From film policy to creative screen policies : media convergence and film policy trends in Flanders

In recent years, digitization processes and media convergence trends have changed the film industry in various ways. Scholars have indicated various alterations in the aesthetics, production, distribution, exhibition and reception of films, thereby pointing at new technological possibilities and challenges, an increasing participatory cinema culture, changes in the broader creative and economic strategies of film and media companies and an overall convergence between film and other media. The expansion of film industry activities from film to various other media has a long history. Media convergence trends, however, have recently intensified this expansion. In a European context, the role of film policy is particularly relevant in this respect, as film policy forms a crucial cornerstone for the organization of European film industries. By focusing on recent developments in Flanders (the northern, Dutch-language region in Belgium), this case study examines how, in tune with digitization and media convergence processes, government film policy in Europe has increasingly expanded its scope. More specifically, we analyse how film policy has evolved from a focus on the production of films into a more complex set of policy measures towards ‘creative screen media’ production. With this case study, we want to argue that contemporary film policy should be seen within the broader media environment and media policies, which are characterized by the growth of a conceptual and practical convergence between various (old and new) media, information and communication technologies and creative arts. This transition process is not ‘new’ as such, but has remarkably intensified since the turn of the millennium. Indeed, the evolution from film policy to broader creative screens policies runs parallel with and is connected to a more general shift in government policy (in Flanders and elsewhere), from a ‘cultural’ to a ‘creative’ industries policy paradigm

Cerebral asymmetries in sleep-dependent processes of memory consolidation

peer reviewedPreference for previously seen, unfamiliar objects reflects a memory bias on affective judgment, known as the "mere exposure effect" (MEE). Here, we investigated the effect of time, post-exposure sleep, and the brain hemisphere solicited on preference generalization toward objects viewed in different perspectives. When presented in the right visual field (RVF), which promotes preferential processing in the left hemisphere, same and mirrored exemplars were preferred immediately after exposure. MEE generalized to much dissimilar views after three nights of sleep. Conversely, object presentation in the left visual field (LVF), promoting right hemisphere processing, elicited a MEE for same views immediately after exposure, then for mirror views after sleep. Most importantly, sleep deprivation during the first post-exposure night, although followed by two recovery nights, extinguished MEE for all views in the LVF but not in the RVF. Besides demonstrating that post-exposure time and sleep facilitate the generalization process by which we integrate various representations of an object, our results suggest that mostly in the right hemisphere, sleep may be mandatory to consolidate the memory bias underlying affective preference. These interhemispheric differences tentatively call for a reappraisal of the role of cerebral asymmetries in wake- and sleep-dependent processes of memory consolidation

The impact of neighborhood deprivation on patients' unscheduled out-of-hours healthcare seeking behavior: a cross-sectional study

Background: The use of unscheduled out of hours medical care is related to the social status of the patient. However, the social variance in the patient's preference for a hospital based versus a primary care based facility, and the impact of specific patient characteristics such as the travel distance to both types of facilities is unclear. This study aims to determine the social gradient in emergency care seeking behavior (consulting the emergency department (ED) in a hospital or the community-based Primary Care Center (PCC)) taking into account patient characteristics including the geographical distance from the patient's home to both services. Methods: A cross-sectional study, including 7,723 patients seeking out-of-hours care during 16 weekends and 2 public holidays was set up in all EDs and PCCs in Ghent, Belgium. Information on the consulted type of service, and neighborhood deprivation level was collected, but also the exact geographical distance from the patient's home to both types of services, and if the patient has a regular GP. Results: Patients living in a socially deprived area have a higher propensity to choose a hospital-based ED than their counterparts living in more affluent neighborhoods. This social difference persists when taking into account distance to both services, having a regular GP, and being hospitalized or not. The impact of the distance between the patient's home address and the location of both types of services on the patient's choice of service is rather small. Conclusions: Initiatives aiming to lead patients more to PCC by penalizing inappropriate ED use might increase health inequity when they are not twinned with interventions improving the access to primary care services and tackling the underlying mechanisms of patients' emergency care seeking behavior. Further research exploring the impact of out-of-hours care organization (gatekeeping, payment systems, ...) and the patient's perspectives on out-of-hours care services is needed