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Labouring bodies: Dirk Valkenburg’s Gathering of Enslaved People on One of Jonas Witsen’s Plantations in Suriname in context
Get PDFThis essay situates Dirk Valkenburg's extraordinary painting, 'Gathering of Enslaved People on one of the Plantations of Jonas Witsen in Suriname' within a broad pan-European visual context across the course of the eighteenth century. Steeping the work within the politics of slavery and abolition across empires, it asks what role the picture might have played, particularly with regards to the rise of neo-natalist policies and practices
Dissertations and genre analysis
No full textBook synopsis: Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, 14 Volume Set is the most authoritative, comprehensive and international reference work of its kind. Ground-breaking in its sheer scope – the 2nd edition had almost 3,000 chapters – no other linguistics reference work matches it for sheer broadness of coverage. Over the years it has been a much-loved and invaluable resource for researchers, academics, students and professionals in linguistics, anthropology, education, psychology, language acquisition and pathology, cognitive science, sociology and media/cultural studies. Led by a brand new and outstanding international editorial team, the 3rd edition will be thoroughly modernized to address the considerable growth and development in this field since the previous edition published in 2005. Existing chapters will be revised and updated, obsolete material removed and approximately 300 brand-new chapters will be commissioned to cover newer areas of research such as machine learning and natural language processing. Significant multimedia such as high-quality figures, audio files (highlighting differences in accent and dialects within languages) will be available to complement the text content, and chapters will follow a consistent chapter template in order to provide a logical reading experience for the user. The end-result will be an outstanding and market-leading reference work: modern, fully up to date, easy to navigate via its electronic platform, and logistically and consistently structured. Once again it will be the perfect resource for the modern-day language scholar
Constraints mechanism of the Early Cenozoic cooling and denudation on the Outer Hebrides in the northwest of Scotland from Joint Apatite Fission Track and (U-Th-Sm)/He Data
No full textTo constrain the mechanism driving early Cenozoic cooling and denudation in the Outer Hebrides, apatite fission track (AFT) analysis was conducted on 16 samples, with apatite (U-Th Sm)/He (AHe) analysis on half of them. AFT ages range from 125.7 ± 13.2 to 245.7 ± 13.7 Ma, while the single-grain AHe ages are highly dispersed, ranging from 13.9 ± 1.4 to 176.1 ± 17.6 Ma with values showing a general decrease toward the south. These data, together with grain fragment dimensions from AHe data, were incorporated into the generation of thermal history models. The combined models show that the northern Outer Hebrides started cooling during the Permian to Triassic, while the southern part cooled later, around the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic. Estimates of denudation predicted are approximately 1–2.5 km during the cooling episode from the Permian to the Early Jurassic, which coincides with Pangaea's breakup, triggering lithospheric thinning, rifting, fault reactivation, and removal of synrift topography. From the Middle Jurassic to the Cretaceous, the area experienced much slower, monotonic cooling, with approximately 0.1–1 km of denudation. Then the entire region underwent synchronous cooling and denudation in the early Cenozoic (∼65 ± 5 Ma), likely driven by mantle plume initiation and magmatic underplating which extends from east Greenland to St. Kilda and northwest Scotland inferred from geophysical studies rather than compressive stress from Alpine Orogeny or North Atlantic rifting. In addition, spatial denudation amount around 65 Ma along the Outer Hebrides suggests uneven underplating beneath the Outer Hebrides, decreasing from east to west and north to south
FAIR fission track analysis with geochron@home
Get PDFFission track thermochronology is based on the visual analysis of optical images. This visual process is prone to observer bias. Fission track datasets are currently reported as numerical summary tables. The interpretation of these tables requires a high degree of trust between the fission track analyst and the user of the data. geochron@home is software that removes this requirement of trust. It combines a browserbased “virtual microscope” with an online database to provide FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reproducible) access to fission track data.
geochron@home serves four different purposes. It can be used (1) to count fission tracks in “private mode”, i.e. hidden from other users on the internet; (2) to archive fission track images and counts for inspection by other users; (3) to create tutorials for new students of the fission track method; and (4) to serve randomly selected selections of images to citizen scientists.We illustrate these four applications with examples that demonstrate (1) geochron@home’s ability to compare and combine fission track counts for multiple users within a lab group; (2) the value of the geochron@home archive in the peer review system; (3) the use of simple tutorials in teaching novice users how to count fission tracks; and (4) the opportunities and challenges of crowd-sourced fission track analysis.
geochron@home was written in Python and Javascript. Its
code is freely available for inspection and modification, allowing
users to set up their own geochron@home server.
Alternatively, users who would like to upload data to the archive, but do not have the facilities to set up their own server, may use the server at University College London free of charge. The archive accepts image stacks acquired on any type of digital microscope, and accommodates fission track data (counts and length measurements) from external fission track analysis suites such as Fission Track Studio and TrackFlow. We anticipate that the introduction of FAIR workflows will make fission track data more accurate and more future proof. Storing fission track data online will benefit future developments in fission track thermochronology. For example, archival datasets of peer reviewed fission track counts can be used to train and improve machine learning algorithms for automated fission track analysis. We invite other geochronological methods to follow the fission track community’s lead in FAIR data processing. This would benefit all the Earth Science disciplines that depend on geochronological data
Social networking site use, depressive and anxiety symptoms in adolescents: evidence from a longitudinal cohort study (SCAMP)
Get PDFBackground: The growing and pervasive use of social network sites (SNS) has raised concerns about their impact on adolescent mental health during this sensitive developmental phase. Existing longitudinal studies are constrained by methodological limitations and limited exploration of underlying mechanisms. We investigated the longitudinal associations between SNS use and depressive and anxiety symptoms in adolescents and whether sleep mediated these associations.
Methods: We analysed longitudinal data from 2350 adolescents from 31 schools in London, participating in the Study of Cognition, Adolescents, and Mobile Phones (SCAMP). The exposure was self-reported duration of SNS use at baseline (aged 11–12 years). Outcomes were depressive and anxiety symptoms at follow-up, analysed as symptom severity and clinically significant symptoms (aged 13–15 years). The associations between SNS use and depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed via multi-level ordinal logistic regression (symptom severity) and logistic regression (clinically significant symptoms). The mediation effects of insufficient sleep, sleep onset latency, and sleep disturbance were assessed by mediation analysis.
Results: Compared to 0–30 min per day, more than 3 h per day of SNS use at baseline was associated with higher severity levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.47, 95% CI 1.12, 1.93 and OR = 1.40, 95% CI 1.06, 1.83, respectively) and clinically significant depressive and anxiety symptoms at follow-up (OR = 1.70, 95% CI 1.19, 2.42 and OR = 1.60, 95% CI 1.11, 2.31, respectively). The associations between total and weekend SNS use and depressive symptom severity were stronger in girls than boys. Other associations were similar by gender. Insufficient sleep duration (particularly on weekdays) and sleep onset latency at baseline partly mediated the associations of SNS use and depressive and anxiety symptoms (proportion of mediation ranged between 11.1% and 33.1%). The mediation effects of sleep disturbance were less marked.
Conclusions: In a large longitudinal cohort, we found that SNS use exceeding 3 h per day is associated with increased risks of depressive and anxiety symptoms in adolescents. Findings from mediation analysis suggest that addressing poor sleep hygiene in relation to SNS use might mitigate the negative impact of high SNS use. Our findings may inform the development of early secondary school curricula incorporating digital literacy and sleep hygiene education
Adaptations in Plasmodium tubulin determine distinct microtubule architectures, mechanics and drug susceptibility
Get PDFMicrotubules are ubiquitous yet diverse cytoskeleton filaments. However, tubulin
conservation presents challenges in understanding the origins of diverse microtubule
architectures. The mechanisms by which microtubule architecture varies through the life
cycle of the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium are not understood and provide a valuable
framework for exploring how intrinsic properties of tubulin contribute to architectural
variety. Using parasite-purified tubulin, we determine P. falciparum microtubule structures
by cryo-electron microscopy. Parasite-specific sequences change the tubulin dimer structure,
suggesting how drug susceptibility and polymer properties are modified. Within the P.
falciparum microtubule, lateral contacts are smaller but stronger, and the lattice is stiffer than
in brain microtubules. Non-canonical microtubule architectures found in parasites are highly
similar to those observed in vitro, validating the physiological relevance of these properties.
Our findings show how evolutionary adaptation of tubulin modulates the material properties
of the microtubule cytoskeleton
Inserted communities and religious commitment in Post-Conciliar Britain, 1970s-2000s
No full textThis chapter examines the role of ‘inserted communities’, the small religious communities that placed themselves within the heart of inner-city neighbourhoods, and the tensions that existed between a religious ministry that was more about ‘being’ than ‘doing’. Such ministries were seen as being antithetical to traditional understandings of activism and social action. Archival material and oral testimony will be scrutinised to identify the complex lived experience of religious sisters in the inner-city mission, how they grappled with tensions of ‘being’ and ‘doing’ and particularly how their commitment to ‘inserted communities’ inspired their faith. The chapter begins with an explanation of both ecclesial and non-ecclesial forms of inserted communities followed by a thick description of the origins and aims of one such inserted community in Hyson Green, Nottingham. Next, the analysis of the pastoral, personal and political meanings of the commitment of the sisters in Hyson Green, compared and contrasted with other inserted communities, is explored alongside marginalisation and the politics of social change. As a form of religious commitment, inserted communities provided a pastoral service to those on the margins of society that was both spiritual and social. The spiritual impetus was embedded in the personal faith of the sisters rather than explicit aims of evangelisation. Social pastoral aims of inserted communities were meant to build communities and networks among those marginalised by society, empowering them with the tools to decrease their own powerlessness. As a form of voluntary action, they were a part of the new wave of re-energised voluntary sector bodies coming out of the 1960s ‘rediscovery of poverty’. Inserted communities were also places of encounter that could lead to the politicisation
A theoretical framework of collaborative authorial voice: cognitive, social, and textual dimensions
Get PDFAuthorial voice in academic writing reflects how writers construct and assert authority within
their disciplinary communities. While voice has so far been examined through linguistic, sociocultural,
metadiscourse and other perspectives, existing frameworks have largely focused on individual
authorship, overlooking the complexities of collaborative writing. This study introduces
a comprehensive multidimensional theoretical framework that integrates intrapersonal (cognitive,
metacognitive, and emotional), interactional (negotiation and power dynamics), and
behavioral (textual enactment) dimensions to trace how authorial voice is constructed in
collaboration. Through a longitudinal case study, this paper examines how voice is shaped
through distributed cognitive processes, feedback negotiations, and textual positioning. Findings
reveal that authorial voice is not a fixed attribute but a cognitively developmental, socially situated,
and rhetorically negotiated construct. Co-authors and gatekeepers play a central role in
shaping voice, sometimes enabling agency, other times constraining it. By applying this theoretical
framework to collaborative writing for publication, this study offers a novel lens for
analyzing voice as a distributed and dialogic developmental phenomenon. The framework advances
theorizing beyond individual-centered accounts and offers methodological guidance for
studying voice across drafts, actors, and feedback channels in collaborative research contexts
Doing it the hard way
No full textAn academic career in economic geography came late for this author. After teaching drama in schools for many years, the opportunity came to do an undergraduate degree in Economics externally from London University which had optional geography modules. This was combined with motherhood. This was followed by a DPhil at Oxford University School of Geography (1983-1990).
This watershed experience has five dimensions.
1. Timing: being accepted by Oxford depended on the reference from Michael Wise and that the interview panel was chaired by the acting head of Department, the late Marjorie Sweeting, a geomorphologist, who accepted my application. This was support by a woman for women scholars in action.
2. The kindness of the supervisory team: Ken Warren, an industrial geographer, and Jeremy Howells, who has become a leading economic geographer, and then many others.
3. The arrival of David Harvey in 1987 brought a new buzz, a whole stream of famous visitors and lunchtime critical discussion groups.
4. An introduction to academic priorities of teaching, publishing and getting research grants.
5. Becoming embedded in the world of professional associations and conferences – but quickly realizing the importanc
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