Monday 28 February 2011

Presentation so far

Ok this is it so far.  Sorry I couldn't make the meeting.  The rest I will finish on Tuesday evening and look forward to sorting out the fine details on Wednesday.

The Apollo Belvedere

@ group

To fill everyone in on what happened in the meeting today. If everyone can get what they have researched and want to put in the powerpoint onto memory sticks, either put your info onto a powerpoint page or just put it on word and we can put everything together in our next meeting.....wednesday at 2 in the library.
see you then :)

Sunday 27 February 2011

Johann Blumenbach

'Physician, anthropologist, naturalist, physiologist, historian and bibliographer, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach is generally regarded as the founder of physical and scientific anthropology. He first used the word ”race” in 1775 to classify humans into five divisions: Caucasian, Mongolian, Ethiopian, American, and Malay. Blumenbach also coined the term "Caucasian" because he believed that the Caucasus region of Asia Minor produced "the most beautiful race of men". Both Carl von LinnĂ© (1707-1778) and Blumenbach stated that humans are one species, and the latter remarked on the arbitrary nature of his proposed categories. Blumenbach was also one of the founders of comparative anatomy and the first to lecture on the topic.

Blumenbach’s fame is based mainly on his role in the founding of scientific anthropology. He was one of the first scientists to view man as an object of natural history, and saw in him «the most perfect of all domesticated animals». On the other hand, he gave special emphasis to the gap between man and animal and attacked all political or social abuses of anthropological ideas, in particular that black men were on a lower level of humanity than white men. In his dissertation one can find the first reliable survey of the characteristics and distribution of the human races.

In his classification of the subdivisions of the human race Blumenbach was the first to utilize facial configuration as well as skin colour, and his system has survived to the present with but little modification. His most important anthropological work was a collection of 60 human craniums described in his Collectionis suae Craniorum Diversarum Gentium Illustrate Decades (1790-1828).

http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/1247.html

Rococo and Cosmetic Surgery By Aidan Codd


Deriving from the French word rocaille, in reference to the curved forms of shellfish, and the Italian barocco, the French created the term Rococo. Appearing at the beginning of the 18th century, it rapidly spread to the whole of Europe. Extravagant and light, Rococo responded perfectly to the offhandedness of the aristocracy of the time. In many aspects, this art was linked to its Baroque predecessor, and is thus also referred to as late Baroque style. While artists such as Tiepolo, Boucher and Reynolds carried the style to its apogee, the movement was often condemned for its superficiality. In the second half of the 18th century, Rococo began its decline. At the end of the century, facing the advent of Neoclassicism, it was plunged into obscurity. It had to wait nearly a century before art historians could restore it to the radiance of its golden age, which is rediscovered in this work by Klaus H. Carl and Victoria Charles.

Fragonard's scenes of frivolity and gallantry are considered the embodiment of the Rococo spirit. A pupil of Chardin and later Boucher, he won the Prix de Rome and from 1756 to 1761 was in Italy, where he developed a particular admiration for Tiepolo and the late Baroque style. In this period he specialized in large historical paintings.
Returning to Paris, he soon changed this style, adopting instead the erotic subjects then in vogue and for which he is chiefly known, of which The Swing is the most famous.
This picture became an immediate success, not merely for its technical excellence, but for the scandal behind it. The young nobleman is not only getting an interesting view up the lady's skirt, but she is being pushed into this position by her priest-lover, shown in the rear.
In this same spirit are some other famous pictures, The See-Saw, Blindman's Bluff, The Stolen Kiss, and the Meeting. After his marriage in 1769, he began painting children and family scenes (usually called genre painting) and even returned to religious subjects. He stopped exhibiting publicly in 1770 and all his later works are commissions from private patrons.
To many, this painting embodies the entire spirit of the ancien regime on the eve of the revolution. What elements do you find representative of French society and morals?

Jean-Honore Fragonard:
The Swing
 2004



Negative Effects of Cosmetic Surgery
Cosmetic surgery can do wonders but it could be a nightmare for those who haven't done their homework. Are the benefits worth the trouble?
Cosmetic surgery has grown six-fold in the last ten years. No longer restricted to the rich and famous, cosmetic surgery is now within the reach of middle-class Americans and, as statistics will show, more and more of them are looking to surgery to improve themselves and their lives. The benefits of cosmetic surgery are both obvious and subtle. Cosmetic surgery changes the physical appearance resulting in a lift of self-esteem that in turn increases the quality of life. Ask anyone who has had a procedure and they will provide you a long list of benefits.

But what about bad plastic surgery? As with every coin, the cosmetic surgery coin has a flip side-a price to be paid for benefits received. The cost of cosmetic surgery can put a huge strain on the family budget, particularly when the cost exceeds the estimate. Estimates for cosmetic surgery are usually just for the procedure itself. If anesthesia is used, the anesthesiologist must be paid. If there are complications the hospital stay may be extended. In addition, there is a cost to post operative care including post-op medications. Sometimes the time off work must be extended to further address the healing process. All of these strain the family's financial resources. With the exception of reconstructive surgery, elective cosmetic surgery is not covered by insurance.

Psychologists are finding that often there is a heavy emotional and psychological price to pay for cosmetic surgery. Two thirds of patients who seek cosmetic surgery will return for another surgery. Some of them will sink into the psychological abyss of body dysmorphic disorder - a condition where the patient's body image is so distorted that no amount of surgery can correct it. Yet, they are so obsessed that they seek one surgery after another often jumping from surgeon to surgeon. This is not a condition that can be fixed by surgery - it is condition that requires professionals to help change the patient's view of their body.

Cosmetic surgery has the same risks as any surgery: The risk of infection, the risk of organ failure during surgery, and the risk of an allergic reaction to medications. The American Medical Associations urges patients to use due diligence before having cosmetic surgery-interview the surgeon, get references, be fully aware of physical, psychological, and financial complications. Armed with thorough information, the patient can make a good decision and be prepared for the contingencies.
2010




 Image of Madonna
















 image of Sharron Osbourn


THE SKULLS OF 3 MAJOR RACES:

MONGOLOID


NEGROID


CAUCASOID

'the above pictures were taken at the muesum of man - san diego, ca (2/2001) the following table and info is from:' http://www.anatomy.uq.edu.au/Staff/scool/skull/an105skull.htm#Assessment of Racial Affinity



'Racial differences in skull analysed in terms of morphology (form & structure) and osteometry (bony measurement)
Skull can be divided into 4 main human races: Caucasoid, Negroid, Mongoloid & Australoid
Caucasoid further divisible into Northern European (Nordic), Central European (Alpine) and Southern European (Mediterranean)'


SKULL TRAITS OF MAIN RACES

CAUCASOID (nordic-mediterranean)



Dimensions

Nordic

Alpine

Mediterranean

Negroid

Mongoloid

Skull length

Skull breadth

Skull height

Long

Narrow

High

Short

Broad

High

Long

Narrow

Mod high

Long

Narrow

Long

Long

Broad

middle

Sagittal contour

Face breadth

Face height

Rounded

Narrow

High

Arched

Wide

High

Rounded

Narrow

Mod high

Flat

Narrow

Low

Arched

Very wide

high

Orbital opening

Nasal opening

Angular

Narrow

Rounded

Mod wide

Angular

Narrow

Rectangular

Wide

Rounded

Narrow

Lower nasal margin

Nasal profile

Palate shape

Sharp

Straight

Narrow

Sharp

Straight

Mod wide

Sharp

Straight

Narrow

Gutted

Down slant

Wide

Sharp

Straight

Mod wide

General impressions

Massive, rugged, elongate, ovoid

Large, mod rugged, rounded

Small, smooth, elongated, ovoid

Massive, smooth, elongate, oval

Large, smooth, rounded

Thursday 24 February 2011

@ the group By Aidan Codd

Just to recap what was said today at 10 in the library, we all agreed to have most of the information posted the latest Sunday the 27th. We also agreed on the information that needs to go onto the PowerPoint should be in a separate post aimed for when we have to to create PowerPoint which should start this weekend if everything works out.
The next group meeting is Monday 28th 10 AM in the library if we can all attend with information, or an idea of how the PowerPoint can be laid out, and a idea of what we are going to say for the presentation that would be great. If you cannot attend please let us know. 

PS: Remember Harvard method on quotes and images. 

Wednesday 23 February 2011

The idea of a perfect person now. By Aidan Codd


The idea of a perfect person now.
By Aidan Codd

Body shape and the use of computer editing.


Lead authored by UK-based academics Dr. Helga Dittmar and Dr. Emma Halliwell, and signed by 44 leading academics, doctors and clinical psychologists from the UK, the US, Australia, Brazil, Spain and Ireland, the report was submitted to the Committee for Advertising Practice on Nov. 9, 2009. It forms part of a campaign coordinated by the Liberal Democrat Party, headed by Member of Parliament Jo Swinson. It is a shocking indictment of the cynical manipulation of the hopes and desires of young men and women.
The report summarizes the “damage done by perfect body ideals in advertising, which typically use digital alteration to change images toward unachievable ideals of thinness for women, muscularity for men, and youthful perfection for everybody.”
The report says: “The results suggest that average-size, attractive models could be used effectively in advertising, which may help to relieve body image concerns amongst these [the sample group for the tests] women.” It adds that: “Recent research suggests that it is the thinness of the models, rather than their attractiveness, that leads to increased body-image concerns.”
on BBC Radio 4 in October 2009: “Size zero models are attractive, and advertisers have claimed that thin models sell better.” Responding to the announcement that the German fashion magazine was no longer going to use thin professional models but “normal” size women as models, he described the directors of the magazine as “fat mummies sitting with their bags of crisps in front of the television, saying that thin models are ugly,” and added that the world of fashion was all to do “with dreams and illusions, and no one wants to see round women.”


Body size and a history of body weight.


Western society is intensely preoccupied with body size, exerting enormous pressure on individuals to conform to the thin ideal of body weight. This influence is imposed upon children, adolescents, and adults. Although the ideal for men has changed to encourage a more muscular, lean frame, the focus of the extreme messages and pressures has been on females.
The ideal shape tends to be whatever is most difficult to achieve during a given time period. If too many women were able to meet the ideal, then standards would have to change for the ideal to retain its extraordinary nature. Even worse is that the ideal shape is becoming harder and harder to achieve as time goes on.
The major change across time in western culture is the degree to which we are concerned. Previously a mild concern to look nice was fair enough, however mass culture and the media have served to project the body ideal and turn gentle concern into obsessions, and dangerous ones at that. The media has given us very rigid, uniform beauty ideals. TV, magazines, billboards mean we see beautiful people more often than we see members of our family, the ideal becomes more familiar to us than our friends and thus appears normal and attainable.
The history of ideal female body shape
1800s to present day
During the Victorian era, the ideal body type for women was plump, fleshy, and full-figured. They wore restrictive corsets, which made waists artificially tiny while accentuating the hips and buttocks. These corsets also caused a variety of health problems with breathing and digestion.
1900s-1950s
At the start of the 1900s, slenderness became more fashionable. There was an increasing interest of women in athletics and physicians began to see body weight as a 'science' of calorie counting, 'ideal weights', and weigh-ins. At this time the physically perfect woman was 5'4" tall and weighed 10 stone.
By the 1920s, the Victorian hourglass gave way to the thin flapper who bound her breasts to achieve a washboard profile. After World War I, active lifestyles added another dimension. Energy and vitality became central and body fat was perceived to contribute to inefficiency and was seen as a sign of self-indulgence. By the 1950s, a thin woman with a large bust line was considered most attractive. The voluptuous (size 16) Marilyn Monroe set a new standard for women who now needed to rebuild the curves they had previously tried to bind and restrain.
1960s-1990s
By the 1960s, slenderness became the most important indicator of physical attractiveness following the arrival of model Twiggy. She weighed in at a shapeless six and a half stones, and had the figure of a prepubescent boy.
Despite an American public with increasing body weights, Playboy magazine increased the promotion of slimness between 1959 and 1978. 'Miss America' contestants were also found to be thinner over time, and winners of the pageant after 1970 consistently weighed less than the other contestants. In 1975 top models and beauty queens weighed only 8% less than the average women. Today they weigh 23% less, a size achievable by less than 5% of today's female population.
Between 1970 and 1990, there was an overall increased emphasis on weight loss and body shape in the content of a popular women's magazine, as well as a shift to using thinner less curvaceous models in their photo shoots. The 1980s beauty ideal remained slim but required a more toned and fit look. Women could no longer just 'diet' into the correct size; there was a new pressure to add exercise to achieve the toned look.
The 1990s body ideal was very slim and large breasted, think Pamela 'Baywatch' Anderson, an almost impossible combination for most western women.
Looking forwards
Today in our modern Western society, 'thin is in' and artificial means such as liposuction are often used to lessen the appearance of hips, buttocks and fat in general. Many celebrities have made being ultra thin trendy; and we're not talking about women who are naturally skinny, but ones who's weight has plummeted as their fame rises.
But at the same time, the curvier figure appears to be fighting back and with Trinny and Susannah fighting the cause for loving your body whatever size, the trend may well reverse as we see big as beautiful once again.
The site.org ,2009: