Embodied memory and curatorship in children’s digital video production

Digital video production in schools is often theorised, researched and written about in two ways: either as a part of media studies practice or as a technological innovation, bringing new, “creative”, digital tools into the curriculum. Using frameworks for analysis derived from multimodality theory, new literacy studies and theories of embodied identity, this study examines a video production made by two children who were taking part in a video project on the theme of self-representation and identity. Evidence was collected in the form of production notes, video interviews and the media text itself. The findings suggest that this way of working in new media can be thought of as a new literacy practice, metaphorically conceived as a form of “curatorship” of children’s own lives in the uses of multimodal editing tools for the intertextual organisation of digital media assets and their subsequent exhibition to peer groups and beyond

Lessons From New York City's Universal Pre-K Expansion: How a focus on diversity could make it even better

This brief is divided into two parts. The first provides background on how universal pre-K programs fit into the national landscape of early childhood policy, outlines the main features of New York City's current Universal Prekindergarten Program (UPK) expansion efforts, and draws lessons for other cities and states interested in expanding their programs. The second part provides an in-depth look at the issue of preschool classroom diversity in UPK, highlighting the opportunities and obstacles for integration embedded in current policies and recommending policy changes to address this issue in New York City and beyond

An Incomplete Archive of Unfinished Ideas

This work was an installation created for the exhibition ‘Memoranda’, shown at the Crafts Study Centre, Farnham in 2011. Curators Tessa Peters and Janice West invited Potter and three other artists to consider and respond to the archive of the Crafts Study Centre at UCA Farnham. The works produced were shown together with a selection of archive objects as the exhibition ‘Memoranda’. An accompanying publication contained essays by Daniel Miller, Dr Glenn Adamson and the curators, as well as interviews with the participating artists (2011). Potter’s ‘An Incomplete Archive of Unfinished Ideas’ was underpinned by collections research in the Craft Study Centre Archive. The final piece was informed by material Potter found there: a collection of ceramic test pieces produced by Lucie Rie and Edward Johnston’s instructional calligraphy (‘56 ‘A’s made as wrongly as possible’). In the ‘Memoranda’ interview, Potter discusses collections’ social role as classificatory mechanisms and their inherent capacity to divide completed objects from the processes of their making. Potter’s response highlights ‘elimination’ and ‘incompletion’ as intrinsic to making practice. Twenty-five containers for rejected experiments were carefully constructed and labelled; these invited viewers to consider craft as a form of memory and notation, rather than purely the skilful construction of objects. Potter offers an encounter with the truth of error, and underlines the role of process as a journey towards knowing. The work questions contemporary craft culture, which validates the artefact through the critics who endow it with ‘cultural capital’. ‘Memoranda’ was reviewed in Crafts (2011), an magazine (2011) and Museums Journal (2011) amongst others. A seminar was held during the exhibition, where Potter discussed working with the archive and the development of her response

Gender Swapping in World of Warcraft: A look into personal relationships and gender identity in the gaming environment

Massively multi player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are virtual environments that allow thousands of players to come together at one time to interact, fight monsters, and solve challenges. Role-playing in particular offers some unique benefits and opportunities that are not spared in its virtual equivalent. Gender-swapping, that is when a player chooses to play as a character that is the opposite gender of him or her is one of those benefits. This study will explore the phenomenon of gender-swapping, looking for the diverse reasons players may have to assume an identity so extremely opposite of their own. The purpose of this research is to answer the question “Why do people gender-swap in MMORPGs and how does that effect their interpersonal relationships within the game?” In order to answer this question it has been broken into three parts. First, how does gender-swapping affect the player in a casual group? Second this study looks at how gender swapping affects a closer group; in game these groups are called guilds. Last will be a quick analysis of class, the chosen job (i.e. Mage, Priest) taken on by a player in order to perform within their group; and group roll, the players job as either one who takes damage, deals damage or heals the group; as a form of non-verbal communication within the game

A Queer Perspective on Melodrama’s Social Life

A review of Jonathan Goldberg. 2016,' Melodrama: An Aesthetics of Impossibility', Durham, NC: Duke University Press

Exploring strategic approaches towards a sustainable transport system

This paper undertakes a ‘backcasting’ analysis exploring strategic approaches for overalsystems sustainability in personal transport. Starting from a robust definition of sustainability for the personal transport sector, the research examines the impact of combinations of transport technologies and changes in travel behaviour in reducing CO2 emissions towards a sustainable level. In doing this a simple equation model is used. This is purposely simple to provide a tool developing understanding by anyone exploring transport’s sustainability challenges. It is concluded that technical measures in isolation are likely to be ineffective and politically problematic. Equally, even substantial modal shift from car to public transport cannot on its own attain the sustainability target. A combined strategy of both technical improvements and demand management addressing trip length, trip generation and modal share can deliver the necessary improvement, although the implementation of such a package remains politically challenging

Purchase, circulation and fuel taxation

During the last decade, the UK and many other developed nations have reformed existing forms of road transport taxation to address a number of transport policy goals. This has involved modifying the design of purchase, circulation and fuel taxation to promote: • More fuel efficient vehicles • Alternative fuel vehicles • Cleaner fuels (lower emissions and/or low carbon) • Modal shift and traffic volume • Congestion reduction This chapter particularly explores the use of environmental taxation to promote Transport Demand Management (TDM) and identifies key principles of the design of such environmental taxes. It notes the importance of positioning a tax measure in relation to user decisions, its targeting and the threshold levels needed to provide a useful policy impact. Taxation measures considered include: • Initial vehicle purchase • ‘Circulation’ Tax on the ownership of vehicles • Tax on the use of vehicles It is concluded that purchase, circulation and fuel taxation can promote a variety of transport and environmental policy goals. It is important to distinguish between taxation measures to influence vehicle characteristics (technology, the type of fuel used and fuel economy) as opposed to the level vehicle use (TDM). Well designed purchase and circulation taxes can stimulate cleaner car technologies and fuels, but they are not an appropriate TDM measure. Road fuel duties are an effective general TDM measure but cannot be targeted on particular areas, times or for particular urban transport policy purposes. Road user charges can be targeted on such factors, and consequently, led by the established example of Singapore, followed by Norway and London, they are attracting much attention. The road transport taxation landscape is possibly set to change with many countries now seeing road user charges as potentially replacing the entire regime of transport taxation on purchase, ownership and fuel. But, rather than replacing fuel duties, evidence is mounting that to manage transport demand, road user charges need to be in addition to and not replace fuel and vehicle taxation. This may be a politically inconvenient truth, and the real challenge will be managing the transition towards an effective new transport taxation regime