The graphic construct of the contemporary reportage artist: Vison, experience and drawing

The focus of this research is to re-locate contemporary reportage drawing. Reportage drawing, as I am defining it here, is the contemporary practice of drawing people and places in-situ from observation, memory, or imagination. Cleaved from its historical function and journalistic orientation, the contemporary practice engages with the dialogic act of drawing and the subjectivities that pervade it, rendering two-fold experience; the experience of the subject in-situ and in the act of drawing. The re-creative experience of the drawing act and the communion with the artist’s negotiations in-situ are entered through the graphic construct of the artist. The record of the drawing evokes this complexly layered act, rendering a highly specific experience of the subject. This view of reportage drawing is distinct from existing research in that it looks at its form and formation using art history, drawing theorists, theory on experience, and space and place. Looking at the role of observation and artistic training from an art historical perspective, the act is seen as emerging from the practice of the sketch and how that aesthetic, and the perception of that aesthetic as spontaneous and responsive, is an exploited property of reportage. Existing research in reportage has looked at its diverse functions and history along with its potential as a political act. The research presented here explores the act as rooted to the specific graphic construct of the artist, the totality of the experience in-situ, and the wider intentions of the artist, bound by the same desire to relay the experience of the subject without artifice. In the presence of photography and a fluid media landscape, reportage drawing persisted through the 20th and now 21st century not as a competitor, but an alternative, and the graphic construct of reportage drawing has taken ownership of a unique testimony to personal experience and perception. Through interviews with two contemporary practitioners of reportage and my own reportage practice and reflections, I identify that the work is the composite of concerns, condensed in the graphic construct of the drawing, and shaped by the layered experience of working in-situ. Interviews and a video of artists in-situ highlight the procedural choices made and how the drawings are containers of experience in their form and formation. The successful record of the drawing results in a re-creative experience of the conditions of its making and an insight into the experience of the artist in-situ. Detached from journalistic ideals, contemporary reportage drawing is a diffuse practice, sharing only the singular desire to express personal vision and engage with the potentialities of drawing itself

Brief Notes on Reportage Drawing, Visual Language and the Creative Agenda of the Reportage Artist

Through an exploration of my own reportage drawing and others, I seek to identify reportage drawing as an activity that is particularly well suited to the development of visual language and the refinement of not just schematic language, but highly personal mark making that is imbued with the artist’s creative agenda

Community sensitisation using participatory arts-based  methods for the research study 'Tupumue: Non-communicable lung disease in Kenya: from burden and early life determinants to participatory inter-disciplinary solutions.'

Air pollution (AP) is a global health priority. The health burden of AP is greater in low-to-middle income countries, and exposure to AP in informal settlements is likely to be higher than in other areas, due to emissions from industry, dust, burning waste, and use of solid fuels for cooking, lighting and heating. Tupumue (‘let’s breathe’ in Kiswahili) is a research study comparing lung health, lived experience and AP exposure in children and young people aged 5-18 years from the informal settlement, Mukuru, Nairobi, Kenya and a neighbouring more affluent area, Buruburu. Community members were involved at all stages of Tupumue; it became clear during early consultations that a robust community sensitisation programme was vital to the study’s success. Academics, arts practitioners, residents and community artists co-created a suite of innovative, inclusive and culturally-relevant sensitisation activities.These were delivered by trusted Tupumue community champions in diverse settings, such as schools, churches and community meeting places. Sensitisation activities included games, a music video – ‘Pumua Fiti, Ishi Fiti’, theatre, and visual arts. A puppet show – Billy’s Day Out – dramatised the Tupumue data collection process to familiarise potential participants and minimise any fear or nervousness about taking part in the study. In addition, 10 murals were completed in Mukuru and Buruburu.  Methods ensured community buy-in, were effective across age and educational attainment and reinforced study aims in ways that connected to stakeholders lived experience. Community events included a Santa in the Ghetto festival and street parades in Mukuru and Buruburu. These ensured wide engagement, and local people were eager to participate. Community events reached 1000+, murals 10,000+, and in-school events 5000+. Evaluation interviews demonstrated attendees knew more about lung health and the Tupumue study after sensitisation, with most saying they would like to be research participants. Observations of school events suggested children were highly engaged, keen to ask questions, and motivated to learn. The sensitisation campaign was highly successful. It supported recruitment of 2403 children to the Tupumue study, 1296 from Mukuru and 1107 from Buruburu. The results will be fed back to communities using talks, documentary film and comic books

The effect of corporate governance on stock repurchases: evidence from Sweden

Research Question/Issue: The paper examines whether corporate governance differences affect firms' stock repurchasing behaviour. Previous hypotheses on stock repurchases, well-supported by US data, are based on assumptions of managerial autonomy that might not be descriptive in corporate governance systems characterised by influential controlling shareholders such as the Swedish. Firm-level corporate governance arrangements may also affect firms' incentives to repurchase stock. Research Findings/Insights: Stock-repurchasing patterns among Swedish firms differ from those previously observed among US firms. The findings indicate that Swedish firms do not repurchase stock to distribute excess cash, signal undervaluation or fend off takeovers. Stock repurchases are made in addition to dividends and thus do not substitute for them. Firm-level corporate governance arrangements directly affect stock repurchasing behaviour. Firms without a dominant controlling owner seem to use stock repurchases to increase leverage. The existence of a dominant controlling shareholder diminishes the propensity for stock repurchases, while cross listing on a US or UK stock market increases that propensity. Theoretical/Academic Implications: The findings suggest that corporate governance differences affect stock repurchasing behaviour. The agency-theoretical view of the firm, on which the leading hypotheses on stock repurchases are based, accurately predicts stock repurchases only in certain institutional and governance settings. Practitioner/Policy Implications: The study suggests that differences in national and firm-level corporate governance must be taken into account in order to accurately assess outcomes of regulatory reforms and/or harmonisation attempts

Diversity in action: Exchange of perspectives and reflections on taxonomies of individual differences

Throughout the last 2500 years, the classification of individual differences in healthy people and their extreme expressions in mental disorders has remained one of the most difficult challenges in science that affects our ability to explore individuals' functioning, underlying psychobiological processes and pathways of development. To facilitate analyses of the principles required for studying individual differences, this theme issue brought together prominent scholars from diverse backgrounds of which many bring unique combinations of cross-disciplinary experiences and perspectives that help establish connections and promote exchange across disciplines. This final paper presents brief commentaries of some of our authors and further scholars exchanging perspectives and reflecting on the contributions of this theme issue

Dataset for the article: A cross-sectional study of asthma in schoolchildren in an informal (slum) settlement and a more affluent residential area of Nairobi, Kenya: the Tupumue study

Contains the protocol and data used to produce this manuscript: A cross-sectional study of asthma in schoolchildren in an informal (slum) settlement and a more affluent residential area of Nairobi, Kenya: the Tupumue study (article in press). Data comprises respiratory symptom, lung function and air pollution data for children aged <=18 years attending schools in the informal settlement of Mukuru in Nairobi and those attending schools in the adjacent more affluent residential area of Buruburu. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This dataset is made available under the Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International v4.0 (CC BY 4.0). This licence allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The licence allows for commercial use. Details of the licence can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Dataset DOI: https://doi.org/10.57978/LSTM.0002150

Asthma symptoms, spirometry and air pollution exposure in schoolchildren in an informal settlement and an affluent area of Nairobi, Kenya

Background: Although one billion people live in informal (slum) settlements, the consequences for respiratory health of living in these settlements remain largely unknown. This study investigated whether children living in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya are at increased risk of asthma symptoms. Methods: Children attending schools in Mukuru (an informal settlement in Nairobi) and a more affluent area (Buruburu) were compared. Questionnaires quantified respiratory symptoms and environmental exposures; spirometry was performed; personal exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5) was estimated. Results: 2373 children participated, 1277 in Mukuru (median age, interquartile range, 11, 9-13 years, 53% girls), and 1096 in Buruburu (10, 8-12 years, 52% girls). Mukuru schoolchildren were from less affluent homes, had greater exposure to pollution sources and PM2.5. When compared with Buruburu schoolchildren, Mukuru schoolchildren had a greater prevalence of symptoms, ‘current wheeze’ (9.5% vs 6.4%, p=0.007) and ‘trouble breathing’ (16.3% vs 12.6%, p=0.01), and these symptoms were more severe and problematic. Diagnosed asthma was more common in Buruburu (2.8% vs 1.2%, p=0.004). Spirometry did not differ between Mukuru and Buruburu. Regardless of community, significant adverse associations were observed with self-reported exposure to ‘vapours, dusts, gases, fumes’, mosquito coil burning, adult smoker(s) in the home, refuse burning near homes, and residential proximity to roads. Conclusion: Children living in informal settlements are more likely to develop wheezing symptoms consistent with asthma that are more severe but less likely to be diagnosed as asthma. Self-reported but not objectively measured air pollution exposure was associated with increased risk of asthma symptoms