time lapseSpitKit

Spitting and communication

2003 The underground staff “spit kit” – sample spittle and identify assaulters through DNA. Also traffic wardens in Edinburgh and bus staff. Staff have been given a pair of sterile latex gloves, a self-sealing bag and two sterile swabs to collect a sample to prevent the evidence being lost. Pass on to police for analysis. Communication through gobbing.

The problem of scale - many natural processes are beyond human scales of perception, too long or too quick.
Chain reaction films –
the event passing precariously from one actor to the next.
This could be recorded time lapse in the case of natural processes to bring them up to human levels of duration.

We need a new name for our conception of "eco media"!
(eco-media is usually defined as how mass media deal with 'green' issues).

Bandwidth
Transmissions
channels
Relays

Questions

1. How far can such a new conception of nature as media advance the public’s understanding of and investment in ecological issues?
2. By mapping some of our human ideas about media - security, privacy and publicly owned space onto the natural world, can we test some of our most ‘species centric’ assumptions?
3. Animal or plant ‘media’ is based on senses such as smell or energy such as wind that are not as important in human media. Can ‘natural media’ with its different agencies and sensorium help to rethink human media, revealing opportunities for action or areas of mutual interest?
Can ‘eco media’ turn scientific modes of environmental monitoring into more tendentious forms of dialogue and links to the world of human decision making?

Establishing Principles:

Context

Water Cycle, 1970s

The approach will draw on our previously successful ‘free-media’ programme which finds resources, channels of communication and inspiration in the surrounding man-made environment. This work will extend the ‘free media’ by incorporating organic and inorganic materials found in the rural environment.

Our immediate aim is a new perception of nature and a strategic approach to ‘mapping out’ and incorporating ‘natural media’ systems. Our results will be presented as field studies in reconfiguring and augmenting the natural environment as a media network. We anticipate this to be of particular relevance to ecological art and design, naturalists, those monitoring environmental change and those developing policy aimed at the publics engagement with the ecological agenda.

Bright Sparks 3
“Cross Talk: using the natural environment as ‘eco media’”
Harwood, Wright, Yokokoji, March 2008

Intro

This project poses the question of understanding of the ecosystem as a communications network. There are many implicit forms of media in nature that operate as transmissions of chemicals and energies – atmospheric flows, tides, reproductive hormones, scent markers, migrations or geological distributions. Many kinds of media thus defined pass through us without our being conscious of them. These different processes can be reinterpreted or used as the potential carriers of encoded contents or ‘messages’. ‘Eco media’ is the result of integrating this ‘natural media’ with human media so that its contents and signals are accessible to humans and non-humans alike.

The ultimate aim of ‘eco media’ is in immersing the public in the communication network of nature, to create a feedback loop and enable people and nature to talk to each other.

Laurie Grove Bath House Research

Media Use: Official and Unofficial Media Use

Research Overview
I started the research with the ambitious objective of mapping all media use of the building both official and unofficial including, internet and network use. However, after inquiring with the Network services at the University I found that there isn’t sufficient equipment in the building to record this kind of information. So I have decided to focus the research on physical official and unofficial media in the building.

In a time of digital information and paperless communication, there is a surprising number of ‘physical’ forms of communication in the bath house, both official and unofficial media. I found it interesting how the occupants of the building choose to interact with the space through note postings and tagging. This research is an attempt to record and chart all the ‘physical’ media use in the building through pictures and note taking and also an attempt to see how all the media use connects to the social network in the building. A further step of the research would be to try and find a link between the social networks formed through all the physical media use in the building and the social networks formed through social net working websites on the internet by the users of the building.

My objectives:

• Analyse Laurie Grove Baths in terms of “ACCESS”

• Two paradigms for analysing “ACCESS”

1. Analogic Era: presence/absence (Victorian Age)
2. Information Era : pattern/randomness (Present)

1. Presence/Absence  Private/Public
2. Pattern/Randomness  Right/No Right to Enter

• Understand what is meant by “access” : social/ economic/ cultural/ political access, a way of entering, a right to use etc…
• Track any kind of access to the building (then and now)
• Research how access has changed, also in relationship to the two communities that in different times made use of the building (Local Community – Goldsmiths Community)

Here are the questions/answers for/from Network:

Hi,
thanks for your message.
I'll answer what I can however there are some points that I'm not able to answer as
they either relate to our security or to another group.
Hope this is OK.

> 1. How is the network secured from inside/outside intrusions,
> i.e. ports?
> firewalls? anti-virus? fixed IP? DHCP? etc...

We use firewalls and other applications and devices for security. These work on port
numbers, traffic content and other traffic/port behaviour.
We used both fixed IP and DHCP across the wired and wireless networks.
Anti-Virus software is on all College supplied computers.

Here is the email I got from Security:

I attach a list which provides the number of swipes through the card reader
at Laurie Grove Baths since January 2005. It has been broken down to
monthly reports as it would be too time consuming to produce weekly
records. Please bear in mind that the numbers are not necessarily the
actual number of people using the building as some may use their card
several times a day whilst others do not use it at all by tailgating
through behind other users.

The current system was introduced towards the end of 2002 and replaced an
extremely old card reader system. I have no record of what was used

The New Cross Sniff took place on 30th October. The following 'hot spots' were found:

Unfortunately, only one camera was found (twice) and there was no baby in baby monitor...better luck next time.

Here is a much longer piece that is an edited version of my dissertation on Deptford Town Hall, Deptford history, slavery, racism and resistance. It's over 8000 words so I recommend that you skim it for content!
The bibliography might be useful for your research. best Paul xxx

ABTRACT: Goldsmiths is the current owner of Deptford’s former Town Hall, an ornately sculpted building on a maritime theme. Controversially the figures celebrated on the front of this building have close association with the British slave trade. The paper attempts a new historicisation of Goldsmiths in relation to Deptford Town Hall, racism and resistance to racism. It further explores anthropological theory and methods in order to ascertain the institutional responsibilities of Goldsmiths to adequately address this controversial artefact. Finally I briefly examine how theory can inform action in the development of a local campaign.