Practicing a post-industrial place : introduction

"The project of the National Programme of the Development of Humanities: “Development” 2.b entitled Post-industrial Places as the Subject of Transdisciplinary Studies. From Design to Rootedness stems from the need to both develop a transdisciplinary research path and to show how a post-industrial place is practised in culture. And it is the sphere of praxis which is the subject of this volume. A view combining perspectives of culture theoreticians and practitioners as well as designers is crucial in the study of phenomena related to post-industrial heritage. For the humanities it is important to capture the moment of transition from design issues to cultural reflection upon designed places/things/ concepts. The retreat from industrial production as “manufacturing things” to producing and processing the ideas is marked with a trail of technological transformation and the emerging service industry. A departure from the planned and mass towards the individual, at least potentially, opens us towards design practices which transform what is unrooted, abandoned, ancient, degraded. Analyses of cities, design, economics, social environment open to research domestication of the explosion of design in the inherited post-industrial space. A place, no matter how overexerted today, is still a challenge in humanistic thought." (fragm.

PostindustriaLab. Practicing a Post-Industrial Place

Projekt Narodowego Programu Rozwoju Humanistyki „Rozwój” 2.b 2bH 15 0099 83The project shows how a post-industrial place is practised in culture. A view combining perspectives of culture theoreticians and practitioners as well as designers is crucial in the study of phenomena related to post-industrial heritage. For the humanities it is important to capture the moment of transition from design issues to cultural reflection upon designed places/things/concepts. The retreat from industrial production as “manufacturing things” to producing and processing the ideas is marked with a trail of technological transformation and the emerging service industry. A departure from the planned and mass towards the individual, at least potentially, opens us towards design practices which transform what is unrooted, abandoned, ancient, degraded. Analyses of cities, design, economics, social environment open to research domestication of the explosion of design in the inherited post-industrial space. A place, no matter how overexerted today, is still a challenge in humanistic thought.MNiS

Post-Industrial Places as the Subject of Transdisciplinary Studies. From Design to Rootedness

Projekt Narodowego Programu Rozwoju Humanistyki „Rozwój” 2.b Kierownik: Aleksandra Kunce 2bH 15 0099 83The project stems from the need to develop a transdisciplinary research path in order to radically complement and transform the existing understanding of post-industrial space design with a complex analysis of philosophy and anthropology of a place. Although such a perspective combines previous studies carried out in many fields, it does transgress them. The transition from the concept of design as a purely artistic and social intervention in post-industrial space to design understood as penetration into a complex cultural interpretation of a place – a region, identity of a place, axiological and metaphysical foundations of a community, cultural experience – is crucial for us. Searching for a place, rootedness and home in post-industrial space design requires combining cultural orders of thought and experience – to create a research path which would be sensitive to time and place, cultural and historical depth. Revealing the potential of post-industrial past also became a call for responsible interference in a place.MNiS

A place that invites dwelling and reconciliation back : on the anthropology of a post-industrial place

"What is a post-industrial place? By striving to take root, we do not wish to celebrate shapeless space; we are instead willing to identify it as a place and home, even if it seems to be evading our attempt at positioning. To focus on the post-industrial place, and not space, is to locate it in the context of oikology, a unique way of knowing that treats the oikos, home, as a task and commitment confronting a human being. This oikological knowledge allows us to think again in terms of the gravity and discipline behind the idea of a place as home without toying with the notion of dictatorship or ill-conceived familiarity. There would be no dwelling without the fissures and gaps that make home discontinuous and open. When Martin Heidegger in his 1951 lecture calls for the re-examination of the relationship between dwelling and building, he makes a case for a greater recognition of home: “To be a human being means to be on the earth as a mortal. It means to dwell. The old word bauen, which says that man is insofar as he dwells, this word bauen however also means at the same time to cherish and protect, to preserve and care for, specifically to till the soil, to cultivate the vine." (fragm.

Research approach to post-industrial places : introduction

"The project of the National Programme of the Development of Humanities: “Development” 2.b entitled Post-industrial Places as the Subject of Transdisciplinary Studies. From Design to Rootedness stems from the need to develop a transdisciplinary research path in order to radically complement and transform the existing understanding of post-industrial space design with a complex analysis of philosophy and anthropology of a place. The foundation we base on is cultural studies which already, as Anna Zeidler-Janiszewska indicates, constitute a particular trans-discipline within the humanities.1 Cultural studies still remain fröhliche Wissenschaft, to use Clifford Geertz’s term designating anthropology. 2 However, it is important for us to turn the cultural studies discourse into the direction of both philosophy and anthropology of a place as well as further, towards the field of fine arts and creative activities of designers and cultural practitioners. Although such a perspective combines previous studies carried out in many fields, it does transgress them. The transition from the concept of design as a purely artistic and social intervention in post-industrial space to design understood as penetration into a complex cultural interpretation of a place – a region, identity of a place, axiological and metaphysical foundations of a community, cultural experience – is crucial for us. Searching for a place, rootedness and home in post-industrial space design requires combining cultural orders of thought and experience – to create a research path which would be sensitive to time and place, cultural and historical depth. Revealing the potential of post-industrial past also became a call for responsible interference in a place." (fragm.

Damned for Using Daycare: Appellate Brief of Jennifer Ireland in \u3cem\u3eIreland V. Smith\u3c/em\u3e

At issue is custody of three-and-a-half-year-old Maranda (date of birth: April 22, 1991). The trial court found that Maranda had an established custodial environment with her mother, Jennifer Ireland, but then nominally ordered custody changed to Steven Smith. The court\u27s order changing custody was based on a determination that day care is an inappropriate choice for care of a preschool child, and that no one effectively can be a single parent and a student at the same time. Those findings have no factual basis in the record, no legal basis under Michigan law, and no logical or even common sense basis at all. In addition, the trial court in effect gave custody of Maranda not to Smith, but to his parents, who were not even parties to the custody action

Damned for Using Daycare: Appellate Brief of Jennifer Ireland in \u3cem\u3eIreland V. Smith\u3c/em\u3e

At issue is custody of three-and-a-half-year-old Maranda (date of birth: April 22, 1991). The trial court found that Maranda had an established custodial environment with her mother, Jennifer Ireland, but then nominally ordered custody changed to Steven Smith. The court\u27s order changing custody was based on a determination that day care is an inappropriate choice for care of a preschool child, and that no one effectively can be a single parent and a student at the same time. Those findings have no factual basis in the record, no legal basis under Michigan law, and no logical or even common sense basis at all. In addition, the trial court in effect gave custody of Maranda not to Smith, but to his parents, who were not even parties to the custody action

Explanatory Autism Disclosure in the Workplace: Perspectives of Key Stakeholder Groups

The high prevalence of unemployment and underemployment among adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is exacerbated by public misunderstanding of this complex condition. Many individuals with ASD work alongside coworkers and supervisors who are unknowledgeable about the disorder, which promotes the development of misconceptions regarding the individual’s ability to function in the workplace. Despite frequent recommendations both for and against the use of explanatory ASD disclosure in work settings, there is a lack of empirical research directly assessing stakeholder perceptions of such disclosure. The goal of this small sample, exploratory study was to evaluate the implementation of an explanatory disclosure strategy (i.e., the use of an ASD disclosure booklet) on the basis of gathered perceptions from the perspectives of key stakeholders: the client/employee with ASD, the supported employment staff (e.g., case managers, job coaches), and non-ASD coworkers. Research was conducted in collaboration with the supported employment services office of United Cerebral Palsy (UCP). Workers with ASD were invited to develop individualized disclosure booklets, which were shared with and evaluated by the key stakeholder groups. Results provide quantitative and qualitative descriptions of perceived benefits and risks of such disclosure. Positive feedback was gathered across three stakeholder groups with regards to the ease of developing booklets, comfort with information shared, and perceived understanding/accuracy of booklet material. Additionally, all groups were able to identify both benefits and risks of sharing booklets in the workplace with perceived benefits outweighing risks

Into the noise : anthropological and aesthetic discourses in public sphere

Into the Noise… to zbiór esejów autorstwa Aleksandry Kunce i Marii Popczyk. Są one poprzedzone wstępem napisanym przez Marię Korusiewicz, który porusza problematykę estetyki codzienności, stanowiącej przeciwwagę dla dyskursów instytucjonalnych. Rozważania autorek są efektem antropologicznych i estetycznych eksploracji przestrzeni publicznej. Autorki analizują dyskursy, które nadają kształt wspólnotom przestrzennym. W centrum uwagi znalazły się problemy opisu antropologii punktów, perspektyw antropologii integralnej, instytucji uniwersytetu, tożsamości europejskiej, figur zdziwienia i humanistyki, a także zakorzenienia epistemologicznego. Kluczowe są rozważania estetyczne dotyczące miejsca dzieła sztuki w przestrzeniach publicznych miast (na przykładzie Berlina) oraz zorganizowanych instytucjonalnie wystawach muzealnych. Autorki analizują działania artystyczne będące rodzajem dialogu z zasadami organizacji przestrzeni publicznej. Estetyka jest tu pojmowana jako dziedzina krytyczna nawiązująca do osiągnięć nowej muzeologii i kultury wizualnej, a nie jako filozofia sztuki. Perspektywa antropologiczna i estetyczna uzupełniają się, oświetlając z odmiennych punktów widzenia debaty toczone na temat przestrzeni publicznej

Judging Girls: Decision Making in Parental Consent to Abortion Cases

Judges make determinations on a daily basis that profoundly affect people\u27s lives. On March 28, 1991, the Michigan legislature enacted a statute entitled The Parental Rights Restoration Act (hereinafter the Michigan Act or the Act ). This statute delegated to probate court judges the extraordinary task of deciding whether a minor girl may have an abortion without the consent of a parent. Nothing in law school and little in an average judge\u27s experience provide a meaningful framework for making such a decision. Although many commentators, including the authors, argue that decisions about abortion should be left to the woman regardless of her age, or to the judgment of her doctor, or to counselors, this decision now rests with probate judges. As clinical law professors and, thus, practicing attorneys, we have represented several minor girls in their attempts to receive waivers of parental consent to abortion under the Michigan Act. We were also active in developing procedural rules to implement the statute and are involved in training attorneys to represent girls in judicial waiver hearings. Therefore, we have personally witnessed the implementation of the Act thus far in Michigan. We intend to provide a framework for judicial decision making under the Act by drawing on our personal experiences, reviewing treatment of parental consent cases by other courts, and considering what the discipline of psychology can tell us about adolescents. Ultimately, we offer certain presumptions that Michigan judges should apply, and we delineate those matters that are irrelevant to the inquiry into a minor girl\u27s maturity and best interests