Anthropomorphic Images Research Articles

Изображение масок в средневековой скульптуре Армении

Among zoomorphic and anthropomorphic images in medieval sculpture of Armenia the most mysterious and, one would say, not traditional enough are the so-called masks. The motif of mask has not yet been the subject of precise study in the context of Armenian art. Furthermore, there are no interpretations on this motif in the Eastern Christian studies, although the images of masks are known in Byzantine and Old Russian art. So the study we have focused on is very topical. In Medieval Armenian sculpture masks would appear in the décor of the churches of different historical periods: in 5th–6th, 7th and 10th–11th centuries, and we see them at such churches as St. Cross on Aghtamar, Saint Peter and Paul in Tatev, Sisavan, Bajburd, and so on. Notably, these certain motifs appear in the décor of high-ranking churches. As a rule, masks on the Armenian monuments are anthropomorphic (male and female images), and it should be noted that they are located in the significant space zones from the sacral point of view, i.e. on the eastern façade, on cornice or the tympanum. It is known that masks are widespread in both Eastern and Western Christian art. Based on the reference to the antique heritage, popularity of the motif in certain historical periods is evident. The mask motif entered Medieval Armenian art via East-Christian tradition maintaining its iconographic and symbolic characteristics.

Impact of the reconstruction plan on image quality for CT images

Impact of the reconstruction plan on image quality for CT images

Were-Jaguars and Crocodilians: A Need to Redefine

The general consensus amongst scholars is that anthropomorphic and zoomorphic Formative art, usually associated with the Olmecs but extending to post-Columbian civilisations, are depictions of humans and/or jaguars known as were-jaguars (De La Fuente 2000: 258). More recently, there has been discussion concerning what is actually being depicted through this Mesoamerican art form. In this paper, I will argue that the art form is much more complex than first anticipated with motifs of different deities amalgamated into one depiction, thereby extolling ceremonial influence to other animals worshipped in a religion based on animism, whilst also looking critically at some anthropomorphic images of the jaguar.

Evaluation of automatic exposure control options in digital mammography.

To quantify the trade-offs of dose and image quality among pre-loaded automatic exposure control (AEC) options in digital mammography, two AEC tables from the Hologic Selenia digital mammography system were compared: the default AEC "table 0" and AEC "table 1". Realistically-shaped phantoms consisting of tissue-equivalent material of various thicknesses (4.5 cm-7 cm) were imaged to obtain a figure of merit (FOM), the squared contrast-to-noise ratio per mean glandular dose. To relate the results to pathological findings and to evaluate the overall performance, the measured contrast-to-noise ratios were applied to simulated lesions on the anthropomorphic breast phantom images, producing various lesion configurations which were blindly scored. It was found that the AEC table 1 improves the low contrast FOM by 11% to 20% for the breast thicknesses of 4.5-6 cm. However, for the 7 cm thick breast, the AEC table 1 decreases the low contrast FOM by 17%. For microcalcifications, the AEC table 1 improves the FOM slightly for the breast thicknesses of 4.5--6 cm and decreases it by 18% at a thickness of 7 cm. The lesion simulation showed enhanced contrast due to the AEC table 1 for the breast thicknesses of 5 cm, 6 cm, and 7 cm, but the enhancement gradually reduces as the thickness increases. The lesion reading showed that the microcalcification detection was scored significantly higher from the AEC table 1 for the thicknesses 5 cm, 6 cm, and 7 cm. The corresponding improvement of mass detection scores was also observed but not consistently significant over the thickness range.

Evaluation of 3D fluoroscopic image generation from a single planar treatment image on patient data with a modified XCAT phantom

Accurate understanding and modeling of respiration-induced uncertainties is essential in image-guided radiotherapy. Explicit modeling of the overall lung motion and interaction among different organs promises to be a useful approach. Recently, preliminary studies on 3D fluoroscopic treatment imaging and tumor localization based on principal component analysis motion models and cost function optimization have shown encouraging results. However, the performance of this technique for varying breathing parameters and under realistic conditions remains unclear and thus warrants further investigation. In this work, we present a systematic evaluation of a 3D fluoroscopic image generation algorithm via two different approaches. In the first approach, the model's accuracy is tested for changing parameters for sinusoidal breathing. These parameters include changing respiratory motion amplitude, period and baseline shift. The effects of setup error, imaging noise and different tumor sizes are also examined. In the second approach, we test the model for anthropomorphic images obtained from a modified XCAT phantom. This set of experiments is important as all the underlying breathing parameters are simultaneously tested, as in realistic clinical conditions. Based on our simulation results for more than 250 s of breathing data for eight different lung patients, the overall tumor localization accuracies of the model in left–right, anterior–posterior and superior–inferior directions are 0.1 ± 0.1, 0.5 ± 0.5 and 0.8 ± 0.8 mm, respectively. 3D tumor centroid localization accuracy is 1.0 ± 0.9 mm.

Sphingen in Ägypten und in der Levante: Variationen eines vielseitigen Motivs

The motif of the sphinx originated in Egypt and became widely distributed throughout the ancient Near East and the Aegean. In dealing with its history and changing appearances we can reconstruct mutual intercultural contacts.This paper explores two classical variants of the sphinx and the context of their representation: the calm sphinx resting on its legs and the violent one that tramples on human beings or dominates other creatures.The Egyptian prototypes are discussed in due detail to clarify some interesting features that were imitated or modified by Levantine artisans. Moreover, a fragmentary representation on a wall painting from Tell Sakka - hitherto interpreted as an anthropomorphic image - should rather be reconstructed as sphinx.The study assesses possible media of contact and points out further lines of inquiry.

Made with real crocodiles: The use of anthropomorphism to promote product kinship in our youngest consumers

This research looks to understand why anthropomorphic images are so overused by marketers to attract very young consumers. By drawing on theories from evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, and social psychology, it is argued that anthropomorphism acts as a catalyst for kin recognition and encourages attachment and liking. A number of bonding concepts are discussed, such as association and phenotype matching, to show how anthropomorphic images encourage a young consumer to draw closer to the product and avoid destruction of the product. The manuscript concludes by calling for further research on understanding very young consumers’ relationships with brands and brand images.

ANTHROPOMORPHIC IMAGES OF RUSSIAN AND BASHKIR FAIRY-TALES

The article is devoted to investigating linguistic, narrative and compositional peculiarities of anthropomorphic images of Russian and Bashkir fairy-tales. The paper confirms the hypothesis of V.Ya. Propp functional model which suggests that the structure, lexis and typology of characters in the fairy-tale involves a host of traditional features characteristic of various works. These theme remains topical because both Russian and Bashkir fairy tales reflect national and linguistic worldviews of the mentioned peoples.

Effects of anthropomorphic images and narration styles in promotional messages for generic prescription drugs

BackgroundAnthropomorphism is attribution of human characteristics to nonhuman objects or events. Marketers have used anthropomorphized characters to promote products and services. To promote use of generic drugs to save on prescription drug costs, health systems are in the process of developing informational materials to influence consumer's perceptions about generic prescription drugs. ObjectivesTo evaluate the effects of anthropomorphic images (control vs caring vs authoritative) and information narration styles (first person vs third person) on (1) social presence, (2) attitude toward the overall promotional message, (3) perceived informativeness of the message content, (4) attitude toward specific message, (5) intent to seek information, and (6) intention to switch to a generic prescription drug. MethodsA 3×2 between-subject factorial design was used. Student participants were administered a mock promotional message regarding generic prescription drugs. Following the promotional message, they were asked to respond to items developed to measure the effects of the promotional message. Manipulation checks were conducted to test the desired effects of the independent variables. Pilot testing, exploratory factor analysis, and reliability testing of the item measures were conducted before their use in the study. Analysis of variance was used to analyze the data and test the proposed effects of the independent variables. ResultsAnthropomorphic images showed a positive effect on social presence and attitude toward the specific message. Narration styles had a positive effect on attitude toward the overall promotional message. Neither anthropomorphic images nor narration styles had a significant effect on perceived informativeness, intent to seek information, and intention to switch to a generic prescription drug. ConclusionsThis research reveals that anthropomorphism of medications and narration styles could play a significant role in promotional messages for generic prescription drugs. These findings provide a new direction in developing educational materials for information about generic prescription drugs.

Latticed Petroglyphs of Mount Kalbak-Tash, Gorny Altai

On Mount Kolbak-Tash, petroglyphs belonging to various periods of the ancient history of Gorny Altai can be observed, from the Neolithic to the Ancient Turkic period. The majority of petroglyphs represent zoomorphic and anthropomorphic images. Among geometric images, the so-called latticed fi gures attributable to the Chalcolithic (late 4th–3rd millennia BC) can be distinguished. Archaeologists suggest two interpretations for these fi gures: female anthropomorphic images and representations of ritual construction. Rather than being mutually exclusive this article shows that the two interpretations offered are semiotically connected.

The Image of the Buddha: Buddha Icons and Aniconic Traditions in India and China

This is a study of aniconic Buddhist art in India and China that refers back to the iconoclasm (Bilderstreit) of the 8th and 9th centuries in the Byzantine empire and the subsequent development of an image theory that justified the already well established image cult. By deliberately adopting methodological approaches and terms that have been used for some time in Byzantine art history, relevant visual and textual evidence about the Buddhist tradition will be restructured and evaluated, pointing out similarities and dissimilarities. Anthropomorphic Buddha images and aniconic representations of the Buddha in India and China are compared; furthermore, an overview of the establishment of a Buddhist icon cult with image worship in China is given, discussing related phenomena like narratives about the First Image, the True Countenance, and miracle-working Divine Images. Against this background, Chinese aniconic tendencies and the image discourse within the Chinese Buddhist community around the time of the second Buddhist persecution (574-577) are explored, when rock inscriptions in Shandong province preferred the Buddha’s Golden Words to his image.

TH-D-201B-08: An Anthropomorphic Software Breast Phantom for Tomosynthesis Simulation: Power Spectrum Analysis of Phantom Reconstructions

Purpose: To validate an anthropomorphic software breast phantom for simulation studies by analyzing breast structure in projection and reconstructed images.Method and Materials: Twenty computer breast phantoms were generated: ten 450 ml phantoms with 40% glandular tissue compressed to 5‐cm thickness and ten 1500 ml phantoms with 20% glandular tissue compressed to 7.5‐cm thickness. Monoenergetic ray tracing was done to create synthetic projection view images and maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) with 8 iterations was used to reconstruct the images. Regions of interest (ROIs) were extracted and the squared modulus 2D FFT was taken to obtain periodograms for each ROI. The radial average of each periodogram was taken and the power‐law exponent of this approximated 1D power spectrum is β a description of the amount of structure in the ROI. This was repeated for both projection view images and reconstructed slices and the average β was calculated for each projection view and for each reconstructed slice. Results: For these twenty phantoms we found that in the reconstructed images were lower than the values in the projection view images. For the 450 ml phantoms was measured to be 3.09 (σ = 0.25) in the projection and 2.82 (0.48) in the reconstruction. For the 1500 ml phantoms was measured to be 2.86 (0.43) in the projection and 2.73 (0.66) in the reconstruction. Published data show that decreases from 3.06 to 2.87 in clinical tomosynthesisimages.Conclusion: We found that the changes in between projection views and tomosynthesisreconstructed slices are comparable for the anthropomorphic phantom and clinical breast images. This supports the fact that this phantom can provide realistic breast texture. Conflict of Interest: Research sponsored by Hologic Inc. and Dexela Ltd.

ANTHROPOMORPHIC, ZOOMORPHIC, AND SOLAR SYMBOLISMS ON BRONZE AGE CERAMICS FROM THE WESTERN BAIKAL REGION

Artistic features and semantics of anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, and solar images on Bronze Age ceramics from the Western Baikal region are described. Themes and stylistic characteristics of images on ceramics are paralleled by petroglyphs found in the same area. Anthropomorphic images on ceramics fall into four stylistic groups. Representations of the Baikal ceramics resemble those on the contemporaneous Samus pottery found in Western Siberia. The similarity of the themes, artistic features, and ideological stereotypes indicate broad intercultural contacts between Bronze Age cultures.

PETROGLYPHS ON THE POPERECHNAYA KRASNOYARKA RIVER

The current article describes a new petroglyphic site in the upper reaches of the Poperechnaya Krasnoyarka River in the Ust-Koksa Region of the Altai Republic. Engravings were found on massive slabs exposed above the earth's surface. The petroglyphs mostly include pecked images of Siberian maral deer as well as carved and partially abraded representations of elk. Among the representations discovered engraved anthropomorphic images are of particular interest. The petroglyphs at Poperechnaya Krasnoyarka and those of the nearby sanctuary at Zelenoye Ozero demonstrate the emergence of distinctive features of Karakol-Okunev art in the Altai during the Middle Bronze Age.

Dion von Prusa und die Semiose des Götterbildes

From Xenophanes on we find in literature as well as in philosophy reflections on the problem, whether the anthropomorphic representation of the gods in texts and in the arts is adequate. The critics of the images were faced by those who tried to justify the artistic expression of divine power and grandeur with rational arguments. In this debate Dio Chrysostom engaged, when he delivered a speech within the sight of the famous statue of Zeus which Phidias had made at Olympia. In the main part of his speech he represents the artist as appearing in court and defending the sculptural image of god. Dio deals with the problem of the anthropomorphic images not only in theological, but also in aesthetic terms, discussing, whether artists are actually able to make visible something which cannot be seen. To answer this question Dio compares the image of god created by the visual arts with that of the Homeric poems. The comparison is based on the assumption that the statue is a means of communication in the same way as texts. Therefore Dio, taking the theologia tripertita as the starting point, analyses the statue by applying a sign theory. Being unable to reproduce directly the concept of god he has conceived, the artist uses the human body as a vehicle or sign. Its human form does not show the characteristics of the god in a narrowly mimetic way, but refers as a symbol to the god. When someone is looking at the image, the symbol generates in him a notion of god, provided that the viewer is capable of distinguishing between the superficial and the hidden meaning of the image. Describing the relation between statue, concept of god and viewer in semiotic categories, Dio succeeds in revaluing the visual image of god as a source of cognition and thus as an intermediary between the sensible world and the realm of the gods. He reconciles religious tradition and philosophical criticism of religion.

Development and Use of Visual Explanations: Harnessing the Power of the “Seeing” Brain to Enhance Student Learning

ABSTRACT: When students come to class, they bring with them the most powerful processor known to man—the human brain! Our job as teachers is to discover and implement practices that will make the most effective use of those brains. The human brain is a very powerful processor of sensory information, especially with regard to the sense of vision. We can harness the power of the “seeing” brain to enhance students' learning by providing (“feeding”) our students with concrete experiences that are replete with information‐rich visual explanations, such as images, diagrams, graphs, video clips, animations, anthropomorphic images, cartoons, samples, demonstrations, experiments, and performances of our subject matter, rather than relying on word‐only (verbal and/or text) explanations. As far as our brains are concerned, the old saying “A picture's worth a thousand words” is really true! Thus, the focus of this teaching tip is to explore the benefits and practical aspects of “feeding” visual explanations (“food”) to the sensory portion of our students' brains to enhance their learning and to encourage others to not only use visual explanations in their teaching, but also to develop visual explanations specific to their subject matter and to share them with others. This article also provides students and instructors alike with 3 animations, in QuickTime format, and a PowerPoint presentation containing a number of example visual explanations. These materials are available as supplementary materials on the journal website and can be downloaded for free educational use.

Vom Kultbild Jahwes zum Bilderverbot. Oder: Vom Nutzen der Religionsgeschichte für die Theologie

Mentioning the calf in Bethel, 1 Kgs 12 presupposes a cultic image of Yhwh in the Northern Kingdom. The argument in Dtn 4 suggest an anthropomorphic image of Yhwh in the temple of Yerushalem. The location of the cherubim in 1 Kgs 6 and the Phoenician material in comparison point to the image of an enthronement. Image interdiction, in this case the ban on the cultic image of Yhwh, developed after the image of Yhwh was lost due to the destruction of the temple. It is with this image interdiction that Dtn 4 takes into account the concealment of God as experienced in the catastrophe of 587. The image is replaced by the Torah with the decalogue and the image interdiction as the main commandment.

THE NOTION OF HAPPINESS IN LATGALIAN FAIRY TALES

THE NOTION OF HAPPINESS IN LATGALIAN FAIRY TALES

Early Phrygian Sculpture

The chronology of Phrygian sculpture has always been difficult to determine with certainty because of the lack of historical data or secure archaeological contexts in Phrygia. This paper examines the chronology of Phrygian sculpture during the Early Phrygian period, integrating data based on the new, higher chronology of the Gordion Destruction Level with that drawn from datable orthostate reliefs from Neo-Hittite centers in southeastern Anatolia, which exerted a strong influence on early Phrygian visual representations. It can be shown that material from the late ninth century BCE Gordion Destruction Level corresponds well with the chronology Neo-Hittite relief sculpture. Archaeological evidence from Gordion also supports an eighth century date for the introduction of the anthropomorphic image of the Phrygian Mother goddess. The paper urges caution in proposing a sequence of chronological development for Phrygian sculpture from subsequent periods when archaeological or historical data are absent.

Tactical reading: the ideology of form in David Antin's ‘Novel Poem’

Postmodern procedural poetry has received quite a bit of attention in the last several years. In her book Differentials: Poetry, Poetics, Pedagogy (2004), Marjorie Perloff devotes a chapter to the ...