Reflection

As a blogger, it should be taken note that document design is very important. Document design allows you to create a document that reflects the image you wish your readers to have (Reep 2006). For example, if the design of your document is full of children pictures and colours, readers will know that the targeted audience for your document is kids. Reep (2006) also further explained that document design will increase your reader’s interest in the document. MacKenzie (1994 cited in Putnis & Petelin 1996) also emphasise the need to rationally and correctly incorporate words and their graphic form to create an information that is accessible and usable for readers.

Other than that, a blogger must know the limitations of blogging. Topics about cultures, religions and races should not be talked in depth to avoid any conflicts between readers. Also, a blogger must know ethical and principles in writing as issues may arise during the publication process, for example plagiarism, authorship, and even conflict of interest (King 2011). As a writer/ blogger, we must always remember that dishonesty can ruin an author’s reputation (La Follette, 1992; Malone, 1998 cited in King 2001). 

References: 

1. King, CR 2001, 'Ethical issues in writing and publishing, Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 19-23, viewed 13 June 2011, <https://www.ons.org/Publications/CJON/AuthorInfo/media/ons/docs/publications/19.pdf>
2. Putnis, P & Peterlin, R 1996, Writing to communicate, in Professional communication: principles and applications, ch. 7, pp. 223-263.
3. Reep, DC 2006, Document Design, in Technical Writing, ch. 6, 6th edn, pp. 133-172.

E-Books

(Source: technologybook, 2011)

Bloomberg Businessweek (2011) featured an article titled ‘How E-Books Are Coming Full Circle, Thanks to Tablets’ that discusses about e-books on the rise because of the tablet sales, especially Apple’s iPad. Rao (2003 cited in Lam et al. 2008) defined e-books as texts which are in digital form or any digital reading material, or a book that is in a computer file format, or even an electronic file of words and images.   

When we think of the term ‘e-book’, the term ‘convenience’ will also come into mind.

Cavanaugh (2005) mentioned in his book that there are three main advantages of e-books:

Portability – We can bring our e-books everywhere with us, as long it is downloaded in a device, for example the iPad or any other tablets. Similar to what Lam et al. (2008) mentioned in their article, e-books are downloadable and also portable if they are stored in light portable devices.

Accessibility – Cavanaugh (2005 p. 5) explained that numerous online libraries and even bookstore distribute low cost, and sometimes even free e-books for users to download to devices. In today’s technology advanced world, the internet can be accessed almost everywhere. This also means that online libraries and bookstores can also be accessed almost anytime, anywhere which makes e-books downloadable anytime as well.

Usability – This is in fact one of the most important benefits of e-books to the society. As we all know, usability influences the success of a product. Therefore, the right usability must be present. Lam et al. (2008) justified in their article that many of the features and functions that are made available in e-book software has allowed users to learn and use it easily. Besides that, multimodality is also present in e-books features. Walsh (2006) described multimodal texts as texts that have more than one ‘mode’, which means information is communicated through several modes. For example, we are able to read e-books with the presence of sounds, images. As for using tablets to read e-books, we are able to touch the screen to scroll through pages. The technological difference, like screen, frames, hyperlinks, navigation bars, are designed to assist the reader’s learning, to attract and also to maintain interests of readers (Walsh 2006).  

References:

1. Cavanaugh, TW 2005, The digital reader: using e-books in K-12 education, International Society for Technology in Education, Washington, viewed 12 June 2011, <http://books.google.com.my/books?id=rIJIank876AC&source=gbs_navlinks_s>
2. Lam, P Lam, SL Lam, J & McNaught, C 2008, Usability and usefulness of eBooks on PPCs: how students’ opinions vary over time, Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research (CLEAR), The Chinese University of Hong Kong, viewed 12 June 2011, <http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne08/procs/lam.pdf>
3. Tofel, K 2011 How e-books are coming full circle, thanks to tablets, Bloomberg Bussinessweek, viewed 12 June 2011, <http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2011/tc20110325_523054.htm?chan=rss_topStories_ssi_5>
4. Walsh, M 2006, ‘The ‘textual shift’: Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts’, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 24-37

The Angry Birds Phenomenon

(Source: goldeneggsangrybirds, 2011)

Everyone around the world is talking about this impressive mobile gaming application, Angry Birds. Angry Birds was originally designed for Apple Store and the amazing results of the application pushed developers to design the game for other smart phones like Android. Now, we could even play Angry Birds on our computers. Even merchandises of Angry Birds are everywhere! The Guardian (2001) reported that the Angry Birds franchise has now generated more than 200 million downloads. The news report also included all the success of the application ever since it was launched. It is apparent that this mobile gaming application has a very outstanding achievement.  

(Source: inventaholics, 2011)

However, this product made use of a marketing strategy that is known as viral marketing. Wilson (2005) defined viral marketing as ‘any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence’. He also further explained that the strategy of viral marketing is like viruses, taking advantage of fast multiplication that will communicate information to thousands, to millions. Viral marketing is a very successful marketing strategy because the word of mouth plays a very big role in influencing purchasing decisions of individuals (Leskovec et al. 2008).   

Viral marketing is not the only way to make a product successful. A successful product also means it has the right usability and functionality. Dumash and Redish (1999) stated that usability means users of product can make use of it easily and accomplish their task fast. Authors also mentioned that in order for a product to be successful, usability of a product must be present. In other words, it must meet standards of audience expectations. Seeing the achievements of Angry Birds, the application has obviously met the audience expectation. It must have the right functionality and usability since users does not seem to get bored of the game and keeps demanding for more. As what Guardian (2011) reported, ‘the Angry Birds phenomenon has shows no sign of slowing down’. 

References:

1. Guardian 2011, Angry birds: 200m downloads are the tip of the mobile gaming iceberg, viewed 12 June 2011, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2011/may/19/iphone-game-stats>
2. Dumas, JS, Redish, J 1999, A practical guide to usability testing, Intellect Books, United Kingdom, viewed 12 June 2011, <http://books.google.com.my/books?id=4lge5k_F9EwC&dq=what+is+usability&source=gbs_navlinks_s>
3. Leskovec, J, Adamic, LA, Huberman, BA 2008, The dynamics of viral marketing, viewed 12 June 2011, <http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/physics/pdf/0509/0509039v4.pdf>
4. Wilson, RF 2005, 'The six simple principles of viral marketing', Web Marketing Today, viewed 12 June 2011, <http://library.softgenx.com/Children/marketing/ViralMarketing.pdf>

Photojournalism

(Source: after5detroit, 2011)

Most of us will always carry a camera beside us to capture photographs of meaningful and important moment, especially when there's a big occasion. Those photographs that are captured can be described as photojournalism. Camden & Duarte (2006, p. 109) defined photojournalism as a 'method of visual reporting, a way to capture reality and effectively communicate a specific event or moment'.  

However, there are some of you that are not aware that even photojournalism has its own ethical and principles. Many photographers and editors learnt in early photograph's history that the economic and political gains can be made by photographic manipulations because of a naive and trusting public (Lester 1999). BBC News (2010) reported a photographic manipulation that involves an edited image by Egyptian state-run newspaper, al-Ahram, which was taken at the White House. According to the BBC news article, the newspaper has been accused of being “unprofessional”. Other than that, it was also said that the paper had “crossed the line from being balanced and honest” (BBC News 2010). 

The image below is the original picture that was captured,
showing Mr. Obama leading the way and Mr. Mubarak following behind.

 (SourceL BBC News, 2011)

The image below is the altered image by al-Ahram,
showing Mr.Mubarak leading the way instead. 

(Source: BBC News, 2011)

Lester (1999) mentioned in his work that a viewer always has the belief that the “camera never lies”, this comes directly from the impression of the visual image. Therefore, alteration of images like what al-Ahram did was very unethical and it is against the principles of photojournalism. The author also further explained that a photojournalist who believes in high ethical standards will not think of own benefits and manipulate a subject even slightly.

In this technology advanced world today, many photo editing programmes have been created, for instance the most well-known programme, Adobe Photoshop. Many designers are using that programme to improve their work. However, Lester (1999) justified that if a photograph is altered, or if a subject is stage managed by the photographer, the publication has a responsibility to inform readers or state the manipulation. Al-Amrah did not inform or state any information regarding the manipulation and left readers believing a lie. 

References:

1. BBC News 2010, Egyptian newspaper under fire over altered photo, viewed  10 June 2011, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11313738>
2. Camden, LL, Duarte, SG 2006, Mennonities in Texas: the quiet in the land, Texas A&M University Press, Texas, viewed 10 June 2011, <http://books.google.com.my/books?id=Zj90gk_eQPsC&dq=photojournalism+definition&source=gbs_navlinks_s> 
3. Lester, PM 1999, 'Chapter eight juggling journalism and humanism', in Photojournalism An Ethical Approach, viewed 10 June 2011, <http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/chapter8.html>
4. Lester, PM 1999, 'Chapter six picture manipulations', in Photojournalism An Ethical Approach, viewed 10 June 2011, <http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/chapter6.html>

Plagiarism

(Source: edutopia, 2011)

Plagiarism has always been one of the biggest publishing issue, especially in educational institutions. The term plagiarism can be described as the act of making use of other people's work without crediting the original author (Anderson 1998). BBC News (2011) reported an article titled 'Plagiarism: The Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V boom' that discusses about plagiarism issues over the years by well-known authors. As you can see from the title of the article itself, it takes very simple steps to plagiarize, all you got to do is copy, paste, and edit from a credible source. However, when you plagiarize, you are committing a crime, you are stealing!

Even though we often hear well-known authors get caught plagiarising, but plagiarism also applies to both published and even unpublished work, as well as any electronic and print materials, for example, e-mail or internet publications (Game & West 2002). 

Kasi (2009, p 187) stated that there are a few main types of plagiarism:

• Self Plagiarism – Authors using their own work in two or more works without citing the original work.
• Manipulated Plagiarism – Author manipulates another author’s thoughts, information, opinions, or data, and publishes the work as his own.
• Ideal Plagiarism – Author literally steals the paper or data from another author before the original work was published.
• Juice Plagiarism – Copying main ideas of paper and mixing them with new parts so the work seems as new writing

(Source: toonpool, 2011)

DePaul University (2001, cited in Nitterhouse 2003) explained plagiarism as a major form of academic dishonesty that involves presenting work of another as one’s own. Therefore, it is apparent that plagiarism must be avoided. 

Game & West (2002) and Nitterhouse (2003) both stated that plagiarism could be avoided in few ways:

• Any quotation must be used with quotation marks and of course citation must be present
• Any paraphrasing that is done must be cited. This includes summarizing or even slight altering the original exposition of a written idea.
• There should be acknowledgment of any ideas that were not conceived by the authors in the paper. This includes ideas received in any forms of personal communication and comments from reviewers, or anyone else at all.

Authors put a lot of effort into publishing their own work, thus making plagiarism a very unethical behavior. We should always cite other people's work if we are using them and never, never, NEVER steal/plagiarize. 

References:

1. Anderson, J 1998, Plagiarism, copyrighted violation, and other thefts of intellectual party: an annotated bibliography, McFarland & Company, North Carolina, viewed 10 June 2011, <http://books.google.com.my/books?id=O8EqxXsYv3EC&dq=plagiarism&source=gbs_navlinks_s>
2. BBC News 2011, Plagiarism: The Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V boom, viewed 10 June 2011, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12613617?print=true#story_continues_2story_continues_2>
3. Game, A, West, MA 2002, 'Principles of publishing', Psychologist, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 126-129, viewed 10 June 2011, <http://proquest.umi.com.ezlibproxy.unisa.edu.au/pqdlink?vinst=PROD&fmt=6&startpage=-1&ver=1&vname=PQD&RQT=309&did=113389686&exp=06-09-2016&scaling=FULL&vtype=PQD&rqt=309&TS=1307786786&clientId=14273>
4. Kasi, P 2009, Research: what, why and how?: a treatise from researches to researches, Authorhouse, Bloomington, viewed 10 June 2011, <http://books.google.com.my/books?id=ozfH7f6qp9AC&dq=types+of+plagiarism&source=gbs_navlinks_s>
5. Nitterhouse, D 2003, 'Plagiarism - not just an "academic" problem', Teaching Business Ethics, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 215-217, viewed 10 June 2011, <http://proquest.umi.com.ezlibproxy.unisa.edu.au/pqdweb?index=0&did=424410931&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=10&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1307902580&clientId=14273>