Search

This article explores the challenges and complexities of representing the Holocaust in film. It discusses the limitations of critically acclaimed films about the Holocaust, arguing that they may not fully capture the horrors of the event. The article focuses on unmade Holocaust films and the difficulties they face in being produced. It also examines the aesthetic and ethical challenges of representing the Holocaust on screen and the debates surrounding the relationship between visual form and content in Holocaust cinema. The text emphasizes the importance of understanding the obstacles faced by filmmakers in depicting this historical event. [Extracted from the article]

Between 1975 and 1977, filmmaker Stanley Kubrick secretly campaigned to overturn the new tax provisions of the Labour government's 1974 Finance Act. His aim was to develop a crisis narrative in which the legislation that affected the amount of earnings foreign residents would pay tax on in the UK was deemed directly responsible for the imminent and absolute collapse of the British film industry. Drawing on archival sources from the Stanley Kubrick Archive, the Harold Wilson papers, and The National Archives, the article reconstructs Kubrick's actions during this period to reveal how he planted stories in the press, lobbied MPs, ministers, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the prime minister, manipulated trade union officials, and secretly wrote press releases and campaign letters under the name of the general secretary of the ACTT, Alan Sapper. The archival case study widens understanding of the narrative of crisis pertaining to the British film industry in the 1970s and how this was exacerbated and exploited by powerful and wealthy individuals like Kubrick for personal gain. The article also contributes to the broader topics of access, power, and privilege in British society and how the rich subvert and undermine democracy, thereby aggravating structural inequalities, inequalities that have only deepened since Kubrick's political interventions and machinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research and development (R&D) in the pharmaceutical sector traditionally operated with in closed, siloed institutional settings, driven by intellectual property rights concerns that viewed data sharing as a threat. However, the evolving scientific landscape demands a more collaborative approach involving external engagement and dynamic partnerships. To address this, a hybrid contractual framework combining smart contracts, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and traditional licensing schemes is introduced. This framework was developed through an experimental pilot platform that adhered to FAIR data principles, allowing participants to store, find, and reuse data related to drug discovery. The platform utilizes blockchain technology to document real-world assets in an immutable digital ledger. Smart contracts and NFTs offer an open and global collaborative platform for advancing drug research assets, overcoming hurdles related to standardization, interoperability, and disclosure. This framework aims to reconcile the conflict between the demand for greater data sharing and the protection of rightsholder interests in pharmaceutical R&D. By providing mechanisms for resolving practical challenges, it facilitates further cooperation and innovation in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the characterization of the geomorphological setting in the hinterland of the archaeological sites of Chimtou and Bordj Hellal located in the central Medjerda Valley, North Tunisia. Our approach integrates the algorithm Geomorphons for semi-automatic landform classification with the soil erosion model Unit Stream Power-based Erosion Deposition (USPED), providing information on the intensity and regional distribution of erosional and depositional processes. Data from geomorphological field mapping provide a database for a ground-truth of the semi-automatic landform classification derived by the algorithm Geomorphons and complemented the database for the creation of a detailed map of the geomorphology in the hinterland of Chimtou. In line with the delineation of the spatial distribution of erosional and depositional processes, the results deepen the understanding of the geomorphology and the sediment routing of this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the unique challenges faced by the 2023 Leaving Certificate cohort in Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) in Ireland due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on the significant impact of the pandemic on students who will be sitting their first-ever state examination at the age of 18. These students, often from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, have had to navigate unprecedented disruptions and adjustments to their education, presenting distinct obstacles to their academic success and overall well-being. Fourteen interviews were carried out, involving guidance counsellors, subject teachers and Principals. A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted and the identified themes that emerged from the analysis include lack of motivation, naivety around the Leaving Certificate Examination, poor well-being and skewed expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We can learn much about the history of Gypsy-Roma in Britain through their song culture. This comparative analysis looks at a range of songs from different tradition-bearers whose words have been recorded from the late nineteenth century into the twenty-first. First the piece examines the shared-song culture of songs from the wider British vernacular. Then, it focuses on some neglected older recorded pieces in Angloromani (to varying degrees) which provide an even more intimate source created by Gypsy-Roma people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jacob Bricca's book, "How Documentaries Work," provides a practical guide to understanding documentary form and is useful for students and filmmakers. Bricca breaks down documentaries into their component parts, using contemporary examples to explain how documentaries rely on conventions to convey meaning and manipulate reality. He argues that in the era of "post-truth," it is important to teach media literacy and provide tools for understanding the persuasive power of documentaries. Betsy McLane's book, "A New History of Documentary Film," offers a comprehensive history of documentary primarily focused on the UK, USA, Russia, and France. McLane builds on the work of scholars like Bill Nichols and Erik Barnouw, tracing the evolution of documentary from its origins to the present day. However, both books have a Western-centric focus, and it is important to include diverse perspectives in the study of documentary filmmaking. [Extracted from the article]

Platformized cultural production is in flux. Artificial intelligence is often seen as a key driving force of this shift. This article examines the proliferation of AI-generated media to introduce a new concept to theorize cultural production: hyperproduction. This notion designates the penetration of cultural life with deep generative models. Juxtaposing two empirical use cases–autonomous vehicles and virtual influencers—the article problematises the convergence of simulation and reality through the lens of video game engines. Although those case studies seem to be at odds with each other, they illustrate the mechanisms of new profit models built on rent extraction. Consequently, far from ushering a Matrix-style simulation that cannot be theorized, hyperproduction remains not only grounded in, but also bounded by, reality: the reality of rentier capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the right-wing tendency to parade the creation of greater protection for free speech as a key basis for revision or repeal of the Human Rights Act. To illustrate that point it takes as a case study the potential change to the balance to be struck between Articles 10 and 8 under the proposed Bill of Rights in the context of the tort of misuse of private information. Given the apparently flagship nature of the provisions aimed at such a re-balancing, and the support it enjoys in particular newspapers, it appears probable that they will re-emerge in some form. The notion that judges have disregarded media freedom and usurped the function of Parliament in creating a European-style privacy law appears to be embedded in right-wing thinking and is therefore unlikely to be discarded. It is a trend that will probably continue, whatever the fate of this particular instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the overlooked history of Sue Lyon and her experiences as a child film star. Lyon was fourteen years old when she was cast in the role of Dolores Haze in Lolita (1962) by James B. Harris and Stanley Kubrick. The article considers how critical feminist archival methods can be used to analyse documents in the Stanley Kubrick Archive (SKA) to uncover the conditions of production in which Lyon found herself. In the few instances that Lyon spoke out in the later stages of her life, she cited her involvement in Lolita as having had a detrimental impact on her mental health. More recently, there have been allegations of a sexual relationship between the film's producer—Harris—and Lyon during the production. The article considers the ways in which a critical feminist approach to the use of the SKA can be used to uncover the experiences of Lyon during the film's production and can reframe understanding of the conditions of production in Hollywood that led to the sexualisation and exploitation of a child star. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mid-2000s Latin America witnessed serious policy discussions regarding the modes, delivery methods and goals of early childhood education and care (ECEC). Mexico implemented programs to provide access to ECEC to working mothers and young families. However, behind policy discourse lie very real security concerns for service users. This has been highlighted by incidents such as the 2009 death of 45 children at a daycare, an event which would severely undermine policy development. Using a governance framework, we argue that security concerns trumped other issues for users, including infrastructure and curriculum, and derailed the implementation of ECEC policies. We use an original database of 2005–2013 news reports on ECEC for two Mexican national newspapers to establish the narrative for that period. We argue that until governance and rule of law concerns are addressed, no amount of discourse and policy design will be able to succeed in this vital area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I Liberal Democracy, Law and the Citizen Speaker i offers a highly charged, politicised plea to resist such regulation on the basis that it will have the greatest restrictive impact on the citizen speaker. The original perception of the internet as an egalitarian, democratic, expression-rich environment free of burdensome regulation and of the dominance of global "traditional" media companies, has given way currently to a focus on the harms its "lawless" nature is deemed to create. Liberal democracy, law and the citizen speaker: regulating online speech: by Ian Cram, London, Hart, 2022, 232 pp., £85 (hbk), ISBN 9781509945825. [Extracted from the article]

This article reports on baseline data gathered as part of an intervention project which aims to enhance academic performance, encourage retention and broaden the educational and career aspirations of senior cycle students in schools which serve socio-economically disadvantaged communities. The experiences and perceptions of 405 students attending 16 DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) schools who are participating in a voluntary after-school tuition programme are reported. Specifically, the article provides a demographic profile of the students in relation to familial education levels and parental occupations; explores whether the students had previously considered leaving school and what specific factors influenced their retention; and reports on the results of two standardised questionnaires, measuring perceived self-efficacy and sense of school belonging. Findings indicate that students reported an overall low level of self-efficacy but a positive sense of belonging in schools, with no differences reported across gender. Differences were observed, however, between those who had considered early school leaving and those who had not, with the former cohort recording lower self-efficacy and sense of belonging scores. This article presents an important, and possibly the first, profile of senior cycle students from DEIS schools who have demonstrated academic resilience in terms of school retention, career ambition, and availing of additional support in their schools through this intervention project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through three archival case studies, this article explores problematic aspects of Stanley Kubrick's relations of production and the power underlying his role as a film producer by the 1960s and 1970s. The case studies explore Kubrick's practices in the casting of women, his attitude toward trade union regulation and labor relations, and his interactions with politicians in the UK in the 1970s in attempting to lobby for more favorable tax conditions. This article makes a critical intervention in Kubrick studies to argue that the use of the Stanley Kubrick Archive is vital for future research to reframe scholarly understanding of Kubrick. The filmmaker instigated a 'myth' about himself that continues to dominate, a self-promotional strategy that has obscured the relations of production on his films. Empirical evidence is required to reveal new perspectives on his attitudes and professional behavior. The article concludes that wider comparative research is imperative in Kubrick studies to ascertain the level of Kubrick's uniqueness or otherwise in these relations of production and to determine whether they are indicative of wider systemic behaviors across the American and British film industries in the twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Zealand freshwater mussels are in decline. To support their restoration, existing methods developed for the laboratory transformation of other mussel species were trialled and adapted to establish a method for the successful in vitro propagation of a New Zealand freshwater mussel species, Echyridella menziesii. This paper provides details of the methods and the requirements for metamorphosis including products and equipment, the selection and collection of quality glochidia, procedures to reduce bacterial and fungal infection, the collection and use of fish plasma and mammalian sera, incubation densities and duration and the transition to water. This is the first documented case of successful in vitro metamorphosis, from glochidia to juvenile, of a native New Zealand freshwater mussel which has implications for the conservation of Australasian species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1970, United Artists (UA) announced that John Boorman was to develop a film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Boorman collaborated on the screenplay adaptation throughout the first half of 1970 with Rospo Pallenberg, as well as hiring a small team of designers and production managers to assist in the development of a provisional budget. However, archival documentation makes it clear that UA never committed to a production of the project, only an exploratory adaptation. This article uses the John Boorman papers, housed in Indiana University's Lilly Library, to demonstrate how Boorman's work on adapting The Lord of the Rings is an instrumental case study on the wider film industrial process of unproduction, in which projects are more typically financed for development rather than production. It concludes that greater archival research is required in order to reframe scholarly understanding of the industrial processes of Hollywood and other film industries in order to raise questions about why so few film projects ever enter active production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the prevalence of dual sensory impairment (DSI), its associated factors and relationship with health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) in residential care facilities (RCF) in Singapore. This was a cross-sectional study of 123 residents aged ≥40 years from six RCFs, conducted between 2016 and 2018. DSI was defined as concomitant presenting visual acuity (better-eye) >0.3 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution and a pure-tone air conduction threshold (better-ear) >40 dB HL in any of the four tested frequencies (500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz). HR-QoL was quantified using the EuroQol five-dimension questionnaire. Multivariable Poisson regression was used to determine the associated factors of DSI. Multivariable linear regression was used to determine the association between DSI and HR-QoL adjusted for traditional confounders. Of the 123 residents (age [mean±standard deviation] 75.3 ± 10.8 years; 56.9% male), 97 (78.9%[95% confidence interval(CI):71.6%, 86.1%]) had DSI, with 110 (98.2%) not on follow-up care for their sensory disabilities. In multivariable models, male gender (prevalence ratio(PR) [95%CI] = 1.3[1.1, 1.6]), older age (per 10-year increase (1.2[1.1, 1.3])), education ≤6 years (1.3[1.1, 1.7]) and the presence of cataract (1.3[1.0, 1.7]) were independently associated with DSI. DSI was independently associated with a substantial worsening in HR-QoL (β = −0.61; 95%CI: −0.76, −0.45; p <.001). DSI affects four in five residential care residents and is substantially associated with reductions in HR-QoL in these residents. Our finding highlights an urgent need for the implementation of routine vision and hearing screening and follow-up care for residents living in these facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Those films directed by Stanley Kubrick have frequently been analysed and interpreted through the perspective of the producer-director's authorial control. However, documents in the Stanley Kubrick Archive can allow for the voices of a myriad of overlooked, forgotten, and even hidden labour to be restored to the history of these films. Focusing on A Clockwork Orange (1971), the article considers how that film was purposely promoted by Kubrick and his publicist at Polaris Productions as having almost been single-handedly produced and created by Kubrick. The article challenges and deconstructs this self-promotion myth of Kubrick's control by critically reading against the grain of archival documents such a progress reports, unit memos, and correspondence in order to uncover the extent to which other media labourers around the world were involved in, and continue to be involved in, the film's production, distribution, exhibition, and marketing. In taking this approach, the article aims to work towards a greater understanding of production hierarchies on A Clockwork Orange, to question the way in which archives of canonical film directors are used by researchers, and to examine how archives contextualise or even marginalise the voices of below-the-line media labourers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the UK, the film was shown in cinemas for over a year until Kubrick withdrew the film on account of alleged personal threats to the safety of his family. Indeed, correspondence and publicity strategy documents indicate how Kubrick and Warner Bros. did not originally perceive the adverse media reaction to the film as being unwelcome, but rather anticipated that it would drive up audience interest in the film and, as a consequence, box-office receipts. Utilising a range of archival sources from the SKA, Perko argues that Kubrick and Warner Bros. were complicit, and potentially even exacerbated or encouraged, media overreaction to the film, which focused on "copycat crimes" and the apparent ways in which I A Clockwork Orange i was leading to gangs of youth imitating its scenes of violence. [Extracted from the article]

The celebration of sport is positive, so long as such celebration does not happen in a vacuum, because sport has excluded as many as it has included. These are both ambitious statements that speak to the ways in which sport is entwined with Australia's cultural narrative as well as our propensity to place our sporting heroines and heroes on a pedestal - they are "no ordinary player!" Nestled behind Gate 3 of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and stretching into the bowels of the iconic sports stadium sits the recently redeveloped - and renamed - Australian Sports Museum. Particularly in a country like Australia where sport has had and continues to have such a significant role in shaping our cultural identity. [Extracted from the article]

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a steady stream of propositions from tech giants and start-ups alike has furnished us with the idea that GPS- or Bluetooth-enabled contact tracing apps are a vital part of the pandemic response. This commentary considers these apps as 'corporate contact tracing', emphasizing the private-sector role that such developments imply. We first discuss corporate contact tracing's potential to de-center the power of public health authorities. Then, using the frames of surveillance capitalism and disaster capitalism, we suggest how corporate contact tracing might feed the rise of corporate power in the public sphere. We question its capacity to address structural inequalities and to foster a social justice vision of public health. And, we wonder whether corporate contact tracing might intensify the effects of discriminatory design and algorithmic oppression. We conclude by calling for a discussion of this technology beyond questions of privacy and efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research from the fields of science representation, genre pedagogy and disciplinary literacy for adolescents indicates that achievement for students, including those from linguistically diverse backgrounds, will improve if they engage with the meaning-making conventions of disciplinary texts, but there is no current agreement on the nature of teaching practices for supporting such work. This paper reports on the pedagogical changes that occurred when a high-school biology teacher was supported to develop knowledge about systemic functional linguistics and to use genre pedagogy. The case study of one biology teacher discussed here demonstrates that student participation in dialogue about the language patterns of scientific texts improves when the teacher uses genre pedagogy during text deconstruction. Student involvement in dialogue about content area language increases when the teacher focuses on specific parts of texts, prepares students for what to look for within texts, and elaborates on student input. Preparation included converting language to everyday meanings, while elaboration involved recasting to academic language, as well as prompting to reword and expand meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a case study of the formation and growth of the Sheffield International Documentary Festival (SIDF)--later renamed Sheffield Doc/Fest--in the 1990s. It uses archival sources to understand a crucial question: why was the festival located in a post-industrial city like Sheffield? By the end of the 1980s, the city was undergoing economic transformation, from 'steel city' to 'post-steel city', in the process suffering an identity crisis given its decades of dependence on its former steel industry. With a focus on the motivations of the political, industrial, cultural, and academic stakeholders that were central to the festival's formation and growth, the article demonstrates how an exploration of festival formation in a post-industrial city, using a political economic approach, can allow for a fuller understanding of the formation, growth, and maintenance of festivals in a post-industrial context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: This exploratory qualitative research was conducted to understand the quality of life (QoL) impacts of adult uveitis to develop a uveitis QoL item bank, and we present here the results of qualitative analysis of uveitis patient experience. METHODS: A qualitative approach with phenomenological study design was employed to explore the common QoL domains in uveitis. Data were collected using focus groups and face-to-face interviews. The sessions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically. NViVo software was used to perform qualitative analysis. RESULTS: Eight focus groups and 10 interviews were conducted with 41 patients with uveitis. Seven QoL domains were identified, namely symptoms, emotional, activity limitation, health concerns, convenience, social, and economic impact. Although these QoL domains have been previously identified in other eye diseases, the sub-themes within each QoL domain were unique to uveitis. Participants described a variety of symptoms including increased light sensitivity, blurred vision, pain, redness, and tearing. Participants repeatedly described feeling frustrated due to prognostic uncertainty and associated discomfort. Participants were concerned about the frequent relapses of inflammation, as well as side-effects from long-term systemic medications. Uveitis affected their ability to perform daily tasks such as using computers, driving, and reading books. Direct financial impacts included reduced work hours and the costs of treatment and specialist care. CONCLUSION: Participants with uveitis experience many symptoms in addition to medication-related inconveniences and activity limitations. The QoL issues identified will be used to develop a uveitis-specific QoL item bank. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines a Pre-K–first grade full-time synchronous remote track in a Jewish day school. In the fall of 2020, Hassenfeld (Fifth Author) remotely taught biblical literature to Pre-K–first grade students. Through our analysis of two months of classroom transcripts, we sought to understand, first, the nature of student-to-student text discussion on Zoom, and, second, whether students were able to use one another as a resource during this isolating time. We found that students were able to form a unique intellectual and social community in this virtual learning space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses the various topics within the issue, including Moorish rulership, Berber society, and archaeology.

Optimization is seemingly everywhere and yet elusive. Our bodies, tools, and institutions are now understood as endlessly optimizable. But what does optimization mean? Or more crucially, what does it do? Who or what is optimized or dis-optimized? This themed issue introduces optimization as a critical concept to analyze the governance and governmentality of large technological infrastructures, platforms, and self-management apps. We define optimization as a form of calculative decision-making embedded in legitimating institutions and media that seek to actualize optimal social and technical practices in real time. Our Introduction outlines the techniques, legitimations, and social practices of optimization that have spread in many forms across the globe. By questioning optimization, our Introduction considers the social practices, geopolitical networks, and forms of organization (and violence) shored up by the desire for optimum performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new public enterprise We use the term "new public enterprise" (NPE) to depict this changed relationship between the public and private sectors (Fenwick & Johnston, [1]). In our studies of the local public sector and our discussions with local leaders, we have found the traditional hierarchy of "public" versus "private" to be outmoded. Remunicipalization - a core component of the NPE - can be seen in collaborations that work to benefit and build local community prosperity. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: To examine the association between vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) and depressive symptoms in residents with vision impairment (VI) in aged care facilities. Methods: In this cross-sectional study using baseline data from a cluster-randomized controlled trial (ACTRN12615000587505) assessing the effectiveness of a novel eye care model, 186 English-speaking residents (mean age 84 years, SD[standard deviation] = 8.7; 33.9% male) with VI and moderate cognitive functioning or better were recruited from 38 facilities across Victoria, Australia. VRQoL was measured using Rasch-transformed scores from the 'Reading'; 'Mobility', and 'Emotional' scales of the Impact of Vision Impairment for Residential Care (IVI-RC) questionnaire. Outcomes were presence of depressive symptoms (binary score: Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia [CSDD] > 0 vs. CSDD = 0) and severity of depressive symptoms (continuous CSDD score; sample range 1-21). Independent associations with presence and severity of depressive symptoms were examined using zero-inflated logistic and linear multivariable models, respectively. Results: Of the 186 participants, n = 79 (42.5%), n = 94 (50.5%) and n = 13 (7%) reported no, mild (scores 1-7), and clinically significant depressive symptoms (score ≥8), respectively. Better vision-related Mobility (OR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.95, p = 0.02) was associated with reduced odds of depressive symptoms. With every unit improvement in vision-related Reading (β=-0.48; 95% CI: -0.94, -0.01, p = 0.04) and Emotional (β=-0.56; 95% CI: -1.09, -0.02, p = 0.04), severity of depressive symptoms reduced, independent of sociodemographic and medical issues. Conclusion: Better VRQoL was independently associated with reduced depressive symptoms. Supporting older people in aged care to maintain optimal levels of vision-specific functioning, independence, and emotional well-being may protect their mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop multi-compartment mechanistic models of dynamics of stem and functional cell populations in epithelium after irradiation. Methods and materials: We present two models, with three (3C) and four (4C) compartments respectively. We use delay differential equations, and include accelerated proliferation, loss of division asymmetry, progressive death of abortive stem cells, and turnover of functional cells. The models are used to fit experimental data on the variations of the number of cells in mice mucosa after irradiation with 13 Gy and 20 Gy. Akaike information criteria (AIC) was used to evaluate the performance of each model. Both 3C and 4C models provide good fits to experimental data for 13 Gy. Fits for 20 Gy are slightly poorer and may be affected by larger uncertainties and fluctuations of experimental data. Best fits are obtained by imposing constraints on the fitting parameters, so to have values that are within experimental ranges. There is some degeneration in the fits, as different sets of parameters provide similarly good fits. The models provide good fits to experimental data. Mechanistic approaches like this can facilitate the development of mucositis response models to nonstandard schedules/treatment combinations not covered by datasets to which phenomenological models have been fitted. Studying the dynamics of cell populations in multifraction treatments, and finding links with induced toxicity, is the next step of this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research to date has criticised the policy on education that evolved under a federal Labor government during the period 2007–2013. These analyses suggest that a global neoliberal agenda dominates, with the effect of constructing limited and damaging concepts of equity and social justice. The research presented here offers an alternative perspective. Rather than presenting global ideas as all pervasive in local contexts, this work indicates that alternative discourses to those of neoliberalism can be included during local policy creation. Critical discourse analysis of the texts related to the education policy created in 2008 reveals a number of discourses about schooling, standards, equity and social justice that go beyond neoliberalism. Broadening the existing interpretations of Labor's education policy of 2008 provides opportunities for researchers within the sociology of education and social justice to make constructive connections with policy in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the initial experience of directly-elected mayors in the new combined authorities established in England. Do they have an innovative strategic leadership role for sub-national areas and provide a vehicle for effective public engagement, representing a new start for the hitherto faltering progress of the elected mayoral initiative? Alternatively, are the combined authority mayors just another policy failure in the uneven process of local government reform? Central government has created the office of directly-elected mayor and local government has to live with the consequences for good or ill. This paper deals with the role of directly-elected mayors for the combined authorities, raising questions about the effective leadership of sub-national areas of England. The new mayors may require a 'boldness' to work across the boundaries of bureaucratic organizations and to engage with external partners and they enjoy some limited additional resources. Central government explicitly expects the combined authority mayor to exercise their greater powers more efficiently than traditional council leaders. Yet such mayors may lack public endorsement or any degree of active public interest and may ultimately reflect government obsession with structures rather than human agency in reforming local governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We are developing item banks assessing the impact of retinal and vitreoretinal diseases (excluding age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinal detachment, covered elsewhere) on quality of life (QoL) for adults. This study outlines the first two phases of the multi-stage process: content development and item evaluation. Methods: We grouped retinal and vitreoretinal diseases into hereditary and acquired. Development of the item banks involved two phases: item identification and item evaluation. The items were extracted from three sources: (1) 17 pre-existing PRO instruments, (2) 4 qualitative studies and (3) 79 semi-structured interviews. Item evaluation involved three stages namely, binning (grouping) and winnowing (reduction), expert panel opinion and cognitive interviews. Results: The item identification phase yielded 1,217 items. After three sessions of binning and winnowing, items were reduced to a minimally representative set (n = 411) across nine QoL domains namely, activity limitation, emotional, social, health concerns, symptoms, economic, mobility, convenience, and coping. The hereditary group had a total of 345 items and the acquired group had a total of 257 items. After 23 cognitive interviews items were amended for hereditary diseases resulting in a final set of 345 items and 3 items were amended for acquired diseases, resulting in a final set of 254 items. Overall across nine domains 189 items were common to hereditary and acquired retinal and vitreoretinal diseases. Conclusion: As most of the items were unique to hereditary versus acquired retinal and vitreoretinal disease groups separate item banks are required to capture the QoL impacts for hereditary and acquired retinal and vitreoretinal diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory study examines how three types of fit (technical, cultural, and political) between an evidence-based practice and adopting organization explain fidelity in terms of quantity and quality of core components implemented. Using data from 20 supportive housing programs, fidelity was calculated using a quantitative scale and fit was coded using qualitative program director interviews. Relationships between fidelity and fit were tested with Fisher's exact tests. Cultural fit predicted both high quality and quantity fidelity, and technical fit predicted high-quality fidelity. Interviews provided qualitative examples of how fit influenced implementation. Study results provide preliminary support for the relationship between practice-organization fit and fidelity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coombe Boys' School in New Malden worked with Kingston University to establish a 'Big Read', a scheme of pre-arrival shared-reading for boys transitioning from local primary schools into year 7 of the Coombe Boys' secondary school. A novel was chosen for shared-reading, and all arriving pupils were given a copy at their Induction Day (at the end of the summer term). Copies were also made available to all staff. The book was the basis of group-based activities during the school's Summer School (three weeks before of the start of the autumn term) and of cross-curricular individual and group-based activities during the early teaching weeks of the new school year. Outcomes were monitored using online surveys of pupils, staff and parents/guardians, and through face to face interviews with individuals from representative groups. Here outcomes are reported, both direct and indirect, comparisons made with similar schemes within higher education, and recommendations are made for how the scheme might be adapted for greater effectiveness in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three sewn boats surveyed in 1838 are used to evaluate traditional Goan sewn craft. Types additional to those recorded in the 19th century were located during fieldwork. The West Coast provided an abundance of raw materials exported to countries which lacked them; unknown is the extent of the export of local expertise. A consistency of sewing methods, materials, waterproofing, and antifouling are evidence for an indigenous boatbuilding tradition. In Goan pirogues the weight of the crew and nets is carried at the level of the sheer‐strake seam. In prehistory large pirogues of Goan type could have made long‐distance voyages using an outrigger to confer stability. To date archaeological evidence is lacking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) comprises a cluster of risk factors that includes central obesity, dyslipidemia, impaired glucose homeostasis and hypertension. Individuals with MetS have elevated risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease; thus placing significant burdens on social and healthcare systems. Lifestyle interventions (comprised of diet, exercise or a combination of both) are routinely recommended as the first line of treatment for MetS. Only a proportion of people respond, and it has been assumed that psychological and social aspects primarily account for these differences. However, the etiology of MetS is multifactorial and stems, in part, on a person's genetic make-up. Numerous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with the various components of MetS, and several of these SNPs have been shown to modify a person's response to lifestyle interventions. Consequently, genetic variants can influence the extent to which a person responds to changes in diet and/or exercise. The goal of this review is to highlight SNPs reported to influence the magnitude of change in body weight, dyslipidemia, glucose homeostasis and blood pressure during lifestyle interventions aimed at improving MetS components. Knowledge regarding these genetic variants and their ability to modulate a person's response will provide additional context for improving the effectiveness of personalized lifestyle interventions that aim to reduce the risks associated with MetS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although being the second most common sight-threatening retinal vascular disease after diabetic retinopathy, the patient-centred impact of retinal vein occlusion has not been well studied. This study aims to understand the quality of life issues in people with retinal vein occlusion using a qualitative methodology.Methods: In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 patients with retinal vein occlusion. All the interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. An inductive analytic approach based on the constant comparative method was used for coding, aggregation, and theme development. The qualitative analysis was done using the software NVivo.Results: Participants had a median age of 73 years (range 34-85 years; females, 71 per cent). Six quality of life themes were identified: concerns about the disease progression and treatment outcome (health concerns), emotional responses to the disease (emotional), experiencing a range of symptoms (symptoms), inability to do things as before (activity limitation), adapting to the visual loss (coping), and inconveniences due to the eye condition (convenience). Participants often felt that lasers and injections did not improve their vision. They feared that their eye condition may come back, or the other eye may be affected. They experienced a range of visual symptoms that affected their day-to-day performance, particularly reading small print, and driving at night. Having multiple treatments and frequent eye appointments were major sources of inconvenience. Patients adopted several coping strategies to manage the stress associated with visual loss.Conclusions: This study shows that several aspects of quality of life are compromised in people with retinal vein occlusion. The findings of this study will be used to identify the item content for a vitreoretinal disease-specific quality of life item bank. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although interprofessional literature increasingly emphasizes collaboration in delivery of integrated health-care services, practitioners' views on service implementation are less known. This study explored provider perspectives on collaboration in two Los Angeles County health-care initiatives based on the chronic care model: one focused on provider collaboration, the other on service access and organization-level collaboration in designated neighborhoods. De-identified transcripts were analyzed from a public health-care forum featuring professionals (five social workers, a psychologist, an educator, and a paraprofessional health promotor) purposively selected from the initiatives. Core themes pertained to benefits, challenges, training needs, and potential social work roles in these integrated health-care settings. Results offer recommendations for high-quality collaborative health-care service provision and development of social work curricula and workforce training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper focuses on the Interface Message Processor (IMP), an important device in the history of ARPANET. Designed as the interface between ARPANET nodes and the common carrier telephone system, the IMP actualized the ARPANET as an experimental packet-switching communication system. We conceptualize the IMP as historical boundary object that exposes ARPANET's close relationship to the telephone system. Our analysis offers a novel history of ARPANET as a repurposing of the existing telephone infrastructure. Beyond the historical contribution, this approach has wider implications for the theory of media infrastructures, specifically the "inter-structuralism" of ARPANET and the nature of borders between seemingly disparate social, political, and technological regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As access to the Internet has become increasingly essential for social and economic participation, public domain Internet measurements have become indispensable for users to validate quality of service their network operator delivers and for policymakers to identify and address gaps in broadband infrastructure. This article evaluates public domain Internet performance measurements available for assessing the state of connectivity and developing universal access service quality standards in Canada. The analysis suggests that different approaches to Internet measurement represent complementary windows into a complex and fast evolving reality of broadband connectivity. Despite their potential shortcomings, large-scale crowdsourced open data network testing platforms have a central role to play in enabling broadband infrastructure policy coordination across different levels of government, empowerment of consumers, and achievement of universal service objectives for quality of service users experience when accessing the open Internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This systematic review explores changes in perinatal empathy and influence on maternal behaviours and child development. Background: The well-being and development of infants are commonly linked to their mothers' capacity for empathy. However, characteristic changes during pregnancy and childbirth including sleep deprivation, mood and cognitive difficulties may disrupt empathic processing. Methods: Original research papers (n = 7413) published in English language peer-reviewed academic journals were obtained by searching four electronic databases PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus and CINAHL. Inclusion criteria were studies reporting empathy of women in the period from pregnancy to 12 months postpartum. Empathy was operationalised as a general tendency of empathic emotional responding and cognitive perspective taking. Thirteen studies were systematically assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme criteria. Results: Impaired empathy in mothers, due most notably to high personal distress, was associated with risk of neglect or maltreatment of children and was partially explained by mothers' aversive response to infant crying. Conclusion: Few studies present empathy as a central theme. There is a paucity of definitional parameters and theoretical linkages and over-reliance on brief self-report indices of empathy. Future studies need to be theory based, incorporate experimental approaches, and provide greater sampling diversity toadvance our understanding of empathy in perinatal women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specimens of a terrestrial planarian found in Cornwall, UK in 2013 and 2016 are of Artioposthia exulans (Dendy, 1901), a species previously recorded only from Chatham Island and North Island, New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, based upon the closing plenarydelivered to the recent conference of Professional Practice, Education and Learning, reflects upon the developments of the ProPEL network over the past seven years and its possibilities for future directions. To provide some context for these reflections, the article begins by outlining key challenges facing contemporary professions and their education. Against these, I consider themes and emphases that have characterised ProPEL initiatives and the papers presented to its conferences. Then, I compare these to the sorts of questions and issues that appear to be most urgently debated in other scholarly communities concerned with changing professional work and knowledge, particularly the dramatic transformations of professional roles through new digital technologies and artificial intelligence, transnational demands and new organisational forms.The article ends with questions for educators researching professional practice: where we need more focus, where perhaps we need less, and what may be productive ways forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with current moves toward sub-national devolution in England and the prospects for a federal government system within the United Kingdom as a whole. The initial focus of the paper is upon the contested nature and governance of regions in England. Current steps toward devolution to such regions are considered through a critical lens, before moving to a wider discussion of the theory and practice of federalism and of whether England could be part of a federal system of UK government. It is concluded that the devolution agenda may proceed in a more serious and consistent manner than at present but there are severe barriers to federalism, including major constitutional constraints, the lack of a written constitution, significant asymmetry between different nations of the UK, the lack of clarity about the definition of sub-national English regions and the lack of political will. These all render a true UK federal state impossible to envisage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These online studies tested whether combining education about the Not Criminally Responsible on account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD) defense with education about mental disorders might encourage jurors to use it in a suitable case. In Study 1, Canadian jury eligible community members (N= 370) were provided with mental disorder (vs. irrelevant) education, and NCRMD (vs. irrelevant) education, then read a fabricated NCRMD trial stimulus in which the defendant's mental disorder varied (schizophrenia, substance use disorder, depression). Results showed that in the trial involving depression, for the group who received mental disorder education, NCRMD education increased the likelihood of a guilty verdict. In Study 2 (N= 407)—which featured a different case—again, NCRMD education combined with mental disorder education increased likelihood of a guilty verdict in the depression condition. These studies show that mental disorder education is a potentially useful tool, but can backfire in some contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research on now indistinct ship graffiti in the Third Temple at Hal Tarxien led to discovery of a full-size record made 50 years ago. Correspondence elucidates contemporary interpretation of the context. Colonization of the island from Sicily c.5000 BC probably involved large flotation devices similar to those identified on the lowest tier of graffiti. A Neolithic date for some of the images finds support with the identification of a raft supporting the cult statue located in the same part of the temple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented to this special section which contains articles arising from the May 2016 international conference entitled "Stanley Kubrick: A Retrospective" held at De Montfort University, Leicester, England.