Dances with Sheep

"As a spokesman for disaffected youth of the post-1960s, Murakami Haruki has become one of the most important voices in contemporary Japanese literature, and he has gained a following in the United States through translations of his works. In Dances with Sheep, Matthew Strecher examines Murakami’s fiction—and, to a lesser extent, his nonfiction—for its most prevalent structures and themes. Strecher also delves into the paradoxes in Murakami’s writings that confront critics and casual readers alike. Murakami writes of “serious” themes yet expresses them in a relatively uncomplicated style that appeals to high school students as well as scholars; and his fictional work appears to celebrate the pastiche of postmodern expression, yet he rejects the effects of the postmodern on contemporary culture as dangerous. Strecher’s methodology is both historical and cultural as he utilizes four distinct yet interwoven approaches to analyze Murakami’s major works: the writer’s “formulaic” structure with serious themes; his play with magical realism; the intense psychological underpinnings of his literary landscape; and his critique of language and its capacity to represent realities, past and present. Dances with Sheep links each of these approaches with Murakami’s critical focus on the fate of individual identity in contemporary Japan. The result is that the simplicity of the Murakami hero, marked by lethargy and nostalgia, emerges as emblematic of contemporary humankind, bereft of identity, direction, and meaning. Murakami’s fiction is reconstructed in Dances with Sheep as a warning against the dehumanizing effects of late-model capitalism, the homogenization of the marketplace, and the elimination of effective counterculture in Japan.

Wschód spotyka Zachód, a później go oddaje: los „czystej literatury” w erze globalnej

As part of the early Meiji (1868-1912) project of constructing a mod- ern “subject” to populate the newly-fashioned, Western-style nation- state, late nineteenth-century Japan’s literary artists enthusiastically engaged in the exploration of the individual self. Borrowing as their template the European realistic novel, they succeeded not only in es- tablishing the modern shōsetsu, but an equally new language in which to write such novels. Their work came to be known as junbungaku, or “pure literature.” Written by, for, and about Japanese subjects, junbun- gaku has come to be understood as a quintessentially Japanese mode of artistic expression.This began to change in 1979 with the début of contemporary nov- elist Murakami Haruki. While engaging Western models in the for- mation of his literary landscape, Murakami rejected the “by/for/about Japanese” strictures of junbungaku, exploring a more global subject grounded in a hybrid conception of that subject as both Eastern and Western. Having thus encountered “the West,” Murakami then “gave it back” as a new, hybrid type of fiction that eschews polarizing con- cepts like “East” and “West,” emerging instead as a truly global form of literature. While scorned by some traditionalists as the “death of jun- bungaku,” Murakami’s work has also been heralded as a rebirth for se- rious global literature.W ramach zamysłu stworzenia nowoczesnej „podmiotu”, który zalud- ni odnowione w zachodnim stylu państwo, w okresie Meiji (1868-1912) literaci japońscy entuzjastycznie rozpoczęli odkrywanie swojego oso- bistego „ja”. Czerpiąc ze wzorca europejskiej powieści realistycznej, zdołali nie tylko wykreować współczesne shōsetsu, ale i równie nowy język, w którym powstawały takie powieści. Ich prace stały się znane jako junbungaku lub „czysta literatura”. Pisana dla, przez i o Japoń- czykach, junbungaku była odbierana jako ściśle japoński sposób wy- razu artystycznego.Ta tendencja zaczęła się zmieniać w 1979 r., wraz z debiutem współczesnego powieściopisarza Harukiego Murakamiego. Tworząc swój literacki krajobraz przy użyciu zachodnich modeli, Murakami odrzucił strukturę junbungaku („przez/dla/o Japończykach”), odkry- wając bardziej światowy podmiot, osadzony w hybrydowej koncepcji podmiotu ze Wschodu i Zachodu jednocześnie. Murakami najpierw spotkał „Zachód”, a następnie „oddał” go jako nową, hybrydową fik- cję, która porzuca spolaryzowane idee „Wschodu” i „Zachodu” i uka- zuje jako prawdziwie światowa forma literatury. Wyszydzane przez niektórych tradycjonalistów jako „śmierć junbungaku”, dzieło Mura- kamiego zostało jednocześnie ogłoszone odrodzeniem poważnej lite- ratury światowej

Teachers Make a Difference: An Interview with Jacquelyn Combs

Transcript of an interview with Master Teacher Jacquelyn S. Combshttps://scholars.fhsu.edu/ors/1244/thumbnail.jp

Difficulties quitting for smokers with and without a respiratory disease and use of a tailored intervention for smoking cessation – a qualitative study

Introduction: Smokers with respiratory diseases are less likely to quit than those without impaired lung function, yet few studies have investigated the effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions with this population, and none have used a computer-tailored approach. Aims: This paper aims to fill this gap in the literature by exploring smokers’ experiences when trying to quit and their perceptions of a computer-tailored intervention. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 smokers recruited from six GP practices in North London. Thematic analysis was conducted to examine participants’ previous experiences of quitting and their perceptions of receiving personal tailored feedback reports to aid smoking cessation. Results: Participants discussed how their positive smoking experiences coupled with their negative cessation experiences led to conflicts with quitting smoking. Although the computer-tailored intervention was key in prompting quit attempts and participants valued its personal approach; it was not sufficient as a stand-alone intervention. Conclusion: The results highlight the difficulties that smokers experience when quitting and the need for a more personalised stop smoking service in smokers with respiratory diseases. The study also demonstrates the application and potential for computer tailored intervention as part of a wider programme of long-term smoking cessation

Quit for keeps: tailored smoking cessation guides for pregnancy and beyond

Although health care providers appear to be an obvious choice for delivering smoking cessation education, they often lack the resources, training, and time to provide anything more than a recommendation to quit and generic pamphlets for reinforcement. Traditionally, this type of material is designed to include information for many potential users, thus making it difficult for an individual to find the pieces most relevant to them. In contrast, tailored print materials provide only information which is relevant to a subject, making it far more usable. One study assessing tailored print messages found a threefold increase in cessation rates among patients in a family practice setting, four months after receipt of tailored versus untailored smoking cessation messages.1 Numerous other studies, targeting a number of different populations, have also shown that tailored messages are an effective intervention for smoking cessation.2 In tailoring, we use individual patient responses to select only relevant behaviour change messages. These messages provide information specific to an individual's needs and interests and can reinforce messages from health professionals. Because they are personalised, tailored materials offer a potentially superior alternative to generic materials designed to reach a broad audience. Quit for Keeps used a pre-test/post-test experimental design to test the effects of tailored interventions on pregnant smokers. Participants in this study included 92 women enrolled at the Taubman obstetrics and gynaecology (ob/gyn) clinic at the University of Michigan and 81 women enrolled at the ob/gyn clinic at the University of North Carolina hospital from December 1996 to December 1997. Eligible participants were those who reported having smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and who were either still smoking or had quit since becoming pregnant. Subjects were screened for eligibility during the New to the Nurse orientation program in North Carolina or during their first pre-natal

Adapting an in‐person patient–caregiver communication intervention to a tailored web‐based format

Background : Interventions that target cancer patients and their caregivers have been shown to improve patient‐caregiver communication, support, and emotional well‐being. Objective : To adapt an in‐person communication intervention for cancer patients and caregivers to a web‐based format, and to examine the usability and acceptability of the web‐based program among representative users. Methods : A tailored, interactive web‐based communication program for cancer patients and their family caregivers was developed based on an existing in‐person, nurse‐delivered intervention. The development process involved: (1) building a multidisciplinary team of content and web design experts, (2) combining key components of the in‐person intervention with the unique tailoring and interactive features of a web‐based platform, and (3) conducting focus groups and usability testing to obtain feedback from representative program users at multiple time points. Results : Four focus groups with 2–3 patient–caregiver pairs per group ( n = 22 total participants) and two iterations of usability testing with four patient–caregiver pairs per session ( n = 16 total participants) were conducted. Response to the program's structure, design, and content was favorable, even among users who were older or had limited computer and Internet experience. The program received high ratings for ease of use and overall usability (mean System Usability Score of 89.5 out of 100). Conclusions : Many elements of a nurse‐delivered patient–caregiver intervention can be successfully adapted to a web‐based format. A multidisciplinary design team and an iterative evaluation process with representative users were instrumental in the development of a usable and well‐received web‐based program. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90066/1/pon1900.pd

Interactive computer-based interventions for sexual health promotion (Protocol)

No description supplie

A Picture May Be Worth a Thousand Texts: Obese Adolescents' Perspectives on a Modified Photovoice Activity To Aid Weight Loss

Abstract Background: In an effort to enhance the vividness and personal relevance of a text messaging intervention to promote weight loss among obese adolescents, a modified Photovoice process was evaluated with adolescents in a weight management program. Methods: Photovoice is a method using photography to generate relevant images and stories from users. Participants were recruited from the Michigan Pediatric Outpatient Weight Evaluation and Reduction (MPOWER) program, a multidisciplinary weight management program for obese adolescents and their parents. Twenty-three adolescents with a mean BMI of 40 were asked to take pictures on three to five randomly assigned weight-related topics, such as ?something that reminds you to exercise,? and to text them to a research assistant. Adolescents then engaged in semistructured interviews about the experience. Detailed notes of the interviews were analyzed to identify themes. Results: Participants generally provided high ratings of the process, indicating that (1) deciding what pictures to take caused them to reflect on their weight loss experience, and (2) a mobile intervention incorporating personally relevant images (e.g., basketball as their favorite sport rather than sports in general) would increase treatment adherence. The submitted photographs frequently featured family members and friends, and participants indicated that family and friends played a major role in motivating and supporting them. Conclusions: This study suggests that a Photovoice component has the potential to enhance weight management programs for teens as part of a text messaging intervention and as an independent entity. Further work should evaluate the effect of this promising intervention on weight loss.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98440/1/chi%2E2011%2E0095.pd

Understanding Individual Differences for Tailored Smoking Cessation Apps

Finding ways to help people quit smoking is a high priority in health behavior change research. Recent HCI studies involving technologies using specific quitting techniques such as social support and SMS messaging to help people quit have reported some success. Early studies using computer generated print material report significant success of tailored versus non-tailored material, however, there is limited understanding on what aspects of digitally delivered quitting assistance should be tailored and how. To address this, we have conducted an empirical investigation with smokers to identify perceived importance of different types of help when quitting and the potential role of technology in providing such help. We found that people are highly individual in their approach to quitting and the kind of help they regard as relevant to their situation. Our contribution is a collection of empirically derived themes for tailoring smoking cessation apps to individual quitting needs. Author Keywords Smoking cessation; tailoring; individual differences; healt

Physicians' recommendations for mammography: do tailored messages make a difference?

OBJECTIVES. Message tailoring, based on individual needs and circumstances, is commonly used to enhance face-to-face patient counseling. Only recently has individual tailoring become feasible for printed messages. This study sought to determine whether printed tailored recommendations addressing women's specific screening and risk status and perceptions about breast cancer and mammography are more effective than standardized printed recommendations. METHODS. Computer-assisted telephone interviews were conducted with 435 women, aged 40 to 65 years, who had visited family practice groups within the previous 2 years. Subjects were randomly allocated to receive individually tailored or standardized mammography recommendation letters mailed from physicians to patients' homes. Follow-up interviews were conducted 8 months later. RESULTS. Tailored letter recipients were more likely to remember and to have read more of their letters than standardized version recipients. After controlling for baseline status, tailo..