Journal & Book Publications

In all these works, the defilement, the disgust, and the horror are intentional, strategic - even ideological. But what of the unintentional, even decidedly unwanted, yet ceaselessly produced abjection? With its beautiful gardens, highly aesthetised yet functional architecture, and exceptionally rich occupational content, the Bethlem Royal Hospital, London, is the epitome of applied ("ethical") aesthetics. The politics of egalitarianism is here inscribed in all regulations, daily routines, and the individually tailored approaches to psychiatric care. And yet, this (utopian) construct is corroded by the greasy fingerprints on the glass separating the nursing station from the ward; deep cuts in armchairs and sofas; and dents in the woodwork that act as reminders of the more violent attacks, as do, indeed, bruises on patients' faces, necks, and arms. Fusing Nagatomo's notion of the body as an actional-humoural process with Kristeva's abjectness and Rozin's theories of disgust, this essay queries the relation between applied aesthetics, politicised sociality, and (covert) stigmatisation. It argues that stigmatisation occurs behind the scenes, in looped somaesthetic processes, as a byproduct of sensorial, behavioural, and environmental ugliness. In acknowledging this state of affairs, the essay also articulates the relationship between the (vulnerable) somatic body and the vulnerability of the (neoliberal) institutions of care.
Citation:
Lushetich, Natasha. "Stigma Stains: The Somaesthetics of Institutional Abjection." On the Politics of Ugliness, edited by Sara Rodrigues and Ela Przybylo, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018

Ethics must consistently guide our profession, and the impact of social media and social interest on community arts therapy practice must be strategically attended to. This presentation will highlight the pragmatics of planning, delivering and documenting large-scale community art(s) projects within ethical frameworks that foreground community, compassion and integrity. Challenges and successes from practice will be discussed.    
Citation:
Lay, Ronald. “Community, compassion & integrity: Consideration to ethics within art(s) therapy community projects.” Australian and New Zealand Journal of Arts Therapy, vol. 13, no. 1, 2018, pp. 47-53.

Emphasis on processes does not necessitate discipline-specific definitions of an expected final outcome, but relies on the synergetic impact of the combination of diverse expertise and experiences of the participating members of the team. Results are created and defined as a consequence of constant communication and feedback between team members. For realisation and evaluation of such an approach the determination of a set of rules on which such a system is based is critical. This paper evaluates process-oriented pedagogy within a tertiary arts education organisation with a selection of case studies from LASALLE College of the Arts (LASALLE) in Singapore. These interdisciplinary pedagogical arts practices range from structured improvisation as a creative laboratory, use of technology to inform practice, playing with spatial geometries, through to creating templates to shape or codes to sequence performance and durational arts practice.  The paper proposes a system design for arts pedagogy based on the potentialities of collective collaboration rather than the individual artist and on the multiplicity of outcomes made possible by focusing on process rather than product or object. 

Citation:
Muench, Wolfgang and Amanda Morris. "System Designs for Arts Pedagogy." Cumulus Conference Proceedings Paris 2018, no. 03/18, 2018, pp. 1140-1158.

In his keynote speech at the Design Management Institute conference in London in 2015, Richard Buchanan, professor of design, management, and information systems at the Case Western Reserve University in the USA, distinguishes between design thinking as “a cognitive decision-making process” and design thinking as “a spirit that permeates a culture or an organization”. This paper examines design thinking in Singapore through investigating the way in which three of the country’s most critically acclaimed design firms, FITCH, IBM iX and Chemistry, have adopted and adapted design thinking principles in different contexts: retail design, systems design, and social design. The methods used here can be linked to the design thinking methodology as incepted by Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, also referred to as d.School. The pragmatic characteristics of d.School’s design thinking process makes it easy to adopt. However, the key question which this paper will raise, is whether or not design thinking can unite a greater range of stakeholders in Singapore, given that the country’s Ministry of Communications and Information has elevated design as a key driver through the Design 2025 Master Plan which was issued in 2015. This initiative builds on the other definition of design thinking, the notion of a spirit. This paper discusses how expanding the collaborative attitudes within culture and society can potentially promote design thinking as a ‘spirit’ within a nation. Could design thinking be reframed to become a language-like concept that connects people and societies in their shared ambition to shape future lives? What are Singapore’s prospects with respect to this endeavor?"
Citation: 
Lim, Stanley and Matthias Hillner. “Design Thinking as a Meta Language." Cumulus Conference Proceedings Paris 2018, no. 03/18, 2018, pp. 852-871.

This implies that designers will need to be equipped with project management and teamwork skills. In the case of the Faculty of Design in LASALLE College of the Arts Singapore, the push for interdisciplinarity manifested itself in an initiative in the Bachelor’s programme termed Clusters. Students from different design programmes worked in interdisciplinary groups on briefs that were designed to harness the strengths of the various disciplines. Teamworking challenges were observed and reported during the inaugural run of Clusters. It is commonly assumed that students will develop teamworking skills organically in the process to overcome these challenges (Larson, et al., 2015). However, without equipping students with these skills, issues are bound to surface that can affect the success of such interdisciplinary projects. The paper focuses on the teamwork-oriented approach of the second cycle of Clusters, during which workshops were introduced to prevent and circumvent teamwork problems identified. Tucker’s (2016) “Input-Process-Output Framework of Effectiveness in Student Design Teams” was adapted to develop a model that categorises various tools and exercises aimed at addressing challenges during the different processes of a teamworking experience. This paper concludes with the insights gathered from the teaching of teamwork skills. The model, tools and exercises pre sented are of value to design educators and curriculum managers who seek to improve students’ perception of teamwork and development of teamwork skills.
Citation:
Lim, Stanley and Joselyn Sim. “Introducing Teamworking Workshops to Enhance the Effectiveness of Interdisciplinary Design Education.” Cumulus Conference Proceedings Paris 2018, no. 03/18, 2018, pp. 872-891.

This 60-minute lesson uses drama improvisations with its philosophical roots based on Paolo Freire's critical pedagogy, Augusto Boal's forum theatre, and Dorothy Heathcote's process drama.    

Citation:
Chow, Edmund. “Performance appraisal on the hotseat.” Teaching Human Resource Management: An Experiential Approach, edited by Suzanne C. de Janasz and Joanna Crossman, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018, pp. 134-144.

This humanistic perspective leads to questions of how design education should adapt and change to enhance the implications of socially conscious design and the designer’s position as social leader. Through a discussion of participatory and co­creative design, this paper attempts to identify how design education can respond to social needs through innovative solutions for social change. This paper reviews the experiential processes of design activities through a series of case studies to evaluate the impact of introducing the social innovation agenda as part of the design curriculum through collaborative and collective projects.    

Citation:
Sim, Joselyn and Harah Chon. “Social Innovation through Design. A Model for Design Education.” Cumulus Conference Proceedings Paris 2018, no. 03/18, 2018, pp. 362-381.

It is about creating a participatory environment for the target audience to co­create successful advertising with the Creative in order to increase its effectiveness. Besides examining past successful Consumer Generated Advertising (CGA) campaigns to study the interaction and engagement of the Audience which had made them effective and led to their success, a series of interviews with key creative professionals in Singapore were conducted to provide insights into the co­creator role the Audience play in a participatory environment to create successful participatory advertising campaigns with the Creative in the context of Singapore. All in all, the findings gathered affirmed that the shift in the way people communicate due to the digital revolution has called for a collective effort between the Creative and the Audience to produce effective advertising campaigns that can break through ad clutter. This study would benefit agencies, brand owners, brand strategists, marketers and communications professionals by offering them a better understanding of the shift in the changing advertising practices today, and in return create a more vibrant and creative advertising industry.
Citation:
Sim, Kathryn Shannon. “Audience As The New Creative: A Study of the Co-creation Role Audience Play in a Participatory Environment to Create Effective Advertising Campaigns with the Creative in the Context of Singapore.” Cumulus Conference Proceedings Paris 2018, no. 03/18, 2018, pp. 1178-1197.