MAC129 MED102 Assignment questions 2010

Choose one of the following essay titles.

1 - "...people are still burbling about 'cyberculture' - a term whose useful

potential has been killed off by the staggering number of tedious things that
have been written about it" (David Gauntlett, 2004). Discuss with relation to the
range of subjects and materials that the term evokes.

2 - Choose TWO key developments in the evolution of the Internet and/or the
Personal Computer over the last fifteen years and examine their influence on
the study of Cyberculture.

3 - To what extent can cinema be seen as "a form of cyberspace... a place where
we encounter and experience cyberculture" (David Bell 2001: 62)?

4 – In mainstream discourse the term ‘hacker’ is often associated with

criminality. How has the meaning of the term changed over the past few
decades and in what ways does the development of ‘hacktivism’ problematise
the commonly-held assumption of illegal activity?

5 – The history of digital games has been characterised by ‘consistent pattern of

male technocratic privilege’ (Williams, cited in Aphra Kerr, 2006: 19). To what
extent can it be argued that female gamers are excluded from this masculine
realm?

6 – “Representation is never innocent. It has real effects and repercussions”

(Diana George & Diana Shoos, 1999: 118). “Representation is an essential part of
the process by which meaning is produced and exchanged between members of
a culture” (Stuart Hall, 1997: 15). Drawing on your understandings of these
quotations, how have representations in video games been discussed in the
mainstream media and or/academia? You should refer to specific game titles
and their public reception to illustrate your argument.

7 – Web 2.0: “nobody even knows what it means” (Tim Berners-Lee, 2006).
Assess the origins and significance of the term “Web 2.0” paying attention to the
contested meanings ascribed to it by both advocates and critics

8 – Recent trends suggest that young people are spending more time online and
less time watching television. Assess the claim that the Internet poses a serious
threat to television’s long term viability.

9 - Assess the impact the Internet has had on news reporting and news
presentation over the past ten years. Consider to what extent these changes
signal the demise of the printed newspaper.

10 – The Internet has brought with it a new set of surveillance tools, making it
easier to connect with one another and observe people’s behaviour. To what
extent do you agree that social media tools (eg Facebook, YouTube, Flickr,
Twitter, Delicious, etc) are eroding our sense of privacy?
11 – “The Web is dead” (Anderson, 2010). Outline Anderson’s argument and
assess the strengths and weaknesses of the main claims