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.

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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

About the Contributors Acknowledgements 1. Ireland in the Twenty First Century Rob Kitchin and Brendan Bartley Part One: Planning and Development Section introduction 2. Planning in Ireland Brendan Bartley 3. Regional development: trends, policies and strategies James A. Walsh 4. Recent development of the Irish urban systems Des McCafferty 5. Urban property development Andrew MacLaran and Sinead Kelly 6. Rural development - retrospect and prospect John McDonagh 7. Transport James Killen 8. Strategic spatial planning in Northern Ireland Michael Murray and Brendan Murtagh Part Two: Economy Section introduction 9. The manufacturing sector Chris Van Egeraat and Proinnsias Breathnach 10. The services sector Proinnsias Breathnach 11. Agriculture in transition James A. Walsh 12. Tourism and heritage Catherine Kelly Part Three: Political landscape Section introduction 13. Political landscape of the Republic of Ireland Adrian Kavanagh 14. Transformations in governance Joe Larragy and Brendan Bartley 15. Green Ireland? The governance of waste Honor Fagan and Michael Murray 16. The meaning of Northern Ireland Brian Graham Part Four: Population and social issues Section introduction 17. Immigration: Labour migrants and asylum seekers and refugees Piaras MacEinri 18. Transformations in housing Mary Corcoran, Patrick Duffy and Karen Keaveney 19. Deprivation and its spatial articulation Trutz Haase 20. Health and disease Frank Houghton and Dennis Pringle 21. 'For the way we live today': consumption, lifestyle and place in Ireland. Denis Linehan Conclusion 22. Ireland now and in the future: Rob Kitchin and Brendan Bartley Notes References Index

Understanding contemporary Ireland

Traditionally, studies of disabled people's access to the labour market have been largely restricted to labour market 'censuses', often conducted by government agencies, and econometric studies. This paper explores disabled people's access to and experiences of employment in Donegal, West Ireland, using a qualitative approach. Twelve disabled people and four non-disabled helpers, divided into two focus groups, were interviewed using an in-depth, informal conversational strategy. A number of different, salient issues were identified in regards to training, and gaining and maintaining employment, ranging from ignorance and discrimination, to poor access (both workplace and transport), to legislation. Respondents identified a number or potential solutions which mainly focused around disability awareness, removing barriers to gaining employment and the implementation of stronger legislation. In the final section, the issues and solutions raised by disabled people are compared to those identified by non-disabl...

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On the Margins: Disabled people's experience of employment in Donegal, West Ireland

GIS, with their predominantly visual communication of spatial information, may appear to have little to offer people with visual impairments or blindness. However, because GIS store and manage the spatial relations between objects, alternative, non-visual ways to communicate this information can be utilized. As such, modified GIS could provide people with visual impairments access to detailed spatial information that would aid spatial learning, orientation, and spatial choice and decision making. In this paper, we explore the ways that GIS have been, and might be, adapted for use by people with visual impairments or blindness. We review current developments, report upon a small experimental study that compares the ability of GIS-based and various adaptive technologies to communicate spatial information using non-visual media, and provide an agenda for future research. We argue that adapted GIS hold much promise for implicitly improving the quality of life for visually impaired people by increasing mobility and independence.

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GIS and people with visual impairments or blindness: Exploring the potential for education, orientation, and navigation

In this paper, we explore successive waves of neoliberalization in Ireland. We contend that neoliberalization remained largely “invisible” during the Celtic Tiger because a property bubble permitte...

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Topologies and topographies of Ireland's neoliberal crisis

To date, critical examinations of smart cities have largely ignored their temporality. In this article, I consider smart cities from a spatiotemporal perspective, arguing that they produce a new timescape and constitute space–time machines. The first half of the article examines spatiotemporal relations and rhythms, exploring how smart cities are the products of and contribute to space–time compression, create new urban polyrhythms, alter the practices of scheduling, and change the pace and tempos of everyday activities. The second half of the article details how smart cities shape the nature of temporal modalities, considering how they reframe and utilize the relationship among the past, present, and future. The analysis draws from a set of forty-three interviews conducted in Dublin, Ireland, and highlights that much of the power of smart urbanism is derived from how it produces a new timescape, rather than simply reconfiguring spatial relations.

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Rob Kitchin

Papers

Understanding contemporary Ireland

On the Margins: Disabled people's experience of employment in Donegal, West Ireland

GIS and people with visual impairments or blindness: Exploring the potential for education, orientation, and navigation

Topologies and topographies of Ireland's neoliberal crisis

The Timescape of Smart Cities