Information Visualization (iV): Notes about the 9th IV ’05 International Conference, London, England

This review tells about the International Conference on Information Visualization that is held annually in London, England. Themes selected from the Conference Proceedings are focused on theoretical concepts, semantic approach to visualization, digital art, and involve 2D, 3D, interactive and virtual reality tools and applications. The focal point of the iV 05 Conference was the progress in information and knowledge visualization, visual data mining, multimodal interfaces, multimedia, web graphics, graph theory application, augmented and virtual reality, semantic web visualization, HCI, digital art, among many other areas such as information visualization in geology, medicine, industry and education

Seeing Things Differently: Art, Law and Justice in the Scottish Feminist Judgments Project

This paper illustrates how turning to art rather than focusing solely on legal reform can form part of an alternative response to gender inequality that allows for deeper understandings of social (in)justice. We show how the Scottish Feminist Judgments Project – a collaborative endeavour by legal academics, practising lawyers, judges, artistic contributors and representatives from the third sector – can offer those who engage with our art the experience of hearing and seeing law in different ways. More specifically, we explore how art can open law up to scrutiny, render vivid the impact of legal decisions, and create richer and more democratic communities of understanding. At the same time, by discussing  knowledge differentials and the quandaries of creating art ethically, we also highlight some of the challenges involved in engaging in artistic-legal collaboration

A Phenomenological, Arts-Based Study of Art Therapists’ Self-Reflective Practice

This phenomenological, arts-based study examined the experiences of 15 art therapists using five-minute, full-bodied self-portraiture with 55 minutes of self-reflective journaling once a week for four weeks at the end of each work week. The therapists determined the location for this practice. Subsequently, the four artworks, as a serial, were explored with each participant in a one-hour telephone or Skype interview to understand their lived experience through art, and its signs, and symbols. This process enabled the therapists to act as witness to their respective self/selves, deepening their insights and connections about self. The transcribed audio-taped interviews were manually coded to surface descriptive and interpretive elements, and empathic immersion facilitated some understanding of the participant’s actual lived experience to identify themes. Eight themes about the self surfaced, including self-awareness through: symbolism of environment; emotional, spiritual and bodily awareness; construction of self through word in art; engagement with inner-child; transformation; awareness of professional self; self-care; and awareness of hope and appreciation. The results, confirmed with each participant, found that their self-portraits, using simple materials such as photocopy paper and markers, resulted in images which visually captured the artist’s actual experience, in ways that words could not. The subsequent reflections concerning the images resulted in rich descriptions that facilitated their respective self-assessments, and in turn, their future directionality. The results also affirmed the importance of self-care for the art therapist through the creation of art, as a means for maintaining their inner artistic drive and desire, and balance and well-being

Gelang: A Photography of Belonging

Gelang: A Photography of Belonging proposes a new category of landscape photography, one that moves away from emphasis upon imagery of particular kinds of landscape (such as wilderness, topographical, or wastelandscape) and also away from genres of photography (art, documentary, or scientific) and instead investigates the shared values and ethics among landscape and nature photographers and the kinds of awareness and knowledge that arise through outdoor, field-based photographic practice. An analysis of the writings of photographers and their published interviews, as well as the author\u27s own photographic experiences in the field, reveals a common core of life-affirming values predicated on a heightened sense of belonging to the land and a corresponding sense of communication with and responsibility toward the other-than-human beings, forces and forms that together with humans co-create our shared world. The work argues for photography as phronesis--knowledge acquired through practice that leads to wise, practical reasoning--and the importance of photography as a highly mobile, poly-sensual, and immersive experience of place that leads to increased ecological knowledge; expanded understanding of the relationship between human action and environmental response; heightened awareness of cyclical changes and patterns; a better understanding of oneself in relation to others, both human and other-than-human; a sense of connection with the Cosmos; expanded self-awareness; and an increased respect for all of life. Four kinds of photographic vision are explored in this work--looking, seeing, witnessing, and reflecting--all of which foster different types of awareness and responsibility

Spaces of Affectivity: Innovating Interdisciplinary Discourse in Open, “Free” Space

This essay presents a reflective narrative on an innovative approach taken to create an open,“free” space in which to share ideas and discuss the theme “Spaces of Affectivity” across the disciplines of arts, humanities, and geography with a focus on the exploration and negotiation of socio-spatial cultural productions of identity. These reflections are based on the planning of two symposia held in 2014 and 2015 under the title Spaces of Affectivity at Liverpool Hope University with the remit of encouraging scholars to stand in their own space and engage with cross-disciplinary discourse. What emerged was a deepening awareness of cross-disciplinary commonalities of spatial discourse that can lead to interfaces between material experience and the human imagination. At its heart is a truly spatial matter which shows the importance of paying careful attention to the mutually influencing forces of human embodiment and the contextualizing environment of nature and cosmos

Digital technologies, social media and emerging, alternative documentary production methodologies

My research is a practice-based project involving documentary production and theoretical analysis of emerging forms of documentary and online co-collaboration, exploring paradigm shifts in digital technology particularly in the web-based feminist activism and feminist social praxis. The practice-led research explores new forms of production practices outside traditional methodologies and dissemination. Specifically, by utilizing cheap digital technology tools and working within online social networking platforms the research theoretically analyses what means were available towards online participatory media practices to create new documentary forms. My research aims are therefore to investigate how the new paradigm shifts in digital technology and the democratization of the filmmaking process, through online, collaborative practice, can allow women documentary filmmakers to connect to a global marketplace outside the traditional filmmaking channels. Further, looking at the history of the documentary form, as well as the feminist movement, I am interested in which of the key themes and debates that have characterized their intersection are still important at this moment of changing and emerging technologies. Can new technologies, access to cheap digital tools and collaborative modes of practice help or hinder the creative process of making a digital documentary? In examining the history of feminist filmmaking and the emerging documentary shifts in production offered the opportunity to position my own practice within these traditions and experiment further with online forms of modality. This experiment allowed me to gather empirical data using new media practices (i.e. creation and curation of online and repurposed content, use of new production tools within online spaces) to create a first person, auto-ethnographic narrative on the subject of feminism and online activism. Additionally, my research looks at the theoretical and historical underpinnings surrounding feminist filmmaking, new documentary practices and its implications within new technologies, and the emerging forms of collaborative online modes of practice. Each of these areas will intersect within the three key areas of debate surrounding documentary filmmaking; those of 1) narrativity, 2) witness and 3) ethics. My practice investigates these interactive, participatory modes created with emerging technologies and online audiences and how this is shifting narratives, audience reception and producing new ethical debates around ‘truth’ and ‘authenticity’ as these lines are continually blurred. Rethinking documentary in the virtual space brings about new challenges to the old debates around evidence, witness and ethics, as it is the product of a more democratic attitude towards practice, distribution and dissemination of its stories. New participatory audiences are now also helping to create the very product they are witnessing. Therefore, creating media within the public sphere can bring about a wealth of new tools, wider contributions to media making and a more global awareness of its dissemination. But it is not without its controversy and challenges. Further, my research looks at how working within this co-collaborative mode, the position of filmmaker as the ‘sole’ creator or ‘auteur’ comes into question. It discuses the advantages and/or the disadvantages to this approach and in doing so looks at what contributions and challenges an online audience can provide to support the filmmaker that cannot be gained through historical and traditional production and exhibition forms. What once was a higher barrier to entry into the film business is now a more open and online accessibility where anyone can wield a cheap camera or mobile phone device, make a movie and share it on the internet. These newfound democratic practices could potentially disrupt an already complex system of communication practices. However, it could also supply it with a much-needed collective idea bank for tackling global issues and finding sustainable solutions. Within the scope of participatory practices, a first person filmmaker can experience the greatest of democratic freedom within the confines of this process and delivery. The research is supported and conducted through a practice-led film project, web support platform (including blog and social media sites) and published case study. The final output film project around which these questions are posed is entitled: “Single Girl in a Virtual World: What does a 21st Century Feminist Look Like?”1. The film’s purpose is therefore to engage an online global audience of participants and contributors to the film’s narrative thread by asking for contributions within the production, creation and financing of the documentary film. The practice utilizes social networks, crowd funding initiatives, web blogs, viral video, virtual chat interaction and traditional modes of documentary practice in its methodology in an effort to collect data surrounding activity and attempt to answer my research questions at large. The overall objective is to create an online documentary film that exemplifies feminist activism in a new frame through application of documentary modes and new emerging digital media practices. 1 Single Girl in a Virtual World: What Does a 21st Century Feminist Look Like? (Nelson 2013

A Corpus-assisted Discourse Analysis of Music-related Practices Discussed within Chipmusic.org

abstract: This study examined discussion forum posts within a website dedicated to a medium and genre of music (chiptunes) with potential for music-centered making, a phrase I use to describe maker culture practices that revolve around music-related purposes. Three research questions guided this study: (1) What chiptune-related practices did members of chipmusic.org discuss between December 30th, 2009 and November 13th, 2017? (2) What do chipmusic.org discussion forum posts reveal about the multidisciplinary aspects of chiptunes? (3) What import might music-centered making evident within chipmusic.org discussion forum posts hold for music education? To address these research questions, I engaged in corpus-assisted discourse analysis tools and techniques to reveal and analyze patterns of discourse within 245,098 discussion forum posts within chipmusic.org. The analysis cycle consisted of (a) using corpus analysis techniques to reveal patterns of discourse across and within data consisting of 10,892,645 words, and (b) using discourse analysis techniques for a close reading of revealed patterns. Findings revealed seven interconnected themes of chiptune-related practices: (a) composition practices, (b) performance practices, (c) maker practices, (d) coding practices, (e) entrepreneurial practices, (f), visual art practices, and (g) community practices. Members of chipmusic.org primarily discussed composing and performing chiptunes on a variety of instruments, as well as through retro computer and video game hardware. Members also discussed modifying and creating hardware and software for a multitude of electronic devices. Some members engaged in entrepreneurial practices to promote, sell, buy, and trade with other members. Throughout each of the revealed themes, members engaged in visual art practices, as well as community practices such as collective learning, collaborating, constructive criticism, competitive events, and collective efficacy. Findings suggest the revealed themes incorporated practices from a multitude of academic disciplines or fields of study for music-related purposes. However, I argue that many of the music-related practices people discussed within chipmusic.org are not apparent within music education discourse, curricula, or standards. I call for an expansion of music education discourse and practices to include additional ways of being musical through practices that might borrow from multiple academic disciplines or fields of study for music-related purposes.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Music Education 201

Evaluating a Need for Somatic Access to Classical Objects in Public Museums

Physical experiences with ancient art objects in museums are rare. Display paradigms in most public institutions continue to propagate systems of participant interaction that reinforces unequal power structures. The Montana Musuem of Art and Culture (MMAC) is the current custodian of an ancient, Rhodian wine amphora that provides an opportunity to examine a novel system of somatic participation. This proposal upends traditional gatekeeping practices and serves as a powerful and progressive, humanist touchstone; an olive branch extended to the general public from behind the walls of higher education and the ramparts of privileged scholarship. This study reimagines the amphora\u27s future custody and suggests a purely somatic method of display that dispenses with traditional, institutional supplementation. The MMAC’s potential somatic exhibition encourages touching the surface of a 2300-year-old artifact. This experiment offers museum goers a novel chance to create autonomous knowledge through touch while simultaneously bridging chasms in educational backgrounds and cultural privileges. This proposal draws on defensible and pertinent philosophical and theoretical positions to argue for a method of museum practice that will transform and decolonize audiences’ interactions with classical objects from a prescribed and narrow interplay into a more equitable and democratic interrelation. I illuminate a need for the objects that chronicle a segment of our shared history (classical objects in particular) to be made available to museum visitors for direct, physical touch