A discrete realization of the higher rank Racah algebra

In previous work a higher rank generalization $R(n)$ of the Racah algebra was defined abstractly. The special case of rank one encodes the bispectrality of the univariate Racah polynomials and is known to admit an explicit realization in terms of the operators associated to these polynomials. Starting from the Dunkl model for which we have an action by $R(n)$ on the Dunkl-harmonics, we show that connection coefficients between bases of Dunkl-harmonics diagonalizing certain Abelian subalgebra are multivariate Racah polynomials. By lifting the action of $R(n)$ to the connection coefficients, we identify the action of the Abelian subalgebras with the action of the Racah operators defined by J. S. Geronimo and P. Iliev. Making appropriate changes of basis one can identify each generator of $R(n)$ as a discrete operator acting on the multivariate Racah polynomials.Comment: 24 page

Sex in the city: the rise of soft-erotic film culture in Cinema Leopold, Ghent, 1945-1954

Since the 1990s, film studies saw a disciplinary shift from approaches favoring a textual and ideological analysis of films to a broader understanding of the socio-cultural history of cinema under the banner of new cinema history. This turn not only allowed for ‘niche’ research domains to flourish such as film economics or cinema memory research, or for new empirical and critical methodologies to be applied to film and cinema history. This change in researching and writing film/cinema history also shed light on previously marginalized, neglected or uncharted film cultures and histories, burgeoning scholarship in for instance (s)exploitation cinema. This contribution examines a peculiar part of post-war local film culture in the Belgian city of Ghent, more precisely the one around the city-center soft-erotic cinema Cinema Leopold (1945-54). The research is based on a programming and box-office database compiled from archival sources and contextualized by other data (internal and external correspondence, posters,…) coming from the business archive of Octave Bonnevalle, Cinema Leopold’s founding pater familias (material kept in the State Archives of Belgium; RAB/B70/1928-1977). The database now contains information on 625 film titles shown between 1945 and 1954, out of which 233 were unidentified (due to lack of information). Although the database is at times crippled by source inconsistencies, it is extremely rich in documenting the everyday practices of a cinema that gradually turned into a soft-erotic movie theater. The database allows for some remarkable findings concerning shifts in the origin of films, their production years, genres, censorship and popularity. The key finding is that Cinema Leopold started out after the Second World War with a child-friendly, mainstream Hollywood-oriented film program, as did most cinemas in Ghent, but its profile slowly tilted towards more mature audiences and provocative film genres. These included French ‘risqué’ feature films containing some forms of nudity like Perfectionist/Un Grand Patron (Ciampi, 1951) and documentaries on venereal diseases like the successful Austrian Creeping Poison/Schleichendes Gift (Wallbrück, 1946), but also auteur movies such as Bergman’s Port of Call/Hamnstad (1948) were shown. It is interesting how Leopold walked a fine line between innovative, bold European art-house cinema, soft-erotic ‘didactic’ movies and flat-out commercial soft-porn. By 1954, Leopold had gathered a loyal crowd, which kept the cinema alive until 1981 despite the several law suits and trials. This micro-history offers a remarkable example of the post-war flourishing of alternative, yet profit-driven cinema circuits, riddled with media controversies and censorship

Bias and Equivalence in Cross-Cultural Research

Bias and equivalence are key concepts in the methodology of cross-cultural studies. Bias is a generic term for any challenge of the comparability of cross-cultural data; bias leads to invalid conclusions. The demonstration of equivalence (lack of bias) is a prerequisite for any cross-cultural comparison. we first describe considerations that are relevant when choosing instruments in a cross-cultural study, notably the question of whether an existing or new instrument is to be preferred.We then describe the definition, manifestation, and sources of three types of bias (construct, method, and item bias), and three levels of equivalence (construct, measurement unit, and full score equivalence). We provide strategies to minimize bias and achieve equivalence that apply either to the design, implementation, or statistical analysis phase of a study. The need to integrate these strategies in cross-cultural studies is emphasized so as to increase the validity of conclusions regarding cross-cultural similarities and differences and rule out alternative explanations of cross-cultural differences

Objectivity: its meaning, its limitations, its fateful omissions

In this text, we explore the guiding thread of the volume "Objectivity after Kant" by first discussing how the main question pertaining to transcendental objectivity arose at the Centre for Critical Philosophy. This exposition takes the form of a microhistorical genealogy, from which the main ideas pursued in the research conducted at this Centre can be distilled. In the second part, we briefly sketch how the different contributors have addressed this question. Its purpose is to facilitate the reader’s navigation through the variety of topics and perspectives addressed throughout this volume, and incite further reflection on the central issue it pursues

Types of Comparative Studies in Cross-Cultural Psychology

From a methodological perspective cross-cultural studies in psychology differ in three dimensions. First, cross-cultural psychological studies can be exploratory or test specific hypotheses. Second, some cross-cultural studies compare countries or ethnic groups while other cross-cultural studies relate specific characteristics of a country or ethnicity (e.g., socialization patterns or religiosity) to psychological variables. Third, studies can compare either constructs (e.g., do Chinese and Kenyans mean the same when they say that a person is intelligent?) or score levels (e.g., are Americans more extravert than Italians?). A classification of cross-cultural psychological studies, based on the three dimensions, is presented and examples are given

Material selection for a new type of fire extinguisher

Nowadays safety is a hot topic, damage inflicted to human beings is intolerable. Fire safety is a big concern in industrial areas, but in residential areas a lot less precautions are in place. Therefore a new type of fire extinguisher should be developed that should encourage the installation of fire extinguishers in commercial environments and at home. The design of this fire extinguisher has to answer to a lot of demands. From a legal point of view, the extinguisher has to comply with the PED regulations and the EN 3 standard. Extra demands are, given the purpose, superb performance, great ergonomics and an attractive visual design. One of the steps in the design process is to make a material selection based on needed and desired properties of materials. Also the possible processes for manufacturing are an important parameter

The higher rank qq-deformed Bannai-Ito and Askey-Wilson algebra

The $q$-deformed Bannai-Ito algebra was recently constructed in the threefold tensor product of the quantum superalgebra $\mathfrak{osp}_q(1\vert 2)$. It turned out to be isomorphic to the Askey-Wilson algebra. In the present paper these results will be extended to higher rank. The rank $n-2$ $q$-Bannai-Ito algebra $\mathcal{A}_n^q$, which by the established isomorphism also yields a higher rank version of the Askey-Wilson algebra, is constructed in the $n$-fold tensor product of $\mathfrak{osp}_q(1\vert 2)$. An explicit realization in terms of $q$-shift operators and reflections is proposed, which will be called the $\mathbb{Z}_2^n$ $q$-Dirac-Dunkl model. The algebra $\mathcal{A}_n^q$ is shown to arise as the symmetry algebra of the constructed $\mathbb{Z}_2^n$ $q$-Dirac-Dunkl operator and to act irreducibly on modules of its polynomial null-solutions. An explicit basis for these modules is obtained using a $q$-deformed $\mathbf{CK}$-extension and Fischer decomposition.Comment: 38 pages, minor changes and references adde