Stuart Candy (ARUP Melbourne, Australia) explains: “Usman Haque (@uah) is a London-based architect, artist and entrepreneur. He has created responsive environments, interactive installations, digital interface devices and dozens of mass-participation initiatives. We are rapidly populating the world with instruments that help us comprehend our architectural, infrastructural and environmental surroundings. As their increasingly rich data flows… Continue reading
Date archives "December 2012"
Movement of the Day: The Post-Growth Institute
The Post-Growth Institute advocates for reduction in consumption and minimizing one’s ecological footprint, the Australian-based institute supports and promotes sharing communities and prominent sharing advocates Cat Johnson explains: ” With a tagline, “From bigger, towards better,” the Post-Growth Institute provides platforms for people to offer insights about sharing in an economic context. Advocates for reduction… Continue reading
Open Access Debates (2): A critique of the elitist aspects of Gold Open Access specifically
Excerpted from a critique by Martin Weller: “The favoured route is that of Gold OA, under which authors pay publishers to have open access articles published, usually through research funds. This is good in that it means these research papers will be openly available to all, but bad from a digital scholarship perspective. And here’s… Continue reading
Project of the Day: The Networked Transit System proposal for Los Angeles
Paul Davies writes: “Under the banner of NETWORK_LA Transit, a group of architects and urban designers are proposing a bold data-driven approach to getting Angelenos out of their cars. NETWORK_LA Transit makes a bold assertion: by mining the torrent of real-time mobile data produced by the city’s denizens, urbanists can revitalize public transit in Los… Continue reading
Video of the Day: Beth Noveck on Open-Sourcing Government
Via TED: “What can governments learn from the open-data revolution? In this stirring talk, Beth Noveck, the former deputy CTO at the White House, shares a vision of practical openness — connecting bureaucracies to citizens, sharing data, creating a truly participatory democracy. Imagine the “writable society” …” Watch the video here:
Neal Gorenflo: “Donating to the P2P Foundation is a no brainer”
Neal Gorenflo of Shareable on why he has donated to the P2P Foundation: “Donating to the P2P Foundation is a no brainer. Do it. I just did. The explanatory power of their research and writing is unmatched. They’ve helped me make sense of what’s emerging, and they do that for millions of people. They show… Continue reading
PlantCatching, an online ‘catch and release’ community
PlantCatching is an online ‘catch and release’ community that connects folks in possession of unwanted/surplus gardening materials with those who might want them. Matt Hickman explains: “Meet PlantCatching.com, a website that enables those with extra or unwanted seeds, perennials, gardening materials, and related plant-related paraphernalia to connect with local folks who might actually need/want the… Continue reading
Video of the Day: The Story of Change
Via: “In “The Story of Change”, Annie Leonard’s latest collaboration with Free Range Studios, she explains that conscious consumerism is a great place to start but terrible place to stop, because it is not the solution to a better environment. Annie believes that our global environmental issues begin with bad policies and bad business methods,… Continue reading
Movement of the Day: the Ouishare European sharing community
Ouishare is a pro-sharing advocacy community: an international network of entrepreneurs, citizens, activists, journalists and designers working toward the development of the collaborative economy. Shareable writes that: “With hubs in Paris, London, Berlin, Barcelona, Rome and Brussels, Ouishare is an international network of entrepreneurs, citizens, activists, journalists and designers working toward the development of the… Continue reading
Open Access Debates (1): A critique of the elitist aspects of Open Access in general
This is probably the greatest tragedy, Open Access does not by default produce Open products. Excerpted from Peter Murray-Rust: “Open Access is not universal – it looks inward to Universities (and Research Institutions). In OA week the categories for membership are: “click here if you’re a: RESEARCH FUNDER | RESEARCHER/FACULTY MEMBER | ADMINISTRATOR | PUBLISHER… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: Historical Reflections on Patronage, Autonomy, and Transaction
* Article: The intellectual and institutional properties of learning: Historical reflections on patronage, autonomy, and transaction. By John Willinsky and Johanne Provençal. New Media Society published 5 December 2012 Here is the summary of what looks like an important and interesting paper: “This paper attempts to cast a little historical light on current debate among… Continue reading
More selected citations on the commons
From the P2P Foundation wiki section on the commons, where you can find the sources of the following citations: * Sam Rose on Transition Economics “Where people work together to both share those resources that are shareable now (software, designs, knowledge, waste that can be used as food, surplus capacities and resources) and cooperate to… Continue reading
John Thackara on the End of Endless Growth
“Social critic John Thackara argues that the current human paradigm of endless growth is obviously unsustainable, so we should consider the brilliance of the Brazilian Jequitiba tree, which soaks up four tons of water a day. “I am a proper tree hugger, as well as a lichen hugger.” Watch the video here:
A warning on climate change
If we want a 50-50 chance of staying below two degrees, we have to leave 2/3 of the known reserves of coal and oil and gas underground; if we want an 80% chance, we have to leave 80% of those reserves untouched. Richard David Hames contributed the introduction to an important message from Bill McKibben,… Continue reading
Partner State Cities: Why Montevideo’s Open Public Digital Infrastructure Should Be Emulated
Guillermo Moncecchi, Head of Development in the IT department of the city of Montevideo, explains: “There is another, more expansive perspective on open government data: that it is part of an effort to build public infrastructure. Does making a shapefile available with all Montevideo’s traffic lights make Montevideo’s government more transparent? We don’t think so…. Continue reading
The commons and their im/possibilities
New ephemera issue: The commons and their im/possibilities – Volume 12, number 4 This issue addresses the question of the (im)possibilities of the commons within contemporary capitalism. It considers the commons within a variety of manifestations, including the Open Software movement, Open Education movement, housing, academia, the arts and art education. The contributions of this… Continue reading