Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism

‘The Production of Space’, in: Frans Jacobi, Imagine, Space Poetry, Copenhagen, 1996, unpaginated.

The Production of Space

From the Publisher: 
A Question of Identity 
Life on the Screen is a fascinating and wide-ranging investigation of the impact of computers and networking on society, peoples' perceptions of themselves, and the individual's relationship to machines. Sherry Turkle, a Professor of the Sociology of Science at MIT and a licensed psychologist, uses Internet MUDs (multi-user domains, or in older gaming parlance multi-user dungeons) as a launching pad for explorations of software design, user interfaces, simulation, artificial intelligence, artificial life, agents, "bots," virtual reality, and "the on-line way of life." 
Turkle's discussion of postmodernism is particularly enlightening. She shows how postmodern concepts in art, architecture, and ethics are related to concrete topics much closer to home, for example AI research (Minsky's "Society of Mind") and even MUDs (exemplified by students with X-window terminals who are doing homework in one window and simultaneously playing out several different roles in the same MUD in other windows). Those of you who have (like me) been turned off by the shallow, pretentious, meaningless paintings and sculptures that litter our museums of modern art may have a different perspective after hearing what Turkle has to say. 
This is a psychoanalytical book, not a technical one. However, software developers and engineers will find it highly accessible because of the depth of the author's technical understanding and credibility. Unlike most other authors in this genre, Turkle does not constantly jar the technically-literate reader with blatant errors or bogus assertions about how things work. Although I personally don't have time or patience for MUDs,view most of AI as snake-oil, and abhor postmodern architecture, I thought the time spent reading this book was an extremely good investment.

스크린 위의 삶 = Life on the screen : identity in the age of the internet

It seems that a new paradigm is being formed within the social sciences, the ‘new mobilities’ paradigm. Some recent contributions to forming and stabilising this new paradigm include work from anthropology, cultural studies, geography, migration studies, science and technology studies, tourism and transport studies, and sociology. In this paper we draw out some characteristics, properties, and implications of this emergent paradigm, especially documenting some novel mobile theories and methods. We reflect on how far this paradigm has developed and thereby to extend and develop the ‘mobility turn’ within the social sciences.

/pdf/the-new-mobilities-paradigm-5es9cbvhdk.pdf

The new mobilities paradigm.

As the term “smart city” gains wider and wider currency, there is still confusion about what a smart city is, especially since several similar terms are often used interchangeably. This paper aims to clarify the meaning of the word “smart” in the context of cities through an approach based on an in-depth literature review of relevant studies as well as official documents of international institutions. It also identifies the main dimensions and elements characterizing a smart city. The different metrics of urban smartness are reviewed to show the need for a shared definition of what constitutes a smart city, what are its features, and how it performs in comparison to traditional cities. Furthermore, performance measures and initiatives in a few smart cities are identified.

Smart Cities: Definitions, Dimensions, Performance, and Initiatives

‘Smart cities’ is a term that has gained traction in academia, business and government to describe cities that, on the one hand, are increasingly composed of and monitored by pervasive and ubiquitous computing and, on the other, whose economy and governance is being driven by innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, enacted by smart people. This paper focuses on the former and, drawing on a number of examples, details how cities are being instrumented with digital devices and infrastructure that produce ‘big data’. Such data, smart city advocates argue enables real-time analysis of city life, new modes of urban governance, and provides the raw material for envisioning and enacting more efficient, sustainable, competitive, productive, open and transparent cities. The final section of the paper provides a critical reflection on the implications of big data and smart urbanism, examining five emerging concerns: the politics of big urban data, technocratic governance and city development, corporatisation of city governance and technological lock-ins, buggy, brittle and hackable cities, and the panoptic city.

/pdf/the-real-time-city-big-data-and-smart-urbanism-4m8s5gsr9n.pdf

The real-time city? Big data and smart urbanism

This article examines how the availability of Big Data, coupled with new data analytics, challenges established epistemologies across the sciences, social sciences and humanities, and assesses the extent to which they are engendering paradigm shifts across multiple disciplines. In particular, it critically explores new forms of empiricism that declare ‘the end of theory’, the creation of data-driven rather than knowledge-driven science, and the development of digital humanities and computational social sciences that propose radically different ways to make sense of culture, history, economy and society. It is argued that: (1) Big Data and new data analytics are disruptive innovations which are reconfiguring in many instances how research is conducted; and (2) there is an urgent need for wider critical reflection within the academy on the epistemological implications of the unfolding data revolution, a task that has barely begun to be tackled despite the rapid changes in research practices presently taking place. After critically reviewing emerging epistemological positions, it is contended that a potentially fruitful approach would be the development of a situated, reflexive and contextually nuanced epistemology.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2053951714528481

Big Data, new epistemologies and paradigm shifts:

‘Smart cities’ is a term that has gained traction in academia, business and government to describe cities that, on the one hand, are increasingly composed of and monitored by pervasive and ubiquitous computing and, on the other, whose economy and governance is being driven by innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, enacted by smart people. This paper focuses on the former and how cities are being instrumented with digital devices and infrastructure that produce ‘big data’ which enable real-time analysis of city life, new modes of technocratic urban governance, and a re-imagining of cities. The paper details a number of projects that seek to produce a real-time analysis of the city and provides a critical reflection on the implications of big data and smart urbanism.

/pdf/the-real-time-city-big-data-and-smart-urbanism-2eucwopj4o.pdf

The Real-Time City? Big Data and Smart Urbanism

Chapter 1: Conceptualising Data What are data? Kinds of data Data, information, knowledge, wisdom Framing data Thinking critically about databases and data infrastructures Data assemblages and the data revolution Chapter 2: Small Data, Data Infrastructures and Data Brokers Data holdings, data archives and data infrastructures Rationale for research data infrastructures The challenges of building data infrastructures The challenges of building data infrastructuresData brokers and markets Chapter 3: Open and Linked Data Open data Linked data The case for open data The economics of open data Concerns with respect to opening data Chapter 4: Big Data Volume Exhaustive Resolution and indexicality Relationality Velocity Variety Flexibility Chapter 5: Enablers and Sources of Big Data The enablers of big data Sources of big data Directed Data Automated data Volunteered data Chapter 6: Data Analytics Pre-analytics Machine learning Data mining and pattern recognition Data visualisation and visual analytics Statistical analysis Prediction, simulation and optimization Chapter 7: The Governmental and Business Rationale for Big Data Governing people Managing organisations Leveraging value and producing capital Creating better places Chapter 8: The Reframing of Science, Social Science and Humanities Research The fourth paradigm in science? The re-emergence of empiricism The fallacies of empiricism Data-driven science Computational social sciences and digital humanities Chapter 9: Technical and Organisational Issues Deserts and deluges Access Data quality, veracity and lineage Data integration and interoperability Poor analysis and ecological fallacies Skills and human resourcing Chapter 10: Ethical, Political, Social and Legal Concerns Data shadows and dataveillance Privacy Data security Profiling, social sorting and redlining Secondary uses, control creep and anticipatory governance Modes of governance and technological lock-ins Chapter 11: Making Sense of the Data Revolution Understanding data and the data revolution Researching data assemblages Final thoughts

The data revolution : big data, open data, data infrastructures & their consequences

A Dictionary of Human Geography is a brand new addition to Oxford's Paperback Reference Series, offering over 2,000 clear and concise entries on human geography terms. From basic terms and concepts to biographical entries, acronyms, organisations, and major periods and schools in the history of human geography, it provides up-to-date, accurate, and accessible information. It also includes entry-level web links that are listed and regularly updated on a dedicated companion website. This dictionary is a reliable reference for students of human geography and ancillary subjects, for researchers and professionals in the field, and for interested generalists.

Rob Kitchin

Papers

The real-time city? Big data and smart urbanism

Big Data, new epistemologies and paradigm shifts:

The Real-Time City? Big Data and Smart Urbanism

The data revolution : big data, open data, data infrastructures & their consequences

A Dictionary of Human Geography