Recasting 'Black Venus' in the new African Diaspora

This article explores the ways in which transnational feminist analysis can be deployed to reconfigure new gendered and racialized cartographies of the African Diaspora in Europe. First, I position contemporary film representations of trafficked Nigerian sex workers in Italy in dialogical relation to 19th century discourses of black sexuality - in particular, Sharpley-Whiting's (1999) reinscribed 'Black Venus Master Narrative' - and assess historical and geographical (dis)continuities in their modes of signification. Second, by linking endemic factors feeding the supply of Nigerian women for the purposes of (in)voluntary participation in the Italian sex industry, such as the localized feminization of poverty and regionally specific perceptions of sex work as a temporary economic strategy, I engage with broader feminist debates on victimization and agency in global sex work and migration literatures. In doing so, this dialectical think piece highlights the gendered complexities of new African diasporic formations and the ways in which their growth is facilitated by broader illegal networks that shape and are shaped by vicissitudes in glocalized economies. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring the effects of image persistence in low frame rate virtual environments

© 2015 IEEE.In virtual reality applications, there is an aim to provide real time graphics which run at high refresh rates. However, there are many situations in which this is not possible due to simulation or rendering issues. When running at low frame rates, several aspects of the user experience are affected. For example, each frame is displayed for an extended period of time, causing a high persistence image artifact. The effect of this artifact is that movement may lose continuity, and the image jumps from one frame to another. In this paper, we discuss our initial exploration of the effects of high persistence frames caused by low refresh rates and compare it to high frame rates and to a technique we developed to mitigate the effects of low frame rates. In this technique, the low frame rate simulation images are displayed with low persistence by blanking out the display during the extra time such image would be displayed. In order to isolate the visual effects, we constructed a simulator for low and high persistence displays that does not affect input latency. A controlled user study comparing the three conditions for the tasks of 3D selection and navigation was conducted. Results indicate that the low persistence display technique may not negatively impact user experience or performance as compared to the high persistence case. Directions for future work on the use of low persistence displays for low frame rate situations are discussed.

Validation of the Food-Linked Virtual Response task.

This research validates a computerized dietary selection task (Food-Linked Virtual Response or FLVR) for use in studies of food consumption. In two studies, FLVR task responses were compared with measures of health consciousness, mood, body mass index, personality, cognitive restraint toward food, and actual food selections from a buffet table. The FLVR task was associated with variables which typically predict healthy decision-making and was unrelated to mood or body mass index. Furthermore, the FLVR task predicted participants' unhealthy selections from the buffet, but not overall amount of food. The FLVR task is an inexpensive, valid, and easily administered option for assessing momentary dietary decisions.