Auditory neuroscience: the salience of looming sounds

Sounds that move towards us have a greater biological salience than those that move away. Recent studies in human and non-human primates demonstrate a perceptual and behavioural priority for such looming sounds that is also reflected in an asymmetric pattern of cortical activation

The Flaws of Magic Bullet Theory: Retraining Unconscionability to Discretely Target Different Contexts of Unfairness in Contracts

Unconscionability has long been a troublesome area in Canadian jurisprudence. This is of significant concern given unconscionability’s pre-eminence as a protection of contractual fairness. This article elaborates a much-needed reorganization and rationalization of unconscionability in Canada. Under current law, a single doctrine hopelessly targets two divergent purposes. I set out here a proposed redevelopment rather of separate common law doctrines, each fit-for-purpose: (1) An English-style unconscionable bargains doctrine for avoiding bargains that exploited disability, and (2) an American-style unconscionable clauses doctrine to control unfair terms in standard form contracts. Extensive Canadian precedent supports this solution, assuring its feasibility and legitimacy. To manage the doctrines’ coexistence and clarify this universally confounding area of law, I recommend further a distinctly Canadian approach: Recognizing unconscionability as an “organizing principle”. Alongside that of good faith which governs performance, this one would address enforceability in abuse of power situations, elevating fairness in Canadian contract law. L’iniquité a longtemps été un domaine problématique dans la jurisprudence canadienne. Ceci est un enjeu importante étant donné la prééminence du concept de l’iniquité comme protection juridique de l’équité contractuelle. Cet article élabore une réorganisation et une rationalisation nécessaire de l’iniquité au Canada. En vertu du droit actuel, une seule doctrine vise vraiement deux objectifs divergents. J’expose ici une proposition de redéveloppement : á la place de cette approche futile, on devrait déployer deux doctrines de common law distinctes, chacune adaptée à son objectif unique : (1) une doctrine de négociation inique à l’anglaise pour éviter les transactions qui exploitent une faiblesse particulière, et (2) une doctrine des clauses iniques à l’américaine pour contrôler les clauses abusive dans les contrats d’adhésion. De nombreux précédents canadiens soutiennent cette solution, assurant sa faisabilité et sa légitimité. Pour gérer la coexistence des doctrines et clarifier ce domaine du droit universellement déroutant, je suggère une approche typiquement canadienne : reconnaître l’iniquité comme un « principe ». Parallèlement à celui de la bonne foi qui régit l’exécution contractuelle, celui-ci traiterait de la force exécutoire dans les situations d’abus de pouvoir, augmentant l’équité dans le droit des contrats au Canada

FADE Event explores the digital future of arts festivals

On September 14th 2023, stakeholders from Dublin\u27s festival community, including representatives from the Arts Council, the Department of Rural and Community Development, and the Dublin City Arts Office, participated in a public engagement event at TU Dublin\u27s Grangegorman campus. Entitled Festivals, Audiences and the Digital Experience (FADE), named after an ongoing research project of the same name, the event explored the intersection of creativity, technology and community at the heart of festival making in Dublin. The event formed part of the \u27Revealing Grangegorman\u27 series, a programme organized by TU Dublin to celebrate the campus and its infrastructural growth during the pandemic. Event attendees: learned about emerging findings from the FADE research project; were given an introduction to Ireland\u27s first art and technology festival BETA; listened to community festival practitioners comment on their engagement with digital programming and; engaged with a panel of festival stakeholders discuss the challenges and opportunities that technological advances pose for festival

“For posterity, it’s something important to do”: Festivals, digital practices, and conserving community heritage

This presentation highlights the importance of preserving arts festival activities and uses empirical evidence to underline the significance of the digital turn for archiving this kind of intangible heritage. As Del Barrio et al (2012, pp. 235) argue, cultural festivals are an emblematic example of immaterial cultural heritage, \u27since they are experience goods which expire at the moment they are produced and not only express artistic innovations in the field but also draw on previous cultural background, perceived as accumulated cultural capital’ . Data gathered through qualitative fieldwork with rural festival makers are used to explore the potential that digitising festival activities holds

Review: Events Special Interest Group track at the ATLAS Annual Conference 2022

The 2022 Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research (ATLAS) Annual Conference took place on the Munster Technological University campus in Cork, Ireland, 6th – 9th September 2022. The theme of the conference ‘What matters now to the global tourist?’ raised pertinent questions about the challenges facing the tourism and leisure industries and education since the onset of the global pandemic. This review focuses on a series of papers from the Events Special Interest Group which covered themes such as solidarity, community, festivals, placemaking and digitisation. The research activities conducted for this publication were funded by the Irish Research Council