Saturday, January 19, 2013

CMS

A Content Management System, as quoted from Wikipedia, is a computer program that allows publishing, editing and modifying content as well as maintenance from a central interface. Such systems of content management provide procedures to manage workflow in a collaborative environment.  Systems such as our own Shepherd University Sakai database, are extremely useful programs developed for editing and managing content.  As Sakai is useful system for educational purpose (posting assignments, grades, etc.)  I plan to use a CMS for a band website.

Using a CMS as band wedsite is the most efficient way to create a functioning and editable site for my band. With it, I can edit information such as, genral updates, photos, tour dates and so on. These are advantages to using a CMS rather than a stagnant page. A website, such as a band website, NEEDS to be able to be constantly edited to provide important updates.  It will also provide a more efficient database for my band.

I believe Drupal was a CMS mentioned in class as a CMS we will used.  Other top CMS include:

WordPress
Drupal
Joomla!
ExpressionEngine
TextPattern
Radiant CMS
Cushy CMS
SilverStripe
Alfresco
and TYPOlight

http://drupal.org/

http://net.tutsplus.com/articles/web-roundups/top-10-most-usable-content-management-systems/

Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics is the science and/or philosophy of interpretation.  In the world of communication, an understanding of interpretation is vital, in any facet or medium, to convey and understand the messages that are sent to an audience.

Unlike with semiotics, of which I have a firmer grasp, hermeneutics is a brand new area for me to learn about.  Both of these sciences/philosophies share similar aspects as they both pertain to communication and interpretation.

Hermeneutics is broken done into five theories.  The First theory of Hermeneutics is the theory of Natural Hermeneutics. Natural Hermeneutics deals with “the spontaneous, everyday, usually unreflective interpreting we do when inter- subjective understanding breaks down”.  This is a very basic level of interpretation that requires less mental response from an audience.  It is how we understand and interpret the basis of our life and our everyday surroundings.

The second theory of Hermeneutics is the Normative theory. The Normative theory is “the art of text interpretation as a deliberate discipline by a specialist caste”. This is how we understand and define titles and roles, such as “Priests, judges or lawyers.”

The third theory is the Scientific theory of Hermeneutics. The Scientific theory is “the foundational discipline of the human or historical sciences”.  This is our interpretations of the scientific world and the past.  With each step in the levels of hermeneutics, the mental processing and thinking required to interpret increases.

Theory four is the theory of Philosophical Hermeneutics.  The Philosophical theory is “a general philosophy of existence. Interpreting is less what we do and more what we are-- interpreters” . The best way to explain this is the way we sometimes question our roles or our own existence.  This is how we understand the roles of our lives of ourselves.

The final theory is the Depth theory of hermeneutics. The Depth theory is the “hermeneutics of suspicion enlightenment project of emancipation and liberation from social dogma and oppression”.  This is where our minds work to there fullest extent.  It is our inherent nature to question the interpretation of things around us. This theory is called the Depth theory because it goes beyond our level of consciousness. This can tie into other areas of study such as Freud’s studies and investigations into the unconscious and subconscious mind.

Understanding these theories helps to increase out levels of interpretation throughout the world of communication.  Hermeneutics helps to increase our mental capacities to understand and interpret the things that others understand and interpret. Therefore, it improves our ability to better convey messages and make efficient deliveries.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

What I Expect From Media Studies


Many of my reasons for taking this course would have to be from the suggestions I have received from my friends.  A lot of the subjects and topics that are shown in the syllabus to be discussed in this class (such as semiotics and feminism for example) are subjects that I have either never learned about anywhere else or have always wanted to learn about.  I feel that I have done a great deal of critical thinking and analysis on my own, and being an artist of sorts, it’s a necessity.

The chance to expand on these analyses is a crucial step for me. I intend to use that to my advantage especially in the realm of imagery.  Since I plan to get involved with Advertising, concepts explained throughout the syllabus such as Semiotics, Critical thinking, and Blogging, to name a few, all stand out as important steps for me to continue to expand my knowledge and understanding of imagery and the advertising world. Though I have already had experience with some of these concepts and forms of media, such as blogging, I am eager to gain more experience with media such as Pod casting, something I've never worked with before. Both will provide me with practice in crucial skills like writing and speech

The way this class was explained to me, we write a great deal of papers and analyze a lot as well. I love the chance to do both of these tasks either separately or together in order to expand my abilities in either area or simply to practice. Chapters 5 and of the syllabus help to convince me that I’ll have ample opportunity, in this class and throughout my Communications career, to grow more adept in my skill set with media literacy, technologies, critical thinking and creative assignments.

Dreamweaver Assessment

Until today, I thought I had a pretty firm grasp of the basic functions of Dreamweaver.  Since I hadn't learned much about Templates at all last semester, I'm sort of at a disadvantage. Dreamweaver is a program that I'm very eager to learn more about. There seem to be nearly limitless functions within the program that I have barely scratched the surface of with the single website I have under my belt.

A lot of the features within the program still seem a bit foreign to me. I'm used to inputting code into the basic HTML pages and I understand CSS. However, Templates were very confusing for me. Even when you open up a page to input code, Dreamweaver appears quite daunting and confusing for someone who isn't familiar with all of it's functions.

As with any new program, I'm sure I'll learn a lot more about the Adobe Dreamweaver software. To be perfectly honest, I was a bit disappointed in myself to be fumbling through the program this morning after only being away from in for about a month.  But as with most programs, I'm sure all catch on quickly.