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OCAD hosts groundbreaking international conference Toronto - March 5, 2007 For the first time in Canada, artists, designers, researchers and engineers will converge at the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) for an international conference to explore the diverse potential for mobile technologies. OCAD, as a member institution of the Mobile Digital Commons Network (MDCN) and in concert with the Canadian Design Research Network (CDRN) hosts Mobile Nation: Creating Methodologies for Mobile Platforms from March 22 to 25, 2007. Mobile content has become an integral part of our basic communication every day, at work and at play. Mobile platforms are becoming vehicles for educational content and way finding for exploration, tourism and marketing. We send and receive photos, download video clips and play games on our mobile phones - and so do millions of people around the world. Media producers increasingly try to leverage their content across multiple platforms, including film, TV and radio broadcast, the Internet, and mobile devices. Researchers have created platforms such as cellular telephones, MP3 devices, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and these have become leading consumer products. They have invented communications technologies such as WiFi and Bluetooth, sensor systems such as Radio Frequency ID, Global Positioning Satellite; and various networks such as Personal Area Networks - and these in turn enable the development and combination of new tools to create content. Examples include new forms of fashion that can respond to the social context, the environment or the wearer, and new architectural expressions such as interactive billboards. Other researchers are analyzing this growing mobile phenomenon, from a social and business perspective. The Mobile Nation conference provides a unique opportunity for researchers, companies working in mobile content and technology development and users to share their interests and approaches to conducting research in this fast-changing field. Key themes include the challenge of creating content that is usable across platforms (television and mobile for example); how to create content that is appropriate to its physical location yet can find markets elsewhere; how to design with the end-user in mind, especially for technical platforms where we expect to communicate and share content; how mobile systems can be integrated into education; how new designs engage physical environments whether built or worn; and how designer's working methods and social scientist's analysis of behaviours, (such as usage patterns), can be more closely aligned for effective and efficient outcomes. Mobile Nation celebrates the completion of a three-year research project, the Mobile Digital Commons Network, funded by Canadian Heritage through its New Media Research program. OCAD, as a member institution of the MDCN, is a leader in the development of mobile technologies and content. The MDCN connects researchers, the arts and industry focused on mobile, wireless, digital technologies in Canada. The network facilitates research and innovative industry development; fosters cultural production and public participation; and develops forward-thinking policy on wireless technologies. Co-principle investigator and OCAD President Sara Diamond says, "This project has seen the creation of numerous exciting prototypes for new forms of content and experiences that occur in urban and national parks, using mobile devices as a key component. Mobile Nation is an opportunity for participants to explore experiences that included annotated and illustrated walking tours, historical ghost stories and sound games. MDCN will also launch the Mobile Experience Engine (MEE) a technology that will greatly assist in future design of mobile games for cellular phones. Participants can benefit from the knowledge that our research teams have gained." "This conference brings together the fields of science and technology with the humanities and social sciences," said OCAD Professor and conference organizer Martha Ladly. "Through a more integrated and comprehensive approach, we can engage design theory, communications studies, social geography, cultural studies and ethnography, along with science and technological inquiry, to rapidly expand this new area of scholarship and development." The conference will throw an international light on mobile research and commercialization, afford opportunities for high level exchange between national and international players, and highlight the work of leaders in the field of mobile scholarship. For this reason, Mobile Nation is attracting a diverse group of individuals from different professions, such as architects, educators, broadcasters, designers, infrastructure companies who provide the networks to deliver content, health researchers, advertisers and technology companies. Mobile Nation will also explore the many challenges faced by researchers, designers, artists and engineers who design content, technology and software for these platforms. A workshop on sensors and interactive technology and the MEE will be a special program featured within the conference.
Backgrounder Mobile Nation Keynote Speakers Prior to his current position at the University of Warwick, Dr. Nigel Thrift was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Oxford. Professor Thrift was made Head of the Division of Life and Environmental Sciences at Oxford in 2003, before which he chaired the Research Committee at The University of Bristol and Bristol's Research Assessment Panel.
Dr. Nina Wakeford Nina Wakeford is a leading Reader in Sociology and Social Methodology and the Director of INCITE in the Department of Sociology, University of Surrey. Her previous research projects include studies of internet cafes, women's discussions lists and the use of ethnography by new technology designers. Amongst her publications are papers on virtual methodologies, queer identities, digital communities and public internet access provision.
Marc Davis Founding Director
Marc Davis is an Assistant Professor at the School of Information Management and Systems (SIMS) at the University of California at Berkeley where he directs Garage Cinema Research. He is also the Founding Director of Yahoo! Research Berkeley. His work is focused on creating the technology and applications that will enable daily media consumers to become daily media producers.
James E. Katz, Ph.D. Chair In addition to his position as Chair of the Department of Communications at Rutgers University, James E. Katz also directs the Center for Mobile Communication Studies. Currently he is investigating how personal communication technologies, such as mobile phones and the Internet, affect social relationships and how cultural values influence usage patterns of these technologies.
Canadian Design Research Network
More on the Mobile Experience Engine
For more information contact Sarah Mulholland |
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