4,925 research outputs found

    Going beyond creativity:Primary headteachers as social intrapreneurs?

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    This article presents the details and findings of a mixed-methods study that explored Scottish primary sector headteachers’ enactment of creativity through a Complexity Leadership Theory lens. Although policymakers emphasise the importance of headteachers and their impact on school improvement, there is a growing need for headteachers to enact and effectively nurture school-wide creativity if they are to overcome complex challenges brought about by today's political, social and economic environments. In response to the research question ‘To what extent do primary headteachers perceive their role as being creative?’, this article reports on 23 surveys and 11 semi-structured interviews undertaken as part of a larger study. Whilst our findings suggest that creativity is enacted to some extent by the headteachers, the evidence goes beyond this and identifies social intrapreneurship emerging. The concept of social intrapreneurship within education appears to be unique to this study. We identify social intrapreneurs as individuals who demonstrate creativity, resourcefulness, collaboration and determination and are growth-oriented within bureaucratic constraints. We conclude by discussing how social intrapreneurship is a valuable concept for headteachers and policymakers alike

    Conversations on Empathy

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    In the aftermath of a global pandemic, amidst new and ongoing wars, genocide, inequality, and staggering ecological collapse, some in the public and political arena have argued that we are in desperate need of greater empathy — be this with our neighbours, refugees, war victims, the vulnerable or disappearing animal and plant species. This interdisciplinary volume asks the crucial questions: How does a better understanding of empathy contribute, if at all, to our understanding of others? How is it implicated in the ways we perceive, understand and constitute others as subjects? Conversations on Empathy examines how empathy might be enacted and experienced either as a way to highlight forms of otherness or, instead, to overcome what might otherwise appear to be irreducible differences. It explores the ways in which empathy enables us to understand, imagine and create sameness and otherness in our everyday intersubjective encounters focusing on a varied range of "radical others" – others who are perceived as being dramatically different from oneself. With a focus on the importance of empathy to understand difference, the book contends that the role of empathy is critical, now more than ever, for thinking about local and global challenges of interconnectedness, care and justice

    ¥Dependencia! Interdependencias a través de la investigación artística y en diseño.

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    El presente nĂșmero de Inmaterial recoge tres artĂ­culos y una reseña de una monografĂ­a en investigaciĂłn en arte y en diseño que se acercan desde distintos puntos de vista a la vida interdependiente, reconociĂ©ndola, situĂĄndola en el centro, repensĂĄndola, analizĂĄndola, poniĂ©ndola en juego y en valor

    Urbanised forested landscape: Urbanisation, timber extraction and forest care on the Vișeu Valley, northern Romania

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    By looking at urbanisation processes from the vantage point of the forest, and the ways in which it both constitutes our living space while having been separated from the bounded space of the urban in modern history, the thesis asks: How can we (re)imagine urbanisation beyond the limits of the urban? How can a feminine line of thinking engage with the forest beyond the capitalist-colonial paradigm and its extractive project? and How can we “think with care” (Puig de la Bellacasa 2017) towards the forest as an inhabitant of our common world, instead of perpetuating the image of the forest as a space outside the delimited boundaries of the city? Through a case study research, introducing the Vișeu Valley in northern Romania as both a site engaged in the circulation of the global timber flow, a part of what Brenner and Schmid (2014) name “planetary urbanisation”, where the extractive logging operations beginning in the late XVIIIth century have constructed it as an extractive landscape, and a more than human landscape inhabited by a multitude of beings (animal, plant, and human) the thesis argues towards the importance of forest care and indigenous knowledge in landscape management understood as a trans-generational transmission of knowledge, that is interdependent with the persistence of the landscape as such. Having a trans-scalar approach, the thesis investigates the ways in which the extractive projects of the capitalist-colonial paradigm have and still are shaping forested landscapes across the globe in order to situate the case as part of a planetary forest landscape and the contemporary debates it is engaged in. By engaging with emerging paradigms within the fields of plant communication, forestry, legal scholarship and landscape urbanism that present trees and forests as intelligent beings, and look at urbanisation as a way of inhabiting the landscape in both indigenous and modern cultures, the thesis argues towards viewing forested landscapes as more than human living spaces. Thinking urbanisation through the case of the Vișeu Valley’s urbanised forested landscape, the thesis aligns with alternate ways of viewing urbanisation as co-habitation with more than human beings, particularly those emerging from interdisciplinary research in the Amazon river basin (Tavares 2017, Heckenberger 2012) and, in light of emerging discourses on the rights of nature, proposes an expanded concept of planetary citizenship, to include non-human personhood

    Cyber Conflict and Just War Theory

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    “Have patients with chronic skin diseases needs been met?”:A thesis on psoriasis and eczema patient care in dermatology service

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    Background: Common chronic skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis usually require long term medical care. They are often associated with psychological and metabolic comorbidities, which can impact on patient quality of life (QOL) and on the self-management of these diseases. Regular assessment of patient needs, comorbidities and feedback is a critical step in the development of decision-analytic models. Currently, no intervention is available to regularly assess such patients’ needs and comorbidities and support their involvement in the decision-making and self-management of their morbidity and comorbidities. The aim of this research is to involve the patients in decision making of their care and to support their self-management by the use of a paper questionnaire (study tool) at each consultation. Objective: To explore the acceptability and potential of a self-developed paper questionnaire that constituted a study tool for addressing the needs, comorbidities, and feedback of patients with psoriasis and eczema and supporting their involvement in decision making and self-management of their chronic conditions. Method: A mixed method study was conducted and included a postal survey on adult male and female patients with psoriasis and eczema, using the study tool, which is a paper questionnaire and contains the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and seven supplementary open-ended questions to capture patients’ views, feedback, comorbidities, coping status and needs. The survey was followed by semi-structured face-to-face interviews with a sample of the patients who had participated in the survey. The aims of the interviews were two-fold: 1. to gain a deeper understanding of their experience of living with and managing their skin disease; and 2. to gather patient feedback on the service they received as well as their views on using the new study tool or any alternative intervention to address and support their self-management. The final study was a pilot which involved presenting a proposal of an online version of the study tool to a group of healthcare experts asking them to critically review the extent to which the online model responded to patients expressed needs. Results: Of the 114 patients who participated in the postal survey 108 (94.7%) of them expressed physical, metabolic and psychological comorbidities. Stress was identified as the dominant disease-triggering factor in 72 (63%) participants. Thirty-three (28.9%) of participants reported that they could not cope with their chronic illness. Eighteen (15.7%) participants suffered from anxiety, and 12 (10.5%) had depression and suicidal thoughts. Twenty-nine (25%) participants addressed their needs for support at home, and 16 (14%) of them asked for support at work. In the patient feedback section, 21 (18.4%) and 9 (7.8%) participants rated the service they received from their general practitioner (GP) and dermatologist as poor, respectively. In the interviews, all the participants 22 (100%) welcomed the use of the study tool on a regular basis to address their needs, comorbidities and feedback. Nineteen (86.3%) of them suggested that they would prefer using an online version of the tool or patient portal system as a convenient way of remote and interactive communication with the healthcare provider, particularly during the worsening of their skin condition. In the final pilot study, the healthcare experts agreed that the proposed online version of the study tool could be a convenient platform for such patients to support their self-management. They discussed the potential importance of such a tool if it provided them with access to supportive services such as patient information on skin diseases and self-management, access to local mental health service and other relevant psoriasis and eczema patients’ support groups and charities. Conclusion: This novel mixed method research identified knowledge gaps in managing patients with psoriasis and eczema. It provided a new tool that has the potential to regularly engage and assess patients’ unmet needs, comorbidities and feedback. The tool can involve patients in decision-making and offers them the autonomy to disclose heterogeneous needs that may support their self-management. All the interviewees welcomed regular use of the study tool and the majority of them suggested that they would prefer using an online version of the tool if it was available. Future research is needed to assess the impact of the study tool in filling important gaps in patient self-management and in health service improvement

    International Academic Symposium of Social Science 2022

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    This conference proceedings gathers work and research presented at the International Academic Symposium of Social Science 2022 (IASSC2022) held on July 3, 2022, in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia. The conference was jointly organized by the Faculty of Information Management of Universiti Teknologi MARA Kelantan Branch, Malaysia; University of Malaya, Malaysia; Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta, Indonesia; Universitas Ngudi Waluyo, Indonesia; Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges, Philippines; and UCSI University, Malaysia. Featuring experienced keynote speakers from Malaysia, Australia, and England, this proceeding provides an opportunity for researchers, postgraduate students, and industry practitioners to gain knowledge and understanding of advanced topics concerning digital transformations in the perspective of the social sciences and information systems, focusing on issues, challenges, impacts, and theoretical foundations. This conference proceedings will assist in shaping the future of the academy and industry by compiling state-of-the-art works and future trends in the digital transformation of the social sciences and the field of information systems. It is also considered an interactive platform that enables academicians, practitioners and students from various institutions and industries to collaborate

    Voicing Kinship with Machines: Diffractive Empathetic Listening to Synthetic Voices in Performance.

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    This thesis contributes to the field of voice studies by analyzing the design and production of synthetic voices in performance. The work explores six case studies, consisting of different performative experiences of the last decade (2010- 2020) that featured synthetic voice design. It focusses on the political and social impact of synthetic voices, starting from yet challenging the concepts of voice in the machine and voice of the machine. The synthetic voices explored are often playing the role of simulated artificial intelligences, therefore this thesis expands its questions towards technology at large. The analysis of the case studies follows new materialist and posthumanist premises, yet it tries to confute the patriarchal and neoliberal approach towards technological development through feminist and de-colonial approaches, developing a taxonomy for synthetic voices in performance. Chapter 1 introduces terms and explains the taxonomy. Chapter 2 looks at familiar representations of fictional AI. Chapter 3 introduces headphone theatre exploring immersive practices. Chapters 4 and 5 engage with chatbots. Chapter 6 goes in depth exploring Human and Artificial Intelligence interaction, whereas chapter 7 moves slightly towards music production and live art. The body of the thesis includes the work of Pipeline Theatre, Rimini Protokoll, Annie Dorsen, Begüm Erciyas, and Holly Herndon. The analysis is informed by posthumanism, feminism, and performance studies, starting from my own practice as sound designer and singer, looking at aesthetics of reproduction, audience engagement, and voice composition. This thesis has been designed to inspire and provoke practitioners and scholars to explore synthetic voices further, question predominant biases of binarism and acknowledge their importance in redefining technology

    Offene-Welt-Strukturen: Architektur, Stadt- und Naturlandschaft im Computerspiel

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    Welche Rolle spielen Algorithmen fĂŒr den Bildbau und die Darstellung von Welt und Wetter in Computerspielen? Wie beeinflusst die Gestaltung der RĂ€ume, Level und Topografien die Entscheidungen und das Verhalten der Spieler_innen? Ist der Brutalismus der erste genuine Architekturstil der Computerspiele? Welche Bedeutung haben LandschaftsgĂ€rten und Nationalparks im Strukturieren von Spielwelten? Wie wird Natur in Zeiten des Klimawandels dargestellt? Insbesondere in den letzten 20 Jahren adaptieren digitale Spielwelten akribischer denn je Merkmale der physisch-realen Welt. Durch aufwĂ€ndige Produktionsverfahren und komplexe Visualisierungsstrategien wird die Angleichung an unsere ĂŒbrige Alltagswelt stets in AbhĂ€ngigkeit von Spielmechanik und Weltlichkeit erzeugt. Wie sich spĂ€testens am Beispiel der Open-World-Spiele zeigt, fĂŒhrt die Übernahme bestimmter Weltbilder und Bildtraditionen zu ideologischen Implikationen, die weit ĂŒber die bisher im Fokus der Forschung stehenden, aus anderen Medienformaten transferierten ErzĂ€hlkonventionen hinausgehen. Mit seiner Theorie der Architektur als medialem Scharnier legt der Autor offen, dass digitale Spielwelten medienspezifische Eigenschaften aufweisen, die bisher nicht zu greifen waren und der Erforschung harrten. Durch VerschrĂ€nken von Konzepten aus u.a. Medienwissenschaft, Game Studies, Philosophie, Architekturtheorie, Humangeografie, Landschaftstheorie und Kunstgeschichte erarbeitet Bonner ein transdisziplinĂ€res Theoriemodell und ermöglicht anhand der daraus entwickelten analytischen Methoden erstmals, die komplexe Struktur heutiger Computerspiele - vom Indie Game bis zur AAA Open World - zu verstehen und zu benennen. Mit "Offene-Welt-Strukturen" wird die Architektonik digitaler Spielwelten umfassend zugĂ€nglich

    Knowing better, doing better? International development NGOs, faith and wellbeing

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    Wellbeing, and particularly subjective wellbeing or happiness, has come to the fore in international development rhetoric since 2000. Making the promotion of human wellbeing the principal goal of public policy and using self-reported wellbeing as a key indicator of performance has proven hugely popular. It promises better information and practice; greater voice, agency and shifting power in aid projects, and space for secular and faith-based conceptions of human development that challenge dominant emphases on economic growth and metrics (“beyond GDP”). Together these offer better outcomes for those at the sharp end of interventions. Reviewing the UK international development NGO sector as a whole, and in a number of in-depth case studies it is clear that wellbeing has entered the rhetoric of development and that NGOs have embraced wellbeing as an aim. Some NGOs have gone further, seeking to articulate visions of human wellbeing and integrate these into their policy and practice. Some UK Christian-rooted NGOs have seen in the developing debate on wellbeing a vision of human development very similar to their own and an opportunity to advance their views of a person-centred, holistic, and social vision of human wellbeing, one situated in a long-term relationship with people and the planet. There is an emerging consensus that human wellbeing should be the aim of international development, and that wellbeing should be considered from both objective and subjective standpoints, as well as situating the individual within relationships, culture and moral frameworks, including faith. Wellbeing carries a heavy burden, with its promises of better information and practice, increasing voice and agency, shifting power, and in some cases aligning with alternative agendas to dominant development paradigms. The thesis combines an overview of the UK NGO sector with a number of in-depth case studies of organisations drawn from across the faith-based spectrum, and additional information on other organisations that have deliberately engaged with wellbeing, from faith-permeated to secular. It explores if the rhetoric of wellbeing is reflected in the practice. In doing so the research explores how secular and faith-based organisations engage with wellbeing, and how Christian-rooted organisations have used wellbeing both to distinguish Christian visions of development and build bridges with secular and other faith-based actors that share similar visions of human development and wellbeing. The use of a spectrum of religiosity rather than a binary view of faith-based versus secular organisations has illustrated differences between these Christian-rooted organisations and supports the argument that such binary distinctions have limited analytical use. These organisations have demonstrated that the promise of improved information can be achieved with investment, but that strengthening voice, agency and shifting power requires stronger political will and leadership. They highlight the temptations and pressures to adopt a top-down approach, to elaborate in detail universal frameworks, and failing to root these in the priorities the realities and priorities of the local contexts. In their efforts to explicitly include faith and religion the organisations have illustrated some of the challenges in doing so, and the need to explore again the issues of public and private spaces and what a positive vision of secularism can offer to the wellbeing of all. This research contributes to the literature on wellbeing and international development by exploring the role that religion and faith plays in conceptualizing and assessing wellbeing, and how Christian-rooted organisations are using concepts of wellbeing to explore and advance their notions of human development. It contributes to the discussion of distinctions between faith-based and secular organisations. It highlights two challenges of giving explicit expression to faith and religion in wellbeing frameworks – the risk of taking an overly normative approach, and of doing so in mixed-faith spaces and with communities that may have quite different conceptions of wellbeing. The challenge of using universal frameworks in ways that reflect and respect local priorities and understandings is central to how wellbeing is used in international development. In addition, the focus on faith and religion has highlighted the need for a more critical analysis of secularism and its potential in navigating these tensions. Wellbeing has entered the rhetoric of development, but practice is yet to fully realise the promises of wellbeing. This research explores that discrepancy, and suggests some avenues for further research, including the need to explore these issues in relation to non-Christian faith traditions
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