O presente artigo investiga as intervenções urbanas – pertencentes a um grupo composto por muitas manifestações artísticas realizadas no espaço público – que dialogam com a cidade. Compreendidas como práticas artísticas e socioespaciais, as intervenções urbanas do coletivo lesbiano Velcro Choque (Brasil) são analisadas a partir das potências que surgem com a ocupação das ruas da cidade e da esfera pública, já que tal ato coloca em cheque normas e narrativas históricas, que serão apontadas a partir do viés da (...) crítica feminista da cultura. Conforme mostra a prática do coletivo, o artivismo associado aos feminismos e às dissidências sexuais e de gênero podem oportunizar a criação de subjetividades libertárias e formas de existência e resistência através das produções coletivas nas artes visuais.Palavras-chave: Cidade. Intervenção Urbana. Feminismos. Artivismo. AbstractThis paper investigates urban interventions – belonging to a group composed of many artistic manifestations carried out in the public space – that dialogue with the city. Understanding the urban interventions as an artistic and socio-spatial practice, the production of the lesbian collective Velcro Choque (Brazil) will be analyzed based on the potency that emerges with the occupation of the streets and the public sphere, since this act can put in check historical norms and narratives, which will be pointed out from the bias of the feminist critic of the culture. As the practice of the collective shows, artivism associated with feminism, sexual and gender dissidences can create opportunities for the creation of libertarian subjectivities and forms of existence and resistance through collective productions in the visual arts.Keywords: City. Urban Interventions. Feminisms. Artivism. (shrink)

Serendipity is fundamental to science. This quirky and intriguing phenomenon permeates across scientific disciplines, including the medical sciences, psychological sciences, management and organizational sciences, innovation science, philosophy and library and information sciences. Why is it so ubiquitous? Because of what it facilitates and catalyzes: scientific discoveries from velcro to Viagra, innovation of all forms, unexpected encounters of useful information, novel and important ideas, and deep reflection on how we, as individuals, organizations, communities and societies can take leaps forwards by (...) seizing unexpected opportunities and ‘making our own luck.’. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: An Environmental Ethic for Non‐Tree Huggers Considering the Environment by Riding a Bike Cycles of Climate Change Pollution The Cycling Solution The End of a (Subaru) Legacy Notes.

Van Rensselaer Potter was the first voice to utter the word “bioethics,” yet he is too little appreciated by the bioethics community. My expectations for my first visit with Professor Van Rensselaer Potter were primed by conversations with leaders and historians of the field of biomedical ethics, including Warren Reich, Al Jonsen, and David Thomasma. When mentioning my interest in environmental ethics and my concerns for the current state of biomedical ethics, I was told that I must meet Van. On (...) my first visit to Madison, Wisconsin, Van met me at the McArdle Laboratories for Cancer Research at the University of Wisconsin, where he spent essentially his entire academic career as a basic oncological researcher. He was dressed informally and driving a rusting1984 Subaru station wagon with a license plate that read YES ZPG. We spent this first portion of our visit at the Institute where he is an Emeritus Professor and has contributed to understanding cancer metabolism as recognized by his election to the National Academy of Sciences. However, Van felt most at home in his shack located outside Madison. This country retreat included a rather primitive hut surrounded by acres of property owned by the family. I felt at the heart of Van's world when I sat in one of a pair of inexpensive plastic outdoor chairs in a particularly secluded part of the woods on the property, the place where Van himself communed with nature. (shrink)

Bio-inspired design refers to the use of the natural world as a source of models for the design of artifacts. For example, Velcro is a fastening system made from nylon that deliberately imitates the structure of burrs, which are adapted to stick to animal fur. In general, in selecting and adapting models to design problems, designers can also seek to satisfy their ideological goals. That is, designers seek not only to solve technical problems but also to respect and promote (...) professional and societal values that they find important. This observation applies to bio-inspired design. This paper examines two ideologies that are present in bio-inspired design. The first ideology examined is biomimicry, on which the natural world is characterized as the result of natural selection, a competition for survival that produces rugged and individualistic organisms. The second ideology is biosynergism, on which the natural world is characterized as interdependent systems integrated into a larger whole that operates in a sustainable manner. Both of these ideologies are explicated and their effects on design work examined. (shrink)