Main Square Research Articles

Dual Autoencoder Network with Separable Convolutional Layers for Denoising and Deblurring Images.

A dual autoencoder employing separable convolutional layers for image denoising and deblurring is represented. Combining two autoencoders is presented to gain higher accuracy and simultaneously reduce the complexity of neural network parameters by using separable convolutional layers. In the proposed structure of the dual autoencoder, the first autoencoder aims to denoise the image, while the second one aims to enhance the quality of the denoised image. The research includes Gaussian noise (Gaussian blur), Poisson noise, speckle noise, and random impulse noise. The advantages of the proposed neural network are the number reduction in the trainable parameters and the increase in the similarity between the denoised or deblurred image and the original one. The similarity is increased by decreasing the main square error and increasing the structural similarity index. The advantages of a dual autoencoder network with separable convolutional layers are demonstrated by a comparison of the proposed network with a convolutional autoencoder and dual convolutional autoencoder.

The Digital Underground: Public Life Beneath the Streets of Bucharest, Romania

Much has been written about the public life of cities, almost all of which is grounded in observations taken from the square and the sidewalk. Yet across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, environmental, demographic, and economic pressures have prompted cities to invest in new and expanded underground spaces, such as subterranean Metro systems, pedestrian passageways, and the basement levels of buildings where apartments, offices, cafes, bars and restaurants, supermarkets and shops, for example, are now found. Romania's capital city, Bucharest, is one case in point. As the city's planners ask its residents to move increasingly off of the boulevard and to relate to the city from beneath its main squares, this essay asks a basic question that has received surprisingly little analytical attention: what kind of public life does the urban underground make possible? Ethnographically, this essay takes as its point of departure a prominent advertisement campaign called, "The Digital Public Library" (DPL), which was first installed with civically minded intentions in a major Bucharest Metro station in 2012. The campaign then evolved, through various iterations, for years to come. This essay engages the Digital Public Library—its placement beneath the city as much as its civically minded aims and successes—historically and ethnographically to argue, ultimately, that the expansion of underground urbanism opens up an added and concerning dimension to the privatization and class separation that has threatened the character of urban public life in recent decades.

Review: Performance in the Zócalo: Constructing History, Race, and Identity in Mexico’s Central Square from the Colonial Era to the Present, by Ana Martínez

In Performance in the Zócalo, Ana Martínez focuses on Mexico City’s main square, tracing its function as a performance space from the era of Tenochtitlán to the present and analyzing its role as a forum for working out conceptions of Mexican national identity. The author calls the study “an archaeological narrative because it is through material and spatial traces that I recover the performances I analyze” (5). The study’s focus on festive performance and creation of national identity situates it within a group of recently published or forthcoming books with diverse approaches, such as B. Christine Arce’s México’s Nobodies (2017), Manuel Cuellar’s Choreographing Mexico (forthcoming), Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo’s Mexico at the World’s Fairs (2018), and Miguel A. Valerio’s Sovereign Joy (forthcoming).Each chapter focuses on a particular performance that took place in the Zócalo’s history: (1) the 1539 festival commemorating Charles V’s Truce of Nice, which Martínez interprets as redefining the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán as a European colony; (2) the Paseo del Pendón of 1721, used to reaffirm monarchical authority in New Spain; (3) the 1910 centennial festival, celebrating Mexican independence and the liberal model, with its Gran procesión cívica and Gran desfile histórico; (4) the reinscription of physical space with the Zapatista rally of 2001; and (5) the monumentalization of the nation and its history with the 2010 Bicentenario celebrations.Of particular note is the way the author’s training in architecture and scenography permit a nuanced spatial and material analysis of the Zócalo at various moments in Mexican history, which contributes to an interpretation of the performances as they relate to national history. For example, Martínez draws on maps, drawings, and descriptive texts to show how the Zócalo’s “built environment manifested the European ideology of a Spanish medieval town” while simultaneously conserving links to its “preconquest character through the use of stones and materials unique to this geographical area” (27). The analysis that follows draws on the tension between the European and Indigenous elements of the scenography to argue that indigenous performances in the sixteenth-century celebration “appropriated and transformed the identity of the Spanish colonial center” (30).Another important contribution of the study is its insistence on the way that performance intervenes in the built environment, changing the way it is conceived of as a social, political, and economic space, particular with regard to indigenous interventions in the national square. From carnivalesque performances by indigenous actors mocking colonial officials to the romanticization of mestizaje and its consequent erasure of contemporary indigeneity, to the Zapatista march on the capital, the events of Performance in the Zócalo all point to the plaza as a contested site of power.Finally, a third contribution the author does not necessarily make explicit but that, nevertheless, adds immense value to the book is the remarkable skill and care with which Martínez narrates the historical context and events that are pertinent to each examined performance. Given that this study will be read by practitioners of performance studies with research interests outside of Mexico or even Latin America, the clarity of the writing and authority with which Martínez provides relevant background information is especially essential to the study’s success. Always grounded in eyewitness testimonies, the descriptions of the performances themselves are also meticulously described in an easy, narrative style. The straightforward socio-historical introductions that introduce each performance analysis make this book suitable for scholars in areas such as theater studies, architecture, and history, though the introductory material in each chapter may be familiar to Mexicanists.Performance in the Zócalo is an interdisciplinary, well-researched study, combining a telescopic view of history with a microscopic view of space. By focusing on one site over a span of six hundred years, the snapshot performances allow for a deep understanding of the construction of Mexican national identity from the colonial era to the present, the invention of the “Indian” and subsequent subjugation of the indigenous peoples, and the way that performance redefines built environments to create new interpretations of historical processes. The study provides a useful model for analyzing the countless other performances that continue to occupy and affect the space of the Zócalo.

Memorable Objects of the Battle of Stalingrad: from the History of the Central Department Store

The subject of research is the history of the Central Department Store as a memorable object of the Battle of Stalingrad. Today the building belongs to historical monuments of federal significance, as well as to architectural monuments of regional significance. The central department store is part of the ensemble of the Square of the Fallen Wrestlers - the main square of the city. The choice of the subject of research is due to the need for historical analysis of the architectural objects of the main Square for the subsequent computer modeling of iconic historical and cultural objects of the pre-war and military Stalingrad based on the application of the methodology of 3D reconstruction of structures. Systematic and interdisciplinary approaches were used as the methodological basis of the study. The source base is represented by periodicals (newspapers, scientific journals), historical documents and reference publications. During its work, the Stalingrad Central Department Store has established itself as one of the best in the union. It is known that in terms of its indicators, SCDS was among the advanced and was very quickly able to win the status of Indicative. During the Battle of Stalingrad, the building was partially destroyed. In October 1942, the headquarters of the 71st Wehrmacht division was located in its basements. Later, in January 1943, the basements of the department store were occupied by the headquarters of the 6th Army and its commander, Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus, where he was captured on January 31 by soldiers of the 38th motorized rifle brigade of the Soviet 64th Army.

ANALYSIS OF THE KYIV PUBLIC SPACE NETWORK ON THE BASIS OF CONFIGURATION MODELS

The article is devoted to the study of spatial planning structures of cities on the basis of configuration analysis of the network of public spaces. The authors propose a research methodology based on the methods of spatial analysis and syntax, which identified the basic theoretical models of public space: a) centric; b) linear-axial; differing in the nature of spatial connections and social content. The analysis of the city center of Kyiv showed that the structure of its public spaces changed - from a linear axial, typical of ancient Russian cities, to a radial-circular, with a gradual departure from the Dnieper. During the twentieth century, Kyiv was constantly losing pedestrian public spaces. A comparative spatial analysis of the central squares of Kyiv found that they are accessible, but not pedestrian-friendly. Today, they are essentially transport interchanges. The authors have identified significant potential for unused areas that can be turned into attractive public spaces. Given the importance of public space as a carrier of identity and social function, identified the need to consider it as part of the historical and cultural heritage and cultural landscape of the city as a whole. Public spaces should form an integral, continuous pedestrian network that connects the main squares, recreation areas, cultural and memorial sites. It is possible to return the pedestrian function to the center by organizing, in particular, transport tunnels - on the European Square, on St. Michael's, etc. The authors provide examples of possible areas of urban regeneration of the historic city center.

Multibody Computer Model of the Entire Equine Forelimb Simulates Forces Causing Catastrophic Fractures of the Carpus during a Traditional Race.

Simple SummaryPalios are traditional horseraces held in the main square of few Italian cities. Due to peculiar features of such circuits, adapted to the square architecture and thus characterized by tight curves and unconventional footing surface, horses involved are at particular risk of accidents. Prevention of catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries is a significant issue and matter of debate during these events. In particular, the negotiation of the curves in the city circuits is a significative concern. An experiment was set up to build a model of entire forelimb at the point of failure in the context of a turn comparable to that in a Palio circuit. The model was informed by live data and the output compared to post-mortem findings obtained from a horse that sustained a catastrophic fracture of the carpus during this competition. The objective of this study is to determine the magnitude and distribution of internal forces generated across the carpus under which the catastrophic injury has occurred and describe related post-mortem findings.A catastrophic fracture of the radial carpal bone experienced by a racehorse during a Palio race was analyzed. Computational modelling of the carpal joint at the point of failure informed by live data was generated using a multibody code for dynamics simulation. The circuit design in a turn, the speed of the animal and the surface characteristics were considered in the model. A macroscopic examination of the cartilage, micro-CT and histology were performed on the radio-carpal joint of the limb that sustained the fracture. The model predicted the points of contact forces generated at the level of the radio-carpal joint where the fracture occurred. Articular surfaces of the distal radius, together with the proximal articular surface of small carpal bones, exhibited diffuse wear lines, erosions of the articular cartilage and subchondral bone exposure. Even though the data in this study originated from a single fracture and further work will be required to validate this approach, this study highlights the potential correlation between elevated impact forces generated at the level of contact surfaces of the carpal joint during a turn and cartilage breakdown in the absence of pre-existing pathology. Computer modelling resulted in a useful tool to inversely calculate internal forces generated during specific conditions that cannot be reproduced in-vivo because of ethical concerns.

Jan Gross’s Neighbors and Poland’s Narrative Shock

Jan Gross’s Neighbors and Poland’s Narrative Shock Geneviève Zubrzycki (bio) Rare are the books that make history and alter collective memory. Jan Tomasz Gross’s Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland is one. Neighbors described in painful detail how, in the summer of 1941, ethnic Poles tormented and murdered their Jewish neighbors in the small town of Jedwabne, in northeastern Poland. While Polish indifference toward the genocide of Polish Jews had been discussed in the mid-1980s following the broadcasting on Polish television of Claude Lanzmann’s 1985 documentary film Shoah and the 1987 publication of Jan Błoński’s essay “Poor Poles Look at the Ghetto” in the prominent Catholic weekly Tygodnik Powszechny, it is Gross’s Neighbors that burst the dam and led to extended public debate and soul-searching about Polish violence against Jews during and after the Second World War. Almost immediately upon its publication, the book generated vigorous debate among historians.1 The Jedwabne pogrom was also the topic of passionate discussions in public seminars at cultural centers and churches, on radio talk shows, museums, or student clubs, and it was a common topic in private conversations taking place in homes, at workplaces, in stores, or on public transports. The Institute of National Remembrance, founded to investigate and enable the [End Page 234] prosecution of crimes against the Polish nation committed during the Second World War and the communist period, quickly opened an official investigation into the murders described by Gross.2 On July 10, 2001, on the sixtieth anniversary of the pogrom, the (leftist) government erected a monument at the site where several hundred Jews were forcibly brought to a barn and burned alive, and President Aleksander Kwaśniewski apologized on behalf of the Polish nation. Neighbors created such a rupture in the national narrative of the war that one could speak of Poland “before” and “after” its publication. Not only were Poles no longer cast as the main victims of the war; they were now perpetrators of some of its horror. By disrupting the Polish narrative of martyrdom—for one cannot be both a sacrificial victim and a willing executioner—Neighbors provoked what I have called “narrative shock,” the questioning of a key story of the nation, shaking its identity to its core.3 The shock was so great that many turned to denial and counteraccusations: “It was not Poles who killed the Jews, but the Germans,” “There were far fewer Jews murdered than Gross claimed,” or even “The Jews had it coming after all, since they collaborated with the Soviets.” Such opinions were frequently expressed in newspaper editorials and letters to the editor, academic panels, public roundtables, and church sermons. A counter-memorial to Polish victims of the war, monumentalizing that perspective, was dedicated on Jedwabne’s main square in 2003.4 Almost predictably, in 2011, neofascist vandals defaced the Jedwabne memorial to the Jews who were murdered by spray-painting on stones surrounding the monument the statements “They were flammable” and “I do not apologize for Jedwabne.”5 Among groups on the right, any attempt at discussing Poles’ participation in the Holocaust is perceived as defamation and a profanation of the Polish nation, which is held sacred. It is to counter what they call the [End Page 235] “politics of shame” and to protect the nation at home and its “good name” abroad, that the Law and Justice government, supported by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the right-wing Radio Maryja, and various nationalist organizations are engaged in a process of remythologization that ranges from outright denial to the promotion of new narratives of Polish-Jewish relations. In recent years, for example, attention has been redirected toward Poles who rescued Jews and who are honored by Israel as “Righteous among the Nations.” Their actions have been commemorated in numerous museums, monuments, murals, and movies. The historian Jan Grabowski has nicknamed that rhetorical strategy the “Righteous defense.”6 Public attention has also been redirected toward other Polish stories of Polish martyrdom, such as the Katyń Massacres, where some twenty thousand Polish army officers, intellectuals, and civilian prisoners were murdered in 1940 by...

Mask wearing behavior in hot urban spaces of Novi Sad during the COVID-19 pandemic

Urban overheating (due to climate change and urbanization) and COVID-19 are two converging crises that must be addressed in tandem. Fine-scale, place-based, people-centric biometeorological and behavioral data are needed to implement context-specific preventative measures such as mask-wearing. This study collected local biometeorological measurements in diverse urban spaces (square, urban park, river quay) in Novi Sad, Serbia on hot sunny summer days (27–30 August 2020) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Observations were supplemented by an online survey asking questions about thermal sensation, comfort, and concurrent protective behavior of the local population. Biometeorological measurements show that the main square in the city center was the most thermally uncomfortable area. According to the survey, it was also perceived as the least safe space to not contract the virus. The urban park was perceived as the most thermally comfortable area in the morning and during midday. It was also considered the safest urban space for outdoor activities. In the evening, the river quay was the most thermally comfortable area in the city. Intra-urban differences in Physiologically Equivalent Temperatures were highest during midday, while differences in air temperatures were highest in the evening. More than 70% of the respondents did not wear face masks when it was hot because of breathing issues and feeling warmer than without mask. Most people wearing a mask felt “slightly warm” in the morning and evening, while the majority of respondents felt “hot” during midday. Only 3% of the respondents felt comfortable while wearing a mask, while 97% experienced some degree of discomfort (from slight discomfort to very uncomfortable). Our study shows that fine scale temporal and spatial urban biometeorological data and population surveys should be included in decision-making processes during the pandemic to develop climate-sensitive health services that are place-based, people-centric, and facilitate planning towards green, resilient, and inclusive cities.

The medieval parish church of Baia Mare: preliminary results of an archaeological research project

Baia Mare (Nagybánya in Hungarian, a town today in Northwestern Romania) was an important mining town in medieval Hungary. It was called Rivulus Dominarum, meaning “Lady’s Creek.” The town owed its emergence and prosperity to gold and silver mining and related minting. The town, therefore, was an important economic centre, not only in the region but also for the whole Hungarian Kingdom. Once a large parish church stood near the main square, but it became almost entirely dismantled, only its tower standing since the second half of the 19th century. From 2012 to 2014, archaeological excavations were carried out in the parish church and its surroundings; the results allow us to outline a much more detailed picture of this significant medieval building.

ПРОСТРАНСТВО ВЛАСТИ: ИСТОРИЧЕСКИЕ АДРЕСА ЯРОСЛАВСКОГО ОКРУЖНОГО СУДА (1866-1917 ГГ.)

The author points out that the characteristic features and compositional features of buildings intended for state bodies emphasized the importance of the institution in the management system. The foundation of the Yaroslavl District Court was the result of the judicial reform of 1864. District courts were the first instance in the system of general courts, and their jurisdiction extended to the province or several districts. On the example of the Yaroslavl District Court, the author examines the representation of power in the architecture of a provincial city, clarifies the initial location of the court and the material content of its premises, traces the search for a place for the administration of justice in the historical center of the city next to other administrative institutions of the Yaroslavl province and repairs in the second half of the XIX — early XX centuries. It has been established that the Yaroslavl District Court began its work onNovember 10, 1866 in the building of the House of the Vice-Governor (now Andropov Street, 6). The building in the style of classicism reflected the ideas of strength and dignity of the judiciary. In 1872, the Yaroslavl District Court moved to the Government House on Ilyinskaya Square — outstanding building of the Melgunovskaya «golden decade», named after the first Governor-General Alexei Petrovich Melgunov, who ruled the province in 1777-1788. The research topic has been updated in connection with the planned return of the Yaroslavl Regional Court to the northern corps of Government House on Sovetskaya (former Ilyinskaya) Square, where the Yaroslavl Regional Court was located until it was closed in 1918. There is the need for the comprehensive scientific restoration of the northern corps of public places as an object of historical cultural heritage of federal significance, which forms the architectural appearance of the main square of the historical city, the center of which in 2005 was recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Attractiveness of Central Public Spaces in Small Polish Towns Based on a Spatial Order Analysis

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the attractiveness of centrally located public spaces (main squares) in select new small towns in Poland. The evaluation was conducted from the spatial order perspective. Spatial order is composed of five elements: architectural and urban planning, functional, aesthetic, social, and “green” orders. The new small towns included in this analysis are settlement units, which in 2020 were populated by up to 20,000 inhabitants and received municipal rights in the 21st century. We used the point bonitation method in our research based on the source material collected during a field study. A total of 286 inventory cards of buildings and nine cards of town squares were compiled. The analysis demonstrated that the main squares in the towns studied are characterised by low or average levels of attractiveness from the spatial order perspective. The architectural–urban planning order in the towns in question was related to the number of inhabitants as well as the period over which a given settlement unit had municipal rights. A larger number of inhabitants had a positive influence on the functional diversification of the central squares and their development, whereas a small number limited both the functional diversification and the number of small architectural elements found at the square. The social order in the given towns was not connected to the number of inhabitants. The elements of social order were assessed favourably, both in larger towns that revitalised their central squares and in smaller settlements. The aesthetic and green orders were strongly related to the revitalisation of public space.

Selective transepithelial ablation with simultaneous accelerated corneal crosslinking for corneal regularization of keratoconus: STARE-X protocol.

To evaluate the changes in refractive outcomes and corneal aberrations in central and paracentral keratoconus after selective transepithelial topography-guided photorefractive keratectomy combined with accelerated corneal crosslinking (STARE-X). Centro Polispecialistico Mediterraneo, Siena Crosslinking Center, and University of Messina, Italy. Prospective, interventional, multicentric study. Patients were subdivided into 2 groups: Group 1 with cone located within the central 3 mm zone (50 eyes) and Group 2 (50 eyes) with cone located outside the central 3 mm zone. Follow-up was 2 years at least for all eyes. Outcome parameters included uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) and corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA). Corneal tomography and corneal wavefront aberrations were assessed and compared before and 2 years after the treatment. 100 eyes of 100 patients underwent STARE-X protocol. At 2 years, UDVA and CDVA improved, and sphere, cylinder, and Kmax reduced after treatment in both groups (P < .001, respectively). Moreover, a statistically significant reduction was observed of total higher-order aberrations root main square (RMS), coma RMS, and spherical aberration RMS in both groups (P < .001, respectively). However, CDVA improved more in Group 1 than in Group 2 (P < .02). The STARE-X protocol demonstrated effective results in halting keratoconus progression and improving corneal regularity with a safe and effective profile. STARE-X improved both visual acuity and corneal aberration at 2 years. Longer follow-up studies are warranted to observe further long-term CXL flattening effect on the cone.

Defence by demolition? Preserving and relocating the cloister of Segovia cathedral

In 1520, Segovia's rebel city council besieged the impregnable royal fortress located on a narrow stone outcrop at the far west of the city. The cathedral stood just in front of the fortress, and the rebels demolished part of the church's structure to use it as a secure stronghold. Beyond the physical damage, the revolt demonstrated the peril posed by the proximity of cathedral and castle. Unsurprisingly, it was soon decided that the cathedral would be relocated to the city's main square. Deserted by its canons and chaplains, the old church was a ruin by 1562, while its younger counterpart was slowly reaching completion. Neglect coexisted with preservation: the first step in the construction of a new cathedral was the decision to move the building's cloister—stone by stone—from the old to the new site. This paper discusses the relocation, exploring its denouement and contextualizing it within pre-modern perspectives on heritage and architecture.

Cultural Astronomy in Hispanic-Indigenous Contexts of Central Chile

We present the results of an archaeoastronomical analysis of structures dating from the Inca and early colonial periods in the Mapocho River basin, Chile. Our purpose is to show possible continuities or ruptures in the creation and management of architectural and natural spaces, particularly those linked to the observation of astronomical phenomena with ceremonial and calendrical significance in the Andean world. We focus on Santiago, where we undertook topographical and horizon survey work at the Main Square, Metropolitan Cathedral, San Francisco Church and Santa Lucía Hill, and evaluate documentary and ethnographic sources. Using models developed in cultural astronomy and landscape archaeology, we found these places were ancient observation spots for the Sun and Moon around the solstices, equinoxes and lunar standstills. Sightlines (ceques) may have connected these places to potentially sacred elements of the environment from a central point located in the Main Square (haukaypata).

Conditions of life and death at Panama Viejo: a bioarchaeological study of human skeletal remains (1519-1671)

Panama, founded in 1519, became one of the most important sites for the Spanish Crown, consolidating itself as an economic center that connected the trade routes between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. This situation produced a convergence of people of different origins (indigenous, African, and European) in the city, generating a strong process of biological as well as social and cultural mixture, which impacted daily life during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These processes were addressed by the research project: An ARTery of Empire (ARTEmpire) (European Research Council, Consolidator of Grant [CoG] 648535), which included archaeological excavations at the two sites occupied by Panama's main temple: one to the south-east of the Main Square (1519-1541) and the other where the cathedral was installed from 1542 until the city’s destruction in 1671. This article presents the results of the bioarchaeological study of 175 individuals recovered during the aforementioned archaeological excavations, reconstructing their living conditions. The sample consists mostly of female (55.43%) and young adult individuals (52.57%), highlighting the absence of older adults and the underrepresentation of children and juveniles. The preservation of the sample limited observations of population affiliation, but individuals with traits predominant in African (23.43%), European (21.71%), and Amerindian (9.71%) populations were identified. Paleopathological analysis shows mostly lesions associated with infectious diseases, entheseal changes, porotic hyperostosis, degenerative joint disease, and trauma. In addition, the teeth reveal masticatory wear, calculus, decay, periodontal disease, and chipping. However, an initial observation of the sample indicates no significant differences that show that one sector of the population may have been more affected than another. This is interesting since individuals from diverse origins converged at Old Panama, responding to the process of globalization at this port.

Case Comment: Do Indigenous Peoples Have a Right to Limit Religious Proselytism Activities in Their Territories?

Abstract In ruling T-1022/01, the Colombian Constitutional Court responded to a claim brought by a member of the United Pentecostal Church of Colombia against the Yanacona Indigenous Council. The claimants alleged the violation of their rights to freedom of conscience, worship, and dissemination of thought based on two facts: (a) the refusal of their petition to carry out a “Spiritual Renewal Day” in the main square of the indigenous reservation of Caquiona, and (b) the interruption of the religious gatherings of the United Pentecostal Church of Colombia, as well as the prohibition of their pastors entering the indigenous reservation territory. The Court found no violation of the rights alleged. The purpose of this comment is to explore the understanding by the Colombian Constitutional Court of the right to cultural identity of indigenous communities, focusing particularly on whether it encompasses the right to be free from religious proselytism.

The McGurk Effect In Relation to Musicians' Abilities

The original study of the McGurk Effect, a perceptual phenomenon caused by contradictory audiovisual stimuli fusing together to create the illusion of a third sound, was carried out by psychologists McGurk and MacDonald in 1976. The results of early experiments displayed that observers used both auditory and visual signals while being spoken to, auditory signals being the sound waves entering their ears, and visual signals being how the speaker moved his face while pronouncing a word. When conflicting signals are given, a third sound is perceived, as the brain is disoriented from the different signals. The idea that musicians have superior audiovisual cortexes have led some to speculate if musicians are as susceptible to the McGurk Effect as non-musicians. To research the susceptibility of musicians to the McGurk Effect, the experiment conducted included a total of 40 subjects, 20 musicians and 20 non-musicians. The subjects were played a control video of a speaker saying “ga” and were then presented with four audiovisually incongruent videos, all containing a speaker mouthing the word “ga” with the audio recording of the speaker saying “ba” dubbed on. Two main 2x2 Chi Square tests and fifteen secondary 2x2 Chi Squares tests were run in total. The two main tests, which compared the amount of McGurk interpretations to either audio or visual interpretations, both produced a p-value of &lt;.0005. Upon further research, 25.7% of musicians reported a McGurk interpretation, as opposed to 52.2% of non-musicians, which implied that musicians are less susceptible to the McGurk effect.

Fue el estado (‘It was the state’): Embodied practices of memory and the re-writing of Mexico’s genealogy of violence

In the midst of the activism outburst after the Ayotzinapa crisis, the Mexican collective ‘Rexiste’ wrote the phrase ‘It was the state’ in Mexico City’s main square. I define such action as an embodied practice of memory, which re configurates Mexico’s history of violence. Based on an affective approach, I delve into the kinaesthetic of the performance to show how the action is summoning archived repertoires of Mexican activism post-1968. I first refer to the foundation of human rights committees in the late 70s and their main repertoire of action, hunger strikes, to then consider the funeral re-enactments of the late 1990s after the Aguas Blancas and Acteal massacres. Through this unarchiving I want to analyse how the unresolved past re-emerges in the creation of a non-teleological temporality of state-fostered violence.

Court building or palace of justice? (View from the standpoint of judicial symbolism)

Analysis of symbolic dimension of a court building in the general sense of its social vocation is carried out in the article. From the standpoint of judicial symbolism, the authors describe some well-known court buildings in various European countries, in particular, in Ukraine. The authors point out that since its inception, the court as one of the most important social institutions has been marked by a special attitude to the place or building where its sessions took place. In ancient Rome, in accordance with the notion of the need to sanctify space, where important actions and processes took place, the trial was held at a forum or in sacred premises, which often coincided with temples. In medieval Europe, trials were also held in the most privileged premises – palaces of rulers, temples, in the main squares. In the city magistrates, the courtrooms were one of the most solemn, and their interiors were decorated with works of art relating to justice. To this day, where possible, court buildings are erected with the intention of emphasizing the high social significance of justice. This is expressed in architectural forms (in particular, the imitation of classical examples of architecture, which were often common to public, temple and palace buildings as the most important in the local community or country). It is also expressed in modern conceptual solutions of architects, which successfully emphasize the dominant principles of justice – transparency, equality. The court buildings expressed in their appearance and interior design that the justice exercised here is one of the constituent foundations of society. The buildings of the courts, in addition to a purely utilitarian purpose and practicality, had a clear symbolic dimension, conveying the value of the category of justice. Some modern Ukrainian courts also fit into the general European tradition of emphasizing the importance of this institution with majestic buildings. At the same time, these buildings appear as architectural pearls of cities. A special role in the symbolism of the court building as a judicial symbol is played by stairs, which symbolically express the elevation of a person to the halls where justice is realized and the most important legal decisions are made.

The control of unsteady forces and wake generated in circular and square cylinder at laminar periodic regime by using different rod geometries

The effects of the control rod geometry on the oscillating forces and vortex shedding of one circular cylinder, and another with square cross section were numerically investigated. The Reynolds number (Re) based on the diameter of the main cylinder (D) is fixed at 200. The solutions were obtained by applying the finite volume method to the Navier-Stokes in unsteady form. The control rods (CR) geometries are: square, circular, rectangle, and ellipse, accounting for different degrees of aerodynamic smoothness. The gap spacing between the main cylinder and CR was set to 0.2D, and their positions were varied in the angular range from θ = 0° to θ = 180° using intervals of 22.5°. For both main cylinders, the main flow features fall into three angular intervals, representing conditions of the rods immersed in the near wake of the main cylinders, located on their upper face, and frontally. In the first one, the fluctuating lift coefficient decreased up to 58% for the main circular cylinder by using a square rod. For the main square cylinder, the maximum reduction was 73%. The second range was characterized by gap flow formations which depended on the rod geometry and increased severely the lift forces. At the frontal angular position, the drag forces were reduced by rod interference. These results have many potential applications in the control of fluid structure interactions since cylinders with either circular or square cross sections are ubiquitous in the engineering field.