Hovering at a low altitiude

In the spring quarter of 1988 I became acquainted with computer graphics which opened up great visual possibilities for me. The computer enabled me to layer and integrate various photographic fragments of reality, and enhanced my ability to reveal aspects of my personality-- my fears, my desires, and my feeling of confusion between contrasting values within my life. I could now communicate on a more general level, dealing with not just personal but cultural issues such as the role of mythology in our everyday life and how we deal with all the information that we absorb in modern life

Information - Access: Denied

I have been privileged during my lifetime to always have the opportunity to learn about something if I wanted to. When I became interested in music and psychology—or even when I was learning how to apply for college—I googled it. The resources to obtain information have always been there for me: access to computers, the internet, books, journals. It is hard to imagine my life without a computer or access to books to learn about the world, and even harder to imagine if I did not know how to read or write. For this, I can thank my education and the money that provided this education. [excerpt

American Splendor

Artist Statement My photographs and paintings are reflective of a simpler and slower paced, rural life. This focus is in high contrast to what contemporary urban life often requires. I depict scenes of tranquil landscapes, farm animals, old barns, fields of grasses, and growing crops. I alter my digital photographic images with computer software. I use various filters that transform color, clarity, and value to give the photographs of nature an intentionally peaceful mood. These photographs are a basis for my paintings where I soften nature’s contours and emphasize tranquility. My desire is that viewers will look at my work and take a moment to stop, think, and breathe. Like myself, I want them to slow down and take in the simplicity and beauty of country life

Believe: A Motion Graphic Animation Brings Positive Power to Life

Life is an adventure, and growing up is not always enjoyable. When Life is filled mainly with struggles, sometimes people lose their confidence. They lack faith in themselves. Believe is a short motion graphic that comes directly from my own personal experience. This animation expresses my views on progress through life. The motion graphics animation has had a significant impact on audiences. The story encourages people to build up their faith and self-confidence, because Life is full of opportunity. The project was made by using motion graphics design concepts and experimenting with current computer graphics integration technologies. The final delivery is an one minute and 30 seconds world of imagination motion graphic. Sharing my personal experiences that may benefit others, as a motion motion graphic designer, I hope to convert my thoughts into creations meaningful to the universe

Measuring the Affordances of Studying in a Virtual World

There has been much interest at the University of Hertfordshire in the teaching and learning in virtual worlds such as Second Life. The School of Computer Science has established a virtual campus within this system where a broad range of learning and teaching activities take place. These include presenting textual, audio and video learning and teaching materials, delivering virtual lectures, providing simulations and group working areas. Recently there has been a great deal of controversy over such initiatives, for example at my own university lecturers are divided as to the efficacy of such an approach. Some see the initiative as an interesting addition to the range of teaching and learning strategies available, likely to motivate learners. Others see it as a trivial attempt to jump on the latest band wagon, with little pedagogical benefit or justification. My own past research in this area, over several years has related to an estimation of the cognitive load imposed by desktop virtual environments and how this affected learning. Several important variables have been identified in several years of research and their effects measured. In the study presented here, a group of 80 final year computer science students used the Second Life virtual environment in order to support their practical project work. Groups of four learners used the university virtual campus especially modified for this purpose to hold meetings and to manage their software development projects. This study reports on how the group areas were established and used by the learners, the types of activities that took place and the effectiveness of the approach in this context. Quantitative and qualitative research was undertaken and it was found that there were benefits to be had by the use of such virtual environments. Recommendations are made as to the affordances of the Second Life virtual environment for teaching and learning in this context and also discussed are the potential problems inherent in this initiative related to individual differences and the cognitive burden imposed on learners.Peer reviewe

A Tradition of Service

My work consists of a collection of narrative portraits of men in my family and my wife’s. I am inspired by photographs and documents from the lives of our predecessors. I admire their willingness to serve their countries and support their families. The symbolism included in these portraits is my attempt to create an homage to their lives. The artworks are composed of layered imagery of documents and photos. I create the compositions by digitizing and filtering the images collected from each man’s life. Then, I reassemble them and add color and layer brush work to add emphasis. My principle tool throughout the process has been my computer. The computer and various programs allow me to paint in the virtual environment. This has given me more control of the resulting print, and allowed me to include a higher level of detail and historical material in the image. Through these compositions I have sought to create a deeper personal connection to the men in our families

Misuses of Computers by Adolescents

One subject that has been a topic of much recent publicity and concern has been that of computer misuse. Teenage computer programmers gaining entry into the systems of universities, hospitals and businesses have caused the most concern . The duplication of copyrighted programs and information has also been reported to cause loss of considerable money. There seems to be a subpopulation of people who spend considerable time working with computers. These individuals may do so to the exclusion of other aspects of life such as human interaction . This paper will present both my observations of this behavior and my speculations about the motivations behind this behavior

New Media and the Quality of Life

We are currently in the middle of a revolution. This revolution, sometimes called the digital revolution, is the revolutionary transformation brought about in the information and communication structure of society by the advent of the digital computer, with most of the major transformations having taken place in the past thirty years. Digital computing technology has generated the mainframe and personal computer, the multimedia computer, and computer networks. It has also transformed the telephone system and the monetary system, it is transforming all kinds of conventional products ranging from washing machines to automobiles, and it is on its way to change television as well. More than ever, contemporary society is an Information Society, in which the importance of information and communication is much greater than in past societies, and of which technologies that facilitate information and communication processes are a central societal feature. In this paper, I want to evaluate the implications of contemporary information and communication media for the quality of life, including both the new media from the digital revolution and the older media that still remain in use. My evaluation of contemporary media will proceed in three parts. In the section to follow, the benefits of contemporary media will be discussed, with special emphasis given to their immediate functional benefits. The section thereafter is devoted to a discussion of four potential threats posed by contemporary media. In a final major section, I look at the future of digital media and the possibilities available to us in shaping that future. A short concluding section ends the paper

esc

My artwork is about the impact of the digital revolution on every aspect of life, such as relationships, war, and self image. I explore this in the creation of sculptures that represent abstracted globes or video game worlds, digital animations concerning the virtual and simulated, and prints as allegories for embodied post-human experience. The visual themes of my work are bitmapped patterns, early computer graphics, and twenty-sided dice