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Intercoastal Collaboration and Innovation Abroad

  April 12, 2015 ,

As an archaeologist, it is understood that one must wear multiple hats – as it were. During my time at Georgia State University I have worn many – Anthropology Student, Archaeology Student, Mentor, Student Innovation Fellow and Graduate Assistant – to name a few. I am also a member of Proyecto Costa Escondida – an archaeological project which spans multiple institutions and fields. Through this project I have the opportunity to collaborate with other students from around the nation – and in fact the world. This semester I have been working on coordinating a field season with other members of the project from the University of California San Diego – Students of the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art Architecture and Archaeology (CISA3). This field expedition has a number of purposes within the scope of the Student Innovation Fellowship. Primarily – the students as CISA3 who joined me in Mexico this March are interested in the same sorts of uses for Unmanned Aerial Systems in scientific research that I have been working on this past 2 semesters. However, these students represent a cross section of the technical experts and innovators – though with different specific skill sets – similar to those students sought by the Student Innovation Fellowship The notable difference being that CISA3 is an established institution. CISA3 was able to provide incredible support for this field expedition, funding travel and accommodations and providing additional aircraft – in addition to the students. The goal of this collaboration was to … Continue reading

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SIF Status Check – How’s It Going? How Could It Be Going?

  April 12, 2015

I recently had a meeting with a high-ranking CDC scientist and an artist who have formed a company that uses new modes of thinking and structural hierarchies to encourage actionable innovation. The goal is to create products that make the world a better place by truly blending art, science, and technology in a way that nurtures and supports, in one example, the “dysfunctional genius” who may have great ideas but doesn’t have the wherewithal to develop those ideas. The company would pull together a wide range of thinkers and professionals who would get together to hear idea pitches, then decide if the idea was something they want to invest in and help develop. If the idea catches on and the product is successful, those on the development team share in the rewards. The key philosophy is focused more on “Here is what I can offer,” and less on, “Here’s what we want you to do.” A bottom-up investment as opposed to a top-down assignment. The similarities to the SIF concept were readily apparent. So I began to think about SIF as a whole, what it means, how it functions, what its goals are, etc.  And whether this idea of an “investment chip” could be useful for SIF (I find it very appealing). Which led me down the rabbit hole of, “Well, what else could be useful to SIF?” So it led me to want to ask everyone for an unofficial request for feedback on the SIF program overall. Please comment, or feel free … Continue reading

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Social Change Project (DLS)

  April 12, 2015 , ,

The Social Change Project is a project that recovers old files and interviews and re-formats them in order to organize and preserve them. This is a brand new Digital Library Services (DLS) project that I have been working on, and it is honestly quite interesting. This process starts off by taking the PDF file of an interview, for example, and converting it to a word document. After that, you create a new document and type up a brand new header for that interview. Once that is done, you then begin the process of re-formatting the interview. This can be a bit of a tedious process, but it allows you to get an in depth look at the content of the interview. Currently, I am working on re-formatting an old interview of a historical Georgia lawyer, Millard C. Farmer. These series of interviews detail his life and some of his most famous court cases. Farmer graduated from the University of Georgia back when racism was still rampant in Georgia. He talks about how his father made the controversial decision to give a job to a black man that was on death row (apparently you can take a man out of prison for work until he is convicted). Farmer spent much of his young childhood working with this man at his father’s company, and he couldn’t stand the fact that this man was going to eventually be killed by court for a case in which there was no serious evidence that he was … Continue reading

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The Spirit of Atlanta: A Quest for Context of 1920’s Atlanta

  March 22, 2015 ,

To search for historic Atlanta is like searching for fragments of city scape blown apart by an enormous shotgun blast. There seems to be no correlation with what is there now and what has been. But it is exactly this process that defines Atlanta. Atlanta is a city constantly reinventing itself. Perhaps we learned that, from the Civil War, we may be forced to reinvent ourselves. Even today, Atlanta struggles with its core identity. From very early in its history a “northernness” was often noted about Atlanta. Henry Grady was one of the foremost champions of this “New South” concept, that we ought to diversify our economy, and become more industrious like our northern neighbors. From these elements an “Atlanta Spirit” grew, a spirit thirsty for capital and economic growth. Modeled after the Chicago World’s Fair, we organized numerous expositions. We compared ourselves, not to Birmingham, Charlotte, Savannah, or even Chicago, but to New York. Atlanta was eager to distance itself form its agricultural neighbors, and with this distance came a disdain for the past. Nothing was sacred in Atlanta’s quest for recognition. No relic should stand in the way of urban growth, progress. It is from this setting that we can define Atlanta history into 5 major eras: Atlanta’s Founding Reconstruction Turn of the Century Atlanta Demolition Reurbanization ATLANTA’S FOUNDING Atlanta began as a simple point from which to begin construction of a railroad. It’s geography was chosen because it seemed a suitable route to the Chattahoochee River, not for its suitability to become a great city. This railroad … Continue reading

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Audio Post-Production: Getting Rid of those Hums

  March 22, 2015 , ,

Hi everyone, Don’t tell me it’s already Spring Break? Mamma mia, time does pass by quickly. Anyway, I want to share with you some stuff that I’m currently working on. This is mostly going to be interesting for those of you who have an interest in audio post-production especially as it relates to dealing with the kinds of issues that pop up when you produce videos. So, as you know one of my projects is about recording a couple of videos that not only promote hybrid teaching (some also call it blended learning) but videos that offer advice for faculty and students who want to try out hybrid forms of learning. While the video has already been cut, there are still a couple of problems as far as the audio is concerned. For one, our interview videos will have music running in the background, so we need to make sure that the music doesn’t overpower the speakers. So, some level adjustment is in order. Besides that, we will have to deal with some unwanted noise issues that were part of the recording process. So, what I am going to do now is run you through the way I deal with these kinds of things. That is not to say that it is the only solution. It’s simply my way of working. The steps I will be running through quickly are: cleaning, level adjustments, filtering out hum, compressing, and limiting. All of those steps I applied to the vocal performances. On … Continue reading