Sectors and Services

This lecture looked at the various sectors and services in the UK economy.

The UK Economy is the 7th largest in the world,

The 3rd largest in Europe

One of the most globalised countries.

London is the largest financial centre, equal with New York.

Largest Industries - Aerospace, Pharmaceuticals, North Sea oil and gas.

An Industry sector is an area of the economy with related products or services:

Primary Sector - Extraction and harvesting of natural resources.

Secondary Sector - Processing, Manufacture and Construction.

Tertiary Sector - Knowledge and Services.

There is also the:

Public Sector - Publicly or state owned E.G NHS

Private Sector - Privately owned and run for profit

3rd Sector - Voluntary, Charity, Community owned business.

Don't Get Ripped Off

This lecture looked at copyright and intellectual property.

Intellectual property refers to creations of your mind:

Inventions, Literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce.

Films, games, painting, photographs, fashion designs, recipes.

Intellectual Property is Patents, Trade Marks, Registered Designs, Copyright

Copyright covers

Art, Literature, Music, Animation, Films, Games,

it is automatic and dates and records your work.

How long do they last?

Patents - max 20 years

Trademarks and logos - indefinite, renewed every 10 years

Design Rights - Up to 25 years, renewed every 5 years

Copyright - until 70 years after death

What is an Evaluation?

This lecture looks at writing evaluations.

We make choices all the time, the choice we go with is decided by evaluating the possibilites.

We also use reviews by other people to decide on what films to watch, or what games to play. These reviews weigh the pros and cons of various aspects of the product being reviewed.

This is similar to an evaluation that assesses the strengths and weaknesses of a wide variety of things in order to improve their effectiveness.

An evaluation is about:

Your progress as a result of learning

The quality of your solution

You performance during the module

Your ability to work in a team

Your professionalism

Perfect Presentations

In this lecture we looked at presentations, and what makes a good presentation. Presentations are a way of bringing forth and communicating new information to an audience and attempting to help them to understand.

The lecture suggests the use of as little text as possible, keep the presentation simple, make connections, use a maximum of 10 slides, avoid the use of bullet points and use inspirational imagery and images.

It also suggests that you:

Know your subject,
Know your audience,
Know yourself,
Prepare Your script,
Choose correct visual aids.

Possible visual aids include,

Powerpoint,
An Overhead Projector,
A relevant Object,
Video,
Handouts,
Flip Cards,
Mime.

Social media and networking

This lecture looked at the way we use social media and various social networking sites and their uses. Social networks are a way of connecting individuals who would never gain real world contact. The lecture looked at a variety of sites, ranging in purpose from personal, such as Facebook, professional, such as Linked In, and commercial sites, such as Red Bubble.

The Lecture also provided 20 social networking and blogging tips:


Top 20 tips for successful blogging & social networking
1. Be Social – Don’t always talk about ‘YOU’. People quickly become bored if you are always
talking about yourself, your opinion, the way you feel about stuff.  Include opinions from
other sources such as your favourite artist, designer, musician or guru.  Say if you agree or
disagree with what they say and explain why.  Talk about the work of other students that
you admire or respect.
2. Visit other blogs – Read the blogs of your peers and comment on their work.  Everyone
waits around for others to comment on their blogs or web sites but when was the last time
that you commented on someone else’s blog?
3. Respond to comments – It is disappointing when I don’t receive a reply to comments I
have posted. It is basic blogging etiquette to reply. Acknowledge your readers’ comments
and they will be encouraged to comment again.
4. Be generous – Be constructive in your comments.
5. Subscribe by email – It is great to be able to subscribe to a favourite blog by email.
Adding this feature could bring more regular visitors.
6. Share – If you think you have something in common with another blogger, send them links
to other sites, events and feeds that may be of interest to them.
7. Know what you have posted about yourself – keep your profiles up to date. Make a
note in your calendar to update information periodically.  Out of date information could be
unhelpful in the future.
8. Assume that everything you put on the internet is permanent -  Even if you can
delete your account, anyone on the internet can easily copy, paste, save anything you have
put up there. Their records will live on after yours have been deleted.
9. Be a conduit - As well as publishing your own content, stay on the lookout for things that
will interest your audience elsewhere on the web. As well as helping you to develop
relationships with others, this will help to develop your reputation as an expert or ‘the place
to go’ for information in the eyes of your readers. Do this by adding links to your posts.
10. Be original – Simply feeding or replicating existing material is not enough. Keep thinking
about new ideas for content that haven’t been explored as these will secure your position as
an independent thinker.
11. Create a news feed - Pick some favourite artists, designers, writers, journalists and create
a Google News feed that tracks new mentions of them, so other fans can follow them via
your weblog.
12. Credit your sources – include links to your sources so your readers have the option of
following and idea ‘upstream’ and to lend authority to your research.
13. Use key words – always label your work using as many relevant key works as possible.
This helps the reader to find their way around your site. Tags help people to find your
articles but be clever about the way you use them. Don’t use long phrases; split them up to
improve the chances of people picking up on your posts.14. Interview somebody – to take the focus away from you and your thoughts and feelings;
why not interview someone. You could use write it in a Q&A style or you could even insert
a short video. 2-3 minutes is the optimum length.
15. Post frequently – every day is too much. Once a week is not enough.
16. Fun Widgets – If blogging is new to you, you may get distracted by widgets. Too many
widgets will detract from the content of your blog. If you must have them; limit them to
three at the most.
17. End with a question – reach out to your readers by asking a question. Blogs that consist
only of statement and thoughts are boring. Engage your tutor and other readers by asking
for their thoughts on your subject.
18. Left align your writing – Centred text is what you see on menus and posters.
Professional writers for newspapers, magazines, books and web sites do not centre their
text because it makes it very difficult to read.
19. Use paragraph breaks – every time your post changes subject or introduces a new idea,
start a new paragraph. Blocks of continuous text are not inviting to read.
20. Don’t copy and paste from MS word: This is a bog ‘NO’ Doing this can give you bad
code that will mess up your blog layout.
If you want to copy and past from MS Word you should paste the text into the HTML
section of your editor or paste the text into notepad ( or Mac ‘text edit’ in applications)  and
then copy and paste that text into your post editor.
19. Stick with it – One of the biggest mistakes that bloggers make is to give up too easily. Stick
with it and reap the rewards.

PPP Who are you?

The first PPP Lecture looked at personality types and relating them to our personal practice. It looked at the16 various MBTI personality types. It also looked at life balance across a variety of aspects, including Health and Well Being, Achievements, Contentment, Work/Career, Friendship, Security, Energy, Self Esteem, Fun & Recreation, Home - Family, Relationships and Finance.

The Lecture also covered Belbin's Team Roles, and we were asked to identify which of these roles we could mostly associate ourselves with. 

The 16 Personality types taken from the lecture are as follows:

The 16 MBTI Types

ISTJ

Quite, serious, earn success by thoroughness and dependability. Practical, matter-of-fact, realistic, and responsible. Decide logically what should be done and work toward it steadily, regardless of distractions. Take pleasure in making everything orderly and organized – their work, their home, their life. Value traditions and loyalty.

ISFJ

Quiet, friendly, responsible, and conscientious. Committed and steady in meeting their obligations. Thorough, painstaking, and accurate. Loyal, considerate, notice and remember specifics about people who are important to them, concerned with how others feel. Strive to create an orderly and harmonious environment at work and at home.

INFJ

Seek meaning and connection in ideas, relationships, and material possessions. Want to understand what motivates people 

and are insightful about others. Conscientious and committed to their firm values. Develop a clear vision about how best 

to serve the common good. Organized and decisive in implementing their vision.

INTJ

Have original minds and great drive for implementing their ideas and achieving their goals. Quickly see patterns in external events and develop long-range explanatory perspectives. When committed, organize a job and carry it through. Skeptical and independent, have high standards of competence and performance – for themselves and others.

ISTP

Tolerant and flexible, quiet observers until a problem appears, then act quickly to find workable solutions. Analyze what makes things work and readily get through large amounts of data to isolate the core of practical problems. Interested in cause and effect, organize facts using logical principles, value efficiency.

ISFP

Quiet, friendly, sensitive, and kind. Enjoy the present moment, what’s going on around them. Like to have their own space and to work within their own time frame. Loyal and committed to their values and to people who are important to them. Dislike disagreements and conflicts, do not force their opinions or values on others.

INFP

Idealistic, loyal to their values and to people who are important to them. Want an external life that is congruent with their values. Curious, quick to see possibilities, can be catalysts for implementing ideas. Seek to understand people and to help them fulfill their potential. Adaptable, flexible, and accepting unless a value is threatened.

INTP

Seek to develop logical explanations for everything that interests them. Theoretical and abstract, interested more in ideas than in social interaction. Quiet, contained, flexible, and adaptable. Have unusual ability to focus in depth to solve problems in their area of interest. Skeptical, sometimes critical, always analytical.

ESTP

Flexible and tolerant, they take a pragmatic approach focused immediate results. Theories and conceptual explanations bore them – they want to act energetically to solve the problem. Focus on the here-and-now, spontaneous, enjoy each moment that they can be active with others. Enjoy material comforts and style. Learn best through doing.

ESFP

Outgoing, friendly, and accepting. Exuberant lovers of life, people, and material comforts. Enjoy working with others to make things happen. Bring common sense and a realistic approach to their work, and make work fun. Flexible and spontaneous, adapt readily to new people and environments. Learn best by trying a new skill with other people.

ENFP

Warmly enthusiastic and imaginative. See life as full of possibilities. Make connections between events and information very quickly, and confidently proceed based on the patterns they see. Want a lot of affirmation from others, and readily give appreciation and support. Spontaneous and flexible, often rely on their ability to improvise and their verbal fluency.

ENTP

Quick, ingenious, stimulating, alert, and outspoken. Resourceful in solving new and challenging problems. Adept at generating conceptual possibilities and then analyzing them strategically. Good at reading other people. Bored by routine, will seldom do the same thing the same way, apt to turn to one new interest after another.

ESTJ

Practical, realistic, matter-of-fact. Decisive, quickly move to implement decisions. Organize projects and people to get things done, focus on getting results in the most efficient way possible. Take care of routine details. Have a clear set of logical standards, systematically follow them and want others to also. Forceful in implementing their plans.

ESFJ

Warmhearted, conscientious, and cooperative. Want harmony in their environment, work with determination to establish it. Like to work with others to complete tasks accurately and on time. Loyal, follow through even in small matters. Notice what others need in their day-by-day lives and try to provide it. Want to be appreciated for who they are and for what they contribute.

ENFJ

Warm, empathetic, responsive, and responsible. Highly attuned to the emotions, needs, and motivations of others. Find potential in everyone, want to help others fulfill their potential. May act as catalysts for individual and group growth. Loyal, responsive to praise and criticism. Sociable, facilitate others in a group, and provide inspiring leadership.

ENTJ

Frank, decisive, assume leadership readily. Quickly see illogical and inefficient procedures and policies, develop and implement comprehensive systems to solve organizational problems. Enjoy long-term planning and goal setting. Usually well informed, well read, enjoy expanding their knowledge and passing it on to others. Forceful in presenting their ideas.

Post-apocalyptic Fiction

Post-apocalyptic fiction has been of great interest to me for a long time. I have been a fan of Terminator since I was 13, and I am also a big fan of the Fallout games, which are perhaps the most well known Post-apocalyptic survival games.

Post-apocalyptic fiction has appeared in various forms and in nearly every single medium. Rising to prominence in the 50's with the very real threat of nuclear destruction influencing various stories, each one being a commentary to varying degrees on modern day life.

One of the earliest post apocalyptic stories I've known is H.G Wells' War of the Worlds, telling the story of Martians invading and destroying earth.

Batman as Transmedia

A character I've had a massive interest in since a very young age has definitely been Batman. I grew up with the 1990's animated series, but never really pursued my interest until I started reading comic books seriously, which was roughly when the Nolan films were released.

I have also become a massive fan of the Arkham series of Batman games, and as such I have come to realise how effective Batman is as a transmedia character.



Batman has been featured across many different mediums, most notably the comic books, but the other media has allowed for the character to be explored in many different styles. Each version gaining its own following.

The animated TV series, Batman Beyond, which ran from 1999 - 2001 presented the Batman story in a unique way to most incarnations of the character. This time it was about Bruce Wayne's successor to the Batman name. This version was the most influential to my love of the character.






Arguably the most well known incarnation of Batman, and one of the earliest on-screen portrayals of the character is the 1960's TV series with Batman portrayed by Adam West. This version is noticeably different to most comic and film versions of Batman, such as the most recent Christopher Nolan film series, in that it follows a camp style and aesthetic.



The most recent Film run of Batman is Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy, comprised of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. These bare a stark distinction from other Batman stories in that they aim for a far more realistic feel. The films also present the darker aspects of the Batman mythology, creating a stark contrast to the Adam West TV series.

Development of assets

For the development of my environment I needed to create object to populate my environment with. Because of the steelworks theme, I had to consider what a steelworks on a backwater planet would have on it. I figured that the objects would be built sturdy, yet suffer from wear as a consequence to  constant use. The workers would also live on site in prefabricated dwellings built from cheap materials. Domestic items such as handheld radios would be large and clunky, and built to survive damage.

To reflect this I chose textures that suited this worn and lived in environment, nothing being clean or looking new. Not all of the following textures were used in the final environment, but all were chosen for their rough appearance to be used on a variety of objects.

Moral Kombat: violence in video games

As part of the videogames module, we looked at the documentary Moral Kombat, which debated the morality of the use of violence in videogames.

Part of the issue with violence in videogames is what sets videogames apart from other medium such as films and comics. In a film, the audience takes the role of watcher, having no impact and no choice in how the action plays out, whereas in a videogame the player takes a much more active role, have total control over their character's actions. When a character in a film kills someone, the viewer has no decision as to if the other character lives or dies, whereas in a videogame, the character dies by choice of the player.

On the flip side however, most gamers know how to separate fantasy and reality. The controversy arising with violent games being blamed for school shootings and similar events, is in my opinion, an attempt to shift the blame to a single or group of minor entities that would have lead an individual to commit such acts.

Also, concerns of children being exposed to the violent content of the medium needs to consider that violent games will often get a 15+ or 18+ rating depending on content, and as such, distributors will refuse to sell such content to minors.

Environment Inspiration

For the video games module I was tasked with creating an environment, I opted to create a spaceship crash site.

The theme behind the crash site came naturally to me as I had recently watched Alien3 and I am a massive fan of the film. Although I also brainstormed other ideas, the steelworks theme I envisioned was piecing itself together much more naturally.

My love for the 3rd Alien film came not from the thriller aspects the series is famous for, but from the environment of steelmill turned prison turned temple. The steelmill environment has always piqued my interest due to my dad showing me pictures from the steelworks he worked at when I was at a young age.

I also considered putting the steel mill into a cyberpunk-esque urban environment but instead opted for the more realistic coastal environment that most steelworks are found in.

For the ship itself, I considered using VTOL aircraft for the actual design, but settled for a prison pod that had been wrecked beyond repair, allowing me to create lots of smaller parts instead of one big ship.

I looked at a lot of images of existing steelworks, both interiors and exteriors from around the world. From these I learned that steelworks are essentially made up of very simple geometry, mostly cubes and cylinders. I also chose to set my environment at dawn because of how it complimented the steelworks theme.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, Mini Review

Recently I bought the video game Escape from Butcher Bay, the first game in the Chronicles of Riddick franchise. The game puts you in the role of convict Richard B. Riddick, as he attempts to escape the Triple Max Prison, Butcher Bay.

Although I have only played the starting levels of the game, I have found that the game appropriately uses sound and lighting to create the atmosphere present  in the Riddick films. Environments are filled with dark shadows that make perfect hiding spots as the player sneaks behind guards to stealthily take them out. Bright lighting helps to create a clear distinction between areas where Riddick can hide, and areas where he would be spotted instantly. Being a futuristic prison, the environments are made from solid metals and concrete, with tight and claustrophobic corridors, and huge imposing and foreboding towers in the more open environments.

As for sound, listening out for the footsteps of guards and irate prisoners is a key aspect of survival. Sound also plays a key part of the immersion into the gameplay, with Vin Diesel reprising the Riddick role from the films, Riddick's speech will give the player information on where to go next, rather than simply by following an arrow on the HUD. Diesel's grunts when the player takes or inflicts damage, may seem like a minor detail, but not only does it serve as an indicator to damage being taken, it also helps to make the player feel linke they're playing as Riddick as opposed to Generic Game Character No.6.