DIGC Field Notes Journal

Research Question

An analysis of the shortcomings and  expectations of Australia’s National Waste Policy due to be implemented in 2011

Abstract

 Analysis:

We hope to discover how prevalent the e-waste issue within Australia is and the implications and expectations of the policy

Method:

We will be using …

• Legislative Study – Paige
• Focus Groups – Sam
• Interviews – Rhys
• Discourse Analysis – Matt
• Survey -Natassja (Me)

Approach:

 

As I am in charge of  the survey methodology; which implies using  a statistical survey for collecting quantitative information about items in a population. The intended population for this survey includes local council members and technology high schools using a semi structured inteview style survey.

Questions:

1. What Technology do you use most and why?
2. How do you use your technology?
3. What is done with your old or broken technological objects?
4. How Often do you upgrade technological products such as your phone or computer?
5. Are you aware of the options available to despose of  technology particualrly your mobile phone?

Transcript:

1. The technology i use the most s my laptop and my iphone, i find that these two devices satisty my thrist for technology because i am a mad secret nerd.
2. i use technology on a second basis. Every few miniute i will check facebook , an email will be notified to me, i’ll download series of shows to watch them ‘marathontly’ from the comfort of my bed on my laptop.
3. I have never, ever thrown out my old technologies, i literally keep everything in a draw in my desk.
4. Prior to buying my iphon i went through about 2 phones a year which i would treat like shit – however i bougth myself something nice aka n Iphone and i looked after it because it cause an arm and a leg.
5. yes but i choose not to dispose of it than incase i need a back up.
6. i choose not to recycle my mobile phones because i hold memories to them, they cost money and also make usuful backups.

Summary:

The interview was easy as my respondant was clearly understood the questions asked and responded in a manner that addressed the questions in a short and ‘sync.’ manner. The information gathered from the interview was personal and specific in relation to e-waste

E-waste interview with Christopher Avalos (relation: boyfriend)

I interviewed my 20 year old boyfriend who is studying Electrical Engineering on his usage of electronic devices. The questions focused on his updating and disposal habits, I was also intrigued about his knowledge about the consequences of ewaste. Due to the fact that we are quite accostomed to each others presence, the interview process was very relaxed with the set questions as well as follow up impromptu questions.

What forms of electrical technology do you currently use on a regular basis?  Computer, mobile and phone…What like electrical shit?…power supplies, soldering iron, oscilloscope, amplifiers, multi-meter, playstation3, hard drives, ipod, psp, TV and stereo in my car.

Recycling & past technologies
- Are you aware of the repercussions ‘throwing out’ technological devices?  The impact, it’s pretty bad, I don’t really know about the impact but it’s really bad aye? I just threw them out but I know that CRT monitors can’t be disposed in normal waste they have to be disposed properly like taken to some environmental place and shit.

- What kinds of old technology do you have at home  & why? I have old computers that I’m installing new ram cards and softwear in that so they work again, my old room lights because I installed halogen lights… I’ve fixed a couple of lamps and toys that I have rewired that are accumulating in my garage to be sent to Peru for charity work.

Communication

- Do you have a landline, if so how many?  Only one but there are 3 phones off the one line.
- What brand is your mobile phone? Samsung HD icon with 8mp camera (Smartphone) & an LG K something I’ll get back to you on that one.
– How do you normally buy your phones plan or outright? I bought all of them out right.

– How much doyou spend on credit per month? $50

–How often do you buy credit? every three weeks?
– How many mobile phones have you had? *laughs* do you really want to know?…are you writing that down?, I don’t even think I can count them all.  I’ve had too many. Phones, phones? I’ve got have had like over 50 that I’ve used. They’ve been stolen, they’ve been dodgy. I’ve used Samsung’s, Nokia’s. Friken ones from Japan but my favorite phone from back in the day was a Nokia engage, do you know how good that was back in the day? I used it to play games and stuff in class, I had a new phone like every week, I was pretty cool and all my friends were like ‘Wow man!’.

What kind of computer do you normaly use? I’m using an Hp Pavilion which uses duo quad core processor but I’ve up graded it to 6 gig of ram and it has 500 internal hard drive and 120 pocket media drive. I’ve up graded from Vista to Windows 7. Power source for the computer is 240 from the wall and converts into 12V into the actual motherboard. Plus a bluetooth keyboard and mouse with a HD webcam.
- What was your last computer? Shitty Accer, Windows XP but it was running on low ram which is one of the reasons I upgraded and it couldn’t support games while running other apps at the same time
- How long have you owned your current computer for? *whistles* last year Christmas…no two years ago, yeah two years ago
- What happened to your old computer? I erased windows XP and put Ubuntu operating system, mainly ‘cause the fact I wanted another operating system that would run an antivirus system that would pick up the virus so I could transfer my files safely to windows 7

Entertainment

- What do you use to listen to music? I-pod touch but i lost that, so i use my psp when im on the train, use Cd’s in the car and PS3 /itunes when im at home. 

- How long have you had it for? My first I pod like 6 yrs ago? I think I got it when they first came out. I bought my i-pod touch about two years ago.
- What did own before your ipod? I first had walkman than a CD player then I went to mini disc player

- Do you use CDs often if so do you own many? Yes, many, many, many CDs *laughs* I’ve got about maybe 3-400 CD’s
- How many TV’s are there in your household? 4
- Do you have anything other than free to air availble the TV’s? Yes, 3 foxtels, 1 has IQ so it has a hard drive to record shows, I also have DVD recorder.
- Are there any unused Tv’s in your house? Yes, 2?
- What have been your past consoles? Sega Saturn, Sega Megadrive, umm I had a hand held Sega that old school, I mean like that old school like sonic and shit. Nintendo 64, Play station, Playstation 1,Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo game cube, a PSP, PSP 3000. Not to mention I had a game boy *gets excited* a black and white one, Gameboy pocket I had two of them, limited edition colour Gameboy, Gameboy Advanced and that’s all I didn’t get the other ones. No DS. Oooh I also has the PS2 slim.

- Did you ‘throw out’ your old ones? Nope, Either sold them or gave them to family in Peru.

What did you do with the games that belonged to them? I have them away with the consoles to my cousins in Peru or sold them.
- How many digital cameras have you bought?  Umm 2? I had a canon and replaced it because I wanted one with an LCD screen display and USB memory.

Todays society is constantly engaged in a world of consumerism, based on the desire to purchase commodity goods in ever greater amounts and the seasonal changes in the fashion world are no exception. Fashion trends tend to be an external demonstration of bipolar, all it takes is one celebrity to wear it on the red carpet or ‘Sex and the City’ to be on popular demand and before you know it must be desposed of because the item or entire outfit has now become stylistically obsolete! A comical perspective has been adopted by the majority of society, as the general publics fasination with fashion victims as seen in some of the most prominate magazines. Why is it that most woman desire owning the ‘hottest accessories’? As a result more and more civilans are sucked into the vicious cycle of consumption. In my assingment i aspire to define the stylistic trends of the nessacary accessory the mobile and what fashionistas pursue to achieve.

 Nellis’ article on About.com, ‘Hot or Not: When Fashion Trends Die,’ displays the topic in an different light by questioning the fashion cycle and what determines what is ‘hot or not’. The origin of this stylistic obsolecence is an issue i will raise in my assesment.

The primary source http://www.carsonkressley.com  was a valuble insight of a fashionista as Carson Kressley is currently a celebrity stylist whom is ultimately influencing societies fashion trends as individuals value his style statements.

The Press Release ‘Fashion Trends: Must we follow them?” (2008) was an invaluable primary resource which contrasted previous sources supporting my hypothesis as it addresses identity formation and non conforming to the mainstreem quo as stated “seasonal change cues fashion media editors to present the public with “must have” and “no-no”  listings.

Addressing consumerist side of electronics combined with the fashion trends of my other sources GreenPeace’s online article illustrates the contribution to e-waste that mobile phones have. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/music/story/05DE7908EF58CD9B862576EB0014703D?OpenDocument

http://joshspear.com/?tag=mobile-phones . A blog about trendspotting, the nessacary accesory the mobile phone was an interesting spin on how ewaste in intertwined with the fashion end. As moblie phones are constantly being broken, dropped and just suffering the impacts of everyday life. The on going need and hoarding of phones has its ecological impact on E-waste dumps.

‘The Fashion System’ Barthes’s (1983) book ,combining primary and tertiary information was another intriuging  source as the content focused on the construct of the fashion pyramid.

http://www.gbguide.com/blog/shopping/history-of-mobiles-sales-statistics-and-latest-mobile-phones was useful for the statistics shown as the consumption of the mobile fone has increased over the last twelve years, surely this must be saying something about the not only the evolution of technology but the new generation of fashion.

Providing a suprising wealth of information which was specific concering the topic and including the sociological reasons was the tertiary source ‘Fashion and its Social Agendas: Class, Gender, and Identity in Clothing’ by Crane (2000).

The online article ‘Throwaway fashion: buy it, wear it, bin it,’ by Tilley (2008) is an advantagous secondary source as it concerns the current statistics from the TCTIFA; regarding the average amount of clothing items purchased per year and the decline of quality donations to charities, a reflection of the e-waste phenomenon perhapse.

The online article ‘Cell phones are a must have accesory for concertgoers’ by C. Johnson (2010) portrayed the impact that the technological trend has has on society creating a dependance on an object.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/infocus/fashion/whatisfashion.html, online article that defines what fashion is and the reasons behind the trend, asnwering the common questions raised.

 REFERENCES:
-
Barthes, R (1983), ‘The Fashion System,’ University of California Press, United States of America, Ch 18.

Crane, D (2000), ‘Fashion, Identity and its Social Change,’ in Fashion and its Social Agendas: Class, Gender, and Identity in Clothing, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 1-24.

Johnson, C, (2010) ’Cell Phones are a must have accessory for Concertgoers’, Access date: 26/3/2010, http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/music/story/05DE7908EF58CD9B862576EB0014703D?OpenDocument 

Kressley,C (date unknown), Access date: 26/3/2010 http://www.carsonkressley.com
Nellis, C (Date Unknown), ‘Hot or Not: When Fashion Trends Die,’ About.com Guide, Access date: 24/3/2010, http://fashion.about.com/od/latesttrends/a/trendover.htm-

Spear,J (2009) , ‘Trendspotting; Mobile Phones’, Access date: 25/3/2010, http://joshspear.com/?tag=mobile-phones 

ReDress Consultancy-South Africa, (2008), ‘Fashion Trends: Must we follow them?’ Media Release, Access date: 25/3/2010, http://www.prlog.org/10112354-fashion-trends-must-we-follow-them.html

(2009),  ‘History of mobile sales statistics and the latest Mobile Phones’, Access Date: 24/3/2010,http://www.gbguide.com/blog/shopping/history-of-mobiles-sales-statistics-and-latest-mobile-phones

Tilley, E (2008), ‘Throwaway fashion: buy it, wear it, bin it,’ The Courier-Mail, Access date: 26/3/2010, http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/fashion/throwaway-fashion-buy-it-wear-it-bin-it/story-e6frfn7i-1111116997402

All arguments against the introduction of ISP Internet Filtering seem to revolve around the idea that the system will be insufficient and ineffective as peer to peer protocols could not possibly be managed  not to mention that the ‘freedom’ of internet use is under threat and not address more serious issues. Is it worth risking safety simply to obtain freedom, how is this justifiable?

The Australian government has previously and currently uses a combination of legislation, filtering and educational laws to protect Australians from harmful content on the internet. This combination means that Australians are made aware of the content that they are restricted from viewing, which differs from censorship laws in other countries such as China. The initiative for this filter is to further develop the already in place regulatory measures that most members of the Australian public are unaware of, for an example currently Google is filtering more websites and packets than any other company in the world. The product covers a wide range of protocols filtering the web content, identifying and blocking prohibited and potentially prohibited content reducing the rates of over blocking.  The ISP Level of filtering is justified due to the fact that the direct aim is attempting to limit and stop issues such as child pornography and controversial topics such as euthanasia, internet filtering isn’t designed to monitor psychological issues or protect people’s financial assets; it’s designed to restrict content.

“Google it” has become a common phrase which is said wen a question arises buy how embedded is Google in our lives? The biggest search engine and has this  multibillion dollar company become a modern day “big brother” (a concept from the novel 1964 by christopher isherwood)?  Just stop to think that google is a perfect example to apply the quote “with great power comes great responsibility”, how much power does this multi-faceted company actually obtain? This corporation has the ability to lash out viciously or fufil ’evil’ activity and simply be a culprit to individuals wishes as the information that is accessible through the many features  such as ‘Google Earth”, stalking, organised crime and other illegal engagements is as simple as typing in a location into a search bar and the click of a button. Due to this reason it is understandable why the “big brother theory has been associated with Google and websites such as ‘Google is Evil’ (2006). Has it occured to you that google is monitoring every movement we make online, the information given by our Internet footprint is directly transmitted to the mysterious “Google headquarters” as data, we are basically bogged down as our lives have become so reliant on one corporation’s knowledge and technology.

 Google was requested (and carried out) censorship in china of all sites that detailing human rights and Tibet,  along with other delicate topics which doesn’t comply with the communist nations amongst other sensitive topics which are seen as a threat to the nation if people were to research; as stated on (Google Defends Censorship of Web Sites, 2006). A exceptional example of how Google’s technology can facilitate in the monitoring of and controll what is read, watched and downloaded can be found in the instance of the agreement Google made with china in 2006. Personally i think that Google isn’t ‘evil’ perse; it is merely a medium which can assist in the evil actions of  individuals in our corrupt society; which through misuse of it’s technology such as cyber stalking, unethical plans of government censorship (threatening their market) and through personal vandetas are simply made easier. These factors do not make Google ‘evil’ as such, but  it  is evidence suggesting that the human race  is evil by nature for wanting to cause such issues in the first place.

 

REFERENCES:

Google Defends Censorship of Web Sites, 2006, Accessed on the 19/3/2010
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Business/story?id=1540568

Google as Big Brother, n.d, Accessed on the 15/3/2010
http://www.google-watch.org/bigbro.html

Is Google Evil? 2006, Accessed on the 17/3/2010
http://www.isgoogleevil.com/

After pondering on my own thoughts about various topics of which i
know a substancial amount of information on and wondering on all the
topics of which my fellow DIGC102 students could possibly write about
and eventually coming to a toss up so to speak between dance or
traveling, i thought traveling would be the way to go considering i
just arrived from a 3 month trip overseas.

What is to travel?
Travel is simply movement between the famous “A & B” or if your being
adventurous heck why not go all the way to “C” which would be overseas
or a location outside your typical movements. Although truely ‘Travel’
is a wider concept than a trip, to travel is to explore, venture out,
see, feel, hear and even smell new things.

Although traveling is most commonly done for recreation or to visit
family/friends (which is why i spent my summer in South America) there
are numerous reasons for traveling to occur for business or for
commuting; but may be for numerous other reasons, such as health,
migration, fleeing war, etc. Travel may occur by walking or  or
through ‘devices’, either private e.g a private jet which im sure we
all wish we had but for most of us normal civilians would be a car or
public transport. Oh public transport some love it others loath it…i
personally dont mind it but give me a train any day over a bus, as i
frequently use them as my means of transport on my own mini adventures
around Sydney.

Travel may be local, regional, national (domestic) or international
where u might even require a Visa! No not the credit card although you
might need that too..

The traveling is like the Universe… Forever reaching. When
something
like an adventure can be aproached from all angles through one simple
trip to the travel agent, not even a simple step outside your
doorstep….the possiblities are endless, Dont be a tourist be a
traveler!

Hey All!

Im Natassja (pronounced Natasha for those who were wondering, yes i
know odd spelling but to cut out all confusion just call me Tash) Im fresh out of Gymea Technology High and big
suprise thats where i live thankfully a suburb that has no debate
whether or not its in the shire.

So im currently enrolled to study B. of Communication & Media studies
(Journalism), hopefully venturing out to somewhere exotic e.g Costa
Rica! But for now im getting used to the whole little fish in a big
pond thing even thought its exciting to start uni and be using the
academic side of my brain again and lucky for me i have some of my
best friends at U.O.W to kill time with during our breaks from which
we’ve become fond of rush cafe….

Besides spending time at home in my PJ’s im with family & friends…
Dancing to anything really but im trained in contemporary, its my passion.I love to  bask in o’glorious sun also known to mere mortals as going to the beach

i am a complication of serious acts!! =]
I dont enjoy shopping and i hate shoes n bags but i do like make up =]
Im like most girls  we know thats an incorrect statement
I am proud to say that i don’t care what other people think of me which can be a bad thing at times

Im the type of person who wears sunnies at night. Im not a stick
figure (unfortunately for me) .im never
going to be model thin. unfair but true. Im MULTI TALENTED speak english ,spanish and french
as well as say random things in about 5 languages plus i like to
quote lines from movies or other awesome people