title: The law for the emerging active role of electricity consumers

authors: Aguilar Abaunza, Daniela

subjects: prosumers

abstract: This thesis investigates the role of law in shaping the liberalised electricity system for a more active role of consumers. The research studies three countries, New Zealand, Colombia and the Netherlands, to analyse how different electricity systems and legal frameworks are responding to the new technologies that enable active consumers. In order to provide a better understanding of the current law, this thesis classifies the multiple regulatory responses in terms of conventional regulation, decentred regulation and market-driven approach. In addition, the research applies legal theories regarding law and innovation such as the existence of regulatory disconnection, risks of disruptive technologies and the role of law in stimulating technological change. 
Law and regulation have the role of creating a level playing field for active consumers to participate and compete in the market together with traditional actors. In this sense, the role of consumers, distribution companies, markets and retailers should be reconsidered and therefore, the need to update the regulation and avoid regulatory disconnection. The main features that such legislation should include are different regulatory treatments depending on the size of the project and fair remuneration for the supply of energy and services provided by prosumers. The distribution tariffs or their methodologies should not deter the participation of prosumers , also it is necessary the existence of simplified licensing and procedures for small prosumers. It is also vital to undertake pilot projects and legal experimentation to help underpin future regulation.

text: The law for the emerging active role of electricity consumers This thesis investigates the role of law in shaping the liberalised electricity system for a more active role of consumers. The research studies three countries, New Zealand, Colombia and the Netherlands, to analyse how different electricity systems and legal frameworks are responding to the new technologies that enable active consumers. In order to provide a better understanding of the current law, this thesis classifies the multiple regulatory responses in terms of conventional regulation, decentred regulation and market-driven approach. In addition, the research applies legal theories regarding law and innovation such as the existence of regulatory disconnection, risks of disruptive technologies and the role of law in stimulating technological change. 
Law and regulation have the role of creating a level playing field for active consumers to participate and compete in the market together with traditional actors. In this sense, the role of consumers, distribution companies, markets and retailers should be reconsidered and therefore, the need to update the regulation and avoid regulatory disconnection. The main features that such legislation should include are different regulatory treatments depending on the size of the project and fair remuneration for the supply of energy and services provided by prosumers. The distribution tariffs or their methodologies should not deter the participation of prosumers , also it is necessary the existence of simplified licensing and procedures for small prosumers. It is also vital to undertake pilot projects and legal experimentation to help underpin future regulation.

year: 2020

title: HfG-Archiv Ulm online: From exclusive reality to inclusive virtuality

authors: Short, Carolina

subjects: design archive

abstract: The Archive of the Ulm School of Design (HfG-Archiv Ulm) began operating in 1987. It was created as a joint effort between the city council and a group of alumni that saw the necessity of preserving the institution’s memory and legacy after its closure. The first version of a website for the Archive was envisioned in 1999. Its goal was to present information on the HfG Ulm, display the Archive collection, and communicate related events to a massive audience. The HfG-Archiv Ulm website maintained the same structure and interface for almost 20 years. With the years of existence, it became an archive on its own. The virtual components acted as extensions of the tangible and intangible objects stored in the physical archive. Over the years of its existence, the website accomplished the mission of collecting and storing the Archive’s material and activities. At the same time, it was an instrument for research, education, and exposure for the Ulm School of Design. The project served as a communication tool for the Archive and became an archive of activities, events, publications and updates. The WWW was not conceived as a medium to preserve information, but it could work as such. In addition, the universal access of a website grants the possibility of reaching a physical place in Germany, achieving Winograd’s locomotion metaphor. We speak of navigating from one site to another, touching and following links — all metaphors of spatial locomotion that engage people opening new ways of thinking, learning, and doing. As technology changes, future work could amplify the experience of visiting the Archive by creating a contemporary virtual model, enhancing the opportunity to expand knowledge and spaces of interaction.

text: HfG-Archiv Ulm online: From exclusive reality to inclusive virtuality The Archive of the Ulm School of Design (HfG-Archiv Ulm) began operating in 1987. It was created as a joint effort between the city council and a group of alumni that saw the necessity of preserving the institution’s memory and legacy after its closure. The first version of a website for the Archive was envisioned in 1999. Its goal was to present information on the HfG Ulm, display the Archive collection, and communicate related events to a massive audience. The HfG-Archiv Ulm website maintained the same structure and interface for almost 20 years. With the years of existence, it became an archive on its own. The virtual components acted as extensions of the tangible and intangible objects stored in the physical archive. Over the years of its existence, the website accomplished the mission of collecting and storing the Archive’s material and activities. At the same time, it was an instrument for research, education, and exposure for the Ulm School of Design. The project served as a communication tool for the Archive and became an archive of activities, events, publications and updates. The WWW was not conceived as a medium to preserve information, but it could work as such. In addition, the universal access of a website grants the possibility of reaching a physical place in Germany, achieving Winograd’s locomotion metaphor. We speak of navigating from one site to another, touching and following links — all metaphors of spatial locomotion that engage people opening new ways of thinking, learning, and doing. As technology changes, future work could amplify the experience of visiting the Archive by creating a contemporary virtual model, enhancing the opportunity to expand knowledge and spaces of interaction.

year: 2021

title: The New Zealand Wars Documentary Series: Discursive Struggle and Cultural Memory.

authors: Perrott, Lisa

subjects: Television Documentary

abstract: The 1998 television broadcast of The New Zealand Wars documentary series was a significant public event, which had a major impact on a broad range of communities and individuals in Aotearoa New Zealand. This popular television history engaged with issues of historical veracity, race, culture and nationhood and challenged previously dominant discourses associated with these concepts. In doing so, it provoked heated debate, and a re-imagining of 'nation', and also opened up spaces for alternative ways of engaging with historical narrative. 

Informed by post-colonialism, cultural studies and cultural memory, this thesis explores the discursive and affective role of The New Zealand Wars, as it has operated within the turbulent climate of 1990s New Zealand cultural relations. This catalytic function is described in this thesis as a phenomenon of a television series shaped by, whilst also intervening in, processes of cultural colonisation and decolonisation. 

While both of these processes involve the transmission of discourse via cultural forms, the act of cultural decolonisation requires, in addition, the convergence of a number of agents (people and communities, discursive and memory resources) and circumstances, within particular contextual conditions. Such a convergence provided the conditions for the discursive synthesis, which shaped the production, construction and reception of this series. 

The role of audio-visual media (and specifically television documentary) in transmitting cultural memory is significant as it enables the flow of memory through channels or forms (such as visual, oral and aural traditions) that can bring about new perspectives and critical reflections upon colonial discourse and dominant concepts of nation and culture. In addition to these social and intellectual processes of audience engagement, this thesis argues that experiential and affective dimensions of cultural memory can (in these specific circumstances) open up radical spaces, offering the potential for generating awareness and sparking political action. 

These issues are explored through a tripartite analysis of the production context, construction and reception of The New Zealand Wars series. The integration of these three phases of analysis has generated a number of insights into the potential of audio-visual forms, including their producers and audiences, to participate in the negotiation of, and resistance to, colonial discourse. Such insights serve to challenge taken-for-granted constructions of nation and history, and suggest the increasing relevance of alternative concepts such as community-building and cultural memory. Ultimately, this thesis argues that television documentary can serve as a prime site for the articulation of these concepts. The New Zealand Wars serves as a case study, which demonstrates both the potential of this site, and the significance of the social-historical and cultural context in framing this series.

text: The New Zealand Wars Documentary Series: Discursive Struggle and Cultural Memory. The 1998 television broadcast of The New Zealand Wars documentary series was a significant public event, which had a major impact on a broad range of communities and individuals in Aotearoa New Zealand. This popular television history engaged with issues of historical veracity, race, culture and nationhood and challenged previously dominant discourses associated with these concepts. In doing so, it provoked heated debate, and a re-imagining of 'nation', and also opened up spaces for alternative ways of engaging with historical narrative. 

Informed by post-colonialism, cultural studies and cultural memory, this thesis explores the discursive and affective role of The New Zealand Wars, as it has operated within the turbulent climate of 1990s New Zealand cultural relations. This catalytic function is described in this thesis as a phenomenon of a television series shaped by, whilst also intervening in, processes of cultural colonisation and decolonisation. 

While both of these processes involve the transmission of discourse via cultural forms, the act of cultural decolonisation requires, in addition, the convergence of a number of agents (people and communities, discursive and memory resources) and circumstances, within particular contextual conditions. Such a convergence provided the conditions for the discursive synthesis, which shaped the production, construction and reception of this series. 

The role of audio-visual media (and specifically television documentary) in transmitting cultural memory is significant as it enables the flow of memory through channels or forms (such as visual, oral and aural traditions) that can bring about new perspectives and critical reflections upon colonial discourse and dominant concepts of nation and culture. In addition to these social and intellectual processes of audience engagement, this thesis argues that experiential and affective dimensions of cultural memory can (in these specific circumstances) open up radical spaces, offering the potential for generating awareness and sparking political action. 

These issues are explored through a tripartite analysis of the production context, construction and reception of The New Zealand Wars series. The integration of these three phases of analysis has generated a number of insights into the potential of audio-visual forms, including their producers and audiences, to participate in the negotiation of, and resistance to, colonial discourse. Such insights serve to challenge taken-for-granted constructions of nation and history, and suggest the increasing relevance of alternative concepts such as community-building and cultural memory. Ultimately, this thesis argues that television documentary can serve as a prime site for the articulation of these concepts. The New Zealand Wars serves as a case study, which demonstrates both the potential of this site, and the significance of the social-historical and cultural context in framing this series.

year: 2007