Francis Bacon and the practice of painting

This article addresses the question about why painting continues to be relevant in our contemporary cultural climate. A key reason can be located in the means by which the material of paint can be utilized, manipulated, and perceived through entire sensory and bodily mechanisms. As the practice of Francis Bacon (1909–1992) demonstrates, it is within the elusive behaviour and handling of pigment that the full transformative potential of painting can be released. In fact it can activate a whole field of sensory responses on the part of painter and viewer. The painter can manipulate the material to achieve a variety of effects but needs also to acknowledge how the material can potentially assume an independent life of its own, an almost unruly character. The strength and enduring quality of painting which links modern to postmodern practice, lies in its potential to utilise the painter's tacit skills as well as releasing the inherent and ‘unruly’ qualities of the pigment. The potential of painting practice lies within the orbit of the individual painter who can recognize implicitly how to let the paint ‘work’ according to the needs of the image being constructed

Relationship between physical capacity and match performance in semiprofessional Australian rules football

This study investigated the relationship between physical performance and match performance in Australian Rules Football (ARF). Thirty-six semiprofessional ARF players participated in this study. Physical capacity was measured using a 3-km time trial. Match performance was measured throughout the 2013 season through 2 methods: direct game involvements (DGIs) per minute and a recording of coaches\u27 vote after the game. The main finding of the study was that 3-km time trial performance was a significant predictor of DGI per minute (p ≤ 0.05). In addition, the number of senior games played was also significant in predicting DGI per minute (p ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, the number of senior games significantly correlated with coaches\u27 votes (p ≤ 0.05). There were no significant relationships between 3-km time trial and coaches\u27 vote. The results highlight the importance of developing physical capacity in the preseason period; the players who were better performers in the 3-km time trial had a greater number of DGIs per minute. This information is important to consider in preseason planning to ensure sufficient time is dedicated to developing physical capacity in the training program, as it is directly associated with performance. In addition, this research also highlights the importance of playing experience in relation to team selection. Playing experience, as measured by the number of senior games played, had a significant relationship with both measures of match performance

An investigation of the effect of exercised arm, training status, and racial background on changes in markers of muscle damage following maximal eccentric exercise of the elbow flexors

Despite the substantial body of research accumulated on exercise-induced muscle damage, there remain several areas that warrant further investigation. Study groups comprised of individuals from differing racial background and /or training status have the potential to influence the intra-group variability in damage markers following eccentric exercise. In addition, if a contralateral arm model is employed, intra- and inter-group variation could be influenced by the formation of groups based on limb dominance and /or the order in which the arms are exercised. Currently there is a dearth of research addressing these factors, however, these types of studies are important as they can shed light on methods to increase statistical sensitivity by minimizing group variability

Effects of Chemical Feedbacks on Decadal Methane Emissions Estimates

The coupled chemistry of methane, carbon monoxide (CO), and hydroxyl radical (OH) can modulate methane's 9‐year lifetime. This is often ignored in methane flux inversions, and the impacts of neglecting interactive chemistry have not been quantified. Using a coupled‐chemistry box model, we show that neglecting the effect of methane source perturbation on [OH] can lead to a 25% bias in estimating abrupt changes in methane sources after only 10 years. Further, large CO emissions, such as from biomass burning, can increase methane concentrations by extending the methane lifetime through impacts on [OH]. Finally, we quantify the biases of including (or excluding) coupled chemistry in the context of recent methane and CO trends. Decreasing CO concentrations, beginning in the 2000's, have notable impacts on methane flux inversions. Given these nonnegligible errors, decadal methane emissions inversions should incorporate chemical feedbacks for more robust methane trend analyses and source attributions

University students are buying assignments – what could, or should, be done about it?

‘Contract cheating’, whereby students pay companies to complete assignments on their behalf, threatens to seriously undermine higher education standards. Philip M. Newton and Michael J. Draper consider what might be done to tackle this issue, including the Quality Assurance Agency’s suggestion of deploying the UK Fraud Act (2006). While questions remains as to whether the Fraud Act is likely to prove effective in prosecuting companies that offer contract cheating services, it may be that other legal approaches can be adopted. Additionally, more robust assessment designs and university regulations, together with renewed programmes of stakeholder education, can mitigate the threats posed by contract cheating

Self-organization of hydrophobic soil and granular surfaces

Soil can become extremely water repellent following forest fires or oil spillages, thus preventing penetration of water and increasing runoff and soil erosion. Here the authors show that evaporation of a droplet from the surface of a hydrophobic granular material can be an active process, lifting, self-coating, and selectively concentrating small solid grains. Droplet evaporation leads to the formation of temporary liquid marbles and, as droplet volume reduces, particles of different wettabilities compete for water-air interfacial surface area. This can result in a sorting effect with self-organization of a mixed hydrophobic-hydrophilic aggregate into a hydrophobic shell surrounding a hydrophilic core

Critical conditions for the wetting of soils

The wettability of soil is of great importance for plants and soil biota and in determining whether flooding and soil erosion will occur. The analysis used in common measurements of soil hydrophobicity makes the assumption that water always enters soils if the average contact angle between the soil and water is 90 degrees or lower; these tests have been used for decades. The authors show theoretically and experimentally that water cannot enter many soils unless the contact angle is considerably lower than this, down to approximately 50 degrees. This difference generates serious errors in determining and modeling soil wetting behavior

Does a Lack of Choice Lead to Lower Quality?: Evidence from Auditor Competition and Client Restatements

We examine the relationship between auditor competition and the likelihood of financial restatements that occur as a result of failures in the application of GAAP. Policy makers and audit market participants have expressed concern that the current level of auditor competition is low, resulting in a negative impact on audit quality. However, we find that restatements are more likely to occur in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) that have higher auditor competition. The association between audit market competition and restatements is statistically and economically significant. Our finding that audit quality is higher when auditor competition is lower suggests that at least some of the concerns about concentrated audit markets may be unfounded