Vernacular Posthumanism: Visual Culture and Material Imagination

Vernacular Posthumanism: Visual Culture and Material Imagination uses a theory of image vernaculars in order to explore the ways in which contemporary visual culture both reflects on and constructs 21st century cultural attitudes toward the human and the nonhuman. This project argues that visual culture manifests a vernacular posthumanism that expresses a fundamental contradiction: the desire to transcend the human while at the same time reasserting the importance of the flesh and the materiality of lived experience. This contradiction is based in a biodeterminist desire, one that fantasizes about reducing all actants, both human and nonhuman, to functions of code. Within this framework, actants become fundamentally exchangeable, able to be combined, manipulated, and understood as variations of digital code. Visual culture – and its expression of vernacular posthumanism – thus functions as a reflection on contemporary conceptualizations of the human, a rehearsal of the posthuman, and a staging ground for encounters between the human and the nonhuman. Each chapter of this project begins in the field of film studies and then moves out toward a broader analysis of visual culture and nonhumanist theory. This project relies on the theories and methodologies of phenomenology, materialism, posthumanism, object-oriented ontology, actor-network theory, film and media studies, and visual culture studies. Visual objects analyzed include: the films of Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg, and Krzysztof Kieślowski; Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997); the film 300 (2006); the TV series Planet Earth (2006); DNA portraits, the art of Damien Hirst; Body Worlds; human migration maps; and remote surgical machinery

Southern Violence Revisited

Histor

Mindful violence? Responses to the Rambo series' shifting aesthetic of aggression

Rambo (2008) marked the return of Sylvester Stallone's iconic action hero. What is most striking about the fourth film (as the response from reviewers testifies), is its graphic violence. My intention here is to critically engage with Rambo (2008) as rewriting the series' established aesthetic of violence. My overarching aim is to highlight how the popular press has sought to read the 2008 version of Rambo according to the discursive narratives surrounding Stallone's 1980s action films. The negative response to Rambo, I argue, stems from relying on critical patterns that do not fit the film itself

Radiostereometric Analysis of Tantalum vs. Titanium Acetabular Shells in Young THR Patients

Introduction: In the active total hip replacement (THR) population, maintaining acetabular component stability and limiting polyethylene wear are crucial components to preventing premature implant failure. Titanium with Co/Cr/Mo fiber metal coating is among the most common materials used in cementless THR. Trabecular metal, composed of porous tantalum, has a metallic strut design resembling trabecular bone, designed to improve tissue infiltration and limit migration. This study assesses the stability and clinical outcomes of tantalum versus titanium acetabular shells using radiostereometric analysis (RSA) technology. Methods: In this IRB approved, prospective, randomized, blinded study, 46 patients received a primary THR by a single surgeon (DCA). Each patient was randomized to receive a titanium (23) (Trilogy, Zimmer) or tantalum (23) (Modular tantalum shell, Zimmer) uncemented hemispheric cup and either a highly-crosslinked or conventional polyethylene liner. Tantalum RSA markers were implanted around the liner periphery, femur, and periacetabular bone in each patient. RSA examinations, Harris Hip, UCLA, WOMAC, SF-36 scores were obtained at 10 days, 6 months, and annually with the furthest patients evaluated through 5 years. Results: Median translation was greater at all time points for the tantalum mesh cups except for the 3-year follow-up, however due to large standard errors, there was no significant difference between the two designs (p\u3e0.05). These large standard errors were predominantly caused by two outliers, neither of which had clinical evidence of loosening at 5 years follow-up. Mean UCLA, WOMAC, Harris Hip, and SF-36 PCS and MCS scores improved similarly in both groups. Conclusions: In this young THR population, both titanium and tantalum acetabular shells demonstrated excellent stability at five years follow up. Tantalum shells demonstrated slightly greater micromotion, but there was no statistically significant difference in shell migration. Outstanding clinical outcomes with statistically significant improvements in function and pain relief were observed in both groups

Radiostereometric Analysis of Femoral Head Penetration in Cross-Linked Polyethylene in THR Patients

Background: In the young total hip replacement (THR) population limiting polyethylene liner wear is crucial to preventing premature implant failure. Highly cross-linked ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (HXLPE) liners were designed to improve wear resistance of polyethylene liners. Radiostereometric analysis (RSA) provides highly precise measurements of liner wear. This study utilized RSA to characterize wear of conventional versus HXLPE liners up to five years following THR. Methods: This IRB-approved, prospective, randomized, blinded study, involved 46 patients with a mean age of 58 and BMI of 30. Each patient was double randomized to receive a conventional or HXLPE liner with an uncemented titanium mesh or tantalum trabecular metal cup. Both liners were prepared from compression-molded GUR 1050 resin without calcium stearate, while HXLPE liners undergo further e-beam irradiation and annealing. At the time of surgery, 1mm tantalum RSA markers were implanted around the liner periphery, femur and periacetabular bone. RSA examinations, Harris Hip, UCLA, WOMAC, SF-36 scores were obtained pre-operatively, post-operatively, at six weeks, six months and annually through five years. Results: All patients had statistically significant improvement in Harris Hip, WOMAC and SF-36 PCS scores following THR with no difference between cohorts. On RSA examination, of titanium shells, HXLPE liners revealed significantly lower femoral head penetration at each follow up except six weeks and six months (p Conclusion: In this young THR population RSA shows significantly less femoral head penetration in the HXLPE liners compared to conventional liners. Novel RSA techniques have been developed to determine polyethylene wear in patients

Tantalum versus Titanium Acetabular Shells in Young Active THR Patients: A Radiostereometric Analysis (RSA) Study

Introduction: In the active THR (total hip replacement) population, acetabular component stability is crucial for preventing implant failure. Titanium fiber metal coating is the most common material used in cementless THR. Trabecular metal, composed of porous tantalum, is designed to improve tissue infiltration and limit migration. It is unknown if tantalum offers an advantage over titanium in the biologic fixation of porous-coated acetabular shells. Radiostereometric analysis (RSA) provides highly precise measurements of micromotion that are otherwise not detectable by routine radiographs. Methods: In this IRB approved, prospective, randomized, blinded study, 46 patients received a primary THR by a single surgeon. Each patient was randomized to receive a titanium (23) or tantalum (23) uncemented cup. Tantalum RSA markers were implanted around the polyethylene liner and into the patient’s femur and periacetabular bone. Also, patients received either a highly cross-linked (n=25) or a conventional liner (n=21). RSA examinations, Harris Hip, UCLA, WOMAC, SF-12 scores were obtained at 10 days, 6 months, and annually through 5 years. Results: The randomized groups had comparable mean age, preoperative activity, and average BMI. The tantalum shells demonstrated less median translation than the titanium shells at each time-point, but there was no statistical difference between the two shells. At 6 months median translation of tantalum and titanium was -0.01mm and 0.04mm and remained stable with median translation of -0.02mm and 0.04mm at four years. Mean UCLA, WOMAC, Harris Hip, and SF-12 PCS and MCS scores improved similarly in both groups. Conclusions: After THR, both patient cohorts had excellent clinical outcomes with statistically significant improvements in function and pain relief. Although tantalum porous-coated acetabular shells demonstrated less y-translation and y-rotation at all time points, there was no statistically significant difference in shell migration and both shells demonstrated excellent stability with minimal micromotion at four years

Asking better questions! A review of the pedagogical strategies used in one senior level award in Scotland

Previous related research on teaching effectiveness in one senior level award - Higher Still Physical Education (HSPE) in Scotland - revealed a number of extended challenges in adopting the practical experiential teaching and learning approaches advised. However, these studies were restricted by lack of observation of teaching and learning in action and of detailed analysis of the types and timings of questions asked. The present study addressed these limitations. Data were collected through observations of teaching, questionnaire responses on the uses of discussions by pupils and teachers and semi-structured teacher interviews. Findings revealed that there were encouraging signs of a broad range of purposeful question techniques being used in practical sessions. However, there was still a lack of full teacher trust in these approaches, despite high pupil endorsement for their usage. We conclude that perceived subject content and external assessment demands continue to constrain pedagogical strategies in HSPE

Evidence in the learning organization

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Organizational leaders in business and medicine have been experiencing a similar dilemma: how to ensure that their organizational members are adopting work innovations in a timely fashion. Organizational leaders in healthcare have attempted to resolve this dilemma by offering specific solutions, such as evidence-based medicine (EBM), but organizations are still not systematically adopting evidence-based practice innovations as rapidly as expected by policy-makers (the knowing-doing gap problem). Some business leaders have adopted a systems-based perspective, called the learning organization (LO), to address a similar dilemma. Three years ago, the Society of General Internal Medicine's Evidence-based Medicine Task Force began an inquiry to integrate the EBM and LO concepts into one model to address the knowing-doing gap problem.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>During the model development process, the authors searched several databases for relevant LO frameworks and their related concepts by using a broad search strategy. To identify the key LO frameworks and consolidate them into one model, the authors used consensus-based decision-making and a narrative thematic synthesis guided by several qualitative criteria. The authors subjected the model to external, independent review and improved upon its design with this feedback.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The authors found seven LO frameworks particularly relevant to evidence-based practice innovations in organizations. The authors describe their interpretations of these frameworks for healthcare organizations, the process they used to integrate the LO frameworks with EBM principles, and the resulting Evidence in the Learning Organization (ELO) model. They also provide a health organization scenario to illustrate ELO concepts in application.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The authors intend, by sharing the LO frameworks and the ELO model, to help organizations identify their capacities to learn and share knowledge about evidence-based practice innovations. The ELO model will need further validation and improvement through its use in organizational settings and applied health services research.</p

Reinventing the Hardbody: Deepfakes, De-aging, and the Plasticity of White Masculinity

As the bodies of the biggest stars of 1980s American action cinema enter their sixth and seventh decades of life, they demand reinvention in order to maintain their cultural and economic power. Deepfakes, which use machine learning algorithms to replace the face and/or voice of one person with that of another, create composite images that reassert this power, revealing the persistence of the hegemonic power of the white male hardbody. Examining a subset of YouTube deepfakes videos that remix and reimagine the stars of 1980s hardbody action films, this paper argues that these videos not only continue to “reboot” white male hegemony, but they also function as an ideological reclamation of masculine power in the present through modified images of the (revisionist) past. For example, YouTube artist CTRL SHIFT FACE has created a series of videos that exchange Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Jean-Claude Van Damme in some of their most popular films. The resulting palimpsest, which layers the facial performance of one actor over the bodily performance of another, produces a mode of white, masculine identity that is essentially exchangeable and transactional. On the industry side, the three most recent Terminator films feature de-aged versions of Schwarzenegger. The ideological project of these films is to circumvent the process of aging, both of the actors and of the intellectual property. Both the franchise and the actors working within the franchise require refreshing, and digital de-aging and facial replacement work toward injecting new life into bodies and properties feeling the effects of fatigue

Feeling heroic : affective response and the he-man action film

Using the he-man genre as a case study, this study examines the ways in which film solicits affective responses from the viewer. The he-man genre is defined as those Hollywood action films produced during the 1980s and early 1990s that feature a hardbodied hero as the main protagonist. This study, using a broadly cognitive theorization of affect, examines three specific areas in which these films solicit affective states: the areas of narration, spectacle, and depictions of masculinity and the male body.Radio-Television-Fil