Performing the good death: the medieval Ars moriendi and contemporary doctors

Death is inevitable, but dying well is not. Despite the role of medical professionals as overseers of dying in contemporary society, there is comparatively little discourse among doctors about the constituents of a good death. In the 15th century, by contrast, the Ars moriendi portrayed normative medieval ideas about good and bad deaths. At a time when dying could be viewed as a performed battle against damnation, the Ars moriendi codified a set of moral precepts that governed the expression of autonomy, relations between the dying and the living and orientation towards God. In these images, dying well is a moral activity that results from active decisions by the dying person to turn from earthly preoccupations to contemplation of, and submission to, the divine. It is likely in contemporary society that there is a range of understandings of the "good death". While attitudes to personal autonomy may differ, reflectiveness and dying at home in the presence of family (expressed in the Ars moriendi), remain part of many modern notions of the good death. We argue that medical institutions continue to construct death as a performed battle against physical debility, even when patients may have different views of their preferred deaths. The dialectic approach of the Ars moriendi may offer a way for contemporary doctors to reflect critically on the potential dissonance between their own approach to death and the variety of culturally valorised "good deaths"

Origin of broad luminescence from site‐controlled InGaN nanodots fabricated by selective‐area epitaxy

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106777/1/pssa201330362.pd

Profiling The Physiological Parameters of Boxers in The Parachute Regiment. ‘Every Man an Emperor’

This study aimed to collect and identify the physiological parameters that are required to produce winning performances in an army boxing competition. Army boxing competitions are sanctioned and governed by ‘England Boxing’ and consist of three rounds of two minutes with one-minute restorative periods. The Parachute Regiment are an elite infantry fighting force within the British military, with a continued success in the inter-army boxing championships. 22 male participants were recruited (mean ± SD age 28 ± 2 years, stature 178 ± 8.1cm, body mass 79 ± 7.1 kg, BMI 24.9 ±2.5).Body fat %. V̇O₂max, lower limb power, and 1RM max strength test protocols for back squat and bench press were performed. Additionally, impact punch power measured from rear hand cross strikes, and punching velocities were measured using a linear positional transducer. Countermovement (CMJ) and repetitive (n=10) jump data were collected using a jump mat. The physiological parameters in mean scores; body composition showed body fat 11.8±8.1%: CMJ height 35.5±5cm: Repetitive jump 28.5±5.6cm: Wingate peak power (body mass to power ratio) 11.5±1.6W/kg: Wingate average power, 8.1±1.4W/kg: V̇O₂max 53±4.8 ml.kg⁻¹.min⁻¹: Back squat (body mass to weight lifted ratio) 1.95±0.2kg: Bench press 1.1±0.1kg/BW: Rear cross strike velocity 8.47±0.8m/s: Impact power 15227±2250W. Significant relationships were observed between anthropometric data and power, strike velocity and V̇O₂max in addition to relationships being evident between some strength and power variables. by the participants in this study. Although punch impact power is an essential performance indicator in boxing, other physiological factors, such as lower limb power and strength have been demonstrated to attribute to the continued winning performances by 3PARA boxing team

A DEM Study of Geldart Group A Particle Bed Fluidisation Behavior Across the Regimes

The objective of the study is to identify the transitions in bed behavior as the gas velocity is increased to cover the complete range from minimum fluidization through bubbling and turbulent behavior to pneumatic transport. The simulation data is examined in terms of computer visualizations, the rate of change of average bed voidage and pressure drop fluctuations

Workshop report: Farm-household modelling with a focus on food security, climate change adaptation, risk management and mitigation: a way forward

Related working paper at http://hdl.handle.net/10568/21112The workshop entitled: ‘Farm-household modelling with a focus on food security, climate change adaptation, risk management and mitigation: a way forward’ focused on identifying the current strengths and weaknesses of farm and household-level models, and laying out practical pathways to improve these models. This activity followed a recent review on farm household modelling commissioned by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). The workshop took place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands on 23–25 April 2012. The most important conclusions of the workshop were: 1. It is possible to analyse household-level questions related to climate change in a reasonable short (6 months to 1 year) time span with existing tools and the expertise present in the group of participants. 2. Availability of component tools can be an issue; the tools are there but free usability of code and parameters is not always possible. 3. Activities to develop repositories of models and data are urgently needed to increase further development of household models and make better use of existing knowledge. A set of activities will be developed to move the work forward in three CCAFS target regions (West Africa, East Africa and South Asia). The expectation is that the workshop will serve as a springboard for a multi-year initiative that will eventually involve a wide range of participants both within and outside the CGIAR. The challenges associated with climate change, agriculture and food security are considerable, and household modelling has a key role to play in designing and evaluating adaptation, risk management and mitigation options that can help lead to the positive outcomes that CCAFS and research-for-development partners are seeking

Entrances and exits: changing perceptions of primary teaching as a career for men

Original article can be found at: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713640830~db=all Copyright Informa / Taylor and Francis. DOI: 10.1080/03004430802352087The number of men in teaching has always been small, particularly in early childhood, but those that do come into teaching usually do so for the same reasons as women, namely enjoyment of working with children, of wanting to teach and wanting to make a difference to children's lives. However, in two separate studies, the authors have shown that on beginning teacher training in 1998, and at the point of leaving the profession in 2005, men and women tend to emphasise different concerns. This article will explore those differences and seek possible explanations for how men's views of teaching might be changing over time.Peer reviewe