Design art furniture and the boundaries of function: communicative objects, performative things

Over the last two decades a category of artefact has appeared that has come to be termed 'design art': highly expressive furniture and domestic products that are created as self-initiated, often limited edition designs, sold through galleries, exhibited in museums and collected in the manner traditionally ascribed to art. To date no in-depth theoretical analysis of the growth of such design has been conducted and key protagonists such as Droog Design have received little critical attention, as those involved have been largely left to write their own history. Consequently, the aim of this thesis is to account for the development of these objects as the products of particular cultural and historical conditions and ask what the implications of the rise of these particular practices of making, distribution and use may be. This thesis proposes that close analysis of the objects, their form and functional potential, reveals their dialectical qualities, in that in their materiality the tensions and conflicts of the period of their development can be discerned. Through an account of the development of the market for such goods it examines the way in which these things can be studied as commodities, in that they can clearly be understood as status symbols or a form of cultural capital. It is also asserted that by regarding such design as having the potential to impact upon everyday life, and not just as existing as something to be consumed by an elite, such practices illuminate broader problems of the ethics of design in a wider sense. In this way it is argued that these communicative objects, in their ambiguous form and problematic relationship to function, can give an insight into the way we live with performative things: the ideological products of modernity that act upon us as we use them and which contain in their being the protocols and disciplinary forces of their time. The intention therefore is to ask whether design art can be seen as a politically radical practice that suggests ways in which both makers and users can assert a new relationship to the things with which we live

Understanding Financial Literacy and Competence: Considerations for Training, Collaboration, and Referral for MFTs

Developing clinical competencies is a foundational feature for most mental health disciplines. Evidence suggests that many couples attending marital therapy regularly report that financial concerns are a significant contributor to their collective distress. Despite the reports of financial distress being a common occurrence, many practitioners are unfamiliar with available resources to remediate the problem. The authors address the concepts of practitioner competence in financial literacy, client financial problems, the benefits of financial literacy, and suggest a referral process, grounded in ethical decision making, that provides appropriate treatment considerations to clients experiencing such distress. The Referral for Financial Concerns Questionnaire (RFCQ) and the Personal & Relationship Financial Assessment Tool (PREFAT) are introduced. Finally, the authors provide suggestions for professional collaboration between mental health practitioners, financial planners, and financial counselors

Co-Producing Social Futures Through Design Research

This report summarises findings and outcomes from a 9-month, AHRC-funded research programme called Developing Participation in Social Design: Prototyping Projects, Programmes and Policies (henceforward ProtoPublics) that took place during 2015. A key aim of this report is to clarify how a design-oriented approach complements and is distinct from other kinds of cross-disciplinary, co-produced research in relation to social issues

Integrated Polarization of Sources at lambda ~1m and New Rotation Measure Ambiguities

We present an analysis of the polarization of compact radio sources from six pointings of the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) at 350 MHz with 35% coverage in lambda^2. After correcting for the off-axis instrumental polarization with a simple analytical model, only a small number of 585 strong sources have significant polarizations at these wavelengths. The median depolarization ratio from 1.4 GHz for the strongest sources is <0.2, reinforcing the likelihood that radio galaxies are found in magnetized environments, even outside of rich clusters. Seven sources with significant 350 MHz polarization were selected for a more in-depth Faraday structure analysis. We fit the observed values Q/I and U/I as a function of lambda^2 using both a depolarizing screen and two component models. We also performed RM Synthesis/Clean and standard fitting of polarization angle vs. lambda^2. We find that a single rotation measure (RM), as found using polarization angle fitting or simple screen models, commonly provides a poor fit when the solutions are translated back into Q, U space. Thus, although a single "characteristic" rotation measure may be found using these techniques, the Faraday structure of the source may not be adequately represented. We also demonstrate that RM Synthesis may yield an erroneous Faraday structure in the presence of multiple, interfering RM components, even when cleaning of the Faraday spectrum is performed. We briefly explore the conditions under which rotation measures and Faraday structure results can be reliable. Many measurements in the literature do not meet these criteria; we discuss how these influence the resulting scientific conclusions and offer a prescription for obtaining reliable RMs.Comment: 26 pages, 24 figures. Published in The Astronomical Journa

Screening and Quantification of Aliphatic Primary Alkyl Corrosion Inhibitor Amines in Water Samples by Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry

Direct analysis and identification of long chain aliphatic primary diamine Duomeen O (n-oleyl-1,3-diaminopropane), corrosion inhibitor in raw water samples taken from a large medium pressure water tube boiler plant water samples at low LODs (<0.1 pg) has been demonstrated for the first time, without any sample preparation using paper spray mass spectrometry (PS-MS). The presence of Duomeen O in water samples was confirmed via tandem mass spectrometry using collision-induced dissociation and supported by exact mass measurement and reactive paper spray experiments using an LTQ Orbitrap Exactive instrument. Data shown herein indicate that paper spray ambient ionization can be readily used as a rapid and robust method for in situ direct analysis of polymanine corrosion inhibitors in an industrial water boiler plant and other related samples in the water treatment industry. This approach was applied for the analysis of three complex water samples including feedwater, condensate water, and boiler water, all collected from large medium pressure (MP) water tube boiler plants, known to be dosed with varying amounts of polyamine and amine corrosion inhibitor components. Polyamine chemistry is widely used for example in large high pressure (HP) boilers operating in municipal waste and recycling facilities to prevent corrosion of metals. The samples used in this study are from such a facility in Coventry waste treatment facility, U.K., which has 3 × 40 tonne/hour boilers operating at 17.5 bar