[hackerspaces] Hacking, making, learning?

[Annika Richterich]

Hi all,

I hope you are well and healthy out there. 

I am looking for people who would be willing to share their views on: if and how learning is relevant to activities in hacker- and makerspaces.

Working as a postdoc research fellow at the University of Sussex, I was supposed to visit hacker- and makerspaces this year and interview members. But due to the pandemic, I am now instead hoping to find current and former members of hacker and maker communities who are willing to make time, ca. 15 minutes, for a survey. For those happy to help (it’s much appreciated!), you can find the survey here:

https://universityofsussex.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0BM60F81lJpJeHb

If a survey is not for you, though you would like to provide input: I’d be glad to (video-)chat or hear about your views by email too. Also, this is the kind of work that came out of the project so far – in case this helps you decide whether you want to participate: https://doi.org/10.1080/14461242.2020.1784772 Be in touch if you have questions, comments, etc. :)

Lastly, I know there’s been some criticism on researchers using this list for requests like these in the past, so apologies to those who would have rather not been bothered by my email. 

Take care & all the best,
Annika


My Univ. of Sussex profile and contact details: https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p488526-annika-richterich 


PS: I’d like to acknowledge that I'm asking people to invest their time for free: but I hope you’ll consider that the research project also aims to raise awareness for the fact that hacker and maker communities tend to be societally undervalued and, in the case of hack(er)spaces, still muddled up with cracking. It aims to highlight the value(s) of hacker and maker communities, while also paying attention to how potential benefits could be made accessible to more people. More practically: all publications will be made available as open access, just like the one linked to above.