4,024 research outputs found
“The Girl Had a Shadow”: Us (2019) as a Modern Black Gothic
In this research paper, I examine how Jordan Peele’s film Us (2019) fits into the genre of a modern “Black Gothic.” I analyze how Peele uses imagery, character construction, and social references to construct a modern Black Gothic film that considers the intense history of oppression and silencing of groups on the basis of their race and class in the United States. I use the foundational definitions and examples provided by Maisha Wester and Sheri-Marie Harrison to argue how Us fits into and further modernizes the Black Gothic genre, as well as examining how Peele’s imagery contributes to the horror and the social commentary of the film. Ultimately, this paper provides a close reading of the whole film as a part of a larger conversation around how the historical and modern oppression of Black individuals and communities is embedded into the very foundation of the United States as a nation
The Effects of Storytelling on Happiness and Resilience in Older Adults
A person’s mind, body and spirit each age at a different pace. Several studies suggest that resilient older adults are happier and tend to report a better quality of life, regardless of actual health status. Studies also suggest that storytelling is one way to build happiness and resilience. We focused on storytelling as an intervention to build resilience in older adults. This study differs from previous studies in that we wanted to know if resilience could be affected in the short-term. The empirical culture of inquiry led us to use a case study method with a quasi-experimental design. We structured five weekly storytelling groups with eight older adults and measured the change in happiness and resilience before, during and after the 5-week program. We used descriptive statistics and thematic analyses. Results suggest that short-term storytelling is effective for increasing characteristics of happiness and resilience. The implications for short-term interventions to increase resilience may be especially useful for transitional care facilities and health crisis centers
Droughts in Poland, 1951-90
One of the negative features of Poland’s climate is the periodic occurrence of atmospheric droughts. The most frequent source of this phenomenon is the occurrence of long-term (sometimes lasting several weeks) rainless periods. The occurrence of these periods is connected with the persistence of a stationary east European high that joins with the Azores anticyclone via central Europe. In such situations, with the accompanying lack or insufficiency of atmospheric precipitation, a drought begins to develop gradually. First, a soil drought appears, followed by hydrologic drought. During a hydrologic drought, a decrease in the ground water flow into surface waters is observed, among other phenomena. This results in the reduction of water flow in rivers. During such periods, a significant drop in the level of underground waters, as well as drying of some springs and small water courses, is observed. In its initial phase of development, a drought exerts its first negative effects on crops. Intensification of this phenomenon also causes disturbances in other sectors of the national economy. Droughts and their negative results do not pose the same threat to all areas of Poland, although in general the influence of droughts is stronger here than in the majority of central European countries. This situation is the result of a combination of natural and historic factors. One of the areas of interest of the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) is continuous monitoring and assessment of the course of meteorological and hydrological phenomena occurring in all areas of Poland. When preparing an analysis of the course of successive periods of drought spells, specialists from the IMGW branch in Poznan noticed the absence of similar studies of this phenomenon in Polish literature. In an attempt to fill this gap, they catalogued all droughts that occurred in Poland from 1951 to 1990. The research methods adopted in this study, and also the general characteristics of droughts in Poland, are summarized in this article
The Extragalactic Distance Database: Color-Magnitude Diagrams
The CMDs/TRGB (Color-Magnitude Diagrams/Tip of the Red Giant Branch) section
of the Extragalactic Distance Database contains a compilation of observations
of nearby galaxies from the Hubble Space Telescope. Approximately 250 (and
increasing) galaxies in the Local Volume have CMDs and the stellar photometry
tables used to produce them available through the web. Various stellar
populations that make up a galaxy are visible in the CMDs, but our primary
purpose for collecting and analyzing these galaxy images is to measure the TRGB
in each. We can estimate the distance to a galaxy by using stars at the TRGB as
standard candles. In this paper we describe the process of constructing the
CMDs and make the results available to the public.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 long table, submitted to Astronomical Journa
Schwere Lithiumintoxikationen bei normalen Serumspiegeln
Anliegen Unser Ziel ist es, Faktoren zu identifizieren, die das Risiko einer Lithiumintoxikation trotz normaler Serumspiegel erhöhen. Methode Wir beschreiben zwei eigene Fälle und bewerten diese im Kontext der Literatur. Ergebnisse Alter, Begleiterkrankungen und psychopharmakologische Komedikation erhöhen das Risiko einer Lithiumintoxikation bei normalen Serumspiegeln. Diskussion Bei älteren, multimorbiden Patienten sollte eine engmaschige klinische Kontrolle inklusive Spiegelbestimmung und EEG erfolgen, bei klinischen Anzeichen der Intoxikation sollte auch bei unauffälligen Spiegeln ein Absetzen erwogen werden
Metallicity-corrected Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distance to NGC 4258
We have determined the distance to NGC 4258 using observations made with the
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Wide Field, Advanced Camera for Surveys
(ACS/WFC). We apply a modified technique that fully accounts for metallicity
effects on the use of the luminosity of the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB)
to determine one of the most precise TRGB distance moduli to date: u(TRGB) =
29.28 +/- 0.04 (random) +/- 0.12 (systematic) mag (7.18 +/- 0.13 +/- 0.40 Mpc).
We discuss this distance modulus with respect to other recent applications of
the TRGB method to NGC 4258, and with several other techniques (Cepheids and
masers) that are equally competitive in their precision, but different in their
systematics.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 14 pages, 9 figures. Re-submitted
with distance in Mpc corrected, and minor addition
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