When Technology Makes Headlines: The Media's Double Vision About the Digital Age

Analyzes technology-related news items appearing in lead sections of mainstream media for trends in popular topics, companies, and messages about technology's influence and its risks. Compares findings with trends in new media such as blogs and Twitter

Environment for the People

Environment for the People, a joint publication of PERI and the Centre for Science and the Environment (CSE) in India, documents innovative strategies used by environmental activists around the world to build natural assets. In diverse landscapes, from Bangladesh's riverine delta to Somalia's arid uplands, ommunities are investing in ecological restoration. In 'extractive reserves' in the Amazon rainforest, the defense of sustainable livelihoods goes hand-in-hand with defense of bio-diversity. In the Peruvian Andes, indigenous communities are fighting to protect their lands and water from the ravages of the mining industry. And in cities around the world, from Los Angeles to New Delhi, communities are mobilizing to defend the right to clean air. These and other inspiring cases profiled in Environment for the People illustrate that humankind does not face an inexorable 'tradeoff' between protecting the natural environment and improving economic well-being. On the contrary, struggles for environmental protection and sustainable livelihoods are bound together

Go crowdfund yourself: some unintended consequences of crowdfunding for documentary film and industry in the U.K.

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Ten Quick Tips for Using a Raspberry Pi

Much of biology (and, indeed, all of science) is becoming increasingly computational. We tend to think of this in regards to algorithmic approaches and software tools, as well as increased computing power. There has also been a shift towards slicker, packaged solutions--which mirrors everyday life, from smart phones to smart homes. As a result, it's all too easy to be detached from the fundamental elements that power these changes, and to see solutions as "black boxes". The major goal of this piece is to use the example of the Raspberry Pi--a small, general-purpose computer--as the central component in a highly developed ecosystem that brings together elements like external hardware, sensors and controllers, state-of-the-art programming practices, and basic electronics and physics, all in an approachable and useful way. External devices and inputs are easily connected to the Pi, and it can, in turn, control attached devices very simply. So whether you want to use it to manage laboratory equipment, sample the environment, teach bioinformatics, control your home security or make a model lunar lander, it's all built from the same basic principles. To quote Richard Feynman, "What I cannot create, I do not understand".Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

Creative Gardens: Towards Digital Commons

date-added: 2015-03-04 03:12:21 +0000 date-modified: 2015-04-01 06:49:53 +0000date-added: 2015-03-04 03:12:21 +0000 date-modified: 2015-04-01 06:49:53 +0000This work was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, CreativeWorks London Hub, grant AH/J005142/1, and the European Regional Development Fund, London Creative and Digital Fusion

Ecofeminism in the 21st Century

This paper considers the influence of ecofeminism on policy concerning gender (in)equality and the environment during the past 20 years. It reviews the broad contours of the ecofeminist debate before focusing on the social construction interpretation of women's relationship with the environment. It will argue that there have been substantial policy shifts in Europe and the UK in both the environmental and equalities fields, and that this is in part a result of lobbying at a range of scales by groups informed by ecofeminist debates. Nevertheless, the paper cautions that these shifts are largely incremental and operate within existing structures, which inevitably limit their capacity to create change. As policy addresses some of the concerns highlighted by ecofeminism, academic discourse and grass roots activity have been moving on to address other issues, and the paper concludes with a brief consideration of contemporary trajectories of ecofeminism and campaigning on issues that link women's, feminist and environment concerns

User Driven Innovation: Incorporating Disabled Lead Users in Early Phase Product Development

How can disabled non-designers play a leading role in product development? As part of early phase product ideation, designers often rely on methods (Pahl & Beitz, 1996, Chapter 4). These methods help designers develop appropriate solutions to design problems. However, ideation processes may also involve non-designers. These could be end-users, managers, domain experts or other stakeholders. A very specific form of user involvement is through lead users. Lead users can be identified as: 1) being at the leading edge of an important market trend, and experiencing needs that will later be experienced by many users in that market, and 2) anticipating relatively high benefits from obtaining a solution to their needs. This motivates them to participate. They are often a limited group of persons with specialized skills or experiences (Urban & von Hippel, 1988). In this paper discuss the involvement of disabled lead users in early product development. We will focus on generative methods used for the creation of a wearable mobility device. The device consists, in part, of a 3D, time-of-flight DepthSense camera by Softkinetic, combined with a wearable tactile display developed by Elitac, two technology manufacturers. In addition to reflecting on our approach, we also introduce relevant research themes involving disabled lead users

Is There Such a Thing as a Post-Apartheid City?

In an introductory section, this paper considers briefly the achievements and problems of urban governance in post-apartheid South Africa through an assessment of three categories: administrative reform, developmental issues and conflicts over service delurban studies, Durban, South Africa, local government, private-public

Chapter 8 Democratizing knowledge and ways of knowing for food sovereignty, agroecology, and biocultural diversity

Contestations over knowledge – and who controls its production – are a key focus of social movements and other actors that promote food sovereignty, agroecology and biocultural diversity. This book critically examines the kinds of knowledge and ways of knowing needed for food sovereignty, agroecology and biocultural diversity. ‘Food sovereignty’ is understood here as a transformative process that seeks to recreate the democratic realm and regenerate a diversity of autonomous food systems based on agroecology, biocultural diversity, equity, social justice and ecological sustainability. It is shown that alternatives to the current model of development require radically different knowledges and epistemologies from those on offer today in mainstream institutions (including universities, policy think tanks and donor organizations). To achieve food sovereignty, agroecology and biocultural diversity, there is a need to re-imagine and construct knowledge for diversity, decentralisation, dynamic adaptation and democracy. The authors critically explore the changes in organizations, research paradigms and professional practice that could help transform and co-create knowledge for a new modernity based on plural definitions of wellbeing. Particular attention is given to institutional, pedagogical and methodological innovations that can enhance cognitive justice by giving hitherto excluded citizens more power and agency in the construction of knowledge. The book thus contributes to the democratization of knowledge and power in the domain of food, environment and society