Variables considered on art therapy assessments and rating instruments: a systematic review

Objectives: Art-based assessments are used by art therapists and sometimes researchers principally to: determine treatments, levels of cognition and functioning, evaluate progress of a client or to understand the client’s environment and problems that can be represented in a graphic level. These art-based assessments use determined evaluation instruments to measure parameters to understand their clients. The rating instruments have different variables and some studies even present their own adapted scales. For this systematic review, the tools examined in the analysis are: The Bird’s Nest Drawing (BND); the Bridge Drawing; the Diagnostic Drawing Series (DDS); the Person Picking an Apple from a Tree (PPAT); and Free Drawing Assessment. Rating instruments are also considered, including the Descriptive Assessment of Psychiatric Art (DAPA), the DDS Rating Guide and Drawing Analysis Form (DAF), the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) and studies that include their own scale. There are different elements considered when assessing drawings and artwork approaches to make assessment test using art-based and art therapy tools. The principal objective of the present systematic review was to observe the different elements analysed. The specific objectives were; to describe characteristics of this assessments and to observe the elements considered to analyse drawings in order to observe their application and their validity. Methods: Studies available in English were accessed. The following databases were used: AMED, A&HCI, Arts and Humanities Citation Index, Medline, Psych INFO and Google Scholar. Searches covered the periods from database inception to July 2021 on art therapy and art-based assessment diagnose tools. Results: There were different variables used in art therapy and art based assessment diagnose tools. There were some variables that related or were named differently un some studies. However, there were other variables that were considered in some studies, while in other ones where not. To analyse the assessment the majority were using qualitative and observational technics, a few studies did not share their analysis, in this kind of studies only a thematic analysis or other type of analysis where developed studied. Descriptive results and synthesis outcomes reveal that art therapists are still in a nascent stage of understanding assessments and rating instruments, that flaws in the art therapy assessment and rating instrument literature research are numerous, and that much work has yet to be done. Conclusions: Descriptive results and synthesis revel that some studies have some limitations in some studies regarding to the content that is and how is analysed. Art therapy and art-based studies stills in a nascent stage of understanding the variables considered when using rating instruments. This systematic review also contributes as there are flaws in the art therapy and art-based rating instruments are numerous. There is a limited evidence on studies related with assessment diagnose tools and the reliability of some scales.

Observing observers in social systems theory.: an interview with Hans-Georg Moeller

On November 4th, 2019, Hans-Georg Moeller delivered a presentation on systems theory at the Law School of the University of São Paulo and was interviewed about Niklas Luhmann’s theory of society, with emphasis on issues such as law, politics, and the history of philosophy. Professor Moeller is the author of important books such as Luhmann explained: From souls to systems (Moeller, 2006) and The radical Luhmann (Moeller, 2011), the latter also translated to Japanese and Italian. He also works on Chinese philosophy and is currently Full Professor at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Macau, China. Throughout the interview, professor Moeller situated Luhmann in the philosophical tradition of German idealism and presented the shift to second-order observation as a crucial aspect of contemporary society, in religion and politics, science, economy and law. The interview was conducted partly in writing and partly in the form of a recorded and transcribed debate.

Publication practices in the Humanities

This paper is a case study of research publication practices at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Linnaeus University, a young, mid-sized university in the south-east of Sweden. Research output was measured from publications in the local institutional repository following the guidelines of local research policy as defined in university documentation. The data collection comprised 3,316 metadata records of publications self-registered by authors affiliated with the faculty during the period of 2010–2018. A statistical analysis of research output was conducted, focusing on preferred publication types, disciplinary specificity, level of co-authorship, and the language of the publication as registered in the local repository. The analysis focused on two main research questions: 1) how do the local research practices stand in relation to traditional publication patterns in the humanities? 2) how do the observed publication patterns relate to local university policy on publication and research evaluation? The empirical results suggest a limited correlation between publication practices and research incentives from university management, a finding that is corroborated by previous research on the scholarly character of the humanities and university policies. Overall, traditional humanities publication patterns were largely maintained throughout the period under investigation.

Speculative Fiction, Sociology, and Surveillance Studies: Towards a Methodology of the Surveillance Imaginary

Utopian theorists often speak about the merits of reading utopian fiction in order to reimagine and rebuild a better world, but dystopian fiction is often overlooked. This is, in my view, misguided because dystopian fiction, like utopian fiction, diagnoses issues with the present, inspires activism and resistance, and, in the twenty-first century, often presents ideas of how to effect positive change through collective activism. As speculative literary genres concerned with world-building, utopian and dystopian fiction have inherent sociological concerns. These texts can therefore be utilised by sociologists and other researchers beyond the arts and humanities. Speculative fiction is important to the field of surveillance studies not only because surveillance is a major theme in these literary texts but also because their formal properties provide us with the language, imagery, and feelings associated with being under surveillance. Twenty-first-century utopian and dystopian fiction has not been thoroughly examined by surveillance scholars. Analysis of utopian and dystopian fiction in this field has also focused on texts set in, and written by authors from, the global north. Considering the plethora of dystopian novels in and beyond the global north published in recent years that discuss surveillance, the neglect of the study of these texts to date is an oversight.

Design-based research as a framework for developing and deploying augmented reality applications and scenarios for intercultural exchange

This paper delves into the underlying phases involved in designing, developing, and deploying Augmented Reality (AR) applications and game-based scenarios that will be implemented during intercultural exchanges among students in two different academic institutions in Sweden and Cyprus. Building on principles of design-based research (Barab & Squire, 2004; Klopfer & Squire, 2008), the aim is to expand the learning ecology by leveraging instructional tools and developing novel scenarios to broaden the trajectories of collaboration, intercultural understanding and communication, and cultural knowledge. The AR applications and scenarios are in the process of being developed as part of the Digital Methods Platform for Arts and Humanities (DiMPAH) project, where game-based activities will foster intercultural collaboration, exploration of cultural heritage sites, intercultural understanding, knowledge, and interaction. Adopting a bottom-up approach, instructors collaborate with a software developer and an extended research team to design pedagogically and culturally potent scenarios embedded in novel technologies that bring the virtual into the physical world.

Бурят-Монгольский ученый комитет (1922–1929 гг.): этапы становления и организация первых научных исследований

The article aims at shedding light on the history of the Buryat-Mongolian Scientific Committee: stages of its growth, contributions of its staff members in the organization of research and its implementation. Materials and methods. Both published and unpublished documents kept in the Center for Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and in the State Archive of the Republic of Buryatia were used as the main sources for the reconstruction of the past events while the data analysis was based on the main scientific principles of historicism, systematicity, and objectivity; the paper’s comprehensive approach was implemented via the method of system analysis, problem-chronological and historical-comparative methods, and local history. Results. The Buryat-Mongolian Scientific Committee (Buruchkom), established in July 1922, was designed to promote the national-cultural construction in Buryat-Mongolia while focusing on research and educational tasks. It had to begin its operation under far from favorable conditions, such as poor funding, illiteracy of the population, a shortage of personnel, and practically non-existent printing and publishing, especially in the Buryat-Mongolian language. Nevertheless, Buruchkom organized the studies of Buryat history, archaeology, spiritual and material culture, language and religion, and started field work as well. A significant portion of its activities was initially directed towards translation of educational and socio-political literature into the Buryat language, related terminological and lexical studies, preparation and publication of teaching materials, such as textbooks and teaching manuals for Buryat-Mongolian schools. The academic environment was enhanced with establishing a library and museum, which were of much relevance for future scientific work. Buruchkom’s final success was due to its fruitful cooperation with the central scientific institutions of the country and the Mongolian Scientific Committee. Conclusion. Despite that its team of researchers was not numerous, Buruchkom managed to organize, as well as conduct research projects in the fields of history, archaeology, ethnography, and linguistics. Having accomplished an important objective of laying the foundations of science in the region, it has now become a leading academic center of the Republic, known for its research in the arts and humanities.

Imaginative Leadership: A Conceptual Frame for the Design and Facilitation of Creative Methods and Generative Engagement

In the field of sustainability science, many scholars and practitioners are embracing a ‘humanistic turn’ that draws from psychology and cognitive sciences and from the arts and humanities. Contributing to a spirit of ‘exuberant experimentation’ in the field, this chapter asks: How can creative methods of engagement be operationalized to support the imaginative capacity of researchers and practitioners in the arena of sustainability? In order to address this question, I (a) propose the concept of imaginative leadership to describe the ability to understand and consciously influence the symbolic/metaphorical dimensions of self and others, and (b) explore the process of designing workshops that employ creative methods rooted in ‘transformative mindsets.’ Transformative mindsets refer to specific conceptual frames identified for their potential to disrupt default unsustainable and anthropocentric worldviews and open new spaces of possibility for action and perception. The broad goal of these workshops was to support imaginative leadership towards regenerative sustainability through collaborative experimentation with unconventional methods. Informed by research on metaphorical thinking, somatics, neurocognitive linguistics, and arts-based environmental education, the methods were designed to activate a set of specific transformative mindsets, which were subsequently refined through the process of experimentation and co-reflection during and after the workshops.

A Decade of Teaching the Course Aging & the Arts: Reflecting on Opportunities and Challenges

In 2010, the University of Utah Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program first offered GERON 5240/6240: Aging and the Arts. This course was developed to enrich program curricula by addressing a gap in content specific to the arts and humanities. The purpose of this presentation is to focus on identifying the opportunities and challenges experienced teaching this course over the past decade. Opportunities will highlight competency mapping, internal and external partnerships, the benefits of bridging disciplines, and innovation in teaching and problem-solving. Challenges experienced include addressing various needs (online learning, undergraduate and graduate levels, multiple disciplines), tuition differentials, and varying levels of enrollment. A stand-alone course is one method of increasing humanities, arts, and cultural gerontology within curricula. It has the potential of enhancing student interest in gerontology while also demonstrating how the arts and humanities can improve work across disciplines.

Integrating Humanities and Arts Into Gerontology and Geriatrics Curricula

Humanities, Arts and Cultural Gerontology (HACG) has been an integral element of GSA for over 4 decades, and is included as a notable feature of AGHE guidelines on curricula for gerontology and geriatrics. However, as with many interdisciplinary areas, the degree to which HACG has been successfully inserted into curricula, the extent to which this has involved engagement of faculty in arts and humanities, and the facilitators and barriers of such deeper joint working are unknown. The HACG Advisory Panel and AGHE would like to convene a round-table/symposium at the 2021 Phoenix GSA Meeting to consider the range of experiences of educators of programs in gerontology/geriatrics, from those who can relate success stories in integrating HACG into their curricula, to those who can give insights into challenges and opportunities in attempts to develop such elements in their curricula. Co-convened by Des O'Neill, Chair HACG AP and Dana Burr Bradley AGHE Program Chair, we invite lively discussion which we consider will aid in the development of a road map towards substantive and rewarding initiatives in incorporating scholarship and education in HACG in gerontology and geriatrics educational program