155 research outputs found

    Fantasising the self: a study of Alasdair Gray's 'Lanark', '1982 Janine', 'Something Leather' and 'Poor Things'

    No full text
    This thesis explores the use of fantasy in Alasdair Gray's major fictions: Lanark (1981), 1982 Janine (1984), Something Leather (1990) and Poor Things (1992). The main purpose is to study the way Alasdair Gray borrows elements from different forms of fantasy - magical realism, pornography, the Gothic and science fiction - in order to explore and resolve the internal conflicts of his characters. In the introduction current definitions of fantasy are surveyed. Also explored is the concept of magical realism, as one of the objectives of the thesis is to demonstrate that some of Gray's work, particularly Lanark, presents some of the characteristics of this branch of Postmodernism. The first chapter concerns Lanark. The juxtaposition of fantasy and realism is explored in order to show the fragmentation of the self represented by the figure of Thaw/Lanark. Also paradoxes and contradictions at the heart of this work are investigated from the point of view of form and content. Of particular importance is the conflict between the individual and society. In the chapter dealing with 1982 Janine, the concept of deidealisation is introduced to show how Jock deals with the figures in his past, Scotland and himself Jock's personal conflicts and damaged psyche are explored through his pornographic fantasies. In chapter III Something Leather is compared to works by Sade, particularly their use of sadomasochistic and homosexual fantasies as a form of social subversion. Chapter IV discusses Poor Things from the point of view of how characteristics typical of the Gothic novel are parodied to explore gender issues such as the construction of female identity by a male Other. Parallelisms between this novel and Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children and John Fowles' A Maggot are also explored. In the conclusion the main concerns and obsessions of Gray's fiction are explored through a discussion of his shorter fiction

    Erratum to: Assessing brain immune activation in psychiatric disorders:clinical and preclinical PET imaging studies of the 18-kDa translocator protein (vol 3, pg 449, 2015)

    No full text
    The article “Assessing brain immune activation in psychiatric disorders: clinical and preclinical PET imaging studies of the 18-kDa translocator protein”, written by Thalia F. van der Doef, Janine Doorduin, Bart N. M. van Berckel, and Simon Cervenka, was originally published Online First without open access. After publication in volume 3, issue 6, pages 449–460, the author decided to opt for Open Choice and to make the article an open access publication. Therefore, the copyright of the article has been changed t

    Variation within genes encoding interleukin-1 and the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist influence the severity of meningococcal disease

    No full text
    BACKGROUND: Genetically determined variation in proinflammatory cytokine release influences severity of meningococcal disease and other serious infections.OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the relative frequencies of single nucleotide polymorphisms within the interleukin-1 gene locus among patients who survived and those who died of meningococcal disease and a control population of blood donors.DESIGN: Association study.SETTING: England and Wales.PATIENTS: 1106 consecutively received blood samples from persons with microbiologically confirmed meningococcal disease and 839 samples from blood donors.MEASUREMENTS: Patient demographic and outcome data, infecting meningococcal serogroups, and genotype at the IL1B(-511) and IL1RN(+2018) loci of patients and blood donor controls.RESULTS: Genotype frequency did not differ between patients with meningococcal disease and blood donor controls. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the likelihood of death was significantly influenced by age but not socioeconomic status and was higher in patients who were infected with serogroup C (odds ratio for survival, 0.50 [95% CI, 0.33 to 0.78]). Patients carrying the common allele at IL1B(-511) were more likely to survive (odds ratio, 2.01 [CI, 1.11 to 3.79]). Patients with this allele were less likely to survive if they also carried the rare allele at IL1RN(+2018) (odds ratio, 0.61 [CI, 0.38 to 0.993]).CONCLUSION: Genotype at the interleukin-1 gene locus influences likelihood of survival of meningococcal disease but has no effect on susceptibility to the infection. Increasing age and infection with serogroup C also influence the likelihood of death.</p

    Author response

    No full text
    The molecular pathways underlying tumor suppression are incompletely understood. Here, we identify cooperative non-cell-autonomous functions of a single gene that together provide a novel mechanism of tumor suppression in basal keratinocytes of zebrafish embryos. A loss-of-function mutation in atp1b1a, encoding the beta subunit of a Na,K-ATPase pump, causes edema and epidermal malignancy. Strikingly, basal cell carcinogenesis only occurs when Atp1b1a function is compromised in both the overlying periderm (resulting in compromised epithelial polarity and adhesiveness) and in kidney and heart (resulting in hypotonic stress). Blockade of the ensuing PI3K-AKT-mTORC1-NFκB-MMP9 pathway activation in basal cells, as well as systemic isotonicity, prevents malignant transformation. Our results identify hypotonic stress as a (previously unrecognized) contributor to tumor development and establish a novel paradigm of tumor suppression

    Avenues of honour in Victoria

    No full text
    Deposited with permission of the author. © 1987 Janine HaddowThe cultural landscape of Australia has received less attention than the natural landscape and it is also poses some difficult assessment and evaluation problems for the Australian Heritage Commission. It is my intention to document and analyse the Avenues of Honour of World War One and Two as examples of a form of landscape modification which was embraced by many communities throughout Australia, especially in Victoria. Section 2 establishes that 'landscape' is much more than scenery and ecology and that people are central to an understanding of the landscape. The methodologies of J.B. Jackson, W. Hoskins, D. Meinig, M. Samuels and D. Cosgrove are discussed and critically evaluated in terms of their contribution to an understanding of the cultural landscape and of their relevance to an appreciation of Avenues of Honour. Section 3 is a detailed documentation of Avenues of Honour. Using the documentation and the case studies of Ballarat and Mt Macedon the distribution patterns of Avenues of Honour are analysed. The diffusion theories of cultural geographers and the work of Australian historical geographers form the basis of the analysis. Section 4 discusses and establishes the significance of Avenues of Honour as examples of Australian cultural landscapes. To do this a type profile is developed and it becomes the basis for the comparison and assessment of empirical reality. The type profile is developed by applying Weber's theory of the 'ideal type' and refining it through an iterative process using the Delphi technique. The final section raises some of the unanswered question in this thesis and makes recommendations for future directions in researching Avenues of Honour

    The Parade of Identity: M. E. Braddon, The Travelling Circus Performer and the (Re)Construction of Self

    No full text
    According to modern social psychology, the construction of identity occurs on three distinct levels: individual, relational and collective (Vignoles, Schwartz and Luyckx 3). Previously, psychologists argued that the three levels were self contained concepts and processes: individual identity is based on self-definition and self-agency and thus varies for each person; relational identity is based on interpersonal space within the family or the roles that one plays within a larger system; and collective identity is based on relationships within a group or social categories to which one belongs (3-4). The Handbook of Identity Theory and Research (2011) challenges this prevalent theory though by contending that the ‘multiple aspects of identity ... intersect and interact with each other’ (4); the concept of identity construction is mutable and, thus, the three levels influence each other. In this article, I apply this interconnected identity theory to the travelling circus troupe, M. E. Braddon’s depiction of circus performers in her short story ‘One Fatal Moment’ (1889) and to Braddon’s own multiple actress, author, editor, wife and mother identities. This interpretation reveals that travel and identity theory are inextricably linked for the touring circus performer, the actor and the writer. Furthermore, because the circus troupe crosses the country beginning their act on the streets (continuing it within the circus ring), the performance deconstructs the boundary between reality and façade, not only with reference to the performer’s own identity construction, but, as an extension, to the audience and the reader’s as well

    The Parade of Identity: M. E. Braddon, The Travelling Circus Performer and the (Re)Construction of Self

    No full text
    According to modern social psychology, the construction of identity occurs on three distinct levels: individual, relational and collective (Vignoles, Schwartz and Luyckx 3). Previously, psychologists argued that the three levels were self contained concepts and processes: individual identity is based on self-definition and self-agency and thus varies for each person; relational identity is based on interpersonal space within the family or the roles that one plays within a larger system; and collective identity is based on relationships within a group or social categories to which one belongs (3-4). The Handbook of Identity Theory and Research (2011) challenges this prevalent theory though by contending that the ‘multiple aspects of identity ... intersect and interact with each other’ (4); the concept of identity construction is mutable and, thus, the three levels influence each other. In this article, I apply this interconnected identity theory to the travelling circus troupe, M. E. Braddon’s depiction of circus performers in her short story ‘One Fatal Moment’ (1889) and to Braddon’s own multiple actress, author, editor, wife and mother identities. This interpretation reveals that travel and identity theory are inextricably linked for the touring circus performer, the actor and the writer. Furthermore, because the circus troupe crosses the country beginning their act on the streets (continuing it within the circus ring), the performance deconstructs the boundary between reality and façade, not only with reference to the performer’s own identity construction, but, as an extension, to the audience and the reader’s as well

    Sustaining organisational change: Teacher education in the Solomon Islands.

    No full text
    "Sustainability is the capacity of education reform initiatives to continue" (Webster, Silova, Moyer, & McAllister, 2011, para. 12). In this article we reflect upon the process of organisational strengthening that was a key component of the Partnership between the Faculty of Education at the University of Waikato and the School of Education, Solomon Islands College of Higher Education. We argue that within the New Zealand Aid Programmei funded partnership, the building of mutually respectful relationships, building leadership capacity and the respect for and inclusion of indigenous cultural considerations were key to the organisational change process and its sustainability

    Retraining displaced workers : what can developing countries learn from OECD nations?

    No full text
    The governments of most industrial countries provide financial support for adult training programs intended to retrain displaced workers. The author draws lessons from the experience of six industrial countries (Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan, Sweden, and the United States) on how to design and implement such retraining programs in low-income developing nations and middle-income countries. By retraining, the author means both improving job skills and remediating deficiencies in basic education. These are the lessons he emphasizes: Training programs should be independent of the educational system, with its rigid ties to degree requirements and academic schedules; links to employers must be developed and maintained so that trainees have marketable skills on completing the program. Training programs should be designed to minimize trainees'foregone earnings; basic education should be relevant to the jobs the trainees might seek. External providers of education must be made accountable - but with care; the system of accountability should also ensure that the needs of displaced workers most likely to suffer long-term unemployment are met. Not all displaced workers require relatively expansive retraining; some may need only inexpensive job-search assistance services. A permanent, institutionalized training system is preferable to short-term intervention.Labor Standards,Tertiary Education,ICT Policy and Strategies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Teaching and Learning

    JACUSA2 - use cases: 1 - 3

    No full text
    Supplementary data for use cases presented in: RNA modification mapping with JACUSA2 Michael Piechotta, Qi Wang, Janine Altmüller, Christoph Dieterich doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.02.450888 Use case 1: m6A mapping by MazF MazF_vs_cond2_FTO_rtarrest_plain_result.out.gz (JACUSA2 output) Cutoff01_MazF_vs_cond2_FTO_rtarrest_plain_result.out.gz (filtered by pvalue <=0.1) Use case 2: DART-seq APOBEC1YTH_APOBEC1YTHmut_call2_result.out.gz (JACUSA2 output) Use case 3: Nanopore WT_vs_KO_call2_result.out.gz (JACUSA2 output) WT_vs_realIVT_v202_call2_result.out.gz (JACUSA2 output) [1] Zhang, Z., Chen, L.-Q., Zhao, Y.-L., Yang, C.-G., Roundtree, I.A., Zhang, Z., Ren, J., Xie, W., He, C., Luo, G.-Z.: Single-base mapping of m6a by an antibody-independent method. Science advances 5, 0250 (2019). doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax0250 [2] Garcia-Campos, M.A., Edelheit, S., Toth, U., Safra, M., Shachar, R., Viukov, S., Winkler, R., Nir, R., Lasman, L., Brandis, A., Hanna, J.H., Rossmanith, W., Schwartz, S.: Deciphering the ”m6a code” via antibody-independent quantitative profiling. Cell 178, 731–74716 (2019). doi:10.1016/j.cell.2019.06.013 [3] Meyer, K.D.: Dart-seq: an antibody-free method for global m6a detection. Nature methods 16, 1275–1280 (2019). doi:10.1038/s41592-019- 0570-0 [4] Pratanwanich, P.N., Yao, F., Chen, Y., Koh, C.W.Q., Hendra, C., Poon, P., Goh, Y.T., Yap, P.M.L., Yuan, C.J., Chng, 6 made available under aCC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.02.450888; this version posted July 4, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint W.J., Ng, S., Thiery, A., Goh, W.S.S., G¨oke, J.: Detection of differential rna modifications from direct rna sequencing of human cell lines. bioRxiv (2020). doi:10.1101/2020.06.18.160010. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/06/20/2020.06.18.160010.full.pd
    corecore