The wild ride of a digital artefact: A contextual essay

I’ve said it before in both my pitch and beta videos, and I’ll say it again: the concept of a digital artefact was completely foreign to me before this class, and what a learning experience it has been!

From the moment I received feedback on my pitch I mostly felt frustration. While  I received some great feedback from my classmates, I quickly figured out the original concept for my project wasn’t going to work out.  I initially planned to make three video essays but I quickly realised that technology is not exactly my strong point and it would take me far too long to create one video, let alone three. My idea then evolved into blog posts, and as a former journalism student, this was a medium that I was far more comfortable with.

Not only did the medium for my digital artefact change, so too did the content matter. I outlined my initial three videos as the future of agriculture, medicine, and technology, but throughout this process, they slightly morphed into something different. While I did end up doing a blog post for both agriculture and medicine, I changed technology to the future of waste. More specifically for all three of these blog posts, I kept a central theme of exploring each topic within the lens of insects. I spoke of focusing on this aspect of the future in my beta video, which got a lot of positive feedback from classmates, friends, and family, so I knew that I was onto something that people might be interested in.

While I do think that the target audience for my digital artefact is likely to be someone that has a previously established interest in insects, I also think that it would appeal to anyone that is interested in alternative solutions to the problems of today and the future.

My outlook on my project really started to change after completing my first blog post. As I mentioned earlier it was while researching and writing this post that I began to feel more confident in the work that I was producing and I found out that I have a genuine interest in insects.

As far as the approach for my D.A. goes, I used a more research-based, factual method. Instead of imaging a far-out fictional future in which we HAVE to rely on insects I chose to explore why they are a very viable option for future cultures to use.

The first of my blog post was about how insects may be the future of the agricultural industry. It was after writing this blog post that I discovered that there was a whole future out there that might need to rely on insects in just about every industry.

My second blog post explores how insects could help us to reduce our waste both organic and plastic.

And my third and final blog post looks at the relationship between insects and medicine, and how the use of them may lead to some incredible medical breakthroughs.

While it was certainly trying to do so much research on each topic, I overall really enjoyed this experience and I am extremely proud of my digital artefact. And as another positive take away I am seriously considering going back to uni to study entomology if things with my current degree don’t work out!

 

 

These little guys might eat their way to a better future in waste management. D.A. Part 2

The world has a waste problem. This isn’t new and it’s not surprising, but what may be surprising is that even ancient civilisations seemed to have an issue with waste management.

In as early as 6,500 BC archeologists have found that a Native American tribe that lived in the area of what is now known as Colorado, produced an average of 2.4 kilos of trash a day. Around 500 BC Athens Greece became home to the first organized city dump in western civilisation, making it a rule that garbage had to be disposed of no closer than 1.6 kilometers from the city limits. Fast forward to 1899-1901 and local authorities around the world begin to consider trash as one of the biggest problems facing communities. It was around this time that people began to feed garbage to pigs as a means of disposal, a practice known as “piggeries”.  (Barbalace, 2003).

But even though the first civilisations had trash issues, the Industrial Revolution really kicked off our bad trash habits and shaped the way we see waste now. It was during this time that items like flour, that people previously had to buy in bulk, became available for purchase in smaller sizes and single-use items became increasingly popular (Mitchell, 2017).  Waste has and will continue, to be one of the greatest issues facing our planet globally. Around the world, we dump a total of 2.16 billion tons of waste every year, and 99% of the stuff we buy gets thrown out within 6 months of buying it (The World Counts, n.d.). This number is only set to increase as our population rises. Without drastic change, the World Bank has estimated that by 2050 there will be a 70% increase in the trash we produce, and in effect, globally we will produce 3.10 billion tons of waste annually (World Bank 2019).

So what can be done about this trash epidemic? On a large scale, companies need to be held accountable for the products they produce, the method in which those products were made, and in what resources were used and how they were collected. On a smaller scale, we as consumers can make better choices about which companies to support and which products to buy. We can also make sure that we try to purchase as little single-use plastic as possible, recycle correctly, and we can put our organic matter to good use by composting them.

There is also another possible solution to some of our current trash woes, and it has the power to rid the world of waste one tiny mouthful at a time. I’m talking about insects.

Insects are a brilliant way to help us reduce our organic matter. Here in Australia companies like Goterra, are already implementing the use of insects for waste management.  In 2018 they planned to use their larvae, which comes from the black soldier fly, to process around 200 tons of waste. They then put the processed waste to further use by turning it into feed for livestock, or by using it as a soil conditioner (Claughton and Bryant, 2018). 

While farms like these may help to solve the organic waste problem there is still the issue of items that can’t be broken down as easily like plastic.

In the last 5 or so years, scientists have found two different types of larvae that can break down plastics. A team of researchers at the University of Stanford, California were able to successfully raise the larvae of the darkling beetle off a strict diet of styrofoam due to a particular type of bacteria they have in their gut.  The research found that the mealworms showed no sign of ill health and were even as healthy as the control group, which ate only bran products, although they will continue to monitor the future generations of the beetle to make sure there are no side effects down the road, scientists are excited about the results and what this could mean for the future of plastics (Coldewey, 2015).

Likewise, a research team at the University of Cantabria, Spain found that waxworms, the larvae of the Greater Wax Moth also known as the Honey Moth, have a similar gut bacteria that allows them to break down polyethylene- the carbon atoms that are found in many plastic products like plastic bags (Arnold 2017).

The discovery of these gut bacterias is certainly an amazing breakthrough, but larvae breakdown the plastic materials at a very slow rate. For the darkling beetle larvae, each worm can eat only a few dozen milligrams per day. The waxworm is even less efficient as it takes 100 worms to breakdown just 92 milligrams of a plastic bag overnight, meaning it would take them around a month to eat one normal sized plastic bag.

Some of the short term goals for companies like Goterra that use insects to breakdown organic waste are in getting more funding, as well as working with lawmakers to make it easier to import insects. The short term goals for insects that can digest plastics are more research and funding to explore what other types of insects may be able to break down the materials, as well as other possible types of plastics that can be broken down.

Longer term goals for each perspective industry are a little more difficult.  Perhaps companies that use insects for organic waste might look at implementing containers that can be used at every home, or at least available in every town or city. For scientists and researchers, they may look at trying to reproduce the insects natural gut bacteria and apply it at a large scale level to breakdown plastics quicker, and in much larger quantities.

Whether you’re an insect lover or a keen environmentalist, the idea of using insects for the future of waste management is fascinating. Only time will tell if insects will be as effective as other options, but there are a lot of benefits to them, they’re a pretty durable species, they reproduce and mature relatively quickly, and they don’t need very much space to thrive!

 

References:

Kenneth Barbalace. The History of Waste. EnvironmentalChemistry.com. Aug. 2003.
https://EnvironmentalChemistry.com/yogi/environmental/wastehistory.html

World Bank. (2019). Solid Waste Management. [online] Available at: http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/brief/solid-waste-management 

The World Counts. (n.d.). Tons of waste dumped – globally, this year. [online] Available at: https://www.theworldcounts.com/counters/shocking_environmental_facts_and_statistics/world_waste_facts 

Mitchell, N. (2017). A Brief History of Trash, Or Why We Might be Living in the Golden Age of Garbage. [online] Apartment Therapy. Available at: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/a-brief-history-of-garbage-232332 

Goterra. (2019). Waste management — Goterra. [online] Available at: https://www.goterra.com.au/waste-management

Claughton, D. and Bryant, S. (2018). Could insects munch their way through the world’s waste? Could insects. ABC. [online] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-05-10/insects-could-solve-the-worlds-waste-problems/9714190

Coldewey, D. (2015). INNOVATION Styrofoam-Eating Mealworms Could Happily Dispose of Plastic Waste. NBC News. [online] Available at: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/styrofoam-eating-mealworms-could-happily-dispose-plastic-waste-n435901

Jordan, R. (2015). September 29, 2015 Plastic-eating worms may offer solution to mounting waste, Stanford researchers discover. Stanford News Service. [online] Available at: https://news.stanford.edu/pr/2015/pr-worms-digest-plastics-092915.html 

Arnold, C. (2017). This Bug Can Eat Plastic. But Can It Clean Up Our Mess?. National Geographic. [online] Available at: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/wax-worms-eat-plastic-polyethylene-trash-pollution-cleanup/

 

Beta Than Before -Reflections- Part 2

Alright, round two for reflections on comments, this time for my classmates beta videos. Since the first round of commenting on other students digital artefacts, we have all developed and fine-tuned our ideas and have some sort of prototype of our projects. I looked at and commented on three of my classmates beta videos. I found this round of commenting a little more challenging than the first round because everyone had really developed their ideas, making it harder to give constructive criticism. Overall I was really impressed with everyone’s progress on their digital artefacts and my comments to them reflect that. The commenting process as well as reflecting on the comments I made to other students, has been extremely helpful in terms of continuing with my own digital artefact.

My first comment was to Kassi. For her digital artefact, she is going to be creating three video essays examining the future of how women could be depicted in sci-fi films as well as how they have been in the past. The three topics she will be exploring are equal representation, reproductive rights, and sexuality. I really enjoyed hearing about her digital artefact because I think that the future of women in film is a really important issue. In my comments to her, I mostly praised the work that she has done so far and how developed her ideas were. I’m happy with my comments to Kassi as I clearly communicated what aspects I enjoyed while also contributing a suggestion. I enjoyed her project so much I found it really difficult to give much constructive feedback and I think that I could have dug a little deeper to better help her along in any way that I could have.

 

My second comment was to Jessica. Her beta video described how she would be making a series of marketing podcasts with an emphasis on digital marketing and how it might be used in the future. I had a difficult time commenting on her beta video because of my lack of knowledge on the topic. I also felt a little unsure of what exactly she wanted to do with it, and these reflect in my comments to her. While I did make a few suggestions, I think I may have been able to give her better feedback if I knew about more about digital marketing. That being said I do hope that my comments to her will help narrow down her digital artefact even more.

 

Finally my last comments were to Leah. Leah’s project is about food, more specifically proteins in the future.  In her beta video, she spoke on how she will be writing three blog posts. Two of them will be on different types of alternative protein. The first is on soy/meat substitutes and the second will be on proteins that have been artificially grown in a lab. In her third video, she will look at how directors of science fiction films portray food in the future. She will pair all three of these blogs with a food entry video in which she will pretend that it is some year in the future and she will be reviewing the different alternative protein types. With Leah’s beta video I was able to give a little more advice as the topic of protein in the future is something that I have looked into for my own digital artefact. I think that my comments to her could have been better. For example, I could have given her some useful links that I came across while doing research for my own project.

 

D.A. Beta

As I mentioned in my D.A. pitch, this is all a learning experience for me, and I think that the direction I’ve gone with my pitch is a testament to that. I have pretty much scraped a majority of what my proposal was for a few reasons. 1. I completely overestimated my skills when it has to do with anything technology related- I am hopeless. 2. The need to interview people is do able, however it can also be really frustrating to have to rely on someone else to complete your work. And 3. I’ve found a really interesting topic matter that I think is really worth exploring.

Below is a video about my new and improved, work in progress digital artefact.

 

Here is the link to my first blog post about the future that insects may play in in agriculture.

 

Pitch Please… Assessment 1- Part 1- Post 2

For this part of the assessment I looked at four different blog posts and analysed their digital artefact pitch. I enjoyed this process because every post I looked at had such unique concepts that they wanted to explore, and each pitch also had different methods of execution for their DA project. The feedback system is also extremely helpful in that it allows to us think critically about our own projects and gain insight from others that we might not have thought of.

Scrawl Studio by Caitlin

The first pitch I examined was Caitlin’s. The concept for her Digital Artefact pitch was a VR art gallery. If I understand correctly she will be displaying pieces from her on personal collection that she has created herself. I really like this concept because I think that AR and VR applications will be very prevalent in the future. Already there are numerous VR tours of galleries, allowing easier access to those who don’t/can’t travel to visit the museums in person. In my comments to Caitlin I mentioned that her idea was solid and her methodology was very planned out. She had a good, clear direction for where her project would go and how she envisioned VR and art working together in the future. That being said, along with my inexperience with VR, I felt I couldn’t really critique very much.

Surf Culture by Connor

Connor‘s pitch was in regards to surfing, more particularly the future of surf culture. He will be creating weekly podcasts. Each podcast will be focusing on different aspects of surf culture, i.e, fashion, social media, etc, and some episodes will include guests with knowledge of the topic at hand. As mentioned in my comments to Connor, I believe that he has a good idea and method in place for delivering his DA. I believe that his passion for surfing and surf culture will aid in making his project successful. My only suggestion, which came after reading an article about the future of surfing and whether there will be one long term, was that perhaps he could look at the impact of climate change and pollution, and how that might impact the sport.

20 Years From Today by Devin

The next pitch I analysed was Devin‘s. Devin’s pitch idea is about the impact of climate change on the environment and how that will affect not only our future, but the future of the planet. Her method of delivery for this project will be through a series of photos, via Instagram, demonstrating climate change. While I do think that this a great idea for her digital artefact, I did voice a couple of concerns for the project. I felt that the pitch was very vague, and even after watching the visually impressive video and reading the brief description she wrote, I was left unsure of what exactly she was going to photograph, how they would demonstrate climate change, and how they would address the future. Furthermore, I suggested that to perhaps make it easier on herself she could focus on a couple of specific issues she want’s to highlight, as the topic of climate change itself is much too broad a subject tp cover. I also suggested that another way to link this project to the future could be by somehow examining countries that are leading the way to a greener, more sustainable future.

Robotic and AR Pets by Yuanxin

Finally, the last pitch I analysed was Yuanxin‘s. Her pitch was about exploring the future possibilities of virtual and robotic pets by analysing previous trends and technology. My remarks to Yuanxin’s pitch were, it’s a great concept, there’s lots to explore with this. Her references were great, they really allowed me to see the direction of her digital artefact, and they demonstrated the potential of how we may interact with virtual and robotic pets in the future. In regards to one of her references, robotic pets for patients with Alzheimers, I did suggest that perhaps, as technology improves and robotic pets become more life like, she might want to explore what the implications could be for actual pets considering they require more care, money, and of course real pets die.