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Pervasive Media Studio CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Posted by on October 29th, 2010 · related topics

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Shared Artist in Residence:

Kitchen Budapest (HU)

Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk), Amsterdam (NL)

Pervasive Media Studio, Bristol (UK)

5daysoff /Melkweg, Amsterdam (NL)

CALL

5daysoff, Pervasive Media Studio, Kitchen Budapest and NIMk launch an open call for a cross-European residency programme.

We’re looking for interesting artists seeking time and space to research, produce and present projects at the intersection of art, mobility and culture involving audience participation. The programme will support early stage ideas that utilise pervasive technologies and free/open source software. This is a valuable opportunity to explore process and develop experimental works within four unique collaborative environments to be presented in public space and/or festival environments.

WHAT

5days off 2011 will feature an exhibition that focuses on art works questioning and examining new production methods: projects that were produced using online means for production and creation of content such as crowd sourcing, that challenge the notion of artists as single creator or author of a work and experiment with notions of co-authorship and co-creation by e.g. involving others, knowingly or unconsciously in the development of a work.

In this context, we are particularly interested in projects that deal with the theme of mobility and involve the audience as co-creators in public space in a playful, dynamic or performative way by using mobile, wireless or sensory technologies in innovative and surprising ways. We are looking for projects that trigger individual actions/experiences that lead to a unique collective experience. Communication towards and participation of the audience is crucial. The project is situated in the context of electronic pop culture.

WHEN

Projects will be developed during the period of December 2010 until May 2011. During this period beta tests will happen at 5daysoff in Amsterdam and at Pervasive Media Studio in Bristol. The 5daysoff festival takes place between 2-6 March 2011, and the accompanying exhibition from 18 February to 29 April 2011. The final work will be presented at a public festival.

WHERE

The residency will be hosted by four European organisations: Kitchen Budapest, NIMk, 5daysoff/Melkweg and Pervasive Media Studio. Time will need to be spent at each location and the organizations will provide targeted support (in the form of resources, space, technical support, local context and time) relevant to each stage of project development.

The residency will also offer the opportunity to explore the potential for collaboration and exchange with creative peers across the organisations; and share knowledge as widely as possible through a structured, facilitated programme including:

– Regularly scheduled conceptual and technical critiques

– Online documentation of project process

– Research dissemination through a range of social media

– Scheduled events offering the opportunity for discussion with both peers and public

At the end of the programme, participant(s) will be expected to present and demonstrate their work (location/festival t.b.c.) and produce a research report that considers process, findings and value. Event documentation and reports will be published online and disseminated through the wider networks.

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We offer:

– Residency period at each of the different organisations (time and location will depend on the project) in the period of December 2010 – May 2011. – Specific dates at each location will be determined in collaboration with the selected artist.

– A modest artist fee

– Production budget (including support of travel and accommodation, accommodation is not provided for in Amsterdam)

– Public presentation of research at Kitchen Budapest and NIMk, public launch at 5daysoff/Melkweg and public beta testing at Pervasive Media Studio

– Dissemination of the research report

Requirements:

– Proposals are welcome from professional artists worldwide

– The concept should fit within the overall themes as described above

– The work should be created using free/open source software and utilise mobile, wireless or sensory technologies.

The artist must:

– Be willing and able to travel to Amsterdam, Budapest and Bristol for residency periods with dedicated research time at each organization (exact dates and period will be made in accordance with the artist)

– Have an open, rigorous, experimental approach and be keen to work in collaborative settings with people from different disciplines

– Be willing to openly and thoroughly document the artistic process online

– Participate in events, critiques and discussions

– Have a willingness to contribute to the lab communities

– Produce work which is exposed, tested and investigated as it is developed

– Present and demonstrate a work in progress or finalised piece

– Complete an illustrated research report, documenting process, describing findings and considering value

To apply please provide:

– An outline of the concept underlying the work that you wish to develop (300 words max).

– A general outline of the scope of the final work (200 words max – please include visual sketches).

– An outline of the research and development plan for the work (250 words max)

– Motivation for why you would like to work in the context of this particular residency as well as an overview of your interest in the technologies mentioned above (250 words max).

– A technical description and project development plan (including an indication of your planning divided between the organizations, i.e. what would you like to develop where and why)

– A draft budget proposal.

– An up-to-date CV including links to previous work.

Please send your submission to call@nimk.nl

Deadline for submission is 12 November 2010.

Representatives from the four partner organisations will select the artist. Applicants will be informed by 24 November 2010.

ABOUT THE DIFFERENT PARTNERS

5daysoff (Amsterdam, NL)

http://www.5daysoff.nl

5 days off is an urban festival for electronic music and related art forms such as audio-visual arts, photography and film. Since 2001, the festival covers a cutting edge music programme, presenting internationally renown names and emerging new talent, ranging from minimal and techno to hiphop, soul, electro and live acts. Besides offering a high quality overview of the international electronic music scene, the annual festival showcases media arts related to popular culture within an exhibition and embedded into the wider festival context. 5daysoff is co-organised by Melkweg, Paradiso, NIMk and Mojo Concerts.

Netherlands Media Art Institute (Amsterdam, NL)

http://www.nimk.nl/

The Artist in Residence (AiR) programme at the Netherlands Media Art Institute supports the exploration and development of new work in digital/interactive/network media and technology based arts practice. The residency provides time and resources to artists in a supportive environment to facilitate the creation of new work that is produced from an open source perspective. We encourage a cross disciplinary and experimental approach. This is a practice based residency designed to enable the development and completion of a new work. The Netherlands Media Art Institute offers an open environment with technical assistance and an active advisory board which will give feedback and support in technical, conceptual and presentation issues. There is access to studio and exhibition equipment, technical support from the Institute’s staff and production help from interns. We expect the artist to have knowledge and insight in the technical realisation of the concept.

Pervasive Media Studio (Bristol, UK)

http://www.pmstudio.co.uk

The Pervasive Media Studio is part of Watershed, built on the legacy of Mobile Bristol. Pervasive Media Studio has a formal partnership with UWE’s Digital Cultures Research Centre and support from HP Labs and the South West Regional Development Agency.

It is a multi-disciplinary lab exploring and producing pervasive media content, applications and services, working within an inspiring community of artists, creative companies, technologists and academics. Projects include gaming, projections, location-based media, digital displays and new forms of performance – some are commercial, some are cultural. All of them are tested as early as possible and iterate. Pervasive Media Studio has a shared workspace, an open ethos and a can-do attitude.

Kitchen Budapest (HU)

http://www.kitchenbudapest.hu/en

Kitchen Budapest, opened in June 2007, is a new media lab for young researchers who are interested in the convergence of mobile communication, online communities and urban space and are passionate about creating experimental projects in cross-disciplinary teams. KIBU offers a research lab space downtown Budapest, a basic grant for a dozen researchers, some equipment, and a dynamic workflow where sharing and helping is essential, and the freedom to capitalize any good idea.

Being sponsored by Magyar Telekom (MT), the leading Hungarian Telco, there is a direct path where ideas and prototypes get reach larger audiences, in case MT and the project group finds ways to do so. Our aim is to build a platform where ideas are materializing and some end up in cultural context, some in the market. Kitchen Budapest regularly organizes exhibitions to present our prototypes, as well as works or projects from related institutions and professionals.

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Netherlands Media Art Institute

Keizersgracht 264

1016 EV Amsterdam

T 31 20 6237101

F 31 20 6244423

http://www.nimk.nl

http://www.facebook.com/NIMk.Media.Art

http://twitter.com/NIMk_nl

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nimk

http://www.youtube.com/user/NIMkartchannel

http://www.mediaartplatform.nl

Learning to Teach Online: Development Resources Available

Posted by on October 28th, 2010 · Resources, Showcasing Teaching

Earlier this year, Simon McIntyre and Karin Watson, COFA, presented a Connections seminar on their Learning to Teach Online project.  The project is designed as a free professional development resource for teachers from any discipline worldwide. It aims to help them better understand online learning and teaching, and to help them get starting in developing their own online teaching practices – a necessary skill in today’s changing society.

The project has now gone live and you can access professional development resources here, including videos on managing your time; using blogs for peer feedback; online medical tutorials and more…

You may like to discuss and contribute feedback and comments in our online forum: http://online.cofa.unsw.edu.au/forums/forum.php

Wikipedia & Higher Education Links

Posted by on October 27th, 2010 · Resources

Go to the TELT Diigo group to see a number of interesting articles and resources about Wikipedia:
http://groups.diigo.com/group/web2_unsw/search?what=wikipedia

Diigo is a social bookmarking site.  You can read about it- including a ‘how-to’ guide on how to join etc here: http://telt.unsw.wikispaces.net/Social+bookmarking

Thursday – Familiarity Breeds Content: Bridging the Gap between Online Learning and Social Media with PeerWise

Posted by on October 25th, 2010 · Showcasing Teaching

Paul Denny, University of Auckland
28 October, 12 – 2pm
LG 29 Goodsell Building
This hands-on workshop introduces the PeerWise tool, giving participants an opportunity to experiment with the interface and view typical examples of the real-time feedback that is produced. Benefits of involving students in the construction and sharing of assessment questions will also be discussed.
Read full abstract and bio here: Familiarity Breeds Content abstract and bio

You must register to attend. For more information and to register online, go to: www.edtec.unsw.edu.au/event_rego/events.cfm.

2010 Ritsumeikan Winter Japanese Program

Posted by on October 21st, 2010 · Self funded, Short courses

Ritsumeikan Winter Japanese Program (RWJP) is designed for undergraduate or graduate students with minimal knowledge of the Japanese language, providing a comprehensive introduction to Japanese language and culture. Program participants are immersed in an optimal environment for short-term intensive language study with the added benefits of cultural exchange and exploration.

Curriculum 

  • Japanese Language Classes: Three classes every weekday morning 
  • Japan Studies: Lectures on Japanese culture, fieldwork, and task work with buddies are held two to three times a week. 

Further information

 To Apply:

SNU 2010 Winter Session now opened

Posted by on October 18th, 2010 · Self funded, Short courses

The Winter Session is a 5-weeks short term program (Dec. 20 – Jan. 21) and SNU provides an opportunity for your students to participate in both undergraduate and graduate courses that are offered in Korean.  Applications close 25th October 2010.

For further information please refer to the attached file. 

Contact Michelle Kofod (m.kofod@unsw.edu.au ) for the SNU 2010 Winter Session & SNU Winter Session Application Form.

For any further inquiries, please feel free to contact us at intersession@snu.ac.kr.

Seoul National University 
Office of International Affairs

Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program

Posted by on October 18th, 2010 · Uncategorized

The Government of Japan is inviting applications from young Australians who are university graduates and who would like the opportunity to spend at least one year in Japan under a successful international exchange program.  Host institutions provide JET participants with the transportation costs to Japan and approximately 3,600,000 yen remuneration per annum (after exemptions from income tax).

The Japan Exchange and Teaching Program seeks to enhance internationalisation in Japan, by promoting mutual understanding between the people of Japan and those of other nations.

The Program aims to enhance foreign language education, and promote international exchange at the local level through the fostering of ties between Japanese youth and foreign youth alike. The objectives of the Program are being achieved by offering JET Program participants (hereinafter, participants) the opportunity to serve in local authorities as well as public and private primary, junior high and senior high schools.  There are two types of positions offered in the JET Program. One may apply for either of the two but not both: 

  • CIR (Coordinator for International Relations): Participants engaged in international activities. CIRs are placed in offices of local authorities or related organisations. 
  • ALT (Assistant Language Teacher): Participants engaged in language instruction. ALTs are placed mainly in local boards of education or publicly run primary, junior high and senior high schools. 
  • SEAs (Sports Exchange Advisors): SEAs work for local governments, coaching and promoting internationalisation through the universal language of sports. SEAs are sports professionals whose role is to assist with sports training and the planning of sports related projects. 

Deadline(s):      01/12/2010

Sponsor:          Embassy of Japan in Australia

Citizenship/Country of Applying Institution: Australia Citizenship

Appl Type(s): Predoctoral-Non-Student Researcher/Investigator

Duration: 1 YEAR(s)

ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be Australian citizens under forty (40) years of age as of 1 April, 2010. Applicants must have excellent English pronunciation, rhythm, intonation and voice projection skills in addition to other standard language skills, and have good writing skills and grammar usage. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree in any subject by July of the year of departure, be a citizen of Australia, not have lived in Japan for six or more than of the last ten years, and not have participated in JET for the past three years.

FUNDING: Participants will receive approximately 3,600,000 yen per annum in stipend support, after Japanese taxes are deducted.  Out of this payment, participants must pay for health insurance, employment insurance, pension fund costs, and accident insurance, totaling about 40,000 yen per month.  Participants must also pay for adequate housing, with rents normally running between 50,000 and 60,000 yen per month.  Round-trip air tickets to Japan are usually provided by the sponsor separate from the stipend.

FURTHER INFORMATION: Embassy of Japan

E-mail:           jet@cb.mofa.go.jp

Web Site: http://www.au.embjapan.go.jp/e_web/JET.htm                                            

Program URL: http://www.jetprogram.org/                                                                          

Tel:              02-6273-2679                 Fax:              02 6273 4332

World Bank Internship Program

Posted by on October 18th, 2010 · Internships, Uncategorized

The World Bank supports internships in Washington, D.C. for graduate students to improve their skills and experience working in an international environment.   This internship typically seeks candidates in the following fields: economics, finance, human development (public health, education, nutrition, population), social science (anthropology, sociology), agriculture, environment, private sector development, as well as other related fields. 

Deadline(s):      31/10/2010

DEADLINE NOTE: Deadiine for applications for the Winter season (December-March) is October 31 each year. Deadline for applications for the Summer (June-September) is January 31 each year. All applications must be submitted on-line.

ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible for the Internship, candidates must possess an undergraduate degree and already be enrolled in a full-time graduate study program (pursuing a Master’s degree or PhD with plans to return to school in a full-time capacity. Generally, successful candidates have completed their first year of graduate studies or are already into their PhD programs. Fluency in English is required. Prior relevant work experience, computing skills, as well as knowledge of languages such as French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese, and Chinese are advantageous..

FUNDING: The sponsor pays an hourly salary to all Interns and, where applicable, provides an allowance towards travel expenses. Interns are responsible for their own living accommodations. Most positions are located in Washington, DC (some positions are offered in country offices) and are a minimum of four weeks in duration.

FURTHER INFORMATION                        

Web Site: http://go.worldbank.org/IY07OW3WQ0

E-mail:           hrweb@worldbank.org

back to the whiteboard

Posted by on October 15th, 2010 · Uncategorized

crunch time. reports flowing in. feedback from CIs on phone and questionnaires. there has been lots of information coming in that we need to synthesize, process, and find where it fits in the  big jigsaw puzzle. Back to the whiteboard.

Last week began with refocussing on the incorporation of more design content. We start on a first pass with a type of centre/edge , type/topos approach.  Basically, we find people/groups/case that would constitute an ‘exemplar’ of hegemonic success in a field (in terms of established field criteria like prizes or commissions etc)  and  map those against other cases that push the borders of what is understood as ‘the field’.  We grid the case studies and then overlay  the connections between the types that help us think about other methods of organisation.

We then drill down in case studies to find tricky cases and map them against conforming ones. We find case studies that our existing schema might have trouble with. For instance, time, is a major axis of historical research- that is to say, it is a key filter that people will use on search queries.  In our database this category does a lot of work (as it attaches to so many categories). So we run tests that have time problems. For instance,  how to cover the issue of the changing names and principals and partners of design houses?  How can we the ‘period active’ category in the existing schema to raise more meaningful searches. As we go through this process it help clarifies how data relates to each other- so we can find the most elegant data design solutions that don’t introduce so many elements that takes us away from our core business of biography ( albeit, a dynamic and expanded notion of what constitutes a creative ‘life’) so we can draw upon and expand our strengths so our content can be sustained in a quality state in an online context.

I love iterative whiteboard days. Days of focussing on concrete problems, collaborating with Olivia and Jo, or Ross Harley ( our Lead CI) , or Tom Ruthven (UNSW Library Innovation) among others and working the thoughts though diagrammatically- dumping the thought and the standing back and altering till it finally morphs into something approaching either a ‘design’ or ‘description’..

But this is only part of the story.

We may know what we want- what our ideal database might be- but if that is not ground in a good ‘business case’, it won’t be sustainable. This is where the Business Analysis and Technical review plug in.

The Technical Review currently being undertaken by Sam Elliot of  Doric Order is revealing, unravelling and resolving lots of  issues that sometimes may seem tiny but given the intricacies of system ecologies can have huge impact. The good news is that we are discovering that we have quite an agile structure to our data, which will great help us as we add new elements to schema and improve our search functionality when we move in redevelopment stage.

Doric is also helping us organise  our ‘datawash’ which is basically the process of going through and correcting inconsistencies and errors in the way the data has been entered. This process not only helps the process of migrating the data into the extended schema, assists in search functionality but it is also a very useful diagnostic in helping us understand what fields generate errors  so we can design solutions. One day when Jo is not so busy working her magic with our data, I’ll see if I can get her to give us one of her mini master classes in data librarianship, which is has opened up the messy ecologies of the dataverse to me from a totally different perspective. ( (More on that later when i have my writer’s head on)

A Buzzy CloudCamp Canberra and our new NICTA CEO!

Posted by on October 14th, 2010 · Work

Wow – it was a great cloudcamp in Canberra – big thanks to Dave and Ben for making this happen again, and NICTA a proud venue sponsor.

Good to see some familiar faces, and even more fantastic to see some great innovation in cloud computing from right here in Australia – the youthful enthusiasm and passion for technology is clearly evident from some of our local IaaS innovators – Joseph and Sheng from OrionVM – great to see the results from years of academic research making its way into your product through the form of OpenNebula, and fantastic SaaS innovation from Connect2Field, your lightning talk definitely captured the imagination of the predominantly Government enterprise audience in Canberra – on how to better enable next gen field workforce!  

I feel heartened to see the next generation innovators coming through with so much energy and passion, and hopeful that we are creating the right incubation environment through our education system/University environments and research labs such as NICTA for enabling and empowering a fresh and vibrant software industry in Australia.

With the appointment of our new NICTA CEO – Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte, I am very excited about further strengthening our industry engagement, and bringing through the next generation of innovators for Australia!