About Technomadology
The whole of this work is stationed within the field of Technomadology. Technomadology is defined as a field of study that emerges at the convergence of the traditional fields of computer science, political science, neuroscience, art, and communication studies. It is fundamentally concerned with the study, theory and practice, of contemporary technology-dependent nomadic human culture, place and effects of media, neurological response to media, information theory, inter-media, and the creative processes of generating experimental research, methods, art, and literature as critical discourse toward a greater understanding of the prevailing social, economic, and political condition(s). The work began in Chicago, Illinois in 1995 and is centered around the study and understanding of the role of media -- particularly the internet and (the) image -- across human history, present, and future. In brief, a technomadologist is interested in and works toward the understanding the mediated system in hopes of educating and advancing a comprehensive civic literacy. The goal of Technomadology is a successful extension of Harold Innis' attempt at a type of unified theory of politics, communication/media, and consciousness. For Greg O'Toole, this work is currently being pursued through multiple venues.
The mission of the Social Science Research Institute at The Pennsylvania State University is to foster research that addresses critical human and social problems at the local, national, and international levels by bringing together researchers from different disciplines around emerging areas of study, and by providing consultation, financial support, shared, accessible infrastructure and services to social scientists at Penn State. Housed within the Office of the Vice President for Research, the SSRI is one of five university-wide research institutes at Penn State: Huck Institutes for the Life Sciences, Institute for Cyber Sciences (ICS), Materials Research Institute (MRI), The Penn State Institutes for Energy and the Environment (PSIEE). Within the SSRI the Population Research Institute at The Pennsylvania State University is a vibrant, multidisciplinary center that provides strategic resources in support of innovation and excellence in population research. The major goals of the center are: (1) to advance the scientific understanding of human population dynamics, including their causes and consequences; (2) to make significant contributions to new knowledge by fostering novel approaches and methods; (3) to encourage communication and collaboration across disciplines to tackle complex issues in population research; (4) to contribute to the development of junior scholars; and (5) to communicate research findings to the scientific community and to the public. To achieve its aims, PRI provides forums for learning and exchange (working groups, a speaker series, workshops, and symposia), project development assistance and seed funding, and cost-effective state-of-the-art core services. In addition, the Institute leverages resources from within Penn State to build interdisciplinary expertise in population and to invest in promising research directions. PRI’s infrastructure has been supported continuously by The National Institute of Health since 1990. Along with generous contributions from the University, this support has provided a strong foundation for the development of an innovative program of population research at Penn State.
