Blogs, A Bother or a Benefit

One thing I think I liked the least about this class has been the blogs, sure they have been a nice way to communicate with other students it has been a bother to me. Sure it was a nice touch to this unique class but to remember constantly to post our own blogs and commenting on others while doing the other homework for our classes it has been exhausting. Between working on this class, other classes, and work it becomes a lot to juggle for a student. I think that another problems with the blogs is that they became very narrow in terms of topics. We saw a lot of March Madness posts and then again recently with NHL playoffs not really tying in with the class. Personally I would cut down on the number of comments and posts needed while focusing more on the topics of this class. I know games is a broad topic but I also think that it could help to narrow the focus of this course.
To blog or not to blog that is the question.
-Michael Scheible

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Looking back on UC256; my favourite lecture

Thinking back about all the lectures we had for UC256, one of my favorite lectures was about the relation between language and games because it made me realize how big a role language games play in my own life. I will give you guys two examples that I thought about during and after the lecture.

When I heard we would get a lecture about the relation of language and games, I wasn’t sure what to expect but link between language and (board)games seemed obvious. Thinking about the subject makes me realize that in fact speaking another language is also a huge game, one that I’m playing right now! I’m an exchange student and since my first language isn’t English, one of my goals of coming to America is to improve my English skills. Because of the many writing assignments I get at this university and the house with 50 American students that I’m living in, I’m forced to improve my vocabulary and I learn more words every day. But I also challenge myself, for example by trying to keep a conversation fluent without struggling to find the right words and by writing not only in ‘simple English’ (which goes pretty ok. now) but I challenge myself to learn and use synonyms that the English language is full of. So instead of saying 5 times ‘my paper is about’ I learned myself using different words saying exactly the same thing. For example; my paper; concerns, deals with, refers to, regards and is touching).

Another example how language can be used as a game is when we learned about slang and cockney that English man would use, so the police wouldn’t find out where they would talk about. This particular story made me think of something my parents would do, when I was younger. In Holland we have a famous holiday on December 5^th that is called Sinterklaas (not be be confused with Santa Clause). Sinterklaas comes all the way from Spain assisted by many mischievous helpers who are black and wear colorful outfits. These helpers are called 'Zwarte Pieten'. each year they dock in the harbor of a different city or village in the Netherlands and give all the children who have been ‘good’ presents. So as December 5^th would approach my parents always started talking in a weird language that I couldn’t understand (now known as English). My parents used their language skills to talk to each other about presents they would get me for Sinterklaas, right in front of me, without me knowing what the hell they were talking about. Of course now that I know (sadly enough) that Sinterklaas doesn’t really exist and my English language skills are probably better than those of my parents, I’m now part of the ‘adult group’ trying to keep Sinterklaas alive for my cousins and talk in English about their present in their presence without them realizing it.

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Cancelling Greatness

So recently I decided to watch the Joss Whedon series Firefly and the subsequent movie Serenity and lets just say I was hooked off the bat. The way Whedon artfully forms the 2 genres of Western and Sci-Fi into one show is flawless leaving the viewer grasping for more.

hulu.com

Unfortunately this show was cancelled after one season and the movie was used to wrap up the series. To me this begs the question, how do great series such as Firefly and others get cancelled while other mediocre shows run for 5+ seasons. I know it has to do with funding and other such things but I still find it aggravating to see how Soap Operas run for 20+ seasons or all the spin offs of Law and Order. To see such shows as Firefly cancelled and have shows like Community fighting to stay on the air is just saddening to me. So now that my rant is finished what is your favorite show that got cancelled or what is a show that you think is undeserving of staying on the air?
-Michael Scheible

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GO BLUE!

The minor quest IV about a "Third Century Initiative" for the University of Michigan made me think about the differences of the school system in America and the Netherlands. For our presentation we thought ‘BIG’ and we came up with something completely new, and so did other guilds, and I really hope that some of the ideas will be implemented in the future, although it would take quite some time to see if some of the things we suggest truly work in real life. On the other hand, you might not want to change anything because the university of Michigan is one of the best universities is the world, so whatever they are doing, they are doing it right. For example in the Netherlands you have to choose a major right away, when you attend the University. For me this worked out just fine because I knew all along I wanted to study psychology, but I also have friends who started a study and figured out on the way it wasn’t really something for them and then had ‘wasted’ a year and had to find something else (they hoped) they would like. The University of Michigan takes care of this problem by the fact that you guys have the option to be ‘undecided’. You can take classes in every field you’re interested in to see if it is something you like and only have to declare on the end of your second year.

Also, at Leiden University we have quarters. You take 3 courses (2/3 American credits) for approximately 6 weeks. This way you go to the material really quick and there is now time to make reaction papers, midterm exams etc. most of the time there’s only a final exam that count for 100%. This can be seen as a good thing, because if you don’t feel like doing something for a week, you’re not obligated to do so, the only thing is that you have to study reaaally hard for you final exam, but I can tell you from experience it is not to right way to learn. It’s nice not to have to turn in papers every weak (but because of those you keep up with the material and at the end you only have to refresh your memory) but because of all this ‘freedom’ most of the studying I did in Holland was last notice and it was purely to pass an exam and the weak after I already forgot about halve of the material, because I never repeated it. The strength of the Michigan school system (being engaged with the material and being forced to write a lot and think about what you learn) was also pointed out by Richard Hersh on the Colbert Raport. (see link if you haven’t checked it out already!) http://annarbor.com/news/university-of-michigan-featured-on-tuesdays-colbert-report/

So I guess my point is, that although it’s ok. to want new things (more freedom to study what you want whenever you want etc.) It’s also because of the rules and guidelines (that many of us hate so much) that Michigan is one of the best in the WORLD!

Elise.

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The Creator of Worlds

When one thinks of the “magic circle”, one typically envisions a sports arena where college athletes battle for victory, or a field in which children run and play tag. However, with today’s technology, the concept of the magic circle has expanded to include entire virtual worlds where the participant can be wholly enraptured by the level of detail and imagination that goes into creating these worlds.
“Mr. Adamowicz, who died on Feb. 9 at 43, was a concept artist whose paintings of exotic landscapes, monsters and elaborately costumed heroes and villains formed the visual foundation for two of the most popular single-player role-playing video games of all time.”
A visionary who created the worlds that the massively popular games, Fallout and Skyrim take place in, Adamowicz is the driver of the complex environments that video gamers have fallen in love with over the years.
As the article puts it, “Whether sketching out a mutant-riddled, atomically ravaged downtown Washington or a sprawling continent populated by wizards and trolls, Mr. Adamowicz was, in a sense, the costume designer, prop master and set designer for highly cinematic games. Other team members would render Mr. Adamowicz’s drawings on computers once the writers and art director approved them.” The game director Todd Howard further explained that Adamowicz literally drew every image for these games over the years, and as one can image, this amounted to thousands of images and conceptual designs.
Going forward, it is interesting to consider the fact that as rending technology, and other advances such as 3-D technology develop, the possibilities in which magic circles can expand to are absolutely limitless.

Source: New York Times

-Alexander Chen

 http://uc256theplayaz.tumblr.com/

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The 49ers Race to the Top

The San Francisco 49ers are building a new stadium in Santa Clara, California.  The stadium is projected to open in 2014 for the NFL season.  It is estimated to hold 68,500 seats, and to be expandable to hold approximately 75,000 in order to host major events (Super Bowl,  FIFA World Cup, etc). It is estimated to cost more than $1 billion.  The San Francisco 49ers believe that they can generate half a billion dollars in seat licenses.  A personal seat license (PSL) essentially gives the holder the right to buy season tickets for a specific seat in the stadium.  If the 49ers generate this money that they are expected to, this will be the second highest such revenue, just behind the Dallas Cowboys.

What I thought was interesting about this idea was how much money PSLs generate for the team.  The Santa Clara Stadium has basically sold out premium inventory two years before the facility is even scheduled to open.  A majority of their stadium-building funds come from PSLs. Before learning about this new stadium, I did not know what a personal seat license was.  I had no idea that this revenue generating strategy even existed- I thought season ticket holders just bought their tickets and that was it. 

I thought it would be interesting to compare the 49ers PSLs with other big time NFL teams.  I found that at a meeting that took place on February 13^th, the team demonstrated that the Dallas Cowboys raised $600 million in PSLs, the 49ers are estimated to generate $500 million, and the Jets and Giants both around $400 million. Half a billion dollars from JUST seat licenses? That’s insane.

This made me realize how competitive the sports industry really is.  The 49ers are adding on additional fees for seat licenses, just so they can build a huge, over-the-top stadium.  What is wrong with their old one?  Most sports teams are going to extremes to be the biggest and the best- they all have one goal in mind- to generate revenue.  Personally, I do not agree with this idea of seat licenses.  If you buy season tickets, why do you need to also buy the right to use the seat?  Is this really necessary, or is the sport industry simply exploiting their loyal fans just to make a profit?  They are all racing to be on top.

-Brooke Kranz

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The Game of Life...How Badly do you Want to Win?

   As this course comes to a close, I have come to the realization that almost everything in life can be considered a game. When I used to think of the word game I immediately would think of playing board games or sports games. Now, when I hear the word game countless different types of games come to mind. I guess that because of this class I have become more cognizant of how almost everything in life is a game. First we can think about how school is a competitive game. Within each class each student works hard and competes to get the highest grade. Then within each grade each student competes to have the highest cumulative GPA. Then the students go on to compete to get into the best college or the best graduate school in an effort to get the best job and then eventually make the most money and live in the biggest house and drive the nicest cars and have the most expensive material goods. With teenage girls there has been a rise in eating disorders because of the desire to be the skinniest and the prettiest. Girls are actually purposely starving themselves so that they can be skinnier than their friends. Boys are constantly competing with each other to have the best bodies and they are willing to use illegal substances like steroids in order to achieve their desired body. How far will we go to be the best?

   I could continue on and give several other examples of how life is one big competition. Even within my own family we joke about who is my grandpa’s favorite and we all secretly try our best to be the favorite. It is our innate human instinct to want to be the best. However, I do believe that it really depends on the individual person. Some people don’t want to make the most money and live in the biggest mansion and they actually are satisfied living a mediocre lifestyle. For most of us I do not believe that is the case. I think a lot of it has to do with your genetics but I also believe that your environment plays a large role on how competitive and driven you are. For example, I was raised in a family with two older brothers who are both extremely competitive. To this day no matter what we are doing it is a competition and we all want to win.  This past Easter we were playing cards with each other and my brothers both got so heated when they were losing and then when my one brother won he told me that it was because he’s the smartest. I was in complete shock. He’s 28 years old. Does the competition ever end? I think due to our genetics and our environment we will always be competitive individuals with a strong desire to be the best we can possibly be. This course has made me realize that when you think about it, life is one big competition. We are all just players in the game of life. Yet, our genetics and our environment determine how badly we want to win.
-Shannon Funsch

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Playing with your life…..

Thanks to the center for global and International Study (CGIS), an awesome organization that organizes trips for international students, I went to Detroit last week. After hearing comments like ‘make sure you wear a bullet proof vest’, ‘have fun in ghost town’ and reassuring my parents that it really was a safe trip because I would go with a whole bunch of people who really knew the city and weren’t going to take us to “dangerous places” I really didn’t know what to expect and was actually really looking forward to the trip. On Saturday morning at 9 AM… I departed from the Michigan Union, with 5 CGIS people and 20 internationals in five minivan’s to the Eastern Market in Detroit. My first impression was really positive because even as early as 9:45 in the morning, there was already a lot going on. There were large BBQ’s on the street where they prepared all kinds of delicious food and there was karaoke, where people would dance and sing to.

The wedding dance, by Pieter Bruegel (1566)

So after exploring the market and enjoying the lovely weather we headed to the Detroit Institute of Art Museum (DIA). This is a huge institute with (mostly) paintings from all over the world. Since I’m from Holland, I was amazed by the large collection of Dutch paintings that the institute possessed. Pieter Bruegel (Mister LaVaque-Manty was referring to a painting of him in one of our first lectures!), Jan Cock and Maerten van Heemskerk (important Dutch painters in 1500) were all represented! So after spending an hour over there (which was by far not enough; so if you ever think about going, plan at least a few hours for it, so you can see what all three floors have to offer) we went to our next stop which was the Heidelberg Project.

I have never seen something so cool in my life! The Heidelberg project is open-air art. It’s a two block area in Detroit where (among many other things) the houses have polka dots all over them, trees are covered with stuffed animals and cars are covered with pennies. The idea behind it is to use the art to provoke thought, promote discussion, inspire action and heal communities. It’s one of the most impressive ‘things’ that I have ever seen. There is a whole block with abandoned, burned and destroyed houses and in the middle of that; there is something as beautiful as the Heidelberg project. I can only say pleeeaase see it for yourself (if you haven’t already) it’s totally worth it.

Here is a sneak preview àhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6w6WGokjTU

After a nice dinner and a visit to Rivard Plaza, we went back to Ann Arbor.

I think that thanks to CGIS I got a really good impression of Detroit, I´ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly things, all that´s left to say is:

Put your hand up for Detroit….. I survived the city!

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College Sports: The Balance Between Commercialism and Education

No other country on the planet does college sports like the US does.  We put huge amounts of resources into making college sports happen.  We build stadiums that can hold over 114,000 people (The Big House), which is the largest college football stadium in the nation, and one of the largest football-only stadiums in the world.  The University of Michigan football program ranks first in NCAA history of both total wins and winning percentage.  Our men’s ice hockey team has won nine national championships, and our men’s basketball team has appeared in four Final Fours.  A lot must go into making this all happen.  At Michigan, which is the highest level of college sports, we see an intersection of commercialism and educational goals.  As a result of this intersection, what happens to our resources and more importantly our student athletes? Clearly we want to be the best, but how can a university make this happen?

Michigan is a Division I FBS school.  In my Sport Management class, I learned that the business model of typical DI FBS schools is to sink their resources into the two most commercialized sports: Football and men’s basketball.  They do this with the goals of generating enough money for the sport itself to be self-sustained and generating enough money to fund the entire athletic program.  However, the reality is that only about 70 out the 120 FBS schools break even or have a surplus, and only 22 athletic departments were self-sufficient last year (of course both of these statistics include Michigan).  In reality, college sports is just not a moneymaking thing for most universities.  So why do universities put so much of their resources into athletics?  Is this good for the school and the students?

As a result of this business model, there are different expectations for student athletes.  Their academic requirements: Athletes often do not have a choice in majors.  Because they have to maintain academic progress, they typically get funneled into different majors.  How many student athlete engineer or business students have you seen?  I’m sure not many.  These athletes also usually have extensive schedules, and therefore cannot spend as much time on their studies.  They have tutors and athletic-run assistance facilities.  Of course these are great resources, but I think that this just further isolates the student athlete from the student population. 

Division I schools use their sports to entertain their campus and a national audience.  They work to attract students, attention, and generate the dollars.  The NCAA is considered an “educational organization” because it is made up of education institutions (conferences, organizations, etc).   But is the NCAA really promoting education?  Or is it promoting sports?

The sports industry is so caught up in promoting college sports that they do not necessarily do what is best for the student athletes.  Of course student athletes take regular courses, but are they getting the same education and opportunities as regular students are?  Are they here to play their game, or are they here to receive an education?  I’m not really sure what the answers to these questions are.  I think that the balance between commercialization and education is extremely difficult to work with.  I give a lot of credit to student athletes at big-time universities and I would love to know what they think.

-Brooke Kranz

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How to Win the Game of Persuasion

Recently I read an article called "Harnessing the Science of Persuasion" by Robert B. Cialdini. The article got me thinking about persuasion and I came to the realization that persuasion is like a game. If you are able to convince someone to do something that they did not want to do or if you can make someone believe something that they did not previously believe then you are considered a winner in the game of persuasion. But how do you master the art of persuasion? If you want to be a great basketball player then you practice and work hard to develop the skills to be able to perform at a certain level. Persuasion also takes practice and over time we are able to learn which tactics to use depending on the person and the situation.

     The article highlighted general advice that is important to use on a daily basis so that when it comes time to persuade someone you barely need to open your mouth to get them to commit because they already have trust in you. I felt that the advice was extremely helpful and interesting so I thought that I should share it with the intention of helping others get to the winners bracket in the game of persuasion.

    First Cialdini talks about the principle of liking and he explains that people like those who like them. The application of this process is to uncover real similarities and offer genuine praise. It is important to establish a bond when you first meet someone because it creates a presumption of goodwill and trustworthiness in every subsequent encounter you have. Whether it is politics, sports, or movies it is important to display interest in others and find a common bond. Next the article talked about the principle of reciprocity and how people repay in kind. The moral of this principle is that we must give what we want to receive. If you lend a fellow classmate a hand by sending them a study guide for your upcoming final, you will significantly increase the chance of getting help when you need it. He emphasized the power of social proof by explaining that people follow the lead of similar others. We must use peer power whenever it’s available. As human beings we naturally rely heavily on the people around us for cues on how to think, feel, and act. Cialdini talked about the importance of consistency by explaining that people align with their clear commitments. It is important to make commitments active, public, and voluntary. Commitments should always be put in writing .In addition it is important to expose your expertise because people defer to experts. Very often people mistakenly assume that others recognize and appreciate their experience. It is best to use informal, social conversations to establish your credentials. It is also extremely beneficial to highlight unique benefits and exclusive information because it is human nature to want more of what you can have less of.

  After reading this article I felt like I had just gone to persuasion practice. It is amazing to me that in order to master the art of persuasion it is not just about small little tactics. Instead the mastery of persuasion is a direct reflection of your past actions and encounters with the individual you are trying to persuade. Think about it.  In your group of friends do you believe some individuals more than others? Maybe it is because they have harnessed the science of persuasion.

-Shannon Funsch

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