Imagining new materials: Design as puzzle-solving

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-209
Author(s):  
Viviana Lebedinsky

How important is the imagination in the design and creation of new and innovative materials, and how can it be developed through formative processes? What happens when the real world becomes distinct from our imagination of it and what are the implications of such a rupture? These questions are considered with reference to a case study in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology, which is examined with a focus on social relations, and formative processes in particular, emphasizing how these relations contribute to the creation–design of new materials. The author also examines the notion of imagination, focusing on its importance in the design of nanomaterials, which she conceptualizes as analogous to puzzle-solving. Two further examples enable us to reflect on different approaches through which the imagination might be understood and how the above questions can contribute to a rethinking of the hylomorphic and textility of making models.

Impact ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (2) ◽  
pp. 52-53
Author(s):  
Lucy Sharp

Materials technology is a constantly evolving discipline, with new materials leading to novel applications. For example, new material properties arise from combining different materials into composites. Researching materials can help solve societal challenges, with the creation of innovative materials resulting in breakthroughs in overcoming hurdles facing humankind, including energy challenges and medical problems. Innovative materials breathe new life into industries and spur on scientific and technological discovery.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1275-1306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary Hunter

The various feminist judgment projects (FJPs) have explored through the imagined rewriting of judgments a range of ways in which a feminist perspective may be applied to the practice of judging. But how do these imagined judgments compare to what actual feminist judges do? This article presents the results of the author’s empirical research to date on ‘real world’ feminist judging. Drawing on case study and interview data it explores the how, when and where of feminist judging, that is, the feminist resources, tools and techniques judges have drawn upon, the stages in the hearing and decision-making process at which these resources, tools and techniques have been deployed, and the areas of law in which they have been applied. The article goes on to consider observed and potential limits on feminist judicial practice, before drawing conclusions about the comparison between ‘real world’ feminist judging and the practices of FJPs. Los proyectos de sentencias feministas, a través de la reelaboración imaginaria de sentencias judiciales, han explorado multitud de vías en las que las perspectivas feministas se podrían aplicar a la práctica judicial. Pero ¿qué resulta de la comparación entre dichas sentencias y la práctica real de las juezas feministas? Este artículo presenta los resultados de la investigación empírica de la autora. Se analiza el cómo, el cuándo y el dónde de la labor judicial feminista, es decir, los recursos, herramientas y técnicas feministas que las juezas han utilizado, las fases de audiencia y toma de decisión en las que se han utilizado y las áreas del derecho en que se han aplicado. Además, se toman en consideración los límites observados y potenciales de la práctica judicial feminista, y se extraen conclusiones sobre la comparación entre la labor judicial feminista en el “mundo real” y la práctica de los proyectos de tribunales feministas.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 171-176
Author(s):  
Campbell Macpherson

Purpose This paper aims to present a case study focused on developing a change-ready culture within a large organization. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on personal experiences gleaned while driving an organization-wide culture change program throughout a major financial advisory firm. Findings This paper details over a dozen key lessons learned while transforming the HR department from a fragmented, ineffective, reclusive and disrespected department into one that was competent, knowledgeable, enabling and a leader of change. Originality/value Drawing on the real-world culture change intervention detailed here, including results and lessons learned, other organizations can apply similar approaches in their own organizations – hopefully to similar effect.


2009 ◽  
pp. 468-483
Author(s):  
Efrem Mallach

The case study describes a small consulting company’s experience in the design and implementation of a database and associated information retrieval system. Their choices are explained within the context of the firm’s needs and constraints. Issues associated with development methods are discussed, along with problems that arose from not following proper development disciplines.


Author(s):  
Wolff-Michael Roth

To learn by means of analogies, students have to see surface and deep structures in both source and target domains. Educators generally assume that students, presented with images, texts, video, or demonstrations, see what the curriculum designer intends them to see, that is, pick out and integrate information into their existing understanding. However, there is evidence that students do not see what they are supposed to see, which precisely inhibits them to learn what they are supposed to learn. In this extended case study, which exemplifies a successful multimedia application, 3 classroom episodes are used (a) to show how students in an advanced physics course do not see relevant information on the computer monitor; (b) to exemplify teaching strategies designed to allow relevant structures to become salient in students’ perception, allowing them to generate analogies and thereby learn; and (c) to exemplify how a teacher might assist students in bridging from the multimedia context to the real world.


Author(s):  
Hanna Przybysz

Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and William Hirstein are the authors of the concept of a work of art understood as an exaggerated stimulus in the creative process. The aim of art, according to them, is (a) to show the essence of something in a perceptually accessible way, and (b) to evoke a strong reaction from the recipient. Scientists say that the aim of art is not to perfectly reproduce reality, but to present the very essence of an object, scene or event by exaggerating its most characteristic features, while ignoring non-essential features. The effect of this treatment is a super stimulus, which is a supernatural stimulus that does not exist in the real world. Researchers have proposed seven universal – evolutionarily and culturally – neurological laws of aesthetic experience in relation to the visual arts (painting and sculpture). I propose to extend the tool apparatus of neuroaesthetics from the area of unimodal arts to a work of film art. It is an interesting tool for research into film aesthetics and masterpieces. In this paper, I will discuss these laws and make a representative analysis of them in a visual case study of Michael Almereyda’s film Nadja (1994). The main goal of my work is to show the stricto naturalistic position. Man is not aware that the first stages of cognitive perception have a significant impact on his interest in art, what he pays attention to, and on aesthetic experiences on a sensual, unconscious level. It is an interdisciplinary attempt to provide consistency of research approaches in the humanities with the naturalistic one in the area of natural sciences, which shows that on some levels we are very similar to each other and only in the process of ontogenesis do we acquire individuality – that we are governed by universal laws, not only those related to ourindividual interests and tastes.


2020 ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Papageorgiou ◽  
Demetrios Lekkas

In this work, we undertake the task of laying out some basic considerations towards straightening out the foundations of an abstract logical system. We venture to explain what theory is as well as what is not theory, to discriminate between the roles of truth in theory and in reality, as well as to open the road towards clarifying the relationship between theory and the real world. Etymological, cultural and conceptual analyses of truth are brought forth in order to reveal problems in modern approaches and to set the stage for more consistent solutions. One such problem addressed here is related to negation per se, to its asymmetry towards affirmative statements and to the essential ramifications of this duality with respect to the common perceptual and linguistic aspects of words indicating concepts akin to truth in various languages and to attitudes reflected and perpetuated in them and to their consequent use in attempted informal or formal logic and its understanding. Finally, a case study invoking the causes or “causes” of gravity both clarifies and reinforces the points made in this paper.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document