Code, space and everyday life

In this paper we examine the role of code (software) in the spatial formation of collective life. Taking the view that human life and coded technology are folded into one another, we theorise space as ontogenesis. Space, we posit, is constantly being bought into being through a process of transduction – the constant making anew of a domain in reiterative and transformative practices - as an incomplete solution to a relational problem. The relational problem we examine is the ongoing encounter between individuals and environment where the solution, to a greater or lesser extent, is code. Code, we posit, is diversely embedded in collectives as coded objects, coded infrastructure, coded processes and coded assemblages. These objects, infrastructure, processes and assemblages possess technicity, that is, unfolding or evolutive power to make things happen; the ability to mediate, supplement, augment, monitor, regulate, operate, facilitate, produce collective life. We contend that when the technicity of code is operationalised it transduces one of three forms of hybrid spatial formations: code/space, coded space and backgrounded coded space. These formations are contingent, relational, extensible and scaleless, often stretched out across networks of greater or shorter length. We demonstrate the coded transduction of space through three vignettes – each a day in the life of three people living in London, UK, tracing the technical mediation of their interactions, transactions and mobilities. We then discuss how code becomes the relational solution to five different classes of problems – domestic living, travelling, working, communicating, and consuming

The contexts of use and the innovation of TV-centric network technologies: as viewers become consumer-users

This thesis seeks to explore something of the current nature of human, social and business contingencies constituting and motivating design, production, consumption and the use of technologies. It places a particular emphasis on the innovation of TV-centric network technologies - 'new' media technologies, particularly interactive television (i-Tv), intended to link, enhance or otherwise augment existing television technology and content. The empirical work in the thesis studied the development and implementation of a complex large-scale i-Tv trial in Cambridge, UK. Issues arising from the research led to the development of a general research framework - Contextual Usability (CU) - whose central aim is to draw awareness to the complex and multiple dimensions of the use process as a social and organisational construction, and also to redefine its place as an intrinsic experiential dimension in the domestication of products and services.Various senior managers and designers were interviewed within the company designing and producing the i-Tv technology and interface for the trial, as were 11 participant households. The author concludes with an overview suggesting the interconnected and interdependent nature of trials, technology, users, design, designers and organisation. For this he uses CU in relation to Molina's notion of Sociotechnical Constituencies to illustrate how social, cultural and organisational elements of trials both rely and impinge upon the implementation and interpretation of user and consumer research, and thus working 'images'of the user and the use process

Code and the Transduction of Space

The effects of software (code) on the spatial formation of everyday life are best understood through a theoretical framework that utilizes the concepts of technicity (the productive power of technology to make things happen) and transduction (the constant making anew of a domain in reiterative and transformative practices). Examples from the lives of three Londoners illustrate that code makes a difference to everyday life because its technicity alternatively modulates space through processes of transduction. Space needs to be theorized as ontogenetic, that is, understood as continually being brought into existence through transductive practices (practices that change the conditions under which space is (re)made). The nature of space transduced by code is detailed and illustrated with respect to domestic living, work, communication, transport, and consumption

Code and the Transduction of Space

The effects of software (code) on the spatial formation of everyday life are best understood through a theoretical framework that utilizes the concepts of technicity (the productive power of technology to make things happen) and transduction (the constant making anew of a domain in reiterative and transformative practices). Examples from the lives of three Londoners illustrate that code makes a difference to everyday life because its technicity alternatively modulates space through processes of transduction. Space needs to be theorized as ontogenetic, that is, understood as continually being brought into existence through transductive practices (practices that change the conditions under which space is (re)made). The nature of space transduced by code is detailed and illustrated with respect to domestic living, work, communication, transport, and consumption

Financial Services Segregation: Improving Access to Financial Services for Recent Latino Immigrants

This paper outlines elements of demand for financial services among recent Latino immigrants, summarizes key factors contributing to their financial segregation, and describes products, services and administrative practices that have been used successfully by depository institutions. Throughout the research and paper particular attention has been paid to the New England region.Remittances, Latin American immigrants, Banking, Best Practices, Anti-Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, USA Inmigrantes Latinoamericanos, banca, Mejores Practicas, anti lavado de dinero, financiamiento de terroristas, USA

Performance measurement methodology for integrated services networks

With the emergence of advanced integrated services networks, the need for effective performance analysis techniques has become extremely important. Further advancements in these networks can only be possible if the practical performance issues of the existing networks are clearly understood. This thesis is concerned with the design and development of a measurement system which has been implemented on a large experimental network. The measurement system is based on dedicated traffic generators which have been designed and implemented on the Project Unison network. The Unison project is a multisite networking experiment for conducting research into the interconnection and interworking of local area network based multi-media application systems. The traffic generators were first developed for the Cambridge Ring based Unison network. Once their usefulness and effectiveness was proven, high performance traffic generators using transputer technology were built for the Cambridge Fast Ring based Unison network. The measurement system is capable of measuring the conventional performance parameters such as throughput and packet delay, and is able to characterise the operational performance of network bridging components under various loading conditions. In particular, the measurement system has been used in a 'measure and tune' fashion in order to improve the performance of a complex bridging device. Accurate measurement of packet delay in wide area networks is a recognised problem. The problem is associated with the synchronisation of the clocks between the distant machines. A chronological timestamping technique has been introduced in which the clocks are synchronised using a broadcast synchronisation technique. Rugby time clock receivers have been interfaced to each generator for the purpose of synchronisation. In order to design network applications, an accurate knowledge of the expected network performance under different loading conditions is essential. Using the measurement system, this has been achieved by examining the network characteristics at the network/user interface. Also, the generators are capable of emulating a variety of application traffic which can be injected into the network along with the traffic from real applications, thus enabling user oriented performance parameters to be evaluated in a mixed traffic environment. A number of performance measurement experiments have been conducted using the measurement system. Experimental results obtained from the Unison network serve to emphasise the power and effectiveness of the measurement methodology

Joining the information society : access issues for Europeans

Abstract not availableeconomics of technology ;

Urban Squatting: An Adaptive Response to the Housing Crisis

From introduction: Urban squatting is the unauthorized occupation of empty buildings. Squatting is usually thought to be a Third World phenomenon associated with urbanization, poverty, and rural-urban migration. However, there is a history of squatting in the US and Europe as well. Squatting has been reported in New York, San Francisco, Newark, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Los Angeles. Since World War II and particularly in the last thirty years, urban squatting has received much attention in Europe. The major European centers for squatting have been London, Amsterdam, and Berlin.\u27 In Britain, the squatting of buildings scheduled for renovation or demolition became an organized and public movement. In the United States, squatting is a criminal offense and has not been widely publicized. Squatting has a dual purpose. It can provide immediate shelter while being a political tactic to draw attention to neighborhood neglect, the lack of available and affordable. low-cost housing, the dwindling stock of housing, and homelessness. This direct-action technique serves to empower its participants who are usually people disempowered through their participation in the housing system. Squatting has a long history in the United States. It was a common form of tenure during the pioneer and settler days of this country. The homesteading acts of the nineteenth century institutionalized it. Since then we have had different terms for the same actions. Whereas homesteading is a legal and institutionalized means of taking over and rehabilitating an abandoned building, squatting is not. Squatting is most common during periods of economic recession or depression. During the Great Depression, many squats or shantytowns appeared in towns all over the country. These Hoovervilles protested the lack of government response to the financial crisis. Additionally, they were organized and focused on mutual aid

Urban Squatting: An Adaptive Response to the Housing Crisis

From introduction: Urban squatting is the unauthorized occupation of empty buildings. Squatting is usually thought to be a Third World phenomenon associated with urbanization, poverty, and rural-urban migration. However, there is a history of squatting in the US and Europe as well. Squatting has been reported in New York, San Francisco, Newark, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Los Angeles. Since World War II and particularly in the last thirty years, urban squatting has received much attention in Europe. The major European centers for squatting have been London, Amsterdam, and Berlin.\u27 In Britain, the squatting of buildings scheduled for renovation or demolition became an organized and public movement. In the United States, squatting is a criminal offense and has not been widely publicized. Squatting has a dual purpose. It can provide immediate shelter while being a political tactic to draw attention to neighborhood neglect, the lack of available and affordable. low-cost housing, the dwindling stock of housing, and homelessness. This direct-action technique serves to empower its participants who are usually people disempowered through their participation in the housing system. Squatting has a long history in the United States. It was a common form of tenure during the pioneer and settler days of this country. The homesteading acts of the nineteenth century institutionalized it. Since then we have had different terms for the same actions. Whereas homesteading is a legal and institutionalized means of taking over and rehabilitating an abandoned building, squatting is not. Squatting is most common during periods of economic recession or depression. During the Great Depression, many squats or shantytowns appeared in towns all over the country. These Hoovervilles protested the lack of government response to the financial crisis. Additionally, they were organized and focused on mutual aid