EXPRESS: Task demands moderate the effect of emotion on attentional capture

The current experiment examined the effect of task demands on attention to emotional images. Eighty participants viewed pairs of images, with each pair consisting of an emotional (negative or positive) and a neutral image, or two neutral images. Participants’ eye movements were recorded during picture viewing, and participants were either asked 1) which picture contains more colour? (colour task), 2) are the images equally pleasant? (pleasantness task), 3) which picture do you prefer? (preference task), or 4) were given no task instructions (control task). Although the results did not suggest that emotional images strongly captured attention, emotional images were looked at earlier than neutral images. Importantly, the pattern of results were dependent upon the task instructions; whilst the preference and colour task conditions showed early attentional biases to emotional images, only positive images were looked at earlier in the pleasantness task condition, and no early attentional biases were observed in the control task. Moreover, total fixation duration was increased for positive images in the preference task condition, but not in the other task conditions. It was concluded that attention to emotional stimuli can be modified by the demands of the task during viewing. However, further research should consider additional factors, such as the cognitive load of the viewing tasks, and the content of the images used.

2.5D Facial Personality Prediction Based on Deep Learning

The assessment of personality traits is now a key part of many important social activities, such as job hunting, accident prevention in transportation, disease treatment, policing, and interpersonal interactions. In a previous study, we predicted personality based on positive images of college students. Although this method achieved a high accuracy, the reliance on positive images alone results in the loss of much personality-related information. Our new findings show that using real-life 2.5D static facial contour images, it is possible to make statistically significant predictions about a wider range of personality traits for both men and women. We address the objective of comprehensive understanding of a person’s personality traits by developing a multiperspective 2.5D hybrid personality-computing model to evaluate the potential correlation between static facial contour images and personality characteristics. Our experimental results show that the deep neural network trained by large labeled datasets can reliably predict people’s multidimensional personality characteristics through 2.5D static facial contour images, and the prediction accuracy is better than the previous method using 2D images.

Selective Expressions of Portugueseness: Notions of Portugueseness among Second Generation Portuguese-Canadian Youth in Toronto

It has been noted that very little literature on second generation Portuguese-Canadian youth exists (Nunes 1986, Noivo 1997, Oliveira and Teixeira 2004, Trindade 2007). This study aims to build upon this by focusing on the social construction of what it means to be Portuguese in Toronto for second generation Portuguese-Canadian youth. This is an exploratory, qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 8 Portuguese-Canadian (Torontonian) youth. This study found, among other things that these Portuguese-Canadians, while very aware of the stereotypes often associated with Portuguese youth in Toronto, distanced themselves from them and selectively constructed Portugueseness based on a medley of positive and symbolic elements. I attribute this ability to actively select positive images and distance themselves from negative ones to this (small and non-representative) sample’s above-average levels of education. This finding and hypothesis suggest the need for future research to further explore the role of changing/increasing levels of education among Portuguese-Canadian youth.

Selective Expressions of Portugueseness: Notions of Portugueseness among Second Generation Portuguese-Canadian Youth in Toronto

It has been noted that very little literature on second generation Portuguese-Canadian youth exists (Nunes 1986, Noivo 1997, Oliveira and Teixeira 2004, Trindade 2007). This study aims to build upon this by focusing on the social construction of what it means to be Portuguese in Toronto for second generation Portuguese-Canadian youth. This is an exploratory, qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 8 Portuguese-Canadian (Torontonian) youth. This study found, among other things that these Portuguese-Canadians, while very aware of the stereotypes often associated with Portuguese youth in Toronto, distanced themselves from them and selectively constructed Portugueseness based on a medley of positive and symbolic elements. I attribute this ability to actively select positive images and distance themselves from negative ones to this (small and non-representative) sample’s above-average levels of education. This finding and hypothesis suggest the need for future research to further explore the role of changing/increasing levels of education among Portuguese-Canadian youth.

e-Nature Positive Emotions Photography Database (e-NatPOEM): affectively rated nature images promoting positive emotions

Affectively rated image databases have their main application in studies that require inducing distinct stimuli on subjects. Widespread databases are designed to cover a broad range of stimuli, from negative to positive (valence), and relaxed to excited (arousal). The availability of narrow domain databases, designed to cover and thoroughly analyze a few categories of images that induce a particular stimulus, is limited. We present a narrow domain affective database with positive images, named e-Nature Positive Emotions Photography Database (e-NatPOEM), consisting of 433 high-quality images produced by professional and amateur photographers. A total of 739 participants evaluated them using a web-based tool to input valence-arousal values and a single word describing the evoked feeling. Ratings per image ranged from 36 to 108, median: 57; first/third quartiles: 56/59. 84% of the images presented valence > middle of the scale and arousal < middle of the scale. Words describing the images were classified into semantical groups, being predominant: Peace/tranquility (39% of all words), Beauty (23%), and Positive states (15%). e-NatPOEM is free and publicly available, it is a valid resource for affective research, and presents the potential for clinical use to assist positive emotions promotion.

'Positive' images?: a critical examination of queer visibility in contemporary popular culture.

"The past five decades have seen a marked increase in attention to, and representations of, queer people in mainstream popular culture. Within the last ten years, several films and television programs featuring gay men and lesbians have garnered critical acclaim and high ratings among diverse audiences and myriad companies have incorporated queer imagery into their advertising campaigns. Despite fervent protests from socially conservative organizations, this trend shows no signs of abating."--Introduction.

'Positive' images?: a critical examination of queer visibility in contemporary popular culture.

"The past five decades have seen a marked increase in attention to, and representations of, queer people in mainstream popular culture. Within the last ten years, several films and television programs featuring gay men and lesbians have garnered critical acclaim and high ratings among diverse audiences and myriad companies have incorporated queer imagery into their advertising campaigns. Despite fervent protests from socially conservative organizations, this trend shows no signs of abating."--Introduction.

RESTORING THE IMAGE OF FRANCE IN BRITAIN, 1944–1947

At the end of the Second World War, British society's hostility and resentment towards France's military defeat and the French state's collaboration with Germany were strong. In order to deflate this enmity and thus prepare the ground to forge western European co-operation, the French and British governments co-operated and developed gendered public and media strategies within which citizens, and, in particular, former female resistance fighters, were central to the dissemination of positive images of France. This article takes seriously these strategies and adds nuance to understandings of modern foreign policy in terms of methods and actors. The article elaborates on neglected agents of diplomacy, such as female members of civil society, and the significance of rhetoric, gendered performance, and appearances that contributed to the restoration of the image of France in Britain. By doing so, the article also sheds light on the efforts of French and British authorities to construct a narrative of binational unity that disrupted the tenacious idea that Britain had fought alone during the war.