74 research outputs found
Interview with Laurence Harry Shellard
No full textTalks about starting at Market Harborough railway station in 1927 as box lad, then moving to Greetham, Rutland, where did all jobs. Very brief mention of father's career on railway. Mentions usefulness of railway connection when joining railway, brief period of redundancy in 1932. Describes work as porter at Market Harborough, moving horses, milk churns, mail. Mentions volume of traffic through station. Describes uniform, preparations for Royal train. Lists stations worked at during Second World War. Mentions troops from Dunkirk passing through Leicester, Italian prisoners of war getting on with local people. Anecdotes about two characters at Market Harborough station. Mention of preparing trains for excursions. Describes a suicide. Mention of unions, railway police, wages
The postmodern sacred: popular culture spirituality in the genres of science fiction, fantasy and fantastic horror
No full textIn my thesis I argue that the return of the religious in contemporary culture has been in two forms the rise of so-called fundamentalisms in the established faiths-Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, even Buddhist-and the rise of a New Age style spirituality that draws from aspects of those faiths even as it produces something distinctively different. I argue that this shift both produces post-modern media culture, and is itself always-already mediated through the realm of the fictional. Secular and profane are always entangled within one another, a constant and pervasive media presence that modulates the way that contemporary subjects experience themselves and their relationship to the spiritual. I use popular culture as an entry point, an entry point that can presume neither belief nor unbelief in its audiences, showing that it is 'unreal' texts such as Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Matrix and so on that we find religious symbols and ideas refracted through a postmodernist sensibility, with little regard for the demands of 'real world' epistemology.
I argue that it is in this interplay between traditional religions and New Age-ised spirituality in popular culture that the sacred truly finds itself in postmodernity
Paul Amselek, On the art of talking nonsense in philosophy
No full text« On the Art of Talking Nonsense in Philosophy can be summed up in
a few lines (an endeavour in which the back cover is fitting): drawing on
Harry G. Frankfurt’s On Bullshit, Paul Amselek illustrates four types of
contrived reasonings, that is, specimens of philosophical or ethical bullshit.
Identifying a few culprits for each type, the author invites the reader to take
part in an exercise in critical thinking, with some major themes of
philosophy or legal theory running in the backdrop. The original De l’art de
raconter n’importe quoi en philosophie was published in 2019; Christopher
Sutcliffe’s translation is of a slightly revised text. [...] »Book review of Paul Amselek, On the Art of Talking Nonsense in Philosophy, translated by Christopher Sutcliffe, Montréal, Éditions Thémis, 2022
The macroeconomics of the public sector deficit : the case of Morocco
No full textThis paper tries to uncover the reasons underlying the performance of the Moroccan economy. The author argues that wage moderation and judicious monetary policies were instrumental in restraining inflation. With one brief exception in 1983, monetary authorities remained firmly committed to eschew any inflationary financing of the budget deficit. This strategy could only succeed however because of the wide ranging system of credit and monetary regulations which worked to channel domestic funds toward the Treasury at relatively low costs. The prospects for the continuation of such a strategy are not favourable however. As far as the growth performance is concerned, it appears that it can be attributed to an outstanding export response to the new trade regime on the one hand and a set of favourable supply shocks, including a string of recordagricultural harvests and the collapse of real oil prices, on the other. The paper studies the evolution of the budget and its different components and argues that the reluctance by Morocco's policy makers to monetize existing budget deficits is well explained by the sharply unfavourable trade-offs between higher monetization and inflation existing in Morocco. It analyzes the implications that continuing budgetary disequilibria has on investment and saving decisions and finds that such implications may be substantial, even though they may not work their way exclusively through traditional interest rates channels.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Financial Intermediation
Sensible debt buybacks for highly indebted countries
No full textPrevious studies indicate that debt buybacks at market prices benefit lenders the most because the lack of a seniority structure in sovereign lending distorts secondary market prices upward. The author examines whether welfare-improving buybacks would arise at the"fair"price. If so, policy intervention is needed to remove the distortion. In a model of intertemporal consumption smoothing, buybacks at the fair price are desirable if the country experiences unusually heavy export earnings and if large reserve holdings tend to increase transfers to creditors in default states. Concerted agreements in which debt repurchases are linked to cuts in interest rates or new money requirements can make buybacks at the fair price viable, while preventing the free-rider problem among lenders.Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Financial Intermediation,Strategic Debt Management
Foreign direct investment in a macroeconomic framework : finance, efficiency, incentives, and distortions
No full textDoes foreign direct investment (FDI) increase domestic investment, or does it provide additional foreign exchange for a pre-existing current account deficit, or some linear combination of the two? The author investigates this question for a group of five Pacific Basin countries and a control group of 11 other developing countries. For the sample of all 16 developing countries, the author finds that FDI does not provide additional balance of payments financing for a pre-existing current account deficit. In the control group of 11 developing countries, FDI is associated with reduced domestic investment - implying that FDI to those countries is simply a close substitute for other capital inflows. For the five Pacific Basin market economies, however, FDI raises domestic investment by the full extent of the FDI inflow. The author finds that FDI has a significantly negative impact on national saving in the sample of all 16 developing countries. For the control group, this negative effect is similar in magnitude to FDI's negative effect on domestic investment - implying a zero effect on the current account. But FDI's negative effect on national saving in the five Pacific Basin developing market economies implies that FDI could have more of a negative effect on the current account than through increased domestic investment alone. The author also investigates the impact of FDI on economic growth in these 16 countries, taking into account distortions in the economies. He estimates reduced-form current account equations, and presents an analytical framework for estimating FDI's effect on economic growth in the presence of incentive-disincentive packages and other economic distortions. He illustrates his framework using indicators of foreign trade and financial distortions. His main conclusion: the effect of FDI differs markedly from one group of countries to another. FDI has a negative effect on economic growth in the control group. It has the same positive effect on growth as domestically financed investment does in the Pacific Basin countries. The main cause for the different effect is the low level of distortion in the Pacific Basin countries.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Foreign Direct Investment,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Macroeconomic Management
The 'true use of reading' : Sarah Fielding and mid eighteenth-century literary strategies.
No full textPhDThe aim of this thesis is to explore, by examining her life and
works, how Sarah Fielding (1710-68) established her identity as an author.
The definition of her role involves her notions of the functions of
writing and reading.
Sarah Fielding attempts to invite readers to form a sense of ties
by tacit understanding of her messages. As she believes that a work
of literature is produced through collaboration between the writer and
the reader, it is an important task in her view to show her attentiveness
toward reading practice. In her consideration of reading, she has two
distinct, even opposite views of her audience: on the one hand a familiar
and limited circle of readers with shared moral and cultural values and
on the other potential readers among the unknown mass of people. The
dual targets direct her to devise various strategies. She tries to
appeal to those who can endorse and appreciate her moral values as well
as her learning. Her writings and letters testify that she is sensitive
to the demands of the literary market, trying to lead the taste of readers
by inventing new forms.
The thesis opens with an overview of Sarah Fielding's career,
followed by a consideration of her critical attention to the roles of
reading. I go on to examine the narrative structures and strategies
she deploys, with a particular emphasis on her use of the epistolary
method. The following chapter deals with her attention to the reading
of the moral message tangibly embodied in her educational writing. It
is followed by an analysis of the activity which earned her a reputation
as a learned woman. Various as the forms of her works are, they invariably
reflect her attempt to balance herself between the two demands of
inventiveness and familiarity
Adomo's physiognomical image of Mahler: the convergence of music, painting, and language
No full textThis study makes a case for the manifestation of mannerism in the music of Mahler through a close reading of Adomo's monograph on the composer, concurrently supporting the theory that mannerism is a distinct style, not limited to fixed periods, conditions in art, or media. The label 'Mannerism' connotes the style of sixteenth century Italian fine art, circumscribed by various art historians in the twentieth century. This study argues that the style is evident beyond the constraints of the sixteenth century, through the investigation of its manifestations in different artworks, created both in earlier and more contemporary times. The argument is constructed from a detailed comparison of the characteristics of the style in the paintings of sixteenth century Italian artists Arcimboldo and Parmigianino, the early twentieth century music by Schoenberg and Mahler, and Virginia Woolfs last novel. The comparison is facilitated by the utilisation of Barthes's writings on Arcimboldo, John Ashbery's poem about one of Parmigianino's paintings, and, predominantly, Adomo's interpretation of Mahler. The study also addresses issues that concern a comparison between different media, such as the problematical nature of the convergence of the arts. For example, the comparison of linguistic elements in both Arcimboldo's and Mahler's artworks is difficult to conduct without implying that art or music become language; the notion of a painterly language, or a musical language is complex and ambiguous. The study deals with the issue of whether one medium has to be fundamentally similar to another, in order to identify common characteristics between the two. In accordance with Adorno's writings on this paradigm, the conclusion drawn supports the position that the style of mannerism can be identified as manifesting itself in different mediums, without the necessity to scrutinise the fundamental connection between music, painting and literary forms
The television work of Alfred Hitchcock
No full textThe thesis uses close textual analysis to study and evaluate the television work of Alfred Hitchcock. The corpus consists of the twenty shows personally directed by Hitchcock, including his appearances before and after those shows. In response to most previous writing, which tends to compare the programmes with Hitchcock’s films (often unfairly) the thesis emphasises them as products of television. Programmes are evaluated on the basis of their perceived success as television- if they harness conditions related to television production and integrate them with narrative themes or to create meaning. Hitchcock is considered to be the major creative force in each programme.
Chapter One provides a variety of important contexts including a brief history of US television of the 1950s, key literature on Hitchcock and analyses of contemporaneous programmes not directed by Hitchcock. The textual analysis chapters (2-8) consider aesthetic or thematic programme aspects. Chapter Two studies the various roles played by Hitchcock’s appearances as series host. Chapter Three considers the impact of censorship on programmes frequently dealing with murder, violence and insanity. Chapter Four analyses Hitchcock’s implementation of varieties of voice-over narration, a common device in short dramatic forms. Chapter Five studies Hitchcock’s use of point-of-view shots, particularly in relation to their role in the delivery of the narrative twist. Chapter Six considers the key Hitchcock theme of detachment from the world. Chapter Seven looks at moments from the programmes which demonstrate how aesthetic is influenced by television production conditions.
Hitchcock created a number of television masterpieces. His achievements in television are in many ways comparable in quality and consistency to his theatrical films. Even when considered in the context of other 1950s US anthology dramas, the Hitchcock-directed programmes are superior on many levels. Elements of his film style were highly suited to television production. Many of his greatest achievements embrace and harness television production conditions in their presentation strategies to create an integration of style and meaning
The virtual image : Brazilian literature in English translation
No full textThe
aim of this thesis is to
examine
how the virtual
image
of Brazil
and
its literature is
constructed
in the Anglo-American world. To this
end, a survey of
Brazilian literary
works
in English translation was
carried out.
Having
gathered this data, it became
possible to establish
correlations
between the historical
moments when such translations
were made, when their number
increased,
and the events occurring at
those times in the international
panorama, as well as to look into the
role of sponsors, publishers and translators in the
selection and
production of such translations.
The data
also allowed a profile of
Brazilian literary
works
in
English translation to be drawn. It became
possible to suggest that
such works
fall into four
main categories:
`authorial
works',
'topical
works',
`ambassadorial
works'
and `consumer-oriented
works'.
In
order
to look
more closely
into how the translation process
has helped to
shape
the
virtual
image
of Brazilian literary
works
in
the Anglo-American world, an analysis of a sample of
translations
of
such works was made. Included in this
sample were
the translations
of works
by Machado de Asis, by Indianist
and
Regionalist
wirters,
culminating
in
an examination of translations of
GuimarAes Rosa's
works.
Having looked
at these aspects of
the translation
process, what
remained
to be done
was to investigate
to what extent
Brazilian
literary
works
in English translation
are read
by the English-
speaking public.
To this
end, a survey of availability and
library
readership was undertaken. Finally,
a reading experiment was carried
out
in
which native speakers of
English
were asked to read the short
story
'A terceira
margem
do
rio',
by GuimarAes Rosa.
The
conclusion attempts to pull all these threads together and
to indicate directions for further
research
- …
