Militant training camp and the aesthetics of civil disobedience

This paper examines the current interest in ‘art activism’ (Grindon 2010), and the relationship between artistic expression and civil disobedience. Boris Groys has argued that the lack of political dissidence within contemporary art is not down to the ineffectiveness of the aesthetic, but the far more effective intrusion of the aesthetic by the political (Groys 2008). As such, the political question of civil disobedience is necessarily an aesthetic one. At the same time, this raises problems for how politically effective artistic dissidence can be. As Grindon argues, if art activism often only mimics ‘real’ social activism, it remains within the boundaries of the gallery system with no real consequences (2010: 11). Most art activism fails to be effective civil disobedience, in this sense, as it already operates within the confines of pre-established curatorial spaces. As such, the use of art for the purposes of civil disobedience cannot be, then, mere aestheticism, but rather must act as ‘an insight into the transformed mechanisms of conquest’ (Groys, in Abdullah & Benzer 2011: 86): a conflict over the topology of disobedience which exposes the interrelation of aesthetics and politics through medium, space and archive. This paper critically assesses attempts in contemporary art to re-appropriate the symbolic dimension of dissidence as an aesthetic; in particular the use of militancy, asceticism and dissidence as an attempt to move beyond mere counter-political protest and towards a reclaiming of aesthetics from the intrusions of politics. It uses as a specific case example Militant Training Camp, a social experimental performance camp held at Arcadia Missa Gallery in London, March 2012. This weeklong performance piece was designed to explore the activity and mind-set of militant groups and the idea of non-pacifist activity within wider social movements. Engaging with not only the tradition of anarchist activism, but also more recent artistic engagements with civil disobedience (such as the Yes Men; Avaaz.org; Bike Bloc), the camp involved a residential ascetic ‘training programme’ followed by a series of violent performances open to the public, often disturbing other sites of protest such as Anarchist theatres and Occupy sites in the process. The paper uses first-hand documentary evidence and critical reflection on the event in order to argue that, as both an act of civil disobedience, and an exploration of the limits of its aesthetic treatment, the event raises two specific issues surrounding the notion of disobedience and its conceptual possibilities. The first issue is the representation of rage within the context of art activism. Here, the performance is discussed with particular reference to Sloterdijk’s arguments that argues that militancy and revolt operate under a ‘thymotic economy’ (2010: 58). However, Sloterdijk’s re-appropriation of the thymotic – a conceptualising of ‘rage’ which is not absorbed within the sublimination of psychology or Habermasian symbolism – is not as simple as offering an alternative, ‘non-symbolic’ rage. Given that modern militancy is always subject to containment (the ‘civility’ of civil disobedience), the second issue raised is the formative role of ‘curating’ acts of disobedience. Using the work of Groys on aesthetics and power, the paper assesses how ‘events’ of civil disobedience such as Militant Training Camp are located, represented, circulated and even stored, and the ways in which they might resist their reduction to or supplementing of a further economy (be it symbolic, banal or simply pious) which conceals the formative ‘rage’ of disobedience

Recent changes in Germany's foreign trade balance

International trade - Germany

Flexible polyurethane in fire investigation : detection of hydrogen cyanide and time until flashover

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Science.Although the majority of fires attended by Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) originate in the kitchen, most fatalities occur in the lounge and bedrooms. These rooms have a comparatively higher proportion of polyurethane (PU) and hence this project sought to focus on the role of PU during the progression of a fire. The research presented here is a significant addition to the existing body of knowledge and, for the first time, investigates whether the time until flashover is proportional to the amount of PU in a cell. Additional research was undertaken to determine the lowest temperature that hydrogen cyanide (HCN) could be detected in effluent produced from the degradation of polymeric materials, specifically flexible PU. Thirty large scale burns, which were fuelled with PU-containing furniture, were conducted at three different sites in the United States of America (USA) and Australia between 2007 and 2010. After significant method optimisation (that concentrated on the standardisation of the majority of the experimental parameters) the time until flashover based on the amount of PU in the cell was successfully determined. Gas analysis was run in parallel to the large scale burns. To facilitate gas sampling an apparatus was developed to remotely trap effluent produced during the progression of a fire, by drawing it through potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution from directly inside the fire cell. The system was used in conjunction with a novel HCN detection method using Ultraviolet Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The method involved adding nickel (Ni²⁺) solution to the KOH + fire effluent solution and analysing the resultant solution using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The positive presence of HCN in the fire effluent could be shown by the presence of the tetracyanonickelate (II) complex with a characteristic absorbance at 267 nm. The presence of HCN in fire effluent was quantitatively determined in the pre-flame and at an interval of 30 minutes post suppression in the large scale burns conducted in Australia. In addition a commercially available Ion Selective Electrode (ISE) specific to HCN was used to analyse the KOH + fire effluent solution; though it and was found that this technique was best suited to qualitative, rather than qualitative, work. In a controlled laboratory environment the detection of HCN between 171 °C – 203 °C was investigated. Using a modified version of the method used to detect HCN at the large scale test burns, PU foam was heated in an oven between 171 °C – 180 °C and 184 °C – 203 °C and the resultant effluent was drawn through KOH solution at different time intervals. An amount of Ni²⁺ solution was added to each of the collected sample solutions. The presence of the characteristic absorbance caused by the combination of CN⁻ and Ni²⁺ to form tetracyanonickelate (II) complex was determined using UV-Vis spectroscopy. In some cases the fire effluent was found to contain HCN after heating PU foam for 30 minutes and 50 minutes at both temperature ranges. The data presented in this body will provide insight to fire investigators when determining the origin and cause of fires, when flashover is suspected to have occurred. This research will certainly benefit the occupant as it provides data to inform the development of a self egress plan that acknowledges the presence of PU in a fire, and its potential hazards. Emergency services members can use the information described in this work to further inform the level of respiratory personal protection equipment (PPE) required when they attend the post suppression scene of a PU fuelled fire. Finally, the research undertaken in this work regarding time until flashover has the potential to inform fire brigades, such as FRNSW, at a strategic level when developing their response time isochrome map (the time taken for an engine to respond to a fire at the furthest point within their area

Leadership development programme: a multi-method evaluation

This report investigates findings arising from a variety of forms of feedback provided by the first cohort of participants (2012-2013) in Cumbria Partnership Foundation Trust’s “Leadership Development” Programme (LDP). The report summarises both quantitative and qualitative feedback, and synthesises findings to provide a more three-dimensional overview of participant experience and systemic impact. Feedback reflects, throughout, the diversity of the participating cohort in terms of professional roles and levels of seniority

Book review: Kierkegaard’s journals and notebooks, volume 7: journals NB15-NB20

This volume of the new complete translation of Søren Kierkegaard’s Skrifter (for my review of earlier volumes, see The European Legacy 17.2 and 19.4), includes the journals and notebooks archived as NB15 to NB20, written throughout 1850. As with previous volumes, this edition features a translation of the journals in a two-column format, in order to best represent the multiple alterations and drafting Kierkegaard made to his own personal documents. These are followed by a “Critical Account of the Text” (discussing both the physical appearance and chronological information of each notebook), and “Explanatory Notes” by the editors. These notes include maps of the cities and areas that Kierkegaard discusses, the calendar for the year he followed (particularly pertinent in this edition, given the number of reflections on holy feast days Kierkegaard reflects on in NB15), and any illustrations that he refers to in his writing

Learning Leaders: a multi-method evaluation, final report

This report investigates findings arising from a variety of forms of feedback on Cumbria Partnership Foundation Trust’s “Learning Leaders” Programme (henceforth LLP) running from 2012-2013

Ground Under Repair: Balancing Conformity and Non-Conformity in Women's Golf in Britain at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

This thesis examines the place of women golfers in Britain at the turn of the twentieth century and the developments they were making in the game. Looking at the changes and evolution of women’s golf in Britain through the lenses of gender, sociability, Britishness and international competition, class, and amateurism and entrepreneurship it seeks to demonstrate the important place women created for themselves within golf. Drawing primarily from contemporary golfing magazines, books written by golfing women of the era, and newspaper articles about women’s golf, this thesis explores the way British women golfers changed perceptions of themselves as well as the game of golf itself through their participation in it. The main argument of this thesis is that golfing women at the turn of the twentieth century used their actions to balance social ideals of conformity and non-conformity in order to make small, meaningful change within the game and in broader society, while also keeping their appearances as “proper” women of the upper-classes

Gillick and the Consent of Minors: Contraceptive Advice and Treatment in New Zealand

The English House of Lords decision in Gillick has dominated the issue of minor capacity to consent for the last 25 years, but the decision has raised more issues and ambiguities than it hoped to solve.  The speeches in Gillick, although extrapolated to general issues of minor consent, were made in the context of contraception advice and treatment.  In New Zealand there is no legislation or case law determining if and when minors can obtain contraception advice and treatment without parental consent or knowledge.  This raises concerns for health professionals' practice and minors' status as patients.  This article discusses whether the rulings in Gillick are applicable or even should be applicable to New Zealand with regards to contraception. The article suggests a scheme for giving contraceptive advice and treatment to minors through a modification of Lord Fraser’s guidelines. These modifications have been incorporated into a suggested legislative framework and professional guidelines

On Covidiots and Covexperts: Stupidity and the Politics of Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the significance of the politics of health as an ongoing interpretative event. The effectiveness of delivering prevention strategies is in negotiation with day-to-day arguments in the public sphere, not just by “experts” in peer-reviewed papers, but also in the everyday interpretations and discussions of available expertise on print and digital media platforms. In this paper I explore ae particular facet of these public debate over the politics of health: the deployment of the commonplace of stupidity. I argue that the growth of this commonplace within discussion is rooted in particular models of interpretation which limit self-understanding, by over-emphasising certain points of significance within the interpretative horizon over more banal (and “stupid”) aspects that are, nevertheless, influential on health interventions