NTIC Student Magazine, Volume 2: Autumn 2011

Vol. 2

Nottingham Trent International College, NTIC student magazine 2011 Autumn

Reflectively

exploring

We experience the same reality in various ways. The same day in the college leaves us with different feelings and impressions. There is no better way to realise and appreciate those differences in perceptions than by listening to the stories of others. This volume gives you an opportunity to do so. The students’ accounts presented here help us realise that each student has a very personal relationship with the academic world and that for each student this relationship is meaningful.

Academic life is about exploration, achievement and fun and it’s lovely to see through this volume how our students open themselves to foreign art, sport and music and how they are happy to discover Nottinghamshire. It’s also easy to notice that being far away from their own culture they become more reflective about their own history and identity.

It is clear through our students’ writings that their life at university has contributed to a development of their characters. Abisola Popoola’s story tells us of how initial hurdles at university shaped her character. Similarly, Betty Odema discovers the world of adulthood through her work experience at NTIC and realises that this world is full of rules and procedures to obey. Ifeanyi Onyejekwe’s beautiful story reminds us however that each stage of education prepares us for the next one and so it ends with a hopeful goodbye.

This term we’re saying goodbye to some of our students who are starting their courses with NTU, but we also welcome new faces to NTIC. Irrespective of whether you are a new student or have been here for a while, we hope that this academic year will bring you satisfaction and success.

With best wishes, Alicja and James

Contents Article No.

1 2 3 4 5 6

Information Advice: The stories I can tell…..

Abisola Popoola

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Honest advice on how to study at NTU

What a difference a day makes Safa Al Sadi and Hafsa Mohammed

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A trip to a local art gallery revealed the many different faces of Palestine

Two sides to the coin Betty Odema

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Shares her experiences of being both a student and a student helper.

Philosophy: I want to be alone…

Yuchen Hua

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A philosophical exploration of self, motivated by the film 127 hours.

Get out of the city and explore the unknown of Nottinghamshire Rachel Du

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Visit Newstead Abbey and enjoy the beautiful gardens. But don’t forget your student card.

Asian music, TV series and movies.

Wanshu Huang

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Everything you need to know about Thai, Chinese and Korean culture.

Article No.

7 8 9

10 11

Information Chelsea FC Ikan Assiak

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Some logo history and news of his favourite team.

The Great Dam: an essay about Chinese history, society and politics surrounding the Three Gorges project Yingge Fan

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Looks back at the great projects in Chinese history and assesses their value to posterity

The evolution of the Smartphone Chuku Fortune

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He loves phones and he wants you to know more

Advice: Media with pathways – Media practice Yanli Ge

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Insight into media pathways and studying at NTU.

Another side of the sun Ifeanyi Onyejekwe

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Inspired by the distant sun, Adjoa, a suburban girl from Ghana, embarks on a life-changing journey‌

Yard (Youth Arts Research and Development) Yard Youth Theatre

As I clear out my room and pack up my magazines, textbooks, shoes and coats I look back at my past four years at university, a different story reflecting through each item.

My blue sweater tells the tale of the two consecutive nights I spent in the library working on a presentation my group members got credit for; the thoroughly chewed end of my BIC pen reminds me of my philosophical moments (What do we need education for? What does all this information mean, really?) when I just felt like quitting, and a restaurant napkin brings back the taste of the lavish dinner I had with my flatmates celebrating my grades in a module I thought I sucked at. These numerous stories both positive and negative are what make university so great, they are

the anecdotes we use to please our potential employers; they are the lessons that caution our behaviour and in this context they are the pre-ambles in which I’m offering a mini-guide to NTIC students.

Thrown into this new world of independence, NTIC was my shock absorber as there were other people like me and educators who were ready to help. I utilized this help made available to me In England, it takes only three years asked questions and read helpto finish a bachelor’s degree in ful pamphlets. It is advisable to Media and Communications stud- ask for help when needed or ask ies so the four years I mentioned for clarification when you aren’t earlier is as a result of my Interna- sure; it makes life easier. I was too tional foundation year at Notting- proud to ask about certain things ham Trent International College. It and I had to learn the hard way. was my 1st time in the UK without my parents, it was an exciting time My academic life was quite good because if felt like I was becom- at NTIC and this was due to seving a woman. In fact, it felt like I eral things. I knew how much my was a woman. I was living alone, parents were paying and I did not I was in charge of my budget, my want to disappoint them. I also time and resources which was wanted to get the scholarship at the not the case when I was at home. end of the programme so what I did

sary. I got angry sometimes but it got the job done and got me out of bed and into class. At the end of the day I got good grades coupled with the scholarship I wanted, I was ready to conquer University.

was I took advantage of my helpful tutors and I also had a study partner. We were both ambitious but he was totally different from me; I’m an easy going kind of girl and he was way more serious. Sometimes I could not be bothered to go for 9 a.m. lectures but he pushed me, he even went as far as throwing insults my way when neces-

That ‘conquering’ attitude was watered down in little or no time, I was humbled within my first four weeks of University. NTIC prepares you for university but it does not change how challenging it is.

In NTIC I felt like a superstar, a genius even, but when I got into uni I started to question my wit and brain power. Everyone goes through this no matter how brilliant you are; it is what you do with it that matters.

Some people are consumed by the pressure while others are pushed and motivated by it. You have to make a decision to excel despite all the hurdles. I use the word hurdles because they are temporary, they might hinder you but with a little extra effort they become a thing of the past. My first hurdles were the history seminars I had every other Wednesday, I loathed them because I had to study at length to prepare for the seminars. My other modules were very tasking as well so on this particular Wednesday I had not done my reading for the week and because it was a topic about my country I thought I did not have to read up on it. I got to class and as questions started to arise I was clueless and this was extremely embarrassing as everyone knew

it was my country we were talking about. I still avoid wearing my red converse sneakers because it reminds me of that day. The burning shame I felt was my motivation all through first year for me to study for everything, not only seminars.

Time went by and I got into a routine: I was not a fresher anymore, life was a little easier. Easier in the sense that I was more resilient and I expected the work that was coming my way. I would be a liar if I told you the workload becomes lighter as you progress because it does not.

However, you are more equipped to tackle the work successfully.

There are countless stories I can tell but why bother with mine when your storybook is waiting to be written. See every challenge as an opportunity and lesson to be learnt.

Have a great time at Uni guys.

The stories I can tell...

Abisola Popoola

1

What a difference a day makes Safa Al Sadi and Hafsa Mohammed During our study at NTIC, our tutor decided to take us to the New Art Exchange in Hyson Green, Nottingham as part of our class study for FC030 Interpreting Visual Culture. The New Art Exchange was nice and well organized. We saw a lot of really amazing pieces.

On the first floor there are many art books which you can look at and read with lots of professional photographs on the wall. The ceiling was full of a fantastic texts organized in unique way so that it looked like a crack had appeared.

In the first floor we saw a Palestinian artist’s work. It was a picture of particular area in Palestine taken at different times in the day.

When we see the first image in the

morning we feel that the particular place is peaceful and inspiring.

When we move to the second picture we did not see any difference except for the colour which shows that it was taken in the afternoon.

However, the third picture gave us a clue. There was a smoke coming out from certain building and the people on the pictures disappeared.

The last picture was a shocking image. The area had been attacked and it was burning. It really touched our emotions as the changes throughout the day made you sympathetic towards the country.

The second floor contained gypsy pictures and stories. Basically, the word ‘gypsy’ refers to nomadic people which means individu-

als or families who moved from place to place. Interestingly, there were headphones in front of every section so we heard their stories while we were looking at the pictures. It was an amazing experience and we knew more about these people and their culture through visiting the New Art Exchange as part of our class study.

2

3

I want to be...

So many words could be created just for a story. You want to know what happened to somebody through others’ mouths. It is not a problem at all. Why do I say it is not a problem? Because we are human beings, we are always thinking that somebody or something has a specific connection with ourselves. Since it is our instinct, we could not stop being in this way, could we? Therefore, we go ahead every time when we meet with something that arouses our curiosity.

At the start of your search, you know exactly what you want to know. It is the truth you defined about a human being who you are willing to know. As time goes by over your search among thousands of copies of the story, you lose your aim; you just keep moving, moving, and moving towards the final truth that you think you might have not met until you are absolutely exhausted. You hate this feeling and many people do too. What is wrong with me - you start to think.

Why do I have to have an answer to other person’s story who I don’t know about at all? Can I be alone on my own without any curiosities on anybody’s happening through my whole life? If I need some fresh air, I just travel; go to the mountains, being like a hiker. If I need amazing sound, I just put on my earphones; let the music excite

my nerves without any concern about being interrupted by a sudden touch, because I am in my own car, madly driving it. If I am fed up with my office settings, I just quit it no matter how handsome the salary.

If I do not need anybody, just be with myself, stay alone, is that possible? How could I push this life in my hand moving ahead?

How do I know about myself?

How could I touch my own existence through making decisions without thinking too much?

God gives me a birth, but he does not give me any means to feel my existence? If not being given any connection with any human beings, could I still be able to feel my existence? I think over and over and over again, I’ve been thinking of being alone since I graduated from my university until that tragedy came to me.

You are not alone and you never could be I am Aron right here, and you are Aron in this mirror. Can we just have a short conversation about the past 7 years’ exploring experience that we have together?

Why not Aron. I am your shadow through your whole life. You cannot escape from me, and you know this, don’t you?

Dear Aron, my previous best

friend inside of me, please listen, we just escaped from that desperate Blue John Canyon. I have never heard so killing pain in my life.

I cut off my arm by myself after 5 days’ struggle with pain, scare, coldness, loneliness, hunger, and despair. It is a punishment to me, and it must be God who gave this to me.

Look at me and listen my dearest brother Aron, there will never be a pain that you cannot bear in your left life because you have experienced this, you should feel victory and fortunate compared with so many others who have not had any senses of their future painfulness. Nobody could escape from pain; it is given by God as soon as our births.

I feel exhausted now, I really do.

No energy left in my body. What is my future life going to be like?

I dare not to imagine.

I understood my dearest brother, and I feel so sorry that I cannot do any good favour on your body. I do not belong to your body; I am just the servant of your soul. I can follow you with your decision, your dream, and every event good or bad that happens to you, but I cannot stop any pain coming with these to you.

You make me feel worse Aron, why did you tell me these things?

Since you cannot prevent any bad

results from me, why don’t you leave me? Why? Don’t think too much or irritate me my dearest twin brother. If you do, there must be no action for you to take. Too much thinking gives you too much suspicions and depressions. As soon as you stop to think the meaning before you take a step forward, you lose your chance to find the answer which only you could find by yourself and find the peace. God doesn’t give us too much time to think every connection that we have. He just gives each human a birth, and an unforgettable pain with this birth. Nobody could definitely describe how does this pain feel like, they just scare of a specific occasion to encounter this parallel pain again that they feel they could not bear. Not

many choices for you to escape from this inborn fear of encountering this pain. Either you go everywhere to find some painful experience you think that it is the right pain God gives to you when you were born and fight against it and you win the fight; or you stay still in your shelter waiting it to come to you suddenly…

Aron, do you know that no action for you means long time sleep for me. I hate sleeping again and again from sunrise to sunset, through a long night without any sound or movement. Every time I feel maybe I’ve died because I don’t miss anything or anybody during this long sleep. Nobody will think about me. Even you and I totally lose our inner connections. Aron, you should remember forever that only if you

live, I won’t die. So, come back to me, come back to the crowd, and go for peace by following your heart… You are not alone, and you could never be.

Beyond 127 hours No sacrifice no pain, no pain no rebirth, no rebirth no appreciation to anybody, no appreciation to anybody no love, no love no meaning, no meaning no life.

Exploration and loss and even death is not the most painfulness, loss of any hope shared with other humans is the final catastrophe of one’s life.

Yuchen Hua

...Alone

cOin Two sides of

The student Life as a student in NTIC was a mixture of both sweet and bitter experience; sweet in that it felt as though I were at home away from home, always having someone to talk to and listen to my issues; bitter in that the academic side was not what I envisioned it would be when I journeyed to the United Kingdom to study.

I arrived from Nigeria believing as I had attained a certain level of education back home, I would find academia here easy, but I had the shock of my life when every module sounded strange and unattainable. I felt as though I had never seen the four corners of a classroom before; but believe me, you will break through it as I did if you put your mind into it.

I had a good relationship with students, tutors and non-academic staff of the college; get this straight, they are always ready to listen and help you as long as it is in line with the call of duty. All you need do is acknowledge your problem and approach them with it. I always did, and it really helped me get sorted, such as in statistics which I thought I would never be able to conquer.

The student helper But now I have a different view of the college through my role as a student helper. It’s fun, keeps me motivated, although I do get too personally involved sometimes. The most enjoyable part of the job is giving help to someone who needs it, going on trips to different entertaining environments, travelling to beautiful cities for conferences and having the fun of your life, gaining knowledge from different perspectives, and at the end you get paid for doing just the things you like doing! (Smiles).

The hardest part of the job is being on the front desk. When you are there, you are seen as a symbol of the college, your behaviour and deeds are in check at all times; there is this inner fear within you; the fear of wondering if you are doing the right thing at all times; but don’t get me wrong, it’s part of the training because there is someone always there to guide you through. Another issue involved in the front desk is having to balance between being a student and a worker; most times when a student comes with an issue, as a fellow student you understand what it feels like, but as a worker, I have the obligation to follow policies and procedures. Most students tend not to understand that when you are behind that desk, you are not their friend or a student, but a worker that has rules and guidelines to follow. I have gained so much experience in being at the front desk and as a student helper in general.

In all, I would say my life in NTIC has been rewarding, I have gained work experience and so much more. Indeed, I can proudly say that, without minding what others may think, I have gained more than I have given to the college. I advise students to be focused, respectful and disciplined; you can achieve more than just a certificate if you understand the environment and the people around you. As a student, know what is important to you, create time away from your studies for yourself, create time for others and most importantly, do not forget the reason you are here; lots of students do forget why they came here, and they are paying the price for it. Do not be one of these students PLEASE. If you would like to become a student helper, then ask someone at reception –like Betty.

- Betty Odema

4

Get out of the city and explore the unknown notthighamshire Rongrong Du

OPENING TIMES:

Grounds: open all year round* 9am - 6pm/dusk

(whichever is sooner).

House: open to the public on Sundays,

April - September via house tours.

These take place at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm (subject to demand) and last approximately 45 minutes.

Cafe: The Cafe at the Abbey is open daily**, 11am - 5pm. * Except the last Friday in November, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. ** Except on 24-26 December and 1 January. www.newsteadabbey.org.uk

How do you spend your week-

ends? There are lots of famous places in Nottinghamshire you have never been to before. Don’t only stay in the city centre. Take a bus, spend half-an-hour to experience the culture and nature.

Find a weekend you don’t have much homework and with your friends, have an exciting excursion. You will find a different view about Nottinghamshire. Here’s one place you should try to check out. You’ll have to find the rest!

Newstead Abbey (The ancestral home of poet Lord Byron) How to get there: By bus in the Nottingham’s Victoria Centre Bus Station.

About the tickets: You can pay the tickets separate for the garden and the house. Don’t forget to bring your student card; you will have a student’s discount.

Brief introduction: “A beautiful historic house set in a glorious landscape of gardens and parkland within the heart of Nottinghamshire. Experience the romance and mystery of Newstead Abbey, once home to the notorious poet, Lord Byron.”

Personal feeling: During the busy study life, you need to find a weekend to let yourself relax. Come to Newstead Abbey, a place full of romance and mystery. You can feel the breath of literature in the

house, and the pulse of nature in the big garden outside the house.

In summer, before you walk into the garden, you will be welcome by crowds of ducks which are leisurely swimming in the lake.

When you step into the garden, you will be amazed by the beautiful scenery which jumped into your sight. You will find sometimes tranquil green, sometimes jumping pink, sometimes brilliant red and fresh elegant white flowery.

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6

Asian music, TV series and movies.

Wanshu Huang

T

he music and movie/drama in Asian cultures varies. That is why I will mainly focus on China, Korea and Thailand. Generally speaking, young people in Asia are more likely to be attracted by “young” music. Most “young” songs narrate about a love story, usually where a person gets hurt by a lover. It seems to create a kind of default form which I think is because love stories can get more sympathetic responses from people. The beat of “young” music is generally light, few bands might choose rock style, e.g. X-Japan in Japan and MayDay’s in China. The power of Asian rap songs is not as strong as western songs. Most Asian singers are famous for their good looks, this, of course, does not mean that they have no skill. Singers need the full support from fans—both in spirit and money. This is important because in Asia people can get almost any music from the internet, which means record labels can only get financial benefit from loyal fans who actually buy their CD or go to concerts. One thing must be mentioned here is that Asian fans are very well organized. A fan group for each singer has its national

president and many local branches. Also, they have their own colours, in one singer’s concert, fans will prepare many light sticks in specific colour. A fan group even has well-designed clothes and a mascot, all works can be done orderly. Let us go through some more detail about Asian music.

In China, the most famous singer is Jay Chou—the handsome Green Hornet, he has been popular for 10 years and he is mainly famous for his special music style and fuzzy pronounciation. Jay is good at composing. His music is just like a flag which stands for Chinese music. To be honest, in Chinese entertainment circle, it is hard to maintain a high popularity, because many new stars are produced every year by the most successful TV show - Happy Girls/ Boys. This singing contest is held gradually in one of the most popular TV channels among Chinese young people—Hunan TV , which is similar to ITV in the UK. It has extremely high audience rating.

Contestants are usually beautiful/ handsome and talented. It is not an exaggeration to say that these peo-

ple can be well-known in a night!

This programme, just as the X Factor in the UK, makes people worry about the quality of Chinese music market. Foreign singers are developing in Chinese entertainment circles, perhaps because many Chinese young people are enthusiastic about their music; for examples, Super Junior-M who is a branch of a really popular group in Korea.

ers belong to Star Museum Entertainment Company, it is an authority record label which selects and trains new stars every year. It is said that this company treat singers strictly. Besides Korean music, its TV series also plays crucial role in Asia. For young girls, the main feature of Korean drama is romantic plot and beautiful characters. Young people are likely to watch it because it is the reflection Korean music, undoubtly, is one to a certain extent of what they of the symbols of Asian music to are dreaming about. ‘Boys over a certain extent. It does not aim to flower,’ ‘you’re beautiful,’ ‘brilarouse any national emotions. Ko- liant legacy’ are typical examples. rean music is spread most widely in Asia. It is mainly famous for its My Thai friend told me that for young all-boys/ all-girls groups. her, Bird Thongchai McIntyre Many Korea groups got a large is the forever-famous singer in number of foreign fans in Asian, Thailand. Bird has dominated the and even further. Girl’s gen- entertainment circle of Thailand eration. Big Bang, Super Junior. since 1985, and beyond all doubt, TONG VANG XING QI, wonder he is the super leader of Thai mugirls and 2pm are most famous sic. For fans in other countries of examples. The number of mem- Asia, one of their most familiar bers in Korean groups are rela- Thai group is ‘August band’. This tively large. There are 9 girls in band has 13 members who play Girls’ Generation and 13 boys in different instruments. They are faSuper-Junior. Many Korean sing- mous for an excellent movie which

has been followed by enormous young people in Asia—‘the love of Siam’. Except the August band, many Thai songs which are OST of hot films gain much attention from fans. Music is closely associated with films. From my personal point of view, the romantic films can gain a larger market than other styles in Thailand. According to the box office list of Thai films in 2010, the first three movies are all about love which are acted by young stars, they are ‘hello stranger,’ ‘a little thing called love’ and ‘Truck rotten Slow Travel’.

This makes Thai movies appealing to many teenagers of other countries. Besides that, the significant position of Thai horror movie cannot be ignored. Some Buddhistic elements make it special among the horrible films in Asia.

7

Chelsea FC

Chelsea football club was founded 10th March 1905, by two brothers called Gus Mears and Brother Joseph. The club is located with Moore Park Estate also known as Walham green, the capacity of the stadium is 42,449 making it the eighth largest ground in the Premier League. The name of the stadium is called Stamford Bridge and the fans shout for their team as ‘THE BLUES.’ Chelsea always competes in lots of competitions, such as the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, and Carling cup. They have won them all except the Champions League where they lost on penalties to Manchester United. In 2003 a Russian Billionaire called Roman Abramovich bought the club.

He’s invested a lot of money in the club, buying players from all over the world and if the manager fails to bring his trophies he is sacked.

The club has been using different types of jerseys but their regular kit colours are Royal Blue shirts and shorts with white socks, this combination has been used since 1960.The original jersey was

chosen by former club president, Earl Cadogan in 1912. It was then changed in 1960 by the Chelsea manager Tommy Docherty.Chelsea traditional away colours are yellow or all white blue trim. Their first sponsor was Auto glass and later Emirate Airlines. They are currently sponsored by Samsung.

The lion on the Chelsea logo shows how powerful the club is, a lion standing and looking backward and holding a staff. This shows that the lion is strong and assertive like the players. The logo also features red roses to represent England and two footballs. So make sure you watch out for the roar of my favourite team in the league this year.

Ikan Assiak

Great Dam: 8an essayThe about Chinese history, society and

politics surrounding the Three Gorges project - Yingge Fan

Recently, one of the most controversial issues both in China and abroad is the growing opposition to a dam on the Three Gorges. Although western media provided experts who put forward arguments against it, they have been ignored by the authorities and the Chinese government who concentrated on the success during the storage period and evaluating the effects of the whole process. However, many Chinese bloggers have been more pessimistic and doubted official evidence. As the economist comments, ‘China‘s government at last owns up to problems at its monster dam.’

I have been to the Three Gorges with a team of students, teachers and parents from City of London School in summer of 2009. We visited the three gorges on Yangtze River and disembarked after we just passed through the dam.

The project was so impressing and spectacular that the floodgate appeared to transect the wide water.

However, the tour guide told us that local people actually think the project destroys natural balance in the Three Gorges. That was the first time I had ever thought about the negative effects of the dam. It reminded me another architectural wonder in China, the Great Wall, which was firstly built in more than 2000 years ago (before the

Qin state was established in 221 BC). Unfortunately, great things for Chinese people are not always as pure as most non-Chinese tourists believe so. The Great Wall was built via enslaving and punishing, and this lead to the disruption of Qin dynasty (the first dynasty ever in Chinese traditional history) indirectly which is acknowledged on the Chinese history textbook. This is to say, the Great Wall actually is not only an outstanding project or a mustsee grand view, but also historically represents ‘ancient tyranny.’

Throughout traditional Chinese history, there was more than one ‘Great Wall’, for instance, the Beijing-Hangzhou grand canal

(1776 km) built in 605 AD in Sui dynasty, the Forbidden City, and some emperors’ tombs. Perhaps, these make Chinese people have a superiority complex to create and build a great project for showing and benefiting to future generations. Thus, psychologically, Chinese people are proud and enjoy the successes in creating ‘the best’ and ‘the last’ for history.

This can be a nonpolitical factor for most people who supported to build the dam and also explain why Chinese people always worry about being blamed by posterities because of any failures.

In fact, acknowledging a mistake for China’s government is always

rougher than making it, even if there were 177 voted against out of 2,633 delegates in the National People’s Congress in 1992, the related departments did not pay attention to the possible problems. However, nowadays, pressure is becoming stronger due to new media expressing alternative viewpoints. Cast in point, my grandfather was persecuted in the political movement named ‘great proletarian cultural revolution’, which was launched by Mao Zedong between 1966 and 1976.

Most ‘intellectuals’ were considered as Rightists who were against Mao’s political propositions and consequently, attacked by the Red Guards who were waving Mao’s flag (actually they were controlled by another anti-Mao’s interest group at the later time) in that dark decade. However, in the fifth year after Mao passed away as well as the political movement ending, when my father was in university, the Communist Party officially admitted that the revolution was a mistake and restored reputation social status to people like my grandfather (including people who already died in that period). Afterwards when I studied Chinese modern history at school, we were required to evaluate Mao Zedong critically and argue his faults in exams.

Comparing with this process which spent more than 20 years, the rapid action taken by current departments appears that they had listened to public opinion (although the plan of the dam was first drafted in 1932, we only count from the dam’s completion ceremony in 2006), moreover, improved the transparency and participation. This is also one of the most important short-term aims of China’s society.

Some may doubt ‘improving the

transparency and participation’ as social networking websites such as Facebook and Youtube have been forbidden in Mainland China since 2009. I personally disagree with this policy. To look back at history, one of the most famous cases was Literary Inquisition used by Qianlong Emperor to silence opposition in hundreds years ago. He had killed not only the writers but also their immediate and extended families. In the much earlier time, the first emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered hundred of schools of thought to be banned with most existing books burned, the legalism became only endorsed ideology in 213 BC. Meanwhile, he had some 460 Confucians buried alive.

The common point of these two historical events is that they all somehow leaded to the downfall of both dynasties by revolts as one of the main factors. Consequently, with the growth of Chinese economy and technology, the loss of free speech on the Internet and the increasing demands of democracy can be considered as a serious social contradiction which is not ignorable. The government might have other considerations like stabilizing the state and to gain trust from lesser-educated people without access to the Internet who are actually in the majority. Although the current policy of media tells people ‘white lies’ by hiding or delaying bad news, or helps to have a quite high overall life satisfaction, it does not appear to be a long-term solution regardless of the National People’s Congress has been changed to be more powerful and democratic in the recent decade or not.

Nonetheless, I do not think it is fair that the current government should pay for debts created by the former government. Just like

the dam of Three Gorges, the governments in the past took the decision to build the dam, yet after they retired, they do not take any responsibility. Due to the single-party Communist state, people usually are not surprised to see the new general secretary of central committee also become state president and the leader of the military as well. The benefit for the Party is related to state’s so closely, which means they are supposed to take decisions carefully, because they are the one and only Party who is able to control and protect the country at the present stage. (The other eight democratic Parties which participate in government and political affairs, such as Jiusan Society and China Democratic League, are fed by the Communist Party of China.) Meanwhile, if the CPC fallen from power, the country would be no longer in peace. The singleparty rules benefit to concentrate and develop national strength for building brilliant projects in limited time, however, also have few opportunities to make real mistakes.

Anyhow, the Three Gorges program is not the only large water conservancy project which has been criticized, and I believe the Chinese government will take actions immediately after the admission as it always. More important measures, which can address the social and political issues, should be taken. It is still not too late to open the gate of ‘the Great Dam’.

The evolution of Smartphone

“

Definition: A smartphone

is a mobile phone offering advanced capabilities with features considered advanced at the time of its release. A phone considered as a smartphone today could therefore be regarded as a non-smartphone tomorrow such as phones in the early 2000s which had just internet and email functions. A smartphone could also be considered as a mini computer having phone capabilities. It should possess features such as Email, Web Browser, WiFi, Still and Video Camera, Organiser, PC Sync, Combine PDA and mobile phone, Office-applications, PDF viewer, GPS navigation, Large Display, Allow installing additional applications and so much more.

�

The History of Smartphones

1984: Psion Organizer II known as the “World’s First Practical Pocket Computer’’ was built on an 8-bit Hitachi 6301-family processor, 9V battery that could last several months! It also permitted its own applications to be developed (OPL-language), memory extensions, plug-in modules etc.

1992: IBM Launch ‘Simon’, a nickname for the first phone launched which could do much more than a feature or mobile phone. It was very advanced for the time and offered amongst other things a calendar, world time, addresses book, notepad, email and also a touchscreen. Its shortcoming was that it was described as “brick-like, huge and heavy.” Priced at $899.00, it was only available in the US. 1998: The Nokia 9110 Communicator was what we started to see something that looks similar to a contemporary smartphone.

Though it still had a colourless screen and could not browse the Web, it did have an innovative flip-out keyboard design that served as a prototype for today’s popular slider smartphones such as the Motorola Droid.

2002: A Canadian company Research in Motion (RIM) launched

the original Blackberry with its BlackBerry 5810 device, a phone that was able to carry out e-mail functions and surf the web and it was at this point that the smartphone reached a global market.

It was a phone for business executives who wanted to go everywhere with their office, however for the first time there was a mobile device that was enhanced for wireless email use and it was this model that set the trend for the rest of the smartphones.

2007: Apple released the iPhone, with its instinctive touch screen this was the device that modernized mobile web browsing.

It was easy to use, pleasurable to navigate with and appeared far sexier than all its prototypes.

2008: Android arrives. Developed as an open-source product and sponsored by Google, HTC, Intel and several other prominent companies, Android was hyped as the future for smartphone Operating Systems. The accomplishment of the open-source operating system is even more remarkable with the consideration that when it first appeared it was already facing a teeming field of OS big names such as the iPhone, BlackBerry,

Windows Mobile and Symbian.

2010 and The Future: The future of smartphones undoubtedly seems bright with mobile companies such as Apple, HTC, Samsung, Nokia etc. releasing a new, faster, more powerful smartphone constantly with bigger and brighter screens, processors being made more powerful and with increasing amount of free and commercial apps available daily. Furthermore, it has been shown by a Research in a school in the district of North Carolina in the United States that a project known as Project K-net which uses blackberry devices as teaching tools has had a reckonable effect on student success in math.

This and more should be expected in the nearest future as regards to technological development of modern smartphones. If you are not an owner of a smartphone already, it is about time you got one.

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Media with pathways - Media practice Yanli Ge

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I entered into NTIC to study Media and Communication in 2008.

The knowledge I reaped there closely related to my university course (media effects, globalization, ethnography etc), making me very confident in my studying and social life. Thanks to James Walker (foundation tutor), the beginning of the university life was more interesting and colorful than I thought.

For my personal experience studying at NTU, I learned and improved a lot during the last three years in different spheres of media industries and literatures. I studied at Clifton campus, which is a nice and pretty place to study and live. For the course

I studied, NTU offers the latest facilities for students so they can practice and exercise the knowledge and technical skills immediately. So, there is no doubt that you can grab highly skilled knowledge and technical skills in theoretical or practical sphere. And the tutors in the Arts and Humanities department are very friendly and nice; some of them helped me a lot in the process of my studying in media industries, like Russell Murray and Ben Taylor. Furthermore, the Academic Support is a sector to help students who have troubles in writing: like the format of an academic essay, references, grammar and so on. So you can always feel taken care of if you study in this university. I hope my expression can inform new or prospective students about NTIC and NTU. Last but not least, good luck to everyone studying in NTIC or NTU now, and good with your future.

“I want to go to the sun.”

Those were the first words Adjoa, a suburban girl from Ghana, told her mother whilst on her way to school. Stunned and amazed as to why her 14yr old daughter at that time would utter such words, she responded: “Go to school, read your books and you will be able to go anywhere you choose”. Adjoa usually was known to be peculiar, she never did what seemed normal in her environment and would in some way stand out amongst her peers, so her mother just took it, and didn’t question her words.

“My daughter! My daughter!

You are now going into the world.

Don’t forget to read your books and remain focused. The world is very competitive these days,” said Adjoa’s father to her just before she left for college, an experience she so looked forward to.

“My dear also try and keep good friends and don’t let any body force you to do what you don’t want to do. Rremember if you read hard you can go to the sun and beyond !” her mother chipped in.

asked... “Yeah! Grab a seat. You are 3 weeks late,” said the tutor who asked for her name and quickly went back to teaching.

At that point, she realised that she had grown fond of her teachers and appreciated them more for all the effort they had put in.

Days past and “catching up” was the name of the game (as she likes to call it) Adjoa played, considering how the tutor had indirectly told her that she had missed 3 weeks of lectures. In less than no time she was up to date, courtesy her classmates who became good friends and oh yeah not forgetting that one dreaded software course that seemed difficult to her at that stage.

“Times without number, I wanted to go the sun when I was younger, not because that was the place to go, but I felt going there would be a life changing experience in some way, although am yet to do that, and these days I donno if I would want to, considering the heat, I can rightfully say that I have had my share of life changing experience, ‘cos I can’t even begin to explain just how the NTIC experience was…from the charismatic teachers to the interesting classmates…I like to call it one of the many sides of the sun,” Adjoa told her best friend over the phone as she looked back at the experience and how it all played out.

It was week 11. “With these guidelines I have been giving you there is no reason any one shouldn’t pass to the university, I wish you all the best,” all the tutors said at the end of their modules in their last lectures in revision week . It wasn’t like Adjoa hadn’t heard those words before; after all they were said the term before, but there was something about this one that was just so saddening for her. It seemed like a final goodbye. ”ARE YOU NOT GOING TO It was her first day at college , “Are TEACH US IN THE UNI?” she you in this class?” the tutor uttered asked one of her tutors. “I usually just as she entered the classroom… work with NTIC, but help NTU “Uhmmm! Is this diploma in com- every now and then, so there is a puting ? D019-INTRODUCTION possibility,” he responded. With a TO NETWORKING??” Adjoa slightly uplifted spirit, she smiled.

Another side of the sun Ifeanyi Onyejekwe

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YARD (Youth Arts Research & Development) The youth arts programme at NAE gives young people opportunities to learn, train, experience and work in the arts along with supporting and developing their own ideas. This programme helps young people to develop as artists, curators, promoters, hosts and experience the arts all over the country.

Please check out the official YARD website at:

www.yard.nae.org.uk

YARD Youth Theatre is a peer led Young Actors Company. Who currently meet twice a week and take part a variety of theatre master classes. The sessions are designed to help young people learn various aspects of acting, singing, voice work, movement, performance theatre and acting for camera. The classes also help boost your confidence, give you the opportunity to work with industry professional and create your own work whilst meeting new people in a warm and friendly creative environment.

Through this programme, you also have an opportunity to take part in vibrant creative projects and theatre productions at the New Art Exchange and various other venues around the country.

YARD Youth Theatre meet every Tuesday and Wednesday at 5 - 7pm and are always looking for new members, so why not come along and give it a try!

For further details, please contact us on rachael@nae.org.uk or our number below.

New Art Exchange, 39-41 Gregory Boulevard, Nottingham, NG7 6BE

k n a h u T yo

DESIGN: Ye Ji Lee Shuang Dai

FEATURES: Abisola Popoola Safa Al Sadi Hafsa Mohammed Betty Odema Yuchen Hua Rachel Du Wanshu Huang Ikan Assiak Yingge Fan Chuku Fortune Yanli Ge Ifeanyi Onyejekwe

STAFF TEAM: James Walker Alicja Pyszka-Franceschini David Roach Simon Aldcroft EXTERNAL CONTRIBUTOR: Yard Youth Theatre