Zen and the art of film narrative: Towards a transcendental realism in film

Nations and peoples are largely the stories they feed themselves. If they tell themselves stories that are lies, they will suffer the consequences of those lies. If they tell themselves stories that face their own truths, they will free their histories for future flowerings. (Okri 1995: 21) What defines the classic narrative is also at the root of its limitations; an epistemology that ties it to a material and psychological paradigm governed by largely explicable laws of cause and effect. Such notions as ‘character motivation’, ‘narrative aims’, ‘obstacles’, ‘climax’ and so on have evolved to become as overwhelmingly dominant in cinema as the dogma of reason which subsequently the industrial age solidified. It is from this that the moving-image medium emerged: empirical evidence of motivations, mechanistic notions of causes and effects and scientifically based – including the pseudosciences of psychology and sociology – that provide justifications for events and actions – all serve to reinforce the dominance of the classic narrative’s role in the storytelling of the developed world. In this article, I shall call for a different perspective on cinematic narrative form; not with a view to discussing what film generally is, but to make some general suggestions of what it could be, particularly from the perspective of a film-maker trying to transcend the limitations of the classic narrative. The motive is to try and understand how, in practice, one may evolve narrative forms in such a way as to deal with experiences not sufficiently touched by the classic form, as it is currently generally practised in cinema. I shall, in particular, look at the relationship between emotions and feelings and their relationship to narrative structure and bring into this examination some notions and ideas from Zen Buddhism to re-evaluate that relationship. The issues I hope to raise are about paradigms and I shall therefore deliberately base my discussion on general assertions and eclectic contextualization

Cinema of poverty: Independence and simplicity in an age of abundance and complexity

Over the past 25 years of writing, producing and directing, my aspirations as a creative artist in film have shifted from a paradigm in which the scale and scope of financial and human resources shaped not only the creative intentions of a project, but the very definition of what made something ‘cinematic’, to a new paradigm in which poverty - both in terms of resources and, more philosophically, in terms of artistic expression - has become one of the defining features of my artistic aspiration and my understanding of a new cinema. This development has interacted with parallel developments in technologies of production, distribution and exhibition, of a kind and scale I never envisaged when first embarking on a career in film, and has, for me, led to a kind of creative liberation which I am only now beginning to fully understand. Traditionally, human and financial resources have been considered essential for the production of quality, creative narrative films. In this article, I shall reflect on my own practice to explore how poverty can enhance the creative engagement with the medium and lead to the development of new and innovative approaches to, amongst other things, narrative imagery and, in so doing, explore how poverty can introduce new and original approaches to cinematic story-telling

Not So Fast: Cultivating miRs as Kinks in the Chain of the Cell Cycle.

In this issue of Cancer Cell, Hydbring and colleagues define a novel class of microRNAs (miRNAs), deemed cell-cycle-targeting miRNAs, that target several cyclins/CDKs, reduce tumor cell growth, and induce apoptosis. These miRNAs effectively suppressed chemoresistant patient-derived xenograft growth in vivo, and efficacy could be prospectively predicted with an expression-based algorithm

Direct indication of particle size in fluidized beds

Differential pressure measurements indicate particle size and particle size distribution in fluidized beds. The technique is based on the relationship between bed particle size and the intensity and frequency of fluctuations. By measuring the fluctuations, an estimate of average particle size of the fluid-bed material can be made

Extending the redshift distribution of submm galaxies: Identification of a z~4 submm galaxy

We present the identification of a bright submillimeter galaxy (SMG) in the field of Abell 2218. The galaxy has a spectroscopic redshift of ~4, and is currently the highest redshift SMG known. It is detected at all wavelengths from optical to submm, including the Spitzer IRAC bands. We discuss the properties of this galaxy, which is undergoing intense star formation at a rate~600 Msun/yr. We also compare the properties to those of radio-preselected submm-bright galaxies. The z~4 result extends the redshift distribution of SMGs.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, uses asp2004.sty. To appear in the proceedings of the conference "Infrared Diagnostics of Galaxy Evolution", Pasadena, CA, 14-16 November 2005, ed. R. Char

Hormone whodunit: clues for solving the case of intratumor androgen production.

One of the key mechanisms by which prostate cancer cells evade hormone therapy is through intratumor testosterone production. New evidence points toward androstenedione as a potential precursor of intratumor androgen production and furthers nomination of AKR1C3 as a therapeutic target in advanced disease. Clin Cancer Res; 20(21); 5343-5. ©2014 AACR

Leadership Developmental Readiness : Furthering Our Understanding of This Multi-Dimensional Construct

Although Leader Developmental Readiness (LDR) has been discussed in the leadership literature for over a decade, there has been little consensus on what factors constitute whether one is ready to develop as a leader. The purpose of our research was to consolidate and provide a cohesive model of the motivational components of LDR that encompasses the existing body of research. We used a longitudinal database containing 328 first semester freshmen students from five universities involved in leadership development programs to assess how the proposed LDR factors cluster and the antecedents of these factors. Our model suggests LDR as constituting a general readiness to learn, having a leader possible self (LPS), high leadership self-efficacy (LSE), and a motivation to lead. A hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted to explore how first semester college students participating in a leadership development program group cluster based upon their aforementioned components of LDR. The cluster analysis yielded two distinct groups of individuals which were entitled Mature LDR and Emerging LDR. The Mature LDR cluster was associated with higher general readiness to learn, LPS, LSE, and motivation to lead than the Emerging LDR cluster. Antecedents to these clusters were examined and it was determined that environmental support factors such as coming from higher social-economic status, having greater previous leadership experience, having a peer role model, and being more engaged in high school were found to predict being grouped into the Mature LDR cluster. Students entering a leadership development program during their first year in college with a high LDR were more likely to participate in leadership development experiences during their sophomore and junior year than those students entering with a low LDR

Manifestation determinations: An interdisciplinary and user-friendly guide to best practices

Rates of suspensions and expulsions are increasing in public schools in the United States, despite research stating that such exclusions have negative effects on students and are generally ineffective in addressing misbehavior. There is an overrepresentation of students with disabilities in the population of excluded students, which poses a threat to their right to a free and appropriate education (FAPE). When a student with a disability faces an exclusion, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires a manifestation determination review (MDR) to be held by a committee of school personnel and the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) to determine the cause of the student’s behavior. Challenges inherent to group decision-making as well as issues do to conflicting views, vague language, and the MDR process itself often arise during MDR meetings. The literature recommends best practices for interdisciplinary committees such as establishing a shared goal and utilizing a common language, as well as MDR-specific best practices such as better involving the parent(s)/guardian(s), improving MDR training for committee members, and employing evidence-based interventions in the aftermath of an MDR. The literature also maintains the importance of a school psychologist participating in an MDR meeting as a professional who is trained in the scientific study of behavior, can provide objective information on common manifestations of disabilities, and can explain the implications of evaluation results. The goal, format, content, and possible applications of the best-practice eBook created to assist the MDR committee members in their preparation are discussed

The cyclin D1b splice variant: an old oncogene learns new tricks

The function of cyclin D1 as a positive regulator of the cell cycle and proto-oncogene has been well established. Cyclin D1 elicits its pro-proliferative function early in G1 phase, through its ability to activate cyclin dependent kinase (CDK) 4 or 6. Active CDK4/6-cyclin D1 complexes phosphorylate substrates that are critical for modulating G1 to S phase progression, and in this manner promote cellular proliferation. Emerging data from a number of model systems revealed that cyclin D1 also holds multiple, kinase-independent cellular functions. First, cyclin D1 assists in sequestering CDK inhibitors (e.g. p27(kip1)), thus bolstering late G1 CDK activity. Second, cyclin D1 is known to bind and modulate the action of several transcription factors that hold significance in human cancers. Thus, cyclin D1 impinges on several distinct pathways that govern cancer cell proliferation. Although intragenic somatic mutation of cyclin D1 in human disease is rare, cyclin D1 gene translocation, amplification and/or overexpression are frequent events in selected tumor types. Additionally, a polymorphism in the cyclin D1 locus that may affect splicing has been implicated in increased cancer risk or poor outcome. Recent functional analyses of an established cyclin D1 splice variant, cyclin D1b, revealed that the cyclin D1b isoform harbors unique activities in cancer cells. Here, we review the literature implicating cyclin D1b as a mediator of aberrant cellular proliferation in cancer. The differential roles of cyclin D1 and the cyclin D1b splice variant in prostate cancer will be also be addressed, wherein divergent functions have been linked to altered proliferative control