Mobilities, moorings and boundary marking in developing semantic technologies in educational practices

While much attention has been given to the changing spaces of education introduced by new technologies, the impact of spatial theory on the discussion of such education is less well developed. Drawing upon empirical evidence from the Ensemble research project, this article examines spatially some of the possibilities and constraints that arise in the introduction of semantic technologies into case-based learning in higher education. While the affordances of the semantic web provide a technological basis for the development of flexible tools and associated pedagogies in ways that could enhance case-based learning, there are many tensions in this process. In this article, we draw upon certain aspects of spatial theory to examine the ways in which the mobilities and openings made possible by the introduction of semantic technologies also entail mooring and boundary marking in order to give the technologies specifically educational purposes. We suggest how educational practices can be considered theoretically as spatial orderings and some of the implications

From Associations to Info-Sociations: Civic associations and ICTs in Two Asian Cities

Non-profit civic associations are experimenting with information communications technologies (ICTs) in their work inside ‘global cities.’ The “info-sociational” concept is introduced in this paper as a heuristic and an approach for investigating ICT-linked organizational, participatory and spatial transformations in civic associations. The info-sociational approach is applied to four cases of civic environmental associations in two ‘Asian tiger’ cities-Hong Kong and Taipei-to compare their experiments with: urban map mash-ups; digital storytelling; participatory e-platforms; green new media; and networked activism. An info-sociational approach-besides providing a frame for comparatively analyzing digital practices amongst civic groups-arguably advances theory on the co-evolution of civic associations and ICTs.Special Issue: Linking the Local with the Global within Community Informatic

Virtual reconnection: The online spaces of alternative food networks in England

AbstractSpaces of ‘alternative’ food production and consumption have been the subject of considerable interest within agri-food research and policy-making circles in recent decades. Examples of these Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) include Farmers' Markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) schemes and farm shops, where food products are embedded with social and spatial information that serves to differentiate them from conventional agri-food systems. These shorter, more transparent, localised supply chains that characterise AFNs are underpinned by the notion of reconnection – a fundamental set of biological, social and moral processes that enable agri-food stakeholders to participate in ethically minded, transparent systems, where they are better connected to one another and to the markets and environments in which they are immersed. Drawing on a range of eight AFN case studies in England and using a multi-method approach, we explore the notion of reconnection within online space to show how social relations have changed, and are changing as a result of online activity. In examining the websites and social media platforms of AFNs and primary data collected from the creators and users of these spaces, we uncover the notion of ‘virtual reconnection’. We found the embodied, socio-material reconnection processes that occur in-place also occur online. However, by extending AFN spaces, virtual reconnection cannot fully replicate the same embodied and tactile experiences associated with the material spaces of AFNs. As such, online spaces in the context of AFNs provide a useful additional realm for reconnection, but need to be understood as supplementary rather than as a substitution for socio-material reconnections. Future research should consider the moral dimensions of reconnection and the capacity that online spaces have for enhancing the inclusivity of Civic Food Networks (CFNs), and their transformative role in contributing to more sustainable behaviours

The role of algorithms in structuring online communities : the case of Youtube

The aim of the study is to depict the power of algorithms over online communities on the example of YouTube. Author presents the structure of YouTube community, describing role of algorithms and channel owners in assigning roles. The status of the supporter gives members access to dedicated content. Thus, the elite of the community has greater ability to tighten ties and influence the development of the community. On the other hand, regular members may experience fear of missing out. In the article several concepts of power are presented in the context of the role that algorithms play in online communities. The example of YouTube shows that online communities are increasingly being appropriated by algorithms

The design of 3D cyberspace as user interface: Advantages and limitations

Virtual reality propagandists, technologists and the Internet community have long debated the issue of the usability of online three-dimensional (3D) environments. A lot of work was published about the benefits of 3D spaces for human-computer interaction and information visualisation due to their realism (Anders, Kalawsky, Crossley, Davies, McGrath, Rejman-Greene, 1998, Hamit, 1993, Heim, 1992, Aukstakalnis, Blatner, Roth, 1992). This topic also receives continuous industry support including standardisation of Virtual Reality Modeling Language ( VRML, VRML Consortium, 1997) and the more recent Macromedia & Intel alliance to bring web 3D to the mainstream (200 1, Intel Corporation). The actual implementation of this technology is, however, still challenging (McCarthy & Descartes, 1998) and minimal because 3D is too new and waiting for good design to be discovered (Nielsen, 1998). The practical aim of this project is to fulfil the niche by creating a functional 3D interface for the access of two-dimensional (2D) information, such as text, using VRML. The theoretical aim is to contribute to further research into 3D usability by describing and analysing the design process in terms of possibilities, challenges and limitations

'Technic' practices of the computer game Lanner: identity development through the LAN-gameplay experience

This thesis is a reception analysis using qualitative interviews to investigate the formation of cultural groups around computer-game LANs present in Rhodes University. It also looks at how issues of social inequalities evident on the university's campus impact on the participation of students in these LANs. The findings of this study are that the participants have established a community around the practice of computer LAN-gameplay based on values developed through the combination of the material and gameworlds. It serves as a home-on-campus for them; where they can fully explore their passion for games thus reaffirming their identity as gamers on a campus where being a gamer is viewed negatively. In this light, computer-game playing is not just a practice these participants perform, but a culture they live out every day. This is a culture predominantly lived out by men. One of the reasons for this is because most women have been raised to believe to have negative predispositions about digital gaming e.g. that it is childish, addictive and anti-social, but also that computer are meant to be used by men - women use them only when it is absolutely necessary, for example, that it is childish, for academic-related purposes. As a result, not many of them will use computers for any otherreason for fear of being socially criticised. In addition, the gaming culture being dominated by whites is due to the fact that admittance in to this community is still unaffordable for the majority of black students on the Rhodes University campus as a result of their social backgrounds

New media technologies to enhance learning and audience engagement in cultural institutions

New media technologies have drastically changed most aspects of our daily lives in a short time span. They have become ubiquitous in the workspace, they have made their way to our homes and remarkably changed the ways by which knowledge is disseminated. The growing pervasiveness of those technologies has led to fundamental transformations in cultural institutions’ organisational factors on a global scale (Bearman and Geber 2008, 387). New media technologies have also contributed to changing educational institutions on a managerial level and on a pedagogical level; they have paved the way for the digitalisation of the classroom and for more interactive ways of learning, some of whose concepts have been implemented in cultural institutions for the dissemination of knowledge. In this internship report, we will particularly drive our attention towards the use of new media technologies in cultural institutions and to the correlation between those technologies, audience engagement and learning experience enhancement within cultural institutions. It is our belief that such technologies have the potential to enhance cultural institutions’ educational programs, strengthen audience engagement, and create stronger and more genuine links between traditional institutions and the audience. In this report, we will qualitatively and critically shed light on how new media technologies have fundamentally contributed to changing audience engagement and ways of learning within the cultural institution. We will put the highlight on the institutional shifts and extensions that new media technologies gave rise to. Then, we will drive our attention towards the educational possibilities that those technologies have led to, we will see how new media technologies can contribute to improving engagement and learning for audiences with disabilities, and we will, finally, shed light on the experiential metamorphoses that new media technologies have induced within cultural institutions. We will use our case study, which is a Viennese augmented reality application named Artivive, in order strengthen our analyses and respond to our research question

China's "wolf warrior diplomacy:" The interaction of formal diplomacy and cyber-nationalism

For all the popular interest in “wolf warrior diplomacy,” scant attention has been paid to the internal logics and mechanics of representative communications, notably the intersection with grassroots cyber-nationalism. Centring the connections between official and unofficial actors, we situate Chinese diplomatic communications within the domestic nationalist cyberspace cultures that demand and nourish the “dare to fight” orientation of formal Chinese diplomacy on the international stage. We argue that there is a synergistic interaction between officials and popular nationalism that creates bottom-up incentives to adopt a “wolf warrior” posture, distinct from simultaneous top-down pressures from the central leadership under Xi Jinping to appropriately represent China's “confident rise.” We show through case studies involving MoFA spokesperson and archetypal “wolf warrior” Zhao Lijian, that this interaction extends to sharing unofficial content and ideas in a mutually reinforcing cycle that facilitates a harder edge to diplomatic communications

MetaOmniCity: Towards urban metaverse cyberspaces using immersive smart city digital twins

The movie - The Matrix (1999) - boosted our imagination about how further we can be immersed within the cyber world, i.e., how further the cyber world can be indistinguishable from the real world with the metaverse space travel. Nobody had expected involving the creators that the aspirational fictional virtual worlds such as "ActiveWorlds (1995)", and ``Second Life (2003)'' with many urban experiences embedded into a rich featured 3D environment would impact the way of experiencing our real urban environments. Are we going to feel/become ourselves - our cyber-physical presence (e.g., our augmented avatars) - in other mirror worlds doing many other things? Are the created imaginary worlds becoming a part of the real worlds or vice versa? The recent once-in-a-lifetime pandemic has confirmed the importance of location and time-independent Digital Twins (DTs) (i.e., virtual scale models) of cities and their automated services that can provide everybody with equity and accessibility by democratising all types of services leading to increased Quality of Life (QoL). This study analyses how the metaverse (3D elevation of linear Internet), that aims to build high-fidelity virtual worlds with which to interact with the real world, can be engaged within the Smart City (SC) ecosystem with high immersive Quality of Experiences (QoE) and an urban metaverse ecosystem framework — MetaOmniCity — that is designed to demonstrate a variety of insights and orchestrational directions for policymakers, city planners and all other stakeholders about how to transform data-driven SCs with DTs into virtually inhabitable cities with a network of shared urban experiences from a metaverse point of view. MetaOmniCity, allowing the metaversification of cities with granular virtual societies, i.e., MetaSocieties, and eliminating the boundaries (e.g., time, space and language) between the real world and their virtual counterparts, can be shaped to the particular requirements and features of cities. This can pave the way for immersive globalisation with the bigger and richer metaverse of Country (MoC) and metaverse of World (MoW) being an immersive DT of the broader universe with digitally connected cities by removing physical borders. MetaOmniCity is expected to accelerate the building, deployment, and adoption of immersive urban metaverse worlds/networks for citizens to interface with as an extension of real urban social and individual experiences