Terrorism, governmentality and the simulated city: the Boston Marathon bombing and the search for suspect two

This article examines the online circulation of a photograph of the immediate aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings taken by David Green, a Boston Marathon runner. The photograph fortuitously captured an image of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the younger Tsarnaev brother, running from the scene. Initially, Tsarnaev went unnoticed by online message board users and FBI investigators – he was just another face in the urban crowd. However, after he was identified as suspect two, he emerged in the photograph as the figure of terror, the condensed embodiment of the spectacular attack, and thus as a spectre, a figure whose appearance in the archive of the past haunts the future. The author examines how this spectral emergence simultaneously reveals the attack terrorism launches against everyday mediations and how everyday mediations respond to terrorist spectacle. He argues that photography sustains vernacular practices that also support the practices of urban governmentality. Understanding urban governmentality thus requires attending to the urban archive of visual mediation in which the relationships between past and present, image and reality, and surveillance and spectacle are always contingent and open to revision

MAXIMISATION OF SUGARCANE YIELDS AND REDUCTION OF PRODUCTION COSTS-A PARTICIPATORY RURAL APPRAISAL

Abstract DECLINING cane yields coupled with increased costs of production pose great concern in today's Indian sugar indust~y. Hence, there is reason to look at some of the agronomic manipulations to reduce production costs and maximise yields. An experiment was conducted in vertisols of tropical India to evaluate the influence of row spacings of 90 (conventional), 120, and 150 cm and a dual row configuration spacing on cane and sugar yields using the varieties CoC671 and Co86032. The wider row spacing of 150 cm gave significantly higher cane yields (156.6 tlha) than the conventional row spacing (95.3 t/ha). The 120 cin row spacing and the dual row spacing also produced higher cane yields (123.4 t/ha and 114.8 t/ha, respectively) than the conventional row spacing. The higher yields at the wider row spacings were mainly due to a better survival of tillers, which resulted in taller stalks and improved stalk weight at harvest. The interactive effects between row spacings and varieties were significant for variety Co86032 by virtue of its higher tillering habit at row spacings of 120 cm and 150 cm, while CoC671 was more responsive at a row spacing of 120 cm. Due to higher cane yields and reduced cane seed costs, the 150 cin row spacing produced the highest cost:benefit ratio (1:2.3). A participatory rural appraisal conducted over an area of 418 ha confirmed the benefits of wider row spacings, as the altered row spacings produced cane yields that were 21.2 t/ha to 33.2 t/ha higher than the conventional 90 cm row spacing

Systematic review and meta: analysis of aortic graft infections following abdominal aortic aneurysm repair

Introduction. Aortic graft infection (AGI) is a rare complication following AAA repair and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Management is variable, and there are no evidence-based guidelines. The aim of this study was to systematically review and analyse management options for AGI. Methods. Data was collected between July and August 2018. A full HDAS search was conducted on the following databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PUBMED. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5 software. Results. 1,365 patient outcomes were assessed (10 cohort studies and 12 comparative studies). The most common treatment was in situ replacement of the graft (ISR) followed by extra-anatomical replacement (EAR). Various grafts were used for ISR, such as fresh/cryopreserved allograft, venous graft, and prosthetic grafts. No graft material was shown to be superior. Axillobifemoral graft was the commonest type of EAR used. In the majority of cohort studies, ISR was the main treatment for AGI. There was no significant difference in the overall mortality rate (ISR n = 70/176 vs. EAR n = 47/126, OR 0.93 [95% CI 0.36-2.36], P = 0:87). Graft occlusion rate was significantly lower in the ISR group vs. the EAR group (n = 14/115 vs. n = 29/60 OR 0.16 [95% CI 0.07-0.36], P < 0:001). There was no significant difference in the amputation rate between the surgical treatments (ISR n = 9/141 vs. EAR n = 8/82, OR 0.75 [95% CI 0.07-8.39], P = 0:82). Discussion. In situ replacement is the preferred method of treatment as it had lower rates of occlusion. Further strong evidence is required, such as a multicentre trial to establish a management pathway for the condition

Adopting an active learning approach to teaching in a research-intensive higher education context transformed staff teaching attitudes and behaviours

The conventional lecture has significant limitations in the higher education context, often leading to a passive learning experience for students. This paper reports a process of transforming teaching and learning with active learning strategies in a research-intensive educational context across a faculty of 45 academic staff and more than 1000 students. A phased approach was used, involving nine staff in a pilot phase during which a common vision and principles were developed. In short, our approach was to mandate a move away from didactic lectures to classes that involved students interacting with content, with each other and with instructors in order to attain domain-specific learning outcomes and generic skills. After refinement, an implementation phase commenced within all first-year subjects, involving 12 staff including three from the pilot group. The staff use of active learning methods in classes increased by sixfold and sevenfold in the pilot and implementation phases, respectively. An analysis of implementation phase exam questions indicated that staff increased their use of questions addressing higher order cognitive skills by 51%. Results of a staff survey indicated that this change in practice was caused by the involvement of staff in the active learning approach. Fifty-six percent of staff respondents indicated that they had maintained constructive alignment as they introduced active learning. After the pilot, only three out of nine staff agreed that they understood what makes for an effective active learning exercise. This rose to seven out of nine staff at the completion of the implementation phase. The development of a common approach with explicit vision and principles and the evaluation and refinement of active learning were effective elements of our transformational change management strategy. Future efforts will focus on ensuring that all staff have the time, skills and pedagogical understanding required to embed constructively aligned active learning within the approach