Grave Visions: Visual Experience and Adaptation

Author(s):  
Richard David Evan

Rather than approaching the ‘look’ of adaptation through point of view or the ‘vision’ of the adapter, this chapter examines the material, visible texture of screen adaptation. Using two adaptations of Bram Stoker’s gothic novel Dracula, I analyse how each uses mise en scène, cinematography, and editing to thicken and make tangible Stoker’s questioning of the reliability of vision in modernity. The first, Nosferatu (F.W Murnau, 1922) employs the tricks of early cinema to shock spectators, while the second—Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992)—uses a neo-baroque aesthetic that ruptures the screen and engulfs the spectator, much like one of Dracula’s victims. This chapter suggests that critical insight into an adaptation can be found quite literally in sight, and embraces how the materiality of adaptation overlaps with the materiality of vision.

Philosophies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Paul O’Brien

Within this paper, I explore the look and feel of the subjective point-of-view (POV) shot in narrative cinema and how it presents an awkward and uncomfortable space for the viewer to inhabit. It considers what David Bordwell has called the surrogate body: the concept in which viewers step into the role of an offscreen protagonist. In numerous films, this style invites the spectator to see and feel through the eyes and movement of a particular type of surrogate character, which as I argue, predominantly consists of killers, victims or socially inept characters. The term I give for this particular trait in cinema is hap-tech narration, which is inspired by Laura Marks’ concept of haptic cinema. Unlike Marks’ understanding of haptic which focuses upon sensual beauty, hap-tech narration considers phenomenological uncomfortableness which is considered through Don Ihde’s philosophy of technology. This paper incorporates Ihde’s framework of postphenomenology, which considers how experientiality is changed and filtered through technological devices (which in this analysis will be the technology of the camera and the frame of the screen). Using Ihde’s postphenomenological understanding of human–technology relationships (which this work explores in detail), I consider a range of narrative films that utilise POV camerawork, including: Delmer Daves’ Dark Passage (1947), Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom (1960) and Julian Schnabel’s Le Scaphandre et le Papillon (The Diving Bell and Butterfly, 2007). Each of these titles present events through the subjective gaze of a killer, victim or socially damaged character. This paper offers a rationale as to why this is the case by addressing POV through the philosophy of Ihde, enabling an understanding of hap-tech narration to be unpacked, in which viewers are placed into corrupted and damaged corporeality through the technological power of the camera.


Author(s):  
Hannah Lee

This paper is the attempt to show how system theory could provide critical insight into the transdisciplinary field of library and information sciences (LIS). It begins with a discussion on the categorization of library and information sciences as an academic and professional field (or rather, the lack of evidence on the subject) and what is exactly meant by system theory, drawing upon the general system theory established by Ludwig von Bertalanffy. The main conversation of this paper focuses on the inadequacies of current meta-level discussions of LIS and the benefits of general system theory (particularly when considering the exponential rapidity in which information travels) with LIS.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Kym Maclaren

“To consent to love or be loved,” said Merleau-Ponty, “is to consent also to influence someone else, to decide to a certain extent on behalf of the other.” This essay explicates that idea through a meditation on intimacy. I propose, first, that, on Merleau-Ponty’s account, we are always transgressing into each other’s experience, whether we are strangers or familiars; I call this “ontological intimacy.” Concrete experiences of intimacy are based upon this ontological intimacy, and can take place at two levels: (1) at-this-moment (such that we can experience intimacy even with strangers, by sharing a momentary but extra-ordinary mutual recognition) and (2) in shared interpersonal institutions, or habitual, enduring, and co-enacted visions of who we are, how to live, and what matters. Through particular examples of dynamics within these layers of intimacy (drawing upon work by Berne and by Russon), I claim that we are always, inevitably, imposing an “unfreedom” upon our intimate others. Freedom, then, can only develop from within and by virtue of this “unfreedom.” Thus, what distinguishes empowering or emancipating relationships from oppressive ones is not the removal of transgressive normative social forces; it is rather the particular character of those transgressive forces. Some transgressions upon others’ experience—some forms of “unfreedom”—will tend to promote freedom; others will tend to hinder it. This amounts to a call for promoting agency and freedom not only through critical analysis of public institutions, practices and discourses, but also through critical insight into and transformation of our most private and intimate relationships.


Coronaviruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-56
Author(s):  
Gaurav M. Doshi ◽  
Hemen S. Ved ◽  
Ami P. Thakkar

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently announced the spread of novel coronavirus (nCoV) globally and has declared it a pandemic. The probable source of transmission of the virus, which is from animal to human and human to human contact, has been established. As per the statistics reported by the WHO on 11th April 2020, data has shown that more than sixteen lakh confirmed cases have been identified globally. The reported cases related to nCoV in India have been rising substantially. The review article discusses the characteristics of nCoV in detail with the probability of potentially effective old drugs that may inhibit the virus. The research may further emphasize and draw the attention of the world towards the development of an effective vaccine as well as alternative therapies. Moreover, the article will help to bridge the gap between the new researchers since it’s the current thrust area of research.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 726
Author(s):  
Fulvia Ceccarelli ◽  
Venusia Covelli ◽  
Giulio Olivieri ◽  
Francesco Natalucci ◽  
Fabrizio Conti

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic contributes to the burden of living with different diseases, including Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). We described, from a narrative point of view, the experiences and perspectives of Italian SLE adults during the COVID-19 emergency, by distinguishing the illness experience before and after the lockdown. Methods: Fifteen patients were invited to participate. Illness narratives were collected between 22 and 29 March 2020 using a written modality to capture patients’ perspectives before and after the COVID-19 lockdown. We performed a two-fold analysis of collected data by distinguishing three narrative types and a qualitative analysis of content to identify the relevant themes and sub-themes reported. Results: Eight narratives included in the final analysis (mean length 436.9 words) have been written by eight females (mean age 43.3 ± 9.9 years, mean disease duration 13.1 ± 7.4 years). Six patients provided a quest narrative, one a chaos and the remaining one a restitution narrative. By text content analysis, we identified specific themes, temporally distinct before and after the lockdown. Before COVID-19, all the patients referred to a good control of disease, however the unexpected arrival of the COVID-19 emergency broke a balance, and patients perceived the loss of health status control, with anxiety and stress. Conclusions: We provided unique insight into the experiences of people with SLE at the time of COVID-19, underlining the perspective of patients in relation to the pandemic.


2021 ◽  
pp. 136078042110184
Author(s):  
Leja Markelj ◽  
Alisa Selan ◽  
Tjaša Dolinar ◽  
Matej Sande

The research comprehensively identifies the needs and problems of sex workers in Slovenia from the point of view of three groups of actors in a decriminalized setting. The objective of the rapid needs assessment was to identify the needs of sex workers as perceived by themselves. In order to gain a deeper insight into this topic, we analyzed the functioning of the organizations working with the population, and examined the perspective of the clients. The results of the study show that no aid programmes have been developed for sex workers, even though organizations from various fields often come in contact with this population. Sex workers express the need to be informed about various topics (health, the law, legal advice) and emphasize client relations as the primary issue. The findings indicate the need for the development of a specialized aid programmes to address the fields of advocacy, reducing social distress and providing psychosocial assistance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 168 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin C. Olsen ◽  
Will H. Ryan ◽  
Ellen T. Kosman ◽  
Jose A. Moscoso ◽  
Don R. Levitan ◽  
...  

AbstractMany benthic marine invertebrates resemble plants in being modular and either sessile or sedentary, and by relying on an external vector to disperse their gametes. These shared features, along with recent evidence of inbreeding in these taxa, suggest that theory and practice bearing on the evolutionary costs and benefits of inbreeding for plants could advance our understanding of the ecology and evolution of invertebrate animals. We describe how the theory for the evolution of inbreeding and outbreeding could apply to benthic invertebrates, identify and compare techniques used to quantify inbreeding in plants and animals, translate relevant botanical concepts and empirical patterns to their zoological equivalents, and articulate predictions for how inbreeding might be associated with major axes of variation in sessile and sedentary marine invertebrates. The theory of inbreeding and outbreeding provides critical insight into major patterns of life-history variation in plants and holds similar promise as a complementary perspective on the evolution of reproductive traits, lifespan, ecological strategies, and dispersal in marine invertebrates. Extending what we have learned from plants to marine invertebrates promises to broaden the general study of mating systems.


2017 ◽  
Vol 214 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart G. Tangye ◽  
Umaimainthan Palendira ◽  
Emily S.J. Edwards

The mammalian immune system has evolved over many millennia to be best equipped to protect the host from pathogen infection. In many cases, host and pathogen have coevolved, each acquiring sophisticated ways of inducing or protecting from disease. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a human herpes virus that infects >90% of individuals. Despite its ubiquity, infection by EBV is often subclinical; this invariably reflects the necessity of the virus to preserve its host, balanced with sophisticated host immune mechanisms that maintain viral latency. However, EBV infection can result in various, and often fatal, clinical sequelae, including fulminant infectious mononucleosis, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, lymphoproliferative disease, organomegaly, and/or malignancy. Such clinical outcomes are typically observed in immunosuppressed individuals, with the most extreme cases being Mendelian primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs). Although these conditions are rare, they have provided critical insight into the cellular, biochemical, and molecular requirements for robust and long-lasting immunity against EBV infection. Here, we review the virology of EBV, mechanisms underlying disease pathogenesis in PIDs, and developments in immune cell–mediated therapy to treat disorders associated with or induced by EBV infection.


1981 ◽  
Vol 18 (03) ◽  
pp. 234-244
Author(s):  
John D. Vitkauskas ◽  
John R. Peters

The Coast Guard NVIC 1–69 has provided guidelines for the design of automated systems so that human surveillance can be reduced without jeopardizing the vessel. An integral part of these guidelines is the preparation of a Test Procedure which periodically tests the vital safety systems to increase the probability that they will function properly when called on. However, the Test Procedure guidelines are general and subject to wide interpretation. This paper attempts to provide some insight into what needs to be periodically tested, why the testing is required, and what techniques are acceptable, at the same time stressing the need for efficient testing. Some examples are also provided of testing procedures that have been found to be efficient and sufficiently comprehensive.


Author(s):  
Marcel Buß

Abstract Immanuel Kant states that indirect arguments are not suitable for the purposes of transcendental philosophy. If he is correct, this affects contemporary versions of transcendental arguments which are often used as an indirect refutation of scepticism. I discuss two reasons for Kant’s rejection of indirect arguments. Firstly, Kant argues that we are prone to misapply the law of excluded middle in philosophical contexts. Secondly, Kant points out that indirect arguments lack some explanatory power. They can show that something is true but they do not provide insight into why something is true. Using mathematical proofs as examples, I show that this is because indirect arguments are non-constructive. From a Kantian point of view, transcendental arguments need to be constructive in some way. In the last part of the paper, I briefly examine a comment made by P. F. Strawson. In my view, this comment also points toward a connection between transcendental and constructive reasoning.


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