Search

In this article I consider David Olson's account of how literacy produces a new kind of consciousness, one in which a process of metacognition makes possible both knowledge and an understanding of language itself. This, he argues, enables readers and writers to reflect upon language, understand what constitutes reasoning, and recognize any logical flaws embedded in written texts. I then locate Olson within the cognitivist tradition of Jerome Bruner, critically analyzing Bruner's concept of emotion as well as Olson's account of experience. While he acknowledges the place of experience in John Dewey's account of literacy, he tends to regard it as a form of consciousness rather than something more primordial. I go on to argue that experience, rather than consciousness, is a fundamental ingredient in the life of the mind and learning in general, where aesthetic emotions play a significant role. A theory of literacy that fails to take these elements into account is incomplete, however powerful it may appear. In order to make this argument, I utilize the work of John Dewey and Alfred North Whitehead, who afford experience and aesthetic emotions a primordial place in their process philosophies. I also contrast the organic concept of mind advocated by Whitehead and Dewey in their theory of learning with the mechanistic account Olson inherits from Bruner. Furthermore, I analyze the importance Whitehead ascribes to art education, and go on to show why he believes art to be the source of consciousness itself. Once again, this contrasts with Olson's cognitivist account. I conclude that without experience and aesthetic emotion our capacity to reflect upon them through language would not be possible.

This article examines blue paper as an ecological solution in drawing practice by investigating the questions of when and under which circumstances German artists in the early sixteenth century decided to use blue paper. Blue paper had several aesthetic, symbolic, and economic functions, often both referencing a geographic relationship to Italy and its tradition of drawing on blue paper, and also engaging in a world of play and imitation in workshop practices. For a better understanding of the early modern paper ecologies within which artists worked, it is necessary to regard paper production within a broader socio-cultural range, thus not only as an exchange between paper makers but also with consideration of other crafts as well as the impact of new technologies. From there we can reconsider our relationship to nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is uncertainty whether postoperative application of paper tape (PT) improves scar aesthetics and reduces wound closure complications. This study aimed to review and assess the quality of applicable findings from studies investigating PT’s efficacy. We queried PubMed and SCOPUS using the search terms “((“paper tape”) AND (wound OR closure OR heal* OR complication OR skin OR prevent* OR scar*)).” We excluded articles that were duplicates, basic science, or not clinically relevant. We assessed the level of evidence for each article using the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Rating Levels of Evidence and Grading Recommendations for Therapeutic Studies, ranging from I (highest) to V (lowest). Of 186 publications reviewed, we included eight studies in the literature review. Five of these studies reported statistically significant positive outcomes on scar aesthetics and wound closure associated with using PT. Using the ASPS rating system, we found that two studies were Level I, three studies were Level II, two studies were Level IV, and one study was Level V. Notably, heterogeneity in the study designs limited outcome comparison. The data from the studies included in this literature review support using PT to optimize scar and wound management. The lack of higher levels of evidence, however, suggests the need for additional randomized controlled trials to rigorously evaluate patient outcomes when using PT compared with other forms of adhesive dressings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Annually on 1 January, Japan's efficient postal system circulates 2.5 billion New Year cards to arrive simultaneously in every home in the country. Based on ethnographic fieldwork around Osaka, this article investigates the continued popularity of this exchange of paper forms in an age of smartphones and fast internet connections. Extending recent anthropological scholarship about digital data, I argue that these seemingly trivial cards have transformative potential. They are active, potent participants in the cultivation, accumulation, and ongoing care of multiple networks of social, economic, and spiritual relationships. Through an analysis of the material and aesthetic qualities of the cards, I highlight how their front‐back design embodies co‐existing, but contrasting, dimensions of Japanese relations along a qualification‐quantification and personalization‐standardization axis. The cards also produce depth and scale by linking intimate, domestic concerns with larger political and economic interests, while weaving together multiple temporal dimensions. Ultimately, they exemplify how the manipulation of surfaces can have profound cosmological consequences. These cards possess a spiritual and social potency that generates an all‐encompassing, intimate closeness that yearly rejuvenates society by reconstituting individuals as part of the whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for high-grammage paper, 150 g/m2 or more, is increasing for product protection and aesthetic value. Fold cracking, resulting from high mechanical pressure during folding, considerably decreases the economic feasibility of such products for papermaking companies. Fold cracking can be reduced through creasing, but defects possibly occur as fiber bonds are broken. In this study, the fold cracking of high-grammage paper that was not treated through creasing was explored. The mechanical and folding properties of six types of pulp fibers were evaluated based on their beating degree. The fines content of the fiber differed according to the beating condition. Using pulp with low fines content improved the folding properties. The mechanical properties of hardwood pulp were enhanced with increased beating degree. The mechanical properties of softwood pulp were considerably increased, and fold cracking occurred with increasing beating degree. Therefore, to improve the fold cracking, beating should be applied appropriately, following the type and mixing ratio of pulp fibers. Finally, softwood pulp mixing is proposed as a strategy to control fold cracking while maintaining the unique characteristics of high-grammage paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article serves as an introduction to a collection of papers that respond to Jonathan Palmer's paper on the role of creativity in psychoanalytic work. The contributors, who are known for their creative approach to psychoanalysis and art, offer their unique perspectives on the theme of creativity in psychoanalysis. They emphasize the significance of creativity, aliveness, and play in the therapeutic process, drawing on personal experiences and artistic references. The papers encourage readers to reflect on their own sources of creative expression and consider the role of creativity in their own analytic encounters. [Extracted from the article]

T. B. Ward (1994) investigated creativity by asking participants to draw alien creatures that they imagined to be from a planet very different from Earth. He found that participant drawings reliably contained features typical of common Earth animals. As a consequence, Ward concluded that creativity is structured. The present investigation predicts that this limitation on creativity is not restricted to drawings: the use of different technology will not change creative output. To investigate this question, participants performed Ward's task twice: once using pencil and paper and once using software made to design creatures (the Spore Creature Creator). Only minor significant differences were found. This preliminarily suggests that changing tools does not affect the overall rigidity of the creative process. This lends further support to Ward's thesis on the structural rigidity of creativity. We conclude by suggesting an elaboration to Ward's thesis that will be explored in future work. We suggest that aesthetics might be one of the factors that contribute to creative constraint, in that creatures that are too unusual would be less interesting.

This article delves into the relationship between art and psychoanalysis, specifically focusing on the concept of aesthetic experience and its impact on therapy. The authors discuss how aesthetic experiences can lead to transformative change for both patients and analysts, allowing for new approaches to life and the ability to confront difficult experiences. They emphasize the importance of the analyst's involvement and openness in creating an environment for these experiences to occur. The article also touches on the role of creativity in therapy and the analyst's responsibility to nurture the patient's own creative self. Overall, the article highlights the interplay between art and psychoanalysis and the potential for aesthetic experiences to deepen the therapeutic relationship. [Extracted from the article]

This paper examines the Confucian concept of learning, or xue ([character omitted]), from the perspective of ecological humanism. Through a comparative interpretation, this paper attempts to disclose the significance of Confucian xue conceived as a practice of aesthetic appreciation and creativity, emphasizing in particular its function within an eco-centric worldview. The author reviews the relevant concepts of ecological humanism as expressed in the ideas of John Dewey and Thomas Alexander, then applies these as a theoretical framework for interpreting xue and its related concepts and practices as they appear in the Confucian text the Lunyu ([characters omitted] ). It is argued that xue is a process of developing and expressing virtuosity and artistry in the "arts of life," and that its practice was understood as a direct participation in the creative development of nature. The significance of such a concept of learning for contemporary educational philosophy is discussed in conclusion.

This paper outlines the development of a new Indigenous research methodology: Indigenous Literature Re-view Methodology (ILRM). In the rejection of the idea that Western, dominant forms of research 'about' Indigenous peoples are most valid, ILRM was developed with aims to research in ways that give greater emphasis to Indigenous voices and knowledges, foregrounding Indigenous ways of being, doing and knowing. The advantages of ILRM include identifying themes as 'relevant' as opposed to 'common'. This method is based on relatedness, which is framed by Aboriginal ontology, axiology and epistemology, or ways of being, ways of doing and ways of knowing. Describing and employing ILRM to re-view Indigenous Australian boarding school literature, it was found there is a modest but robust body of research that has emerged in the past 20 years. Sixty-six written sources (i.e. journal articles, reports, theses and books) which were published in 2000 onwards and focussed on a topic of contemporary Indigenous boarding schooling were analysed. Sources that included a chapter or section on boarding as part of a publication focussed on other topics were not included in this re-view. Seven major themes emerged, including home, student experience, transitions, access, staff, health and evaluation. This paper focusses on the development and use of ILRM as an Indigenous methodology for researchers in Indigenous fields of study.

This paper responds directly to the question, how do we communicate our philosophy of art education? It does this by drawing upon previous research with "House of Imagination, School Without Walls" and doctoral research exploring children's learning identity as artists, to illuminate a philosophical approach to art education and its pedagogy that highlights both human and more-than-human dimensions of learning in communities of practice involving artists, researchers and educators working alongside children and young people where spaces of possibility for practice and innovation emerge. The paper focuses particularly on current and creative research in the "Forest of Imagination," a long-term participatory contemporary arts and architecture event in Bath, UK. "Forest of Imagination" offers an alternative, creative approach to learning, focusing on ecological imagination and nature connection. As a new aesthetic imaginary, the Forest of Imagination is a living, breathing art classroom, inspiring curiosity, imagination and a deeper connection with the natural world.

Combining biologically active compounds with nanocarriers is an emerging and promising strategy for enhancing the activities of molecules while reducing their levels of toxicity. Green nanomaterials have recently gained momentum in developing protocols for treating and preserving artifacts. In this study, we designed a functional biohybrid material by incorporating tributyltin(IV) ferulate (TBT-F) into halloysite nanotubes (HNTs), generating a new formulation called HNT/TBT-F. The primary objective was to develop a formulation with robust antimicrobial properties and reinforcing features for treating paper with artistic and historical value. To characterize HNT/TBT-F, assess the HNT's loading capacity, and investigate the TBT-F release kinetics from the nanotubes, various analytical techniques, including UV-Vis and infrared spectroscopies, thermogravimetry, and microscopy analysis, were employed. Furthermore, we evaluated the antimicrobial potential of TBT-F and HNT/TBT-F against Kocuria rhizophila, a bacterial strain known for its opportunistic behavior and a cause of artifact biodeterioration. HNT/TBT-F exhibited a significantly stronger bactericidal effect than TBT-F alone against K. rhizophila cells growing planktonically or those forming a biofilm. This enhanced performance could relate to the confinement of TBT-F within the nanotubes, which likely improved its physical-chemical stability and increased the local concentration of TBT-F upon contact with the bacterial cells. Additionally, we evaluated the mechanical properties of a paper treated with HNT/TBT-F, assessing any potential alterations in its color. The findings of this study highlight the favorable attributes of the HNT/TBT-F formulation and its potential for developing protocols aimed at consolidating and preserving culturally significant paper objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the characterization of the work of art as a map of intensity, as proposed by Gilles Deleuze in his essay What the children say (gathered in Critique et clinique), will be analyzed. Art’s cartographic aspect is linked to the concept of deterritorialization and the Body without Organs that the philosopher, along with Félix Guattarí, develops in Thousand Plateaus. Thus, the art-cartography represents the becoming-world of the subject that transits the Body-without-organs and the intensive differences that populate the desert of multiplicity. Each way travelled is descripted by an artistic map where the haecceities and the thresholds of flows that pierce through the disorganized bodies are portrayed. The map of intensity would be the cartographic representation of the haul travelled by a subject immersed in a hodologic space, being every line of the map a journey within an intensive space [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archives, ancient books, and documents kept in museums and libraries are the carriers of historic and cultural information left by our ancestors. However, these paper cultural relics can show notorious signs of degradation, e.g., fungal development. Due to the organic components of paper objects, they suffer from fungal biodeterioration. The excreted substances of fungi and the fungi's structures themselves are often colored and interfere with the readability of the artifacts, diminishing their artistic and monetary values. In this study, we collected and separated the moldy archives collected in the Archives of Shaanxi Province (China) and obtained the identification results of eight kinds of molds. Clotrimazole (CTZ) and quaternary ammonium salt chitosan (HACC) were combined to prepare a microemulsion. Synergies of CTZ and HACC could enhance the antifungal effect and reduce the required concentration of a single drug. The composite emulsion could effectively improve the retention of drugs on the surface of paper cultural relics, improve the solubility of hydrophobic drugs, and provide a data basis for the anti-mold preservation of paper cultural relics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Despite the widespread of assessment of smile aesthetic perception in many areas, there has yet to be a direct comparison of digital and paper-based photographs for the assessment of smile aesthetics. Here we compared digital and paper-based photographs representing different smile aesthetic features using visual analog scale (VAS) scoring. Materials and Methods: One hundred students were randomly recruited from a university campus. Participants were asked to record their perception of smile aesthetics via paper and digital-based platforms. The minimum clinically important difference between platforms was set at 15mm. The percentage of participants who rated smile attractiveness worse on digital images was recorded. The paired one-tailed Student’s t test was used to determine differences between digital and paper platforms, and Bland–Altman analysis and intraclass correlations (ICCs) were used to test for agreement between paper and digital photographs. Results: Ninety-nine subjects participated, 55 men (mean age = 22.05, standard deviation [SD] = 1.91) and 44 women (mean age 22.05, SD = 1.84). There were statistically significant differences between paper-based and digital photographs for all images except one (paired t test; P < 0.05). Digital ratings were lower than paper-based ratings for all images, and differences were clinically significant in four out of eight images. A high percentage of participants (50.5%–85.9%) rated smile attractiveness worse on digital images than on paper for all images. There was poor agreement between the two methods as assessed by ICCs and Bland–Altman analysis. Conclusion: Equivalence between paper and digital images for smile aesthetics cannot be assumed, and paperbased photographs may lead to clinically relevant overestimations of perceived attractiveness. As academic dentistry increasingly relies on digital imaging and sharing in the post-COVID-19 world, further validation of digital platforms for smile aesthetics assessment is warranted, and care should be taken when interpreting the results of studies assessing smile perception based on different platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary artistic practices were provided with a space for reflection and the creation of opinion in the galleries of the Fundació Espais and in the pages of its art magazine, Papers d'Art. A group of independent voices of multidisciplinary artistic production was made audible thanks to this publication that provided a critique which forged dynamic connections between artistic meaning and social and cultural contexts. This paper highlights a shift in meaning of the conception of contemporary art as a key element in intellectual culture, including politics, philosophy, science and other creative formats such as music and literature. Based on an analysis of the critical awareness of the various contributors to the magazine and on the historiographic study of certain aesthetic and symbolic questions, a review of the articles published in the Studies and Research section is detailed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on an alternative photographic aesthetic based on the human eye that could have evolved given a different set of historic technical developments in photography. In broad terms, this alternative aesthetic would depend on the recording medium being far more sophisticated than the lens: the opposite of how photography actually evolved. The paper references an art practice based on singleelement lenses, which materially reduce phenomena to what may be experienced preconsciously inside the human eye. The paper then aligns the practical artistic outcomes with aspects of phenomenology and established academic enquiry into preconsciously experienced optical data. In phenomenological terms, the aesthetic produced in these artworks privileges the biology of the human eye over the processing power of the visual cortex: a preconscious ocular aesthetic over conscious perception. The paper contends that when viewing images that approach a fundamental, yet unknown, visual experience, the viewer has partial access to visual phenomenon which is experienced prior to, and withheld from, consciousness. The results highlight how photography has always strived to produce a uniform, sharp plane of focus that, in turn, falsely maintains that human beings biologically experience the world in a similar manner. The paper also extends aspects of Walter Benjamin's notion of "optical unconscious" while incorporating aspects of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's "indeterminate vision". The paper also realizes how an arts practice can incorporate the agency of materials to approach traditionally intellectual enquiry in novel ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on South African teenage girls' engagement with pornography. Using a decolonial approach and drawing upon new feminist materialism, this study focuses on the ways in which bodies, gender and sexuality configure to produce and constrain girls' capacities for sexual expression. The paper makes three claims. First, the article turns away from a one-sided representation of girls as only possible to know through the lens of sexual suffering while challenging childhood sexual innocence. Second, the online pornographic field is situated in a gendered and racialised system of organisation whereby the perfect body is naturalised as an esteemed object of desire. Third, the desire for the perfect, slim, blemish-free, hairless body through self-surveillance constricts capacities in line with normative standards of female beauty. A decolonial porn assemblage is harnessed to illustrate the contradictions produced as girls both desire and object to idealised bodies that are naturalised through heterosexual and racialised hierarchies. The paper concludes by considering the implications of approaching girls' engagement with pornography in relation to the expansion and limitation of their capacities and the body as an intense site of power.

Given the rise in extremist radicalization using digital media, antifascist education must develop its own philosophy of digital technologies. The first half of this paper turns to Leo Löwenthal and Norbert Guterman's theory of the American agitator as well as Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno's notion of fascist projection and paranoia to provide groundwork for this project. Though written in the 1940s, Frankfurt School essays on agitation and projection can be thought of as early indications of the importance of affect in fascist politics, which has only become intensified with the advent of digital media. The paper then proceeds to apply a critical concept of "agitational aesthetics" to chan culture in the present day, highlighting the affective economy of memes in the radicalization process. In conclusion, a series of questions are posed to educators to help them think through the complexities of intervening before, during, and after the online agitation of proto-fascist tendencies in youth.

This discussion article examines the potential integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI), including advanced Large-Language Models like the popular platform ChatGPT into subject English education. Following the significant public and academic attention in response to these technologies through 2023, this paper considers the transformative potential and challenges posed by Gen-AI in educational settings. Central to the discussion is the exploration of how English teachers can leverage Gen-AI to enrich student learning beyond the obvious domain of writing skills. Instead, the article foregrounds the necessity for students' understanding of Gen-AI as an essential component of digital literacy. While acknowledging ethical concerns such as plagiarism, equity, and access, the paper presents an argument for the productive use of Gen-AI in the classroom to augment reading, viewing, and interpretation lessons. Avoiding an evangelical or dystopian view of AI, this discussion piece explores the time-critical and urgent issue of how, when, and why English can engage with the technology.

Confronted by myriad interconnected societal challenges, this paper asks: what kind of pedagogy does justice to the experience and challenge of living in a complex world? Departing from a critical reading of a preparative-logic to education, this paper emphasises students' entangledness: more-or-less consciously, students are uniquely shaped-by and shapers-of complex societal challenges in a here-and-now sense. Utilising this premise, the paper develops a set of pedagogical perspectives that might inspire and help teachers to design their own responses to particular complex societal challenges in their unique teaching contexts. Drawing on emerging outcomes from a narrative diffractive inquiry with 12 teachers as co-researchers and engaging with complexity thinking, six perspectives are presented and discussed: entanglement-orientedness, entanglement-awareness, hopeful action, inquiry within complex societal challenges, practicing perceptiveness, and practicing integrity. Together, these perspectives offer a heuristic for embracing complexity in education.

In this paper, I consider the ethics education potential of two documentary films set in the mountains. I first draw upon the work of Emily Brady in order to tease out some similarities and differences between environmental tragedy and sublime experiences in nature. I secondly argue that the screened sublime is qualitatively different but not necessarily inferior to sublime sensations in nature. I then discuss how the film Mountain showcases the allure of the mountains while also suggesting the search for the sublime there may not be morally justifiable unless it is sustainable. I thereafter unpack the tragic themes in, and moral issues raised by, The Last Mountain. I maintain the film invites viewers to consider the ethics of risky mountain adventures and whether the rewards of such adventures justify the very real risk of tragedy. I conclude by thinking through how the films explored in the paper can aid mountain adventure education in at least two ways: (1) by opening up questions about the moral and ethical frameworks that mountain adventurers have and should have and; (2) by providing viewers with safe and sustainable experiences of the tragic and sublime.

The composer, author, and teacher, John Cage, was exercised by our 'inability' to truly listen when approaching sound. In exploring the influences on Cage's avant-garde style, specifically the spiritual discipline found in both Zen Buddhism and Chance operations, this paper attempts to distinguish his philosophy (and use) of "silence" and "chance" as an aesthetic pedagogy. In accordance with Dewey's aesthetic theory and Shusterman's Somaesthetics, resolving the inability to listen is aesthetically conceived as somatic 'attuning' to the occurrence of chance sounds in the ambience of the world. By maintaining Cage's spiritually informed approach as a compositional framework, this paper highlights how his philosophy of silence is pedagogically illustrative of the "active" engagement we can have with the world. This approach is most apparent in Cage's "4'33"," where the 'musicalizing' of everyday sounds erodes the boundaries between art and life, creating a continuity with the world. Somewhat problematically, Cage attempted to make this possible by channelling experience into a state of immersion, unifying art and life by 'letting go' of subjectivity. But as is shown by the Fluxus artists who were inspired by Cage's teachings, the possibility for negotiating Cage's terms brings with it an opportunity to theoretically reflect on the educational processes that underpin Cage's approach to sound.

This paper seeks to introduce a meaning-making process called 'sensuous abstraction' as one approach to aesthetic experience in line with Dewey's philosophy. Dewey highlights aesthetic experience as the best form of experience that integrates emotional and intellectual qualities to foster deep learning and insights. Building on contemporary research on sensation, affect, and human brain, this paper identifies two distinct modes of human understanding: the linguistic/conceptual system and the sensuous-imaginative system. The former, often associated with abstraction and intellectual thinking, is heavily emphasized in traditional schooling, but the latter, integral to human cognition, is sadly neglected and overlooked. While situational meaning offers a way to bridge the two systems, it often falls short of leading to aesthetic experience. In response, sensuous abstraction can promote a process of meaning making that becomes more general than sensation but never as general as linguistic categories while maintaining its sensory wholeness as aesthetic experience demands. Using a classical artwork as an example, this paper concludes sensuous abstraction can be adopted as one approach for educators to create learning experiences by integrating sensory experience and generalizations and abstractions that lead to aesthetic experience.