2,529 research outputs found
Writing and the rights of reality: usurpation and potentiality in Derrida, Plato, Nietzsche, and Beckett
No full textThe thesis critically evaluates Jacques Derrida's conferral of the rights of reality on writing, focussing on his theory of an arche-text in light of the speculative nature of this theory. The theory is initially considered in the context of Derrida's elucidation of the usurpatory status of writing within the Platonic and Nietzschean texts. This consideration reveals an admission of writing's usurpatory status by both writers while at the same time demonstrating their awareness of the intrinsically speculative nature of this view, the significance of writing lying in its ability to exteriorise the radically indeterminate status of consciousness m relation to reality rather than its ability to displace consciousness or reality The analyses, therefore, not only bring the Derridean hypothesis of a repressive or phonocentric metaphysical episteme into question but also exhibit the historical and philosophical role of potentiality in relation to writing, writing's ultimate significance lying in its capacity to exteriorise our existence as a mode of potentiality. Accordingly, in the second half of the thesis the Derridean theory of writing is countered with a specifically Aristotelian theory of the text as it is exhibited in the prose of Samuel Beckett, an author whose significance lies in his close alignment with Derridean theory within contemporary criticism. It is demonstrated that this identification has obviated an awareness of the significance of potentiality within the Beckettian text, his work consequently being appraised in the previously neglected context of Aristotelian metaphysics
Near-peer teaching in clinical neuroanatomy
No full textBackground:? Near-peer teaching involves students being taught by more senior students and draws on their similar knowledge base and shared experiences. It has been used previously for teaching gross anatomy, but has not yet been reported specifically for neuroanatomy. At the University of Southampton there is no formal neuroanatomy teaching during the clinical years, and so a near-peer teaching programme was developed to support students, learning in between attending their clinical attachments.Methods:? A series of seven sessions were organised and delivered by two medical students throughout the 2010/11 academic year, and each session was evaluated by using participant feedback forms.Results:? Sixty feedback forms were returned by the students, giving an average rating for the overall quality of the sessions of 4.3 out of 5.0. There was an 18 per cent increase in the student’s perceived level of knowledge (p < 0.0001) as a result of our near-peer teaching sessions. The most common feedback received from our students related to the availability of handouts and expressions of gratitude.Discussion:? The results from this teaching development support the use of near-peer teaching in neuroanatomy. In this article we provide some evidence to suggest that students feel more confident with neuroanatomy after attending these sessions, and describe some unique advantages of this teaching programme over sessions led by faculty staff. The wider benefits to both faculty staff and student teachers are also considered
Learning from cross-border mechanisms to support climate change adaptation in Australia
No full textAbstractThe impacts of climate change do not adhere to conventional governance boundaries. Floods for example do not stop at the state border, nor are storm surges contained within local government jurisdictions. Whilst this may appear self-evident, this \u27inconvenient institutional truth\u27 poses considerable challenges to existing and deeply embedded governance frameworks. Despite growing recognition that implementing effective adaptation initiatives will require transcending artificially imposed bureaucratic and/or administrative boundaries, the cross-boundary implications of climate change adaptation have been largely ignored within the Australian context (partly as a result of the historical context and nature of Australian federalism). There are significant implications for the evolving national role in climate change adaptation, and the relationship to cross-border state issues that this project identifies and highlights. This project focuses on learning from existing cross-border regulatory mechanisms with a view to strengthening and improving cross-border climate change adaptation practices in Australia.Please cite this report as:Steele, W, Eslami-Andargoli, L, Crick, F, Serrao-Neumann, S, Singh-Peterson, L, Dale, P, Low Choy, D, Sporne, I, Shearer, S, Iotti, A 2013 Learning from cross-border mechanisms to support climate change adaptation in Australia, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, pp. 87AbstractThe impacts of climate change do not adhere to conventional governance boundaries. Floods for example do not stop at the state border, nor are storm surges contained within local government jurisdictions. Whilst this may appear self-evident, this \u27inconvenient institutional truth\u27 poses considerable challenges to existing and deeply embedded governance frameworks. Despite growing recognition that implementing effective adaptation initiatives will require transcending artificially imposed bureaucratic and/or administrative boundaries, the cross-boundary implications of climate change adaptation have been largely ignored within the Australian context (partly as a result of the historical context and nature of Australian federalism). There are significant implications for the evolving national role in climate change adaptation, and the relationship to cross-border state issues that this project identifies and highlights. This project focuses on learning from existing cross-border regulatory mechanisms with a view to strengthening and improving cross-border climate change adaptation practices in Australia.By: Wendy Steele, Leila Eslami-Andargoli, Florence Crick, Silvia Serrao-Neumann, Lila Singh-Peterson, Pat Dale, Darryl Low Choy, Ilva Sporne, Scott Shearer and Anne-Sophie Lotti
Waste-full Crossings: Thomas King’s Rubbishy Border
No full textThomas King’s Truth & Bright Water begins with an illusory image of a smooth
border crossing that never takes place, anticipating the fatal, failed border crossing that
constitutes the novel’s tragic climax. King foregrounds the unfinished and wasted state of the
only bridge “serving” the cross-border community:
At a distance, the bridge between Truth and Bright Water looks whole and complete,
a pale thin line, delicate and precise, bending over the Shield and slipping back into
the land like a knife. But if you walk down the coulees and stand in the shadows of
the deserted columns and the concrete arches, you can look up through the open
planking and the rusting webs of iron mesh, and see the sky. (1
The impact of illegal immigration and enforcement on border crime rates
No full textBorder crime rates lie consistently below the national average. In the 1990s, however, while there as a large decline in property-related crime along the U.S.-Mexico border, violent crime rates began to converge to the national average. At the same time, legal and illegal immigration from Mexico surged and border enforcement rose to unprecedented levels. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between border county crime rates, immigration and enforcement since the early 1990s. We find that while the volume of illegal immigration is not related to changes in property-related crime, there is a significant positive correlation with the incidence of violent crime. This is most likely due to extensive smuggling activity along the border. Border enforcement meanwhile is significantly negatively related to crime rates. The bad news is that the deterrent effect of the border patrol diminishes over this time period, and the net impact of more enforcement on border crime since the late 1990s is zero.Emigration and immigration ; Labor supply ; Crime
Samuel Beckett and the Writers of Port-Royal
No full textIt has been observed that ‘the literary influences on Beckett have been far more important than has been acknowledged, and more important indeed, than the philosophical influences’ (Smith 2002: 3). The truth of this statement is evidenced by the description that scholars have given of Samuel Beckett’s relationship to seventeenth century French classicism. To date, critical interest has been limited for the most part to the figure of the philosopher René Descartes on the (fragile) grounds that Beckett was exclusively concerned with the Cartesian imperative of clarity and order, the fundamental dualism between body and mind, and Nominalism.
Together with the assumption that Beckett’s vision was essentially Cartesian, his literary filiation with Pascal was suggested by critics, but only in terms of Beckett’s formal approach to the theatre. In his short article on En attendant Godot in 1953, the playwright Jean Anouilh was among the first reviewers to suggest that Beckett’s drama synthesizes the encounter between ‘classicism’ and a ‘modern’ form of art. It is well known that Beckett retained a lifelong admiration for Pascal – indeed, Pascal was one of his ‘old chestnuts’ (Knowlson 1997: 653). Little attention has been paid, however, to the originality of Pascal’s thought, the specific nature of his prose, and the impact these might have had upon Beckett’s mature work, especially the trilogy and the subsequent short prose. Yet, in the literary and philosophical context of post-war France, Beckett’s filiation with Pascal, their corresponding preoccupations, were evident to his contemporaries, who identified Pascal as an underlying presence in his works
Identifying medical student perceptions on the difficulty of learning different topics of the undergraduate anatomy curriculum
No full textAnatomy education research has identified neuroanatomy and pelvic anatomy as particularly challenging to medical students. However, perceptions of the whole undergraduate anatomy curriculum have not been properly determined. One hundred eighty-five second year medical student evaluations showed that neuroanatomy and head and neck and pelvic anatomy were rated significantly harder than the remainder of the curriculum (p < 0.0001). However, students at the National Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Competition did not rate neuroanatomy harder than the other subjects. This study identifies topics which are perceived to be the most difficult to learn and targeting these will make the biggest differences in medical student learning experience.</p
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
Usability and acceptability of a website that provides tailored advice on falls prevention activities for older people
No full textThis article presents the usability and acceptability of a website that provides older people with tailored advice to help motivate them to undertake physical activities that prevent falls. Views on the website from interviews with 16 older people and 26 sheltered housing wardens were analysed thematically. The website was well received with only one usability difficulty with the action plan calendar. The older people selected balance training activities out of interest or enjoyment, and appeared to carefully add them into their current routine. The wardens were motivated to promote the website to their residents, particularly those who owned a computer, had balance problems, or were physically active. However, the participants noted that currently a minority of older people use the Internet. Also, some older people underestimated how much activity was enough to improve balance, and others perceived themselves as too old for the activities
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