part 1 : communication in every day life · web viewmailing through united states postal service...

Studio Lab #2: The Need to Communicate

Spencer Steele [email protected]

Atish Mathur [email protected]

Aslan Law [email protected]

Gustov Louw [email protected]

Ianming Chen [email protected]

Guanchen Zhang [email protected]

2010SFU

Simon Fraser University2010/2/10

February 8, 2010 Studio Lab #2: The Need to Communicate

Table of Contents1. Part 1: Communication in Every Day Life 3

1.1. The Interview: Questions and Answers 3

2. Part 2: A World Without Communication Media 10

2.1. The Goal 10

2.2. The Plan 10

2.3. Questions Relating to the Plan 11

2.4. Costs 12

2.4.1. Hotel: Shangri-la Vancouver 12

2.4.2. Round Trip Flights through Air Canada 13

2.4.3. Enterprise Car Rentals 13

2.4.4. Mailing through United States Postal Service 14

2.4.5. Daily Expenses for Speaker 15

2.4.6. Messenger Special Mission Payment and Travel Fee 15

2.4.7. The Total Expense List 16

Simon Fraser University 2


Part 1 : Communication in Every Day LifeThe Interview: Questions and Answers

1. Tell me about the different ways that you used communication for 24 hours in your journal.

“I used my cellphone to call and text people, email, and facebook.”

-Spencer Steele

“I often use MSN and facebook via text to meet up with a few folks, but occasionally, I like to speak in person with my phone. I rarely text with it.”

-Gustav Louw

"I use my cell phone, email and msn to communicate."

-Aslan Law

“I used cell phone, messenger, and facebook.”

-Guanchen Zhang

“I use cell phone and email to chat with my friends, but mostly I use yahoo messenger and Skype to talk with my family.

-Atish Mathur



“I use my cell phone, MSN, Facebook, iclicker, and internet to communicate”

-Ian Chen

2. What was the most common communication media that you used in 24 hours?

“For the most part, I heavily relied on my cell phone for communication. Most of the time I talked on it, but I occasionally talked to my girlfriend or family.”

-Spencer Steele

“Facebook, I’d have to say. I tend to constantly keep coming back to reply to delayed inbox messages... everyone seems to be on at different times.”

-Gustav Louw

"I call and text often, especially during transit"

-Aslan Law

“I used my cell phone a lot, especially to text my friends.”

-Guanchen Zhang

“ I use instant messenger for most of the time, to talk with family”

-Atish Mathur

“I use my cell phone for most of the time”

-Ian Chen

3. What was the most common purpose for the communication media you used?

“For me, it was to talk to my girlfriend throughout the day.”

-Spencer Steele

“To find out how people are doing; you know, socializing via some piece of hardware.



-Gustav Louw

"Mostly used as a form of entertainment and conversations with others"

-Aslan aw

“Keeping in touch with friends, and having fun through the interaction with others.”

-Guanchen Zhang

“To keep in touch with my family in India and in USA”

-Atish Mathur

“having conversation with people, try to gather the information I need to know”

-Ian Chen

4. What do you think you learned most about the role of communication media in your everyday life by keeping this journal?

“Without it I probably wouldn’t have a girlfriend! I also realised just how convenient it is to be able to talk to whoever, whenever, and where ever you are.”

-Spencer Steele

“- That I tend to use email and social networking sites a lot.”

-Gustav Louw

"By keeping this journal, I realized that I have a natural need to converse with others. When I'm bored, I go on the internet or MSN if I have access to a computer, otherwise I would call someone"

-Aslan Law

“It eliminates the distance between people, and maintains most social activities.”

-Guanchen Zhang



“ I realized that I spend a lot of time in sending emails , talking on cell phone, whereas, very less time on actually talking one on one”

-Atish Mathur

“The journal actually let me realize that I don’t communication a lot”

-Ian Chen

5. What was the most surprising thing that you learned from keeping this journal?

“The most surprising thing was finding how little I actually communicate compared to other people in my group.”

-What surprised me was not using my phone as much as I expected to. I seem to rarely call anyone.

-Spencer Steele

"Communication is surprisingly important in our everyday life. I didn't think I would be constricted to only a few forms of communication media though. It made me realize that living without any sort of communication would be extremely hard"

-Aslan Law

“Communication is like a grand cup of coffee, which is an everyday necessity”

-Guanchen Zhang

“The most surprising thing that I learned is that I am so dependent on technology that I sometime fell easy to text or email someone, rather that interacting one on one, even if we meet everyday”

- Atish Mathur

“I actually use my cell phone for mearly everything. Such as facebook, log on website for homework, calling friend, read the new paper…”

-Ian Chen



6. What are some of the positive implications about having communication media in your life?

“Well as I mentioned earlier I can talk whenever I want, wherever, and to whom I want.”

-Spencer Steele

- To catch up with old and new friends. Share the daily news, discuss the weather, see how their interests are doing and… dare I say… collaborate on school projects.

-Gustav Louw

"I am connected to the many parts of the world through the phone and the internet"

-Aslan Law

“I can keep in touch with friends and family, and share something joyful with each other.”

-Guanchen Zhang

“Connecting people living miles apart”

-Atish Mathur

“The positive side about communication today is that everything seems possible. I can call my parent immediately. Check the homework on Internet, learn the thing I don’t know on internet. Look up information on the website. Talk to friends everywhere in anytime.”

-Ian Chen

7. What are some of the negative implications about having communication media in your life?

“I can’t stand people calling or texting me on my cellphone when I’m trying to concentrate on something else. Another thing is that you get reliant on it, and resort to going on Facebook when you should be doing other things, like sleeping…”

-Spencer Steele



- It detracts from seeing people in real life. Talking over the net seems so much easier; it’s almost effortless in comparison to driving to see a friend on a daily basis.

-Gustav Louw

"It takes away the most basic form of communication that we know of, talking. I sometimes MSN my brother who is upstairs in another room because I am too lazy to go get him personally. It reduces face to face communication"

-Aslan Law

“Since people rely much on communication and every communication media relies on electrical devices, radiation influence on health is inevitable.”

-Guanchen Zhang

“It tend to waste a lot of time while sitting on Facebook and texting”

-Atish Mathur

“The negative side about communication today is that people start to limit the opportunity to talk to other people, because internet can nearly solve every question that we have. We also limit the people that we talk to, we start to avoid to communication with new people.

-Ian Chen

8. How do you think your life would be if you did not have access to communication media; please talk about both the positive and the negative things that might happen.

“Hmm…well without communication media there would be a lot less distraction, so I would be much healthier as I’d be outside doing aerobic activities. The down side would being not able to talk to whomever you want, whenever you want and wherever you want!”

-Spencer Steele

“- Positive: I’d see local friends a whole lot more. Go for more walks, read the paper, do more homework…



- Negative: I’m confined to local events: I wouldn’t be able to catch up with relatives half way across the globe. Also, deleting forms of communication would severely impact recreation. I’d be bored out of my mind… assuming that Video Games are obsolete.”

-Gustav Louw

“Physically go to someone before I can chat with them. This could also become a negative impact as messages will travel slower."

-Aslan Law

“Without communication meida, I may do some other healthier activities, such as outdoor sports, with friends as I did when I was very young, rather than staring at different kinds of screens. But since we all have been used to massive communication media, once it is gone, life will be boring and communication will be ineffective.”

-Guanchen Zhang

“Positive: Get to know our neighbors, spend more time doing physical activities.

Negative: hard to keep up with people living far away, people have to carry information from region to region.”

-Atish Mathur

“I think a lot of my thing will freeze and a lot of things cannot be accomplished. Actually, I experienced that kind of day already, after a huge earthquake in Taiwan. After that day, cell phone and electric cannot be use. A lot of thing cannot be done in few days.”

-Ian Chen

9. If you had to choose one communication media to take on a desert island, which one would you choose and why?

“I would go with my cell phone, but knowing that the battery would be dead in a couple of days and there probably wouldn’t be any signal anyways my next option would be a carrier pigeon or hawk.”

-Spencer Steele



- Why technology? I’d take a boat, or a fleet… an armada of carrier pigeons. If odds are in my favor, at least one has to make it back to civilization.

-Gustav Louw

"If I could take any form of communication media to a desert island with no internet access or electricity, I think I would have a better chance at communicating with someone through pigeon carriers with hand written letters."

-Aslan Law

“I’d hire postmen to ride camels.”

-Guanchen Zhang

“ I would choose cell phone having whole lot of additional features”

-Atish Mathur

“Cell phone, because the cell phone today isn’t just a phone anymore. You can use cell phone for compass, flashlight. If I am lucky, I might have a signal bar somewhere in the desert, if I am pretty near to a city.

-Ian Chen



Part 2: A World Without Communication MediaThe Goal:

Our goal is to hold “The First Annual Technology in Context” conference, here in Vancouver, inviting 5 important speakers from:

Kigali, Rwanda, Beijing, China,

London, UK,

Sydney, Australia, and

New Dehli, India.

We must confirm their attendance at the meeting, book all flights, hotels and car rentals here in Vancouver, and also send confirmation messages to the attendees for all their bookings.

The Plan:

The Plan, as we conceived it is laid out below in chronological order.

1. Confirming Attendance

I) As the speakers are highly reputable in their fields, we want to send an invitation in person from our team.

II) A small team debriefing is held and the team decides that five of the six members will fly to one of the noted destinations. Assuming that the cost of yearly ‘VIP’ flight pass (government subsidized) is equal to that of a single roundtrip, one of the six members will remain at base camp to handle any additional affairs. From there, the team agrees to three conditions:

a) Each messenger is responsible for the wellness of their speaker.

b) If contact within one month is impossible, return home.

c) If the speaker declines, return home.

d) If the speaker wishes to be granted more time, wait for a month, then ask again.


W.A.C. Bennett Library, 02/08/10,

Add to this as you see fit, the more complexity and detail we have, probably the better!


III) Upon arrival, the five messengers will take bus or take a taxi cab to the speaker’s work place. In case of emergency, our messengers should not have any problems finding a cab, food or accommodation (assuming they’re trained professionals).

IV) The speakers will most likely be very important individuals, so our messengers are most likely required to book an appointment. If so, they must adhere to condition B and find a place to stay (this operation is government funded). If not, their goal of completion within 4 months will most likely be probable.

2. Booking Flights, Hotels and Car Rentals

I) After receiving confirmation from the speaker’s who can make it, the next step is to book the necessary flights. This will again be done in person at the airport from where our messengers landed. They will return to the speakers with the tickets that are set to depart one week from the purchase date. This will give the speakers enough time to prepare. Before the messengers fly home, they:

a) Note when the speakers will land.

b) Inform the speakers that they will be waiting at the Vancouver Airport with suitable signs.

II) Hotel Bookings are going to be done through The Shangri-la Vancouver as it provides respectable service and excellent customer care. We don’t want our speakers to be uncomfortable in anyway during their stay. This will also be done in person by the messenger after landing. They will book the room from the date of their speaker’s landing ‘till the end of the conference of the conference. Thus, minimizing mistakes made on our and the hotel’s part.

III) From there, the messengers will return from The Shangri-La Vancouver with the set dates of arrivals to main HQ, where car rentals will be done through Enterprise Car Rentals. Five automobiles will be rented prior to our speaker’s landings where they’ll be stored in our garage. Each speaker will receive a Nissan Altima to drive around and see the sights until the other speakers arrive. (The messengers will deliver the cars to the airport). We decided to go with Enterprise because their rates were competitive.

3, Sending Comfirmation Messages to Attendees for All Their Bookings

Our messengers will bring introductions of hotel and vehicle that are going to be booked once speakers accept the invitation. After our messengers return with the acceptance from speakers, we will send them the confirmation of all the bookings via mail.



Questions and Answers Relating to the Plan:1. What were the most difficult parts of the mission?

a. The most difficult part of the mission will be to fly our messengers overseas to the other continents to gain acceptance from our speakers. We chose this method as it would be the fastest, having each person assigned a specific role, and there is no confusion and less for them to worry about while being overseas. It will also give each messenger a chance to visit countries far from our own. Unfortunately, speakers will arrive within a time period of 2 weeks from one another. Thus, leniency and an enjoyment of our country will be key. We wouldn’t want the speakers to be bored.

2. Which communication media would be most missed in the world and why?

a. Email would be the most missed in the world as it is instantaneous and global where as Mail takes days to weeks to deliver to other continents. Another advantage of email is that it is very inexpensive and in most cases free. Also, any notification could be sent via email without any delay.

3. What are the expenses for the planning and coordination of this conference? (you do not need to worry about venue expenses, food, or any other details aside from the planning requirements listed above).

The expenses will include hotel, car rental, air tickets, daily expenses for the representatives, and Messenger special mission payment for a seven days trip. The expenses will be shown over the next several pages, totaling to $65400.75 Canadian Dollars.

Costs:

1. Hotel: Shangri-la Vancouver, Downtown-One Bedroom Suite

Hotel Cost per person per week: CAD $4515


W.A.C. Bennett Library, 02/08/10,

This is where we need a bit more work


2. Round Trip Flight Costs for Invitation Messengers and Speakers through Air

Canada:

Kigali, Rwanda: CAD 5788.00+

Beijing, China: CAD 469.00+

London, UK: CAD 611.00+

Sydney, Australia: CAD 1130.00+

New Dehli, India: CAD 1740.00



3. Rental Vehicle: Enterprise Rent-A Car Cost: Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Car model: Nissan Altima Sedan

Total Charges for a person per week: CAD 2296.00

4. Mailing: United States Postal Service

We use the Global Express Guaranteed to mail the letters

We also pay the mailing fee for the speaker to send back their responds

Total charges for five people: CAD 169.75



5. Daily expense for the speakers

In order for the speakers from all around the world enjoy their trip to Vancouver,

we offer $ 200 per day to the speakers as their daily expense fee.

Total cost for a person per week: CAD 1400.00



6. Messenger special mission payment and travel fee

We are planning to let our messengers come back to Vancouver as soon as they

have delivered the invitations. As the result, the traveling fee will only include air

tickets and taxi fee. We offer each messenger a hundred CAD for their local

traveling fee and an incentive of one thousand CAD as reward.

Total cost per one messenger: air tickets and CAD1100.00

7. The Total Expenses List

Expenses

Air tickets to Vancouver, Canada

Hotel Cost fee

Car Rental

Mailing invitation

Daily expense for the representatives (A week)

Messenger special mission payment and travel



Representative

fee

R. Kigali, Rwanda

$ 5788.00 $ 4515.00 $ 2296.00

$ 33.95 $ 1400.00 $ 6088.00

R. Beijing, China

$ 469.00 $ 4515.00 $ 2296.00

$ 33.95 $ 1400.00 $ 1569.00

R. London, UK $ 611.00 $ 4515.00 $ 2296.00

$ 33.95 $ 1400.00 $ 1711.00

R. Sydney, Australia

$ 1130.00 $ 4515.00 $ 2296.00

$ 33.95 $ 1400.00 $ 2230.00

R. New Dehli India

$ 1740.00 $ 4515.00 $ 2296.00

$ 33.95 $ 1400.00 $ 2840.00

Total: $ 9738.00 $ 22575.00

$ 11480.00

$ 169.75 $ 7000.00 $ 14438.00

Final Total: $ 65400.75


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