Determining the Aesthetic Appeal of Astronomical Images

Leonardo ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Lindberg Christensen ◽  
Douglas Pierce-Price ◽  
Olivier Hainaut

In the context of images used for astronomy education and outreach purposes, this paper describes a set of parameters that are key in determining the aesthetic appeal, or beauty — and therefore effectiveness— of an astronomical image.

Author(s):  
Daniel Brayton

The aesthetic appeal of coasts is due in part to the indeterminacy of the intertidal zone. The imagination finds room to play where land and sea meet. This chapter explores the coastal zone that lies at the heart of a novel considered by many to be the first modern spy thriller, Erskine Childers’s The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service. Childers develops the notion of coastal indeterminacy as a figure for the boundaries, ambitions, and limitations of the modern nation-state. The journey of Childers’s characters through a north Atlantic archipelago that extends from the German coast draws a line of association between Europe and Britain, whose form depends on coastlines, estuaries, and shallows. In following this course, Childers creates a narrative fiction that shifts between charts, borders, and languages.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1534
Author(s):  
Arvydas Urbis ◽  
Ramūnas Povilanskas ◽  
Egidijus Jurkus ◽  
Julius Taminskas ◽  
Domantas Urbis

This paper demonstrates the possibilities of a Geographical Information System (GIS) for investigating and explicating the spatial variation of the short-range viewshed aesthetic appeal in a World Heritage coastal dune and forest area. The study pursues the following objectives: (1) develop and trial a GIS-based algorithm for computing the Aesthetic Appeal Index for a Short-Range Viewshed (ǣ); (2) deliver an output map showing the spatial variation of the computed ǣ values in the target territory and distribution of the zones with high scenic quality and potential aesthetic ecosystem services (PAES); and (3) assess management alternatives in zones with high PAES and high conservation value. This study combines two key innovative aspects. First, it integrates an objective digital map of habitats with subjective scenic preferences of coastal forest and dune landscapes based on psychophysical and cognitive perceptions of scenic beauty. Second, it applies a GIS-based algorithm to translate subjective scenic preferences to an output map of ǣ. The study’s main conclusion is that the combined aesthetic appraisal of the immediate and foreground viewshed of coastal forests and dunes, by applying a specially created GIS algorithm, allows an assessment of the scenic quality of this landscape reliably in statistical terms.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alka Lohani ◽  
Anurag Verma ◽  
Himanshi Joshi ◽  
Niti Yadav ◽  
Neha Karki

Cosmeceuticals are the fastest growing segment of the personal care industry, and a number of topical cosmeceutical treatments for conditions such as photoaging, hyperpigmentation, wrinkles, and hair damage have come into widespread use. In the cosmeceutical arena nanotechnology has played an important role. Using new techniques to manipulate matter at an atomic or molecular level, they have been at the root of numerous innovations, opening up new perspectives for the future of cosmeceutical industry. Nanotechnology-based cosmeceuticals offer the advantage of diversity in products, and increased bioavailability of active ingredients and increase the aesthetic appeal of cosmeceutical products with prolonged effects. However increased use of nanotechnology in cosmeceuticals has raised concern about the possible penetration of nanoparticles through the skin and potential hazards to the human health. This review outlines the different nanoparticles used in various classes of cosmeceuticals, nanotechnology-based cosmeceutical products present in the market, and the potential risk caused by nanoparticles on exposure and recent regulatory steps taken to overcome them.


Author(s):  
Ryan R. Holmes ◽  
Jennifer R. Melander ◽  
Rachel A. Weiler ◽  
Thomas P. Schuman ◽  
Kathleen V. Kilway ◽  
...  

The aesthetic appeal of composite-resin restoratives promotes their use, however their functional life is significantly shorter when compared to their metal counterparts.1 One possible reason is the effect of polymerization stress on marginal integrity. Shrinkage of the composite, and its associated stress, has been found to cause gap formation and stress interactions between the restorative and the adhesive. These gaps offer an ideal niche for bacteria, and, when compounded by the mechanical strain of chewing, can lead to premature failure of the restorative.2,3 Additionally, it is well known that incomplete conversion of the double bonds occurs during methacrylate polymerizations.4–7 A high degree of conversion is needed to prevent the presence of potentially hazardous monomers.8


1965 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 428-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.M. Hoffman

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adem Gjonbalaj ◽  
Olivo Daniel ◽  
Gwendolyn Lotter ◽  
Mathew Dalzell

The golden ratio (GR) has long been proposed to be the most visually appealing geometric proportion (Green, 1995). As a result, many popular sources have claimed that composition guidelines made from the GR such as the phi grid, the golden spiral, and the golden layout can be used to enhance the visual appeal of photographs. However, empirical evidence to substantiate this claim is inadequate. The purpose of this study is to analyze whether three GR composition guidelines, the phi grid, the golden spiral, and the golden layout, can create photo adaptations that are consistently perceived as more visually appealing than their non-golden ratio (NGR) counterparts. A digital survey was created and released on social media, targeting adults ages 18 through 64 with an interest in art. Respondents were presented with 9 pairs of photos, consisting of two photo adaptations, a GR version (made with one of the GR guidelines), and a NGR version. Respondents were instructed to choose the photo which they perceived to be more visually appealing. The results from the survey indicated that there was no inherent preference towards GR photos overall. However, when analyzing the results from each golden ratio guideline, it was found that only the golden layout produced GR photos that were more preferred than their NGR counterparts. Further research must be conducted to fully understand the aesthetic appeal of the golden layout. Until then, creative individuals should be skeptical of recommendations for using the GR to produce visual compositions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine von Fischer

Prompted by an archival finding from the laboratory of Franz Max Osswald, Switzerland's first academic expert in applied acoustics, Sabine von Fischer explores the schlieren technique for photographing sound in sectional models. A Visual Imprint of Moving Air: Methods, Models, and Media in Architectural Sound Photography, ca. 1930 examines how images were used to communicate findings in the emerging discipline of architectural acoustics. In Osswald's persistent experiments in visualizing the invisible phenomena of sound, the social, the technical, and the aesthetic were inseparable. Using photography, Osswald adhered to the paradigm of mechanical objectivity, yet his visual experimenting with phenomena of spatial sound possibly demonstrates an awareness that the senses cannot be excluded from scientific methods. The shadows of moving air in the sound photographs make claims toward their scientific authority, their aesthetic appeal, and their social function as expert tools.


Author(s):  
Gert van Tonder ◽  
Branka Spehar

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