Mutable Mobiles: Charting the Cartography of Banarasi Toymakers

Design Issues ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-57
Author(s):  
Koumudi Patil ◽  
Uday Athavankar

From the perspective of design, Latour's cycles of inscriptions and mobility promises to be of significance to the future exploration of self-organizing tendencies, as well as distributed cognition in decentralized decision making between heterogeneous team members scattered across time and space. Of particular relevance is the role of the artefact in the absence or lack of communication as an object- to-think-with, as well as to negotiate design decisions over time and space. Artefacts, as in this study- Banarasi toys, acting as probes not only accumulate design decisions, but also inscribe the worldview of the members on themselves. Their mutability and mobility endows on them the promising role of gathering members and eventually an entire community around them. On completion of the cycles, they become a microcosm of the worldview, similar to Latour's map encapsulating the earth.

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleg Urminsky

What motivates people to make decisions in the present that benefit their self in the future? An emerging literature suggests that farsightedness is influenced by the degree of connection people perceive between their present and future self. People who see their core identity as changing substantially over time, into a substantially different future self, are less likely to forgo benefits in the present to ensure larger deferred benefits to be enjoyed by that future self they are not as connected to. Recent lab, field, and neural evidence has related such connectedness to time discounting, as well as more generally to a range of provident behaviors. This review discusses what is known and what remains to be studied about the bases of perceived connectedness, how people incorporate connectedness into their decision-making, and which psychological and contextual factors may influence the role of connectedness in decision-making.


2002 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-52
Author(s):  
Jorian Clarke

Describes a six‐year study of children’s Internet usage which shows how preferences and habits have changed over time; this was conducted by SpectraCom Inc and Circle 1 network. Explains the research methodology and the objectives, which were to identify trends in the amount of time spent by children online now and in future, their opinions about the future role of the Internet in society and the future of e‐commerce, and parents’ roles in children’s online activities. Concludes that there is need for a more child‐friendly content in Internet sites and for more parental involvement, that children will be influential in the market for alternative devices like mobile phones, that online shopping is likely to flourish, and that children have a growing interest in online banking.


2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1142-1151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Bernardes ◽  
Greta Cummings ◽  
Yolanda Dora Martinez Évora ◽  
Carmen Silvia Gabriel

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to address difficulties reported by the nursing team during the process of changing the management model in a public hospital in Brazil. METHODS: This qualitative study used thematic content analysis as proposed by Bardin, and data were analyzed using the theoretical framework of Bolman and Deal. RESULTS: The vertical implementation of Participatory Management contradicted its underlying philosophy and thereby negatively influenced employee acceptance of the change. The decentralized structure of the Participatory Management Model was implemented but shared decision-making was only partially utilized. Despite facilitation of the communication process within the unit, more significant difficulties arose from lack of communication inter-unit. Values and principals need to be shared by teams, however, that will happens only if managers restructure accountabilities changing job descriptions of all team members. CONCLUSION: Innovative management models that depart from the premise of decentralized decision-making and increased communication encourage accountability, increased motivation and satisfaction, and contribute to improving the quality of care. The contribution of the study is that it describes the complexity of implementing an innovative management model, examines dissent and intentionally acknowledges the difficulties faced by employees in the organization.


2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
pp. 1998-2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Bulley ◽  
Beyon Miloyan ◽  
Gillian V Pepper ◽  
Matthew J Gullo ◽  
Julie D Henry ◽  
...  

Humans frequently create mental models of the future, allowing outcomes to be inferred in advance of their occurrence. Recent evidence suggests that imagining positive future events reduces delay discounting (the devaluation of reward with time until its receipt), while imagining negative future events may increase it. Here, using a sample of 297 participants, we experimentally assess the effects of cued episodic simulation of positive and negative future scenarios on decision-making in the context of both delay discounting (monetary choice questionnaire) and risk-taking (balloon-analogue risk task). Participants discounted the future less when cued to imagine positive and negative future scenarios than they did when cued to engage in control neutral imagery. There were no effects of experimental condition on risk-taking. Thus, although these results replicate previous findings suggesting episodic future simulation can reduce delay discounting, they indicate that this effect is not dependent on the valence of the thoughts, and does not generalise to all other forms of “impulsive” decision-making. We discuss various interpretations of these results, and suggest avenues for further research on the role of prospection in decision-making.


Author(s):  
Jennifer Ellis

Representations of war in the media have changed drastically over time. Like the media representations of war, the American public's view of wars has also shifted over time; this is often a result of the media portrayals of war events. This paper examines the role of newspaper, yellow journalism, and sensationalism writing during the Spanish-American War on the American public's support for the war and juxtaposes this with television media accounts of the American war in Vietnam and how this created public disapproval for the war. Both had everlasting effects on US war policy for the future.


Author(s):  
Brandy Daniels

This chapter explores how the aims of feminist theological projects are (or are not) sought/accomplished through their methodologies, turning to futurity as a rubric and Sarah Coakley’s théologie totale as a case study. This chapter argues that despite her laudable desire to reframe systematics under a formational frame that she sees as liberative, the teleological thrust and attendant onto-epistemological assumptions undergirding théologie totale (and the role of contemplation within it) betray and thwart precisely what her approach seeks to engender—the inculcation of un-mastery, attentiveness to otherness, and awareness of the complex interrelatedness of sexual and spiritual desires. In assuming and proffering a narratively-cohering and linear account of subjectivity that takes as given a clear telos of desire, Coakley’s methodology adheres to what José Esteban Muñoz calls “straight time’s choke hold.” The latter half of this chapter suggests that a feminist theological imagination (and method) that aligns with the aims of théologie totale approaches “the future” not by asking “how do we secure or obtain it?” but rather, “who are the ‘we’ that make up and enact it?” This chapter concludes by proposing potential hallmarks of a feminist theological method in a queer time and space.


1990 ◽  
Vol 141 ◽  
pp. 142-142
Author(s):  
Li Zhi-gang ◽  
Qi Guan-Rong

While HIPPARCOS is expected to measure positions and proper motions with more accuracy than those obtained by ground-based instruments, what can we do in the future for ground-based instruments? The observations with them still are important for establishing an inertial frame because of the long history of observations with them and improvements in the instruments. Moreover, it is necessary to have data of observations from them for research on problems related to the Earth. The horizontal meridian circle in China (DCMT) is expected to have advantage over the classical meridian circles. The DCMT will be assembled and tested this year. It should work in the following fields: (1) observing radio stars, (2) observation of minor planets, (3) absolute determinations of IRS.


2007 ◽  
Vol 88 (12) ◽  
pp. 1893-1898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil A. Stuart ◽  
David M. Schultz ◽  
Gary Klein

The Second Forum on the Future Role of the Human in the Forecast Process occurred on 2–3 August 2005 at the American Meteorological Society's Weather Analysis and Forecasting Conference in Washington, D.C. The forum consisted of three sessions. This paper discusses the second session, featuring three presentations on the cognitive and psychological aspects of expert weather forecasters. The first presentation discussed the learning gap between students (goal seekers) and teachers (knowledge seekers)—a similar gap exists between forecasters and researchers. In order to most effectively train students or forecasters, teachers must be able to teach across this gap using some methods described within. The second presentation discussed the heuristics involved in weather forecasting and decision making under time constraints and uncertainty. The final presentation classified the spectrum of forecasters from intuitive scientists to the disengaged. How information technology can best be adapted so as not to inhibit intuitive scientists from their mental modeling of weather scenarios is described. Forecasters must continuously refine their skills through education and training, and be aware of the heuristic contributions to the forecast process, to maintain expertise and have the best chance of ensuring a dynamic role in the future forecast process.


Legal Studies ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Wheeler

The Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (CDDA) instituted, inter alia, a mechanism whereby directors of failed companies can be disqualified from holding office in the future as the result of an application to the court by the Secretary of State, or in the case of compulsory liquidators, the official receive and a subsequent finding by the court that the director is unfit. The operation and effect of the CDDA has been the subject of speculation in the national press, other media and comment from insolvency practitioners since its inception. Most of this comment has focused on the role of the DTI and on its perceived failure to take steps to disqualify directors in sufficient numbers.


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