Dec 20, 2015

Green season

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

Nov 12, 2015

electricity

Boyer, Dominic. "Anthropology Electric." Cultural Anthropology 30, no. 4 (2015) 531–539:
"These days, beyond spectacular weather events or spectacular failures like blackouts, electricity hides in plain sight, whether stored in batteries or flowing in the electrical wires that festoon our social landscapes. We conveniently ignore whole electroscapes until something goes awry."

Nov 10, 2015

technology non-use

Eric P.S. Baumer, Morgan G. Ames, Jenna Burrell, Jed R. Brubaker, and Paul Dourish (2015). Why study technology non-use? First Monday, Volume 20 (11), November 2nd:
"Technology non-use offers a fascinating sociotechnical phenomenon worthy of study per se. However, it also provides an opportunity to rethink how we approach, study, and conceptualize human relationships with, and through, technology."

Oct 19, 2015

October

Arthur. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

Oct 8, 2015

information fragmentation

M. Kljun, “The information fragmentation problem through dimensions of software, time and personal projects,” Ph.D. dissertation, Lancaster University, 2013.
"The findings show (i) the extensive information fragmentation in each individual PIM tool besides cross-tool fragmentation, (ii) the information overload preventing focusing on the subset of fragmented project related information and changing focus over time, and (iii) the importance of support information (information scraps) and its integration into project flow." [pdf]

Aug 25, 2015

ICT2015 conference

ICT 2015 - Innovate, Connect, Transform, on 20-22 October 2015 in Lisbon, Portugal, parallel activities: 
  • A policy conference presenting the new Commission's policies and initiatives on Research & Innovation in ICT (Horizon 2020 Programme); 
  • An interactive exhibition showcasing the best results and impact of most recent EU ICT Research & Innovation; 
  • Many networking opportunities to enhance quality partnerships, help participants find partners, connect Research and Innovation and trigger collaboration; 
  • Funding opportunities: ICT 2015 will also be the place to gather information on the 2016-17 Work Programme of Horizon 2020
  • The Startup Europe Forum, offering a set of activities profiling EU policy actions for startups and SMEs, innovators, private and public investors.

Jul 20, 2015

Paper selling (still) growing in digital era


«Ainda é possível vender mais papel na era do digital»: «Não deixa de ser curioso que uma empresa que vende papel esteja a crescer em paralelo com o avanço da digitalização. Ou seja, a Portucel está a vender mais folhas de papel mesmo com a desmaterialização de ficheiros e documentos. “No ano passado até na Europa conseguimos crescer”, nota Diogo da Silveira, “mas é óbvio para nós a grande importância que tem (e vai continuar a ter) o mercado asiático, com especial destaque para a China”» in http://expresso.sapo.pt/economia/2015-07-19-Portucel-quer-quinta-fabrica-em-Portugal

Jul 18, 2015

July in the garden

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

May 8, 2015

interpreting, changing

7 e 8 de Maio de 2015 | Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian


Interpreting the World, Changing the World | Noam Chomsky
Can experiencing art lead to better scientists? Reflections and discussions | Samuel Meyler

May 1, 2015

Image as Method

From the Heyman Center:

"Image as Method: Ethnography – Photography – Film – Sensation – Perception" is a two-day symposium presented by the Society of Fellows in the Humanities. The symposium is organized by Fellow Brian Goldstone, Lecturer in Anthropology.

Apr 30, 2015

Aviation security issues with paperless option

Travelers scramble after iPad issues delay American Airlines flights, in USA Today:
Paper does not need an occasional reboot, however. (...) "He said, 'My copilot's iPad went black. Exactly 24 minutes after that, mine went black. We were informed it looks like a problem with all the iPads on 737s,' " Jacaruso, 54, recalled. (...) The crew explained that flight plans are transmitted on the iPads, which make them crucial to navigation, said McRell, 43. (...) The glitch came two weeks after the U.S. Government Accountability Office warned that i on-board wifi conceivably could be used to bring down a plane. "Modern aircraft are increasingly connected to the internet. This interconnectedness can potentially provide unauthorized remote access to aircraft avionics systems."
Dezenas de voos da American Airlines em terra devido a falha nos iPad, in jornal Expresso: 
Uma falha numa aplicação de iPad usada pelos pilotos da American Airlines levou a que cerca de duas dezenas de aviões da empresa não descolassem terça-feira à noite. (...) A responsável de comunicações da companhia, Andrea Huguely, indicou ao "USA Today" que, "em alguns casos, os aparelhos tiveram de regressar até à zona de entrada para acederem a uma rede de wi-fi e resolverem o incidente". "Nós pedimos desculpa aos nossos clientes pelos inconvenientes e nós conseguimos levá-los para os seus destinos passado pouco tempo", afirmou. (...) A American Airlines tornou-se em 2013 a primeira companhia a substituir os planos de voo em papel, de modo a evitar o peso extra que isso representava, passando a transmitir essa informação às tripulações através de iPad.