Museum City - Improvisation and the narratives of space

This paper provides four viewpoints on the narratives of space, allowing us to think about possible relations between sites and sounds, reflecting on how places might tell stories, or how practitioners embed themselves in a place in order to shape cultural, social and/or political narratives through the use of sound. I propose four viewpoints that investigate the relationship between sites and sounds, where narratives are shaped and made through the exploration of specific sonic activities. These are:
- sonic activism
- sonic preservation
- sonic participatory action
- sonic narrative of space

I examine each of these ideas in turn before focusing in more detail on the final viewpoint, which provides the context for discussing and analysing a recent site-specific music improvisation project, entitled ‘Museum City’, a work that aligns closely with my proposal for a ‘sonic narrative of space’.
The work ‘Museum City’ by Pedro Rebelo, Franziska Schroeder, Ricardo Jacinto and André Cepeda specifically enables me to reflect on how derelict and/or transitional spaces might be re-examined through the use of sound, particularly through means of live music improvisation. The spaces examined as part ‘Museum City’ constitute either deserted sites or sites about to undergo changes in their architectural layout, their use and sonic make-up. The practice in ‘Museum City’ was born out of a performative engagement with[in] those sites, but specifically out of an intimate listening relationship by three improvisers situated within those spaces.
The theoretical grounding for this paper is situated within a wider context of practising and cognising musical spatiality, as proposed by Georgina Born (2013), particularly her proposition for three distinct lineages that provide an understanding of space in/and music. Born’s third lineage, which links more closely with practices of sound art and challenges a Euclidean orientation of pitch and timbre space, makes way for a heightened consideration of listening and ‘the place’ of sound. This lineage is particularly crucial for my discussion, since it positions music in relation to social experiences and the everyday, which the work ‘Museum City’ endeavoured to embrace.

All the World's a Stage: Facilitating Discovery Science and Improved Cancer Care through the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health

The recent explosion of genetic and clinical data generated from tumor genome analysis presents an unparalleled opportunity to enhance our understanding of cancer, but this opportunity is compromised by the reluctance of many in the scientific community to share datasets and the lack of interoperability between different data platforms. The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health is addressing these barriers and challenges through a cooperative framework that encourages "team science" and responsible data sharing, complemented by the development of a series of application program interfaces that link different data platforms, thus breaking down traditional silos and liberating the data to enable new discoveries and ultimately benefit patients.

Tropical cyclone perceptions, impacts and adaptation in the Southwest Pacific: an urban perspective from Fiji, Vanuatu and Tonga

The destruction caused by tropical cyclone (TC) Pam in March 2015 is considered one of the worst natural disasters in the history of Vanuatu. It has highlighted the need for a better understanding of TC impacts and adaptation in the Southwest Pacific (SWP) region. Therefore, the key aims of this study are to (i) understand local perceptions of TC activity, (ii) investigate impacts of TC activity and (iii) uncover adaptation strategies used to offset the impacts of TCs. To address these aims, a survey (with 130 participants from urban areas) was conducted across three SWP small island states (SISs): Fiji, Vanuatu and Tonga (FVT). It was found that respondents generally had a high level of risk perception and awareness of TCs and the associated physical impacts, but lacked an understanding of the underlying weather conditions. Responses highlighted that current methods of adaptation generally occur at the local level, immediately prior to a TC event (preparation of property, gathering of food, finding a safe place to shelter). However higher level adaptation measures (such as the modification to building structures) may reduce vulnerability further. Finally, we discuss the potential
of utilising weather-related traditional knowledge and nontraditional knowledge of empirical and climate-model-based weather forecasts to improve TC outlooks, which would ultimately reduce vulnerability and increase adaptive capacity. Importantly, lessons learned from this study may result in the modification and/or development of existing adaptation strategies.

Archaeology, Architecture and Digital Adaptation: Developing a GIS for Archaeological Excavation on Crete

This paper is not about the history or archaeology of Priniatikos Pyrgos per se. Rather, it is a review of how the site was recorded using both traditional survey and planning techniques and digital approaches applied through a Geographical Information System (hereafter GIS) during the 2007 through 2010 seasons. Earlier work at the site will necessarily be reviewed, specifically the geophysical survey work of the Istron Geoarchaeological Project and the excavations by Hayden and Tsipopoulou between 2005 and 2006, and regional survey work by Hayden and colleagues in the Vrokastro region (Hayden, this volume, 1999, 2004; Sarris et al. 2005; Shahrukh et al. 2012). The digitisation and incorporation of the latter into the project GIS will be explored in some detail.