Building Scaffolds

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Botin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Technological Change ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Technological Society ◽  
Critical Constructivism ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Way

Critical Constructivism and postphenomenology are two possible ways of describing, analysing and evaluating the role and meaning of technology in contemporary society and world. Whereas Critical Constructivism looks at the way technologies are dealt with on a macro level considering systems and programs, then postphenomenology digs into the individual and personal appropriation and understanding of technology in everyday life. This means that there is a gap for what concerns levels, but also in relation to what they want to accomplish. The critical stance of Andrew Feenberg in conceiving societal and political problems as ripe for radical technological change is met by postphenomenology’s pragmatic focus on how to build appropriate and meaningful structures for handling of emergent and imminent problems together with and through technology. This paper tries to bridge this gap by introducing the concept of scaffolding, which is inspired by Heidegger’s “Gestell,” but re-read in a new and different way than the usual pessimistic and deterministic interpretation where exploitation and “enframing” is at hand. Scaffolding is read as a common enterprise where we stretch and reach out towards each other in order to create platforms for interventions and activism. The paper is an attempt to direct this common enterprise in specific directions, and this directedness is indicative for our aims and goals. It is the claim that Critical Constructivism and postphenomenology should meet, and perform a certain kind of Techno-Activism when confronted with problems in technological society.

Suspending Events, Loving the Margin: Solitude According to Barthes

Paragraph ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-71
Author(s):  
SABINE HILLEN
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
The Other ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Inner Life ◽  
Collective Experience ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Collective Enterprise ◽  
The Way

In our contemporary society one would be tempted to see solitude as the result of individualism. The most striking idea Barthes developed in Comment vivre ensemble was the way in which solitude could be lived as a collective experience. This collective enterprise was not the result of a selfish retreat devoted to personal preoccupations. It fulfilled itself rather as an action dedicated to the other. In front of this singular way of seeing, the question arises how Barthes conceived this culture of distance as a ‘social’ action. Is it correct to present this ideological pathway as a form of courtesy, implying that others do not need to be confronted with the inner life of the individual? Taking these preliminary thoughts as a keystone, my article explores the content Barthes gives to his so-called socialisme des distances and how texts of early mystical societies develop this notion of distance.

Theories on the Adoption and Appropriation of Mobile Media

2020 ◽  
pp. 28-41
Author(s):  
Veronika Karnowski
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Mobile Media ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Methodological Challenges ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
The Individual

This chapter reviews key theories on the adoption and appropriation of mobile media. It highlights the differences between the binary adoption concept and the concept of appropriation, focusing on everyday life integration, by contrasting the benefits and drawbacks of both concepts. In a second step key factors influencing the adoption and appropriation of mobile media both on a societal macro level and the individual micro level are discussed based on recent empirical evidence. Especially mobile media, consisting of clusters of embedded innovations, pose theoretical and methodological challenges to researching adoption and appropriation processes. This chapter introduces current attempts to overcome these issues and outlines possible avenues for future theorizing of the adoption and appropriation of mobile media.

scholarly journals Revner, sprækker og skred. Noveller af Helle Helle, Pia Juul og Naja Marie Aidt i 00’erne

2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (63) ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Mønster
Keyword(s):  
Short Stories ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
The Welfare State ◽  
The Way

Louise Mønster: “Splits, Cracks and Slippages: Short Stories by Helle Helle, Pia Juul and Naja Marie Aidt in the 00s”The article analyses short stories by Helle Helle, Pia Juul and Naja Marie Aidt which address family and love relations, and it discusses the way in which they relate to presentations of new Danish literature. It is argued that these short stories are typical for the first decade of the 21th century in their focus on close relations, everyday life and contemporary society, whereas it seems more problematic to align them with the understanding of new Danish literature as a critique of the idea of cultural radicalism and the welfare state.

scholarly journals The Way of the Mystic: The Sanjuanist stages of the spiritual path

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Celia Kourie
Keyword(s):  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Spiritual Journey ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Dark Night ◽  
Spiritual Path ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Spiritual Marriage ◽  
John Of The Cross ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Way

A major conceptual dynamic in all major religious traditions is the need for purification and transformation of the individual in order to effect integration and maturation of the personality in the divine. Although the means by which this purification takes place differs according to the cultural and religious configurations of any given tradition, nevertheless a recurring image is that of an inner and outer odyssey. A major example is the threefold path of John of the Cross, which presents a psycho-spiritual journey by which ‘divine osmosis’ can be realised, passing through the ‘dark night of the soul’, and culminating in ‘spiritual marriage’. Although not accepted by many theoreticians and practitioners of mysticism, nevertheless the value of the Sanjuanist schemata still holds sway in contemporary society.

I’ve Created a Monster! (And So Can You)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory Doctorow
Keyword(s):  
Technological Change ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Technology Changes ◽  
Mass Surveillance ◽  
The Way

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein resonated in 19th century England, and still speaks to us today, because it captures people’s anxieties about the effects of runaway technological change. But technological change is not a force of nature. The way technology changes – and the way it changes us – is the result of choices that we make as makers and users of tools, individually and collectively. Today digital technologies are making mass surveillance a part of everyday life, demonstrating how technologies can be marshalled by people in power to control others. The theory of the “adjacent possible,” which helps explain why certain imaginative technological visions emerge into reality at specific moments, in specific contexts, helps us understand how to understand technological change, prepare for its transformative effects, and decide to build and use technologies in ways that enrich human life, rather than exploit it.

scholarly journals O pensamento geográfico e as aproximações com o humanismo: mundo e lugar nas letras das canções de Chico Buarque

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Carolina Machado Rocha Busch Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Cultural Geography ◽  
Space Time ◽  
Human Existence ◽  
Vie Quotidienne ◽  
The World ◽  
Song Lyrics ◽  
Geographical Perspective ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Way

ResumoAs letras das canções de Chico Buarque são portadoras de sentidos, revelam o mundo e possuem potência geográfica para dialogar com o mundo, o lugar e o cotidiano a partir das relações que emolduram a vida. Este ensaio tem o objetivo de refletir sobre a potência das letras das canções de Chico Buarque pela perspectiva geográfica humanista. O lugar tem um sentido e constitui parte essencial da existência humana. Consequentemente, a experiência no mundo-lugar está ligada à forma como se percebe o mundo a partir do espaço-tempo-sentido. Desta forma o ensaio apresenta as geografias reveladas pela letra das canções, a partir do tripé espaço-tempo-sentido, que desvenda o lugar do sujeito, a existência e as possibilidades. As letras das canções de Chico Buarque dialogam com o lugar enquanto elo do mundo, expressão das relações, aproximações com o mundo a partir do espaço-tempo-sentido. As geografias de mundo reveladas nas letras das canções de Chico Buarque apresentam as relações vividas em referências espaciais e temporais.Palavras-chave: Geografia Cultural, Fenomenologia, Música. AbstractChico Buarque’s lyrics convey meanings and bring the world to light. They also have geographical strength to dialogue with the world, places and everyday life, starting from the relations that make up life. The aim of this essay is to reflect on the strength of Chico Buarque’s song lyrics from a humanistic geographical perspective. The place has a meaning and constitutes an essential part of human existence. Consequently, the experience in the place-world depends on the way by which the individual perceives the world from the space-time-sense. In this way the .the essay proposes the geographies shown in the song lyrics from the tripod space-time-sense. Chico Buarque’s song lyrics dialogue with the place as world link, expression of relationships, approaches to the world from the space-time-sense. The world geographies revealed in the lyrics of Chico Buarque songs show relationships lived in spatial and temporal references.Key-words: Cultural Geography, Phenomenology, Music. RésuméLes paroles des chansons Chico Buarque sont porteurs de significations, révéler le monde et ont le pouvoir géographique pour le dialogue avec le monde, le lieu et la vie quotidienne des relations que la vie de cadre. Cet essai vise à réfléchir sur la puissance des paroles de chansons de Chico Buarque point de vue géographique humaniste. L'endroit a un sens et une partie essentielle de l'existence humaine. Par conséquent, l'expérience dans le monde place est liée à la façon dont ils perçoivent le monde à partir de l'espace-temps-sens. De cette façon, le test montre géographiques révélés par la lettre des chansons du trépied espace-temps-sens, qui révèle la place du sujet, l'existence et les possibilités. Les paroles de chanson de Chico Buarque dialogue avec l'endroit comme lien de monde, l'expression de relations, les approches dans le monde de l'espace-temps-sens. Les géographies du monde révélés dans les paroles des chansons Chico Buarque montrent relations vivaient dans les références spatiales et temporelles.Mots-clés: Géographie Culturelle, la Phénoménologie, Musique. 

Hierarchical switching in a multi-dimensional task space is not induced by specific task cues

2001 ◽  
Vol 209 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Kleinsorge ◽  
Herbert Heuer ◽  
Volker Schmidtke
Keyword(s):  
Specific Task ◽  
Task Space ◽  
Basic Pattern ◽  
Task Representation ◽  
Switching Mechanism ◽  
Factorial Combination ◽  
Individual Task ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Way

Summary. When participants have to shift between four tasks that result from a factorial combination of the task dimensions judgment (numerical vs. spatial) and mapping (compatible vs. incompatible), a characteristic profile of shift costs can be observed that is suggestive of a hierarchical switching mechanism that operates upon a dimensionally ordered task representation, with judgment on the top and the response on the bottom of the task hierarchy ( Kleinsorge & Heuer, 1999 ). This switching mechanism results in unintentional shifts on lower levels of the task hierarchy whenever a shift on a higher level has to be performed, leading to non-shift costs on the lower levels. We investigated whether this profile depends on the way in which the individual task dimensions are cued. When the cues for the task dimensions were exchanged, the basic pattern of shift costs was replicated with only minor modifications. This indicates that the postulated hierarchical switching mechanism operates independently of the specifics of task cueing.

Reverence, Revision and Creaturely Life: Whitehead’s Political Theology of Enjoyment

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice Marovich
Keyword(s):  
Political Theology ◽  
Free Society ◽  
Actual Entity ◽  
Symbolic Code ◽  
Strategic Motivation ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Way

‘The art of free society’, A.N. Whitehead declares in his essay on symbolism, is fundamentally dual. It consists of both ‘maintenance of the symbolic code’ and a ‘fearlessness of [its] revision’. This tension, on the surface paradoxical, is what Whitehead believes will prevent social decay, anarchy, or ‘the slow atrophy of a life stifled by useless shadows’. Bearing in mind Whitehead’s own thoughts on the nature of symbolism, this chapter argues that the figure of the creature has been underappreciated in his work as a symbol. It endeavors to examine and contextualize the symbolic potency of creatureliness in Whitehead’s work, with particular attention directed toward the way the creature helps him to both maintain and revise an older symbolic code. In Process and Reality, ‘creature’ serves as Whitehead’s alternate name for the ‘individual fact’ or the ‘actual entity’—including (perhaps scandalously, for his more orthodox readers) the figure of God. What was Whitehead’s strategic motivation for deploying this superfluous title for an already-named category? In this chapter, it is suggested that his motivation was primarily poetic (Whitehead held the British romantic tradition in some reverence) and so, in this sense, always and already aware of its rich symbolic potency.

Attention Sustainability Impact on Social Status in the Class

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-46
Author(s):  
Stanislava Varadinova
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
School Dropout ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Early School ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Way ◽  
Positive Environment

The attention sustainability and its impact of social status in the class are current issues concerning the field of education are the reasons for delay in assimilating the learning material and early school dropout. Behind both of those problems stand psychological causes such as low attention sustainability, poor communication skills and lack of positive environment. The presented article aims to prove that sustainability of attention directly influences the social status of students in the class, and hence their overall development and the way they feel in the group. Making efforts to increase students’ attention sustainability could lead to an increase in the social status of the student and hence the creation of a favorable and positive environment for the overall development of the individual.

Make Love at War? Representing Gender and Memory in the Soviet Estonian Film Dark Windows (Pimedad aknad, Tõnis Kask, 1968)

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-37
Author(s):  
Liis Jõhvik
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Interpersonal Relations ◽  
Nazi Germany ◽  
National Narrative ◽  
Moral Choices ◽  
The One ◽  
Falling In Love ◽  
The Way

Abstract Initially produced in 1968 as a three-part TV miniseries, and restored and re-edited in 2008 as a feature-length film, Dark Windows (Pimedad aknad, Tõnis Kask, Estonia) explores interpersonal relations and everyday life in September 1944, during the last days of Estonia’s occupation by Nazi Germany. The story focuses on two young women and the struggles they face in making moral choices and falling in love with righteous men. The one who slips up and falls in love with a Nazi is condemned and made to feel responsible for the national decay. This article explores how the category of gender becomes a marker in the way the film reconstructs and reconstitutes the images of ‘us’ and ‘them’. The article also discusses the re-appropriation process and analyses how re-editing relates to remembering of not only the filmmaking process and the wartime occupation, but also the Estonian women and how the ones who ‘slipped up’ are later reintegrated into the national narrative. Ultimately, the article seeks to understand how this film from the Soviet era is remembered as it becomes a part of Estonian national filmography.

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