Α “Guarantee of Clustered Energy and Collective Promotion”: The Association of Greek Women Artists and its Exhibitions in the 50s and 60s

Founded in Athens in 1954 the Association of Greek Women Artists aimed at promoting art among the Greek public, confronting the problems of women artists through collective action, and encouraging the presentation of Greek art on the international scene. In the 1950s and 1960s it organized a significant number of group exhibitions in Greece as well as abroad, where its members showed their work. This paper examines the context of the association’s all-women shows and their meaning in relation to feminist cultural politics inside but also beyond national borders. More specifically, it analyzes the circumstances under which the collectivity was formed and the purposes it was decided to serve. It also examines the criticism its exhibitions received in Greece and their interpretation as female initiatives. Finally, it explores the possible connections between the association and other Greek or foreign women’s groups

Methods of Paradox

Despite growing scholarly interest in paradoxes, few studies have expressly engaged with the methodological mechanics of ‘doing’ paradox research. First, there are no clearly established guidelines regarding what should count as paradox in research endeavors. Second, there is uncertainty around who sees/thinks/experiences the paradox and what is relevant when it comes to the emergence, choice, interpretation and appropriation of paradoxes in empirical settings. Third, there is still confusion around where one can find evidence of paradoxes. This book chapter aims to shed some light on these methodological shortcomings. We suggest that paradox researchers can deal with these methodological challenges by 1) showing evidence of contradictory, interrelated, simultaneous and persistent paradoxical tensions in the empirical setting, 2) developing reliable and flexible protocols for paradox identification, 3) pushing for multi-level paradox studies, 4) practicing reflexivity, 5) staying close to the context, and 6) leveraging multi-modality

Methods of Paradox

Despite growing scholarly interest in paradoxes, few studies have expressly engaged with the methodological mechanics of ‘doing’ paradox research. First, there are no clearly established guidelines regarding what should count as paradox in research endeavors. Second, there is uncertainty around who sees/thinks/experiences the paradox and what is relevant when it comes to the emergence, choice, interpretation and appropriation of paradoxes in empirical settings. Third, there is still confusion around where one can find evidence of paradoxes. This book chapter aims to shed some light on these methodological shortcomings. We suggest that paradox researchers can deal with these methodological challenges by 1) showing evidence of contradictory, interrelated, simultaneous and persistent paradoxical tensions in the empirical setting, 2) developing reliable and flexible protocols for paradox identification, 3) pushing for multi-level paradox studies, 4) practicing reflexivity, 5) staying close to the context, and 6) leveraging multi-modality

Turning the Sword: How NPD Teams Cope with Front-End Tensions

Front-end new product development (NPD) is fraught with tensions that fuel and inhibit innovation. According to paradox theory, tensions pose a double-edged sword, sparking learning and creativity or anxiety and counterproductive responses. NPD teams' shared understandings—how they think about (cognition) and approach (motivation) tensions—turn the sword. Existing literature examines innovation tensions and their management. Yet scholars call for deeper dives, seeking research that unpacks cognitive and motivational drivers underlying how NPD teams cope with tensions. This paper responds, presenting a four-year inductive study of five NPD consultancies. Across cases, findings explicate the roles of paradoxical cognitive frames and regulatory motivational focus. Across firms, the front-end NPD teams framed tensions paradoxically. Three frames—guided freefall, benevolent dictatorship, and cohesive diversity—helped teams develop shared understandings of tensions as paradoxical, posing competing yet interdependent demands. Teams varied, however, in their regulatory focus, influencing how they applied the frames to approach tensions. In the most innovative case, teams applied a promotion focus, energized to explore tensions in search of more creative alternatives and synergies. In less innovative cases, teams applied a prevention focus, motivated to avoid risk and loss. Together, paradoxical frames and regulatory focus shaped teams' coping behaviors and resulting innovation. Resulting theory posits the interplay among cognitive, motivational, and behavioral drivers of innovation. Results offer three contributions. First, this study extends understanding of antecedents to team innovation and front-end NPD. Second, findings deepen insights into team cognition and paradoxical frames. Last, the theoretical framework explicates how cognitive-motivational interactions enable coping behaviors that foster innovation. The conclusion poses managerial and research implications. Building from paradox theory this study suggests means to foster shared paradoxical frames and promotion focus in NPD teams. Further, study limitations highlight opportunities to extend its generalizability and elaborate underlying drivers of innovation

Irish Antigones

This thesis examines the reception of Sophocles’ Antigone in Ireland from 1984 to 2004, in the light of the social and political developments that took place in the country during that period. Chapter 1 examines the textual elements of translation, as well as the different ways in which the mythic element of the tragedy and the characterisation are ‘translated’ in different versions. Chapters 2-4 explore particular dimensions of contextual significance: politics, religion, gender. Each chapter first offers a brief discussion of the relevant Irish circumstances, comparing and contrasting them with the socio-political context of Sophocles’ Athens. Then, it examines the extent, the degree and the different ways in which the translations reflect and engage with aspects of the writers’ contemporary reality. Chapter 5, finally, deals with the scenic representation of the plays as a different and complementary aspect of translation, looking at the degree and the ways in which the different stagings reflect the Sophoclean play, the translations in question and the larger social and political contexts of adaptation. Antigone proves to be a remarkably flexible medium for the expression of strikingly different social and political agendas over time. Overall the thesis finds that, while the writers of the earlier versions reflect through the Sophoclean tragedy the turbulent Irish society of the early 1980s, the writers of the turn of the millennium, living in a globalised era, and with a more settled Ireland, locate the reworking of the myth within a more international outlook. It argues however that the reworkings of Antigone produced in 1984 by Aidan Mathews, Tom Paulin and Brendan Kennelly - despite the significant differences between them - are more adventurous treatments of the original play than the ones produced later, between 1999 and 2004, by Declan Donnellan, Conall Morrison and Seamus Heaney. The thesis concludes that the new readings of the Antigone myth in Ireland after 2004 suggest that the potential of Sophocles’ tragedy within its Irish context is not exhausted yet

Particulate matter and airborne fungi concentrations in schools in Athens

Indoor Air Quality degradation is of exceptional concern due to the potential adverse effects indoor air pollutants have on human’s health. Students are a susceptible group of people, who spend a lot of their time within classrooms. The purpose of this study is to investigate the concentration levels of particulate matter (PM) and total airborne fungi, in school classrooms. Further objective is to examine possible correlations between PM10, PM2.5, PM1, ultrafine particles (UFPs, diameter<100 nm), and airborne fungi. The measurements were performed using fully automated instrumentation. The results indicate that a lot of PM10 concentrations exceeded the proposed daily limit of 50μg/m3. Also, in some cases the concentration of the total airborne fungi indoors, exceeded their concentration outdoors. There is evidence that certain correlations exist between PM and airborne fungi

Faculty responses to business school branding: a discursive approach

It is increasingly recognized that the branding of universities presents a different set of challenges from corporate, for-profit sectors. However, much remains unknown about how faculty in particular interpret and make sense of branding in this complex environment. This paper investigates faculty responses to branding through a qualitative interview-based study of four business schools. Our discursive approach to understanding faculty responses highlights the fluid and reflexive nature of brand engagement, in which faculty adopt a number of stances towards their school’s branding efforts. In particular, the study identifies three main faculty responses to branding: endorsement, ambivalence and cynicism. The study highlights the ambiguities created from higher education brand management efforts, and the multiple ways that faculty exploit, frame and resist the branding of their business schools. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for branding in university contexts

Particulate matter and airborne fungi concentrations in schools in Athens

Indoor Air Quality degradation is of exceptional concern due to the potential adverse effects indoor air pollutants have on human’s health. Students are a susceptible group of people, who spend a lot of their time within classrooms. The purpose of this study is to investigate the concentration levels of particulate matter (PM) and total airborne fungi, in school classrooms. Further objective is to examine possible correlations between PM10, PM2.5, PM1, ultrafine particles (UFPs, diameter< 100 nm), and airborne fungi. The measurements were performed using fully automated instrumentation. The results indicate that a lot of PM10 concentrations exceeded the proposed daily limit of 50μg/m3. Also, in some cases the concentration of the total airborne fungi indoors, exceeded their concentration outdoors. There is evidence that certain correlations exist between PM and airborne fungi