Creative Energy Research Articles

Cultural Crisis During the Pandemic and Its Reflection in Georgian and American Print Media

The pandemic became the defining event of early 2020, impacting culture as well as all other areas of life. It emerged as the main architect, artist, director of silence, and dramatist of emptiness. It brought different cities around the world closer together and made them similar with empty streets and a slower pace of life. The pandemic placed new demands on many fields of art; it was a "timeout" for both the world and culture. In some places, art adapted to open spaces, but even in this openness, creative energy remained constrained, and much of what was expressed could not be fully articulated. There were instances where the pandemic became a source of "inspiration" for some artists, prompting them to compose original music, create new works of art, or transition to the online space, finding new ways to use this platform. Covid-19, which suddenly struck the world, drastically changed the global agenda. New regulations were imposed, the usual way of life was disrupted, and the world was unprepared for many of the challenges it faced. Before scientists and researchers could develop effective methods to combat the coronavirus, humanity had already shifted to a remote format. In this paper, we will explore the impact of the pandemic on art and how this period was reflected in print media, using the example of Georgian and American magazines such as "Teatri," "Aril," "Art in America," and "ARTFORUM".

The Mediating Role of Employee Energy in the Impact of Perceived Organizational Support on Creative Behaviors: An Application in Hotel Businesses

Purpose-The aim of this research is to determine the impact of perceived organizational support on creative behaviors and the mediating role of employee energy in this relationshipin hospitality businesses.In addition, determining the impact of organizational support on creative behaviors and employee energy and the impact of employee energy on creative behaviors constitute the sub-objectives of the study. Design/methodology/approach-In the research where quantitative research methods were adopted, field research was conducted with employees of five-star hotels operating in Mersin. In the study, a total of 362 questionnaires were collected using the questionnaire technique and the convenience sampling method. Collected data were analyzed by structural equation modeling using appropriate analysis programs.Findings-Analysis revealed a strong positive relationship among perceived organizational support, creative behavior, and employee energy. Research has shown that perceived organizational support has a positive impact on employees' creative behaviour and energy. In addition, it was concluded that employee energy positively affects creative behaviors. Finally, employee energy was found to be a key mediating variable that determined the impact of perceptions of organizational support on creative behaviors.Discussion-The research is among limited studies that examine the mediating role of employee energy in the relationship between perceived organizational support and creative behaviors in the context of hospitality businesses. Handled within the framework of the social change theory, this study discusses similar and different aspects in terms of theoretical and practical contributions and makes some suggestions for researchers and industry

Africa si(gh)ted in Spanish: an introduction

The introduction to this special issue, “Africa-Si(gh)ted in Spanish,” presents readers with essays that illustrate the creative energy emerging in various countries in Africa and the diaspora. The works analyzed may be viewed as exophonic literature, demonstrating how contemporary African writers are shaping African Hispanic identities that defy colonial nation-state notions of belonging and assert the centrality of Africans in interpreting the world. The “Africa-si(gh)ted” approach’ as we term it, involves simultaneously prioritizing perspectives drawn from African lived experience and reclaiming the place of Africa as an ever-evolving site of knowledge generation and negotiation about Africans and African-descendant people. We propose Spanish as a language of affiliation and relation amongst creators from different cultural traditions—drawing on Edward Said and Édouard Glissant respectively—to offer a deeper understanding of the novel communities of belonging that are being forged in African Hispanism.

From nickel–metal hydride batteries to advanced engines: A comprehensive review of hydrogen's role in the future energy landscape

Hydrogen has emerged as a disruptive force in the energy landscape, poised to revolutionise the automotive sector with its use in both fuel cell and internal combustion engines. This article covered two topics: application of metal hydrides for hydrogen storage and use of cutting-edge engine technology in hydrogen-powered vehicles. This article begins with discussing the different characteristics of materials that are used to store hydrogen. Metal hydrides, rare earth elements, and carbon-based compounds are among the materials that are carefully studied in this work. Understanding how effectively these materials can store hydrogen was another goal of this research. In order to fully utilize hydrogen's potential, it is imperative to compare them with conventional fossil fuels highlighting their significance. Additionally, this study explains how hydrogen can be used to power existing and newer automobile vehicles. Also discussed are the viability and potential mechanisms of operation for various hydrogen-using engine technologies, such as compression ignition and spark ignition engines. Cutting-edge on vehicles with fuel cell and engine technology powered by hydrogen along with their challenges are explained. They include discussions of several techniques such as homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI), dual-fuel, and reactivity-controlled combustion ignition (RCCI). Additionally, the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing hydrogen in these state-of-the-art engine technologies are discussed. This research offers insights on the future of automobiles in addition to hydrogen storage. This study points the path towards a more creative and sustainable energy environment in which hydrogen plays a major role in the storage and utilization for automobile vehicles.

ROLF-DIETER KLUGE 26.6.1937-13.3.2024

Rolf-Dieter Kluge (1937-2024), a prominent German Slavist, famous literary scholar, Chairman of the German Chekhov Society, Honorary Professor of Moscow University, has passed away. Rolf-Dieter Kluge was the organiser of the great international Chekhov Congress in Badenweiler at the end of the 1980s. His work helped to make his department at the University of Tübingen an important Slavic centre. Rolf-Dieter Kluge was behind the organisation of the first Chekhov Museum outside Russia in Badenweiler. Rolf-Dieter Kluge helped to strengthen the ties between the University of Tübingen and Moscow State University. In the mid-1990s, two joint Tübingen-Moscow student-postgraduate seminars were organised together with the author of this article. R.-D. Kluge’s legacy includes works on Chekhov, Turgenev, Dostoevsky and others. His remarkably broad creative outlook and energy attracted and inspired colleagues and students.

Why Ethics Makes Gaming Enjoyable

Abstract Far from being a handbrake that's applied to creative energy, Professor Catherine Flick tells Martin Cooper MBCS about how ethics has been shaping stories and games since the industry's very earliest days.

Энергия эстетического переживания

<p>The article is devoted to the comparison of classical and modern understanding of the subject of aesthetics. During the theoretical self-definition of aesthetics in the system of philosophy (Baumgarten, Kant) it was understood as a bridge uniting empiricism of individual sensuality with universality of rational knowledge, as an experience of unity of sensual and supersensual activity of aesthetic consciousness of the subject. Such an interpretation corresponded to the ideal of a whole person in the unity of reason, feeling, spirit, will, and imagination. Contemporary aesthetics defines its subject matter as individual sensual experience, removing from it the basis of the cultural subject's self-consciousness of value. The central problem of the article is a characteristic of aesthetic experience as a procedural form of living through the value and meaningful depth of the experienced aesthetic feeling. Experiencing is treated as an emotional and intellectual process, producing inner work of comprehension of the feeling of staying in the self-relation of the cultural-historical subject with the world. The inner energy of aesthetic experience is born through the creative work of intuition and imagination, creating the likeness of a work of art, but not materialised in the language of art, but staying in the continuing state of internal residence of the imaginary image. The aesthetic experience expands the threshold of human sensibility and reveals the dimension of each phenomenon of reality in such a way that the aesthetic object is more than the object, and the subject more than the empirical individual. This is the essence of the aesthetic, indicating the difference between the aesthetic sense and the mere sensual response of individual consciousness to contact with an object. The subject of aesthetic experience is the subject of a world-relationship, experiencing the world differently in images of chaos or harmony, eternity or the mutability of time of being. Space and time in the axiosphere of culture become subjectivized and are experienced as sensual and semantic phenomena included in the aesthetic thesaurus of culture. In his analysis of the sublime, Kant spoke of the special creative energy of the aesthetic feeling, giving it the depth and duration of the subject's state of mind. Due to the inner tension of the interaction of feelings and meanings, aesthetic experience evokes a vivid sensual and supersensual response of man to his belonging to being. It extends the range of emotional and intellectual faculties of consciousness, which remains as the memory of aesthetic experience, multiplying the possibilities of future experiences. Aesthetic experience expresses the process of synergy between sensuality and the existential meanings of the historical subject's existential world. The final conclusion of the article is that in aesthetic experience based on a complex set of sensual and supersensual transformations of aesthetic existence of man in the world, sensual experience is only one of the components, which convinces the need for modern research to address the totality of the contents of aesthetics, especially its axiological aspects.</p>

Comprehensive physicochemical characterization of Algerian coal powders for the engineering of advanced sustainable materials

The object of the research is the intriguing and versatile material known as coal that attracted a lot of attention lately because of its potential use in a variety of fields, including cutting-edge building materials, environmental remediation methods, and creative energy storage solutions. This study presents an extensive characterization of Algerian natural coal powders, employing a multifaceted analytical approach that includes Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman Spectroscopy, to reveal their physicochemical properties including morphology, particle size distribution, crystalline structure, and functional groups. The SEM analysis unveiled a heterogeneous morphology with a broad particle size distribution, indicative of the coal's complex structure. The XRD findings, refined using Rietveld analysis, distinguish Carbon (C) and Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) as the primary phases, with crystallite sizes measuring 18.7539 nm for C and 16.6291 nm for SiO2. These phases constitute 98.8 % and 12 % of the composition, respectively, while the presence of quartz underscores the coal’s geological background and its thermal resilience. Regarding the results of the FTIR spectroscopy, absorption peaks corresponding to various functional groups are highlighted, suggesting a rich organic and inorganic composition. Raman spectroscopy corroborates the presence of disordered and graphitic carbon structures, emphasizing the coal's potential for diverse applications. These findings underline the significance of Algerian coal powders for environmental remediation, energy storage, and advanced construction materials, contributing to the advancement of sustainable energy solutions.

How Thai Universities Can Better Prepare Graduates For The Workplace

Thai universities play a crucial role in preparing learners to be productive members of society. This study looks at how universities prepare students for work and what can be done to improve the process. Using a mixed method approach involving a survey of university students’ opinions, a focus group of hiring managers interviews, and interviews with lecturers, a holistic view is achieved from the main stakeholders. The stakeholders show significant dissonance among expectations. These differences stem from many sources, mainly, the lack of shared and open information. Students enter university without a clear goal or a realistic informed prospectus. Lecturers try to bridge the gap between what is expected to be delivered and what industry needs. However, lecturers are working against a tide of reluctance from students’ aptitude and abilities, faculty realities and fractured industries that do not share. Human resources personnel seem not to have a clear idea of what is expected from graduates, especially in a dynamic environment. What employers want varies widely, making training difficult. Even when students enter the workforce with the creative energies required, the established systems stifle growth. Having greater interaction among the parties would help reduce the differences in expectations. The interactions need to be continual throughout the students’ time at university. Flexible programs and more internships would allow students to better understand how what is taught can be applied. Lecturers would have access to more relevant data and with class discussions being more informed. Companies can structure onboarding programs better as students would have experienced an introductory phase. More exchanges among stakeholders are required.

Energy harvesting and electricity production through dissolved carbon dioxide by connecting two form-stable phase change materials

Herein, we report a new solar energy harvesting approach by connecting two form-stable phase change materials in a moist environment with dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2).

A comparative study of measuring creative energy of a female physical education teachers sample in the secondary schools of Baghdad (Karkh and Rusafa)

A comparative study of measuring creative energy of a female physical education teachers sample in the secondary schools of Baghdad (Karkh and Rusafa)

Using co-creation to address monitoring and evaluation challenges: The experience of South Africa’s evaluation hackathon

In 2021, the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association facilitated an evaluation hackathon that engaged diverse stakeholders in co-creation processes to develop practical solutions to address complex problems facing the monitoring and evaluation sector. The event catalysed broad-based ownership and enabled the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association to coordinate the creative energy, commitment and resources of its members, government and other partners to achieve outcomes that would not be possible to achieve otherwise. The article analyses the co-creation approach adopted for the hackathon across four phases, namely initiation, process design/planning, co-design and development and application/follow-up. A retrospective analysis of the process and results identified eight key elements that enabled or impeded the successful completion of hackathon outputs and their conversion into useful products. These elements are facilitative leadership, purposive stakeholder selection, a well-delimited task, preparation, process facilitation, a valued product, voluntary contributions and further capacity. The lessons learnt provide useful insight for future efforts to generate localised, contextualised responses to evaluation problems.

Observations and Reflections on the Gaming Landscape in South East Asia

Discussion of the Asian video game market, particularly when focused on digital gamer production, often focuses on China, Japan, and South Korea. However, communities of South East Asia based game makers are emerging. Drawing from firsthand discussion and interviews with more than 400 game developers, 50 post-secondary academic faculty, and 15 academic organizations and universities, the authors offer perspectives, insights, and expected challenges for the region. The findings indicate that a combination of intellectual and creative energy as well as regional political and economic support have helped develop fertile ground for global attention. Most notably, the researchers observed a regional interest in shifting toward exploring innovative, original content and increasing educational capacities to explore creative practice in game design. These findings coincide with other reflections of the region's digital economy's development.

Sustainable healthcare AI-enhanced materials discovery and design for eco-friendly and biocompatible medical applications

The present investigation explored the artificial intelligence (AI) applications in energy harvesting and sustainable healthcare materials. The process combines the creation of illustrative data with a rigorous assessment of the literature to understand the potential of AI in various disciplines. The ensuing data visualization highlights the prominence of artificial intelligence (AI) in material innovation and clarifies the ubiquity of biocompatible, sustainable, and advanced materials in the healthcare industry. The study analyses trade-offs between bias and variance in AI models for energy harvesting, illustrating the dynamic link between mistakes and model complexity. The research proceeds on to provide Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions for PENG and TENG nanogenerators, outlining their uses in the phases of analysis, design, manufacture, and application. The findings highlight the growing importance of AI-enhanced materials in the healthcare industry and stress a steady transition to sustainability and biocompatibility. The results highlight that AI has the ability to completely change materials research and improve energy harvesting devices. The study highlighted the crucial role AI plays in developing sustainable healthcare materials and creative energy collecting techniques.

Advances of lithium-ion batteries anode materials—A review

Lithium-ion battery (LIB) research and development has witnessed an immense spike in activity in recent years due to the astonishing surge in demand for portable, environmentally acceptable energy sources across various industries. This need has resulted in a significant increase in the number of companies conducting LIB research and storing electrical energy and the intrinsic features that they contain. LIBs have become the go-to alternative for storing electrical energy in portable devices and electric vehicles. These properties include a lightweight structure, a high energy density, a small size, little memory effects, an extended lifespan, and environmental friendliness. Other advantages include a longer lifespan and a reduced impact on the environment. This review thoroughly examines energy storage technology changes. It shows the move away from environmentally harmful energy sources to greener ones. It highlights the need for creative energy storage options to match our rapidly changing technological world.

Popular Culture and Decolonisation: Themes, Tropes and Trajectories in Nigerian Hip Hop

ABSTRACT Contemporarily, the drive for decolonisation following the virulence of the colonial experience on postcolonial societies has gained currency. This has been in the face of pervasive, hegemonic Global North structures that have de-centred non-Western epistemologies. This article engages Nigerian hip hop as a cultural product that has consciously or unconsciously been wielded as a tool for the contestation of (post)colonial subjugation and authorities. I ask if Nigerian hip hop artistes can be remarked as decolonisation activists. To what extent do their creative energies contribute to the discourses on decolonisation? To provide answers, the study interrogates the diverse ways through which Nigerian hip hop has successfully navigated its dispersal and resultant commercialisation, subliminally aiding the decolonisation advocacies. The study employs an eclectic mix of representative data, ranging from music lyrics, videos, existing interviews of hip hop artists and aficionados and news reports. More specifically, lyrics from twelve tracks and four music videos are discussed, while observations are asserted or rebutted with statements from interviews and news reports. Decolonisation through lyrics and visuality, and ramifications of spatial decolonisation were identified. The study further asserts that despite the manifestations of decolonisation in Nigerian hip hop, relics of colonial tropes manifest for instance in the need for validation and external acceptance through international awards. Critical takeaways are that cultural productions are not immune to the suffusing influences of politics. In addition, decolonisation should not imply the erasure of hitherto existing hegemonies; rather, cultural ecologies become enriched when previously suppressed products and epistemologies are enabled to thrive.

Flying in the slipstream with Shaun McNiff: Using art-based research as eyes of the heart

Shaun McNiff and his work is the subject of this article with particular review of his integrative and collaborative ideology. Leading a global commitment to art-based research, the article traces McNiff’s approach and contribution to the field of applied arts and health with beginnings in expressive therapies from the 1970s. His work in developing a practice-based research methodology called ‘art-based research’ is internationally renowned. Art-based research is distinguished by the inclusion of the artistic objects in addition to the practitioners themselves. He explicitly values the interplay between the creator and the created in providing greatest potential to the practitioner researcher. McNiff’s writing and practice reinforces his personal commitment to creating with others to supplement the value of working alone. His personal philosophy of the ‘creative slipstream effect’ manifests as multiple forces of the group augmenting creative energy and participants can merge together into common flow that carries everyone in it.

Stage Unity of D. Lider’s Plastic Concept of Scenography and S. Danchenko’s Theatre Direction

The purpose of the study is to highlight the stage unity of the plastic concept of D. Lider’s scenography and S. Danchenko’s theatre direction, to characterise the original concept of the image of the performances, their uniqueness of artistic solution. The research methodology is to apply the functional and typological method to consider the scenographic activity of D. Lider as an innovative form of artistic creativity in the context of the formation and development of the direction of effective scenography, as well as to assess its significance in the development of scenographic vocabulary of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre. The art method is used to analyse the scenographic solution of the performances directed by S. Danchenko and to identify the main conditions and principles of scenographic solutions, compositional techniques and components of D. Lider’s scenography, as well as to determine their influence on the artistic image of the productions. An axiomatic method helped consider Danylo ider's worldview prerogatives in the context of the peculiarities of the formation of his philosophy and artistic and aesthetic position as a master of effective scenography. The novelty of the study. The article comprehensively examines the stage unity of the plastic concept of D. Lider’s scenography and S. Danchenko’s theatre direction in the context of the formation and development of the scenography of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theatre. Conclusions. As a philosopher of theatre, D. Lider’s scenography is not guided by any prescribed rules, and it is impossible to judge it by means of a defining judgment, by imposing certain already known categories on his scenographic vocabulary. The scenery created by the master testifies to an innovative form of the sublime that allows for the acquisition of creative energy – D. Leader sought to overcome the dictates of sensual perception of reality in order to reflect the essential, hidden characteristics of existence. The associative connection and drawing parallels between the actual problems of the present and the problems of a literary work as the basis for deep philosophical and aesthetic reflections introduced by D. Lider is the basis of Ukrainian stage art of the twenty-first century.
 Key words: Danylo Lider, Serhii Danchenko, director, theatre, scenography.

Speculative World-Building, Modernity, and the Text in Crisis: An Ecological Reading of Renee Gladman’s Ravicka Novels

ABSTRACT This article considers the interrelation between capitalist modernity as ecological crisis and the crisis of the textual economy in Renee Gladman’s experimental novels set in the fictional city-state of Ravicka (2010–2017). The article shows how Gladman attempts to reposition the experimental work within the world-literary field by framing the text itself as ecological, at once implicated in cultural and geopolitical modes of production and circulation, and generative in terms of speculative world-building. The article focuses on Gladman’s exploration of urban space and architecture in relation to ecological catastrophe, and draws comparisons with other speculative designs, such as the People’s Parliament of Rojava in Northern Syria. While Gladman’s eroding architectural-linguistic landscape translates world-ecological issues like forced displacement, race, gender, pollution, and unevenly distributed forms of eco-political violence, her texts also problematize projection and allegorical modes of reading, signaling the abstraction of social relations in modernity. The article suggests that Gladman’s experimental writing ultimately hopes to open a new space of relational, embodied thinking while finding creative energy and resilience within the political constraints of literary production.

Transmedia Food: Meme Re-creation in Interactive Narratives

<p>跨媒介敘事研究視迷因文本為衛星支線，輔助核心體系；過往，虛構文學勾勒想像料理之「美食書寫」多所發展，近年則轉為「跨媒介料理」，著重身體感知與敘事設計。論文由此出發，試圖藉原著《冰與火之歌Ⅰ：權力遊戲》的案例，與220 則網路圖文的多模態分析，說明迷因再製者的轉化（菜色）成品及再現（文本）策略。研究發現，互動性敘事涉及迷因再製者融入文學體認，連動食材與身體感知的聯想。其次，轉化歷程需對應較易尋得的食材／媒材，符合日常技藝等情境。其三，創作者融入跨媒介記憶，拼盤「共時系統」或小說時空「歷時系統」，復刻奇幻美食。其四，創作者運用多模態資源再現迷因文本，彰顯個人創意、引發詮釋社群迴響，鞏固跨媒介料理創作動力。</p> <p> </p><p>In transmedia storytelling research, meme literature is considered a form of transtext that supports the core text system. In recent years, the once highlydeveloped trend of fictional “gourmet writing” about imaginary food has shifted to the emergence of “transmedia food,” which emphasizes body senses and narrative design. From this perspective, the present study used A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire and 220 blog posts with images as samples for a multimodal discourse analysis to investigate the (food) products of transformation and representation strategies (of text) employed by creators of derivative memes. The findings indicate that, firstly, interactive narratives require the meme creators to integrate literary experiences with food ingredients and the sensorial associations. Secondly, the transformation process must correspond to easily available food/media materials in the daily cooking skill scenarios. Thirdly, the creators must be able to integrate their transmedia memories to construct a “synchronic system” for the food they tried to recreate or a “diachronic system” for the universe of the novel for the authentic recreations of the mythical food described in the novel. Fourthly, the creators employed multimodal resources to represent the food described in textual memes,with the aim of demonstrating their own creativity, prompting wider responses from online interpretive communities, and encouraging the creative energies of transmedia food.</p> <p> </p>