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BY SESSION ORDER PLAY/TIME: the power of play GAME/PLAY: inside the games we play PLAY/SCHOOL: the design of play in learning PLAY/CHANNELS: media hybrids and experience PLAY/INC: beyond the infinite game in business DESIGN/PLAY: the shape of play to come MISC/PLAY: anything along the rules PLAY/TIME: the power of play (historical and critical texts, cultural history, anthropology, social-cultural critcism, politics) Artful Science This book chronicles the suppression of a thriving oral-visual culture of the early modern period in favor of the current text-centered culture where the mistrust of visual information shapes approaches to education. The enlightener's association of sensory evidence with deception led to the submergence of a 'tricking' oral visual culture by 'serious' mass literacy drives. With the onset of computer graphics, Stafford suggests fresh ways of putting intelligence, enjoyment, and communicative power back into thinking with images. Stafford, Barbara Maria (1997), Artful Science; Enlightenment, Entertainment, and the Eclipse of Visual Education ISBN 0 262 193 42 6 Computer as Theatre Brenda Laurel first wrote this book in the '80s, thus very early-on shifting the computing paradigm from the office to an artistic cultural context. With emerging media hitting the markets 15 years later, providing interfaces beyond the desktop box, this book that has finally come of age. Laurel, Brenda (1991), Computer as Theatre New York, Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0 201 550 60 1 Design for Sports: The Cult of Performance Technology has reshaped the way sports are played. Cultural fascination with the icons of sports—from Michael Jordan to Rollerblades—and technology/design that afford ever-higher levels of performance are the subject of this book. Contributors include journalist Candace Lyle Hogan, Steven Skov Holt (former editor at I.D. Magazine) and sport star/journalist Diana Nyad. Busch, Akiko, Design for Sports: The Cult of Performance ISBN 1 568 981 45 7 Flatland: A romance in many dimensions Although it is about a hundred years old, this book remains an engrossing and mind-enriching tale. A character living in a 2-dimensional world explains his universe to the reader, as well as his ventures into 1D (LineLand), 0D (PointLand), and 3D (SpaceLand). He also invites the reader to ponder the fourth dimension and beyond. Excellently written, and a real mind-bender. Abbott, Edwin, (1992), Flatland: A romance in many dimensions Dover Publications; ISBN 0 486 272 63 X Hamlet on the Holodeck Technology changes storytelling—movies don't tell stories in the same manner as wandering bards. The author introduces interactive tales, more versatile structures, stories as games, and games as stories, in a very personable and entertaining style. The book celebrates the art of storytelling in any medium. Murray, Janet H. (1997), Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace ISBN 0 262 631 87 3 Homo Ludens This 60 year old text is still the standard reflection on human play. Doors 5 celebrates ludic culture, departing from Huizinga and Breughel. Huizinga, Johan, Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture ISBN 0 807 046 81 7 Images: the piano music of Claude Debussy British pianist Paul Roberts uses his love and understanding of the repertoire and his musical imagination to probe the sources of Debussy's artistic inspiration, relating the "impressionist" titles to the artistic and literary ferment of the time. With clarity and insight, Roberts touches on all the principal technical problems for a performer of Debussy's piano music. His many suggestions about interpreting the music, coming from a pianist who has performed the repertoire extensively, will be particularly valuable to performers as well as listeners. Roberts, Paul, (1996), Images: the piano music of Claude Debussy Amadeus Press, ISBN 0 931 340 97 7 Man, Play and Games A systematized refinement of the work Huizinga began in Homo Ludens. Callois, Roger, Barash, Meyer (translator) (1961), Man, Play and Game New York, Free Press of Glencoe Next of Kin: My Conversations with Chimpanzees The descriptions of play—especially linguistic play—drawn from Fouts' experiences with chimpanzees reveal deep purposes and patterns in play that we share with our closest genetic relatives. Fouts, Roger, Mills , Stephen Tukel and Goodall, Jane, (1998), Next of Kin: My Conversations with Chimpanzees Daniel M. Barber, ISBN 0 380 728 22 2 The Study of Games A strikingly interdisciplinary set of essays about games. Avedon, Elliot and Sutton-Smoth, Brian (1971), The Study of Games New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Trickster Makes This World The playful and disruptive side of the human imagination as it is embodied in the trickster mythology. Tricksters are boundary-crossers, slipping through keyholes, breaching walls, subverting defense systems, always out to satisfy their inordinate appetites: lying, cheating, and stealing, tricksters are a great bother to have around, but paradoxically they are also indispensable culture heroes. Hyde revisits old stories, and holds them up against the life and work of recent creators: Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, John Cage, Allen Ginsberg, and others. Hyde, Lewis (1998), Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth and Art New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ISBN 0 374 279 28 4 GAME/PLAY: inside the games we play (computer and video games, new media, interactive media, Internet, video/film) Beyond Boredom and Anxiety Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's, worldfamous for his 'flow' theory, explores the experience of play in work and games. Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, (1975), Beyond Boredom and Anxiety Jossey-Bass Publishers, ISBN 0 875 892 61 2 Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibility Robert Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance said about this book: 'Normally we add new facts to existing knowledge. But once in a while a book like this comes along and does just the opposite—it adds a new pattern of knowledge to existing facts.' And it does this in a most poetic and playful fashion. Carse, James P. (1986 ), Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibility New York, Free Press, Macmillan, Inc. From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games Two of MIT's brightest lights—narrative theorist and linguistics researcher Justine Cassell and cultural theorist Henry Jenkins—team up to explore a highly controversial subject. Cassell, Justine, and Jenkins, Henry eds, 1998 (coming in December), From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games Cambridge, MIT Press) ISBN 0 262 032 58 9 Joystick Nation Exploring how video games shaped the way those raised on them (like the author herself) interact with their world, Joystick Nation gives an overview of video game history, interviews with the brains behind the most influential games and explorations of what makes various types of games work for various people. Herz, J.C. (1996), Joystick Nation ISBN 0 316 360 07 4 Neuromancer Here is the novel that started it all, launching the cyberpunk generation. With Neuromancer, William Gibson introduced the world to cyberspace--and science fiction has never been the same. The story is about Case, the world's finest interface cowboy, who is hired to break into the virtually inaccessible computer network of a large corporation, and Molly, a street-smart samurai. They venture deep into cyberspace only to discover that they have become pawns in a deadly game. Gibson, William, (1994) Neuromancer Ace Books, ISBN 0 441 000 68 1 Out of the Garden Stephen Kline looks at the history and development of children's play culture and toys from the teddy bear and Lego to the Barbie doll, Care Bears and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He profiles the rise of children's mass media—books, comics, film and television—and that of the specialty stores such as Toys `R' Us, revealing how the opportunity to reach large audiences of children was a pivotal point in developing new approaches to advertising. Out of the Garden asks whether we should allow our children's play culture to be primarily defined and created by marketing stretegists, poniting to the unintended consequences of a situation in which images of real children have all but been eliminatedom narratives about the young. Kline, Stephen (1993), Out of the Garden. Toys and Children's Culture in the Age of TV Marketing Londen, New York, Verso Playing the future: how kids' culture can teach us to thrive in an age of chaos Douglas Rushkoff's contention is that the world of today and the future is changing rapidly. We are moving from the Machine Age to the Information Age, and much of this move is being driven by the media, and underpinned by changing technologies. Rushkoff contends that we are disadvantaging young people today by not allowing this technology to develop and impact our lives, and that by fighting against it, we are diminishing the ability of our children to survive in the new world. He has an evolutionary basis of thought, believing that technology is the key to a new jump in man's evolutionary development. Although we may not agree with him on this point, whether we believe in evolution or not, we must agree with his assessment of the future—that the world is changing very rapidly and is not the same place it used to be. We need to adapt and change in order just to survive, let alone successfully manage the future. Rushkoff, Douglas, Playing the Future: How Kids' Culture Can Teach Us to Thrive in an Age of Chaos ISBN 0 06 0 173 10 6 Powerplay: Toys as Popular Culture From My Little Pony to Batman, from Lego to Nintendo, the toys that children play with make sense of the world. Should boys play with guns? Should girls play with Barbie dolls? What, exactly, are they—and we - being sold? Extensively illustrated throughout, this will be essential reading for teachers and parents as well as those engaged in cultural studies. Fleming, Dan, (1996), Powerplay: Toys as Popular Culture Manchester, Manchester University press, ISBN 0 7190 4716 1/ 0 7190 4717 X PLAY/SCHOOL: the design of play in learning (schooling and education, methodologies, didactics, children and learning, new media in the classroom, play as learning) Acting in Classroom Drama: A Critical Analysis Bolton, Gavin (1998), Acting in Classroom Drama : A Critical Analysis Trentham, Stylus Pub Llc, ISBN 1 858 56109 4 The beast and the nursery This is a collection of layered and complex writing by a clear and humane thinker—and a wonderful writer. Phillips ranges widely, and cites inspired references from psychology (including his London practice), philosophy, and literature, and always with distinct purpose. Freud, Hanna Segal, H.G. Wells, Auden, Blake, Marion Milner, John Keats, D.W. Winnicott, and Melanie Klein (among others) are cited in this book, effectively. He's blazingly creative, more subtly political, and good-hearted—and it shows. The book is a slower read than his earlier ones, but well worth it. Phillips, Adam (1998), The beast and the nursery Pantheon Books, ISBN 0 375 40049 4 The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter: The Uses of Storytelling in the Classroom This is an amazingly insightful book about story play, treating theory, practice, and morality all within the context of vivid examples. Paley, Vivian Gussin, (1990), The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter: The Uses of Storytelling in the Classroom Harvard Univ. Press, ISBN 0 674 803 1 9 The Children's Machine A follow-up to Mindstorms in which the pioneering scientist who created the programming language Logo used in hundreds of schools all over the US now discusses why the computer revolution has failed to revolutionize education. Papert, Seymour, The Children's Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer ISBN 0 465 01830 0 The Disappearance of Childhood Neil Postman persuasively mobilizes the insights of psychology, history, semantics, McLuhanology, and common sense on behalf of this astonishing and original thesis. He unleashes a corker: by watching too much TV, kids in our society are not just getting dumber; they're helping kill off the very IDEA of childhood itself. Childhood, to our author, is indistinguishable from a notion of education, that there are cultural cues that one must learn over time. To him, we're today quickly devolving into a "post-literate" society, drunk on visual (as opposed to literary) entertainment and the "information of the moment" (as opposed to narrative). Without literacy, children become strangely adult-like, (conversely—and perhaps more convincingly—adults become child-like) especially in the incessant glare of the television screen. Postman's thesis—that childhood as a social structure did not exist until after Gutenberg, and is disappearing in tandem with the fruits of Gutenberg's invention—deserves further study. This book is a great starting point. Postman, Neil and Asher, Marty (1994, original 1982), The Disappearance of Childhood New York, Vintage Books, ISBN 0 679 751 66 1 Collected Writings on Education and Drama Heathcote, Dorothy, O'Neill, Cecily, Johnson, Liz, (1984), Collected Writings on Education and Drama Heinemann, ISBN 0 091 49261 0 Construction in practice: designing, thinking, learning in a digital world How both cognitive and affective processes play a central role in building connections between old and new knowledge. The book investigates how and why children can learn through the process of constructing artifacts such as games, textile patterns, robots and interactive devices. It examines the nature of learning in classroom communities, inner-city communities, and virtual communities, and discusses new technological tools and activities that can help people develop new ways of thinking about feedback, self-organization and probability. Kafai, Jasmin and Resnick, Mitchel (1996), Constructionism in Practice: Designing, Thinking, Learning in a Digital World New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, ISBN 0 805 819 85 1 Drama Worlds : A Framework for Process Drama Drama Worlds examines the complex improvised event called process drama and identifies it as an essential part of today's theatre. Cecily O'Neill considers process drama's sources and its connections with more familiar kinds of improvisation: the texts it generates, the kinds of roles available, its relation to its audience and dramatic time, and the leader's function in the event. She provides examples of several process dramas and identifies dramatic strategies and characteristics. The explicit associations between theatre form and process drama make O'Neill's approach accessible and its purposes and possibilities easy to understand, particularly to those working in actor training and theatre. Teachers and directors alike will discover effective ways of initiating and maintaining the drama world, achieving a significant dramatic experience for all participants. O'Neill, Cecily (1995), Drama Worlds : A Framework for Process Drama (The Dimensions of Drama) Heinemann, ISBN 0 435 08671 5 The Electronic Word Lanham surveys the effects of electronic text on the arts and letters, education and reading, in this provocative book. His emphasis on the reader is not theoretical per se, but lovingly: it results with Electronic Word in one of the most literate and witty accounts of the changing culture of knowledge. Lanham, Richard A. (1993), The Electronic Word; Democracy, Technology, and the Arts Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0 226 46883 6 The End of Education- Redefining the Value of School The Janus-faced title refers both to the idea that schools as we know them are on the way out and to Neil Postman's own perception that American schools need new reasons--ends for learning. He calls such reasons "gods" --cultural conceits intended to inspire students to learn. He proposes five new gods to make schooling vital again: "The Spaceship Earth," "The Fallen Angel," "The American Experiment," "The Law of Diversity," and "The Word Weavers/The World Makers." If each of these rubrics has the ring of a familiar belief system, well, each is meant to. As Postman defines the five, they are myths, in the most complimentary sense of the word, for realizing ourselves as responsible individuals in our communities, from smallest to largest. Beautifully written, breathtakingly high-minded, this is Postman's best book on American education. Postman, Neil (1995), The End of Education—Redefining the Value of School Knopf, ISBN 0679430067 Family learning: the foundation of effective education Families, for good or ill, are important and influential places of learning. Yet most public spending on education goes to support formal institutions—almost nothing is invested in families as the foundation of learning about health, well-being and key social skills. The author presents a long-term strategy for developing family learning. Alexander, Titus (1997), Family learning. The foundation of effective education London, Demos, ISBN 1 898309 981 Inventing Kindergarten Brosterman's partly describes views about the importance of the traditional kindergarten in shaping the hearts and minds of children, partly a biography of an almost-forgotten educator, Friedrich Froebel, the inventor of kindergarten. In tracing Froebel's life and beliefs about education, Brosterman makes a strong case for returning to Froebel's original model in order to encourage the development of 'a sensitive, inquisitive child with an uninhibited curiosity and a genuine respect for nature, family and society.' Even if you don't agree with Brosterman's belief that kindergarten is responsible for many of modern art's geniuses, it's hard to argue with a philosophy that makes room for the importance of play in early education. Brosterman, Norman, Togashi, Kiyoshi (Photographer) (1997), Inventing Kindergarten: Nineteenth Century Children New York: Harry N. Abrams, ISBN 0 810 93526 0 Kid size, the material world of childhood How children's furniture varies between past and present and from culture to culture. This extensive catalogue of a Vitra Museum exhibition highlights the many contradictions between adults' conceptions and children's needs. Are parents in the western world primarily interested in bringing up their children in safety, or can their concern be construed as a practical and appropriate way of aiding and promoting a child's development? Vitra Design Museum (1997), Kid size, The Material World of Childhood Basel: Vitra Design Museum, Milan, Skira Editore and London, Thames and Hudson, ISBN 88 8118 254 8 The mosaic of learning: schools and teachers for the next century Succesive waves of reform have failed to improve school standards, leaving teachers demoralised—and parents and pupils more confused than ever. David Hargreaves, Professor of Education at Cambridge University, sets out a long-overdue agenda for achievable change, a radical vision tempered by realism. With more specialised schools, including religious ones, a better use of interactive technologies, a redefinition of teachers' roles and greater openness to business and local communities, he shows how schools can again become sources of satisfaction for those who teach and learn. Only then, he argues, can we transcend the destructive conflict between ill-conceived blueprints imposed from above and defensive inertia from below. Hargreaves, David (1994), The Mosaic Of Learning: Schools and Teachers for the Next Century Londen, Demos, ISBN 1 898309 45 0 Play Drama and Thought Courtney, Richard (1989), Play Drama and Thought : The Intellectual Background to Dramatic Education Simon & Pierre Pub Co Ltd, ISBN 0 889 24213 5 School's Out Instead of education, Perelman argues, what we need is genuine learning: more, better, faster, cheaper. In fact, the learning revolution that's taking place right before our eyes—and largely outside of school classrooms—is based on a new wave of knowledge technology. The author coins 'hyperlearning' (HL) for this technology that can enable anyone to learn 'anything, anywhere, anytime'. No educational reform but a total replacement for conventional education, according to this manifesto. School's Out paints a radical departure that means to alter our thinking about learning forever. Perelman, Lewis J. (1992), School's Out: Hyperlearning, the New Technology, and the End of Education New York: William Morrow, ISBN 0 688 112 86 2 Teachers & technology: making the connection A highly impressive government report on the limits, but also opportunities, of technology in schools. The United States public school system is intended to produce effective, thoughtful citizens who will become valuable contributors to society. Many technological innovations have been enlisted, whether television or telecommunications, calculators or computers. But in the process of equipping students to learn with technology, the report suggests, perhaps the most valuable-part of the education equation has been virtually overlooked: the teachers. Kennedy, Edward M. and Sundquist, Don (1995), Teachers & technology making the connection Washington: the Office of Technology Asessment, Congress of the United States Science for all children Easy-to-read and practical book on how to bring about the changes recommended in the US' National Science Education Standards. It provides tools that are needed when putting into practice inquiry-based science in any school district. National Science Resource Center, National Academy of Sciences, Smithsonian Institution, Science for All Children A Guide to Improving Elementary Science Education in Your School District ISBN 0 309 052 97 1 Turtles, Termites, and Traffic Jams Resnick (media laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) explores the counterintuitive world of decentralized systems and self- organizing phenomena. Drawing on ideas from computer science, education, psychology, and systems theory, he examines why many people resist decentralized ideas, and describes an innovative computer language, StarLogo, that he designed to help students from grade school and up simulate self-organizing behavior in systems. Resnick analyzes the educational ideas, such as constructionism, and computational ideas, including massive parallelism, underlying StarLogo. Resnick, Michael and Resnick, Mitchel (1997) Turtles, Termites, and Traffic Jams: Explorations in Massively Parallel Microworlds (Complex Adaptive Systems) Cambridge, MIT Press, ISBN 0262680939 PLAY/CHANNELS: media hybrids and experience (play and learning in different environments: museums, science centers, theme parks, theater, hybrid media) City of Cultures When cities turn into a mega stage for festivities and celebrations, urban space is re-possesed and re-conceptrualized by galvanized communities. Reports from Brussels, Los Angeles, London and Montreal. Opsomer, Geert (1995), City of Cultures Brussel, Vlaams Theater Instituut Edinburgh: Terrorism and Modern Drama Ten essays connect dramatic literature and mods of radical politics, discuss the deep theatricality of terrorism and its use as dramatic topic and situation. Orr, John and Klaic, Dragan, Eds. (1990, 1992) Edinburgh: Terrorism and Modern Drama Edinburgh, Edinburgh Univ. Press Fractal Dreams—New Media in Social Context CD-ROM, CDI, VR... the digital media revolution is upon us—or so, this book argues, we are being led to believe. The essays in Fractal Dreams set out to explore what is new about New Media, mapping the territory of the mediasphere and distinguishing what is actual and what is virtual in these new worlds. In these specially commissioned pieces, practitioners of New Media and cultural critics from Britain and North America grapple with key issues such as: who has access to technology? Is consumerism the same as access? Will art and everyday life finally merge in the shopping malls rather than the revolution? Dovey, Jon (1996), Fractal Dreams-New Media in Social Context London, Books Britain, ISBN 0853158002 Inside the Mouse: work and play at Disney world Considering the park as both private corporate enterprise and public urban environment, the authors focus on questions concerning the production and consumption of leisure. Featuring more than fifty photographs and interviews with workers, this book illustrates the high-pressure dynamics of the typical family vacation while taking the reader on a tour that looks well beyond Disney World's controlled façade. Inside the Mouse : Work and Play at Disney World; the Project on Disney (Post-Contemporary Interventions) Durham and London, Duke University Press, ISBN 0 822 31624 2 Man Looking for Words An experienced master of international collaboration in the performing arts reflects on his utopian visions, disappointments and dramatic misunderstandings. The politics and poetics of border-crossing performance Ten Cate, Ritsaert, (1996), Man Looking for Words Amsterdam, Theater Instituut Nederland Shifting Gears Theater and dance professionals from several countries report on dreams and disasters, dispatch updates from the fast lane and reflect on the changing dynamics of the performing arts. Engelander, Rudy and Klaic, Dragan, (1998), Shifting Gears Amsterdam, Theater Instituut Nederland Surfing on the internet. A Nethead's Adventure On-line Cyberspace emerges as its own weird, raunchy, wonderful and terrible kind of culture as Harvard grad student J.C. Herz perceptively describes it through rather sardonic eyes and replays of her conversations with all variety of netheads. Being female is something she neither flaunts nor denies on the male-dominated Net, not out of fear of media-hyped "cyber-rape," but because of the annoying pick-up lines. Along her guided tour, J.C. includes some serious ruminations about the future of the Internet's frontier spirit as newcomers start flooding into the territory. But between these pages the ride is fast and furious-sleepless nights, caffeine, Fruity Pebbles and all. Herz, J.C. (1996), Surfing on the Internet. A Nethead's Adventure On-line Little Brown & Co, ISBN 0 316 360 09 0 (pap.) The third culture: beyond scientific revolution 'An eye-opening look at the intellectual culture of today—in which science, not literature or philiosophy, takes centre stage in the debate over human nature and the nature of the universe.' In an easy-to-digest format, Brockmans interviews hot scientists about their latest scientific theories and research. Brockman, John (1995), The third Culture: beyond scientific revolution. New York, Simon and Schuster Variations on a Theme Park Eight essays on today's cityscapes as event spaces. Authors a.o. Langdon Winner, Margareth Crawford, Trevor Boddy, Mike Davis and Christine Boyer. An 'autopsy of a future already over—unless, perhaps, everyone who loves cities reads this book.' Sorkin, Michael (ed.) (1992), Variations on a Theme Park; the New American City and the End of Public Space New York, The Noonday Press, ISBN 0 374 52314 2 PLAY/INC: beyond the infinite game in business (-new- business and/as gameplay, strategies, innovation) Blur: the speed of change in the connected economy Further explorations of the consequences of the network economy. The authors list three primary forces overturning the old order: speed, intangibles, and connectivity. They have lots of business examples and yet more strategies. Davis, Stan and Meyer, Christopher (1998), Blur: the speed of change in the connected economy Addison-Wesley Competing on the edge Competing on the edge is an unpredictable, uncontrollable, often even inefficient strategy, yet a singularly effective one in an era driven by change. Drawing from their own in-depth research with twelve global businesses and interviews with more than one hundred managers, the authors use real-world examples to showcase competing-on-the-edge strategies in action. These lessons are linked to fundamental scientific principles from complexity theory, the nature of speed, and timepaced evolution. The result is a groundbreaking book that will give insight to sophisticated new levels in understanding and practice of strategy. Brown, Shona L. and Eisenhardt, Katheen M. (1998), Competing on the edge; Strategy as structured chaos Boston MA: Harvard Business School Press Connexity. How to live in a Connected World Geoff Mulgan argues that our freedom and our connectedness are set on a collision course. Although the achievement of much greater freedom is someting to be cherished, we cannot afford to ignore the disorders it has produced, such as environmental decay, social and economic dividion and dwindling commitment in the home and the workplace. Drawing on a impressive array of ideas and disciplines, from the insights of evolutionary psychology to the predictions of business gurus, from cybernetics, systems theory and moral philosophy, Mulgan argues that the only way out of our current impasse is to go beyond our sense of ourselves as isolated units, and recognise the webs of mutual responsibility in which we live. Mulgan, Geoff, (1997) Connexity. How to live in a Connected World Londen, Random House, ISBN 0 7011 6396 8 The economy as an evolving complex system The published proceedings from a landmark workshop on ecological approaches to deciphering the economy. Very technical and academic, but also very revolutionary. Anderson, Philip W., Arrow Kenneth J. and Pines, David (1988), The economy as an evolving complex system Addison-Wesley Enterprise one to one: tools for competing in the interactive age An excellent investigation into the future shape of relationships in the new economy. The book is very pragmatic about business tactics (how to get your company to interact with customers), but it also articulates useful economy principles at the strategic level as well. The authors seem to have an intuitive grasp of how the new economy is unfolding. Peppers, Don and Rogers, Martha (1997), Enterprise one to one: tools for competing in the interactive age Doubleday Innovation Explosion If knowledge is the new capital, then innovation is the new currency. Quinn and colleagues do a masterful job of placing innovation as the central dynamic in a knowledge economy. They have rounded up anecdotes, statistics, and bullet points galore te create a believable case for why innovation is the key variable in the network economy. Quinn, James Brian, Baruch, Jordan J. and Zien, Karen Anne (1997), Innovation Explosion The Free Press The Innovation War. Industrial R & D... the Arms Race of the 90's Without any fancy technical jargon, Cristoph-Friedrich van Braun lays out the history of technological research that has evolved from healty competition into a kind of mania for the new. He shows how today's corporations are pursuing innovation merely for the sake of outdoing other companies, and squandering a fortune as a result. Friedrich von Braun, Christoph, The Innovation War. Industrial R&D...the Arms Race of the 90's Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity Harvard Business School professor and jazz pianist Kao persuasively compares creativity in the workplace with creativity in the world of jazz and ultimately finds the two fields rely in similar ways on freedom within a defined structure, to achieve success. Kao, John, Jamming: The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity ISBN 0 006 386 82 2 Just Do It: The Nike spirit in the corporate world Penetrating Nike—a company of the future, a dream machine that seeks to redefine culture through the power of sports—Katz provides a portrait of Phil Knight, who pioneered the corporation from a two-man operation into a four billion-dollar company. Katz, Donald, Just Do It: The Nike Spirit in the corporate world ISBN 1 558 504 79 6 Mastering the Art of Creative Collaboration Creative collaboration makes the impossible, possible. The book offers readers the tools to make any collaborative activity creative, productive, and rewarding. Hargrove, Robert, Mastering the Art of Creative Collaboration ISBN 0 070 264 09 0 Mastering the Infinite game, How east Asian Values are transforming Business Practices With its unique insights into the success of East Asian economies, this is a provocative yet strangely reassuring book by two of Europe's most interesting management theorists. For after blowing us out of our comfortable mental boxes the authors reconnect and reframe the facts. With Eastern and Western management cultures illuminated, and the opposites unified, perhaps this time Charles Hampden-Turner and Fons Trompenaars really have squared the circle. Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars, Fons (1997), Mastering the Infinite game, How east Asian Values are transforming Business Practices Oxford, Capstone Publishing Limited Oxford Centre for Innovation, ISBN 1 900961 083 Net gain: Expanding markets through vitual communities A highly original and extremely insightful view of the new economy seen through the lens of commercial communities. It shifts focus away from firms or customers and onto emerging networks. It sees virtual communities as serious business. Although not economic in its sensibilities, this is one of the best books about network economy. Hagel III, John and Armstrong, Arthur G. (1997) Net gain: Expanding markets through vitual communities Harvard, Harvard Business Press New Rules for the New Economy : 10 Radical Strategies for a Connected World The widespread emergence of the World Wide Web and the idea of a network economy have set new records for excess in overheated marketing campaigns, breathless newspaper and magazine articles, and topsy-turvy financial markets. From his perch as founding editor of Wired magazine, Kevin Kelly has long been one of the new economy's chief hypesters. In New Rules for the New Economy, Kelly tries to encapsulate the characteristics of this emerging economic order by laying out 10 rules for how the wired world operates. The result is a dizzying, sometimes confusing, but always thought-provoking look at the behavior of networks and their effect on our economic lives. At the root of this network revolution is communication. Kelly, Kevin, New Rules for the New Economy : 10 Radical Strategies for a Connected World Viking Press, ISBN 0670881112 The rise of the network society, volume I of the Information Age A dense, sprawling, comprehensive vista of the ongoing transformation of society by network technologies. Castells is a sociologist with a European's bent for the large-scale sweep of history. This book, the first in a trilogy, is a catalog of evidence for the arrival of a new global, networked-based culture. The immense scope of this change is reflected in the immense, and at times unwieldly, scope of this book. Castells' literate and broad view is what makes it worthwhile. Castells, Manuel (1996), The rise of the network society volume I of the Information Age, Blackwell Publishers The second curve The president of the Institute of the Future seems to have written this book rather hastily. But it's still worth a read. His theory is deceptively simple: you must ride the first curve—a company's traditional business carried out in a familiar corporate climate—to the all-important second curve. (Charles Handy, who wrote about curves earlier, also did so less breatlessly). Morrison, Ian (1996), The Second Curve: managing the velocity of change London: Nicolas Brealy Publishing Ltd. DESIGN/PLAY: the shape of play to come (art, design, architecture, crafts, skills) The user illusion; cutting consciousness down to size The title of this book comes from computer design and refers to the simplistic mental image most of us have of our PCs. The conscious part of us recieves much less information than the unconscious part of us. Tor Nørretranders, Denmark's leading science writer, states that we should trust our hunches and pursue our intuitions because they are closer to reality than the percieved reality of consciousness. A profound book, with a brilliant analysis of information theory and how it can help us to understand the human mind. Nørretranders, Tor (1998), The user illusion. Cutting consciousness down to size New York, Viking, ISBN 0 670 87579 1 A pattern language One of the most influential and interesting books ever written about design and architecture. To design their environments, people always rely on certain 'languages', which, like the languages we speak, allow them to articulate and communicate an infinite variety of designs within a formal system which gives them coherence. Alexander, Christopher (1977), A Pattern Language: towns, buildings, construction New York, Oxford University Press Children, Spaces, Relationships The municipal infant-toddler centers and preschools of Reggio Emilia in Italy are internationally recognized as an experience of particular cultural interest and constitute a model of `relational space' dedicated to young children. This extensively illustrated and stimulating book brings together the avant-garde pedagogical philosophy of the Reggio Emilia preschools, with innovative experiences within the broader culture of design and architecture. Ceppi, Giullio & Zini, Michele, Children, Spaces, Relationships Designing for Children; Art of Graphic Design in Children's Books, Posters, Magazines, Etc. Heller, Steven; Heller, Steve; Steven (1994), Designing for Children; Art of Graphic Design in Children's Books, Posters, Magazines, Etc. Watson Guptill Publishers The design of children's technology Compiled by a leading authority in the field of children's technology, this book brings together current discussions of how and why new technologies are being designed. It presents innovative methods, techniques, and ideas, making this a unique resource for developers of children's software, hardware, and multimedia products; graphic/human interface designers; and university faculty doing research in the area of children and technology. Includes papers by Doors' speakers Yasmin Kafai and Mitchel Resnick. Druin, A., (1998), The design of children's technology San Francisco, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, ISBN 1 55860 507 X The digital designer Well designed and well organized, The Digital Designer examines a variety of perspectives on new media. Authors Steven Heller and Daniel Drennan tackle the book's complex topics, avoiding becoming too complex or overly technical. Not merely a book about Web or multimedia design, The Digital Designer will benefit readers from all creative fields. Heller, Steven and Drennan, Daniel, The digital designer Watson Guptill Publishers, ISBN 0823013464 The great good place and how they get you through the day About 'the third place'. Reading this inspired me to think about the design of good spaces for talking, learning and playing. (Nobuyuki Ueda) Oldenburg, Ray (1989), The Great Good Place and How They Get You Through the Day New York, Marlow and Company Growing Up Digital The author of The Digital Economy turns his attention to the way young people—surrounded by high-tech toys and tools from birth—that will likely affect the future. Based on some 300 interviews he forges predictions on how today's 2- to 22-year-olds (which will total 88 million in North America alone by the year 2000) will reshape society. Tapscott, Don, Growing Up Digital ISBN 0 07 063 361 4 Playing and Reality Winnicott, D.W., Winnicott, Clare, Playing and Reality Routledge, ISBN 0 41503 689 5 The reflective practitioner A leading M.I.T. social scientist and consultant examines five professions— engeneering, architecture, management, psychotherapy, and town planning—to show how professionals really go about solving problems. The unarticulated, largely unexamined process is the subject of Schön's original book, an effort to show how this vital creativity might be fostered in future professionals. Schön, Donald A. (1984), The Reflective Practitioner: how professionals think in action Aldershot, Gower Toys as popular culture The author wants to bridge a gap between cultural studies as an academic field and 'ordinary' readers (parents, teachers, etc.) who recognise that today's media-related toys are hugely powerful in children's imaginative lives. His book concentrates on Ninja Turtles, PowerRangers, Barbie, Transformers, GI Joe, and video games. Some parts of the book develop an academic argument about toys and concepts of 'identity', while other sections discuss the history and development of media-related toys. There are a lot of specially posed 'tableau' photographs of toys to illustrate the argument. Fleming, Dan (1997), Toys as Popular Culture Manchester, Manchester University Press, ISBN 0 719 047 17 X (pb) MISC/PLAY (anything by the rules...) The English Fair Journalist David Kerr Cameron traces the evolution of the English fair from its nomadic origins through its ignominious collapse in more recent times. Today's fairs, Cameron suggests, have come full circle back to the Roman feria or festival holiday, now `a gleaming technological wonderland, a complex maze of mobile multi-million pounds entertainment'. Kerr Cameron, David (1998) The English Fair Sutton, ISBN 0 7509 1772 5 The Baron in the Trees Italo Calvino tells the astonishing story of Cosme, a boy who decided to climb a tree and never touch the ground again. The book shows his life from the moment he decided to rebel against his family in such a strange way till the day he "passed away". Talks about someone who didn't want to belong to the same world of the "ground-walkers". It's a nice fable, and as many nice fables, talk about big truths about human beings, even the ones which do not climb the trees to escape—or fight against—his problems. Calvino, Italo, Archibald Colquhoun (translator) (1989), The Baron in the Trees Harcourt Brace, ISBN 0 156 106 80 9 A thousand years of nonlinear history Following in the wake of his groundbreaking War in the age of intelligent machines, Doors regular Manuel De Landa presents a radical synthesis of historical development over the last one thousand years. He sketches the outlines of a renewed materialist philosophy of history in the tradition of Fernand Braudel, Gilles Deleuze, and Felix Guattari and looks at material processes derived from the sciences of dynamics. The result is a novel approach to the study of human societies and their always mobile, semi-stable forms: cities, economies, technologies, and languages. De Landa, Manuel (1997), A thousand years of nonlinear history Cambridge, MIT press, ISBN 0 942299 31 0 Body Criticism: Imaging the unseen in Enlightenment Art and Medicine Eighteenth century visual strategies for imaging the unseen. The significance of a cluster of leading body metaphors, derived from aesthetic and medical practices, our contemporary technological search to reveal nonapparent physical and mental experience. Stafford, Barbara Maria (1993, 1st print 1991), Body Criticism: Imaging the unseen in Enlightenment Art and Medicine Cambridge, MIT press, ISBN 0 262 691 65 5 A History of Reading Manguel takes us through the history of reading as if leading us room by room through the infinite library Borges constructed. His approach is thematic. His topics jump from attempts to censor reading to the physical surroundings favored by readers, from the limitations of translations to the esotericism of books written for a restricted readership. The impressive breadth of his reading, will make you eager to rush to the nearest library. Manguel, Alberto, A History of Reading ISBN 0 006 546 81 1 A mapmaker's dream: The Meditations of Fra Mauro, Cartographer to the Court of Venice James Cowan's fantasy of a Venetian cartographer owes a large and obvious debt to Borges, with its speculations on geography as a construct of the human consciousness, its erudite references, and its tales of explorations into an imaginary world. Through the purported journals of Fra Mauro, a cloistered monk who actually lived during the 15th century and who, in Cowan's novel, has resolved to create a map of the world without ever leaving his cell, we learn of a race of men with one foot the size of an umbrella, about the Vatican emissary to the Mongol court, and about the devil worshippers of the land called Mosul. Over the course of the book, Fra Mauro creates a world of his own, composed less of geographical knowledge than of meditation, folklore, and books. Cowam, James, (1997) A mapmaker's dream: The Meditations of Fra Mauro, Cartographer to the Court of Venice Warner Books, ISBN 0 446 673 38 2 Air Guitar Dave Hickey's twenty-three essays which make up Air Guitar offer the reader a vista beyond the wasteland of "vast, invisible underground empires": record stores, honky-tonks, hot-rod shops, art galleries, jazz clubs, cocktail lounges, surf shops and the like. Hickey, Dave (1998), Air Guitar Los Angeles: Art Issues Press, ISBN 0 963 726 45 5 Consilience. The unity of knowledge Edward O. Wilson, an American biologist who is considered to be one of the world's greatest living scientists, argues for the fundamental unity of all knowledge and the need to search for consilience—the proof that everything in our world is organised in terms of a small number of fundamental natural laws that comprise the particles underlying every branch of learning. Drawing on the physical sciences and biology, anthropology, psychology, religion, philosophy and the arts, Consilience is an enormous intellectual adventure. Wilson, Edward O. (1998), Consilience. The unity of knowledge Lancaster Place, Little, Brown and Company, ISBN 0 316 645 69 9 The Child in the City Ward, Colin (1979), The Child in the City London, Penguin The Diamond Age The future of play and learning is in lucid science fiction. Neal Stephenson of Snow Crash fame ventures into the next century's upbringing of a young girl, with this one-of-a-kind novel that proves once more that we have to use our imagination to decide "what 'new media' are for"... This book is not recommended, but required. Stephenson, Neal (1995), The Diamond Age, or, A Young Lady's Primer New York, Bantam, ISBN 0 553 57331 4 The Doors of Perception Another classic, the one Doors is named after, describes the author's personal experimentation with mescaline and explores the nature of visionary experience. For a whole generation of psychedelic seekers, Huxley's account became the essential touchstone. Huxley, Aldous, The Doors of Perception ISBN 0 006 547 31 1 Eternally Yours Products are entitled to dignified ageing. Their contribution to waste needs drastic reduction. `Eternally Yours' is an inspiring guide to achieve this goal, suggesting strategies for their design, as well as for the organisation around them. The book goes all the way, from aesthetic wear to upgrading services and advertising. Hinte, Ed van (1997), Eternally Yours. Visions on product endurance Rotterdam, 010 publishers Future Natural, nature/science/culture Theorists of culture and science ponder the concept of Nature in the past, present, and future, and consider the impact on our daily lives of recent developments in biotechnologies, electronic media, and ecological politics. They particular explore whether political and cultural debates about the body and the environment can take place without reference to nature or natural. The 18 essays (which include an exclusive interview with Satan) were presented at a November 1994 conference in London. Robertson, George, Mash, Melinda, Tickner, Lisa, Bird, Jon, Curtis, Barry and Putnam, Tim (1996), Future Natural London, Routledge Le Ton beau de Marot: In Praise of the Music of Language Hofstadter writes writes about translation and language and constraints and poetry in a clear and thought provoking style. You'll never see translation in the same way—in fact, you'll never see ANYthing in the same way, because all communication involves translation from one media to another, doesn't it? Hofstadter, Douglas R. (1997), Le Ton beau de Marot: In Praise of the Music of Language New York, Basic Books The poetics of space. Poetics of Space is a methodical, carefully argued book which tells us that we read spaces like we read a book. There is a distinct psychology to each type of space—attics, cellars, the forest, and nests are just some of the spaces examined. The book is written with thought, love, and passion and is a tour-de-force. Highly recommended to those who enjoy poetry, philosophy, architecture or art. Bachelard, Gaston (1994, 1st print 1958), The poetics of space. The classic look at how we experience intimate places Boston, Beacon Press, ISBN 0 8070 6473 4 |
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updated 25-11-1998 |
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