Bedlam in mind: seeing and reading historical images of madness

In this article I explore mythical Bedlam of popular imaginings. London's Bethlem Hospital was for centuries a unique institution caring for the insane and its alter ego 'Bedlam' influenced popular stereotypes of insanity. For instance, while the type of vagrant beggar known as a 'Tom of Bedlam' was said to have disappeared from English society with the Restoration, the figure of Mad Tom retained a visual and vocal presence within popular musical culture from the seventeenth century up to the present era. Using the ballad 'Mad Tom o' Bedlam' as a case study, I illustrate how an early modern stereotype of madness has maintained continuity within a popular song tradition whilst undergoing cultural change

Hearing voices: mental illness and cultural recognition

Popular misconceptions about the danger of madness have undermined mentally ill people’s struggle for social inclusion. Consequently, efforts to think through how we might belong together must take account of mental patients’ right to a public voice. However, the article takes issue with an excessively cognitive and rationalistic conception of the public citizen. It suggests, instead, that ‘alternative’ forums can be constructed which counters the dominant cultural image of the “mad, crazy, nutter”. It concludes by discussing one innovative TV series (Video Diaries) in which ‘mentally ill’ participants’ reveal their capacity to speak for themselves

Dynamics of partisan journalism: journalist-source relations in the context of a local newspaper's anti-paedophile housing agenda

This article explores the influence of partisanship on the framing of a local news agenda. Using a case study approach, it explores how one local newspaper in the East Midlands of England, the Nottingham-based Evening Post, reacted with hostility to leaked Home Office plans housing high profile paedophiles in its locality (albeit inside the grounds of the local jail). Within weeks, though, the paper’s news frame had shifted from hostility toward the Home Office to a more sympathetic news frame reporting how local professionals would manage risks posed by paedophiles in Nottingham. In order to make sense of the local dynamic underpinning this changing news frame the paper uses interview data to explore interactions between local journalists and key protagonists to understand the predictable and unpredictable factors that shaped the terms of their reporting. The article concludes by discussing the significance of partisan dynamics on the framing of a highly charged local and national paedophile-related issue

The challenges and potential benefits of perennial organic cropping systems-example of organic top fruit

Of all the organic food sectors in the UK, top fruit production is one of the least developed. Despite strong consumer demand and high prices for organic fruit, UK production remains small and 90% of supplies are imported. Current methods of production are unsatisfactory with low yields and erratic quality, with resulting variable economic performance. Pest and disease problems are one of the main reasons for this poor performance, with current varieties being unable to provide sufficient resistance. New varieties and an improved pest and disease management programme, identified as part of a HORTLINK project, offer new hope to the sector. There are now opportunities for the sector to grow and provide greater UK supplies of top fruit, in addition to widening the proven benefits to biodiversity of organic orchards

An assessment of apple varieties for their suitability in organic production systems

Twenty seven varieties of apple were assessed for their susceptibility to apple scab, mildew and rosy apple aphid in a replicated experiment at East Malling Research. The varieties most affected by mildew were Goldrush, DL11, Liberty, Bohemia and Pinova. Ceeval, Discovery, Edward VII, Howgate Wonder, Rajka, Rebella and Topaz had the lowest incidences of mildew. The highest incidence of scab occurred on Pilot and Pinova, but infestation was low throughout the assessment period. In 2006 when aphid populations were high, Liberty, Goldrush and Delorina had no aphid infestations, and low infestations were seen on Edward VII, Resi and Santana

Pupil participation in Scottish schools: how far have we come?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN, 1989), which applies to all children under the age of 18, established the overarching principles guiding pupil participation. In most European states, signatories to the Convention have enacted policies to promote the voice of the child or young person in decisions that affect them. In education systems strategies to enhance the pupil participation are an increasing feature of deliberation on education for citizenship, curriculum flexibility, pedagogical approaches and assessment for learning. Despite the positive policy context and professional commitment to principles of inclusion, translating policy intentions so that the spirit of the legislation is played out in the day-to-day experiences of pupils is a constant challenge. This article reports on research that examines how pupil participation is understood and enacted in Scottish schools. It considers how the over-laying of diverse policies presents mixed messages to practitioners

Girls' jobs for the boys? Men, masculinity and non-traditional occupations

Occupational segregation by sex remains the most pervasive aspect of the labour market. In the past, most research on this topic has concentrated on explanations of women’s segregation into low paid and low status occupations, or investigations of women who have crossed gender boundaries into men’s jobs, and the potential impact on them and the occupations. In contrast, this article reports on a small scale, qualitative study of ten men who have crossed into what are generally defined as ‘women’s jobs’. In doing so, one of the impacts on them has been that they have experienced challenges to their masculine identity from various sources and in a variety of ways. The men’s reactions to these challenges, and their strategies for developing and accommodating their masculinity in light of these challenges are illuminating. They either attempted to maintain a traditional masculinity by distancing themselves from female colleagues, and/or partially (re)constructed a different masculinity by identifying with their non-traditional occupations. This they did as often as they deemed necessary as a response to different forms of challenge to their gender identities from both men and women. Finally, the article argues that these responses work to maintain the men as the dominant gender, even in these traditionally defined ‘women’s jobs’

Weakly Nonlinear Analysis of Electroconvection in a Suspended Fluid Film

It has been experimentally observed that weakly conducting suspended films of smectic liquid crystals undergo electroconvection when subjected to a large enough potential difference. The resulting counter-rotating vortices form a very simple convection pattern and exhibit a variety of interesting nonlinear effects. The linear stability problem for this system has recently been solved. The convection mechanism, which involves charge separation at the free surfaces of the film, is applicable to any sufficiently two-dimensional fluid. In this paper, we derive an amplitude equation which describes the weakly nonlinear regime, by starting from the basic electrohydrodynamic equations. This regime has been the subject of several recent experimental studies. The lowest order amplitude equation we derive is of the Ginzburg-Landau form, and describes a forward bifurcation as is observed experimentally. The coefficients of the amplitude equation are calculated and compared with the values independently deduced from the linear stability calculation.Comment: 26 pages, 2 included eps figures, submitted to Phys Rev E. For more information, see http://mobydick.physics.utoronto.c