Cultural Identity in Film Posters

<p>This thesis investigates the current representation of the Latin American identity in mainstream media cinematic posters. While in recent years, the film industry has begun to acknowledge issues in cultural representation, current Latin American portrayals continue to lack depth and rely on ill-informed historical stereotypes. Cinematic promotional posters were once considered an art form, but recent technological developments and the Hollywood culture has led them to become formulaic, unoriginal, and lifeless. In an attempt to enrich the conversation around diversity, and reinterpret the power of the film poster, the visual portrayal of the Latin American identity in film posters will be analysed and redressed to present complex, multidimensional characters and narratives that embrace and emphasise their current cultural identity. This research portfolio presents a visual analysis of 120 film posters, identifying and categorising key themes, tropes, and elements that form stereotypical representations. This analysis informs an iterative design process. It utilises Latin American visual design language to reinterpret the possibilities that film posters have in creating elaborate narratives that treat audiences with respect and complexity. The resulting designs were used as prompts for discussion and critique with relevant stakeholders, to further inform conversations about cultural representation through design and inform further iterations. This process ultimately suggests a method of culturally embedded film promotion design. By re-imaging film posters through Latin American design traditions, I will offer an alternative perspective on Latin American characters that challenge dominant stereotypes.</p>

Cultural Identity in Film Posters

<p>This thesis investigates the current representation of the Latin American identity in mainstream media cinematic posters. While in recent years, the film industry has begun to acknowledge issues in cultural representation, current Latin American portrayals continue to lack depth and rely on ill-informed historical stereotypes. Cinematic promotional posters were once considered an art form, but recent technological developments and the Hollywood culture has led them to become formulaic, unoriginal, and lifeless. In an attempt to enrich the conversation around diversity, and reinterpret the power of the film poster, the visual portrayal of the Latin American identity in film posters will be analysed and redressed to present complex, multidimensional characters and narratives that embrace and emphasise their current cultural identity. This research portfolio presents a visual analysis of 120 film posters, identifying and categorising key themes, tropes, and elements that form stereotypical representations. This analysis informs an iterative design process. It utilises Latin American visual design language to reinterpret the possibilities that film posters have in creating elaborate narratives that treat audiences with respect and complexity. The resulting designs were used as prompts for discussion and critique with relevant stakeholders, to further inform conversations about cultural representation through design and inform further iterations. This process ultimately suggests a method of culturally embedded film promotion design. By re-imaging film posters through Latin American design traditions, I will offer an alternative perspective on Latin American characters that challenge dominant stereotypes.</p>

Presentation and Management of Atypical Orofacial Cleft Clefts: A Single-Institution Experience for 13 Year Period

This study reviews the craniofacial clefts that presented at a Nigerian tertiary health facility, highlighting our experience with the pattern of presentation and surgical care of these patients. A retrospective review of the smile train database and medical records of all individuals who had been diagnosed with any of the Tessier craniofacial clefts and managed between 1st January 2007 and 31st December 2020 was done. The data were presented as numbers and percentages of cases. The cleft clinic of a tertiary health facility and a major cleft referral center in South-West Nigeria. Forty-five patients with craniofacial clefts were managed over the study period. 15.6% had associated syndromes, 2.2% had a family history of similar craniofacial cleft and 11% had a history of a possible teratogen. There were 21 (46.7%) middle clefts, 14(31.1%) lateral clefts and 10(22.2%) oblique clefts. The most common type of cleft was Tessier 0 while the Tessier 6 was the least common type. The median age at surgery was 10 months for male and 5months for female subjects, 15.3% complication rate was found in this study. Four patients had revision surgeries to correct residual deformities in this study. The diverse presentations and occurrence of the rare craniofacial clefts present complex aesthetic and functional problems that require individualized often multidisciplinary care. The execution of a properly planned treatment will reduce complications and the need for revision surgeries.

BIO-STATISTICS TECHNIQUES

An Introduction has been designed to serve as a text for students studying science subjects such as biotechnology, micro-biology,Pharmacy and environmental science. In recent years, biostatistics has been used widely for solving research problems in life sciences. As with most tools, biostatistics is not of much use unless the user understands its application and purpose. In order to perform efficiently in the present complex world, a researcher in the life science field ought to know enough about the basic principles of data analysis and has to be certain that all available information is used effectively to solve a given problem.

Interaktion mit dem Fremden. Grenzen und Möglichkeiten der Tischgemeinschaft anhand von Daniel und Ester

Most recent publications dealing with the question of table fellowship between Jews and gentiles in Early Judaism stake the assumption for granted that there is a common discourse behind the available sources. Thus, the relevant Jewish narratives (Dan, Est, Jdt, JosAs, Tob, Arist) are mutually used for explanation. In contrast, Ruben A. Bühner uses the Daniel and Ester narratives to exemplify that the texts present complex discourses that must be distinguished from one another and that testify to different lines of reasoning, which cannot be reduced to a uniform discourse.

Urban Form and Natural Hazards: Exploring the Dual Aspect Concept of Urban Forms on Flood Damage

The purpose of the paper is to explore the dual aspect concept of the impact of urban forms on flood damage. Theoretically, urban form has the dual aspect concept of increasing or decreasing flood damage. Recent issues such as climate change and pandemics are increasing the need to re-discuss the relationship between urban forms and natural hazards. By revisiting the dual aspect concepts of urban forms such as aggregation and dispersion, we can effectively respond to specific urban problems that present complex issues at the city level. Accordingly, this paper once again considers what is a more resilient and ideal urban form for natural hazards by exploring dual aspect concepts of urban form for flood damage spatially and quantitatively from a macroscopic point of view.

Improving the usability of climate indicator visualizations through diagnostic design principles

Visual climate indicators have become a popular way to communicate trends in important climate phenomena. Producing accessible visualizations for a general audience is challenging, especially when many are based on graphics designed for scientists, present complex and abstract concepts, and utilize suboptimal design choices. This study tests whether diagnostic visualization guidelines can be used to identify communication shortcomings for climate indicators and to specify effective design modifications. Design guidelines were used to diagnose problems in three hard-to-understand indicators, and to create three improved modifications per indicator. Using online surveys, the efficacy of the modifications was tested in a control versus treatment setup that measured the degree to which respondents understood, found accessible, liked, and trusted the graphics. Furthermore, we assessed whether respondents’ numeracy, climate attitudes, and political party affiliation affected the impact of design improvements. Results showed that simplifying modifications had a large positive effect on understanding, ease of understanding, and liking, but not trust. Better designs improved understanding similarly for people with different degrees of numerical capacity. Moreover, while climate skepticism was associated with less positive subjective responses and greater mistrust toward climate communication, design modification improved understanding equally for people across the climate attitude and ideological spectrum. These findings point to diagnostic design guidelines as a useful tool for creating more accessible, engaging climate graphics for the public.

Stakeholder Participation in the Planning and Design of Nature-Based Solutions. Insights from CLEVER Cities Project in Hamburg

Cities are essential players in responding to the present complex environmental and social challenges, such as climate change. The nature-based solution (NbS) concept is identified in the scientific discourse and further recognized by the European Commission as a part of the solution to address such challenges. Deploying NbS in urban contexts requires the cooperation of different public and private stakeholders to manage those processes. In this paper, the experiences of establishing and managing NbS-related processes following a co-creation approach in the city of Hamburg within the framework of an EU-funded research project (CLEVER Cities) are described and analyzed. The paper identifies and discusses the main emerging factors and challenges from (1) a procedural and methodological perspective and (2) concerning the different roles of the diverse stakeholders involved. This discussion is grounded in the context of existing regulations and novel concepts for citizens’ participation in urban decision-making processes. As research results, the article defines the leading players involved in the process and their roles and interrelationships, along with recommendations for future policy agendas in cities when dealing with NbS planning.

Ethics of Field Experiments

Political scientists are increasingly conducting field experiments that raise ethical issues that standard review criteria and processes are ill equipped to address. Field experiments can answer important questions, but they can also present various harms to individuals, communities, and political processes; undermine autonomy; introduce partnerships that present complex questions of responsibility; and damage the public's trust in the discipline. This article reviews published empirical and theoretical research, professional guidelines, and media accounts, blog posts, and other sources when appropriate. It characterizes the state of the field regarding the identification of ethical problems, relevant normative guidance, proposed strategies for managing ethical concerns, and issues on the horizon. It concludes that the discipline is making good progress, with robust guidelines and strategies for conducting field experiments ethically. However, there is still much work to be done in refining and expanding current guidance, addressing remaining issues, and promoting norms. This review concludes with some general recommendations for researchers conducting political science field experiments. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Political Science, Volume 24 is May 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Ideological Counter-Narrative as a Response to Fundamentalist Ideology in Europe and South Asia. An Analysis of Selected Cases in Their Cultural Context and an Outline of Recommended Activities

The article discusses the issues of religious radicalisation and de-radicalisation in contemporary Islam. Its authors present complex phenomena of ideological, historical, cultural and political contexts of radicalisation processes, investigate the distribution of radical propagandist materials among various Muslim communities around the world and analyse the consequences of ideological transformation of Islamic fundamentalism in selected European countries. The authors conclude that radicalisation propaganda has a global appeal due to the fact it has adopted a carefully selected group of globally recognised ideologues (Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Abul A’la Maududi, Sayyid Qutb), but the recommended de-radicalisation processes should be rooted locally or regionally. The article proposes a constructive theoretical framework, a working hypothesis that should be constantly revised and modified in the changing socio-political environment.