Individual differences in visual acuity and face matching ability

The visual acuity of the eyes varies outside the range of normal vision, requiring corrective lenses, but also within the normal range. This study investigated whether both types of variation relate to individual differences in face‐identity matching, considering this applied task requires perception of detail. Across two experiments, face‐matching accuracy correlated with variation in acuity when this fell outside the normal range of vision and was uncorrected with glasses or contact lenses. In contrast, variation in visual acuity within the normal range did not affect face‐matching accuracy, whereas matching accuracy at a given level of acuity could vary substantially. These results indicate that visual acuity is only a problem for occupations performing face‐identity matching when below‐normal acuity is not diagnosed or adequately corrected. In turn, these findings suggest that variation in acuity within the normal range is not a contributing factor to individual differences in face matching accuracy

The Photography of Decolonization / The Decolonization of Photography: an image from the Algerian War of Independence

In May 1961, an anonymous French photojournalist took a picture for Agence France Presse depicting a group of pro-independence fighters released from an internment camp near Sétif in Algeria. In the image, several of these men look back to the camera holding framed portraits of the French president, Charles De Gaulle. In the following analysis, I explore how this photograph dramatizes a deeply ambiguous historical moment. In May 1961, the Algerian War was in the balance. On the one hand, De Gaulle was beginning negotiations with pro-independence leaders in an attempt to end the war. On the other, the dissident paramilitary wing of the French army – L’Organisation de l’armée secrète - had recently launched operations in Algeria and mainland France aimed at undermining De Gaulle’s overtures for peace and preserving l’Algérie française at any cost. As a result, this photograph dramatizes the visual rhetoric of the official presidential portrait at a moment in which the person of the president and the system of imperial governance he embodied were most under threat. In this photograph, both the meaning of De Gaulle and French imperial power are in suspension. Building on visual culture theorist Nicholas Mirzoeff’s formulations of “visuality” and “countervisuality,” I explore how this photograph recontextualizes the visual rhetoric of the presidential portrait. By returning the presidential gaze back to the camera and the viewer, I argue, this photograph simultaneously reaffirms and destabilizes the semiotics of state power, offering competing visions of an Algerian future. I conclude by exploring how, even as this image renders state power ambiguous, it also records a particular moment of performed solidarity that challenges political sovereignty (either French or Algerian) outright - an instance of what Mirzoeff calls “the right to look.

Gaullism and the liberal challenge - How parties change their programmes: The case of the Rassemblement pour la Republique, 1978-1986.

During the first half of the 1980s, the Gaullist Rassemblement pour la Republique (RPR) abandoned the state interventionism which had been its traditional economic policy, while it was the dominant party in French politics during the 1960s, in favour of a liberalism which stressed individual responsibility and the free play of market forces. This thesis attempts both to describe what happened and to discuss the implications of such a dramatic reversal for theories of party behaviour. The first three chapters are introductory; the first summarizes contemporary explanations of party behaviour, the second is a detailed exposition of the programmatic changes which took place between 1978 and 1986, and the third recounts the political contexts in which the Gaullists acted from 1969 onwards. Each of the next three chapters examines a single possible explanation of programme change. These are respectively organizational changes, generational or sociological changes, and an explanation based on the competition for votes. While each of these throws some light on what happened in the RPR, it is argued that they are not enough to account for the denial of previous party orthodoxy. The party's ideological development is more readily explained by long-run changes in the climate of ideas in society generally, described in chapters 7 and 8, the source of a synthesis which could articulate the interests of an alliance of technocrats and the party's business friends who, as we show in chapters 9 and 10, exerted considerable influence on the drafting of new party programmes. Chapter 11 is devoted to an attempt to give a balanced interpretation of the different variables already mentioned

Time Pressure and Human-Computer Interaction in Face Matching

Research has consistently demonstrated that the matching of unfamiliar faces is remarkably error-prone. This raises concerns surrounding the reliability of this task in operational settings, such as passport control, to verify a person's identity. A large proportion of the research investigating face matching has done so whilst employing highly optimised same-day face photographs. Conversely, such ideal conditions are unlikely to arise in realistic contexts, thus making it difficult to estimate accuracy in these settings from current research. To attempt to address this limitation, the experiments in this thesis aimed to explore performance in forensic face matching under a range of conditions that were intended to more closely approximate those at passport control. This was achieved by developing a new test of face matching - the Kent Face Matching Test (KFMT) - in which to-be-matched stimuli were photographed months apart (Chapter 2). The more challenging conditions provided by the KFMT were then utilised throughout the subsequent experiments reported, to investigate the impact of time pressure on task performance (Chapter 3), as well as the reliability of human-computer interaction at passport control (Chapter 4). The results of these experiments indicate that person identification at passport control is substantially more challenging than is currently estimated by studies that employ highly optimised face-pair stimuli. This was particularly evident on identity mismatch trials, for which accuracy deteriorated consistently within sessions, due to a match response bias that emerged over time (Chapters 2 & 3). These results are discussed within the context of passport control, and suggestions are provided for future research to further reveal why errors might arise in this task

Who wants to be a surgeon? A study of 300 first year medical students

BACKGROUND: While medicine in general is becoming more female-dominated, women are still under-represented in surgery. Opinion is divided as to whether this is due to lifestyle considerations, disinterest or perceived discrimination. It is not clear at what stage these careers decisions are made. METHODS: 300 first year medical students at Guy's King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine (GKT) were asked their view on possible career choices at this stage. RESULTS: While men represented only 38% of the student population, they represented over two-thirds of the students wishing to pursue a career in surgery. Women still opt for general practice and paediatrics. CONCLUSION: Surgery is a disproportionately unpopular career choice of the female first-year medical students of GKT compared to the male students. It appears that the choice is freely made and, at this stage at least, does not represent concerns about compatibility with lifestyle

Letter to Andrew Inglis Clark, 16 Oct 1907 from P.O. Fysh

Letter to Andrew Inglis Clark,16 Oct 1907 from P.O. Fysh. Deals with books. C4/C8

Matching faces against the clock

This study examined the effect of time pressure on face matching accuracy. Across two experiments, observers decided whether pairs of faces depict one person or different people. Time pressure was exerted via two additional displays, which were constantly updated to inform observers on whether they were on track to meet or miss a time target. In this paradigm, faces were matched under increasing or decreasing (Experiment 1) and constant time pressure (Experiment 2), which varied from ten to two seconds. In both experiments, time pressure reduced accuracy, but the point at which this declined varied from eight to two seconds. A separate match response bias was found, which developed over the course of the experiments. These results indicate that both time pressure and the repetitive nature of face matching are detrimental to performance

Letter to Andrew Inglis Clark, 3 May 1890 from P.O. Fysh

Letter to Andrew Inglis Clark, 3 May 1890 from P.O. Fysh. Clark is empowered by the Governor to treat with the Tasmanian Main Line Railway for purchase of its property

Kinematics and neuromuscular recruitment during vertical treadmill exercise

The vertical treadmill (VertiRun) is an unresearched, partial weight-bearing exercise mode for lower limb rehabilitation. The user undertakes a “running-like” action whilst body weight is supported by a bench and the limb is drawn downwards against overhanging resistance cables on a vertically hung nonmotorised treadmill. This study sought to describe the kinematics and neuromuscular recruitment during VertiRun exercise in the supine, 40°, and 70° postures. Twenty-one healthy male participants (age, 25±7 years; stature, 1.79±0.07 m; body mass, 77.7±8.8 kg) volunteered for sagittal plane kinematic analysis of the ankle, knee and hip and electromyography of lower limb musculature in all three postures. Results indicated similar kinematic and neuromuscular profiles in the 40° and 70° postures which differed from the supine. Regardless of posture, a basic movement pattern was observed where the hamstrings and gastrocnemius muscles were active to extend the hip, flex the knee, plantarflex the ankle and draw the leg down the treadmill belt in the contact phase. The rectus femoris and tibialis anterior were active to flex the hip and knee, and dorsiflex the ankle to draw the leg upwards during the swing phase. The vasti muscles were not active during VertiRun exercise. The VertiRun demonstrated similar kinematic and neuro-muscular patterns to overground gait, allows workload progression based on effort and posture changes, and is a low-impact exercise mode that could maintain physical fitness without loading injured tissues. This study suggests that the VertiRun could supplement rehabilitation programmes for lower-limb injuries

Two letters to Andrew Inglis Clark, 3 May 1890 and 16 Oct 1907 and an undated telegram from P.O. Fysh

Two letters to Andrew Inglis Clark, 3 May 1890 and 16 Oct 1907 and an undated telegram from P.O. Fysh. In the first Clark is empowered by the Governor to treat with the Tasmanian Main Line Railway for purchase of its property, the second deals with books. C4/C80-8