'(Re)Hibernicizing Wilde? A Genetic Analysis of The Picture of Dorian Gray'

The controversy surrounding the integrity and originality of Harvard University Press’s unexpurgated version of Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray in 2011 has underlined the timeliness and necessity of further genetic critique of Wilde’s only novel and attendant ephemera. By undertaking a genetic reading of the three versions of this text now available to us, this article examines how Wilde’s letters, poetry, lectures and reviews that precede the novel reveal an intensification of Wilde’s nationalism and anti-imperialism in the run up to its publication. In particular, the article uncovers the differing impact of the Parnell scandal and the Land Wars on the different versions of the novel and also reads the abject scenes of imperial predation set in the London docks as Wilde’s meditation on Ireland’s contested colonial status within the United Kingdom and the global system of exploitation driving ‘The Great Game of Empire’ per se

Fair testing in employment selection

This project represents the collaboration of Charta Mede Ltd and the Interdisciplinary Higher Degrees Scheme at the University of Aston. The aim of the project was to monitor the effects of the Civil Service's Executive Officer Qualifying Test Battery on minority group applicants. Prior to monitoring the EO Test Battery, however, an ethnic classification had to be developed which was reliable, acceptable to respondents and appropriate for monitoring. Three pilot studies were conducted to examine these issues, during which different classifications and different ways of asking the question were trialled. The results indicated that by providing more precise instructions as to the meanings of categories, it was possible to obtain classifications which were acceptable and reliable. However, there were also certain terms and expressions which should be avoided such as those referring to colour and anthropological racial groups. Two classifications were used in the Executive Officer Study - one derived from an Office of Population Censuses and Surveys classification and one developed for this project - the MultiCultural British Classification. The results indicated that some minority groups (Asians, West Indians and Africans in particular) pass the tests in significantly lower proportions than the majority group and also score significantly less well on the tests. Factors which were significantly related to pass/fail and test scores included educational qualifications and age on entering the UK (the latter being negatively correlated). Using variables in this study, however, it was only possible to account for 5% of the variance in pass/fail rates and 11% of the variance in test scores. Analyses of covariance carried out indicated that the differences in test scores still remained even though the effects of significantly correlated variables were removed. Although indirect discrimination could not be inferred from the data, further research into differential validity and fairer methods of select ion is needed

Upstaging Decadence: Imperialism, Humanism and the Symbolist Mode in Salome

Blog Pos

A cure modelling study of an unsaturated polyester resin system for the simulation of curing of fibre-reinforced composites during the vacuum infusion process

This study presents the cure kinetics and cure modelling of an ambient curing unsaturated polyester (UP) resin system for its cure simulation in the vacuum infusion (VI) process. The curing of the UP resin system was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The dynamic DSC test measurements were conducted to find out the ultimate heat of reaction and enable experimental conversion determination for the isothermal curing. The empirical autocatalytic cure kinetics model incorporating the Arrhenius law represented the cure behaviour. The results of the cure kinetics study, the cure model, the material properties and the boundary conditions were the inputs in PAM-RTM software for the simulation of the degree of cure and the exothermic temperature during the infusion and the room temperature curing stages. The simulation results were compared with experimentally measured data. A vacuum infusion (VI) experiment involving a non-crimp glass fibre preform was performed in order to monitor the curing using thermocouples and validate the temperature simulation result. It was shown that the degree of cure and the exothermic temperature of a room temperature curing thermoset resin system during the VI process could be predicted through the steps of this study

Micromechanical finite element analyses of fire retardant woven fabric composites at elevated temperatures using unit cells at multiple length scales

This paper presents a micromechanical Finite Element (FE) model developed to predict the effective mechanical properties of glass fibre-reinforced (woven fabric) polymer composites with/without fire retardant particulate additives at elevated temperatures. The elevated mechanical properties of glass fibre-reinforced epoxy composites with/without fire retardants were predicted using three unit cells of varying length scales in micromechanical FE analysis. Theoretically predictions of flexural behaviour of these fibre-reinforced polymer composites at elevated temperatures were satisfactorily validated against experimentally measured data. The numerical model developed herein was then used for the prediction of other mechanical properties of fibre-reinforced polymer composites that would have been difficult to collect at elevated temperatures. Micromechanical FE models such as the one contained in this paper are useful to architectural engineers as they can be used to guide the design and qualification of new engineering composites that satisfy stringent Building codes in fire prone engineering applications

The role of loneliness in the association between chronic physical illness and depressive symptoms among older adults: A prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Chronic physical illness increases the risk of subsequent depressive symptoms, but we know little about the mechanisms underlying this association that interventions can target. We investigated whether loneliness might explain associations between chronic illness and subsequent depressive symptoms. METHODS: We used English Longitudinal Study of Ageing data, a prospective cohort of adults over 50. Our exposure was chronic illnesses (wave two) including arthritis, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Loneliness scores were a mediator on the short University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale at wave three. Depressive symptom scores (outcome) were measured using the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (wave four). We examined associations of chronic physical illness with loneliness and depressive symptoms in univariable and multivariable regression models. RESULTS: Fully-adjusted models included 2436 participants with the depression outcome and 2052 participants with the loneliness outcome. Chronic physical illness was associated with 21 % (incident rate ratio = 1.21, 95%CI = 1.03–1.42) higher depression scores at follow-up. We found no evidence of an association between chronic physical illness and loneliness and therefore did not proceed to analyses of mediation. LIMITATIONS: More prevalent chronic illnesses could have driven our results, such as cardiovascular disease. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic physical illnesses increase the risk of depressive symptoms in older adults. However, we did not find any that chronic physical illnesses were associated with an increased risk of subsequent loneliness. Therefore, interventions targeting loneliness to reduce depression in older adults with chronic physical illness may be insufficient

Integrative analysis of genomic and exposomic influences on youth mental health

Background: Understanding complex influences on mental health problems in young people is needed to inform early prevention strategies. Both genetic and environmental factors are known to influence youth mental health, but a more comprehensive picture of their interplay, including wide-ranging environmental exposures – that is, the exposome – is needed. We perform an integrative analysis of genomic and exposomic data in relation to internalizing and externalizing symptoms in a cohort of 4,314 unrelated youth from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. / Methods: Using novel GREML-based approaches, we model the variance in internalizing and externalizing symptoms explained by additive and interactive influences from the genome (G) and modeled exposome (E) consisting of up to 133 variables at the family, peer, school, neighborhood, life event, and broader environmental levels, including genome-by-exposome (G × E) and exposome-by-exposome (E × E) effects. / Results: A best-fitting integrative model with G, E, and G × E components explained 35% and 63% of variance in youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms, respectively. Youth in the top quintile of model-predicted risk accounted for the majority of individuals with clinically elevated symptoms at follow-up (60% for internalizing; 72% for externalizing). Of note, different domains of environmental exposures were most impactful for internalizing (life events) and externalizing (contextual including family, school, and peer-level factors) symptoms. In addition, variance explained by G × E contributions was substantially larger for externalizing (33%) than internalizing (13%) symptoms. / Conclusions: Advanced statistical genetic methods in a longitudinal cohort of youth can be leveraged to address fundamental questions about the role of ‘nature and nurture’ in developmental psychopathology

Physical activity across age and study: a guide to data in six CLOSER studies

Explore the measures used to assess diverse aspects of physical activity within and across six CLOSER partner studie

Forkhead box K2 modulates epirubicin and paclitaxel sensitivity through FOXO3a in breast cancer

published_or_final_versio