MAC281 Essay Questions 2013-14 Answer ONE question from the following.

Your essay must be word processed and be 2000 words in length. The hand-in date is Week 13: Wednesday May 14th at the Library Ser ices! "rospect #uilding. A digital copy should also be submitted. $ailure to submit #%T& copies can result in a referral grade. 'f you need help contact the lecturer responsible for the question you are attempting (contact details in module guide). #e sure to identify the appropriate essay question number you are attempting

*) +ecent proponents of copyright term e,tensions ha e argued that lengthy protection incenti ises artists to create! -nowing the law supports them being reimbursed. Assess the ways in which copyright protection supports or fails to support the creati ity process. 2) .%ur ision is music a ailability e erywhere! at any time and in any place. #ut the biggest question is how do we monetise it in an en ironment of widespread piracy/0 (1ric 2augan! Senior 3ice "resident! 4ommercial Strategy! 5arner 6usic 'nternational! in '$"' 2igital 6usic +eport 20*0). 4onsidering a specific country as an e,ample to what e,tent has the music industry lagged behind 7pirates8 in pro iding music 7e erywhere8/ 9) Illegal file-sharing has been a key factor in the recording industrys 22% worldwide sales declines between *::: and 200; (Source< '$"')! and the hal ing in si=e of the #ritish singles mar-et o er *:::-200; (Source< #"').0 To what e,tent is file-sharing a response to the failings of an industry predicated upon an outdated business model/ ;) ."oliticians and music companies need to recogni=e that the nature of music consumption has changed! and consumers are demanding lower prices and easier access0 ("eter #radwell! researcher at 2emos! *st >o 200:). To what e,tent are music consumers forcing a rethin- of copyright law and what it means to be a 7pirate8/ ?) 5hen podcasting first emerged in 200; it seemed to be a 7disrupti e technology8 (4layton 6. 4hristensen @ Aoseph L. #ower! *::?). 1 aluate the impact and legacy of podcasting upon the traditional radio business. B) .Social media tools ha e lowered the cost of doing things to the point where our desire to engage with one another is enough to get things to happen at a ery large social scale rather than a smaller family and friends scale0 (4lay Shir-y cited in Us Now! 200:! #anya- $ilms). Assess the democratic significance of social media with reference to at least two e,amples in which 'nternet technologies ha e been employed to organi=e large-scale acti ities quic-ly andCor effecti ely.

D) $ocusing on the emergence of 7citi=en Eournalism8! assess the threat posed by participatory media to professional practice. Your argument should draw from recent e,amples. F) 7Trolling8! 7flaming8 and 7cyberbullying8 ha e gone mainstream and has the 7potential to reduce the inclusi ity and ci ility of both on- and off-line cultures.8 (1mma Aane! 20*2< *2). Through a consideration of contemporary e,amples! critically assess the e,tent to which online hostility has become 7normalised8. 9) 76uch of the industry and G academic commentators see the need for Hnarrati eH structures in order to understand games and ma-e games Hbetter.H ... This is a debate that shows the ery early stage we are still in! where the struggle of controlling and shaping the theoretical paradigms has Eust started8 (Aarseth! 200*). Assess the e,tent to which contemporary debates surrounding ideo games still seem stuc- in this 7 ery early stage8! obsessed with narratology and ludology as critical approaches. *0) 'n relation to ideo game design recent attention has been focussed on concepts li-e 7emergent narrati es8 (5arren Spector! 200;)! 7transmedial play8 (Stephen 2inehart! 200B) and 7interacti e drama8 (2a id 4age! 200:). Assess the e,tent to which narrati e matters in relation to contemporary ideo games. **) .I'tJ might actually be counterproducti e to e aluate ideo games as a primarily isual art! but we must at least ac-nowledge that the image is a central component of so many games that we study and play0 (#arry At-ins! 200B). To what e,tent do you disCagree with the abo e and would a consideration of the auditory e,perience assist in understanding the gaming e,perience/ *2) 7The dec- seems stac-ed against the use of popular music as a narrati e element of ideo games! at least outside of non-interacti e cutscenes8 (Kibbons! 20**). Ki en the myriad amount of ways in which music can be employed in games! assess the pros and cons of employing licensed popular music within ideo games. 't would be useful if you could illustrate your argument with e,amples ta-en from games. *9) 'f! in the *::0s! irtual reality was .truly the technology of miracles and dreams0 (Sherman @ Aud-in! *::2<*2B)! has the technology fulfilled its potential/ You should discuss your answer in relation to current uses and applications of 3+ in e eryday life! focusing your answer on one of the following areas< gaming! social networ-ing or commercial practice. *;) The interface has become a crucial site, a significantly ambiguous boundary between human and technology. (Scott Bukatman 1994). Given the necessity for the human-computer interface, does virtual reality make us liberated prisoners of technology? *?) We know as we go, from place to place (Ingold, 2000: 229). How may this statement and Ingolds wider philosophy relating to place making practices, be applied to users of online or virtual places?

*B) To what e,tent do you agreeCdisagree with the statement 7we are all photographers now/8 2iscuss how the 'nternet and digital technology has impacted upon the role! meaning and aesthetic of the still photograph and critically e aluate these changes within our image culture. *D) 7>et neutrality means simply that all li-e 'nternet content must be treated ali-e and mo e at the same speed o er the networ-8 (Lessig @ 6c4hesney! 200B). Assess the implications of a two-tiered communications networ- upon consumers and content creators! paying attention to the differences between fi,ed line broadband and mobile internet. *F) %n the face of it open source software poses a threat to commercial organisations that sur i e by selling their intellectual property! yet 6icrosoft dominates the des-top operating system (%S) mar-et and Apple dominate the portable %S mar-et. Assess the success of open source software in relation to commercial competitors with reference to two specific e,amples (eg Linu,! Android! $irefo,! etc). *:) Students are free to create an essay question of their own! but they must agree this in consultation with the module leader ( ia email is fine) before 22 nd April 20*9. The question should touch on issues related to the module content.

1LT+A MN1ST'%> 20) .6ore data means more information! perhaps! but it also means more false information0 (>assim >icholas Taleb! 20*2! Antifragile) 'n the rush to embrace the informational and commercial alue of 7big data8! its proponents are ta-ing unnecessary ris-s with the results in an untested field! lending credulity to fiction. 4ritically e aluate the rise in prominence of big data and its application to a specific case study.