Border identities

Dance Artist Dr Adesola Akinleye reports on how a pilot project, Movement, Narratives and Meanings, used dance and film to voice the stories of people living next to the Northern Ireland / north of Ireland border, following the vote for ‘Brexit’

Orientation for communication: embodiment, and the language of dance

In this article I explore the place of movement, particularly dance, in understanding and communication of the lived experience. I look at the gap between corporeal sensation and the communication of that knowledge into wider social contexts. Drawing on narratives gathered from four case studies in British schools, I look at dance as a mode of language that can offer a methodological approach to understanding the lived experience. I take the pragmatist starting point of embodiment to argue that the immediacy of empirical experience is limited by the use of verbal languages alone to organize meaning-making. I suggest that ideas are three-dimensional, having aspects that are revealed by the attributes of different languages but are not limited to the language through which they are communicated. Therefore a network of languages, including movement languages, can create a web of understanding that addresses the deficits of each single language within that web. I suggest that a focus on just one mode of language to communicate ideas could result in a loss of engagement with the full potential of an idea. I suggest that different languages have a rhizomatic relationship each having equal potential to add to the quality and ‘thickness’ of communication of the multi-layered experience of embodiment

‘…wind in my hair, I feel a part of everywhere…’: creating dance for young audiences narrates emplacement

This article is a reflection from a moment during the tour of my performance work for young audiences - ‘Found’. I explore how the meaningfulness shared in the moments dancing together captures much broader narratives about the transformative connections of Being-in-Place: emplacement. I respond to Pink’s call to explore embodied experiences through emplacement (Pink, 2010). Therefore, I use emplacement as a lens to theorize experiences during the practical performance work of ‘Found’, beyond the visual aesthetic of seeing live dance. This articulating and valuing the significance of where Self begins, or ends or is continuous in environment shares inquiry with colleagues in architecture (Pallasmaa, 2005, Rasmussen, 1959), social sciences (Deleuze and Guattari, 1983, 1987), and geography (Lefebvre, 2004). I suggest ramifications on how dance offers somatic dialogue that can empower children to take part in, and become aware of, their own presence in the co-created reality of Place

Wright-ing the somatic: narrating the bodily

This special issue emerged from the two-day Symposium Wright-ing the Somatic: dancing & writing Professional Practice that we curated at Middlesex University in August 2016 https://vimeo.com/274485377 . This symposium was the first in a trilogy we have subsequently curated (Narrating the Somatic: gathering voices, sharing practices https://vimeo.com/274482762 in Feb 2018, and the forthcoming Queering the Somatic: interrupting the narrative in November 2019). The Symposiums have been clustered around an interest in how we move through, between, and across the communication of dance practices in order to share our processes for, and understanding of, the moving body. The Symposiums respond to calls to find resonant ways to share the embodied/emplaced perspectives and knowing(s) that the somatic practice of dance gives to artist-scholars as they engage with dance, become dance, or witness dancing. [Editorial

Transactional space: feedback, critical thinking, and learning dance technique

This article explores attitudes about feedback and critical thinking in dance technique classes. We discuss an expansion of our teaching practices to include feedback as bidirectional (transactional) and a part of developing critical thinking skills in student dancers. The article was written after we undertook research exploring attitudes and cultures surrounding feedback in dance technique classes within university settings in the United Kingdom and the United States. Using a hybrid ethnographic (practice as research) model we collected data through class observations, individual interviews with students and teachers, and journaling and reflecting on our own daily teaching practice. Pseudonyms have been used throughout and permission obtained from participants to include their voices in the article.1(1. This research was approved by University ethics board and institution review board, and followed rigorous ethical procedures, including consent forms and reviews during our process.) At the beginning of our inquiry we were interested in exploring how students received feedback. We thought this would involve discovering more about the forms and ways feedback can be communicated to students, particularly how a climate of negative feedback can be avoided in the classroom. However, as we carried out the research we realized that merely looking at how feedback is communicated constructs feedback as one-directional. We questioned whether we had been placing enough importance on the notion that feedback can be transactional. Following John Dewey, we take the term transactional to indicate dynamic, co-created relationships and environments (Dewey and Boydston 2008 Dewey, J., and J. A. Boydston. 2008. The later works of John Dewey, 1925–1953. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.). We realized that how feedback is communicated is significant, of course, but the means by which it is recognized as feedback by students, and how it is responded to is of equal bearing. This led us to consider the importance of students’ (and teachers’) critical thinking in our classrooms, as we felt student responses to feedback are as important as the action of giving it. By critical thinking we are suggesting skills of evaluation that allow for synthesis of ideas and support the ability to have shifts in perception. We want our students to develop the analytical skills to let go of an essentialist approach to their perception of themselves as dancers, and instead critically challenge their habitual movements and notions of what dance can be. Thus we see critical thinking as supporting the co-construction and permeability of a transactional approach to feedback. Informed by Dewey’s somatic starting point we approached the inquiry from a theoretical framework that places bodily experience as central—which we are calling embodiment. (This methodology is examined further in Akinleye 2016 Akinleye, A. 2016. Her life in movement: Embodiment as a methodology. In Researching embodied sport: Exploring movement cultures, ed. I. Wellard, 178–96. London: Routledge.). In this article we discuss how we have come to see a relationship among feedback, communication, and critical thinking in dance technique classrooms

Professional artefacts: embodying ideas in work-based learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present and examine the addition of a “professional artefact” to the course requirements for the BA Honours Professional Practice (BAPP) (Arts) programme at Middlesex University. Design/methodology/approach – This paper takes a case study approach using reflection, indicative theories and consideration of student work to evaluate the introduction of the “professional artefact” into the BAPP (Arts) curriculum. Following pragmatist and phenomenological descriptions of the lived experience as embodied (Dewey et al., 1989; Merleau-Ponty, 2002) and using learning models based on experience in the workplace (Boud and Garrick, 1999), the paper's methodology takes the work-based principle of “experience as knowledge” to examine the impact of the professional artefact on students learning. Findings – The professional artefact has proven to be a useful way for the learners on the course to reflect on the purpose of their own study and the ways in which work-based learning can be incorporated into their practice through embodied “ideas”. Practical implications – The paper suggests that the inclusion of a professional artefact to the curriculum provides a flexible means for bridging academic and workplace learning. The inclusion of the professional artefact could be recommended as a strategy for other work-based learning programmes. Originality/value – The added value for professional practice is that the professional artefact provides a flexible and creative means of communication for emerging and establishing workplace professionals

Combating Financial Crimes Through Forensic Accounting in Nigerian Public Sector

Financial crimes are a global issue which remains unresolved.  These crimes have plagued every corner of the world economy. The adverse effect of these crimes is immense in Nigeria. Continuous research confirmed a strong demand for the forensic accounting of preventing, detecting and arresting of financial crimes menace in Nigeria and the rest of the world. However, the studies of combating financial crimes through forensic accounting are very few in literature and not fully explored in Nigerian public sector. This study therefore, sets to examine the impact of forensic accounting techniques for combating financial crimes in Nigerian public sector. This study employs a survey research design and purposive sampling technique to select the sample of eighty six (86) accountants and auditors of the three selected ministries in Osun State, Nigeria. Both primary and secondary data were collected. The primary data was collected through a designed structured questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tools. It was found that combating of financial crimes in Nigerian public sector through the application of forensic accounting is possible as the. p–value = 0.00 < 0.01. This study therefore concluded that, government of Nigeria should increase the interest in and facilitate the growth of forensic accounting by giving legal backing for proper monitory and investigation of alleged cases of financial crimes. This study recommended that, all government ministries, agencies and parastatals should establish forensic accounting unit to help strengthen internal controls and ensure thorough investigation in order to prevent, deter and detect financial crimes and the University regulatory body as well as the accounting professional bodies should ensure that forensic accounting courses are included in the curricula to ensure the training and increased awareness of forensic accounting in Nigeria. Keywords: Forensic Accounting, Financial Crimes, Nigerian Public Sector. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/11-11-05 Publication date:June 30th 202

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL OF TREAP AND HEAP SORT ALGORITHMS

The task of storing items to allow for fast access to an item given its key is an ubiquitous problem in many organizations. Treap as a method uses key and priority for searching in databases. When the keys are drawn from a large totally ordered set, the choice of storing the items is usually some sort of search tree. The simplest form of such tree is a binary search tree. In this tree, a set X of n items is stored at the nodes of a rooted binary tree in which some item y ϵ X is chosen to be stored at the root of the tree. Heap as data structure is an array object that can be viewed as a nearly complete binary tree in which each node of the tree corresponds to an element of the array that stores the value in the node. Both algorithms were subjected to sorting under the same experimental environment and conditions. This was implemented by means of threads which call each of the two methods simultaneously. The server keeps records of individual search time which was the basis of the comparison. It was discovered that treap was faster than heap sort in sorting and searching for elements using systems with homogenous properties.   &nbsp

Reduction of Uranium by Bacterial Products

The Old Rifle Mill Processing site at Rifle, CO, contains uranium contaminated groundwater. The presence of uranium is one of the major problems at Department of Energy legacy sites. There is an initiative for attenuation of uranium by the Department of Energy. Uranium undergoes oxidation/reduction reactions with the substances at the site. Uranium’s oxidation state determines its solubility and mobility in the aquifer. The oxidation reduction pathways at this site have mineralogical, microbial and geochemical components. Understanding the oxidation/reduction pathways of these components will allow for better predictions of the changes and movement of uranium. Sulfide [S2- ] and Ferrous [Fe2] ions are products of microbial activity. These ions can reduce uranium [U(VI)], but bicarbonate ions [HCO3-] in the aquifers slows down the reaction. However, we believe that organic matter in the environment enhances U(VI) reduction by Fe2+and S2- in the absence of microbes. To address this, U(VI) was mixed with Fe2+ or S2- in autoclaved biomass from Rifle and artificial groundwater for seven to eleven days. Aqueous samples from the vials will be analyzed for Uranium presence using ICP-MS [Inductively Coupled Plasma- Mass Spectrometry]. The biomass from each of the samples will be analyzed using XAS [X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy] to determine the ionization state of Uranium. Based on the data, we can conclude that there is a significant decrease of the concentration of uranium from the reaction when the biomass was not sterilized. There were no differences within in the vials that had Fe2+ or S2-. The XAS data shows a mixture of U(IV) and U(VI) in the biomasss and more U(IV) in the biomass that was not sterilized. This suggests that the bacterial products alone is not completely responsible for the reduction of uranium

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY ANALYSIS OF NIGERIAN ROAD TRANSPORTATION SECTOR: EFFECTS OF INFLUENCED FUEL DEMAND PATTERNS

Petrol and diesel utilisations in the Nigerian road transportation sector have been assessed, using exergy efficiency and improvement potential as parameters. The mean petrol engine exergy efficiency was 13.05%, while that of diesel engines was 10.79%. The average improvement potential of petrol engines was 2.07×1011 MJ, which was 75.6% of average input exergy. Diesel engines had an average improvement potential of 5.15×1010 MJ, which was 69.2% of average input exergy. Practical constancy of the exergy efficiencies of the engines left input exergy values as the sole determining factors of improvement potentials of the systems. Petrol fuel was found to be utilised, away from sustainable path, more than diesel fuel. This observation was found attributable to subsidisation of petrol downstream sector and simultaneous deregulation of the diesel downstream sector as well as the preponderance of petrol engines in the road transportation sector. In conclusion, it was recommended that a mechanism be put in place to check the unsustainable petrol fuel utilisation in the transport sector