Craft Sciences

The field of ‘Craft Sciences’ refers to research conducted across and within different craft subjects and academic contexts. This anthology aims to expose the breadth of topics, source material, methods, perspectives, and results that reside in this field, and to explore what unites the research in such diverse contexts as, for example, the arts, conservation, or vocational craft education. The common thread between each of the chapters in the present book is the augmented attention given to methods—the craft research methods—and to the relationship between the field of inquiry and the field of practice. A common feature is that practice plays an instrumental role in the research found within the chapters, and that the researchers in this publication are also practitioners. The authors are researchers but they are also potters, waiters, carpenters, gardeners, textile artists, boat builders, smiths, building conservators, painting restorers, furniture designers, illustrators, and media designers. The researchers contribute from different research fields, like craft education, meal sciences, and conservation crafts, and from particular craft subjects, like boat-building and weaving. The main contribution of this book is that it collects together a number of related case studies and presents a reflection on concepts, perspectives, and methods in the general fields of craft research from the point of view of craft practitioners. It adds to the existing academic discussion of crafts through its wider acknowledgement of craftsmanship and extends its borders and its discourse outside the arts and crafts context. This book provides a platform from which to develop context-appropriate research strategies and to associate with the Craft Sciences beyond the borders of faculties and disciplines

MAIDAKUTIBVISA - Developing networks of permanence and impermanence within Mbare, Harare, Zimbabwe, through the preservation and adaptation of informal infrastructure.

Why? This thesis investigation addresses the issue of dilapidated infrastructure within the informal trading network of Mbare, Harare, Zimbabwe and the informal markets that exist there. This issue of dilapidated and inad - equate infrastructure comes as a hindrance to the struc - tures and spaces that vendors occupy and rely on to make a living within this context and because of this issue, this context has faced problems such as congestion, constant threat of losing trading structures to fire and harassment from government and police forces because of the state of the trading spaces. How? To address this issue this thesis investigation looks at precedents of existing market spaces within the global south such as the Warwick Junction in Durban, South Africa, (amongst many) to understand and create functional market spaces with adaptable, affordable, and sustainable infrastructure within the context of Mbare. The creation of robust physical prototypes, such as stalls, furniture, façade elements and outdoor recreational spaces, using the avail - able materials and knowledge within this area is another step that is taken to address spatial and infrastructural issues in the areas of Mupedzanhamo, Magaba and Mbare Musika markets within this context. This thesis investigation also looks at the application and investigation of spatial theories such as the Metabolist theory and critical regionalism to solve the spatial issues that currently exist within this nomadic and ever-changing context. What? To test these the results of my dissertation investigation, the design and creation of market spaces that deal with the issues of congestion and dilapidated infrastructure within this area will take place. These market spaces will not act as replacements for the existing Mupedzanhamo, Magaba and Mbare Musika but will instead act as an extension of their existing spatial networks thus providing vendors with more space to trade and doing so, making a living. programs that did not previously exist allowing the creation of employment and training for the informal traders and vendors. Conclusion. The aim of this investigation is to assess whether the existing knowledge within the informal context of Mbare can be used to address some of the infrastructural issues that currently exist. This investigation also aims to see whether the role of the Architect as a collaborator within the design of the informal market context can allow traders to improve the means in which they make a better living

Science-based restoration monitoring of coastal habitats, Volume Two: Tools for monitoring coastal habitats

Healthy coastal habitats are not only important ecologically; they also support healthy coastal communities and improve the quality of people’s lives. Despite their many benefits and values, coastal habitats have been systematically modified, degraded, and destroyed throughout the United States and its protectorates beginning with European colonization in the 1600’s (Dahl 1990). As a result, many coastal habitats around the United States are in desperate need of restoration. The monitoring of restoration projects, the focus of this document, is necessary to ensure that restoration efforts are successful, to further the science, and to increase the efficiency of future restoration efforts

The fiction of reality: confinement and displacement, an introduction to research

This PHD project has been based on 100% studio practice; the original title for the research programme was Between Reality and Fiction and aimed at exploring the construction of reality and truth in our society, a society strictly controlled by the mass media. Whilst developing the first project within this body of research - Isolation (an attempt to contrast a real life experience of a visit to a prison with existing institutional information obtained through second and third hand sources - readings, media, films...), a range of other more pertinent concepts arose, causing a shift from those initial ideas to ones incorporating control, displacement and space, understanding this, not only as a physical entity, but also as a socio-political construction.Based on the different projects that form the basis of my research, I explored the concept of control and how that is exercised on individuals in free/democratic societies- from spatial control (access/no access), economical, cultural (oneself/others), medical/technological, or media control (the creation of public opinion). This research attempts to question/reflect public awareness of these control measures, in order to assess their limitations, whilst investigating any existing gaps in the system which could potentially subvert it.What has been particularly relevant has been the exploration of issues relating to space, understood not only as a physical entity, but also as a socio-political construction, how space is organised, divided and controlled in an era of globalisation, and whether, or why access to certain ‘spaces’ is either severely restricted or completely denied.Work developed during the PhD has consisted of: Practical studio research (mainly installations, video and photography), site specific visits/trips relevant to particular themes within the project (HMP Winchester, Strait of Gibraltar, Canary Islands, container depots, airports...); related readings; compilation of explicit news reportage; and the construction of an extensive archive that includes all printed and digital matter tracking the entire research process and its methodology. Personal experience has also been a main factor, influencing the development of specific research: temporary/precarious housing, part-time jobs, or in general, the situation of living abroad with all that that implies in the way of physical and cultural displacement

What forms of Material-Discursive Intra-Action are generated through Documentation Practices in Early Childhood Education?

The thesis takes an agential reading of documentation practices to trace the intra-activity within contemporary assessment discourses of early childhood education (ECE) and offers a material-discursive exploration of three teachers at work in one school in North West England. The research aims to reflect on the performativity of documentation to illuminate how assessment discourses are game-played and challenged. I put to work the methodological framework of new materialism through embodied, sensory and visual data collection, with on-line blogging along with intraviews. Using a diffractive analysis, I playfully map and cut visual, narrative and theoretical data fragments to create research documentation that traces the intra-activity of the human world of children, families and teachers with the non-human spaces and temporalities of the classroom. The findings uncover resisting and creating intra-actions that generates spaces for teachers to adopt expert gameplay with and against assessment policy discourses. For children and families, the documentation intra-acts with spaces and temporalities to evoke senses of belonging by giving value to children’s playful learning. In summary, this study presents both theoretical and practice implications. Theoretically, a reworked definition through new materialist lenses is proposed as a contribution to knowledge that asserts documentation practice as a potential transformative agent that can shift the teacher gaze. Practically, the thesis proposes that documentation can have powerful affects when its actions within spaces (rather than interpretations) are foregrounded. In addition, I problematise how far new materialist readings can find a practical language that speaks to teachers working within contested spaces shaped by intensifying policyscapes. As a consequence, the thesis proposes that documentation can influence forms of ethical pedagogies that paint hopeful pictures of ECE teachers at work, promoting liveable and flourishing professional spaces in a policy climate that can otherwise confin

What forms of Material-Discursive Intra-Action are generated through Documentation Practices in Early Childhood Education?

The thesis takes an agential reading of documentation practices to trace the intra-activity within contemporary assessment discourses of early childhood education (ECE) and offers a material-discursive exploration of three teachers at work in one school in North West England. The research aims to reflect on the performativity of documentation to illuminate how assessment discourses are game-played and challenged. I put to work the methodological framework of new materialism through embodied, sensory and visual data collection, with on-line blogging along with intraviews. Using a diffractive analysis, I playfully map and cut visual, narrative and theoretical data fragments to create research documentation that traces the intra-activity of the human world of children, families and teachers with the non-human spaces and temporalities of the classroom. The findings uncover resisting and creating intra-actions that generates spaces for teachers to adopt expert gameplay with and against assessment policy discourses. For children and families, the documentation intra-acts with spaces and temporalities to evoke senses of belonging by giving value to children’s playful learning. In summary, this study presents both theoretical and practice implications. Theoretically, a reworked definition through new materialist lenses is proposed as a contribution to knowledge that asserts documentation practice as a potential transformative agent that can shift the teacher gaze. Practically, the thesis proposes that documentation can have powerful affects when its actions within spaces (rather than interpretations) are foregrounded. In addition, I problematise how far new materialist readings can find a practical language that speaks to teachers working within contested spaces shaped by intensifying policyscapes. As a consequence, the thesis proposes that documentation can influence forms of ethical pedagogies that paint hopeful pictures of ECE teachers at work, promoting liveable and flourishing professional spaces in a policy climate that can otherwise confin