Anglia Ruskin University

The research undertaken by CoDE evaluates the cultural aspects of the emerging Digital Economy, i.e. to develop enhanced understanding of the implications of the Digital Economy on art, culture and society. The value of this is in developing models for evaluating the dependencies between technology and culture.

Technology is driven by cultural demand: user needs and artistic desires provide the justification for technology providers to develop innovative solutions. It is less easy however to predict what the future cultural and artistic
needs of a population may be. By evaluating technology in an artistic and cultural context, it is more likely that organisations can predict the future trends and desires and so design both creatively and technologically towards those identified trends, resulting in research outputs and business opportunities for the wider arts sector as a whole.

CoDE-related projects and research groupings

CoDE has four emerging Research Streams:

1. Social Media and Network Politics

The ubiquity of networking, social media and web 2.0 in everyday life means new positives and pitfalls in building social relationships, value creation, and knowledge production, and in highlighting politics and activism. CoDE is dedicated to analysing emerging forms of peer-to-peer activity, social collaboration, and remix culture through a combination of established and experimental research methods.

2. Digital Performance and Production

With the establishment of Anglia Ruskin's Digital Performance Lab and a strong cluster of research productive staff, CoDE will develop and grow innovative research in music and embodied performance in digital environments. From creative practice research to the development of new interfaces and applications for music production this stream thrives on rapid changes to sonic economies and creative communities fostered by digital interfaces, immersive environments, and wearable technologies.

3. Digital Humanities - Archives, Interfaces, Tools

Rethinking humanities in the age of new media is a crucial and unavoidable challenge for academics worldwide. From new theoretical approaches to innovative modes of distribution, archiving, and accessing of material, CoDE research projects tackle complex questions posed by efforts to digitize forms of cultural heritage, intellectual archives, and humanities-based forms of critical and creative work.

4. Play and Serious Gaming

Digital culture is by its nature playful. Gaming does not only represent a mode of entertainment and a new form of interactivity that gives rise to new practical and theoretical tools, but also a way of rethinking learning and education. Including everything from visual effects to serious gaming, this research stream brings together SMEs, informal programming communities, interface developers and designers. It will create new opportunities for Cambridge's existing and emerging strengths in the gaming industry to collaborate and will explore the future that these technologies hold.