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Design-oriented research is an act of collective imagining-a way in which we work together to bring about a future that lies slightly out of our grasp. In this paper, we examine the collective imagining of ubiquitous computing by bringing it into alignment with a related phenomenon, science fiction, in particular as imagined by a series of television shows that form part of the cultural backdrop for many members of the research community. A comparative reading of these fictional narratives highlights a series of themes that are also implicit in the research literature. We argue both that these themes are important considerations in the shaping of technological design and that an attention to the tropes of popular culture holds methodological value for ubiquitous computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers a criticism of the British science fiction television series "Doctor Who," written by several authors, including Russell T. Davies, and starring John Simms, Derek Jacobi and David Tennant. The author focuses on the three concluding episodes of season three, "Utopia, The Sound of Drums, and "Last of the Time Lords," analyzing the postcolonial themes present. The relationship between the novella "Heart of Darkness," by Joseph Conrad and "Doctor Who," including in regard to the depiction of colonialism within each work, is discussed.

This article considers Nigel Kneale's considerable influence on the development of British television and the place of sf in his career. Kneale's work consistently interrogates the limits of science and the inadequacy of human attempts to master nature, and distinctively unites symbols of ancient dread with present-day anxieties. This article argues that The Stone Tape (1972) links these extremities to language, associating ancient recordings with the Chora and rationalised scientific management with the Symbolic Order, thereby revealing the gendered distinctions which inform these themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the cold war context of the science fiction television program "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons," created by producer Gerry Anderson. "Captain Scarlet" premiered on the autumn of 1967 and it became one of the highly successful creation of Anderson in Great Britain. According to the author, Anderson's output during the cold war middle years contain a significant presence of cold war themes. The producer used the television program to lift the horizon of children beyond the immediate politics of the cold war to a better future of world government and international cooperation.