Postcolonial Fiction and the Question of Influence: Arundhati Roy, <i>The God of Small Things</i> and Rumer Godden

This article reflects on formal and technical similarities in the writing of Arundhati Roy and Rumer Godden through a close parallel examination of three works by Godden: Black Narcissus (1939), The River (1946), and The Peacock Spring (1975) and Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997). I use the possibility of an unrecognized dialogue between Godden’s and Roy’s fictions to tackle the broader issue of “influence” as a critical-conceptual elephant in the room of postcolonial literary studies: something that can only be spoken of in certain ways, using a certain vocabulary. I ask why certain critical assumptions—amongst them the politics of “writing back,” a kind of ironic formal auto-critique and a tendency to avoid “vertical” comparison between earlier and later texts in the post/colony except as a resistant form of reiterative citation—have made the question of “influence” a peculiarly difficult one to pose (and to answer) in postcolonial literary contexts

Written Submission on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill

This written evidence contributes to the the Scottish Parliament's reconsideration of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill. In 2021, the UK Supreme Court decided that elements of the Bill as originally passed fell beyond the Scottish Parliament's legislative competence (2021 UKSC 42). Submitted to Holyrood's Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, this written evidence highlights some of the challenges for the coherent and accessible incorporation of children's rights into Scots law in the wake of the Supreme Court's judgment. Implications for the domestic incorporation of other international human rights regimes are also analysed

Consolidating Rural Pennsylvania Local Government: A Taxpayers Choice

This paper presents a case for the amalgamation of local government municipalities in parts of the US and, in particular, rural Pennsylvania (PA). It presents a case by first examining recent international trends in local government management including council consolidations (or mergers) and second, by showing that municipalities in rural PA are, for the most part, too small to: 1) be democratically effective, 2) attract and retain quality management, and 3) deliver the services their constituents expect. This paper concludes by suggesting that the present structure of local municipalities in rural PA is out of date and reform is needed

The Theory of evolution: 150 years afterwards

La introducció de la teoria d'evolució per selecció natural marca un canvi fonamental en el pensament humà. Darwin mateix va dir que era casi com confessar un assassinat. Després, les idees anteriors sobre la vida en el passat s'han anat refutant una darrere l'altra. Des de 1859 hi ha hagut altres canvis: des de la consciència del temps i espai profunds, passant pel moviment de les plaques tectòniques, fins a la ciència dels sistemes terrestres i la hipòtesi Gaia. La teoria de l'evolució naturalment s'ha modificat durant els anys amb una millor comprensió dels mecanismes de l'herència genètica i el paper de simbiosi en la selecció. Tot i que encara hi hagi un grapat de gent que la desafiï amb bases religioses o pseudo-religioses, són molt pocs els que els prenen seriosament. La metodologia de l'evolució té aplicacions més enllà de la biologia, per exemple en el camp de la tecnologia. Sobretot, és una interpretació verificable de canvi continu en el desenvolupament de la vida a la Terra, que no és de cap manera contrari a la segona llei de termodinàmica. Com Thomas H. Huxley, amic i defensor de Darwin, va remarcar una vegada: havia estat ben estúpid no haver-hi pensat abans.The introduction of the theory of evolution by natural selection marks a fundamental shift in human thinking. Darwin himself said it was like confessing to murder. Afterwards earlier ideas about life in the past crashed one after another. Since 1859 there have been other shifts: from awareness of deep time and space to tectonic plate movement to earth systems science and the Gaia hypothesis. Evolution theory has of course been modified over the years with greater understanding of the mechanics of genetic inheritance and the role of symbiosis in selection. Even if there is still a handful of people who challenge it on religious or crypto religious grounds, very few can now take them seriously. Evolution methodology has applications beyond biology, for example in the field of technology. Above all it is a verifiable interpretation of continuous change in the development of life on Earth, which is in no way contrary to the 2nd law of thermodynamics. As T.H. Huxley, Darwin’s friend and advocate, once remarked: how stupid it was of him not to have thought of it himself

Cash To Accrual Accounting: One Nations Dilemma

Over the past three decades, there has been a slow but steady global movement undertaken by most governments to move from cash-based accounting to accrual-based accounting. This migration is the result of calls for greater accountability, increased transparency and more informed decision-making from the public sector. Questions remain regarding the implementation of accrual accounting within public sector organisations. This paper reports on an investigation into Fiji's attempt to use accrual accounting as its financial reporting format. Findings suggest that, due to the nation’s low-skilled public service, high labor turnover and insufficient investment in capital equipment, undertaking the move to accrual accounting for this and similar developing nations require a different approach to that used by developing economies. This paper concludes with recommendations on how to effectively introduce accrual accounting in the public sector of developing nations

Predictors Of Accounting Salaries: A Comparison Of Bachelor Degree Graduate Salaries With Associate Degree Graduate Salaries

This paper reports on an investigation comparing the employment salary of bachelor degree in accounting graduates with associate degree in accounting graduates two years after their graduation. Using hierarchical regression analyses, this study shows the predictive strength of participants’ academic qualifications, age, gender, GPA, professional qualifications, field of employment and type of employment on salary-level. Findings reveal that participants with a bachelor degree in accounting earn significantly more than those with an associate degree in accounting and that academic qualification, age, professional qualification and field of employment to be significant predictors of salary. Educational implications of these findings are discussed