Mediating memory: Shōjo and war memory in classical narrative Japanese cinema

Considering the impact of the trope of the shōjo, or girl trope in post-war Japanese cinema, this paper argues for the repeated motif as a key factor in the creation of a particular affective economy around the memorialization of war in Japan. I trace the development of the shōjo motif from the post-defeat era through the anti-nuclear films and activist movements of the early 1950s to show how the affect generated by the repeated trope drew real-life events into a persuasive cycle of repetition. The tone of this repeated trope thereby came to dominate the practice of public memorialization of war in Japan. Today’s post-pacifist Japan is informed by these past moments in the memorializing process, which impact on contemporary anti-war and anti-nuclear protests

Seasonality and determinants of child growth velocity and growth deficit in rural southwest Ethiopia

Background: Ethiopia faces cyclic food insecurity that alternates between pre- and post-harvest seasons. Whether seasonal variation in access to food is associated with child growth has not been assessed empirically. Understanding seasonality of child growth velocity and growth deficit helps to improve efforts to track population interventions against malnutrition. The aim of this study was assess child growth velocity, growth deficit, and their determinants in rural southwest Ethiopia. Method: Data were obtained from four rounds of a longitudinal household survey conducted in ten districts in Oromiya Region and Southern Nations, Nationality and Peoples Region of Ethiopia, in which 1200 households were selected using multi-stage cluster sampling. Households with a child under 5 years were included in the present analyses (round 1 n = 579, round 2 n = 674, round 3 n = 674 and round 4 n = 680). The hierarchical nature of the data was taken into account during the statistical analyses by fitting a linear mixed effects model. A restricted maximum likelihood estimation method was employed in the analyses. Result: Compared to the post-harvest season, a higher length and weight velocity were observed in pre-harvest season with an average difference of 6.4 cm/year and 0.6 kg/year compared to the post-harvest season. The mean height of children in post-harvest seasons was 5.7 cm below the WHO median reference height. The mean height of children increased an additional 3.3 cm [95% CI (2.94, 3.73)] per year in pre-harvest season compared to the post-harvest season. Similarly, the mean weight of children increased 1.0 kg [95% CI (0.91, 1.11)] per year more in the pre-harvest season compared to the post-harvest season. Children who had a low dietary diversity and were born during the lean season in both seasons had a higher linear growth deficit. Being member of a highly food insecure household was negatively associated with higher weight gain. Having experienced no illness during the previous 2 weeks was positively associated with linear growth and weight gain. Conclusion: Child growth velocities and child growth deficits were higher in the pre-harvest season and post-harvest season respectively. Low dietary diversity and being part of a highly food insecure household were significantly risk factors for decreased linear growth and weight gain respectively

Mining the Indianapolis Recorder: An Exploratory Study of a Digital Humanities Dataset

This poster presents an initial study using full-text transcripts from the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the nation's most important African American newspapers. Basic text mining and visualization approaches are used to highlight this data set and its potential for use in the digital humanities

Concepts and critical perspectives for food environment research: A global framework with implications for action in low- and middle-income countries

Malnutrition in all its forms currently affects one in three people globally and is considered one of the greatest public health challenges of our time. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasingly facing a double burden of malnutrition that includes undernutrition, as well as increasing overweight, obesity and diet related non-communicable diseases. The role of food environments in shaping transitioning diets and the double burden of malnutrition in LMICs is increasingly gaining policy attention. However, food environment research to date has predominantly been undertaken in response to obesity and associated diet-related non-communicable diseases in high-income countries (HICs). Empirical research in LMICs is in its infancy. There is a need to create a cohesive research agenda to facilitate food environment research and inform action across the globe, particularly with regard to LMICs. In this paper, we address three fundamental questions: First, how can the food environment be defined and conceptualised in a way that captures the key dimensions that shape food acquisition and consumption globally? Second, how can existing knowledge and evidence from HICs be leveraged to accelerate food environment research in LMICs? Third, what are the main challenges and opportunities in doing so? We conduct a brief synthesis of the food environment literature in order to frame our critical perspectives, and introduce a new definition and conceptual framework that includes external and personal domains and dimensions within the wider food environment construct. We conclude with a discussion on the implications for future research in LMICs

The Australian Medical Assessment Collaboration: developing the foundations for a national assessment of medical student learning outcomes

In late December 2010 the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Ltd (ALTC) provided a grant to The University of Queensland along with the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and Monash University to develop foundations for a national assessment that evaluates the learning outcomes of later‐year medical students in Australia. The project, titled ‘Developing the foundation for a national assessment of medical student learning outcomes’ responds to the growing need to prove and improve the standards of medical education by establishing an Australian Medical Assessment Collaboration (AMAC). This project includes scoping work, wide‐ranging sector engagement, development of an assessment framework, the compilation of assessment items, and the validation of items through pilot testing. The work provides a foundation for what will be the ongoing development and implementation of collaboration that will provide a sustainable and robust means of assuring the standards of medical education in Australia. The ALTC grant for this project has enabled the establishment of AMAC. This report outlines the achievements of the project and provides operational detail on the establishment of the collaboration