From Ostalgie To Ostodium. The Anti-Communist Novel in Post-1989 East-Central Europe1.

This study seeks to theorize the post-communist anti-communist novel as a distinct and productive genre in East-Central European literatures, which we describe - in polemic with the better-known ostalgie - as a narrative of ostodium. We argue that anti-communist fiction became a cohesive genre in post-communism owing to its rigid view of the past, which was kept alive and significant, while simultaneously being antagonized, even after communism had collapsed. To that end, we explain how the anti-communist mindset assumed by intellectuals from the region during communism (which had then been branded as 'anti-politics') maintained monopoly over post-communist cultural production, and merged with ascending post-communist neoliberalism that promoted an anti-statist public mythology. We further outline the shifting shapes in which the ideological bias of the post-communist anti-communist novel was conveyed, and draw distinctions from proximate genres, such as the political novel, le roman á la thèse and historiographic metafiction. One crucial argument in this respect regards the postmodern entanglements of the post-communist anti-communist novel: in maintaining an univocal rejection of the communist metanarrative, they took on a stronger political thèse than in Western postmodernism, but also enhanced postmodernism's anti-realist drive by failing to provide an understanding of the post-communist present.

Autobiographical phenomenology of memories of fiction.

Most autobiographical memories are based on real-life experiences, but memories of fiction have many similarities to real-life autobiographical memories. However, the phenomenological nature of this similarity, the potential differences between media types, and the role of individual differences need further investigation. Based on previous findings, we expected differences between media types on emotional intensity, sensory vividness, and confidence about the recall. To provide insight into these issues, we collected one real-life autobiographical memory and one memory of fiction (book, film, or video game) from 291 participants. We asked them to rate their memories phenomenologically. The participants also provided information regarding their motivations for engaging with fictional stories. Our results show phenomenological differences in several dimensions between media types and differences in the similarity of media types to real-life memories. While absorption seems to be a good predictor for immersion, escapism tendency is a motivation to engage with fiction frequently.

Presentation of pharmacological content in crime novels between 1890 and 2023.

As there is lack of research on how drugs are presented in crime literature, we read nearly 25,000 pages of crime literature written between 1890 and 2023 to provide an overview on the pharmacological content in this genre. Correct presentation of pharmacological information decreased over time. Misconceptions about certain substances, especially narcotics and anesthetics appear in many of the analyzed examples. Also, in comparison with crime TV series, books are inferior in providing the reader with additional information and pharmacological plausibility. This especially applies for the newer books which contained less additional information than the older ones. In contrast, some books educate their readers. Newer books show a greater variety of substances also introducing recently developed drugs or new ways of application. On the contrary, older books stick to a small selection of well-known substances during that time, especially metals like arsenic and toxins like strychnine. Gender involvement in poisoning is not realistically presented in the novels. Male victims are overrepresented compared to reality. Also, the etiology is commonly presented incorrectly. Poisoning by accident or for suicidal purposes are rarely presented in the novels, despite their significance in reality. Overall, crime novels educate but also misinform their readers. We discuss the consequences of our findings for the individual reader and public health.

The Altruism Requirement as Moral Fiction.

It is widely agreed that living kidney donation is permitted but living kidney sales are not. Call this the Received View. One way to support the Received View is to appeal to a particular understanding of the conditions under which living kidney transplantation is permissible. It is often claimed that donors must act altruistically, without the expectation of payment and for the sake of another. Call this the Altruism Requirement. On the conventional interpretation, the Altruism Requirement is a moral fact. It states a legitimate constraint on permissible transplantation and is accepted on the basis of cogent argument. The present paper offers an alternative interpretation. I suggest the Altruism Requirement is a moral fiction-a kind of motivated falsehood. It is false that transplantation requires altruism. But the Requirement serves a purpose. Accepting it allows kidney donation but not kidney sale. It, in short, rationalizes the Received View.

Pathways to democratized healthcare: Envisioning human-centered AI-as-a-service for customized diagnosis and rehabilitation.

The ongoing digital revolution in the healthcare sector, emphasized by bodies like the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is paving the way for a shift towards person-centric healthcare models. These models consider individual needs, turning patients from passive recipients to active participants. A key factor in this shift is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has the capacity to revolutionize healthcare delivery due to its ability to personalize it. With the rise of software in healthcare and the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT), a surge of digital data is being produced. This data, alongside improvements in AI's explainability, is facilitating the spread of person-centric healthcare models, aiming at improving health management and patient experience. This paper outlines a human-centered methodology for the development of an AI-as-a-service platform with the goal of broadening access to personalized healthcare. This approach places humans at its core, aiming to augment, not replace, human capabilities and integrate in current processes. The primary research question guiding this study is: "How can Human-Centered AI principles be considered when designing an AI-as-a-service platform that democratizes access to personalized healthcare?" This informed both our research direction and investigation. Our approach involves a design fiction methodology, engaging clinicians from different domains to gather their perspectives on how AI can meet their needs by envisioning potential future scenarios and addressing possible ethical and social challenges. Additionally, we incorporate Meta-Design principles, investigating opportunities for users to modify the AI system based on their experiences. This promotes a platform that evolves with the user and considers many different perspectives.

On the Lookout for a Crack: Disruptive Becomings in Karoline Georges's Novel Under the Stone.

Informed by medical science and biotechnology, Karoline Georges's novel Under the Stone offers a reflection on suffering bodies and imagines responses to an overwhelming sense of fear and passivity that embodied trauma and the world's many crises can create. In line with the editors' reclaiming of the milieu for the medical humanities, I draw on Deleuze and Guattari's geophilosophy and Sara Ahmed's notions of stranger and encounter for reading the novel's spatialization of oppressive power dynamics and its imagination of subversive emergence. I also complicate the literary text's discourse on space and body by relying on wonder studies to examine further its alternative forms of careful attunement enacted through the protagonist's affective and disembodied awakening, the latter fueled by his escape from "the incessant movement of automatic components that delineat[e] [his] presence in the world" (Georges 2016, 61). Happening from and because of the Tower's milieu, this escape becomes a mitigating force to physical, affective, and social struggles. I thus contend that Georges's text provides thought-provoking material about the functions and effects of art for addressing the dangers and promises of bioethics, body sovereignty, and life protection.

A meta-narrative review of choose-your-own-adventure style patient case activities in pharmacy education.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this review was to characterize the methods of delivery and assessment of Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA)-style activities in pharmacy education. A secondary objective was to utilize available data to determine best practices for educators interested in developing similar activities. METHODS: A meta-narrative approach according to the guidance of the RAMESES standards was used for this review. A broad literature search was conducted using PubMed and Embase. Studies published on the use of a CYOA-style patient case format in pharmacy education were identified and appraised individually for their relevance. RESULTS: Thirteen studies from the pharmacy education literature were included in the review. Activities were delivered for 25 unique topics, largely in small groups during class via patient simulation or interactive data collection software. Overall, students have a positive perception of CYOA-style activities, with positive results regarding knowledge development and student engagement. The most commonly reported challenge to implementing CYOA-style patient case activities was the up-front time commitment to develop activities. IMPLICATIONS: This review provides a snapshot of the small but expanding body of literature on CYOA-style patient case activities in pharmacy education. CYOA-style activities are recommended for expanded use in pharmacy education as the preponderance of studies that assessed knowledge development showed significant improvement in knowledge after participation in CYOA-style activities. Additionally, students have a positive perception of CYOA-style activities and reported that they were enjoyable, improved their confidence, and helped them learn course material.

Feminist retroviruses to white Sharia: Gender "science fan fiction" on 4Chan.

This article demonstrates-based on an interpretive discourse analysis of three types of memes (Rabid Feminists, Women's Bodies, Policy Ideas) and secondary thread discourse on 4chan's "Politically Incorrect" discussion board-two key findings: (1) the existence of a gendered hate based scientific discourse, "science fan fiction," in online spaces and (2) how gender "science fan fiction" is an outcome of the male supremacist cosmology, by producing and justifying resentment against white women as being both inherently untrustworthy (politically, sexually, intellectually) and dangerous. This perspective-which combines hatred and distrust of women with white nationalist anxieties about demographic shifts, racial integrity, and sexuality-then motivates misogynist policy ideas including total domination of women or their removal. 4chan users employ this discourse to "scientifically" substantiate claims of white male supremacy, the fundamental untrustworthiness of white women, and to argue white women's inherent threat to white male supremacist goals.

Buffering effect of fiction on negative emotions: engagement with negatively valenced fiction decreases the intensity of negative emotions.

Previous research has investigated how the context of perception affects emotional response. This study investigated how engagement with perceived fictional content vs perceived everyday-life content affects the way people experience negative emotions. Four studies with an experimental design tested how engagement with perceived fictional content vs perceived everyday life content affects the intensity of negative emotional response to negative emotional content, the motivation to decrease negative emotions, and cognitive reappraisal. Participants were presented with negatively valenced images and were asked to imagine either that they were witnessing them, or that a bystander was witnessing them, or that they were viewing a movie including these scenes. After the manipulation, all participants observed a different set of negatively valenced images or a set of negatively valenced videos and reported their emotional response. We found that the intensity of negative emotions and motivation to decrease them was lower among participants in the fiction condition compared to participants in the everyday life condition. Although perspective-taking had a similar effect on negative emotions, fiction condition was more successful in decreasing negative emotions. This might indicate that fiction plays a buffering role in decreasing the negative emotions people experience when facing negative emotional content.

Real is the new sexy: the influence of perceived realness on self-reported arousal to sexual visual stimuli.

As state-of-art technology can create artificial images that are indistinguishable from real ones, it is urgent to understand whether believing that a picture is real or not has some import over affective phenomena such as sexual arousal. Thus, in two pre-registered online studies, we tested whether 60 images depicting models in underwear elicited higher self-reported sexual arousal when believed to be (N = 57) or presented as (N = 108) real photographs as opposed to artificially generated. In both cases, Realness correlated with significantly higher scores on self-reported sexual arousal. Consistently with the literature on downregulation of emotional response to fictional works, our result indicates that sexual images that are perceived to be fake are less arousing than those believed to portray real people.

'I Am they.' Non-Binary Representation in Television Fiction as a Manifestation of Social Conceptions.

This qualitative research uses a case study to observe non-binary representation in TV fiction. The Dan character from the Spanish series HIT (RTVE, 2020-present), who is the first openly non-binary character in Spanish TV fiction, is analyzed through the lens of Queer Media Studies. The research applies a combination of content and discourse analysis. Qualitative content categories include a character's visibility, identity, relevance, embodiment, and social interaction. Discourse analysis categories include character's construction, lexicalization, propositional framing, and focus. Results show that Dan's non-binary depiction revolves around three significant axes: dualism, confusion, and exceptional talent. These axes frame social attitudes toward non-binary people and are composed by a set of features identified in Dan's case which also informs society's mind-sets. These traits are proposed as an analytical-theoretical tool for further analyses of non-binary representation in different cultural contexts. The outcomes of this research may inform audiovisual industries, regulations and academia, and are useful to consolidate non-binary media studies.

Moving Through a Textual Space Autistically.

This article is an investigation of neurodivergent reading practices. It is a collectively written paper where the focus is as much on an autoethnographic exploration of our autistic readings of autism/autistic fiction as it is on the read texts themselves. The reading experiences described come primarily from Yoon Ha Lee's Dragon Pearl (2019) and Dahlia Donovan's The Grasmere Cottage Mystery (2018), which we experience as opposite each other in how they depict their neurodivergent characters and speak to us as autistic readers. Through the article, we describe a formation of neurodivergent (critical) collective readings of autism/autistic fiction. The article contributes to an academic and activistic discourse around neurodivergent reader responses and power relations between neurodivergent and neurotypical readers and authors.

Autonomy and bioethics in fan responses to Orphan Black.

Viewers' responses to Orphan Black (2013-2017), a popular, genetics-themed sci-fi television series, reveal much about public understanding of the ethical challenges associated with genetic science. In this article, we assess how fans of Orphan Black process the bioethical themes that are prominent in the show through an analysis of 182 viewer-created blog posts. Using a mixed methods approach, our findings reveal that Orphan Black's fans distill the essence of the show down to its characters' fight for autonomy. Furthermore, fan blogs reveal two notable pathways through which this bioethical principle is explored: gender and reproduction. Viewers draw striking connections between the moral problems they observe on screen in Orphan Black and those they see in the real world-both today and in a possible future-particularly as those problems affect women. While existing scholarship acknowledges these themes in the show itself, our approach demonstrates science fiction fans' active participation in meaning-making and bioethical reasoning and offers a novel approach to studying fan-generated content for public understanding of science research.

Desfazer o Mestre, ou Reinventar a Ordem: Apontamentos para uma Psicanálise Política / Undoing the Master, or Reinventing Order: Notes for a Political Psychoanalysis / Deshacer el Amo, o Reinventar el Orden: Apuntes para un Psicoanálisis Político

Este texto trabalha as instâncias da verdade e da história, nas suas relações com a ficção. As condições singulares de cada uma dessas três instâncias encontram pontos de convergência em um campo mais pragmático quando pensadas as suas incidências no plano de imanência do Mestre, personagem conceitual que em algumas formulações lacanianas é representado pelo termo S1 - em uma tentativa de aludir à função do significante que ocupa a posição de primeiro em relação a uma cadeia de significantes que o sucede. Por um método investigativo bibliográfico, fazemos permanecer a questão: podemos oferecer aportes e vias epistêmicas alternativos para uma prática conceitual e clínica psicanalítica que suponha este Mestre, S1, enquanto produção em um só-depois? Faz-se uma segunda interpelação: quais são as potencialidades de uma retomada do corpo conceitual psicanalítico desde a conexão com estudos sobre gênero, colonialidade e relações raciais - y como tal conexão pode oferecer desvios felizes a este campo de pensamento?

This text intertwines the instances of truth, history and fiction. The unique conditions of each of these three instances converge in a more pragmatic field when considering their impact on the plane of immanence of the Master, a conceptual character that in some Lacanian formulations is represented by the term S1 - in an attempt to allude to the function of a precedent signifier related to a chain of signifiers that follows it. Through a bibliographical investigative method, we sustain the question: can we conceive alternative epistemologies for the conceptual and clinical practice of a psychoanalysis that assumes this Master, S1, as a production in an après-coup? Inherently, a second question arises: what are the potentialities of reclaiming a conceptual psychoanalytical corpus from the connection with studies on gender, coloniality and racial relations - and how this operation can offer optimal deviations to the field of psychoanalytic thought?

Este texto trabaja las relaciones entre las instancias de la verdad, de la historia y sus relaciones con la ficción. Las condiciones sigulares de cada una de estas tres instancias encuentran puntos de convergencia en un campo más pragmático al considerar su incidencia en el plano de inmanencia del Amo, carácter conceptual que en algunas formulaciones lacanianas se representa con el término S1 - en un intento de aludir a la función del significante que ocupa la posición de primero en relación a una cadena de significantes siguientes. A través de un método investigativo bibliográfico, hacemos con que permanezca la cuestión: ¿podemos ofrecer epistemologías alternativas para la práctica conceptual y clínica de un psicoanálisis que asuma este Amo, S1, como producción en un après-coup? Paralelamente, surge una segunda interpelación: ¿cuáles son las potencialidades de una recuperación del cuerpo conceptual psicoanalítico a partir de la conexión con los estudios sobre género, colonialidad y relaciones raciales - y cómo esta conección puede ofrecer desviaciones positivas al campo del pensamiento psicoanalítico?

Science fiction and ELSI: three thoughts.

Science fiction can be useful to those who analyze ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) in genetics and the biosciences more broadly. It can provide examples of possible technological changes, which are occasionally valuable as predictions of the future but more often helpful as indicators of the likely social consequences of such technologies. This "what-if" approach to science fiction can also provide a good pathway to exploring such issues. Science fiction can also allow a more distant, less realistic, and non-culture-specific context for exploring deep questions about humanity, ethics, and other major issues. At the same time, science fiction also has some negative effects on such analysis or its reception as a result of the need for fiction to hold its audience by providing drama through conflict. This necessity for successful fiction often leads to technological or cultural changes being portrayed as catastrophic and dystopian, much more often than beneficial or utopian. This imbalance can predispose public opinion against innovations unfairly, in part by providing "examples" from fiction of similar innovations, leading to bad outcomes. ELSI researchers should keep this fiction-induced bias in mind in their work.

Producción y distribución de largometrajes de ficción en maranhão: contradicciones de un mercado invisible en brasil

El estado de Maranhão ocupa un escenario peculiar en el mercado cinematográfico brasileño. Las producciones de ficción en forma de largometrajes tuvieron sus primeras incursiones a mediados de la década de 2000. En un marco desarrollado por la investigadora en su disertación de maestría en curso de História (Silva, 2018), y actualizado hasta 2022, catalogamos veintidós películas, solo seis de los cuales fueron registrados en la Agencia Nacional de Cine. La principal metodología utilizada fue la recolección e interpretación de datos, además de entrevistas no estructuradas o no estructuradas (Lakatos y Marconi, 2003). Como principales resultados podemos señalar: en Maranhão, el mercado es predominantemente informal, con momentos ocasionales de formalidad. La conclusión inicial de nuestra investigación es que el factor económico asociado a la falta de políticas públicas, sumado a la falta de cursos de educación superior en la zona, son los principales impulsores de este incipiente escenario.

The State of Maranhão occupies a peculiar scenario in the Brazilian film market. Fiction productions in the form of feature films had their first forays in the mid-2000s. In a framework developed by the researcher in her masters dissertation in History (Silva, 2018), and updated up to 2022, we cataloged twenty-two films, only six of which were registered in the National Film Agency. The main methodology to be used will be the collection and interpretation of data, in addition to unstructured or unstructured interviews (Lakatos and Marconi, 2003). As main results, we can point out that, in Maranhão, the market is predominantly informal with occasional moments of formality. The initial conclusion of our research is that the economic factor associated with the lack of public policies, added to the lack of higher education courses in the area, are the main drivers of this incipient scenario.

Memory of Fictional Information: A Theoretical Framework.

Much of the information people encounter in everyday life is not factual; it originates from fictional sources, such as movies, novels, and video games, and from direct experience such as pretense, role-playing, and everyday conversation. Despite the recent increase in research on fiction, there is no theoretical account of how memory of fictional information is related to other types of memory or of which mechanisms allow people to separate fact and fiction in memory. We present a theoretical framework that places memory of fiction in relation to other cognitive phenomena as a distinct construct and argue that it is an essential component for any general theory of human memory. We show how fictionality can be integrated in an existing memory model by extending Rubin's dimensional conceptual memory model. By this means, our model can account for explicit and implicit memory of fictional information of events, places, characters, and objects. Further, we propose a set of mechanisms involving various degrees of complexity and levels of conscious processing that mostly keep fact and fiction separated but also allow information from fiction to influence real-world attitudes and beliefs: content-based reasoning, source monitoring, and an associative link from the memory to the concept of fiction.

Taking the unreal seriously: enriching cognitive science with the notion of fictionality.

Fictionality and fictional experiences are ubiquitous in people's everyday lives in the forms of movies, novels, video games, pretense and role playing, and digital technology use. Despite this ubiquity, though, the field of cognitive science has traditionally been dominated by a focus on the real world. Based on the limited understanding from previous research on questions regarding fictional information and the cognitive processes for distinguishing reality from fiction, we argue for the need for a comprehensive and systematic account that reflects on related phenomena, such as narrative comprehension or imagination embedded into general theories of cognition. This is important as incorporating cognitive processing of fictional events into memory theory reshapes the conceptual map of human memory. In this paper, we highlight future challenges for the cognitive studies of fictionality on conceptual, neurological, and computational levels. Taking on these challenges requires an interdisciplinary approach between fields like developmental psychology, philosophy, and the study of narrative comprehension. Our aim is to build on such interdisciplinarity and provide conclusions on the ways in which new theoretical frameworks of fiction cognition can aid understanding human behaviors in a wide range of aspects of people's daily lives, media consumption habits, and digital encounters. Our account also has the potential to inform technological innovations related to training intelligent digital systems to distinguish fact and fiction in the source material.

Using Popular Media to Change Attitudes and Bolster Knowledge About Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This research investigated the impact popular novels have on knowledge about and attitudes towards Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), compared to that of traditional college textbooks. Study 1 found that participants in the novel condition chose fewer correct and fewer incorrect responses to questions about ASD. Participants did not differ in their desired social distance from individuals with ASD. Study 2 found that participants in the novel and textbook conditions both showed the same amount of learning, with higher scores on the post-test assessment of knowledge than the pre-test. Participants in the novel condition showed significant improvement in their attitudes towards individuals with ASD after reading, while those in the textbook condition showed more negative attitudes after reading the textbook chapter. These findings add to our understanding of the potential of popular fiction to impact consumers' knowledge about ASD while improving our attitudes towards individuals with ASD. These findings also raise concerns about traditional educational material used to teach about ASD.

La inteligencia artificial en el cine / Artificial intelligence in movies

La mayor parte de los films sobre inteligencia artificial hacen de esta un pretexto para tratar otras cuestiones: los peligros de la tecnociencia al servicio de intereses económicos, bélicos o políticos, la violencia de género, la segregación, los riesgos de un sistema político totalitario, o la deshumanización de la sociedad consumista en que vivimos. Las películas que optan por imaginar un futuro cercano en que se produzca la "singularidad" de un programa que se subjetive y empiece a desear, odiar o amar, pueden ordenarse en cinco grandes escenarios típicos: programas autoconscientes empoderados, subjetividades humanas transformadas en programa computacional, androides diseñados mediante biotecnología, robots que devienen humanos, y robots que semejan a humanos, pero no lo son

Most films about artificial intelligence make this a pretext to address other issues: the dangers of technoscience at the service of economic, war or political interests, gender violence, segregation, the risks of a totalitarian political system, or the dehumanization of the consumerist society in which we live. The films that choose to imagine a near future in which the "singularity" of a program that becomes subjective and begins to desire, hate or love occurs, can be organized into five large typical scenarios: empowered self-conscious programs, human subjectivities transformed into a computer program, androids designed through biotechnology, robots that become humans, and robots that look like humans, but are not.