From 'trading zones' to 'buffer zones': Art and metaphor in the communication of psychiatric genetics to publics

Psychiatric genetics has a difficult relationship with the public given its unshakeable connection to eugenics. Drawing from a five-year public engagement programme that emerged from an internationally renowned psychiatric genetics centre, we propose the concept of the Buffer Zone to consider how an exchange of viewpoints between groups of people – including psychiatric geneticists and lay publics - who are often uneasy in one another’s company can be facilitated through the use of art and metaphor. The artwork at the exhibitions provided the necessary socio-cultural context for scientific endeavours, whilst also enabled public groups to be part of, and remain in, the conversation. Crucial to stress is that this mitigation was not to protect the science; it was to protect the discussion

eCitizen2.0. The ordinary citizen as a supplier of public-sector information

-The growth of new technologies and ways of using them has led to rapid changes in the public-sector information and services situation. Today, 17 percent of Internet users regularly download public-sector information from user-generated fora on the Internet. This report has studied these changes with the aim of developing new ideas and perspectives for the eGov sector, on which citizens (eCitizens2.0) are also suppliers or services and producers of public-sector information

Technological uncertainties and popular culture

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This thesis is an inquiry into possibilities and problems of a sociology of translation. Beginning with a recognition that actor network theory represents a sociological account of social life premised upon on recognition of multiple ontologies, interruptions and translations, the thesis proceeds to examine problems of interpretation and representation inherent in these accounts. Tensions between sociological interpretation and social life as lived are examined by comparing representation of nonhuman agency in both an actor-network and a science fiction study of doors. The power identified in each approach varies from point making to lying. A case is made for considering fictional storytelling as sociology and hence, the sociological value of lying. It is by close examination of a fictional story that this study aims to contribute to a sociology of translation. The greater part of the thesis comprises an ethnographic study of a televised children's story. Methodological issues in ethnography are addressed and a case is made for a complicit and multi-site ethnography of story. The ethnography is represented in two particular forms. Firstly, and unusually, story is treated as a Storyworld available for ethnographic study. An actor network ethnography of this Storyworld reveals sociologically useful similarities and differences between fictional Storyworld and contemporary, social life. Secondly, story is taken as a product, a broadcast television series of six programmes. An ethnography of story production is undertaken that focuses attention on production performances, hidden storytellers and politics of authorship. Story is revealed as an unfinished project. A prominent aspect of this thesis is a recognition that fictional storytelling both liberates and constrains story possibilities. This thesis concludes that, in addressing critically important tensions in sociological representation, fictional stories should be included in sociological literature as studies in their own right

Postgraduate study at UCA

Presentation on day two of the ISCAEE conference held at UCA, and organised by Ashley Howard. The International Society for Ceramic Art Education and Exchange (ISCAEE) is a unique consortium of undergraduate and postgraduate ceramics courses from around the world. An ISCAEE symposium comprises a catalogued exhibition, published lectures and making demonstrations. At each stage students are involved on a level playing field with their staff and form the fulcrum around which the event is run. Since last staging the event in 2007, UCA Farnham was proud once again to play host to the 2017 symposium. The exhibition was held at the James Hockey and Foyer Galleries and will feature work by over 100 practitioners from educational institutions in China, Korea, Africa, Turkey, Japan, USA and UK. Presentation day and name listed in catalogue

Practices and technological change: The unintended consequences of low energy dwelling design

There is an urgent need to reduce domestic energy consumption, particularly due to climate change. Domestic energy policies and research have been dominated by the assumption that technological provision will linearly save energy. Conventional attempts to move away from this approach have not gone far enough, tending to still assume that technological usage is a linear outcome of an individual’s rational decision-making. This thesis takes a significantly different approach by drawing on social practice theory and focusing on how everyday life is performed. Specifically, a Passivhaus housing development is adopted as a case study in investigating the everyday consequences of advancing dwelling design. Passivhaus is a German energy efficiency building standard, employing very different technologies relative to conventional UK housing. Specific attention is given to how unfamiliar technologies influence domestic practices more generally, as well as appliance-using practices and designing and constructing practices more specifically. This thesis has significant empirical, methodological and theoretical contributions. Empirically, everyday examples illustrate the unintended consequences of new technologies, providing insight on how such technologies could change practices in the future. Methodologically, by treating quantitative consumption-related data (e.g. building monitoring, appliance ownership, construction data) as by-products of performing practices, an innovative mixed methods approach provides unique insights on everyday practices. Theoretically, the potential usefulness of a practices approach is emphasised; in particular, in developing a detailed and contextual understanding of how everyday life is constructed and how it is open to change (often in unexpected ways). This thesis reiterates that research and policy should focus on practices, rather than technological performance or what individuals think about technologies. It concludes by: discussing a re-framing of policy expectations; outlining how energy saving interventions could target domestic practices and its influencing elements; and providing a series of new research ideas that have been generated by this thesis

Education Policies in the 21st Century

This open access book explores the agenda of education policies in the 21st century. In the first part of the book, education is handled from a historical and political framework, and the effects of the change of states and policies on education are examined. In the second part, the effects of changes in the economy on education policies and economies’ demands from educational institutions are examined. In the last section, current policies in the international education sector, which is growing day by day as a result of increasing globalization and internationalization, are examined and future trends are tried to be revealed. In articles written by academics from different universities all over the world, the topics are presented in a comparative perspective