Hos in the garden: staging and resisting neoliberal creativity

This article takes up the challenge of extending and enhancing the literature on arts interventions and creative city policies by considering the role of feminist and queer artistic praxis in contemporary urban politics. Here I reflect on the complicities and potentialities of two Toronto-based arts interventions: Dig In and the Dirty Plotz cabaret. I analyse an example of community based arts strategy that strived to ‘revitalise’ one disinvested Toronto neighbourhood. I also reflect on my experience performing drag king urban planner, Toby Sharp. Reflecting on these examples, I show how market-oriented arts policies entangle women artists in the cultivation of spaces of depoliticised feminism, homonormativity and white privilege. However, I also demonstrate how women artists are playfully and performatively pushing back at hegemonic regimes with the radical aesthetic praxis of cabaret. I maintain that bringing critical feminist arts spaces and cabaret practice into discussions about neoliberal urban policies uncovers sites of feminist resistance and solidarity, interventions that challenge violent processes of colonisation and privatisation on multiple fronts

Player agency in interactive narrative: audience, actor & author

The question motivating this review paper is, how can computer-based interactive narrative be used as a constructivist learn- ing activity? The paper proposes that player agency can be used to link interactive narrative to learner agency in constructivist theory, and to classify approaches to interactive narrative. The traditional question driving research in interactive narrative is, ‘how can an in- teractive narrative deal with a high degree of player agency, while maintaining a coherent and well-formed narrative?’ This question derives from an Aristotelian approach to interactive narrative that, as the question shows, is inherently antagonistic to player agency. Within this approach, player agency must be restricted and manip- ulated to maintain the narrative. Two alternative approaches based on Brecht’s Epic Theatre and Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed are reviewed. If a Boalian approach to interactive narrative is taken the conflict between narrative and player agency dissolves. The question that emerges from this approach is quite different from the traditional question above, and presents a more useful approach to applying in- teractive narrative as a constructivist learning activity

A new implementation of Spat in Max

International audienceIrcam spat~ is a real-time audio engine dedicated to sound spatialization, artificial reverberation, and sound diffusion. This paper introduces a new major revision of the software package (spat~ 5), and its integration in the Max environment. First, we present the newly adopted OSC interface that is used throughout the library for controlling the processors; we discuss the motivations for this choice, the syntax in use, and the potential benefits in terms of us-ability, performances, customization, etc. Then we give an overview of new features introduced in this release, covering Higher Order Ambisonics processing, object-based audio production, enhanced inter-operability with VR or graphics frameworks, etc

DigitalBeing – Using the Environment as an Expressive Medium for Dance

Dancers express their feelings and moods through gestures and body movements. We seek to extend this mode of expression by dynamically and automatically adjusting music and lighting in the dance environment to reflect the dancer’s arousal state. Our intention is to offer a space that performance artists can use as a creative tool that extends the grammar of dance. To enable the dynamic manipulation of lighting and music, the performance space will be augmented with several sensors: physiological sensors worn by a dancer to measure her arousal state, as well as pressure sensors installed in a floor mat to track the dancers’ locations and movements. Data from these sensors will be passed to a three layered architecture. Layer 1 is composed of a sensor analysis system that analyzes and synthesizes physiological and pressure sensor signals. Layer 2 is composed of intelligent systems that adapt lighting and music to portray the dancer’s arousal state. The intelligent on-stage lighting system dynamically adjusts on-stage lighting direction and color. The intelligent virtual lighting system dynamically adapts virtual lighting in the projected imagery. The intelligent music system dynamically and unobtrusively adjusts the music. Layer 3 translates the high-level adjustments made by the intelligent systems in layer 2 to appropriate lighting board, image rendering, and audio box commands. In this paper, we will describe this architecture in detail as well as the equipment and control systems used

Simplifying Authoring of Adaptive Hypermedia Structures in an eLearning Context

Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.In an eLearning context, Adaptive Hypermedia Systems have been developed to improve learning success by increasing learner satisfaction, learning speed, and educational effectiveness. However, creating adaptive eLearning content and structures is still a time consuming and complicated task, in particular if individual lecturers are the intended authors. The way of thinking that is needed to create adaptive structures as well as the workflows is one that lecturers are unaccustomed to. The aim of this research project is to develop a concept that helps authors create adaptive eLearning content and structures, which focuses on its applicability for lecturers as intended authors. The research is targeted at the sequencing of content, which is one of the main aspects of adaptive eLearning. To achieve this aim the problem has been viewed from the author’s side. First, in terms of complexity of thoughts and threads, explanations about content structures have been found in storytelling theory. It also provides insights into how authors work, how story worlds are created, story lines intertwined, and how they are all merged together into one content. This helps us understand how non technical authors create content that is understandable and interesting for recipients. Second, the linear structure of learning content has been investigated to extract all the information that can be used for sequencing purposes. This investigation led to an approach that combines existing models to ease the authoring process for adaptive learning content by relating linear content from different authors and therefore defining interdependencies that delinearise the content structure. The technical feasibility of the authoring methods for adaptive learning content has been proven by the implementation of the essential parts in a research prototype and by authoring content from real life lectures with the prototype’s editor. The content and its adaptive structure obtained by using the concept of this research have been tested with the prototype’s player and monitor. Additionally, authoring aspects of the concept have been shown along with practical examples and workflows. Lastly, the interviewees who took part in expert interviews have agreed that the concept significantly reduces authoring complexity and potentially increases the amount of lecturers that are able to create adaptive content. The concept represents the common and traditional authoring process for linear content to a large extent. Compared to existing approaches the additional work needed is limited, and authors do not need to delve into adaptive structures or other authors’ content structures and didactic approaches