The Technological culture of war

The article proceeds from the argument that war is a social institution and not a historical inevitability of human interaction, that is, war can be “unlearned.” This process involves deconstructing/dismantling war as an institution in society. An important step in this process is to understand the philosophical and cultural bases on which technology is employed as “tools” of war. The article focuses on such questions as, Is technology just viewed as instruments in the hand of its human masters in war? Does technology take on an autonomous role in war? How should we assess the impact of context (political, economic, and cultural) of technology when employed in war? By exploring these points, the article hopes to provide input into the discussion on the control of war technologies and ultimately the dismantling of war as an institution in society

Videoconferencing in the Field: A Heuristic Processing Model

This research uses dual-process cognitive theory to describe how people process information differently when it is delivered via videoconference rather than when it is delivered face-to-face. According to this theory, relative to face-to-face communication, people in videoconferences tend to be more influenced by heuristic cues--such as how likeable they perceive the speaker to be--than by the quality of the arguments presented by the speaker. This is due to the higher cognitive demands that videoconferencing places on participants. We report on a field study of medical professionals in which we found differences in information processing as predicted: participants attending a seminar via videoconference were more influenced by the likeability of the speaker than by the quality of the arguments presented, whereas the opposite pattern was true for participants attending in-person. We also found that differences in cognitive load explain these effects. The discussion on the theoretical model and associated findings explains why prior videoconference studies have not consistently found main effects for media. The findings also show that videoconferencing is not like face-to-face communication, despite apparent similarities.computer-mediated communications, videoconferencing, cognitive workload, heuristic systematic model

Distant Neighbours: The New Geography of Animated Film Production in Europe

Cole A. Distant neighbours: the new geography of animated film production in Europe, Regional Studies 41, 1-14. A growing literature on the organization of cultural products industries has highlighted their tendency to cluster in tight agglomerations. The paper explores the implications of a case - animated feature-film production in Europe - that offers a notable exception to this tendency. The case is used to explore more deeply the logic of agglomeration in cultural production and to probe exceptions to this logic. Specific institutional strategies to help firms generate relational proximity and create a more supportive ecology are discussed. [image omitted] Cole A. Des voisins lointains: la nouvelle geographie de la production de films d'animation en Europe, Regional Studies 41, 1-14. La documentation croissante sur l'organisation des industries de produits culturels a souligne la tendance a l'agglomeration serree. Cet article cherche a en examiner les implications pour ce qui est de la production de films d'animation de long metrage en Europe, qui fait une exception notable a cette regle. On se sert de cette etude de cas afin d'approfondir la tendance de la production culturelle a s'agglomerer et d'en examiner les exceptions. On discute des strategies institutionnelles precises destinees a aider les entreprises a produire la proximite relationnelle et a creer une meilleure ecologie de soutien. Film d'animation Production culturelle Ecologies de projet Reseaux socio-geographiques Cole A. Entfernte Nachbarn: die neue Geografie der Zeichentrickfilm-Produktion in Europa, Regional Studies 41, 1-14. Abstract. In der Literatur uber die Organisation der Kulturproduktbranchen wird immer haufiger auf die Tendenz dieser Betriebe hingewiesen, sich zu engen Agglomerationen zu bundeln. In diesem Beitrag werden die Auswirkungen in einem konkreten Fall untersucht: dem des Zeichentrickfilms in Europa, der eine bemerkenswerte Ausnahme von dieser Tendenz darstellt. Anhand dieses Falls wird die Logik der Agglomeration in der Kulturproduktion eingehender ergrundet, und es wird nach Ausnahmen von dieser Logik gesucht. Ebenso werden spezifische institutionelle Strategien erortert, mit denen den Firmen dabei geholfen werden kann, fur Beziehungsnahe zu sorgen und eine unterstutzendere Okologie zu schaffen. Zeichentrickfilme Kulturproduktion Projektokologien Sozialraumliche Netzwerke Cole A. Vecinos distantes: la nueva geografia en las producciones de peliculas de animacion en Europa, Regional Studies 41, 1-14. En la literatura sobre la organizacion de la industria de productos culturales se observa una creciente tendencia a organizarse en aglomeraciones hermeticas. En este articulo analizamos las repercusiones de un caso de produccion de dibujos animados en Europa que se caracteriza por ser la excepcion de esta tendencia. Con ayuda de este caso investigamos minuciosamente la logica de la aglomeracion en producciones culturales y demostramos las excepciones a esta regla. Asimismo argumentamos las estrategias institucionales especificas que ayudan a estas empresas a generar una proximidad de relaciones y crear una ecologia con mas soporte. Animacion Produccion cultural Ecologias de proyectos Redes socioespacialesAnimation, Cultural production, Project ecologies, Socio-spatial networks,

The Grey Album:

In the field of digital sampling, disk jockeys have shown a recent enthusiasm for 'mash-ups' - new compositions created by combining the rhythm tracks of one song and the vocal track of another. Most famously of all, DJ Danger Mouse remixed the vocals from Jay-Z's The Black Album and the Beatles' White Album and called his creation The Grey Album. The Grey Album poses a number of difficult issues regarding copyright law and digital sampling. Does such a 'mash-up' go beyond the de minimis use of a copyright work? Is The Grey Album protected by the defence of fair use under copyright law because it provides a transformative use of copyright works? Can such remixes be compulsorily licensed? Does a 'mash-up' raise issues concerning the moral rights of attribution and integrity, which are recognised in Europe and Australia