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Collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to museum collections. A Gesamtkunstwerk: from research to exhibitions, publications, and programmes
Get PDFThe idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk—a “total work of art”—has shaped my creative and scholarly approach to 20th-century and contemporary art, craft, decorative arts, and design. My work in museums has harnessed the expertise of different academic and creative disciplines,
from project conception through implementation. To achieve a Gesamtkunstwerk in exhibitions, publications, and programmes, I have collaborated with artists, designers, museum experts, publishers, scholars, and diverse stakeholders to explore how handcrafted objects and their display highlight the different roles and importance of art and visual culture. This multidisciplinary approach has enabled me to bring together various arts, craft, and design perspectives to create an artistically unified effect in my work.
This submission focuses on six publications presenting my art historical research alongside my curatorial and programmatic museum work. As a curator, educator, editor, and programme director, I have focused on pooling knowledge and resources to create opportunities for collections engagement. My work has involved extensive interviews with artists and collectors to consider objects—their origins, functions, past and current contexts—and to advance a broader appreciation for art in everyday life. My work in provenance research has emphasised the importance of transatlantic scholarship through shared expertise and human connections that foster historical, social and political contexts of collections. These collaborative approaches have enabled me to advance decorative arts scholarship, and open new ways of thinking about the many roles and interconnected nature of art, craft, and museums in societies today and in the past.
The exhibitions, publications, and programmes discussed in my submission coalesce around
three general themes:
• handcrafted objects—modern and contemporary;
• objects within environments—historical spaces and museum display; and
• object biographies—provenance research and the history of collecting.
Discussed chronologically, they include: (1) an exhibition that recreated an ancient Roman
villa in an Iowa museum by integrating art and decorative arts with music and theatre through community involvement; (2) the rediscovery of Grant Wood’s historic studio-home in Iowa that helped launch him to fame, which introduced a better understanding of the role of craft in the artist’s oeuvre and led to a resurgence of interest in his life and work; (3) the relaunch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s biennial Renwick Craft Invitational, which generated new interpretations about art and craft through dramatic displays of contemporary glass, ceramic sculpture, and handmade-paper installation art; (4) the directorship of a research fellowship programme at the Smithsonian Institution that brought contemporary artists together with diverse museum expertise and collections, which resulted in new exhibitions and artwork; (5) the founding of the Smithsonian Provenance Research Initiative, which resulted in a professional museum exchange programme that advanced Holocaust-era provenance research in the US and Germany, and introduced new methodologies; and (6) a monograph on the life and work of Korean-American artist Chunghi Choo and her former students which considered the impact of her art and design pedagogy in the fields of fibre and metalsmithing.
SIX PUBLICATIONS:
Publication 1. Art in Roman Life: Villa to Grave (L’Erma di Bretschneider, 2009)
Publication 2. Grant Wood’s Studio: Birthplace of ‘American Gothic’ (Prestel, 2005)
Publication 3. From the Ground Up: Renwick Craft Invitational 2007 (Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2007)
Publication 4. “Contemporary Art Informed by Science: The Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship” in Analyzing Art and Aesthetics (Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 2013)
Publication 5. Collecting and Provenance: A Multidisciplinary Approach (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019)
Publication 6. Chunghi Choo and Her Students: Contemporary Art and New Forms in Metal (Arnoldsche, 2022
Fan engagement as a business strategy: emerging technologies transforming global sport in the digital era
No full textAbstract not currently available
Three papers in applied microeconomic theory
Get PDFThis thesis comprises three papers in Applied Microeconomic Theory. Chapter 1 is my job market paper titled Repeated Signaling and Reputation.
Chapters 2 and 3 include two papers published during my Ph.D. studies:
• Chapter 2: Lei, X. (2023). Pro-rata vs User-centric in the Music Streaming Industry. Economics Letters, 226, 111111.
• Chapter 3: Lei, X. (2023). Optimal Queue to Minimize Waste. Mathematical
Social Sciences, 123, 87-94
Development and characterisation of in vitro intestinal inflammation model
No full textAbstract not currently available
Food sovereignty under the Common Agricultural Policy: a social rights critique
No full textAbstract not currently available
Women’s experiences of traumatic birth and its impact on early post-partum adjustment
Get PDFAbstract available at each chapter
Sworn to protect, left unprotected: a mixed-methods exploration of the gendered toll of policing on women’s health and well-being
No full textAbstract not currently available
Performance appraisal in high-tech organisational contexts: an organisational justice perspective
Get PDFResearch aim and objectives: The aim of this research was to explore perceptions of fairness during performance appraisal in high-tech contexts using organisational justice theory and uncertainty management theory. The research objectives were to explore: (1) the extent of the three dimensions of organisational justice during performance appraisal, (2) the application of the human resource management triad (also known as the HRM triad) during performance appraisal from the perspective of HR, (3) the application of the HRM triad during performance appraisal from the perspective of line management and ratees, (4) the relationship between line management and HR, and (5) how the relationship between line management and HR affects ratees’ perceptions of organisational justice.
The research problem addressed here is lack of clarity and a sense of uncertainty that revolved around performance appraisal in high-tech contexts. The research also considered the role of various stakeholders in the performance appraisal process, notably employees, line managers, and HR professionals.
Conceptual framework: Several theories were considered to help explain employees’ perceptions of fairness during performance appraisal. These included Adams equity theory and attribution theory. The former does not consider processes involved with determining perceptions of fairness, which meant that the theory was not considered appropriate. Likewise, attribution theory seems less concerned with perceptions of fairness, and more focused on how people try to understand the underlying mechanisms that have caused particular events to occur.
Organisational justice has a firm basis in the literature to help explain perceptions of fairness using three dimensions: procedural justice, distributive justice, and interactional justice. Hence, it was chosen as a theoretical lens.
In addition, the literature explained that high-tech contexts are fast-changing and uncertain environments. Also, it was discovered from the literature that performance appraisal was also characterised by uncertainty. Uncertainty management theory was adopted as another theoretical lens to explain how employees in high-tech contexts deal with uncertainty during performance appraisal, and how uncertainty affects perceptions of fairness. Likewise, uncertainty management theory helped to shed light on the characteristics and quality of performance appraisal control systems.
Methodology and methods: The research deployed an interpretivist philosophy and an exploratory, qualitative research design, It relied on qualitative data from 26 interviewees.
Findings: The key findings from the research revealed that HR was often detached from the performance appraisal process. Line managers, or equivalents, were seen to be in control. Line managers, or equivalents, and employees were locked into dyads whereby the quality of their relationship would seem to shape the way performance appraisals were undertaken, as well as their outcomes.
Line managers focused principally, and in some cases exclusively, on evaluating technical aspects of employees’ job roles during performance appraisal. This resulted in those stakeholders who were perceived as lacking technical expertise, such as HR professionals, not taking a pro-active role.
Smaller firms lacked an HR function altogether, with decisions being taken by ownermanagers who appeared to not follow any formal performance appraisal processes. In general, there seemed to be a lack of effective control systems during performance appraisal.
The findings suggested a paradox at play: some high-tech professionals desired that HR oversee the performance appraisal process more rigorously to mitigate the emergence of toxic dyads, while at the same time they were wary of HR’s lack of technical understanding of high-tech job roles.
Implications and significance: The findings suggested that a combination of organisational justice theory, uncertainty management theory and management control systems research offer an opportunity to better understand workers perceptions of fairness in contexts that are fluid, fast moving, and utilise advanced, complex technology.
This combination illustrated that many decisions are contingent on the alignment, or misalignment, of contextual practices and processes. This has facilitated the identification of two justice rules that characterise the dynamics of performance appraisal in high-tech contexts: (1) Technical aptitude, and (2), the quality of dyadic relationships.
The findings suggested that senior leaders in high-tech contexts need to pay more attention to the actions of their line managers and do more to ensure that clearer processes in connection with the delivery of performance appraisal, are communicated and understood by everyone. There is future opportunity to use leader-member exchange theory to better understand the dyadic dynamics between line managers and their ratees.
From a policy perspective, a lack of HR representation in SMEs presents an issue for government to consider. Without adequate HR provision, SMEs may not be undertaking performance appraisal ethically. Likewise, the emergence of potentially toxic dyads in a burgeoning industry such as tech presents challenges to fulfilling the UN’s sustainable development goals such as SDG 8, which seeks to deliver Decent Work and Economic Growth. This raises pertinent questions as to how policy needs to be shaped, if required, to tackle this issue
Through silicon vias for the 3D integration of superconducting quantum circuits
Get PDFThe development of superconducting quantum computing has seen a rapid acceleration in recent years. The number of controllable qubits fabricated on-chip has steadily increased in the pursuit of more computational power. 3D integration has become a key enabling technology for the scalability of these larger systems due to the architectural flexibility it offers, mirroring its impact on conventional electronics. As part of this development, superconducting throughsilicon vias (TSVs) have recently emerged as a method of breaking the wiring plane and routing signals through the substrate as well as for other, more novel, applications such as acting as the capacitive component of a new type of superconducting qubit.
This thesis will discuss the simulation, fabrication and measurement of superconducting TSVs. Using ANSYS HFSS electromagnetic simulation software, the geometric parameters of TSV-integrated co-planar waveguides were optimised for the transmission of microwave signals. In addition, a TSV-integrated tunable qubit coupler was simulated and the effect of the device’s geometry on the various capacitances within the device, and in turn on the device’s parameters, such as the charging and Josephson energies, was investigated. As a leading cause of signal degradation in electronic devices, crosstalk should be removed from devices as far as possible. Varying the number and arrangement of grounding TSVs was explored as a strategy for the mitigation of crosstalk between adjacent TSVs and it was found that using 4 ground TSVs to shield the signal TSV resulted in a dramatic reduction in crosstalk, with values of S41 <−140dB
at 4GHz.
For the fabricated samples, a comparison was made of different Bosch etches used to define the TSVs and it was determined that the ICP power and total etch time were highly influential in the degree of sidewall roughness. Methods of sidewall smoothing were also investigated, with KOH wet etching found to offer near atomic-level smoothness. Finally, the fabricated samples were characterised using, among other methods, cryogenic spectroscopy. A novel application of the method of calibrated cryogenic S-parameter measurement to superconducting TSVs is also presented, with the TSV-integrated co-planar waveguide structure under test exhibiting a peak transmission of -1.44dB
Multi-ethnic identity in the new testament: genealogies, myths, and the politics of ancestry
Get PDFThis book analyzes the construction and negotiation of ethnicity in antiquity, with a particular focus on the New Testament. This work examines multi-ethnic identity by surveying Greco Roman texts and the New Testament, as well as the use of literary constructs like genealogies, lists, and catalogues. I argue that multi-ethnic identity by its very nature is portrayed in a wide ranging way, depending on a variety of factors. Furthermore, these literary constructs are tools used to shape and reimagine identity in response to evolving social, political, and theological circumstances.
The study begins by tracing the conceptual foundations of race and ethnicity in antiquity, situating these categories within the broader history of “scientific racism” and modern scholarship. It highlights how myths of descent, which are shared narratives linking groups to common ancestors, deities, or heroes, were central to constructing ethnic boundaries in both Greco-Roman and Jewish traditions. Far from static or uniform, these myths were highly adaptable, serving as powerful mechanisms for inclusion, exclusion, and the legitimation of social and political hierarchies.
The second section examines how the New Testament engages with and reimagines myths of descent to challenge exclusivist frameworks of ethnic identity. The study explores the narratives of figures such as Herod the Great and the Samaritans, whose identities embody the tensions between inclusion and exclusion in ancient society. These individuals and people groups are described in fluid and changing ways depending on the circumstances and literature.
The middle section of this book examines intermarriage in Jewish literature, which further illustrates how cultural integration challenged traditional ethnic boundaries. These texts reveal a nuanced negotiation of identity, allowing for the possibility of reimagined identities that bridged ethnic divides. What we see in many of these cases is that redescriptions of ethnic identity closely overlap with features of culture such as religious identity and customs.
The following section analyses the genealogies of Jesus in Matthew and Luke, which exemplify the fluid ethnic dynamics. Matthew’s genealogy emphasizes Jesus’ Jewish lineage while including Gentile women, signaling a fundamentally multi-ethnic construction. In contrast, Luke’s genealogy traces Jesus’ lineage to Adam, constructing a universal myth of descent that encompasses all humanity. Together, these genealogies transform traditional descent-based boundary markers into frameworks for multi-ethnic and universal kinship.
The final section focuses on lists in the New Testament, particularly in Acts. These lists, situated at key junctions in the narrative, highlight the growing ethnic diversity of early Christian communities. For instance, the inclusion of “proselytes” and ethnically mixed figures like Timothy demonstrates how early Christian identity expanded beyond ethnic boundaries, such as Jew, Greek, and Gentile.
Ultimately, this book argues that multi-ethnic identity was a pervasive reality in antiquity with the boundaries of identity shifting and changing depending on the author and literature. the New Testament draws upon these ancient assumptions about ethnic identity, with one of the most interpretively significant literary devices being lists and genealogies
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