The State of Things: Towards a Political Economy of Artifice and Artefacts
April 29th to May 1st, 2009
Centre for Philosophy and Political Economy, University of Leicester

Keynote speakers:
Tiziana Terranova, University of Naples L’orientale
Natalie Jeremijenko, New York University
Nick Dyer-Witheford, University of Western Ontario

In a more wistful moment, Marx asked what commodities would say if they could speak. Surely, if he listened long enough, they would have announced the various traumas of their exploitatative and violent birthing to him. Eventually, one imagines, they would have described the nature of the various forms of labour necessary for their production as the apparitionally elementary components of the capitalist mode of production.

So would the commodity’s autobiography be the same now, one wonders.

Today we live in a much different state of things: the artifice of artefacts is evident all around us. A parliament of communication technologies, from RFIDS to bluetooth devices, constantly exchange information and network all around and through us. Wireless networks of communication, control, and cooperation proliferate in mysterious ways, all speaking an infra-language of organization, inscribing new techniques of governance. But these networks have become all the more indiscernible by the open secret of their appearance.

Developments in Actor Network Theory and autonomist technoscience studies have made a turn towards the economic. What does this bode for the field of organization studies? Will these two movements join in an encompassing view of posthuman economic institutions? Will ANT provide the definitive answer to the interrelation of economics, politics and objects? These two yet separated strands of economy and politics might provide a good opportunity to revisit the problematics of objects and their commodification, combining them with more traditional approaches.

This conference therefore proposes a return to the study of objects and artifacts and the various logics and dispositifs that underlie the formation of their fields of power, while combining them with modern and more classical forms of political economy. Themes could include, but are not limited to:

- Protocols and networked governance
- Diagrams and control
- The return of resistentialism and insubordinate objects
- Army ANTs and the bones left behind
- ANT and the networks of economies
- Imaginary futures and technological dis/utopian visions
- The affective states of machinic interaction
- Anachronous inquiries and steampunk dreams
- P2P commons, conflict, and governance
- Interpretative labor and semantic webs
- Extended minds and their cognitive scaffolding
- Posthuman artificing
- Artefacts, black boxes and governance
- The art of commodifying the artificed Network
- Immaterial politics of networking
- The estrangement of networks
- Marx’s Laboratory Life vs. Engel’s Scallops

Please send proposals to Jenni Hern (j.hern@le.ac.uk) of 500 words or less by November 28th, 2008. Notification of acceptance will be provided by February 4th.

For more information go to http://www.le.ac.uk/ulsm/research/cppe or e-mail Simon Lilley (s.lilley@le.ac.uk)

Dr Simon Lilley
Reader in Information and Organisation

Telephone: +44 (0) 116 223 1261
Fax: +44 (0) 116 252 5515

Email: s.lilley@le.ac.uk
Visit the website at http://www.le.ac.uk/ulsm/research/cppe/

The Library of Tibetan Works And Archives (LTWA) in Dharamsala is apparantly one of the most significant respositories of Tibetan manuscripts and artifacts anywhere in the world. Built under the direction of the current Dalai Lama in 1971, it houses "more than 80,000 manuscripts, books and documents, hundreds of thangkas, statues and other artefacts, 6,000 photographs, and other materials."
It is also a center for learning and study of Tibetan culture and Religion.
To get here you head down the road from the more touristy area of Mcloed Ganj, where you will most likey be staying. Just follow any one of the many monks who will be ambling down the hill.
The Library is set amongst a whole villiage of monastaries, and seems to be a real focul point for the community.
Twice or three times a day there are letures given here by different Lama in the teachings of the Buddah. Everyone is welcome and its free and you don't have to book. I attended twice a day for about a month. The lessons start and finish with chanting - their is an English version "song book" and the lessons were translated from Tibetan by a middle aged English woman.
Probably a third of those attending were westerners, while the rest were Tibetans, or other monks.
Donations can be made to the centre, and their is a suggested amount (which isnt very much) for attending the courses long term. Another good way to support the community is by volunteering to teach English. I taught three classes a day, one individually to a monk, one to a packed class of refugees and another to a group of more advanced monks.
Both attending these classes and teaching the locals English was a brilliant way to make friends and become a part of the local community.

Check out my review of The Library of Tibetan Works And Archives Dharamsala - I am gotiges7 - on Qype

I think I'll post some of the shots I took at the Mayan temple ruins in Copan, Honduras.  It's one of the finest complexes of Mayan ruins, but it's a lot less visited than the others because it's in Honduras.  Copan is a gorgeous town in the jungle near the border with Guatemala.  I could very happily have spent a couple of weeks there.

Have you seen the new movie? Part four? I’m not much of a film critic but I have to say that right now, as of this moment, Indiana Jones doesn’t have shit on me.

After a series of very interesting phone conferences, Corrigan Recovery LLP will start operations at 9AM tomorrow morning. I’ve found a backer (actually he found me) who knows my reputation and who’s invested in my idea of an asset-recovery business with a sideline in long-lost historical artefact's. It’s a serious proposition, we’ve got cash-flow forecasts and revenue models and some very tedious Excel documents, and we are confident that there is money to be made and we are the people to make it.

And during my first lunch-hour as my own boss I’m going to toddle down to Herbert Johnson Hatters on St James’s Street and buy myself a felt fedora, just like... well, you know. Because the moment it stops being fun is the moment I stop.

Have a look through the gallery.

These are some Aztec artefacts - what do you think they are and what were they for, or what did they represent?

What are the clues?

Click on the pictures to see them and then you can write your answers and ideas as a comment.

Use the picture numbers to show which you are talking about

Use your history skills to think about each item - discuss it with a friend or maybe do some research.

Mr W.

2 ème jour des Artefacts

14h30 c’est un peu trop tôt pour se bouger, donc je rate le concert de Daniel Dark et Aaron. J’arrive pour voir Renan Luce, dans fosse il n’y presque que des filles, tout le monde chante avec pour la chanson « repenti » et tout le monde fait la fête sur « la lettre ».

Ensuite vient le concert de Dionysos, ils jouent 3 chansons dont la fameuse « Song for Jedi », puis on va chercher des tickets pour boire et finalement on a papoté et raté tout le reste du concert. Pas grave, on a rien raté...

Avant de voir Cali, il faut encore Grand Corps Malade. Je me suis demandé que peut-être un concert de Grand Corps Malade, un suicide collectif ? Enfaite, non j’ai bien aimé le concert, il slamé ses textes (pleins de vérité) et a su enchanter les spectateurs.

Enfin, est venu les 90 min de Cali. Comme un garçon déchainé, il reste pas sur place, il court à gauche, puis à droite (un véritable match de tennis). Puis surprise, Oliva Ruiz vient le rejoindre sur scène, on saute de plus belle ! Il enchaîne les chansons, et hop il disparait... mais ou est donc Cali, mais il est entrain de courir dans les tribunes, toute la fosse se retourne et le cherche des yeux. Et quand, la caméra le trouve, le voilà entrain de slamer en descendant pour revenir sur la scène.

C’est déjà la fin, Cali vient nous dire au revoir avec ses musicien ainsi qu’avec Olivia Ruiz et le chanteur de Dionysos.

Et oui, pour renvenir sur le monde est petit, le jeune homme au « free hugs » s’adonnait encore a sa mission. Que par hasard, le copain de JRD était ami avec un couple dont j’étais à leur fête, embarqué par Carole et Joe. Florence ma reconnue grâce à mon serre-tête rouge, Hélène se baladait avec son sandwich (moi aussi je vais faire bénévole l’année prochaine), et Julien !! Il fallait tout de suite, refaire la photo des chaussures 2 ans plus tard ! Et la copine qui l’accompagnait était rien d'autre que la voisine de rue à Shibby. C'est dingue ce petit bout de monde!!!

Le premier festival de l’année 2008 : les Artesfacts de Strasbourg

La programmation du vendredi me semblait super bien lors de l’achat de mon billet. Malheureusement, la semaine avant le festival, Pete Dorerty avait décidé autrement : il a fini à la case prison. Pas grave, on fera la fête sans lui : Gogo Bordello, BB Brunes, Serj Takian, Birdy Nam Nam, Justice et Vitalic sauront mettre le feu au Zénith.

J’arrive sur place au moment du concert de BB Brunes, (les bouchons m’ont fait rater Gogo Bordello), pas très emballé je vais regarder ca de loin dans les tribunes en attendant Serj Takian.

Enfin, le concert de Serj Takian. Il débute sur une chanson lente et aigue, puis les autres chansons gardent le même esprit politique que ceux que nous connaisons de SOAD. Pour avoir vu System of a down en 2002, je n’accrochais pas vraiement, la voix était là, mais il manquait quelque chose.

Après ca, je suis aller me prendre un hot-dog. Donc j’attend dans la file pendant 20 min, j’arrive presque devant, et hop une chute de tension. Je m’assoie, puis je m’avancer et hoooh ca tourne, bon je me rassois, j’appel Emily pour quelle me récupere. Heureusement que Frank, a commandé pour moi, encore milles merci  Décidément, je crois que chaque fois que je vois Serj Takian, j’ai une chute de tension...

Agréable surprise, pour le concert électro de Birdy Nam Nam. Super rythmé, bien enchaîné, l’installation visuelle niquel. Toute la salle vibrait et reclamait les Birdy Nam Nam !!!

Pendant la pause, il y avait un jeune homme qui proposait des « free hugs »  très bonne idée !

Et, JUSTICE ! Dans la fosse, ca a dechiré !! Ca sautait, pogotait et slamait de partout !!

Vitalic était l’avant dernier concert. Emily et Frank ont bien kiffé et ont bien dansé. Fatiguée, j’ai moins accroché, donc je suis partie me reposer... (oué j’ai fait ma mamie, mais la fosse c’est fatiguant !)

C’est fou le monde que l’on revoit. Céd, dont j’avais encore vu sur les photos récamment en Martinique se tenait au stand Heiniken, « héin, qu’est tu fais la ? », mais fidèle à lui même >> stand bière. Damien (Bembou), que j’avais plus vu depuis le BAC. Eduardo, toujours là quand on s’y attends le moins (L’Osophère, Living...), Franzi et Audrey... c’est dingue que le monde est petit !!!

• name: Mario;
• place we met: Contemporary Art Center (cac);
• he: has been travelling for a long time, and has just
  returned to Vilnius (though he is from Klaipeda); he
  enjoys this city, as all kind of actions take place here;
• he works: at all kind of creative projects, has worked in
  fashion and music industries, also in
  the field of urbanism and cinema;
• his soundscape is: very wide, "as there are no definite
  music styles nowadays, but a plenty of performers";
• his business card is: bonmardon;

an artefact? a coconut purse, which
can be used as music instrument;

lt:

• Mario sutikome ŠMC, jam filmuojant Diaz Diaz pristatymą;
•  Jis: kilęs iš Klaipėdos, bet ilgą laiką keliavo,
  o dabar atvyko į Vilnių, kuris jam patinka:
  "tai nedidelis miestas, kuriame visada vyksta veiksmas";
• Veikla: dirba ties kūrybiniais projektais, teko dirbti mados ir
  muzikos industrijoje, urbanistikos srity.
• Muzika: kuo įvairiausia, "dabar neliko apibrėžtų stilių,
  bet yra daug atlikėjų".
• Jo vizitinė: bonmardon;

Daiktas? Piniginė iš kokoso kevalo, kuri gali būti ir muzikiniu instrumentu.

Un film est composé d'une série d'images successives, projetées généralement à la cadence de 24 par secondes. C'est la succession rapide de ces images qui donne l'illusion d'un mouvement au spectateur. La persistance rétinienne, l'effet phi et les techniques de projection permettent à l'homme de voir cette série d'images discrètes en un continuum visuel.

Le terme cinéma est l’apocope de « cinématographe » (du grec κίνημα, kínēma, « mouvement » et γράφειν gráphein, « écrire »), nom donné par Léon Bouly en 1892 à l'appareil dont il dépose le brevet. Il désigne cet art et sa technique ainsi que la salle dans laquelle il est projeté, par métonymie. Dans cette acception, le terme est lui-même souvent abrégé dans le langage familier en « ciné » ou « cinoche ».

Les films deviennent des artefacts culturels issus d'une culture spécifique et qui la reflètent. Leur diffusion est potentiellement universelle grâce au développement de technologies spécifiques qui ont permis un rayonnement mondial des films, par le sous-titrage ou le doublage des dialogues ainsi que par leur mise à disposition dans des formats domestiques (cassettes, DVD, internet, etc.). Ils sont susceptibles aussi de devenir de purs produits commerciaux, les sommes drainées par cette industrie pouvant être colossales, malgré les coûts de production, eu égard au nombre potentiellement important de spectateurs payants.

• Algis: rides BMX,
  his place in Vilnius is: Cathedral sq;
  and his music is: old hip-hop & rap;

• Laura: enjoys photography (have-a-look!);
  her music is: electronic, lounge;
  her place is: "French park".

Algį & Laurą sutikome Vilniaus g-vėje;

• Algis:
  važinėja BMX dviračiu, todėl
  jo mėgstama vieta - Katedros aikštė;
  klausosi: senojo hip-hop'o, rap'o;

• Laura:
  piešia ir fotografuoja;
  jos darbus galima rasti deviantart.com (camer_on);
  jos muzika: lounge, o mėgstama vieta - Prancūzparkis.

daikčiukas: Algio pagamintas auskaras [!]

• names: Saulius & Edgaras;
• place we met: Vilnius str.;
  - what do they do? Create;
  - create what? the Art:)
• music: Joy Division!
• places: everywhere in Vilnius;
• things & artefacts: a thimble & Vogue-jumper.

• Saulių ir Edgarą sutikome Vilniaus g-vėje;
  - kuo jie užsiima? Kuria!
  - ką kuria? Meną.
• muzika: Joy Division;
• vietos: "visas Vilnius, juk mes - vilniečiai!"
• daiktai & artefaktai: džemperis Vogue & antpirštis;

Gail Low, Peter Kitson, Caroline Brown or Patricia Whatley
School of Humanities
University of Dundee
Dundee DD1 4HN
Email: g.low@dundee.ac.uk
Visit the website at http:// www.investigatingthearchive.org/

Music used to be the ultimate expression of ones identity, but the decline may be true. It is too accessible and too shallow nowadays. I suppose that creating identity through artefacts has to do with exclusivity, not too easy access and pricing.

Some ideas of my own: Some will still think of music as their arena of identity. But also litterature of course. Where you go to amuse yourself on saturday nights is also a great indicator, because it shows who you want to be and who you get along with. I dont belive in technology, it is also too shallow and easy to access. Maybe fashion, but I am not sure. Art definately.

To go to the full list of oncozone.net publications per category click here.

To go to the full list of oncozone.net publications on Therapeutic Imaging with radiation oncology click here.

To go directly to one of the presentations hereunder, click on the relevant article.

www.oncozone.net

Blackout подарък от Fall и Bast, богинята-котка, подарък от мама и татко, които снощи се върнаха от Египет. За съжаление убиха почти всичко детско в мен, разказвайки ми за мизерия, араби и мръсни камили... Но искам да го видя някой ден...

There is much more to this. Information from the Miskatonic University Biology Dept., artefacts, multi-dimensional references, unspeakable abomination, TERROR!

Have a look at this Deviant Art page.

What part of Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtang don't you understand?

Thanks, Cybe.

Using raster GIS for network analysis leads into a simplification of a complex network structure. The path is prone to be distorted, firstly, due to the mistaken length introduced by Incremental Length, and secondly, due the zigzagged path, a consequence of the innate grid structure. Nonetheless, a fine-tuned use of Incremental Linkage and a minimal cell resolution can have a smoothing effect on the exact delineation of the path. On the other hand, minimising cell resolution increases computation.

In raster GIS the precision of the model is determined by the cell resolution, the finer the resolution (the smaller the cell size), the better the precision. For this research a cell resolution of 20m was deemed appropriate for the task in question, as it would allow encompassing normal road width and adjacent areas within one cell width. For a dense inner city road network a cell resolution of 10m would be preferable, allowing even narrow blocks to be incorporated into the model.

The infamous multiple path problem

The concept of adding proximity surfaces will some times lead to peculiar artefacts. A special case appears in a regular lattice if the cost surface is isotropic: Here the multiple path problem is clearly visible, since all possible paths per se have the same accumulated cost towards the destination. Here, human mind, as opposed to computer mind, would intuitively seek out a solution that implements a heuristic search, always following the path that yields the shortest Euclidian distance to the destination.

Multiple path problem in regular lattice with homogenous cost surface. Start at top left, destination at bottom right.

More often occurs the so-called multiple path problem, particularly if the road network and the cost surface are oversimplified. There are no distinctive low values, so that in order to gain a coherent route from start to destination so many low valued cells have to be selected that no clear path can be discerned.

Typical multiple path problem. Start at top left, destination at bottom right.

And further, all artifacts mediate also in another way. Not only is the blind man’s stick a mediating tool in his search for information about his surroundings, it is also a signal to the surroundings. This signal, a white stick held by a person in front of him, tells us to stand aside and not to make unnecessary distractions in his way. The use of this artifact communicates something to the world: “I am blind”. All artifacts have this double character of mediating both perception and action, although in different manners.

The thing is, then, who we are (in the deepest sense of the word) is depending on what tools or artifacts we are using. It is not our biology, but our tools that defines our “nature”. If we want to become “smarter”, we have to learn how to use more tools.