Technology as Cultural Practice

Introduction

2018-10-22T06:22:05-07:00

This is a book about storytelling: the stories that we tell to make sense of the world and share knowledge, and how these stories determine how we live. Storytelling is a cultural activity which is both epistemological, and ontological, and embedded in these stories are the values and perspectives held by the communities that tell them.

A Personal Computer for Children of All Cultures

2018-10-22T06:37:50-07:00

The Arabic script presents something of a worst-case scenario to the pervasive assumption that, in computing, when we say "text" we really mean "American English". The Anglo-centric bias is most obvious in the world of computer programming. Every programming language in serious use today uses keywords, punctuation, and names taken from English, most often using the American spelling. This creates an unspoken requirement for entry into the field: familiarity with English is an absolute requirement for programmers everywhere in the world. Further, be a truly exceptional programmer, fluency in English is a must. As a confrontation, the Ù‚Ù„Ø¨ project presents a programming language derived entirely from Arabic and where Latin characters constitute a syntax error. Despite Ù‚Ù„Ø¨'s success in achieving a non-Latin programming experience, it fails in a revelatory way: its inability to handle English words means it cannot build on the last sixty years of tools, libraries, and protocols readily available to English-based programming languages, placing it at a permanent disadvantage. Software only ever builds on software that came before it, and that necessitates invoking named things using the exact names chosen by their original authors. At every level of computing, the names we've inherited are exclusively in English. Humans need to name things to manage complexity, but naming is a deeply cultural act whose implications project far into the future. This turns out to be the impassable barrier that doomed Ù‚Ù„Ø¨ â€“ and indeed any similar project seeking to liberate programmers from western hegemony â€“ to failure.

"Shut up and play"

2018-10-22T06:23:24-07:00

The creation of Vivian James, illustrates #gamergateâ€™s function of policing participation and enjoyment of videogame culture. Through a shared embrace of an underdog status elements of gaming culture have become hostile to the inclusion of women. The design of Vivian James suggests that #gamergate is eager to present itself as including women, but presents female positionality in gaming in toxic and problematic ways that seeks to policing female 'intrusion' into digital games through the threat of violence.

Digital Capture

2018-10-22T06:24:55-07:00

In this chapter Iâ€™ll be exploring the implications of recent developments in â€˜photogrammetryâ€™, a digital capture technology that allows the reconstruction of geometrical models of the world from digital images, allowing the autonomous creation of â€˜photorealisticâ€™ 3D representations of objects and landscapes from a video or set of photographs. Through an examination of the design decisions and representational aesthetic of photogrammetry, and its typical use in scientific research, Iâ€™ll show how the practice of this technology introduces an unacknowledged interpretive framing, conforming to the dominant culture embodied in Western science.

Beyond Imperial Tools

2018-10-22T06:31:38-07:00

Australian Aboriginal peoples are the oldest living; the longest continuing culture, within the driest continent on Earth. Ancient technology innovation developed by Aboriginal peoples, such as the boomerang, fish traps, spinifex resin, message sticks, fibre work, spears and woomeras, watercraft and stone tools, reveals underlying technology design and development methodologies that reflect a unified approach and value system. Aboriginal social cohesion, well-being, environmental sustainability, culture and spirituality underpins the foundation of such innovation and has been developed through systems of Indigenous governance, commonly understood as Lore (otherwise known as The Dreaming, Jukupurra, and akin to Lawâ€™). Culture has created the framework for this society and in turn, the myriad of science and technology developments, over millennia. Itâ€™s now critical timing that we reflect and initiate a new wave of technologies designed and developed through a Code of Ethics to embodies the principles of social and environmental sustainability: Caring for Country, Caring for Kin. This future of ethical technology would reflect systemic change required to address a fractured political, economic and social system by adopting Australian Aboriginal peoples Lore. Here within, we discuss why and how the development of a new Code of Ethics for technology development can be informed by Indigenous design principles and governance.

Collisions

2018-10-22T06:37:02-07:00

Collisions is a virtual reality journey to the land of indigenous elder Nyarri Morgan and the Martu tribe in the remote Western Australian desert. Nyarriâ€™s first contact with Western culture came in the 1950â€™s via a dramatic collision between his traditional world view and the cutting edge of Western science and technology. 65 years later Wallworth carried cutting edge video technology into the desert so Mr. Morgan could share his story. Reflecting on the event, in this most magical of immersive experiences, Nyarri offers to viewers his experience of the impact of destructive technology and the Martu perspective on caring for the planet for future generations. Through the use of the worldâ€™s most immersive technology in combination with artist Lynette Wallworthâ€™s world-class storytelling, the audience of Collisions is invited to experience an understanding of long term decision making via one of the worldâ€™s oldest cultures.

Collisions premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and the 2016 World Economic Forum, Davos, and was awarded an Emmy Award for â€˜Outstanding New Approaches: Documentaryâ€™.

Project Birronggai

2018-10-22T06:33:11-07:00

Project Birronggai is an interactive Virtual Reality storytelling experience that explores a dreamtime narrative unique to each player. Through immersive and engaging narrative, the audience are exposed to Indigenous culture, stories and language. This VR experience is the brainchild of Jeremy Worrall, Joel Davison and Keenan Parker, three young Aboriginal professionals working in the tech industry.

Barangaroo Ngangamay

2018-10-22T06:36:38-07:00

The name Barangaroo has become common parlance among Sydneysiders and visitors who regularly enjoy the spectacular Barangaroo Reserve and the new retail and dining precinct. But what of the proud Cammeraygal woman Barangaroo, after whom this culturally-significant area is named?

This strong and influential warrior woman provided the inspiration for Barangarooâ€™s first Artistic Associates, renowned Aboriginal multi-media artists and curators Amanda Jane Reynolds and Genevieve Grieves.

Reynolds and Grieves were appointed as the inaugural Artistic Associates by the Barangaroo Delivery Authority to collaborate on a multi-disciplinary program that celebrates the history and culture of the local area and its peoples.

Thalu

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The world of Thalu is brought to life through Virtual Reality (VR), in otherworldly surroundings guided by the concept art of cult favourite and graphic artist, Stuart Campbell. The VR experience is a dazzling series of linked worlds filled with fantastical, high contrast, neon-lit Australian landscapes and wildlife.

â€˜Thaluâ€™ in the Ngarluma language means, â€˜totemâ€™. However, the English word cannot fully describe the layers of meaning that â€œthaluâ€ conveys to the Ngarluma people. The â€˜thaluâ€™ in Mowarinâ€™s virtual reality experience is a spiritual doorway that connects two realms and transports the participant into the Spirit World, where they will meet Jirri Jirri, their guide. Jirri Jirri will show audiences the spirits of the elements, land, flora, and fauna, and teach them about how these spirits and environments are connected to humankind.

Launching on the HTC Vive, Thalu: The Buried VR is a uniquely Indigenous Australian experience that showcases the powerful storytelling of the Ngarluma people of Western Australia.

Torres Strait Virtual Reality

2018-10-22T06:33:41-07:00

Torres Strait Virtual Reality (TSVR) is a new and innovative way of learning and depicting a Torres Strait Islander experience. It provides access and insight into aspects of the Torres Strait culture, stories, customs, practices and viewpoints in a highly visual way through virtual reality. My game has sought to capitalise on the passions and enjoyment of video games held by our younger generation of adults and children to make learning a much more interesting journey. I hope TSVR has helped promote my community and the Torres Strait Islander culture to a wider audience and highlights our unique culture, traditions and history which few tend to know about. I provided the game as teaching material for several different and varying courses at the University of New South Wales engaging both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to share our knowledge and foster understanding of cultural diversity.

TSVR illustrates Indigenous environmental knowledge of seasonal, plant and animal life cycles and how this aligns with the island surroundings like the stars, constellations and the wind. The game also depicts several cultural aspects and phenomena in the Torres Strait such as Tombstone openings, trade between Papua New Guineans and the Torres Straits Islanders, traditional hunting practices as well as characters from Torres Strait stories and legends.