15792 research outputs found
Sort by
Portraying Anxiety Disorders in Picturebooks: An Exploration into Using Picturebooks as an Interface Between Therapists and Young Adults (age 18–34)
No full textIn the past, picturebooks were generally comprised of pictures combined with relatively minimal text or no text and aimed at educating or entertaining children, but picturebooks have gradually developed beyond this subject-matter and audience (Nodelman, 2017). Since 2000, picturebooks have been increasingly created to tell stories of more realistic life experiences, and even trauma or mental illness. However, embodying these difficult experiences in picturebooks has rarely been systematically analysed. In contrast, theories of visual metaphor have been utilised in researching the embodiment of illness in comics and graphic novels (Miers, 2017; El Refaie, 2019). For instance, graphic novels and comics about depression have been analysed to explore the effectiveness of visualising depression experiences with visual metaphor theories. Considering the similarities between picturebook and graphic novel formats, this PhD builds on such research by using visual metaphor theory to examine the effectiveness of picturebooks in communicating anxiety disorders.
Anxiety disorders are one of the most prevalent groups of mental illnesses (American Psychiatric Association, 2022) , and it is suggested that younger age groups (18–34) may be more vulnerable to the mental health impact of the pandemic (Varma et al., 2021). Within this age group, generalised anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder could be the most common anxiety disorders worldwide (Bandelow and Michaelis, 2015; Chang et al., 2019). This research aims at portraying these two anxiety disorders in picturebooks and using them as an interface between therapists and young adults.
The research methods include literature reviews, case studies, critical reviews and illustration practice combined with semi-structured interviews with therapists. Based on the initial research on anxiety disorders and visual metaphor theories, and inspired by my own experience, two picturebooks were created, one examining social anxiety disorders and another generalised anxiety disorders. Their effectiveness of storytelling and embodying feelings has been examined through therapists’ feedback. Eventually, visual metaphor theory has been adapted for picturebooks about mental illness, and practical applications for such picturebooks have been explored
Queering Fashion as a Sticky Course
No full textThis case study interview is part of the QAA collaborative enhancement project on the ‘Sticky Course’, which is exploring ways that Higher Education courses embed approaches to transition, assessment and enquiry-based learning that support students to ‘stick’ to and with their course, and improve experience and engagement. Here, Siobhan Clay, Head of Academic Enhancement at UAL talks to Fenella Hitchcock, Senior Lecturer in Cultural and Historical Studies at London College of Fashion about the Queering Fashion Unit she leads on her course
Art education beyond anti-racism: A Manifesto to dismantle whiteness
No full textDespite varied initiatives by art schools to design anti-racist curricula, the attainment gaps in the art and design HE sector between White vs Black and global majority students is increasing. But institutional approaches largely rely on work by staff who are Black and global majority, who are activists and feminists and become even more marginalized in the face of resistant white colleagues. Many leave the sector. The already minoritised students despair, and, hey, white domination reproduces itself.
To challenge racism in our art schools, is this really the best we can imagine?
In our presentation two educators reflect on the challenges of whiteness in art education. We ask where and how can we undo whiteness in art schools, in art history, in the art world. Developing such a practice would transform racist curricula and pedagogies to not just imagine, but work towards a pluriversal and equitable art education for all
When I was here I wanted to be There: Extra-situated writing
No full textI run the ‘writing as practice’ seminar on the MA Fine Art and ‘poor theory’ seminar on BA Fine Art. Both explore formal and experimental approaches to writing on, about, with and as art practice. For me writing is a practice of marking, documenting, and translating. It captures and at best releases experience from its temporal containment, for a future public to read, experience, and re-write. It tells stories, makes publics, scenes, and new worlds.
In this lecture I share some approaches to teaching-writing-researching I have developed that invite students from diverse cultural background to engage their own positionalities and embodied experiences as “engines” and “hearts” for writing and for practice. My approach builds on Donna Haraway’s “situated knowledge” and others, who acknowledge that objectivity is influenced by our social, material, and cultural infrastructures
Fandom as Dramaturgy
No full textThis lecture and discussion seminar by Dr. Owen G. Parry, lecturer in Critical Studies of Fine Art at Central Saint Martins (University of the Arts London), is organized around the internal PhD defense of Tessa Vannieuwenhuyze’s research Staging the Musical Self(ie). Persona across Popular Music and Contemporary Performing Arts. In the lecture, Dr. Parry will focus on fandom as dramaturgy and the fan practice of “shipping” as an undervalued dramaturgical device. This talk will then open up into a public discussion chaired by Dra. Tessa Vannieuwenhuyze, where participants can join the conversation about new media dramaturgies, and how new technologies and aesthetics flow together with theatre performance practice.
Parry, who completed his PhD on Trashy Tendencies in Contemporary Art and Performance at Goldsmiths in 2014, has focused his research on the intersection of queer performance, vernacular theory, pop celebrity, and occultism. His work examines how these practices are combined, re-purposed, or fictionalized to generate new aesthetic assemblages, counter-myths, and speculative imaginaries. Parry’s current project, Poor Theory, explores how "the weird internet"—including fandom, memes, magical practices, and conspiracy theories—has moved from the margins to become central to life in capitalist ruins. This builds on his previous work, Fan Riot (2016 - ongoing), which investigates how fans have driven the evolution of the internet and includes artworks, performances, international publications, and a 'fan club' series
Responsible and Sustainable Beauty Consumption for Wellbeing of Older Adults
Get PDFResearch on ageing explains the coping patterns adopted by adults once they face a decline in their physical, financial, and social status with contemplation of life expectancy. In response to the changing global trends about longevity, healthy ageing, and wellbeing, the United Nations (UN) initiated this debate. They referred to it as the debate about the 2021-2030 decade of healthy ageing. Different from traditional disease-focused research, the field of healthy ageing has emerged as a significant area of therapeutic inquiry, offering science-based strategies for better management of wellbeing. Considering the gap highlighted from review of literature about the impact of healthy ageing trends in the era of social media and its impact on the consumption of beauty for subjective personal wellbeing by older consumers, a research model to be tested by future researchers is conceptualised. The overarching goal of this study was to study the influence of scientifically responsible and sustainable beauty products when offered to older consumers with perspective of socially responsible communications
Organoid Array Computing: The Design Space of Organoid Intelligence
Get PDFIn this paper, we explore the artificialization and networking of biological via brain organoids—three-dimensional, stem-cell-derived structures that recapitulate aspects of human brain architecture and function. These organoids serve as a platform for investigating the emergent properties of biological neural networks and the potential for developing an in-vitro to in-silico cognitive architecture. Our research addresses the burgeoning field of organoid intelligence (OI), wherein biological substrates are interfaced with computational systems, providing an adaptive framework for embodied computation. A common distinction between software and hardware in the field of biocomputing assumes DNA as software and cells as hardware. By evolving through biochemical and physical signaling feedback, organoids challenge this dichotomy. OI integrates both, enabling biological systems to move along the continuum from software to hardware into a multiscale machine. We begin by examining the current interfacing technologies that enable the connection between organoids and digital systems, evaluating the proof-of-concept studies that have laid the groundwork for OI applications. This analysis includes a critical assessment of the existing practical and technical limitations that hinder the realization of scalable OI. We then propose design strategies aimed at overcoming these obstacles, emphasizing the need for a nested approach to experimental design. New permutations enable the iterative development of OI modules, facilitating the integration and application of polycomputational neural assemblies. The design space of OI focuses on the growing dimensions and analysis of inputs, outputs, interfaces, and frameworks across multiple scales. We posit that the design of OI is less an act of top-down design and more a process of guided evolution, wherein higher-order cognitive functions emerge organically from the intricate interplay of lower-level biochemical substrates. Through this, we speculate on how higher-order functions can emerge from networking biological matter from embedded substrates “downstream”. Our research aims to uncover new dimensions in the information-processing capabilities of OI, positioning OI as a novel form of AI
Her voice rises: sound, writing and ventriloquism in the work of Lis Rhodes
No full textThis presentation discussed feminist approaches to sound in experimental filmmaking in the UK through examination of artist Lis Rhodes. Using her early works Light Music (1975) and Pictures on Pink Paper (1982) alongside recent interviews/discussions with her, these works punctuated an overview of this period, which saw significant changes in approaches to feminist sound, film, video and performance. Focussing the use of voice in Rhodes’ works and writings, discussion of sound and voice theory alongside Rebecca Schneider’s questioning of ephemerality and the archive in ‘Performance Remains’ (2001) discussion unpacked the 'ventriloquial' (Connor, 2000) dynamics of the voice in feminist filmmaking and to consider the dual situation through which it both detaches from and reconnects to/with other subjects and objects. The paper aimed to re-position language on archives and feminism in art history whilst foregrounding the (currently under-discussed) use of sound in cinema and media studies. It is based on a chapter in a monograph on the intersections between feminist experimental film/performance and music
Drawing the Unseen: Landscape as Ideological Frame and Perceptual Rupture
Get PDFIn my article for Trebuchet Magazine "Drawing the Unseen: Landscape as Ideological Frame and Perceptual Rupture" I explore the role of drawing and photography to unsettle traditional frames, or modes, of landscape. By focusing on eerie fragments and overlooked moments, I try to reveal a stranger, more haunted version of nature—one that resists the polished, picturesque frame and hints at something deeper, wilder, and less easily contained.
One thing that interests me about the approach described is how pareidolia complicates ideas of inventiveness; since the phenomena are observed, rather than pure artistic inventiveness, there is a required attunement and openness to other potentials in the present moment
Single mothers as ‘imperfect-resilient’ subjects and their entrepreneurial narratives on TikTok
Get PDFThis paper examines how self-identified single mothers on TikTok navigate maternal and entrepreneurial identities and aims to monetize their lived experiences by focusing on the content tagged with #singlemomentrepreneur. Drawing from a thematic content analysis of 50 selected TikTok videos, the study explores how this diverse group leverages platform affordances and strategies to reframe stigmatized experiences and views of dependency into aspirational stories of financial independence. The analysis uses McRobbie’s perfect–imperfect–resilient (p–i–r) dispositif as a conceptual framework to discuss creators’ digital narratives of ‘imperfect–resilient’ motherhood that frame them as resilient subjects situated within the spaces of the neoliberal ideal of a self-sufficient, self-managing mumpreneur. The findings show three main themes on how these creators present themselves: the sole breadwinner identity as a vital narrative of the single mother entrepreneur, intersectional narratives of resilience through struggle and success and resilience as an educational capital for the single mother community on TikTok. This paper extends scholarship on the mediation of maternal identities and their entrepreneurial labour within TikTok’s digital economy as creators negotiate motherhood and work, platform affordances and visibility and neoliberal discourses of resilience