G4 leading class discussion

Wednesday, May 6, 2009/5/6
We choose classroom A102 for the class meeting because we think A102 is a very comfortable place. We hope everyone will feel comfortable during the class.





The first essay is written by Sandvig, C.
The Internet at Play: Child Users of Public Internet Connections
This article reports an ethnographic study of a subsidized computer center for children in an inner-city library. Young children play with the Internet, and this creates conflict with the justifications given for such centers by adults and public policy, leading to an atmosphere of tension between differing understandings of the Internet's purpose: as a place for ritual and play vs. as a place for the transmission of information and for work.

Discussion Question:
What do you usually do in NCU Computer Center?
Response:
G1: will do homework, search information, or do on-line chat.
G2: will do homework, assignment, and work of part-time job. They can play Second Life there because they have told the Computer Center this game is educational and it is for class.
G3: will do homework there. They won’t play there for the Computer Center is for educational use.
G5: will do homework or write papers there. But a girl will also watch drams there.

The second essay is written by Dmitri Williams, Nick Yee, Scott E. Caplan
Who plays, how much, and why? Debunking the stereotypical gamer profile
This study combined the survey and database of game companies, with the cooperation of a major virtual world operator. Players of EverQuest 2 were surveyed about their offline characteristics, motivations, and their physical and mental health. Most of the findings defy common stereotypes and have complications for communication theory and for future investigations of games.

Discussion Question:
Do you play any MMOs, “massively multiplayer online games?” If yes, please analyze which factor do u belong to, Achievement, social or Immersion?
Response:
G1: 1) Second Life 2) Achievement (for homework), social (meeting and chatting with new people), Immersion (hanging on SL and forgot doing important things).
G2: 1) Online Go Car (can be single-player or team) 2) Achievement (the goal is to win)
G3: 1) Second Life 2) Achievement, social, Immersion (They are not addicted, but some boys they know are addicted to online games and spend a lot of time on it.)
G5: 1)麻將online 2) Achievement (gain money, practice skills)

The Third essay is written by His-Yao Su
The Multilingual and Multi-Orthographic Taiwan-Based Internet: Creative Uses of Writing Systems on College-Affiliated BBSs
The third essay merely talks about the creative writings in order to present the rendering in Chinese characters of the sounds of English（音譯）, Taiwanese（台語）, Taiwanese-accented Mandarin（台灣國語）and the recycling of a transliteration alphabet used in elementary education（注音）in Chinese characters. It starts from the multi-lingual background of Taiwan to the usages of these four types of creative writing, their purposes been used and the social meanings they are linked to.

Discussion Question:
If you have known about or used the four kinds of creative writing on the Internet, where or when have you seen or used these creative writings? What advantage or disadvantage do you think in using these creative writings?
＊Please leave your opinions as comments below this article before next Wed. 5/13.