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‘Subjects to be dealt with’: disability, class and carceral power in early 20th century Britain
Get PDFIn this article, I will examine the category 'subject to be dealt with' that was established in the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act. Designed to demonstrate the legislation’s respect for individual liberty, the boundaries of the category established the supposed moral and rational grounds on which authorities had the responsibility to act upon those deemed to be 'mentally defective.' In essence, ‘subject to be dealt with’ became the supposedly rational, measured qualifying category through which the condemnation of ‘defect’ could be operationalised. In both its actual implementation and the realm of possibilities it entailed, the category of ‘subject to be dealt with’ facilitated a range of discourses and practices. It powerfully linked disability and the imperatives of segregation and confinement, a logic that was reinforced by those critiquing the Mental Deficiency Act, both at its inception and its demise. As a category ‘subject to be dealt with’ at once intensively targeted carceral power on disability, while also working to more deeply enmesh cognitive and class deviance, naturalizing the broader carceral or institutional archipelago - of asylums, workhouses, special schools, prisons, etc. —to which disabled and poor people were subject
What moves with us when we move? Possible Future Academic Selves in trajectories of exile
No full textBook synopsis: This volume offers a holistic understanding of the interconnections of language, specifically English, scholarly publishing, and knowledge production and circulation through a sociolinguistic lens in contemporary academia across different European settings for research purposes.
The volume is organised around three parts: the first part explores individual factors underpinning knowledge production and their role in shaping scholars’ academic careers; the second part critically reflects on the challenges and opportunities for multilingual scholars in the academic landscape, examining the inherent tensions in the interactions between English and other languages; the final part considers the ways in which academic knowledge is institutionalised – at universities, private companies, and on a national scale – and the subsequent impact on knowledge dissemination. Taken together, the chapters provide a coherent and holistic overview of the affordances and limitations that different social actors experience when participating in such cycles, including the different modes of access to resources across geographic contexts and disciplinary traditions. An important contribution of the volume is the multilayered angle that it incorporates into analysing issues of scholarly publishing in today's academia, placing language as a social practice at the heart of the structuring processes that condition the creation, dissemination, and consumption of knowledge in contemporary societies.
This book will be of interest to scholars in English for research and publication purposes, sociolinguistics, language and education, and applied linguistics
Medieval settlement excavations at Arpa, Armenia: regional context and chronology for a Silk Road Town
Get PDFThis article focuses on the results from the Vayots Dzor
Silk Road Survey (VDSRS) 2023 excavations of village
contexts at the high and late medieval (thirteenth–fif-
teenth centuries CE) site of Arpa, in Vayots Dzor, Armenia.
Strategic excavations were carried out in medieval layers
threatened by the use of the site as a local cemetery. These latest
results provide insights into the living and working areas and
material assemblages of Arpa. They are further contextualized
within the wider context of VDSRS surveys in Vayots Dzor,
and previous excavations in the region and in wider Anatolia/
South Caucasus. In connection with epigraphic information
(architectural and funerary inscriptions) present at the site,
the 2023 excavated assemblages are dated to the late Medieval
period (fourteenth–fifteenth centuries). The stratigraphic results
contribute to correcting a long-standing assumption of an
early (fifth century) date for the site based on literary sources;
meanwhile, the results shed light on the later life of the site and
transformations in movements along what are now referred to
as the “medieval Silk Roads.
Image, text, performance: articulating the miraculous in early Sixteenth-Century Prato
Get PDFThis article uses the writings of a Prato lawyer, Giuliano Guizzelmi (1446-1518), to explore the ways in which the miraculous was made manifest in his community through verbalisation, image-making and ritual performance. His miracle book of the local shrine of Santa Maria delle Carceri includes textual representations of miracles, but it also points beyond itself to a rich network of behaviour involving the mobilisation of artefacts. Devotees travelled to Prato to give thanks for divine aid, and their journeys involved heightened performances and could culminate in elaborate formal processions. Many donated material offerings including images. The article argues that these artefacts and performances should be understood not only as representations of miracles but also as central to the construction of the miraculous
The use and abuse of financial regulation in professional team sports: the case of parachute payments in the English Football Championship
Get PDFResearch question: The research aims to assess whether the parachute payments to clubs relegated from the Premier League to the Championship in English football should be reformed.
Research methods: The research uses an eight-steps approach including abuse calculation, regression to test the impact of parachute payments and abuse on sporting performance and comparison between actual competitive balance and intensity and their simulated levels without parachute payments and abuse.
Results and findings: The system of parachute payments is abused and this had an effect on promotion, play-off and relegation places and on the competitive balance of the league but contrary to previous research, the later effect is not significant for the league as a whole.
Implications: Parachute payments do not need to be abolished to increase competitive balance in the Championship but are in need of reform to reduce both the amount and duration of payments and abuse of the policy
Heart rate variability biofeedback training can improve menopausal symptoms and psychological well-being in women with a diagnosis of primary breast cancer: a longitudinal randomized controlled trial
Get PDFBreast cancer survivors experience numerous chronic symptoms linked to autonomic dysfunction including anxiety, stress, insomnia, menopausal symptoms, and cognitive impairment. Effective non-pharmacological solutions to address these are currently lacking.
Methods: Our three-armed longitudinal randomized controlled trial assessed the effectiveness of a 4-week remote smartphone-based heart rate variability biofeedback intervention which involved daily paced breathing at 6 breaths p/min; active (12 breaths p/min)
and waitlist controls were included. Heart rate variability and self-reported cancer-related symptoms were assessed at baseline, post-, and 6 months-post intervention. Participants were 60 UK-based women with primary breast cancer history (6 to 60 months post-active
treatment).
Results: The intervention group showed significant increases in low-frequency heart rate variability over time (F (4, 103.89) = 2.862, p = 0.027, d = 0.33), long-lasting improvement in sleep quality (F (4, 88.04) = 4.87, p = 0.001, d = 0.43) and cessations in night sweats (X2 (2, N = 59) = 6.44, p = 0.04, Cramer’s V = 0.33), and reduced anxiety
post-intervention compared to the active and waitlist controls (F (4, 82.51) = 2.99, p = 0.023, d = 0.44). Other findings indicated that the intervention and active control participants reported lasting improvements in cognitive function, fatigue, and stress-related symptoms (all ps < 0.05). The waitlist group reported no symptom changes across time.
Conclusion: Heart rate variability biofeedback is a feasible intervention for addressing diverse chronic symptoms commonly reported by breast cancer survivors
A hopeful political imagination: courage and fantastic critique in the age of meltdown
No full textThis book is an invitation to see constitutions, rights’ generative and aesthetic manifestoes, chronicles and charters of relations, prophecy and fantastic utopian visions as well as other such figurations as species of that wider genre. What characterises constitutions, rights’ declarations, charters, utopias and manifestoes when they’re seen as part of the genre of council literatures is the fact that their status is negotiated and instituted by those of us who come to them as precious gifts, seeking counsel from the council of a text. In ethical and jurisprudential terms, the question of this book concerns the modality of expression we can use to generalise our lived experience of history as negation. So that we can hope to take it in a different direction
Glycated cross-linked collagen membranes with tunable permeability and multifunctional properties for tissue regeneration
No full textInterface tissue engineering focuses on developing bioengineered constructs that integrate with the body’s natural tissues. Collagen-based membranes, due to their inherent bioactivity and compatibility, are widely used in tissue engineering applications such as wound healing, guided tissue regeneration, and guided bone regeneration. This study investigates the in vitro development and characterization of methylglyoxal (MGO)-cross-linked collagen membranes, which exhibit enhanced mechanical strength, thermal stability, hydrophilicity, and tunable permeability. To evaluate the properties of these membranes, we employed several techniques, including scanning electron microscopy for morphological analysis, differential scanning calorimetry for thermal stability assessment, tensile strength tests for mechanical evaluation, water contact angle measurements for wettability, dielectric analysis for moisture absorption, and permeability assays using fluorescein diffusion. Additionally, the fibroblast barrier function was assessed using a red cell tracking dye with confocal microscopy. The ability to fine-tune the properties of collagen membranes through MGO cross-linking opens new possibilities for their use in tissue engineering. These membranes can serve as effective barriers in guided tissue regeneration and guided bone regeneration, promoting tissue regeneration and healing by preventing undesired cell migration and creating a conducive environment for bone and tissue growth. MGO-cross-linked collagen membranes offer a promising solution for enhancing the functionality and efficacy of bioengineered constructs in tissue engineering. Their improved mechanical and thermal properties, coupled with their biocompatibility, make them ideal candidates for various clinical applications
Parallels between biological invasions and human migration are flawed and undermine both disciplines. Response to Ahmed et al.
Get PDFA recent article by Ahmed et al. (2025) attempts to draw parallels and assess distinctions between biological invasions and the human migration. This comparison conflates two globally occurring phenomena in a scientifically flawed way and risks the misappropriation of scientific concepts for ideological and political agendas. The repeated use of 'similarity' and 'parallels' throughout the text, including in the title, could easily lead to misconceptions among broader audiences, such as educators and policymakers, who can help shape public discourse. Despite their acknowledgement that comparing introductions of non-native species to human migration “may be inappropriate and cause confusion,” Ahmed et al. argue that it reveals “complex parallels that are potentially fruitful to explore.” However, they fail to make their case
Age wording in job advertisements sustains age inequality through selection and partially through attraction processes
Get PDFThis research examines whether words used to describe ideal candidates in job advertisements are more strongly associated with younger workers (under 30), older workers (50 and over), or equally
with both age groups. We first identified such associations, then conducted experiments to test how age-typed and age-shared descriptors in job advertisements influence candidate attraction
and selection. Across two studies, participants aged 18 to 75 evaluated job advertisements that stereotypically aligned with younger workers, older workers, or both equally. We hypothesized an age-matched attraction effect, predicting that participants would find job advertisements with descriptors reflecting their own age group more appealing. This was supported for older participants in Study 2, who were more likely to apply to the advertisement with older descriptors. We also hypothesized an age-matched selection effect that participants would match resumes containing younger, older, or age-shared descriptors to corresponding job advertisements in a fictitious hiring scenario. A selection bias was confirmed for advertisements with younger and older descriptors, but not for the advertisement with age-shared descriptors, where candidates were equally preferred. The findings suggest that age-typed wording in job advertisements can sustain inequality in hiring by reinforcing selection biases and reducing attraction among older workers, but only on the objective measur
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