Toronto Metropolitan University Open Journals
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Collaboration & Co-Creative Media Making in Precarious Times: From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concern & Matters of Care
No full textThis contribution fathoms the potential of collaborative, co-creative media practices in precarious times – in times of climate emergency and a terrifying loss of biodiversity, accompanied by socio-psychological and socio-cultural crises. It is set in times in which, despite the urgency to react, we are still often facing a lack of comprehension for the complex global dimension of these crises, accompanied with a paralysing apathy, passive-depressive resignation and sometimes even a refusal to face collective and individual accountability as well as respond in actual doing to the urgent call to action.
Taking Félix Guattari\u27s ecosophical thought of three interdependent ecologies (1989, 1996) and their prolongation in currently emerging environmental humanities with recent discourses in documentary and digital theory as a framework, the objective of this contribution is to discuss approaches in emerging media making and to deduce strategies how to \u27make things matter\u27. Within this bigger context, the theoretical argument is based on key concepts in co-creation as well as aspects in the creative use of mobile, interactive, networked devices to \u27craft\u27 media assemblages in which often, processes are more important than artefacts and which make participants/user-creators aware of being themselves entangled in multifaceted biological, psychological, physical, social and cultural contexts. The nucleus hereby resides in the intertwining of emplaced interaction in hyperglocal contexts, the idea of focussed perception and perspective taking, and foremost the potential for networked|networking (Wiehl 2019).
The hypothesis runs that due to their specific affordances, especially co-creative media practices can contribute to a shift from mere matters of fact in climate communication to matters of concern (Latour 2004) and – ultimately hopefully – matters of care (La Puig de Bellacasa 2017). The idea is to mobilize (co-)creative participants not only to witness climate change and document the most often invisible shifts in their surroundings, but rather to invite them to engage in local and at the same global interventions and thus to rediscover collective responsibilities and communal agency in this situation.
Through the lens of these features, different strategies of how to mobilize user-participants will be discussed, focussing on different venues to encourage an empathetic idea of local as well global consciousness, care and emotional engagement – an approach which goes beyond top-down communication of (scientific) facts but which encourages creative communal action-taking. As paradigmatic projects, we will examine The Disaster Resilience Journal (2014) and ISeeChange (2019) – both of them being multilayered configurations building on various activities around \u27doing documentary\u27. It will be discussed how interdependent entanglements of agents in these two projects aim at catalysing meaningful place-based environmental engagement, including community-based citizen-science driven action-taking but at the same time experiences that go beyond cognitive understanding
Digital Craft: Establishing a Relational Vocabulary
No full textDoes craft correlate to care? To quality? What is the relationship between time and craft, and is the speed of culture openly antagonistic to its values? To speak meaningfully about craft in the twenty-first century, we must have a clear and shared set of terminologies defined relationally. If we examine craft positioned alongside other concepts such as art, skill, tradition, material, process, and community, then we can establish a plural and generative framework highly relevant to complex creative practices today. I am most interested in focusing on digital craft as a central meeting place for creative practice and the pervasive technological mediation of our lives. This study aims to establish a foundational vocabulary that allows us to investigate the intersection of craft with digital media. Theorists across both fields—and some who have sought to bridge this divide—have proposed various organizing principles to better make sense of the apparent contradictions between technologically mediated and more traditional material practices. Still, we have not yet arrived at a critical mass recognizing digital craft as legible and necessary rather than a peripheral novelty.
This study examines the relationships between ‘craft’ and ‘the digital’ as demonstrated through the prominent theories of influential scholars and analysis of leading practitioners. A greater consideration of craft within digital media studies will draw out persistent discrepancies between skilled production and directorial agency while a greater consideration of the digital within craft theory will challenge historical ideas of tactility and presence and further clarify the function of craft as body knowledge. This study will be qualitative in nature as I attempt to understand how craft has been theorized and what motivating factors and key variables have produced these interpretations. It will identify key issues at hand while using an exploratory research design to conduct a survey of key texts within craft theory and digital media studies to explore these ideas in context. Existing theorization provides the basis of this investigation as I seek to increase our shared language around digital craft and establish possibilities for future research within the field.
To pose a question such as “what is craft?” seems fraught with the impossibility of resolution, since the very term itself speaks to plurality rather than singular essence, given the diversity of potential interpretive models. Instead, I propose exploring craft through a relational framework, arriving not at fixed definitions but instead articulating ways of thinking with craft particular to the context at hand. Ideas of ‘craft’ and ‘the digital’ are mutually transforming each other. We do not yet have an adequate vocabulary to understand the relationship between craft and digital media due, in part, to the many meanings these terms communicate. How have researchers and practitioners previously understood their intersection? To better articulate what we say when we say ‘craft’ we must reassess the relationship of skill, tradition, experimentation, and process to the field as well as to digital media practices
Gender, time-use, and health: A scoping review
No full textIntroduction: Time-use research is a useful approach to examine the health impacts of how people spend their time and the factors that influence their time. One such factor is gender. Aim: This study undertakes a scoping review to map and synthesize recent research done on the interrelationships among gender, time-use, and health. Design: Web of Science and PubMed electronic databases were searched to identify research published between 2015 and 2020. Forty-four studies that met the eligibility criteria were selected. Results: Most studies on the topic are quantitative in nature, focus on developed country contexts, and have mental health and nutrition as thematic health focus. There is diversity in the kinds of population being studied, with an increasing focus on children and adolescent populations. Conceptual findings reveal multi-directional and life-course aspects of the relationship; point that the relationship between time-use and health varies by the stage of the epidemiological and the nutrition transition; and highlight the need to study the health and well-being impacts of gendered caregiving. Conclusion: This review highlights the need to conduct qualitative studies, give attention to health outcomes such as chronic illnesses, occupational health issues, and physical pain, and increase research focus on developing country contexts where gender inequality in time-use and health is severe
Are nurses being heard? The power of Freirean dialogue to transform the nursing profession
No full textNurses need to acquire knowledge about interactive communication, apply critical thinking in prevention and management of illness, and act as patient advocates especially among marginalized and vulnerable populations. This three-pronged approach usually begin during their student years and should include a dialogue framework for use during nursing encounters with patients, family members, and other healthcare providers and for improving the safety and effectiveness of patient care. Therefore, the nursing curriculum should not only include topics related to illness prevention and management, but also prepare nurses to identify and advocate for social justice and health equality by creating a lively and interactive learning environment to allow nurses to build their self-confidence to act and become change agents. Certainly, the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated a nursing shortage and led to limited access to services and poor quality of care for all, underscores the urgency of the Freirean dialogic approach of action-reflection-action. Using this approach, all stakeholders collaborate, discuss, and implement solutions, grow together, and become change agents toward improving nursing care for all
Therapeutic itineraries of children with the early loss of primary teeth: A qualitative phenomenological study
No full textBackground: Children with untreated dental caries tend to have a higher prevalence of early tooth loss, causing physical, psychosocial, and financial impacts on children and their families. The present study aims to understand the therapeutic itineraries of children with the early loss of primary teeth due to caries by analyzing the access to and integrality of care. Methods: This was a qualitative phenomenological study. Participants were caregivers, aged 18 years or older, of children up to 12 years of age who attended the University Dental Clinic of a Public University in Southern Brazil. Analysis of medical records and interviews were performed. The saturation criterion defined the sample size (n=44). Results: Public and private health services were accessed by families in the search for treatments for children\u27s oral health conditions until they reached the University Dental Clinic. Children experiencing suffering and pain, who had had multiple extractions, and families affected financially and emotionally by the oral health condition of their children highlighted these itineraries. The resilience of these families in overcoming the challenges experienced and their continuous efforts to find solutions for the oral health care of their children were emphasized. Their relations with students and teachers at the University Dental Clinic were also discussed. Conclusion: The study showed a range of paths taken by children and their families and suggested weaknesses in ensuring the integrality of care for children in the Brazilian National Health System. Qualitative analysis of the therapeutic itineraries of children’s families presented in this study is proposed as a complementary tool for health care. This study has the potential to contribute to the evaluation of health services in the country, strengthening children\u27s oral health
Person-Centred Care and Interprofessional Practice Through Me
No full textThis poetic expression piece outlines and includes the key elements of person-centred and interprofessional care vital for healthcare providers to understand and apply in their care delivery and collaboration with patients. The author uses her first had experience with being a past recipient of care as well as her research work to share a perspective, from the patient’s point of view, of what is important for patients when seeking care from a humanistic perspective
Rise against the machine: Creating global health for vulnerable populations through child nutrition: GRASSROOTS
No full textThere has been much talk about the connection between Global North food systems, health, and climate change. However, very little action has been taken that has made a measurable difference. The authors propose a novel view of the structure of our food system and what we can do to mitigate its impact on the environment, health, and vulnerable populations, with our children being the most vulnerable of all. Finally, a detailed outline of a viable solution is provided
Book or Music Video? How Own Voices Picture Books Revolutionized Verbal and Visual Media
No full textThis paper examines the staggering rejuvenation of children’s picture books in the last decade, as a direct result of emerging narratives that celebrate racial identity, underrepresented culture, and heritage at the point of extinction. Awarded works such as The Undefeated, We are Water Protectors, and All Because You Matter, redefine the boundaries of children’s literature by challenging concepts related to appropriacy, narrative structure, subject matter, iconicity, and reception. Simultaneously, this paper examines the influence the pandemic exerted on children’s publishing houses, which dared to explore uncharted copyright territory, and grant permissions to writers, teachers, and librarians to share picture book content through various media platforms. The combination of the momentum of the Own Voices picture book and the newly emerging licensing landscape had amazing repercussions in both storytime reception and children’s publishing dynamics. Apart from an unprecedented boost of sales, rise in readership, and the founding of new imprints, the very fact that in digital read-aloud storytime a staggering amount of artistic media intersect, leads to the birth of a hybrid new genre--that of the picture book video. However, although this uncharted intermedial territory of Own Voices picture book video is one to follow, there are increasing BIPOC voices that speak of publishing cacophony. Has the Own Voices literary edifice painstakingly erected itself into a prison cell with bars of freedom
Collaborative, Crowd-sourced and Interactive Documentary: The Voices of a Generation Through Campus Reboot
No full textCampus Reboot is a crowd-sourced, interactive and collaborative web-based documentary project and course. The project is a living document of the historical times of college during a pandemic and aftermath. This project was created during COVID-19 to give college students a way to express their feelings and create interactive video projects.
Campus Reboot began as experimental research and a need to find ways for students to be creative during a pandemic. Practice-based research is an original investigation undertaken to gain new knowledge based on the practice and outcomes of that practice. There were three areas of involvement that were analyzed: the perspective of the students, the perspective of other instructors, and the perspective of those of us putting it all together. Working with fifteen colleges around the world, students created videos, based on prompts, to share their feelings about college during COVID-19.
Campus Reboot allowed students to not only create works that speak to the voice of their generation, in the midst of a historical pandemic but also to work with the footage from other schools to create a broader story of our times. This project and paper look at collaborative, crowd-sourced, and interactive documentary as tools for new narratives, social engagement, and a combined voice of a generation during a global crisis. This type of collaboration can be re-worked to fit different types of projects. With minimal cost and the use of multi-media, college students can collaborate internationally to tell stories of their generation
Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, Act 3, Act 3… : De-centring the Climax as the Terminal of the Thematic Statement in the Interactive Film The Limits of Consent
No full textPlaywriting guides, creative writing handbooks, and screenwriting manuals are replete with guidance as to how an author should express their themes. One common rule of thumb is that the climax is where the themes, the characters, and the narrative’s result converge in the terminal of the thematic statement. If the theme is established and elaborated on during a film, then its climax is where the film’s authors express their position on the matter through the narrative’s result or lack thereof. As part of my Ph.D. artistic research, I have written and directed an interactive film, The Limits of Consent; the film follows a tree-structure where the narrative splinters at the end of the second act and presents nine separate climaxes for the film. Each climax is significantly different in either its character-focus, action, tone, style, and, crucially, its expression of the film’s themes. In this article, by examining how the thematic portfolio of The Limits of Consent was established and then elaborated on in different ways depending on selected ending, I will explore the implications of this difference between a traditional film and an interactive film and how a filmmaker may present multiple thematic statements based on the same narrative.