Although extensive theoretical discussions examine how interior atmospheres are constructed in cinema, particularly how lighting and illumination guide viewer perception, comprehensive empirical studies that explore how these atmospheric elements are understood and conceptualized by design students across different film genres remain limited. Addressing this gap, the present study investigates how 102 students enrolled in the Form Light Color course in the Interior Architecture Department at Istanbul Aydın University systematically analyzed interior scenes from five film genres: horror and thriller, romance, comedy, fantasy, and science fiction, focusing specifically on lighting and illumination. The research employs a multi stage methodological framework consisting of data collection, qualitative coding, thematic content analysis using MAXQDA, word cloud modelling, and artificial intelligence based visual generation through the GEMINI system. The findings reveal distinct patterns of light and atmosphere for each genre. Horror and thriller films rely on low key and shadow intensive lighting. Romance films emphasize warm and diffused illumination. Comedy films frequently use bright and evenly distributed lighting. Fantasy films highlight colorful, magical, and multidirectional illumination. Science fiction films are characterized by neon based, cold, and technologically structured lighting schemes. By bringing together student perception, qualitative analysis, and artificial intelligence supported visual modelling, this study offers a novel methodological contribution to both film studies and design education literature. The findings provide a deeper understanding of how cinematic lighting and atmosphere are constructed, interpreted, and visually represented.

Over the past couple of decades, technology has become an integral part of our lives, with widespread digitalization and access to knowledge making our lives easier every day. What seemed like science fiction in the 20th century is now perceived as completely ordinary and mundane. One such example is unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Today, UAVs are used in many areas: agriculture, construction, energy, and military applications. UAVs are a very promising field in geodesy and cartography. In vast and hard-to-reach areas, UAVs reduce time, money, and labor costs. Using specialized software, it is possible to create both highly accurate terrain maps and 3D models of buildings and structures. This article presents the experience of creating a 3D model of a residential building in the city of Yakutsk. Currently, with the possible introduction of a 3D real estate cadastre and information modeling technologies in construction, this research topic is highly relevant.

We live in a world of data. From satellites and smartwatches to social media and swipes at a register, we have ways to measure the economy to an extent that would have seemed like science fiction just a generation ago. The data deluge raises important questions: How can we distinguish meaningful signals of economic activity from noise? To what extent can new sources of data complement or even replace official statistics? And, at a more fundamental level, are we even measuring the metrics that matter most in today’s increasingly digital economy? F&D magazine’s December 2025 issue explores these questions.

From the South Pole to the stars: Antarctica and outer space.

ABSTRACT This essay reads Ned Beauman’s Venomous Lumpsucker as exploring the gap that exists between caring about mass species extinction and taking meaningful action to prevent it. The novel, at first, undermines the conventional reasons for caring; however, one of its protagonists is then revealed as having become willing to die for the issue. Equally, the reason for this change proves strangely hard to locate. This essay argues that the real reason for caring about species extinction in Venomous Lumpsucker is connected to a transcendence of the self that aligns the novel with both science fiction and spiritual traditions; however, this reason is so unappealing that it can manifest in the text only in disguised and tortuous forms. Venomous Lumpsucker enables new insights into the connection between spirituality and species extinction in the current moment, and suggests further questions that might be explored in the light of this.

With the rapid advancement of digital media technologies and the growing demand for fragmented entertainment, short dramas have emerged as a new growth driver in the audiovisual industry, characterized by their brevity, high frequency, and intense plotting. Against the macro backdrop of the 14th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Industry Development, this study draws on 673 valid questionnaires from the Sichuan-Chongqing region and employs descriptive statistical analysis, Apriori association rule mining, and principal component analysis (PCA) to systematically examine audience behavioral profiles, genre preference combinations, and determinants of satisfaction. Findings indicate that short drama viewers in the Sichuan-Chongqing region are predominantly female, urban, and middle-aged youth, with undergraduates and current students forming the core consumer base. Primary viewing motivations center on leisure and stress relief and social interaction. Genre preferences exhibit a trend toward multimodal fusion, with “Romance + Suspense”, “Comedy + Romance”, and “Science Fiction + Fantasy” emerging as the most favored combinations. PCA results reveal three core satisfaction dimensions—ranked as content quality, production quality, and advertising experience—wherein content innovation, emotional resonance, and advertising intrusiveness serve as pivotal variables influencing user retention. The study concludes that transitioning the short drama sector from quantity-driven expansion to quality-led growth requires multidimensional synergy across creative content development, technological empowerment, and business model optimization, thereby providing theoretical foundations and practical guidance for high-quality development of regional cultural industries.

ABSTRACT Imagination has emerged as an essential facet of soft power, as the effort to influence collective visions of the future becomes a key arena of global cultural competition. As the vehicle of national imagination, Chinese science fiction (SF) originated during the late Qing Dynasty through the translation of Western SF, and has developed into a strategic medium for projecting cultural narratives across borders today. Anchored in digital globalisation, media convergence and participatory culture have reshaped cultural dissemination into a decentralised and globally participatory model, which has reconfigured how soft power is acquired, cultivated and maintained, shifting the focus not merely to cultural attractiveness per se, but increasingly to the ability to expand the channels through which this attraction is shared and to establish credibility. Tracing the century-long transcultural trajectory of Chinese SF, this paper proposes a framework of mediated soft power to reconceptualise the mechanisms through which cultural influence operates across borders. This framework foregrounds a dynamic process of mediation encompassing translation, transmedia circulation and cultural appropriation, and argues that leveraging the participatory affordances of new media, mobilising international fan engagement, and fostering global (re)creations around Chinese SF IPs can endow “Chinese imagination” with enduring dynamism.

Modern food systems face unprecedented challenges that require transformative policy responses beyond conventional forecasting. We argue that scenario building and science fiction narratives can serve as tools for policy innovation, helping stakeholders to consider complexity, weigh trade-offs, and shape more adaptive strategies. By synthesizing insights from foresight studies, participatory scenario exercises, and narrative approaches, this perspective suggests that creative future visions can support new policy pathways toward sustainable food systems. These methods offer co-created visions of possible futures encompassing climate, diets, technologies, and governance systems.

In this work is proposed the design of a system to create and handle Electric Vehicles (EV) charging procedures, based on intelligent process. The Electric Vehicles charging should be performed in effective way. One of the significant challenges with widespread electric vehicle adoption is related to vehicle charging. Many potential EV drivers have range anxiety or don’t want to spend much time charging an EV battery on long trips. Although dynamic wireless charging may seem like something out of a science fiction movie, it could be a viable way to overcome vehicle charging issues. These wireless power transfer systems work while the vehicle is in motion, providing numerous benefits

Abstract: Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have transitioned from science fiction concepts to tangible technologies with the potential to redefine human-computer interaction. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the evolution and future trajectory of AR/VR. We begin by establishing the fundamental requirements dictated by the human visual system—such as field of view, resolution, and vergence-accommodation conflict—and benchmark them against the current state-of-the-art in near-eye displays. Through a scoping review of the field's progression, we analyse publication trends, geographical research focus, and application domains, revealing a maturation phase with strong roots in healthcare, education, and industry. We then delve into the specific optical and display challenges in both VR (e.g., resolution enhancement, VAC mitigation) and AR (e.g., FOV expansion, brightness requirements), drawing on recent advancements in waveguides, microdisplays, and computational optics. Furthermore, we present original findings from a comparative user study on immersive analytics, highlighting that while user performance is comparable in AR and VR, user perception and navigation strategies differ significantly, suggesting a need for context-aware and user-selectable reality modes. Finally, we synthesise these perspectives to outline the future horizons of AR/VR, emphasising the critical role of emerging technologies, such as the AR cloud, cross-virtuality systems, and next-generation micro-LEDs, in driving the next wave of adoption and innovation. Keywords: Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Near-Eye Displays, Human Visual System, Immersive Analytics, Optical Combiners, Microdisplays, Vergence-Accommodation Conflict.

In this paper, I examine the social, subjective, and scientific implications of the hunter hypothesis, an evolutionary etiology for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). By tracing its presence in Chilean “everyday life” narratives and “neuropsychiatric” discourses, I argue for greater attention to the ancestral imaginaries within evolutionary etiologies. This perspective aims to enhance the study of medical categories as tools for self-understanding and biosociality, to foster interdisciplinary collaboration in mental health research, and to engage with calls for greater participation from neurodiverse individuals and communities. The article is structured in two parts. First, I explore the two-way encounter with the hunter hypothesis, examining its origins and interpretations in both “everyday life” and “neuropsychiatric” Chilean contexts. Second, I analyze the undertheorized role of ancestral imaginaries in scientific and medical speculation, seeking to enrich critiques of evolutionary thinking. I show how other legitimate speculations and testable scientific fictions become possible if we move beyond linear and dichotomic evolutionary narratives. The conclusion emphasizes that engaging with imagination should not involve adopting fixed speculative frameworks. Instead, it calls for democratizing access to scientific speculation to open it up to more nuanced strength-based narratives.

The review is dedicated to the book written by a Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of History of Slavic literatures at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Department of Slavic studies and Central European studies at the Russian State University for the Humanities, member of the Union of Writers of Russia, a well-known science fiction scholar, and president of the Association of Science Fiction Researchers, E. N. Kovtun. The book is structured like a guide, presenting a gallery of afterlife worlds as envisioned by the human soul. The research draws on works by science fiction writers from the 20th and 21st centuries, representing literary traditions of Russia, Western Europe, and the USA. This review analyzes the key aspects of E. N. Kovtun’s research, highlighting her innovative approach to the study of science fiction and fantasy literature. It outlines the diverse perspectives through which she examines these genres, ranging from the artistic representation of the Afterlife World to the motifs that connect various locations, geographical elements, and landscapes within afterlife narratives. The review emphasizes the validity of Kovtun’s methodology, particularly her exploration of the Afterlife chronotope and the behavioral strategies of characters on the brink of crossing the divide between the living and the dead. Her analytical framework enables a multifaceted examination of selected texts, allowing for an objective assessment of the essential qualities and characteristics of the Afterlife. While commonalities emerge through intertextual connections, distinct national and aesthetic features are also evident. Kovtun seeks to interpret a wide array of works through the lens of their poetics. This monograph serves as a significant resource for researchers interested in theoretical literary issues. It weaves together reflections on chronotopes, plot structures, character types, fictional worlds, and authorial intent. Overall, Kovtun successfully achieves her primary objective: to define and “justify” the role of fantasy in contemporary literature and to explain its appeal to a large adult audience. This review is intended for a broad readership, including philologists, literary scholars, and anyone interested in science fiction, fantasy, and themes of the afterlife.

Abstract Situated at the intersection of science fiction (SF) studies and Chinese studies, and more broadly of genre studies and area studies, this essay takes the work of contemporary Chinese SF writer Hao Jingfang as a starting point to address what the article's author considers a palpable disconnect in the contemporary reception and study of SF from the People's Republic of China (PRC). This disconnect, which has roots in the positionality of Chinese studies experts vis-à-vis the academic institutions and the field of studies in which they operate, has come to limit and regiment most discourses around the cultural phenomenon of “Chinese SF,” crystallized as it has become into fixed forms of descriptive praise and occasional critique that do not really attend to the political affordances of this genre. Ultimately, the goal of this intervention is to hold both “Chinese SF” and its scholarship up to the standards of literary representation to which they themselves so often appeal. If it is true that “China's reality is more science-fictional than SF” and that “SF is a type of critical realism,” then what must be thoroughly investigated is the linkage between this genre and the reality it lays claims on.

Abstract This essay explores the intersection of technology and eldercare in the contemporary PRC by bringing Chinese science fiction into conversation with public health policies. Central to the analysis is the notion of posthuman aging—a social imaginary that addresses the eldercare crisis amid population aging through a cyborgian fusion of elders and machines. The essay begins with the state-sponsored smart eldercare initiative, a system driven by big data and roboticization, which paradoxically perpetuates entrenched anthropocentric prejudices against old age. To counteract the limitations of this approach, the essay turns to the alternative vision of posthumanist aging in Liu Cixin's novella “Supporting the Gods.” Here the seemingly dehumanizing aspects of old age, such as incapacity and dependence, provide fertile ground for redefining notions of agency and autonomy that underwrite anthropocentrism. The human-machine interaction configured in Liu's narrative also enables intergenerational connections, paving the way for a new eldercare ethic in Chinese-speaking worlds and beyond.

This paper explores the role of counterfactual thought in educational theory by proposing a heuristic that distinguishes between two modes: ‘As if’ and ‘What if’. We begin by grounding the discussion in philosophical debates on language, imagination, and fictionality, before introducing the heuristic, which situates these modes within a broader typology of relations to reality. We then elaborate two exemplary figurations – axioms for ‘As if’ and Science Fiction for ‘What if’ – to demonstrate how counterfactual thinking operates in educational theory and as educational theory. A final discussion assesses the heuristic’s analytical, clarificatory, and generative value. We conclude that educational theory is inherently imaginative and that counterfactual modes of thought are essential to its capacity to critique the present and envision alternative futures.

Is it possible to increase interest in learning more about nuclear science among young women through science fiction? How can the interactive elements of social media advance #STEMINISM? Inspiring greater interest in radiation as an educational topic is important to recruiting the future generation of scientists and is crucial to the ability of Canada and other countries to deploy new nuclear power as part of the low carbon energy mix. This article explores how science fiction and social media could help address gender divides in scientific understanding of radiation and encourage more women and young people to pursue nuclear energy careers. While nuclear power can provide stable and clean electricity to replace fossil fuels, learning about nuclear science may be dismissed by today’s youth as “too boring” to reliably grow the workforce to meet future demands. Gender divides in scientific understanding of radiation include the tendency for more males than females to be employed in the nuclear sector, which reaches back to a more general trend in which females are underrepresented among STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) graduates. Even fictional depictions of radiation tend to be geared toward audiences or interests that are (at least historically) more identified as “for boys” than “for girls.” Science fiction storytelling provides a promising method of engagement to increase interest in nuclear science and possibly inspire more passion in STEM-oriented career paths among youth; however, strategies for overcoming the gender-biased limitations of the science fiction genre must be developed. This paper explores how science fiction and the social media platform Instagram can be combined to spark interest in nuclear energy as a climate change solution among women and young people. Atomic Eve is a science fiction Instagram superhero whose mission on Earth includes helping to solve the climate change crisis by increasing interest in learning more about nuclear energy. This article presents Atomic Eve as a creative experiment in how STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) could help innovate thinking around the role of public engagement in inspiring more women and younger people to pursue careers in the nuclear energy sector.

This research explores the logical and metaphysical possibilities of time travel, a concept that has long fascinated humanity. Central to this inquiry is the theory of closed world lines, which suggests that physical objects may trace self-contained temporal paths. Drawing on Verne’s scientific perspective and Mallet’s experimental work on time travel, the study examines the relevance of modern space-time theories—particularly relativity—which appear to allow models featuring closed world lines. The exploration of time travel challenges the understanding of the future and its potential consequences for human lives. A key text in this investigation is the novel Sea of Tranquility, which plays a pivotal role in addressing the complexities of time. The narrative weaves together past, present, and future through non-linear storytelling, touching upon concepts such as time dilation and the manipulation of temporal and spatial dimensions. The novel’s intricate depiction of temporal relationships offers valuable insights into the potential impact of futuristic technology on human lives and society. Through its exploration of time travel, Sea of Tranquility provides a nuanced portrayal of human experience in the modern world. The study also draws connections between science fiction and the real world, emphasizing the boundaries of innovation and the relentless human spirit that ventures into the unknown. Furthermore, it highlights how science fiction can serve as a metaphor for the dehumanizing and often chaotic effects of technology, as it threatens to consume human lives and blur the essence of reality. This research applies the theoretical frameworks of physics and philosophy to interpret and contextualise the narrative elements of Sea of Tranquillity, shedding light on the novel’s engagement with temporal dimensions and its thematic concerns. Ultimately, the study sheds light on the quest for understanding time and its profound implications for both characters and broader societal reflections within the novel.

The Metabolist Imagination: Visions of the City in Postwar Japanese Architecture and Science Fiction

Background: Robert J. Sawyer’s science fiction novel Mindscan explores a future where human consciousness can be uploaded into synthetic bodies, offering technological immortality. This premise forces a critical examination of personal identity, posing the central dilemma of whether such a process constitutes genuine survival ("continuation") or merely creates a sophisticated copy ("origination"). Objective: This paper aims to analyze the ethical, philosophical, and societal tensions arising from digital identity in Mindscan. It interrogates the novel’s speculation on whether mind-uploading preserves personhood or creates a discrete entity, and it investigates the practical challenges such technology would pose to legal, social, and emotional frameworks. Methods: The research employs a conceptual analysis of Sawyer’s narrative through the critical lenses of philosophers skeptical of human enhancement, primarily Nicholas Agar and Stephen Cave. Their arguments on personal identity and the illusion of technological immortality provide the primary framework, complemented by Mark Coeckelbergh’s insights on relational personhood and moral status. Findings: The analysis concludes that Mindscan presents mind-uploading as an "identity illusion" that benefits a copy rather than ensuring the survival of the original biological self. The novel dramatizes the inadequacy of existing legal and social institutions to accommodate digital beings, highlighting issues of rights, inheritance, and discrimination. Furthermore, it critiques how this technology would exacerbate social inequality by making immortality a luxury commodity. Conclusion: Sawyer’s work serves as a cautionary meditation, suggesting that the pursuit of digital immortality through mind-uploading offers a false promise of salvation. It ultimately underscores that genuine personhood is rooted in spatiotemporal continuity and embodied social interaction, which cannot be replicated by mere pattern duplication. Novelty: This study moves beyond purely philosophical debates on identity to focus on the practical implications of digital consciousness, including legal personhood, economic disparity, and societal integration, as dramatized in a seminal science fiction text.

The 21st century is witnessing a profound convergence of biology, neuroscience, and information technology, centering on the bio-neural interface. This interface, the frontier where engineered systems communicate directly with biological neural tissue, is no longer a subject of science fiction but a rapidly advancing field of engineering and science. It promises to revolutionize our approach to neurological disorders, cognitive enhancement, and the very fabric of human-machine symbiosis. This paper presents a comprehensive roadmap charting the trajectory from current state-of-the-art neural interfaces toward advanced cognitive augmentation and the emergence of synthetic biosystems. We begin by reviewing the foundational technologies, including high-density electrophysiology, optogenetics, and neuromodulation. We then delineate a three-phase roadmap: (1) Restorative Neuroprosthetics, focusing on restoring lost sensory and motor functions; (2) Cognitive Augmentation, exploring bidirectional interfaces for memory enhancement, decision support, and seamless human-AI collaboration; and (3) Synthetic Biosystems, envisioning distributed, swarm-based biological neural networks for unconventional computing and autonomous bio-hybrid agents. Critical to this progression is the development of advanced materials, closed-loop adaptive algorithms, and a deep understanding of neural coding. This paper also addresses the significant ethical, security, and societal implications inherent in such technologies. By synthesizing current research and projecting future developments, this roadmap aims to provide a strategic framework for researchers, engineers, and ethicists navigating the complex yet transformative landscape of bio-neural convergence.