Infotech Oulu Lecture Series

From Smart City to Smart Citizens

Lecturer: Professor Marcus Foth, Queensland University of Technology, Australia

Bio: http://www.urbaninformatics.net/marcus

You are all welcome to attend Professor Marcus Foth's talk and Action Research workshop on Monday 16.9.2013 at 16-18 at the University of Oulu Linnanmaa campus, Department of CSE, Erkki Koiso-Kanttilan katu 3, door E, room TS128.

Please note that the workshop will be capped by pizza & soda sponsored by MediaTeam research group. If you wish to enjoy the pizza & soda, please make
sure that your name is listed in the Doodle poll at: http://www.doodle.com/nmzwuk9s8bht6kf2 

More information: Timo Ojala

Abstract

Large, global corporations in the technology sector have started to package and sell the 'Smart City' vision as a centralised service delivery platform - primarily based on five technology trends: broadband connectivity; smart, personal devices; big data; urban interfaces and sensor networks; and cloud computing. However, an increasing number of scholars and commentators warn of another 'IT bubble' emerging. They argue that the top-down deployment of these large and proprietary technology platforms will fail without a thorough understanding of the socio-cultural nuances of how people work, live, play across different environments, and how they employ social media and mobile devices to interact and engage. The same technology innovations giving rise to the corporate top-down approach have also enabled people to take action bottom-up. Drawing on examples from around the world, three key characteristics of these 'Smart Citizen' initiatives will be explored: participation,
appropriation, and fabrication. The presentation will raise questions about the role that civic hackers and open innovation will play in the quest to create and maintain not only secure and resilient, but productive, sustainable, and liveable future environments. The impact of these trends on curricula, literacies, citizenship, and democracy will be open for discussion.

Workshop: Action Research

Ubiquitous computing and design researchers often find themselves in the wild, outside the lab, the office, and the home. The diversity of people and environments that we study and design for requires both an epistemological appreciation and methodological sensitivity for the fuzzy and sometimes messy qualities of human actors in real-world situations. Action Research as an overarching scholarly paradigm that can accommodate different research approaches lends itself to tackle this challenge. It is agile, iterative, reflective, participatory, inquisitive, rigorous, and seeks to build genuine
partnerships between different stakeholders. This workshop will allow participants to find out more about Action Research and ask questions.

Readings:

Hearn, G., & Foth, M. (2005). Action Research in the Design of New Media and ICT Systems. In K. Kwansah-Aidoo (Ed.), Topical Issues in Communications and Media Research (pp. 79-94). New York, NY: Nova Science. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/1910/

Foth, M., & Axup, J. (2006, Jul 31 - Aug 5). Participatory Design and Action Research: Identical Twins or Synergetic Pair? In G. Jacucci, F. Kensing, I. Wagner, & J. Blomberg (Eds.), Proceedings of the Participatory Design Conference (PDC) (pp. 93-96). Trento, Italy. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/4347/

Bilandzic, M., & Venable, J. (2011). Towards participatory action design research: Adapting action research and design science research methods for urban informatics. Journal of Community Informatics, 7(3). http://eprints.qut.edu.au/48110/

Hearn, G., Tacchi, J., Foth, M., & Lennie, J. (2009). Action Research and New Media: Concepts, Methods and Cases. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/14077/