Digital sculpting for historical representation: Neville tomb case study

Despite digital 3D polygon modelling applications providing a common and powerful tool-set for archaeological, architectural and historical visualisation over recent years, digital deformation sculpting tools are little used at present within the area of historical visualisation. More commonly applied within the video games and TV/motion picture industries, the intention of this research is to combine such tools and methodologies with existing scanned data and historical knowledge to remediate and re-imagine lost sculptural form. The aim would be to support both academic and public understanding of such missing artefacts. In addition, the research may promote alternative methods of prototyping within traditional stone carving industries and further provide an opportunity to critically evaluate approaches to deliberately mediated sculptural surrogates and their location within historical representation. The intended research will focus on an examination and partial re-construction of the Neville tomb at Durham Cathedral. An example of cultural vandalism, the tomb has been damaged at key moments throughout several hundred years of social and religious upheaval. It will provide the researcher with an opportunity to re-create and interpret some of the lost sculptural forms carved upon it. In addition, it affords the opportunity to further explore the use of polychrome on medieval stone carving

Understanding intercultural interaction: an analysis of key concepts

Living, working and studying in intercultural and international contexts is ever more relevant to a broad range of individuals including educators, social scientists and professionals. As education and work become increasingly international, every student and professional at some point is likely to feel the need to explore and discuss concepts of culture and identity in order to be prepared for intercultural encounters in the globalised workplace. Understanding Intercultural Interaction encourages readers to abandon the notion that culture is something static that we possess or have inherited and to see it as fluid and dynamic, created, interpreted and negotiated through social interaction. It recommends an examination of the contextual framework of intercultural behaviour and the power relations and inequalities that pervade it to enable readers to understand themselves and the role that they play on the international stage. In its exploration of key concepts in culture and interaction, the book equips students and professionals from varied backgrounds with the tools to understand, discuss and apply them to their own lives. Designed principally as an accessible introduction for non-specialists to explore a wide range of theories and ideas that seek to explain intercultural encounters, the critical analysis provided in this book also offers ample scope for more in-depth exploration by those who wish to deepen their knowledge of the field, making it ideal for facilitating reflection and discussion in study or training contexts

Coping with authoritarianism in international relocation: a case of cross-cultural adjustment research in context - Cuba

Purpose As the rate of growth in trade of developing and developed economies converges, international business is increasingly taking place in a growing assortment of political and ideological contexts with variable levels of tolerance for plural dissidence. This can create substantial challenges and risks for cross cultural adjustment and increases the potential for assignment failure. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an authoritarian regime on the process of adjustment amongst expatriate sojourners and draw out lessons for future research and policies for relocation in similar authoritarian contexts. Approach This was a qualitative research study over three years making use of participant observation methods as a result of researcher immersion in the local context. Findings This study finds that ‘culture’ is an insufficient category for explaining difficulties in cross cultural adjustment and demonstrates that adjustment difficulties under authoritarianism are heightened in the proximate sociocultural context, with geo-political and ideological dynamics creating more challenging conditions of life. Increased levels of social control act to heighten psychological vulnerability amongst sojourners, resulting in coping behaviours that seek a greater degree of psychological alleviation and companionship through more resource-intensive supportive networks and a tendency towards enclavism, thus inhibiting sociocultural adjustment to the host society. Research implications Research needs to recognise more fully the diverse nature of contexts in cross-cultural adjustment. Future research should explore different types of contexts and assess what sort of challenges may arise in relation to the process of psychological and sociocultural adjustment and the adjustive resources required to overcome them. Practical implications The paper contributes to the understanding of the psychological and sociocultural challenges of international relocation in an authoritarian context and serves as valuable insight for relocation planning in similar conditions, which are an ever increasing feature of international business. Originality/value This paper gives a unique insight into international relocation in Cuba and draws out the areas of concern for cross-cultural adjustment under authoritarian conditions. It serves as an example of how context-based research can inform cross-cultural theory and practice within an evolving landscape of doing business globally

Key concepts in intercultural dialogue: culture shock

“Culture shock” is a feeling of disorientation and unease in a new and unfamiliar cultural environment as a result of relocation. This concept has both an affective, or psychological, component, relating to how an individual feels in their new surroundings, and a behavioural, or sociocultural, component, relating to how they interact with others from a different cultural background. Relocation triggers a cognitive response in individuals, who reflect on their own cultural identity and either reject or learn how to live by new cultural rules. An early model of culture shock, devised by Kalervo Oberg, identified set stages in a linear progression towards adjustment, but, while there may be common elements, such as learning a new language or coping with new norms or laws, the experience is now understood as different for each individual. Much depends on the domains that they frequent and the social roles that they play, ranging from an employee adjusting to new management practices at work, an accompanying spouse coping with daily life, to a student dealing with a new college and methods of study

Taking the "culture" out of "culture shock": a critical review of literature on cross-cultural adjustment in international relocation

Purpose The experience of “culture shock” is an established concept within international management studies, engendering an industry of training designed to combat difficulties in relocation. This paper argues that the use of the concept is based on a flawed understanding of “culture” and proposes an alternative perspective to help organisations prepare their employees for overseas assignments. Approach The paper opts for a critical review of literature in order to examine models of culture shock through time and theories relating to success factors in cross-cultural adjustment. In so doing, the paper revisits the notion of culture shock from a social constructionist perspective within a dialectical framework. Findings The paper challenges the notion of culture as an essential, reified concept, arguing that culture shock is not about culture, but about the dynamics of context and how individuals deal with life changes to navigate the challenges that they face. Research implications Future research should focus on context-related, interactive behaviour, framed in discourse processes, rather than pre-determined a priori typologies based on cultural stereotypes. This would recognise the discursive nature of social interaction within a dialectical framework, where relational tension emerges as a result of disparity. Practical implications The paper contributes to an understanding of the complex range of factors influencing the success of relocation in order to guide international companies in their policies. Originality/value This paper proposes a paradigm shift in the treatment of culture shock towards a more discourse-based concept created through universal cultural and dialectical processes

Epidemiological tracing of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans identifies widespread infection and associated mortalities in private amphibian collections

The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) infects newts and salamanders (urodele amphibians), in which it can cause fatal disease. This pathogen has caused dramatic fire salamander population declines in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany since its discovery in 2010. Thought to be native to Asia, it has been hypothesised that Bsal was introduced to Europe with the importation of infected amphibians for the commercial pet trade. Following the discovery of Bsal in captive amphibians in the United Kingdom in 2015, we used contact-tracing to identify epidemiologically-linked private amphibian collections in Western Europe. Of 16 linked collections identified, animals were tested from 11 and urodeles tested positive for Bsal in seven, including the identification of the pathogen in Spain for the first time. Mortality of Bsal-positive individuals was observed in five collections. Our results indicate that Bsal is likely widespread within the private amphibian trade, at least in Europe. These findings are important for informing policy regarding Bsal control strategies

The Evolving Accretion Disc in the Black Hole X-ray Transient XTE J1859+226

We present HST, RXTE, and UKIRT observations of the broad band spectra of the black hole X-ray transient XTE J1859+226 during the decline from its 1999-2000 outburst. Our UV spectra define the 2175A interstellar absorption feature very well and based on its strength we estimate E(B-V)=0.58+/-0.12. Hence we deredden our spectra and follow the evolution of the spectral energy distribution on the decline from outburst. We find that the UV and optical data, and the X-ray thermal component when detectable, can be fit with a simple blackbody model of an accretion disc heated by internal viscosity and X-ray irradiation, and extending to close to the last stable orbit around the black hole, although the actual inner radius cannot be well constrained. During the decline we see the disc apparently evolving from a model with the edge dominated by irradiative heating towards one where viscous heating is dominant everywhere. The outer disc radius also appears to decrease during the decline; we interpret this as evidence of a cooling wave moving inwards and discuss its implications for the disc instability model. Based on the normalisation of our spectral fits we estimate a likely distance range of 4.6-8.0kpc, although a value outside of this range cannot securely be ruled out.Comment: 10 pages including figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Large–Scale Movement and Reef Fidelity of Grey Reef Sharks

Despite an Indo-Pacific wide distribution, the movement patterns of grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) and fidelity to individual reef platforms has gone largely unstudied. Their wide distribution implies that some individuals have dispersed throughout tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, but data on large-scale movements do not exist. We present data from nine C. amblyrhynchos monitored within the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea off the coast of Australia. Shark presence and movements were monitored via an array of acoustic receivers for a period of six months in 2008. During the course of this monitoring few individuals showed fidelity to an individual reef suggesting that current protective areas have limited utility for this species. One individual undertook a large-scale movement (134 km) between the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef, providing the first evidence of direct linkage of C. amblyrhynchos populations between these two regions. Results indicate limited reef fidelity and evidence of large-scale movements within northern Australian waters

A study of the interacting binary V 393 Scorpii

We present high resolution J-band spectroscopy of V 393 Sco obtained with the CRIRES at the ESO Paranal Observatory along with a discussion of archival IUE spectra and published broad band magnitudes. The best fit to the spectral energy distribution outside eclipse gives $T_{1}$= 19000 $\pm$ 500 $K$ for the gainer, $T_{2}$= 7250 $\pm$ 300 $K$ for the donor, $E(B-V)$= 0.13 $\pm$ 0.02 mag. and a distance of $d$= 523 $\pm$ 60 pc, although circumstellar material was not considered in the fit. We argue that V 393 Sco is not a member of the open cluster M7. The shape of the He I 1083 nm line shows orbital modulations that can be interpreted in terms of an optically thick pseudo-photosphere mimicking a hot B-type star and relatively large equatorial mass loss through the Lagrangian L3 point during long cycle minimum. IUE spectra show several (usually asymmetric) absorption lines from highly ionized metals and a narrow L$\alpha$ emission core on a broad absorption profile. The overall behavior of these lines suggests the existence of a wind at intermediate latitudes. From the analysis of the radial velocities we find $M_{2}/M_{1}$= 0.24 $\pm$ 0.02 and a mass function of $f$= 4.76 $\pm$ 0.24 M$\odot$. Our observations favor equatorial mass loss rather than high latitude outflows as the cause for the long variability.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures, 7 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS, main journa