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“[E]verything that is to be made whole must first be broken”: religion, metaphor and narrative alchemy in Hilary Mantel's Fludd (1989)
Get PDFThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in English Studies on 18/07/2023, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/0013838X.2023.2233310In its depiction of the events initiated by a stranger’s arrival to a rural Catholic parish in 1950s England, Hilary Mantel’s (1989) novel Fludd is built upon fundamentally metaphoric foundations. Most noticeably, the novel’s articulation of alchemy captures the defining opposition of literal and fantastical meaning at the heart of all alchemical symbols. It does so via a metaphorical construction that is first outlined in the opening paratextual 'note' before continuing to provide the narrative backbone to the whole novel. This article adopts a broadly cognitive approach to illustrate how metaphor fulfils multiple crucial functions in the text, acting as a tool of characterisation, a means of narrative compression and a form of meta-textual referencing, all of which directly link to the novel’s central theme of transformation, particularly in the context of contemporary Catholicism. In so doing, it draws upon Biebuyck and Martens concept of the ‘paranarrative’ to demonstrate metaphor’s potential to fulfil a wide range of fundamental narrative functions
Young Adult Novel: #IsaacAndAidenAreOverParty Critical Commentary: The Development of Queer Adolescent Identities and Communities Online and the Impact of Social Media within Young Adult Literature
No full textThe novel #IsaacAndAidenAreOverParty centres on two queer teenagers who incidentally go viral amidst their breakup. After discovering the opportunity of winning a competition to crown the country’s biggest viral star, they decide to keep their breakup a secret and fake it to win. The novel challenges perspectives on social media in contemporary society and its impact on adolescent identity, with each character having their own personal relationship with online platforms. As an exploration into online queer identity and communities, the novel incorporates online elements within the narrative.
The Critical Commentary explores the development of queer adolescent identities and communities online and the impact of social media within young adult literature. As authors have begun to introduce and explore social media within young adult literature, they have offered various perspectives through their characters’ relationship with online platforms and their online identities. The representation of social media platforms and other forms of online communication on the page has encouraged authors to experiment with the form to connect to readers.
Central to the novel and the Critical Commentary is the relationship between young people and social media, exploring the positive and harmful impact online spaces can have on individuals and the development of their identity online. The Critical Commentary addresses how authors from marginalized communities have offered a nuanced perspective on social media platforms and forms of online communication, illustrating how online spaces can be essential in establishing queer adolescent identity for young LGBTQIA+ people.
On a personal level, both the novel and the Critical Commentary combine my passion for presenting both the positive and harmful sides of establishing identity in the age of social media and the importance of online spaces for young LGBTQIA+ people
Exploring Mixed Reality Level Design Workflows
Get PDFThe past decade has seen a continual increase in quality and capability of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) devices. Due to this greater capability, there have been an influx of entertainment and serious games that have been developed for these systems. Yet, the current workflows for developing VR game levels for entertainment or serious games have remained the same, with developers using a game engine presented on a 2D screen with a traditional mouse and keyboard for input.
This thesis explores the use of AR and VR technologies as part of level design workflows used to develop both entertainment and serious VR game levels. Two existing workflows were identified as areas that could be improved by integrating AR and VR technologies as part of the workflow. Whilst a third new workflow was developed which focused on enabling new experiences for players:
Workflow 1: This workflow explored using AR to help create a digital map of an existing space to help improve realism and presence of a VR serious game environment. The initial focus was on improving the workflow for developers of serious game levels.
Workflow 2: This workflow focused on improving entertainment VR game level creation through the development of a VR level editor. The focus was on improving the entertainment VR level design process for professional level designers.
Workflow 3: This workflow enables new experiences by supporting substitutional reality (SR) level design for players through a mix of both AR and VR technologies. It enables players to develop their own entertainment game levels that support SR using consumer technology.
Each of the three workflows are presented in this thesis along with results from multiple studies. Results from the studies show positive outcomes supporting each of the workflows
Law students as active citizens: Instilling a career-long commitment to Pro Bono and social justice via the CLE curriculum
Get PDFCopyright (c) 2023 Andrea ToddBy engaging in pro bono work whilst at university, students demonstrate that they are good citizens. Students perform a valuable service for members of the local community, and the skills they learn enhance their ability to secure, and succeed in, a graduate role. But is this enough? Should we, as clinical legal educators, be doing more to facilitate students becoming active (and not just good) citizens, who know not only how to ‘do’ pro bono, but who also actively engage with the why of pro bono? Can facilitating a critical understanding of the political and social backdrop to the need for pro bono advice engender a genuine commitment to social justice which students can take with them into their working lives? This paper explores the drivers for an ‘active citizenship’ approach to pro bono learning and reflects on the pilot year of a student-led module aimed at fostering social responsibility and a strong sense of social justice to achieve a long-lasting commitment to pro bono in the lawyers of the futur
A comparative study of accuracy in major adaptive filters for motion artefact removal in sleep apnea tests
Get PDFThe version of record of this article, first published in [Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing], is available online at Publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11517-023-02979-9Sleep apnoea is probably the most common respiratory disorder, respiration and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) are major concerns in sleep apnoea and are also the two main parameters checked by Polysomnography (PSG, the gold standard for diagnosing sleep apnoea). In this study, we used a simple, non-invasive monitoring system based on photoplethysmography (PPG) to continuously monitor SpO2 and heart rate (HR) for individuals at home. Various breathing experiments were conducted to investigate the relationship between SpO2, HR, and apnoea under different conditions, where two techniques (empirical formula and customized formula) for calculating SpO2 and two methods (resting HR and instantaneous HR) for assessing HR were compared. Various adaptive filters were implemented to compare the effectiveness in removing motion artefacts (MA) during the tests. This study fills the gap in the literature by comparing the performance of different adaptive filters on estimating SpO2 and HR during apnoea. The results showed that up-down finger motion introduced more MA than left-right motion, and the errors in SpO2 estimation were increased as the frequency of movement was increased; due to the low sampling frequency features of these tests, the insertion of adaptive filter increased the noise in the data instead of eliminating the MA for SpO2 estimation; the normal least mean squares (NLMS) filter is more effective in removing MA in HR estimation than other filters.TA approved - VoR upl & AAM archived 08/12/202
The role of prosocial behaviour, personality and general mental health in predicting emoji use and preference
Get PDF© The Author(s) 2023.Emojis are prevalent in text-based communication, but the factors that influence our use and preference emojis remains unclear. This study investigated how emoji use and preference could be explained by three factors; mental health, personality and prosocial behaviour. A questionnaire consisting of five measures was completed by 222 participants and both Pearson correlations and multiple regressions were conducted on the data. The results showed prosocial behaviour significantly related to frequency, attitudes and motivations towards emoji use as well as to positive emoji preference. Agreeableness related to the frequency of emoji use. Extraversion related to both positive and negative emoji preference while conscientiousness and emotional stability significantly related to negative emoji preference only. General mental health significantly related to negative emoji preference. The regressions found all of the factors identified in the correlations predicted emoji use and preference with the exception of extraversion. Further research is needed to explore how the impact of the emotions depicted by emojis on these factors and to investigate how emojis are used by people with specific mental health conditionsThis work was supported by an internal University of Chester QR grant obtained from the School of Psychology to pay participants recruited from Prolific Academic.TA approved - VoR upl to CR & AAM archived 08/12/202
Measuring authentic living from internal and external perspectives: A novel measure of self-authenticity
Get PDFSelf-authenticity refers to knowing and being oneself despite societal expectations, a concept closely related to values-based therapeutic interventions. Authentic living is currently measured using three validated psycho- metric scales; however these have limitations including issues with length, theoretical instability, and lack of measurement invariance testing. The present study sought to develop a novel measure of self-authenticity to resolve these limitations, and to provide further empirical evidence as to the structure of self-authenticity. Using a large sample, split into two subsamples, the novel Self-Authenticity Measure (SAM) was developed and found to be reliable. We present evidence of convergent and concurrent validity, as well as a degree of incremental validity over one of the previously developed authenticity scales. Furthermore, construct validity and (config- ural) measurement invariance were demonstrated through confirmatory factor analysis. Thus, though the measure was initially developed for use with sexual-minority groups, it appears to function similarly in a het- erosexual sample. Self-authenticity correlated with constructs related to psychological flexibility, suggesting that therapeutic techniques based on valued living could increase self-authenticity in individuals. The SAM affords researchers the opportunity to measure self-authenticity from internal (knowing and being oneself) and external (being oneself around others) perspectives. Further testing of measurement invariance is recommended
Consulting with children under five: A literature review
Get PDFCopyright © Centre for Public Health Research, University of ChesterEliciting and understanding children’s views have become increasingly important, for a range of reasons including legal, political, economic and academic (Clark, McQuail & Moss, 2003)..
Sure Start Blacon: engaging with families who are 'hard to reach'
Get PDF© University of ChesterAlthough Sure Start Blacon has tried to make sure that all parents and carers know about the activities offered by the programme, some families do not use their services. Sure Start Blacon wanted to find out more about the things that prevented families from coming to their activities and to see if there were things they could do to encourage them to attend
Evaluating the role of the Primary Care Cancer Nurse: a qualitative study of local implementation in Runcorn
Get PDF© University of ChesterThe Calman-Hine Report drew attention to the central place of primary care, as well as its interface with secondary care, in the overall management of patients with a diagnosis of cancer. This point was subsequently re-stated in the NHS Cancer Plan. More recently, cancer nurse leaders have been identified as playing a key role in cancer care. However, given the shift towards community-based provision for cancer and palliative care patients concerns have been expressed by some about the dearth of specialist staff available in the community to manage this care effectively. One development has been the introduction of a specialist post, the primary care cancer nurse (PCCN), based within general practice to support members of the primary health care team (PHCT) and liaise across organisational and professional boundaries
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