Ghost/Machine: cinema in a digital age

Cinema, with its passive cinematic apparatus and linear narrative is often characterised as a contrast to new media narrative strategies, yet from Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera to Mike Figgis’ TimeCode and Wong Kar Wei’s 2046 cinema provides narrative strategies and spatial conceptualisations which prefigure or are contiguous with new media environments. Both our perception of what cyberspace constitutes and the technology that actualises those perceptions arise out of and are driven by fantasy and desire. This paper will explore the metaphors used to represent and understand new media aesthetics through cinematic representations of new media environments. Two key themes relevant to new media aesthetics emerge. Irigaray, Haraway, and Grosz are used to explore the de-essentialising haptic and penetrative potential of new technologies and their ability to collapse the boundary between the body and the machine. The second fantasy, of new media as a liminal space that expresses the memorialising function of technology and its relation to mourning, is analysed using Benjamin, Burgin and Rutsky. These altered spaces and perceptions of the body and memory of the post-cinematic subject are illustrated through an analysis of Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Jonze’s Being John Malkovich. [From the Author]

Pour un cinéma du «réel» : les films de fiction de Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardenne

Ce mémoire de maîtrise porte sur cinq films de fiction de Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardenne : La promesse (1996), Rosetta (1999), Le fils (2002), L’enfant (2005) et Le silence de Lorna (2008). L’objectif de cette recherche est d’analyser la problématique du « réel » à travers ces cinq cas filmiques, en défendant l’idée que le réel, à défaut de pouvoir être représenté (Jacques Lacan), est visé – et exprimé – par l’appareillage cinématographique des Dardenne. Dans le premier chapitre, nous déterminons en quoi le cinéma de Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardenne opère une nouvelle fictionnalité qui brouille les limites entre le document et la fiction. Dans le deuxième chapitre, nous situons l’approche des Frères dans la modernité cinématographique et nous analysons les enjeux esthétiques qui, au sein de leur cinéma, « posent le problème du réel ». Enfin, le troisième chapitre est entièrement dédié à l’acteur dardennien qui, par sa méthode, son jeu et ses postures, provoque l’expression du réel.

Scepticisme du cinéma, scepticisme de Gus Van Sant : étude de la tétralogie de Gus Van Sant à partir de la philosophie de Stanley Cavell

Ce mémoire vise à explorer le lien étroit unissant le scepticisme philosophique, le dispositif cinématographique et la tétralogie de Gus Van Sant : Gerry, Elephant, Last days et Paranoid Park. À partir de la philosophie de Stanley Cavell, il sera d’abord question de développer le scepticisme comme condition d’existence et non plus comme doctrine philosophique. Stanley Cavell fait bifurquer le problème sceptique de la cognition vers l’éthique et nous verrons comment Gus Van Sant, en proposant un cinéma du désoeuvrement et de la mélancolie où l’individu est en rupture avec le monde, rejoint cette dimension éthique du scepticisme par le cinéma. Ensuite, il s’agira de voir comment le dispositif cinématographique est l’expression même du scepticisme cavellien et comment il permet de tendre vers le perfectionnisme moral en imposant la reconnaissance de son existence à travers la décision morale. Enfin, nous verrons comment Gus Van Sant, en réinventant le plan-séquence et le ralenti, répond singulièrement au problème posé par le scepticisme en réintégrant l’individu dans le monde à force de manipulations formelles qui sont autant de réponses au désoeuvrement contemporain comme condition existentielle. Ces réponses trouvées par Gus Van Sant ne sont pas des solutions, mais une exploration des dimensions d’un problème qu’il renouvèle : le scepticisme.

Apparatus for monitoring load bearing rehabilitation exercises of a transfemoral amputee fitted with an osseointegrated fixation : a proof-of-concept study

The purpose of this proof-of-concept study was to determine the relevance of direct measurements to monitor the load applied on the osseointegrated fixation of transfemoral amputees during static load bearing exercises. The objectives were (A) to introduce an apparatus using a three-dimensional load transducer, (B) to present a range of derived information relevant to clinicians, (C) to report on the outcomes of a pilot study and (D) to compare the measurements from the transducer with those from the current method using a weighing scale. One transfemoral amputee fitted with an osseointegrated implant was asked to apply 10 kg, 20 kg, 40 kg and 80 kg on the fixation, using self-monitoring with the weighing scale. The loading was directly measured with a portable kinetic system including a six-channel transducer, external interface circuitry and a laptop. As the load prescribed increased from 10 kg to 80 kg, the forces and moments applied on and around the antero-posterior axis increased by 4 fold anteriorly and 14 fold medially, respectively. The forces and moments applied on and around the medio-lateral axis increased by 9 fold laterally and 16 fold from anterior to posterior, respectively. The long axis of the fixation was overloaded and underloaded in 17 % and 83 % of the trials, respectively, by up to ±10 %. This proof-of-concept study presents an apparatus that can be used by clinicians facing the challenge of improving basic knowledge on osseointegration, for the design of equipment for load bearing exercises and for rehabilitation programs.

An egg apparatus-specific enhancer of Arabidopsis, identified by enhancer detection

Despite a central role in angiosperm reproduction, few gametophyte-specific genes and promoters have been isolated, particularly for the inaccessible female gametophyte (embryo sac). Using the Ds-based enhancer-detector line ET253, we have cloned an egg apparatus-specific enhancer (EASE) from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The genomic region flanking the Ds insertion site was further analyzed by examining its capability to control gusA and GFP reporter gene expression in the embryo sac in a transgenic context. Through analysis of a 5' and 3' deletion series in transgenic Arabidopsis, the sequence responsible for egg apparatus-specific expression was delineated to 77 bp. Our data showed that this enhancer is unique in the Arabidopsis genome, is conserved among different accessions, and shows an unusual pattern of sequence variation. This EASE works independently of position and orientation in Arabidopsis but is probably not associated with any nearby gene, suggesting either that it acts over a large distance or that a cryptic element was detected. Embryo-specific ablation in Arabidopsis was achieved by transactivation of a diphtheria toxin gene under the control of the EASE. The potential application of the EASE element and similar control elements as part of an open-source biotechnology toolkit for apomixis is discussed.

Cinematic and televisual cities

This article introduces the nine articles that comprise the 'Cities' issue of Studies in Australasian Cities. Established and emerging scholars explore cities in Australian and New Zealand film and television. Articles cover aspects of media production, reception and exhibition in particular cities, studies of various city characters and spaces, and analyses of the relationship between representations of a city on-screen and the 'real' city.

Cinematic hooks for Korean studies: using the 'Apache' framework for inspiring students about Korea in and through film

Developing awareness of and maintaining interest in Korea and Korean culture for non-language secondary and tertiary students continues to challenge educators in Australia. A lack of appropriate and accessible creative and cultural materials is a key factor contributing to this challenge. In light of changes made to 'fair use' guidelines for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the United States in July 2010, and in order to prepare for a time in the near future when Australian copyright regulations might follow suit, this article offers a framework for utilizing film and digital media contents in the classroom. Case studies of the short digital animation film 'Birthday Boy' (2004) and the feature film The Divine Weapon (2008) are presented in order to illustrate new educational approaches to popular Korean films---the cinematic component of the 'Korean Wave' ('Hanryu' or 'Hallyu' in Korean). It is hoped that this work-in-progress will enable teachers to inspire students with limited language skills to learn more about Korean popular culture, history, and tradition as well as media, politics, and genre studies in dynamic ways through the use of films as cultural texts in the classroom.

Design of an experimental apparatus to analyse bagasse behaviour in a chute

Pressure feeder chutes are pieces of equipment used in sugar cane crushing to increase the amount of cane that can be put through a mill. The continuous pressure feeder was developed with the objective to provide a constant feed of bagasse under pressure to the mouth of the crushing mills. The pressure feeder chute is used in a sugarcane milling unit to transfer bagasse from one set of crushing rolls to a second set of crushing rolls. There have been many pressure feeder chute failures in the past. The pressure feeder chute is quite vulnerable and if the bagasse throughput is blocked at the mill rollers, the pressure build-up in the chute can be enormous, which can ultimately result in failure. The result is substantial damage to the rollers, mill and chute construction, and downtimes of up to 48 hours can be experienced. Part of the problem is that the bagasse behaviour in the pressure feeder chute is not understood well. If the pressure feeder chute behaviour was understood, then the chute geometry design could be modified in order to minimise risk of failure. There are possible avenues for changing pressure feeder chute design and operations with a view to producing more reliable pressure feeder chutes in the future. There have been previous attempts to conduct experimental work to determine the causes of pressure feeder chute failures. There are certain guidelines available, however pressure feeder chute failures continue. Pressure feeder chute behaviour still remains poorly understood. This thesis contains the work carried out between April 14th 2009 and October 10th 2012 that focuses on the design of an experimental apparatus to measure forces and visually observe bagasse behaviour in an attempt to understand bagasse behaviour in pressure feeder chutes and minimise the risk of failure.

CPAP apparatus : an inexpensive alternative

Objective: To describe an effective and inexpensive CPAP-mask apparatus for use in the emergency department. Conclusion: CPAP is an effective tool in the treatment of acute pulmonary oedema in the emergency department. The mask apparatus described is an inexpensive alternative to the commercially produced machines.

Looking into the light : reinventing the apparatus in contemporary art

Technical images such as photography, film and video, are dependent on apparatuses for their production and dissemination, yet the apparatus itself is often hidden or obscured in the experience of the work and the discourse that surrounds it. This practice-led research identifies key practice strategies to foreground the apparatus both in the production of work and in its presentation. It therefore develops critical and generative strategies to explore and interrogate the workings of the 'apparatus-audience complex,' and the particular modes of spectatorship that this entails.

Imaginative cinematic geographies of Australia : the mapped view in Charles Chauvel's Jedda and Baz Luhrmann's Australia

Cinema is central to the mediation of history and the construction of imaginative geographies that offer a politicized view of the land and its people. This article investigates cinematic representations of landscape and analyses the ways in which maps and journeys in Charles Chauvel’s film Jedda (1955) and Baz Luhrmann’s Australia (2008)—both set in the far North of Australia—articulate conceptions of “Australianness” in relationship to Indigeneity and the land. We argue the exotic tropics and arid outback regions of northern Australia function metonymically as representative of the nation in these films, working to naturalize ideological values and affirm dominant narratives of history, identity, and entitlement.

To see and be seen : cinematic constructions of gender and spectatorship in contemporary screen-based art

To See and Be Seen: Cinematic Constructions of Gender and Spectatorship in Contemporary Screen-Based Art addresses how gendered representation can be structured within visual art practice through a series of creative moving-image works. Using the aesthetic language of French New Wave cinema as its primary point of departure, this research project investigates how gendered representations are constructed by cinematic language. In doing this, it proposes latent possibilities present within the dominant gaze created by patriarchal relations of power. This project, in a series of creative works, demonstrates how the 'masculine' authorial gaze is learnt culturally, and by examining the gendered syntax of film, reveals how this can be recontextualised by the female artist.