* Paper: A systems and thermodynamics perspective on technology in the circular economy. By Crelis F. Rammelt and Phillip Crisp. real-world economics review, issue no. 68 From the Abstract: “Several discourses on environment and sustainability are characterised by a strong confidence in the potential of technology to address, if not solve, the ecological impacts resulting… Continue reading
Date archives "January 2015"
Irresistibly biased? The blind spots of social innovation
Article by Remko Berkhout – https://www.opendemocracy.net/transformation/remko-berkhout/irresistibly-biased-blind-spots-of-social-innovation What’s the state of play in the fast paced world of social innovation? The Unusual Suspects Festival in London seemed a good place to find out. Collaboration was the theme. The claims made were high. The stakes may be even higher. A dazzling line up of initiatives were on… Continue reading
Book of the Week: Radio Audiences and Participation in the age of Network Society (1)
* eBook: Radio Audiences and Participation in the age of Network Society. Ed. by Tiziano Bonini and Belen Monclus. Routledge, 2015 Key theme: The listener as producer: the rise of the networked listener In this first installment, editor Tiziano Bonini explains the structure of the book: “This book is divided into two macro-sections: Interactive Publics… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: Real-Time Organigraphs for Collaboration Awareness
* Article: Real-Time Organigaphs for Collaboration Awareness. By C.J. van Aart and A.H.J. Oomes. From the Abstract: “Collaboration awareness, as extension to organization awareness, is knowing how organizations do work and achieve their goals. This knowledge moves on a scale from stated prescribed ways of acting (such as procedures and protocols) to informal channels of… Continue reading
Nathan Lewis: Life Without Cars 2014
By Nathan Lewis. Original essay here. Read more from the Traditional City/Heroic Materialism Series here. December 28, 2014 Once a year, we take a little time to imagine Life Without Cars. Many people live without cars today, and also without bicycles (at least for daily transport use), mostly in urban areas with good public transportation. In… Continue reading
John Hagel: we need new institutions appropriate to our age
New technologies allow us to leverage our individual capabilities so that even small moves, smartly made, have the power to set very big things in motion. To get to the next level of our techonomic potential, we must create institutions worthy of the technologies changing our world. Excerpted from John Hagel: “We haven’t seen the… Continue reading
The Capacity to Perceive the Commons
I increasingly think that anthropologists may have some of the deepest insights into the commons because they have the courage to pierce the veil of cultural norms. This point was brought home to me by a wonderful essay by anthropologist T.M. Luhrmann of Stanford University in the New York Times. “Americans and Europeans stand out… Continue reading
The condition and politics of anxiety (2): crafting a resistance and new politics
We present this must-read article in two parts, the first part analysed the contemporary human condition in the current configuration of capitalism, while this second installment focuses on the counter-strategies for social change. The original and full article can be read here. From of Institute for Precarious Consciousness 6: Current tactics and theories aren’t working…. Continue reading
Book of the Day: Social Movements in the Internet Age
Book: Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age. by Manuel Castells. Polity, 2012 Description “This book is an exploration of the new forms of social movements and protests that are erupting in the world today, from the Arab uprisings to the indignadas movement in Spain, and the Occupy Wall Street… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: the Leukippos Platform for Cloud Collaboration in Synthetic Biology
* Article: Leukippos: A Synthetic Biology Lab in the Cloud. By Pablo Cárdenas, Maaruthy Yelleswarapu, Sayane Shome et al. BioCoder, Issue 4, 2014 From the Abstract, by Eugenio Maria Battaglia, Gerd Moe-Behrens et al.: “As we move deeper into the digital age, the social praxis of science undergoes fundamental changes, driven by new tools provided… Continue reading
Video: Peter Linebaugh on Who Owns the Commons
Peter Linebaugh is interviewed by Laura Flanders, on the occasion of 800 years of the Magna Carta: “This year marks the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, and this weeks show marks that occasion with a discussion on the rights of the commons with author Peter Linebaugh. We also visit a community… Continue reading
A basic dictionary of the “Sharing Economy,” “Sharing Cities,” and communitarianism
Sharing is more than a trend: it can be a business model, a city model or a lifestyle. To distinguish these three dimensions and their manifestations, it’s important to understand the culture born of the crisis and its limits. “Sharing” is more than a trend: for some, it is the engine of their businesses, for… Continue reading
Four bets on change that will come in 2015
Bruce Sterling said back in 2002 that the new political movements that would reflect the social changes that were taking shape with the start of the century would have “passion for the vote.” In the English-speaking world, we had an advance this year with Loomio, and in our cultural surroundings, with the release of the… Continue reading
#CharlieHebdo: No to Securitarian Instrumentalisation
Source – https://www.laquadrature.net/en/charliehebdo-no-to-securitarian-instrumentalisation Paris, 9 January, 2015 —Without even waiting for the end of investigations on the despicable attack against Charlie Hebdo on January 7th, the French government is set on increasing the counter-terrorist arsenal, first by notifying Brussels the decree implementing “terrorists” or child pornography websites blockade but also by announcing new counter-terrorism measures. La… Continue reading
The condition and politics of anxiety (1): analysing contemporary precarious consciousness
People who follow us closely will have noticed that one of my current priorities in the p2pfoundation.net wiki is documenting solidarity mechanisms. This is not an accident, and the following analysis, a brilliant essay and an absolute must-read, shows us why. We present it in two parts, the first part analyses the contemporary human condition… Continue reading
New Film: The Self Organizing Slime Mould
There’s something mysterious about organless plasmodial slime mould that suggests intelligence where we least expect it. The slime mould is being used to explore biological-inspired design, emergence theory, unconventional computing and robot controllers, much of which borders on the world of science fiction.