scholarly journals Narratability of Knowing and Being: The Ontic Role of Materia Poetica in the Post-Mechanical Age

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 68
Author(s):  
Milan Jaros

The realm of mystery of matter that has long inspired creative minds has been broken by runaway complexification of life into fragments tossed around in voids of ‘total presence’. Apart from notable exceptions, the origin and actuality of the material condition of humans remain hidden from view by layers of ‘neo-baroque’ allegories framing narratives of the post-mechanical age. It is argued that resurrection of the ontic role of encounters with material reality may restore what has always served as an indispensable source of personal identity and life-sustaining narratives. It is also a means to fostering narrative novelty in the process of instilling timely attitudes and competences, with a view to ensuring that every individual can effectively engage with materiality of their presence and build upon its appreciation and on any inspiration it can offer, at the pace and level of accomplishment matching their personal ability and circumstances. It is this grounding of knowing and being that offers the promise of a bottom up transition to citizenship in a shared Common in which the key measure of value rests with promoting personal independence and social emancipation! What are the key stages of ‘allegorisation’ of narrativity and literary narratives in particular leading to the meta-modern present? What is the fate of materia poetica? The model of curriculum and competence development - grounded in object based, project driven, personal ownership of knowing, and amplifying the tutor-learner component at the expense of top down ‘talk and chalk’ - recently developed to take higher education into the digital age may be instrumental in delivering such objectives, and prove to be particularly relevant post-Covid 19.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Belyaeva ◽  
Lyudmila Kuznetsova ◽  
Olga Nikiforova ◽  
Svetlana Suchkova

The dissemination of English and the role it plays in Russian higher education are connected with its internationalization – a process that has been gaining momentum over recent decades spurred by a number of top-down and bottom-up initiatives. The role of English in university teaching and research is illustrated by the analysis of open access data on two leading Russian universities and the findings of a survey of teaching staff’s perceptions of English in academia. The views of some other stakeholders have been collected from the existing publications on the topic. The term Englishization is inappropriate to describe the Russian context because the use of English in Russian academia is not as far-reaching as the term implies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Mei Qu

This article explores how grassroots administrators interact with various other actors in the process of forming international partnerships. A top-down and a bottom-up case of building international partnerships for masters and PhD programmes were selected from my fieldwork in a Danish university. The cases were elaborated and analysed using Tatiana Fumasoli’s organisational approach to multi-level governance in higher education. This article concludes that with their personal networks and knowledge about the normative frameworks of certain powerful actors, grassroots administrators could help academic staff who might not know the regulations involved in the internationalisation process, to balance their own interests with their intention of complying with the normative frameworks, and thus enhance their capacities of forming and participating in a successful international partnership.


2012 ◽  
Vol 108 (3) ◽  
pp. 709-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yann Thibaudier ◽  
Marie-France Hurteau

Propriospinal pathways are thought to be critical for quadrupedal coordination by coupling cervical and lumbar central pattern generators (CPGs). However, the mechanisms involved in relaying information between girdles remain largely unexplored. Using an in vitro spinal cord preparation in neonatal rats, Juvin and colleagues ( Juvin et al. 2012 ) have recently shown sensory inputs from the hindlimbs have greater influence on forelimb CPGs than forelimb sensory inputs on hindlimb CPGs, in other words, a bottom-up control system. However, results from decerebrate cats suggest a top-down control system. It may be that both bottom-up and top-down control systems exist and that the dominance of one over the other is task or context dependent. As such, the role of sensory inputs in controlling quadrupedal coordination before and after injury requires further investigation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 76 ◽  
pp. 178-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fátima Vaz-Pinto ◽  
Celia Olabarria ◽  
Francisco Arenas
Keyword(s):  
Top Down ◽  

Author(s):  
Andreas Heinz

Psychotic experiences may best be described as an alteration in the self-ascription of thoughts and actions, which is associated with a profoundly altered experience of oneself and the surrounding world. Computational models of key symptoms of psychiatric disorders are discussed with respect to the attribution of salience and self-relatedness to otherwise irrelevant stimuli and the role of top-down modelling in the generation of delusions. Top-down and bottom-up approaches in understanding mental disorders and their computational models are compared and critically reflected.


Author(s):  
Tony Chasteauneuf ◽  
Tony Thornton ◽  
Dean Pallant

This chapter discusses the role of the third sector working with the hard and soft structures of public–private partnerships to promote healthier individuals and communities. It considers how a recommitment to the 'local authority' of citizens and beneficiaries offers the possibility of revitalised and healthier individuals and reinvigorated and healthier communities, which are unachievable through the hard and soft structures of the commissioner/provider statutory approach. The chapter then identifies the pivotal dynamic of one-to-one relationships in these processes and their association with health outcomes (emotional, physical, and spiritual) alongside the opportunities and challenges in agencies engaging/re-engaging with the agency of citizens and beneficiaries. It explores the tension between the 'agency' of citizens and beneficiaries that constitutes bottom-up power and 'agencies' with top-down power. The chapter also looks at the benefits of embracing the expertise and investment of individuals and their communities in their personal and shared lives, how this can be supported and how it can be undermined.


2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 866-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Chu Chen ◽  
Sukjoon Yoon

This research examined the relationships among tourism, well-being, and novelty-seeking as a personality trait based on the top–down and bottom–up theories of well-being. A structural model that includes a direct effect of novelty-seeking on life satisfaction (top–down influence) and an indirect effect through tourism experiences (bottom–up influence) were proposed and tested using a sample of 556 American residents. Results showed that novelty-seekers were well aware of travel benefits and traveled more frequently. It was also found that the top–down influence of novelty-seeking on life satisfaction was significantly greater than the bottom–up influence. These findings highlight the crucial role of personality as a predictor of well-being as well as the importance of applying positive psychology principles to further enhance the potential contribution of tourism experiences to tourists’ well-being.


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