Healthy debate: medical discourses in the early novel

In the light of different views about how the early novel was distinct as a literary form, this thesis draws on those ideas that emphasise the novel’s capacity to formulate and address issues of major concern to a broad section of eighteenth-century society. Modern experience was shaped by new epistemological and socio-ethical codes, removed from traditional values and assumptions which, as a cultural instrument, the novel was designed to mediate. This thesis focuses on the novel of mid-century when, in Michael McKeon’s view, the novel first became a distinct genre, and displayed a conspicuous adaptability in tackling its explicatory and interpretative role. To the reader, the novel opened up a spectrum of (fictional) experiential possibilities. These were delivered through formal realist strategies in a literary form that was askance to established modes of cultural expression such as romance. Furthermore, formal realist strategies reflected empiricist tenets, or the gaining of knowledge through experience rather than by referral to perceived authorities, such as Church or State. One theme which recurs as a prominent area of concern is that of medical theory and practice. This thesis demonstrates how the early novel form explicated and engaged with topical medical discourses by virtue of its emergent literary qualities. These qualities include innovative narrative techniques, the portrayal of multiple perspectives, and characterisation; those attributes that strive to construct verisimilitude. Via this engagement, medical discourses served as a powerful tool to illustrate and participate in wider debates of philosophical, cultural and social significance during the period. Adopting the methodology of the case study, three contrasting representatives of the early novel are analysed with reference to three important medical debates of mid-century. The novels are The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759-1767) by Laurence Sterne; The Adventures of Roderick Random (1748) by Tobias Smollett and The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom (1753) also by Smollett. The debates are respectively man-midwifery and conception theories; naval medicine, and the professionalisation of medicine. Furthermore, I argue that together the case studies provide new evidence to substantiate a broader claim. They confirm John Bender’s evaluation of the eighteenth-century novel as an Enlightenment ‘knowledge system’

An eighth-century inscribed cross-slab in Dull, Perthshire

The discovery of a cross-inscribed slab with an inscription is described. Because of its importance it was decided to invite specialist comment on this piece of sculpture and to publish it in advance of the full report on the excavations. The form of the monument, its inscription and archaeological context are considered. The text appears to consist of a Gaelic personal name. The script is a form of geometrical lettering which can be dated to the opening quarter of the eighth century. The form of the cross has Columban associations which sit well with place-name and other evidence which points to Dull having been a monastery founded from Iona by c. AD 700

Structure of vortices in rotating Bose-Einstein condensates

We calculate the structure of individual vortices in rotating Bose-Einstein condensates in a transverse harmonic trap. Making a Wigner-Seitz approximation for the unit cell of the vortex lattice, we derive the Gross-Pitaevskii equation for the condensate wave function in each cell of the lattice, including effects of varying coarse grained density. We calculate the Abrikosov parameter, the fractional core area, and the energy of individual cells.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, published versio

Evaluation of the Sustainability of an Intervention to Increase HIV Testing

BACKGROUND Sustainability—the routinization and institutionalization of processes that improve the quality of healthcare—is difficult to achieve and not often studied. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the sustainability of increased rates of HIV testing after implementation of a multi-component intervention in two Veterans Health Administration healthcare systems. DESIGN Quasi-experimental implementation study in which the effect of transferring responsibility to conduct the provider education component of the intervention from research to operational staff was assessed. PATIENTS Persons receiving healthcare between 2005 and 2006 (intervention year) and 2006 and 2007 (sustainability year). MEASUREMENTS Monthly HIV testing rate, stratified by frequency of clinic visits RESULTS The monthly adjusted testing rate increased from 2% at baseline to 6% at the end intervention year and then declined reaching 4% at the end of the sustainability year. However, the stratified, visit-specific testing rate for persons newly exposed to the intervention (i.e., having their first through third visits during the study period) increased throughout the intervention and sustainability years. Increases in the proportion of visits by patients who remained untested despite multiple, prior exposures to the intervention accounted for the aggregate attenuation of testing during the sustainability year. Overall, the percentage of patients who received an HIV test in the sustainability year was 11.6%, in the intervention year 11.1%, and in the pre-intervention year 5.0% CONCLUSIONS Provider education combined with informatics and organizational support had a sustainable effect on HIV testing rates. The effect was most pronounced during patients' early contacts with the healthcare system.Health Services Research & Development Service (SDP 06–001