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Between Presence and Program: The Photographic Error as Counter Culture
No full textThis book is part of the Springer Advanced Information and Knowledge Processing Series and will be published under Springer's Open Access policy.Common photographic errors such over or under exposure, blur, or inadvertent cropping are increasingly rare as technological developments in digital photography have sought to eradicate the error from practice and perception. Efficiencies such as camera automation and image preview are often designed to remove the ‘unreliability’ of the human element in order to produce accurate and consistent images. The error, occurring on the margins of practice and increasingly rare, provides a counterpoint to this prevailing image culture by revealing the interdependence of photographer and camera through unintended outcomes.
This chapter explores the ideological assumptions entwined in the development of camera technologies, and how cultures of practice based on a hierarchy of control between camera or photographer arose. Through examples drawn from the research project In Pursuit of Error, the chapter demonstrates how the error disrupts this hierarchy by evidencing the shared subjective agency of camera and photographer.
The methodological framework of Actor-Network Theory is used to interrogate the relationship between photographer and camera and reveals them as equal ‘actants’ in the event of photographing. The embodied photographer’s attitude of play, experimentation and not-knowing is interdependent on the camera as a co-creator of unexpected image events which disrupt the conventions of photographic representation
Healthy Ageing in Smart Villages? Observations from the Field
Get PDFIn the context of demographically ageing communities across rural Europe Smart Villages have considerable potential to promote ageing healthy. Whilst in principle supporting healthy ageing in the context of the Smart Village might appear a relatively straightforward endeavour, in operational terms, successful development of smart, 21st century villages relies upon, and sometimes assumes, an appropriate interplay of socio-technological factors. Articulated through a lens provided by the digital ecosystem model advocated by the European Network for Rural Development (2018), this paper offers some observations from the field. We acknowledge the challenges faced by remote rural places in their journey to become ‘smart places’ and identify formal and informal interventions that could better position rural communities to become part of a wider, smart society
Development of anthropometric characteristics in professional Rugby League players: Is there too much emphasis on the pre-season period?
Get PDFThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in European Journal of Sport Science on 04/12/2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17461391.2019.1695953Rugby League is a team sport requiring players to experience large impact collisions, thus requiring high amounts of muscle
mass. Many players (academy and senior) strive to increase muscle mass during the pre-season, however, quantification of
changes during this period have not been thoroughly investigated. We therefore assessed changes in body-composition
using Dual X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA) in eleven academy players over three successive pre-seasons and ninety-three
senior players from four different European Super League clubs prior to, and at the end of, a pre-season training period.
There was no meaningful change in lean mass of the academy players during any of the pre-season periods (year 1 = 72.3
± 7.1–73.2 ± 7.2kg; ES 0.05, year 2 = 74.4 ± 6.9–75.5 ± 6.9kg; ES 0.07, year 3 = 75.9 ± 6.7–76.8 ± 6.6kg; ES 0.06) with
small changes only occurring over the three-year study period (72.3–75.9kg; ES = 0.22). Senior players showed trivial
changes in all characteristics during the pre-season period (total mass = 95.1–95.0kg; ES −0.01, lean mass = 74.6–75.1kg;
ES 0.07, fat mass = 13.6–12.9kg; ES −0.17, body fat percentage = 14.8–14.1%; ES −0.19). These data suggest that academy players need time to develop towards profiles congruent with senior players. Moreover, once players reach senior
level, body-composition changes are trivial during the pre-season and therefore teams may need to individualise training
for players striving to gain muscle mass by reducing other training loads
Travelling the Imaginary Landscape
No full textCatalogue essay to accompany the exhibition "Death Returned Her to Rags" by Alexe Dilworth at FZKKE gallery, Euskirchen Germany 2016
The Posthuman Lifeworld: A Study of Russell T. Davies’s Doctor Who
Get PDFVia the analysis of a cross-section of episodes from Russell T. Davies’s era of the revived BBC Science Fiction television series Doctor Who (2005–2010), this paper demonstrates that the programme utilises representations of the viewer’s everyday lifeworld to figure a posthuman rhetoric. Through the viewer’s in-phenomenal interaction with its representation of the mundane, the show emphasises the already significantly posthuman nature of the technologically saturated lifeworld of the contemporary individual. It challenges Darko Suvin’s notion of cognitive estrangement, which fails to describe the show’s Science Fictional discourse, and instead proposes the alternate mechanism of cognitive engagement. This inquiry, therefore, reappraises the thematic concerns of the show during the years when Russell T. Davies served as the programme’s showrunner, revealing Doctor Who’s emphasis upon the everyday (post)human lifeworld. It concludes that the show refutes technocentric ideologies, and thus rigorously demonstrates the consonance between the (post)human present and posthuman future
CD271-selected mesenchymal stem cells from adipose tissue enhance cartilage repair and are less angiogenic than plastic adherent mesenchymal stem cells
Get PDFThe version of record of this article, first published in [Scientific Reports], is available online at Publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-39715-zCD271 is a marker of bone marrow MSCs with enhanced differentiation capacity for bone or cartilage repair. However, the nature of CD271+ MSCs from adipose tissue (AT) is less well understood. Here, we investigated the differentiation, wound healing and angiogenic capacity of plastic adherent MSCs (PA MSCs) versus CD271+ MSCs from AT. There was no difference in the extent to which PA MSCs
and CD271+ MSCs formed osteoblasts, adipocytes or chondrocytes in vitro. In contrast, CD271+ MSCs transplanted into athymic rats significantly enhanced osteochondral wound healing with reduced vascularisation in the repair tissue compared to PA MSCs and control animals; there was little histological evidence of mature articular cartilage formation in all animals. Conditioned medium from CD271+ MSC cultures was less angiogenic than PA MSC conditioned medium, and had little effect
on endothelial cell migration or endothelial tubule formation in vitro. The low angiogenic activity of CD271+ MSCs and improved early stage tissue repair of osteochondral lesions when transplanted, along with a comparable differentiation capacity along mesenchymal lineages when induced, suggests that these selected cells are a better candidate than PA MSCs for the repair of cartilaginous tissue
Spinal Motor Neurite Outgrowth Over Glial Scar Inhibitors is Enhanced by Coculture With Bone Marrow Stromal Cells
No full textBackground Context: Transplantation of bone marrow cells into spinal cord lesions promotes functional recovery in animal models, and recent clinical trials suggest possible recovery also in humans. The mechanisms responsible for these improvements are still unclear.
Purpose: To characterize spinal cord motor neurite interactions with human bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) in an in vitro model of spinal cord injury (SCI).
Study Design/Setting: Previously, we have reported that human MSCs promote the growth of extending sensory neurites from dorsal root ganglia (DRG), in the presence of some of the molecules present in the glial scar, which are attributed with inhibiting axonal regeneration after SCI. We have adapted and optimized this system replacing the DRG with a spinal cord culture to produce a central nervous system (CNS) model, which is more relevant to the SCI situation.
Methods: We have developed and characterized a novel spinal cord culture system. Human MSCs were cocultured with spinal motor neurites in substrate choice assays containing glial scar–associated inhibitors of nerve growth. In separate experiments, MSC-conditioned media were analyzed and added to spinal motor neurites in substrate choice assays.
Results: As has been reported previously with DRG, substrate-bound neurocan and Nogo-A repelled spinal neuronal adhesion and neurite outgrowth, but these inhibitory effects were abrogated in MSC/spinal cord cocultures. However, unlike DRG, spinal neuronal bodies and neurites showed no inhibition to substrates of myelin-associated glycoprotein. In addition, the MSC secretome contained numerous neurotrophic factors that stimulated spinal neurite outgrowth, but these were not sufficient stimuli to promote spinal neurite extension over inhibitory concentrations of neurocan or Nogo-A.
Conclusions: These findings provide novel insight into how MSC transplantation may promote regeneration and functional recovery in animal models of SCI and in the clinic, especially in the chronic situation in which glial scars (and associated neural inhibitors) are well established. In addition, we have confirmed that this CNS model predominantly comprises motor neurons via
immunocytochemical characterization. We hope that this model may be used in future research to test various other potential interventions for spinal injury or disease state
Exploring and assessing the current sexual interest of men who have committed sexual and non-sexual violent offences
No full textAssessing current sexual interest in men who have committed sexual offence can be somewhat problematic, particularly in relation to those who are serving probation, where disclosing offence-related sexual interest may lead to a serious penalty (eg incarceration). This chapter describes the Current Sexual Interest Measure (CSIM) and how it was used to assess men serving their sentence in the community in Texas, USA; comparing them to two groups of men in custody in the United Kingdom. Those serving their sentence in the UK included a group of men who had been convicted of sexual offences, as well as a group of men convicted of violent offences to provide contrasting data. Both groups of men were participating in therapy in a prison-based therapeutic community and so possible effects on the data are considered. In addition, data were collected from men in a lower-security prison to provide further contrast
Elvis: Roots, Image, Comeback, Phenomenon
No full textElvis Presley remains the single most important figure in twentieth century popular music. To many commentators, however, he has simply embodied the benefits and problems of uncritically embracing capitalism. By 2005 the ‘Memphis Flash’ sold over a billion records worldwide, yet his cultural significance cannot be measured by these extraordinary sales figures alone. He cannot quite be reduced to a placeholder for the contradictions of commerce. As the most prominent performer of the rock’n’roll era, then as a charismatic global superstar, Elvis fundamentally challenged the established relationship between White and Black culture, drew attention to the social needs of women and young people, and promoted the value of Southern creativity. He functioned as a bridge figure between folk roots and high modernity, and in the process became a controversial symbol of American unity.
Elvis interprets the image and music of Elvis Presley to reveal how they have evolved to construct a particularly appealing and powerful myth. Following broad contours of Presley’s rollercoaster career, the book uses a range of analytical frames to challenge established perspectives on an icon. Its shows that the controversy around Elvis has effectively tested how far a concern for social equality could be articulated through the marketplace, and ultimately challenged how popular music itself should be assessed
ParaVR: A Virtual Reality Training Simulator for Paramedic Skills maintenance
Get PDFThis document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Journal of Paramedic Practice, copyright © MA Healthcare, after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://www.paramedicpractice.com/features/article/paravr-a-virtual-reality-training-simulator-for-paramedic-skills-maintenance.Background: Virtual Reality (VR) technology is emerging as a powerful educational tool which is used in medical training and has potential benefits for paramedic practice education.
Aim: The aim of this paper is to report development of ParaVR, which utilises VR to address skills maintenance for paramedics.
Methods: Computer scientists at the University of Chester and the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust (WAST) developed ParaVR in four stages: 1. Identifying requirements and specifications 2. Alpha version development, 3. Beta version development 4. Management: Development of software, further funding and commercialisation.
Results: Needle Cricothyrotomy and Needle Thoracostomy emerged as candidates for the prototype ParaVR. The Oculus Rift head mounted display (HMD) combined with Novint Falcon haptic device was used, and a virtual environment crafted using 3D modelling software, ported (a computing term meaning transfer (software) from one system or machine to another) onto Oculus Go and Google cardboard VR platform.
Conclusion: VR is an emerging educational tool with the potential to enhance paramedic skills development and maintenance. The ParaVR program is the first step in our development, testing, and scaling up of this technology
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