Cover s comment. Touchy (2012) by Eric Siu

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2 Cover s comment Touchy (2012) by Eric Siu Touchy is a human camera a wearable device that literally transforms a human being into a functioning camera. The individual who is wearing the device is constantly blinded unless someone touches his/her skin. The touch causes the shutters in front of the eyepieces to open and restores the wearer s vision. When physical contact is maintained for 10 seconds, the camera takes a Touch-Snap (i.e., a photo that is taken by Touchy), which is displayed on the device s LCD. Online social technology loosens our social boundaries, yet equally dehumanizes physical communication. Connecting with people can now solely occur through our fingertips as conveniently as pushing a Facebook Like button or posting a birthday wall post. Considering the urgency of such dehumanization, Touchy is devised to encourage offline communication through touch, eye contact and engaging activity of photography presupposing that a camera is historically known for sharing valuable life memories and emotions. The resulting touch-snaps remind us of the ephemeral richness of togetherness. Touchy hybridizes the roles of humans and cameras by unifying their respective capabilities. The mechanical process of taking a photo is transformed into a physical touch and eye contact. With these capabilities, Touchy becomes a magnet for physical communication, potentially turn itself into a social healing device by establishing a reciprocal relationship the wearer, who is caged in darkness, craves human touch, while Toucha, the person who touches Touchy, offers assistance and receives a touch-snap through an effortless touch. The project then investigates the possibility of healing social problems, such as Hikikomori in Japan, isolated senior citizens, orphans, or those who experience social anxiety. Touchy pursues to extend from being a performance device to an actual contribution to society. Since September 2012, the artist has put himself into experiment throughout numerous performances. He has experienced personal transformation after meeting vast amounts of people whom he otherwise would not have met, seeing a great deal of smiling faces, and experiencing countless friendly touches in thousands of touchsnaps. Cover photo by Keith Tsuji

Board. Tecnoscienza è una rivista scientifica che indaga i rapporti tra scienza, tecnologia e società.

3 Tecnoscienza is a scientific journal focusing on the relationships between science, technology and society. The Journal is published twice a year with an open access and peer reviewed policy; it is managed by an Editorial Board with the supervision of an International Advisory Board. Tecnoscienza è una rivista scientifica che indaga i rapporti tra scienza, tecnologia e società. La rivista è semestrale, open access e peer-reviewed; è gestita da un Comitato di Redazione, con la supervisione di un Comitato Scientifico Internazionale. Tecnoscienza by Tecnoscienza.net is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribuzione-Non commerciale-condividi allo stesso modo 2.5 Italia License.

4 Editorial Board Coordination Attila Bruni (University of Trento IT) Paolo Magaudda (University of Padova IT) Manuela Perrotta (Queen Mary London UK) Editorial Board Claudio Coletta (University of Antwerp BE) Stefano Crabu (Politecnico of Milano IT) Roberto Lusardi (Università di Bergamo IT) Enrico Marchetti (University of Ferrara IT) Alvise Mattozzi (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano IT) Sergio Minniti (Yachay Tech University ECU) Francesca Musiani (CNRS Paris FR) Laura Lucia Parolin (University of Southern Denmark DK) Annalisa Pelizza (University of Twente NL) Giuseppina Pellegrino (University of Calabria IT) Barbara Pentimalli (University of Roma La Sapienza IT) Mariacristina Sciannamblo (Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute PT) Assunta Viteritti (University of Roma La Sapienza IT) International Advisory Board Maria Carmela Agodi (University of Napoli IT) Barbara Allen (Virginia Tech University USA) Mario Biagioli (University of California Davis USA) Wiebe Bijker (Maastricht University NL) Geoffrey Bowker (University of Pittsburgh USA) Massimiano Bucchi (University of Trento IT) Christine Hine (University of Surrey UK) Massimo Mazzotti (University of California Berkeley USA) Amade M'charek (University of Amsterdam NL) Alessandro Mongili (University of Padova IT) Michela Nacci (University of L Aquila IT) Federico Neresini (University of Padova IT) Giuliano Pancaldi (University of Bologna IT) Luigi Pellizzoni (University of Pisa IT) Trevor Pinch (Cornell University USA) Lucy Suchman (Lancaster University UK) Mariachiara Tallacchini (Catholic University of Piacenza IT) Paolo Volontè (Politecnico of Milano IT) Tecnoscienza is promoted by STS Italia ( The Italian Society for the Study of Science and Technology Tecnoscienza c/o STS Italia, Via Carducci, , Milano Italy redazione@tecnoscienza.net ISSN

5 Table of Contents TECNOSCiENZA Italian Journal of Science & Technology Studies Cover Touchy by Eric Siu Vol. 9, Nr. 1, June 2018 Special Section - Sliding Cells Guest Editors Introduction Manuela Perrotta, Kristin Spilker and Stefano Crabu Sliding Cells: The Situated Making of Bio-Objects in IVF p. 5 Essays Sebastian Mohr and Klaus Hoeyer The Good Sperm Cell: Ethnographic Explorations of Semen Quality p. 9 Kerstin Klein Transformations in the Public Perception of Sperm Donation in China. An Analysis of Media Debate in Chinese Newspapers in the 2010 s p. 29 Lucia Ariza Risky Mixings: Unravelling Gametes Bad Potential in Argentina p. 49 Scenario Ksenia Ermoshina Civic Hacking. Redefining Hackers and Civic Participation p. 79 Crossing Boundaries Sergio Minniti and Stefano De Paoli Learning by Gaming: ANT and Critical Making p. 103

6 4 Tecnoscienza - 9 (1) Book Reviews p. 121 L. Chiesi and S. Surrenti (eds.) L ospedale difficile. Lo spazio sociale della salute [The difficult hospital. The social space of health] (2014) by Laura Lucia Parolin M. De Landa Assemblage Theory (2016) by Dario Minervini B. Godin, and D. Vinck (eds.) Critical Studies of Innovation. Alternative Approaches to the Pro-Innovation Bias (2017) by Alessadro Mongili S. Houdart Les Incommensurables [The incommensurables] (2015) by Assunta Viteritti D. Lupton The Quantified Self: A Sociology of Self-tracking (2016) by Letizia Zampino

Cover s comment. NoArk (2007) by The Tissue Culture & Art Project (Oron Catts & Ionat Zurr) in collaboration with Marcus Canning.

Cover s comment. NoArk (2007) by The Tissue Culture & Art Project (Oron Catts & Ionat Zurr) in collaboration with Marcus Canning. Cover s comment NoArk (2007) by The Tissue Culture & Art Project (Oron Catts & Ionat Zurr) in collaboration with Marcus Canning. NoArk is a research project exploring the taxonomical crisis that is presented