Anticapitalism and Culture

What does 'anticapitalism' really mean for the politics and culture of the twenty-first century? Anticapitalism is an idea which, despite going global, remains rooted in the local, persisting as a loose collection of grassroots movements and actions. Anticapitalism needs to develop a coherent and cohering philosophy, something which cultural theory and the intellectual legacy of the New Left can help to provide, notably through the work of key radical thinkers, such as Ernesto Laclau, Stuart Hall, Antonio Negri, Gilles Deleuze and Judith Butler. Anticapitalism and Culture argues that there is a strong relationship between the radical tradition of cultural studies and the new political movements which try to resist corporate globalization. Indeed, the two need each other: whilst theory can shape and direct the huge diversity of anticapitalist activism, the energy and sheer political engagement of the anticapitalist movement can breathe new life into cultural studies.Anticapitalism is an idea which, despite going global, remains rooted in the local, persisting as a loose collection of grassroots movements and actions. This work argues that there is a strong relationship between the radical tradition of cultural studies and the new political movements which try to resist corporate globalization. Introduction 1. A political history of cultural studies, part one: The Post-War Years 2. A political history of cultural studies, part two: The Politics of Defeat 3. Another World is Possible: The Anti-Capitalist Movement 4. (Anti)Capitalism and Culture 5. Ideas in Action: Rhizomatics, Radical Democracy, and the Power of the Multitude 6. Mapping the Territory: Prospects for Resistance in the Neoliberal Conjuncture 7. Beyond the Activist Imaginary: Nomadic Strategies for the New Partisans Conclusion - Liberating the Collective Bibliography Inde

Anticapitalism and culture: radical theory and popular politics

What does 'anticapitalism' really mean for the politics and culture of the twenty-first century? Anticapitalism is an idea which, despite going global, remains rooted in the local, persisting as a loose collection of grassroots movements and actions. Anticapitalism needs to develop a coherent and cohering philosophy, something which cultural theory and the intellectual legacy of the New Left can help to provide, notably through the work of key radical thinkers, such as Ernesto Laclau, Stuart Hall, Antonio Negri, Gilles Deleuze and Judith Butler. Anticapitalism and Culture argues that there is a strong relationship between the radical tradition of cultural studies and the new political movements which try to resist corporate globalization. Indeed, the two need each other: whilst theory can shape and direct the huge diversity of anticapitalist activism, the energy and sheer political engagement of the anticapitalist movement can breathe new life into cultural studies. Anticapitalism is an idea which, despite going global, remains rooted in the local, persisting as a loose collection of grassroots movements and actions. This work argues that there is a strong relationship between the radical tradition of cultural studies and the new political movements which try to resist corporate globalization. Contents: Introduction; 1. A political history of cultural studies, part one: The Post-War Years; 2. A political history of cultural studies, part two: The Politics of Defeat; 3. Another World is Possible: The Anti-Capitalist Movement; 4. (Anti)Capitalism and Culture; 5. Ideas in Action: Rhizomatics, Radical Democracy, and the Power of the Multitude; 6. Mapping the Territory: Prospects for Resistance in the Neoliberal Conjuncture; 7. Beyond the Activist Imaginary: Nomadic Strategies for the New Partisans; Conclusion - Liberating the Collective; Bibliography; Index

The role of the Amygdala in the perception of reward

This study set out to examine the role of the amygdala in a number of appetitively motivated tasks. Experiment one was a position discrimination task with reversals, which in later reversals involved manipulation of some secondary reinforcers associated with a correct response, and the introduction of a magnitude of reward component. Rats with NMDA-induced amygdala lesions performed at a similar level to shams at the initial discrimination and first three reversals, proceeding to reverse faster than controls in the subsequent three reversals. Manipulation of secondary reinforcers led to an equal and significant decline in performance for both groups, with the lesioned animals retaining their significant superiority in reversal performance. Alteration of the task from a 2 vs 0 pellet discrimination to a 2 vs 1 led to a drastic increase in task difficulty, but both groups completed three reversals and did not differ significantly in performance. Experience of handling the lesioned animals led to the confirmation, in experiment two, that they were significantly more hostile/reactive to handling than shams (using die "blind" ratings of experienced animal handlers). Experiment three attempted to refine die picture of this behavioural change by measuring gross activity levels - no differences between groups were found. The finding of enhanced reversal performance and the absence of a magnitude of reward deficit amongst lesioned animals in experiment one were unanticipated, problematic and demand replication. No strong support was provided for either of the principal contemporary theories of amygdala involvement in secondary reinforcement. Increased reactivity to handling was found to be consistent with a minority of the past literature, and activity levels were as anticipated. It is argued that the notion of "stimulus-reward associations" as an amygdala function is incoherent and unhelpful, and that references to the functions of the amygdale as a whole rather than of subnuclei can be equally misleading

MS

thesisThis thesis is a summary of work performed by the Utah Traffic Lab (UTL) to design an advanced training program that develops the knowledge, skills, and ability of traffic operators to identify and solve advanced traffic management and operation problems encountered at Traffic Operations Centers (TOC). It supports incident management instruction at the highest level and utilizes the advantages of traffic operators who work 24/7 and continually monitor the traffic network through closed circuit television. The thesis explains who is qualified to receive the advanced training program. The specific curriculum containing courses on advanced traffic operation techniques, geometric design, and traffic flow is proposed. The method to measure performance through assessment and evaluation for the advanced training program is also presented. The advanced training program is an effective method to train operators to identify and solve advanced transportation management and operation problems

Building solidarity without Big Tech? Moving beyond the problems of today’s digital platforms

Today we spend much of our lives on digital platforms. But what has been the impact for political exchange and mobilisation? Algorithms that seek to polarise by amplifying inflammatory rhetoric and extreme views are undermining public debate and consensus-building. In advance of an LSE public event tomorrow (28 March) on “Digital Platforms and the Future of Political Solidarity,” Nick Couldry and Jeremy Gilbert ask: Can we imagine a different model, where digital spaces and media enhance solidarity rather than eroding it

Graphs, Matrices, and the GraphBLAS: Seven Good Reasons

The analysis of graphs has become increasingly important to a wide range of applications. Graph analysis presents a number of unique challenges in the areas of (1) software complexity, (2) data complexity, (3) security, (4) mathematical complexity, (5) theoretical analysis, (6) serial performance, and (7) parallel performance. Implementing graph algorithms using matrix-based approaches provides a number of promising solutions to these challenges. The GraphBLAS standard (istc- bigdata.org/GraphBlas) is being developed to bring the potential of matrix based graph algorithms to the broadest possible audience. The GraphBLAS mathematically defines a core set of matrix-based graph operations that can be used to implement a wide class of graph algorithms in a wide range of programming environments. This paper provides an introduction to the GraphBLAS and describes how the GraphBLAS can be used to address many of the challenges associated with analysis of graphs.Comment: 10 pages; International Conference on Computational Science workshop on the Applications of Matrix Computational Methods in the Analysis of Modern Dat