A commentary on: Reappropriation of Gendered Irish Sign Language in One Family

Barbara LeMaster’s article “Reappropriation of Gendered Irish Sign Language in One Family” in Visual Anthropology Review piqued my interest with its initial sentence: The native vocabularies of one segment of the Dublin deaf community (i.e., primarily women over 70 and men over 55) contain different signs for the majority of common lexical items examined (LeMaster 1990). From this I learned that there existed different female and male signs in Irish Sign Language. This intrigued me and led me to explore further, despite recognizing that I was probably out of my comfort zone. I would be addressing a topic of social history, through my lens of theoretical and empirical aspects of communication design. Curiously, I rejected a more comfortable choice of an article that uses an approach far more familiar to me: research analyzing the covers of introductory texts on cultural anthropology (Hammond et al., 2009). I am therefore acutely aware that the questions I ask about Irish Sign Language not only stem from another discipline, but also introduce different research methods. I also suspect that some of the issues I raise are covered elsewhere, either by LeMaster or by other researchers. This I regard as a positive sign of considerable overlap between our disciplines. In the following commentary on LeMaster’s article, I start with a brief account of what I consider to be main themes within the article. This is not a comprehensive summary, but sets the scene for discussion points. I then propose some general differences in approach and emphasis between the disciplines of visual anthropology, as represented in this article, and communication design. Although I have situated myself within a particular sector of communication design (in the introduction), I have nonetheless tried to cover a wider field encompassing design practitioners and historians. From more general topics, I narrow down to specific areas that might inform, or be informed by, graphic communication research: the process of language standardization and dictionary design. The final section on signs moves us some distance from LeMaster’s study. However, personally, one of the most exciting aspects of research is forging links between apparently disparate areas of research, which might require a leap in the dark.

Empires of Xolotl: Two Opening Compositions of the Codex Xolotl

Only one of two opening compositions in the Codex Xolotl has been recognized. The conventional version shows the entry of Xolotl, Nopaltzin, and six lesser rulers into the Basin of Mexico from near Tula, Hidalgo, followed by settlement at Xoloc and later a place that will become Tenayuca. The manuscript’s two larger fragments, assembled correctly for the first time, show Xolotl and Nopaltzin observing and moving across a more settled eastern basin into regions to the south ranging from Puebla to Morelos, notably including Cuernavaca. At the same time, they and their six followers are shown settled among caves in the western basin around the future Tenayuca. The two Chichimecs attract fellow Chichimecs from the Cuernavaca region to the Tepetlaoztoc region and trouble ensues. These two realizations of a Chichimec vision of empire are well recorded by the remarkable Aztec graphic communication system. Its portrayal of changes to different ways of life over the centuries reveals an interplay of an oral gathering and hunting culture with a settled society, recording the Chichimec experience and their own way of life with their combined oral and graphic system. Elements of the Chichimecs’ visions of empire endure throughout the Codex Xolotl as its messaging power shines across the contact period and into early colonial times.

Digital Assignments for Thermo-Fluids Courses

Simulations were used in lecture-based courses, Thermodynamics I and Thermodynamics II, for demonstration purposes and as digital assignments. Digital assignments were separate from the customary pencil & paper homework given once a week. The primary objective was to model the flow and heat transfer in a system, reinforce theoretical concepts, and allow study of more complex two- and three-dimensional problems. Students encounter fluid flow and heat transfer in the sophomore course, Thermodynamics I, for the first time. Velocity, pressure and temperature fields are quite complicated even for simple geometries, hard to visualize, and difficult to understand. Digital assignments go beyond basic theoretical concepts and relatively simple pencil & paper problems. Initially, there were 6 digital assignments in each course. After the first offerings and assessments, the number of assignments is expected to grow to 8–10. Scaffolding of digital assignments ensured that simulations gain in complexity as students become more familiar with both the theoretical underpinnings and the software interface. Our Mechanical Engineering program, has a freshmen graphic communication course incorporating AutoCAD and a junior CAD course with SolidWorks and Ansys. This provided both a challenge and an opportunity for lecture-based thermo-fluids courses positioned ‘in between.’ Modern computational skills were obtained outside the classroom, and that was accomplished with effective use of an on-line environment. Ansys Fluent was chosen to present and reinforce thermo-fluids fundamentals. Each digital assignment had a mesh, detailed grading criteria, and supplementary documentation. Students worked on the: (1) problem set up in the preprocessor-stage, (2) solver, and (3) postprocessor. This approach helped students (1) understand the flow and heat transfer inside the system as well as the application of conservation of mass and energy, (2) understand and interpret results by comparing them with theoretical and experimental data, (3) develop modern technical skills relevant to the demands of Industry 4.0, and (4) develop research capabilities. Simulations in the classroom and as digital assignments are a representation of the real world, and provide an egalitarian and unrestricted way for students to interact with it, acquiring skills and an appreciation for subject matter as well as the engineering profession. Semester long discussions on various aspects of digital assignments help develop a mentor-mentee bond. This approach to teaching, research and mentoring does not depend on access to laboratory facilities and funding that can reach only a limited number of students. It encourages students’ spirit of inquiry, and ultimately leads to a professional development opportunities beyond the classroom setting.

GRAPHIC ORIENTED DESIGN OF A MODERN CITY

The purpose is to analyse the objects of graphic design from the position of their aesthetic expressiveness and effectiveness of perception in the process of human orientation in the space of a modern city. The research methodology is based on the complex use of historical and comparative methods, system analysis, synthesis, generalization. The specifics of the study of the sign as an object of graphic design involves the use of semantic analysis methods. The result reveal the historical aspects of the emergence and current trends in graphic communication signs and messages used to orient a person in the modern urban space. The communication messages of modern city inscriptions-names of objects, object-spatial and plane signs of orientation in the urban environment, road signs using graphic elements and fonts have been analyzed. The main features contributing to the effectiveness of the message and current trends of graphic means in solving the problems of orientation and communication in space are highlighted. The ways of using graphic signs to solve the tasks of orientation and communication taking into account, modern trends in socio-cultural space have been analyzed and systematized. The methods for transforming the graphic form of the sign, its functional tasks in the process of human interaction with the urban environment are considered. The analysis of graphic signs from the position of their application to solve navigation and, consequently, communication problems of the city, defines the specifics of further development of graphic design in the conditions of accelerated information and technological transformation of society, and actualizes the increasing number of visual ways to transmit information. The results of the study can be used as the information basis for the development of communication design objects in the space of the city.

Advances in Engineering Graphics: Improvements and New Proposals

The study of graphic communication techniques that engineers, architects, and designers use to express ideas and concepts, or the graphic expression applied to the design process, is becoming increasingly important. The correct interpretation of graphic language allows the development of skills in the training of an engineer or architect. For this reason, research on this topic is especially valuable in finding improvements or new proposals that help toward a better understanding of those techniques. This Special Issue shows the reader some examples of different disciplines available, such as engineering graphics, industrial design, geometric modeling, computer-aided design, descriptive geometry, architectural graphics and computer animation.