Audio description for films in Poland : history, present state and future prospects

Rapid developments in the field of media accessibility for people with sensory impairments can be seen in numerous countries all around the world. Poland is one such country where accessibility services, such as audio description (AD), are becoming part of the audiovisual landscape and start attracting the interest of many, both in the industry and in research circles. This paper sets out to provide a detailed snapshot of the current situation in Poland with regard to the accessibility of films for persons with vision loss. We start with presenting a brief historical outline of the AD for films in Poland and then move on to discuss its present state. Special attention is given to challenges that need to be faced to mainstream accessibility. The data discussed in this article was obtained through literature review, desk research and personal contact with different actors of the AD provision chain in Poland. The results show that although AD is developing rapidly in Poland, it must face challenges in five main areas: (1) delivery and infrastructure; (2) distribution; (3) legislation; (4) communication, cooperation and coordination, and (5) financing

Ocjena otpornosti drva na utjecaj umjetnih atmosferskih uvjeta mjerenjem tlačne čvrstoće

The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of artificial weathering on selected properties of wood. This paper presents the changes of incompressive strength of wood along fi bers. The study involved wood of different density and anatomy - 17 species of tropical wood commercially available in Europe and Scots pine and European oak. The specimens were exposed to artificial weathering consisting of soaking wood in water, drying at 70 °C and exposure to UV radiation. Three-step aging cycle was repeated 140 times. In general, the tested wood species changed their compressive strength differently under the influence of artificial weathering. The process of artificial weathering caused a loss of strength of all tested wood species. The extent of changes depended on initial properties of wood (especially density) and anatomy. The changes were most pronounced at the beginning of the artificial weathering process.Cilj istraživanja bio je utvrditi utjecaj umjetnih atmosferskih uvjeta na promatrana svojstva drva. U radu je prikazana promjena tlačne čvrstoće drva uzduž vlakanaca. Istraživanje je provedeno na vrstama drva različite gustoće i anatomske građe – istraženo je 17 vrsta tropskog drva komercijalno dostupnoga u Europi te drvo običnog bora i europskog hrasta. Uzorci su bili izloženi umjetnim atmosferskim uvjetima: naizmjeničnom potapanju drva u vodi, sušenju na 70 °C i izlaganju UV zračenju. Ciklus koji se sastojao od ta tri postupka ponovljen je 140 puta. Općenito, promjena tlačne čvrstoća drva pod utjecajem umjetnih atmosferskih uvjeta za istraživane je vrste drva različita. Izlaganje umjetnim atmosferskim uvjetima prouzročilo je smanjenje tlačne čvrstoće svih istraživanih vrsta drva. Opseg promjena nakon izlaganja povezan je s početnim svojstvima drva (posebno s gustoćom) i anatomskom građom. Najveći intenzitet promjena zabilježen je na početku izlaganja umjetnim atmosferskim uvjetima

Audio describing foreign films

This article presents the main challenges of audio describing foreign films: synchronising the translation of foreign language dialogue with audio description, identifying speakers, describing culture-bound elements, and dealing with intertextuality. The findings are discussed with a reference to an explorative study carried out among Polish viewers with visual impairments. The solutions proposed in this article include the name insertion strategy, audio introductions and a number of strategies to deal with culture-specific items in audio description, such as explicitation, naming, generalisation, specification, retention. The results of the study also demonstrate the feasibility of adopting the Translation Studies toolkit to the benefit of audio description

Određivanje sorpcijskih svojstava nekih tropskih vrsta drva

This study is primarily focused on broadening the knowledge on sorptive properties of tropical wood species. The main objective of this research was to determine the equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of 17 selected tropical wood species vital to the flooring industry in Europe. For comparison, selected European wood species – European beech, European oak and Scots pine, were also tested. Differences in the EMC between wood from temperate and tropical zones were established, resulting in the necessity of revising the knowledge, especially in wooden floor production. The results show that the EMC of tropical wood species is generally lower than that of temperate region wood species. African padouk, Teak, Afzelia and Ipe showed the lowest values of moisture content. Furthermore these wood species showed the lowest values of fibre saturation point (17.7 %, 22.5 %, 19.7 % and 18.7 %, respectively). Secondly, it was established that the basic density has significant influence on sorption properties of tested wood species. Further to the above, it was concluded that - the higher wood basic density, the larger are the changes of dimensions. Consequently, based on the results obtained, the possibility of supplementing the recommendations in industry standards regarding wooden floors should be considered.Studija je ponajprije usredotočena na širenje znanja o sorpcijskim svojstvima tropskih vrsta drva. Glavni je cilj istraživanja bio utvrditi ravnotežni sadržaj vode (EMC) za 17 odabranih tropskih vrsta drva važnih za industriju podnih obloga u Europi. Radi usporedbe, ispitane su i ove europske vrste drva: bukva, hrast i obični bor. Utvrđene su razlike u vrijednostima EMC-a između vrsta drva iz umjerenih i vrsta drva iz tropskih zona, što upućuje na potrebu revizije znanja, posebno u proizvodnji drvenih podnih obloga. Rezultati su pokazali da je vrijednost EMC-a tropskih vrsta drva općenito niža nego za vrste iz umjerenog područja. Najniže vrijednosti ravnotežnog sadržaja vode zabilježene su za drvo afričkog padouka, tika, afzelije i ipea. Nadalje, za te su vrste drva dobivene i najniže vrijednosti točke zasićenja vlakanaca (17,7; 22,5; 19,7; 18,7 %). Osim toga, utvrđeno je da nominalna gustoća drva ima značajan utjecaj na sorpcijska svojstva ispitivanih vrsta drva. Iz toga se može zaključiti da će posljedica veće nominalne gustoće drva biti i veće promjene dimenzija drva. Sukladno tome, treba razmotriti donošenje dopune preporuka u industrijskim standardima koji se odnose na drvene podne obloge

Utjecaj parametara rezanja na kvalitetu površine bukovine

The main objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of flat slicing processes on wood surface characteristics of the European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). The relation between wettability, roughness and machining methods were studied. Two different wood thickness (3.4 and 4.0 mm) and three levels of compression during slicing (67.5 %, 57.5 % and 47.5 % of desired veneer thickness) were used to prepare surfaces prior to testing. The smaller variation of the thickness of thinner veneers was observed. No significant impact of compression on variation of the thickness was found. The contact angle was lower when roughness measured parallel to the grain was higher. The influence of selected compression on roughness of European beech veneers measured perpendicular to the grain was confirmed. This indicated that the influence of the set of machining processes, such as pressure bar setting during slicing, is significant for wooden veneers surface properties.Glavni cilj rada bio je procijeniti učinke plošnog rezanja furnira na svojstva površine bukovine (Fagus sylvatica L.). Proučavan je odnos između kvašenja i hrapavosti bukovine i metoda rezanja furnira. Za pripremu površine za ispitivanja upotrijebljene su dvije različite debljine furnira (3,4 i 4,0 mm) i tri razine kompresije tijekom rezanja furnira (67,5, 57,5 i 47,5 % željene debljine furnira). Uočena su manja odstupanja debljine tanjih furnira. Nije utvrđen značajan utjecaj kompresije na varijacije debljine furnira. Kontaktni kut bio je manji kada je hrapavost paralelno s vlakancima drva bila veća. Potvrđen je utjecaj odabranog pritiska na hrapavost bukova furnira okomito na vlakanca drva. To je pokazalo da postavke procesa obrade, primjerice odabir pritiska tijekom rezanja, znatno utječu na svojstva površine furnira

Effect of Anatomical Structure of Shoots in Different Flowering Phase on Rhizogenesis of Once-blooming Roses

The research was conducted on five once-blooming different origin historical roses. The aims were establishing differences in the anatomical structure of shoots taken in four maturity stages and their natural ability to roots creating. There were hypothesized, that the changes in anatomical structure occur in the time of flowering and may affect the ability of rhizogenesis. Single node one leaf cuttings of chosen cultivars were cut from shoots in four maturity phases: flower buds closed, all flowers open, just after and 7-14 days after petal fall. The cuttings were planted in multipot trays in peat substrate without using rooting stimulators. The anatomical structure of shoots in the place of rhizogenesis were observed, the width of xylem layer and cambial zone, diameter of vascular cells were measured. The percentage of rooted cuttings and forming only a callus were counted. Adventitious roots appeared probably in the cambium zone, pith rays, and also in the zone of phloem and pericycle. The anatomic structure of shoots changes during the period of flowering and influences rooting percentage and the percent of cuttings which developed callus only. The width of the cambium layer of shoots influences the width of the wood layer in all cultivars. The rise of width of cambium tissue have an effect of increase of percentage of cuttings forming a callus only in ‘Hurdals’ and ‘Maiden’s Blush’. The width of the cambium layer in shoots enlarges during full blooming in four of the studied cultivars (‘Hurdals’, ‘Maiden’s Blush’, ‘Mousseuse Rouge’, ‘Semiplena’) and in one it stays at the same level for the whole duration of the experiment (‘Duchesse d’Angoulême’). The specifying in practice the period of taking rose cuttings, individual properties of cultivars and phenological phase of shoot should be taken into consideration