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TRAUMA AND REHABILITATION IN A PARADOXICAL SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT, IN THE AFRICAN EQUATION BY YASMINA KHADRA
Get PDFIn the journey described by Yasmina Khadra in The African equation, the author raises the question of the difficult rehabilitation of two ethnically different groups: on one hand, the main characters of the novel, Westerners (German and French) taken hostage off the coast of Sudan by African mercenaries, and on the other hand, the African populations savagely relocated from their lands to makeshift camps. Faced with this emotional shock and this traumatic act, the reactions of the two groups are not the same: post-traumatic depression, social isolation, pain, whereas the Africans, destitute and wandering from one place to another, seem to privilege more the sharing of misfortunes, the values of exchanges and contacts, forms of sublimation of the trauma. The main character, Kurt Krausmann, a German doctor and hostage, becomes aware of this discrepancy between the two cultures: the narrative scheme of the novel makes him a problematic character who questions the values of his own culture concerning rehabilitation. What are the traumatic and post-traumatic symptoms due to the disaster that the different characters experience and what kind of resilience do they advocate in order to bear the unbearable? What are the values of the two cultures that aim at repairing the traumatic break-in and that divide the two groups? Finally, does the disappearance of the founding values of a culture give rise to depressive emergences, are the problematic questions of this article
MEMORY FOR OBLIVION IN WAJDI MOUAWAD’S PLAY MÈRE
No full text“Keeping the memory of past events would contribute to a better knowledge of hazards and to the prediction of future events. » (Reghezza-Zitt, Benitez & Devès, 2020, p. 1) Remembering is undoubtedly the best of mentors. But forgetting would also be a precious ally in the perpetual and daily struggle that is life. Indeed, “it is essential that the brain forgets the unimportant details to focus on what really matters, in our daily decision-making.” (Richards & Frankland, 2017, p. 1083)
What if we remembered to better accept the tragedy? What if writing helped us to understand it better? What if the words saved us from death?
In his play Mother, the third installment in the Domestics cycle, an essentially autobiographical work, Wajdi Mouawad, Lebanese-Canadian playwright and director, looks back on his family\u27s exile in the middle of the Lebanese civil war in 1978. Through this work, where the writer plays his own role, the memory of the past is very present, a memory of the still bleeding wound. Mouawad remembers to exorcise the demons that keep haunting him.
In what way is writing (and representing) the memory of the tragedy a work of memory necessary to forget to let oneself die?
We will first consider the mechanisms of memory and forgetting, before turning, in a second part, to the role of theater in the process of remembering, catharsis and overcoming
COMPUTER VISION AIDED HOTSPOT CREATION IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS
Get PDFHotspot creation is one of the most important modules within virtual environments which helps show the navigators of these environments some information about semantic elements within it and facilitate the navigation between the virtual spaces. In this paper, a system for automatic hotspot proposals and creation in virtual environments is proposed. The system uses computer vision modules to automatically propose hotspot locations in addition to identifying and creating these hotspots with candidate labels. Two main modules used in the system are object detection and scene segmentation. The scene segmentation helps give candidate hotspot areas and provides an overall understanding of the semantics of the virtual environment. The object detection module also uses pretrained deep networks for automatic hotspot creation over these objects. The system helps speed up the hotspot creation process and offers a tool for virtual environment users and creators
AFFORDABLE COMPUTATION FOR ARCHITECTURE
Get PDFCurrent architectural requirements prioritize the need to minimize the ecological footprint. By taking advantage of computational design approaches like Algorithmic Design (AD), architects can enhance their design processes with analysis, optimization, and visualization mechanisms, which are critical to explore design solutions that meet this need. However, these mechanisms are also highly time- and resource-consuming, often implying a quality tradeoff or the acquisition of High-Performance Computing (HPC) machines. The latter are not yet affordable for most design studios but, fortunately, they can be contracted as a service. This paper evaluates the impact of computation as a service in architecture and, more specifically, the remote use of HPC for AD, with the aim of reducing the time and costs associated with computationally expensive processes. A set of experiments were made involving analysis, optimization, and rendering of a selected case study. Results indicate that HPC services are advantageous, particularly when performing embarrassingly parallelizable tasks such as rendering. However, some challenges remain, namely the required expertise
SOLAR ENERGY CONTROL STRATEGY USING INTERACTIVE MODULES
Get PDFThe concept of interactive canopy emerged as a notable manifestation of smart buildings in architectural endeavors, using artificial intelligence applications in computational architecture, interactive canopies came as a potential response for living organisms to combat external environmental changes as well as reduce energy consumption in buildings. This research aims to explore architecture with higher efficiency through the impact of environmentally technological factors on the design form by introducing solar energy into the design process through the implementation of interactive curtains that interact with the sun in the form of an umbrella. The main objective of the umbrellas is to protect the users from the sun\u27s harmful rays. After designing an interactive cell using Grasshopper, the methodology follows an analytical and experimental approach, the analytical section is summarized by conducting a case study of multiple models and analyzing the techniques used in these models to discover the significant advantages and disadvantages of the design. While the experimental section demonstrates the mechanism for implementing the interactive modules. The research suggests that by designing an interactive canopy that responds to external changes and senses solar radiation in ways that when the intensity of solar radiation increases and the sun is perpendicular to the dynamic units, will lead to maintaining a more balanced level of illumination. The work efficiency is studied by simulating it by Climate Studio
COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN APPROACH FOR APPLYING NEURO-ARCHITECTURE PRINCIPLES IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES
Get PDFNeuroscience tools’ advancements have paved the way for neuroscience and architecture collaboration, spawning Neuro-architecture. Neuro-architecture studies in various settings have been tentatively translated into design principles to improve the mood, perception, and satisfaction of healthcare facility users, as well as patient wellbeing and recovery rates. Integrating such principles into computational design methodologies should benefit users’ mental health and reduce the gap between computational design and human mental needs. The research was conducted in two phases: in the first phase, typologies used in evidence-based design research (EBD) were applied in order to determine neuro-architecture design principles for the interior environment of healthcare facilities. In the second phase, the research employed space syntax analysis to evaluate the incorporation of neuro-architecture principles into healthcare facility interiors. The method visualises and evaluates spatial qualities that reflect the application of planning and navigation neuro-interior principles for the inpatient ward of a healthcare facilit
CONSTRUCTION BASED ON MAN-MACHINE COLLABORATION - A CASE STUDY OF A BAMBOO PAVILION
Get PDFWith the development of advanced digital design approaches and mechanical facilities, architectural intelligence liberates conventional construction from conventional paradigms. Computational design and digital fabrication have achieved progress in space innovation, construction efficiency, and material effectiveness. However, those high-tech manufacturing techniques are not widely available in developing countries, where the locals used to carry construction experience from age to age in a nonacademic way. This study explored a collaborative workflow of complex structural design and machine-aided construction in Chinese rural areas. First, we designed a bamboo pavilion parametrically in an irregular site on a hill. Second, its primary structure was optimized based on determining critical load and earthquake resistance to meet local building codes. Then, before material processing, every bamboo component was numbered by algorithm, with its location and morphological data of length and radian calculated accurately on the construction drawings. In the transitional process from the conventional paradigm by experience towards man-machine collaboration, local workers\u27 manual techniques helped minimize construction errors and improve details, which were not adequately predicted and considered beforehand. This study case suggested that respective advantages of both traditional and digital modes should be integrated and balanced based on collaboration between local construction workers and professional researchers, especially as a social role for future vernacular architecture practice
RESEARCH DATA MANAGEMENT AND A SYSTEM DESIGN TO SEMI-AUTOMATICALLY COMPLETE INTEGRATED DATA MANAGEMENT PLANS [POSITION PAPER]
Get PDFData is an integral part of modern scientific work. Good research data management (RDM) and the communication of the related information is extremely an important matter. It is not only crucial for the ongoing research and its claims but also for the future uses of data. In recent years some guiding principles, e.g. FAIR principles and initiatives at the national and international level, e.g. NFDI, NFDI4Ing have also been founded to improve RDM. The data and its metadata are often handled in file system like structures which are versioned and logged. The information relating to the data handling are documented in data management plan (DMP). DMPs are also usually managed in similar file structures. These are made available in editable document formats as well as online free-text editable forms to which users are required to keep updating manually. These are isolated documents which have neither direct relation to data for verification nor are common to understand with consistency. In this paper, research data management of large-scale interdisciplinary projects is presented. On one hand it introduces, contemporary practices of RDM and on the other hand it helps researchers to determine the features of RDM system in the situations when it comes to select or develop a system for the same purpose. It further introduces a system design for semi-automatic completion of DMP functions in collaborative environment a.k.a. virtual research environment (VRE). It is assumed that the proposed system will assist and enable users to update semi-automatically integrated DMP during all phases of data life cycle. Direct relation to the data for verification, common understanding and consistency will also be maintainable
ALKAPTONURIA DIAGNOSED IN A 72 YEAR OLD FEMALE AFTER TOTAL KNEE REPLACEMENT
Get PDFAlkaptonuria is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of metabolism caused by deficiency of homogentisic acid oxidase and resulting in accumulation of homogentisic acid in collagenous structures. It is characterized by homogentisic aciduria, bluish-black discoloration of connective tissues (ochronosis) and arthropathy of large joints. Less common manifestations include cardiovascular abnormalities, renal, urethral and prostate calculi. Bone fractures are unusual in ochronosis. In this report, we describe a woman, 72 years of age, with a history of severe arthropathy requiring total joint replacement in both of her hips and left Knee. During the Left Total Knee Replacement, an intra operative observation of a bluish-black discoloration of the knee joint and the surrounding soft tissue raised the diagnosis of Alkaptonuria. We review the etiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis and treatment of alkaptonuric ochronosis. Early detection is important for prevention and treatment of multiple systems
DISCUSSING DIFFERENT IMAGES OF PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY
Get PDFEvery organization is a complex, non-linear, and dynamic system. Gareth Morgan discussed eight different metaphors where they can be useful devices to create mental images to clarify and interpret our organizations. These eight metaphors are: machine, organism, brain, culture, political, flux and transformation, psychic prisons and instruments of domination. This combination of metaphors helps us understand our organization, analyze the structure, the leadership style (NAGY, December 2014). In this paper I will discuss the different metaphors of a pharmaceutical company (X). It is a growing pharmaceutical company, where reading and analyzing the different metaphors will definitely help them to prepare a plan for better and rapid improvement