147 research outputs found
Punishment in the Frame: Rethinking the History and Sociology of Art
Images of punishment have featured prominently in Western art and this article explores what might be learnt from studying such pictures of suffering. It seeks to develop an approach to the visual that avoids both the essentialism of art history and the reductionism of sociology by offering a rethinking of the relationships between the two. It begins by setting out the current state of the sociology of art, before discussing ânewâ art histories that are inspired by social analysis. It then concentrates on how images of punishment have featured in Western art. This substantive material provides a rich resource to understand the force of representation and offers an opportunity to develop an aesthetic sociology that avoids some of the problems identified in the article. The approach developed in the second part is one that seeks to elaborate an aesthetic sociology that combines a historical sensitivity to images with the analytical concerns of social science. It strives to extend the art historian Michael Baxandallâs writings toward more sociological interpretations of visual analysis
Gravitating discs around black holes
Fluid discs and tori around black holes are discussed within different
approaches and with the emphasis on the role of disc gravity. First reviewed
are the prospects of investigating the gravitational field of a black
hole--disc system by analytical solutions of stationary, axially symmetric
Einstein's equations. Then, more detailed considerations are focused to middle
and outer parts of extended disc-like configurations where relativistic effects
are small and the Newtonian description is adequate.
Within general relativity, only a static case has been analysed in detail.
Results are often very inspiring, however, simplifying assumptions must be
imposed: ad hoc profiles of the disc density are commonly assumed and the
effects of frame-dragging and completely lacking. Astrophysical discs (e.g.
accretion discs in active galactic nuclei) typically extend far beyond the
relativistic domain and are fairly diluted. However, self-gravity is still
essential for their structure and evolution, as well as for their radiation
emission and the impact on the environment around. For example, a nuclear star
cluster in a galactic centre may bear various imprints of mutual star--disc
interactions, which can be recognised in observational properties, such as the
relation between the central mass and stellar velocity dispersion.Comment: Accepted for publication in CQG; high-resolution figures will be
available from http://www.iop.org/EJ/journal/CQ
Aesthetic sense and social cognition: : a story from the Early Stone Age
Human aesthetic practices show a sensitivity to the ways that the appearance of an artefact manifests skills and other qualities of the maker. We investigate a possible origin for this kind of sensibility, locating it in the need for co-ordination of skill-transmission in the Acheulean stone tool culture. We argue that our narrative supports the idea that Acheulean agents were aesthetic agents. In line with this we offer what may seem an absurd comparison: between the Acheulean and the Quattrocento. In making it we display some hidden complexity in human aesthetic responses to an artefact. We conclude with a brief review of rival explanationsâbiological and/or culturalâof how this skills-based sensibility became a regular feature of human aesthetic practices
Migração de classe e vergonha cultural: trajetĂłrias ascendentes entre a crĂtica e o reconhecimento das hierarquias simbĂłlicas
Three Worlds of Working Time: Policy and Politics in Work-time Patterns in Industrialized Countries
Three Worlds of Working Time: Policy and Politics of Working Time Patterns in Industrialized Countries.
Three Worlds of Working Time: Policy and Politics in Work-time Patterns in Industrialized Countries
Three Worlds of Working Time: Policy and Politics of Working Time Patterns in Industrialized Countries.
This article argues that annual hours per employed person and per working-age person capture important dimensions of political-economic success that should be weighed against aggregate employment and wealth patterns. It also argues that partisan-driven work-time policies and welfare-regime institutions give rise to diverging Social Democratic, Liberal, and Christian Democratic âworldsâ of work time in terms of these two measures. Descriptive statistics for eighteen Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries reveal broad clustering and trends suggestive of the Three Worlds, while panel estimation suggests the influence of partisan and welfare-institutional conditions underlying them. Case study of Finland, the United States, and the Netherlands further illustrates the political process and sequence of the Three Worlds
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