Physecology: A Conceptual Framework to Describe Data Physicalizations in their Real-World Context

The standard definition for “physicalizations” is “a physical artifact whose geometry or material properties encode data” [ 47 ]. While this working definition provides the fundamental groundwork for conceptualizing physicalization, in practice many physicalization systems go beyond the scope of this definition as they consist of distributed physical and digital elements that involve complex interaction mechanisms. In this article, we examine how “physicalization” is part of a broader ecology—the “physecology”—with properties that go beyond the scope of the working definition. Through analyzing 60 representative physicalization papers, we derived six design dimensions of a physecology: (i) represented data type, (ii) way of information communication, (iii) interaction mechanisms, (iv) spatial input–output coupling, (v) physical setup, and (vi) audiences involved. Our contribution is the extension of the definition of physicalization to the broader concept of “physecology,” to provide conceptual clarity on the design of physicalizations for future work.

Defining Your “Life Territory”: The Meaning of Place and Home for Community Dwellers and Nursing Home Residents—A Qualitative Study in Four European Countries

The meaning of place and home for community dwellers and nursing home residents remains unclear. We explored the relationship between older people and their “life territory”, to propose a working definition of this concept, which could be used to orient policy decisions. Individual, semi-structured interviews were performed with older people, nursing home staff, and representatives of local institutions/elected officials in four European countries (France, Belgium, Germany, Italy). Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. In total, 54 interviews were performed. Five main themes emerged: (i) working definition of “your life territory” (a multidimensional concept covering individual and collective aspects); (ii) importance of the built environment (e.g., public transport, sidewalks, benches, access ramps); (iii) interactions between nursing homes and the outside community (specifically the need to maintain interactions with the local community); (iv) a sense of integration (dependent on social contacts, seniority in the area, perceived self-utility); and (v) the use of new technologies (to promote integration, social contacts and access to culture). This study found that the “life territory” of older people is a multidimensional concept, centred around five main domains, which together contribute to integrating older people into the fibre of their community.

Double Dearth Effect

This chapter presents a narrative inquiry on the life experiences of three Filipino families who belong to each representation of socioeconomic status. Furthermore, it unpacks the temporal, social, and geophysical or spatial elements of their narratives in relation to the disruptive effects of the coronavirus pandemic on their resources, access, and literacy practices. Subsequent to securing their consent, each family was subjected to an online recorded semi-structured interview where they shared their life experiences. The recorded responses were later transcribed and analyzed using Montero and Washington's lens in exploring narratives. The researchers ultimately provide collaborative narratives of the three families' experiences and theorize on the specific experiences of poor or low-income families against the experiences of the middle class and the rich or high-income families. The researchers end the chapter by offering a working definition of their concept called the double-dearth effect.

Resistance through Female Bonding in Tehmina Durrani's Blasphemy

The present research article analyses the suffering of women and their resistance against oppressive Islamic patriarchy through female bonding in Tehmina Durrani’s Blasphemy. In doing so, it offers the working definition of the term “feminism” as a tool of inquiry. It mainly focuses on the suffering of Heer, the protagonist of the novel, due to her loveless marriage with Pir Sain. It exposes the easy distortion of Islam by so-called hypocritical religious leaders like Pir Sain. The suffering of Heer and other female characters in the novel reveal the problems in the cultural and social setting of the Islamic culture and religion. Heer is repeatedly beaten, raped and humiliated by her abusive husband Pir. Pir forces her to live in the world that he has constructed for her. Her marriage with Pir utterly fails as it turns out to be a source of trouble and repression of her self-satisfaction. When she fails to tolerate severe torture and domestic violence, she decides to revolt against it. This paper concludes that Heer is able to resist sexual abuse and exploitation through female bonding. In doing so, she is able to assert her female selfhood.

Exploring Communities of Faith

Many researchers focus primarily on the frequency of church attendance when they study the religion-and-health relationship. The many shortcomings of this strategy are discussed in this chapter. A plea is made for focusing on communities of faith instead. Four issues involving communities of faith are examined: (1) a preliminary working definition of communities of faith is provided; (2) because communities of faith constitute a vast conceptual domain, a good deal of this chapter is spent on identifying the key characteristics of communities of faith and explaining how they arise and are maintained; (3) in an effort to move the literature forward, a detailed research plan for devising measures of communities of faith is presented; and (4) a submodel is provided that further illuminates the relationship between religious identities and communities of faith.

Related rights: conceptual approaches, definition and key features

The development of technologies contributes to the emergence of new intangible objects that have potential value and are aimed at spreading the results of creativity and information. In this regard, the society is interested in encouraging the activities of entities that create such objects. One of the options for the protection of such objects is to grant the related rights. Considering the technological changes in society associated with the use of information and telecommunication networks and artificial intelligence, the issues of granting related rights to new entities gain relevance. In order to identify the possibility of expanding the institution of related rights and determine the directions of such expansion, the article analyzes the main approaches to the formation of the institute of related rights, their characteristics, and attempts to deliver a working definition of the concept of related rights. On the basis of a comparative analysis, the author considers Russian and foreign legislative acts in the field of intellectual property, international treaties on copyright and related rights, as well as legal literature. The most supported idea of the formation of the institute of related rights is the functional purpose of the activities of subjects of related rights, acting as intermediaries between authors and representatives of the public. However, the institute itself is evolving and recognition of related rights for new subjects depends not only on the functional purpose of the activity, but also on their organizational and/or economic contribution aimed at processing and disseminating works and information. It can be assumed that the institute of related rights will continue to expand with the development of technologies and the public demand for new services provided by new technologies.

Examining the OPM: Form, Function, and Policy Implications

Online program management (OPM) is the merging of online education and outsourcing practices in higher education. OPM firms facilitate the development, delivery, and management of online programs for colleges and universities. Although OPM partnerships can help institutions offer online programs they otherwise would not be able to offer, such agreements raise concerns not seen with other types of outsourcing. To help others understand the phenomenon of online program management, we pulled together fragmented information from previous studies and literature, national datasets, websites, policies and regulations, and interviews with experts. Because previous writings use a range of definitions for the term OPM, we start by providing a working definition of an OPM agreement. Each side of the agreement is then examined in turn. For colleges and universities, we consider the reasons why they choose (or do not choose) to enter into an OPM partnership. Special attention is paid to reasons pertaining to organizational finances and nonprofit conversions. For OPM firms, we provide details about the organizations that participate in this rapidly changing market. Last, we offer policy perspectives while noting possible modifications of current regulations and providing caution about unintentional consequences of over-regulation.

Definitions Matter: Dynamic Policy Framing of the Arts in Boston’s Sustainable Cultural Development

Cultural sustainability has become a fourth pillar in sustainable development studies. Different from the research approach to embedding culture into conventional sustainable discourse, this article argues that the sustainability and resilience issues within the arts and cultural sector should be paid more attention to. Putting the arts and cultural sector in urban settings, sustainable cultural development entails dynamic policy framing and changing policy justifications in response to an evolving socioeconomic and political environment. Taking the policy framing of the arts as an analytical lens, this paper aims to investigate this dynamic change and key driving factors through an in-depth case study of Boston’s urban cultural development. This article finds that different definitions of the arts are associated with different arts-based urban development strategies across four stages of cultural development in Boston spanning a period of over 75 years. The working definition moved from art to the arts, then to the creative arts industry, and eventually to cultural assets and creative capital. The policy framing of the arts keeps evolving and layering in pursuit of more legitimacy and resources regarding groups of stakeholders, field industry components, types of industrial structure, and multiple policy goals. This dynamic policy framing has been driven by arts advocacy groups, policy learning process, urban leadership change, and cultural institutional change, allowing Boston to draw on a growing and diversifying set of cultural resources in pursuit of sustainable cultural development.

Redefining Groove

Groove is a popular and widely-used concept in the field of music. Yet its precise definition remains elusive. Upon closer inspection, groove appears to be used as an umbrella term with various connotations depending on the musical era, the musical context, and the individual using the term. Our aim in this paper was to explore different definitions and connotations of the term groove so as to reach a more detailed understanding of it. Consequently, in an online survey, 88 participants provided free-text descriptions of the term groove. A thematic analysis revealed that participants’ descriptions fit into three main categories: music-, experience-, and individual differences related aspects. Based upon this analysis, we propose a contemporary working definition of the term groove as used in the field of music psychology: “Groove is a participatory experience (related to immersion, movement, enjoyment, and social connection) resulting from subtle interaction of specific music- (such as time- and pitch-related features), performance- and/or individual difference-related factors.” Furthermore, we propose the terms perceived and induced groove to distinguish the different aspects of groove that are associated with its perceived musical features and induced effects on listeners. Importantly, this specification will permit further research with a common language to refer to distinct aspects of groove and thus create a more profound understanding in groove literature. Finally, we direct future studies to focus on the concept of groove under influence of different variables, such as the roles of individual differences (such as age, expertise and personality traits), execution of overt movements, or presences of others on listeners’ perceived and induced groove experiences. These will further elucidate our understanding of what groove actually is.

Antisemitic or Bordering on Antisemitic? Grey Areas in Romanian Fake News Discourses in the Wake of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Jews as a collective have long served as scapegoats for epidemics and pandemics, such as the Bubonic Plague and, according to some scholars, the 1918–1920 influenza pandemic. This practice reemerged in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when more and more fake news outlets in the US and Europe started publishing articles on a perceived linkage between Jewish communities and the novel coronavirus. What this article aims to achieve is to facilitate a dialogue between the observations on the phenomenon made by the Elie Wiesel National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania and the latest related EU reports, with a view to charting its beginnings in Romania in relation to other European countries and in an attempt to see whether Romania, like France and Germany, has witnessed the emergence of “grey area” discourses which are not fully covered by International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism.