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Portal page for the Digital Youth Research :: Kids' Informal Learning with Digital Media project.
QUOTE
"Kids' Informal Learning with Digital Media: An Ethnographic Investigation of Innovative Knowledge Cultures" is a three-year collaborative project funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Carried out by researchers at the University of Southern California and University of California, Berkeley, the digital youth project explores how kids use digital media in their everyday lives.
UNQUOTE

digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/report - Preview

web2.0 research socialtheory youth danah_boyd education learning

AURP (Association of University Research Parks) "offers a series of urgent recommendations for the U.S. Government, so that it can more precisely support American innovation and American innovators with both economic and policy-based changes." (See article for proposal targets.)

Does this apply to university research parks in Canada, too?

Interesting references to the importance of place and the creative class.

See this PDF for "The Power of Place": http://www.aurpcanada.ca/pdf/AURP%20The%20Power%20of%20Place_Final.pdf (via www.aurpcanada.ca)

www.vitp.ca/...Communities-of-Innovation.aspx - Preview

aurp innovation research university technology_parks creative_class place_making

Intro page from the Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds (RSPB) to a report by a Dr. William Bird (ha!) called "Natural Thinking," available as a PDF download. Bird's report is an "investigating [of] the links between the natural environment, biodiversity and mental health."

This could be a useful reference for urbanist writing, insofar as it underscores the importance of amenities as a necessary complement to density. You don't want to have density while simultaneously "automating" everything (no more walking, driving only, no interaction with nature, etc.). Even small "hot spots" of natural interaction will work, or more walking with actual natural elements at hand.

www.rspb.org.uk/...index.asp - Preview

health mental_health nature amenities stress research rspb

"Are the arts elitist? This report shows that cultural experiences are more important than demographic factors in four cultural activities:

* Reading a book;
* Attending live performances;
* Visiting art galleries; and
* Movie theatre attendance."

Includes links to PDFs of relevant research and findings.

www.hillstrategies.com/resources_details.php - Preview

art_reception arts_development canada reference research

Think tanks are apparently a booming industry, as Elizabeth Bumiller's article shows. Richard Florida ("Tanked," see http://tinyurl.com/35apn9) observes: "A DC insider once told me these so-called think tanks don't so much create new intellectual capital as repackage and recycle it - or as he put it, they run it down. Candidly, I was shockingly disappointed during my time in DC by the inability of most think tanks to tackle big questions in an open-minded, globally-oriented (that is not American-centric) way. And while there always are individual exceptions, I was also dismayed by the quality of much of the work. My hunch is the increased giving is being fueled by partisan agendas - actually, I have been told many time this is the way think tanks increasingly are funded - as political actors seek to lend credibility and legitimacy to desired actions." Bumiller closes her article with this: "'Institutions like this don’t possess power,' said Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. 'You’re one of many voices in the political marketplace. It’s up to those in the marketplace who possess power — congressmen, people in the executive branch — to run with one of your ideas.'” That's something to think about for everyone in every local context, too.

www.nytimes.com/...30tank.html - Preview

elizabeth_bumiller nyt politics research richard_florida think_tanks washington_dc

The Internet Research Conference in Copenhagen (October 2008) lays out its call for papers. The theme is " Rethinking Community, Rethinking Place."
Synopsis:
In the past few years, new forms of net-based communities are emerging, distributed on various websites and services, and making use of several media platforms and genres to stay connected. Now, as mobile and location-based technologies are reintroducing "place" as an important aspect in the formation of communal and social activities, it is time to consider and rethink the concept of online or virtual communities. Not forgetting the lessons we have learned from studying the early virtual communities, how do we describe, analyse, theorise and design the communities and social formations of the early 21st century? How do we address the blurring of boundaries between places and communities on- and offline.

We call for papers, panel proposals, and presentations from any discipline, methodology, and community, and from conjunctions of multiple disciplines, methodologies and academic communities that address the conference themes.

Sessions at the conference will be established that specifically address the conference themes, and we welcome innovative, exciting, and unexpected takes on those themes. We also welcome submissions on topics that address social, cultural, political, economic, and/or aesthetic aspects of the Internet beyond the conference themes. In all cases, we welcome disciplinary and interdisciplinary submissions as well as international collaborations from both AoIR and non-AoIR members.

conferences.aoir.org/cfp.html - Preview

call_for_papers conference copenhagen internet media reference research socialtheory

SDTC = Sustainable Development Technology Canada; this particular page describes the Innovation Chain, particularly in Canada. Points out its weak spots, very interesting.

www.sdtc.ca/...innovation_chain.htm - Preview

canada funding innovation research sustainability technology