Stille: The Art of Being Silent

This thesis discusses the importance for people within the confines of high-density, metropolitan cities to find a collective moment of retreat through an architectural landscape of silence. Silence is becoming a desired and yet difficult to obtain commodity in modern western society. Due to intensified work and home commitments combined with overwhelming sensory manipulation in the urban environment, stress and psychological overloading is common. Stress and psychological overloading is problematic with regards to a sense of connectivity to other people. With constant sensory onslaught it is becoming increasingly important to create moments of stillness, which in the course of controlling and manipulating external stimuli allows for mental and physical retreat through contemplation. Historically places of silence and contemplation in western urban settings were places of worship. These spaces are designed to encourage groups of people to congregate and experience internal reflection while establishing a sense of togetherness. As western society moves towards secularisation, finding moments of silence collectively becomes even more significant in harvesting and maintaining a sense of belonging. Through referencing Juhani Pallasmaa and philosopher Max Picard an in-depth exploration into sensory design and what silence embodies is established. This, in combination with a critique of the detrimental current situation in modern society, asserts reasons for the need to revert to simplified sensory experiences in order to increase personal awareness of self and others. Nature and its pivotal role in stimulating a sense of silence is investigated through current theory and personal design explorations. This research is reinforced by case studies into successful modern places of retreat, for example Dominique Perrault’s Bibliothéque Nationale de France. Such schemes are used to understand notions of ritual and removal within a city setting. By incorporating silence (both visually and aurally) into an everyday city park in London, opportunities are created for the wider public to encounter and benefit from Stille.(1) (1) — German: English translation is Silenc

Spiritualisation de la phénoménologie

Une reconstruction de la phénoménologie de Husserl dans le cadre systématique d’une phénoménologie génétique inspirée de la phénoménologie de l’Esprit de Hegel permet à l’auteur de réaliser la performance d’une interprétation philosophique à plusieurs dimensions, comportant une légitimation – dans les limites imparties en cette reconstruction – à la fois de l’antinaturalisme de Husserl et du projet d’objectivation de la science naturelle. Le transcendantalisme husserlien est en même temps poussé au-delà de ses limites épistémologiques en direction d’un accomplissement spirituel préfiguré chez Max Scheler.Reshaping Husserl’s phenomenology in the systematic framework of a genetic phenomenology modeled on Hegel’s phenomenology of Spirit, the author takes up the challenge of a multi-level philosophical interpretation, showing how such a genetic framework vindicates Husserl’s antinaturalism while still allowing for the objectifying program of natural science. Husserl’s transcendantalism is also further extended beyond his own specifically epistemological ambition in the direction of a spiritual fulfillment prefigured in the later thinking of Max Scheler

Human emotional response to energy visualisations

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2012 Elsevier B.V.Past research has found that frequent energy usage feedback is an important factor in reducing home energy consumption, and that the sensory appeal and cognitive relevance of the feedback are key components of user engagement with energy systems. The visual design of the information interface is important not just due to its role in communicating data of cognitive relevance, but also because the choice of information type and format is important towards achieving interactive Hebbian learning. The objective of the current research study was to investigate the possible effect of image format on the human emotional response to scenes of energy systems, and to evaluate whether any gender related differences in emotional response occurred. An automated PC-based test was developed which utilised five visual image formats (Optical Gray-Scale, Optical Coloured, Optical Augmented, Infrared Gray-Scale and Infrared Blue-Red) and nine home energy scenes (hot water boiler, radiator, water faucet, kitchen oven, tea kettle, toaster, electrical connector, laptop computer and tea mug). The emotional response of the participant was measured in the automated test by means of a Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) which provided symbolic graphical representations of the human body under various degrees of emotional response, and associated Likert format rating scales for the valence and activation level of the emotional response. Comparison of the results obtained for the different visual scenes suggests that the greatest level of human emotional activation was achieved by the Infrared Blue-Red (thermal image) format, and that, generally, coloured images provided higher levels of emotional activation than gray-scale images. The increased activation achieved by the infrared images suggests attention capturing potential due to novelty, or due to the direct link to heat and energy, or both. Significant differences in emotional response (both activation and valence) were found to occur as a function of gender. The current results provide first guidance which a designer can use when choosing image spectrum and colours to represent energy systems on the displays of thermostats, smart meters and the energy devices. Relevance to industry - The current results provide first guidance which a designer can use when choosing image spectrum and colours to represent energy systems on the displays of thermostats, smart meters and the energy devices. Such design guidance is currently lacking internationally but is of increasing importance due to the expansion of digital devices, internet services and the upcoming internet-of-things

Postoperative Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy Versus Postoperative Radiotherapy in High-Risk Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck: The Randomized Phase III TROG 05.01 Trial

© 2018 by American Society of Clinical Oncology Purpose To report the results of the Trans Tasman Radiation Oncology Group randomized phase III trial designed to determine whether the addition of concurrent chemotherapy to postoperative radiotherapy (CRT) improved locoregional control in patients with high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Patients and Methods The primary objective was to determine whether there was a difference in freedom from locoregional relapse (FFLRR) between 60 or 66 Gy (6 to 6.5 weeks) with or without weekly carboplatin (area under the curve 2) after resection of gross disease. Secondary efficacy objectives were to compare disease-free survival and overall survival. Results Three hundred twenty-one patients were randomly assigned, with 310 patients commencing allocated treatment (radiotherapy [RT] alone, n = 157; CRT, n = 153). Two hundred thirty-eight patients (77%) had high-risk nodal disease, 59 (19%) had high-risk primary or in-transit disease, and 13 (4%) had both. Median follow-up was 60 months. Median RT dose was 60 Gy, with 84% of patients randomly assigned to CRT completing six cycles of carboplatin. The 2- and 5-year FFLRR rates were 88% (95% CI, 83% to 93%) and 83% (95% CI, 77% to 90%), respectively, for RT and 89% (95% CI, 84% to 94%) and 87% (95% CI, 81% to 93%; hazard ratio, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.46 to 1.55; P = .58), respectively, for CRT. There were no significant differences in disease-free or overall survival. Locoregional failure was the most common site of first treatment failure, with isolated distant metastases as the first site of failure seen in 7% of both arms. Treatment was well tolerated in both arms, with no observed enhancement of RT toxicity with carboplatin. Grade 3 or 4 late toxicities were infrequent. Conclusion Although surgery and postoperative RT provided excellent FFLRR, there was no observed benefit with the addition of weekly carboplatin

Caring Leadership: A Heideggerian Perspective

This paper develops the idea of caring leadership based on Heidegger’s philosophy of care. From this perspective, caring leadership is grounded in the practices of ‘leaping-in’ and ‘leaping-ahead’ as modes of intervention in the affairs of the world and the efforts of others. This involves gauging and taking responsibility for the ramifications of intervention, balancing the urge for certainty of outcome and visibility of contribution with the desire to encourage and enable others. Our analysis suggests several twists to contemporary leadership debates. We argue that the popular models of transactional and transformational leadership are to be critiqued not for their over-reliance, but rather, their under-reliance on agency. This is a different kind of agency to that of heroic or charismatic models. It involves tolerance of complexity and ambivalence; a rich sense of temporal trajectory; concern for one’s presence in the world; and crucially, the ability to resist the soothing normativity of ‘best practice’. From this position, we argue that the problem with the growing scholarly interest in an ethic of care is that it provides too tempting a recipe to follow. In a Heideggerian view, caring leadership has little to do with compassion, kindness or niceness; it involves and requires a fundamental organization and leadership of self

Holding Pattern

https://commons.und.edu/uac-all/2728/thumbnail.jp

Stille: The Art of Being Silent

This thesis discusses the importance for people within the confines of high-density, metropolitan cities to find a collective moment of retreat through an architectural landscape of silence. Silence is becoming a desired and yet difficult to obtain commodity in modern western society. Due to intensified work and home commitments combined with overwhelming sensory manipulation in the urban environment, stress and psychological overloading is common. Stress and psychological overloading is problematic with regards to a sense of connectivity to other people. With constant sensory onslaught it is becoming increasingly important to create moments of stillness, which in the course of controlling and manipulating external stimuli allows for mental and physical retreat through contemplation. Historically places of silence and contemplation in western urban settings were places of worship. These spaces are designed to encourage groups of people to congregate and experience internal reflection while establishing a sense of togetherness. As western society moves towards secularisation, finding moments of silence collectively becomes even more significant in harvesting and maintaining a sense of belonging. Through referencing Juhani Pallasmaa and philosopher Max Picard an in-depth exploration into sensory design and what silence embodies is established. This, in combination with a critique of the detrimental current situation in modern society, asserts reasons for the need to revert to simplified sensory experiences in order to increase personal awareness of self and others. Nature and its pivotal role in stimulating a sense of silence is investigated through current theory and personal design explorations. This research is reinforced by case studies into successful modern places of retreat, for example Dominique Perrault’s Bibliothéque Nationale de France. Such schemes are used to understand notions of ritual and removal within a city setting. By incorporating silence (both visually and aurally) into an everyday city park in London, opportunities are created for the wider public to encounter and benefit from Stille.(1) (1) — German: English translation is Silenc

1.4. Être ou ne pas être son propre corps : voilà la question

To be or not to be... one's own body : that is the question. To say that the being of human being has to do with its being a body is not in the least surprising and seems to be in agreement with the thinking of one of the last great French philosophers, Maurice Merleau-Ponty. But to say that the being of human being and, in particular, the development of human consciousness, depends upon the capacity of human being to not be its body, to distinguish itself from its body, sounds more paradoxical. However, it is only by emphasizing the detachment, or dis-engagement, of human being from its body just as much as its original attachment to, or the original incarnation of consciousness in, the body that one can hope to do justice to that discovery of subjectivity which characterises the modem epoch. By applying a 'genetic' method I seek to show the importance of this movement of detachment and, in conjunction therewith, of a complementary movement of return to the origin and to our original roots : our body, nature, the other.Dire que l'être de l'être humain tient à sa façon d'être son propre corps n'a rien de surprenant, et semble bien s'accorder avec la pensée d'un des derniers grands philosophes français, Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Dire que l'être de l'être humain et, en particulier, le développement de la conscience humaine, dépend de sa capacité de ne pas être son corps, de se dissocier de son corps, a l'air plus paradoxal. Cependant, ce n'est qu'en mettant l'accent autant sur la nécessité d'un détachement ou d'un désengagement de son propre corps, que sur la nécessité de l'incarnation de la conscience dans le corps, qu'on rendra justice à la découverte de la subjectivité qui caractérise l'époque moderne. En appliquant une méthode génétique, j'espère démontrer l'importance de ce mouvement de détachement, et celle, aussi, d'un mouvement complémentaire de retour à nos origines et premières attaches : notre corps, la nature, autrui.Macann Christopher Elton. 1.4. Être ou ne pas être son propre corps : voilà la question. In: Intellectica. Revue de l'Association pour la Recherche Cognitive, n°36-37, 2003/1-2. Repenser le corps l'action et la cognition avec les neurosciences, sous la direction de Jean-Luc Petit. pp. 111-124

Stille: The Art of Being Silent

This thesis discusses the importance for people within the confines of high-density, metropolitan cities to find a collective moment of retreat through an architectural landscape of silence. Silence is becoming a desired and yet difficult to obtain commodity in modern western society. Due to intensified work and home commitments combined with overwhelming sensory manipulation in the urban environment, stress and psychological overloading is common. Stress and psychological overloading is problematic with regards to a sense of connectivity to other people. With constant sensory onslaught it is becoming increasingly important to create moments of stillness, which in the course of controlling and manipulating external stimuli allows for mental and physical retreat through contemplation. Historically places of silence and contemplation in western urban settings were places of worship. These spaces are designed to encourage groups of people to congregate and experience internal reflection while establishing a sense of togetherness. As western society moves towards secularisation, finding moments of silence collectively becomes even more significant in harvesting and maintaining a sense of belonging. Through referencing Juhani Pallasmaa and philosopher Max Picard an in-depth exploration into sensory design and what silence embodies is established. This, in combination with a critique of the detrimental current situation in modern society, asserts reasons for the need to revert to simplified sensory experiences in order to increase personal awareness of self and others. Nature and its pivotal role in stimulating a sense of silence is investigated through current theory and personal design explorations. This research is reinforced by case studies into successful modern places of retreat, for example Dominique Perrault’s Bibliothéque Nationale de France. Such schemes are used to understand notions of ritual and removal within a city setting. By incorporating silence (both visually and aurally) into an everyday city park in London, opportunities are created for the wider public to encounter and benefit from Stille.(1)   (1) — German: English translation is Silence</p