Dialogue Scaffoldings

While this third chapter begins by focusing on the same early pioneers, it veers from inanimate descriptions to constructions of character. That is, Hammett conceived his private investigator as fundamentally figurative, the culmination of a flamboyant style expressed more or less entirely through dialogue, with the flaunting of a cool, flip, smart-assed affect. Subsequent fictional detectives likewise gain our attention by being reduced to stick-figure sketches, little more than quirky gestures and colorful banter. In contrast to other genres, where language tends to realistic transparency while character proves more substantial, detective fiction banks on the impeccable thinness of words deftly turned. Chandler grasped the implications of such seemingly superfluous configurations, with arch similes built on Hammett’s tersely sober expressions. Ever since, genre authors have embellished an ideal of self-conscious “attitude,” celebrating in the process a wry immunity to conventional civic and moral discriminations.

A Study of Dramatic Action and Emotion Using a Systematic Scan of Stick Figure Configurations

Comprehending the meaning of body postures is essential for social organisms such as humans. For example, it is important to understand at a glance whether two people seen at a distance are in a friendly or conflictual interaction. However, it is still unclear what fraction of the possible body configurations carry meaning, and what is the best way to characterize such meaning. Here, we address this by using stick figures as a low-dimensional, yet evocative, representation of body postures. We systematically scanned a set of 1,470 upper-body postures of stick figures in a dyad with a second stick figure with a neutral pose. We asked participants to rate the stick figure in terms of 20 emotion adjectives like sad or triumphant and in terms of eight active verbs that connote intent like to threaten and to comfort. The stick figure configuration space was dense with meaning: people strongly agreed on more than half of the configurations. The meaning was generally smooth in the sense that small changes in posture had a small effect on the meaning, but certain small changes had a large effect. Configurations carried meaning in both emotions and intent, but the intent verbs covered more configurations. The effectiveness of the intent verbs in describing body postures aligns with a theory, originating from the theater, called dramatic action theory. This suggests that, in addition to the well-studied role of emotional states in describing body language, much can be gained by using also dramatic action verbs which signal the effort to change the state of others. We provide a dictionary of stick figure configurations and their perceived meaning. This systematic scan of body configurations might be useful to teaching people and machines to decipher body postures in human interactions.

Gender Stereotypes About Intellectual Ability in Japanese Children

Japan has a large gender gap; thus, this study examined whether Japanese 4- to 7-year-old children exhibit a “brilliance = males” stereotype and whether parental attitudes toward gender roles were related to children’s stereotypes. We also explored whether children exhibit such stereotypes in response to various stimuli. We showed children photo (Study 1) and stick-figure (Study 2) stimuli of men, women, boys, and girls, asking them to attribute traits (smart or nice) to each. Unlike previous studies in the U.S., there were sex differences early in boys’ and girls’ attribution of smart or nice; however, a developmental transition was observed in 7-year-olds. In Study 1, 7-year-old girls were more likely to attribute nice, and 6-year-old boys were more likely to attribute smart, to their own sex, respectively. In Study 2, girls generally attributed nice to their own sex compared to boys, while only 7-year-old boys were more likely to attribute smart to their own sex compared to girls. Parental attitudes toward gender roles were unrelated to children’s gender stereotypes. The results indicated that Japanese children may acquire “brilliance = males” stereotypes later than American children (7-years-old). Further, the results were clearer when children were presented with stick figure stimuli.

Gender stereotypes about intellectual ability in Japanese children

Japan has a large gender gap; thus, this study examined whether Japanese 4- to 7-year-old children exhibit a “brilliance = males” stereotype and whether parental attitudes toward gender roles were related to children’s stereotypes. We also explored whether children exhibit such stereotypes in response to various stimuli. We showed children photo (Study 1) and stick-figure (Study 2) stimuli of men, women, boys, and girls, asking them to attribute traits (smart or nice) to each. Unlike previous studies in the U.S., there were sex differences early in boys’ and girls’ attribution of smart or nice; however, a developmental transition was observed in 7-year-olds. In Study 1, 7-year-old girls were more likely to attribute nice, and 6-year-old boys were more likely to attribute smart, to their own sex, respectively. In Study 2, girls generally attributed nice to their own sex compared to boys, while only 7-year-old boys were more likely to attribute smart to their own sex compared to girls. Parental attitudes toward gender roles were unrelated to children’s gender stereotypes. The results indicated that Japanese children may acquire “brilliance = males” stereotypes later than American children (7-years-old). Further, the results were clearer when children were presented with stick figure stimuli.

Kinematic Analysis of Different Group in Basketball with the Technique of Jump Shot

The purpose of the present study was to kinematics analysis with selected Kinematic variables among three group G1 short height, G2 medium height and G3 tall players in basketball. Thirty (N=30) Basketball player of Basketball academy from NBA Academy Indore are purposively selected as a subject for present study. Further it was divided into three different heights groups of Ten (N=10), subjects each, the first group was heighted from 155 to 165 cm, second group was heighted from 166 to 175 cm and third group was heighted from 176cm and above respectively. The entire subject ranged between ages 15 to 21 years. Videography method was used to biomechanically analysis the selected moments i.e. execution of Jump shot in Basketball. The selected kinematic variables such as Displacement of CG, player’s CG height during ball release and velocity of the ball during ball release were selected for the present study. Kinovea software was used in order to obtain the values of selected kinematic from developed stick figure. For the purpose of this study ANOVA test was used. The level of significance was set at 0.05. The result reveled significant difference in player’s cg height during ball release but the researcher failed to get the significant result in displacement of cg and velocity of the ball during ball release.

Judges’ evaluation reliability changes between identifiable and anonymous performance of hip-hop dance movements

Hip-hop competitions are performed across the world. In the recent inclusion in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, the assessment of hip-hop performance is undertaken by a panel of judges. The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of different visualisation tools utilised in the assessment of the hip-hop dance movements. Ten dancers performed basic rhythmic hip-hop movements which were captured using a motion capture system and video camera. Humanoid and stick figure animations of the dancers’ movements were created from the motion capture data. Ten judges then assessed 20 dance trials through observation using three different visualisation tools on a computer display, each of which provided different representations of a given hip-hop performance: (1) the actual video of the dancers; (2) an anonymous stick figure animation; (3) an anonymous humanoid animation. Judges were not informed that they were repeating an assessment of the performances across the three visualisation tools. The humanoid animation demonstrated the highest inter-class correlation coefficients among the three methods. Despite the stick figure animation demonstrating moderate to high reliability, both the humanoid animation and the video demonstrated very high reliability in the intra-class correlation coefficient. It is recommended that further research is undertaken exploring the use of humanoid animation as a formative assessment tool in the evaluation of hip-hop dance and the evolution of hip-hop into a respected artistic athletic discipline.

How Visual Narratives (Comics) Can Increase Literacy, Decrease Bias, and Highlight Stories of Social Justice

How can creating a simple stick figure comic help us tell — and deeply listen to — true stories of social injustice and practice anti-oppression strategies? More specifically, how can creating a series of stick-figure comics help learners enhance their understanding of the Indigenous Peoples’ testimonies in the Truth and Reconciliation Report (TRC, 2015)? In my experience, stick-figure visual narratives can help participants tell stories of social injustices and practice ways that might restore right relations. In this paper, I provide a background story and a literature review in describing the rationale and method of using this approach to teach social justice concepts and rehearse pro-social interventions. I conclude with a detailed lesson plan for using the social-justice comics method for visually presenting the TRC 2015 report. Comment l’acte de dessiner un bonhomme allumette peut-il nous aider à raconter – et à écouter très attentivement – des histoires vécues d’injustices sociales et à adopter des stratégies contre l’oppression? Plus particulièrement, comment des apprenants, en créant une série de bonhommes allumettes, peuvent-ils mieux comprendre les témoignages des Autochtones inclus dans le rapport de la Commission de vérité et de réconciliation (2015)? D’après mon expérience, les récits visuels en bonhommes allumettes aident les participants à raconter leurs histoires d’injustices sociales et à mettre en pratique des moyens pour éventuellement rétablir des relations justes. Dans le présent article, je décris le contexte et les études qui sous-tendent le pourquoi et la méthode des bonhommes allumettes pour enseigner les concepts de justice sociale et exercer la pratique d’intervention sociale. En conclusion, je présente un plan de leçon indiquant comment utiliser la méthode des dessins à portée sociale pour représenter visuellement le rapport de la Commission de vérité et de réconciliation de 2015.