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An examination of software practice in Brazil that reveals both the globalization and the localization of software development. Software development would seem to be a quintessential example of today's Internet-enabled “knowledge work”—a global profession not bound by the constraints of geography. In Coding Places, Yuri Takhteyev looks at the work of software developers who inhabit two contexts: a geographical area—in this case, greater Rio de Janeiro—and a “world of practice,” a global system of activities linked by shared meanings and joint practice. The work of the Brazilian developers, Takhteyev discovers, reveals a paradox of the world of software: it is both diffuse and sharply centralized. The world of software revolves around a handful of places—in particular, the San Francisco Bay area—that exercise substantial control over both the material and cultural elements of software production. Takhteyev shows how in this context Brazilian software developers work to find their place in the world of software and to bring its benefits to their city. Takhteyev's study closely examines Lua, an open source programming language developed in Rio but used in such internationally popular products as World of Warcraft and Angry Birds. He shows that Lua had to be separated from its local origins on the periphery in order to achieve success abroad. The developers, Portuguese speakers, used English in much of their work on Lua. By bringing to light the work that peripheral practitioners must do to give software its seeming universality, Takhteyev offers a revealing perspective on the not-so-flat world of globalization.
Different Engines investigates the emergence of technologies in Latin America to create images, sounds, video games, and physical interactions. The book contributes to the construction of a historiographical and theoretical framework for understanding the work of creators who have been geographically and historically marginalized through the study of five exemplary and yet relatively unknown artifacts built by engineers, scientists, artists, and innovators. It offers a broad and detailed view of the complex and sometimes unlikely conditions under which technological innovation is possible and of the problematic logics under which these innovations may come to be devalued as historically irrelevant. Through its focus on media technologies, the book presents the interactions between technological and artistic creativity, working towards a wider understanding of the shifts in both fields that have shaped current perceptions, practices, and design principles while bringing into view the personal, social, and geopolitical singularities embodied by particular devices. It will be an engaging and insightful read for scholars, researchers, and students across a wide range of disciplines, such as media studies, art and design, architecture, cultural history, and the digital humanities.
Algorithms for computation are a central part of both digital signal pro cessing and decoders for error-control codes and the central algorithms of the two subjects share many similarities. Each subject makes extensive use of the discrete Fourier transform, of convolutions, and of algorithms for the inversion of Toeplitz systems of equations. Digital signal processing is now an established subject in its own right; it no longer needs to be viewed as a digitized version of analog signal process ing. Algebraic structures are becoming more important to its development. Many of the techniques of digital signal processing are valid in any algebraic field, although in most cases at least part of the problem will naturally lie either in the real field or the complex field because that is where the data originate. In other cases the choice of field for computations may be up to the algorithm designer, who usually chooses the real field or the complex field because of familiarity with it or because it is suitable for the particular application. Still, it is appropriate to catalog the many algebraic fields in a way that is accessible to students of digital signal processing, in hopes of stimulating new applications to engineering tasks.
The aesthetic and political implications of working with code as procedure, expression, and action. Speaking Code begins by invoking the “Hello World” convention used by programmers when learning a new language, helping to establish the interplay of text and code that runs through the book. Interweaving the voice of critical writing from the humanities with the tradition of computing and software development, in Speaking Code Geoff Cox formulates an argument that aims to undermine the distinctions between criticism and practice and to emphasize the aesthetic and political implications of software studies. Not reducible to its functional aspects, program code mirrors the instability inherent in the relationship of speech to language; it is only interpretable in the context of its distribution and network of operations. Code is understood as both script and performance, Cox argues, and is in this sense like spoken language—always ready for action. Speaking Code examines the expressive and performative aspects of programming; alternatives to mainstream development, from performances of the live-coding scene to the organizational forms of peer production; the democratic promise of social media and their actual role in suppressing political expression; and the market's emptying out of possibilities for free expression in the public realm. Cox defends language against its invasion by economics, arguing that speech continues to underscore the human condition, however paradoxical this may seem in an era of pervasive computing.
The ?rst and foremost goal of this lecture series was to show the beauty, depth and usefulness of the key ideas in computer science. While working on the lecture notes, we came to understand that one can recognize the true spirit of a scienti?c discipline only by viewing its contributions in the framework of science as a whole. We present computer science here as a fundamental science that, interacting with other scienti?c disciplines, changed and changes our view on the world, that contributes to our understanding of the fundamental concepts of science and that sheds new light on and brings new meaning to several of these concepts. We show that computer science is a discipline that discovers spectacular, unexpected facts, that ?nds ways out in seemingly unsolvable s- uations, and that can do true wonders. The message of this book is that computer science is a fascinating research area with a big impact on the real world, full of spectacular ideas and great ch- lenges. It is an integral part of science and engineering with an above-average dynamic over the last 30 years and a high degree of interdisciplinarity. The goal of this book is not typical for popular science writing, whichoftenrestrictsitselftooutliningtheimportanceofaresearch area. Whenever possible we strive to bring full understanding of the concepts and results presented.
The field of Urban Dynamics itself is based on the systems engineering concept that all complex systems (and cities and urban areas are no exception) are comprised of independent and often smaller, more understandable sub-components with relationships to one another. This allows for the system as a whole to be modeled, using knowledge of the individual subsystems and their behaviors. In this instance, urban dynamics allows for the modeling and understanding of land use, the attractiveness of space to residents, and how the ageing and obsolescence of buildings affects planning and economic development, as well as population movements, with the urban landscape. The book adopts a trans-disciplinary approach that looks at the way residential mobility, commuting patterns, and travel behavior affect the urban form. It addresses a series of issues dealing with the accessibility of urban amenities, quality of life, and assessment of landscape residential choices, as well as measurement of external factors in the urban environment and their impact on property values.