Automated sensory data alignment for environmental and epidermal change monitoring

In this paper we present research adapting a state of the art condition-invariant robotic place recognition algorithm to the role of automated inter- and intra-image alignment of sensor observations of environmental and skin change over time. The approach involves inverting the typical criteria placed upon navigation algorithms in robotics; we exploit rather than attempt to fix the limited camera viewpoint invariance of such algorithms, showing that approximate viewpoint repetition is realistic in a wide range of environments and medical applications. We demonstrate the algorithms automatically aligning challenging visual data from a range of real-world applications: ecological monitoring of environmental change, aerial observation of natural disasters including flooding, tsunamis and bushfires and tracking wound recovery and sun damage over time and present a prototype active guidance system for enforcing viewpoint repetition. We hope to provide an interesting case study for how traditional research criteria in robotics can be inverted to provide useful outcomes in applied situations.

Automatic image scaling for place recognition in changing environments

Robustness to variations in environmental conditions and camera viewpoint is essential for long-term place recognition, navigation and SLAM. Existing systems typically solve either of these problems, but invariance to both remains a challenge. This paper presents a training-free approach to lateral viewpoint- and condition-invariant, vision-based place recognition. Our successive frame patch-tracking technique infers average scene depth along traverses and automatically rescales views of the same place at different depths to increase their similarity. We combine our system with the condition-invariant SMART algorithm and demonstrate place recognition between day and night, across entire 4-lane-plus-median-strip roads, where current algorithms fail.

Ruumiinkuvia! : Suomalainen performanssi- ja kehotaide 1980- ja1990-luvulla psykoanalyysin valossa

My PhD-thesis Body Images! Psychoanalytical Analysis of Finnish Performance and Body Art in the 1980s and 1990s considers Finnish performance and body art performed mainly by visual artists. In Part I, I chart the historical construction of performance art and its extension since the beginning of the 21st century. There are several wievs of the historical background of performance art. I introduce three different genealogies of performance art. One is Rose-Lee Goldberg s view. She connects performance art with the European avant-garde already at the beginning of the 20th century from futurists and dadaists to Russian avant-garde and the Bauhaus. I prefer to present performance art as contemporary art, which began to take shape in connection with visual arts in the 1950s and 1960s. The focus on the body is apparent in nearly all performance art. Nevertheless, throug the concept of body art I want to empasize the artist s body as the place of art. Body art (as part of performance art) functions as thematic and interpretive concept, which allows me to focus on performances where the questions of body image, narcissism, desire, language and pleasure are incorporated in particular intensive ways. In Part II, I explore the arrival of performance art in Finnish visual arts in the 1980s. I study the new generation s relation to earlier Finnish happenings (1960s) and performative actions in 1970 s. I briefly introduce performance groups of the 1980s art scene and consider their reception in media. The main focus is on the group Jack Helen Brut, in which I see many similarities to the so- called Theatre of Images. The goal of this part II is to provide historical context for the performance analysis that follows. In Part III, I develop the concept of body image which is my main theoretical term. The concept of body image is used according to Lacanian psychoanalytical theory, especially his considerations of mirror stages. My first mapping of body image, which I call imaginary body image, is based on Lacan s famous mirror stage article (1949). According to my reading, body image is narcistic and aggressive. The important concepts here are ego, imaginary, méconnaisance and alienation. In 1953 Lacan began to develop different version on mirror stage, in which he emphasized the primacy of symbolic dimension. It is not image, but language which constructs the foundations of body image. Central concepts in this chater are Other as language, ego-ideal, demand and desire. In the last chapter I connect the third version of the mirror stage to concepts of gaze, phantasy, real, jouissance and object a. In previous chapters I had considered body image in relation to ego. Now I explore it in relation to subject. In my reading the body image is fragile phenomen, which oscillates between yearning for coherence and phantasies of fragmented images. Part IV of the thesis begins with an introduction to the central concepts and debates in performace studies over the last few decades. Important concepts are presence, performativity and theatricality. The main substance of my thesis, however, is the performance analysis, which focuses on works by three Finnish artists and one Finnish group. The first analysis concerns the performance (1992) of Kimmo Schroderus. I discuss the relationship between narcissism and body art and the changes in demands projected on body images of men in recent decades in a Euro-American context. I also explore this performance in relation to the myth of Narcissus, which I reinterpret through Narcissus s aggression against his own body. The group Homo S is the main subject of the next analysis. I discuss the relationship between feminist art and performance art, especially in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. Homo S is different from this early performance art because of its anarchism, humor and rejection of all ideals. Homo S characterizes its performance Body Body (1983) as liberating vulgar feminism . Sociality and performance of erotic relations between women are central in Body Body. Pia Lindman s performances are the subjects of my third analysis. I study three of her performances: Olen muoto (1993), 17 and in love (1994) and Arranged views (1995). I interpret these performances as efforts to disperse the imaginary and symbolic structures of the body image. She constructs the peculiar object a and phantasy space of her own. In the last analysis I move from questions of image and gaze to a study of language, sound and jouissance. I discuss at a general level the performance of orality and helplesness (Hilflosigkeit) in body art. The central elements in Pentti Otto Koskinen s performances are the ear, listening and receptive gestures and postions. Perseveraatio (1998) can be understood representing as submission to the super-ego s power, which compels one to enjoy. I examine particularly closely the performance Maissi on hyvää ei missään nimessä maissia (1995), which I interpret as the return of a baby s body image to the liminal site of choice: language or jouissance?

Competing views on cancer

Despite intense research efforts that have provided enormous insight, cancer continues to be a poorly understood disease. There has been much debate over whether the cancerous state can be said to originate in a single cell or whether it is a reflection of aberrant behaviour on the part of a `society of cells'. This article presents, in the form of a debate conducted among the authors, three views of how the problem might be addressed. We do not claim that the views exhaust all possibilities. These views are (a) the tissue organization field theory (TUFT) that is based on a breakdown of tissue organization involving many cells from different embryological layers, (b) the cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis that focuses on genetic and epigenetic changes that take place within single cells, and (c) the proposition that rewiring of the cell's protein interaction networks mediated by intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) drives the tumorigenic process. The views are based on different philosophical approaches. In detail, they differ on some points and agree on others. It is left to the reader to decide whether one approach to understanding cancer appears more promising than the other.

Fragments of place : revealing sense of place through shared phone images.

Is an interactive new media art installation that explores how the sharing of images, normally hidden on mobile phones, can reveal more about people's sense of place and this ultimately shared experience. Traditional views on sense of place, as exemplified by Wagner (1972) and Relph (1976), characterise the experience as a fusion of meaning, act and context. Indeed, Relph suggests that it is not just the identity of a place that is important, but also the identity that a person or group has with that place, in particular whether they are experiencing it as an ‘insider’ or ‘outsider’. This work stimulates debate concerning the impact of technology on sense of place. Technology offers a number of bridges between the real and virtual worlds, but in so doing places an increased tension on the sense of place and subsequently the identity of the individual. This, coupled with the increased use of camera phones, has enabled the documentation of all aspects of our lives, the things we do, the objects we encounter and the places we inhabit. The installation taps into these hidden electronic resources by letting people share their sense of place associated with a large scale event. The work explores the changing nature of the sense of place of performers, visitors and residents over the duration of the event. Interaction with the installation will transform the viewer into performer, echoing Relph’s insider-outsider dichotomy

‘Stakeholders’ views of legal and advice services for people admitted to psychiatric hospital’

This paper describes a study that used a mixed method approach to elicit the views of a range of stakeholders about experiences of compulsory admission to psychiatric hospital, and the use of the Mental Health Review Tribunal (MHRT). The paper begins with an introduction to the background of the study, one that took place in Northern Ireland, a region in the UK with its own mental health legislation and policy. A review of literature is then presented. This highlights some of the disadvantages that service users and carers face when dealing with professionals during and following compulsory admission to hospital. This section concludes with an overview of literature on the MHRT in the UK. A range of methods was used to gather data from the following stakeholders: five service user and carer focus group interviews (n = 44); interviews with four lawyers experienced in Tribunal work; an interview with a legal member of the Tribunal; a survey of solicitors who identified themselves as equipped to carry out Tribunal work; interviews with three managers of organisations that provided patient advocacy services; letters to hospital managers requesting information provided to patients and carers. The findings reveal a number of themes associated with these experiences of compulsory admission to hospital and subsequent use of the Tribunal. Service users and carers generally found it difficult to access relevant information about rights, information provided by hospital managers was uneven and lawyers were often not familiar with processes associated with compulsory admission. There was a range of views about the Tribunal. Most respondents felt that the Tribunal was necessary and mostly satisfactory in the way it carried out its functions, but stakeholders raised a number of issues. Carers in particular felt that they should be more involved in decision-making processes, whereas lawyers tended to be focused on more technical, legal issues. Problems of regrading prior to the Tribunal and in examining medical evidence were highlighted by lawyers. There was an appeal for better information and advice by service users and carers, and recognition of the need for better training and education for lawyers. The paper concludes with a brief discussion about current mental health law in the UK, arguing that, in this context, professionals should more proactively use information and advice that can enable service users and carers to defend their rights. Keywords: compulsory mental health; law; legal and advice services

Substance Use and Misuse : Adolescent Substance Use in the context of the family ; a qualitative study of young people's views on parent child attachments , parenting style and parental substance use

Introduction and Aims. While the role of the family in adolescent substance use has been well documented, few studies have attempted to explore in-depth youth perceptions of how these familial processes/dynamics influence teenage substance use. This paper reports the findings from a study exploring risk and protective factors for teenage substance use within the context of the family as perceived by young people with a view to informing current and future family based prevention and education interventions.
Design and Methods. Data collection took place in nine post-primary schools across Northern Ireland. Nine focus groups using participatory techniques were facilitated with a purposive sample of sixty-two young people (age 13-17 years). Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a content/thematic analysis.
Results. Three broad themes/aspects of the family emerged from the data, which may serve to protect or attenuate the risk of substance use among young people. Parent-child attachment was a major theme identified in protecting adolescents from substance use in addition to effective parenting particularly an authoritative style of parenting supplemented by parental monitoring and good parent-child communication to encourage child disclosure. Family substance use was deemed to impact on children’s substance use if exposed at an early age and the harms associated with PSM were discussed in detail.
Discussion and Conclusions. The qualitative approach provides insight into current understanding of youth perceptions of substance use in the context of family dynamics. A number of recommendations are outlined. Family based (preventive) interventions/parenting programmes may benefit from components on effective parenting including authoritative styles, parental monitoring, effective communication, spending time together (building attachments), parent-child conflict, adolescent development and factors which impact on parenting. Parenting programmes tailored to mothers and fathers may be beneficial. School based interventions targeting children/adolescents may be best placed to target children living with parental substance misuse.
Keywords: substance/substance related disorders, focus groups, young people/adolescent,

Henri Michaux et le récit de voyage : la place du sujet dans l’écriture de l’ailleurs

Le but premier de cette étude sera de comprendre le rôle de l’écriture de voyage telle qu’elle est pratiquée dans l’œuvre d’Henri Michaux et d’expliquer le parcours qui mène ce dernier du voyage réel au voyage imaginaire. Les trois ouvrages principaux qui constitueront notre objet d’analyse, c’est-à-dire Ecuador (1929), Un Barbare en Asie (1933), ainsi que le récit imaginaire d’Ailleurs (1946), transforment chacun à leur façon le genre de la relation de voyage en mettant de l’avant non pas une écriture de l’Autre mais une écriture de soi. Il semble en effet que, chez Michaux, l’écriture de l’ailleurs n’a de valeur que dans l’affirmation de la position du sujet face à un réel angoissant, réel devant impérativement être tenu à distance par le biais du langage. Incidemment, dans sa volonté d’expatriation, le voyageur est pris entre deux temps bien distincts, celui du désir d’adéquation et celui du repli sur soi.

Spectacle and the one-man band : technology, performing bodies, and imaginary spaces

L’étiquette « homme-orchestre » est apposée à une grande variété de musiciens qui se distinguent en jouant seuls une performance qui est normalement interprétée par plusieurs personnes. La diversité qu’a pu prendre au cours du temps cette forme n’est pas prise en compte par la culture populaire qui propose une image relativement constante de cette figure tel que vue dans les films Mary Poppins (1964) de Walt Disney et One-man Band (2005) de Pixar. Il s’agit d’un seul performeur vêtu d’un costume coloré avec une grosse caisse sur le dos, des cymbales entre les jambes, une guitare ou un autre instrument à cordes dans les mains et un petit instrument à vent fixé assez près de sa bouche pour lui permettre d’alterner le chant et le jeu instrumental. Cette thèse propose une analyse de l’homme-orchestre qui va au-delà de sa simple production musicale en situant le phénomène comme un genre spectaculaire qui transmet un contenu symbolique à travers une relation tripartite entre performance divertissante, spectateur et image. Le contenu symbolique est lié aux idées caractéristiques du Siècle des lumières tels que la liberté, l’individu et une relation avec la technologie. Il est aussi incarné simultanément par les performeurs et par la représentation de l’homme-orchestre dans l’imaginaire collectif. En même temps, chaque performance sert à réaffirmer l’image de l’homme-orchestre, une image qui par répétitions est devenue un lieu commun de la culture, existant au-delà d’un seul performeur ou d’une seule performance. L’aspect visuel de l’homme-orchestre joue un rôle important dans ce processus par une utilisation inattendue du corps, une relation causale entre corps, technologie et production musicale ainsi que par l’utilisation de vêtements colorés et d’accessoires non musicaux tels des marionnettes, des feux d’artifice ou des animaux vivants. Ces éléments spectaculaires divertissent les spectateurs, ce qui se traduit, entre autres, par un gain financier pour le performeur. Le divertissement a une fonction phatique qui facilite la communication du contenu symbolique.

Comparing nurses’ and doctors’ views of nurse prescribing: a questionnaire survey

Nurses have successfully adopted the role of prescriber in numerous health care settings in the UK. Existing research has not addressed how Nurse Independent and Nurse Supplementary Prescribers compare with doctors in terms of the perceived advantages and disadvantages of nurse prescribing, nor has the perceived importance of nurses providing patients with an explanation about their medicines been established. The current study utilized a random sample of 31 qualified Nurse Independent and Nurse Supplementary Prescribers and 30 general practitioners who self-completed a written questionnaire in an independent groups design. The study establishes nurses’ and doctors’ perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of independent and supplementary nurse prescribing and provides some indication of the importance that nurses and doctors place on nurses providing an explanation about medicines, and the categories of information perceived to be important.

Versos modernos: a paisagem amazônica no imaginário poético de Adalcinda Camarão

Este estudo propõe a análise temática de alguns poemas da poeta paraense Adalcinda Magno Camarão Luxardo (1915-2005), levando em consideração os aspectos do imaginário e os elementos, imagens, símbolos e espaço, inseridos e refletidos em suas produções poéticas. A escritora nasceu na cidade de Muaná, na Ilha do Marajó-Pa, e se inseriu no cenário cultural literário paraense como uma das poucas mulheres que militaram no universo da arte durante este período, quando ainda normalista, passou a fazer parte dos grupos de estudantes que lutavam em frentes literárias. Importante é dizer que a autora contribuiu com revistas literárias que circulavam na sociedade belemense na primeira metade do século XX – Guajarina, A Semana e Amazônia –, que ajudaram a difundir sua habilidade poética, além de escrever para os jornais O diário e a Província, o que demonstra sua inserção e importância na cena literária daquele momento, nos auspícios da constituição de um movimento literário local. Portanto, esta pesquisa encontra-se voltada para a análise dos poemas de Adalcinda que deixam transparecer as relações de imaginário, imagens, símbolos e espaço, procurando fazer analogias com autores como: Gilbert Durand (1997), François Laplantine e Liana Trindade (1997), em um panorama com base antropológica; Gaston Bachelard (2008), com suas considerações sobre o espaço poético; e Milton Santos (2006), no que se refere à ideia de paisagem, situando ainda as visões fenomenológicas acerca desses temas através de Sartre (1996).

Trans arquitectura : imaginación, invención e individuación del objeto técnico arquitectónico : transferencia tecnológica desde la industria del transporte al proyecto arquitectónico (1900-1973)

Se presenta la tesis doctoral, titulada ‘TRANS Arquitectura. Imaginación, Invención e individuación del objeto tecnico arquitectónico. Transferencia tecnológica desde la Industria del Transporte al Proyecto de Arquitectura [1900-1973]'’, que aborda la relación entre la Arquitectura y el Objeto Técnico durante la Modernidad.1 La temática de la tesis gravita en torno a la cultura técnica, la cultura material y la historia de la Tecnología del siglo XX. Hipótesis Se sostiene aquí la existencia de unas arquitecturas que se definen como Objetos Técnicos. Para demostrarlo se estudia si éstas comparten las mismas propiedades ontológicas de los objetos técnicos. Industria y Arquitectura La historia de la Arquitectura Moderna es la historia de la Industria Moderna y sus instalaciones industriales, sus productos y artefactos o sus procedimientos y procesos productivos. Fábricas, talleres, acerías, astilleros, minas, refinerías, laboratorios, automóviles, veleros, aviones, dirigibles, transbordadores, estaciones espaciales, electrodomésticos, ordenadores personales, teléfonos móviles, motores, baterías, turbinas, aparejos, cascos, chassis, carrocerías, fuselajes, composites, materiales sintéticos, la cadena de montaje, la fabricación modular, la cadena de suministros, la ingeniería de procesos, la obsolescencia programada… Todos estos objetos técnicos evolucionan constantemente gracias al inconformismo de la imaginación humana, y como intermediarios que son, cambian nuestra manera de relacionarnos con el mundo. La Arquitectura, al igual que otros objetos técnicos, media entre el hombre y el mundo. Con el objetivo de reducir el ámbito tan vasto de la investigación, éste se ha filtrado a partir de varios parámetros y cualidades de la Industria, estableciendo un marco temporal, vinculado con un determinado modo de hacer, basado en la ciencia. El inicio del desarrollo industrial basado en el conocimiento científico se da desde la Segunda Revolución Industrial, por consenso en el último tercio del siglo XIX. Este marco centra el foco de la tesis en el proceso de industrialización experimentado por la Arquitectura desde entonces, y durante aproximadamente un siglo, recorriendo la Modernidad durante los 75 primeros años del siglo XX. Durante este tiempo, los arquitectos han realizado transferencias de imágenes, técnicas, procesos y materiales desde la Industria, que ha servido como fuente de conocimiento para la Arquitectura, y ha evolucionado como disciplina. Para poder abordar más razonablemente un periodo tan amplio, se ha elegido el sector industrial del transporte, que históricamente ha sido, no sólo fuente de inspiración para los Arquitectos, sino también fuente de transferencia tecnológica para la Arquitectura. Conjuntos técnicos como los astilleros, fábricas de automóviles o hangares de aviones, individuos técnicos como barcos, coches o aviones, y elementos técnicos como las estructuras que les dan forma y soporte, son todos ellos objetos técnicos que comparten propiedades con las arquitecturas que aquí se presentan. La puesta en marcha de la cadena móvil de montaje en 1913, se toma instrumentalmente como primer foco temporal desde el que relatar la evolución de numerosos objetos técnicos en la Primera Era de la Máquina; un segundo foco se sitúa en 19582, año de la creación de la Agencia Espacial norteamericana (NASA), que sirve de referencia para situar la Segunda Era de la Máquina. La mayoría de los objetos técnicos arquitectónicos utilizados para probar la hipótesis planteada, gravitan en torno a estas fechas, con un rango de más menos 25 años, con una clara intención de sincronizar el tiempo de la acción y el tiempo del pensamiento. Arquitectura y objeto técnico Los objetos técnicos han estado siempre relacionados con la Arquitectura. En el pasado, el mismo técnico que proyectaba y supervisaba una estructura, se ocupaba de inventar los ingenios y máquinas para llevarlas a cabo. Los maestros de obra, eran verdaderos ‘agentes de transferencia tecnológica’ de la Industria y su conocimiento relacionaba técnicas de fabricación de diferentes objetos técnicos. Brunelleschi inventó varia grúas para construir la cúpula de Santa Maria dei Fiori (ca.1461), seguramente inspirado por la reedición del tratado de Vitruvio, De Architectura (15 A.C.), cuyo último capítulo estaba dedicado a las máquinas de la arquitectura clásica romana, y citaba a inventores como Archimedes. El arquitecto florentino fue el primero en patentar un invento en 1421: una embarcación anfibia que serviría para transportar mármol de Carrara por el río Arno, para su obra en Florencia. J. Paxton. Crystal Palace. London 1851. Viga-columna. Robert McCormick. Cosechadora 1831. 2ª patente, 1845. La Segunda Revolución Industrial nos dejó un primitivo ejemplo moderno de la relación entre la Arquitectura y el objeto técnico. El mayor edificio industrializado hasta la fecha, el Crystal Palace de Londres, obra de Joseph Paxton, fue montado en Londres con motivo de la Gran Exposición sobre la Industria Mundial de 1851, y siempre estará asociado a la cosechadora McCormick, merecedora del Gran Premio del Jurado. De ambos objetos técnicos, podrían destacarse características similares, como su origen industrial, y ser el complejo resultado de un ensamblaje simple de elementos técnicos. Desde la entonces, el desarrollo tecnológico ha experimentado una aceleración continuada, dando lugar a una creciente especialización y separación del conocimiento sobre las técnicas antes naturalmente unidas. Este proceso se ha dado a expensas del conocimiento integrador y en detrimento de la promiscuidad entre la Industria y la Arquitectura. Este es, sin lugar a dudas, un signo consustancial a nuestro tiempo, que provoca un natural interés de los arquitectos y otros tecnólogos, por las transferencias, trans e inter-disciplinareidades que tratan de re-establecer los canales de relación entre los diferentes campos del conocimiento. La emergencia de objetos técnicos como los vehículos modernos a principios del siglo XX (el automóvil, el trasatlántico, el dirigible o el aeroplano) está relacionada directamente con la Arquitectura de la Primera Era de la Máquina. La fascinación de los arquitectos modernos por aquellas nuevas estructuras habitables, se ha mantenido durante más de un siglo, con diferente intensidad y prestando atención a unos objetos técnicos u otros, oscilando entre el dominio del valor simbólico de los vehículos como objetosimágenes, durante el periodo heroico de la Primera Era de la Máquina, y la mirada más inquisitiva durante la Segunda, que perseguía un conocimiento más profundo de la organización de los mismos y del sistema técnico en el que estaban incluidos. La relación homóloga que existe entre arquitecturas y vehículos, por su condición de estructuras habitables, es algo de sobra conocido desde que Le Corbusier utilizara aquellas imágenes de barcos, coches y aviones para ilustrar su manifiesto Vers une architecture, de 1923. Los vehículos modernos han sido los medios con los que transmitir los conceptos que ansiaban transformar las propiedades tradicionales de la Arquitectura, relativas a su factura, su habitabilidad, su duración, su funcionalidad o su estética. Destaca particularmente el caso del automóvil en las décadas de los años 30 y 50, y los vehículos del programa espacial en las décadas de los 60 y 70. El conocimiento y la documentación previa de estos hechos, fueron un buen indicio para identificar y confirmar que el sector industrial del transporte, era un especialmente trascendente y fértil proveedor de casos de transferencia tecnológica para la Arquitectura. La tradición Moderna inaugurada por Le Corbusier en los años 20, ha sido mantenida y defendida por una multitud de arquitectos modernos como Albert Frey, Richard Neutra, Ralph Soriano, Charles Eames o Craig Ellwood, cuyo trabajo, animado por el legado de anteriores tecnólogos como Bucky Fuller o Jean Prouvé, fue fundamental y referencia obligada para la siguiente generación de arquitectos como Cedric Price, Archigram, Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano, Jean Kaplicky o Richard Horden, entre otros. Todos ellos han contribuido a engrosar el imaginario del objeto técnico, aportando sus obras arquitectónicas. Estos arquitectos que aparecen repetidamente en el discurrir de la tesis, pertenecen a un mismo linaje, y son agrupados según una estructura ‘genealógica’, que se ha denominado ‘Estirpe Técnica’. Unidos por intereses comunes y similares enfoques o actitudes ante el proyecto de arquitectura, entendida como objeto Técnico, han operado mediante la práctica de la transferencia tecnológica, sin limitarse a las técnicas compositivas propias de la disciplina arquitectónica. Durante la investigación, se ha recopilado una selección de menciones explícitas -hechas por arquitectos- sobre otros objetos técnicos para referirse a la Arquitectura, mostrando las constantes y las variaciones de sus intereses a lo largo del siglo, lo que nos ha llevado a conclusiones como por ejemplo, que los conjuntos técnicos (fábricas de zepelines, aviones, automóviles o trasatlánticos) eran tomados por los arquitectos de la primera Modernidad, como un modelo imaginario, formal y compositivo, mientras que los de la Segunda Era de la Máquina los tomaban como modelo espacial y organizativo para la arquitectura. La mencionada estirpe de tecnólogos incluye líneas de descendencia conocidas, como: EiffelSuchovBehrens GropiusMiesLeCorbusierLodsProuve, en la Europa continental, o una rama británica como: LoudonPaxtonWilliamsStirlingGowan SmithsonsPriceArchigramFosterRogersPiano KaplickyHorden. También podemos encontrar conexiones intercontinentales como Fuller EamesRudolphFosterRogers, o ramificaciones menos previsibles como: LeRicolaisKahn PianoKaplicky, o LeCorbusierFreyLacaton Vassal… Seguramente muchos más merecerían incluirse en esta lista, y de hecho, la tesis asume la imposibilidad de incluirlo todo (por motivos prácticos) aunque contempla la posibilidad de ser ampliada en un futuro. Con lo aquí incluido, se pretende mostrar la continuidad en los enfoques, planteamientos y técnicas de proyectos aplicadas, de los que podemos deducir algunas conclusiones, como por ejemplo, que en los periodos inmediatamente posteriores a las dos Guerras Mundiales, aumentó la intensidad de aportaciones de nuevas imágenes de vehículos, al imaginario del objeto técnico utilizado por los arquitectos, a través de publicaciones y exposiciones. Hoy, cien años después de que Ford pusiera en marcha la cadena móvil de montaje, aún encontramos viva esta tradición en las palabras de un arquitecto, Richard Horden, cuyo trabajo porta consigo –como la información embebida en los elementos técnicos- toda una cultura técnica de una tradición moderna. Horden representa uno de los exponentes de la que he denominado estirpe de tecnólogos. Es por ello que he querido concluir la tesis con una entrevista, realizada en Mayo de 2015, en su estudio de Berkeley Square en Londres (ver Apéndices). Guías Para el desarrollo de la presente tesis, se ha tomado, como principal obra de referencia, otra tesis, titulada El modo de existencia de los objetos técnicos, leída y publicada en 1958 por el filósofo francés Gilbert Simondon [1924-89], dedicada a la ontología del objeto técnico. Esta obra enmarca el enfoque intelectual de la tesis, que entronca con la fenomenología, para movilizar una visión particular de la Arquitectura, a la que sirve como modelo de análisis ontológico para estudiar sus procesos de génesis, invención e individuación. Para el desarrollo de éstos, se ha utilizado como complemento bibliográfico, otra obra del mismo autor, titulada Imaginación e invención 1965-66. En cuanto a las fuentes historiográficas disciplinares, se ha elegido utilizar a Reyner P. Banham [1922-1988] y a Martin E. Pawley [1938-2008] como guías a través de la arquitectura del siglo XX. Sus crónicas sobre la Primera y Segunda Era de la Máquina3 y su obra crítica, han servido como índices desde los que reconstruir el imaginario del objeto técnico moderno, y del que aprovisionarse de proyectos y obras de Arquitectura como casos de estudio para la tesis. Estas obras han servido además como índices de otra bibliografía, que ha sido complementaria a la de éstos. Objetivos de la Tesis El principal objetivo de la tesis es demostrar la hipótesis: si una obra de arquitectura puede ser considerada un objeto técnico y bajo qué condiciones, construyendo un criterio que permita reconocer cuándo una obra de Arquitectura responde a la definición de objeto técnico. Otro objetivo es demostrar la importancia y potencia de la Transferencia tecnológica en el proceso evolutivo de la Arquitectura, y para ello se presentan ejemplos de una metodología de proyecto por ensamblaje, que Martin Pawley denominaba ‘Design by Assembly’. También es un objetivo el de reconstruir un Atlas del Imaginario del objeto técnico moderno, con el fin de conocer mejor las causas, razones y finalidades que llevaron a los arquitectos modernos a perseguir una arquitectura como objeto técnico. Este Atlas permite relacionar panópticamente los distintos objetos técnicos entre sí, revelando la verdadera importancia y trascendencia de aquéllos y las arquitecturas con las que se relacionan. En él, las arquitecturas vuelven a situarse en el contexto más extenso y complejo de la industria y la historia de la tecnología, al que siempre pertenecieron. De este modo, éstas son capaces de desvelar todo el conocimiento -en forma de información- que portan en su propio código ‘genético’, desplegando capítulos completos de cultura tecnológica, tan antigua como la Humanidad y en constante y creciente evolución. Estructura de la tesis Tras una Introducción en la que se presentan algunos de los conceptos principales que se instrumentalizan en la tesis sobre la ontología Simondoniana del objeto técnico y sobre la transferencia tecnológica aplicada al proyecto de Arquitectura, el texto principal de la tesis consta de tres partes: La primera se dedica a la Imaginación, una segunda parte a la Invención y una tercera a Individuación o evolución del objeto técnico. Se termina con una Discusión de la tesis y un apartado de Conclusiones. En la Introducción al objeto técnico, éste se define ontológicamente y se distinguen sus diferentes categorías (conjuntos técnicos, individuos técnicos y elementos técnicos). Se explica el proceso de génesis del objeto técnico y sus fases de imaginación, invención e individuación. También se presentan los conceptos de transducción, tecnicidad y sistema técnico, fundamentales para entender el concepto de transferencia tecnológica que se desarrollará después. La concretización, explica el modo particular de individuación y evolución de los objetos técnicos, un proceso por el que las diferentes partes de un objeto técnico, se integran y tienden hacia la propia convergencia. Aquí se comprueba la efectividad del concepto simondoniano de Transducción, como señal o información transmitida y transformada, y se relaciona con la Transferencia Tecnológica - un proceso sinergético, por el que un sector industrial se beneficia del desarrollo de otro sector- a la que se han referido explícitamente arquitectos e historiadores para explicar sus obras, durante la Segunda Era de la Máquina, y que es determinante para el desarrollo de la Industria. La transferencia tecnológica sería la transmisión del conjunto de conocimientos sobre la técnica, que incluyen su esfera fáctica, pero también la esfera sensible de la experiencia. En su aplicación a la arquitectura, las transferencias se han clasificado según tres tipos: Eidéticas, Tectónicas, Orgánicas. En la primera parte dedicada a la Imaginación del objeto técnico arquitectónico se realiza una reconstrucción ‘arqueológica’ –y parcial- del imaginario del objeto técnico moderno, con la intención de conocer mejor su génesis y la relación con otros objetos técnicos. Las fuentes de ese imaginario se buscan en las instalaciones de la Industria de principios de siglo XX, en particular en las fábricas de vehículos, con la finalidad de comprobar hasta qué punto, esos objetos técnicos fueron importantes para imaginar la Arquitectura moderna. La reconstrucción se continúa hasta la Segunda Era de la Máquina, cuando una nueva mirada más inquisitiva y precisa, se dirige a otras fábricas, vehículos y componentes, interesándose por sus cualidades materiales y organizativas. Transferencias Eidéticas, que operan desde un conocimiento intuitivo y son útiles para transmitir información sobre la esencia de un objeto técnico que sirve de fuente. Conceptos abstractos se transmiten por medio de las imágenes—objeto, para producir una transformación en su equivalente arquitectónico. Fruto de la investigación, se han detectado un grupo de conceptos que han sido objeto de transferencias tecnológicas de naturaleza eidética, provenientes del imaginario del objeto técnico moderno: FABRICADO, HABITABLE, FUNCIONAL, EFICIENTE, OBSOLESCENTE y BELLO. En la segunda parte dedicada a la Invención del objeto técnico arquitectónico, las transferencias también pueden ser Tectónicas, cuando lo que se transmite es una técnica constructiva o estructural aplicada mediante MATERIALES artificiales (como los metales, los composites como el ferrocemento, y el plywood, o las aleaciones como el aluminio) o mediante el ensamblaje de ESTRUCTURAS o partes componentes de otro objeto técnico, (como cascos, fuselajes, carrocerías o aparejos) y tiene como resultado la invención de un nuevo objeto técnico arquitectónico. En la tercera parte dedicada a la individuación, se abordan las transferencias ORGÁNICAS, lo que se transfiere es una técnica organizativa, aplicada a través de PROCEDIMIENTOS que definen la actividad del arquitecto como tecnólogo e inventor de objetos técnicos. Estos procedimientos tienen un efecto transformador en tres instituciones tradicionales para la Arquitectura: la Escuela, el Estudio y la Obra, y sus resultados se resumen en nuevos modelos de organización de la Educación de la Arquitectura, con la aparición de los Talleres de proyectos; nuevos modelos de organización del ejercicio de arquitecto: la Oficina técnica; nuevos modelos de organización del espacio, basados en la organización espacial de la Industria, que da lugar a patrones o Matrices espaciales; un nuevo modelo de organización del proyecto, que utiliza las herramientas gráficas de la industria y el ensamblaje como metodología; y un nuevo modelo de producción arquitectónica, basado en la Industrialización. Tras explicar los conceptos y la génesis del ensamblaje y el montaje, se presenta el proyecto por ensamblaje (Design by assembly) como un método que promueve la invención arquitectónica. Se demuestra utilizando algunos casos analizados en la tesis, en los que se ha realizado alguna transferencia conceptual, constructiva u organizativa. Tras analizar las arquitecturas estudiadas en la tesis, se ha utilizado el método genético propuesto por Simondon para comprender cada evolución particular, reconstruyendo las líneas genealógicas hasta sus ancestros, e identificando una serie de linajes genéticos, que corresponderían con los conjuntos técnicos estudiados en la tesis: el astillero, la fábrica de coches, y la fábrica de aeronaves: los Ancestros de la Modernidad. Los sistemas de organización espacial de estos conjuntos técnicos, están directamente relacionados con el objeto técnico que se produce en él. A partir de ellos se definen una serie de matrices operativas (MILL, SHOP, SHED), que sirven para hacer una taxonomía del objeto técnico arquitectónico. Esto se ejemplifica con algunos proyectos de Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano, Nicholas Grimshaw, Jean Kaplicky y Richard Horden. Tesis: Comprobación de la hipótesis Simondon definía ontológicamente el Objeto técnico como aquello de lo que existe génesis y que desarrolla una tendencia hacia la solidaridad y unidad. Para que una Arquitectura pueda ser reconocida como un Objeto técnico, se deben dar una serie de condiciones, en las sucesivas fases que intervienen en su modo de existencia: Imaginación. Estas arquitecturas remiten a un imaginario protagonizado por imágenes-objeto de otros objetos técnicos (conjuntos técnicos, individuos técnicos y elementos técnicos). Esas imágenes-objeto vehiculizan una transferencia eidética de los objetos técnicos que simbolizan. Invención. Estas arquitecturas son el resultado de transferencias tectónicas, que se producen durante el proceso de proyecto, mediante el ensamblaje de materiales, componentes o procedimientos, utilizados en la industria para la producción de otros objetos técnicos. Individuación. Estas arquitecturas evolucionan y se individualizan por concretización, un proceso por el que los objetos técnicos se organizan para seguir su tendencia hacia la integración de sus partes, con el fin de alcanzar la convergencia de funciones en una única estructura. Esta integración tiende hacia la naturalización del objeto técnico, mediante la inclusión simbiótica de sus medios naturales asociados. En este caso, veremos cómo se ha producido transferencias orgánicas, o lo que es lo mismo, cómo los objetos técnicos –en el nivel de los conjuntos técnicos- se han tomado como modelo de organización por la arquitectura. Tras comprobar que de ellas existe una génesis, que evoluciona por las fases de imaginación e invención y concretización, se analiza su imaginario, su materialidad, sus estructuras y su organización, con el fin de detectar patrones y principios organizativos comunes a otros objetos técnicos. Interés de la tesis Desde el comienzo del nuevo siglo, diversos autores han demostrado un renovado interés por definir qué es el proyecto, qué lo constituye para qué sirve. Las aproximaciones al tema provienen de la filosofía analítica (Galle, 2008) o de la filosofía de la tecnología (Verbeek, 2005; Vermaas, 2009) y a menudo versan sobre la relación entre diseño y la cultura material (Dorschel 2003, Boradkar 2010 o Preston 2012). Es importante indicar el reciente y también creciente interés suscitado por la obra del filósofo francés, Gilbert Simondon [1924-1989], reconocida por su importante contribución a la filosofía de la técnica y la fenomenología, y por la influencia en el pensamiento de filósofos como Gilles Deleuze, autor presente en multitud de tesis doctorales e investigaciones teóricas llevadas a cabo en las principales escuelas de Arquitectura de todo el mundo desde los años 90 hasta el presente. La reedición y traducción de la obra de Simondon (ing. 1980, esp. 2008) ha recibido la atención de filósofos actuales como Paolo Virno, Bruno Latour o Bernard Stiegler, que siguen recurriendo a su estudio y análisis para avanzar en su pensamiento, estando por tanto presente en el debate contemporáneo sobre la técnica. Tras su reciente traducción al español, el pensamiento de Simondon ha despertado un gran interés en América Latina, como demuestra la organización de varios congresos y simposios, así como la proliferación de publicaciones en torno a su obra y pensamiento. Las futuras traducciones del resto de sus principales obras, asegurarán una introducción cada vez mayor en la comunidad académica. Se ha procurado presentar una mirada alternativa de la Historia de la Arquitectura Moderna, utilizando como guía a un cronista como Reyner Banham. La Era de la Máquina se ha cruzado con la Mecanología y el “vitalismo técnico” de Simondon, obteniendo como resultado una interpretación fresca, renovada y optimista de algunas de las más importantes obras de Arquitectura del siglo XX, que seguro contribuirán al desarrollo de la del siglo XXI, inmerso ya en el cambio de paradigma hacia la sostenibilidad y la ecología. ABSTRACT 'TRANS architecture. Imagination, invention and technical individuation of the architectural technical object. Technology transfer from the Transport Industry to Architectural Design [1900- 1973]' is a thesis dealing with the relationship between Architecture and the Technical Object during Modernity5. The theme of the thesis revolves around the technical culture, material culture and the history of twentieth-century technology. Hypothesis Held here is the existence of some architectures defined as technical objects. A study has been developed to prove if those architectures share the ontological properties of a technical object. Industry and Architecture The history of Modern Architecture is also the history of modern industry and its facilities, its products and devices, its procedures and production processes. Factories, workshops, steel mills, shipyards, mines, refineries, laboratories, cars, yachts, airplanes, airships, shuttles, space stations, home appliances, personal computers, mobile phones, motors, batteries, turbines, rigs, hulls, chassis, bodies, fuselages , composites and synthetic materials, the assembly line, modular manufacturing, the supply chain, process engineering, the planned obsolescence ... All these technical objects are constantly evolving thanks to the inconsistency of the human imagination and, as our intermediates, keep changing our way of relating and being in the world. Architecture, alike other technical objects, mediates between man and the World. In order to frame the vast field of the research, it has been filtered according to various parameters and qualities of Industry, establishing also a time frame which is related to a particular science-based way of making. The start of an industrial development, based on scientific knowledge is given from the Second Industrial Revolution -by consensus on the last third of the nineteenth century. This frame puts the focus of the thesis in the process of industrialization experienced by the Architecture of at least one century, and tours through Modernity during the first 75 years of the twenieth century. During this time, architects have made transfers of images, techniques, processes and materials from Industry, serving as a source of knowledge and thus allowing Architecture to evolve as a discipline. To reasonably address the enormous scope of the thesis, the industrial sector of transportation has ben chosen. It is not only a historical source of inspiration for architects, but also a traditional source of technology transfer for Modern Architecture. Technical sets such as shipyards, automobile factories or aircraft hangars, technical individuals as boats, cars or planes, and technical elements like the structures shaping and supporting them, are all technical objects which share properties with the architectures here presented. The launch of the moving assembly line in 1913, is instrumentally taken as a first time focus, from which to describe the evolution of many technical objects in the First Machine Age; a second focus could be found in 19586, year of the creation of the North American Space Agency (NASA), serving as a reference to the Second Machine Age. Most architectural technical objects used to test the hypothesis, gravitate around this second focus, in a range of plus or minus 25 years, with a clear intention to synchronize the time for action and time of thought. Architecture and Technical Object Technical objects have always been related to Architecture. In the past, the same technician who planned and oversaw a building structure, invented the devices and machines to carry them out. The foremen were the true 'technology transfer agents' from Industry. Their knowledge naturally related different manufacturing techniques to make diverse technical objects. Brunelleschi invented various cranes to build the dome of Santa Maria dei Fiori in Florence (ca.1461). Probably inspired by the reedition of Vitruvius’ treaty De Architectura (15 BC), whose last chapter was dedicated to the machines of classical Roman architecture and quoted inventors as Archimedes, the florentine architect was the first to patent an invention in 1421: an amphibious craft serving as a means of transportation for Carrara marble along the Arno river. At the daw of the Second Industrial Revolution, whose development was based on the scientific knowledge, we find a primitive modern example of the relationship between Architecture and a Technical Object: The Crystal Palace, built in London for the Great Exhibition of 1851 World Industry and designed by Joseph Paxton, was the largest to date industrialized building, and it will be always associated with the McCormick Reaper, worthy of the Grand Jury’s Prize. Similar characteristics could be emphasized of both technical objects, such as their industrial origin and for being be the complex result of a simple assembly of technical elements. Since then, technological development has experienced a continued acceleration, resulting in an increasing specialization and separation of knowledge about techniques which were naturally attached in the past. This process has happened at the expense of an integrative knowledge and against promiscuity between Industry and Architecture. This is, undoubtedly, an inherent sign of our time, which causes the natural and interest of architects and other technicians about transfers, trans-disciplinarity and inter-disciplinarity, as a reaction to reestablish channels of relationships between these different fields of knowledge. The emergence of technical objects as modern vehicles in the early twentieth century (the car, the Ocean liner, the airship or the airplane) is directly related to the Architecture of the First Machine Age. Modern architects’ fascination for those new ‘inhabitable’ structures has been maintained for over a century, with different intensity and paying attention to one and other technical objets, ranging from the domain of the symbolic value of the vehicles as objectsimages, during heroic period of the First Machine Age, to the more inquisitive glance characterizing the Second Machine Age, which sought a deeper understanding of the organization of such objects and the technical system to which they belonged. The periods immediately following both World Wars, showed a concentrated effort to bring new images of vehicles to the imaginary of architects, by means of publications and exhibitions. The homologous relationship between architectures and vehicles, in their capacity as living structures, is something well known since Le Corbusier used the images of cars, boats and airplanes to illustrate his manifesto, Towards an architecture in 1923. Modern vehicles have been the means by which to convey the concepts eager to transform the traditional attributes of Architecture: those relating to its manufacture, habitability, duration, functionality or aesthetics. The automobile stands out during the 30s and 50s, and the new vehicles of the Space Program satnd in the 60s and 70s. The prior knowledge and documentation of these events were a good indication to identify the industrial sector of Transportation as one of especial importance and as a fertile provider of technology transfer cases for Architecture. The Modern tradition, inaugurated by Le Corbusier in the 20s, has been maintained and defended by a host of modern architects like Albert Frey, Richard Neutra, Ralph Soriano, Charles Eames and Craig Ellwood, whose work - inspired by the legacy of previous technologists as Bucky Fuller or Jean Prouvé- was fundamental and a mandatory reference for the next generation of architects like Cedric Price, Archigram, Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano, Jean and Richard Horden Kaplicky, among others. They have all contributed to increase the imaginary of the technical object, adding to it their architectural works. In the passage of the thesis, we repeatedly find a number of architects, who have been grouped according to a 'genealogical' structure, which has been called 'Technical Lineage'. Gathered by common interests and similar views or attitudes to the architectural design, understood as a technical object, they have operated through the practice of technology transfer, without limiting itself to specific compositional techniques of the architectural discipline. During the investigation, a selection of explicit references made by those architects, about other technical objects referring to their Architecture, has been compiled, showing constants and variations in their interests throughout the century, which has led to conclusions such as, having technicians sets (zeppelins factories, airships factories, car factories and shipyards) been taken by the architects of the first Modernity, as their main formal, compositional and imaginary models, while the Second Machine Age had taken them as a spatial and organizational model for their architecture. The above mentioned lineage of technologists includes weel-known ‘seed lines’ as: Eiffel- Suchov-Behrens, Gropius-Mies-LeCorbusier- Lods-Prouve, in continental Europe; British branches as Loudon-Paxton-Williams-Stirling- Gowan-Smithsons-Price-Archigram-Foster- Rogers-Piano-Kaplicky-Horden. And we could also find intercontinental connections as Fuller- Eames-Rudolph-Foster-Rogers, or other less predictable ramifications as LeRicolais-Kahn Piano-Kaplicky, or LeCorbusier-Frey-Lacaton & Vassal... Many more would surely deserve to be included in this list, and indeed, the thesis assumes the impossibility of including them all (for practical reasons) and even contemplates possible future extensions. The material included herein is to demonstrate the continuity in the approaches, statements and in the applied architectural design techniques, from which we can draw some conclusions. Today, one hundred years after Ford put up the moving assembly line, we still find this tradition alive in the words of the architect Richard Horden, whose work carries with it –as with the information embedded in every technical element- the whole techncial culture of a modern tradition. Horden is represented here as one of the exponents of what I have called the lineage of technologists. That is why I wanted to conclude the thesis with an interview to Richard Horden, held in May 2015 in his studio in London's Berkeley Square (see Appendices). Guides For the development of this thesis, another thesis, entitled: The mode of existence of technical objects, is taken as the main reference work. Read and published in 1958 by the French philosopher Gilbert Simondon [1924- 1989], it was dedicated to the ontology of the technical object. This work frames the intellectual approach of the thesis, which connects with phenomenology to mobilize a particular vision of Architecture. It is used as a model of ontological analysis to study its genesis, invention and evolutionary processes. To develop these, another work by the same author, titled Imagination and Invention (1965- 1966) has been used as a bibliographical complement. As for the disciplinary historical sources, Reyner P. Banham [1922-1988] and Martin E. Pawley [1938-2008] have been chosen as guides through the modern Architecture of the twentieth century. Their cronical reports on the First and Second Machine Age and their critical works have served as an index from which to reconstruct the imaginary of the modern technical object in the Machine Age7, and to stock up on projects and works of architecture, used as case studies for the thesis. These works have also been used as triggers for other literatures, which has been complementary to the former. Objectives of the Thesis The main objective of the thesis is to prove its hypothesis: if a work of architecture can be considered a technical object and under what conditions, building then a criterion for recognizing when a work of architecture meets the definition of a technical object. Another aim is to demonstrate the importance and power of Technology Transfer in the evolutionary process of Architecture, and to do it, some examples of a methodology for architectural design that Martin Pawley called 'Design by Assembly' are presented. It is also an objective to reconstruct an Atlas of the imaginary of the modern technical object, in order to better understand the causes, reasons and purposes that led modern architects to pursue architecture as a technical object. This Atlas allows to panoptically relate the various technical objects, revealing the true importance and significance of those and the architecture with whom they interact. Architectures are again at the largest and most complex industrial context and the history of technology, which always belonged. Thus, they are able to reveal all the knowledge-in the shape of information-carried in their own 'genetic' code, displaying full chapters of technological culture as old as mankind and constantly growing and evolving. Thesis: Proving the Hypothesis Simondon ontologically defined the technical object as ‘that of which genesis exists’ and that develops ‘a tendency towards solidarity and unity’. For an architecture to be recognized as a technical object, a number of conditions should be given, in the successive phases involved in their mode of existence: Imagination. These architectures refer to an imaginary featuring images-object other technical objects (technical sets, technical individuals and technical elements). These images are the means to an eidetic transfer of the technical objects which they symbolize. Invention. These architectures are the result of tectonic transfers, which occur during the architectural design process, by assembling materials, components or procedures used in industry for the production of other technical objects. Individuation. These architectures evolve and are individualized by ‘concretization’, a process leading to the full integration of its parts and aiming the full convergence of its functions into a single structure. This integration tends towards the naturalization of the technical object, by means of a symbiotic incorporation of their associated milieus. After checking if there is a genesis of them, which evolves through the phases of imagination and invention and concretization, their imaginary, materiality, structure and organization are analyzed in order to detect patterns and common organizational principles to other technical objects counterparts. Structure The main text of the thesis consists of three parts. Before there is an Introduction to the main concepts that are exploited in the thesis on ontology Simondonian technical object, and technology transfer applied to Architecture. Then a first part covers the Imaginary of the modern technical object, a second part is dedicated to the Invention and a third part to the individuation process The thesis ends with a section for the Discussion and the Conclusions. The Introduction to the technical object, this is ontologically defined and its different categories are distinguished. The process of genesis of the technical object and the phases of imagination, invention and indivuation are explained. Concepts as Transduction, Technicality and Technical system are presented for being fundamental to understand the concept of Technology Transfer that will take place later. The concretization is explained as the particular mode of individuation and evolution of technical objects, a process by which the different parts of a technical object, are integrated and begin a tendency towards a convergence in itself. The first part, dedicated to the Imagination of the architectural technical object presents a parcial "archaeological" reconstruction the imaginary of the modern technical object, intended to better understand its genesis and the relationship with other technical objects. The imaginary sources are searched in the premises of the Industry of the early twentieth century, and particularly in the factories of modern vehicles, in order to see, to what extent these technical objects were important to imagine modern architecture. The reconstruction is continued until the Second Machine Age, when a new, more inquisitive and precise gaze turns to other factories, other vehicles and other components and materials, inquiring now about their organizational qualities. The second part is devoted to the Invention of the architectural technical object. The effectiveness of the simondonian concept of Transduction is checked: a transmitted and transformed sign or information, which relates to Technology Transfer, a synergetic process by which an industrial sector benefits from the development of another sector, to which some architects and historians have explicitly referred to explain their works during Machine Age, and which is crucial for the development of the industry. Technology transfer would be the transmission of a set of information or knowledge about technique, including the factual sphere of technique, but also the sensitive sphere of experience. In their application to Architecture, these transfers have been classified according to three types: Eidetic, Tectonic and Organic. Eidetic Transfers operate from an intuitive knowledge and are useful for transmitting information about the essence of the technical object serving as a source. Abstract concepts are transmitted through the object-images to produce an equivalent transformation in Architecture. A group of concepts that have been the subject of technology transfers of eidetic nature, and have been originated in the imaginary of the modern technical object, have been detected as a result of the research: FABRICATED, INHABITABLE, FUNCTIONAL, EFFICIENT, OBSOLESCENT, and BEAUTIFUL. The transfers can also be Tectonic when, that which is transferred is a constructive or structural technique, applied through artificial MATERIALS such as metals, composites as the ferrocement, or plywood, or alloys such as aluminum; or by means of the assembly of STRUCTURES or parts of other technical objects such as hulls, fuselages, car bodies or rigs, resulting in the invention of a new architectural technical object. In the case of ORGANIC transfers, what is transferred is an organizational technique, applied by means of a set of PROCEDURES defining the activity of the architect as a technologist and inventor of technical objects. These procedures have a transformative effect on three traditional institutions for Architecture: the School, the Atelier and the Work, and the results are summarized in new models of organization of the Education of Architecture, with the onset of the Architectural Design Studios or workshops; new models of organization of the practice of architect: the technical office; and new models of space organization, based on the spatial organization of the industry, resulting in spatial patterns or spatial matrices; a new model of organization of the project, which uses graphical tools and industrail protocols as the assembly as a methodology; a new model of architectural production based on the industrialization. After explaining the concepts and the genesis of assembly and montage, Design by assembly is presented as a method that promotes architectural invention, and is shown using some case studies analyzed in the thesis, in which there has been made some conceptual, constructive or organizational transfer. After analyzing the architectures studied in the thesis, genetic method proposed by Simondon was used to understand every particular evolution, reconstructing their genealogical lines up to their ancestors, identifying a series of genetic lineages, which correspond to the technical sets studied in the thesis : the shipyard, the car factory, and aircraft factory. The real ancestors of Modernity. The spatial organization systems of these technical sets are directly related to the technical object that is fabricated within them. From that point, a number of operational matrices are defined (MILL, SHOP, SHED) and used to make a taxonomy of the architectural technical object. This is exemplified by some projects by architects as Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano, Nicholas Grimshaw, Jean and Richard Horden Kaplicky. Interest of the thesis Since the beginning of the new century, several authors have shown a renewed interest in defining what a project is, how it is constituted and what it is for. The approaches to the subject are brought from analytic philosophy (Galle, 2008) or from the philosophy of technology (Verbeek, 2005; Vermaas, 2009) and they often speak about the relationship between design and material culture (Dorschel 2003, 2010 or Preston Boradkar 2012). It is also important to note the recent and growing interest in the work of French philosopher Gilbert Simondon [1924-1989], mainly known for its important contribution to the philosophy of technology and phenomenology of the technical object, and the influence on the thinking of contemporary philosophers as Paolo Virno, Bruno Latour or Gilles Deleuze, being the latter a author present in many doctoral theses and theoretical research conducted at major architecture schools around the world since the 90s to the present. The republication and translation of the work of Simondon (eng. 1980, spn. 2008) has received the attention from current philosophers such as Bernard Stiegler who continues to use its study and analysis to advance his thinking, thus being present in the contemporary debate about the technique. After its recent translation into Spanish, the thought of Simondon has aroused great interest in Latin America, as evidenced by the organization of various conferences and symposia, as well as the proliferation of publications about his work and thought8. Future translations of the rest of his major works, will ensure increased introduction in the academic community. Efforts have been made to present an alternative view of the History of Modern Architecture, using a reporter as Reyner P.Banham as a guide. The Machine Age intersects Simondon’s mechanology and his "technical vitalism", resulting in a fresh, renewed and optimistic interpretation of some of the most important works of Architecture of the twentieth century, which will surely contribute to the development of this century’s Architecture, already immersed in the paradigm shift towards sustainability and ecology.

Paediatric 'care closer to home':stake-holder views and barriers to implementation

In this study we explore the views of NHS stakeholders on providing paediatric ‘care closer to home’ (CCTH), in community-based outpatient clinics delivered by consultants. Design: Semi-structured interviews and thematic framework analysis. Setting: UK specialist children's hospital and surrounding primary care trusts. Participants: 37 NHS stakeholders including healthcare professionals, managers, commissioners and executive team members. Results: Participants acknowledged that outreach clinics would involve a change in traditional ways of working and that the physical setting of the clinic would influence aspects of professional practice. Different models of CCTH were discussed, as were alternatives for improving access to specialist care. Participants supported CCTH as a good principle for paediatric outpatient services; however the challenges of setting up and maintaining community clinics meant they questioned how far it could be achieved in practice. Conclusions: The place of service delivery is both an issue of physical location and professional identity. Policy initiatives which ignore assumptions about place, power and identity are likely to meet with limited success.

What do public values mean for public action? Putting public values in their plural place

Public values are moving from a research concern to policy discourse and management practice. There are, though, different readings of what public values actually mean. Reflection suggests two distinct strands of thinking: a generative strand that sees public value emerging from processes of public debate; and an institutional interpretation that views public values as the attributes of government producers. Neither perspective seems to offer a persuasive account of how the public gains from strengthened public values. Key propositions on values are generated from comparison of influential texts. A provisional framework is presented of the values base of public institutions and the loosely coupled public propositions flowing from these values. Value propositions issue from different governing contexts, which are grouped into policy frames that then compete with other problem frames for citizens’ cognitive resources. Vital democratic commitments to pluralism require public values to be distributed in competition with other, respected, frames.

Tanulás és innováció – Elméleti dilemmák és gyakorlati nézőpontok (Learning and innovation – Theoretical dilemmas and practical point of views)

A tanulmány egy nemrég lezárt TÁMOP-kutatás keretébe illeszkedik.1 A kutatás célja, hogy átfogó képet nyújtson az innovációról, tisztázza az innovációval kapcsolatos fogalmakat, bemutassa az innovációs trendeket és – egy empirikus felmérés nyomán – számot adjon arról, hogy ezek hogyan jelentkeznek Magyarország sajátos viszonyai között. Az innovációs fogalomkör megvilágításához hozzátartozik a tanulás és az innováció kapcsolatának tisztázása. Bár a témáról a menedzsment-szakirodalomban számtalan mű jelenik meg, a szerző saját diszciplináris elkötelezettségének megfelelően közgazdasági nézőpontból igyekszik megközelíteni a problémakört. Végül megkísérli Magyarországot elhelyezni a tanulás nemzetközi térképén. _______ This research aims to provide a comprehensive view on innovation, to clarify innovation concepts, to present innovation trends, and – based on an empirical survey – to give an account about how they appear specific conditions of Hungary. The refining of innovation category includes clarification of the relationship between learning and innovation. While many works have been published in this topic of management literature, the author in accordance his own disciplinary engagement tries to approach the problem area from economic point of view. Finally he attempts to place Hungary on the international map of learning.