The Migration Of Forms: Bullet Time As Microgenre

Rehak considers the ways in which the film The Matrix branded bullet time both as technical process and stylistic convention, and discusses bullet time\u27s ancestry in image experimentation of the 1980s and 1990s. In his analysis, Rehak uses the conceptual framework of the microgenre to explore the cultural lifespan of bullet time, treating it less as a singular special effect than a package of photographic and digital techniques whose fortunes were shaped by a complex interplay of technology, narrative and style. Rehak\u27s goal is to shed light not just on bullet time, but on the changing behavior of visual texts in contemporary media. He examines an overview of special effects scholarship to date, most notably the indication that the repetition of special effects dulls their effectiveness, in part due to the changing competencies of audiences. Rehak also looks at the struggle of the filmmakers of The Matrix to craft sequels that simultaneously preserved bullet time\u27s appeal while varying it enough to ensure another breakthrough

Lack of knowledge networking? The role of discontinuity in the post socialist countries.

Knowledge generation is considered to be a collective process which requires mobilisation of number of knowledge agents. There is open debate in the literature about the role of spatial proximity for the knowledge interactions. Are proximity or distance interactions crucial for the knowledge generation? At the same time the question of the modes of knowledge governance gains on importance. If the market based knowledge interactions among firms are risky, they will require high level of investments to secure them, transaction costs will be high. In this case, such exchanges take place outside the market in other non-market structures, in principle as hierarchies (e.g. within a firm) or as hybrid contracts (e.g. long-term contracts). Turbulent and uncertain technological, business and regulatory environment in post socialist economies sharply increases the knowledge transaction costs. Due to the discontinuity in the knowledge generation processes, the economic system is characterized by high transaction and interaction costs associated with searching for economically useful knowledge in the region. Collective generation of new technological knowledge based on local intensive network interactions in post-socialist countries is a risky business from this perspective. The lack of trust among people hampers the cooperation activities and indicates potential costs emerging with opportunistic behaviour. According the main principles of transaction cost theory hierarchical organisation dominate in the governance of the knowledge processes as they are more effective to solve potential conflicts. At the same, time closed communities with a certain level of trust engaged in collective knowledge processes, may be expected as well. The empirical part of the paper is based on the case study of territorial knowledge dynamics undertaken in the framework of FP6 Eurodite research project. We are highlighting specific routes of knowledge processes in the IT sector in Bratislava region Slovakia

Solutions of half-linear differential equations in the classes Gamma and Pi

We study asymptotic behavior of (all) positive solutions of the non-oscillatory half-linear differential equation of the form (r(t)|y'|^ {alpha-1} sgn y')'=p(t)|y|^{alpha-1}sgn y, where alpha>1 and r,p are positive continuous functions, with the help of the Karamata theory of regularly varying functions and the de Haan theory. We show that increasing resp. decreasing solutions belong to the de Haan class Gamma resp. Gamma- under suitable assumptions. Further we study behavior of slowly varying solutions for which asymptotic formulas are established. Some of our results are new even in the linear case alpha=2

Computer-Generated Imagery

Computer-generated imagery or CGI is an area of digital visualization and image manipulation practices that, following its emergence in the late 1960s, quickly came to hold a privileged relationship to film production—affecting in particular visual effects, animation, and the big-budget blockbuster. In these areas, digital imaging is consistently pushed to its limits by an ever-advancing state of the art. In a view promoted by the industry through plentiful “making-of” coverage, CGI is strongly identified in the popular imagination with spectacular visual effects, demonstrating Hollywood’s prowess at realizing fantastic visions. But CGI plays a more significant if quieter role in its so-called invisible effects, which begin with the unnoticeable retouching of filmed “truth” and ripple outward to what some have warned is the destabilization of the cinematic medium itself, replacing the industry at every level—from production to exhibition and distribution—with its digital other. Academic attention to CGI grew slowly alongside its emergence as a powerful if alien force in filmmaking and film culture during the 1980s and 1990s but took off after the crucial year of 1999, when The Matrix heralded the fusion of analogue and digital cinema. CGI has become a key focus of popular attention on “behind the scenes” information, and an industrial entry point for fledgling filmmakers with access to cheap digital production tools. But even as it extends the powers and profits of the film industry, CGI has challenged established practices and definitions, destabilizing film’s ontological base, its indexical relationship to reality, the tenets of classical narrative structure, and even the boundaries separating film from other media such as video games, experimental art, and virtual reality.</p

Materializing Monsters: Aurora Models, Garage Kits And The Object Practices Of Horror Fandom

Since the explosion of ‘monster culture’ among adolescents in the 1960s, model kits, statues and toys based on horror-movie icons have played a key role in fan activities surrounding fantastic film and television. From magazines such as Famous Monsters to garage kits and collectible companies, these ‘object practices’ provide an alternative means of mapping the history, present and future of fantastic-media franchises, moving beyond reductive conceptions of marketing and promotion to suggest that material incarnations of science fiction, horror and fantasy texts are essential to their cultural persistence and commercial viability

Butler’s Kindred: Non-linear Genealogies and the Transformative Possibility of Breaking Genre Conventions

This article is featured in the journal Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities, volume 4

Off line Parallax Correction for Neutral Particle Gas Detectors

In a neutral particle gas detector, the parallax error resulting from the perpendicular projection on the detection plane or wire of the radial particle trajectories emanating from a point like source (such as a scattering sample) can significantly spoil the apparent angular resolution of the detector. However, as we will show, the information is not lost. We propose an off line data treatment to restore as much as possible the original scattering information in the case of a one-dimensional parallax effect. The reversibility of parallax follows from the algebraic structure of this effect, which is different from the resolution loss which is essentially irreversible. The interplay between finite resolution and parallax complicates the issue, but this can be resolved

A survey on e-learning content standardization

eLearning has been evolved in a gradual and consistent way. Along with this evolution several specialized and disparate systems appeared to fulfill the needs of teachers and students such as repositories of learning objects, intelligent tutors, or automatic evaluators. This heterogeneity poses issues that are necessary to address in order to promote interoperability among systems. Based on this fact, the standardization of content takes a leading role in the eLearning realm. This article presents a survey on current eLearning content standards. It gathers information on the most emergent standards and categorizes them according three distinct facets: metadata, content packaging and educational design