mink

What we wear is what we are. And what we are is what we do. So, I suggest that what we wear is what we do. Clothing can be stylish and purposeful at the same time. 

Sometimes, we argue about how far we have acted out our thoughts. Other times, we decide we cannot act as much as we can think. Insofar as thinking and acting are seen as two departments, two worlds, two states of being, their combination seems difficult. Insofar as they are thought of as one seamless process, one world, one way of being, their interdependency becomes clearer.

Google had a synthesizer up as their search logo today. The record function is a seriously dangerous passtime!

The problem with contemporary information systems for the public sector is that they rely on older models of "new public management" that rose around the turn of the century. New public management was a field where the affordances of technology were combined with the objectives of public administration. Two concerns follow from this  theoretical combination: First, how has the distribution, production and consumption of new media and information technology systems evolved since the year 2000? Second, how are public values  translated into technology rules? The challenge of contemporary information systems for the public sector lies in these two concerns.

Physical - Metaphysical Subjective - Objective Realized - Trancended Dark - Light War - Peace Gemeinschaft - Gesellschaft Exogenous - Endogenous Public - Private Open-source - Propietary Us - Them

If we can accept that different communication systems are embedded in different cultural arrangements, then the social relations which make the arrangements up become a central concern. We may borrow from concepts explored in political economy as well as community development literature. Amartya Sen [1] outlines five critical functions of the media in society: To enable direction contribution from the public; To enable information to be disseminated to the public; To protect public voice; To facilitate the formation of public value; and To enable public reasoning. Here, Sen does not attempt to theorize communication. He assumes much of it: That it is increasingly 2-way, that sometimes the public talks and other time the public is talked to, and that values are inherent in these relations. By these assumptions, he makes a strong argument of the media in support of democratic, just societies.  Similarly, Paolo Friere [2] assumes that modes of communication -...

When discussing communication for development, we tend to argue against the models based only on diffusion of media technologies. That is, in pursuing a critical approach to development practices, we tend to support participatory approaches to technology use and engagement. Yet, we leave development practice in the abstract. We stop short at revised theory, and consult with practice initiators who attempt to materialize the abstract. Even there, we treat attempts as cases, and recriticize to align with still revised theory. It's time the field of communication for development confessed its efforts to change market-based activities. It's also time that it confessed that power in the market is strong, and at most times, stronger than the power of discourse. Instead, the field of communication for development should hold strong to the assumptions that structuralist development practice has not worked. That's that. Why go further to assume that a new theory is needed, or...

If the artifacts we used in our social networks were the rules of behavior we live by, how would you act?

Power is exercised between people and in their production of subsistence. In mediated contexts, people and their production are still important sources of power, but the systems through which their interactions are mediated are in turn founded in their respective perceptions of, interests in, and structures around power. 

Caption from source: "GRRR: A young boy flexed his muscles during a regional bodybuilding competition in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday. Bodybuilding is one of the country’s most popular sports. ( Johannes Eisele / Agence France-Presse /Getty Images)" More photos of the day at Wall Street Journal .