Examining Aesthetic Subjectivity in Embodied Environments

This inquiry has been concerned with identifying aesthetic languages that make visible relationships and processes that connect body and world beyond the surface of the skin. It hypothesised that aesthetic language provides a material connection which co-enables this exchange. Examining the aesthetic dimension of the embodiment-environment intersection, this inquiry reasoned, could make tangible the material continuum generated through transient processes of living. The key sites of the home and the landscape framed the scope of this research. The methodology used to undertake this research combined multi-artform practice spanning sculpture, video, installation, and drawing, visual diary-led observation and critical reflection, theoretical research, and critical engagement with the work of other artists and practitioners working in two- and three-dimensions. An examination of subjectivity and of aesthetics as an intersection of body and world centres this research. A new materialist perspective provides a logic and drive for scrutinising this intersection. New materialism unsettles traditional assumptions about the passivity of matter. It provides a framework for re-imagining the materiality of the world and the position of human subjectivity within it: a re-imagining, this research contends, that the current ecological crisis demands. The notion of aesthetics used in this inquiry is an embodied aesthetics that refers to the meaningful sensuousness that adheres and orients the body in the world. Ideas from John Dewey and the field of everyday aesthetics informed critical engagement in this embodied aesthetics through creative practice. This approach enabled a dialogue between special aesthetic experiences, everyday aesthetics, and habitual perception to emerge in the research. This research used aesthetics to examine how spaces are demarcated and different experiences enabled. Over time, the home as it is situated within the landscape became analogous for the body’s intertwining with the environment. In this context, the material passage of water through the home provided a powerful and instructive embodiment of this intertwining, revealing both the demarcation and the continuity of disparate spaces. The final body of artwork is an installation that integrates the key aesthetic languages developed through this inquiry to form a three-dimensional river that is animated with the everyday sounds of water and the textures of domestic warmth. It is titled Oikos, the Greek root for ecology. ‘Oikos’ means ‘whole house and dwelling place’. The artwork reflects the multi-layering of aesthetic relationships through which our bodies fuse with this world

Including Adolescents and Young Adults in Decisions at the End-of-Life

Over 3000 young people die of chronic illnesses annually in the United States. Health care providers often struggle to include these patients in end-of-life planning. The purpose of this inquiry is to examine the current literature addressing the inclusion of adolescents and young adults in decision-making at the end-of-life. A systematic search of the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, ISI, and Cochrane revealed 9 articles relevant to this topic. The results show that adolescents and young adults want to be included in end-of-life decisions and often have similar values as their parents and providers when making these decisions. The major limitations are the limited population sample of the studies, in terms of size and patient characteristics, and inconsistencies with the ages of participants in the studies. Ideas for further research, in addition to implications for clinical practice will be discussed in this paper

You Don’t Always Get What You Want: Lessons to Be Learned from the Demise of Maine’s Local Assessment System

The recent repeal of Maine’s local education assessment requirement was met with mixed reactions ranging from relief to outrage. That there were such differing responses points to the fact that “assessment” in education is understood in diverse and sometimes contradictory ways. In this article, Rebecca Berger looks retrospectively at how the problems associated with implementing Maine’s local assessment system (LAS) were caused by a lack of understanding of important aspects of assessment as it relates to standards-based reform in education. Using examples from her case study of one Maine school district, Berger notes three areas of ongoing concern: lack of capacity at state and local levels to implement change; problems with alignment of curricula and assessments; and competing priorities among current federal and state reforms. Berger concludes with advice for Maine policymakers as they consider future standards-based reform efforts

Teacher Capacity and Assessment Reform: Assumptions of Policy, Realities of Practice

Thesis (PhD) - Indiana University, School of Education, 2005An aspect of the standards movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s was a focus on assessment that dominated all levels of formal education. Policy makers attempted to influence educational reform through the adoption of standards that were used to drive curriculum and assessment decisions. Concurrently, other advocates for assessment reform criticized the reliance on standardized testing as a measure of student achievement and proposed the use of other methods to capture student performance. Expanded use of classroom assessment was also encouraged. Unexamined assumptions about teaching and learning underlie assessment reform efforts; this leads to proposed reforms that serve different ends with little shared understanding of assessment purposes or desired outcomes across populations. Using a qualitative design, this research examined how teachers interpret and enact assessment reform given the unexamined assumptions and contradictions that beset reform efforts. Observation, interviews and document collection formed the bulk of the data. Data were collected and analyzed from individual teachers, administrators, and teacher committees. The analysis utilized the concept of teacher capacity in order to examine both individual and collective responses to reform implementation. Currently, the educational policies of most states link standards, curriculum and assessment in an attempt to control all aspects of the educational enterprise. The research findings indicate that use of this hyperrationalized approach adversely affects individual and collective teacher capacity and can constrict or eliminate practitioners' individual and collective attempts at creativity and innovation

Enriching or Discouraging? Competing Pictures of Aging and Paid Work in Later Life

The picture and experience of work and retirement are continuously changing in Canada and will likely continue to change into the future with the aging of the population. There are two pictures of work in older age presented in the literature: a positive and enriching picture and a picture that highlights the challenges facing some older workers. The positive and enriching picture focuses on the experiences of older individuals who are able to continue working if they want to work and are able to work; those who continue working because they are motivated by work rather than pay or new opportunities for growth; and, older workers who are appreciated for their skill and education. However, these positive experiences are not shared by all older workers. For some, working at older ages is motivated by financial survival rather than personal pleasure. This financial insecurity may have occurred due to a work displacement in mid-life or the inability to secure stable and non-precarious employment throughout the life course. Some older workers may find it challenging to find new work if they are unskilled or lack up-to-date skills. Many older workers may want to continue working but are unable to do so as a result of personal health circumstances or disability, lack of accommodations in the workplace, or caregiving responsibilities. Others who want to work may face discrimination in the labour market due to ageism. As the population ages and new generations reach old age with varying work trajectories, alongside changes in policies surrounding public pension plans, the need for a better understanding of new experiences of work and retirement is more important now than ever. The key areas of focus in this report are experiences of employment for older workers and work-retirement transitions. This report addresses the need to redefine the terms “older worker” and “retirement”, due to their shifting meanings over time. The implications of the 2008 recession on older workers are also discussed. The report concludes by discussing the impact of policy reforms on older workers

Estimating Marginal Propensities to Consume in Australia Using Micro Data

This paper uses micro data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey to estimate the marginal propensity to consume. Estimates are made by examining two types of policy changes – to income tax rates and lump-sum transfers – which help to identify the effect of shocks to income on consumption. A standard Euler equation for consumption is used to analyse the effect of income tax changes. The marginal propensity to consume out of lump-sum transfers is estimated using fixed effects and propensity score matching. In addition, the paper examines differences in the marginal propensity to consume across households according to measures of liquidity constraints and unemployment risks.marginal propensity to consume; panel data; HILDA

Swampscott for All Ages: A Community Needs Assessment

By the year 2030, 35% of Swampscott residents will be age 60 and older. In response to this demographic shift as well as in response to the desire of most residents to remain living in their community, the resident leaders of Swampscott, with support of the Town, have embarked on the journey to become a more age friendly community. They call themselves the Swampscott for All Ages Committee. The Swampscott for All Ages initiative is meant to ensure that Swampscott is and remains a place where older adults can comfortably and safely age in place. It is a resident-led committee with strong municipal support. This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the Swampscott for All Ages Committee and the Town of Swampscott, to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Swampscott’s residents age 60 and older. Structured around livability principles embedded in the World Health Organization’s Age Friendly Community framework, the Swampscott for All Ages initiative considers physical infrastructure as well as social and service environments as it seeks to strengthen livability for Swampscott’s older residents. The contents of this report are designed to inform the Swampscott for All Ages Committee as it develops a plan for action to address the needs identified; and also intersect with and advise other ongoing efforts, including the development of the Swampscott Master Plan. This work also aligns with Governor Baker’s plan for an Age Friendly State

A rapid and inexpensive viability assay for zoospores and zoosporangia of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

The fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is causing global amphibian declines. Here we describe a simple, rapid and inexpensive methylene blue staining protocol to determine B. dendrobatidis viability, regardless of life-stage. The viability of cells in suspension or adherent monolayers can be determined using either manual microscopy counting or colorimetric assay