This study investigates Western curatorial practices towards the darśan, the visual contact established between the Hindu worshipper and the deity who is believed to give life to its material representation, expressed by two sets of Indian storytelling scrolls, the Bengali pats and the Rajasthani paṛs. Whilst the scrolls, especially the Rajasthani ones, are believed to be the temples and the icons of the deity depicted, Western curators appreciate them either as examples of ethnographic theories, or as pure art works. On the one hand, materiality is thus animistically empowered (see Faure, 1998), and, consequently, is treated as an anthropomorphic entity or fetish. On the other hand, materiality is considered as a reified idea, an objectification of a social structure, or of an ideal of beauty. Latour (2010) calls this phenomenon of reification a factish concept, which is revered in a semi-spiritual or post-secular way. Modernity, according to Latour, is characterised by this opposition between self-evident, abstract and intellectual notions –e.g. the categories of the sacred and of the profane –and the concrete and irrational reality. The differentiation between reality and ideas recalls the broader boundary between the human and the nonhuman. According to Merleau-Ponty (2003 [c. 1956]), materiality coincides with nature, one of the fundamental criteria of the categorisation of human/nonhuman. While human characteristics are highly rational, materiality, along with animality, is confined within the irrational realm and is considered as a passive actor, except for Gell’s (1998) theorisation of material agency. However, his conceptualisation depends upon an anthropomorphisation of the artefact by invoking the particular example of children’s play with toys. The present thesis explores the contribution of phenomenology, as the study of embodiments and incarnations, in problematising the role of materiality in its relationships with humans, and so the boundaries between the human and the nonhuman. On the one hand, the study employs phenomenology as a methodological tool, according to which the researcher’s body reveals a particular and intersubjective appraisal of materiality. On the other hand, phenomenology, corroborated by posthumanist studies, is the theoretical approach by which the duality object/subject is problematised. By this logic, phenomenology challenges the ontological idea of the I or human as separated from the Other or the nonhuman, by replacing it with a hybridism and a fusion between the perceiving and the perceived. Fieldwork data problematises this anthropomorphisation of materiality. In fact, visitors’ responses escape from the curators’ control and reveal how museum artefacts possess an agency independent from any human projection. In addition, data emphasises the irreconciliability between epistemic categories and the empiric reality. For instance, the Durkheimian notions of the sacred and of the profane become inapt to describe the phenomenon of the recreation of religious contexts and places, such as temples and altars.

archives@tulane.edu / 1 / Blas Isasi gutiérrez

In this dissertation I explore the phenomenon that Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht calls "presence effects" as it is illuminated through encounters with performance art. In Chapter One I describe what is meant by materialities of communication and outline three heuristic features of materiality. In Chapter Two I define performance generally as a mode of action and performance art as a mode of encounter. Chapters Three, Four, and Five utilize the theoretical foundations established in Chapters One and Two to examine the work of three performance artists: Carey Young, Tim Miller and my own performance persona, Reddy the Robot. Finally, in Chapter Six I concretize the potential utility this dissertation may hold for readers interested in materiality, presence, and performance art. Ultimately I argue that tuning into presence effects (as present in performance art and otherwise) can help underscore the value of presence, rethink what limits mean, and highlight the irreducibility of the body.

Material and structure, being indivisible, provide the basis for this thesis exploration. The material of choice was concrete, inspired by the use of cast objects made in the studio. Through the act of form making and casting tectonic material integration developed. Intrinsic structural qualities of the material were affirmed with repeated drawing, form making and casting, while exploring the phenomenon of the transferred surface. An open urban site in Washington, DC was chosen before a building type was determined. Neighborhood and site analysis identified the potential need for a Firehouse. This building type allowed the opportunity to explore the use of concrete for vehicles as well as people. Can concrete, maligned for being cold and harsh, hold a building and its uses in comfort and beauty? / Master of Architecture / I struggled to find a direction for my Master of Architecture Thesis, like most, but knew materiality and tectonics would be the focus. After being enthralled with the annual WAAC Concrete competition, and the rampant use of ROCKITE in the Old Town studio I settled on formed concrete as a driver. An urban site was a given, an empty lot at 14th Street and V Street NW that seemed a managable size was perfect. Neigborhood and site analysis revealed the potential need for a Firehouse, in the pull-through style popularized by suburban stations.(1) This building type allowed many opportunities to explore concrete structural tectonics, for the human user and the automobile. Ideas of how concrete holds different materials, and how those relationships create a comfortable and useful space were examined in drawing and model.

FN:s hållbarhetsagenda har bidragit till ökat fokus och organisationsanpassning avseende hållbarhetsarbete. Tidigare forskning har fokuserat på hållbarhetsrapportering av intressentdialoger genom GRI, men inte hur dialogerna utvecklas. Studiens syfte är således att studera hur företag praktiskt arbetar med intressentdialoger. Avsikten är att genom en fallstudie exemplifiera viktiga faktorer för intressentdialoger som bidrar till hållbarhetsmål, samt problem och möjligheter som uppstår. Utifrån teorin utformades analysmodellen med fem steg för intressentdialoger. Analysmodell och tre förväntningar användes som grund i analysen av empiriska resultat. Datainsamling inkluderade fyra intervjuer och kompletterande information från årsredovisning. Studiensresultat indikerar att de viktigaste aspekterna för intressentdialoger är relevant informationsspridning, ökat engagemang och kunskapsutveckling. Intressentdialoger erbjuder flexibilitet på lokal nivå, men måste utgå från företagets övergripande vision i hållbarhetsarbetet. Dialogerna har inslag av både struktur och tydlighet, i form av konkreta verktyg som materiality assessment, men innefattar också mer informell kommunikation.

Since the end of the Cold War, there has been a comprehensive challenge to dominant conceptions in Security Studies. Security has been approached as a political phenomenon, resulting from political assumptions and having political effects. The politicization of security has been pursued by a number of so-called ‘critical approaches,’ including ‘security as emancipation.’ The latter argues that security consists in removing or alleviating constraints upon the lives of individuals and groups – such as poverty, ill health, or lack of education. This thesis asks two questions: firstly, can the ‘security as emancipation’ approach, in its current formulation, deliver on its claims and promises, in the context of the effort of politicization in Security Studies? And secondly, if it is shown that there are weaknesses, in what ways can the analytical and normative outlook of security as emancipation be strengthened through an engagement with other resources in the literature? Chapters 1 and 2 establish the context in which the merits of security as emancipation must be judged. They conclude that an engagement with this approach must focus on the way it conceives the multiple connections between security and politics. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 pursue this insight, by focusing on the notions of reality, threat and power respectively. In each of these themes, the argument identifies gaps in security as emancipation and suggests theoretical reconsiderations based on an engagement with approaches and ideas – in the critical security literature and in social and political theory – that so far have been neglected or not examined sufficiently by this approach. This thesis aims to re-establish security as emancipation as a valid interlocutor within critical debates about security. It also aims to show that the dialogue between critical approaches is, not only possible, but beneficial to understanding the politicization of security.

Zugl.: Heidelberg, Universiẗat, Diss., 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 379-416).

This dissertation incorporates the ontological perspective of sociomateriality into the literature on teamwork process to posit that member behavior and technology use are inherently enmeshed (termed process sociomateriality). Three programmatic studies were conducted In order to establish the construct and examine the effects of process sociomateriality on team functioning. First, a qualitative critical incident study (Study 1) found that process sociomateriality is comprised of three higher-order dimensions, reflecting that technology use in team settings may facilitate, expand, or impair process behaviors. A psychometric measure of process sociomateriality was then developed and administered to the general population in Study 2. Findings from Study 2 revealed that the measure exhibits acceptable psychometric properties and displays sufficient convergent and discriminant validity with relevant teamwork constructs. Study 3 tested the manner in which the process sociomateriality factors impact important team outcomes. Findings revealed that process facilitation and expansion improve team performance and team viability indirectly by shaping affective and motivational states. Further, results also demonstrated that the process sociomateriality factors account for variance in team viability and emergent states beyond prior conceptualizations of the process/technology relationship.

South Africa is a country burdened by the overhang of apartheid and recent state capture, and desperately trying to balance economic growth with well-being of all stakeholders. This has opened the door for ESG practices to provide holistic solutions for both society and business. This is made particularly relevant by applying business resources to the most relevant ESG issues facing companies, the focus of this study. To achieve the objective of promoting positive societal outcomes through better corporate engagement with ESG, the study analysed 22 asset managers, 25 companies and 25 earnings call transcripts for the opinions of asset managers, companies and analysts on which issues were material to them across five industries. Alongside this analysis, asset managers were interviewed for their opinion of ESG as it is currently practiced in the South African market, where they saw barriers to its practice and where potential improvements could be made. The study found alignment between asset managers and companies on the majority of material issues, but little alignment with analysts, suggesting a break-down in conversation between investors and companies. In particular, the issue of governance was stressed as the most important issue category by asset managers across all industries, but was given little air-time by both companies and analysts. These findings were consistent with the literature on investor perspectives of ESG, company ESG disclosure and materiality. The author suggests a model for materiality be developed to gauge company response to material ESG issues more consistently and aide engagement. Key words: ESG, sustainability, materiality, decoupling, disclosure

Can a hospital be more than a center for treatment? Can it initiate a sense of healing in the individual as well as the community? The hospital in its early form was a facility meant to house the sick in ancient Egyptian temples. Prayers, sacrifices and dream interpretations were used in the healing process as well as quintessential medical procedures such as opium for pain and stitching of wounds. Monasteries were later established to accommodate travelers, the indigent and the sick. Hospitals were constructed next to Religious institutions but also utilized house calls for the wealthy class. Monasteries were also organized in cloisters which were places of retreats from the mundane. The idea of hospitals today is to diagnose, treat and heal patients which has proven to be effective with most diseases being prevented and eradicated entirely from our day to day lives. However, these conditions aren't as similar in Malawi. The origin of the word hospital is derived from the Latin word "hospitalia" meaning a place of refuge for guests and strangers. The need for effectively functioning hospital in Malawi is apparent, but the need to create a hospital that heals and creates a sense of community and tranquility for both the guest and wondering traveler is paramount. / Master of Architecture / Explorations of the thesis included delving into what it means to live in a communal village to designing a healing hospital from the outside inward to inform the design to it's fruition. Research entailed looking at perspectives of rural living in Malawi and reflecting those elements in the built environment to create a hospital with gardens of healing and roofs that reflect rural architecture and natural materials. Research began with exploring the cultural influences of community and expressing it through graphic representation and data analysis which informed the location of the site in Blantyre, Malawi. The idea of creating a hospital that can heal through gardens of community or "Khonde" that are synonymous with the people of Malawi. The concept of the hospital is based on the organization of a rural village composed of a center point at the driveway entrance which unfurls out to allow for possible future expansion of the campus. The curvature of the maternity breaks the linear organization to help guide the gardens and circulation of pedestrian paths and patients to and from the hospital departments whilst keeping a certain amount of public access and private ownership.