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  • Tiffany von Emmel 3:37 am on November 29, 2007 Permalink
    Tags: ,   

    Inter: learn about crossing cultures on download 

    I strongly believe that collaborating across borders – remixing the divides of culture; ideas; economic sectors of business, nonprofits and government; people processes and information technology; across ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, physical ability –that this collaboration will enable the innovation we need to better our world. Sustainability innovation emerges in working together, when we make our edges fluid. In the in-between places of our collaboration, the gaps between what we think we know and what we can be together. This is where the juice is at. O.k., nuff said about improvisation! Here is a great free resource to learn about interdisciplinary work in the field of Cultural Studies – INTER conference's downloadable full text papers!….

    INTER: A European Cultural Studies Conference in Sweden" was organised by
    ACSIS in Norrköping, 11-13 June 2007. The conference proceedings are now
    digitally published by Linköping University Electronic Press. The volume
    comprises a selection of some 70 interesting papers, filling more than 700
    pages. It offers a unique sample of Swedish and European cultural studies
    today, covering a wide range of topics. Separate papers as well as the whole
    volume can be freely downloaded at http://www.ep.liu.se/ecp/025/

     

  • Tiffany von Emmel 3:18 am on November 29, 2007 Permalink
    Tags: , denmark, ,   

    Dream Conference: Digital Creativity in Denmark 

    So many intriguing cross-pollinating meshy events are happening in Denmark these days. Here is the DREAM conference in September. How could it not catch my fish eye!….

    Digital Content Creation:
    Creativity, Competence, Critique

    The second international DREAM conference
    18-20 September 2008
    University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS
    In knowledge-based societies, competence formation through education is key, and the formative role played by digital communication is widely acknowledged. However, one of the major challenges today is the mismatch between the digital resources nurtured by users in and outside of formal educational contexts. Not least young people’s rapid take-up of social software such as weblogs and wikis, online chat clients and virtual world applications serve to challenge existing forms of communication for learning,… since these innovations allow and assume users’ own creation, sharing and editing of content.

    Conference goals
    This conference will present and discuss the most advanced and exciting research on digital content creation, its socio-cultural contexts and educational consequences. A major aim of the conference is to bring together an international forum of scholars from a range of disciplines including media and ICT studies, education, psychology, anthropology, sociology and cultural studies – and to promote dialogue within and across research traditions. We also aim to develop dialogue between researchers, educators and producers of new learning resources.

    Conference themes
    Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
    Digital content creation: creative processes and textual reappropriations
    Competence formation through digital content creation: personal voice or commercial coercion?
    Institutional ramifications of digital content creation for learning
    Studying digital content creation: the challenge of new methodologies

    Papers are encouraged from researchers with interests in any of these specific themes as well as the general issues of the conference.

    Submissions
    If you would like to present a paper, please submit a 400 word abstract with an indication of which of the above themes you will address. Abstracts must include the title of your paper along with author name(s), affiliation, and contact details (postal address, telephone, fax and email address). Abstracts (format: pdf, doc, rtf) should be submitted to mail@dream.dk

    After the conference, authors are invited to submit revised versions of their papers from which contributions will be selected for a peer-reviewed volume focusing on the main themes of the conference.

    Important dates
    15 April 2008 deadline for submission of abstracts
    1 June 2008 notification of authors
    1 July 2008 deadline for early registration
    1 August 2008 deadline for submission of final papers

    Keynote speakers
    Keynote speakers will include professor David Buckingham (London Knowledge Lab, University of London), professor John Hartley (Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology), professor Ellen Seiter (School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California), and professor Angela McFarlane.

    Pre-Conference: One-day ph.d. course
    The research conference is preceded by an intensive ph.d. course 17 September 2008, offering a venue for young scholars within relevant conference areas to meet with some of the main conference speakers and to make project presentations and discussions.

    Conference language
    The conference language is English.

    Stay informed
    Please visit the conference website for full scientific and social programme, registration form and keynote abstracts: http://www.dreamconference.dk/

    Please feel free to circulate this message as appropriate.

     

  • Tiffany von Emmel 5:43 am on November 23, 2007 Permalink
    Tags: ,   

    Building Open Source Awareness through Art 

    Paul Downey created the drawing, Web is Agreement, which is a good example of how meaningful art can be to educate. Paul created it as part of an organization's Open Source Awareness movement.

    If you look at the Flickr page for this, you can view details of the drawing , which are remarkable. It is also available as a PDF to print as a poster.

     

  • Tiffany von Emmel 5:03 am on November 23, 2007 Permalink
    Tags: , efficiency,   

    Gettting Things Done 

    The day after Thanksgiving, I am getting things done, in a good way :) . One of my favorite people in the world is Eugene Kim , founder of Blue Oxen Associates and a Dreamfish advisor. Eugene teaches the popular Tools for Catalyzing Collaboration public workshop. Eugene introduced me to Matthew O'Connor, a programmer with a talent for influencing me to new frontiers of systematization. One day, they revealed to me the technologist's zen productivity bible, Getting Things Done , aka GTD, by David Allen. Since then, I have bought five of the books for dreamfish, a label maker which I confess that I horde, and lots of recycled manilla folders. Here's Eugene soaking in the wisdom.

     

  • Tiffany von Emmel 5:56 am on November 22, 2007 Permalink
    Tags: holiday, thanksgiving   

    Happy Thanksgiving 

    This morning is Thanksgiving. Dietmar and I walked out this morning with our grocery bags to go to the store. We greeted our neighbors as we walked. As with all holiday mornings in San Francisco, the street was quiet with few cars.We had Mimi Ridges, our shepherd-ridgeback-corgi dog, with us. Mimi sniffed through the fallen leaves for possible chicken bones tossed the previous night. At the store, I enjoyed filling our bags with the ritual stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Dietmar, being German, had no particular attachment to the food's role in the ritual of Thanksgiving, but enjoyed our special slow time together (where on any other day, I would be on the computer and the phone). The cultural difference between us helped me to be aware of how important ritual is and the choices that we make to mark the moment to remember to be grateful. I thought, how grateful I am to give thanks, to have this moment alive, to feel grateful for my Thanksgiving morning.

    Of all holidays, Thanksgiving is the most connecting to the earth. The day reminds me of what matters most to me. Wit this, I would like to share a thanksgiving prayer with you from the Mohawks below. Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends! Tiffany

     

    Thanksgiving Prayer from the Mohawks

    To be a human is an honor, and we offer thanksgiving for all the gifts of life.

    Mother Earth, we thank you for giving us everything we need.

    Thank you deep blue waters around Mother Earth, for you are the force that takes thirst away from all living things.

    We give thanks to green, green grasses that feel so good against our bare feet, for the cool beauty you bring to Mother Earth's floor.

    Thank you, good foods from Mother Earth, our life sustainers, for making us happy when we are hungry.

    Fruits and berries, we thanks you for your color and sweetness.

    We are thankful to good medicine herbs, for healing us when we are sick.

    Thank you, all the animals of the world, for keeping our precious forests clean.

    All the trees of the world, we are thankful for the shade and warmth you give us. Thank you all the birds in the world, for signing your beautiful songs for all to enjoy.

    We give thanks to you gentle Four Winds, for bringing clean air for us to breathe from the four directions.

    Thank you, Grandfather Thunder Beings, for bringing rains to help all living things grow.

    Elder Brother Sun, we send thanks for shining your light and warming Mother Earth.

    Thank you Grandmother Moon, for growing full every month to light the darkness for children and sparkling waters.

    We give you thanks, twinkling stars, for making the night sky so beautiful and sprinkling morning dew drops on the plants.

    Spirit Protectors of our past and present we thank you for showing us ways to live in peace and harmony with one another.

    And most of all, thank you Great Spirit, for giving us all these wonderful gifts, so we will be happy and healthy every day and every night.

    Translation by Chief Jake Swamp

    © 1998-2007 American Indian Health Council.
    http://aihc1998.tripod.com/mohawkpr.html

     

  • Tiffany von Emmel 2:17 pm on November 14, 2007 Permalink
    Tags: barcelona, ,   

    Free Hugs Barcelona style 

    When I saw this video of Barcelona's Free Hugs, I felt affirmed in my humanity. I have been practicing this micro-activism at events as well as in our workplace through the simple act of hanging a sign on the wall…..To hang artifacts on the office wall (or post on your blog) is a ritual act of creating who we are. For example, a diploma on a wall will be read as "I am an expert" to clients and patients. Then, we are treated as expert by ourselves and others. Or, artwork can be read as, "I am hip" or "I am an important person". When I walk into our office every morning, I see a sign with painted red letters. "FREE HUGS" it says. When I see this sign in the workplace, I feel the immediacy of caring, caring about my colleagues, about our world, and about why my work today matters. It reminds me of special moments, hugging people during Dreamfish guerrilla Free Hug Campaigns at events and conferences . Reading the sign affirms to me that this is the kind of work and workplace I want to create. I believe that social networking is the act of putting good hugs to good work.

     

     

  • Tiffany von Emmel 3:28 am on November 12, 2007 Permalink
    Tags: book, christian fuchs, critical theory, , ecology, internet economy, ,   

    Internet and Society by Christian Fuchs 

    This new book from Christian Fuchs sounds interesting, a critical theorist’s take on the internet …

    Christian Fuchs (2008) Internet and Society: Social Theory in the Information Age New York: Routledge. ISBN 0415961327. 408 pages. Routledge Research Series in Information Technology and Society.

    More infos:
    http://fuchs.icts.sbg.ac.at/i&s.html

    Discussion Board on Internet+Society issues http://www.nabble.com/Internet-and-Society-f28205.html

    “In this book, the author develops a theory that shows how Internet has changed society and society shapes the Internet. It discusses the ecology, the economy, the politics, and the culture of transnational informational capitalism.
    Topics addressed in the book include: self-organization in nature, self-organization in society, foundations of social theory, theory of capitalism, critical theory in the age of the Internet, transnational informational capitalism, Web 2.0, social software, ecological sustainability and ICTs, informational monopolies, strategies of accumulation related to the Internet, MySpace, YouTube, Wikipedia, Google, Open Source, Free Software, filesharing, knowledge labor, class theory, multitude and Empire (Hardt and Negri), class theory in informational capitalism, gift internet economy, commodity internet economy, gift commodity internet economy, digital divide, eParticipation, digital democracy, democratic theory, information warfare, electronic surveillance, cyberprotest, the movement for democratic globalization (“anti-globalization”), virtual communities, social networking platforms, cyberstalking, social relations online, individualization and isolation online, Internet addiction, cyberculture, cyberethics, etc.
    The book provides foundations for Critical Internet Research / Critical Theory in the age of informational capitalism.”

    Univ.Ass. Dr. Christian Fuchs
    Assistant Professor for Internet and Society
    ICT&S Center – Advanced Studies and Research in
    Information and Communication Technologies & Society

    http://www.icts.uni-salzburg.at

    University of Salzburg
    Sigmund Haffner Gasse 18
    5020 Salzburg
    Austria

     

  • Tiffany von Emmel 6:02 am on November 9, 2007 Permalink
    Tags: brazil, critical pedagogy, , paulo freire, , peter park   

    Paulo Freire: getting to know you 

    http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0826412769.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg" align="right" height="129" width="85" />Paulo Freire is known as one the world's most influential educators in history, creating social change through education. In the last fifty years, his ideas and practices have rippled throughout many countries in the world, to touch the lives of millions of children and adults.

    While I have studied and been impacted by Freire, I have not gotten a chance to know him personally. He died in 1997. My mentor, Peter Park, was a close friend of Freire, and speaks with great love for the man.

    I just came across this video of images from his life. Here, we can get to know Paulo Freire, the person.

     

  • Tiffany von Emmel 5:34 am on November 9, 2007 Permalink
    Tags:   

    Call for Social Entrepreneurs 

    At the OD Network conference, I was inspired by Trabian Shorters, North American Director of Ashoka, as he layed out Ashoka's vision and ambitious support of social entrepreneurs. Ashoka now has over 1500 Ashoka Fellows which they have supported to realize their ideas.

    The message of Ashoka is that as a society, we need to encourage more entrepreneurial activity to meet our world's biggest challenges. Here is a video of Bill Drayton, the founder of Ashoka telling the story of how Ashoka got started and the amazing work that social entrepreneurs have done.

     

     

  • Tiffany von Emmel 4:07 am on November 9, 2007 Permalink
    Tags: drupal,   

    Dmitri is Full of Awsomeness 

    I have attended lots of conferences in different fields, and they usually have a lot of professional adults in varying shapes and costumes. At the Drupal web developer's conference at U.C. Bekeley, I had a remarkable moment. I took a workshop taught by Dmitri Dmitrigoi, a programmer who was brilliant, funny, and self-composed and passionate presenter. Here's the kicker. Dmitri is 11 yrs. old. It blew my mind to watch him teach a full lecture hall packed with 20-60 yr. old experienced technologists, who sat in rapt attention, as Dimitri stood on a step to see above the lecturn and demonstrated PHP and CSS coding. He patiently answered our questions and guided us step by step. Gesturing to the future, he talked about the upcoming release in our content management system, which he has worked on. He described the new features that are "full of awsomeness".

    I can't wait to tell the children, parents and educators I know about Dmitri. Because I can't help but think that much of what he can do has been encouraged by people around him believing in the capacity to learn and not buying into society's tendencies to infantalize and marginalize children as being less than full contributing members of society.

    Soon, DaveO, also writing about Dmitri, will release a podcast with Dmitri.

    Thanks, Dmitri, for being "full of awsomeness".

     

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