This data sculpture depicts a map of housing prices in San Francisco. It’s a map of the city, torn at the seams. The height of each area represents the average price per square foot for recent home sales. Where neighboring areas are close in value they are connected, but if neighboring areas are too far from each other I allow them to split, tearing the city along its most severe economic divides.
Author Archives: Doug
Unofficial SAGE/Sci-Hub Top Pirated Journals
The following articles are the most downloaded SAGE Publications articles from Sci-Hub for the period of Sep 2015 – Feb 2016. The download numbers are pulled from the Sci-Hub usage stats (for background read the Science article). Out of a total of about 28 million downloads, less than 2% of those, or approximately 378k, were for articles published by SAGE. Included in that subset were 171k unique articles. This is an attempt to use the pirated download stats as a method of curation.
As quick background and disclaimer: I am a minority shareholder in SAGE Publications and serve on the SAGE board of directors. SAGE is a family business founded by my grandparents. This analysis and these links to Sci-Hub are purely out of personal interest and do not reflect any SAGE position or opinion. Personally I hope we use the debate about piracy, paywalls, open access, and the future of publishing to approach our business(model) with an open mind. I have a deep respect for our customers and partners, particularly scholarly societies, who have a lot at risk as the world of intellectual property evolves. The only thing I’m sure of is that burying our head in the sand and hoping piracy simply goes away isn’t where I want to place my bet.
And for those who only see the world in black and white (from either side of the debate), I urge you to acknowledge that the issues swirling around scholarly publishing are much more complex than a simplistic “us vs them” view of the world. I encourage everyone to truly debate these issues without reaching straight for the pitchforks.
Without further ado, here are the 10 most pirated articles from the 10 most pirated disciplines in which SAGE publishes:
Desperately Trying to Remove the Air Quotes Around the Word “Artist”
On April 25 I had the honor of presenting at 360|intersect. My talk was titled Desperately Trying to Remove the Air Quotes Around the Word “Artist”. I present artwork I’ve created over the past year, and reflect on my struggle to identify as an artist.
The video recording of my talk is below, it’s about 45 minutes long.
Discard the Poor
Census tracts are ranked by median family income and the poorest areas are cut out of the city and discarded. San Francisco is quickly becoming one of the most expensive cities in the world, but real world gentrification will take decades to fully push out all the poor people. With this map we do so in a single fell swoop.
Laser cut wood
Stalagmite Crime
Three panels present different views of crime in San Francisco: narcotics, prostitution, and vehicle theft. The height of each map shows the relative density of each type of crime, as if crime were elevation. The mountain peaks are exaggerated, jutting out into the viewer’s face.
Drug arrests occur throughout the city, but are heavily concentrated in the Tenderloin and Mission neighborhoods. Prostitution shows a stark contrast, with nearly all arrest occurring along only a few streets. And vehicle theft occurs heavily throughout nearly the entire city, highlighting that you can get your car stolen nearly anywhere you park.
3D printed plastic mounted on painted plywood
12″ x 12″ x 8″
Narcotics
Vehicle Theft
Prostitution
Under the Surface
San Francisco is presented as a wooden box, seemingly sleek and clean. You’re invited to open the box to see what’s under the surface, revealing a map of sex offender hotspots. This map reminds us of the often invisible aspects of our cities we either can’t see or choose to ignore.
Laser cut wood
13″ x 13″ x 8″
Burglaries on Paper
The density of a decade of Portland burglaries is mapped using layered sheets of laser cut cardstock, producing a reverse topological map. The deeper valleys represent the highest concentrations of burglaries over a ten year period between 2004-2013.
Laser cut cardstock
15″ x 15″
Prostitution / Vehicle Theft
Two maps compare vehicle theft and prostitution. The data points are aggregated as hexagons and raised off the wall to represent the relative distribution of crime. Vehicle thefts peak in Old Town, but also occur highly throughout the city. The prostitution map is more concentrated and shows a cliff rising along 82nd Avenue.
3D printed PLA plastic mounted on painted plywood
15″ x 15″ x 8″
Prostitution peaks along 82nd Ave
Vehicle Theft is heavily spread out throughout Portland, but peaks in Old Town
Prostitution
Vehicle Theft
Perspective Self Portrait
Viewed from most angles, this self portrait presents a distorted, grotesque image. Spikes form in seemingly arbitrary patterns, casting shadows over the valleys of the sculpture. But when viewed from the right angle, with the light shining from precisely the right direction, the shadows line up and work together to form the image. The portrait is a stark reminder that how one sees oneself depends entirely on finding the right perspective.
For ideal viewing stand approximately 6 feet back and view the portrait straight on.
3D printed plastic mounted on painted plywood
15 x 15 x 8
Drunk Traffic Map of Portland DUIs
This map mimics a typical traffic map but represents the number of driving under the influence (DUI) arrests along each street over the course of 10 years. Red, orange, yellow, and green are used to denote relative frequencies of DUIs.
