Welcome to the QUAD to be archived by The British Library

The old website is archived on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine going back to 1999 and so is W2tQ.

The British Library also has a web archive, UK based of course. The website's there and now I've news that Welcome to the QUAD will be too.

Call for contributions: 'Interpreting the Information Age' new avenues for research and display

November 24 – 26 2014

Science Museum, London

In autumn 2014, the Science Museum will open a new permanent gallery, Information Age. The gallery will expose, examine and celebrate how information and communication technologies have transformed our lives over the last 200 years. To mark this launch, the Museum is hosting a three day conference which will discuss how the history and material culture of information can be made relevant for today’s audiences.

From the development of global telegraph and computer networks, the creation of constellations of satellites that silently orbit our earth, and the growth of radio, telephony and cellular networks; each technology can be understood through a network of people, practices, devices and infrastructure. Approaches which focus on overly technical histories, individual innovation or inevitable progress fail to acknowledge the role of users in the history of technologies and marginalise a majority of readers or visitors who are engaged by human stories and social history. By contrast, Information Age has taken a user-centric approach, not only in the stories and objects selected for display, but in the way the gallery has been designed and developed. Participation with a diverse range of audiences has been at the heart of the process, providing new avenues for research, fresh perspectives on our collections and original ways to interpret the information networks of which we are all part. We invite papers that include insights from researchers, academics, museum professionals, community partners and participants.

The conference structure is proposed to include:

Day 1: New avenues in the history of information and communication technologies

Day 2: Interpreting and displaying the history of information and communication technologies

Day 3: Reflections on the process and practicalities of participatory practice

We are especially interested in papers that address the following themes, but are happy to consider other proposals. Please contact the organisers for guidance. 

New avenues in the history of information and communication technologies

• From devices to networks: taking a broader approach to the history of information and communication. How has historical analysis expanded our understanding of information networks as inherently social-cultural phenomena? How can museums move beyond displays of devices, to reveal how networks unite people, places and ideas?
• User-driven innovation: technological change does not only occur at the moment of invention, but in the hands of users, who adapt and appropriate new technologies. What tools and techniques can we use to reveal previously hidden user stories?
• Spaces and places of information: How are institutions celebrating the local and global stories in the history of information and communication technology? What partnerships are being formed to support this?

Interpreting and displaying the history of information and communication technologies

• Collecting information: what are the challenges of collecting the material culture of information and communication? How can opening collecting processes to wider audiences enhance understanding, and what are the benefits for both researchers and the wider public?
• Displaying information: innovative approaches to the history, present or future of information and communication technologies.
• Preserving information: the challenges for museums, libraries and archives in preserving our increasingly digital lives.
• Whose story? As institutions strive to tell the story of information and communication technologies from the perspective of users and co-producers, how can we ensure that we are representing a diverse range of voices? 

Reflections on the process and practicalities of participatory practice

• Breaking down barriers: what approaches are being taken to ensure museum collections are accessible to wider audiences? What interpretation approaches can be adopted?
• Collaborative interpretation and design: how are institutions and audiences working together in exhibition development? What are the benefits to the museum, participant and ultimately the gallery visitor? What are the perceived risks to the museum’s authority?
• Ensuring legacy: how do museums capture the process of participatory practice in a meaningful way? What evaluation methodologies can be adopted? How can museums support partners and participants in the longer-term? 

How to contribute

To submit a proposal, please send a 250 abstract outlining the topic of your paper, along with a 100 word biography, to [ research AT sciencemuseum.ac.uk ] by Friday 28th March 2014.

We welcome proposals which could be delivered either as paper presentations or for consideration as panel discussions with other contributors, along with proposals for workshops which practically address the conference themes.

My source: HUMANIST list

Hodges' model - Website, Blog and the UK Web Archive

Early this morning the blog threw a wobbly, at least on Firefox. The sidebar was being displayed below the main content. I take this as a sign that it's time to move on digitally. This evening the problem seems to have corrected itself, but time is pressing.

Returning from holiday there was another sign, a tap on the shoulder. This was positive in that as I left for Italy (minus laptop) I had submitted the old website, first published online in 1998 to the UK web archive.

Well, they have accepted the proposal and would like to archive the website. I really appreciate this. I've to fill in a form and will also use this as an opportunity to do some Northerly autumnal cleaning. There may be some broken links and other edits to make.

This is quite apt then given the long winter of the website and this blog, especially as I prepare for Drupalcon Prague on the 22 September. As I've written here before one of the first 'menu options' of any new site will be to provide a new archive for Brian Hodges' original lecture notes.

If you are new to nursing, health and social care and reflection and are interested in using Hodges' model please let me know. There are contact options in that sidebar - if it's behaving itself...

3rd Int. Conference on Integrated Information: IC-ININFO, Prague Sept

Hi everyone!

I have been invited to Chair a session at the IC-ININFO 2013 conference in Prague in September and am now looking for abstracts by people interested in attending.

I am particularly interested in papers around sociotechnology or knowledge management. At this stage an abstract is required of around 250 words to me in the first instance and if I accept it, then it will go through the online review system. After acceptance of their abstract the authors have to prepare their Conference paper of up to 8 pages.

The paper submission will initiate a further single blind peer review process and the final paper will be published in the Conference Proceedings Book. More over, each author can submit a full paper to one of the supporting journals.

Please get in touch if you have an idea for this conference.

Elayne Coakes (Dr)
Senior Lecturer, Information and Knowledge Management
Room M112
The University of Westminster
coakese at WESTMINSTER.AC.UK

My source: SOCIOTECH at JISCMAIL.AC.UK