Satellite Workshops

On the third day of Digital Futures 2010, satellite workshops were held - these were selected from an open call to the Digital Economy Programme. The workshops were:

• Workshop 1 (full-day) - Trajectories and Digital Economy Services - led by Steve Benford (University of Nottingham and Horizon Digital Economy Research)

• Workshop 2 (full-day) - Mediating Connections: The Role of Emerging Technologies in Transforming and Presenting Information and Ideas - led by Mel Woods (University of Dundee and SerenA, TOTEM and PATINA projects)

• Workshop 3 (half-day, morning) - Transforming Energy Demand through Digital Innovation (TEDDI) - led by Alex Rogers (University of Southampton)

• Workshop 4 (half-day, morning) - Enabling Universal Service Provisioning using Next Generation Access Technologies - led by Arjuna Sathiaseelan (University of Aberdeen and dot.rural)

• Workshop 5 (half-day, afternoon) - Engaging the Public with the Digital Economy - led by Claire Thorne (University of Aberdeen and dot.rural)

Below are full details of the workshops:

Workshop 1 (full-day) - Trajectories and Digital Economy Services - led by Steve Benford (University of Nottingham and Horizon Digital Economy Research)

‘Trajectories’ is a conceptual framework for understanding user experiences that extend over multiple (real and virtual) spaces, timescales, interfaces and roles. The approach emphasises the idea of undertaking a journey through an experience that interweaves with those of others (and also other experiences), that is shaped and steered by authors/designers and yet under the control of participants, and that also has to pass through key transitions along the way.  This workshop will explore how the approach of trajectories might potentially be applied to the design of digital economy services across a wider range of domains, potentially spanning the creative industries, transportation and healthcare. We also wish to relate the approach to theories and concepts from other academic disciplines.

Workshop 2 (full-day) - Mediating Connections: The Role of Emerging Technologies in Transforming and Presenting Information and Ideas - led by Mel Woods (University of Dundee and SerenA, TOTEM and PATINA projects)

This workshop is organised by three projects funded under the Digital Economy Programme that are concerned in different ways with the design and engineering of information, designs, histories and thoughts and the technologies that mediate them. PATINA, SerenA and TOTeM are all creating technologies and techniques, which capture past relationships with artefacts, both physical and digital, and within environments in order to enhance interactions with and within the milieu.

The session welcomes researchers who wish to share, debate and explore interests and experience of designing interactions and infrastructures that mediate the recording, transforming and replaying of actions and information.

Through a combination of discussion and practical activity, the workshop will provide an opportunity to explore three interconnected themes:

• The challenges of integrating arts, engineering and interaction design.
• Exploring mediating roles of technologies.
• Understanding the implications for interaction & collaboration.

More details of workshop 2

Workshop 3 (half-day, morning) - Transforming Energy Demand through Digital Innovation (TEDDI) - led by Alex Rogers (University of Southampton)

Novel digital technologies hold the promise of transforming how energy is generated, distributed and used. As such, developments in this area are essential to address the UK’s twin challenges of reducing future carbon dioxide emissions and ensuring energy security. Projects funded under the recent ‘Transforming Energy Demand through Digital Innovation’ (TEDDI) call are seeking to apply a multidisciplinary approaches to develop digital technologies that will reduce energy demand. This workshop will provide a networking opportunity for existing TEDDI award holders, and other interested participants, to facilitate the exchange ideas, practices and contacts, to stimulate future multidisciplinary project proposals encompassing new project partners, and to explore how broader work at the interface between the Energy and Digital Economy programmes can be supported in the future.

More details of workshop 3

Workshop 4 (half-day, morning) - Enabling Universal Service Provisioning using Next Generation Access Technologies - led by Arjuna Sathiaseelan (University of Aberdeen and dot.rural)

The goal of the workshop is to discuss universal service provisioning using next generation access technologies. The workshop is a half day event (3 hours duration), with two sessions.  The first session will focus on deploying universal service. Following a break, the second session with a focus on access technologies to realise the network. Speakers will be drawn from a mixture of researchers and industry. Time will be reserved for attendees to ask questions and receive answers during the workshop.
This workshop will:

1. To explore past and present initiatives in Universal Service Provisioning and the challenges faced in realizing this service in the UK.
2. To examine experiences related to deployment and experimentation to support new application traffic patterns and user expectations.

Topics to be covered include:

1. Past experiences related to universal service provisioning.
2. Understanding the impact of enhanced broadband access on communities, and the potential to develop new ways of working.
3. The potential and pitfalls of the next-generation techniques that may be used for widescale deployment of multi-service broadband access.

More details of workshop 4

Workshop 5 (half-day, afternoon) - Engaging the Public with the Digital Economy - led by Claire Thorne (University of Aberdeen and dot.rural)

Public Engagement is becoming an increasingly significant aspect of conducting scientific research and is central to the ethos of the Digital Economy (DE). This interactive workshop is accessible to members of the DE Hubs and Doctoral Training Centres.

The workshop will present approaches to, and tools for, successful public engagement. Participants will explore case studies – including a review of dot.rural’s first year – assessing past performance. Key areas to be addressed include: the challenges faced when communicating work specific to the Digital Economy to the general public; the academic-public barriers encountered, particularly in user-group scenarios; awareness of potential funding opportunities; and effective measures and tools for the post-event evaluation process.

Moreover, participants will also have an opportunity to ‘think outside the box’, generating new ideas for future engagement initiatives.

Lastly, participants will be tasked with the ‘final challenge’; to deliver an innovative public engagement activity in the weeks or months following the Digital Futures conference.  

Agenda for workshop 5