MediaCity 4: reflecting on pluralities and globalities of MediaCities
International Conference, Workshops and Exhibition University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
3-5 May 2013 Call for Paper Abstracts DEADLINE: 12 November 2012
"What new lines of inquiry and emergent relations between urbanity and digital media are found in non-Western cities, in post-Capitalist cities, in cities hosting civic turbulence or crossing international boundaries? What urban-medial relations are taking shape differently in urban milieux that may have been heretofore overlooked? These cities are deserving of more attention than ever before, as sites of population growth, of new cultural and social formations, of new entanglements between urban life and contemporary media, communications and information technologies, and more. MediaCities promises to expand our understanding of both media and the city today, and to articulate new sites of practice and working methods for an expanding field. ...
Areas of interest may fall broadly into several themes, with the assumption that others will appear in the process of proposals and discussion leading up to the event, always expanding our lexicon and mental maps of MediaCities globally. These themes are: Other Urbans, Uncommons, Zero Growth Cities, Media Geographies and Bordervilles."
(Jordan Geiger)
Fig.1 Reuters/Sheng Li (2011), "ethnic Dong minority woman uses her mobile phone to take a picture of herself after a Kam Grand Choir gathering in Tongguan village of Liping county, Guizhou province". [http://pixtale.net/2011/10/21st-century-china/#img33]
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Information Environments: Realising the geo/graphic landscape of the everyday
"Graphic design and typography give visual form to communication. For geographers this is the oft-ignored liminal space between landscape and its description, author and reader. For designers it is a crucial part of the communication process. This practice-led inquiry proposes that by developing a cross-disciplinary geo/graphic design process thus establishing the visualisation of space as a process itself, and not by the product of scientific investigation, designers will engage with place in a more proactive and productive way in terms of community, content and communication. Chosen for its complexity and its contrasting juxtapositions, the London Borough of Hackney will be used as the research and testing ground for the enquiry. Contrasting definitions of place will be used to underpin the project. [Doreen] Massey's notion of place as process and [Yi-Fu] Tuan's vision of place as pause will frame the study in such a way as to recognise place as a postmodern site of spontaneity and chance, but one that is shaped and known by events both past and present. An ethnographic methodology will be used to gather and analyse content. Methods of collection will include cultural probes, participant observation and interviews. This content will then be used to develop a series of print based design projects that will explore the problem of representation in a postmodern context, and lead to the articulation and testing of a geo/graphic design process."
(Alison Barnes, London College of Communication)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Urban Geography Research Group
"Welcome to the Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers Urban Geography Research Group (UGRG). This site contains information about the UGRG Committee , its various activities and events, and details on joining our mailing list. It is designed to present useful urban research and teaching resources (such as images and syllabi) to members and other interested browsers.
The UGRG is committed to the support and promotion of urban geography as an intellectual field and sub-discipline. We are committed to developing constructive dialogue between different analytical, theoretical and methodological traditions of urban geography and urban studies, and to increasing the profile of female and early career urban geographers."
(Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Christchurch Quake Map: Google Maps API + GeoNet data
"After the [4 September] 2010 Canterbury Earthquake, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake near Christchurch, New Zealand, the region has been hit by hundreds of aftershocks - many of them widely felt around Christchurch, and some of which have caused further damage.
The Christchurch Quake Map on this website aims to present a time-lapse visualisation of the earthquake and its aftershocks, primarily to help those outside the affected area understand what those of us in Canterbury are experiencing. It plots earthquake data from GeoNet on a map using the Google Maps API, with the size of the circle denoting the magnitude (the higher the magnitude, the larger the circle) and the colour showing the focal depth (see the legend below the map)."
(Paul Nicholls 2010, University of Canterbury)
[While this is a great tool -it is a shame that more consideration hasn't been paid to its use e.g. enabling users to link directly to a specific earthquake or making it easy to embed the map within a host site.]
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
The UK Soundmap project: mapping Britain's sonic environment
"The SoundMap is a partnership project of the British Library and the Noise Futures Network. It uses widely available mobile technology in a novel way to capture and aggregate research-quality audio samples. Your recordings will be studied by experts from the Noise Futures Network and we shall post an overview of the research results once sufficient data has been collected and analysed.
Britain's sonic environment is ever changing. Urbanisation, transport developments, climate change and even everyday lifestyles all affect our built and natural soundscapes. The sounds around us have an impact on our well being. Some sounds have a positive or calming influence. Others can be intrusive and disturbing or even affect our health. By capturing sounds of today and contributing to the British Library's digital collections you can help build a permanent researchable resource."
(The British Library Board)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
