http://vectors.usc.edu/issues Spring 2006 Volume 1 2 Vectors, the relevance of the issue's theme - mobility - was cast into surreal relief by the events leading up to and following Hurricane Katrina. The disaster along the Gulf Coast painfully underscored the stakes of and access to mobility in the United States circa 2005. The dead in the city of New Orleans were those unable to leave, primarily those without the financial or physical resources to evacuate in advance of the hurricane. They were disproportionately African American, poor, elderly, ill, neglected. They were, in a word, immobile, trapped in the raging waters that consumed the historic city, left behind to die.

Understanding the role of technology in the chaos of Katrina is complex. Within days, countless websites sprang up to help track those who had escaped and to organize relief efforts. Hackers quickly produced new mash-ups of Google Maps, outlining the damaged areas and allowing concerned friends and family members to pinpoint affected neighborhoods. These bottom-up technological efforts provided valuable services and some comfort in the wake of the disaster, particularly given the slow response of the federal government. But the limits of technology were plainly revealed as well. Computer simulations and government reports had predicted the scope of damage years earlier. Yet virtually nothing had been done to reinforce the levees despite repeated requests from officials in Louisiana. Processed, parsed, and analyzed data cannot produce change in a country that has abandoned its domestic infrastructure, neglected the poor, and failed to realize the hopes and possibilities of the Civil Rights era (not to mention the Emancipation era.) Never mind that Black bodies and Black labor once built New Orleans.

Each of the projects in this second issue of Vectors in some way serves to remind us of the social and cultural imbrications of technologically-mediated mobility. If the telecommunications and entertainment industries (and countless consumers) are now enthralled with all things mobile, the pieces collected here underscore that mobility is first and foremost a social phenomenon, one with long and troubled histories. From the i-Pod to the cell phone, smaller, faster, more tote-able technologies are everywhere touted as the next wave and celebrated as if they are somehow inherently liberating. This issue explores the possibilities of mobile technologies (and mobile scholarship) while also illustrating that mobility is not equally available to everyone nor inherently a good thing. To the over half million Americans displaced by Katrina (the largest national displacement in U.S. history), being mobile no doubt feels bittersweet.]]> Vectors site represents a long, continuing collaboration among many people and institutions. The site design was orchestrated by our Creative Directors, Raegan Kelly and Erik Loyer, with input from the editors. The site was built by Erik, Raegan and Craig Dietrich with assistance from Chris Wittenberg, Chris Hanson, Kevin Tanaka, and Steve Fong.

Ongoing support has been provided by USC's Institute for Multimedia Literacy and the Annenberg Center for Communication, and we would particularly like to thank Elizabeth Daley, Anne Balsamo, Stephanie Barish, Mark Kann, and Bruce Zuckerman, and the staffs at IML and ACC, especially Vanessa Lee, Shahril Ibrahim, Roberto Gomez, Stacy Patterson, Shelley Cooke, Dave Lopez, Elizabeth Harmon, John Zollinger, Josie Acosta, Rich Edwards, and Steve Adcook.

Various other colleagues have also offered valuable advice and support, including Scott Fisher, Marsha Kinder and the Labyrinth team, John Seely Brown, Joe Hellige, Cathy Davidson, Jeffrey Schnapp, Kathy Woodward, and David Theo Goldberg, as well as members of our Editorial Board and attendees at an early brainstorming session for the journal in summer, 2003. Alex Ceglia and the Stamen team came aboard in the final push to launch. We're thankful for their vision and hard work.

Vectors is especially grateful for the ongoing support of HASTAC and the recent support of Digital Promise.]]> The Vectors site represents a long, continuing collaboration among many people and institutions. The site design was orchestrated by our Creative Directors, Raegan Kelly and Erik Loyer, with input from the editors. The site was built by Erik, Raegan and Craig Dietrich with assistance from Chris Wittenberg, Chris Hanson, Kevin Tanaka, Steve Fong, and expert "behind the scenes" support from Willy Paredes (IML Systems Administrator). Additional syndication oversight provided by Greg Smith.

Ongoing support has been provided by USC's Institute for Multimedia Literacy and, originally, by the Annenberg Center for Communication, and we would particularly like to thank Elizabeth Daley, Anne Balsamo, Stephanie Barish, Mark Kann, and Bruce Zuckerman, and the staffs at IML and ACC, especially Vanessa Lee, Shahril Ibrahim, Roberto Gomez, Stacy Patterson, Shelley Cooke, Dave Lopez, Elizabeth Harmon, John Zollinger, Josie Acosta, Rich Edwards, and Steve Adcook.

Various other colleagues have also offered valuable advice and support, including Scott Fisher, Marsha Kinder and the Labyrinth team, John Seely Brown, Joe Hellige, Cathy Davidson, Jeffrey Schnapp, Kathy Woodward, and David Theo Goldberg, as well as members of our Editorial Board and attendees at an early brainstorming session for the journal in summer, 2003. Alex Ceglia and the Stamen team came aboard in the final push to launch in 2005. We're thankful for their vision and hard work.

Vectors is especially grateful for the ongoing support of HASTAC and the recent support of Digital Promise.]]> common/images/mobility_logo.jpg 110 212 Vectors. Andrea Foster writes, "ThoughtMesh is a Web site that tags open-access scholarly papers with key words. Visitors can jump to passages in papers that contain those words. And they can see others' papers, throughout academe, tagged with the same words. A "cloud" of tagged words hovers above each paper."]]> Vectors, "Blue Velvet" enables users to submerge themselves in a poetic wordscape describing the contours of American racial politics post-Katrina.]]> Vectors' fellow Kim Christen was recently interviewed on the BBC's Digital Planet about her continued work developing innovative archives with indigenous peoples.

Kim's Vectors' project, "Digital Dynamics Across Cultures" (in the Ephemera issue), was an early effort in this regard. She has gone on to receive numerous grants and to continue to work with Vectors' team member, Craig Deitrich.]]> Vectors' Perception issue, explores issues of women's incarceration.

As a festival for art and digital culture, transmediale presents advanced artistic positions reflecting on the socio-cultural impact of new technologies. It seeks out artistic practices that not only respond to scientific or technical developments, but that try to shape the way in which we think about and experience these technologies. transmediale understands media technologies as cultural techniques which need to be embraced in order to comprehend, critique, and shape our contemporary society.]]> Congratulations to Vectors Fellow Sharon Daniel and Co-Creative Director, Erik Loyer!

Vectors has received a Webby Honoree Award in the Activism category for their piece, "Public Secrets". The piece, a sophisticated and powerful exploration of the incarceration of women in California, is part of the latest issue of Vectors on the theme of "Perception" and was created as part of the Vectors Fellowship Competition.

The Official Honoree distinction is awarded to work that scores in the top 15% of all work entered into the Webby Awards. With over 8,000 entries received from all 50 states and over 60 countries, this is an outstanding accomplishment for Sharon and Erik.]]>