Browsing by Subject "materiality"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Alien Microbes: The Microscope, The Telescope, And Symbolist Artistic Vision
    (2020-03) Otten, Nicole
    In this dissertation, I use artworks created by Odilon Redon, Edvard Munch, and Loie Fuller between 1888 and 1905 to address how artists of the Symbolist movement incorporated imagery inspired by the microscope, telescope, and other specialized optical instruments into their work. Like scientists, the Symbolists were interested in the unseen, frequently suggesting moods, emotions, or ideas in their art. I show that, inspired by the recent revelations of optical devices, the three artists I discuss in my case studies considered themselves to be finely tuned instruments of observation that could access realms that lay beyond ordinary human sight. While artists had claimed the role of visionaries for centuries, I argue that the attention to and investment in instruments in nineteenth-century Paris granted additional cultural relevance to artists who claimed to possess enhanced powers of vision. Redon, Munch, and Fuller embraced the new scientific knowledge presented by the microscope and telescope, but they also recognized and explored the limits of what these optical devices could reveal. These three artists offered their carefully honed artistic vision as a type of supplementary optical apparatus that could surpass the current state of technological and scientific development. They rendered subjective experience visible and available to scrutiny, much as science had done for microorganisms and distant galaxies. The ways in which artists adapted micro- and macroscopic imagery into their work also provide us with a lens through which to view the social issues of nineteenth-century France, including the role of religion, the concept of degeneration, and colonialism—major topics across my three case study chapters. Ultimately, my dissertation contributes to the field of art history by demonstrating how the microscope and the telescope altered artistic vision and addressing the significance of gaining access to worlds that were once invisible.
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    Distributed Writing: A Study of Tools, Artifacts, and Bodies
    (2016-02) Clayson, Ashley
    This dissertation investigates the question, “How is writing distributed across tools, artifacts, and bodies for writers collaboratively planning a written document?” After setting up the research problem and reviewing relevant literature, I describe the methods I used to collect and analyze data to answer my research question. I used a grounded theory approach; I collected and analyzed video and audio data from a group of workplace writers collaboratively planning an annual report, the Midwest Community College Association (MCCA). I found that these writers distributed their writing practices across tools, artifacts, and bodies in order to create representations of varying durability that served them in the writing process. This finding has several implications for writing theory, for practicing technical and professional writers, and for student writers.
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    Revisions versus Restatements: Managerial Discretion in Materiality Assessments
    (2017-08) Thompson, Rachel
    In recent years, firms reporting revisions of prior financial statements outnumber firms reporting restatements. Accounting rules require material misstatements to be transparently disclosed as restatements, whereas immaterial errors/irregularities can be reported as revisions. Given the discretion allowed in materiality assessments, I examine whether firms conceal material misstatements as revisions to avoid the negative consequences of formal restatements. Based on regulatory guidance and widely used materiality benchmarks, I find that almost 40% of revisions meet at least one materiality criterion. These “material” revisions elicit a more negative market response relative to immaterial revisions, suggesting that the market perceives these misstatements as consequential. I further find that misstatements that allow for high materiality discretion are more likely to be revised rather than restated and that these revisions are associated with managements’ strategic incentives. Specifically, these misstatements are more likely to be reported as revisions when the firm has compensation clawback provisions, strong capital market pressure, and when past performance is negatively impacted. In addition, I show a significant increase in the propensity to revise rather than restate after an SEC report that encourages even more discretion in the materiality assessment. Overall, my results suggest that materiality discretion can be used opportunistically to conceal material misstatements as revisions which has implications for the FASB's proposed change to materiality guidance.