Research Report - October 2009. Elaboration of the Module: Definition of the Programme

Alternative innovative didactic methodology is needed to reduce premature school drop out,particularly of young people at risk of exclusion, such as migrants, ethnic groups and children/teenagers from difficult socio-economic background). The key point is to modify the way to deliver learning. Cultural enrichment through young interestas such as music and art, use of technologies, social competencies, problem-solving skills incomputer science, autonomy and sense of purpose may help childhood and adolescence to achieve an improved engagement in school and a sense of educational accomplishmen

Norm Contaminated

Norm contaminated is a sound piece commissioned by Arts Catalyst for the Exhibition “Brownsea: an imaginary island (an island of the imaginary)” 22/03/2018 to 12/05/2018 - Arts Catalyst, 74-76 Cromer Street, King's Cross, London. Norm Contaminated is part of a series of artists’ projects, curatorial interventions, and transdisciplinary research Test Sites: Poole which is curated and produced by Arts Catalyst and it is the result of a field work taken place the 22nd of February 2018 around the Perenco Oil Farm, Poole. The commission for the exhibition and co-inquiry aimed to respond to the issue to involve the local community to respond collectively to social and environmental challenges in the local area of the Poole harbour

OB-scene, a live audio/visual performance for photoplethysmograph and female body

OB-scene is a performance centred on a live sonification of biological data gathered in real-time with a medical vaginal probe (photoplethysmograph), made by the author. The use of the photoplethysmograph, which takes inspiration from the first medical vaginal probes used for diagnostic purposes by Masters and Johnson (1966) introduces a media-archaeological aspect to this work. Data gathered through the probe is processed and transformed into sound and visuals projected in the exhibition space. OB-scene takes inspiration from Jane Bennett’s Vibrant Matter (2010) in which she argues that human agency has echoes in non-human nature and vice versa, shifting away from anthropocentrism towards the concept of ‘vital materiality’ that runs across bodies, both humans and unhuman. Furthermore, OB-scene is affiliated with an emerging movement of women and technology called ‘XenoFeminism’ (XF). It introduces the idea of techno-alienation and focuses on the concept of other/diverse desires, new forms of desiring, experiencing something other (Laboria Cuboniks 2015). In this specific work, this takes the form of a technofeminism incorporating the fluid, the non-human and the diverse. In this performance, the body is fused with the technology, rather than empowered or enhanced by technology itself, body and technology become a unique actant (Latour 2009) enabling the audience to experience the sensorial assemblage as a space for communal experience with political implications. OB-scene is as an immersive environmental work where the senses, affect and memory were key features of ‘assemblage thinking’ (Hamilakis 2017)

Keen-skin, an installation based on haptic sensation and neurological data

Humans haptic interaction relates to all aspects of touch and body movement but also to the application of human senses to the digital interactive language. This involves not only sensation and perception, but also emotional response. Interpersonal touch is an undervalued aspect of human nature; the proposed installation aims to create an environment where the most profound communication channel for humans takes a renewed meaningful role. “It is touch that give our sense of “reality”…. Not only our geometry and physics but our whole conception of what exists outside us, is based on the sense of touch.” (Russel 1969). The virtual environment was created through sounds generated by the electroencephalography data gathered during the users interaction. The original software is programmed used Max/MSP over OSC-router and the sound will be spatialized through a quadraphonic sound diffusion system

The Rainbow Prim Algorithm for Selecting Putative Orthologous Protein Sequences

We present a selection method designed for eliminating species redundancy in clusters of putative orthologous sequences, to be applied as a post-processing procedure to pre-clustered data obtained from other methods. The algorithm can always zero-out the cluster redundancy while preserving the number of species of the original cluster

Tuning the Hyperdrone

The HyperDrone is an instrument that generates acoustic waves taken from the data generated by seismic sensors across the surface of the entire globe. The data here is supplied by the Atomic Weapons Establishment Blacknest, Reading UK, which is part of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) which monitors the ground for nuclear-scale explosions. This data is now contributing to other systems, such as early warning earthquake and tsunami alerts data.The entire network acts as a 'hyper' object, that is, a form which is too large (in scale of space/time etc), or too small in scale (of visibility etc), to be perceived by humans without the use of scientific systems. Data is arranged to be played back to generate resonance - a hyper 'drone' through the radome panel itself. The panel has been developed to work with a resonating geometric ‘tensegrity’ structure which was designed and made from aluminium and steel by Rob Smith during his artist residency at Wysing, where the Hyper Drone is currently located

Teaching Computer Music to academically Engage At-risk Students

Music and technologies forge direct links between self and world, self-expression can become more fluent especially when a pupil learns by experience; music helps interpret individual skills and makes the connection between self-discipline and performance in life. A pilot project conducted as a LLP (2009) serves in this paper as case study in order to propose an advanced method to address the widespread problem of dropout from school. Creating a different atmosphere, stimulating the senses, creating new and personal “tunes” helped not only to break the routine but also to develop own “intelligences” (Bornstein and Gardner 1986) in order to create a personal representation of knowledge (Bryson and Hand 2007). The project involved didactic theories from the computer music and the positive outcomes associated with the use of ICTs in order to help students to fall back into learning. Even though the final qualitative and quantitative result of the project in terms of general engagement and key-competence achievement and cross curriculum competences was clear, the paper states further improvements in the method critisising and proposing a renewed approach. In a multicultural context where the main necessity is providing a curriculum that could work for different Countries, the adaptation of a holistic methodology - where the environment is more important that the actual content - could work to achieve the major aim of academic engagement especially when caused by different factors related to different cultures

The Hyperdrone #1 and #2

Two sound pieces for seismic data, Supercollider, later also adapted for Loudspeaker Orchestra, prepared piano and Theremin. Originality The soundscape “Hyperdrone” is a soundscape commissioned by Office of Experiments. The use of the media is seen in the project as a positive model of action and carries a political significance due to the nature of the data utilised for the composition. The data was supplied by the Atomic Weapons Establishment Blacknest, Reading UK, which is part of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO), which monitors the ground for nuclear scale explosions. This data is now contributing to other systems, such as early warning earthquake and tsunami alerts data. This network was created for the purposes of maintaining peace through an International Treaty which bans nuclear weapons development and testing and is an example of what can be achieved through cooperation, even if the positive contributions it now makes to seismic monitoring of natural events are a side effect of its true intention. Rigor The sonification aggregates data from a range of seismic stations. Data gathering was a significant part of the research process, before it could be programmed into a soundscape. The audio is arranged to be played back at frequencies that generate resonance in the immediate environment, making objects and bodies vibrate and hum. Significance The project extends research undertaken into the global techno-scientific sites, from labs to observatories that support advances in human development; experimentation, scientific instruments, supercomputing advances etc. The author of the soundscape was invited to exhibit it in various galleries and academic conferences nationally and internationally such as The Wysing Arts Centre (Cambridge, 2015), The exhibition 9 events curated by Neal White and Tine O’Connell at the Dyson Gallery, Royal College of Arts, (London 2016), The exhibition Sites of Excavation and Construction curated by Neal White at the gallery Objectif Exhibitions (Antwerp 2016). The Hyperdone was performed for the Theremin Centenary Concert - Loudspeaker Orchestra Concert and executed by Lydia Kavina at the St Alfege Church, 3 Greenwich Church Street, London

Teaching Peace: place-making for digital curricula

The poster presents research aligning with the strategic theme "Praxis of Digital Transformation". The event was held to launch the new UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab's E-Team for Education and Digital Skills

Teaching peace: supporting students’ agency in the curriculum with place-making pedagogy

Improving students’ condition of life and contributing to economic and social development are key aspects HE should include in its priorities during and after a pandemic. Student agency refers to the quality of engagement of students with their environment. This involves concepts of power and will, and of course “possibilities” and “aims”. Embedding mechanisms to support students’ agency constitutes a win-win opportunity. The benefits of supporting students’ agency touch areas of great interest for HE in the UK: engagement, attainment, wellbeing, graduate outcomes, employability and inclusivity. The areas students engage the most at university have a common denominator: improving themselves and their condition of life. Through their agency, they can also contribute to the development of others and more broadly also economic and social development (Klemencic, 2015). As students are likely to seek to deploy some influence on their educational trajectories, their future lives and their immediate and larger social surroundings, it would be very valuable considering a more collaborative approach to model the learning environments through students’ support. With this specific aim in mind, during the pandemic, we have adopted a communication framework called Non-Violent Communication (Marshall, 2015) at the BSc Creative Computing, which led to a student-led flipped class pedagogy model adapted to their needs. We measured the improvement of the quality of learning/teaching environment, engagement and wellbeing for both tutors and students