On not staying put : Georges Perec’s ‘Inter(in)disciplinarity’ as an approach to research

In a critique of contemporary universities, the philosopher and art theorist Gerald Raunig contends that ‘wild and transversal writing is tamed and fed into the creativity-destroying apparatuses of disciplining institutions’ wherein researchers are required ‘to squeeze the last vestiges of their powers of invention into the straitjacket of the essay industry.’ At the heart of this ‘taming’ lies what he describes as researchers’ subjection to the ‘fetish of method’ and a reduction of the modes of expression, forms and styles of writing, which he claims ‘have brought about a crass uniformity in the languages in which academics can publish.’ In this situation, Georges Perec’s generous creative and critical experiments, and his ‘inter-in-disciplinarity’ (a term coined by Johnnie Grattan and Michael Sheringham) seem to counter some of the circumscriptions upon method within the contemporary academy. Via attention to the investigation of actual sites, and a series of spatial metaphors – of not staying put and crossing borders, of meandering and getting sidetracked, of oscillating or shimmering between positions – I want to reflect upon Perec’s passage through conceptual fields, in order to draw out some potential implications for academic research through practice. Perec’s willingness ‘just to see what happens’ offers an invitation to wander beyond our disciplinary boundaries: using the project and essay forms as methodological tools, along with the role of the ‘knowing’ amateur, I will argue for alternative, more mobile considerations of the intellectual and affective rigour applied to creative and critical work

Nine rather disconnected paragraphs : on mental health, capitalism, creative education and the politics of friendship

An essay contribution to a publication appearing as part of the 37 pieces of flair project. 37 pieces of flair is a 3 part season of arts and cinema starting in September with 4 film screenings at The Star and Shadow Cinema, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, followed by a publication launch in early October and concluding with an exhibition and events programme at The NewBridge Project, Newcastle-upon-Tyne throughout November. Unlike countless other mental health themed Film Seasons or exhibitions, 37 pieces of flair will focus its attention less upon the individual stories of enduring mental health problems and rather take a step back in an attempt to grasp a broader look at, or investigation of, the society and its culture from which they emerge. Curated by Andrew Wilson and Toby Lloyd for the NewBridge Project the exhibition features John Smith, Graham Dolphin, David Foggo, Dave Sherry and Roy Andersson, and continues until 17 January 2015. The publication will be launched at The NewBridge Project, 12 NewBridge St. West, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AW from 6 – 9pm, Friday 21 November as part of the exhibition preview. It includes a diverse collection of writing and artworks by Alisdair Cameron, Joanne Lee, David Korowicz, Chris Erskine, Mark Fisher, Harry Palmer, Andrew Wilson, Sneha Solanki, Amy Mackeldon, Tom Walker, Pauline Sallis, Topsy Qu’ret, Nick Malyan, Joe Posset and Francis Mckee. I spoke about the political dimensions of friendship at the closing event for the ‘37 pieces of flair’ exhibition at The NewBridge Project, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Disconnected Paragraphs: Friends reunited & a daily dose of democratic material or sweetshop toxicity, also involved Harry Palmer and took place in the NewBridge Project Space on Friday 16th January

White windows

This essay notes how the extent of the current recession is made visible in the mouldering creep of whited-out shop windows – high street commerce overtaken by a fuzzy bloom of cloudy paint. It appears in Abigale Neate Wilson’s ‘White window’ artists book. (A4 Four-color riso, spiral-bound, edition of 50) The publication was launched March 28-29 2015 at Open Space's PMF VI – The 6th Annual Publication & Multiples Fair at Baltimore Design School

I See Faces : popular pareidolia and the proliferation of meaning

This chapter discusses the curious facial recognition performed upon everyday things and places - currently so popular on the internet – when faces are read into cheese graters, parking meters, coat hooks and the like. The phenomenon of pareidolia occurs because the human visual system has a tendency to extract patterns from noise, thus perceiving ‘meaning’ in random source material. The chapter uses this current fascination as the occasion to think about our desire to read meaning and significance into things. As an artist/scholar working with the everyday, rather than attempting to pin down definitive interpretations, I am interested in enlarging what can be generated from the ordinary objects and materials that surround us. Keywords: pareidolia; the everyday; artistic research; pattern; constellatio

Interviewing Refugee Children: Theory, Policy, and Practice with Traumatized Asylum Seekers

For detained children seeking asylum, the Credible Fear Interview (CFI) is highly consequential: those who do not pass are deported to countries in which they fear persecution or torture. We consider whether policies and practices during child CFIs ensure that complete information is elicited in the first instance. We uncover infirmities that prevent some child asylum seekers from fully exercising their rights. Accordingly, we propose reforms across all branches of government to protect minors in CFIs, including updated and better enforced agency guidelines for child interviews, an end to child detention, habeas review, and appointment of counsel

P-12 The Potential of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Treating Bipolar Disorder through the Metabolic Pathway of Inositol

Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder characterized by extreme mood swings. Omega-3-fatty acids have been shown to relieve symptoms of bipolar disorder and are not associated with the negative side effects of lithium and valproate, the two most common treatments of the disorder. However, omega-3-fatty acids’ mechanism of action remains unknown. This study examined the effects of omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on intracellular inositol levels of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. We show that similar to valproate, DHA decreases the growth of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. We also show that unlike valproate, DHA does not decrease intracellular inositol levels

The Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Intracellular Inositol Levels in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

Bipolar disorder is a severe and chronic debilitating mental disorder characterized by extreme mood swings between mania and depression. The current medications for bipolar disorder, lithium and valproate, have been associated with numerous negative side effects. Although the therapeutic mechanism by which lithium and valproate (VPA) exert their effect is unknown, a leading hypothesis implicates inositol depletion as a mechanism of action. On the other hand, omega-3-fatty acids have been shown to relieve symptoms of bipolar disorder. In this study, we compare the effects of VPA to the effects of decosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on Saccharomyces cerevisiae growth and intracellular inositol concentration. Intracellular inositol levels were examined using a modified enzymatic assay for inositol, which correlates light absorbance to intracellular inositol concentration. The results show that similar to valproate, DHA inhibits cell growth. In addition, unlike valproate, DHA does not decrease intracellular inositol levels

The Impact of an Online Cultural Simulation Activity on the Development of Speech Pathology Students’ Cultural Empathy: A Pilot Study: A pilot study

Despite the cultural and linguistic diversity of the Australian population, research suggests that speech pathologists do not feel confident when providing services to Cultural and Linguistic Diversity (CALD) clients and would benefit from further education and training in this area. Cultural empathy has been described as a precursor to cultural competence and previous research has demonstrated the positive impact on nursing students’ cultural empathy toward CALD clients following an interactive cultural simulation experience. This study investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of an online cultural simulation activity in developing the cultural empathy of speech pathology students. Students completed an online cultural simulation in their own time, followed by a tutorial debrief. Both the simulation and debrief were considered to comprise the ‘simulation activity’; which was a component of a first-year introduction to clinical practice course. Participants completed a pre-survey and post-survey, containing the Comprehensive Empathy Scale (CES) and demographic questions. Results were analysed using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test and a Paired Sample t-test, and a power analysis was conducted to direct future studies. Ten students participated and improved an average of 11.3 on the CES (p=0.14). A power analysis revealed that a minimum of 45 participants would be needed in future studies to observe any statistically significant results. The online application of the cultural simulation activity was feasible, and results indicate an improvement in cultural empathy, although the improvement did not reach statistical significance. Implications for future studies are discussed

Joanne Lee, Piano

Joanne Lee, Pian