Bath Spa University’s new data fellows announced
Two @BathSpaUni colleagues have been successful in the recent South West Creative Technology Network @SW_CTN (SWCTN) Data Fellowships call for applications.
Dr Matthew Baker from the University’s School of Science, and Dr Matthew Sergeant from its Bath School of Music and Performing Arts, have both been awarded Data Academic Fellowships.
The £6.5m government-backed SWCTN project – of which the University’s Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries (CCCI) is a lead partner – aims to expand the use of creative technologies across the south west of England, through three one-year funded programmes around the themes of immersion, automation and data.
Dr Matthew Baker, Senior Lecturer in Human Biology and Nutrition, is interested in exploring the links between nature and human health. He said: “For my fellowship, I will be looking at our non-visual interaction with light.”
He continued: “Human interaction with natural light is not just confined to sight; we also sense and react to light and warmth through our skin. This influences our mood, physiology, sleep, capacity to learn, and even the sensitivity of our conscious vision. I want to explore new technologies that will enable us to measure this shared experience and begin to explore the relationship between this and our mental and social health.”
Both Dr Matthew Baker and Dr Matthew Sergeant join the cohort of existing Bath Spa University SWCTN fellows.
Dr Matthew Sergeant, Senior Lecturer in Music, is examining the ‘objecthood of music in the age of big data’. He said: “Online streaming services have rapidly become a primary means for music’s day-to-day consumption. They provide a superabundance of musical material – Spotify’s database alone contains more music than can be listened to in a single lifetime. Here, metadata is collected, collated and tracked. Music is recommended algorithmically.
“But at one and the same time, sales of vinyl have exponentially increased since 2007. By the end of 2020, vinyl is set to outsell CDs for the first time since 1991. So are these physical and digital worlds being interrelated by users? This project looks at the question both theoretically, and through creative interdisciplinary play.”
Responses