So there's this thing that I've been doing for a while.
Some people think it's really, really ridiculously important. Some people don't. Some people hate it, some people love it. Some people are incredible at it, and some people are just plain awful.
I'm talking, of course, about university.
In some ways, university is great. You get to meet a lot of people, you're constantly learning, the atmosphere is usually pretty good, and honestly, you can have a pretty swell time if you're doing it right. I've met a lot of really great people who have really enriched my life, and I couldn't be happier about that.
In saying that, there are some pretty big problems that a lot of uni students experience. Here are at least a few:
Financial Concerns
I know more than a few people who have had serious financial worries while trying to study.
It's not even just paying for the degrees, because in Australia you can usually defer the payment to HECS and pay off your debt later on, it's just the actual cost of living. The ABC wrote an article about this year, stating that two thirds of university students are living under the poverty line, and I'm not even surprised. Many of the people that I have studied with have admitted to having to choose between fuel to get to uni, and food, because they have very little money left after they've finished paying their bills. I've known people who've dropped out of their degrees because they just couldn't afford to do it anymore.
Most university degrees are between three and four years long, with some being much longer. It's hard to stay in a state of poverty for that long when you know that it doesn't have to be that way. I've been lucky with my casual job because it pays pretty well and the hours are fairly flexible. But it also took me six months to find a job when I first moved across the country for university. Unfortunately, it's a story that I've heard far too many times with my colleagues. It is not uncommon to not be able to find a job. It's not necessarily that the work isn't there, but if you have an intensive course with lots of homework, classes, tutorials, practicals, and placements, you aren't going to have a lot of time leftover for a job. Employers know this. So even though they're interested in you because you're usually over the age of eighteen and have said that you will be studying for 3+ years, it can be difficult to find a job with suitable hours for your university schedule. Especially since that schedule will change every semester.
Motivation
Here's the situation: you have classes everyday from 9am until 4pm, as soon as you finish classes you rush to your (probably low paying) casual job that you were fortunate enough to get, where you work until 10pm. After work you go home where you can finally have a shower, wash your clothes, and have dinner. You have no time to relax though, now you have to get stuck into your coursework before another full day of classes tomorrow. You finish your work at 2am, flop into bed and are instantly asleep. You wake up to the sound of your alarm, feeling like mere minutes have passed, to begin the cycle again.
You hit the snooze button instead.
That's where it begins. That snooze button. Prioritising sleeping over classes. Soon you find that you don't want to go to your classes, you can't be bothered, it's too hard.
Don't worry though, you aren't lazy (well, you might be but that is a whole different story), you're probably experiencing burnout. Burnout is basically when you're working so hard that you're constantly tired and just straight up lose interest. You've been overworking your body and your body has hit the point of no return. A lot of people experience burnout in their full time jobs, but it can hit uni students just as hard (if not harder). Because of the intense and stressful nature of the university lifestyle, a lot of students can experience extreme burnout. It can happen early in the degree or later in the degree, but to some extent, it will probably affect all uni students. When it happens, the motivation is just gone, and it's hard to compel yourself to go to classes when all you want to do is sleep and recover.
I've seen it take more than a few people. Resulting in poor attendance, poor grades, or just dropping out. It happens a lot, and at this point in time, there really isn't that much that we can do about it. You can try relaxation techniques and the like, but if you're stressing out, that'll probably just feel like you're wasting time that you could be using for other activities. The best way to reduce burnout is to try and balance uni life, work life, and social life. It isn't easy, but it needs to be done.
Overactive Social Lives
I've noticed this a fair bit around campus. Especially in students in the 18-25 year old range that live on campus. If you have school leavers, and young people who have moved out for the first time, they tend to get drunk on freedom (also alcohol). University is a very freeing experience, and is designed for independence, but if you don't know how to handle the freedom, you're in for a bad time.
I've seen students come to class in their pyjamas. I've seen them in the same clothes they wore the day before. I've seen them hungover. I've seen them drunk. I have seen them in almost every possible capacity and it usually follows this basic formula:
Start university with the intention of doing well
+ Make new friends and go out more
+ Uni work gets pushed aside and left until the last minute
= Assignments are rushed, or not handed in at all
= Failure of subjects
It's a real shame to see it happen. I understand the appeal. You want to have a good time, you want to spend time with your friends, you want to make your own decisions regardless of the consequences. But you're hurting yourself. You will have to repeat any subjects that you failed and you'll still have to pay for it. You won't have as good an understanding of the subject matter as your classmates who regularly went to class and consistently worked on assignments.
It can be especially hard for students that live on campus in dorms and such, because there are usually activities going on, or your neighbours will be doing stuff, or it'll be loud, or whatever. But you need to buckle down and say no. It's not worth failing your degree.
I'm not saying that students shouldn't go out and have fun, that would cause burnout as I mentioned above, it's just about doing things in moderation.
I guess that we can all only do our best. Some of us aren't meant to do university, and that's fine. Some of us are perfectly suited for university, and that's fine too. University can be a great place to make friends, study, and even learn about who you are and who you want to be. You just have to walk through the minefield of problems associated with tertiary education and hope that your degree and your hard work will take you to where you want to go.
Note: I am not claiming to be an expert. This post is purely based on observation. Also, it should be stated for the record that this does not necessarily apply to all university students/students may experience these things in differing quantities.
Monday, 7 October 2013
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Pitching Stories
Story pitches are how we sell our stories, and ourselves, to employers. This means that pitches need to be strong and convincing. Before pitching a story, you need to know what you want to write about and have at least done the groundwork for the story including finding and talking to sources and finding information. It is vitally important to have a clear goal and a strong angle for your story, especially if it has been covered before.
Here are some of the things that need to be considered when creating a pitch:
Publication - who do you want to publish this story? Are they the most relevant publication? Do you think that the publication has the best medium to tell your story?
Length - How long is the story going to be?
News values - Why should the public care about the story?
Sources - Are your sources appropriate for your story? Will they give you the best information? Do they have any sort of agenda that could impact upon your story? Are they happy to be credited or do they want anonymity? If they do want anonymity, is there somebody else that you can talk to who will give you the information who is fine with being credit?
And most importantly:
The actual story that you will be writing - What is it about? Who is it about? When did it happen? Where did it happen? What is the angle? Are there similar stories in existence? If so, is your story different enough to matter? Why is it important for people to read this story?
Here are some of the things that need to be considered when creating a pitch:
Publication - who do you want to publish this story? Are they the most relevant publication? Do you think that the publication has the best medium to tell your story?
Length - How long is the story going to be?
News values - Why should the public care about the story?
Sources - Are your sources appropriate for your story? Will they give you the best information? Do they have any sort of agenda that could impact upon your story? Are they happy to be credited or do they want anonymity? If they do want anonymity, is there somebody else that you can talk to who will give you the information who is fine with being credit?
And most importantly:
The actual story that you will be writing - What is it about? Who is it about? When did it happen? Where did it happen? What is the angle? Are there similar stories in existence? If so, is your story different enough to matter? Why is it important for people to read this story?
Ethics
Let's talk ethics, folks.
We, as journalists, wield an extraordinary amount of power over other people and their opinions. Naturally, this places us in an awkward position because what we say and what we write can have huge implications. What is to stop the abuse of this power? Ethics. Well, ethics and legislation (but let's not get into that right now).
Ethics can be described in many ways but I like Edward Spence's definition "A set of prescriptive rules, principles, values and virtues of character that inform and guide interpersonal and intrapersonal conduct: that is the conduct of people toward each other and the conduct of people toward themselves."Essentially, ethics are the guiding principles that we all have inside of us. Ethics are a subjective sense of right and wrong and as such, can vary from person to person.
How does this relate to journalism?
Every time that we write a story, we need to evaluate who it will have an effect on and how profound that effect is. If something will cause somebody to lose their job but is in the greater public interest, should it be published? If something will result in the injury or death, is it still worth publishing? Is it wrong to report on somebody who has died? Is it wrong to photograph somebody attempting suicide instead of helping them? To what extent are we responsible for the actions of people affected by our stories? To what extent do we directly influence other people? Should we uphold confidentiality and anonymity even if doing so will result in justice being subverted? Why should we have this control? How can we ensure that it is not abused?
I want to say that morality is consistent and that good people are always good and that their decisions are always just... But I can't. Morality is tricky. Everybody feels it to a greater or lesser degree and it is guaranteed that people won't always agree with a decision. Yes, we all have to answer to an authority figure; the legal system, the MEAA, the APC, etc., and we have to answer to the public, but most importantly, we have to answer to ourselves. We have to ensure that, at the end of the day, we can live with the decisions that we make. That is, in my opinion, what ethics are all about. Being able to live with ourselves and the repercussions of our actions.
We, as journalists, wield an extraordinary amount of power over other people and their opinions. Naturally, this places us in an awkward position because what we say and what we write can have huge implications. What is to stop the abuse of this power? Ethics. Well, ethics and legislation (but let's not get into that right now).
Ethics can be described in many ways but I like Edward Spence's definition "A set of prescriptive rules, principles, values and virtues of character that inform and guide interpersonal and intrapersonal conduct: that is the conduct of people toward each other and the conduct of people toward themselves."Essentially, ethics are the guiding principles that we all have inside of us. Ethics are a subjective sense of right and wrong and as such, can vary from person to person.
How does this relate to journalism?
Every time that we write a story, we need to evaluate who it will have an effect on and how profound that effect is. If something will cause somebody to lose their job but is in the greater public interest, should it be published? If something will result in the injury or death, is it still worth publishing? Is it wrong to report on somebody who has died? Is it wrong to photograph somebody attempting suicide instead of helping them? To what extent are we responsible for the actions of people affected by our stories? To what extent do we directly influence other people? Should we uphold confidentiality and anonymity even if doing so will result in justice being subverted? Why should we have this control? How can we ensure that it is not abused?
I want to say that morality is consistent and that good people are always good and that their decisions are always just... But I can't. Morality is tricky. Everybody feels it to a greater or lesser degree and it is guaranteed that people won't always agree with a decision. Yes, we all have to answer to an authority figure; the legal system, the MEAA, the APC, etc., and we have to answer to the public, but most importantly, we have to answer to ourselves. We have to ensure that, at the end of the day, we can live with the decisions that we make. That is, in my opinion, what ethics are all about. Being able to live with ourselves and the repercussions of our actions.
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Dengue Fever Outbreak Prevents Blood Donation
Another outbreak of dengue fever in North Queensland has forced the Australian Red Cross Blood Service to turn away potential blood donors.
Due to the high risk of infection to recipients of blood transfusions, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service is currently unwilling to take the risk of accepting whole blood donations that could potentially carry the dengue virus.
However, plasma donations are still being accepted by viable candidates as the dengue virus does not affect plasma cells, and whole blood donations will hopefully be accepted again by late June.
Blood Service Queensland Manager Tony Bourke said "If you have been in a Dengue Fever affected area and would like to donate, we encourage you to come in and be assessed for a plasma only donation.
"Plasma is crucial to the health and wellbeing of many people and is widely used in products that treat a variety of life-threatening conditions."
Plasma is used to treat burn victims, patients with clotting problems, and can be manufactured into a variety of immunisations.
If you wish to donate please contact the Australian Red Cross Blood Service on 13 14 95 or via their website.
Due to the high risk of infection to recipients of blood transfusions, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service is currently unwilling to take the risk of accepting whole blood donations that could potentially carry the dengue virus.
However, plasma donations are still being accepted by viable candidates as the dengue virus does not affect plasma cells, and whole blood donations will hopefully be accepted again by late June.
Blood Service Queensland Manager Tony Bourke said "If you have been in a Dengue Fever affected area and would like to donate, we encourage you to come in and be assessed for a plasma only donation.
"Plasma is crucial to the health and wellbeing of many people and is widely used in products that treat a variety of life-threatening conditions."
Plasma is used to treat burn victims, patients with clotting problems, and can be manufactured into a variety of immunisations.
If you wish to donate please contact the Australian Red Cross Blood Service on 13 14 95 or via their website.
Saturday, 11 May 2013
Contempt
Let's take a quick look at contempt and the five types of contempt that journalists are most likely to encounter while working.
Contempt can be defined as disobeying or disrespecting the rules, orders and customs of a court or legislative body. Contempt can be sentenced in the middle of a hearing and does not necessarily require a separate hearing.
5. Sub-judice contempt
Sub-judice contempt consists of the publication of material that could create prejudice in an on-going trial. In the event of criminal case, journalists are restricted from publishing any information other than the "bare facts" of a case after an arrest has been made. In a civil case, this restriction is in place after the issue of a writ, statement of claim or summons.
4. Scandalising the court
Scandalising the court is the publication of allegations that can be seen to undermine the public's confidence in the justice system.
3. Revealing the deliberations of jurors
Fairly self explanatory, this is just revealing the deliberations of the jury.
2. Contempt in the face of court
Contempt in the face of court consists of misbehaving, or acting inappropriately, in a courtroom while it is in session.
1. Disobedience contempt
Disobedience contempt can be boiled down to refusing to comply with a court order. This includes refusing to answer questions, and refusing to deliver notes or other materials to a court or quasi-judicial body.
It is important to study contempt, what it means and the effect that it has on journalists so that we can avoid breaking the law while reporting.
Contempt can be defined as disobeying or disrespecting the rules, orders and customs of a court or legislative body. Contempt can be sentenced in the middle of a hearing and does not necessarily require a separate hearing.
5. Sub-judice contempt
Sub-judice contempt consists of the publication of material that could create prejudice in an on-going trial. In the event of criminal case, journalists are restricted from publishing any information other than the "bare facts" of a case after an arrest has been made. In a civil case, this restriction is in place after the issue of a writ, statement of claim or summons.
4. Scandalising the court
Scandalising the court is the publication of allegations that can be seen to undermine the public's confidence in the justice system.
3. Revealing the deliberations of jurors
Fairly self explanatory, this is just revealing the deliberations of the jury.
2. Contempt in the face of court
Contempt in the face of court consists of misbehaving, or acting inappropriately, in a courtroom while it is in session.
1. Disobedience contempt
Disobedience contempt can be boiled down to refusing to comply with a court order. This includes refusing to answer questions, and refusing to deliver notes or other materials to a court or quasi-judicial body.
It is important to study contempt, what it means and the effect that it has on journalists so that we can avoid breaking the law while reporting.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Iqon 2013 - Sydney International Dragway, Sydney.
Iqon 2013.
What a day.
A day full of music, drinking, dancing, fence jumpers, "pingers"*, police officers, rain, mud, sound problems and most of all extraordinary fun.
Iqon 2013 marks the launch of a brand new Australian event for Dutch dance organisation Q-dance. With wildly successful events such as Qlimax, Q-Base and Defqon.1 in both the Netherlands and Australia, and a fantastic lineup, expectations for Iqon 2013 were high and I, for one, was not disappointed.
It was a day typical of Sydney in late April; overcast, windy, and cold as hell. But nothing could dampen the spirits of the many festival goers arriving in throngs to the Sydney International Raceway though. Many people were dressed up (and dressed down) in spite of the rain and the cold and Q-dance also provided ponchos to the masses, free of charge, to combat the rainy weather.
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The performances started with a strong set by Swedish producer, Stana, in his first Australian performance. Although the weather was against him, and he was not one of the bigger names on the list, the crowd were more than happy to party with the 23 year old newcomer.
Up next was Aussie hardstyle DJ, Code Black, who has been making waves in the scene since the release of his debut album "Visions". The crowd were basically in a frenzy as they danced to the music, including tracks such as "Brighter Day" and "Can't Hold Me Back" featuring NitrouZ. Code Black actually made two appearances in the day, stepping in later to perform with one of the other DJs.
Following Code Black was the sensational Australian duo, Toneshifterz. They absolutely nailed their set, much to the enjoyment of the crowd. The exuberance of the pair was clearly conveyed to the crowd who danced ecstatically to their favourite Toneshifterz tunes.
Dutch producer, DJ Coone, performed after Toneshifterz and his set went off. The crowd went wild while he performed and the atmosphere was palpable. It was during this set that Q-dance handed out a variety of signs to the crowd which is something that they regularly do at their events. Some of the slogans include "Never Go Home", "Lost For Words (Hence This Sign)" and the theme for this year's Defqon. 1 - "Scrap the System".
DJ Isaac and The Prophet were up consecutively after DJ Coone and rocked their sets, much to the enjoyment of the audience. It was during these performers that a group of young people attempted to sneak into the venue by jumping the fence. While it was a valiant attempt at cheating the system, the fence jumpers were chased through the crowd by police officers before being removed from the venue.
As the sun set, the big name European hardstyle producers came out in force and they were magnificent. Brennan Heart, Headhunterz, Zatox and Noisecontrollers. All four performers are major and regular players in the shows organised by Q-dance. I can say little more than that they were all fantastic performers. They knew exactly what the crowd wanted and they gave it to them. That being said, minor sound problems that had plagued the day became less minor during Headhunterz set. The sound dropped out at least five times, alternating between a few seconds and a couple of minutes at a time. As the sound kept playing up, some members of the crowd became restless but each time they started to grumble Headhunterz managed to get the sound back up and running. Eventually, the sound problems were sorted out and the show finished spectacularly.
My personal opinion is that, even with the sound problems, Q-dance should be proud of Iqon 2013 and the performers that were there. All in all, it was a wonderful event and a great launch of a new festival.
* A "pinger" is somebody who takes takes drugs, predominantly "uppers", particularly at concerts/festivals/raves.
Update - May 21st, 2013
Here is the Q-dance official after movie for Iqon 2013!
.jpg)
The performances started with a strong set by Swedish producer, Stana, in his first Australian performance. Although the weather was against him, and he was not one of the bigger names on the list, the crowd were more than happy to party with the 23 year old newcomer.
Up next was Aussie hardstyle DJ, Code Black, who has been making waves in the scene since the release of his debut album "Visions". The crowd were basically in a frenzy as they danced to the music, including tracks such as "Brighter Day" and "Can't Hold Me Back" featuring NitrouZ. Code Black actually made two appearances in the day, stepping in later to perform with one of the other DJs.
Following Code Black was the sensational Australian duo, Toneshifterz. They absolutely nailed their set, much to the enjoyment of the crowd. The exuberance of the pair was clearly conveyed to the crowd who danced ecstatically to their favourite Toneshifterz tunes.
Toneshifterz. Photographer: B. Austin
Dutch producer, DJ Coone, performed after Toneshifterz and his set went off. The crowd went wild while he performed and the atmosphere was palpable. It was during this set that Q-dance handed out a variety of signs to the crowd which is something that they regularly do at their events. Some of the slogans include "Never Go Home", "Lost For Words (Hence This Sign)" and the theme for this year's Defqon. 1 - "Scrap the System".
DJ Isaac and The Prophet were up consecutively after DJ Coone and rocked their sets, much to the enjoyment of the audience. It was during these performers that a group of young people attempted to sneak into the venue by jumping the fence. While it was a valiant attempt at cheating the system, the fence jumpers were chased through the crowd by police officers before being removed from the venue.
As the sun set, the big name European hardstyle producers came out in force and they were magnificent. Brennan Heart, Headhunterz, Zatox and Noisecontrollers. All four performers are major and regular players in the shows organised by Q-dance. I can say little more than that they were all fantastic performers. They knew exactly what the crowd wanted and they gave it to them. That being said, minor sound problems that had plagued the day became less minor during Headhunterz set. The sound dropped out at least five times, alternating between a few seconds and a couple of minutes at a time. As the sound kept playing up, some members of the crowd became restless but each time they started to grumble Headhunterz managed to get the sound back up and running. Eventually, the sound problems were sorted out and the show finished spectacularly.
Q-dance official endshow for Iqon 2013.
My personal opinion is that, even with the sound problems, Q-dance should be proud of Iqon 2013 and the performers that were there. All in all, it was a wonderful event and a great launch of a new festival.
* A "pinger" is somebody who takes takes drugs, predominantly "uppers", particularly at concerts/festivals/raves.
Update - May 21st, 2013
Here is the Q-dance official after movie for Iqon 2013!
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Intellectual Property and Copyright
During the lecture for Media Law and Ethics we looked at the legislation and ethics regarding intellectual property and copyright in Australia.
The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) defines plagiarism as follows:
Plagiarism offends the values of honesty, fairness, independence and respect for the rights of others. It can occur in many ways, including (but not limited to): when secondary sources are relied on too heavily; when material from wire services is fused with the work of staff reporters; because of the ease with which words can be 'cut' and 'pasted' by computer; and when the words of a public relations copywriter are reproduced from a press release verbatim without attribution to the source.
- MEAA's Ethics Review Committee (1996)
It's important when discussing copyright and intellectual property to consider both the legal and ethical ramifications.
In Australia, legally, a person does not own an idea but the product of an idea. That is to say that even if you were to think of something, if you do not create anything from that idea then you cannot sue somebody else for stealing your idea. However, if you actually create something from an idea then it is automatically covered by copyright, even if you do not explicitly state that it is copyrighted, and remains copyrighted for 70 years after your death. In saying that, it is necessary to use moral judgement when creating content. I am not trying to justify stealing another person's ideas, creating something then going "Well, that's just too bad for you because I made something first so I am legally in the clear" because that is morally wrong. Just because you can do something and legally get away with it, that doesn't mean that you should. As stated by the MEAA, it is a matter of respect for the rights of others, if you steal other people's ideas then you are disrespecting them. Now, morality regarding intellectual property is complicated because sometimes the line is blurry about who had an idea first but that certainly does not justify removing the line altogether.
Technological advancements such as the internet have made plagiarism even more prevalent because of the overwhelming amount of content created daily and the ease with which it is possible to access that content. The thing is, because the internet is a public domain, there are problems with the concept of implied permission and express permission. Implied permission is fairly straightforward in concept, a person assumes that content is free to be used either because of how it is published or being "printer friendly" or free to "share". As a result, content is sometimes used without attribution and the argument that many people use to counter claims of plagiarism is "well, I thought that it was free to use because it didn't say that it wasn't." That does not make it okay. It is always safer to attribute credit for any work that is not your own rather than just claiming it as your own work or not crediting anybody. Express permission is when a person states that their content can be used as long as credit is attributed to them. There is no grey area as far as express permission is concerned.
The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) defines plagiarism as follows:
Plagiarism offends the values of honesty, fairness, independence and respect for the rights of others. It can occur in many ways, including (but not limited to): when secondary sources are relied on too heavily; when material from wire services is fused with the work of staff reporters; because of the ease with which words can be 'cut' and 'pasted' by computer; and when the words of a public relations copywriter are reproduced from a press release verbatim without attribution to the source.
- MEAA's Ethics Review Committee (1996)
It's important when discussing copyright and intellectual property to consider both the legal and ethical ramifications.
In Australia, legally, a person does not own an idea but the product of an idea. That is to say that even if you were to think of something, if you do not create anything from that idea then you cannot sue somebody else for stealing your idea. However, if you actually create something from an idea then it is automatically covered by copyright, even if you do not explicitly state that it is copyrighted, and remains copyrighted for 70 years after your death. In saying that, it is necessary to use moral judgement when creating content. I am not trying to justify stealing another person's ideas, creating something then going "Well, that's just too bad for you because I made something first so I am legally in the clear" because that is morally wrong. Just because you can do something and legally get away with it, that doesn't mean that you should. As stated by the MEAA, it is a matter of respect for the rights of others, if you steal other people's ideas then you are disrespecting them. Now, morality regarding intellectual property is complicated because sometimes the line is blurry about who had an idea first but that certainly does not justify removing the line altogether.
Technological advancements such as the internet have made plagiarism even more prevalent because of the overwhelming amount of content created daily and the ease with which it is possible to access that content. The thing is, because the internet is a public domain, there are problems with the concept of implied permission and express permission. Implied permission is fairly straightforward in concept, a person assumes that content is free to be used either because of how it is published or being "printer friendly" or free to "share". As a result, content is sometimes used without attribution and the argument that many people use to counter claims of plagiarism is "well, I thought that it was free to use because it didn't say that it wasn't." That does not make it okay. It is always safer to attribute credit for any work that is not your own rather than just claiming it as your own work or not crediting anybody. Express permission is when a person states that their content can be used as long as credit is attributed to them. There is no grey area as far as express permission is concerned.
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