PUBLIC MARKS with search research

Innovation in artistic process and expression is at the heart of the many initiatives being explored in the art, design and performance laboratories in the Faculty of Fine Arts.

Rebecca Duclos and David K. Ross have engaged in a multi-disciplinary, research and site-based practice since 1998. Their work is primarily characterized by its investigations into the literal and metaphorical aspects of storage, the construction of social and manufactured spaces, and the inscription/invention of histories, both written and illustrated.

Their collaborative and individual interests have included architectural propositions, photographic and digital video projects, and critical writing. Duclos and Ross consider all aspects of their projects—from pure research, to the rejuvenation of found materials and overlooked histories, to collaborations with other artists, students and designers—as critical to their work.

In the 1960s and 70s research chemist and amateur photographer Derek Fairbrother made over 20 photographic time-lapse sequences showing the demolition of old buildings and their replacement by new buildings and road systems in Birmingham city centre.

People are increasingly living digital lives. We do research to understand how to make that life better for individuals and organisations. Our core services are listed below:

Slitscan imaging techniques are used to create static images of time-based phenomena. In traditional film photography, slit scan images are created by exposing film as it slides past a slit-shaped aperture. In the digital realm, thin slices are extracted from a sequence of video frames, and concatenated into a new image.

The following is a highlight of a competitive analysis I did earlier this year when I was involved in designing software that would allow remote research teams to work together. While software is still a long way from replacing all in-person collaboration it's becoming easier for remote or mobile workers to stay productive and communicative with their team. Certainly the tools we have available today are a vast improvement over what I used when I first tried telecommuting 12 years ago!

The International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) organises two Interoperability meeting per year. The second meeting of 2009 is being hosted by the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO), and will be held in the main building of the the ESO Headquarters, on November 9-12 in Garching bei München, Germany.

MAP (Manual of Architectural Possibilities) is a publication of research and visions; research into territories, which can be concrete or abstract, but always put into question. Map is not a magazine (it only has two pages) and is not a book (it is issued twice a year). Map presents itself as a folded poster (A1) where information is immediate, dense and objective in one side, and architectural and subjective on the other. Map is a guide to potential actions in the built environment, a folded encyclopedia of the possible, a topography of ideas, or a poster on the wall.

You're not alone. According to a 2009 Forrester Research study, 60 percent of companies are using IE6 as their default browser at work, as their IT departments are reluctant to upgrade and support a current browser. If you're in this situation, we've put together a letter you can pass on to your IT department. Just copy and paste it into an e-mail and customize it as you see fit. Get your colleagues to send a letter too.

What I've outlined thus far leads in to some of the questions that I'm considering with my research:

* What are the implications of an increasingly geospatial web for cartography and our experience of the city?