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Objective. The purpose of this narrative review paper was to review the state and development of the field of donor gametes in Kazakhstan, compare its legislative and technical capabilities with other countries and identify key steps towards the establishment of a unified register of donor gametes in the Republic. Materials and Methods. The narrative review paper conducted an analysis of scientific publications and legal documents to examine the implementation of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), focusing on Donor Sexual Gametes (DSG), globally. It utilized medical publications from 2019 to 2023, legal acts, and recommendations from global health organizations to analyze eligibility criteria, legal regulations, and the social aspects of ART across different regions. Results. In Kazakhstan, ART is regulated by legislation, with DSG procedures governed by age limits, medical screening, and restrictions on the number of children born from donated gametes. Worldwide, practices vary, but there is growing interest in establishing a unified register of reproductive donor material to enhance transparency and accountability. However, legal gaps and ethical considerations must be addressed. Conclusion. The study identifies gaps in Kazakhstan's legislation compared to Western countries, emphasizing the necessity for enhanced legal rights for donors and recipients, including options for anonymity. Ethical concerns highlight the importance of confidentiality and data security in accessing the donor registry. Overall, implementing such a register promises to enhance transparency, safety, and accountability in reproductive medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Methods Consumer and Community Involvement Results Conclusion While the adoption of strengths‐based approaches to supporting autistic adolescents is growing in popularity, the application of this approach to a digital arts mentoring program has yet to be explored. This study reports on the core elements contributing to the success of a community digital arts mentoring program for autistic adolescents from the mentors' perspective. This paper presents an in‐depth exploration of mentors' experiences, comprising a component of a broader line of research investigating a digital arts mentoring program for autistic adolescents emphasising positive youth development.The digital arts mentoring program spanned 20 weeks across two Australian school terms and was attended by two groups of autistic adolescents (N = 18) aged between 11 and 17 years. A qualitative approach was utilised in exploring the perspective of their mentors (N = 6). Qualitative data were collected at the end of each school term for each group with the mentors using an interpretive phenomenological approach and Colaizzi's seven‐step analysis method. Thirteen individual interviews were conducted with six mentors.This research was conducted with a disability arts provider to provide a digital arts mentoring program to autistic adolescents. The mentors employed have lived experience with disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety.Five primary themes emerged from the data: positive connections, mentor knowledge and experience, mentoring approaches, autism education, program organisation, resources and environment. Subthemes underpinned the primary themes related to positive connections (three subthemes), mentoring approaches (four subthemes) and program organisation, resources and environment (three subthemes).The findings suggest that prior experience, sufficient training, a supportive environment and a flexible and adaptable approach were essential for success. Understanding the core elements of a strengths‐based digital arts program in occupational therapy provides a comprehensive framework for utilising clients' inherent strengths and creativity as therapeutic tool, creating an empowering environment, fostering meaningful outcomes for clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, the public sector is interested in incorporating the arts into community development and service delivery. At the same time, scholars recognise the benefits of artists as co-creators in collaboration with government and nonprofits to solve public sector and societal issues. Despite growing attentiveness, gaps remain in the organizing structures, implementation, outcomes, and value of arts-based residencies in the governmental context. This paper builds upon existing knowledge of artists as co-creators to develop the potentiality of artists-in-residence with government. We undertake a conceptual analysis of literature in order to position artists as co-creators, advance nonprofit organizations as essential contributors and capacity builders, and provide a multi-actor model to build understanding and application. Ultimately, this research aims to advance understanding, impact, and practical adoption of successful artist-in-residence models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The Posterior Fossa Society, an international multidisciplinary group, hosted its first global meeting designed to share the current state of the evidence across the multidisciplinary elements of pediatric post-operative cerebellar mutism syndrome (pCMS). The agenda included keynote talks from world-leading speakers, compelling abstract presentations and engaging discussions led by members of the PFS special interest groups. Methods: This paper is a synopsis of the first global meeting, a 3-day program held in Liverpool, England, UK, in September 2022. Results: Topics included nosology, patient and family experience, cerebellar modulation of cognition, and cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome. In addition, updates from large-scale studies were shared as well as abstracts across neuroradiology, neurosurgery, diagnosis/scoring, ataxia, and rehabilitation. Conclusions: Based on data-driven evidence and discussions, each special interest group created research priorities to target before the second global meeting, in the spring of 2024. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does our food for thought come virtually from the internet? When we take a long view, the instant stroke of a keyboard pales in comparison to the centuries-old evolution of real food harvesting and the generation and exchange of ideas, which have resulted in creative capital. The vernacular architecture of the agricultural built environment has almost dematerialized in its transition from the ancient pre-industrial era to the post-truth world, to become almost only an imagined concept. The symbology of the common threshing terrace of a Portuguese remote mountain village can now be found in multiple spaces of the urban realm, including in the metaphor of a community arts incubator's modus operandi in Albany, New York (USA). How has the concept of food for thought developed and materialized? How has it evolved? And what are some of the expected ways it might be utilized in the future? The purpose of the paper is to trace the evolution of this concept and its elements via the BLC Framework. The methodology employs a time analysis of approximately three centuries to distinguish three distinct evolutionary phases: (i) the pre-industrial era, (ii) the industrial era, and (iii) the information-driven era. The key finding is an up-to-date discussion of the food for thought concept in two distinct geographical worlds and three-time eras, as well as a set of lessons learned according to a protest poem and a rock song. The results are presented in the form of five lessons learned with implications for public policy: the first two lessons pertain to issues of procedural justice as encapsulated in the anonymous 'The Goose' poem, while the last three result from a discussion of selected verses in Nick Cave's 'Fable of the Brown Ape' rock song. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the movie The War Is Over (La guerre est finie—France/Sweden, 1966, directed by Alain Resnais and a screenplay by Jorge Semprún). The idea is to point out a possible sociological discussion on exile, mobilizing the notion of mental images. The methodological approach is an internal analysis of the film to allow for the elaboration of sociological considerations along with the expressive elements of the film construction. To do so, we shall focus on the "leaps" within the movie's narrative order, in which a main character (Diego) anticipates, through imagination, a series of sequences and events that might or might not have occurred. To discuss the notion of mental images and their relationship with the imaginary, the theoretical reference will be Cornelius Castoriadis' book The Imaginary Institution of Society. This article will benefit from the discussions in the presentations about the film both at meetings in Brazil and at the last ISA Congress 2023 (International Sociological Association—Research Committee 37—Sociology of Arts). This text is one of the results of research supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes controversies surrounding Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and tries to answer the question of how NFTs can revolutionize virtual ownership. To answer this question, part I of the paper analyzes the technical and legal nature of NFTs and the ways users utilize this technology. This part also discusses the legal ambiguity surrounding NFTs and users' misconceptions about the scope of rights they get with NFTs. Part II analyzes NFTs from the perspective of two communities: gaming and art. This perspective is noteworthy because both communities had a need to simplify ownership of intangibles. Still, while artists and art collectors have welcomed the dawn of NFTs rather warmly, gamers expressed concerns about NFTs' utility. To understand the contrast this paper investigates how NFTs are used in the art world and gaming and what needs NFTs serve to satisfy in both communities. As one of the possible explanations, this paper suggests that NFTs do not make digital ownership easy but only make transfers easy. Because of this, users who looked for easier transfers got what they needed, while users who aspired to get the real-world type of digital ownership through NFTs were discontented. Part III of the paper focuses on the rights that users (namely gamers) would want to have for digital property and discusses whether NFTs (under the current legal framework) can give these extra digital rights. Part IV suggests a list of legal reforms that can bring NFTs closer to their promises. Part V concludes the analyses by discussing the role of NFTs for virtual property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The HIV/AIDS pandemic remains a significant public health issue, with sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) at its epicentre. Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been introduced to decrease new infections and deaths, SSA reports the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS, constituting two-thirds of the global new infections. This review aimed to elucidate the predominant barriers and facilitators influencing ART adherence and to identify effective strategies to enhance ART adherence across SSA. Methods: A comprehensive review was conducted on studies examining barriers to ART adherence and interventions to boost adherence among HIV-positive adults aged 15 and above in SSA, published from January 2010 onwards. The research utilized databases like Medline Ovid, CINAHL, Embase, and Scopus. Included were experimental and quasi-experimental studies, randomized and non-randomized controlled trials, comparative before and after studies, and observational studies such as cross-sectional, cohort, prospective and retrospective studies. Two independent reviewers screened the articles, extracted pertinent data, and evaluated the studies' methodological integrity using Joanna Briggs Institute's standardized appraisal tools. The compiled data underwent both meta-analysis and narrative synthesis. Results: From an initial pool of 12,538 papers, 45 were selected (30 for narrative synthesis and 15 for meta-analysis). The identified barriers and facilitators to ART adherence were categorized into seven principal factors: patient-related, health system-related, medication-related, stigma, poor mental health, socioeconomic and socio-cultural-related factors. Noteworthy interventions enhancing ART adherence encompassed counselling, incentives, mobile phone short message service (SMS), peer delivered behavioural intervention, community ART delivery intervention, electronic adherence service monitoring device, lay health worker lead group intervention and food assistance. The meta-analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in ART adherence between the intervention and control groups (pooled OR = 1.56, 95%CI:1.35–1.80, p = <0.01), with evidence of low none statistically significant heterogeneity between studies (I2 = 0%, p = 0.49). Conclusion: ART adherence in SSA is influenced by seven key factors. Multiple interventions, either standalone or combined, have shown effectiveness in enhancing ART adherence. To optimize ART's impact and mitigate HIV's prevalence in SSA, stakeholders must consider these barriers, facilitators, and interventions when formulating policies or treatment modalities. For sustained positive ART outcomes, future research should target specific underrepresented groups like HIV-infected children, adolescents, and pregnant women in SSA to further delve into the barriers, facilitators and interventions promoting ART adherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Situated between the social studies of art and community psychology, in this paper we investigate the reception experience of the contemporary dance work "Otoño" by the independent group Cantorodado. We conducted a socio-semiotic analysis of the reception of different audiences from popular and marginal sectors of the Paravachasca Valley (Córdoba, Argentina), in the framework of a collaborative ethnographic research initiated in 2018. To do so, we analyzed the play "Otoño" and then, the experiences of reception. We identified that the play "Otoño" addresses different daily violence from polysemic scenic compositions, using a realistic and open code. We recognize different reception experiences that focus on the situations of aggression in the play "Otoño", configuring emotions such as "sadness", "anxiety" and "fear", and interpretations such as "domestic violence", "exorcism" and "horror movie". Thus, we observe a relationship between the aesthetic and political proposal of the play "Otoño" and the experiences of the participating audiences. Recognizing that contemporary dance functions as a field of restricted production in the region under study and is named as elite dance, the results found lead us to think, in the first place, of an articulation between popular and elite cultures. Secondly, recognizing an area of vacancy of this type of studies in the field of community psychology, we echo Martín Barbero's words regarding the need to investigate the cultural consumption of popular groups without saturating them with meanings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manner in which individuals worldwide shared art during the most challenging months of the COVID-19 pandemic stands as one of the most significant instances of creative social resistance in recent history. As a collective tool of resistance against emotional trauma, and as a means to foster a sense of community and well-being, the study of this phenomenon offers a compelling avenue for research into creativity and its social functions. This paper presents a descriptive case study of a successful 50-day collective experience within a neighborhood community in Madrid, Spain, during a period when the city, as a notably exceptional case study for research, bore one of the heaviest burdens of COVID-19 in the world. Data were gathered through in-depth personal interviews and direct observations. Applying a connected approach drawing on the fields of the Sociology of Art and Media Studies, three key findings emerge: (1) participants emphasized shared live artistic performances as the primary catalyst for fostering a sense of community, collective resilience, and overall well-being; (2) their sense of togetherness was further bolstered by digital and media support, as recordings of live performances were shared with loved ones living elsewhere, as well as with journalists and on social networks. This network of communication played a pivotal role in connecting individuals; (3) the combined efforts of both initiatives contributed to the development of a more positive individual and shared narrative surrounding the crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores grassroots community activist art archives and their ability to disseminate and preserve digital protest art in the period surrounding the Belarusian 2020 presidential election. This paper focuses on the cultural aspects of these digital archives and argues that they have become a recent source for describing, defining and communicating Belarusian culture in ways that have challenged the norms of political power and the centrality of the archives of state institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The text analyses the specific forms and channels of artwork development, namely, it looks into the storytelling potential of the physical space (the closedness of interiors and openness of exteriors), the digital space, and the space of paper publication. While respecing the artistic freedom, the paper stresses the importance of the permanently changing context, although even the most recognised art professionals can forget that, which often produces a comical effect. The research involves some seemingly unrelated topics and a few concrete objects: 1. artwork distribution, 2. the entrenchment of architects in the fabric of exhibition, 3. unseen contexts, and 4. the analysis/slam of exhibition titles from a particular historical period. The paper uses the comparative method that is rich both with references and personal remarks, and its style is close to that of a writer-artist rather than an academic. It aims to show the artworld as being slightly rough-around-the-edges, governed by distinct sources of power, and rich with absurdity. The research also uses dedicated illustrations to comment on the topical issues and various tragicomical situations related to them. Along with its visual component, irony temporarily relieves us of tensions and enriches the text companion. The research method is based on the practice of observation of the art field, and the analysis of its exhibition spaces along with individual artists, publishing platforms, and their intersections in the art critical publications, conferences and the internet. The paper tries to study the role of the new participants, specifically exhibition architects, in the exhibition context, while subjectively highlighting both successful and unsuccessful examples. The third part presents the analysis as a clash between randomly picked material (e.g., exhibition titles) on the one hand, and the material of a distinctly different genre (e.g., slam comments) on the other, thus deliberately rejecting the entire sociology of art. Because, when preparing to their exhibitions, artists fall prey to various word games when coming up with their project titles, and end up being torn between family, friends, art theorists and art centre directors on the one hand, and their intimate desire to express themselves on the other. This is also why the third part comes without any conclusions. The author is happy to live in such a structurally obscure environment (what's the difference whether you're self-taught or you've got a degree in art management; after all, life is but collection of exceptions), as long as one has the power of an individual voice. The author is but a text, while the polyphony of other people, historical events and texts is but a context, and the latter is always bigger than the former. The voice, in which we tell our stories of art, will be most successful not only when it is unique, but also when it comes out as a scream. One is thus bound to scream loudly and end one's life with a book. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the themes of neoliberalism, DIY culture, and the use of urban space in contemporary music and art. It discusses the shift from government intervention to market focus in the late 1970s/early 1980s, leading to the financialization of art and a focus on commercial viability. DIY culture emerged as a response, allowing for avant-garde expression and a broad-based approach to aesthetics. After the 2008 financial crash, DIY approaches became more prevalent due to decreased state funding. The article suggests alternative systems, such as basic income provision and cooperative structures, to sustain creativity. It also discusses the challenges faced by experimental music in urban spaces, including gentrification and funding cuts, and the importance of sustainability and alternative funding methods. The collection of papers covers various topics related to DIY culture and the challenges of sustaining radical venues. The overall message is that the arts can provide creative solutions and valuable experiences, particularly in times of crisis. [Extracted from the article]

In the thick of austerity, small arts communities are tested to the brink. The Arts in the North of England had been hit with staggered funding cuts, almost halving resources available from arts funders, arts organisations and the councils. In 2013, the largest DIY space in Newcastle was forced to move, closing for 2 years whilst Morden Tower, a building rich in artistic heritage, fell in to such disrepair it was forced to close. A hole was left. The Old Police House, a small DIY rehearsal space for a DJ project in Gateshead, was just that. An old police house without heating or funding that, in response to community needs, became a make-shift venue and home to several young artists and projects. Seven years on with two venue moves, two changes of Prime Minister, the threat of a super-council looming over 'Newcastle-Gateshead' and competing programmers, what impact does DIY art have? How has the local artistic community changed? Do equity and equality still exist in a climate of prescriptive narratives from Arts Funders, tick-box feedback forms and tokenistic funding? This paper proposes to explore the challenges of running an urban experimental community arts venue within this cultural context, drawing on the authors' personal experiences as an active participant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the various appearances of theater in the writings of L. S. Vygotsky. Starting with an overview of his early and still little explored production of theatrical criticism, we observe how theater gradually entered the field of psychology and came to be analyzed as a psychological problem. The analysis of this topic reveals an important shift in Vygotskian thought, i.e., a turn from objective to concrete psychology. With respect to Vygotsky's aesthetic stance, the paper provides a commentary about the relations between art and society, an underlying topic for the cultural-historical perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a background of the rates at which educators, teaching artists, college students, retirees, parents, and the public attend arts programs in their schools and communities. The researcher circulated a 19-question online survey to measure the rates of attendance to visual and performing arts events, such as music, dance, arts community workshops, concerts, and festivals across Florida during the 2018–2019 academic year. The total sample size was 619 adults over 18 years of age. This paper applies a quantitative methodology to examine the respondents' dispositions of the arts in education and communities. The questionnaire requested that the respondents rank the importance of benefits of the arts in schools and share their attendance at school and community arts events. Findings from the study show that the respondents agreed on the importance of integrating arts in education, and that they possess the ability to advance a community's understanding of arts integration. Tangible results of arts attendance in schools and communities are presented, which could help arts school-community leaders in discussing ways to develop, promote, and cultivate resilient arts environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Society's growing interest in food, the success of nutritionists and dietitians as influencers and the ease with which disinformation spread through social networks form a triangle of interest. The aim of this paper focuses on analyzing the work of Spanish nutritionists as information verifiers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, in 2019. The results indicate that in their work as fact-checkers, nutritionists prefer Twitter to Instagram and Facebook, and there is an evident gender bias. The conclusions point to the fact that Spanish nutritionists carry out their work as fact-checkers in a not very active, poorly organized and non-technical way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a reflection on a set of ten images and a Via Sacra conceived by the sculptor Altino Maia (1911-1988), between 1955 and 1957, for the new parish church of São Pedro da Afurada (Vila Nova de Gaia). The study addresses the images in several dimensions: artistic and iconographic, including ordering processes and creation; the anthropological, detailing the community's reception and reaction to these sculptures. Nine of the images were «hidden» in cabinets for long years, removed from the eyes of the faithful, received the popular and derogatory names of «Santos Pretos» or «Santos das Rodilhas» and were even victims of aggression attempts. The sculpture of the Crucified Christ was exhibited on the apse's back wall until 2021 and the Via Sacra continues to be displayed on the north wall of the parish church of São Pedro da Afurada. Based on the documentary and visual sources of the time and the testimony of some inhabitants of Afurada, this paper intends to analyze the circumstances of commissioning and artistic creation, developing an iconographic study of the images, contextualizing them in their time and to understand these object-images (in line with Jérôme Baschet) from an anthropological perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study undertakes an analysis of the dichotomy mind over matter, culture and civilization, a plea for art – with special focus on literature – and raising awareness of the increasing role of humanities and the liberal arts in a society driven and increasingly dominated by scientific advancement and aiming towards solely technological purposes. The paper stems from previous research interest in the field of cultural studies and relies on recent scholarly studies raising awareness about a revival of the word and language akin to the call “make it new” and calling attention to the impact of the image versus the power of the word highly valued by literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few years, numerous art initiatives have addressed the subject of migration and sought to voice an alternative to the predominant images diffused in the mainstream media. This article starts from the premise that the role of the arts in challenging dominant narratives of migration is too often taken for granted and argues for the need for a critical examination of the conditions and modalities through which arts can engage with a key societal debate like migration that has become so divisive on a global scale. Drawing on the notion of art worlds established in the sociology of the arts, we argue it is essential to move beyond a romanticized figure of the enlightened creator and consider the embeddedness of art in a complex network of production and diffusion, which greatly influences the nature of the meanings produced and their reception. The article focuses on the “Afghanistan, My Love” exhibition organized by the Aga Khan Museum of Toronto, Canada, in the aftermath of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, which led to a significant surge of media coverage and the start of a dedicated scheme for the resettlement of Afghan nationals who collaborated with the Canadian Government due to Canada’s active involvement in the conflict. By employing a multi-modal methodology that includes textual and visual social semiotic analysis along with key stakeholder interviews, the paper examines under what conditions art can participate in (re)shaping representations of migration. Drawing from this case study, the article proposes to differentiate between “reframing” and “counter-narrating” to understand the distinct modalities through which the arts can engage with and seek to challenge representations of migration. While reframing seeks to implicitly change perceptions by offering complex portrayals of migrant experiences, counter-narrating introduces explicit alternative discourses. Less than intended to shift underlying structural representations, the latter approach seeks to ignite a collective process and generate empathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Text-conditioned image synthesis methods such as DALLE-2, IMAGEN, and Stable Diffusion are gaining strong attention from deep learning and art communities recently. Meanwhile, Image-to-Image (Img2Img) synthesis applications that emerged from the pioneering Neural Style Transfer (NST) approach have swiftly transitioned towards the feed-forward Automatic Style Transfer (AST) methods, due to numerous constraints inherent in the former method, including inconsistent synthesis outcomes and sluggish optimization-based synthesis process. However, NST holds significant potential yet remains relatively underexplored within this research domain. In this paper, we revisited the original NST method and uncovered its potential to attain image quality comparable to the AST synthesis methods across a diverse range of artistic styles. We propose a two-stage Feature-guided Style Transfer (FeaST) which consists (a) pre-stylization step called Sketching to address the poor initialization issue, and (b) Finetuning to guide the synthesis process based on high-frequency (HF) and low-frequency (LF) guidance channels. By addressing the issues of inconsistent synthesis and slow convergence inherent in the original method, FeaST unlocks the full capabilities of NST and significantly enhances its efficiency. [Display omitted] • We revisit the Neural Style Transfer (NST) framework for high-fidelity art generation. • We proposed a feature-guided reconstruction based on separated guidance channels for high and low-frequency feature regions to solve slow convergence issues. • We proposed a pre-stylization step called Sketching which improved the image synthesis time by a six-order magnitude. • We experimented a set of optimal weighting factors in feature-guided reconstruction for consistent results over wide variety of styles and contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses South Africa's Covid relief plan for its creative sector—the Presidential Employment Stimulus Plan (PESP)—as a locus for understanding the evolution of state arts sponsorship since the country's first free elections in 1994. It begins with an historical discussion outlining the evolution of various philosophies of national arts sector caretaking. Particular attention is drawn to the philosophical shift from democratic aspirations during the transition from apartheid in the early 1990s to the sector's steady integration into a broader neoliberal development strategy leading up to the present. National policy papers and development programs from the last two decades demonstrate the steady entrenchment of an economistic approach to the arts, decoupled from principles argued for during the transition to democracy such as education, national cohesion, or cultural representation. Structural dynamics governing the creative sector are crossed by the political prerogatives of artists who rely on state arts funding. To explain the tension between government care regimes for creative and cultural industries intersect with historically situated philosophies of how the arts intervene in communities facing crisis, we end our discussion through an analysis of a project funded by the PESP: i-Yeza, the Covid-19 Awareness Roadshow. Pivoting from macro-level discussion of arts policy to ethnographic analysis of this specific project's conception and reception demonstrates how community consciousness diverges from neoliberalism's instrumental logic. By linking the legacy of socially critical township theatre to Covid awareness and vaccination, i-Yeza performs a politics of care premised on a vision of national moral redemption despite state decay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to analyse the university experience of a social laboratory that mixes science and art to instruct communities of sustainability practice in heterogeneous contexts through interpretive audio-visual ethnography and cinematographic language. Design/methodology/approach: The research approach was qualitative; data were triangulated through the thorough revision of the literature reported on this praxis, the auto-ethnography of the founder and CEO of this social laboratory and the systematization of the training categories from their documentaries. Furthermore, the analysis of this laboratory as a social innovation considered five categories, namely, critical interaction, shared values, social responsibility, digital competences and sustainability practices, and the projects profile was contrasted with the Sustainable Development Goals to show its sustainable approach. Findings: The results showed that the best scored sustainability university communities are interdisciplinary. Moreover, the mix of science and art to train practice communities is a social innovation model that can go beyond university walls to influence its environment in dissimilar and socially disadvantaged territories. Research limitations/implications: This research is based on a case from a Mexican university in a specific cultural context. Although the conclusions cannot be generalized, this case contributes to the need for pertinent complementarity between various classical methodological possibilities which, when articulated, enhance the research work. Practical implications: The results could have practical implications if these are used as inputs in the development of university programmes with an interdisciplinary approach to sustainability training. Originality/value: This research proposes this experience as an attempt to understand how to promote sustainable education among university communities that influence territories with wide social gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to recent studies, both absolute and relative mobility in Hungary have recently declined. In our paper, we seek to explain how these processes evolved in the lower and upper segments of the social structure. Is the decline in mobility more due to the fact that parents in a more favourable position manage to pass on their privileged social position successfully, or rather to the fact that those starting from below are less able to overcome their disadvantages? To what extent have these processes occurred simultaneously in the last almost twenty years, and to what extent have they taken place independently? According to our results, the decrease in social mobility can be detected in both the lower and upper segments of society. However, processes at the two poles have not involved the same dynamics over the past nearly two decades. In the 2000s, educational expansion fuelled immobility in the upper segment of society, but also created mobility channels for those with an unfavourable social background. In contrast, in the 2010s the proportion of the immobile increased among both the high and low educated. In terms of relative mobility, quite similar processes have taken place in the upper and lower segments of society: the already unequal relative mobility chances became even more unequal during the nearly twenty years under study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"If we possess the land," cultural activist Ben Caldwell said, "we can become erasure proof." The essay reveals how BIPOC community arts spaces negotiate spatial sovereignty that fortify ecologies of culture and place. The work analyzes a culminating activity in a participatory action research process structured around the themes of land, story, memory, and leadership. The axis of the paper is an intergenerational conversation with cultural producers and arts administrators at Self Help Graphics & Art in the Latinx neighborhood of Boyle Heights, Kaos Network the African-American neighborhood of Leimert Park, and Visual Communications in the Asian Pacific Islander led neighborhood of Little Tokyo. The conversation is set in Los Angeles—a megalopolis on the Pacific Rim recognized globally for its creative and cultural production. "How to Become Erasure Proof" provides a robust conceptual framework, and highlights BIPOC strategies for community organizing that cherish culture and land. The discussion contributes to broader movements centering BIPOC imaginaries, creative flourishing, and organizing for spatial justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2020 has been marked by disruption on a global scale due to a range of compounding crises including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Many community arts responses to the pandemic originated from individuals rather than by means of concerted or sustained sectoral responses. This paper uses reflections from Ireland, Australia, and Mexico to discuss the precariousness and vulnerability of the community arts sector and the artists and educators within it at this profoundly difficult time. We reflect upon some of the artistic and educational innovations and experimentations that have come about. We simultaneously examine the work of artists and arts organizations on a paradigmatic level by reflecting upon the role we play in perhaps involuntarily sustaining inequalities despite articulating a desire for change in the work that we do. We argue for the community arts sector to draw upon its imagination and bravery to reflect, assume responsibility, and recast the world into what we want it to be, rather than rebuilding the old, broken one in an attempt to return to what is perceived to be normal. Finally, in turning to arts education policy, we interrogate the barriers and enablers of change in the arts in a post-COVID world, discussing the influencing policy factors of sectoral weaknesses; individual resourcefulness and resilience; the desire for revolution; and the importance of love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of some of the most relevant deep learning approaches to pattern extraction and recognition in visual arts, particularly painting and drawing. Recent advances in deep learning and computer vision, coupled with the growing availability of large digitized visual art collections, have opened new opportunities for computer science researchers to assist the art community with automatic tools to analyse and further understand visual arts. Among other benefits, a deeper understanding of visual arts has the potential to make them more accessible to a wider population, ultimately supporting the spread of culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, which is positioned at the intersection of political sociology and the sociology of art, I discuss the implications of political art at the local level. I show how analyzing an existing example of locally engaged political art would contribute to the comprehension of the relationship between art and politics in contemporary societies. I employ a single case study, Freetown Christiania, in order to reveal the role of local artistic engagement in bringing about political outcomes, and in particular, relative autonomy at the local level. Though this study is solely focused on one community which has emerged within a specific context and time, it provides a unique lens to describe the relevance and potential of locally engaged political art for broader society. I utilize Freetown Christiania as an example of Benjaminian and Brechtian utopia in order to showcase how their micro-level artistic engagement has brought about relative autonomy at the local level. In particular, I describe the function of local artistic engagement in Freetown Christiania, especially their theatre group Solvognen (The Sun Chariot), as a unique artistic enterprise which has surpassed Benjamin's and Brecht's elaborations of the role of political art in modern societies through the employment of the elements of the avant-garde and postdramatic theatre. I argue that this peculiar combination of Benjaminian and Brechtian forms of political art on the one hand, and the avant-garde and postdramatic theatre on the other, has enabled them to create and sustain this micro-utopia in a neoliberal capitalist order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an effort to understand Hogarth's unique position in early eighteenth century London, so as to grasp the rich complexity of his work. It begins by tracing two rival competing positions in the sociology of art, derived from Becker and Bourdieu, before taking a closer look at how Hogarth's work conjures up a new vision of the world, providing shape and meaning to the nation's changing understandings of morality, society, and the city. A fundamental transformation in the field of representation appears halfway through the eighteenth century and the interweaving of art theory, national identity, and systems of patronage are at the centre of this dynamic period. It is no accident that in Hogarth's world the main targets are those who seek to transgress their stations in life and cross class barriers. By combining two different sociological approaches to art the study builds a more nuanced picture of the artist and his work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, art therapists used new methods, materials, and techniques to help address the needs of community members. The practices that emerged from art therapy while adjusting to the pandemic, created new perspectives and ways to re-theorize and re-energize community art therapy engagement. As the acute stage of the pandemic passes, the art therapy profession can take this opportunity to pause and explore the new practice-based knowledge and techniques developed "on the ground" during the acute crisis and canonize them by connecting practice to the growing body of theory on social art therapy. This paper will help conceptualize, articulate, and thus demystify these developments, anchoring them to social theories of community. This paper will integrate setting, role of art, role of art therapists, ethical considerations, and evaluation, into social theories, describing specific features of a new theory of social art therapy in the context of community crises. • Social Art Therapy is a novel community focused paradigm. • A framework for crisis recovery can be driven by Social Art Therapy theory. • Social Art Therapy is developed from adaptive art therapy practices. • Social crisis commonly necessitates a Social Art Therapy approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yu's given name is actually Zhuowei Yu, but most people in the mineral community know her as Safaa Yu. This article presents the colored-pencil artwork of Safaa Yu of Littleton, Colorado. So finally 2020 comes, and for a while I had some time to challenge myself a little by using colored pencils (Prismacolor brand).... As I [progress in my art], I really like to work with them and hopefully will explore more with colored pencils in the future. [Extracted from the article]

Free Open-Source Software (FOSS) is essentially seen by many organizations as a key pillar for accelerating technological innovation. This study aims to evaluate the extent to which factors such as cost and quality of the system, as well as usability, interoperability, and security, influence the intention to use FOSS. Based on the data obtained from the survey, we propose a new theoretical model that we test and evaluate using the SEM-PLS method. The results suggest a significant relationship between FOSS adoption and factors such as low cost, performance expectation, social influence, and system quality, which was explained on a large scale by safety, interoperability, and usability as the most important factors in adoption decisions. Thus, this paper presents a new model for the adoption of FOSS in countries with high growth potential and aims to be a significant contribution to the scientific community on the state of the art in FOSS organizations in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]