes alive especially with the graphics which are more vivid than still photographs. Pictures and sounds can really tell a story. And the story so far that I thought showed E-lit at its best was Public Secrets. The black and white color images which resembled prison walls, the various sections where the quotes are in different sizes, and the hypertext links to the sounds of the women at the Central California Women's Facility really did as author Sharon Daniel said in her introduction - made us more of a witness than a tourist to what goes on inside the facility. Navigating through this E-lit piece was a little like walking through a maze - what do I click on now, where will it take me to, what's next if I click on "more"? The reader has the option to listen to the women's voices as well as read the transcript. To hear the women talk about the living conditions and how they are treated within the prison walls was fascinating as well as very sad.  "One comment in particular that troubled me was "A prisoner's attempted suicide is considered destruction of state property...How insane is that? The prison makes you crazy enough that you try to kill yourself and then they charge you with that so they can keep you longer." The title itself is very telling. Sharon Daniel is an advocate for the organization Justice Now and she had an agenda in telling this story so the "public" would know about the women's "secrets", their prison experiences. She includes a section that focuses on what the reader can do whether it be write to their politicians or join an organization focused on human rights in prison. I never really thought about the suffering that occurs for people in prison. I believe that if someone commits a crime then they deserve the consequences. But this story definitely had an impact on me, both through how it was told and what was told.

 

 

What is Digital Humanities?

If I start by taking each word separately, digital means the use of technology and humanities relates to the study of human society through subjects such as history, literature, music and philosophy. Connecting the two words, digital humanities means to me learning about the traditional humanities disciplines through digital born material. The description for this course focused on some key points that were interesting to me and can help further clarify the term such as the fact that digital humanities was an emerging field in which we would be exploring contemporary themes of social media, examining virtual environments and investigating virtual worlds as spaces of creation, inquiry, political upheaval and social change. Digital humanities has definitely caught on and this is referenced as such by Matthew Kirschenbaum's in his article, What is Digital Humanities and What's It Doing in English Departments? where he states that "In the space of a little more than five years, digital humanities had gone from being a term of convenience used by a group of researchers who had already been working together for years to something like a movement." This whole concept of digital humanities appears to be definitely having an impact on our world today. Using digital tools and methods to collect and analyze information, do research, engage in conversations and ask/answer questions can be an exciting way to learn. The resources available through the use of technology are unlimited. Using an electronic format can also be an effective way to communicate with others whether it be a blog, twitter, or some other online media tool. Furthermore, using technology as a learning tool provides opportunities to be creative and flexible which can further enhance learning. I know for me, using digital devices helps me better understand what I am studying. During this semester, I am looking forward to learning more about the whole culture of digital humanities through the discussions and experiments such as designing a website among other activities.