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Prostitution in Video Games: Stigma, Violence and Male Pleasure
No full textProstitution has traditionally been framed in society as a space significantly determined by patriarchal hierarchies, in addition to being affected on many occasions by stigmatisation and violence. The representation of prostitution and of those who practice it in the media is a topic of special interest, since the discourses and messages disseminated by the media play a fundamental role in socialisation. Video games are not exempt from this debate: with millions of players worldwide and a special reach among young people, they are among the most influential media outlets today. This qualitative research analyses a series of titles, both AAA (video games developed by major publishers, characterized by high-quality graphics, sound, and gameplay) and Indies (alternative video games). It shows how they incorporate prostitution, as well as the way in which they construct the identities of those characters who practice it. This reality is mainly portrayed through a simple or superficial discourse in which male pleasure is prioritised and in which the general tendency is representation through stigma and violence
A Novel Seamless Magnetic-Based Actuating Mechanism for End-Effector-Based Robotic Rehabilitation Platforms
No full textRehabilitation robotics continues to confront substantial challenges, particularly in achieving smooth, safe, and intuitive human-robot interactions for upper limb motor training. Many current systems depend on complex mechanical designs, direct physical contact, and multiple sensors, which not only elevate costs but also reduce accessibility. Additionally, delivering seamless weight compensation and precise motion tracking remains a highly complex undertaking. To overcome these obstacles, we have developed a novel magnetic-based actuation mechanism for end-effector robotic rehabilitation. This innovative approach enables smooth, non-contact force transmission, significantly enhancing patient safety and comfort during upper limb training. To ensure consistent performance, we integrated an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) alongside a controller for real-time position tracking, allowing the system to maintain high accuracy or recover even in the event of sensor malfunction or failure. In a user study with 12 participants, 75% rated the system highly for its smoothness, while 66.7% commended its safety and effective weight compensation. The EKF demonstrated precise tracking performance, with root mean square error (RMSE) values remaining within acceptable limits (under 2 cm). By combining magnetic actuation with advanced closed-loop control algorithms, this system marks a significant advancement in the field of upper limb rehabilitation robotics
A Comparative Study of Conventional and Tripolar EEG for High-Performance Reach-to-Grasp BCI Systems
No full textThis study aims to enhance brain-computer interface (BCI) applications for individuals with motor impairments by comparing the effectiveness of noninvasive tripolar concentric ring electrode electroencephalography (tEEG) with conventional electroencephalography (EEG) technology. The goal is to determine which EEG technology is more effective in measuring and decoding different grasp-related neural signals. The approach involves experimenting on ten healthy participants who performed two distinct reach-and-grasp movements: power grasp and precision grasp, with a no-movement condition serving as the baseline. Our research compares EEG and tEEG in decoding grasping movements, focusing on signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), spatial resolution, and wavelet time-frequency analysis. Additionally, our study involved extracting and analyzing statistical features from the wavelet coefficients, and both binary and multiclass classification methods were employed. Four machine learning algorithms - Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) - were used to evaluate the decoding accuracies. Our results indicated that tEEG demonstrated higher quality performance compared to conventional EEG in various aspects. This included a higher signal-to-noise ratio and improved spatial resolution. Furthermore, wavelet timefrequency analyses validated these findings, with tEEG exhibiting increased power spectra, thus providing a more detailed and informative representation of neural dynamics. The use of tEEG led to significant improvements in decoding accuracy for differentiating grasp movement types. Specifically, tEEG achieved around 90.00% accuracy in binary and 75.97% for multiclass classification. These results exceed those from conventional EEG, which recorded a maximum of 77.85% and 61.27% in similar tasks, respectively
Universal Relationship between Linear Viscoelasticity and Nonlinear Yielding in Soft Materials
No full textThe nonlinear response of yield stress fluids remains difficult to predict and control. Here, we show that the height of the overshoot in the loss modulus G′′, a key characteristic of yielding, depends only on linear viscoelastic properties. Furthermore, the position of this overshoot depends on linear viscoelastic and flow properties, demonstrating the important and enduring role of elasticity in yielding. The physics governing linear viscoelasticity is therefore not only preserved during yielding but also controls two commonly reported yielding metrics
Introducing Sustainable Development Goals in College Curricula: A Way Forward
No full textThe commentary proposes a blueprint to help guide curriculum innovations, partnerships, and teaching interventions that incorporate the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) into the curriculum. It suggests the utilization of AACSB’s Societal Impact Canvas with Ancona et al.’s (2007) Leadership Capabilities (Sensemaking, Relating, Visioning, Inventing) to provide a blueprint for mission-aligned SDG integration at a local level. It provides an illustrative example from the University of Rhode Island (USA), where the focus is on the Blue Economy. It aims to provide practical guidance for how a college or university can efficiently organize to gain stakeholder input that helps enhance learner success, helps learners develop critical skills, and make a societal impact
Characteristics of United States Peer Mentoring Programs in Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy
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The Equal Rights Amendment: The 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Full text linkThis article reviews how Supreme Court interpretations of the 14th Amendment have allowed laws to discriminate against women. It aims to show that the Equal Rights Amendment, ratified as the 28th Amendment in 2020, offers a constitutional basis for eliminating all forms of legal sex discrimination against women. These forms include discrimination based on pregnancy and abortion, commodifying women’s bodies, and allowing men to intrude into women’s protected spaces. The review starts with the denial of protection for women by America’s Declaration of Independence in 1776, denounces the Supreme Court’s precedent-setting 1974 Geduldig decision, which ruled—quite illogically—that discrimination on the basis of pregnancy is not sex discrimination, and ends with the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision which overturns the constitutional protection under the 14th Amendment for the circumscribed abortion rights women have had since the Court’s Roe decision in 1973. The review also notes that without the constitutional backing of the Equal Rights 28th Amendment, President Trump’s Executive Order on his Inauguration Day in January 2025 prohibiting men from changing their legal sex can be repealed instantly by any successor president. The authors hope this review will help to accelerate the use of the 28th Amendment on behalf of women and girls