Browsing by Author "op'tLand, Raymond Michael"

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    Makers in the Workshop
    (2019-10-31) op'tLand, Raymond Michael; Hawkins, Richard W.; Davis, Charles H.; Smart, Alan; Parker, James R.; Keough, Noel
    Makerspaces have grown as sites of innovation since the turn of the 21st-century, but the processes and methods by which they have directly contributed to innovation have been underexplored. Makerspaces exist as communal hi-tech workshops that draw on networks of knowledge in order to create their community, and they live and die by this community as well. Building on literature on both innovation and communication, this dissertation will examine the communities at three specific makerspaces in the Calgary area, and ethnographic fieldwork and participant observation will inform the rich text that serves as the data for the case study approach. By examining the development process at makerspaces, this research asks 1) how are the ideas and inspirations for the development of a new technology transferred between developers and their collaborators, 2) what sources of inspiration and new knowledge do the developers use for both the subjective and functional components of their design, and finally 3) what is the role of the makerspace as a third place where developers can collaborate and share ideas during the development process? This research contributes in three areas: 1) it informs current theories on innovation on the processes that involve subjective elements in the process of innovation; 2) it advances the literature on makerspaces and their communication processes, especially their study in Canada, and 3) it initiates and advocates for the development of a critical maker studies, as a counterpart to much of the literature in the area published to date.