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Postdigital positionality: developing powerful inclusive narratives for learning, teaching, research and policy in higher education
No full textThis book challenges the notion that static principles of inclusive practice can be embedded and measured in Higher Education. It introduces the original concept of postdigital positionality as a dynamic lens through which inclusivity policies in universities might be reimagined. Much is written about Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) based on an assumption that such principles are already ‘established’ in educational institutions, to ensure fairness and opportunity for all. In this book, readers are asked: what does an airing cupboard have in common with ‘cancel culture’? This opens a provocative debate concerning the disconnect between EDI policy agendas and the widespread digitalisation of society. Written as Covid-19 has converged with existing political economic spaces of technology, culture, data and digital poverty, this book calls for more ecologically sustainable inclusivity policies
Resisting the iron cage of ‘the student experience’
No full textAs higher education (HE) has come to be valued for its contribution to the global economy, priorities have been placed on study for a degree to directly meet the needs of industry. Furthermore, in UK policy, students have been defined as ‘customers’ by the government since the introduction of tuition fees. Together, these developments have emphasized the role of a degree as a consumer ‘product’, purchased to secure future employment, rather than an experiential learning ‘process’, that continues well beyond student life. In this chapter we examine how the student-as-consumer approach in HE policy has recently developed into a strong rhetoric emphasizing ‘the student experience’ as a package, including leisure, well-being, future employment and other ‘extras’. A disturbing impression is then generated, where universities are now delivering a packaged experience of ‘consumption itself’, to students. To examine such concerns more closely, we analyse a sample of 20 UK university ‘student experience’ strategies, via a corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Drawing on themes from these texts, we question who ‘the student experience’ rhetoric really benefits. If a rationalized experience is constructed on behalf of students, then universities defined by George Ritzer as ‘cathedrals of consumption’ align themselves with any other provider of consumer experiences, where students are trapped within an ‘iron cage’ even before they set foot in the workplace. Yet, despite a distorted picture that neoliberal HE policy discourse may portray, a postdigital understanding of ‘the student experience’ could yet offer helpful insights into possible routes of resistance
Teachers’ perceptions of the impact of technology on children and young people’s emotions and behaviours
Get PDFThe development of new technology and the central role it plays in current times has allowed an increasing number of children and young people (CYP) to use it on a daily basis for academic, entertainment, and socialisation purposes. Although the role of technology in affecting CYP's mental health and education is well researched, there is a need to investigate the teacher perspective, considering educators’ pivotal role in supporting CYP's wellbeing and learning. Understanding the teacher perspective can provide important information about practical issues surrounding the use of technology in education and can provide insights into how their practices are affected by their views. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate teachers’ views on how use of technology affects CYP's emotions and behaviours. An exploratory, qualitative research approach was taken, and semi-structured interview data was collected from eight teachers and analysed thematically. The results suggested teachers recognised the importance of technology as a learning and teaching tool, as long as it is used in a balanced way; there was also a consensus on the negative consequences of the ‘socioeconomic digital divide’ on CYP's emotions and behaviours. However, they held conflicting opinions on issues related to the impact of technology on socialisation processes, self-esteem, and the demonstration of specific behaviours like social isolation. Teachers’ perceptions can inform strategies for using technology effectively in the classroom and for supporting CYP's mental health and wellbeing, which, now more than ever, should be at the forefront of whole-school approaches
Historical perspectives on wildfires in Ireland and their importance for contemporary adaptation
No full textRecent uncontrolled wildfires have highlighted the challenges that these hazards present in Ireland. Despite leading to substantial impacts, wildfires are a neglected and overlooked hazard in an Irish context. The frequency, spatial distribution, and causes of uncontrolled wildfires remain understudied. Within international research on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation there is an increasing recognition of the importance of historically informed research that can contextualise current levels of exposure and vulnerability. Researchers are utilising a variety of archival sources to examine complex histories of human-environment interactions associated with climate related hazards, and the lessons that these histories may offer for current and future adaptation. This presentation outlines ongoing work using newspaper archives to explore the history of wildfire hazards in Ireland. This research reveals that wildfires have been a recurring hazard in Ireland over the past century, and that a variety of strategies have been employed both to reduce the frequency of fires events and to manage those that do occur. These strategies have evolved through time in association with shifting social, economic and political conditions. This history offers important lessons for contemporary hazards management and climate change adaptation
Amusing abusers and humourless survivors: analysing the role of comedy in media representations of sexual violence
Get PDFThis article reflects on the importance of comedy when considering media engagements with sexual abuse themes. This approach is informed by how closely the study of humour is rooted in the analysis of power relations, with comic theorists, both historical and contemporary, grounding the work.The comic figures of both the child sex (CS) abuser and the sexual violence survivor are first identified, before exploring what exactly about these tropes evoke laughter, and what this means for wider conceptions of interpersonal abuse and victimology.
In analysing examples of CS abuser themed British and American comedy, animated adult comedies such as _Family Guy_ (1999-present) and _Monkey Dust_ (2003-2005) are considered in the context of early 2000s anxieties towards the suburban dirty old man and online child safety. In the case of the sexual violence survivor, _Saturday Night Live_’s 1993 ‘Is It Date Rape?’ sketch is considered within the context of 1990s anxieties regarding feminist campus politics, and is paralleled to the mid-2010s media panic surrounding British and American university students and trigger warnings through examples including _The Simpsons_’ 2017 ‘Caper Chase’ episode and early to mid-2010s online academic polemics on the humourless feminist, such as Mark Fisher’s ‘Exiting The Vampire Castle’ (2013) and Jack Halberstam’s ‘You are Triggering Me!’ (2014). The article concludes by considering the changing consensuses for sexual violence themed humour in the Me Too era through the 2018 episode of _It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia_ (2005-present) ‘Times Up For The Gang.
Impact of health warning labels communicating the risk of cancer on alcohol selection: an online experimental study
Get PDFAims:-
Evidence from tobacco research suggests that health warning labels (HWLs) depicting the adverse consequences of consumption change smoking behaviours, with image-and-text (also known as ‘pictorial’ or ‘graphic’) HWLs most effective. There is an absence of evidence concerning the potential impact of HWLs placed on alcohol products on selection of those products. This study aimed to obtain a preliminary assessment of the possible impact of (i) image-and-text, (ii) text-only, and (iii) image-only HWLs on selection of alcoholic versus non-alcoholic drinks.
Design:-
A between-subjects randomised experiment with a 2 (image: present versus absent) × 2 (text: present versus absent) factorial design.
Setting:-
The study was conducted on the online survey platform Qualtrics.
Participants:-
Participants (n = 6024) were adults over the age of 18 who consumed beer or wine regularly (i.e. at least once a week), recruited through a market research agency.
Interventions:-
Participants were randomised to one of four groups varying in the HWL displayed on the packaging of alcoholic drinks: (i) image-and-text HWL; (ii) text-only HWL; (iii) image-only HWL; and (iv) no HWL. HWLs depicted bowel cancer, breast cancer and liver cancer, which were each displayed twice across six alcoholic drinks. Each group viewed six alcoholic and six non-alcoholic drinks and selected one drink that they would like to consume.
Measurements:-
The primary outcome was the proportion of participants selecting an alcoholic versus a non-alcoholic drink.
Findings:-
Alcoholic drink selection was lower for all HWL types compared with no HWL (image-and-text: 56%; image-only: 49%; text-only: 61%; no HWL: 77%), with selection lowest for HWLs that included an image. Image-and-text HWLs reduced the odds of selecting an alcoholic drink compared with text-only HWLs (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.69, 0.92), but increased the odds of selecting an alcoholic drink compared with image-only HWLs (OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.16, 1.55).
Conclusions:-
Health warning labels communicating the increased risk of cancers associated with alcohol consumption reduced selection of alcoholic versus non-alcoholic drinks in a hypothetical choice task in an online setting; labels displaying images had the largest effect. Their impact in laboratory and real-world field settings using physical products awaits investigation
Diversity united: contemporary European art - 90 artists, 34 countries, 1 continent in dialogue [group exhibition]
No full textWhile the world is fully consumed by the fight against the pandemic, central themes and concerns of Diversity United—freedom and globalization, the corrosion of democracy, (fear of) the future, solidarity and divisiveness—are more urgent than ever before.
“Diversity United” assembles works from established and emerging artists, representing different generations, genders and regions. The exhibition makes the case for a European dialogue, focusing on themes such as freedom and democracy, migration and territory as well political and personal identity. Especially now, at a time of global helplessness and an increasing loss of voice in politics, art demands social interaction.
Diversity United presents an artistic tour d`horizon of current Europe. The works of nearly 90 artists from 34 countries reflect the phenomenal diversity and vitality of the contemporary art scene of Europe and beyond—from Portugal to Russia, from Norway to Turkey.
The exhibition looks at Europe as a whole and presents artists who themselves transcend borders in their endeavors and work on an international level, such as Annette Messager, Mona Hatoum, Alicja Kwade, Olafur Eliasson, Wolfgang Tillmans, Slavs and Tatars, and many more. Christian Boltanski: “When you are an artist, you belong to everybody and you belong to all countries. Thus, my country is art and all the other artists are part of my family.”
This transnational group exhibition was realized by the Stiftung für Kunst und Kultur in Bonn. Walter Smerling, chairman of the foundation and initiator of the project: “The exhibition can be understood as a commentary on our present time and asks questions about the desired and the real state of freedom, dignity and respect. It has the power to surprise us with visionary, poetic works and illustrates the creative facets of Europe in all their incredible diversity.”
Andreas Görgen, Head of the Department of Culture at the German Foreign Office: “Europe is based upon diversity. Democracy is based upon diversity. When we are able to create an idea of the beauty inherent in diversity, then we can recognize what we have in common.”
The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalog, published by Wienand (German/English).
Artists: Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Andreas Angelidakis, Michael Armitage, Yael Bartana, Georg Baselitz, Bluesoup, Christian Boltanski, Monica Bonvicini, Sonia Boyce, Pavel Brăila, Maurizio Cattelan, Olga Chernysheva, Tacita Dean, Rineke Dijkstra, Aleksandra Domanović, Constant Dullaart, Olafur Eliasson, Kristaps Epners, Valérie Favre, Pia Fries, Adrian Ghenie, Gilbert & George, Antony Gormley, Manuel Graf, Ane Graff, Petrit Halilaj, Mona Hatoum, Sheila Hicks, Sanja Iveković, Isaac Julien, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Patricia Kaersenhout, Šejla Kamerić, Anselm Kiefer, Kapwani Kiwanga, Peter Kogler, Irina Korina, Eva Koťátková, Alicja Kwade, Kris Lemsalu, Cristina Lucas, Goshka Macuga, Kris Martin, Dóra Maurer, Annette Messager, Marzia Migliora, Boris Mikhailov, Richard Mosse, Ekaterina Muromtseva, Henrike Naumann, Mariele Neudecker, Katja Novitskova, Ahmet Öğüt, Roman Ondak, Lucy & Jorge Orta, Dan Perjovschi , Grayson Perry, Anders Petersen, Agnieszka Polska, Tal R, Paula Rego, Gerhard Richter, Ugo Rondinone, Adam Saks, Anri Sala, Fernando Sánchez Castillo, Tristan Schulze, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Katharina Sieverding, Slavs and Tatars, Nedko Solakov, Jan Svenungsson, Wolfgang Tillmans, Rosemarie Trockel, Tatiana Trouvé, Luc Tuymans, Martina Vacheva, Ulla von Brandenburg, Marko Vuokola, Rachel Whiteread, Per Wizén, Erwin Wurm, Cerith Wyn Evans, Nil Yalter, Yan Pei-Ming
Curators: Walter Smerling, Chairman, Stiftung für Kunst und Kultur, Bonn; Simon Baker, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris; Faina Balakhovskaya, Moscow; Kay Heymer, Stiftung Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany; Pontus Kyander, Helsinki; Camille Morineau, AWARE, Paris; Johanna Neuschäffer & Anne Schwanz (Office Impart), Berlin; Hilke Wagner, Albertinum, Dresden, Germany; Peter Weibel, ZKM Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, German
Single dads in the entertainment arena: hegemonic hierarchies and happy endings
Get PDFThis chapter analyses the changing family from the nuclear unit to the single father as caregiver and provider, paying particular attention to the ways in which such paternal shifts can be understood within broader debates around men, masculinity and society. The chapter considers how single fathers are routinely positioned in romantic situations to alleviate the potential challenge of single fatherhood to more traditional depictions of family life. Returning to a traditional family unit via dating, engagement and re-marriage enables single fathers to embrace or regain their hegemonic credentials rather than disrupt or destabilise the hierarchy of masculinity. What remains clear throughout the chapter however is that media representations of single fatherhood are key, not just to creative entertainment, but to broader cultural visibility, and by extension, family support