bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
With, On and Against Street Signs On Art Made out of Street Signs
Authors: Castro Mª Isabel Carrasco
Published: January 2025

In The Practice of Everyday Life (1980), Michel de Certeau suggests the idea of a city in which there are, on one side, strategies of information, surveillance, control and infrastructure design laid out by the system and, on the other one, tactics defining the how-to-do of the users with regards to that system, that is, the operations by which they adapt them to align their own interests and needs. The texts allows us to examine the interventions of urban artists as a tactic characterized, as defined by De Certeau, as the harnessing of the system's resources (making do). This is more specifically translated into adaptability, development on a space they do not own, identification and utilization of the occasion (time) and the inventiveness of diverting time and resources (shortcut and la perruque).
In this work, we will take traffic signs of restriction and prohibition as one of the urban components that highlight the normativization of public spaces through the direct message of "NO" (not doing). Many artists have, in previous years, developed an interest in the artistic and symbolic possibilities of these signs and have developed works (tactics) as their response to them. Dan Witz (Chicago, 1957), Clet (Bretagne, 1966), Brad Dowey (Louisville, 1980) or DosJotas (Madrid, 1982) are good examples of this.
The posturban paradigm and where street art and graffiti are not (going to be)
Authors: Hoppe Ilaria
Published: January 2025

Over the past decade, we faced a great outcome and success of urban creativity because cities started to adopt it for image branding within a global competition. This output is tied to the possibility of diverse aesthetic experiences in the urban space. But is this development also meant to last in the future? What can be said about the urban imaginary, planned by global investors or the military complex? The aim of this working paper is to shed light on the desired future urban space, already realized in ambitious projects around the globe. By adopting the post-contemporary critique on the discourse of the urban, it appears that the future is already present in ‘ghost-cities’ that do not embrace urban creativity anymore, but overtly try to avoid or even fight it.
No Tags. No Masterpieces.
Authors: Schorr Björn
Published: January 2025

Graffiti often receives attention as a social problem. Its potentials and positive influence on the individual or the society are often left aside in the public discourse. This article shows how graffiti, as a catalyst of creativity, shapes one’s personal career. Graffiti enables a unique combination of motoric and psycho-social abilities, which opens up many perspectives and careers for the so-called writer. The paper aims to show and complete with suggestion the value added through graffiti, especially in the areas of education, participation and urban development, both for the individual and for the whole society.
Graffiti as a Palimpsest
Authors: Myllylä Mari
Published: January 2025

Graffiti can be viewed as stories about embodied identities of the self and others which can be shared in intersubjective discourse, visual communication of varying content and motives, and utilizing specific technology and mediums.  Graffiti’s palimpestuous nature, in its physical and symbolic forms of layering information, is present in production and perceiving graffiti. A creator and a reader of graffiti are both palimpsesting the work, acting as narrators of their own mental sheets. The concept of graffiti as a palimpsest can be exemplified for example in graffiti art where the interpretation of a work of art depends on the properties of the work, the perceiver and the social and institutional agreements. How graffiti are interpreted is informed by perceiving individuals’ characters, such as knowledge and skills, as well as the cultural and sociohistorical context where these individuals are immersed and act.
Review of Glaser, K., 2017. Street Art and New Media. Actors – Practices – Aesthetics
Authors: Hoppe Ilaria
Published: January 2025

[See: http://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-3535-5/street-art-und-neue-medien; Original in German: Glaser, K., 2017. Street Art und neue Medien. Akteure – Praktiken – Ästhetiken. transcript, Bielefeld.]
Photography in Public Space
Authors: Raes Evy
Published: January 2025

How can photography be a profession in today’s world when everybody instantly shoots whatever they see?
There and Back Again: Redistributing Visibility between the Virtual and Real Alleys of Graffiti
Authors: Baldini Andrea Lorenzo
Published: January 2025

Blu’s 2008 short film Muto is probably the most ambitious celebration of the intimate relationship connecting new-media technologies and street art.1 Critically acclaimed and viewed almost 12 million times on YouTube, this award-winning video is a stop-motion animation of hundreds of murals that the Italian street artist painted in different cities across the globe.2 Blu’s surreal figures invade the city and their gestures are experienced and appreciated through computer screens and mobile phone displays.
When looking at street art’s relationship with new media, Muto is hardly an exception. Technology has played a crucial role in making the street art movement a popular genre. The availability of cheap digital cameras and the possibility of photo publishing on social media have transformed graffiti – the original and most radical form of street art – from an esoteric practice into a global phenomenon. Social networks have made available to internet users a constantly expanding gallery of street artworks. Communicating technologies have then radically changed how we engage with this art form. We primarily appreciated street artworks as and through photographs, in ways suggesting epistemic and ontological primacy of the “reproduction” over the “original.” For its constitutive linked with the city, street art’s digital media revolution had then affected how we perceive, experience, and conceptualize public places.
In this paper, I argue that post-Internet street art has significantly re-shaped urban space, questioning dominant spatial hierarchies in politically subversive ways. Street art questions what Jacques Rancière calls the “distribution of the sensible” by making visible what usually remains unseen. It does so by deploying tactics thriving on the interplay between material and digital reality. Scholars have largely overlooked this link between the virtual and the real alleys of graffiti. Street art exists in between material and virtual reality, showing the conceptual and practical impossibility of their neat separation. Today’s public space is produced and negotiated also in binary code. Section 2 discusses the subversive nature of graffiti and street art. Section 3 examines writers’ and street artists’ use of communication technology and how this affects the practices and their link with the city.

1 “Blu, Muto, 2008.,” artforum.com, accessed May 1, 2017, https://www.artforum.com/video/mode=large&id=24319.

2 Vanessa Chang, “Animating the City: Street Art, Blu and the Poetics of Visual Encounter,” Animation 8, no. 3 (2013): 215–33, https://doi.org/10.1177/1746847713503280; Brad Yarhouse, “Animation in the Street: The Seductive Silence of Blu,” Animation Studies Online Journal 8 (2013), https://journal.animationstudies.org/brad-yarhouse-animation-in-the-street-the-seductive-silence-of-blu/; Pietro Rivasi, “Megunica,” Garage, 2007.
Zero Tolerance = 100 New Techniques Swedish / Nordic Street Art
Authors: Calderon Alaez Elena
Published: January 2025

Just as citizens design the city with their actions, with their walks, their routes (as the classic example of paths created in parks on the grass, the so-called "Desire Lines") the artists, in this case, focused on the the Nordic cities (specifically Stockholm) have designed or developed their new ways of acting on the city, using new techniques, materials and especially supports (which are not so common in the scene of independent public art in the cities of Southern Europe).
It draws attention in how in cities of northern Europe, advertising has captured all possible public space supports. Even in transports like subway, trams ... etc or placing giant screens in crowded areas of the city center or completely papering the buildings and fences with thousands of posters.
The intervention (Photo 1) of the Swedish street artist Klisterpeter, of 2011, does not represent the truth. It is an ironic intervention, since contrary to how it is expressed here, we could say that Stockholm "hates" graffiti. Probably the rest of European cities hate it in equal measure, although in this city, compared to others like Barcelona, Berlin, Athens or Lisbon, graffiti its totally absence.
In this article we will try to find the reason for this fact, looking for a parallelism with the well-known Nordic design and through its different cultural uses. If you have heard about Ikea, you know exactly what we are going to talk about. The main idea that transmits is not to fill the space of pieces without use, which can be compared with the care of urban artists/ graffiti artists in the Swedish capital, the simplicity in the lines, the soft colours, the minimalism and the principle of "less is more" that is perfectly described in their daily life. The Scandinavian character united to the environment that surrounds them: the cold, the darkness and the great virgin forests, have been very influential factors.
Polysemiotic Communication vs. Multimodality
Authors: Stampoulidis Georgios
Published: January 2025

Multimodality is in fact a polysemous word, which is tightly related to the notions of modality, and (semiotic) mode and is used in conceptually different ways across different disciplines (for a review see Adami, 2016; Devylder, 2019; Green, 2014). As cognitive semiotics (Zlatev et al., 2016) aims to integrate concepts and methods from semiotics, cognitive science and cognitive linguistics, we endeavor to offer a coherent terminology, in line with the proposals of Green (2014), Stampoulidis et al. (2019) and Zlatev (2019), which distinguishes the notions of perceptual (sensory) modalities (sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste) and semiotic systems (language, depiction and gesture).
For example, using this polysemiotic/multimodal distinction would allow us to describe the work of street art displayed in Figure 1 consisting of verbal text (language) and pictorial elements (depiction) as clearly a form of polysemiotic communication, instantiated in the particular socio-cultural medium of street art, whereas the street artwork displayed in Figure 2 might be considered as an example of unisemiotic communication (only the semiotic system of depiction is present). Nevertheless, both artworks may be considered monomodal since at least one perceptual modality is involved: sight. On the other hand, artworks such as these displayed in Figure 3 and Figure 4 can be both polysemiotic and unisemiotic, respectively, and (potentially) multimodal (if) they trigger multiple senses in the viewer, such as sight and touch, for example. It is important to note that the terminological distinction and conceptual dichotomy between the semiotic systems of language and depiction are not always clear-cut, especially in the case of street art (and graffiti), as has been argued in a certain literature (Bal, 1991; Neef, 2007). Therefore, we would like to stress that street art is typically a form of polysemiotic communication, and thus, we restrict the term unisemiotic either to the case of primarily depiction-dominant or primarily language- dominant graphic representations.
 
In our study on street art, marking this polysemiotic/ multimodal distinction – terminological and conceptual – would help us toward a synthetic analysis of the interaction between language and depiction, and that of language, depiction, vision, and (potentially) smelling, touching or even hearing, into a whole communicative situation.
Paint & Pedal
Authors: Souza Angela
Published: January 2025

This paper aims to contribute to the topic of urban creativity from the perspective of placemaking and participatory leadership. In this empirical paper, we will be presenting the Paint & Pedal project while discussing urban creativity and Placemaking.
The author will explore the participatory process and collective creativity as methodologies to achieve the project goal: to use public art to create awareness for UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Furthermore, the author discusses the impact that the project could have on local communities in smaller towns. This paper finishes with a testimonial about how misunderstanding a community’s culture led to this project being archived.
Development of mural art (street art) after the last war in Kosovo
Authors: Muharremi Agnesa , Muharremi Ilir
Published: January 2025

This paper presents the development of graffiti art after the last war in Kosovo. From 2000 to 2020. The presented murals express emotions, contain satirical nuances, humor, ridicule of various political figures in the state of Kosovo. Except that the ugly spaces are decorated,through this art , artists have used it as a voice of revolt and disappointment by playing with humor to fix the current system. The colour of the graffiti have been analyzed with The content, the messages it contains , the forms and many other details..
Aroldo Marinai´s Frogmen project
Authors: Carrasco Isabel
Published: January 2025

Aroldo Marinai´s (Florence, Italy, 1941) first – and, in relative terms, quite late - experience of the art world came through a street art project. Inspired by a recent work stay in New York, at the end of 1979 he decided to enact a creative intervention in his own city through a stencil image of a scuba diver. This act was subsequently followed by a gallery exhibition and the production of a book, entitled Frogmen: Un segno sui muri come per caso (1980), in which he collated all available documents related to the piece: a diary, photographs, newspaper clippings and a police report. As early as the 1980s, Frogmen had already begun to open up a conversation concerning the complex relationship between street art and advertisement, street art and the gallery space, or the ephemeral and its documentation (before social media). Marinai managed to capture these debates, that continue to provoke interest and discussion within the field of urban studies, – some of them not without a degree of controversy –making them part of Frogmen. This article aims to shine a light on and bring attention to a project that up to this point has been overlooked critically, and that merits analysis for its originality as well as its pioneering role within the context of Florence street art.
Dawn of the 3d Spray
Authors: Xyntarianos Tsiropinas Paris
Published: January 2025

The diversity of techniques, methods and tools in creating Graffiti and Street Art allows artists to constantly evolve and discover new ways to express their ideas and implement their work. At the same time, a large number of researchers study and observe artists and their work, in an attempt to experiment with the emergence and spread of the phenomenon of urban art in combination with other scientific environments, such as engineering, robotics, programming and more. In this article, after the introduction to the power and importance of spray paint as a tool and symbol for the evolution of urban art, a first glimpse on the street artist - designer follows. This new type of creator can intervene radically in shaping the urban landscape by properly utilizing the designers’ toolbox to help innovative ideas come to fruition. One of these ideas is to use polyurethane foam as a "three-dimensional spray". Using it, the artist can create embossed or three-dimensional works on a large scale, taking existing practices one step further. A case study illustrated by a variety of images is presented before the conclusion of this paper, describing the creation of a lion's head directly on the wall using polyurethane foam spray and then painting it with graffiti spray paint.
Lisbon vs Porto: Contrasts in Urban Art Public Management
Authors: Castro Ana Luísa , Gariso Ana
Published: January 2025

Urban Art is considered one of the most important artistic movements of the 21st century and Portugal is not behind on this trend. Many of its cities are authentic open air museums and portuguese artists — like Vhils, Bordallo II and Mr. Dheo — are distinguished all over the World. The two main cities of Portugal — Lisbon and Porto — have invested a lot of their efforts, combating vandalism, legitimizing urban art, legalizing murals and supporting street artists. In Lisbon, GAU (Galeria de Arte Urbana) has sponsored dozens of legal murals and allowed for the painting of several others by private interests. Porto’s Urban Art Program started a few years later but has since funded several murals and authorized artistic events by private businesses. 
In this article two PHD students collaborate to analyze the development of urban art in both Lisbon and Porto, mainly focusing on the last decade; to understand the contrasts on the artistic management of public art; and to examine its possible impacts in Lisbon and Porto.
V7/N1 Editorial
Authors: Bengtsen Peter
Published: January 2025

Since 2015, six issues of the journal Street Art and Urban Creativity have been published, with a total of 84 research articles and numerous essays, working papers and book reviews.
The journal, along with the annual Urban Creativity conference in Lisbon and a number of other publications and activities – including the research network Urban Creativity Lund – are indications that the field of urban creativity studies has become increasingly established.
The field of urban creativity studies has a broad range of interests including, but not limited to, street art, graffiti, urban foraging, parkour, skateboarding and guerrilla gardening. However, as with any field, once it starts to settle, a dominant paradigm tends to emerge. This will to some degree influence what is considered the core of the field, not only in terms of objects of study, but also in terms of method and theoretical approaches.
As a part of this year’s call for submissions to the journal, in addition to our general call (see below), we invite contributions that reflect on the current status and the future of the transdisciplinary academic field of urban creativity studies that has emerged over the last two decades.
Art, City and Social Bonding: Street Gallery
Authors: Cankaya İpek
Published: January 2025

Abstract:
This work is a discussion on the impact, challenges and ambiguities of artists and makers presence in a community. The purpose is to raise questions on levels of possible, realistic community engagement from passers-by, active makers and sharing partners in the formation of spontaneous, enhanced identity in local neighbourhoods. The art in the street as by-product of care and meaningful engagement, without strong labels or pre-designed, carrier motivated collaborations between artists and communities is in the focus.
The case study is the Flagpoles Project (1986 – 1991) initiated by Slobodan Dan Paich which consists of a great number of semi-permanent sculptures built for and with residents of the Golden Gate, Oakland, USA.
Reflecting on Flagpoles Project enables this paper to re-ask the artist’s role in a community setting, and how do the artistic sensibilities, vision and cohesive visual language remain while the creative process is shared with community. The paper also focuses on an enquiry on the ambiguities on how a public art project can create a positive impact on diverse segments of a difficult neighbourhood and how can bonding through art transform the experience of public space in urban context.
In general, the methodology starts from expressive inception, community context and its development. In this example it is based on interviews, testimonials, also on printed and digital materials concluding with related literature about social inclusion and role of the art in everyday setting.
Investigating the Relationship Between Water Element Designs and User Preferences
Authors: Yücel Caymaz Gökçen Firdevs , Şimşek Elif
Published: January 2025

Water elements are design features that complement the environmental landscape with their natural and artificial appearance, particularly in urban spaces. They are effective in boosting the quality of urban space by supporting perceived and real comfort in the area where they are found. In this study, a face-to-face interview photographic survey was conducted with 500 people chosen randomly in five different city squares in Istanbul, whereas participants were asked why they preferred particular water element forms, such as; (natural/geometric form, still / moving form, light / dark colored ground, angular/curvilinear form, natural/colored light). According to the results of the survey conducted, answers provided were grouped under the headings of ‘no reason,’ ‘physical feature,’ ‘psychological effect,’ ‘aesthetic appearance,’ ‘nature conservation,’ ‘modern’ and ‘cleaning.’ As a result of the research, it was observed that water elements with natural forms were preferred over those with geometric forms, water elements with light-colored floors were preferred over those with dark floors, and water elements illuminated with natural light were preferred over those illuminated with colored light. While physical appearance, psychological effect, and aesthetic features of the water elements are the primary factors in the preference of the water element, it was determined that definitions such as cleanliness, nature conservation, and modern appearance are not as influential compared to other selection factors.
Investigation of Urban Equipment Design in the Historical Environment based on Hagia Sophia - Sultan Ahmed Square Example
Authors: Uzgör Onur , Sirel Ayse , Yücel Caymaz Gökçen Firdevs
Published: January 2025

Historical environment requires a respectful act of conservation with a view to sustain cultural heritage. The increasing trend of continuous change in cities is associated with emergent requirements in physical, economic, and socio-cultural fields. There is an ongoing quest for solutions in the fields of architecture and urban planning aimed to accommodate the ever-changing conditions. Nevertheless, despite the projects at city and building scale, the same are uncontrolled or inadequate at the detail scale. Therefore, approaches adopted in the industrial product design level may fall outside the scope of the conservation project in historical environments. The use of urban furniture is required in the public squares in historical environments. However, these products may be in disharmony with their historical environment and have an appearance that harms the urban culture. In case negligent installation techniques are used for the equipment element, this may lead to destruction of the historical environment and hinder the sustainability of cultural values. The "urban equipment element" term was adopted for the general definition of the objects, products, elements, equipment, units, and modules investigated within the scope of the study. The present article aimed to investigate the criteria that could ensure that urban equipment elements were in harmony with the historical environment and help with conserving cultural heritage. The design and classification criteria of urban equipment elements were investigated within the framework of the integrity and harmony of the historical city. For the purposes of the field study, the criteria associated with the functional type, user type, assembly technique, duration of use, infrastructure use along with visual relationship (form-color-tissue-material) in interaction with historical environment, and experiential relationship with environment in the scope of the historical vicinity of Hagia Sophia and Sultan Ahmed Square were analyzed. It was concluded as a result of the that urban equipment elements in historical environments should be designed in an original appearance in harmony with cultural heritage in relation to each other; thus, cultural sharing and transfer might also benefit from experiential relationship with the historical environment; and furthermore, combining multiple functions in urban equipment elements would eliminate visual chaos in the historical environment, contributing to visual harmony.
Making a Match before Tinder: Popular graffiti in Torrenueva (Ciudad Real, Spain)
Authors: Carrasco Isabel
Published: January 2025

Traditionally, on the night of April 30th, marking the beginning of popular May celebrations, young men have gone out to write graffiti in the town of Torrenueva (Ciudad Real, Spain). This original graphic phenomenon is locally called “pintar los mayos” and consists of writing the word “MAYO” (“May” in Spanish) followed by the year of the execution (i.e., MAYO 98) on the façade of a girl's house as proof of interest and as an excuse to strike up a conversation. It is hard to confirm the origin of this custom with precision, but the tradition might date back from at least the 1940s. Today it's on the verge of disappearing; only one “mayo” was found in 2020 and none in 2021 or 2022. The ritual has evolved over the years in terms of purpose, location and medium and can be analyzed in the category of “love graffiti”.
The Graffiti Writer as Homo Sacer
Authors: Baldini Andrea Lorenzo
Published: January 2025

Graffiti artists are frequently regarded as "liminal" figures, or people who exist on the outskirts of society. This paper looks at one aspect of their marginal status: legal liminality. I argue, using the work of the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben, that writers, like the homines sacri, live in a state of legal exception. As a result, they face uncontrollable violence and are denied fundamental rights. Though writers are subjected to abuse and intimidation, their particular circumstances also position them to challenge sovereign power in neoliberal cities. They can join a community without establishing an identity because of their ambiguous situation. As a result, they undermine the inclusion/exclusion dichotomy at the heart of biopolitics.
Video Projection Mapping as a Visual Urban Art Performance on Architectural Facade
Authors: Işıkkaya Ali Devrim
Published: January 2025

Video projection mapping as a contemporary visual public art today is the representative of interactive communication and media-architectural complexity in which the gathering of fiction and reality is observable. Video projection mapping (urban screenings), which transforms the facade into an interactive interface between the interior and exterior, provides also the conditions of a shared, creative, perceptual public atmosphere by triggering the reconstruction of the relations between art, games and the public spaces. This article inspects firstly about how public space / architectural facade relation is dialectically reconstructed and experienced throughout the video projection mapping implementations on architectural facades as a kind of conceptual collaboration – composition of physical public space, and virtual - perceptual space assembled in their specific epochs and contextually discusses their influences on urban society. This paper interprets the video projection mapping performances and tries to define the impact of this new public art, which is framed with space and time, on the city-dwellers. This article also aims to make a discussion on virtual urban reality, in terms of performative – virtual ‘surface’ architecture, or media-architecture. In conclusion, the future of video projection mapping as a visual art and architectural implementation in terms of public space - facade relation is speculated within the traces of current works and trends in the conclusion of the article.
Strategies of Urban Spaces Developments Approaching Urban Events in Iranian Cities
Authors: Molaei Asghar
Published: January 2025

The city is a complex and integrated reality of all social, cultural, economic, environmental, physical and other environmental factors. Designing a city that takes into account the qualitative criteria of these factors can be a creative work and creative urban spaces and the city as a work of art. In the city as an artistic phenomenon, beauty is a key feature of the city and its components. Features such as order, harmony, cohesion and consistency in the city can also be seen as works of art. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explain the approach of the city as a creative work of art and design as a strategy for achieving it through exploratory research and interdisciplinary research and documentary research methods and library studies. Be. The results of this research indicate that the use of urban design art is one of the most important factors in attracting tourists, investors and economic and tourism boom. Creativity in the design of public spaces, buildings and social centers can be done in a contemporary, traditional context. Public spaces, squares and streets, urban and neighborhood entrances, public places, cultural, social, pilgrimage, recreational, sports, and economic hubs in Iranian cities are among the most important areas of applying creativity to create artwork. Applying creative power and expanding it in various fields will bring to light interesting and unique phenomena in different areas and areas and will create a beautiful and artistic city. Iranian cities have many beautiful urban spaces, squares, garden alleys, museums, mosques that act as urban place brands for citizens and tourists.
From Urbex places to official walls in the cities in France: the liminal circulation of street art, from illegal to legal
Authors: Vincent Lambert , Christian Gerini
Published: January 2025

Many street artists started their practice as vandals on walls, trains, etc. But we often forget what they did in abandoned places called Urbex. It is in such places that we have been working for many years in proximity, exchanging and sharing with these artists, some of whom have gained recognition in the art world or in urban politics. This fieldwork is both a work about history of contemporary art and an anthropological study. It has enabled us to highlight the need for these artists to remain between the two worlds: that of known and recognized art and that of their origins, i.e. illegal, hidden and free. We give an overview here with examples of Urbex locations and artists from the south of France. But we also show the discomfort they feel in the "cultural third places" where their freedom is often limited by those who finance these places.
The development of Albanian art during the Middle Age
Authors: Zeneli Fidan , Qerimi Muhamet
Published: January 2025

In the latter part of the Middle Age, Albanian urban society reached a high point of development. Foreign commerce flourished to such an extent that leading Albanian merchants had their own agencies in Ragusa, Venice and other medieval urban centres. This prosperity stimulated the development of education and the arts. Therefore, this paper elaborates some significant features about medieval Albanian cultural history. The works of painters and art masters were observed to provide a more comprehensive overview of culture as an integral component of spiritual life, as well as the Albanian medieval history in general. This paper uses a comprehensive and chronological perspective. This approach combines archival sources with contemporary literature to take a literal interpretation of cultural or artistic developments.
The development of mural art in Kosovo 2020-2022
Authors: Basha Kosovar Kosovar
Published: January 2025

This paper shows the graffiti art in Kosovo during the time period 2020-2022. The presented murals unfold the Kosovar and foreign artists’ work in the cities of Kosovo, such as Prishtina and Ferizaj. The presented themes are of various different types in terms of their content. The graffiti works of foreign artists who exhibited their creative work at Mural Fest-Kosova in the above-mentioned years have given me a great help in developing this study. The author has carefully analyzed these graffiti and put them as they are, showing the contribution of graphic artists to contemporary art in Kosovo and beyond.
The Expression of Free Opinion through Graffiti and Murals in Kosovo and Serbia
Authors: Muharremi Ilir , Krasniqi Albana , Balidemaj Atlanta
Published: January 2025

This work addresses the art of graffiti and murals in Kosovo and Serbia. Is graffiti political or not political? Are the murals in Kosovo and Serbia addressing similar political subjects? How much influence do the works of art possess? Murals and graffiti express culture in both Kosovo and Serbia. In Serbia, depictions of war leaders are on the walls of buildings all over the country. In Kosovo, how are the topics of the last war presented? Do real social themes influence the depictions of the murals? The graffiti and mural works in Kosovo are different from those in Serbia. Serbs still depict war themes in both graffiti and murals but in Kosovo, the topics are freer, still maintaining their subjectiveness to current political, social, economic, and legal topics. Free speech is as free as it is in murals and graffiti in two neighboring states that are American to each other.
Ephemeral Activism: Un/Making Images of Dissent
Authors: Altomonte Jenna Ann
Published: January 2025

Along the Annexation Wall in Bethlehem, an entangled web of tags, slogans, graphic stencils, and gestures cover the surface of the concrete barrier wall and asphalt road. In Napoli, Italy, similar messages, and symbols appear on the dressed stone facade of government buildings, churches, and apartments. Messages exclaim: Not only Floyd, Iyad Hallaq Too, IAW, Palestino, and No Balls? #Build Walls. Varying in opacity, the words and symbols fight for legibility and presence, acting as a conversational message board between local and international activists. Such visual elements are, according to Ella Chmielewska, “connected with the specific history of protest, contestation, and subversion framed by the locality” (Chmielewska, 2007). Thus, graffiti may be read as an actual and symbolic act of resistance, framed by locality. Considering the saturation of solidarity-based graffiti in places like Bethlehem and Napoli, this paper examines how urban space both facilitates and complicates the durability of activist-based interventions. Through a pictorial study, I focus on the effects of graffiti-based activism and examine how these marks continue to draw attention to solidarity-based causes. Kevin D. Murphy and Sally O’Driscoll refer to these types of marks as “ephemeral interventions,” a reference to the temporary nature of graffiti and the potential long-term impact of certain politically motivated works that produce iconic symbols/signs (Murphy and O’Driscoll, 2015). Whether along the Annexation Wall in Bethlehem or the streets of Napoli, graffitied messages are specific to local political and social causes, yet also connect to greater, global solidarity movements.
Listening, Walking and Languaging in the City
Authors: Clover Catherine
Published: January 2025

This text resides alongside a soundwalk that took place in Al-Hussein Park, Amman, Jordan at the end of the first day of the Art and the City conference at Columbia Global Centre in Amman, June 2023, coordinated by Columbia University’s Andrew Mellon Fellow Tijen Tunali. This text is not an explanatory component but an additional and complementary chorus of bird and human voices.  As an art form, soundwalks take audiences out of the gallery, theatre and concert hall and connect participants to the sounds of a place, to listening at a specific site. A temporary intervention, soundwalks are a form of public art that enable audiences to engage socially and politically with place. This soundwalk was oriented to our troubled relationship with the more-than-human world, specifically the calls and songs of wild urban birds. In addition, at the end of the soundwalk a participatory component encouraged attendees to contribute to a voicing structured using experimental written scores.
This text is an informal narrative in a story-telling and inclusive writerly style, grounded in fieldwork, creativity and research. It is polyphonic: the voices of the birds occur throughout the text as do several of the participants from the soundwalk.  The structure of the text drifts and spirals like a bird gliding upwards on a warm thermal. It circles around the soundwalk that is at the heart of the writing. There are pauses and diversions throughout.
Deriving the Isoelectric Point of Amino Acids from Acid-Base Equilibria
Authors: Senavirathne Gayan
Published: January 2025

This paper presents a refined method for calculating the isoelectric point (pI) of amino acids, focusing on the dominant zwitterionic form in solution. The approach improves pI calculations and extends to predicting pH values in amphoteric solutions, including titrations of polyprotic acids and bases.
Mechanically and photoelectrochemically stable WO3 | BiVO4 | NiFeOOH photoanodes synthesised by a scalable chemical vapour deposition method
Authors: Creasey George , McCallum Tristan , Ai Guangrui , Tam Brian , Rodriguez Acosta John Wilman , Mohammad Yousuf Alvia , Fearne Sarah , Kafizas Andreas , Hankin Anna
Published: January 2025

The development of scalable, stable and high performance photoelectrodes remains the major bottleneck in up-scaling photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting systems. A photoanode structure of particular promise is WO3 | BiVO4, where the formation of staggered heterojunction between nanostructured WO3 and a thin layer of BiVO4 mitigates charge carrier mobility limitations present for BiVO4 alone and suppresses recombination. Although these electrodes remain prone to photo-corrosion, this effect can be mitigated through the application of water oxidation surface co-catalysts. An additional challenge that has rarely been addressed in the literature to date is the need for strong adhesion to the substrate and mechanical stability of these photoelectrodes, so that they can withstand flow-induced shear stress exerted by the electrolyte in continuous flow under operational conditions. Herein, we propose a scalable route to synthesising WO3 | BiVO4 | NiFeOOH photoanodes entirely by aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AA-CVD). The mechanical stability of the WO3 | BiVO4 heterojunction was optimised by tuning the morphology of the WO3 underlayer and improving its adhesion to the FTO transparent substrate. To address BiVO4 dissolution at the electrode | electrolyte interface, we fabricated a NiFeOOH co-catalyst by a novel AA-CVD method. This suppressed BiVO4 dissolution and enhanced the water oxidation performance of the photoanode, characterised by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), photoelectrochemical impedance spectroscopy (PEIS), chopped chronoamperometry and PEC-coupled with mass spectrometry. The photoanode materials were physically characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). Our optimised photoanodes with 1 cm2 photoactive area delivered a stable photocurrent density of 1.75 mA cm-2 (at 1 simulated sun irradiance and 1.23 VRHE) during 24-hour testing in a continuous PEC flow reactor (operated at 0.5 cm s-1). Our method for growing WO3 | BiVO4 | NiFeOOH photoanodes is up-scalable, and therefore suitable for producing large-area demonstration devices, providing a pathway to commercial photoelectrochemical hydrogen production.
Design of Solar Stove with Heat Storing Material Using PV Cells
Authors: Kumbhalkar M. A. , Choudhari S. A. , Sardeshmukh M. M. , Bhise D. V. , Nehe S. S. , Doifode V. R.
Published: January 2025

Purpose: This study aims to develop a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable solar cooking solution for urban and rural populations in developing nations, where the majority rely on non-commercial sources of cooking energy.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The research involves designing a solar stove incorporating a thermal battery, heat-storing materials, and a photovoltaic system. Experimental trials were conducted to determine the melting points and density of different heat-storing materials: potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, and their combination.
Findings: The experimental results indicate that a potassium and sodium nitrate mixture provides superior heat storage and release performance compared to the individual components. This combination shows promise for maintaining the necessary temperatures for cooking even in the absence of direct sunlight.
Research Limitation: The study is limited to specific heat-storing materials and laboratory-scale experiments, which may differ from real-world conditions.
Practical Implication: It could be especially beneficial for off-grid and rural areas in developing countries where traditional fuel sources are scarce or costly.
Social Implication: This research offers a renewable energy-based cooking method, improving energy accessibility, health, and quality of life for low-income populations.
Originality/Value: It utilises a combination of heat-storing materials that enhances the efficiency and reliability of cooking during off-sunshine hours, distinguishing it from other solar cooking technologies.
An IoT health-care monitoring system design to measure vital parameters through non-invasive sensors
Authors: Villalvazo Laureano Efrain
Published: January 2025

New diseases with a high contagion rate and health risks have emerged in recent years. There is a need to develop more applications for local and remote healthcare. This work presents an application for the monitoring of vital points for health using IoT (Internet of Things) technology. The prototype can measure body temperature, blood pressure, oxygen percentage, and heart rate locally and remotely. In the first place, the measurements are made locally using the sensors of each one of the variables. Subsequently, the variables are sent to the Particle Photon. The data are then processed and converted to the values corresponding to the measurements. These variable values are then sent to the cloud. Then the readings will be available on the interface locally and remotely. An algorithm was used to calculate blood pressure using the heart rate sensor information. Finally, the data obtained were compared against commercial meters. In addition, one of the advantages of this device is that it can continue working locally in the event of a possible Wi-Fi network failure.
Relación entre las actitudes, prácticas de flexibilidad laboral y efectividad en trabajadores mexicanos
Authors: Colín Flores Carlos Gabriel , Madero Gómez Sergio Manuel
Published: January 2025

Resumen
En este estudio se realizó una investigación cuantitativa con el objetivo de conocer el perfil de las prácticas laborales preferidas en una muestra de colaboradores de empresas privadas en México. La muestra del estudio se seleccionó por conveniencia y estuvo integrada por 142 personas, de las cuales el 71.1% señala que en su lugar de trabajo tienen actividades de flexibilidad laboral.
Además, se identificó la forma en que se relacionan las actitudes de los colaboradores   sobre las actividades laborales flexibles con los efectos percibidos de las prácticas de flexibilidad laboral, y la efectividad laboral.
Como parte del estudio, se diseñó un instrumento de medición en formato en línea, con un total de 56 ítems, el instrumento fue validado estadísticamente para su aplicación en el contexto mexicano.
Entre los principales hallazgos de la investigación se encontró que existe una relación inversa entre la percepción de barreras a las prácticas de flexibilidad en el trabajo y la efectividad laboral r (142) = - 0.292, p < 0.01. Además de una relación positiva entre la actitud de los colaboradores -ideas, actitud y conducta- hacia las prácticas de flexibilidad, y la efectividad laboral. En cuanto a la actitud de los trabajadores -ideas, actitud y conducta-y las barreras se encontró una relación inversa.
 
Palabras clave: Flexibilidad laboral; Balance vida-trabajo; Efectividad laboral; Retención del talento.
Variables de alerta temprana de fragilidad financiera en Sociedades Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito de México
Authors: Espinosa Jiménez Patricia Margarita , Morales  Castro José Antonio
Published: January 2025

Las sociedades cooperativas de ahorro y préstamos (SOCAPS) en México tienen un menor tamaño que los bancos, por lo que tienen mayor riesgo de tener problemas frente a los cambios de las variables económicas y de sus indicadores internos. Por lo que el objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el efecto que tienen las diferentes variables fundamentales y macroeconómicas en la probabilidad de que presenten problemas financieros (pérdidas) las sociedades de ahorro y préstamo de México. Mediante especificaciones Logit se encuentra que cinco variables específicas y cinco macroeconómicas son significativas en la probabilidad de que presenten pérdidas. Los cambios en el tamaño y las deudas, medidos a través de los activos y pasivos respectivamente, así como la morosidad son los factores fundamentales que tienen mayor influencia en la probabilidad de tener problemas financieros; la inflación y el dólar fueron las variables macroeconómicas que mayor efecto tienen en la probabilidad de tener pérdidas. Estos resultados pueden ser útiles como indicadores de alerta temprana para evitar los problemas en estas sociedades de ahorro, así como en el diseño de políticas públicas a evitar el cierre de estas instituciones.
SEMANTICS OF ANIMALISTIC PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS IN TURKIC LANGUAGES
Authors:   AL-FARABI KAZAKH NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, Avakova Raushangul , Tuimebaev Zhanseit , Kudyarova Sholpan , Dossanova Albina , Samatov Iliyas
Published: January 2025

The semantics of zoomorphic phrases in Turkic languages are considered in the article. The semantics of phrases containing zoomorphic nominations, which are among universal metaphorical models, are analyzed in the article. In the course of the analysis, the spread of stereotypical and national characteristics, the adoption of animal images in person descriptions, and the comparative study in Turkic languages are brought to the fore. The article aims to analyze common zoomorphic phrasemes in Turkic languages in a cognitive model. Among the research methods of the article, we refer to the method of structural-semantic modeling: it is used to determine the preservation of the given general Turkic phraseological fund in modern Turkic languages and its position in the lexical fund. The novelty of the research is that zoomorphic phrases, which inform about the spiritual and material culture of the Turkic peoples, are being studied for the first time as defining units of the national cultural character of the Turks as a result of the research revealed differences in zoomorphic phrases, which summarized imagery, conceptual, and value criteria depending on lingua-creative, pragmatic, and lingua-cultural factors.