Contemporary Public Research Articles

My Cigarette Wife and Other Queer Tales of Kinship from Tunisia’s Contemporary Public Art Scene

This article explores the contradictions and political possibilities of creating a “safe space” using “family” as an organizational concept in a contemporary public art project in Tunisia. Amidst the backdrop of foreign development funding for the arts flowing into Tunisia and a global contemporary art scene where “patriarchal structures” are taken as antithetical to collaborative practices, family has been an intuitive and meaningful mode of organizing artistic projects in Tunisia, particularly as it relates to fostering safe spaces for queer youth. As opposed to “participation,” “commoning,” and other institutionally supported art concepts, family is not a concept widely exhibited. In relation to tendencies toward “sensible” approaches to the political efficacy of contemporary art, the artistic practice of making family points to a “nonsensible” politics of aesthetics, where the aesthetic is better understood not as the location of politics but as a quality of feeling that enables spaces of political possibility.

Mapping Public Health Nursing competencies: A comparative document analysis of competency frameworks and practice standards in the USA and Ireland.

The Public Health Nursing discipline plays a crucial role in promoting sustainable health services. The establishment of competency frameworks and practice standards pertaining to Public Health Nursing has emerged as a cornerstone for guiding practice, education, and research. This study aimed to identify contemporary Public Health Nursing competency frameworks and practice standards and establish a robust list of competency domains. This will inform a subsequent phase of this project that will conduct a review of recent scholarly literature to discern prevailing research trends and delineate strategic directives and research priorities for the discipline. A systematic search of three databases and a grey literature search was undertaken by incorporating keywords to identify existing Public Health Nursing-specific competency frameworks and practice standards. Through screening and selection based on our inclusion criteria, three documents were analyzed. A comprehensive document analysis was conducted to generate a unified domain list and associated descriptors. Three competency-based frameworks and practice standards emanating from two countries, the United States of America and the Republic of Ireland met the inclusion criteria. The document analysis identified 16 individual domains. There was consistent evidence of similarity across the three documents. There were minimal divergences featured within the frameworks which are discussed and compelling justifications for inclusion as universal domains are provided. This document analysis has generated a list of 16 common Public Health Nursing competency domains which will be utilized in phase two of this project as a foundational framework for the purpose of analyzing research trends, influencing research priorities, and enhancing the focal areas for future research agendas within the discipline.

The Transformation of Animated Character Images: A Perspective on the Shift in Contemporary Chinese Public Aesthetics

As a rising star among various film categories in China, animated films hold a pivotal position. Directly targeting a vast audience of children and teenagers, they enjoy a natural advantage in cultural dissemination and ideological guidance. Since the creation of China’s first animated film, The Big Stir in the Studio in 1926, a distinctive national style has been one of the most prominent hallmarks of domestic animation. With the integration of modern artistic concepts and advanced animation production technologies, Chinese animation has, after a rich developmental journey, ultimately formed its unique creative paradigm and aesthetic philosophy. As a “young” art form, animation employs a wide array of content expression methods, encompassing artistic forms such as ink wash painting, sculpture, watercolor, and oil painting. Its “all-encompassing” nature also determines that animation art possesses a strong “moldability,” making it more susceptible to the influence of various cultural trends during the creation process. This is particularly evident in the evolution of character design influenced by aesthetic preferences in different periods since the founding of New China. This article will delve into the transformation of public aesthetics since the establishment of New China by examining the artistic expression and gender body structures in characters from domestic animated films. It aims to contribute to the development of China’s animation industry and promote outstanding Chinese culture.

Transforming Contemporary Public Urban Spaces with Planting Design. Shifting from Monocultural Planting Blocks to Naturalistic Plant Communities

Transforming Contemporary Public Urban Spaces with Planting Design. Shifting from Monocultural Planting Blocks to Naturalistic Plant Communities

Democratic Constitutional Design in a Contemporary State and Public Law Communication: Will of the People, Expert Opinion, Legal and Informational Engineering of Public Government Authorities

Democratic Constitutional Design in a Contemporary State and Public Law Communication: Will of the People, Expert Opinion, Legal and Informational Engineering of Public Government Authorities

Context Integration and Inclusivity in Contemporary Public Spaces of Major City From Global South—Case of Karachi, Pakistan

The emerging role of private sector in neoliberal city development is creating disconnect of contemporary public space with physical and social context. The following paper uses four case studies of public spaces within Karachi, mega city of Pakistan, to highlight the developing trends creating lack of context integration to place. The main research question for this study is, how well do the contemporary public spaces cater to inclusivity and integration with social and physical context? The research methodology used is mixed methods and qualitative research. Surveys and interviews conducted evaluate success factors and limitations in design approach to public spaces.

The Power of Words: Migration Narratives in the Contemporary Public Atmosphere in the United States Today

The Power of Words: Migration Narratives in the Contemporary Public Atmosphere in the United States Today

H10N5 and H3N2 Outbreak 2024: The First-Ever Co-Infection With Influenza A Viruses Has Been Culpable for the Contemporary Public Health Crisis.

H10N5 and H3N2 Outbreak 2024: The First-Ever Co-Infection With Influenza A Viruses Has Been Culpable for the Contemporary Public Health Crisis.

Contemporary Public Health Finance: Varied Definitions, Patterns, and Implications.

The financing of public health systems and services relies on a complex and fragmented web of partners and funding priorities. Both underfunding and "dys-funding" contribute to preventable mortality, increases in disease frequency and severity, and hindered social and economic growth. These issues were both illuminated and magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated responses. Further complicating issues is the difficulty in constructing adequate estimates of current public health resources and necessary resources. Each of these challenges inhibits the delivery of necessary services, leads to inequitable access and resourcing, contributes to resource volatility, and presents other deleterious outcomes. However, actions may be taken to defragment complex funding paradigms toward more flexible spending, to modernize and standardize data systems, and to assure equitable and sustainable public health investments.

The Practice Lens: Intersectionality and Contemporary Public Library Services to Adults

ABSTRACT Intersectionality can be applied as a practice-based lens through which to perceive 21st-century public library services to adults. Intersectionality as a framework can facilitate the implementation of equity and social justice in the design and development of contemporary library services. Professional practice relates to the public library workplace and everyday work practices enacted on a day-to-day basis. This article outlines how intersectionality is embedded in public library services to four service populations: immigrants, incarcerated, LGBTQ+ people, and homeless/houseless citizens. Insights provide a guide for theoretical and social positioning of public librarians to enact their professional service within an intersectional lens.

Digital Media and Dynamics of Contemporary Public Sphere: Towards a Theoretical Framework

The article examines the dynamics and change of the contemporary public sphere caused by the emergence of digital media and their transformative impact on social life and communicative professions. For this purpose the stages in Jürgen Habermas's theory of the public sphere are traced, and, the main concepts in his two main works, dedicated to the classical public sphere (1962) and the one formed under the influence of digital media (2022), are analysed. The authors examine importance of this transformation on the democratic process, the platformization of the media and its influence in modern society, as well as the problems of technology in the field of social networks. The article undertakes an attempt to build a theoretical framework for explaining the development of the contemporary public sphere in the conditions of accelerated change in communication technologies.

Policy Dynamics in Contemporary Public Administration Studies: A Conceptual Analysis

This paper aims to provide an overview based on the literatures regarding the development of the study of policy dynamics research in the field of public administration. The study aims to answer the research question, „What is the theoretical and conceptual framework of „policy dynamics“ in the contemporary discourse of current public administration?“. The method used is a bibliometric analysis and semi-systematic literature review in the form of a literature review of international publications published between 1990 and 2020, sourced from the Google Scholar database. The sixty articles that are most relevant in terms of Article title, Abstract, and Keywords (journal articles: 55 papers and Conferences proceedings: 5 papers) are chosen for analysis. As a result, policy dynamics can be grouped into three categories: policy dynamics as historical institutionalism, policy dynamics as policy change, and policy dynamics as policy evolution. This study concludes that policy dynamics is the evolution of policy changes, where these changes have implications for the policies of a regime/government on institutions, actors, and systems within a certain period. This concept manifests in the five new clusters in the definition of policy dynamics, which include regime/government change, institutional change/transformation, changes in issue, direction and content of policy, actor's role and existence, and policy object inputs and outputs.

Facebook as a Contemporary Public Sphere for Opinion Expression and Participation: Jordan as a Case Study

Social media has been changing the way Jordanians consume news and engage in politics. The ongoing debate surrounding social media's potential as a public sphere and as a tool for contributing to democracy motivates this paper's inquiry. Drawing on Dahlgren's three dimensions of the Public Sphere, this paper examines a case study in which young Jordanians used Facebook to express their opinions and participate in a news story about the new drafts of the election and political parties' laws in Jordan. This qualitative study utilized semi-structured interviews to investigate students at Zarqa University. The study found that the participants used Facebook to express their voices, stay informed, and engage in news stories. Facebook was found to be a platform that provides news information and enables communication, which leads to participation (the structural dimension). Additionally, the study revealed that Facebook, as a social media platform, provides an unrestricted space for the public to share information and express their voices (the representational dimension). Finally, the study found that the participants primarily engaged with news stories through posting, commenting, or sharing videos but were lacking in offline participation in real-life settings such as seminars, conferences, and public discussions (the interactional dimension).

The Importance of Work Life Balance for Contemporary Management and Public Policies

The Importance of Work Life Balance for Contemporary Management and Public Policies

Critique of Contemporary Civilization Ethos and Public Leadership Crisis: A Dystopian Interpretation and Philosophical Prospects

Critique of Contemporary Civilization Ethos and Public Leadership Crisis: A Dystopian Interpretation and Philosophical Prospects

What Pleases The Prince? The Relevance of Classical Legal Principles to Contemporary Public Law

What Pleases The Prince? The Relevance of Classical Legal Principles to Contemporary Public Law

Development Direction of School Public Art Education Using Contemporary Public Art Projects Focusing on ‘Seoul is Museum’, ‘10000 ARTS 10000 ACTS’, and ‘APAP’

Development Direction of School Public Art Education Using Contemporary Public Art Projects Focusing on ‘Seoul is Museum’, ‘10000 ARTS 10000 ACTS’, and ‘APAP’

Cosmology in Contemporary Public Sculpture

The aim of this paper is to study the aspect of cosmological characteristic that relates to the contemporary art works of Ramlan Abdullah. His art work entitled ‘Connectivity’ is currently exhibited at the Laman Seni Arca located at the premises of UiTM Seri Iskandar, Perak. The public artworks consist of five constructed tubular aluminum and stainless steels structure that were created in massive scale. Each sculpture represented the artist passion and artistic experience in life ranging from tittle such as Ayden, Aydan, Sundial, seed and Double Disc. Meanwhile, Cosmology has always been an interesting part of human exploration and investigation on the mystery of the universe. It has been explored by many and has been referred to since the invention of traditional art of the Malays. In the practice of Malay custom, cosmology has been observed and appreciated as apart of Malay tradition. This paper will study on the relations and aspect of cosmology that underlying contemporary public art work. The formalistic and contextual part that relates to this and the elements that connected to it. It will focus on the method of observation through visual preferences and discussion on art appreciation according to Feldman model of Art criticism. The study will provide information on characteristic of elements that relates to cosmology and contemporary public art.

Four Challenges to Political Autonomy Education in Contemporary Public Spheres

This contribution discusses four challenges to political autonomy education in contemporary public spheres from the perspective of a discourse theory of education. These challenges arise from political, cultural, economic, and technological developments that presently affect the formation of public spheres. These developments are, respectively, the hollowing out of the efficacy and legitimacy of national political deliberation, the so-called singularization of culture, the monopolistic tendencies of the platform economy, and the technologically induced discursive fragmentation. This contribution suggests educational responses to the challenges that are posed by these developments. These responses include, inter alia, transnational democratic conscientization, the humanistic exploration of commonality across cultural difference, role games facilitating socioeconomic education, and the cultivation of digital habits that diversify political experience online.

The Nanjing Massacre Memorial and Angelus Novus: Ephemera, Trauma, and Reparation in Contemporary Chinese Public Art

What is the nature of memorials? Traditionally, memorials have been conceptualized as lasting entities preserving memories of our shared pasts. This paper challenges this view. My aim is to retheorize our practices of memorialization by examining the role that ephemerality plays in experiential memorials. Rather than fixed structures of meaning, experiential memorials are unstable careers whose significance depends on viewers’ performative engagement. I provide evidence for my thesis by developing a critical interpretation of Qi Kang’s Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall (NMMH) as an example of experiential memorial. The fragmented nature of the here and now frees visitors’ experiences. Like the wind propelling Benjamin’s Angelus Novus into future and progress, the ephemerality of NMMH’s experience unchains its significance from the constriction of dominant narratives of vengeance and resentment. If liberated temporally, the experience of memorials may help us not only to never forget, but also to find reconciliation.