Bodies in Cinema: Evaluating Operationalisations of Closeness to Movie Characters

Based on theoretical considerations on embodied affectivity in social life, the feeling of being close is argued to be pivotal for experiencing one-sided interactions with movie characters. Currently, a feasible methodology to be used in order to measure this variable is still missing. A subsample (n = 14) from existing data is used to evaluate three operationalisations of closeness to the main character in two central scenes of the movie Sehnsucht by Valeska Grisebach: (1) Closeness as grades of familiarity is operationalised using a pictorial measure with the participant indicating which of two more or less overlapping circles (one representing the self, one representing the screen character) describes the relationship best. (2) Physical closeness is assessed with recordings of the eye movements which provide a fine-grained measurement of distance to the screen. (3) Closeness as synchronicity could be observed by analysing the facial expressions and movements of the participant in front of the screen simultaneously with the expressions and movements of the movie characters. The results of the study point to limitations of an operationalisation of closeness as familiarity by using a single-item measurement. Furthermore, with synchronicity being rarely observed, this way of being close appears to be a phenomenon of minor relevance for movie reception. The measurement of physical closeness, however, indicates a promising approach due to behavioural patterns being detectable and easily interpretable in accordance with the movie’s content. Ideas for further methodological development of an operationalisation of physical closeness are proposed.

Measurement of Economic Forecast Accuracy: A Systematic Overview of the Empirical Literature

The primary purpose of the paper is to enable deeper insight into the measurement of economic forecast accuracy. The paper employs the systematic literature review as its research methodology. It is also the first systematic review of the measures of economic forecast accuracy conducted in scientific research. The citation-based analysis confirms the growing interest of researchers in the topic. Research on economic forecast accuracy is continuously developing and improving with the adoption of new methodological approaches. An overview of the limits and advantages of the methods used to assess forecast accuracy not only facilitate the selection and application of appropriate measures in future analytical works but also contribute to a better interpretation of the results. In addition to the presented advantages and disadvantages, the chronological presentation of methodological development (measures, tests, and strategies) provides an insight into the possibilities of further upgrading and improving the methodological framework. The review of empirical findings, in addition to insight into existing results, indicates insufficiently researched topics. All in all, the results presented in this paper can be a good basis and inspiration for creating new scientific contributions in future works.

Data reuse across international contexts? Reflections on new methods for International Qualitative Secondary Analysis

This research note reports on five online workshops by an international team of scholars, the authors, with shared interests in drug (mis)use. The workshops comprise a novel form of collective international qualitative secondary analysis (iQSA) exploring the possibilities for, and value of, qualitative data reuse across international contexts. These preparatory workshops comprise the preliminary stages of a longer programme of methodological development of iQSA, and we used them to identify what challenges there may be for translating evidence across international contexts, what strategies might be best placed to support or facilitate analytical engagement in this direction, and if possible, what empirical value such exchange might have. We discuss how working across international contexts involved the authors in new 'translational' work to address the challenges of establishing and sharing meaning. Such ‘translation’ entailed a modest degree of empirical engagement, namely, the casing of empirical examples from our datasets that supported an articulation of our various research studies, a collective interrogation of how, why and which such cases could be used for best translational effect and a collective reflexive engagement with how these cases generated new and novel questions that in turn re-engaged us with our own data in new ways. Descriptions of our datasets, therefore, emerged as multifaceted assemblages of ‘expertise’ and comprised the evidential bases for new empirical insights, research questions and directions.

The Situational Analysis of Teaching-Learning in Clinical Education: Methodological Development in Medical Education Research

Background Clinical teaching-learning is a context-bound phenomenon. One of the problems related to research in clinical education is the lack of sufficient attention to coherent and context-appropriate methodologies. The clinical learning environment is inherently an integration of teaching and clinical care, which has made the nature of clinical education complicated and multifaceted. Improving and developing clinical teaching-learning requires not only an explanation of the current situation, but also the development of new research methods is necessary to reconstruct the teaching-learning system and, as a result, clinical education reinforcements. Methods in this study, the authors used the situational analysis approach as a postmodern version of grounded theory. Situational analysis is an approach for identifying and describing social worlds and action arenas by using maps to represent complexity. The data of this study were collected focusing on triangulation. Thirty-one participants were involved in the web-based qualitative survey, while seven participants took part in the semi-structured phone interview. Results the teaching-learning situation in clinical education on general medicine in Iran was represented in three maps; situational, social worlds/arenas, and positional. In addition, the results showed, clinical education of general medicine in Iran in 6 positions has serious problems and challenges. As a result, recommendations were provided to develop and support effective clinical teaching. Conclusions The findings of this research revealed key messages that can be explained using Foucault's discourse. In addition, from the methodological point of view, the present study encourages the use of the situational analysis approach to study complex systems and in order to educational excellence and improvement calls for further methodological development in medical education research.

Advancing digital disconnection research: Introduction to the special issue

Over the past decade, scholarly interest in “digital disconnection” and related concepts has grown in media and communication studies, and in related disciplines. The idea of digital disconnection explicitly references digitalization as a key societal development, creating conditions of intensified and embedded media involvement across social life. The notion of digital disconnection thereby represents a critical response to mediated conditions that characterize our societies and permeate our everyday lives. In this special issue, we take stock of the contributions, challenges, and promises of digital disconnection research. We showcase how digital disconnection scholarship intersects with other developments in media and communication research, and is part of debates and empirical analysis in related disciplines from tourism studies to psychology. We argue that one of the key strengths of the emergent work is the variety of social domains and conceptual debates that are included and explored in digital disconnection research. On the other hand, we also point to the need for further methodological development, conceptual consolidation, and empirical diversity, particularly in the face of global inequalities and ongoing crises.

Methodology for representing the intellectual heritage of geobotanists at Kazan University

The article presents a methodological development for increasing the perception of information about theintellectual heritage of outstanding scientists, culture and society on the example of a thematic collection of open access onthe Internet, which is formed in the link “leading expert-library staff ” on the example of Kazan University. The author actsas a leading expert. The volume of the collection is limited to 11 persons in the range of IXХ–XXI centuries. Among thepersons are the founders of the geobotanical tradition in Russia: P. N. Krylov, S. I. Korzhinsky, A. Ya. Gordyagin, V. I. Baranov, M. V. Markov, E. L. Lyubarsky. The collection is designed for a significant number of electronic exhibits (text, photos, scans, video, audio). The electronic archive is being formed. The structure of the site-guide to the collection is presented. Examples of generalization of the intellectual heritage of a person are given on the example of Professor E. L. Lyubarsky(tabular forms: “Periods of professional activity”, “Analysis of scientific and practical activities”, “Methodological developments”). The algorithm-guide to the collection is based on a scientific research on the topic: “Evgeny Leonidovich Lyubarsky, Honored Professor of Kazan University from the galaxy of founders of the Kazan botanical tradition: history, biography, contribution to science.” The collection format is designed to: 1) increase the reliability of information on the Internet; 2) the rehabilitation of the names of prominent Russian botanists in the international names of plants; 3) propagandaof methodological developments of botanists of Kazan University; 4) raising the cultural level of readers on a global scale.

Methodical development "Outdoor games, relay races - TRP path to health and success"

Methodological development on health care of students for a physical culture lesson. In this lesson, students perform tasks from famous athletes of Russia.

Is there a role for statistics in artificial intelligence?

The research on and application of artificial intelligence (AI) has triggered a comprehensive scientific, economic, social and political discussion. Here we argue that statistics, as an interdisciplinary scientific field, plays a substantial role both for the theoretical and practical understanding of AI and for its future development. Statistics might even be considered a core element of AI. With its specialist knowledge of data evaluation, starting with the precise formulation of the research question and passing through a study design stage on to analysis and interpretation of the results, statistics is a natural partner for other disciplines in teaching, research and practice. This paper aims at highlighting the relevance of statistical methodology in the context of AI development. In particular, we discuss contributions of statistics to the field of artificial intelligence concerning methodological development, planning and design of studies, assessment of data quality and data collection, differentiation of causality and associations and assessment of uncertainty in results. Moreover, the paper also discusses the equally necessary and meaningful extensions of curricula in schools and universities to integrate statistical aspects into AI teaching.