The Singapore Flyer: experiencing Singaporean modernity through architecture, motion and Bergson

This article explores the post-construction history of the Singapore Flyer observation wheel as an experiential symbol of Singaporean modernity. Using an interdisciplinary intersection of history, theory, interpretation and photography (specially commissioned from the Singaporean photographer Christopher Cheng), the Flyer is disclosed as a mobile architecture by which the visitor is prompted to consider their position in relation to the wheel itself, to Singapore, and to the wider world. The ideas of Henri Bergson in particular are used as a speculative tool

Skateboarding and Street Culture

A wide range of ethnicities are also integrated into skateboarding, which since the mid-1990s has often been seen as a racially mixed world. Skateboarding’s multi-ethnicity could then be viewed as largely a matter of appearances and branding, close to Brayton’s ‘crossover’ culture and ‘limited to the consumption of essentialized black culture such as rap and basketball apparel’. Injuries sustained while skateboarding in the urban realm are integral to this male identity and act as a means to physically display the rider’s commitment to skateboarding on a public stage. On the surface at least, skateboarding has largely remained a predominantly male activity, particularly during the 1990s when skate magazines tended to emphasize the transgressive exploits of lone male street skaters riding illicit downtown skatespots in the middle of the night. Numerous websites and social media also promote female skateboarding, many carrying powerful messages

Detecting and Studying Higgs Bosons at a Photon-Photon Collider

We examine the potential for detecting and studying Higgs bosons at a photon-photon collider facility associated with a future linear collider. Our study incorporates realistic \gam\gam luminosity spectra based on the most probable available laser technology. Results include detector simulations. We study the cases of: a) a SM-like Higgs boson; b) the heavy MSSM Higgs bosons; c) a Higgs boson with no $WW/ZZ$ couplings from a general two Higgs doublet model.Comment: 52 pages, 26 figures, revised version with new appendi

Windsurfing : an extreme form of material and embodied interaction?

This paper makes reference to the development of water based board sports in the world of adventure or action games. With a specific focus on windsurfing, we use Parlebas (1999) and Warnier's (2001) theoretical interests in the praxaeology of physical learning as well as Mauss' (1935) work on techniques of the body. We also consider the implications of Csikzentimihalyi's notion of flow (1975). We argue that windsurfing equipment should not merely be seen as protection but rather as status objects through which extreme lifestyles are embodied and embodying