Creation and Publication of the "Digital Manual": Authority, Authorship and Voice
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Edinburgh College of Art
Abstract
The key aim of this project will be the development of a multi-disciplinary research network that will, first, interact on the issues surrounding creation and publication of the Digital Manual during the six month period and, second, will be charged with a generative role in determining related research questions and activities thereafter with a view to seeking a longer and larger grant to explore those questions. The development of such a research network will be aided and informed by a scoping study of open source creative communities and a research workshop.
A scoping study will be conducted examining four creative communities that utilise technology to create and publish digital manual(s): FakePress Publishing (Italy/global), FLOSS Manuals (Netherlands/global), UpStage (UK/New Zealand/global), and Sauti ya Wakulima (Spain/Tanzania). These case studies reflect upon the nature of co-creation in networked communities that are international, multi-locational and transcultural. Employing qualitative research methods (semi-structured interviews and focus groups), the research team will investigate the structures of power within these creative communities. The case studies will explore representations and understandings of multi-authored digital texts and changing notions of authorship, control and power.
This project defines the Digital Manual as a model of emergent multi-authored publication employing open source and co-creative practices and each of the above communities employ a slight different type of Digital Manual. Such digital manuals, emerging forms of the book, function as a resource and platform for digital practitioners, including artists, in their use and manipulation of technology for new forms of writing and publishing. More broadly, studying the digital manual relates to concerns with emerging forms of authorship, production and knowledge-making and how these might be intrinsic to processes of social formation.
For example, FakePress Publishing provides a series of ubiquitous technology and augmented reality publishing platforms as well as online workshops which function as a resource for other digital practitioners, new media artists, university students and individuals interested in learning about these new forms of publishing. FakePress Publishing also organises domestic and international workshops for different audiences (e.g. web designers, digital artists, university postgraduate courses and secondary education programmes). Both these activities allow the members of FakePress Publishing to share practices as well as co-create digital publications and enable a physical and virtual creative community to form. Engaging the structures of interpersonal relations within this type of emerging creative community can help in investigating shifts in authority and voice, within co-creative practices, more widely. Further, open source philosophy underlies the aims and activities of the community. This indicates presence of motivations, meanings and value associated with use of open licensing as well as the process of collaborative authorship. This has wider implications for understanding changing notions of control and ownership over creative output in the digital era as well as potential to inform regulatory frameworks, such as copyright law.
The final stage of the project will be a two-day workshop where network members and case study participants will participate in a series of discussions on the findings of the scoping study. During the workshop, the research team will aim to identify possibilities for future collaboration and the establishing of a consortium to investigate themes and issues emerging from the project. This project, through empirical knowledge gathered from primary research and development of a research network of experts on the topic (academics, practitioners and artists), will be a stepping stone for further in-depth study of digital co-creation and publication.
A scoping study will be conducted examining four creative communities that utilise technology to create and publish digital manual(s): FakePress Publishing (Italy/global), FLOSS Manuals (Netherlands/global), UpStage (UK/New Zealand/global), and Sauti ya Wakulima (Spain/Tanzania). These case studies reflect upon the nature of co-creation in networked communities that are international, multi-locational and transcultural. Employing qualitative research methods (semi-structured interviews and focus groups), the research team will investigate the structures of power within these creative communities. The case studies will explore representations and understandings of multi-authored digital texts and changing notions of authorship, control and power.
This project defines the Digital Manual as a model of emergent multi-authored publication employing open source and co-creative practices and each of the above communities employ a slight different type of Digital Manual. Such digital manuals, emerging forms of the book, function as a resource and platform for digital practitioners, including artists, in their use and manipulation of technology for new forms of writing and publishing. More broadly, studying the digital manual relates to concerns with emerging forms of authorship, production and knowledge-making and how these might be intrinsic to processes of social formation.
For example, FakePress Publishing provides a series of ubiquitous technology and augmented reality publishing platforms as well as online workshops which function as a resource for other digital practitioners, new media artists, university students and individuals interested in learning about these new forms of publishing. FakePress Publishing also organises domestic and international workshops for different audiences (e.g. web designers, digital artists, university postgraduate courses and secondary education programmes). Both these activities allow the members of FakePress Publishing to share practices as well as co-create digital publications and enable a physical and virtual creative community to form. Engaging the structures of interpersonal relations within this type of emerging creative community can help in investigating shifts in authority and voice, within co-creative practices, more widely. Further, open source philosophy underlies the aims and activities of the community. This indicates presence of motivations, meanings and value associated with use of open licensing as well as the process of collaborative authorship. This has wider implications for understanding changing notions of control and ownership over creative output in the digital era as well as potential to inform regulatory frameworks, such as copyright law.
The final stage of the project will be a two-day workshop where network members and case study participants will participate in a series of discussions on the findings of the scoping study. During the workshop, the research team will aim to identify possibilities for future collaboration and the establishing of a consortium to investigate themes and issues emerging from the project. This project, through empirical knowledge gathered from primary research and development of a research network of experts on the topic (academics, practitioners and artists), will be a stepping stone for further in-depth study of digital co-creation and publication.
Planned Impact
This project will have a number of beneficiaries from academia, creative practices, new media arts, creative commons and a wider public interested in digital publications, co-creative practices, authorship and copyright. Outside of the academic sector, this research will be relevant to several creative communities both directly and indirectly involved in this project as well those not involved in this project.
Direct beneficiaries (non-academic):
- Artists, practitioners and projects that are part of the study: these groups and individuals will benefit from having their projects documented and evaluated, and from the final report. Case studies' participants will be engaged as direct beneficiaries of the research process from the outset, through online discussions with the research team and the network members.The process of contributing to the research will be an opportunity for them to think about and plan for the improved sustainability of their projects. The case studies' participants will have the opportunity to meet one another and network members to exchange views and experiences on the focal issues of this project but also on their creative practices. Similarly, the creative communities that form part of the case studies can be indirect beneficiaries of the research process. For example, since one of the project's aim is to investigate the structures of power within the four case studies, the research team would look at the different voices present in these creative communities.
- Other creative communities for co-creation and digital publication: the research will benefit other creative communities that are sustaining co-creative practices and digital publications by providing useful documentation, models and ideas and fostering discourse in this field. The research team, with the assistance of the four creative communities and network members, will target other similar communities and liaise with them to disseminate this research.
- The non-academic network members (i.e. Michel Bauwens, Chris Meade) of the project will also be direct beneficiaries. The research questions of the project complement the research interests and activities of the non-academic network members', such as co-creation, digital publication, the future of the book; history of copyright; and the formation of creative communities and the structure of social relations within them. The project will allow non-academic network members to reflect on their own practices and engage in dialogues on how their interests intersect with those of other network members during the project. In addition, it may serve as a platform for networking and collaboration out with the duration of the project.
Other non-academic beneficiaries:
- Artists and practitioners considering initiating co-creative and multi-voiced projects: this research could be a valuable tool for artists and practitioners considering initiating co-creative projects using open source software within their particular discipline, as it may help them to avoid common pitfalls and save time and resources by learning from others' experiences. The workshop will also be beneficial to local new media artists who will be invited to participate on the second day.
- General public: An essential activity and outcome of this project will be a multi-media weblog hosted by the University of Edinburgh (remaining publicly available for at least five years after the end of the project). It will consist of the final report on the scoping study as well as documentation of project activities, such as extracts from interviews and discussion texts. This weblog will be open and free to the general public. The weblog and report will be promoted widely through open source networks, online arts communities, academic networks and other communities of interest.
Direct beneficiaries (non-academic):
- Artists, practitioners and projects that are part of the study: these groups and individuals will benefit from having their projects documented and evaluated, and from the final report. Case studies' participants will be engaged as direct beneficiaries of the research process from the outset, through online discussions with the research team and the network members.The process of contributing to the research will be an opportunity for them to think about and plan for the improved sustainability of their projects. The case studies' participants will have the opportunity to meet one another and network members to exchange views and experiences on the focal issues of this project but also on their creative practices. Similarly, the creative communities that form part of the case studies can be indirect beneficiaries of the research process. For example, since one of the project's aim is to investigate the structures of power within the four case studies, the research team would look at the different voices present in these creative communities.
- Other creative communities for co-creation and digital publication: the research will benefit other creative communities that are sustaining co-creative practices and digital publications by providing useful documentation, models and ideas and fostering discourse in this field. The research team, with the assistance of the four creative communities and network members, will target other similar communities and liaise with them to disseminate this research.
- The non-academic network members (i.e. Michel Bauwens, Chris Meade) of the project will also be direct beneficiaries. The research questions of the project complement the research interests and activities of the non-academic network members', such as co-creation, digital publication, the future of the book; history of copyright; and the formation of creative communities and the structure of social relations within them. The project will allow non-academic network members to reflect on their own practices and engage in dialogues on how their interests intersect with those of other network members during the project. In addition, it may serve as a platform for networking and collaboration out with the duration of the project.
Other non-academic beneficiaries:
- Artists and practitioners considering initiating co-creative and multi-voiced projects: this research could be a valuable tool for artists and practitioners considering initiating co-creative projects using open source software within their particular discipline, as it may help them to avoid common pitfalls and save time and resources by learning from others' experiences. The workshop will also be beneficial to local new media artists who will be invited to participate on the second day.
- General public: An essential activity and outcome of this project will be a multi-media weblog hosted by the University of Edinburgh (remaining publicly available for at least five years after the end of the project). It will consist of the final report on the scoping study as well as documentation of project activities, such as extracts from interviews and discussion texts. This weblog will be open and free to the general public. The weblog and report will be promoted widely through open source networks, online arts communities, academic networks and other communities of interest.
Publications
Biggs S.
(2016)
"Autoría distributiva y comunidades creativas" (translated in Spanish) - Original Title: Distributing authorship & creative communities
in Centro de Cultura Digital
Travlou P
(2018)
Sharing within a city in crisis: Two ICTs-supported P2P economic networks in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece
in International Journal of Electronic Governance
Travlou, P.
(2012)
Remediating the Social
Travlou, P.
(2015)
Electronic Literature Communities
Travlou, P.
(2014)
Electronic Literature as a Model of Creativity and Innovation in Practice
| Description | The project helped in a number of ways to develop our initial understanding of the AHRC Digital Transformations theme: In the project, we adopted a reflective approach and queried the meaning of the term 'digital manual' itself as well the suitability of terms like "text, book, and publication" for digital creation and output. Questions to this effect formed part of both the scoping study and the workshop. The project was aimed at engaging primarily with the issue of "text", albeit in an expanded form (as such it also looked at performance and creativity e.g. the case studies involved utilization of technology to provide and improve possibilities for performance). However, one important finding in this respect was the need to look beyond the concept of 'text' itself, as well as the 'manual' as a 'textual object.' The terms "text, book, and publication" have broad yet entrenched meanings within various disciplines and practices and an inter-disciplinary project may benefit from the use of language of 'the digital' rather analogue as well as a focus on the 'practices of making and remaking' rather than the output itself e.g. a publication. In this way, the project helped us in understanding as well as moving beyond our initial definition and contextualization of the term 'digital manual.' In the digital environment, building trust amongst digital practitioners and their audience and equally between academics and non-academics was also found to be an important challenge in itself. The project helped confirm the importance of several issues that were explored within the case studies as well identify new related and relevant issues: There are several challenges in co-creative projects that are based around utilizing the potential of digital technologies to transform practices of creation and publication. Some examples of relevant issues are: a) while there is presence of expanded notions of authorship and ownership in collaborative practices, there is lack of clear or settled norms at the moment b) there are several areas of tensions between assertion or exploitation of authorship and ownership with the purpose of community formation in digital co-creative activities c) while there is no one model to fund co-creative practices, there are important tensions between economic sustainability in open collaborative projects with fairness and reciprocity amongst the participants d) the role of Intellectual Property rights in co-creative practices (not just copyright but also patents and other rights) is pertinent and should be explored further particularly with a view to charting out emergent models of their exploitation in collaborative scenarios. Although our initial scope was to look at online 'communities', the project showed that the focus should move towards 'networks'. For example, the keyword 'community' is limiting in its scope and definition as the scope of the projects of some case studies' participants is not to form communities but rather to enable and/or strengthen multiple voices within networks of users through sharing knowledge practices digitally. Several relevant issues that were not explicitly within the scope of the project also emerged. Some examples are: censorship and identity and purpose of censors in co-creative scenario; inclusivity and exclusivity in process of community formation; language barriers and translation; trust among community members; and, readability and accuracy of digital manuals. hile the project focused on the process of "creation and publication", it emerged that this process cannot be segregated from "consumption and user experience" (e.g. because consumption is no more linear and the meanings involved are varied and continuously evolving). As such, a broader and more holistic scope which combines 'the creation and production process' with 'consumption, meaning making and further creation' would be useful in any further study on issues of authority and power in the digital environment. https://sites.eca.ed.ac.uk/digital-manual/ |
| Exploitation Route | The impact of our funded research is two-fold: first, our findings can be useful to other scholars who look at network communities, digital literacy and Intellectual Property Law. As our research was focused on specific case studies, we came across some novel ideas on the definition of community-building, attribution and power structures in distributed networks of digital practitioners. Second, the findings can be also useful for the digital artist communities to understand in more depth issues around licensing and copyright as well as what strengthens their community e.g. trust, collaboration and peer production. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://sites.eca.ed.ac.uk/digital-manual/ |
| Description | From Sharing to Caring: Examining Socio-Technical Aspects of the Collaborative Economy |
| Organisation | European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) |
| Department | COST Action |
| Country | Belgium |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The main objective of this COST Action is to develop a European network of actors (including scholars, practitioners, communities and policy makers) focusing on the development of collaborative economy models and platforms and on social and technological implications of the collaborative economy through a practice-focused approach. The project has officially started in March 2017 and will last for four years. I've been part of the Core Management Group leading the first work package which is the collection of case studies across the 27 partner institutions to develop a deeper understanding of the collaborative economy phenomenon in all its aspects, by studying in-depth the sociotechnical systems and human practices involved, comparing and reflecting upon local, regional, national and international initiatives. The research on WK1 will start in June 2017. The focal theme of the COST Action is relevant to the AHRC-funded project as we will look at collaborative practices in digital economies and cultures. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This COST Action involves 27 member states and institutions. They will be grouped in different work packages to initiate research across the various components of collaborative economy and ICT. |
| Impact | The COST Action will produce online resources including publications offering a comprehensive view of the current European collaborative economy and socio-technical and policy recommendations for the future. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | From Sharing to Caring: Examining Socio-Technical Aspects of the Collaborative Economy |
| Organisation | University of Limerick |
| Country | Ireland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The main objective of this COST Action is to develop a European network of actors (including scholars, practitioners, communities and policy makers) focusing on the development of collaborative economy models and platforms and on social and technological implications of the collaborative economy through a practice-focused approach. The project has officially started in March 2017 and will last for four years. I've been part of the Core Management Group leading the first work package which is the collection of case studies across the 27 partner institutions to develop a deeper understanding of the collaborative economy phenomenon in all its aspects, by studying in-depth the sociotechnical systems and human practices involved, comparing and reflecting upon local, regional, national and international initiatives. The research on WK1 will start in June 2017. The focal theme of the COST Action is relevant to the AHRC-funded project as we will look at collaborative practices in digital economies and cultures. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This COST Action involves 27 member states and institutions. They will be grouped in different work packages to initiate research across the various components of collaborative economy and ICT. |
| Impact | The COST Action will produce online resources including publications offering a comprehensive view of the current European collaborative economy and socio-technical and policy recommendations for the future. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Harnessing Innovation in City Development for Social Equity and Wellbeing: Medellin - a model for future cities? |
| Organisation | Heriot-Watt University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Medellin Urban Innovation (MUI) is a research collaboration between academic and non-academic institutions in the United Kingdom and Colombia. It is a two-year project that received a Newton Institutional Links Grant from the British Council. MUI is about researching to what extent urban innovation in Medellín (Colombia) has helped increase social equity and well-being in the city. This project is led by Dr Soledad Garcia Ferrari, a Senior Lecturer at Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA) at the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with Dr Harry Smith, an Associate Professor at the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society (EGIS) at Heriot-Watt University. My involvement in this project is as Research Collaborator initiating a study on heritage and cultural values in Medellin. I look at how the 'innovative' city planning approaches and new emerging creative practices include public participation and collaboration in the definition of cultural values and shared spaces in the city of Medellin. I am carrying out collaborative ethnographic research with 6 art communities in Medellin to explore concepts of creativity, co-creation and community-led art practices. The methodology used in this study is in direct links with findings from the AHRC funded project 'Digital Manual' as well as a 3-year EU-HERA funded project 'Electronic Literature as a Model of Collaboration and Innovation in Practice (elmcip.net) |
| Collaborator Contribution | This is a cross-disciplinary and international research team between scholars and practitioners in Colombia and UK. We are divided into four thematic research pathways where we have carried a series of scoping studies to develop a collaborative research strategy. So far, we have presented primary findings of the scoping studies in two exhibitions and series of workshops that took place in Medellin and Edinburgh in 2017. |
| Impact | We expect the publication of a bi-lingual book in Spanish and English on the overall project and its findings as well as a series of co-authored paper publications in peer-reviewed international journals by the end of the project in late 2017-early 2018. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Harnessing Innovation in City Development for Social Equity and Wellbeing: Medellin - a model for future cities? |
| Organisation | National University of Colombia |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Medellin Urban Innovation (MUI) is a research collaboration between academic and non-academic institutions in the United Kingdom and Colombia. It is a two-year project that received a Newton Institutional Links Grant from the British Council. MUI is about researching to what extent urban innovation in Medellín (Colombia) has helped increase social equity and well-being in the city. This project is led by Dr Soledad Garcia Ferrari, a Senior Lecturer at Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA) at the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with Dr Harry Smith, an Associate Professor at the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society (EGIS) at Heriot-Watt University. My involvement in this project is as Research Collaborator initiating a study on heritage and cultural values in Medellin. I look at how the 'innovative' city planning approaches and new emerging creative practices include public participation and collaboration in the definition of cultural values and shared spaces in the city of Medellin. I am carrying out collaborative ethnographic research with 6 art communities in Medellin to explore concepts of creativity, co-creation and community-led art practices. The methodology used in this study is in direct links with findings from the AHRC funded project 'Digital Manual' as well as a 3-year EU-HERA funded project 'Electronic Literature as a Model of Collaboration and Innovation in Practice (elmcip.net) |
| Collaborator Contribution | This is a cross-disciplinary and international research team between scholars and practitioners in Colombia and UK. We are divided into four thematic research pathways where we have carried a series of scoping studies to develop a collaborative research strategy. So far, we have presented primary findings of the scoping studies in two exhibitions and series of workshops that took place in Medellin and Edinburgh in 2017. |
| Impact | We expect the publication of a bi-lingual book in Spanish and English on the overall project and its findings as well as a series of co-authored paper publications in peer-reviewed international journals by the end of the project in late 2017-early 2018. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Harnessing Innovation in City Development for Social Equity and Wellbeing: Medellin - a model for future cities? |
| Organisation | Newton Fund |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Medellin Urban Innovation (MUI) is a research collaboration between academic and non-academic institutions in the United Kingdom and Colombia. It is a two-year project that received a Newton Institutional Links Grant from the British Council. MUI is about researching to what extent urban innovation in Medellín (Colombia) has helped increase social equity and well-being in the city. This project is led by Dr Soledad Garcia Ferrari, a Senior Lecturer at Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA) at the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with Dr Harry Smith, an Associate Professor at the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society (EGIS) at Heriot-Watt University. My involvement in this project is as Research Collaborator initiating a study on heritage and cultural values in Medellin. I look at how the 'innovative' city planning approaches and new emerging creative practices include public participation and collaboration in the definition of cultural values and shared spaces in the city of Medellin. I am carrying out collaborative ethnographic research with 6 art communities in Medellin to explore concepts of creativity, co-creation and community-led art practices. The methodology used in this study is in direct links with findings from the AHRC funded project 'Digital Manual' as well as a 3-year EU-HERA funded project 'Electronic Literature as a Model of Collaboration and Innovation in Practice (elmcip.net) |
| Collaborator Contribution | This is a cross-disciplinary and international research team between scholars and practitioners in Colombia and UK. We are divided into four thematic research pathways where we have carried a series of scoping studies to develop a collaborative research strategy. So far, we have presented primary findings of the scoping studies in two exhibitions and series of workshops that took place in Medellin and Edinburgh in 2017. |
| Impact | We expect the publication of a bi-lingual book in Spanish and English on the overall project and its findings as well as a series of co-authored paper publications in peer-reviewed international journals by the end of the project in late 2017-early 2018. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | An Evening with Penny Travlou: "Co-creation and collaboration as models of creativity" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | My presentation at the Roma Hub (an incubator for social enterprise and innovation in Rome) attracted lots of attention from digital media practitioners and designers who asked me questions about authorship and ownership within collaborative and co-creative projects (as the ones researched in the Digital Manual project). TBC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://www.hubroma.net/co-creation-and-collaboration-as-models-of-creativity-lunedi-15-aprile |
| Description | CIRCLE Online Symposium 2: Commoning the Networks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | This was a one-day intensive online workshop/symposium to discuss co-creative practices. The discussions were very fruitful: we're now a) developing an AHRC grant application looking specifically on the role of women in programming (as both creators and publishers of codes) and b) organising a panel and workshop at the Trasmediale Festival in Berlin in January 2015. (NOTE: same results as the CIRCLE Online Symposium, Part 1) TBC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Deep Dive "The State and the Commons: Transcending a Problematic Relationship" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The Deep Dive was hosted by the Commons Strategies Group in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation (Berlin).The Commons Strategies Group consists of /David Bollier,/ an American author, activist and blogger at Bollier.org; and /Michel Bauwens,/ a political scientist, economist and researcher into the emergent practices of commons-based peer production, peer governance and peer propert; and /Silke Helfrich/ of Germany, a commons-activist and scholar formerly associated with the Heinrich Böll Foundation. The general goal of these three days was to explore and start to reconceptualize the State and its functions from a commons perspective. The Deep Dive consisted of 20 invited international reknown scholars, activists and independent theorists on the commons. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://cdn8.commonsstrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/State-Power-and-Commoning.pdf |
| Description | Digital Scholarship: A Day of Ideas 2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to present the findings from the AHRC-funded project "Creation and Publication of the Digital Manual". The presentation sparked questions and discussion afterwards. I was then invited to present this work at the 'What I know Is' Symposium in the University of Stirling in 2014 TBC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://www.digital.hss.ed.ac.uk/archive-events/2012-13-events/digital-scholarship-day-of-ideas-2/ |
| Description | European Creative Hubs Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The partners of the European Creative Hubs Network project (co-funded by the EU's Creative Europe programme and the British Council) organised the 2nd European Creative Hubs Forum, Syn-, in Athens on 26 -28 January 2017. The event brought together 100+ managers and representatives of European hubs and creative and entrepreneurial communities from more than 20 countries, as well as all relevant organisations and stakeholders from Greece and the region of South-Eastern Europe. I was invited to discuss creativity and collaboration within a co-living and co-working art collective called the unMonastery (unmonastery.org) who I have been carried out ethnographic research with since 2015. Part of the concepts studied during my ethnographic fieldwork have directly derived from the AHRC-funded project on Digital Manual as I look at community formation and authorship within this group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://creativehubs.eu/syn-european-creative-hubs-forum-athens-press-release-2/ |
| Description | Global Hangout: "Education is a Commons: 7 Days of Online Collaborations" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | In this 5-day intensive Google Hangouts event, I was invited by Art is Open Source duo to discuss my research with digital practitioners/artists and particularly my findings from the Digital Manual project on authorship, authority and voice within collaborative and co-creative projects. After my participation in this event, my paper on 'Ethnographies of Co-Creation as Models of Creativity' was nominated as the 'Essay of the Day' by the Peer-to-Peer Foundation (an international organization focused on studying, researching, documenting and promoting peer to peer practices) http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/essay-of-the-day-ethnographies-of-co-creation-as-models-of-creativity/2014/05/31 TBC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwk4wNk5gqI&feature=youtube |
| Description | Guest Speaker in Opening Roundtable (Unusual Suspects Festival Glasgow 2015) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Unusual Suspects Festival 2015 in Glasgow was a three-day event of ideas, solutions and debate exploring what happens when social innovation meets collaboration and how together we can meet some of society's most pressing challenges. I was invited to be one of the four keynote speakers at the Opening Dialogue & Reception and discuss my research on collaborative practices. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Invited Speaker at CIRCLE Online Symposium 2014 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | This was a one-day intensive online workshop/symposium to discuss co-creative practices. The discussions were very fruitful: we're now a) developing an AHRC grant application looking specifically on the role of women in programming (as both creators and publishers of codes) and b) organising a panel and workshop at the Trasmediale Festival in Berlin in January 2015. TBC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | https://sites.eca.ed.ac.uk/circle2014/netculture-and-online-communities/ |
| Description | Invited Speaker at What I Know Is |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | I was one of the guest speakers of this symposium. My presentation sparked questions and discussion afterwards on the issue of creativity as collaborative experience (and practice). I was asked to provide assistance to a PhD student's research as she was keen on using my methodology (i.e. rhizomic ethnography) in her doctoral research. TBC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/What_I_Know_Is |
| Description | Invited Workshop "Commoning The Networks: Feminist Methodologies" (Transmediale 'Capture All' 2015 Festival) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | CN:FM (Commoning the Networks: A Feminist Methodology) was an online/offline network of researchers,artists, curators and digital creative practitioners interested in feminist methodologies, which was initiated in 2014 by Penny Travlou (University of Edinburgh, CIRCLE) and Sophia Lycouris (University of Edinburgh, CIRCLE) in collaboration with Daphne Dragona (transmediale), Helen Varley Jamieson (Genderchangers, Upstage and FLOSS Manuals) and Cornelia Sollfrank (University of Dundee). In their on-going research, they have been using a feminist approach grounded on notions of care and affect, which are nomadic, fluid, reflective, playful and non-profit, to explore how debates about distributed networks intersect with those on the concept of the 'commons'; that is with knowledge resources that are collectively created, owned or shared between the members of the network, and are available to third parties.Commons, therefore, are there to be used and reused, rather than to be exchanged as a commodity. In transmediale 2015, CN: FM brought together scholars, practitioners and artists who are members of cyberfeminist collectives, such as Genderchangers and Constant Association for Art and Media, to develop a feminist methodology that facilitates movement, processing and exchange of ideas and practices in multiple directions amongst and across diverse networks with in an ethos that engages with creativity as commons. This event was supported by the University of Edinburgh (RKEO grant, £2000). Aiming to address issues of moving from theory to practice, and to set up a network which can pursue further the development of a range of current conceptual and technological approaches to the notion of feminist server, the event included: - a workgroup discussion on feminist methodologies to technology and distributed networks - a hands-on workshop focused a) on the notions of the feminist server leading to observations about the nature of a network focusing on feminist approaches to technology and b) the development of an offline network of individuals, groups and collectives who will initiate further theoretical on feminist methodologies to technology and practical work on the feminist server - a presentation of the outcomes of the two previous sessions, including a 'launch' of a network dealing with the above issues |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://transmediale.de/content/commoning-the-networks-a-feminist-methodology-ii |
| Description | Invited Workshop on Feminist Approaches to the Production of the Commons (CommonsFest 2015, Athens, Greece) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This workshop introduced participants to basic terms concerning feminism, production of the commons and digital technology. It was divided into two parts: the first part examined issues of feminist approaches on the commons, ways of cooperation and self-organization in gendered digital communities as well as gendered hierarchical issues raised in these communities. In the second part, we presented case studies of feminist practices of networked communities active in the field of digital technology, art and open source. We addressed the following issues and topics: 1) Short historical background on the role of women in production of the commons; 2 ) Feminism and politics of the commons; 3 ) Women and digital illiteracy; 4 ) Examples of production the commons in digital communities , networks and facilities through feminist practices. Finally, in the workshop we screened short clips/interviews with research partners who worked in the same field: Dr Sophia Lycouris (ECA), Amit Rai (Queen Mary, University of London) and Helen Varley Jamieson (a cyberformer artist and activist). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Making all Voices Count |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | This was an online event to bring academics and practitioners together and discuss issues of collaboration. We were asked to contribute to the online discussion by writing a short position paper on our thoughts on collaboration and power structures within co-creative projects. My short paper was well-received and sparked discussion (via written responses) on the issues I brought forward. TBC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.makingallvoicescount.org |
| Description | Participant as Speaker in Hybrid City II: Subtle rEvolutions |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | My paper presentation was positively received by the conference audience and brought discussions around collaborative ethnography and ubiquitous technology for community-engagement issues (particularly in reference to young people's citizenship and civic empowerment). I have been invited to write a book chapter on the subject in the forthcoming book "Designing for Kids in the City: Beyond Playgrounds and Skate Parks" (Book Editor: Kate Bishop; Publisher: Routledge; Publication Date: 2016). I have also been invited to take part (as Co-Investigator) in the preparation of a Horizon 2020 proposal (Project Leader: University of York) on young people, citizenship and public space. I was invited to give two lectures on 'ubiquitous technology for community engagement projects' across the Edinburgh College of Art |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://uranus.media.uoa.gr/hc2/ |
| Description | Participation as Speaker at American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | My presentation was well-attended (60 people) and sparked questions on my methodology i.e. rhizomic ethnographies as well as the different findings from both my AHRC-funded project "Digital Manual" and EU-funded project "ELMCIP". I was invited to give a lecture to PhD students at ECA on the rhizomic ethnography methodology I use in my research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Participation as Speaker, Chair and Organiser of (3) paper sessions and field trip at Annual Conference of the Royal Geographical Society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | I organised 3 paper sessions and 1 field trip at the Royal Geographic Society's conference. The three paper sessions were sponsored by the GEO Journal and the Social and Cultural Geography Research Group (Royal Geographic Society). The sessions were well-attended and sparked questions and discussion. We have also set up a JISC mail list to continue our discussion on themes and issues with regards to co-creation, collaboration and peer production in digital practice. I have been approached by one of the Routledge editors to publish a monograph or edited book on my research area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://conference.rgs.org/Conference/sessions/view.aspx?session=d22dac39-d1d8-4fb5-8a7e-04d11e5279c3... |
| Description | Participation as Speaker, Chair and Organiser of a Session in Remediating the Social |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | My talk but as well the overall panel session I organised at this conference brought further interest in my ethnographic research on network communities. I have developed and strengthened the network of collaborators on my project which has led to the organisation of 4 paper sessions in another conference (Royal Geographic Society Annual Conference 2014). TBC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://elmcip.net/critical-writing/rhizomes-lines-and-nomads-doing-fieldwork-creative-networked-comm... |
| Description | Participation in the Internet Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Although I didn't present in this international event, I had the chance to meet and discuss my research with a large network of key people in digital media theory and practice. In particular, I discussed my work further with one of the Advisory Group members of the Digital Manual project, Michel Bauwens (the founder of the Peer-to-Peer Foundation). Michel has invited me to take a more active role in the P2P Foundation and I am currently preparing an online paper on the role of women in the P2P movement. In the Internet Festival I also met with one of the Digital Manual's case studies, Art Is Open Source duo (Salvatore Iaconesi and Oriana Persico) and discussed opportunities for further collaborative research, including the development of a methodology research tool: the peer-to-peer ethnography. TBC |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Women's CryptoDinner: Privacy, Gender and Encryption |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A "Crypto Dinner" is an evening for women to meet, taking place in the form of a workshop, in order contemporary issues of personal data and their protection to be shared, discussed and peer- taught. During the Crypto-Dinner, participants will peer-learn to use new and simple tools of encryption. In this Crypto Dinner, we discussed how we can use new technologies and how to avoid to be used by them. During this Crypto-Dinner, participants got trained in how to browse online anonymously, how to secure encrypted emailing. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |