Fashionable connections: Alicia LeFanu and writing from the edge

This article focuses upon Alicia LeFanu (fl. 1809–36), author of several poems, six multi-volume novels, a critical biography of her grandmother, Frances Sheridan, and articles for the Court Magazine. Descended from an eminent literary family, and since misremembered as a mere ‘petticoat novelist’, LeFanu complicates ideas of the centre and the periphery in her writing. I explore how this interest is figured in LeFanu's use of the chapter epigraph, developing work I have undertaken as editor of LeFanu's early novel, Strathallan (1816). LeFanu's epigraphs persist across her fiction as a dimension in which she not only reflects upon literary legacies, but also contests the boundaries of her own print culture. Through its consideration of LeFanu, as author and reader, the article further reflects upon the significance of her example for a broader understanding of other women writers at the edges and borders of Romanticism, and of their literary networks

A semidiscrete version of the Citti-Petitot-Sarti model as a plausible model for anthropomorphic image reconstruction and pattern recognition

In his beautiful book [66], Jean Petitot proposes a sub-Riemannian model for the primary visual cortex of mammals. This model is neurophysiologically justified. Further developments of this theory lead to efficient algorithms for image reconstruction, based upon the consideration of an associated hypoelliptic diffusion. The sub-Riemannian model of Petitot and Citti-Sarti (or certain of its improvements) is a left-invariant structure over the group $SE(2)$ of rototranslations of the plane. Here, we propose a semi-discrete version of this theory, leading to a left-invariant structure over the group $SE(2,N)$, restricting to a finite number of rotations. This apparently very simple group is in fact quite atypical: it is maximally almost periodic, which leads to much simpler harmonic analysis compared to $SE(2).$ Based upon this semi-discrete model, we improve on previous image-reconstruction algorithms and we develop a pattern-recognition theory that leads also to very efficient algorithms in practice.Comment: 123 pages, revised versio

Paediatric neuropsychological assessment: an analysis of parents' perspectives

Purpose: Modern healthcare services are commonly based on shared models of care, in which a strong emphasis is placed upon the views of those in receipt of services. The purpose of this paper is to examine the parents' experiences of their child's neuropsychological assessment. Design/methodology/approach: This was a mixed-methodology study employing both quantitative and qualitative measures. Findings: The questionnaire measure indicated a high overall level of satisfaction. Qualitative analysis of parental interviews provided a richer insight into the parental experience and indicated four major themes. Practical implications: Implications covered three major areas. Firstly, whilst a high value was placed upon the assessment, the need for further comprehensive neurorehabilitation and intervention was highlighted. Secondly, this study highlights the significant adversity experienced by such families and subsequent unmet psychological needs which also require consideration. Finally, findings from the current study could assist in improving future measures of satisfaction in similar services. Originality/value: This is the first published study of parental experiences of and satisfaction with paediatric neuropsychological assessment in the UK. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Remote and rural palliative care

As this chapter explores the role of the rural nurse in the provision of palliative care, it is worthwhile to spend a little time explaining the role and context of rural nursing practice, and how the context of practice impacts upon the scope of services that rural nurses can access to meet the needs of the terminally ill client. Following this, the chapter will focus on accessibility and delivery of palliative care services from the clients' and rural nurses' perspectives. The chapter will conclude that, for palliation to be successful in rural areas, more attention has to be paid to the skilling of rural nurses. Further, the very diversity of rural communities means that, for a rural palliative care service to be successful, this diversity must be recognised and taken into consideration in planning service delivery

Theory for Nonlinear Spectroscopy of Vibrational Polaritons

Molecular polaritons have gained considerable attention due to their potential to control nanoscale molecular processes by harnessing electromagnetic coherence. Although recent experiments with liquid-phase vibrational polaritons have shown great promise for exploiting these effects, significant challenges remain in interpreting their spectroscopic signatures. In this letter, we develop a quantum-mechanical theory of pump-probe spectroscopy for this class of polaritons based on the quantum Langevin equations and the input-output theory. Comparison with recent experimental data shows good agreement upon consideration of the various vibrational anharmonicities that modulate the signals. Finally, a simple and intuitive interpretation of the data based on an effective mode-coupling theory is provided. Our work provides a solid theoretical framework to elucidate nonlinear optical properties of molecular polaritons as well as to analyze further multidimensional spectroscopy experiments on these systems

Teaching for Effective Learning in Interpreter Education

This article is based on the keynote presentation given at the convention of the Conference of Interpreter Trainers in Charlotte, North Carolina, in October 2012. It draws upon key principles for consideration in educating the next generation of interpreting students in further and higher education

Sound clocks and sonic relativity

Sound propagation within certain non-relativistic condensed matter models obeys a relativistic wave equation despite such systems admitting entirely non-relativistic descriptions. A natural question that arises upon consideration of this is, "do devices exist that will experience the relativity in these systems?" We describe a thought experiment in which 'acoustic observers' possess devices called sound clocks that can be connected to form chains. Careful investigation shows that appropriately constructed chains of stationary and moving sound clocks are perceived by observers on the other chain as undergoing the relativistic phenomena of length contraction and time dilation by the Lorentz factor, with c the speed of sound. Sound clocks within moving chains actually tick less frequently than stationary ones and must be separated by a shorter distance than when stationary to satisfy simultaneity conditions. Stationary sound clocks appear to be length contracted and time dilated to moving observers due to their misunderstanding of their own state of motion with respect to the laboratory. Observers restricted to using sound clocks describe a universe kinematically consistent with the theory of special relativity, despite the preferred frame of their universe in the laboratory. Such devices show promise in further probing analogue relativity models, for example in investigating phenomena that require careful consideration of the proper time elapsed for observers.Comment: (v2) consistent with published version; (v1) 15 pages, 9 figure

The forgotten first: John MacCormick's 'Dùn-Àluinn'

The first Gaelic novel, John MacCormick's Dùn-Àluinn, no an t-Oighre 'na Dhìobarach, was serialised in the People's Journal in 1910 before being published in its entirety in 1912. Within a year of the publication of Dùn-Àluinn as a novel the second Gaelic novel, Angus Robertson's An t-Ogha Mòr, appeared in print, underlining the renaissance which Gaelic literature was experiencing. Both novels, while remarked upon by contemporaries and by general studies of Gaelic literature, have been all but ignored to date, with no criticism or analysis of either having been published. The main aim of this article is to offer some general comments about MacCormick's Dùn-Àluinn and thus to open up both the novel and indeed other early twentieth-century Gaelic writers and their work to further scrutiny. Consideration will be given to the author himself, the contemporary Gaelic literary scene and finally some of the more interesting aspects of the novel itself