Category Archives: Academic

Academic Publications

The Digital Naturalism Conference!

[Open Call]
The Digital Naturalism Conference, Koh Lon, Thailand
May 26- July 8, 2018 – Free Registration! Free Housing!
www.dinacon.org  Applications due: Jan 30
 
You are invited to apply to come to The Digital Naturalism Conference. It is a FREE, on-going, drop-in conference running from May 20 – July 15 2018, in Koh Lon, Thailand. We have rented a semi-rustic spot for field biologists, interaction designers, engineers, artists, and anyone else interested in nature and technology to share information while living and working together in a rich jungle and marine environment!
Here’s a 2 minute informational video:

and here’s a silly video:

Housing is FREE (albeit, maybe rustic)
Registration is FREE
and thanks to an anonymous donor food is FREE!
You can join the growing list of interesting local and international experts in a wide variety of fields such as . Our growing list of facilitators includes experts in a wide variety of fields such as:
 

Venue (http://www.dinacon.org/location/)

We have rented a resort bungalow and campground on an Island off Phuket that you can stay at for free. It features:

·         Beautiful jungle and marine areas to explore

·         Quick access from Phuket International Airport

·         Occupancy for 30 fellow naturalists at a given time

·         Free long-boat rides between islands

·         Free kayaks

·         Additional private cottages available for rent

·         Electronics, Crafting, and Prototyping Gear (Including: Mobile/Wearable Studios, Robotic arms, 3D printers, Laser etchers, Sensors and actuators of all sorts, yarn.)

Requirements (http://www.dinacon.org/2017/10/05/faq/)

The registration is free, the housing is free (though bungalow rooms are limited, and you may have to bring your own tent). We just want to take people from different fields and connect them to both each other and to nature!

The only requirements are:

1.       Make something (can be anything! Big or simple! Work on a journal article, make a finger-painting, build a tool, do a biological study)

2.       Document your thing

3.       Provide feedback on other’s projects

4.       You need to stay at the conference for at least two (2) consecutive nights.

For more information about the conference, its location, and to apply now, please go to www.dinacon.org/apply/

Please let us know if you have any questions!

Thank you very much,

Digital Naturalism Conference Co-Chairs

Andy Quitmeyer and Tasneem Khan

www.dinacon.org

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Design Fiction Course on Environmental Interaction – NUS

Spring 2017

My first course I am teaching at NUS is New Media – 4225: Design Fiction. This semester’s theme centered around the future of humanity’s interactions with the natural world.

This class explores the concept of “Design Fiction” where science fiction – type storyworlds are shared through the creation of interactive, futuristic objects. These novel designs aim to suspend disbelief and invite audiences into the possible future worlds expressed by these interactive objects. The ideas and storyworlds surrounding the designs provoke audiences and encourage discussion about current issues that may lead to such futures. This semester’s theme focused on “Frontiers of Ecological Interaction.” Students were tasked with exploring contemporary technologies and issues arising between humanity and the natural world. They then designed interactive objects, performances, and storyworlds that highlight key concerns arising in the near future.

View Print Documentation of the class projects here:

Design Fiction Spring 2017 by Andrew Quitmeyer on Scribd

CNM Blog review of class final presentations

Student Showcase: An Uncertain Future Visualised and Explained Through Fiction

Dissertation – Digital Naturalism

Read the full version of my PhD dissertation. Freely available here to preview or download:

SUMMARY
This research aims to develop and evaluate a design framework for creating digital devices that support the exploration of animal behaviors in the wild. In order to carry out this work, it both studies ethology’s foundational ideas through literature and also examines the contemporary principles at a rainforest field station through on-site ethnographies, workshops, design projects, and interactive performances. Based upon these personal and practical investigations, this research then synthesizes a framework to support digital-ethological practice. Finally, this framework is utilized to design additional ethological expeditions and activities in order to assess the framework itself. The resulting framework encourages digital technology that supports four key concepts. Technological Agency pushes for devices that promote understanding of their own internal functions. The tenet of Contextual Crafting leads designers and ethologists to create devices in close proximity to their intended use. Behavioral Immersion promotes visceral interactions between the digital and organismal agents involved. Finally, Open-Endedness challenges researchers to create adaptable tools which strive to generate questions rather than answering them. Overall, this research, referred to as Digital Naturalism, explores a developing design space for computers in the wild

Digital Naturalism: Designing A Digital Media Framework To Support Ethological Exploration by Andrew Quitmeyer on Scribd

Portable Studio Design

Many of our initial thoughts for the design of a fully portable digital crafting studio have been loosely compiled in this, yet-unpublished, paper:

Portable Studio Practice – Wear and Tear – Quitmeyer Perner-Wilson