MINDtouch embodied ephemeral transference: Mobile media performance research

This is the post-print version of the final published article that is available from the link below. Copyright @ Intellect Ltd 2011.The aim of the author's media art research has been to uncover any new understandings of the sensations of liveness and presence that may emerge in participatory networked performance, using mobile phones and physiological wearable devices. To practically investigate these concepts, a mobile media performance series was created, called MINDtouch. The MINDtouch project proposed that the mobile videophone become a new way to communicate non-verbally, visually and sensually across space. It explored notions of ephemeral transference, distance collaboration and participant as performer to study presence and liveness emerging from the use of wireless mobile technologies within real-time, mobile performance contexts. Through participation by in-person and remote interactors, creating mobile video-streamed mixes, the project interweaves and embodies a daisy chain of technologies through the network space. As part of a practice-based Ph.D. research conducted at the SMARTlab Digital Media Institute at the University of East London, MINDtouch has been under the direction of Professor Lizbeth Goodman and sponsored by BBC R&D. The aim of this article is to discuss the project research, conducted and recently completed for submission, in terms of the technical and aesthetic developments from 2008 to present, as well as the final phase of staging the events from July 2009 to February 2010. This piece builds on the article (Baker 2008) which focused on the outcomes of phase 1 of the research project and initial developments in phase 2. The outcomes from phase 2 and 3 of the project are discussed in this article

A Model to Pedagogically Support Teaching & Learning Scenarios For Engineering Innovation from a Complexity Sciences Perspective

Education for innovation requires innovation in education. To innovate in education implies new pedagogical models. It is not enough to just apply teaching/learning methods or strategies in a mechanical or procedural approach. It requires the conception of new pedagogical models based on theories that allow for processing of different interpretations of diverse complexity educational phenomena, i.e. other ways of producing and implementing pedagogical knowledge. Education in the different engineering programs has been carried out through analytical and linear processes; however, the reality of education through a Complex Systems lens is characterized by uncertainty, chaos, breaks, nonlinearity and self-organization. To optimize curriculum processes that foster innovation skills in students requires strategies and teaching-learning scenarios that stimulate nonlinear processes and generate a change in the mindset of the professor and the student. It is important to understand and approach the reality of educating engineers in new ways. Making methodological adjustments without the understanding of the epistemological orientation that take into account complex dynamic processes will only generate pseudo-changes, which limits creativity and innovation processes. Currently, there are several global initiatives for the development of teaching-learning scenarios that facilitate innovation processes in engineering education and education for innovation. This paper is a proposal by the Complex Systems & Education Network (SCED-ISTEC) and the College of Engineering at the University of South Florida (USF), of a model developed to pedagogically support innovation scenarios in educating engineers for innovation using the principles of Complex Systems. The suggested scenarios are framed in a dynamic curriculum structure. They are characterized by hard and soft state-of-the-art technologies; interdisciplinary, flexible, pedagogical research processes; methodologies for cognitive restructuring, solving complex problems, and modeling, simulation; interactions with university/industry programs; and the facilitating of applications according to context and societal needs.Ibero-American Science and Technology Education Consortiu

A Model to Pedagogically Support Teaching & Learning Scenarios For Engineering Innovation from a Complexity Sciences Perspective

Education for innovation requires innovation in education. To innovate in education implies new pedagogical models. It is not enough to just apply teaching/learning methods or strategies in a mechanical or procedural approach. It requires the conception of new pedagogical models based on theories that allow for processing of different interpretations of diverse complexity educational phenomena, i.e. other ways of producing and implementing pedagogical knowledge. Education in the different engineering programs has been carried out through analytical and linear processes; however, the reality of education through a Complex Systems lens is characterized by uncertainty, chaos, breaks, nonlinearity and self-organization. To optimize curriculum processes that foster innovation skills in students requires strategies and teaching-learning scenarios that stimulate nonlinear processes and generate a change in the mindset of the professor and the student. It is important to understand and approach the reality of educating engineers in new ways. Making methodological adjustments without the understanding of the epistemological orientation that take into account complex dynamic processes will only generate pseudo-changes, which limits creativity and innovation processes. Currently, there are several global initiatives for the development of teaching-learning scenarios that facilitate innovation processes in engineering education and education for innovation. This paper is a proposal by the Complex Systems & Education Network (SCED-ISTEC) and the College of Engineering at the University of South Florida (USF), of a model developed to pedagogically support innovation scenarios in educating engineers for innovation using the principles of Complex Systems. The suggested scenarios are framed in a dynamic curriculum structure. They are characterized by hard and soft state-of-the-art technologies; interdisciplinary, flexible, pedagogical research processes; methodologies for cognitive restructuring, solving complex problems, and modeling, simulation; interactions with university/industry programs; and the facilitating of applications according to context and societal needs.Ibero-American Science and Technology Education Consortiu

A brief critique on the future of learning (Assessing the potential for research)

Recent advances in computer and communications technologies are opening up new opportunities for learning design requiring a thorough (perhaps revolutionary) reappraisal of the goals and purpose of education. The potential of the Internet and the technologies it inspires makes it feasible to not only access and manage information in productive and efficient ways, but also to deliver dynamically interactive, personalised solutions tailored to the needs and preferences of all learners. Therefore, it is important to extend our understanding of how computer technologies can enhance student learning whilst providing some insight into the future of learning.If we accept for the moment that graduates are not adequately equipped to cope with current skill requirements, and combine this view with the complexity of devising suitable electronic delivery methods, there is cause for concern as to the capacity of current learning design models to cater for the diverse skill demands of a technologically driven world. Such concern for the future is not new, but certain emerging factors suggest there is merit in constructing advanced learning models that take advantage of the growing sophistication of computer technologies. The challenge will be to harness technological innovations in ways that will assist to deliver high quality learning outcomes relevant to the changing needs of learners

From Vitruvian Man to the Avatar: The Second Life of Humanity

Social Virtual Environments (SVEs) have been in existence for as long as we have communicated with others through the internet. Users of social virtual environments are represented by avatars, virtual representations of the users. As technology has advanced, so have the ways in which users can represent themselves online: from user-names in the beginning to three-dimensional, graphic representations used in many gaming and immersive environments so popular today. User representations in virtual environments (commonly referred to as “avatars) become a part of the user’s identity as they interact with others in the virtual environment and with the environment itself. The primary purpose of this study was to create a model of the components that comprise the avatars through an extensive review of current literature on the avatar, virtual environments, human-computer interaction (HCI) as well as theories in virtual identity, user and avatar personality, and the movement of identity between the user, the projective identity, the virtual representation, and the environment. Secondarily, this study examined, using quantitative and qualitative methods, the application of the model in examining personality traits of the user and the virtual representation (the avatar) to predict participation in social virtual activism in the virtual world of Second Life. The study took a mixed method approach through a quantitative survey of the general population of Second Life users (1,001 respondents) and a qualitative case study of a virtual social activist community (Four Bridges Project) in the social virtual world, Second Life. Findings from a review of the literature produced a comprehensive model of the avatar components that effectively describes the movement of identity and personality through the representative components. Findings from the survey and case study indicated that, while there is not a substantial difference in the percentage differences in personality traits of the activist in Second Life when compared to the general population of Second Life, the baseline personality traits of the Second Life activist tend to range higher. The case study revealed that activism in Second Life relies on a community of practitioners that encourage and support each other through shared resources and information building

Overview of Brazilian remote sensing activities

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

El proyecto Forging Links: Transferencia de conocimiento utilizando unidades AICLE con integración de las TIC creadas por profesorado en formación_x000D_

La metodología AICLE y la integración efectiva de las TIC son conocimientos esenciales para el éxito de los programas AICLE. No obstante, se ha demostrado que tanto los profesores en formación como los que están en activo se sienten poco preparados para implementar con éxito estos programas. Investigaciones recientes han señalado al diseño de materiales como un método fructífero para aprender y para crear tareas que integren efectivamente las TIC. Este estudio muestra los resultados de un proyecto integrado en un programa de formación de maestros en el que a través de la creación de materiales se explora el conocimiento de los estudiantes sobre AICLE y la integración de las TIC, así como sus percepciones, y está basado en el análisis de una encuesta y de las unidades didácticas creadas. Los resultados mostraron consciencia de los diferentes estadios necesarios para un desarrollo AICLE apropiado, capacidad para usar las TIC en todos los estadios integrando varias dimensiones del conocimiento y percepciones muy positivas que respaldan los resultados de aprendizaje e indican un incremento en la motivación. Por otro lado, las tareas propuestas muestran grandes posibilidades de mejora, especialmente respecto a la integración de la lengua y usos más innovadores de las TIC.Knowledge about CLIL teaching approaches and the effective integration of ICT into learning processes seem paramount to the success of CLIL in different contexts. Nevertheless, research has shown that pre-service and in-service teachers feel unprepared for effective CLIL programme implementation. Recent research has pointed out that material design might be a successful way of improving knowledge and an aid to help teachers realise effective ICT integration efforts. This study reports on the results of a project which through the creation of specific materials for schools explores CLIL knowledge and ICT integration together with students’ perceptions in a pre-service teachers training programme. The instruments used were a survey and the didactic units created by students, which were analysed for the inclusion of all CLIL stages, ICT use and the dimensions of content targeted. Results indicate awareness of the stages needed to develop CLIL appropriately, and capacity to use ICT in all the stages and to integrate various dimensions of knowledge together with very positive perceptions, which support learning outcomes and point to increased motivation. Nevertheless, the tasks showed ample room for improvement, especially regarding the integration of language and more innovative uses of ICT

A Critical Imaginal Hermeneutics Approach to Explore Unconscious Influences on Professional Practices: A Ricoeur and Jung Partnership

Professional relationships are at the heart of professional practice. Qualitative studies exploring professional practice relationships are typically positioned in either the social constructivist (interpretive) paradigm where the aim is to explore actors’ subjective understandings of their relationships and relational practices, or in the critical paradigm where the aim is to reveal objective unconscious structures and hidden power plays influencing actors’ practices. This paper introduces critical imaginal hermeneutics as a systemic philosophical and methodological approach situated on the juncture of the social constructivist and critical paradigms where the dual aim is to explore both actors’ subjective understanding and meaning-making processes associated with their relational practices as well as explore objective unconscious structures and power relations influencing their relational practices. At the core of this approach is a Critical Imaginal Hermeneutic Spiral – a methodological guide for text construction and interpretation processes developed by partnering Paul Ricoeur’s critical hermeneutics and Carl Jung’s imaginal arts-based approach. The spiral was developed, employed, and coined as part of the first author’s doctoral thesis exploring clinical play therapists’ relational practices with parents. It incorporates the Bourdieu and Jung thought partnership explored by the authors in another paper in this volume. The approach provides a systemic guide for developing practitioners’ critical reflexivity regarding personal, social, and collective unconscious influences on their relational practices, and in turn minimising the unconscious influences that undermine the quality of professional practice relationships

The Hierarchic treatment of marine ecological information from spatial networks of benthic platforms

Measuring biodiversity simultaneously in different locations, at different temporal scales, and over wide spatial scales is of strategic importance for the improvement of our understanding of the functioning of marine ecosystems and for the conservation of their biodiversity. Monitoring networks of cabled observatories, along with other docked autonomous systems (e.g., Remotely Operated Vehicles [ROVs], Autonomous Underwater Vehicles [AUVs], and crawlers), are being conceived and established at a spatial scale capable of tracking energy fluxes across benthic and pelagic compartments, as well as across geographic ecotones. At the same time, optoacoustic imaging is sustaining an unprecedented expansion in marine ecological monitoring, enabling the acquisition of new biological and environmental data at an appropriate spatiotemporal scale. At this stage, one of the main problems for an effective application of these technologies is the processing, storage, and treatment of the acquired complex ecological information. Here, we provide a conceptual overview on the technological developments in the multiparametric generation, storage, and automated hierarchic treatment of biological and environmental information required to capture the spatiotemporal complexity of a marine ecosystem. In doing so, we present a pipeline of ecological data acquisition and processing in different steps and prone to automation. We also give an example of population biomass, community richness and biodiversity data computation (as indicators for ecosystem functionality) with an Internet Operated Vehicle (a mobile crawler). Finally, we discuss the software requirements for that automated data processing at the level of cyber-infrastructures with sensor calibration and control, data banking, and ingestion into large data portals.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version