Welcome to the fourth special issue of the Pervasive Labour Union zine, Urgent Publishing Debris. In May 2019, the Making Public: Urgent Publishing Conference took place. Among others, it asked the following questions: -"How to realize sustainable, high-quality alternatives within this domain of post-digital …

This paper addresses the design dilemmas that arise when distributed ledger technologies (DLT) are to be applied in the governance of artificial material commons. DLTs, such as blockchain, are often presented as enabling technologies for self-governing communities, provided by their consensus mechanisms, …

Head-mounted displays (HMDs) have been available for several years now, but uptake has been slow so far. The objective of this study was to gain insight into preferences on anticipated use in the early phase of HMDs with augmented reality. A survey was conducted among Dutch students following a nursing …

Instagram has become an unsuspecting pulpit, seemingly caught off guard, for those determined to spread a militant message of Islamic State terror. Graphic, fanatical, and oftentimes heavily photoshopped images weave through Instagram’s labyrinth of sunset snaps and gym selfies to advance a curious manifestation …

Since 2013, MoneyLab has explored questions around the design of money, the democratization of finance, and the new shifts in fintech.  On 14 and 15 November, the 7th edition of MoneyLab was held in Amsterdam. At MoneyLab #7: Outside of Finance, we looked beyond the world of libertarian startups with …

To what extent can the application of blockchain technologies be employed toward civic empowerment, organizing local civic and circular economies, reinstating trust in civic institutions, or, perhaps, creating entirely new types of institutions?

Today, we live in a world where every time we turn on our smartphones, we are inextricably tied by data, laws and flowing bytes to different countries. A world in which personal expressions are framed and mediated by digital platforms, and where new kinds of currencies, financial exchange and even labor …

Making Public platforms research report