Roar of the Thunder Dragon: the Bhutanese Audio-visual Industry and the Shaping and Representation of Contemporary Culture

The Bhutanese audio-visual industry plays a critical and important role in the creation of cultural products, which are consumed by the masses. The industry's significant role in the preservation and promotion of culture is worthy of state support. Although comprehensive data is not available on the industry, available data and anecdotal evidence prove that the industry is growing and playing its own role in shaping and representing contemporary culture in Bhutan

Basic methods of color determination in dentistry

Determining the color of the teeth is a complicated process. Scientific research has shown that 75% of dental medicine doctors are struggling when visually determining the color of the teeth with the help of shade master. Factors like light condition, timeframe, age, sex, clothing, visual perception, redistribution of enamel masses, shine, transparency, opacity, and color of the gingiva make it harder to determine the right color of the teeth. Contemporary dentistry uses different methods and mechanisms, which can ease the work of the dentists. The uses of spectrophotometers, colorimeters, and digital images are useful instruments when analyzing the colors. These instruments are useful methods for analyzing the colors for direct and indirect restorations, procedures before and after teeth whitening, communication with indirect restorations, recreation and shade checking, as well as quality control of color recreation. In articles the authors recommend when available to combine the visual method as well as the instrumental method of color determination, because they complement each other and lead to predictable results

CULTURAL COMMUNICATION THROUGH AUDIO-VISUAL MEDIA (Study of the films Children of Heaven, Color of Paradise, and Baran by Majid Majidi)

Audio-visual or film is one of the strategic means of intercultural communication.  Films are often used as a medium of propaganda for partisan and partial political interests, leading to misunderstandings of a culture. The destruction of a nation's cultural meanings and values always involves audio-visual media to create psychological effects in building opinion and mobilizing the masses. Iran and its culture are the victims of world misunderstanding. However, the films directed by Iranian filmmakers have opened a ‘cultural dialogue’ with dignity and in an artistic manner. This study aimed to examine Iranian cultural communication patterns through cinema and identify Iranian cultural symbols that influence cultural communication. This research used Symbol and Value Theory. Symbols and values influence political and cultural campaigns. This research employed the Gestalt method that involved descriptive coding of sentences and images and recording of contents. Through Gestalt, we can interpret the meaning and behavior displayed by humans in certain situations. The films ‘Children of Heaven’, ‘Color of Paradise,’ and ‘Baran' directed by Majid Majidi, communicate essential aspects of Iranian culture, showing the spirit of resilience of Iranian society today, which is rarely included in the news due to global politics. The representation of Iranian culture is presented in very natural and simple ways without using visual effects. The reproduction of Iranian culture in the three films above uses a measured, intense, and substantive approach and shooting angle. The spirit of Sufism was reflected in the production process and the Iranian cinematic contents

The Power of Design in Nazi Anti-Bolshevik Propaganda, 1937-1943

The Nazi regime has gone down in infamy as one of the most self-consciously coercive regimes in history. When studying the National Socialists, men of power and influence are found in abundance. Individuals such as Hitler, Himmler and Hess receive credit for the influence they held over German society during that era. Organizations of individuals, such as the SA and SS, are also well recognized for their ability to control the masses. But in analysis of power during Nazi rule, one group is almost universally overlooked: the designers and graphic artist of the Ministry of Propaganda. The Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, and his extraordinary execution of thorough propaganda campaigns have been discussed in detail. But few consider the subtle yet powerful effects of visual communication in Nazi poster propaganda and the tremendous influence of men like Hans Mjolnir Schweitzer, one of the most renowned designers employed by the Ministry of Propaganda. Their work was vital to the production of materials through which the Nazis virtually controlled the opinions of the nation. The contributions of men such as Schweitzer significantly contributed to the success of Nazi poster propaganda by emphasizing specific messages expressed in the pieces through visual communication, often in a manner not consciously noticed by the viewer

Search for low-mass PMS companions around X-ray selected late B stars

We have observed 49 X-ray detected bright late B-type dwarfs to search for close low-mass pre-main sequence (PMS) companions using the European Southern Observatory's ADONIS (Adaptive Optics Near Infrared System) instrument. We announce the discovery of 21 new companions in 9 binaries, 5 triple, 4 quadruple system and 1 system consisting of five stars. The detected new companions have K magnitudes between 6.5 mag and 17.3 mag. and angular separations ranging from 0.2 and 14.1 arcsec (18-2358 AU).Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Double Neutron Star Systems and Natal Neutron Star Kicks

We study the four double neutron star systems found in the Galactic disk in terms of the orbital characteristics of their immediate progenitors and the natal kicks imparted to neutron stars. Analysis of the effect of the second supernova explosion on the orbital dynamics, combined with recent results from simulations of rapid accretion onto neutron stars lead us to conclude that the observed systems could not have been formed had the explosion been symmetric. Their formation becomes possible if kicks are imparted to the radio-pulsar companions at birth. We identify the constraints imposed on the immediate progenitors of the observed double neutron stars and calculate the ranges within which their binary characteristics (orbital separations and masses of the exploding stars) are restricted. We also study the dependence of these limits on the magnitude of the kick velocity and the time elapsed since the second explosion. For each of the double neutron stars, we derive a minimum kick magnitude required for their formation, and for the two systems in close orbits we find it to exceed 200km/s. Lower limits are also set to the center-of-mass velocities of double neutron stars, and we find them to be consistent with the current proper motion observations.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figs (9 parts), 4 tables, AASTeX, Accepted in Ap

Hubble Space Telescope Astrometry of the Procyon System

The nearby star Procyon is a visual binary containing the F5 IV-V subgiant Procyon A, orbited in a 40.84 yr period by the faint DQZ white dwarf Procyon B. Using images obtained over two decades with the Hubble Space Telescope, and historical measurements back to the 19th century, we have determined precise orbital elements. Combined with measurements of the parallax and the motion of the A component, these elements yield dynamical masses of 1.478 +/- 0.012 Msun and 0.592 +/- 0.006 Msun for A and B, respectively. The mass of Procyon A agrees well with theoretical predictions based on asteroseismology and its temperature and luminosity. Use of a standard core-overshoot model agrees best for a surprisingly high amount of core overshoot. Under these modeling assumptions, Procyon A's age is ~2.7 Gyr. Procyon B's location in the H-R diagram is in excellent agreement with theoretical cooling tracks for white dwarfs of its dynamical mass. Its position in the mass-radius plane is also consistent with theory, assuming a carbon-oxygen core and a helium-dominated atmosphere. Its progenitor's mass was 1.9-2.2 Msun, depending on its amount of core overshoot. Several astrophysical puzzles remain. In the progenitor system, the stars at periastron were separated by only ~5 AU, which might have led to tidal interactions and even mass transfer; yet there is no direct evidence that these have occurred. Moreover the orbital eccentricity has remained high (~0.40). The mass of Procyon B is somewhat lower than anticipated from the initial-to-final-mass relation seen in open clusters. The presence of heavy elements in its atmosphere requires ongoing accretion, but the place of origin is uncertain.Comment: Accepted by Astrophysical Journa

Robot Navigation in Unseen Spaces using an Abstract Map

Human navigation in built environments depends on symbolic spatial information which has unrealised potential to enhance robot navigation capabilities. Information sources such as labels, signs, maps, planners, spoken directions, and navigational gestures communicate a wealth of spatial information to the navigators of built environments; a wealth of information that robots typically ignore. We present a robot navigation system that uses the same symbolic spatial information employed by humans to purposefully navigate in unseen built environments with a level of performance comparable to humans. The navigation system uses a novel data structure called the abstract map to imagine malleable spatial models for unseen spaces from spatial symbols. Sensorimotor perceptions from a robot are then employed to provide purposeful navigation to symbolic goal locations in the unseen environment. We show how a dynamic system can be used to create malleable spatial models for the abstract map, and provide an open source implementation to encourage future work in the area of symbolic navigation. Symbolic navigation performance of humans and a robot is evaluated in a real-world built environment. The paper concludes with a qualitative analysis of human navigation strategies, providing further insights into how the symbolic navigation capabilities of robots in unseen built environments can be improved in the future.Comment: 15 pages, published in IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems (http://doi.org/10.1109/TCDS.2020.2993855), see https://btalb.github.io/abstract_map/ for access to softwar