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12 pages, 1680 KB

Open AccessArticle

Does Father Christmas Have a Distinctive Facial Phenotype?

by Thomas Wright, Chris Law, Ben Wright and Barry Wright

Vision 2022, 6(4), 71; https://doi.org/10.3390/vision6040071 - 2 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 5523

We investigated whether Father Christmas has a distinguishable facial phenotype by performing a cross-sectional cohort study examining the facial feature vectors of all publicly available photographs obtained from a google image search of individuals meeting our eligibility criteria presenting as Father Christmas compared with other adult and elderly bearded men. Facial feature vectors were determined using the open-source OpenFace facial recognition system and assessed by support vector machines (SVM). SVM classifiers were trained to distinguish between the facial feature vectors from our groups. Accuracy, precision, and recall results were calculated and the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) were reported for each classifier. SVM classifiers were able to distinguish the face of Father Christmas from other adult men with a high degree of accuracy and could discriminate Father Christmas from elderly bearded men but with lower accuracy. Father Christmas appears to have a distinct facial phenotype when compared to adult men and elderly bearded men. This will be reassuring to children who may be keen to recognise him but raises some interesting questions about the careful use of two-dimensional facial analysis, particularly when employed to explore the relationships between genotype and facial phenotype in a clinical dysmorphology setting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Face Recognition and Cognition)

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9 pages, 275 KB

Open AccessArticle

A Japanese Santa Claus: A Nikkei Subject and Lévi-Strauss’s Gift Theory in Through the Arc of the Rain Forest

by Rie Makino

Literature 2022, 2(4), 352-360; https://doi.org/10.3390/literature2040029 - 2 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3257

Abstract

Japanese American writer Karen Tei Yamashita’s first novel, Through the Arc of the Rainforest (1990), portrays protagonist Kazumasa Ishimaru as “a Japanese Santa Claus”, depicted as having a plastic ball spinning in front of his face. Yamashita presents this magic realist hero as a satire of Japan in the 1990s, which became the developed nation needed to support the developing world under the new Marshall Plan. Focusing on Kazumaza’s participation in charity, this essay explores the gift economy embodied by this Japanese immigrant character. Inspired by Claude Lévi-Strauss’s 1952 essay “Burned-out Santa Claus”, Kazumasa’s Nikkei subject position not only criticizes American capitalism but also Brazil’s postcolonial mentality. Supporting the idea that Lévi-Strauss sympathizes with Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s concept of innocence, the last part of the essay probes the idea of Kazumasa as an innocent subject who challenges the dichotomy between American capitalism and postcolonial Brazil. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Magic Realism in a Transnational Context)

11 pages, 280 KB

Open AccessArticle

Men’s and Women’s Style of Living and Motivation to Run in Charity Events

by Joanna Poczta, Nuno Almeida, Mateusz Rozmiarek, Maciej Młodzik and Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko

Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 5287; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095287 - 9 May 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4551

Abstract

Running has been very popular for years, especially in organized mass runs. Various running events take place all over the world, at different distances and locations, including charity running events. However, there has not been any research on the social impact of these events on participants to date. This article/paper is an attempt to remedy this situation. The authors conducted their research by the diagnostic survey method using standardized interview technique during the 6th Santa Claus Run organized in Poznan on the day of Santa Claus. A sample of 136 runners: 49 male respondents and 87 female respondents participated in the event voluntarily and completed a questionnaire. Therefore, the main goal of the study was to recognize the relationship between the lifestyles of men and women in the context of participation in a charity running event, in order to evaluate the differences between them. The specific goal was to discern the motives to take part in such kind of an event, as well as to find out what influence the participation in a charity run has on the respondents, both those leading an active and passive lifestyle. The most important result and the only one statistically significant difference in the conducted study was the indication that women have more empathy and participate more often than men in charity runs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physical Activity, Health and Sustainability)

13 pages, 234 KB

Open AccessArticle

Default Agnosticism

by Francis Jonbäck

Religions 2021, 12(1), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12010054 - 13 Jan 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 5330

Abstract

Agnosticism has always had its fair amount of criticism. Religious believers often described the first agnostics as infidels and it is not uncommon to see them described as somewhat dull fence-sitters. Moreover, the undecided agnostic stance on belief in gods is often compared with being unsure about such obviously false statements as the existence of orbiting teapots, invisible dragons or even Santa Claus. In this paper, I maintain that agnosticism can properly be endorsed as a default stance. More precisely, I use a strategy presented by Alvin Plantinga and argue that it is rationally acceptable to be agnostic about the existence of God. I also anticipate and answer a number of objections. Finally, I offer my conclusion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agnosticism)

17 pages, 264 KB

Open AccessArticle

Five William Shakespeares Versus One Santa Claus; Self-Sacrifice and The Trolley Problem in the Series “The Good Place”

by Frank G. Bosman

Religions 2020, 11(7), 366; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11070366 - 17 Jul 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5532

Abstract

The television series The Good Place (2016–2020), created by Michael Schur revolves around four humans who—after their deaths—end up in what they believe to be heaven: the “Good Place”. In reality, however, they are in a very sophisticated torture place, built and directed by demons from the “Bad Place”. During the four seasons of the series, the four humans discover the true nature of their predicament and try to reach to “real” Good Place, through—among other means—improving their moral attitude, e.g., becoming a better person by taking ethical lessons provided by one of the four, who is an actual professor of moral philosophy. During these lessons, the four discuss many ethical and philosophical notions, ideas and problems, among which is Philippa Foot’s famous 1967 thought experiment known as the Trolley Problem. The series as a whole, the author of this article argues, revolves around this impossible moral dilemma, suggesting self-sacrifice as an ultimate solution to the Trolley Problem. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contemporary Storytelling. Narrative Answers to Theological Questions in Popular Culture)

16 pages, 1972 KB

Open AccessArticle

Decoding Images in the Mind’s Eye: The Temporal Dynamics of Visual Imagery

by Sophia M. Shatek, Tijl Grootswagers, Amanda K. Robinson and Thomas A. Carlson

Vision 2019, 3(4), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/vision3040053 - 21 Oct 2019

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6987

Abstract

Mental imagery is the ability to generate images in the mind in the absence of sensory input. Both perceptual visual processing and internally generated imagery engage large, overlapping networks of brain regions. However, it is unclear whether they are characterized by similar temporal dynamics. Recent magnetoencephalography work has shown that object category information was decodable from brain activity during mental imagery, but the timing was delayed relative to perception. The current study builds on these findings, using electroencephalography to investigate the dynamics of mental imagery. Sixteen participants viewed two images of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and two images of Santa Claus. On each trial, they viewed a sequence of the four images and were asked to imagine one of them, which was cued retroactively by its temporal location in the sequence. Time-resolved multivariate pattern analysis was used to decode the viewed and imagined stimuli. Although category and exemplar information was decodable for viewed stimuli, there were no informative patterns of activity during mental imagery. The current findings suggest stimulus complexity, task design and individual differences may influence the ability to successfully decode imagined images. We discuss the implications of these results in the context of prior findings of mental imagery. Full article

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