It happened here

A five minute video exploring participants' use of archives at Hoxton Hall (Hackney, London) as part of the HLF-funded 'It Happened Here' site-specific heritage-focused performance project for 12 - 19 year olds.</p

Collaborative noises: theatre and music technology in practice

Collaborative Noises: Theatre and Music Technology in Practice (2013-2016)This three-year research project is a collaboration between Dr Andrew Westerside (University of Lincoln, Principal Investigator), Proto-type Theater, Dr Jane Turner (MMU), Dr Martin Blain (MMU), and the Manchester Metropolitan University Laptop Ensemble (MMUle). Our first-stage methodology took the form of practice-as-research explorations into the relationship (in collaboration and devising) between live digital music and experimental theatre practice. The preliminary-PaR process was used to scope the viability of the study and shaped our formal research questions/imperatives.Research Imperatives/Questions1.In what ways can collaborative arts practice examine the languages of interdisciplinary collaboration across/between the fields of live digital music & experimental theatre?2.Is it possible, through practice, to develop a critical understanding of aesthetics and affect in contemporary/avant-garde digitally-led music theatre?3.What are the practical dramaturgies of multi-medial and multi-modal performance in the context of collaboration, adaptation, and liveness?Research Outputs1.Performance: The Good, the God and the Guillotine (2014) (Eprint ID: 24069)2.Publication: Westerside, A. et al (2016) ‘Through collaboration to sharawadji: immediacy, mediation and the voice’ Theatre and Performance Design. Volume 3 (Eprint ID: 24309)Engagement with Wider Research Communities•Exhibition: Open Space at Axis Arts Centre•Round-table symposium: Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)•Gough, K (2015) ‘The Art of the Loop: Analogy, Aurality, History, Performance’ in TDR: The Drama Review. Volume 60, Number 1 Spring 2016 (1229) pp. 93-115.Peer Assessment/Quality Indicators•Commissions & Awards:o£60,000 Arts Council Englando£12,500 Arts Council England•Performances of The Good, the God and the Guillotine:oLive at LICA (Lancaster Arts)oContact Theatre, ManchesteroAxis Arts CentreoLincoln Performing Arts CentreoNottingham European Arts and Theatre Festival</p

Slapstick (H.)

Original poem</p

Guinea Pigs

Original poem</p

Call for Papers/Special Issue: 'Design contributions for the COVID-19 global emergency'

The 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic disease (COVID-19), appeared for the first time in Wuhan (Hubei Province, China) in late 2019 and rapidly spread in the rest of the world since the early months of 2020, has produced a significant and sadly dramatic impact in the life of all people. To date (April 22th, 2020), over 2.550.000 people have shown symptoms and over 175.000 died for health and respiratory problems. While the entire humanity feels dangerously powerless at the same time an unprecedented amount of initiatives across the world have shown human creativity and resilience. The entire scientific community is cohesive in facing this emergency and the severe health-related issues that have arisen in the last months.In this unparalleled scenario, the global Design community is called to act. And it is doing it! The new instances pointed out by the global emergencies allow reflecting to the ways the Design discipline can answer to unprecedented phenomena, with the will to foresee likely solutions in the long run from the lesson that we can learn in these months. At the same time, it is possible to immediately underline all bottom-up and top-down reactions that formally and informally are arising as conscious designed actions to solve the COVID-19 both at the small scales and at the large ones.There is a widespread perception that this worldwide crisis will change all aspects of our way of living and relating to each other. Governments, companies, NGOs, communities and individuals are already dedicating their time to reflect the future scenarios, devising solutions that can enable a transition to the new world that might come after the pandemic. Whilst contributing to the on-going challenges of the pandemic, the Design community can also contribute through its abductive reasoning, with propositions for new scenarios on the post-pandemic aftermath.The aim of this Special Issue of the Strategic Design Research Journal is to enrich the cultural and scientific debate by gathering and mapping all progresses produced in the COVID-19 emergency scenario and, then, to understand the role of the Design discipline in facing the complex global emergencies.</p

MAP Kyrgyzstan - Interview with a teacher (Suzak)

Interview with a teacher from Secondary School No. 27 in Suzak (Jalal-Abad oblast, Kyrgyzstan) after offline TOT sessions.</p

Denoising of Geochemical Data using Deep Learning–Implications for Regional Surveys

  The paper addresses a significant challenge in the field of regional geochemical surveys. These surveys generate extensive datasets crucial for various applications, including mineral exploration. While modern surveys incorporate quality assurance and control (QA/QC) methods to quantify data uncertainty during the data-generation phase, residual uncertainty remains unclear and can impede downstream activities, especially when utilizing complex models like those based on artificial intelligence. The study aims to develop a deep learning-based approach to assess and mitigate uncertainty in geochemical survey data. Specifically, it explores the use of autoencoders to reduce or modulate data uncertainty. The research demonstrates that employing autoencoders results in a noticeable reduction in uncertainty in the spatial domain, characterized by a decrease in the nugget effect. Importantly, the study identifies a distinct data-reconstruction regime of the autoencoder associated with denoising, ensuring that useful information, such as meaningful geochemical anomalies, is preserved. The proposed method offers a straightforward and consistent approach to post-hoc denoising of geochemical data using deep learning. It utilizes highly interpretable metrics and established frameworks of scientific data quality to guide the denoising process. As a result, both the variably denoised data and the original data can be incorporated into a single downstream workflow, facilitating subsequent quantification and propagation of data uncertainty. This methodology holds promise for enhancing the reliability and accuracy of analyses derived from regional geochemical surveys, ultimately benefiting mineral exploration and related industries.</p

[Review] St. Paul’s Outside the Walls: A Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era By Nicola Camerlenghi. New York, Cambridge University Press, 2018. 396 pp., 126 b/w illus, 82 colour illus. ISBN 9781108429511. £90 (hb).

Review of N. Camerlenghi,  St. Paul's Outside the Walls: a Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era  (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018), Journal of the British Archaeological Association  172 (2019): 187-189</p

An uplifting space

Competition submission design of Vijhuizen Art Gallery, Holland</p