This research paper looks at a selection of science-fiction films and its connection with the progression of the use of television, telephone and print media. It also analyzes statistical data obtained from a questionnaire conducted by the research group regarding the use of communication media.
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In: Frank Gadinger, Martina Kopf, Ayşem Mert, and Christopher Smith (eds.). Political Storytelling: From Fact to Fiction (Global Dialogues 12) This essay presents a summary of important perspectives concerning the distinction between what counts as truth or fiction. As a source of inspiration, it starts with two examples found in literature – the first a classical Spanish novel and the second a collection of stories written by the leader of a social movement in Mexico. These two examples of the conflictive relations between truth and fiction, authenticity and imagination serve as a source of inspiration for the rest of this article, which shows that this issue has been a subject of intense debate in philosophy and in the philosophy of science and still presents a challenge in the 21st century. The essay states that absolute, objective truth is a myth. It describes that what counts as ‘truth’ in a particular era, is, among other things, the result of power relations. It suggests productive ways to deal with this problem in modern society, through deliberative, emancipatory processes of reflexivity (Weick 1999), participatory research and dialogue, facilitating innovation and generation of new solutions.
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This study offers a new perspective on clothing consumption by uncovering the systemic nature of the wardrobe. The research builds on systems theory and aims at drawing a map of the wardrobe as a system with particular structure and behaviour. By co-designing fictional 'smart wardrobe' services with experts and discussing these services with wardrobe users, we identify characteristics of wardrobe structure and behaviour that give input for a preliminary wardrobe map. Lastly, the wardrobe map provides a basis for discussing sustainable design approaches aimed at reducing clothing demand, in the context of growing clothing production volume and its associated environmental impacts.
expressiveness, performance, musicians, skills, educationUsing the genre of Improvisational theatre as a basis, my research aims to design and develop instructional strategies that would help students enhance their expressive skills and achieve the flexibility to adapt their motor behavior to the musical piece. Embodying diverse characters and physicalities, as well as affective states or fictional realities through improv theatre exercises should enable them to expand their expressive range and, therefore, better convey their interpretation to their audience. Through this process, this study also seeks to gain an understanding of the effect this type of training may have on musicians' performance experience, as well as its implications in other areas of their development.
Implanting biocompatible materials is nothing new, 3D printing of cells and extracellular matrix is well underway so growing replacement tissues in a lab is within reach. However, certain obstacles remain: How to culture functional tissues with robust and reproducible 3D architecture? Application of support structures can aid, but what if such scaffolds obstruct functionality of the graft while having limited chance of being degraded within the recipient’s body? Bioplastics are polymers of natural origin that can be degraded enzymatically. We want to use bioplastics for production of 3D printed mesh scaffolds that support cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and maturation (Fig. 1). These scaffolds are designed to be temporal and sacrificial: enzymes will be used to remove the scaffold in a tissue friendly manner prior to implantation allowing tailor made, functional and ideally ‘self-only’ grafts.
Sleuteltechnologieën stellen ons in staat om steeds doelgerichter te handelen. Voedselveiligheid is een belangrijk gebied waar deze technologieën een rol kunnen spelen. Een voorbeeld is de inzet van nieuwe DNA‐technieken om de bron van een voedselinfectie op te sporen. Dat dit geen science fiction meer is bleek onlangs uit het achterhalen van de bron van een reeks ernstige besmettingen met de bacterie Listeria monocytogenes. Met behulp van Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) kon de bron, een vleeswarenfabriek, worden achterhaald. Op dit moment wordt deze analysetechniek vooral ingezet door overheidsinstanties, maar het biedt ook perspectief voor de beheersing van de voedselveiligheid door de bedrijven zelf. Het doel van het Precision Food Safety project is om de voedselverwerkende industrie voor te bereiden op de uitdagingen en mogelijkheden van het gebruik van moderne DNA‐sequencing technologieën voor de monitoring en controle van de productiefaciliteiten op pathogene bacteriën. In het project zal de mogelijkheid van toepassing van WGS voor de detectie van pathogene bacteriën in de productieketen worden onderzocht. Hiervoor zal de MinION een mini DNAsequencer worden ingezet. Tijdige detectie en identificatie van pathogene bacteriën stelt bedrijven in staat tot sneller ingrijpen, waarmee kan worden voorkomen dat besmette producten in de winkelschappen terecht komen. Daarnaast zullen de effecten van hygiënische maatregelen worden onderzocht en een visualisatietool worden ontwikkeld waarmee de resultaten van het onderzoek van een productielocatie kunnen worden weergegeven. De focus zal liggen op Listeria monocytogenes, omdat deze bacterie momenteel gezien wordt als de grootste voedselveiligheidsuitdaging in deze tijd. De in het project ontwikkelde methoden moeten de voedingsindustrie tools in handen geven voor “precision food safety”. In het project participeren bedrijven uit verschillende sectoren van de voedselverwerkende industrie en bedrijven die diensten verlenen op het gebied van voedselveiligheid.
