340 research outputs found
Art, Biography, Sexuality: Patrick Procktor and Keith Vaughan
No full textThis critical review forms a reflection on the research published within the following publications:
Patrick Procktor: Art and Life (Unicorn Press, 2010)
Keith Vaughan: The Mature Oils 1946-1977, (Sansom & Co., 2012)
The research is on two artists, Patrick Procktor (1936-2003), and Keith Vaughan (1912-1977). The monograph on Procktor – previously one of the least documented of the generation of artists who came to prominence in London in the Sixties – positions him in a history of art from which he had been notably absent. The research on Vaughan asserts a new reading of his work, one that is both deeper and more nuanced in its analysis of the ways in which personal experience and sexuality are encoded autobiographically within his work. Crucially, in both artists biography and work are symbiotically linked; the research therefore examines the links between life and art.
Revisionary in intent, the work examines trajectories of experience of gay British (or rather, English) artists in the twentieth century, artists who sought to express themselves and forge careers within the constraints of a heteronormative society, albeit one in which attitudes to sexuality were undergoing change. As gay men, both were constrained by the social mores of their times, and each used painting as a means to affirm personal and sexual identities. A key research interest is in the ways in which sexuality and persona are reflected in critical responses to the artist’s work: in Vaughan, Procktor and other gay male artists of the period. The writing on both Procktor and Vaughan examines the relationship between their personal and professional/artistic lives, framed within a broader socio-political and art historical context. It asserts the place of biography as a means to understand and form new readings of the work. The work adds substantially to the literature and wider discourse on post-war British painting and social history
The jingling Geordie: community arts and the regional culture of the North East of England
Get PDFIn the light of the massive economic and social changes which have affected the North East of England over the last 25 years, the author assesses the vitality of the indigenous culture and reflects upon current cultural trends and the North East’s future, particularly in relation to a regional Europe. He traces the folk-tradition of the region and looks at ways in which this can be drawn upon to develop a meaningful link between past and present. He looks closely at the changing nature of class-relationships in the North East and reflects upon how a valid local culture can survive in a multi-cultural society. He draws upon his own extensive experience in Community Arts, looking at definitions of the term in the new political climate and arguing for its positive contribution to the cultural debate. He dwells on the issue of regionalism and devolution in a new Europe, comparing the situation in the North East of England with political and cultural changes in Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom
Decay of wood by the Dacrymycetales
No full textForty-one strains representing sixteen species in the Dacrymycetales were tested for their abilities to decay wood using the soil block test. Dacrymyces stillatus, D. capitatus, D. dictyosporus, Dacryopinax spathularia, Cerinomyces ceraceus and Calocera cornea and C. lutea caused considerable decay of wood. Dacrymyces palmatus, D. minor, D. novae-zelandiae and Calocera viscosa also decayed wood to a significant extent. Four distinct types of decay were noted; three types of brown-rot and one type of white-rot. The brown-rotting strains were unusual in that some degraded considerable amounts of lignin. Monokaryons of Dacryopinax spathularia showed a reduced capacity to decay wood, while those of Dacrymyces stillatus and D. palmatus did not decay wood. Types of rot associated with species in the Tremellales and Auriculariales thought to be saprobic on wood are presented based on herbarium specimens.Science, Faculty ofBotany, Department ofGraduat
Writing and the rights of reality: usurpation and potentiality in Derrida, Plato, Nietzsche, and Beckett
Get PDFThe 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
Political life writing in the Pacific
Get PDFThis book aims to reflect on the experiential side of writing political lives in the Pacific region. The collection touches on aspects of the life writing art that are particularly pertinent to political figures: public perception and ideology; identifying important political successes and policy initiatives; grappling with issues like corruption and age-old political science questions about leadership and ‘dirty hands’. These are general themes but they take on a particular significance in the Pacific context and so the contributions explore these themes in relation to patterns of colonisation and the memory of independence; issues elliptically captured by terms like ‘culture’ and ‘tradition’; the nature of ‘self’ presented in Pacific life writing; and the tendency for many of these texts to be written by ‘outsiders’, or at least the increasingly contested nature of what that term means
The British Enlightenment and Ideas of Empire in India 1756-1773
No full textPhDThis dissertation examines the relationship between Enlightenment political thought and the
conduct of imperial affairs on the Indian subcontinent between 1756 and 1773. It is
concerned with the ways in which Enlightenment ideas affected the response of politicians,
thinkers, merchants and East India Company officials, to the Company's actions and
conduct in Bengal. It seeks therefore to uncover the underlying political principles that
informed debates regarding the future of Britain's connection with the acquired territories.
At first, controversy raged between the Company and the British state over the question of
property rights: in 1767 the British government tried to assert its right to the territorial
revenues of Bengal that had been acquired by the Company in 1765. The government was
not successful and the issue of ownership would remain unresolved in this period and
beyond. However, as the Company began to appear incapable of managing and reforming its
own affairs, the British government was forced to confront the question of what the best way
of conducting policy in the east might be.
This thesis makes use of an array of under-utilised printed sources - pamphlets, books and
tracts - as well as analysing contemporary parliamentary debate, to recover the ways in
which empire was both rationalised and theorised. The first part of the dissertation lays out
the narrative of events, gives a brief sketch of ideologies of empire in Britain after 1690, and
reviews the historiography on the East India Company's rise to power. It then proceeds, in
part two, to set out the ways in which Enlightenment conceptions of a science of politics
underpinned both the condemnation of the Company's government of Bengal and plans for
its reform. In the third part of the thesis, particular attention is given to the thought of Sir
James Steuart who was specifically approached by the Company to provide a solution to
their monetary problems in Bengal. This was a brief that he fulfilled comprehensively,
making use of the concept of self-interest, and revealing the rationale that he believed should
inform the Company's commercial policy towards a British dependency. Throughout this
work, the political ideas examined are situated in the broader context of debate regarding
sociability, international trade, the nature and obligation of governments in general, and of
the British constitution in particular
Lophodermium resinosum sp. nov. from red pine (Pinus resinosa) in Eastern Canada
Get PDFA morphologically distinct Lophodermium species was collected from fallen secondary needles of Pinus resinosa over two consecutive years in Eastern Ontario; subsequent herbarium studies confirmed its presence in Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Maine. Symptomatic needles frequently exhibited red bands and completely subepidermal ascomata and conidiomata. Ascospore isolates from specimens were used to reconstruct phylogenies inferred from internal transcribed spacer rDNA and partial actin gene sequences. Both phylogenetic analyses delineated the specimens from other sequenced Lophodermium species. Phylogenetic evidence combined with morphological characters of ascomata and conidiomata supported the distinctiveness of this species, described here as Lophodermium resinosum sp. nov.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author
Exploring the contributions of John G. Jackson to African historiography, 1994
Get PDFThis thesis offers a comprehensive examination of the intellectual contributions of John Glover Jackson, an African American historian. Jackson, similiar to many other African American scholars, is self trained in the field of African history. This self training is a crucial element in this presentation for it is an attempt to present the autodidact's efforts and contributions as valid. This attempt reviews the archeological, anthropological, and cultural evidence presented by Jackson relating to his interpretations of man, God, and civilization. The methodology utilized in this research consists mainly of examining secondary data. Primary materials include interviews, video recordings, and recorded lectures. Critiques of the scholarly content of these materials are included in the assessment of Jackson's work. Iconographic, linguistic and ethnological evidence will be presented as interpreted by Jackson. The findings demonstrate that Jackson's contributions were virtually ignored. The reasons for this disregard are several. The dissenting nature of his presentation, his atheist reasoning and his lack of diplomacy contributed to his neglect. The results of this study carry wide reaching implications in the different fields of historical research. An Important finding, for example, is that formal university training is not an absolute prerequisite in the writing of history. Of greater significance is the evidence presented and the integrity of the historian's scholarship. The autodidact and the formally trained scholar have much to offer historiography. Neither can be ignored if honest scholastic advancements is intended. This exploring of the contributions of the self taught scholar, John G. Jackson, attempts to support such a conclusion
The rule of law, arbitrariness and institutional virtue
Get PDFThis article summarises Professor Martin Krygier\u27s work on the rule of law and his view that arbitrariness is its core and is under-theorised. From ancient philosophy, the author suggests that our rule of law settlement feels tentative because arbitrariness is a human characteristic that cannot be completely fixed with institutional checks and balances. The author observes that a variety of rule of law virtues are already expected of judicial decision-makers and suggests that these institutional virtues should be transferred into the administrative, executive and corporate decision-making space to advance the rule of law project
Revenue-productive income tax structures and tax reforms in emerging market economies - evidence from Bulgaria
Get PDFUsing a household budget survey for 1992, The author shows the poor revenue performance and distributional impact of Bulgaria's personal income tax system. He explores the implications for revenue and income distribution of two alternative tax systems - a flat tax and a progressive but simpler three-brackets tax system. He demonstrates that simpler tax structures with lower tax rates could achieve at least equal revenue and distributional objectives and are superior in terms of efficiency and equity. (The findings are robust when Bulgaria's significant tax evasion is included). But tax changes since 1992 have, if anything, moved Bulgaria even further from a simple income tax system: the number of rates and brackets increased from 7 to 10, and the levels of exemption remain unchanged. (Complex, higher rates complicate administration and enforcement and provide incentives for tax evasions. And in the alternative systems the author explores, the poor are protected with higher exemptions.) Fortunately, the country's personal income tax structure began to move toward less nominal progressivity after Bulgaria's 1997 tax reform program. The tax rate in thetop income bracket was reduced from 52 percent to 40 percent, the number of tax brackets was halved, and the exemption level was increased 20 percent (reducing tax burdens on the poor).Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Regional Governance,Tax Policy and Administration,Economic Theory&Research,Governance Indicators,Economic Theory&Research,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Tax Policy and Administration
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