DRS AGM & Symposium 2013: The Value of Design Research
"You are warmly invited to attend the DRS 2013 AGM and Symposium at Loughborough Design School, UK on Monday 17th June 2013. This year symposium's theme is 'Value of Design Research'. We are fortunate to secure three prominent design researchers to address this year symposium's theme."
(Erik Bohemia)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
The University of Sheffield Arts Tower paternoster lift
"The Arts Tower's paternoster lift has 38 carriages which could make it the largest of the few surviving paternosters in the UK, and possibly the largest in the world.
A paternoster is a lift made up of a chain of open carriages, each for two people, that move in a loop up and down the building without stopping. The cars travel slowly enough so that passengers can step on or off at any floor they like.
Paternoster lift in action
When you get to the very top or the very bottom of the building, the cars move horizontally across before continuing vertically upwards or downwards and at this point, everything goes dark while you travel behind the wall (rather than in the open air as happens during the rest of the journey).
You can also get around the Arts Tower by normal elevator, and stairs of course - but there are 20 storeys to the building so it's a fit and brave person who decides to walk to the top by staircase!"
(BBC South Yorkshire, 19/09/2008)
Fig.1 James Benedict Brown "University of Sheffield Arts Tower Paternoster", Uploaded on 22 Dec 2007.
Fig.2 Richard France (16 April 2012) [http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardfrance/7103541017/].
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
The Open Road: an early travelogue in colour
"In 1924 Claude Friese-Greene (cinematographer and son of moving-image pioneer William) embarked on an intrepid road trip from Land's End to John O'Groats. He recorded his journey on film, using an experimental colour process. Entitled The Open Road, this remarkable travelogue was conceived as a series of 26 short episodes, to be shown weekly at the cinema."
(Independent Cinema Office, UK)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Earth houses give pupils refuge from Heathrow noise
"Buildings originally designed for earthquake and emergency zones in Asia and Africa are now being erected in London playgrounds to shield schoolchildren from the noise of aircraft landing at Heathrow. ...
The superadobe design was an invention of the Iranian architect Nader Khalili, originally with a view to lunar settlements but first employed in a refugee crisis after the 1990-91 Gulf war, before answering the needs of west London's noise-afflicted schoolchildren. The buildings can withstand tremors with a magnitude of up to 5.7. Their domes are also immune to the damage occasionally wrought on local homes' tiled roofs by vortices from incoming jets.
The headteacher, Kathryn Harper-Quinn, estimates that when outside, teachers are rendered inaudible to pupils for 25 seconds in every 90. 'I've been very concerned about the effects of the noise on the children's learning,' she said.
In the huts, she added, 'you can still hear the planes but you can also hear your own voice'. She said that as outdoor learning was both valued by teachers and a statutory part of the curriculum, staff had developed strategies to deal with aircraft noise, including the use of whistles to alert children who could not hear when teachers were speaking.
She said it was also important that the adobe structures were a refuge for children outside lesson times. 'When kids are playing they are also developing their language skills, and in the playground again they're being interrupted.'"
(Gwyn Topham, 22 April 2013, The Guardian)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Consultation to reclassify and measure the UK Creative Industries
"The purpose of this consultation is to update the DCMS Creative Industries classification and we are inviting input from interested parties. We have been engaging with industry and partner organisations over potential changes via a Technical Working Group of the Creative Industries Council and are now at a point where we would like to go out to consultation and seek wider views.
We have been working with partners (NESTA, Creative Skillset and Creative and Cultural Skills), to review and update the classification used in the DCMS Creative Industries Economic Estimates (CIEE). We intend to use this review 'Classifying and Measuring the Creative Industries', referenced below, as an objective starting point to suggest which occupations and industries should be included in the updated DCMS classification.
The review uses the idea of 'creative intensity' (the proportion of people doing creative jobs within each industry) to suggest which industries should be included. If the proportion of people doing creative jobs in a particular industry is substantial, above a 30% threshold, the industries are candidates for inclusion within the Creative Industries classification.
Similar to the outlook in our current Creative Industries Economic Estimates, the 'creative intensity' approach focuses on industries where the creative activity happens. The intention is to produce a classification which provides direct estimates of employment and the contribution to the economy, with no double counting - rather than attempting to capture all activity further down the value chain, for example, retail activities. The classification generated in this way can be used as a starting point for indirect estimates which include wider economic effects along the supply chain.
Any approach has data and methods constraints, which may affect some industries more than others. These limitations are reflected in the consultation and consultees are invited to suggest alternatives, supported by evidence-based argument. Weaknesses in the underlying classifications and data used to construct these estimates, which are identified by users, will be fed-back to the organisations which set these standards and provide these data so that we can influence longer-term improvements."
(Department for Culture, Media & Sport, 19 April 2013)
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Simon PerkinsSHARE
