The changing patterns of architectural design education

Digital technologies have been introduced to students of architecture for over two decades and at present it could be argued that students are producing some of the highest quality designs, and some of the most interesting forms ever to come from University Schools. The value of computer aided design (CAD) is also being demonstrated in architectural practice, with high profile, large budget, bespoke and iconic buildings designed by internationally renowned architects. The value of computer aided design (CAD) is also being demonstrated in architectural practice, with high profile, large budget, bespoke and iconic buildings designed by internationally renowned architects. This paper reviews the changing patterns of architectural design education and considers the contribution digital technologies could make to buildings with more commonplace uses. This paper reviews the changing patterns of architectural design education and considers the contribution digital technologies could make to buildings with more commonplace uses. The study offers a perspective on different kinds of buildings and considers the influence that emerging technologies are having on building form. The study offers a perspective on different kinds of buildings and considers the influence that emerging technologies are having on building form. It outlines digital technologies, alongside students application for architectural design and considers the role they could play in the future, in developing a shared architectural language. It outlines digital technologies, alongside students application for architectural design and considers the role they could play in the future, in developing a shared architectural language. It is suggested that some of the biggest opportunities for future research will be in the design of external spaces, often a neglected part of architectural design education. It is suggested that some of the biggest opportunities for future research will be in the design of external spaces, often a neglected part of architectural design education

The Regulation of E-learning: New National and International Policy Perspectives

The universe of postsecondary education is expanding. It is an era of rapid demographic and labor market changes, increased competition and shifts in institutional form (e.g., the rise of for profit degree granters, the hybrid form of nonprofit/for profit partnerships, corporate universities), and new forms of delivery driven by emerging technologies. In nearly all of these cases, the pace of innovation and establishment of new institutional forms outstrips the ability of regulators or policy makers to stay ahead of the curve.To better understand the complex interplay of public policy drivers regulating e-learning, the Center for Studies in Higher Education convened a meeting of experts in February 2006 for a preliminary examination of existing and emerging public policies that will shape its regulation both domestically and internationally. Three white papers were used as a point of departure for the discussions, which focused on the following areas: The Changing Regulatory Environment: Who, What, Why, and Where?; Finance, Investment, and the Flow of Capital; Student Access and Equity; Social Costs and Benefits from an International Perspective; and Consumer Protection and Cross-border Education. This report summarizes our conversations and recommendations for future research

Digital Content Creation: A Global View on Curriculum Design

As a result of emerging technologies, courses on digital content creation have been offered at library and information science programs in different countries. Each program presents unique considerations based on its own academic environment; campus expectations and demands; professional development; as well as standards of national education reform. The digital content creation courses are often related to the topics of digital humanities, institutional repositories, digital scholarship, digital archives, learning technologies, and information services. The purpose of this panel is to discuss the current development of those courses, share the best practice strategies, and identify issues for future development from an international perspective

Design Fiction Diegetic Prototyping: A Research Framework for Visualizing Service Innovations

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Purpose: This paper presents a design fiction diegetic prototyping methodology and research framework for investigating service innovations that reflect future uses of new and emerging technologies. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on speculative fiction, we propose a methodology that positions service innovations within a six-stage research development framework. We begin by reviewing and critiquing designerly approaches that have traditionally been associated with service innovations and futures literature. In presenting our framework, we provide an example of its application to the Internet of Things (IoT), illustrating the central tenets proposed and key issues identified. Findings: The research framework advances a methodology for visualizing future experiential service innovations, considering how realism may be integrated into a designerly approach. Research limitations/implications: Design fiction diegetic prototyping enables researchers to express a range of ‘what if’ or ‘what can it be’ research questions within service innovation contexts. However, the process encompasses degrees of subjectivity and relies on knowledge, judgment and projection. Practical implications: The paper presents an approach to devising future service scenarios incorporating new and emergent technologies in service contexts. The proposed framework may be used as part of a range of research designs, including qualitative, quantitative and mixed method investigations. Originality: Operationalizing an approach that generates and visualizes service futures from an experiential perspective contributes to the advancement of techniques that enables the exploration of new possibilities for service innovation research

High-Tech Urban Agriculture in Amsterdam : An Actor Network Analysis

The agriculture and horticulture sector in the Netherlands is one of the most productive in the world. Although the sector is one of the most advanced and intense agricultural production systems worldwide, it faces challenges, such as climate change and environmental and social unsustainability of industrial production. To overcome these challenges, alternative food production initiatives have emerged, especially in large cities such as Amsterdam. Some initiatives involve producing food in the urban environment, supported by new technologies and practices, so-called high-tech urban agriculture (HTUA). These initiatives make cultivation of plants inside and on top of buildings possible and increase green spaces in urban areas. The emerging agricultural technologies are creating new business environments that are shape d by technology developers (e.g., suppliers of horticultural light emitting diodes (LED) and control environment systems) and developers of alternative food production practices (e.g., HTUA start-ups). However, research shows that the uptake of these technological innovations in urban planning processes is problematic. Therefore, this research analyzes the barriers that local government planners and HTUA developers are facing in the embedding of HTUA in urban planning processes, using the city of Amsterdam as a case study. This study draws on actor-network theory (ANT) to analyze the interactions between planners, technologies, technology developers and developers of alternative food production practices. Several concepts of ANT are integrated into a multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions (MLP) to create a new theoretical framework that can explain how interactions between technologies and planning actors transform the incumbent social\u2013technical regime. The configuration of interactions between social and material entities in technology development and adoption processes in Amsterdam is analyzed through the lens of this theoretical framework. The data in this study were gathered by tracing actors and their connections by using ethnographic research methods. In the course of the integration of new technologies into urban planning practices, gaps between technologies, technology developers, and planning actors have been identified. The results of this study show a lacking connection between planning actors and technology developers, although planning actors do interact with developers of alternative food production practices. These interactions are influenced by agency of artefacts such as visualizations of the future projects. The paper concludes that for the utilization of emerging technologies for sustainability transition of cities, the existing gap between technology developers and planning actors needs to be bridged through the integration of technology development visions in urban agendas and planning processe

Are Books Becoming Extinct in Academic Libraries?

Purpose: Academic librarians who are planning for the future need to be knowledgeable about the short- and long-range outlook for print. They must also consider what will happen if libraries abolish most or all of their books. Current and future academic e-book usage is explored, and ideas for response to collection changes are suggested. Design/methodology/approach: This article examines a wide range of studies and comments on this timely topic. Findings: The disparity between the reception of e-books in the general population and the adoption of them in the academic world suggests that print is still important to faculty and students. Given the advances in e-book technological, the increasing popularity of online/distance education courses, the adoption of the new EPUB 3 format, and the ubiquity of mobile devices, e-books are expected to increasingly replace print volumes in academic libraries. Originality/value: What has received little attention in the literature is the complexity of the issue of e-book reception in the academic world. This article looks at current and future e-book usage from the perspective of several large studies on diverse aspects of academic life, including students’ perceptions of libraries, their information-seeking behaviors, faculty research habits and information needs, students’ reading habits, and the impact of emerging technologies on teaching and learning. Providing insight into current and future academic e-book trends, this article suggests practical ways to respond to these trends

Intellectual Property and the Politics of Emerging Technology: Inventors, Citizens, and Powers to Shape the Future

This article argues that there is a mismatch between traditional intellectual property doctrine and the politics of intellectual property today. To examine the nature of the mismatch, I contrast two frameworks that both appear in contemporary debate about intellectual property: the traditional discourse, which focuses on innovation policy, and a newer, less clearly codified discourse that views intellectual property issues from the perspective of the politics of technology. This latter discourse focuses on the challenge of democratic governance in a world where emerging technologies have assumed a central role in constituting the future, raising far-reaching questions about how they should be fitted into social orders. The innovation discourse remains dominant in policy debate, but recognizing the specific features of the politics-of-technology perspective—and presenting its distinctive vision of what is at stake in intellectual property—clarifies the struggles now in play. The politics-of-technology perspective rejects the traditional definition of the boundaries of intellectual property policy; first, because this perspective questions the empirical validity of a bright line distinction between creating technologies and making social choices about them; second, because it sees the traditional cartography as tending to constitute members of the public as consumers of prepackaged technologies rather than citizens engaged in shaping them; and third, because it has a normative commitment to enabling citizens to exercise voice and choice about emerging technology before irreversible commitments in specific directions are made. In contrast to traditional innovation discourse, the politics-of-technology perspective considers patent policy from a point of view that focuses on questions of democratic governance and political legitimacy

Dealing with the game-changing technologies of Agriculture 4.0: how do we manage diversity and responsibility in food system transition pathways?

Agriculture 4.0 is comprised of different already operational or developing technologies such as robotics, nanotechnology, synthetic protein, gene editing technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning, which may have pervasive effects on future agricultural and food systems. In this perspective paper, we argue that more attention is needed for the inclusion and exclusion effects of Agriculture 4.0 technologies, and for reflection on how they relate to diverse transition pathways towards sustainable food systems driven by mission-oriented innovation systems. This would require processes of responsible innovation, anticipating the potential impacts of Agriculture 4.0 through inclusive processes, and reflecting on and being responsive to emerging effects and where needed adjusting the course of transition

Handbook of Research on Visual Computing and Emerging Geometrical Design Tools

Visual computing and descriptive geometry are multidisciplinary fields addressing the handling of images, 3D models, and other computer graphics. These ideas are experiencing a revival due to emergent technologies and applications available to developers. Based in traditional forms of design and architecture, these fields are currently experiencing a bounty of new research based on old principles. The Handbook of Research on Visual Computing and Emerging Geometrical Design Tools seeks to add to this knowledge base by considering these technologies from a designer’s perspective rather than reiterating the principles of computer science. It combines aspects of geometry and representation with emerging tools for CAD, generation, and visualization while addressing the digital heritage of such fields. This book is an invaluable resource for developers, students of both graphic and computer-generated design, researchers, and designers. This book is the result of a scientific challenge, the creation of a wide international network of experts with different background and expertise, from academic institutions and from the world of practice, that are pursuing the innovation in the fields of visual computing, descriptive geometry and digital design media. The books collects peer-reviewed chapters dedicated to the emerging design tools and their new frontiers of knowledge where geometry is the starting point of generative design processes and a keyword for the understanding of our World heritage. Riccardo Migliari in 2005 wrote a paper entitled Has Perspective a future? (Has Man a future?) addressing the “analogies between questions on the future of Man in the face of the disasters of the indiscriminate use of science and technology (during the era of the Cold War, but still of interest today) and some considerations on the future of the perspective (and the descriptive geometry) in the automatons era”. With the outstanding contribute of Migliari, disciplines related to descriptive geometry are living a great revival thanks to new horizons opened by digital media and visual computing potential. These studies support the architectural and industrial design practice bridging the conceptual development through Cad tools with the final fabrication needs, allowing the visualization, the construction and the invention of complex forms (Migliari, 2009). Visual computing is a multidisciplinary environment for scholars, practitioners, makers and users engaging the traditional challenges of design. Its broad field of influence makes studies about the subject attracting and continuously related to the evolution of workflows. For this reason the book includes chapters that cover several topics like geometry, descriptive geometry, digital design media, digital heritage, perspective-based design tools, generative tools, stereotomic design, technology and digital fabrication. applications related to the Second Industrial Revolution introduced by digital design media; as in the words of William J. Mitchell and Malcolm McCullough, a designer’s view point is taken throughout: devices and techniques are introduced as a means of pursuing serious design intentions rather than as illustrations of the principles of computer science and technology (Mitchell & McCullough, 1995). The aim to combine knowledge about geometry, representation and descriptive geometry with emerging tools for cad, generation and visualization of shapes and spaces and new technologies applications is giving the opportunity to develop also a source about digital heritage and its multidisciplinary fields of applications. The book addresses a multidisciplinary target and research challenges, as requested from market and industrial/institutional bodies, encompassing the specialist audience, academics and scholars, and the end-users, students, practitioners and company employees. The effort is to encounter the strong interest about publications that starting from the solid roots of fundamentals and demonstrate how emerging processes and digital tools are innovating the fields of design and educational practices