#7 Closure (Metaphor)

Hey all. Well, this is kinda sad. It finally hit me that this semester is going to end, and exams are drawing nearer. This also means that I only have 1 more EIR class to attend, and it will be the last time I'll be seeing Ms Faridah! :( Boo hoo!! Honestly, throughout my 2 years in TP, she has definitely been the only tutor that shows concern and genuinely cares about her students. It's hard to find a tutor like that, trust me. It's good to be able to open up and talk to her normally, which is not what I tend to do with other tutors.


Well, for this last entry, I will be linking my EIR journey to a metaphor. It's really difficult to just pull metaphors out of thin air and appropriately linking it together, especially since I am not a metaphorical person. LOL. But I'll try and I hope this works. 

"EIR is a Lemon- either bitter or sweet"


This is the phrase I will be using to describe the most important lesson that I have learnt in EIR. The reason I'm using this metaphor is because I have experienced both the fun and good moments (sweet) in learning this CDS and also gone through the hard times (bitter) . 


There were times when I felt really grateful for choosing this CDS as my life is constantly revolving around the internet and social media. Through this CDS journey, I have really acquired skills and knowledge that are relevant to me and my future in researching. This is especially so when alot of research are needed for projects (Major Project next semester!!). My tutor, Ms Faridah, is also one of the main thing that I'm grateful for. She really tries her best to help her students unlike most of the tutors I know.


However, there are also the difficult times in this CDS that I face. This is when I find it difficult to grasp some knowledge learnt as I am new to it. An example is evaluating the internet resource. I found t islightly difficult initially as I really had to analyse and go through the different criteria's when evaluating a website. Before taking this CDS, I was clueless and ignorant of all these things, I did not even know whether the websites and links I used previously were accurate, authoritative or current. What made it more difficult was that I am loaded with deadlines for other projects too and the due dates all coincide with each other. 


Overall, despite some of the hard times I have faced, I really love this CDS. I'm not even joking right now. I will really miss it. This is probably the only module this semester that I do not mind waking up at 6.40am to go to. Well yeah, I do hope me and my group mates, as well as Ms Faridah will stay in touch. Thanks for all the memories guys :)

In honour of the late Whitney Houston (RIP), let me just end off with her song. "Bitter sweet memories, that is all I'm taking with me, so goodbye please don't cry". I'll miss this CDS !!

#6 Dream Holiday

Hey all, yes, I'm back, a little late, but you know what they say-"Better late than never" . So anyway, today's topic is very interesting! Its all about the dream holiday I've been wanting to embark on. Yes, I have my fair share of travelling, I've been to places, but I have never stepped into Europe. I know this might come off a little cliché but I have always wanted to go Paris with someone special. Especially after watching those movies where bestfriends or loved ones enjoy their get-away vacation in Paris, eating at the Le 58 Tour Eiffel that offer traditional French cuisine. Mmm sounds really good!!

According to 2008 estimates, the Paris agglomeration is Europe's biggest or second biggest city economy and the sixth largest in the world.

So yes, I came across a multimedia website called Paris City (Link: http://www.paris.com/tours) and that website offers great pictures and details - all related to Paris!! Its a really nice and informative website and I recommend it for those who are interested to travel to Paris in the near future. 

I love the presentation and arrangement of the website. There are different headings and sections withing the website for users to navigate around easily. Pictorial icons and headings are also used to capture their users attention! Upon clicking the different picture icons, there will be a more detailed information of that attraction for users to know. The headings and links are also categorized appropriately such as "Food and Wine", "Shopping", "Private tours" etc (usability). There are also user support facility such as the "Contactins Paris.com" which helps users to clarify their problems or information needed in relation to the website. 

Its a really helpful site for those who intend to go to Paris! You could also see the photo tour, map of Paris and the current weather in Paris!! I'm so psyched just looking at the website! Theres even a category on recommended Paris City visits! Below is a screenshot of the website :)

The website is also easily accessible, there is no need for registration and log-ins. Anyone can visit it easily! You could also book sevices, hotels and tours through the website.

However, this website does not come from an authoritative source, it is by a private company run by travel enthusiasts that love Paris and all it has to offer. Although it is stated that their team has expanded to 21 professionals from hotel, internet technology and marketing business, there are no names or pictures of these 'professionals' to proof that. I will be quite wary of booking hotels and tours from this website though. But other than that, I trust that the pictures and details regarding the attractions in Paris are accurate!

I chose the evaluation criteria of "Presentation and arrangement", "Authority", "Usability" and "Accessibility" as my evaluation criteria for this website as I feel that these 4 are the most important criteria to me in evaluating a website. These criteria are the most crucial for me to give an overall view of such websites. 

Other than evaluating the website, I came across some pretty neat photos to share with you guys. Here you go! Hope you enjoy it! 

1) Saint Germain Des Pres

2) The Palais-Royal

Well, if you ready my #4th blogpost regarding Second Life Virtual game, you would have noticed that I had visited 'Paris' in Second Life too, with my group mates. I must say, there is a vast difference seeing the view of Paris in Second Life and in the website I was just discussing to you guys about! The pictures in the website are more sharp, detailed and nice contrast of colors. Whereas, in Second Life, some of the images doesn't even consist of any color and they are not much details or places to navigate around in, in Paris. The view of Paris in Second Life does not have that exciting feel I had as compared to website. Well, maybe I'm being bias, but I'll let you be the judge of that with the screenshots I'm about to present to you of my Second Life experience in Paris.

Au revoir et de prendre soin ~

#5 Invisible Web

Hey, so it's been a while now since I last updated my blog (More than a month I guess?)This is so as I've been enjoying myself during the term break week and, when school started, projects were all due. You can't imagine the hectic schedule, deadlines and stress. I guess I'm not complaining, I guess I just have myself to blame haha. Well, most of the projects are done now. 

Anyway, in week 11, after the term break, we did Practical 6 of EIR, which is all about Invisible Web. So most of you guys must be wondering what in the world does the term "Invisible Web" means. Invisible Web could also be referred to as Deep Web. This is so as the World Wide Web/information content is not part of the Surface Web, which is indexed by standard search engines.

So, the invisible web that we visited was none other than the TP SPARK Digital Library Portal. This portal can't be accessed by just any Tom, Dick or Harry (LOL). You have to be a TP student. 

Once we entered SPARK, we had to choose 2 relevant databases suitable for our research topic. The 2 databases I chose was EBSCOhost and ScienceDirect. My research topic was the impact of smoking on youth.

For EBSCOhost, the content declared who the authors were and the organisation they come from, thus it’s credible. They showed the methods on how the study was conducted (through 918 adolescent study participants who were followed from the 9^th to 12^th grade). E-mail address as well as address of organization are stated. Provided statistical analysis and demographics. Provide full pdf.The content declared who the authors were and the organisation they come from, thus it’s credible. They showed the methods on how the study was conducted (through 918 adolescent study participants who were followed from the 9th to 12th grade). E-mail addresses as well as address of organization are stated. Provided statistical analysis and demographics as well as full pdf files.

As for ScienceDirect, it provided the author and the date the article was available. Only provide an abstract, need to pay to get full pdf.

Other than EBSCOhost and ScienceDirect, I also visited ebooks database on  OPAC (found in TP's database). I managed to find some information regarding my search topic(mentioned above). I found a book which provides all information regarding tobacco smoking. It provides the electronic version of the book itself. Tobacco use and the related health effects, quitting smoking and Tobacco control and marketing. This is one of the picture I got from the electronic book.

As shown above, the book is very detailed. It provides a wide, diversified scope of tobacco smoking such as how it affects the body (uses illustrations and diagrams to attract people). It also provides the copyright details and author as well as the myths and misconception of smoking.

Well, that's it for today. Stay tuned for the upcoming posts :) 

Cheers