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Reflective rumination mediates the effects of neuroticism upon the fading affect bias in autobiographical memory
Get PDFAcross three studies we explored neuroticism in relation to the fading affect bias, which refers to the greater fading of unpleasant compared to pleasant emotions in autobiographical memory. With increasing neuroticism, there was an increase in the frequency of unpleasant event rehearsal, which was then linked to less fading of negative affect. Study 2 showed this effect was specific to reflective rehearsal, with Study 3 clarifying the mediating effect was due to increased frequency of the reflective sub-type of rumination. We offer new insights into the effects of neuroticism on autobiographical memory and suggest that reflective rumination can be linked to retention of negative affect in individuals with high neuroticism, which can be interpreted as indicative of maladaptive emotional processing
Covid, schooling and race in England: a case of necropolitics
Get PDFIn this paper, I focus on the UK government’s Covid-19 pandemic response to schooling in England with regards to the impact on race inequality, an area which has received comparatively little attention. I review the existing research, drawing on work by academics, think tanks, lobbying organisations and media reports, conducted between spring 2020 and autumn 2021, and argue that this evidence suggests that the UK government’s pandemic response firstly has increased existing racial disadvantage for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) pupils in education, and secondly, it has potentially increased the exposure of BAME households to illness and death. I further argue that not only can education policy in response to Covid be considered to be an example of white supremacy, but it is an example of necropolitics, defined as ‘the power and the capacity [of the state] to dictate who may live and who must die’ (Mbembe 2013, 161). I conclude by making some recommendations for wide-reaching social and educational change
What spelling errors can tell us about the development of processes involved in children’s spelling
Get PDFIntroduction: Spelling is an essential foundation for reading and writing. However, many children leave school with spelling difficulties. By understanding the processes children use when they spell, we can intervene with appropriate instruction tailored to their needs.
Methods: Our study aimed to identify key processes (lexical-semantic and phonological) by using a spelling assessment that distinguishes different printed letter strings/word types (regular and irregular words, and pseudowords). Misspellings in the test from 641 pupils in Reception Year to Year 6 were scored using alternatives to binary correct versus incorrect scoring systems. The measures looked at phonological plausibility, phoneme representations and letter distance. These have been used successfully in the past but not with a spelling test that distinguishes irregularly spelled words from regular words and pseudowords.
Results: The findings suggest that children in primary school rely on both lexical-semantic and phonological processes to spell all types of letter string, but this varies depending on the level of spelling experience (younger Foundation/Key stage 1 and older Key stage 2). Although children in younger year groups seemed to rely more on phonics, based on the strongest correlation coefficients for all word types, with further spelling experience, lexical processes seemed to be more evident, depending on the type of word examined.
Discussion: The findings have implications for the way we teach and assess spelling and could prove to be valuable for educators
Stones displaced: retaining the nuances of Maltese culture through short English fiction
Get PDFThis thesis is composed of two parts: a short story collection, entitled Stones Displaced and a critical commentary. The title of the collection, Stones Displaced, is taken from a line in Oliver Friġġieri’s poem We’re Gurgling water (1993), in which the poet mourns a Malta that has lost its identity and compares the Maltese diaspora to ‘stones displaced’ (Friġġieri, 1993). Since my characters are also trying to establish what their identity means to them, either through rediscovering themselves abroad, or through returning to the island, I felt that the line was very apt for my characters.
My research emerged from a desire to explore the experience of unbelonging and hybrid identity of a Maltese community through English-language short fiction. Stones Displaced is a short story cycle that depicts the social transitions of Malta through the eyes of lonesome, isolated figures, living on the margins of its society. Through my characters’ experiences of transnationality and unbelonging, I try to understand my own journey of growing up in a secular island nation with a foreign parent and surname. This thesis focuses on how the short story cycle is a strong medium for communicating the lives of those from minority groups. Its scope is to find ways by which the nuances of Maltese life could be retained when writing English-language fiction. The critical component is divided into two main chapters. In the first chapter, I explore how my writing practice helped me identify three main ways of retaining the nuances of Maltese in English- language dialogues. Chapter Two looks into the short form itself, and four other techniques that can be used when depicting Maltese setting and life with a foreign audience in mind. This thesis can be beneficial to those who like myself are preoccupied with representing minority cultures in languages other than their own
The autism worldview dilemma: to normalise or not to normalise, that is the question
Get PDFThis paper should be read by all who live and work with autistic children and adults.
It serves to question the perspective we take and the potential outcomes. Three
perspectives or paradigms are described – the medical model, radical behaviourism and
the neurodivergent-affirmative model. Each derives from a different view of autism and so
differ in their methods, with little common ground, termed by the authors as the ‘autism
worldview dilemma.’ The authors argue that the most respectful and positive paradigm
in terms of process and outcome is the neurodivergent perspective. This is gathering
momentum as autistic communities and other neurodivergent groups take to social
media and have greater visibility in research and the workplace. There is also now more
effective and frequent consultation with autistic people on decisions which affect them
The owl: a biography
No full textOwls are among the most mysterious birds in the world. Their hauntingly beautiful calls and mostly nocturnal habits have long captured our collective imagination, inspiring more superstitions, folktales, and myths than any other group of birds. Seven species of owl - the tawny, little, barn, long-eared, short-eared, snowy and eagle owl - can be found in the British Isles (out of sixteen different kinds across Europe). They have lived alongside people for thousands of years, yet we still know so little about their day-to-day lives
Social participation in a postdigital–biodigital age
Get PDFThis chapter introduces the concept of social participation and analyzes its recent transformations in a postdigital–biodigital reality. It explores the main sources of biodigital (in)equality and links them to the nature of biodigital communication. Drawing firstly on the work of Kate O’Riordan, the chapter argues that traditional communication based on an exchange of information is significantly different from emerging forms of biodigital communication and identifies the regulation of biodigital communication as the key question of social participation in a postdigital–biodigital age. The discussion then addresses in detail the complex power relationships that emerge in this age, the varying levels of participation that different individuals enjoy, and associated political rationalities. The chapter then explores aspects of postdigital–biodigital policymaking using the case of education and drawing on Human Data Interaction (HDI) theory
Within theatre, what is our shared understanding of the difference between crew and technician?
Get PDFWe have an academic and historic understanding that the collective term of “the crew” — for example, the backstage crew, the stage crew, or the lighting crew — all have specific places to be used; these terms explain and explore the collection of people working within that discipline or in that particular physical area. But what is our linguistic understanding of the difference between the backstage titles of crew and technician?
The historical use of terms such as machinist, engineer, and crew, and the reasoning behind their continued use shed some light. An exploration of potential abuse due to the embedded stigma in the term crew and the role crews play
in theatre bears exploration as well. Interestingly, surveys of and discussions with professionals and students reveal
continued use of these terms despite some stigma about singling out those working in on-stage disciplines, including scenery shifters, fly system operators, and the like. In a small sample survey, perceptions associated with “crew” do not extend to those working within the areas of lighting, sound, and audiovisual because they tend to be viewed as technicians. It’s time for a broader discussion about referring to a lower-skilled position, working under the technician, as “crew.
