Production Of Artifacts Research Articles

Motion design and visual communication in the era of ‘diffuse design’ paradigm: analysis and evaluation of a didactic experiment

Abstract In recent years, co-creation and collaboration platforms to create and deliver new products and services have taken a step forward; this has led to the development of a new active involvement of users, who from co-designers have become independent designers, even if not experts. Co-design is dynamic and provides the tools to generate democratic design processes guided by the users themselves. The democratization of design tools is the premise for a new paradigm defined ‘Diffuse Design’ by Manzini (2015). This contribution explores the approaches of open design and open production with particular attention to the field of visual communication and the production of motion design artifacts. After an introduction to the co-design framework, the main open-production visual communication platforms are presented to offer an overview of the topic. Next, the potential of online platforms to enable non-designers to produce animated artifacts is explored by examining student projects in a motion design University course. The most significant outputs of the student experience are then described and critically analyzed. Finally, the conclusions investigate the different perspectives for reading the democratization of tools for creating visual artifacts and lay the foundations for future lines of research.

Determination of Incidence of Soft Tissue Reactions after Total Hip Replacement using Elastography and Role of Elastography in Screening of Periprosthetic Soft Tissue: A Prospective Observational Study

Introduction: Adverse local tissue reactions after Total Hip Replacement (THR) have been widely described in literature recently as a course of aseptic loosening. Evaluation for any adverse soft tissue reactions is challenging with traditional imaging techniques like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and are limited, due to production of metallic artifact. Ultrasound, specifically its refined form elastography, has emerged recently as a useful tool for assessing the soft tissues. Aim: To determine the incidence of soft tissue reactions in cases of THR and to evaluate role of elastography in assessment of periprosthetic soft tissue. Materials and Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Orthopaedics, Dr. Hardas Singh Orthopaedic Hospital, Amritsar, Punjab, India, from May 2013 to April 2014. Study comprises of consecutively followedup 66 hips which were evaluated and assessed clinically and radiologically using ultrasound elastography for periprosthetic soft tissue and degree of fibrosis. The MRI was done in patients with positive findings only. Diagnosis was then confirmed with biopsy in patients who underwent revision surgery. Incidence of clinical symptoms, implant loosening, stability of implant, various types of soft tissue reactions, pseudotumour formation and synovial hypertrophy were determined and association between clinical and radiological findings was done. Chi-square test was determined to see the statistical significance. Results: Total of 66 hips were studied in 60 patients with mean age of 56.08±16.55 years (26-95 years). The incidence of soft tissue reactions observed in the study was 83.3% (n=55), of all 66 hips 36 were symptomatic, Implant loosening was seen in 29 hips, pseudotumours were detected in 3 (4.5%) hips, cystic nodules in 2 (3.0%) hips, enlarged lymph nodes in one (1.5%) hip, fibrogranuloma in 2 (3%) hips and synovial thickening was seen in 12 hips. Association of Harris Hip Score with capsular thickness, implant stability and acetabular loosening was found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: The study shows a substantially higher incidence of soft tissue reaction and capsular hypertrophy following THR. Ultrasound elastography is a good screening tool to detect early soft tissue changes in periprosthetic tissue.

The early lithic productions of Island Southeast Asia: Traditions or convergences?

Island Southeast Asia has been the subject of intense prehistoric investigations since the seminal work of Eugene Dubois in the late XIXth century. This has resulted in several discoveries of a very diverse type of lithic productions of oftentimes debated age. Recent and old excavations have now secured the production of stone artefacts as early as 1 million years on Flores Island, 800,000 years on Java Island, 700,000 on Luzon Island and at least 118,000 years on Sulawesi Island. Along with these findings, several surface collections which most certainly date back to the Lower Palaeolithic are known, and adds to the diversity of the lithic productions. In this paper, we report what is at stake regarding our current knowledge over the early lithic productions of Island Southeast Asia, without giving more importance to one type of artefact over another. After describing the findings from each islands taken one by one, we compare the similarities and dissimilarities between these sometimes isolated and sometimes connected geographic entities. It appears that each of these islands might have had its own evolutionary trend with its own rhythm.

Фольклорное произведение: правомерность использования термина

The purpose of the article is to provide essential justifications for the validity of the definition of “folklore work”. The main sources were the works of philosophers, culturologists, art historians, and folklorists in the field of definitional analysis of the “work of art” category and directly folklore texts. The research methodology includes a structural and functional approach to the analysis of the features of the existence of artistic texts, a phenomenological and anthropological interpretation of folklore artifacts with the inclusion of elements of textual analysis. The question of terminology in the Humanities is quite acute. The use of terms without an exact designation of their subject field can lead not only to discrepancies, but also to significant errors in understanding the essence of phenomena. Moreover, this may lead to claims that the use of certain terms is incorrect. This is the case with the term “folklore work”, which is used in scientific terms. A number of studies, primarily of art criticism, deny the validity of its application on the grounds that the status of stability of works of art contradicts the variant character of folklore texts. This contrast between constancy and variability is explained by a somewhat simplified view of the phenomena being compared. The basis of the folklore work is avantext, which generates equal variants, but performs the function of a stable image structure. It should be interpreted quite broadly: as a kind of conditional matrix within which elements vary without changing the cultural meaning. This is why folklore works are recognizable, preserved and recreated in each case. This variation, in turn, expands the set framework, filling the tradition with relevant content, enriching it with new artistic images, etc. A similar situation occurs with the author's works of art, which for a long time included improvisational fragments. It is the execution and perception of a literary text (and not just the fact that it is fixed in a sign system) that turns it into a work itself, with the inevitable variability. Of course, these changes are not as obvious as in the case of folklore works, but they do not exclude them. Thus, any work of art does not act as a constant system, but as a phenomenon that is quite mobile in the dynamics of cultural activity. In addition, it should be remembered that a work of art is always the result of a specific activity for the production of artifacts. In this case, any created artifact acts as a work of art or, more generally, a work of culture. Therefore, the creation of an artifact in the sphere of folklore culture is the same artistic production as creativity in the sphere of author's musical culture, literature, painting, etc. The use of the term “folklore work” is not only quite justified, but also corresponds to the essential structural, functional and semantic characteristics of this phenomenon.

Essential changes in the composition of copper alloys reveal technological diversities in the transition from the Earliest Iron Age to the Early Roman period in Lithuania

In the context of archaeometallurgical studies of copper alloys, it is relevant to record the essential changes in the elemental composition of copper alloys that occur during changes in technology and transitions in human history. This article presents the shift in the elemental composition of copper alloy from bronze-based alloys to brass ones during essential changes in archaeological material which happened at the turn of the Earliest Iron Age (500–1 BC) and the Early Roman period, from the 1st century BC to the middle of the 1st century AD. As early as the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, in the Antique world and the Roman Empire and its provinces, brass was already starting to partly replace bronze. Even if the Earliest Iron Age is the least knowable period in Lithuanian prehistory, the few pieces of jewellery attributed to this period show the changes in the composition of the copper alloy. The territorial growth of the Late Antique world and internal contacts within the Barbaricum led to the expanding strength of commodities, including raw materials, technologies, cultural ideas and ideological attitudes. Goods and ideas spread throughout the vast barbarian lands, and eventually reached the forest zone of northeast Europe. Sudden changes during the Early Roman period were first of all connected with the development of settlement structure, and this has therefore made it possible to identify some major places of the production of artefacts and partly changed directions of exchange. All this was accompanied by the emergence of new jewellery types produced by skilled jewellers according to sophisticated techniques. These changes are clearly visible in Early Roman period Lithuanian archaeological material, including the elemental composition of copper alloys. The present article uses X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry to investigate the composition of copper alloys. Radiography was used to understand the construction of artefacts, and to assess the degree of their inner corrosion and sophisticated manufacturing techniques. Solder samples were taken from the surfaces of several finds, and were analysed by qualitative microchemical analysis.

Experimental production of lithic artefacts: Developing understanding; developing engagement

This paper is reflective and discusses the results of a process experiment designed to develop understanding of a particular British Early Upper Palaeolithic stone tool technology. The technology in question is the Lincombian, and the discussion breaks down into three main parts. The first part argues that raw material availability and practitioner performance can be influential factors within the modern experimental reproduction process. When these issues were factored in for this experiment it became clear that early phase debitage materials reflected a process of interpretation, not replication. The second substantive part of this discussion focuses upon the final phase of the experimental process. Selection criterion for assessing finished artefacts was tightly constrained by archaeologically derived data. It is argued therefore that when finished artefacts fell within these assessment criteria the final phase of the process was akin to replication. Consequently, debitage associated with the final phase can provide useful analogue material to fill gaps in our understanding of this Lincombian technology. The final section is summative and returns to the issue of performance. It argues that practitioner performance facilitates audience engagement. Engagement is valuable for communicating understanding to both specialist and non-specialist audiences. The paper concludes by arguing that a rigorously evaluated experimental process can be used twice: firstly, as a tool for generating materials to develop our understanding; secondly, as an engaging performance to communicate understanding to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Beyond the Bioceanic Route: indigenous crafts and the potential of ethno-tourism in the southwest of Mato Grosso do Sul

The object of this article is the relationship between indigenous crafts and the potential of ethno-tourism in the southwest of Mato Grosso do Sul. With the implementation of the Bi-oceanic Route, government propaganda has been promising that this economic corridor will stimulate tourism, hence the objective of probing the potential of ethno-tourism in that region, which will directly suffer a great impact as a result of this large-scale undertaking. The theoretical-methodological framework is based on the basic assumption that human productions necessarily result from work, hence the need to treat them as social relations. Therefore, the object of research only acquires understanding within the most general frameworks of capitalist society, expressed by categories such as capital, labor, labor force, market, merchandise, among others. Regarding the methodology, the empirical data survey looked for primary sources of a documentary and imaginary nature, especially photographs. Systematic observations were also recovered in work siltation, carried out both in production and commercialization stations of indigenous artifacts. Secondary sources relevant to the object were also raised, such as catalogs, scientific articles, master's dissertations, doctoral theses, books, and book chapters. To make ethno-tourism viable, the general conclusion is that it invests in a set of initiatives, planned in an integrated and continuous manner within a permanent project. In this group, the improvement of ethnic artifacts is urgent; the recovery and systematic maintenance of the access roads to indigenous lands, as well as the restoration and adaptation of the buildings already available in the villages, with a view to adapting them to the provision of services and products to tourists.

Necropolitics and Culture; or the Embedding of Cultural Practices in Necropower

In the burgeoning field of necropolitical studies, priority has been given to the exploration of material practices. Culture is generally regarded either as secondary to these practices or as a set of mimetic representations of necropolitics. In contrast to such approaches, this article contends that the critical gaze ought to be directed at necropower’s production of cultural artifacts meant to achieve necropolitical goals. A theory of necropolitics that does not encompass the necropolitical production and manipulation of culture is insufficient for it fails to give a complete and thorough account of the complex and variegated technologies of necropower. Cultural practices are much more than simple representations of necropolitics or their ideological or theoretical substratum; they also have the ability to subjugate life to the power of death by actively participating in the construction of death-worlds. This thesis is demonstrated by means of an analysis of the interconnection between necropolitics and culture in General Franco’s Spain (1939–75). The adoption of the theoretical standpoint put forth in this article might refine and broaden the field of necropolitical studies. Discussions on necropolitics need to open up to the embedding of culture in necropower. Centred on the analysis of the role of cultural practices within necropolitics, this direction might prove fruitful in future studies for it would reveal, with more precision than the studies limited to analysing the material dimension of necropolitics, the extent, the force, the tools, and the power of coercion of the politics of death.

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Stones from the Bronze Age: Raw materials and exploration of the stone artifacts from Panlongcheng

Scholars often overlook stone artifacts in the Bronze Age, but they are important because they remained critical in daily life, agriculture, and other craft production as they were in the earlier Neolithic era, and the production and use of stone artifacts remained a complicated component of the fabric of Bronze Age society. To reveal the complexity of stone artifacts in Bronze Age, this study will use petrographic analysis and geological data to analyze the strategies people at the Bronze Age site of Panlongcheng 盘龙城 used to manipulate stone. We conclude that the majority of raw material found at this site came from the foothills of the Dabie Mountain (Dabieshan 大别山) to the north of this site, and the choice of materials does not seem to have a strong connection with the function of stone tools.

Reconversion économique et persistance rituelle dans la communauté zapotèque de Mitla

Every year, more than 200,000 tourists are visiting the archeological site of Mitla, located in Oaxaca state (Mexico). The Mitlena Zapotec community (8,500 people) has reacted to the waves of tourism by transforming its economy and developing the production and commercialization of artefacts. The economic impact of this new trade could have had dire consequences for the social fabric of Mitla, had the inhabitants privileged individual wealth over community life and reciprocity that used to be expressed during religious celebrations. Contrary to the predications, mitlenos have reaffirmed their communitarian identity, particularly at the time of marriage ceremonies to which are invited members of various community networks such as kinship and guelaguetza.

A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Early Neolithic Pyrotechnological Structures. The Case Study of Portonovo (Marche, Italy)

AbstractThe introduction of agricultural practices fostered the development of specific technologies for the new subsistence practices and the production of new artefacts. Pyrotechnological structures such as ovens are part of the Neolithic equipment and accompanied the spread of agriculture from the Near East across Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. Ovens located within settlements – mainly domed, above-ground structures – have been traditionally linked to cooking and baking. The function is usually deduced from techno-morphological traits, although experimental approaches or ethnoarchaeological observations have often been used. This article aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of the multidisciplinary approach to understand the function of fire structures. An integrated methodology that combines archaeological analysis, archaeometry, and experimental archaeology has been applied to study the underground ovens of the Early Neolithic site of Portonovo (Marche, Italy) dated to the sixth millennium BCE. Samples of hardened sediment of archaeological ovens’ inner surface and selected pottery fragments were analysed through X-ray powder diffraction to estimate the temperature reached. A life-size replica of an underground oven was then created to perform firing experiments, including pottery firing. Samples of the oven’s walls and experimental vessels were analysed with the same method, and the values were compared. Our results indicate that the Portonovo ovens are potentially multifunctional structures, built for about 700 years, always with the same technique exploiting the natural soil’s insulating properties.

Survival kit for the afterlife or instruction manual for prehistorians? Staging artefact production in Middle Neolithic cemetery Kadruka 23, Upper Nubia, Sudan

The burials at the Neolithic cemetery Kadruka 23 in Sudan have yielded adornments and bone and lithic artefacts that occur as distinct stages of the chaîne opératoire. This article reports on a hitherto unrecognised funerary practice that highlights the importance of craftsmanship for Neolithic communities in life and beyond.

On the mitigation of the RAPID algorithm uneven sensing network issue employing averaging and Gaussian blur filtering techniques

Ultrasonic guided waves-based Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is a promising solution to perform damage diagnosis in plate-like structures. In this field, the Reconstruction Algorithm for Probabilistic Inspection (RAPID) is one of the most widely used tomographic algorithms to perform active damage detection and localisation. Even though this algorithm is easily implementable, very versatile and satisfactorily accurate, it presents some disadvantages, such as the production of artefacts determined by non-uniform distributions of the sensing network density. In the present article, a processing and spatial filtering technique is proposed, which strongly mitigates the aforementioned problem. The proposed methodology is validated using a numerical database created for a large carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) with a through-the-thickness hole.

Technology as a factor in the cultural development of mankind: a study of the production nature of primitive culture

Purpose of article. Explore technological progress in the context of the development of a primitive culture. The methodology is based on an integrated approach and relies on analytical (when analyzing philosophical, art history, cultural studies literature on the subject of research), historical (when clarifying the stages of development of primitive culture), and conceptual (when analyzing the role of technology in the cultural development of mankind) research methods. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that for the first time the formative role of technology in the cultural development of mankind is investigated, and also the cooperative nature of the production of artifacts of primitive culture is determined. Conclusions. As a result of the study of archaeological finds of primitive culture, it has been established that in the course of cultural evolution, tools of labor have become cultural artifacts, works of art. The emergence of production technologies (stone processing, fire control, metal melting) radically transformed the specifics of the organization of production activities, and therefore changed the course of cultural development. Therefore, in the course of the study, the formative role of technology in the formation of artistic culture was proved.

Sissala Clan Totems as a Resource for Design and Production of Tumu Paramountcy Skin Regalia

Tumu traditional area in the Sissala East Municipality of Upper West Region is home to numerous and varied animals and birds that serve as totems to their clans. Yet, the regalia of their paramountcy's skin has little or no reference to their totems and symbols. Therefore, this art studio-based study employed an ethnographic action research paradigm and adopted the Universal Design Model (UDM) to identify conceptual images of Sissala clan totems to design and produce symbolic textile regalia for the Tumu paramountcy skin. The study revealed that Sissala clan totems have an endearing bond of unity among the various clans. It also confirmed that clan totems are a great source of inspiration for ideation and generation of designs for artists and craftsmen. The study concluded that imagery of Sissala clan totems for the production of textile regalia for the Tumu kuoro was paramount to give the Tumu paramountcy skin a symbolic representation and unique identity that helps the youth and general public appreciate the philosophy and cultural values of the Sissalas. The study recommends that studies be conducted in the remaining Sissala clans to unearth more totems for textile designing and production of artefacts.

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Culturological survey of primitive art artifacts

The purpose of the article is to explore technological progress in the context of the development of a primitive culture. The methodology is based on an integrated approach and relies on analytical (when analyzing philosophical, art history, cultural studies literature on the subject of research), historical (when clarifying the stages of development of primitive culture), and conceptual (when analyzing the role of technology in the cultural development of mankind) research methods. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that for the first time the formative role of technology in the cultural development of mankind is investigated, and also the cooperative nature of the production of artifacts of primitive culture is determined. Conclusions. As a result of the study of archaeological finds of primitive culture, it has been established that in the course of cultural evolution, tools at hand have become cultural artifacts, and in the end – and works of art. The introduction of technological inventions has radically changed the specifics of the manufacture of art products. Consequently, as a result of the transformation of technological devices and understanding the logic of the organization of the production process, there is not only a decrease in the form of artifacts but also an improvement in the aesthetic form.

Digital intermediation: Unseen infrastructures for cultural production

This article constructs a theoretical model of digital intermediation: a process of three key, and unseen, components for cultural production in our contemporary media environment. Digital intermediation is a content production and consumption process that incorporates the cultural characteristics of technologies, agencies and automation. First, the article describes the key components of digital intermediation that bring about the production and distribution of cultural artefacts. Second, the article describes digital intermediation as a process of production and consumption amid these three components. Third, the article articulates the problems digital intermediation creates by examining the loss of user agency over the production of and access to cultural artefacts. Finally, the article highlights how digital intermediation problems can be addressed by cultural institutions, specifically public service media, to shore up user agency within automated media environments.

Sourcing macrolithics: Mineralogical, geochemical and provenance investigation of stone artefacts from Neolithic Avgi, north‐west Greece

AbstractThe provenance of the lithic raw materials employed in the production of macrolithic artefacts at Neolithic Avgi (Middle–Late Neolithic, c.5700–4500 cal bce) in Kastoria, north‐western Greece, is studied. Mineralogical, petrographic and geochemical analysis was conducted on selected samples of the archaeological material, supported by geological fieldwork and outcrop sampling. The majority of the macrolithic stone artefacts was manufactured by local raw materials, originating from either the neighbouring ophiolites at Maniakoi or the alluvial sediments of the Aliakmon River and its tributaries. A minor amount of artefacts was produced from ‘exotic’ rocks, such as marble, malachite and amber. The study of two marble artefacts indicates that the raw material is from the island of Naxos in Aegean, although the neighbouring island of Paros is not excluded, suggesting the participation of the Neolithic community of Avgi in social and/or exchange networks.