Contemporaneous Challenges Research Articles

Fashioning the “Inner” (Bāṭin) in Baḥya ibn Paqūda’s Duties of the Hearts

AbstractIn the seminal work, Direction to the Duties of the Hearts, Baḥya ibn Paqūda (flourished 11th century) aimed to reconstruct Jewish existence on the basis of a fundamental distinction between the “duties of the members” and the “duties of the hearts.” Baḥya’s intent was to instigate a transition towards the internalization of Jewish religious life. This paradigm shift was to take place not only by the shaping of an ideational formation and a new set of distinctions that Baḥya aimed at integrating in Jewish life, but also through a reflective consideration of the state of the Jewish tradition, its transmission mechanisms, historical trajectory, and contemporaneous challenges. As I will demonstrate in this article, in order to realize this transformation, Baḥya utilized a distinction that cross-cuts his work: the distinction between ẓāhir (“external” or “manifest”) and bāṭin (“inner” or “hidden”), that mostly indicates the relation between the manifest sphere of one’s actions and the activity that takes place only in one’s mental space. However, as I argue, this distinction is also applied by Baḥya to the expanse of Jewish “tradition,” pertaining to what was disclosed in it and what was left unimparted, what was communicated and what was kept unsaid, what was remembered and what was neglected.

Unusual Architectures: «Other» Experiences in Architecture and Urbanism, Santiago de Chile (1950-2020)

Understanding the contemporary city as an unfathomable experience, as a set of complex experiences, prone to the indeterminate, this research acknowledges and collects fragments of a larger complex to search for and highlight objects, situations, artifacts, and experiences far from the canonical discourses. These "other" experiences are defined as unusual architectures, that is, located on the margins of what is normally discussed and valued in the traditional spaces of architectural practice, criticism, and teaching. Such recognition is constructed from otherness and comprises a provisional and changing complex. Methodologically, the research implies, first, a conceptual contextualization regarding the valuation of the otherness in architecture and the city as a motor of change in the discipline, and second, an immersion in the direct experience of space by the team. Through urban tours and a search for bibliographic and archival information, ninety cases are collected. Their relevance and critical potentialities are discussed and twenty-seven are studied in depth, making a planimetric and photographic representation, as well as a discourse of contextualization and valuation. Of these, six cases are rescued to contextualize the categories proposed for the organization of all the others. As a finding, the value of otherness, often silenced, is recognized in the set to trigger new possible ways of facing the architectural and urban challenges of contemporaneity.

Skovoroda’s philosophy and calling of contemporary people

The article is devoted to the analysis of understanding of calling in the works of Skovoroda and its significance for the world-views and life choices of contemporary people. The current crisis phenomena are explicated in the light of the points of Skovoroda’s philosophy on the disparity between material and spiritual dimensions of human existence, irrelevance of work, devaluation of self-knowledge, individualism, and consumerism. The result is spiritual slavery and inability of people to respond to the challenges of contemporaneity. According to Skovoroda’s principle of self-knowledge, a person has to hear the internal call of existential truth or “God’s Spirit” which motivates for work, public service, and moral improvement. The author explicates 3 semantic levels in Skovoroda’s philosophy of calling: individual, social, and spiritual. By Skovoroda, calling appears as a natural desire to act in a certain sphere, but its end is in the Kingdom of God. The author presents the results of the research of the experience of calling of contemporary Ukrainians and explicates the typology of that experience. The article states that the revealed structure of calling “desire-abilities-realization-good” corresponds in general with the understanding of calling by Skovoroda. Therefore, this structure is constant over time. Nevertheless and contrary to the ethics of Skovoroda, nowadays, the motivation of self-development prevails over the value of care for common good and spiritual goals in understanding of calling. The comparison of the experience of calling in the minds of student youth in Ukraine and in the USA confirms its identity on the basis of common Judaic-Christian tradition. The differences in the contemporary understanding of calling are determined along the lines of religiosity versus secularity, and Protestantism versus Eastern Christianity. In particular, noted moral rigorism of the protestant understanding of calling as an obligation, whereas Jews and the other Christians conceive calling in the forms of light, easiness, and happiness. The author reasoned the significant motivating and pedagogical capability of the idea of calling in the contemporary world. The article emphasizes the importance of Skovoroda’s critical philosophic attitude towards individualism and consumerism in the direction of overcoming problems of environment, particularly of climate change induced by unstoppable growth of energy consumption, and of anthropological crisis.

A Review of Hydrological Studies in the United Arab Emirates

The increasing interest in hydrological studies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has resulted in the publication of several papers on hydrology and its broad use for addressing contemporaneous challenges confronting humans and the environment in the region. However, for several reasons, these efforts have remained invisible and unrecognized. This paper has reviewed the literature on hydrological research in the UAE to provide a comprehensive source of information for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders. The documented studies were carefully selected, relying on a bibliometric analysis methodology of five phases to specify the boundary of the study area, adopt the primary keywords for the search, evaluate the obtained papers, exclude the non-conforming ones, and classify the final results into four distinguished topics—namely, rainfall analysis, urban growth and flood hazards, cloud seeding and changing climate, and groundwater situation and utilization. The evaluation process considered assessing the papers’ relevancy, authenticity, and coverage of the main issues of interest. In all, a total of 50 published papers were identified based on the specified criteria and reviewed. The main findings were first that the amount of rainfall over the UAE has been declining in the last decade, and this trend is expected to continue, although intensities are rising, suggesting shorter duration events. Secondly, the extensive urban growth in the country has resulted in increasing incidences of urban floods and declining groundwater recharge. Both of these are to be expected as consequences of the increased imperviousness from urbanization and the higher intensities from shorter-duration rainfall events. Thirdly, although the cloud-seeding program has proved to be successful in increasing precipitation amounts, the impact of this on flooding due to more extreme rainfall intensities and on air quality remains worrisome. Finally, groundwater analyses have shown that it is still the main freshwater resource in the country, but its long-term sustainability and quality are being threatened by the declining recharge. This calls for a national policy for groundwater management in the UAE to tackle the challenges associated with the increasing demand for water in all sectors of the economy. The study recommended addressing the gap in the hydrological literature of the UAE, specifically in the field of big meteorological data analysis, the socioeconomic impacts of urban floods, the impacts of climate change in urbanized regions, and the possibility of using alternative resources to recharge groundwater as part of sustainable water management.

THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF ULLAPOOLISM

This article proposes Ullapoolism, a post-data, activist, autoethnographic epistemology for contemporary book culture studies. It begins by addressing the challenges of contemporaneity and multidisciplinarity in researching the creation, circulation and use of books. We identify a rigidity that limits existing theoretical frameworks for the study of book cultures, and a paucity in existing research modes – including those from literary sociology, the digital humanities and cultural analytics – that collect, count and model book cultures. Our alternative epistemology, Ullapoolism, draws on two modes of action developed by the Situationist International – détournements, mischievous re-inscriptions of existing cultural artefacts; and dérives, active drifts through space attuned to emotion – and addresses potential predicaments including recuperation and entanglement. The situated knowledge produced through this epistemology has practical applications. Fields are not neutral, and as mischief-making activists, we use creative critique and playful experimentalism to oppose structural inequity. Ullapoolism therefore offers a future programme for both cultural analysis and scholarly activism.

The teacher of art education in secondary school facing the challenges of contemporaneity

El proposito de este articulo es reflejar de forma simplificada los retos y desafios que tiene ante si la educacion visual y artistica dentro del contexto educativo de la ensenanza secundaria, y que se haran mas evidentes en un futuro cercano. El docente en la especialidad de Dibujo, al igual que otros especialistas de diversas materias, se encuentra inserto en un sistema educativo que instituye una forma de trabajo y un modelo educativo, el cual esta limitado de recursos para adaptarse a una nueva realidad. Al mismo tiempo la profesion de educador en las ensenanzas no universitarias se ha convertido en una labor compleja y dificil debido a los cambios profundos que se vienen produciendo en los ultimos anos en el seno familiar y en el panorama social, cultural, economico, tecnologico y politico. El analisis del statu quo del docente en arte y de los perfiles del alumnado en el mundo contemporaneo se convierte en una necesidad fundamental para comprender la situacion y emprender acciones encaminadas a generar entendimiento y eficacia en el proceso de ensenanza y aprendizaje.

Contemporary Challenges in Sociomuseology Research

In the context of the Museology of Scientific Research, in recent decades, it has gained more importance as the themes and approaches connect with socio-cultural and political-economic realities. This article approaches an investigation in the field of sociomuseology and how it articulates with some of the challenges of contemporaneity and what are their articulations with local and international contexts. Therefore, it aims at a better understanding of the issues that impact on contemporary society and, consequently, in the area of ​​Museology. During the most recent period of a change in the Museology sector, sociomology research has been expanded both in the breadth of approaches and topics addressed, as well as in the new threats that feed back the work done. The article will be based on the reflection and practice of the Ibero-American Museum, but whenever possible from an understanding of a broader context. Keywords: Sociomuseology, Museology, Research, Research, Contemporary.

Children Participatory Design Workshops: An Approach for Built Environment Education (BEE)

In response to the environmental crisis and its multiple consequences that threat almost all walks of life, and seeking means towards better quality of life, the UN (United Nations), through its Sustainable Development Goals SDGs and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, together with the UIA (International Union of Architects) through its numerous work programs and charters - are striving to reinforce awareness between architects and community about built environment design and its impact on their living conditions. Considering children and youth as the primary stakeholders and their active participation to decision-making is important for both children to have a voice in processes and for adults to listen their contributions to achieve and leave a sustainable future. From retrospection, Environmental Awareness (EA) is defined as concern for what is happening in the environment, and Environmental Knowledge (EK) is defined as an understanding of the basic fundamentals in the environment. It is argued that raising children’s environmental knowledge and awareness is the basis for all the above mentioned challenges. The study at hand argues that introducing participatory design to children can actually raise not only children’s, but also their parents‟ awareness about the relationship between the built and natural environment and about the link between sustainable development and the quality of life. It is further argued that introducing design to children at such an early age is undoubtedly to promote their innate sustainable thinking approach towards the essence of “quality of life”. Our aim, therefor, is to introduce a model for introducing participatory design to children in Egypt, through which Environmental Awareness and Knowledge are manifested. The the significant importance of this study is regarded as an evitable paradigm shift, in response to our local contemporaneous challenges; our environmental crisis, our built environment deterioration, and the degrading credibility of our profession in the eyes of the Egyptian society. The methodology is based on reviewing the available literature on the topics of built environment education, participatory design, environmental knowledge and environmental awareness. Following, is an election of concepts argued as prerequisites for engaging young children in a participatory approach towards raising their environmental knowledge and awareness. Concepts are further examined empirically through a series of real life children and youth participatory-design workshops. Showcasing the workshops is expected to signify the validity of the approach. Concluding, the paper ends by providing a significant model that can be applied in schools, cultural centers, community and children amenities. It is anticipated that applying such a model will not only prepare the children for their future roles as good citizens, but will also reunite architects and educators together to deliver out sustainability concepts through built environment education. Hence, endorsing the role of architects are facilitators towards their community development responsibilities through participation.

Die "unermessliche Leichtigkeit und Zerbrechlichkeit des menschlichen Faktums." Jan Patočka und die Krise des Humanismus

The "immeasurable lightness and fragility of the human fact." Jan Patočka and the Crisis of HumanismThe article addresses Jan Patočka’s writings in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. The paper’s title – "The Immense Lightness and Fragility of the Human Fact" – is taken from a short, yet immensely crucial 1946 text of his that formulates a severe criticism of ideology/ideologies and eventually offers a profound questioning of humanist ideals. Accentuating his critique against the backdrop of Sartre's and Heidegger's contemporaneous challenges to humanism, the paper argues that Patočka debunks a misconceived "cult of the human being" and ideologies of progress while insisting on the integrity of a human life in confrontation with its inherent weakness and fragility.

BIG DATA APPLIED TO CYBER-PHYSICAL LOGISTIC SYSTEMS: CONCEPTUAL MODEL AND PERSPECTIVES

<p>The management of supply chains and their subsystems embodies strategic and contemporaneous challenges. The competitiveness of supply chains depends increasingly on their flexibility. Logistics as a supply chain function has to compensate increasing requirements regarding flexibility by means of a higher information density and the employment of innovative techniques for data acquisition and analytics. Indeed, the flow of information that commands the physical flow embodies a critical issue for the management of supply chains. Hence, by means of a theoretical and conceptual approach, this paper aims to propose to research management perspectives and propose a model for the application of innovative techniques for data acquisition and analytics in Cyber-Physical Logistic Systems.</p>

Paulo Freire, ensino, história e os desafios da contemporaneidade

Current research analyzes the works by Paulo Freire on the possibilities for teaching in general and for History within the context of the challenges of contemporaneity, especially those linked to democracy and the construction of citizenship. The most important thing in the teaching of History is a change of methodology at the service of democracy, or rather, the formation of a critical and independent historical thought. Debates in the Humanities segment of teaching denote a concern on the significant loss of belonging due to the fastness in information and its valorization to the detriment of reflection in a world context that all seems provisional and fleeting. The above shows the importance on directing education and the teaching of history to face the loss of references mainly by young people with their close social milieu and their relationship with everything. The concept of historicity reveals two complementary movements: Freire´s opus as an element of reflection concerned with one´s role as an intellectual in the dialogue with one´s time period and its importance as a central element for 'critical conscience', according to Freire, or 'historical conscience', according to Jorn Rusen, which are essential for the building of a civil and citizen awareness.

Critical Appraisal of Costly Therapy Modalities for Heart Failure in a Developing Country

Contemporaneous challenges in heart failure management include strategies to rationally use health economic resources and relative donor shortage to adequately offer electric devices (cardiac resynchronization therapy [CRT] and implantable cardioverter defibrillators [ICD]), ventricular assist devices (VADs) and heart transplant, respectively. These issues are particularly important in countries with middle-income rates and limited structured heart transplant centers, such as Brazil. Use of CRT and ICDs need to follow strict guidelines, further customized to public financial health conditions. Experience with VADs in is the early days in Brazil and will require extreme caution to allocate health public resources to develop VAD programs in highly selected centers. Chagas' disease is epidemiologically important in Brazil; outcomes of patients with Chagas' on electric devices are unclear while these patients fare better post-transplant than non-Chagas' patients. Thus, heart transplant remains an attractive option regarding both favorable outcomes and resource allocation for advanced heart failure patients in Brazil.

Sociocultural influences on science education: Innovation for contemporary times

AbstractThis paper reviews the significant sociocultural literatures on science studies, cultural diversity, and sustainability science to develop theoretical perspectives for science education more suitable to the challenges of contemporaneity. While the influences of science studies and cultural diversity are not uncommon within the science education literature on innovation, the difference here is the inclusion of the newer field of sustainability science. These threads are drawn are together to help formulate a view of science education that contributes to the ongoing discussion of what it could be in the 21st century. Finally, a science unit in a preservice teacher education course is then described, which aims to engage, inform, and empower beginning teachers in ways that tackle the challenges of contemporaneity. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 92:165–181, 2008

A Respeito de Alguns Desafios Contemporâneos da Informalidade Económica: aproximando a África Ocidental e o Brasil

Os elementos de informação do estudo apoiam‑se em diversos documentos oficiais – estatísticos e económicos –, na literatura académica especializada e na pesquisa e inquéritos deterreno realizadospeloautoremparceria com equipas universitárias nacionais. A reflexão focará essencialmente vários países da África Ocidental e o Brasil. Será realizado um breve apanhado das diferentes definições das actividades informais que colocará em evidência os problemas e os limites que essas definições possuem para a compreensão de um fenómeno que se apresenta com uma falsa simplicidade, sendo visível e maciço, mas também complexo, porque multidimensional. O essencial da comunicação será dedicado à explicitação de duas questões relacionadas com o conhecimento das situações e dos processos informais, bem como com as preocupações concretas das acções de desenvolvimento. Uma primeira linha argumentativa colocará em evidência a dimensão estrutural das actividades económicas informais e a sua extrema «modernidade», através da sua importância crescente, resultante, entre outros factores, das políticas de inspiração neoliberal adoptadas pelos governos nas últimas décadas. Uma segunda direcção analítica consistirá na clarificação de alguns dos desafios mais importantes que as actividades urbanas colocam à gestão realizada pelas autoridades e pelas administrações e à execução de políticas públicas que visam a melhoria dos pequenos estabelecimentos e a sua integração nos circuitos económicos nacionais.