Listening and remembering: networked off-line improvisation for four commuters

This paper analyses the experience of the networked off-line improvisation 'Listening and Remembering', a performance for four commuters using voices and sounds from the Mexico City and Paris metros. It addresses the question: how can an act of collective remembering, inspired by listening to metro soundscapes, lead to the creation of networked voice- and sound-based narratives about the urban commuting experience? The networked experience is seen here from the structural perspective (telematic setting), the sonic underground context, the ethnographic process that led to the performance, the narratives that are created in the electro-acoustic setting, the shared acoustic environments that those creations suggest, and the technical features and participants' responses that prevent or facilitate interaction. Emphasis is placed on the participants' status as non-performers, and on their familiarity with the sonic environment, as a context that allows the participation of non-musicians in the making of music through telematically shared interfaces, using soundscape and real-time voice. Participants re-enact their routine experience through a dialogical relation- ship with the sounds, the other participants, themselves, and the experience of sharing: a collective memory

A complex systems perspective on innovation, investment and regulation of evolving telecommunications networks

This thesis is a Doctoral Thesis of the International Executive Doctorate Programme (DBA) at the School of Management, Cranfield University, UK. The purpose of the study is to present the results of the research dedicated to the topic of Infrastructure Sharing, a common method to make use of the limited infrastructure resources of many stakeholders. The research aims to develop a decision support tool for a National Regulating Authority (NRA) on the basis of a software simulation representing infrastructure in use as complex systems consisting of agent and infrastructure networks. By applying a computational Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) approach to policy decisions, i.e. influence of Duct and Pole Access (DPA) to incumbent telecommunication infrastructures, the research investigates regulatory considerations that stimulate the development of alternative networks. The final deliverable of the research is a simulation tool that provides a solid foundation for simulating experiments, which allows analysis of demand for broadband services by different subgroups of users. The results of the study are of value for regulators, practitioners, representatives of telecommunication and other network industries, and scholars who deal with the topic of sustainable infrastructure development and recognise the value of a complex system perspective

Designing and Operating Safe and Secure Transit Systems: Assessing Current Practices in the United States and Abroad, MTI Report 04-05

Public transit systems around the world have for decades served as a principal venue for terrorist acts. Today, transit security is widely viewed as an important public policy issue and is a high priority at most large transit systems and at smaller systems operating in large metropolitan areas. Research on transit security in the United States has mushroomed since 9/11; this study is part of that new wave of research. This study contributes to our understanding of transit security by (1) reviewing and synthesizing nearly all previously published research on transit terrorism; (2) conducting detailed case studies of transit systems in London, Madrid, New York, Paris, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C.; (3) interviewing federal officials here in the United States responsible for overseeing transit security and transit industry representatives both here and abroad to learn about efforts to coordinate and finance transit security planning; and (4) surveying 113 of the largest transit operators in the United States. Our major findings include: (1) the threat of transit terrorism is probably not universal—most major attacks in the developed world have been on the largest systems in the largest cities; (2) this asymmetry of risk does not square with fiscal politics that seek to spread security funding among many jurisdictions; (3) transit managers are struggling to balance the costs and (uncertain) benefits of increased security against the costs and (certain) benefits of attracting passengers; (4) coordination and cooperation between security and transit agencies is improving, but far from complete; (5) enlisting passengers in surveillance has benefits, but fearful passengers may stop using public transit; (6) the role of crime prevention through environmental design in security planning is waxing; and (7) given the uncertain effectiveness of antitransit terrorism efforts, the most tangible benefits of increased attention to and spending on transit security may be a reduction in transit-related person and property crimes

A Rede de Hospedagem e o Placemaking na Economia Compartilhada: examinando o Airbnb

This article investigates the similarities and differences for tangible and intangible elements (factors and language use) contributing to placemaking in Airbnb English language reviews in Paris (59,057 reviews), Barcelona (19,291 reviews) and London (30,403 reviews). This paper contributes to provide new insights on the narrative construction of reputational capital which is connected to placemaking strategies. A combined quantitative approach using large scale text analysis enabled the analysis of review content and style. Patterns in the words usage were identified. Findings suggest that tangible and intangible elements work together in the discourse, contributing to the place-narrative built on the host’s reputational capital. The host-guest interaction is the main aspect of the reviews, followed by the importance of transport and local amenities. Cities have different profiles in the composition of the word clusters which indicates differences in the guests’ perceived experience.Este artigo investiga as semelhanças e diferenças de elementos tangíveis e intangíveis (fatores e uso da linguagem) que contribuem para placemaking nos comentários em inglês do Airbnb em Paris (59.057 avaliações), Barcelona (19.291 avaliações) e Londres (30.403 avaliações). Este artigo contribui para o estudo da narrativa em torno do capital reputacional ligado às estratégias de placemaking. Uma abordagem quantitativa usando análise de texto em larga escala permitiu a análise das avaliações em conteúdo e estilo de escrita, levando à identificação de padrões no uso da linguagem. Os resultados sugerem que elementos tangíveis e intangíveis atuam no discurso de forma concertada, contribuindo para a narrativa do lugar construída a partir do capital reputacional do anfitrião. A interação anfitrião-hóspede surge como o principal fator nas avaliações, seguido do transporte e das comodidades locais. As cidades têm perfis diferentes na composição dos clusters de palavras, o que indica diferenças na experiência percecionada pelos hóspedes.Este artículo investiga las similitudes y diferencias de elementos tangibles e intangibles que contribuyen al placemaking en las reseñas en inglés de Airbnb en París (59,057 reseñas), Barcelona (19,291 reseñas) y Londres (30,403 reseñas). Este artículo contribuye al estudio de la narrativa en torno al capital reputacional vinculado a las estrategias de placemaking. Un enfoque cuantitativo que utiliza análisis de texto a gran escala permitió el análisis de las reseñas en términos de contenido y estilo de escritura, lo que permitió la identificación de patrones en el uso del lenguaje. Los resultados indican que los elementos tangibles e intangibles actúan juntos en el discurso, contribuyendo a la narrativa del lugar construida a partir del capital reputacional del anfitrión. La interacción entre el anfitrión-huésped surge como el factor principal en las evaluaciones, seguido del transporte y las comodidades locales. Las ciudades tienen diferentes perfiles en la composición de los grupos de palabras, lo que indica diferencias en la experiencia percibida de los huéspedes

Crowded Social Media: Investigating the Crowdedness Effect on Social Media Usage

While public transit is a major place where people devote their time to smartphones, particularly social media usage, the literature has paid scant attention to how contextual factors in public transit affect the individual usage behavior of social media. Building upon prior literature on stress and social media as a stress reliever, this study examines the impact of physical crowdedness on users’ content consumption and generation behaviors on social media platforms. In collaboration with a major wireless telecom provider in China, we collect detailed information on smartphone usage behavior among 200,000 randomly selected individuals on a major public subway line in Qingdao, China. The results demonstrate a positive causal relationship between crowdedness and content consumption and generation on social media platforms, even after controlling for potential endogeneity of crowdedness

Networked Hospitality and Placemaking in the Sharing Economy

This article investigates the similarities and differences for tangible and intangible elements (factors and language use) contributing to placemaking in Airbnb English language reviews in Paris (59,057 reviews), Barcelona (19,291 reviews) and London (30,403 reviews). This paper contributes to provide new insights on the narrative construction of reputational capital which is connected to placemaking strategies. A combined quantitative approach using large scale text analysis enabled the analysis of review content and style. Patterns in the words usage were identified. Findings suggest that tangible and intangible elements work together in the discourse, contributing to the place-narrative built on the host’s reputational capital. The host-guest interaction is the main aspect of the reviews, followed by the importance of transport and local amenities. Cities have different profiles in the composition of the word clusters which indicates differences in the guests’ perceived experience. Keywords: Hospitality; Sharing economy; Placemaking; Airbnb, Narrative, Reputational capita

Sex Industry and Sex Workers in Nevada

Las Vegas has long been known as the symbolic center of the commercial sex industry. Nevada is host to the only legal system of prostitution in the United States. From the early legalization of quickie divorce and marriage to the marketing of its large resorts, sexuality has been a key component of Nevada’s tourist economy. If trends continue, for good or for ill, the sex industry will be an even larger part of the economy in the future. The sex industry refers to all legal and illegal adult businesses that sell sexual products, sexual services, sexual fantasies, and actual sexual contact for profit in the commercial marketplace. The sex industry encompasses an exceedingly wide range of formal and informal, legal and illegal businesses, as well as a wide range of individuals who work in and around the industry. This report will review the context in which sexually oriented commercial enterprises have flourished, discuss general trends in the Nevada sex industry, and make policy recommendations

Financing ICT and digitalisation in Africa: Current trends and key sustainability issues

Increasingly recognised as a pivotal infrastructure for inclusive economic development and social justice in Africa, information and communication technology is a fundamental component of the continent’s infrastructure budget. DFIs, such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank, have long included digital infrastructure and connectivity projects as one of the portfolios that receive financial support. Nevertheless, the investment landscape for sustainable information and communication technologies in Africa remains poorly understood. The availability of data is inconsistent, mirroring a broader knowledge problem across the entire infrastructure finance sector (see Cirolia, Pieterse & Pollio, 2022). Moreover, issues of sustainable investment are by nature of digital infrastructure much less visible and debated than in related sectors of mobility or energy. This paper is, therefore, aimed at i) highlighting the different components of infrastructure investment in information and communication technologies, ii) showing that the value chain is complex and that different investment patterns and bottlenecks need to be recognised across the sector, and iii) identifying key sustainability issues that deserve attention for digital infrastructure as much as for other types of technical systems. To do so, in this paper, four sections and a tentative list of policy implications linking sustainability concerns to the financial design of information and communication technology infrastructure are featured

The environmental and political ecology of natural gas

Methane (CH4) is the primary constituent of natural gas and a significant contributor to global climate change, accounting for 11% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. With the advent of hydraulic fracturing technology, production of natural gas from shale gas reserves has increased by 35% from 2005 to 2013. Fugitive CH4 emissions attributed to venting or leakage across the life cycle of natural gas systems have also increased, making the climate benefits ascribed to natural gas questionable when compared to oil and coal. This dissertation reports the results of three studies that improve our knowledge of the environmental and political ramifications of continued investment in and consumption of natural gas fuels. Using bottom-up flux chamber techniques we made direct measurements of CH4 emissions from 100 natural gas leaks in cast iron distribution mains within Metro Boston, MA in order to assess the nature of the distribution of gas leak size and constrain estimates of fugitive CH4 emissions across leak-prone urban distribution infrastructure. We find that the distribution of leak size is skewed, a small fraction of ‘superemitter’ leaks contribute disproportionate CH4 emissions, and CH4 flux at leak sites is not an indicator of safety. Next, we use the lens of urban natural gas infrastructure systems and apply an ecological analytical framework to identify dysfunctions in and opportunities for coordinated urban infrastructure management in Boston, MA. We find that there are real physical and fiscal constraints to retrofitting and expanding aging, urban infrastructure in U.S. cities. Achieving sustainable, resilient urban infrastructure requires active participation by all stakeholders as well as coordination within and between stakeholder groups. Finally, we introduce the term ‘unleakable carbon’ to refer to the uncombusted carbon-based gases associated with fossil fuel systems and demonstrate that in particular the unleakable carbon associated with natural gas constitutes a potentially large and heretofore unrecognized factor in estimating usable portions of Earth’s fossil fuel reserves. We demonstrate that unless unleakable carbon is curtailed, roughly 80 – 100% of our global natural gas reserves must remain underground if we hope to limit warming to 2 °C from 2010 to 2050