Memories for Life: A Review of the Science and Technology

This paper discusses scientific, social and technological aspects of memory. Recent developments in our understanding of memory processes and mechanisms, and their digital implementation, have placed the encoding, storage, management and retrieval of information at the forefront of several fields of research. At the same time, the divisions between the biological, physical and the digital worlds seem to be dissolving. Hence opportunities for interdisciplinary research into memory are being created, between the life sciences, social sciences and physical sciences. Such research may benefit from immediate application into information management technology as a testbed. The paper describes one initiative, Memories for Life, as a potential common problem space for the various interested disciplines

Performance and authentic expression : the soliloquies in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, soliloquies portray a solitary character in midst of a private struggle, voicing emotions and thoughts about the human condition. They throw light on Shakespeare’s prowess in representing the human being; what Harold Bloom calls Shakespeare’s ‘invention of the human’ and what Samuel Johnson refers to as Shakespeare’s chief skill in presenting ‘a map of life.’ And yet, this suggestion constitutes a paradox: soliloquies – which constitute the most contrived speeches in drama – have been accepted as being authentic expressions of human emotions and forming part of faithful representations of the human being. This paper examines the different soliloquies in Hamlet, taking into consideration their power to reveal a character’s emotions. The relation between the audience and the soliloquists is also addressed, especially in relation to the question of whether a soliloquy should be regarded as a private and authentic expression of emotions or as a calculated performance which the character stages intentionally knowing that he is being heard by an audience. The paper also discusses Hamlet’s attempts to introspect about his feelings through the language of theatre and performance, as well as his interest in theatricality and its power to provoke an emotional response.peer-reviewe

Digital Humanities for Communicative and Cultural Memory: A Case for a Digital Humanities Repository at Universities in Rural Settings

Cultural memory is tied to material objectivations. Thus, cultural memory is consciously established and ceremonialized (Assmann, 2011). While communicative memory "is tied to the temporal dimension of everyday life" (Erll, 2011a, p. 53), cultural memory creates a mnemonic canon that is passed down through generations using various media as a mode of transmission of events, figures of importance, paradigms, and events. These media are then maintained, interpreted, and evaluated by trained professionals. However, between the time remembered in the framework of the communicative memory and that remembered in the cultural memory, there is a shifting “floating gap” that moves along with the passage of time (Erll, 2010, p. 311). This paper examines the role of digital humanities in preserving information that is communicative memory but may become cultural memory and explores different avenues for digital humanities to be used as archives in the modern university classroom

Amazonian Visions: Animating Ghosts

Amazonian Visions is a practice-based research project that finds associations between the concepts of expanded cinema and animation, and the myriad worlds of the Amazonian psychedelic brew, ayahuasca. I argue that expanded animation is a medium not unlike cultural practices of expanded vision and psychedelic experiences inspired by ayahuasca. By juxtaposing these two concepts, tracing their genealogies, and examining unexpected links between the two, I propose that both are techniques that allow the fantastical to enter the ordinary. This theoretical framework informs my expanded animation work, in particular the shows Tranquilandia and Tres Esquinas, where the histories of the Colombian Amazon are transformed through ayahuasca visions into digital animations and immersive installations

Preparing the Ne(x)t Generation: Lessons learnt from Free / Libre Open Source Software Why free and open are pre-conditions and not options for higher

With reference to round table discussions on ‘preparing the new generation’ and ‘renewing knowledge creation’ this paper will illustrate why higher education (HE) needs to reposition itself to be prepared for the ne(x)t generation and which are the lessons to be learnt from well established virtual and informal open participatory learning ecosystems, in particular the Free / Libre Open and Source Software (FLOSS) communities. As has become clear; FLOSS communities succeed in providing and distributing in a sustainable manner the knowledge necessary for the production of good quality software, thereby using a different development approach than proprietary software producers. One characteristic of FLOSS is that it is built by a community of volunteers and frequently backed by companies that generate their revenues by providing services related to FLOSS projects and the software.Peer Reviewe

Fatal portraits: The selfie as agent of radicalization

For the modern-day jihadist, the digital self-portrait or, more specifically, battlefield selfie is a popular tool for identity building. Similarly to the selfies taken by non-violent practitioners of self-capture culture, the jihadist selfie represents an alternative to the Cartesian formulation of a unitary and indivisible self. Rather, it is a product of social relations and performative actions, constituted in dialogue with others through very specific socio-cultural frameworks and expectations. However, unlike its non-violent Doppelgänger, the expectations of this dialogue are centred around a larger political agenda which actively seeks to reformat collective memories of imperial Islamic conquests and co-opt religion as a way to impose a moral order on its violence. Importantly, the battlefield selfie allows the jihadist easily to traverse the boundaries between two seemingly opposing belief systems. Although there exists a wealth of scholarship of self-capture culture, image sharing sites and micro-celebritism, their pervasive influence and practice on battlefield is understudied. This article draws from the personal histories of key Islamic extremists who were both lionized and demonized as a result of their battlefield micro-influencer practices. Today, however, the same individuals can achieve internet fame by participating in self-capture culture – posting selfies, videos or blogging. In other words, never before has a soldier’s public communication been so personal yet collective.    &nbsp

THE LIFE CYCLE OF DATA LABELS IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING: A CASE STUDY OF THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

Data labels are an integral input to develop machine learning (ML) models. In complex domains, labels represent the externalized product of complex knowledge. While prior research discussed labels typically as input of ML models, we explore their role in organizational learning (OL). Based on a case study of a German car manufacturer, we contextualize a framework of OL to the use of labels in organizations informing about organizational members who work with labels, requirements of label-based tools, label-related tasks, and impediments of label-related task performance. From our findings, we derive propositions about the role of labels in OL and outline future research opportunities. Our results inform theory about the role of labels in OL and can guide practitioners leveraging labels to create and transfer knowledge within organizations