Open Research Exeter - University of Exeter
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Localising Heritage: archaeologies of the recent past in post-war Jaffna, Sri Lanka
No full textThe role of archaeology in divisive nationalism, colonial supremacism and the marginalisation of subaltern groups is increasingly evident globally. Such legacies are visible in Sri Lanka, not least its north and east, where many regard archaeology as either irrelevant or as a weapon directed against them. We outline the genesis of a UK-Sri Lankan project that responds to this situation and focus on a workshop held in Jaffna with University of Jaffna partners that tested the potential for archaeology and heritage to foster affirmation of identity and sense of place in communities recovering from conflict. The initiative comprised collaborative activity not requiring specialist training, bringing together people of diverse disciplinary backgrounds to identify and record local sites. While archaeologies of conflict
surfaced, the country’s civil war was not the primary focus. The work considered how the material fabric of place, and the understanding and memory it evokes, are forms of archaeology and heritage and might be practised for social good
Value
No full textThis entry introduces value as an interdisciplinary category of inquiry which has been intertwined with theories of labour and organisation since the inception of its study with Aristotle. The entry charts how the development of mercantile and industrial capitalism saw vying views of value resolve themselves in the body of work associated with classical political economy, which defined the mainstream terrain of value theory until the neoclassical revolution. The entry explores two countervailing tendencies in the theorisation of value defined by the social approach they take to economic processes, both of which owe their origins to Aristotle in some way: institutionalist and Marxist critiques of political economy. Whilst the former weilds some influence in contemporary management and organisation studies, it is the latter that has motivated the richest work on value in this literature, largely through the lens of strands like Labour Process Theory, autonomist Marxism and so-called ‘paleo-Marxism’. The entry ends by suggesting the directions in which this growing literature on the intersection of value, labour and struggles over class, race, gender and environment might be taken in future
“Mad” Disease, Martian Diseases, and Modernism
No full textDebates about the Disease Concept have largely reached a point of stalemate between two dominant positions, the Biostatistical (BST) and Harmful Dysfunction (HDT) theories. I provide a new characterisation of those positions, and the stalemate between them, focussing on the respective theories of biological function that they employ. In that light, I elaborate some motivations for adopting Social Constructivism as an alternative, and go on to propose a “rebranding” of Social Constructivism as a form of modernism, with the same basic concerns as the literary and artistic movement of that name.
I describe two distinct conceptual “stages” of the debate. The first is the familiar trade in problem-cases and counter-examples, resulting in the familiar stasis of mature philosophical debates. But two later, well-known arguments in the debate represent – I argue – a conceptually new stage, in which it becomes doubtful that either BST or HDT can even in principle characterise the disease concept accurately. I therefore propose moving to a third stage, in which the main alternative theory of disease - social constructivism – emerges as a species of modernism, concerned with showing the contingency of the modes of existence, cognition, and physical functioning privileged and favoured in a given society.</p
Chasing Time - A Window to Dartmoor
No full textThe research focuses on the infamous Dartmoor writer Beatrice Chase (Olive Katharine Parr), and seeks to reposition her literary contribution, by placing her within the Dartmoor tradition, and highlighting the importance of her anti-suffrage pamphlet. The epistolary novel is a work of creative nonfiction. Through letters to her best friend Enid Shortridge, a fictionalised autobiography was created. Its aims are to correct some longstanding biographical errors and to produce an innovative novel for the modern reader.
The methodology was mainly qualitative and included an array of approaches including archival and desktop research, foot stepping on Dartmoor to trace Chase’s walks and document the moor, and interviews. Text analysis of Chase’s works and other well-known Dartmoor books was undertaken, and I also carried out research into the folklore, myths, legends, fauna, and flora of Dartmoor, and into medievalism, religious beliefs, and the history of anti-suffrage to understand the context and accuracy of Chase’s works, and critically evaluate her story. These all contributed to the content of both the thesis and the novel as they provided facts and information. It helped formulate a fictionalised version of Chase’s writing which remained true to her style whilst leaving room for imaginative interpretation
Whilst there is a large catalogue of work featuring the Suffragettes, there is less on the anti-suffrage movement which marks the importance of Chase’s anti-suffrage pamphlet. Chase was an independent woman who did not conform to traditional female roles, yet she encouraged other women to do so. Her anti-emancipation pamphlet was written years after women were granted the vote, this shows that feelings against suffrage were still present, yet there is an awareness, and fear of sharing these views so they remained private. Chase was an important literary figure, and her work should be further investigated.
Chase published numerous Dartmoor books, but most have been forgotten and overlooked. She is an important figure as she documented a key point in history, during a time of momentous change and a move to modernism. Her works on Dartmoor hark back to traditional times and paint a clear picture of the Moor during her lifetime. An analysis of Chase’s Dartmoor works shows her involvement in the enduring legend of Kitty. All of these aspects should grant her admission to the Dartmoor Tradition of writing.</p
Anxiety-related attentional characteristics and their relation to freezing of gait in people with Parkinson’s – cross-validation of the Adapted Gait Specific Attentional Profile (G-SAP)
No full textBackgroundAnxiety often exacerbates freezing of gait (FOG) in people with Parkinson's (PwP). Anxiety-related attentional processes and associated processing inefficiencies, like conscious movement processing (CMP) and ruminations, can substantially impact movement control. However, their impact on FOG remains largely unexplored.ObjectiveTo validate an adapted 10-item (1–5 Likert scale) Gait-Specific Attentional Profile (G-SAP) in PwP and assess if adapted G-SAP-subscales (Physiological Arousal, CMP, Rumination, and Processing Inefficiencies) are associated with self-reported FOG frequency.MethodsWe recruited 440 PwP (Mage = 65.5 ± 8.7; 5.8 ± 5.0 years since diagnosis) across the UK. Participants completed the adapted G-SAP and questionnaires on demographics, medical background, and FOG frequency. We assessed adapted G-SAP's internal consistency, structural validity, and subscale scores associations with FOG frequency.ResultsThe adapted G-SAP showed acceptable internal consistency (α≥0.66) and acceptable/good model fit (comparative fit index = 0.976). Physiological Arousal and CMP subscale scores presented weaker correlations for PwP with FOG (PwP + FOG, r = 0.52) compared to PwP without FOG (PwP-FOG, r = 0.77; p = 0.006). Higher Rumination (OR: 1.323, 95%CI: [1.214–1.440]) and Physiological Arousal (OR: 1.195, 95%CI:[1.037–1.377]) were significantly associated with higher FOG frequency, controlling for age, time since diagnosis and balance/gait problems.ConclusionsThe adapted G-SAP is reliable and convenient to measure and identify potentially maladaptive anxiety-related attentional processes that may impact FOG. Results suggest that PwP who experience more worrisome thoughts and greater physiological arousal in daily life are likelier to freeze. Compared to PwP-FOG, for PwP + FOG high physiological arousal was associated with reduced goal-directed focus of attention. Future research will determine if this is a causal risk factor.</p
Panegyric and revolution: Aphra Behn’s political poems of the 1680s
No full textThis article considers the group of extended political poems written by Aphra Behn in the final years of her life, 1685-89. These poems, concerned with the succession of James II, the anticipated birth of a male heir, and the assumption of authority by William of Orange, were the most explicit political works that Behn produced. All these poems either aligns with or reflects upon the genre of panegyric, one of the major poetic genres of seventeenth-century England. The article argues that Behn was interested not merely with the authority of her nation's rulers, but at least as much with the work of poets. Behn wrote as though she had a political choice. Her appreciation of panegyric as a medium that may be tuned to a politics of division as much as unity, expose with unprecedented clarity a tension that had been inherent within this genre throughout the Stuart era.</p
Michael Field’s “Caenis Caeneus”: Transmasculine Poetics at the Fin de Siècle
No full textIn 1900 Edith Cooper (one half of “Michael Field”) completed “Caenis Caeneus,” later published in the posthumous volume Dedicated (1914). The poem tells the story of the warrior Caeneus, who, according to various classical sources, is transformed from the maiden Caenis into the youth Caeneus by the sea god Poseidon. Cooper’s poem dwells on the joy and strength Caeneus discovers as he grows from boy to man, narrating his epic adventures until his death in battle and transformation into a bird, before becoming Caenis again in the underworld. Despite the suggestive gender transition at its heart and its focus on masculinity, the poem has been regarded primarily as a reflection on the restrictions of femininity. In this article, we consider the poem as a test site for considering trans masculinity at the fin de siècle, locating this within Michael Field’s engagement with the classical past, tracing trans ecologies through Caeneus’s response to the natural environment, and engaging with developing theories of trans poetics. Ultimately, we demonstrate the rich analytical frameworks that transgender studies offers to Michael Field studies and to Victorian literature more broadly.</p
Web-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Facilitate Posttraumatic Growth Following Single-Event Trauma: A Single Case Experimental Design
No full textFacilitation of posttraumatic growth (PTG) can reduce vulnerability and functional impairment due to persistent posttraumatic stress (PTS). There is a need, therefore, to develop psychosocial interventions that promote adaptive post-trauma reflection and behaviour change to facilitate PTG. This study used a randomised multiple-baseline single case experimental design to investigate the effect of a web-based self-help Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention on PTG among five female adults exposed to single-event trauma. Visual analysis, Tau-U, and randomisation tests were used to assess change in state psychological flexibility (PF) and PTG, and reliable change was used to assess pre- to post-intervention change in PTG, PTS, and wellbeing. Overall, the ACT intervention had a moderate positive effect on state PF and PTG (Tau-U A vs B + Trend B ? Trend A PF = .33 and PTG = .29), though randomisation tests did not detect significant change in level between phases. The ACT intervention was also associated with large improvement in PF (d = 1.11), Spiritual Wellbeing (d = 1.35), Mental Wellbeing (d = 1.38), and PTS symptoms (d = 1.67), and small-medium improvement in PTG (d = 0.46). This initial evidence of the beneficial effects of a web-based self-help ACT intervention suggests further research is warranted to assess its efficacy and feasibility as an adjuvant therapy to existing trauma therapies among a more diverse population experiencing persistent PTS symptoms.</p