Contemporary Projects Research Articles

An inclusive case study of multimodal metaphor

Abstract This article provides a detailed analysis of multimodal metaphor by means of a case study which focuses on the contemporary art project, ‘Laboratory of Dilemmas’ (Venetic Biennale 2017), by George Drivas. The analysis focuses on multimodal metaphors which instantiate the source concept of labyrinth, utilizing constructs from Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Critical Metaphor Analysis and Multimodal Metaphor Analysis within a more encompassing framework of Contemporary Art Criticism. The present study aims to define properties of multimodal metaphors, i.e. their forms, concepts and usage, reveal conceptualizations of both the creator and the spectators-analysts of a system of multimodal metaphors, and clarify key contexts, such as embodied, cultural, and ideological, which influence their production, comprehension, impact and analysis. According to the analysis proposed, the multimodal metaphors affect the spectators very deeply, engaging their mental, emotional, multisensory and bodily responses to ideological dilemmas that are prompted by the current refugee migration.

Leveraging Contemporary Project Management Techniques and Technology for Sustainable Telecommunications Advancement in Yemen

The digital techniques and technology have transformed formal project management field dramatically by enhancing communication, resource management and efficiency. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of contemporary project management methodologies in promoting and facilitating sustainable development within the telecommunications sector in Yemen. Situated within the broader discourse on achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the research employs a mixed methods approach to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data was collected through a survey of 150 professionals across major telecommunications firms in Yemen. The survey examined familiarity and application of techniques and technology such as waterfall, agile, six sigma, and lean. Qualitative insights were derived from 22 in-depth interviews with project managers and stakeholders. The findings of the study indicate that there is a narrow scope for integrating sustainability in Yemen’s telecommunications sector projects. Despite the research indicating a considerable level of awareness and utilization of contemporary methodologies, the integration of sustainability objectives varies considerably between projects. While numerous projects adopt environmental sustainability strategies, such as enhancing energy efficiency to reduce environmental impact and minimize carbon emissions, they lack comprehensive sustainability strategies that encompass economic, social, and environmental aspects in an integrated manner. The qualitative interviews yielded insights into the significant challenges to sustainable implementation, including insufficient training, organizational obstacles, and the effects of the ongoing conflict. In light of these findings, the paper addresses these challenges and provides recommendations and effective strategies to overcome them.

Patches, Corridors, Matrix, Webs and Clouds. Expanding Richard TT Forman’s Land Mosaic Approach in the Medina of Tunis

This study proposes a framework for analyzing the medina of Tunis, based on Richard T.T. Forman's theory of land mosaics. Departing from traditional preservationist methods, it views the Medina as a multifaceted landscape, integrating both tangible and intangible elements. Drawing from Félix Guattari’s concept of the three ecologies, the paper expands upon Forman’s model by introducing two additional categories: webs and clouds, to encompass the social and subjective aspects of the landscape. Through a literature review and landscape fieldwork, the study advocates for an integrative approach to analyzing the medina's physical and intangible components. The resulting framework offers a landscape analysis tool applicable to other urban landscapes, moving beyond the taxidermy of urban/cultural conservation practices and considering marginalized communities affected by capitalism-driven heritage management and tourism. Such a perspective is integral in promoting social and ecological inclusivity and embedding sustainable practices, particularly in response to the pressing challenges of climate change. Ultimately, this approach would help the contemporary landscape project succeed in “grounding new narratives and topologies” of “re-signification” of other historic urban areas and medinas across North Africa.

WATERFALL MODEL OVER PCD.UCT MODEL REVIEW

Abstract. The software development life cycle (SDLC) has seen the evolution of numerous models, each tailored to meet specific project needs. Among these, the Waterfall Model has been a longstanding, traditional approach, characterized by its linear and sequential phases. In contrast, the PcD.UcT Model, a relatively newer framework, advocates for a more iterative and user-centered approach. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the Waterfall Model, evaluating its strengths and limitations in modern software development. It contrasts these findings with the PcD.UcT Model, analyzing how its principles better align with contemporary project demands, particularly in terms of flexibility, user engagement, and iterative refinement. Through this comparative analysis, the paper aims to provide insights into the applicability and effectiveness of each model, offering guidance for software development teams in choosing the appropriate methodology for their projects. Since the waterfall development methodology, the key requirements in system development strategies have shifted from processes to users. Because the process as well as the customers are both equally important, employing either a predictive or an adaptive methodology is extremely difficult. The primary goal of this work is mainly combining and then evaluating all the relevant methodologies in order to create a HydroGIS that accurately automates the complexities of the hydrology process in a HydroGIS environment while meeting all user requirements.

Cultural Therapy and Concern for the Archive. The Case of Documentary Video Archives by Tomáš Rafa

In this paper, the author explores current perspectives on contemporary art projects through the concept of the archive. By applying a theoretical framework termed “concern for the archive”, the author aims to elucidate complex relationships between the archive as a medium and the situated practices of contemporary art. The paper examines contemporary art as a form of temporary memory storage, particularly through the analysis of Tomáš Rafa’s documentary films. It addresses two key questions: What specific aspects of concern for the archive can be identified in political or activist contemporary art? How does concern for the archive differ from archival care, and why is this distinction important? In the first section, the author discusses the “zones of contact” in political activist art, highlighting the formation of dialogical structures and distinguishing them from scientific research and purely documentary creation. The second section traces the layers of artistic training in Grzegorz Kowalski's renowned studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where the author gained experience in organizing and documenting collective workshops. This part reveals the specifics of documentary video creation with its activist and archival overlaps. In the final sections, the author outlines a theoretical framework for interpreting documentary video pieces in relation to the concepts of archive, cultural trauma, and cultural therapy.

Les ambiances au sein des equipements touristiques de la ville coloniale de Biskra (Est Algerien)

Conquered by the French army in 1844, Biskra was widely known as a notorious winter tourist destination during the colonial era. Characterized by a hot and dry climate, the ‘queen of the oases’ in the Ziban region was renowned for its numerous tourist facilities constructed using techniques imported from elsewhere, local materials, and apparent local stylistic influences. This distinguished architecture was notably mentioned in travel accounts and highlighted in tourist guides. Situated in the realm of heritage and architecture, this research aims to go beyond the knowledge of the built (material) heritage of hotels and thermal resorts in a southern Algerian city. Therefore, this article identifies and defines the atmospheres (intangible heritage) and architectural components, along with their origins, within the tourist facilities built in Biskra during the colonial period. Content analysis is the research technique applied to a corpus of textual sources dating from the colonial period itself. Thus, this work is conducted in accordance with a methodological protocol allocating the study of atmospheres, form, and construction. The acquired results shed light on a historical mode of construction adapted to a challenging natural environment, and they provide a valuable historical reference for contemporary tourism projects suitable for demanding contexts.

Rethinking the Complexities of the Body and Disability: Theological Account

The biological aspect of human embodiment frequently constitutes the primary basis for personal assessment, with an emphasis on rationality, free choice, material well-being, and happiness as fundamental attributes of worth. This perspective is also evident in cultural practices of body modification, which reflect societal standards and identity expression. The promotion of standards of bodily appearance that are often considered unrealistic within contemporary culture has the effect of creating a social environment in which those who do not conform to these standards are rejected and stigmatized. This can include individuals with disabilities, the elderly, or those with chronic illnesses and different bodily appearances. In the majority of cases, the so-called ‘body capital’ culture views the disabled body through the lens of a person’s physical appearance, which is, to a certain extent, associated with a biological dysfunction or reflects a kind of physical disability or vulnerable corporeality. This paper seeks to examine perspectives on the body through the lenses of major discourses surrounding disability, biblical anthropology, and disability theology. These perspectives advocate for the intrinsic dignity and value of the disabled body, challenging contemporary norms and projections upon the body, by underscoring the biographical, interdependent, and spiritual dimensions of human embodiment. This approach stands as an alternative to the reductionist view of the body, which prioritizes physical attributes over a comprehensive understanding of complete personhood.

작가의 상징자본과 인공지능 미술의 정당성: 데미안 허스트의 「Beautiful Paintings」를 중심으로

This study aims to understand the linkage between an artist's symbolic capital (reputation) and the legitimization of that artist's AI art. Based on Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital, to do so, we theoretically reviewed symbolic capital. Then, the qualitative study was conducted by considering contemporary artist Damien Hirst's AI art project “Beautiful Paintings” as a case. Secondary data such as Hirst's career records, research papers, articles, reports, websites, and the artist's social media were collected and analyzed. The results indicate that the symbolic capital of Hirst has accumulated in the art world and the art market influences the acceptance of his AI art in the market. Hirst, to transfer his symbolic capital to AI art, highlights his role in producing the AI art via social media and connects his established image with the debate surrounding AI art. Furthermore, Hirst intends to generate a visual similarity between his recognized artistic style (Spin Painting) in the art world and Beautiful Paintings, as well as emphasizing the 'randomness' inherent in both AI art and Spin Painting. By doing so, the success of AI Art, supported by the symbolic capital of the renowned artist, implies that the hierarchical structure built within the art world for the legitimization of artworks is partially maintained even in art applying new technologies.

The Harp and the Eagle: teaching Irish Poetry in Mexico

Ireland and Mexico share a long tradition of intercultural relationships. The Latin American nation has received significant influence from the mind-frames and oeuvre of Irish or Irish-descended thinkers, and authors. In the field of literature, the presence of Irish writers in Mexico has been equally relevant. A number of them are constantly referenced in middle- to higher-education institutions as paradigmatic examples of the Anglophone belles lettres. Nevertheless, and with the possible exception of Yeats, limited academic and pedagogic attention has been paid to Irish poetry, almost exclusively in English, until comparatively recent times. As of the mid-2000s, the School of Philosophy and Literature (FFyL) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has witnessed a surge in academic efforts to promote the verse production of Anglo-Irish poets in the country. With the publication in 2003 of the anthology Una lengua injertada [A Grafted Tongue] and, more recently, with the establishment of the Contemporary Anglo-Irish Literature Research Project, FFyL-UNAM have inaugurated a new era for the study of (Anglo-) Irish verse in Mexico and Spanish-speaking America. This article will explore the critical and pedagogical approaches with which FFyL-UNAM have tackled the teaching of (Anglo) Irish poetry over at least one decade.

Integrating Underground Space into the Groundscape Resilience Concept

Underground space has always been used as a resilient solution in addressing the need for safety in terms of climate conditions and defense purposes. This research seeks to recognize the potential of the underground space in the city as a significant urban resilience strategy, with the aim of revealing how contemporary underground architecture is integrated with the public spaces on the surface and how this groundscape integration contributes to the quality of the use of the public spaces to achieve urban resilience. Public spaces have a crucial role in the environmental, social, and sustainable context of the city and are considered urban domains for spatial urban intervention that contribute to urban resilience in its broader understanding. Based on the review of underground space research and the comparative analysis of selected contemporary design projects, the research explores the integration of underground space in correlation with its utilization model based on contemporary design projects. The research results in the systematization of underground utilization among underground infrastructure, underground living settlements, and urban development to offer insights into the enhancement of resilience planning through the contemporary multifunctional usage of underground space. The contribution of this research is reflected in the methodology of developing the criteria for a groundscape resilience concept, in terms of perceiving underground space as an integral urban layer, its multifunctional utilization, and in terms of achieving urban resilience.

The Paradox of Kowloon Walled City: Architectural Anomaly and Social Microcosm

Kowloon Walled City (KWC), formerly the world’s most densely populated place, is an example of urban density and self-organization in opposition to current urban developments, such as NEOM’s The Line, which illustrates the future of envisioned sustainable living. The main research question addressed in this study is: How can principles of self-organization and resilience from densely populated historical urban areas be applied to enhance the sustainability and livability of future planned urban developments? This study investigates the critical components of urban livability and governance amid severe densities by examining the underlying factors that lead to KWC’s unique sort of urban equilibrium and comparing them to the ideas that motivated the creation of The Line. This multidisciplinary research employs qualitative analysis to focus on architectural styles, community interactions, and governance systems. This approach allows for an in-depth examination of the parallels and dissimilarities between natural city evolution and future city planning. Key findings reveal that KWC’s functioning stems from its complex social fabric and adaptable informal governance, providing valuable lessons in resilience and community-driven urban development. The results suggest that the flexibility and community-driven efforts of KWC are essential for ensuring long-term viability, and these aspects may be integrated into contemporary projects such as The Line. The outcomes highlight the potential of combining KWC’s social cohesiveness with The Line’s technology developments to create urban environments that are both robust and sustainable. The results are supported by evidence obtained from historical analysis, which showcases the practical uses of integrating organic and planned urban development concepts.

Lines, cuts and engrams: comparing contemporary partition narratives from (Northern) Ireland and Upper Silesia

ABSTRACT This essay offers a comparative perspective on several narrative representations of two partitions that were established in Europe in the 1920s. Partitions of Ireland and of Upper Silesia had markedly different consequences and political vicissitudes but there are also significant parallels when it comes to selected bordering practices as well as patterns and modes of remembering partition that have been exploited in contemporary writings from either region/country. The principal focus of the essay is on how partition narratives and other representations of bordering have reflected and perpetuated tropes and images connected with social and political divisions in either society. Of particular significance is the persistence of geopolitical lines that may have disappeared from maps and territories and yet they have continued to inspire contemporary identity projects that are informed by stories and memories of the past in borderland areas. The two borders – and their narrative representations – are discussed with reference to Anna Bernard’s concept of ‘partition literature’, Tim Ingold’s ‘ghostly lines’ as well as Astrid Erll’s notion of ‘travelling memory’ and its effects on the nexus of territory and identity in recent writings from Northern Ireland and Upper Silesia.

The Kirkhouse Trust: Successes and Challenges in Twenty Years of Supporting Independent, Contemporary Grain Legume Breeding Projects in India and African Countries.

This manuscript reviews two decades of projects funded by the Kirkhouse Trust (KT), a charity registered in the UK. KT was established to improve the productivity of legume crops important in African countries and in India. KT's requirements for support are: (1) the research must be conducted by national scientists in their home institution, either a publicly funded agricultural research institute or a university; (2) the projects need to include a molecular biology component, which to date has mostly comprised the use of molecular markers for the selection of one or more target traits in a crop improvement programme; (3) the projects funded are included in consortia, to foster the creation of scientific communities and the sharing of knowledge and breeding resources. This account relates to the key achievements and challenges, reflects on the lessons learned and outlines future research priorities.

Human Capital Research Program: Contemporary Bulgarian Projections

The research question discussed in the present article can be summarised as the recognition of theoretical and methodological solutions in the scientific service of the functioning of the modern Bulgarian labour market through the operating human capital research program. The analysis is close to its contemporary national projections, presented in terms of a positive result, negative scenarios and opportunities for socio-characteristic evaluation. This presupposes the need for a brief overview of the main aspects of capital formation, of basic concepts of human capital and of the foundation of related competence. Sustaining the function of human capital as a moderator (the ongoing creation and application of knowledge and skills-based behavioral construct) in the Republic of Bulgaria is presented with a view of the Lakatoska idea about the organisation the cognitive process through the creation and functioning of scientific research programs. Thus, the constructive power of the analysed capital is expressed not only in the created and productively realised competence resource, but also in the future benefit hidden behind the problematic areas of this process. These research expectations based on the Bulgarian environment define the guidelines for searching for the advancement of human capital studies as a modern paradigm of human resource management. The study is organised on the basis of the theoretical understanding of the main highlights of the Bulgarian research panorama of human capital in order to outline the results achieved and summarise existing challenges that science and practice face. An attempt is made to summarise the defining moments for the assessment of the sociofunctional nature (progression or degeneration) of the interpreted research programme.

The Palantir Files: public interest archives for platform accountability

ABSTRACT Platforms designed for data integration and analysis introduce unique challenges for understanding the social implications of data management in public services. Researchers who study such platforms in the public interest must negotiate limited access to proprietary systems and the firms that make them but can create accountability through openly available data. This paper introduces an approach to researching a data integration and analysis firm, Palantir Technologies, through what we call ‘public interest archives for platform accountability.’ The paper begins by introducing data integration and analysis platforms as an emerging sector of the platform economy, followed by a summary of academic researchers’ challenges. We then provide a literature review of Palantir research, public interest archives, and contemporary archival projects for platform accountability. Then, we present our Palantir case study and describe our methods for document tracking to build a corpus (n = 2807), including court documents, privacy impact assessments, press releases, contracts, Freedom of Information Act requests, non-governmental organization reports, Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and patents. We end with several vignettes that help researchers understand this material’s significance to platform accountability.

Claiming the wall: How memorial plaques reshape urban landscapes in Russia

This article explores the significance of memorial plaques in Russian cities as sites of history, memory and aesthetics that create a new sensorium of the urban sphere. The plaques, affixed to historic buildings, serve as tangible markers that commemorate significant events and figures from the past. Taking the case of the historic center of St. Petersburg, the article examines how these plaques create a sense of historicity and contribute to the formation of a shared cultural background within the urban sphere. The plaques evolve from simple inscriptions to more elaborate and visually appealing designs. It also highlights the controversies surrounding the selection of individuals to be materialized and remembered and the aesthetic concerns raised by some residents. Meanwhile, the two contemporary projects challenge traditional commemorative practices and their aesthetics: Last Address, which commemorates victims of political repression through individualized plaques, and the Gandhi artist group’s street art interventions. These projects offer alternative approaches to memorialization and engage in dialogue with existing monuments and plaques. These micro-interventions show grassroot resistance within memorializing practices and aesthetics. The article emphasizes the contested nature of public space and the role of memorial plaques in shaping collective memory and historical narratives in Russian cities.

“AI Will Be the Beating Heart of the City”: Connectivity and/as Care in The Line

Artificial intelligence will be “the beating heart” (Bell, 2022, para. 1) of the linear smart city The Line<em> </em>in Saudi Arabia, one of the most expensive and expansive urban living projects of our times—and crucial in the larger vision of a post-oil future for Saudi Arabia. Exemplary of the complex relationship between past and future in constructing alternative urban imaginaries, the promotional material of The Line<em> </em>highlights technology as the best—and apparently only—solution to “maintain, continue, and repair our ‘world’ so that we can live in it as well as possible” (Tronto & Fisher, 1990, p. 40), while at the same time imagining artificial intelligence itself as a living and “organic” presence in the urban. Following David Pinder’s understanding of cities as always both imagined and real, immaterial and material, this article draws on care as a critical lens to explore the construction of The Line in answer to Nick Dunn’s provoking question: “So can imagining the future change it?” (Dunn, 2018, p. 376). Tracing “care in a manufactured landscape” (Mattern, 2021, p. 144) here highlights the entanglement between technology and sustainability, between organic metaphors and artificial environments, between virtual connection and material exhaustion. Critically examining the promise embedded in contemporary architectural projects to deliver “new and imaginative solutions” (NEOM, 2022e) for the physical, psychological, and environmental exhaustion of urban life, this article proposes an understanding of connectivity and care as increasingly entangled—and argues that the urban vision put forward in The Line, ultimately, hinges on care as connectivity rather than caring interconnections, networked logics rather than networks of belonging.

At the crossroads: photography, ecology and heritage in Istanbul

This article looks at three contemporary photo-based projects that reference Istanbul’s visual histories and document its endangered ecologies. These works take a critical approach to cultural heritage practices in contrast to official discourses that serve state power or justify capital accumulation. Osman Bozkurt’s Scenes, Ali Taptık’s Topographic Nostalgia, and Cemre Yeşil and Maria Sturm’s For Birds’ Sake focus on the relationships between the human and non-human elements of urban geographies. Their projects conceive of heritage as a practice that combines ecological concerns with preserving the cultural remnants of the urban past. Whether critiquing the aesthetic conventions of the picturesque, evoking an affective engagement with the viewer, or conjuring memories of displaced populations, these artists explore different visual approaches to embodying and remembering urban space and place. Taking a cue from their works, this article contemplates the possibility of envisioning heritage futures that can protect Istanbul’s biodiversity while being inclusive of cultural difference.

Exploring the perspectives and practices of humanitarian actors towards the Participation Revolution in humanitarian digital health responses: a qualitative study

BackgroundAs crises escalate worldwide, there is an increasing demand for innovative solutions to enhance humanitarian outcomes. Within this landscape, digital health tools have emerged as promising solutions to tackle certain health challenges. The integration of digital health tools within the international humanitarian system provides an opportunity to reflect upon the system’s paternalistic tendencies, driven largely by Global North organisations, that perpetuate existing inequities in the Global South, where the majority of crises occur. The Participation Revolution, a fundamental pillar of the Localisation Agenda, seeks to address these inequities by advocating for greater participation from crisis-affected people in response efforts. Despite being widely accepted as a best practice; a gap remains between the rhetoric and practice of participation in humanitarian response efforts. This study explores the extent and nature of participatory action within contemporary humanitarian digital health projects, highlighting participatory barriers and tensions and offering potential solutions to bridge the participation gap to enhance transformative change in humanitarian response efforts.MethodsSixteen qualitative interviews were conducted with humanitarian health practitioners and experts to retrospectively explored participatory practices within their digital health projects. The interviews were structured and analysed according to the Localisation Performance Measurement Framework’s participation indicators and thematically, following the Framework Method. The study was guided by the COREQ checklist for quality reporting.ResultsVaried participatory formats, including focus groups and interviews, demonstrated modest progress towards participation indicators. However, the extent of influence and power held by crisis-affected people during participation remained limited in terms of breadth and depth. Participatory barriers emerged under four key themes: project processes, health evidence, technology infrastructure and the crisis context. Lessons for leveraging participatory digital health humanitarian interventions were conducting thorough pre-project assessments and maintaining engagement with crisis-affected populations throughout and after humanitarian action.ConclusionThe emerging barriers were instrumental in shaping the limited participatory reality and have implications: Failing to engage crisis-affected people risks perpetuating inequalities and causing harm. To advance the Participation Revolution for humanitarian digital health response efforts, the major participatory barriers should be addressed to improve humanitarian efficiency and digital health efficacy and uphold the rights of crisis-affected people.

Walking tours as transcultural memory activism: Referencing memories of trauma and migration to redefine urban belonging

This article maps two grids of city walking tours, conceptualizing them as expressions of transcultural memory activism. The first are walking tours in Berlin, guided by Syrian refugees, which use memorials of local traumatic history to testify to the refugees’ current traumas. The second are walking tours in an impoverished neighbourhood of south Tel Aviv, that inter-weave African asylum seekers’ travelling memories as part of the story of those streets. Analysing these tours, the article probes how references to histories of urban migration and traumatic legacies might inform contemporary political projects asserting the rights of refugees, and redefine the parameters of urban belonging. It therefore proposes a dual theoretical contribution: (1) advancing the transcultural turn in memory studies by paying greater attention to the materiality and performativity of transcultural memory and (2) enhancing research on the agency of refugees by demonstrating how they affect and expand the public memory of the contested national and urban contexts in which they travel or inhabit.