Modes Of Usage Research Articles

Domestic and ritual use of plants and fuels in the neolithic cave of Alepotrypa, southern Peloponnese, Greece: The wood charcoal and phytolith evidence

The study presents the combined results of wood charcoal and phytolith analysis at Alepotrypa Cave, southern Peloponnese, Greece. The cave preserves rich cultural remains (hearth and floor constructions, pits and platforms, human bone scatters, massive quantities of fine pottery, lithic artefacts and ornaments) spanning the late Early to the Final Neolithic. The studied macro and micro-remains come from two distinct areas of the cave, the anterior chamber (close to the entrance of the cave) and the interior chambers (including a small fresh water lake), which, as has been suggested by several lines of evidence (analyses of cultural remains, human bones and micromorphology), were used for domestic and ritualistic purposes respectively. The aim of this study is two-fold: a) to investigate the local vegetation, and woodland management, b) to understand the use of plants and use of space along the habitation history of the cave exploring the possibility of a domestic setting for the anterior chamber and a ritualistic one for the interior. Wood charcoal and phytolith analyses support the two modes of usage; different fuel types in the hearths of the interior and anterior chambers of the cave along with different activities are documented. The anterior preserves well prepared clay floors and platforms with some cereal remains indicating light processing or consumption. The hearths in this area were fed with leafy branches from the open vegetation of the surrounding rocky slopes that included various scrub plants and scattered drought-resistant trees. Τhrough time and probably as a response to increased demand due to more frequent and longer-lasting use of the cave, neolithic people expanded their fuel-procurement activities to nearby evergreen woodland and deciduous oak thickets. By contrast the interior preserves evidence of ritualistic activities supported by the use of selected types of fuel, i.e. composted sheep dung along with firewood from scrub vegetation and small diameter wood of Fabaceae, Cistus sp. and Phillyrea/Rhamnus alaternus. The excellent burning qualities of composted dung and the ease of transportation of such material as well as of the small size firewood would explain their preferential use in the interior chambers where access was exceptionally difficult. Nevertheless, the slow-burning glow and smell of dung under the light of Pinus nigra resinous wood torches may have enhanced the powerfully evocative atmosphere of the interior chambers serving ritual purposes.

Virtual overhearing: An effective way to increase network coding opportunities in wireless ad-hoc networks

Overhearing is of great importance to wireless network coding in that it can be exploited to obtain the side information needed for packet decoding. Recently, a new technique called virtual overhearing (VOH) was proposed to allow a node to obtain the packet sent by another node that is multiple hops away for free. This can overcome the limitation of overhearing and be used to discover more coding opportunities. In this paper, we take advantage of VOH and propose two modes of exploiting VOH to increase coding opportunities in wireless ad-hoc networks. First, we make use of VOH to increase the chance of finding a route with coding opportunities for a new incoming flow. Second, and more importantly, we make use of VOH to create coding opportunities between two established flows which are currently unmixable. Note that most previous studies only attempt to find coding opportunities rather than create them. Based on these two modes of VOH usage, we design two routing protocols: distributed coding-aware routing with virtual overhearing (DCAR-VOH), and its enhanced version DCAR-VOH+. DCAR-VOH implements only the first mode of usage, whereas DCAR-VOH+ incorporates both modes of usage. Our extensive simulations indicate that VOH provides an effective way to discover coding opportunities, resulting in improved network performance. The positive effect of the second mode of usage stands out especially.

Beyond “J-Tweeters”

Based on a survey (N = 1613) directed to members of the Norwegian Journalist Association (NJ), this paper presents an extensive overview of the ways in which comparably older and newer online platforms have been incorporated into the professional lives of Norwegian journalists. While plenty of research is available that explores the uses of Twitter by journalists, the results presented here suggest that Facebook is by far the most frequently used platform throughout the journalistic process—from collecting information, distributing content and engaging with readers. Statistical analyses provide further insights into which variables appear to influence certain modes of usage across the studied platforms. Based on the results, the argument is made that the advantages of using Facebook as a platform for journalistic practices are obvious due to its popularity among the general public, but that this utilization of one platform over others also could be problematic. As Facebook continues to gain leverage towards the newspapers they host, questions of journalistic practices need to come to the fore.

Multicriteria Mapping Manual. Version 1.0.

This Manual offers basic advice on how to do multicriteria mapping (MCM). It suggests how to: go about designing and building a typical MCM project;; engage with participants and analyse results – and get the most out of the online MCM tool. Key terms are shown in bold italics and defined and explained in a final Annex.The online MCM software tool provides its own operational help. So this Manual is more focused on the general approach. There are no rigid rules. MCM is structured, but very flexible. It allows many more detailed features than can be covered here. MCM users are encouraged to think for themselves and be responsible and creative.But there are some key underlying MCM values. The most crucial are as follows:1) Inclusion: MCM aims to promote more inclusive, equitable and accessible appraisal. This means engaging in a respectful and balanced way, with a diversity of relevant perspectives – especially those most often marginalized.2) Opening Up: MCM aims to help ‘open up’ appraisal. This means giving balanced attention to exploring and illuminating contending views. Using MCM just to aggregate a single final view has the effect instead of ‘closing down’.3) Agency: MCM aims to ‘put participants in the driving seat’. An MCM project should be designed, implemented and analysed to maximise the agency of participants over the ways in which their own perspectives are represented.4) Transparency: MCM only ‘opens up’, if results are conveyed fully and clearly to all parties with an interest in debates over the focal goal. Depending on context, this means publishing results and giving reasonable access to data.This Manual gives advice on how these values can best be realised in practice. But there are so many detailed ways of doing this, that it is impossible fully to cover all. For instance, the basic steps described here apply equally to small student exercises or large research projects; conducted as face-to-face or remote engagements; in 1-to-1 interviews or small groups; or as some combination of these kinds of process.For purposes of illustration, however, this Manual directly addresses the use of MCM only in a typical individual interview (rather than a small group session) and assumes that interviewees are ‘specialists’ with a broad familiarity with quantitative appraisal, comfort with computer tools and confidence in at least some of the issues at stake.The same basic steps are involved in engaging with other kinds of participant in different ways. But the approach needs to be adapted to be used with non-specialist members of the public. This is especially important, in relation to Principle (2) above.This Manual is intended mainly for members of an MCM project team (designers, researchers, interviewers, facilitators and analysts). So, it is quite technical in places. Although it might usefully be made available in some way to them, participants are likely to need briefer and simpler guidance, tailored to the particular project.This Manual should be read in conjunction with other available MCM materials, which include many published reports and academic articles. These cover in more detail, the underlying rationale, and issues of wider project design and different modes of usage.

Географічний та логістичний чинники сталого розвитку сільського туризму у контексті регіональної економіки

Rural tourism is now seen as an important direction of development of the regional economy. From the perspective of sustainable development rural tourism affects the economic, social and environmental aspects of the regional and local economy. Rural tourism is closely linked with agrotourism, eco-tourism, natural tourism and so on. Sustainable rural tourism can be realized by applying logistic, geographic and marketing approaches as components of sustainable development strategies. Logistics approach is determined by logistic potential of resource base of rural tourism and appropriate tourist flows regulation. In this context in the article the concept of tourism capacity or capacity of the resource base of rural tourism is used. The problem of the definition of tourism pressure on the resource base of rural tourism, particularly in natural landscapes is disclosed. Unlike environmental and recrealogical sciences, which stop at the capacity definition of the resource base of tourism, tourism logistics compares this figure with the existing tourist flows and accordingly determines the safe way of tourism management to ensure its sustainable nature. It was shown that these strategies boil down to two basic types – the further development of tourism in a particular area or limit such activities to conserve the resource base of tourism. Recreational (travel) load is the indicator that reflects the impact of tourism on the resource base of tourism (especially landscape complex), expressed by the number of tourists or tourists-days per area unit or per tourist site for the certain period of time (day, month, season year). There are actual, allowable (the maximum) and destructive (dangerous) types of travel load. The latter can lead recreational area or resource base of rural tourism to destruction. Thus, depending on the intensity of tourism resource base using in rural tourism it may change – according to tourist consumption. Large number of tourists affects the entire range of recreational destinations and their individual components. The most vulnerable part of the environment in this sense is vegetation, except that significant changes may occur with soil, water bodies, air and so on. The geographic dimension of the problem of rural tourism sustainable development includes the concept of zoning, ie the division of the territory, offering to develop rural tourism in several zones with different modes of travel usage – from a total ban (in protected areas) for complete freedom with transitional stages, involving various limit degrees in the development of rural tourism. Marketing approach reflects the application of the curve R. Butler to the stages of development of rural tourism destinations with the release of such steps as: research, involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation (also called “saturation”), revival or decline. Shown the models that link the stage of resource base tourist development (under “Curve Butler”), strength of tourism consumption the magnitude of such effects (eg weak (disperse) impact in large scale, strong (concentrated) impact in large scale, strong (concentrated) impact in small scale, weak (disperse) impact in small scale), dynamics of tourism development at the territory.

Impact of mobile phone usage on speech spectral features: some preliminary findings

The manner of using a mobile phone in voice communications can significantly affect the spectral characteristics of the speech signal. This article presents preliminary results of the analysis of the long-term average speech spectrum (LTASS), the long-term formant distribution (LTF) in voiced sounds, and vowel formants F1, F2 and F3 of six speakers in five modes of mobile phone usage. These modes are: normal holding of a mobile phone (NOR), with a bonbon (sweet) in the mouth (BON), with a cigarette between the lips (CIG), with the mobile phone between cheek and shoulder (SHO) and with the hand covering the mobile phone and mouth (HAN). The results show that each mode has an impact on spectral features and that the modes HAN and SHO have the greatest impact. The most striking results are the relative displacement of F1, which can reach 30% (e.g. vowel /a/ in HAN mode for males), formant F2, near 15% (vowel /i/ in SHO mode for males), and formant F3, about 5% (vowel /u/ in CIG mode for females). These findings suggest that forensic practitioners should exercise caution in interpreting formant measurements in speaker identification cases involving mobile phone transmission.

Impact of pegylation on biopharmaceutical properties of dendrimers

In the recent years, conjugation of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on dendrimer has become an established and highly refined technology for delivery of bioactives. Dendrimers provide an ideal platform for delivery of bioactive as they represent well-defined, highly branched, nanoscale architecture with several modifiable surface groups. However, the actual potential of dendrimers is not realized due to toxicity limitations. PEG molecules are nontoxic, non-immunogenic, and non-antigenic; highly water soluble, FDA approved and is endowed with tremendous potential to impart these properties to other biomolecules through the process of PEGylation. PEGylated dendrimer-mediated drug delivery overcomes the shortcomings of dendrimer reticuloendothelial system (RES) uptake, drug leakage, immunogenicity, hemolytic toxicity, cytotoxicity, hydrophobicity, facilitates the solubilization as well as raises the overall aptitude for DNA transfection, siRNA delivery, transepithelial transport and tumor targeting. This review focuses on various types of PEGylated dendrimer with a detailed note on various modes of PEG usage as well as their influence on various biopharmaceutical properties of dendrimer.

Крайний Север нуждается в комплексном природопользовании

The author speaks with anxiety about problems of economic development of Russian Arctic. These problems include imbalance between industrial and transportation usage at one side and traditional nature usage at another. Approaches of doctrine, ideas of legal science are revealed. Short review of Canadian experience is presented. In a vein of forming special legal mode (or modes) of natural usage and nature conservation in the North, all levels of power shall rouse interest, stimulate and motivate rational development of natural wealth of Russian Arctic oriented on waste-free and low-waste technologies. The author supports the development of mechanisms of private-public partnership.

Do modes of transportation and GPS affect cognitive maps of Londoners?

Legibility has long been recognized as an important factor in creating a good image of a city in individuals’ minds. This image is perceived to assist people in understanding the city, finding their way, and recalling the city. The quality of the image affects individuals’ abilities in way-finding. This is especially important for cosmopolitan and global cities such as London in order to preserve resources and time, manage travel costs, limit pollution (air or noise) and enhance these cities as places to live, work and visit. This research examines the cognitive maps of London drawn by a sample of its residents to discover how different modes of transportation and GPS usage could affect individuals’ urban images. Such research is useful for town planners, local government departments, and urban and transport planners because of the way it considers the legibility of London as and provides a tool to study individuals’ urban images. 101 participants were recruited with at least a two-year residency from both genders (38.6% females and 61.4% males) with the average age of 33.88 and S.D.=10.63. The results suggest car use has a positive correlation with seeing London in city scale and GPS usage has a negative correlation. Whilst recent studies have shown that there are differences between active travel modes (e.g., walking, bicycle riding or driving a car) and passive modes (e.g., as a passenger taking a bus, train or taxi), this study indicates that GPS usage also influences cognitive maps, with a negative correlation found between GPS usage and drawing maps on a city scale. Other significant associations were found for the car drivers with a positive relation with the number of roads mentioned on the maps, seeing London in city scale and having a two-dimensional façade image of the city in mind.

Social Media Newsrooms in public relations: A conceptual framework and corporate practices in three countries

The rise of social media in organizational settings has opened up new horizons for strategic communication. However, there are also drawbacks. Arguably the most important one is increased complexity. Many communication departments use a multitude of platforms ranging from corporate websites, campaign microsites and blogs to services like Facebook and Twitter to communicate with stakeholders. Social Media Newsrooms (SMNRs) have been introduced as instruments to reduce this complexity. The basic idea is straightforward: SMNRs aggregate social media content provided by the organization and/or thematic content about the organization and its key issues from several platforms in one place. Although SMNRs have been used in public relations practice around the world since the concept was first introduced in 2007, empirical evidence is still missing. This paper closes the research gap by (a) introducing SMNRs from a conceptual perspective based on a literature review, (b) exploring opportunities and challenges for strategic communication, (c) researching empirical manifestations and modes of usage by corporations in three major international markets (United States, United Kingdom, and Germany) based on a comprehensive content analysis of the 600 largest companies and 2045 affiliated brands and subsidiaries, and (d) explaining implications for the practice of public relations.

Phoomdi – a unique plant biosystem of Loktak lake, Manipur, North-East India: Traditional and ecological knowledge

Phoomdi is a unique mass of floating vegetation found in Loktak lake, Manipur, in northeastern India. In this paper, the traditional and ecological knowledge of phoomdi has been documented. During the process, 143 locals were interviewed between October 2010 and December 2011. We registered 47 traditionally important phoomdi species under different modes of usage, viz. medicine, wild edibles, fodder, fuel, handicrafts, fishing and building houses. There were 16 edible phoomdi plants traded in the local bazaars to generate income. Phoomdi species clean the lake water by acting as a sink for nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous). Thus, phoomdi plays an important role in phytosanitation and in the socio-economic and cultural life of Manipuri people.

Principles, Characteristics and Applications of Magneto Rheological Fluid Damper in Flow and Shear Mode

Magneto rheological (MR) fluid has been attracting great research attention because it can change its characteristics very rapidly and controlled easily in the presence of an applied magnetic field. The devices using MR fluid like dampers, clutches, polishing machines, hydraulic valves, etc., have a great promising future. Magneto-rheological (MR) dampers are semi active control devices that use MR fluids to suppress the vibrations. In this paper, the various modes of usage and characteristics are discussed. Mathematical modelingof the MR fluid dampers based on Bingham plastic model and Herschel Bulkley model are presented.

Description vs. Interpretation: The Attitudes of Traditional and Current Archaeology Towards the Problem of Impresso-Barbotine in the Early Neolithic

The problem of the relationship impresso-barbotine has been chosen here, as an excellent example to illustrate the tendencies and shortcomings of the Yugoslav/Serbian archaeology during the major part of the 20th century, as well as the results forming the base for future research and new conclusions.
 The impresso-barbotine problem has been recognized as one of the important aspects of research into the Early Neolithic as early as in the 1950s, and formed the base for the formation of several relative chronological system. However, although the culture-historical approach is based upon detailed description and stylistic-typological analyses, these phenomena are defined and described in a number of different ways (if at all), causing great confusion. The highly simplified notion about the production and usage of ceramic ware, as well as the negligence for the functional and technological aspects, resulted in the absence of a clear statement if these techniques are in fact a form of decoration or surface treatment.
 On the other hand, paradoxically, these “elusive” phenomena have been taken as very precise chronological markers. The conclusions are not questionable even today, since the recent research has proven the chronological primacy of impresso over barbotine. Here, however, the shortcomings of the culture-historical method are most obvious: after the establishment of the relative chronological sequence and the identification of a change in the material culture, the reasons that induced the changes are not considered – interpretation is completely absent.
 However, the current archaeological trends focus upon the processes leading to changes in the material culture, the ones that cannot be explained without considering technology – from forming techniques to modes of usage. Bearing in mind that impresso, and afterwards barbotine appear on the same functional classes of pottery (storage, transportation), it may seem that the same idea motivated both manners of surface treatment – roughening so as to facilitate handling. In order to explain the reasons for the changes it is necessary to consider the forming techniques, with the most reliable indication in the chronological sequence impresso – relief impresso (plastic wheat-grain motif) – barbotine. The production of pottery with uneven surfaces rendered by impressing an instrument (impresso) and applying plastic bands, additionally fastened by impressing sharp instruments (relief impresso), is a time-consuming technique, requiring a lot of attention. It is therefore no wonder that the technique takes over of applying a layer of clay over a semi-dry surface and then arranging it with fingers – barbotine, since it is simpler and requires less work for the same effect.
 Current archaeological analyses of technology prove that the process of improvement of pottery forming techniques (leading to craft specialization) above all leads to simplification of procedure, in order to increase the number of vessels produced. Thus the typical assumption of traditional archaeology needs to be questioned, that the “development of culture” may be seen through the “evolution” of shapes and modes of decoration (treatment of surface), inevitably leading from simpler to more complex forms.

Technology generations revisited: The internet generation

This article identifies the practices and formation processes of technology generations. To that end the question is examined whether a new internet generation can be identified in relation to the previous known other generations characterized by mechanical technology, household revolution, a technology spread, and computers. This study used the ICT data set from the Statistical Bureau of Germany, survey waves 2004 and 2009. Logistic regression techniques were used for the analysis. The analysis evaluated if the four existing technology generations are still marked by the ‘first-level digital divide’ (differences in possession) and the ‘second-level digital divide’ (different modes of usage). We found that in 2009 there were still significant differences between technology generations in private internet use. The emergence of a new generation, distinct from the computer generation was investigated. The evidence supports the view that a new internet generation has indeed emerged as significant differences between these generations (‘computer’ and ‘internet’) exist with regard to the two levels of digital divide.

Review of two vector extrapolation methods of polynomial type with applications to large-scale problems

AbstractAn important problem that arises in different areas of science and engineering is that of computing limits of sequences of vectors {xn}, where xn∈CN with N very large. Such sequences arise, for example, in the solution of systems of linear or nonlinear equations by fixed-point iterative methods, and limn→∞xn are simply the required solutions. In most cases of interest, these sequences converge to their limits extremely slowly, or even diverge. One practical way to make the sequences {xn} converge more quickly is to apply to them vector extrapolation methods. In this work, we review two polynomial-type vector extrapolation methods that have proved to be very efficient convergence accelerators; namely, the minimal polynomial extrapolation (MPE) and the reduced rank extrapolation (RRE). We discuss their derivation, describe the most accurate and stable algorithms for their implementation along with the effective modes of usage, and present their convergence and stability theory. We also discuss their close connection with the method of Arnoldi and GMRES, two well known Krylov subspace methods for linear systems. Finally, we discuss some of their applications to different large-scale problems, such as solution of large-scale systems of equations, eigenvalue problems, computation of the PageRank of the Google matrix, and summation of vector-valued power series.

Levodopa in Parkinson's disease: from the past to the future

Importance of the field: Levodopa is the mainstay of symptomatic treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD). Although other treatments have been developed in the last 30 years, most patients use levodopa in view of its superior efficacy in controlling PD symptoms. Unfortunately, levodopa is associated with long-term motor complications (motor fluctuations and dyskinesias). The main causes of these undesirable effects are the narrowing of the therapeutic window with the natural progression of the disease, pulsatile dopaminergic stimulation due to the short half-life of the drug and erratic absorption. Several studies suggest that PD control could be enhanced by changing the mode of levodopa delivery so as to ensure continuous and stable supply of the drug to the brain. The objective of this text is to review the ascertained strengths and limitations of levodopa in PD, starting from its history, and propose novel modes of usage designed to cover currently unmet medical needs.Areas covered in this review: Medline literature search (from 1973 to date).What the reader will gain: A perspective on the evolution of PD pharmacological treatment.Take home message: Levodopa still is the best treatment for PD. Truly stable and controlled formulations that ensure clinical response should be developed to reduce the undesirable effects that restrict its efficacy.

Visual representation and communication

There is great potential for graphics to present quantities, processes, and spatial relations that make knowledge communication more effective through simple to complex visual languages. Visual representation conveys certain messages, directly or metaphorically. An effective visual representation communicates with users by offering core messages and other embedded qualities. These embedded qualities generate interest in the topics/issues, create desirable energy for seeking more knowledge in depth, and enable readers to explore their favorable influences. It is no longer enough to consider a visual representation to be merely attractive or pleasing; it also has to be designed in a way to effectively tell stories in order to better play its role as an information carrier and to meet users’ needs for multiple modes of usage. This study examines the ways in which visual explanation both tells stories and presents their underlying meanings. Visual information design not only presents concepts and events across time but also disseminates information widely through various media. This case study investigates various visual depictions of fertility rates and observes the causes and effects of viewers’ decision making. The total fertility rates in Taiwan dropped dramatically from 1951 to 2006, according to the Department of Household Registration Affairs, Ministry of Interior (MOI), Taiwan. This drop not only will render the aging population greater than other age groups in the near future, but also greatly changes social, economic, and environmental progress in this region. This study’s small effort in the information design field will help create a link between practitioners’ intelligence and researchers’ suggestions, thereby helping enhance the effectiveness of visual communication.

Remote sensing in physical geography: a twenty-first-century perspective

Timely, high-quality data from remote sensing can benefi t the study of physical geography in many ways (Wolman, 2004). Rapid developments in remote sensing, particularly from satellite platforms, have generated much, often well-placed, enthusiasm about its potential as a powerful research tool (Skole, 2004). Indeed, remote sensing is viewed by many as having come of age (Tatem et al., 2008) and can be deemed a mature discipline with its physical principles well understood and its range of applications a showcase of its versatility (Warner et al., 2009). Historically, physical geography has benefited greatly from the emergence of new technologies, like remote sensing, and is likely to continue to reap benefi ts from further technological advances in the foreseeable future (Rhoads, 2004). The beginning of the twenty-fi rst century promised to be a period of technological innovation, with remote sensing identifi ed as one of 21 technologies well placed to meet contemporary issues and challenges facing society (AllBusiness, 2001). Given that many of these challenges involve the interaction between society and the physical environment (Demeritt, 2009), and that there is an increasing need for all areas of science, including physical geography, to iterate their value to society (Rediscovering Geography Committee, NRC, 1997), the close of the fi rst decade of the twenty-fi rst century is a suitable point at which to take stock of current trends and developments in remote sensing within physical geography and interrelated fi elds. Remote sensing is useful for the physical geographer not only as a tool for data collection, with superiority over other techniques by virtue of its spatial and temporal coverage, but also because of the logic implicit in the reasoning process employed to analyse the data (Estes et al., 1980). In addition to the experimental, hypothetical and case-study style of reasoning that tends to characterize the use of remote sensing within physical geography, there are increasingly operational modes of usage (eg, within meteorology and climatology, hazard management). Since the turn of the twenty-fi rst century more than 100 satellite sensors have been launched (www.itc.nl/research/products/sensordb/ searchsat.aspx) and numerous airborne and terrestrial sensors manufactured. Many of these sensors are the result of emerging technologies (eg, Krabach, 2000), with the processing and interpretation of the data acquired benefiting from advanced pro-

The use and characterization of a backilluminated charge-coupled device in investigations of pulsed x-ray and radiation sources

Examinations of bremsstrahlung and energetic electron beams from a novel laser plasma source motivate and assist characterization of a backthinned, backilluminated direct detection x-ray charge-coupled device (CCD), a topology that is uncommon in hard x-ray work. Behavior toward pseudomonochromatic ((55)Fe) and multichromatic ((241)Am) sources is briefly reviewed under optimized noise conditions. Results collectively establish the previously unknown functional depth structure. Several modes of usage are illustrated in approximately 4-20 keV x-ray laser plasma source investigations, where the significance of the characterization is briefly discussed. The spectral redistribution associated with this CCD topology is unfavorable, yet appropriate analysis ensures that sufficient spectral information remains for quantitative determination of broadband x-ray flux and spectra in essentially single laser shot measurements. The energy dependence of nascent electron cloud radii in silicon is determined using broadband x-rays from the laser plasma source, turning the narrow depletion depth to advantage. Finally, the characterization is used to quantify recent x-ray spectral explorations of the water jet laser plasma source operating under aspirator vacuum. These results will have key value for establishment of laboratory based ultrafast extended x-ray absorption fine structure experiments using microbolometric detectors.

The changing charismatic status of the performing male body in Asian martial arts films

This essay is driven by foregrounding the performing body in Asian martial arts films. This focus leads to the emergence of three simple but important categories of performing body within the genre: the martial-artist-as-actor, the actor-as-martial-artist and the ‘enhanced’ martial-artist-as-actor. These emergent categories are then explored by focusing on a few celebrated Asian martial arts films and martial artists/actors. The analysis draws upon a range of sociological perspectives of the body including the construction of body charisma, ideas of a martial habitus as legitimate schemes of dispositions, modes of body usage and the positioning of forms of masculinity within the global gender order that the predominantly male bodies in Asian martial arts films must negotiate. It is concluded that the charismatic performing body provides a fertile yet hitherto under explored point of departure for the study of martial arts films, martial culture and the gendered bodies that inhabit them.