The use of digital dental photography in an Eastern European country

Aims. To assess the use of digital photography in dentistry and its relation with the professional experience of the dental practitioners in Romania. Methods. An anonymous questionnaire including eight questions was distributed online to collect information on the use of dental photography. Results. 84.84% of the respondents were using a photographic equipment in their clinical practice. Regarding the type of photographic equipment used, 51.79% of the participants indicated DSLR cameras, 44.05% smartphones, 2.38% compact cameras and 1.78% other devices for taking clinical images. There was a significant association (p<0.05) between the experience of the practitioners and the use of dental photography, type of equipment and protocol used. Conclusions. Respondents with more than 10 years of experience were more likely to use digital photography in their practice than those with less experience. Most of the digital photography users with more than 10 years of experience were taking images with a DSLR Camera (65.52%) followed by 31.04% smartphone users. Conversely, 56.42% of the clinical photography users with less than 5 years of experience mainly preferred a smartphone device and 41.02% a DSLR Camera.

Dramaturgia fotografii. Między teorią a osobistym doświadczeniem (przypadek Rolanda Barthes’a)

The article discusses Roland Barthes’ experience of photography and presents its distinctive dramaturgy, which emerges from the reflections of the author of The Light of Image. It is played out between attempts at a theoretical grasp of the essence of photography and a personal, intimate experience of being photographed, but also of being a spectator looking at various photographs. Barthes places this experience in two basic perspectives. The first is connected with the process of taking photographs and the second with the experience of the spectator. This also includes the experience of photography with one’s own image, which according to the author, is always an experience of oneself as someone else, and the experience of searching for “the truth of photography”, especially important in the context of the photographs of his deceased mother. It is significant in Barthes’s concept that he is talking about traditional photography which had a completely different character and performed different functions to digital images do today. Moreover, as the author notes, Barthes’s theoretical findings would be untenable in relation to digital photography.

Test-Retests Reliability of Digital Photography in Measuring Quadriceps-Angle and Pelvic Tilt Angle in Healthy Population

Aim: Capturing body images through digital photography method for calculation of quadriceps angles and pelvic position in clinical assessment is an inexpensive method. The aim of this study is to evaluate the reliability of measuring Q-angle and pelvic tilt angle with digital camera and Microdicom software. Place and duration: University of Lahore and Tehran University of medical sciences, from June 2020 to June 2021 Methods: Bilateral lower limbs of fifteen healthy asymptomatic subjects were considered for calculations of desired angles. A 13-megapixel camera was used to capture images of quadriceps angle (q-angle) measurement in an anterior view and for pelvic angle measurement image in lateral view along with specific landmark markers on the body were captured. Images were transferred to Microdicom software for calculating desire angles. Three trails of procedures and Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI), Munro’s classification for reliability coefficients were used for the description of degrees. Standard error of measurement (SEM) was also calculated. Results: The Intra-class correlation coefficient values for right side Q- angle was 0.949(0.878-.981) and for left side it was 0.924(0.819-0.972) and <0.005 significant p-value. The ICC results for measuring pelvic title angle in the right side .990 (.975-.996) and left legs were .991 (.974-.997). Showing that the results were highly reliable and significant (p<0.005). Conclusions: The q-angle and pelvic angle measured with digital image have excellent consistency and reliability. Keywords: angle, asymptomatic, Images, pelvic, quadriceps

Streams of the Self

This article offers a working draft of a larger qualitative analysis of the popular smartphone application Instagram. It offers a reading of the ubiquitous contemporary form of self-portraiture, the selfie, locating its origin in the longer evolution of digital photography into a form of social media. Though its function as a basic self-portrait and signifier for our various social profiles appears straightforward, it has somehow become the ‘face’ of online sociality and subjectivity, a portrait of the promise and peril of our online existence. And yet, a closer look at the various feeds and streams in which the selfie appears reveals that it is one genre amongst many, no more or less common than a variety of landscapes, still-lifes, and other modes of photographic observation. Taken together, these various views of the world reveal an emplaced mode of image-driven autobiography, one far more complex and nuanced than a straightforward meme would appear to be. Image Credit: Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Assessment of User Satisfaction Following the Transformations Resulting From Encroachment on Social Amenities in Buruburu Estate, Nairobi CityCounty, Kenya

Transformations have led to questionable environmental qualities in housing neighbourhoods. Urban areas in Africa, and Kenya in particular are faced with an increased growth of planned settlements transforming into unplanned housing units. Most researches on housing transformations have concentrated on the dwelling units but little has been done on other aspects such as social amenities. The study therefore draws attention to this neglected aspect of transformation in housing and the reactions of dwellers towards the same. Buru Buru in Nairobi city formed the location of the empirical study. The study assessed user satisfaction following transformations of social amenities in Buruburu Estate, Nairobi City County. Data was collected using interview schedules from respondents drawn from residents and architects responsible for the transformation. Qualitative and quantitative data that used various techniques including structured interviews, digital photography and analyses of archival drawings and satellite maps were analysed using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. The findings showed that the user were very unsatisfied with the different social amenities in the estate. The conclusion was that social amenities should be developed at the beginning of the scheme. The study recommends inclusion of a possible model and clarification on the roles that professionals, developers and authorities need to play in any housing development in order to mitigate the phenomenon.