Socio-Informatics

Contents Editorial Thematic Focus: Socio-Informatics Introduction to the Thematic Focus “Socio-Informatics” / Claudia Müller Digitalisation in Small German Metal-Working Companies. Appropriation of Technology in a “Traditional” Industrial Domain / Bernhard Nett, Jennifer Bönsch Travelling by Taxi Brousse in Madagascar: An Investigation into Practices of Overland Transportation / Volker Wulf, Kaoru Misaki, Dave Randall, and Markus Rohde Mobile and Interactive Media in the Store? Design Case Study on Bluetooth Beacon Concepts for Food Retail / Christian Reuter, Inken Leopold Facebook and the Mass Media in Tunisia / Konstantin Aal, Marén Schorch, Esma Ben Hadj Elkilani, Volker Wulf Book Review Symposium Charles Goodwin Charles Goodwin’s Co-Operative Action: The Idea and the Argument / Erhard Schüttpelz, Christian Meyer Multi-Modal Interaction and Tool-Making: Goodwin’s Intuition / Christian Meyer, Erhard Schüttpelz Co-Operation is a Feature of Sociality, not an Attribute of People : “We inhabit each other’s actions.” (Goodwin, cover) / Jutta Wiesemann, Klaus Amann The Making of the World in Co-Operative Action. From Sentence Construction to Cultural Evolution / Jürgen Streeck On Goodwin and his Co-Operative Action / Jörg R. Bergman

‘Finding a ‘place’ through dwelling in travel’: intersections between mobility, place and identity in lifestyle travel

The world is increasingly mobile (Adey 2006). Flows of good, services and cultures are changing the relations between people and place, leading scholars to questions existing notions of home, travel, and belonging. This thesis explores these issues by focusing on one group who epitomise the twenty-first century world of mobility: lifestyle travellers. The thesis considers the experiences of lifestyle travellers across numerous world-wide locations, drawing on primary data collected over two years. It adopts an explicitly geographical approach to studying lifestyle travel, focusing attention on the significance of place and movement for these highly mobile beings, in order to examine what this mobility means for ideas of identity and home. Complementing research in the tourism field, the research highlights how lifestyle travel is a heterogeneous and difficult to classify activity, involving a myriad of different ideas, practices, behaviours and motivations. However, by adopting Cresswell’s ‘constellations of mobility’ (2010) as an organising rather than classifying device, the thesis is able to unpack this diversity and illuminate the embroilment of ‘mobilities’ and ‘moorings’ in the practices of lifestyle travellers. It goes on to demonstrate how place immersion is crucial to lifestyle travel, illustrating how practices of mobility extend past corporeal movement between places, exploring the unique and diverse practices within places. This pursuit of integration within places by lifestyle travellers shows how place and mobility can be complementary rather than exclusionary, with different immersion techniques outlined to demonstrate the different depths of place experience desired by participants (ranging from ‘spectating’ at the peripheries to becoming ‘community members’ within places). From these findings, the research emphasises how place itself is mobile, as well as lifestyle travellers. By illustrating the relational ways in which lifestyle travellers continually take and make place, the thesis uncovers new ways of conceptualising ‘home’ that are formed through the co-constituent relationship between place and mobility. The thesis therefore demonstrates these factors to be significant and mutually enabling components to the identities of lifestyle travellers in the twenty first century

Hacking Antarctica

Hacking Antarctica is an investigation focused on rendering aesthetic responses to Antarctica beyond normative representations of the sublime and the imperceptible. It is based on fieldwork in polar and subpolar areas over the last 9 years. At its core, the research uses Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Judgement as a way of understanding what is meant by the sublime and from that develops a practice that examines what a Kantian lack of access to nature implies. This key Kantian concept is explained and devised into art works and then tested through concepts such as translation, transduction, infection and representation, using hacking methodologies informed by bricolage (L ´ evi-Strauss 1968), and diffraction (Barad 2007). The research expands on the taxonomies of the polar to reconsider the Antarctic as a border and periphery, bringing a conjunction of hacking methods and site-specific art that enables a performative causality with which to study the production of site. In other words, a performative approach as Barad and other feminist writers recognize, is questioning the traditional causality of ends and means and observer and observed and rather focuses on processes within discursive practices. Causality is reworked as a local externalization of the intra-acting relations of matter. Within the overall system of research for Antarctica, technical methods used included; Free Libre Open Source software and hardware techniques, black and white and infrared photography, ultraviolet light sensing, sound recordings, hydrophone recordings, very low frequency recordings, AM radio sensing, error in photography (light leakage, displaced focus), in text (cut-up compositions), in video (glitch) and error in bodies as infections; bio-sensing agents (including yeast and lactobacillus), point-array analysis, translation of images to raw data, and from raw data to sound, land art performances, spatialization of sound, stereo panning, quadraphonic sound, interactive embroidery, radio broadcast and installations. Specific outputs include: Antarctica 1961-1986 (2017), an interactive embroidered map of Antarctica showing sites of mineral sources and mineral pollution. The map was installed as an interactive instrument that allowed visitors to participate in the live shaping of the spatialization of sounds recorded in Antarctica. A digital Theremin sensor attached to the map was interfaced with Pure Data software running on a GNU-Linux Debian station. All software was made visible as well as the papers documenting the traces of the plutonium found there. The research through an experimental set of hacking practices supported the hypothesis that Antarctica can be represented outside the sublime through the polar-site produced by hashes of proxies and the diffraction produced when superposing modes of knowing. The interruption of the spectacle to respond to Antarctica is the result

Independent Local Radio Drama: A Cultural, Historical And Regulatory Examination Of British Commercial Radio Drama.

BBC radio’s post-war years constitute a golden age of successful populist drama and situation-comedy, which was gradually usurped by television. Dramatists like Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter reasserted radio drama with ground-breaking, innovative and avant-garde plays, but by the 1970’s radio drama occupied a precarious position, not abandoned, but living on borrowed time. Its continued existence on Radio Four was deemed perfunctory or symbolic of the BBC’s public service obligations. What happened next was unusual by today's standards for commercial radio. Stations within the newly formed Independent Local Radio (ILR) sector began to produce their own dramatic content: original drama, adaptations, monologues, poetry, situation and sketch comedy. What follows is an investigation into this overlooked canon of work. The choice to include drama across various ILR stations was a response to cautious regulatory oversight that refashioned expectations for commercial radio into its initial independent form. ILR was local by design and case studies from ILR’s dramatic canon are shown to have relied on and reinforced vernacular culture in contrast to the perception of BBC radio drama and light entertainment. The ‘Manchester School’ ethos in broadcasting was evidently resurgent among its dramatists, highlighting the dichotomy between oral and literary cultures and their spatial or temporal modes. New creative voices, often without a theatrical background and unbeholden to established forms utilised their authentic naturalistic idiolects, in some instances taking atypical approaches to radio fiction, constituting a cultural shift in style and tone for radio drama. Original plays and comedies embraced their regionality, complementary to radio’s secondary position. This thesis comprises case study analyses, archival research, recollections of former practitioners and theoretical perspectives on radio drama. It addresses the following considerations: an examination of ILR dramatists and their production experiences; an application of key theoretical concepts to a selection of ILR fictional programmes; the BBC’s reaction to the competition posed by the commercial radio sector, and the extent to which ILR drama played a role in the wider impetus towards reform at the BBC

Changes in the teaching of folk and traditional music : Folkworks and predecessors

PhD ThesisFormalised folk music education in Britain has received little academic attention, despite having been an integral part of folk music practice since the early 1900s. This thesis explores the major turns, trends and ideological standpoints that have arisen over more than a century of institutionalised folk music pedagogy. Using historical sources, interviews and observation, the thesis examines the impact of the two main periods of folk revival in the UK, examining the underlying beliefs and ideological agendas of influential figures and organisations, and the legacies and challenges they left for later educators in the field. Beginning with the first revival of the early 1900s, the thesis examines how the initial collaboration and later conflict between music teacher and folk song collector Cecil Sharp, and social worker and missionary Mary Neal, laid down the foundations of folk music education that would stand for half a century. A discussion of the inter-war period follows, tracing the impact of wireless broadcasting technology and competitive music festivals, and the possibilities they presented for both music education and folk music practice. The second, post-war revival’s dominance by a radical leftwing political agenda led to profound changes in pedagogical stance; the rejections of prior practice models are examined with particular regard to new approaches to folk music in schools. Finally, the thesis assesses the ways in which Folkworks and their contemporaries in the late 1980s and onward were able to both adapt and improve upon previous approaches. The research reveals how a conflict between opposing views of folk music education prior to the First World War led to an artificial polarisation of pedagogical approaches that was not fully resolved until the late 1980s, affecting the practice of several generations of teachers often unaware of constraints of the legacy they were working within. In presenting one possible solution to this dichotomy, Folkworks demonstrated a way ahead for the community of folk educators that was to prove influential

Effective online learning experiences: exploring potential relationships between Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) learning environments and adult learners’ motivation, multiple intelligences, and learning styles

This study was a 360 degree exploration of the effectiveness of online learning experiences facilitated via Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) by incorporating the insights afforded by students, their lecturers, and the administrator responsible for a VoIP trial in an Australian university. Also examined were the teaching considerations in designing effective online learning experiences and institutional rationale for adopting VoIP. This research investigated potential relationships between the adult learners’ motivations to engage with the Voice-over-Internet- Protocol learning environment and their multiple intelligences (Gardner’s theory) and learning management styles (Lessem’s Spectral Management theory)A pragmatic paradigm underpinned the mixed methods approach whereby questionnaires and inventories were used to ascertain students’ multiple intelligences, learning management styles, and their perceptions of the learning experiences. An interpretive orientation was represented in the use of in-depth interview data, content analysis of reflective journals, and open-ended data from the questionnaires. These data enabled richer insights into students’ perceptions of their learning environment and motivations, and academics’ perceptions of teaching and administrative imperatives.The conceptual framework (Figure 2.1) paid homage to the university student as the central figure in the teaching and learning cycle. Teaching and learning should remain a cyclical process whereby students learn from the academics’ knowledge and their design of sound pedagogical experiences; contrastingly, lecturers learn about the effectiveness of their practice from student feedback and achievement. Lecturers are able to improve their pedagogical practice through professional development activities. Hence, good teaching and learning are the two key aspects in the literature identified as appropriate in this study. Student focus is on their learning; hence, the domains of adult learning and motivation are important inclusions. Additionally, it is useful to explore the knowledge-base related to learning styles and multiple intelligences. As this study has educational technology as a significant theme, it is important to include literature relating to teaching with technology. The Business capstone course in this case was designed by pedagogical and content experts and utilised a team approach as the core teaching strategy. Therefore, cooperative learning, good teaching, and an outline of the context of university teaching in Australia provided insights into this case.A significant finding in this study was that students preferred face-to-face and blended learning over purely online delivery. Good teaching was a major issue for students and they were articulate in describing what assisted them in their learning and were critical of poor pedagogical practices. Students desired positive relationships with their lecturers, and needed instructor-guidance and clear coursework structures. Students’ priorities were good teaching, having control over their learning, and working effectively in collaborative teams. Students were motivated by facilities such as VoIP which increased the convenience factor in their studies. Learning communities were established by the students within face-to-face modes but were not as successfully established within the VoIP medium. They were motivated by working together in productive groups and enjoyed developing and refining their professional skills, such as leadership, communication, and teamwork. They were motivated by aspects of the course (including the VoIP) which they perceived to be directly relevant to career-oriented, pragmatic knowledge and skills.From the academic perspective, VoIP was successful in creating online interactive environments, although more professional development was needed so that the full power of the medium could be utilised. Administratively, it was also found to be effective in providing a stable teaching and learning medium ensuring against potential disruptions due to global instability.Students’ multiple intelligences were distributed across the eight intelligences, with the three predominant being musical/rhythmic, kinaesthetic, and visual/spatial, respectively. A similar distribution was found for the seven learning management styles with the predominant being “indigo” with a ‘developmental’ management and ‘intuitive’ learning style; “green” with an ‘enterprising’ management and ‘energising’ learning style; and, third, “orange” with a ‘people-oriented’ management and ‘responsive’ learning style.VoIP was found to be suitable for all students regardless of their multiple intelligences and learning management styles. There was no statistical correlation found linking students’ learning management styles, with multiple intelligences and their motivation to engage with the VoIP environment. Learning management styles and multiple intelligences were found to be distinct constructs with no interrelationships. There were weak relationships found though between individuals who were ‘people-oriented’; ‘energised’ and ‘enterprising’; and/or ‘managers of change’ with an enthusiasm for things ‘experimental’ in terms of their learning management style, whereby they had greater affinity for, and motivation to engage with VoIP learning experiences. Similarly, those whose multiple intelligences were people-, interpersonally-, and verbally-oriented were more receptive to this synchronous interactive (VoIP) environment. Even so, all students reported VoIP as being a positive experience.Australian universities have become an essential economic export commodity in a competitive global market. Therefore, university administrators and their government counterparts are understandably focused on enhancing institutional reputations to ensure the ongoing sustainability of this lucrative market. A key performance indicator of the quality of universities is students’ satisfaction with their learning experiences, which relates to word-of-mouth marketing of programmes. Business, industry and other employers make judgements about the institutional quality based upon perceptions of graduates’ knowledge and professional skills. Hence, graduate performance in the workplace can positively influence future enrolment, demand for graduates from particular institutions, and research funding opportunities. This highlights the importance of quality teaching and learning to institutional reputation. This means university leaders must set realistic goals for their staff and actively support teaching and learning priorities.Two models, Webs of Enhanced Practice and the Webs of Enhanced Learning, have been developed as a result of the findings of this research. The first model focuses on the macro context and relates to the professional development of academics with the view to improving teaching practice. It is a blended networking model which encompasses academics, their leaders, technologists, content and pedagogical experts, and students. In this multi-modal interaction model, professional development is reconceptualised as a more flexible, technologically-blended, and holistic approach. The second model, Webs of Enhanced Learning, is a micro model which articulates how the impact of the first model relates to good learning and teaching within the university classroom. This model describes how academic development can translate to better learning and assessment for students. It also identifies the potential for more student-to-student interaction and the learning which can be facilitated as a result of these collaborations. These models, working in concert, aim to facilitate better learning and teaching at the student level, academic professional development level, and to further organisational goals for quality teaching and learning and institutional reputation

The English language television single play in South Africa : a threatened genre, 1976-1991.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1993.The thesis takes the form of an investigation into the various causes leading to the demise of the English language television single play in South Africa. It does not position the genre within any particular theoretical framework, but argues within the context of a liberal/critical discourse that the single play owes its development and significance to the contribution of its many writers, as well as to the creative input of the various producers, directors, from within and outside the SABC. Furthermore, it evaluates the genre within the bureaucracy of the SABC and the input of the various drama managers, among others, whose decisions have affected the position of the single play. The single play is seen as a development of drama having evolved from the stage play, though moving progressively towards the production values of film. Research will show that in the South African context, the creative practitioners of the single play and technology have intersected with style, reflecting the dominant form of naturalism, mainly evidenced during the early period when many single plays were produced in the studios of Auckland Park. Within a wider sociopolitical context, the single play has been evaluated as a negotiation among writers, censorship, technology, naturalism and bureaucracy. The investigation will show that the major cause for its demise was the SABC's increasing commercialisation of TV -1, with the result that programmes on this channel were evaluated in terms of their ability to deliver large audiences to the advertisers. This placed the single play in competition for transmission space with the more popular drama series and serials. Furthermore, the business principle of cost-effectiveness applied to the single play made it more expensive to produce than series and serials. The author's own practical involvement in the production of video and television programmes, including drama, together with primary source information gleaned from some forty interviews with practitioners and those whose decisions impacted on the genre, have been added to the body of the research

Longing to Return and Spaces of Belonging. Iraqis’ Narratives in Helsinki and Rome

Siirretty Doriast

The Ephemeral City : Songs for the Ghost Quarters

The towers of the Stockholm skyline twine with radio transmissions, flying out over the city, drifting down through the streets and sinking into the underground telephone system below. Stockholm has buildings that have been there for centuries, but is also full of modern and contemporary architectures, all jostling for their place in parallel collective memory. In taking the city up as a subject, this artistic PhD project in music expands allegories to these architectural instruments into the world of the mechanical and the electrical. By taking up and transforming the materials of the cityscape, this project spins ephemeral cities more subtle than the colossal forces transforming the cityscape. The aim is to empower urban dwellers with another kind of ownership of their city.The materials in the project are drawn around themes of urban memory and transformation, psychogeography and the ghosts of the imagined city. There are three questions the artistic works of this project reflect on and address. The first is about the ability of city-dwellers to regain or create some sense of place, history or belonging through the power of their imaginations. The second reflects on the possibility for imagined alternatives to re-empower a sense of place for the people who encounter them. The third seeks out the points where stories, memories, or alternative futures are collective, at what point are they wholly individual, and how the interplay between them plays out in listening.There is an improvisatory practice in how we relate to urban environments: an ever-transforming inter-play between the animate and inanimate. Each individual draws phantoms of memory and imagination onto the cityscape, and this yields subtle ways people can be empowered in their surroundings. The artistic works of this project are made to illuminate those subtleties, centering around a group of compositions, improvisations, artistic collaborations and sound installations in music and sound, utilizing modular synthesizers, field recordings, pipe organs, multi-channel settings; PureData and SuperCollider programs, string ensembles with hurdy-gurdy and nyckelharpa or violin, and sound installations. This choice of instruments is as an allegory to the architecture of Stockholm. The final result is a collection of music and sound works, made to illuminate the imagined city. Taken as a whole, the works of the project create an imaginary city–The Ephemeral City–in order to argue that this evocation of ephemeral space is a way to empower urban dwellers through force of imagination, immune to the vast forces tearing through the fabric of Stockholm life by virtue of the ghostly, transitory and mercurial, as compelling to the inner eye as brick and mortar to the outer life