980 research outputs found
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A Literary studies perspective: creative communities, 1750–1830
No full textThis co-written chapter draws on its authors’ individual research as well as their collaboration on the 'Creative Communities, 1750–1830' research network. This time period has traditionally been associated with a psychological and individualised paradigm of the relationship between creativity and culture, and therefore offers a particularly rich terrain for thinking about the relationship in much more communal and contextual ways. We discuss some of the key findings to emerge from the network: most importantly, the value of a critical focus on creativity as embodied in process and interaction rather than individual product. This does not mean that the literary text itself is neglected in our case studies, but rather that we are concerned with how texts encode their own productive processes. Thus, John Whale shows how the account of Michelangelo in Roscoe’s Life of Lorenzo de’ Medici reflects on the communicative properties of genius to suggest a parallel between Renaissance France and Romantic-period Liverpool; Cassandra Ulph examines how Piozzi’s Anecdotes of Samuel Johnson simultaneously acknowledges and undercuts its subject’s tendency to monologue; and David Higgins discusses how Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein draws on her Alpine collaboration with Percy Bysshe Shelley while self-consciously offering an alternative to the anthropocentric sublimity of his work
Behaviour
No full textThis chapter consider the expectations set out in the Teachers’ Standards (2012) relevant to managing pupils’ behaviour (Standard 7); support practitioners in developing an understanding of how to establish a ‘Framework for Discipline’ using rules, rewards and sanctions to manage pupils’ behaviour effectively; challenge practitioners to consider alternative perspectives, by exploring the benefits of adopting restorative and solution-focused approaches to managing behaviour
Sanitation, sand & shells: The war diary of Alfred M. Cockburn 2nd London Sanitary Company, Royal Army Medical Corps.
No full textThe exhibition formed part of an AHRC funded project that was an collaborative endeavour between BGU and the Museum of Military Medicine. The project explored the unpublished diary of Alfred Cockburn which offers a rare insight into a neglected area of First World War military history: the role of hygiene and sanitation within the Royal Army Medical Corps.
The diarist Alfred Cockburn served with the 2nd London Sanitary Company (Royal Army Medical Corps) in Egypt and France throughout the war. His personal experience of war was captured in the diaries he kept at the time, which took the form of small field notebooks. Alongside numerous sketches, he also collected an assortment of war-related ephemera and trench art (c.200) which can all be found within the pages of the diary. Nearly twenty years later, looking back on his wartime experience, he rewrote his diaries (also incorporating wartime letters sent to his wife) which, once completed, extended to four volumes (1,200 pages). Contained within these pages, are fascinating details about various hygiene and sanitation practices and technological devices relating to personal hygiene, disease control and prevention, protection of water supply and its purification and distribution, latrines and urinals, burial of the dead, and disposal of refuse.
The exhibition encourages a better understanding of the importance attached to military hygiene and sanitation practices during the First World War, alongside its relevancy to armed forces’ practices in the 21st century
Academic boredom, approaches to learning and the final year degree outcomes of undergraduate students
No full textAcademic boredom, the boredom experienced by undergraduates at university or college, is a complex but largely negative and disabling achievement-related emotion. In this mixed-methods study of 224 students attending a single institution in England, academic boredom was found to arise at the point of course delivery itself, while studying at other times, and during the completion of assignments for the purposes of assessment. Quantitative data from the BPS-UKHE and ASSIST questionnaires, meaningfully enriched with qualitative data from ten semi-structured research interviews, indicate that those with a measurably higher propensity or habitual disposition towards academic boredom than others were among the most adversely affected, displaying the deep, strategic and surface approaches and profiles of ‘less effective learners’. This was reflected in, for example, their interest in ideas, their ability to organise resources and manage time, and what they had to memorise or do to ‘get by’ and pass, as well as their achievement motivation and sense of purpose. As an integral part of a greater emotional dynamic and evolving causal network, this translated into a corresponding reduction in average final degree mark and fewer ‘good’ degree awards. Recommendations surrounding the notion of boredom mitigation are presented which warrant serious consideration. With recent and growing levels of attention internationally, the work presented here makes an important contribution to a surprisingly neglected and underdeveloped field of UK higher education research and the student engagement agenda
Meditation awareness training for the treatment of workaholism: a controlled trial
No full textBackground and aims: Workaholism is a form of behavioral addiction that can lead to reduced life and job satisfaction, anxiety, depression, burnout, work–family conflict, and impaired productivity. Given the number of people affected, there is a need for more targeted workaholism treatments. Findings from previous case studies successfully utilizing second-generation mindfulness-based interventions (SG-MBIs) for treating behavioral addiction suggest that SG-MBIs may be suitable for treating workaholism. This study conducted a controlled trial to investigate the effects of an SG-MBI known as meditation awareness training (MAT) on workaholism. Methods: Male and female adults suffering from workaholism (n = 73) were allocated to MAT or a waiting-list control group. Assessments were performed at pre-, post-, and 3-month follow-up phases. Results: MAT participants demonstrated significant and sustained improvements over control-group participants in workaholism symptomatology, job satisfaction, work engagement, work duration, and psychological distress. Furthermore, compared to the control group, MAT participants demonstrated a significant reduction in hours spent working but without a decline in job performance. Discussion and conclusions: MAT may be a suitable intervention for treating workaholism. Further controlled intervention studies investigating the effects of SG-MBIs on workaholism are warranted
"Helpless Helpers": Primary care therapist self-efficacy working with intimate partner violence and aging women
No full textPurpose: To explore primary care psychological therapists’ experiences of working with midlife and older women presenting with intimate partner violence and develop a theoretical framework using a grounded theory approach to identify the experiences of those practitioners working with this phenomenon.
Design/methodology/approach: Interviews with 17 practitioners were conducted. The data analysis was informed by a grounded theory approach, which requires three states of data coding: open, axial and selective. Data codes were thematically sorted into causal, contextual, strategic, intervening, interactional and consequential conditions.
Findings: A core state of therapist helplessness was uncovered. The framework demonstrates that psychological therapists doubt their ability to work meaningfully with women over 45 experiencing IPV. To avoid the core state of helplessness therapists use strategies such as avoiding asking questions about partner violence, making assumptions of how patients interpret their own experiences, addressing symptoms rather than the root cause, and going above and beyond in attempts to rescue patients. The consequence of therapists’ helplessness often results in burnout.
Research limitations/implications: The framework identifies barriers in working effectively with intimate partner violence and women in the mid to older aged populations.
Practical implications:
Originality/value: This study is the first to suggest a framework that is grounded in practitioner experience with the capability to transfer to a range of professionals working with mid to older aged women such as forensic, medical and specialist psychologists
Perspectives of artist-practitioners on the communication of climate change in the Pacific
No full textPurpose The study investigates the role of the visual arts for communicating climate change
in a Pacific islands context, through the perspectives of artists and climate change
practitioners.
Methodology As part of an ‘Eco Arts’ project undertaken in Fiji, semi-structured research
interviews were undertaken with artists and climate change practitioners.
Findings Participants’ motivations to produce art reflected their personal concerns about,
and experiences of, climate change. There was an intention to use arts-based approaches to
raise awareness and promote action on climate change. The artwork produced drew on
metaphors and story-telling to convey future climate impacts, and aspects of climate change
relevant to Fijian and Pacific communities.
Research limitations The study reports the perspectives of participants and discusses the
potential uses of arts communication. Conclusions cannot be drawn from the findings
regarding the effectiveness of specific artwork or of arts communication as a general
approach.
Originality/value The present study identifies the motivations and objectives of artistpractitioners
involved in climate change communication. We highlight the role of personal
experience, and their use of artistic concepts and creative considerations pertinent to the
geography and culture of the Pacific region
Environmental and economic study for a prospective ethanol industry in Fiji
No full textThe study was performed to study the effect of producing
ethanol from molasses or sugarcane juice to blend with gasoline and produce E10 fuel for the Fijian car fleet. Two cases were developed to assess the economic and environmental impacts of producing ethanol from these
feedstocks and blending with imported motor spirit. It was found to offer many benefits such as Fiji can earn approximately FJ$ 7.2 million and save 22,730 tCO2 emissions annually with providing employment to many. The
continuous increase in the importation of motor spirit demands the biofuel
policy to be reviewed to encourage (E10) blending locally. Conversion of
sugarcane juice to ethanol directly could sustain the current income generated
from sugar and molasses exported. This sounds to be future solution to sustain
the industry after the end of EU sugar quota and if the sugar price offered
thereafter are not profitable
Body attitude and body experience in Greek and Flemish females with and without eating disorders.
No full textAssessment of young females with anorexia nervosa was carried out at the time of hospitalization. Findings were compared to those from two typical weight control groups from Belgium and Greece. The total sample consisted of three groups: a) a clinical sample of 75 Belgian females with anorexia nervosa (mean age=19.01, sd=2.20), b) a typical Greek sample of 137 females (mean age=18.68, sd=1.92) and c) a control sample of 130 typical Flemish females (mean age=18.61, sd=1.34). The Body Attitude Test (BAT; Probst, et al., 1995) for female patients with eating disorders (ED) was used to measure the subjective body experience and attitudes toward body. The Body Satisfaction Scale, Silhouette Chart and the Semantic Differential were also used. One-way analysis of variance, revealed group differences on body attitudes. As it was initially hypothesised, the female patients indicated more negative attitudes and a poorer self-evaluation of their body in comparison to the non clinical groups. However, analysis of the data from Silhouette Chart and the Semantic Differential revealed that in some items there were no significant differences on body experience and satisfaction between the typical Greek female group and the clinical Belgian female group, which was an interesting and unexpected finding. The authors examined the outcomes from a cross-cultural viewpoint. Research into the cultural factors that could contribute to body dissatisfaction could help us understand the underline mechanisms and create effective preventive interventions for young female