Temporary techno-social gatherings? A (hacked) discussion about open practices

This paper is rooted in an experimental inquiry of issue-oriented temporary techno-social gatherings or TTGs, which are typically referred to as hackathons, workshops or pop-ups and employ rapid design and development practices to tackle technical challenges while engaging with social issues. Based on a collaboration between three digital practitioners (a producer, a researcher and a designer), qualitative and creative data was gathered across five different kinds of TTG events in London and in Tartu which were held in partnership with large institutions, including Art:Work at Tate Exchange within Tate Modern, the Mozilla Festival at Ravensbourne College and the 2017 Association of Internet Researchers conference hosted in Tartu. By analysing data using an open and discursive approach manifested in both text and visual formats, we reflect on the dynamic and generative characteristics of TTG gatherings while also arriving at our own conclusions as situated researchers and practitioners who are ourselves engaged in increasingly messy webs where new worlds of theory and practice are built

The politics of age and generation at the GAZE International LGBT Film Festival in Dublin

Despite their global proliferation, queer film festivals, like film festivals more broadly, are somewhat understudied within the social sciences. This is despite scholarship within film studies that argues that they are significant sites of queer collectivity and sociality. This article examines queer film festivals as sites for the production of community and queer bonds. The authors argue that questions of age, temporality and intergenerationality are central to discourses of community mobilized by festival organizers. The article draws on empirical material from a qualitative study of the GAZE International LGBT Festival in Dublin – which formed part of a larger comparative study of the cultural activist politics of queer film festivals in Europe. Ken Plummer has argued for a greater appreciation of the role of time and generation within sexuality studies. Age, temporality and intergenerationality emerged as important issues within interviews conducted with organizers and volunteers at the festival. The analysis of these issues focuses on three key themes: (1) GAZE as a site of intergenerational community; (2) GAZE as a site of remembrance; and (3) demography and the sustainability of the festival. The article argues that the festival provides a distinctive site of intergenerational queer bonds; and that despite the creation of transnational spaces and discourses, references to the nation and national identity remain central to bonding experiences at the festival

Echocardiographic measurements and cardiac anatomy in healthy Western hognose snakes (Heterodon nasicus)

This study aims to describe the most important cardiac structures in the Heterodon nasicus through echocardiography and anatomical dissection. Echocardiographic and echo-Doppler measurements were performed on twenty healthy adult Heterodon nasicus (10.10). The values of the ventricular length, aortic diameter, pulmonary trunk diameter, the mean thickness of the interventricular septum, and thicknesses of the wall of the cavum pulmonale (Cav. P) and cavum arteriosum (Cav. A), were measured. The aortic flow and pulmonary trunk flow were recorded. Two dead specimens (1.1) were dissected. The male's pulmonary trunk diameter was bigger compared to the female's in both the long and short axis. The reproductive ecology of Heterodon nasicus has yet to be fully elucidated upon, however, male territorialism and dispersal from the hibernacula, and multiple male courtships toward a single female were described, hence, the more active reproductive activity of the male and the consequent sexual selection toward a higher aerobic performance can be hypothesised. A moderate interventricular right to left shunt was noticed in the Cav. V of all the specimens, which is considered normal and should not confuse the clinician. Congenital defects, cardiomyopathies, valvulopathies, and pericardial diseases are known to occur in ophidians and other reptiles. Reliable data and profound knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the ophidian heart are fundamental for the in vivo diagnosis of cardiac diseases in snakes

Echocardiographic measurements and cardiac anatomy in healthy Western hognose snakes (Heterodon nasicus)

This study aims to describe the most important cardiac structures in the Heterodon nasicus through echocardiography and anatomical dissection. Echocardiographic and echo-Doppler measurements were performed on twenty healthy adult Heterodon nasicus (10.10). The values of the ventricular length, aortic diameter, pulmonary trunk diameter, the mean thickness of the interventricular septum, and thicknesses of the wall of the cavum pul-monale (Cav. P) and cavum arteriosum (Cav. A), were measured. The aortic flow and pulmonary trunk flow were recorded. Two dead specimens (1.1) were dissected. The male's pulmonary trunk diameter was bigger compared to the female's in both the long and short axis. The reproductive ecology of Heterodon nasicus has yet to be fully elucidated upon, however, male territorialism and dispersal from the hibernacula, and multiple male courtships toward a single female were described, hence, the more active reproductive activity of the male and the conse-quent sexual selection toward a higher aerobic performance can be hypothesised. A moderate interventricular right to left shunt was noticed in the Cav. V of all the specimens, which is considered normal and should not confuse the clinician. Congenital defects, cardiomyopathies, valvulopathies, and pericardial diseases are known to occur in ophidians and other reptiles. Reliable data and profound knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the ophidian heart are fundamental for the in vivo diagnosis of cardiac diseases in snakes

The housing pathways of lesbian and gay youth and intergenerational family relations: A Southern European perspective

Against the heteronormativity of the increasing field of studies around intergenerational family relations within asset-based welfare systems, the paper analyses the housing pathways of lesbian and gay young people, focusing on family intergenerational relations and the implications concerning emotional, private and sexual life. The paper focuses on Greece and Italy, two countries characterized by the so-called ‘Southern European’ model of welfare system centred around the family. Given the persistence of homo/lesbophobia, this process pushes lesbian and gay youth to negotiate between housing choices and personal lives in ambivalent ways. The housing strategies analysed are regrouped into four categories: i) the return to the family house; ii) the dependence on the family of origin to buy or rent; iii) international migration to be more autonomous; iv) the experience of alternative housing models, mostly squatting, or sharing (including Airbnb). Our categorization must not be interpreted as fixed or immutable since people might try different solutions over time