scholarly journals Building The Ark: Text World Theory and the evolution of dystopian epistolary

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21
Author(s):  
Jessica Norledge

Told through a series of interrelated documents (including emails, text messages, newspaper clippings and blog posts), Annabel Smith’s interactive digital novel The Ark epitomises the contemporary hybridity of the dystopian genre. Designed to be fully immersive, the story can be engaged with across media, enabling readers to ‘dive deeper into the world of the novel’ and challenge how they experience dystopian texts. Taking a Text World Theory perspective, I examine the implications of this challenge, investigating the impact of transmedial storytelling on world-building and exploring the creative evolution of dystopian epistolary more broadly. In analysing both the ebook element of The Ark and certain facets of its companion pieces (which take the form of a dynamic website and a smartphone app), I investigate the creation of the novel’s text-worlds, considering the process of multimodal meaning construction, examining the conceptual intricacies of the epistolary form and exploring the influence of paratextual matter on world-building and construal. In doing so, I offer new insights into the conceptualisation of ‘empty text-worlds’, extend Gibbons’ discussions of transmedial world-creation and argue for a more nuanced understanding of dystopian epistolary as framed within Text World Theory.

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 1198-1201
Author(s):  
Syed Yasir Afaque

In December 2019, a unique coronavirus infection, SARS-CoV-2, was first identified in the province of Wuhan in China. Since then, it spread rapidly all over the world and has been responsible for a large number of morbidity and mortality among humans. According to a latest study, Diabetes mellitus, heart diseases, Hypertension etc. are being considered important risk factors for the development of this infection and is also associated with unfavorable outcomes in these patients. There is little evidence concerning the trail back of these patients possibly because of a small number of participants and people who experienced primary composite outcomes (such as admission in the ICU, usage of machine-driven ventilation or even fatality of these patients). Until now, there are no academic findings that have proven independent prognostic value of diabetes on death in the novel Coronavirus patients. However, there are several conjectures linking Diabetes with the impact as well as progression of COVID-19 in these patients. The aim of this review is to acknowledge about the association amongst Diabetes and the novel Coronavirus and the result of the infection in such patients.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Priya Atwal

This brief chapter introduces key figures from the ruling dynasty of the nineteenth-century Sikh Empire. It discusses how Maharajah Ranjit Singh, its founding father, has long occupied a central, glorified position in history-writing about this former northern Indian kingdom. It argues how such simplified narrativization has hampered our understanding of the roles played by his female relations and children in the running of the Sikh Empire; alongside the impact of wider cultural and political dynamics that shaped its fortunes in the period between the kingdom’s rise and fall, from 1799 to 1849. The chapter outlines core goals of the book: to reach a more detailed and nuanced understanding of the world of the Sikh Empire and its broader connections to South Asian and global royal history, by setting Ranjit Singh and his empire within the wider context of his family; as well as within the regional politics of the new, expanding powers of late eighteenth and early nineteenth century India.


2022 ◽  
pp. 250-262
Author(s):  
Aslı Aybars ◽  
Mehtap Öner

The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, which emerged at the end of 2019 and spread to the world at a very fast pace, resulted in a pandemic affecting the finance industry besides many other industries though at varying extents. Financial markets, which can be regarded as cornerstones of each and every country's economic success, have been adversely influenced due to the fear and uncertainty arising with the emergence of the novel coronavirus at different degrees. This chapter provides a summary of a literature review based on the impact of this pandemic on stock returns and volatility in the stock exchanges of different countries and regions of the world. What has been captured as a result of this literature review is that almost all of the financial markets around the world have been influenced due to the virus. Further, industry-wise empirical studies demonstrate that not all industries are affected at the same level or even in the same direction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaza Malik ◽  
Roan Zaied ◽  
Najeeb Syed ◽  
Puthen Jithesh ◽  
Mashael Al-Shafai

Abstract Background Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PDD) is the most common red cell enzymopathy in the world. In Qatar, the incidence of G6PDD is estimated at around 5%; however, no study has investigated the genetic basis of G6PDD in the Qatari population yet. Methods In this study, we analyzed whole-genome sequencing data generated by the Qatar Genome Programme for 6045 Qatar Biobank participants, to identify G6PDD variants in the Qatari population. In addition, we assessed the impact of the novel variants identified on protein function both in silico and by measuring G6PD enzymatic activity in the subjects carrying them. Results We identified 375 variants in/near G6PD gene, of which 20 were high-impact and 16 were moderate-impact variants. Of these, 14 were known G6PDD-causing variants. The most frequent G6PD-causing variants found in the Qatari population were p.Ser188Phe (G6PD Mediterranean), p.Asn126Asp (G6PD A +), p.Val68Met (G6PD Asahi), p.Ala335Thr (G6PD Chatham), and p.Ile48Thr (G6PD Aures) with allele frequencies of 0.0563, 0.0194, 0.00785, 0.0050, and 0.00380, respectively. Furthermore, we have identified seven novel G6PD variants, all of which were confirmed as G6PD-causing variants and classified as class III variants based on the World Health Organization’s classification scheme. Conclusions This is the first study investigating the molecular basis of G6PDD in Qatar, and it provides novel insights about G6PDD pathogenesis and highlights the importance of studying such understudied population.


Complexity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Lingbo Li ◽  
Ying Fan ◽  
An Zeng ◽  
Zengru Di

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is intensifying all over the world, but some countries, including China, have developed extensive and successful experience in controlling this pandemic. In this context, some questions arise naturally: What can countries caught up in the epidemic learn from China’s experience? In regions where the outbreak is under control, what would lead to a resurgence of the epidemic? To address these issues, we investigate China’s experience in anticontagion interventions and reopening process, focusing on the coevolution of epidemic and awareness during COVID-19 outbreak. Through an empirical analysis based on large-scale data and simulation based on a metapopulation and multilayer network model, we ascertain the impact of human movements and awareness diffusion on the epidemic, elucidate the inherent patterns and effective interventions of different epidemic prevention methods, and highlight the crunch time of each measure. The results are also employed to analyze COVID-19 evolution in other countries so as to find unified rules in complex situations around the world and provide advice on anticontagion and reopening policies. Our findings explain some key mechanisms of epidemic prevention and may help the epidemic analysis and decision-making in various countries suffering from COVID-19.


The Novel Corona virus is emerging as a Global public health threat. The outbreak initially emerged in Wuhan, China, large numbers of patients were getting sick because of Pneumonia and later it was found that they were nfected with the Novel Corona virus this emphasizes the importance of analyzing the data of this virus and predicting their risks of infecting people all around the globe. In this study, we present an effort to compile and analyze the outbreak information on COVID19 based on the open datasets on 2019 nCoV provided by the Johns Hopkins University, World Health Organization. An exploratory data analysis with visualizations has been made to understand the number of different cases reported (confirmed, death, and re-covered) in the World. Overall, at the outset of an outbreak like this, it is highly important to readily provide information to begin the evaluation necessary to understand the risks and begin containment activities.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-315
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Gurina

The article deals with the stylistic peculiarities of the translations made by R. Pevear and L. Volokhonsky, L. and A. Maud, J. Carmichael of the novel Anna Karenina by L. Tolstoy on the basis of pragmastylistics and comparative analysis. It tries to analyze the text of the novel using the lingo-stylistic characteristics in accordance with the national bias in the way of thinking and individual creative preferences of every translator taking an attempt to introduce a foreign picture of the world to his countrymen. It underlines the impact of Tolstoy’s complicated attitude towards the customs and traditions of the Russian Orthodox church and the specific relationship of the author of the novel with God and its manifestation in the description of the heroes’ characters. In stresses how vital it may turn out to preserve the author’s ideostyle - lexis and syntax (the word order, the choice of them and the length of the sentences) for the successful interpretation of the writer’s views and stance by the reader.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-133
Author(s):  
Fabricia Oliveira Oliveira ◽  
Larissa Moraes dos Santos Fonseca ◽  
Roberto Badaró ◽  
Bruna Aparecida Souza Machado

In less than a year, the novel coronavirus rapidly changed the world scenario. To dealing with the fast spread of the disease, health associations coordinate data flows and issue guidelines to better mitigate the impact of the threat. Also, scientific groups around the world are working to ensure that all information about the mechanisms of the virus, transmission, and disease clinics is updated as the disease progresses. The objective of this study was to present the guidelines and recommendations for preventing, management strategies, clarifications about pandemics disinformation, and diagnosing COVID-19 infection in human specimens adopted from the main health centers and institutions in the world, such as WHO and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is important to highlight that the rapid and effective enforcement of existing international and national action plans, as well as parallel review and improvisation, is facilitating the affected countries to contain transmission and possibly delay the peak of outbreak and mortality.


Author(s):  
Eiji Yamamura ◽  
Yoshiro Tsutsui

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics has been postponed due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The implications for industries related to the Olympics—tourism, hotels and restaurants, and others—are expected to be affected by reduced demand. Japanese workers in these industries were prepared to offer their hospitality to visitors from around the world. They would be satisfied from not only an increase in income but also in offering visitors a taste of Tokyo’s great hospitality if the Olympics had been held in 2020. However, postponement of the sporting event is likely to have a significant impact on their happiness level. We independently collected individual-level panel data from March to April 2020. Based on this, we found that the happiness level of workers in the tourism and restaurant sectors declined drastically after the announcement of the postponement. Only two weeks later, their happiness level did not alter from the pre-announcement level. This tendency was strongly observed in Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures, but not in other prefectures. However, workers engaged in the tourism and restaurant sectors did not predict a decrease in their income even after the postponement. Combined, these findings indicate that loss of extending hospitality, rather than reduction in income, temporarily reduces the happiness level of workers.


Author(s):  
Velu Vinoj ◽  
Debadatta Swain

The world witnessed one of the largest lockdowns in the history of mankind ever, spread over months in an attempt to contain the contact spreading of the novel coronavirus induced COVID-19. As billions around the world stood witness to the staggered lockdown measures, a storm brewed up in the urns of the rather hot Bay of Bengal (BoB) in the Indian Ocean realm. When Thailand proposed the name “Amphan” (pronounced as “Um-pun” meaning ‘the sky’), way back in 2004, little did they realize that it was the christening of the 1st super cyclone (Category-5 hurricane) of the century in this region and the strongest on the globe this year. At the peak, Amphan clocked wind speeds of 168 mph (Joint Typhoon Warning Center) with the pressure drop to 925 h.Pa. What started as a depression in the southeast BoB at 00 UTC on 16th May 2020 developed into a Super Cyclone in less than 48 hours and finally made landfall in the evening hours of 20th May 2020 through the Sundarbans between West Bengal and Bangladesh. Did the impact of the COVID-19 induced lockdown drive an otherwise typical pre-monsoon tropical depression into a super cyclone?


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