Research interests/Field of interest
- Social aspects and implications of new communication systems at various levels, including potentials and problems of broadband democracy and dependency, with a focus on users and local community development.
- The emergence and development of electronic culture and -art forms, and
theories of social communication under varying technological conditions, such as non-reductionist models of communication in various types of ´languages´, (like verbal/audio/visual/kinetic ones), and development of methods of numerical picture- and sound analysis.
- Development, research and coordination of electronic research mediation/network cooperation, via national television and net-systems: ´The Knowledge Channel´ between Norwegian university and high-level research institutions.
Keywords
Broadband democracy and consumers, electronic culture and art, electronic research-, culture- and knowledge mediation
Qualifications
Mag.art. in sociology, additional disciplines philosophy (methodology) and economics, University of Oslo.
Media studies in tv-production, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation courses.
Art eduction, various studies in piano, electronic music and video.
Current and prior occupations
Associate professor, InterMedia. Previously positions at the Institute for Social Research, Oslo, Institute of Sociology and Social Geography, UiO, and The University Center of Information Technology, UiO.
Visiting positions
Projects
The broadband democracy project focuses on implications of advanced communication systems for various communities and user groups, for instance in housing areas, institutions and businesses, It studies variations and divides in the extents and levels of choice and competition in the communication systems, etc., and different structural and regulatory frameworks, for instance differences between ´integrated actors´ controlling both content and infrastructure, versus ´differentiation of actors´, such as the role of local user-owned access cable nets in various countries.
The media culture project includes practical digitizing and analysis of early Norwegian electronic arts, like video-, computer art, vr-, net- art, and tv-language. It deals especially with early works in these areas since the 1960s. Analytical work is linked to theoretical tools specifying various types of communication, like audio, visual, kinetic and verbal ones, and also to methodological work in numerical analysis. The project also deals with an extensive video material of Norwegian youth-cultural self-documentation, called ´Bootleg´, in the 1980s and 90s. This material, and electronic art material called ´Media Art Gallery´, was previously transmitted on tv by the Media Culture project, and later by ´The Knowledge Channel´. Also material from residents´ use of their own local access cable nets since the 1980s is included.
The Knowledge Channel, since 1995, (earlier forms Media Culture and Tv Forum from the middle 1980s), deals with increasing the mediation of research knowledge in various forms and media, like tv, net-streaming, net fora, etc., from Norwegian university and high level research institutions. R&D work previously has included for instance interactive satellite systems in 1987, starting the use of MPEG-4 in 2003, and continuous audience research data analysis.
Memberships and representations
Presentation of early Norwegian VR-experimental work on E. Kurenniemi-video at Biennale di Venezia, 2003.
Member of the reference group on ´Digital Divides´ of the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry, 2001-02.
Member of the State Library Authority committee on libraries and broadband 2001.
Presentation of music material in Norwegian video at the World Exhibition, Expo 2000 in Hannover.
Member of InterMedia´s board 1999.
Representative of Tv Forum to Eurostep, the European organization for satellite education, 1990-92.
Member of the Norwegian governmental Mass Media Commission, 1978-80.
Norwegian representative at Biennale de Paris, 1969, with the first Norwegian computer music/art works.
Awards
Winner of the Norwegian musicians´ poll rating as organist, 1967.
Links
Bredbåndsdagen
www.bredbandsdagen.no/sites/broadband/uploads/Program_webversion.pdf
"Arild Boman vil oss noe - skrev Arne Nordheim" in: wo.uio.no/as/WebObjects/avis.woa/wa/visArtikkel?id=6244&del=uniforum
"Kunst via hullkort og satellitt" in: www.kulturnett.no/dokumenter/dokument.jsp?id=T435042
Sentralstyrene 1969-75 in: www.dna.no/dna.no
Publications - productions
Works since 1998 are registered in FRIDA and ForskDok
