AlexBLEASDALE CV

Please note that I’m currently not looking for new work opportunities

Personal Outline

I cover both Server (Java, PHP) and Client Side Development (XHTML, CSS, JavaScript) with a strong emphasis on XML Technologies (XSLT 2.0, XPath 2.0, XQuery 1.0, XForms 1.1, XML Schema 1.0). I'm very familiar with Agile Project management techniques such as Scrum and Test Driven Development practices.

I have a particular interest in XML application development and building application stacks that employ the XRX architectural paradigm.

Technical Summary / Experience

Employment History

MarkLogic UK Ltd, London and South East England (Jan 2010 - present)

Consultant

Working full time with MarkLogic UK Ltd providing XML Development expertise and XML Server support to various clients including yell.com

Freelance - Minneapolis, MN 55416 (Dec 2009 - Jan 2010)

Freelance Developer (PHP, XQuery)

Working on several Drupal/ubercart eCommerce stores and on an XQuery project for a company in Minneapolis.

OLSON - Minneapolis, MN 55403 (Aug 2008 - Dec 2009)

Senior Developer (Client/Server side)

Worked (mainly with Java) on various projects including the 2008/9 lee.com site redesign, Flex/AS3 development for Target online boutiques, the OLSON 2009 site redesign, the upcoming Chinet 2009 site redesign, custom web application development for Country Inns and Suites and the 2009 Bauer site redesign. Also contributed to the open source FlashDoctors AS3 project, a complete implementation of the XML focused Spring Java Framework to Actionscript 3.

A significant proportion of my work involved working with Daisy CMS; a flexible XML-centric Java CMS built on Apache's Cocoon framework.

Minnesota Revenue - St Paul, MN 55146 (Jan 2007 - Aug 2008)

IT Specialist (XML Web Applications Developer)

Worked for the Property Tax division on a project called CRV; an application employing the XRX architecture (designed and built by our team) for managing property sales within the State of Minnesota.

My work covered development on the Java layer (Servlet and Servlet filter development, Unit tests etc), CRV schema design (XMLSchema 1.0 using XML Spy), XQuery 1.0 development and XML development using XSLT 2.0, XPath 2.0 and XForms 1.0. During my time on the project I worked with 3 different implementations of XQuery: eXist, Saxon and Datadirect's XQuery implementation.

Also involved in the build and administration of a Free BSD 6 based staging server running Zope, Plone, Subversion and Trac.

British Broadcasting Corporation - London W12 (Sep 2005 - Jan 2007)

New Media Developer: News Interactive (Weather)

Maintenance of weather website and all associated digital feeds (Ceefax, digital TV, mobile platforms). Administration of Linux servers (Redhat 4 ES), Working in tamden with Omneon playout system for broadcast and using the Weatherscape XT rendering software on Windows/Linux operating systems. Relevant skills: all client side work, Perl and MySQL. Member of Web standards / usability board for bbc.co.uk. Also provided weekend support (on alternate weekends) for the weather team in Television Centre. Also wrote test cases and was involved with test-driven approaches to development (before deploying code directly to the live servers). A significant proportion of this work involved fast processing of a significant quantity of XML weather data.

British Broadcasting Corporation - London W1/W12 (Apr 2004 - Sep 2005)

Client Side Developer: New Media and Technology (Core Products)

Programme Information Pages across Radio 3, 4, BBC7, 2004 BBC Four site redesign, 2004 Homepage redesign. Worked on projects using Agile's scrum planning methodology. Gained experience within Information Architecture and Project management. All client side work involved heavy use of XSLT 1.0 (using libxml) development on Solaris servers.

Tribal DDB London - London W2 (Apr 2003 - Apr 2004)

Technical Designer / Developer

Clients included Volkswagen, British Gas and Hovis. Primarily used Flash MX and MX 2004 throughout employment (writing reusable code and objects using Actionscript 1 and 2) - with a strong emphasis on XML configurable applications. Responsible for 2003 launch of vw.co.uk and 2004 launch of VW Fleet pages including various other car microsites.

British Broadcasting Corporation - London W1 (Aug 2002 - Mar 2003)

Web Assistant

Member of the coding and standards team for Radio and Music Interactive. Worked alongside producers for content for Radio 4 and BBC7 websites. xhtml coding standards and hosted on Apache 2 servers. Also produced dynamic online content (such as content for the 'Radio Player', 'What's On' listings, news tickers, email forms / polls) using Javascript, XSSI, Flash and xml.

University of Sussex - Brighton, UK (Oct 2001 - Apr 2002)

Digital Media Production Tutor

Designed and taught postgraduate (MA Digital Media) course: Interactive Media Design - 20 3-hour workshops offering a broad overview of the fundamentals of interactive design: HTML, CSS, Photoshop, Fireworks, Flash, Actionscript, Javascript, Director. Additionally taught undergraduate (BA Digital Media) courses: Fundamentals of Digital Imaging - covering Windows 2000 Fundamentals, Scanning, Photography, Digital Composition, Typography, Digital Manipulation (Photoshop).

DVisions Ltd - Brighton, UK (Feb 2001 - Sep 2001)

Internet Marketing Executive / Web Developer

Primarily responsible for the design and implementation and maintenance of online marketing strategies and affiliate programs; produced content working with an array of applications: Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, Flash. Developed using ASP, CSS, HTML, Javascript, Actionscript. Other responsibilities included administration of the Windows NT domain controller and workstations, email accounts, virus updating and scanning, repair and rebuilding of PCs, troubleshooting network problems. Also instrumental in the development of a suite of usability diagnostic tools for clients. Clients included: Mondus UK, Umbro, Norwich Union, Times Literary Supplement, Thistle Hotels, Air Miles.

Additional Qualifications / Recent Training

  • 2004/5 - 3D Modelling and Animation for Maya 6 (16 Weeks) - Thames Valley University, London W5
  • 2004 - XSLT for Large Scale Projects (4 Days) - BBC Training, London WC2
  • 2004 - Project Management for New Media Projects (4 Days) - BBC Training, London W1
  • 2003/4 - Object Oriented Programming with Flash MX (10 Weeks) - Tribal DDB, London W2
  • 2002 - Developing Content for Interactive Television (1 Day) - BBC Training, London W1
  • 2002 - Upfront: BBC Induction (4 Days) - BBC Training, London W1
  • 2002 - Windows 2000 Workstation and Server Administration (10 Weeks) - QIS, Essex, IG2
  • 2001 - Production Tutor: designed and taught courses for the BA and MA in Digital Media at the University of Sussex (2 terms - 20 weeks)
  • 2001 - University of Sussex Accredited Web Developer
  • 1996/7 - Voluntary Teacher - taught English and Geography in Rural Tanzania (9 Months)
  • 1994/6 - GCE (A-Levels): Computer Science (B), Media Studies (A), English Literature (A)
  • 1992/4 - 10 GCSEs (A-C Grade)

Open Source Contributions

Education

University of Sussex - Brighton, UK (2000-2002)

MPhil Thesis (55,000 Words) ISBN/ISSN/CN M0424135US

Completed a 55,000 Word thesis over 2 years working part-time. Entitled 'The State of Play: The Cultural Phenomenon of Interactive Gaming', the paper was a study of the notion of identification within the newly-emerging interactive forms. Using a blend of psychoanalysis, critical theory, architectural paradigms, game studies, film theory, literary theory, politics and gender theory, I analysed game forms against traditional modes of study for existing media and literary forms. I concluded that many of the analytical tools already in the academic sphere could be used, although the user perspective shifted in relation to a deeper sense of emotion (affect) and a heightened sense of play (the ludic)

University of Sussex - Brighton, UK (1997-2000)

BA (Hons): Media Studies (1st class)

Specialised in the analysis of emerging 'new media' forms. Papers included: Redefining Radio: The Changing Properties of UK Radio in the Information Age, Reading .MP3 Compression: Codec, the Network and the 'New' Music Industry, Labyrinths of Desire: Identification, Interaction and the 3D Game-Space

Additional Information

Personal Interests

Human Centred Design (UXP), Information Architecture, Web Standards, Microformats, Usability, Metadata Standards (e.g. Dublin Core), Using Open Source applications (e.g. Audacity, The GIMP / GimpShop, Xara Xtreme, Scribus, Inkscape, FontForge, Quanta+ Eclipse / Aptana), Test Driven Development

Other interests include: Scuba Diving (BSAC Sports Diver), RYA Marine Radio Licence holder, Digital Audio and Video Editing (Pinnacle Liquid / Final Cut Pro), Photography, Graphic Design, Music (Performance and Production), Internet Culture, Computers (Software and Hardware), Networks and Communication.

References available on request | Contact Me