Slow reading on the wing: Entangling enactive literary criticism, the energia of early modern imagining, and artistic research

This essay explores possibilities for enactive imagining and criticism. It observes how recent enactive accounts of cognition see no divide between imagination and everyday perception, and forego representationalism. It examines somatosensory responses and effortless vivacity for some animal-related imagery in Terence Cave’s cognitive literary criticism Thinking with Literature (2016). Next, it finds that today’s enactive criticism resonates with Francis Junius’s early modern notion of energia, a loose blend of vividness (enargeia) and vivacity (energeia), and concludes that, with its emphasis on energeia’s ‘life force’, energia goes beyond the viewer’s participation in an image’s pictorialist illusion. Pictorialist-style imagining, the essay claims, aligns with a pre-enactive representationalist understanding of cognition. To better explore enactive imagining, the essay entangles discursive writing and artistic work, animated by bird wings.Medieval and Early Modern Studie

'Hyperboreo sono': An Exploration of Erudition in Early Modern Germanic Philology

This essay aims to contribute to the reflection on practices for studying early modern erudition. Arguing that poetic thinking and sensitive engagement were intrinsic to the erudition of the learned Commonwealth, it explores how to read Septentrional philology as a lively practice impacted by the generative force of visualization. ‘Hyperborean’ sounds in an epigram by Joseph Justus Scaliger show erudite play in performance when considered conjointly with the ‘Getic’ poetry of Ovid, and rhyme in Bonaventura Vulcanius’s Literis getarum. Ole Worm and Francis Junius’s readings of runes as vivid scenes demonstrate the work of the ‘imagination’ (Phantasia), the process of visualization aimed for refined judgement theorized in Junius’s Pictura veterum. Their Rune Poem interpretations illustrate how visualization was tacit throughout their scholarship. Lastly, observations by Gerald Langbaine, Abraham Wheelocke, Melchior Goldast, Martin Opitz, and Junius (on Gothic) exemplify how each read for perspicuity – and how we may overlook these endeavors.Medieval and Early Modern Studie

Enhancing governance through blockchain technology in the South African public sector

Background: Blockchain technology can potentially enhance the efficiency and governing of the public sector. The study explored how blockchain could be instrumental in effectively governing the public sector using the Technology Acceptance Model and Diffusions of Innovations Theory as explanatory lenses. Aim: To determine if blockchain could lead to effective governance by reporting the views of those charged with public sector governance. Setting: The sample consisted of those charged with governance in four Gauteng provincial departments in the positions of Head of Department, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Director of Finance. Methods: A qualitative research approach using semi-structured in-depth interviews and purposive sampling was used. Results: Blockchain could be instrumental in curbing the current governance challenges in the South African public sector. The rapid growth in the use of blockchain by other countries, and the leveraged results thereof prompt South Africa to align. Although blockchain can potentially improve governance, the study’s findings suggest that the South African public sector may not be ready to embrace it. Conclusion: Effective governance is critical for public sector performance. The ongoing governance challenges in the South African public sector urgently require a solution. The article suggests that blockchain technology could potentially improve the governance of the public sector evidenced by data from in-depth personal interviews despite the low willingness to accept it. Contribution: The study contributes to the body of knowledge by provoking an intellectual debate and research on the use of blockchain technology in the public sector, which remains an under-researched topic

First-Aid Treatment for Friction Blisters: "Walking Into the Right Direction?"

OBJECTIVE: Blisters are common foot injuries during and after prolonged walking. However, the best treatment remains unclear. The aim of the study was to compare the effect of 2 different friction blister treatment regimens, wide area fixation dressing versus adhesive tape. DESIGN: A prospective observational cohort study. SETTING: The 2015 Nijmegen Four Days Marches in the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2907 participants (45 ± 16 years, 52% men) were included and received 4131 blister treatments. INTERVENTIONS: Blisters were treated with either a wide area fixation dressing or adhesive tape. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Time of treatment application was our primary outcome. In addition, effectiveness and satisfaction were evaluated in a subgroup (n = 254). During a 1-month follow-up period, blister healing, infection and the need for additional medical treatment were assessed in the subgroup. RESULTS: Time of treatment application was lower (41.5 minutes; SD = 21.6 minutes) in the wide area fixation dressing group compared with the adhesive tape group (43.4 minutes; SD = 25.5 minutes; P = 0.02). Furthermore, the wide area fixation dressing group demonstrated a significantly higher drop-out rate (11.7% vs 4.0%, P = 0.048), delayed blister healing (51.9% vs 35.3%, P = 0.02), and a trend toward lower satisfaction (P = 0.054) when compared with the adhesive tape group. CONCLUSIONS: Wide area fixation dressing decreased time of treatment application by 2 minutes (4.5%) when compared with adhesive tape. However, because of lower effectiveness and a trend toward lower satisfaction, we do not recommend the use of wide area fixation dressing over adhesive tape in routine first-aid treatment for friction blisters