ETHICS AND POLITICS IN NEW EXTREME FILMS

PhD thesisThis thesis investigates a corpus of controversial, mainly European films from 1998 to 2013, to determine which features have led to their critical description as ‘new extreme’ films and according to what ethical framework ‘new extreme’ films operate. These films feature provocative depictions of sex and violence, and have been decried as misogynistic, homophobic and racist. I contend, firstly, that the extremity in ‘new extreme’ films is best understood as an unresolved tension between opposites such as inside/outside and convention/transgression. This definition draws on work on the ‘extreme’ by sociologist Patrick Baudry and art historian Paul Ardenne. Secondly, I argue that these films employ an ethical framework based on confrontational aesthetic strategies which challenge dominant interpretations of images of sex and violence, a framework similar to the image-based ethics of Kaja Silverman, Petra Kuppers and Wendy Kozol. In this way, ‘new extreme’ films destabilise interpretations of images of women, pornography, nationhood, sex, violence, race and sexuality. This thesis contends that a definition of extremity based on unresolved tensions elucidates the specificity of ‘new extreme’ films whose opposites manifest themselves on formal, aesthetic, narrative, generic and political levels. I argue that these opposites can be linked to an image- based ethical framework, both of which are best understood by examining what is visible or obscured, how close to or distanced from the images we feel and for how long we endure the images. Exploring visibility and obscurity (Krzywinska, White), haptics and sensation (Beugnet, Marks), and ‘processive’ duration (Keeling), I contend that particular strategies of visibility, proximity and duration provoke visceral reactions of disgust, arousal, nausea and shock. Using shocking visibility and undecipherable obscurity, haptic close-ups and distanced long shots, rapid editing and extended takes, new extreme films undermine stable viewing positions thereby challenging our interpretations of images of sex and violence

Analysis of Work-related Injury and Illness, 2001 to 2014. Sectoral Analysis No. 3: Industry Sector. ESRI and Health and Safety Authority, April 2018

The following analysis draws on the CSO’s Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) to explore workrelated injuries and illnesses in the industry sector (see Box 1 for details on data sources and measures). The results are based on workers’ self-reports of work-related illness and injury. All injuries and illnesses are included, regardless of whether or not they resulted in an absence from work as many people continue to work while sick or injured. Findings across the economy as a whole are explored in Russell et al. (2015 and 2016).i This research briefing provides a within-sector picture of the industry sector over the period 2001–2014. This sector consists of manufacturing, utilities and mining

Analysis of Work-related Injury and Illness, 2001 to 2014. Sectoral Analysis No. 2: Construction Sector. ESRI and Health and Safety Authority, April 2018

The following analysis draws on the Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) to explore work-related accidents and illnesses in the construction sector (see Box 1 for details on data sources and measures). The results are based on workers’ self-reports of work-related illness and injury. All injuries and illnesses are included, regardless of whether or not they resulted in an absence from work, as many people continue to work while sick or injured. Findings across the economy as a whole are explored in Russell et al. (2015 and 2016).i This research briefing provides a within-sector picture of the construction sector over the period 2001–2014

The contribution of rural institutions to rural development: Study of smallholder farmer groups and NGOs in Uganda

This paper presents results from a quantitative analysis of the contribution of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and smallholder farmer groups as sample rural institutions in addressing four main rural developmental objectives via improving health, education, agriculture and industry. The study involved 87 respondents from 40 organizations including19 NGOs and 21 smallholder farmer groups from central region of Uganda. Data from questionnaires, focus group discussions, interviews, key informants and literature reviews were used in the study. The results suggest that improving health, hence rural development is strongly related to investing in increased awareness and access and sharing of healthcare information, effective health policy formulation and effective delivery of health service. However, and seemingly surprisingly health financing subsidies is found to impact rural development through its negative effect on health improvement. On achieving rural prosperity through better education, this study suggests that the larger the operational reach of the organisations involved as well as spending on R&D are not positive contributors and therefore hurt rural development objective. On the other hand, the larger the personnel number of the rural organisations are, utilization of information technology, more financing and appropriate public education policy are consistent with a priori expectation to improve education and rural development. To increase agricultural contribution to achieving rural prosperity, agricultural resource availability and the larger the geographic operational reach of the rural organisations are found to have strong positive effects. Basic training, access to information and research and extension services and access to factors of production are found to be inimical to agricultural improvement. Appropriate rural policies are found to support rural industry but the larger the operational reach of the organisation are not favourable to rural industrial improvement

Analysis of Work-related Injury and Illness, 2001 to 2014. Sectoral Analysis No. 4: Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Sector. ESRI and Health and Safety Authority, April 2018

The following analysis draws on the CSO’s Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) to explore workrelated accidents and illnesses in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector (see Box 1 for details on data sources and measures). The results are based on workers’ self-reports of work-related illness and injury. All injuries and illnesses are included, regardless of whether or not they resulted in an absence from work, as many people continue to work while sick or injured. Findings across the economy as a whole are explored in Russell et al. (2015 and 2016). This research briefing provides a within-sector picture of the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector over the period 2001–2014

Analysis of Work-related Injury and Illness, 2001 to 2014. Sectoral Analysis No. 5: Transport Sector. ESRI and Health and Safety Authority, April 2018

The following analysis draws on the Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) to explore work-related accidents and illnesses in the transport and storage sector over the period 2001 to 2014 (see Box 1 for details on data source and measures). The results are based on workers’ self-reports of work-related illness and injury. All injuries and illnesses are included, up to those requiring lengthy work absences, and regardless of whether or not there was no absence or only a short absence from work, as many people continue to work while sick or injured. Findings across the economy as a whole are explored in Russell et al. (2015 and 2016). This research briefing provides a within-sector picture of the transport and storage sector over the period 2001–2014

A pilot study from The Gambia to improve access to water, energy, and mobile phones

Across Sub-Saharan Africa many communities lack reliable access to mains electricity, and therefore depend upon unconventional power sources to recharge their mobile phones. Many of these informal recharging centres are powered by a diesel generator or solar panel. Furthermore, many of these same communities are frequently served by broken water pumps. Previous reports indicate that many individuals are prepared to pay a small regular fee to recharge their mobile phone, whilst their local water point committee lacks sufficient funds to keep their water infrastructure maintained. This paper presents a novel funding strategy aimed at helping communities cover the maintenance costs of their local water supply. This premise was demonstrated using a pilot system in Gambia which combined a solar powered community water point with an off-grid smart battery rental hub for everyday electricity needs such as mobile phone charging. The paper presents preliminary field data from this site and explores the wider context surrounding the pilot system

BRIDGING THE KNOWLEDGE GAP: TOWARDS A COMPREHENSIVE MHEALTH TRAINING FRAMEWORK

Mobile health (mHealth) solutions can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare services delivered by Primary Healthcare (PHC) workers in rural communities in developing countries. However, a host of barriers can hinder the success of new mHealth implementations including low technology literacy levels and failure to communicate the benefits of the solution for all stakeholders. This paper argues that effective training of end users and all stakeholders can remove the barriers which stem from these issues, thereby improving the likelihood of successful implementation and enabling the eventual improvement of healthcare delivery. During a visit to Nigeria, the perceptions of key stakeholders regarding IMPACT, a new mHealth solution, were explored to ascertain the training needs of all stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem. The paper leverages data from this visit and presents IMPACTeD, a comprehensive mHealth training framework which aims to develop a collective understanding of the solution among all stakeholders, while also improving the technical ability and confidence of PHC workers. The framework will be implemented and evaluated during a second visit to Nigeria. This paper contributes to the scant literature in developing countries by providing a framework which can guide the implementation of further mHealth solutions in developing nations

Nanostructure Scaling in Semi-Dilute Triblock Copolymer Gels

There is a considerable body of work that describes the scaling of diblock copolymer micelle dimensions in dilute and semi-dilute solution based upon block degrees of polymerization and copolymer concentration. However, there is a lack of analogous information for semi-dilute ABA triblock copolymer gels, which consist of ABA triblock copolymer dissolved in midblock-selective (B-selective) solvent. The present study uses small angle X-ray scattering to extract micelle dimensions for numerous triblock copolymer gels that vary in copolymer identity (and hence block lengths) and copolymer concentration, as well as gels that contain various ratios of two unique triblock copolymers. Analysis of micelle structural data subsequently translates to universal scaling expressions for the micelle core radius – rA ≈ NA0.53NB−0.14ϕABA0.16 where NA and NB are the endblock and midblock degrees of polymerization, respectively, and ϕABA is the volume fraction of triblock copolymer in the gel – and for the intermicelle spacing – lAA ≈ NA0.09NB0.29ϕABA−0.35. Each scaling expression describes the full collection of experimental data very well. Additionally, these scaling expressions are partially in line with expectations from semi-dilute diblock copolymer solution theory

UNDERSTANDING THE PRESENT TO PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE: A REVIEW OF HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH IN NIGERIA (7)

Health Information Systems (HIS) present many opportunities to address health challenges in developing countries such as Nigeria. However, in order to leverage the potential of HIS, the opportunities and challenges facing implementation must be explored and understood. This paper conducts an archival analysis of the existing literature on HIS in Nigeria published in premier Information Systems (IS) and Health Informatics outlets; in an effort to provide a comprehensive picture of existing literature by identifying trends, discussing findings, and proposing new research opportunities. The 18 articles meeting the inclusion criteria are reviewed. Current trends are discussed using the framework developed by McLeon et al. (2013) for understanding the factors influencing health IS implementation in developing countries. At present, several challenges face IS implementation in Nigeria such as the lack of policy guidance, resistance among end users, and cultural barriers. In addition, existing studies are limited in scope, theory, and level of analysis applied. The paper contributes to the literature by investigating the status quo, presenting new areas ripe for future investigation including the organisational, financial, and technological issues at play, and illuminating important issues which can guide pilot testing and implementation of new health IS initiatives in Nigeria