Dalit writing in the 21st century: activism and literary aesthetics in contemporary India

This thesis is an exploration of the relationship between Dalit activism and literature through an analysis of literature published in the 21st century. I argue that contemporary literature has a fundamentally different relationship with the activist project than that of forty years ago. Since the inception of the Dalit Panthers in the early 1970s, Dalit literature has been inextricably tied to the activist project, with many Dalit activists using literature as an extension of their activism. In this thesis, I argue that this close relationship has changed as we have entered the 21st century. I argue that although contemporary Dalit literature often reflects the concerns of political and social activists, contemporary writers are becoming ever more concerned with literary experimentation and innovation. This focus on literary style and form comes at a moment when writers are beginning to represent Dalit communities in a more positive light, rather than focusing on the pain and degradation of Dalit lives. This combination has created a different kind of Dalit literature that is radically different from its predecessors. I explore what kind of relationship this literature has with the contemporary activist and political world, whilst also exploring how Dalit art and culture has the potential to inspire a new generation of Dalits and give them a feeling of self-respect. This thesis also explores how Dalits turn to other religions in a bid to reject the dogma of Hinduism which sees them as untouchable, as well as analysing the use of Dalit gods within contemporary Dalit literature. This research offers a radically different perspective of Dalit literature that does not position it as a sociological account of Dalit life. Instead, this thesis views Dalit literature as art in its own right that is infused with the creative energy of Dalit communities. This creativity, in the form of Dalit literature, points towards a positive route towards self-respect for Dalits that does not need to rely on the narratives of suffering upon which Dalit literature was founded

Results from an online survey of adults with cystic fibrosis: Accessing and using life expectancy information

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the one of the most common inherited diseases. It affects around 10,000 people in the UK, and the median survival age is 47. Recent developments making use of longitudinal patient registry data are producing more detailed and relevant information about predicted life expectancy in CF based on current age and clinical measurements. The objective of this study was to conduct an online survey of adults with CF living in the UK using a web-based questionnaire to investigate: (i) if and how they access information on life expectancy; (ii) what they use it for; (iii) if they want more personalised information on life expectancy or the time until other milestones. The survey was advertised through the Cystic Fibrosis Trust using social media. There were 85 respondents, covering men (39%) and women (61%) aged 16–65. 75% had received information on life expectancy either from their CF care team (34%) or other sources (71%), the most common being the Cystic Fibrosis Trust website and research literature. Most people who received information found it to be beneficial and reported using it in a variety of ways, including to plan strategies for maintaining as best health as possible and to psychologically manage current health status. 82% of respondents were interested in more personalised information about their life expectancy, and participants also noted interest in other outcomes, including time to needing transplant or reaching a low level of lung function. Themes arising in text responses included the importance of good communication of information, the difficulty of relating general information to one’s own circumstances, and a desire for increased information on factors that impact on survival in CF. As an outcome from this work, research is underway to establish how information on life expectancy can be presented to people with CF in an accessible way

Investigating the effects of long-term dornase alfa use on lung function using registry data.

BACKGROUND: Dornase alfa (DNase) is one of the commonest cystic fibrosis (CF) treatments and is often used for many years. However, studies have not evaluated the effectiveness of its long-term use. We aimed to use UK CF Registry data to investigate the effects of one-, two-, three-, four- and five-years of DNase use on lung function to see if the benefits of short-term treatment use are sustained long term. METHODS: We analysed data from 4,198 people in the UK CF Registry from 2007 to 2015 using g-estimation. By controlling for time-dependent confounding we estimated the effects of long-term DNase use on percent predicted FEV1 (ppFEV1) and investigated whether the effect differed by ppFEV1 at treatment initiation or by age. RESULTS: Considering the population as a whole, there was no significant effect of one-year's use of DNase; change in ppFEV1 over one year was -0.1% in the treated compared to the untreated (p = 0.51) and this did not change with long-term use. However, treatment was estimated to be more beneficial in people with lower lung function (p  70%

Manageable creativity

This article notes a perception in mainstream management theory and practice that creativity has shifted from being disruptive or destructive to 'manageable'. This concept of manageable creativity in business is reflected in a similar rhetoric in cultural policy, especially towards the creative industries. The article argues that the idea of 'manageable creativity' can be traced back to a 'heroic' and a 'structural' model of creativity. It is argued that the 'heroic' model of creativity is being subsumed within a 'structural' model which emphasises the systems and infrastructure around individual creativity rather than focusing on raw talent and pure content. Yet this structured approach carries problems of its own, in particular a tendency to overlook the unpredictability of creative processes, people and products. Ironically, it may be that some confusion in our policies towards creativity is inevitable, reflecting the paradoxes and transitions which characterise the creative process