◇+CCT+333+Lab+04

http://cct333winter2012.wikispaces.com/Lab+4


 * Tutorial #4 Wiki Question: **

Analyze the information architecture of the "Story of Stuff" web site, and describe how it has been designed to maximize its content as a teaching tool to deliver complex information. (2 paragraphs)
 First of all, the website "Story of Stuff" is built in very attractive design. They are in big and bold fonts that are easy to read and in clear, simple words that indicates obvious purposes of the menu. The news and updates are formatted in the ways that look like a blog posts which make the contents very easy to read. The little pictures on the top and the bottom of the websites attract the viewers and make the contents of the website look and feel friendly and easy to approach.

 Yet, they contain all the information that the readers may need in order to understand the purpose of the website. The video at the center of the website especially play strong role as it basically show the fundamental objectives and the purposes of their projects in unique and fun ways.

Describe each stage of the material economy. (6 paragraphs/one stage each paragraph)

 *  Extraction: **Taking natural resources to produce the materials for goods. These include the water, animals, woods, and plants. Many corporations "strip" the natural resources too much to the point that it causes the fast running out of the resources on earth. We now fear that they may create the problems regarding the health, environment and the globalization.


 *  Production: **Sometimes, the natural resources are added and mixed with chemicals that are usually toxic. When this happens it not only cause harm to the earth, it does to the people that use the products as well.


 * Distribution: **Distributing the products to the stores so that the costumers find attractive and buy the products. To keep this system in the low cost, the corporations might pay the workers under the minimum wages and with poor working conditions that became the global problems in the material societies. They often not guarantee the healthy and safe environments to the workers.


 *  Consumption: **The most fundamental stage of the material economy. This stage is the ultimate goal of the whole system; to make people actually purchase and consume the products. Their goal is not to make people consume what they "need" but what they "want." Their benefits come from people consume the products "temporally" and come back to purchase more.


 *  Disposable: **As the production of materials become faster and faster every day, we end up with all the "used" and "old" materials that became the trash. The amount of garbage became huge and more importantly, became such cumulative that they became a great threat to the environments and the health of the people worldwide.


 *  Another way: ** It is same as thinking "outside the box." It offers another way to contribute the material economy so that it would not harm but preserve the resources and environment. This stage is done by the people have the awareness to the threats of the environments; and the harmful side effects of the material economy.