Shakespearean spiders and Shakespearean slime mould: allusion and posthuman identity in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time novels

This article draws on the debts to Shakespeare – in particular Hamlet, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest – in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time novels in order to illuminate the trilogy’s complex engagement with posthuman identities. It identifies and analyses a sustained pattern of connections between Tchaikovsky’s allusive processes and the various biological processes which drive the trilogy’s complex plot. In response to critical disagreement over whether Tchaikovsky embraces or rejects an anthropocentric view of the universe, it argues that Shakespeare’s own practice of arguing in utramque partem, on both sides of the question, provides a model for decoding Tchaikovsky’s complex, shifting and playful exploration of humanity’s encounters with very different life forms.</p

Shakespearean spiders and Shakespearean slime mould: allusion and posthuman identity in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time novels

This article draws on the debts to Shakespeare – in particular Hamlet, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest – in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time novels in order to illuminate the trilogy’s complex engagement with posthuman identities. It identifies and analyses a sustained pattern of connections between Tchaikovsky’s allusive processes and the various biological processes which drive the trilogy’s complex plot. In response to critical disagreement over whether Tchaikovsky embraces or rejects an anthropocentric view of the universe, it argues that Shakespeare’s own practice of arguing in utramque partem, on both sides of the question, provides a model for decoding Tchaikovsky’s complex, shifting and playful exploration of humanity’s encounters with very different life forms.</p

Seven Jewish Children and Definitions of Antisemitism

 The Rebirth of Antisemitism in the 21st Century is about the rise of antizionism and antisemitism in the first two decades of the 21st century, with a focus on the UK. It is written by the activist-intellectuals, both Jewish and not, who led the opposition to the campaign for an academic boycott of Israel. Their experiences convinced them that the boycott movement, and the antizionism upon which it was based, was fuelled by, and in turn fuelled, antisemitism. The book shows how the level of hostility towards Israel exceeded the hostility which is levelled against other states. And it shows how the quality of that hostility tended to resonate with antisemitic tropes, images and emotions. Antizionism positioned Israel as symbolic of everything that good people oppose, it made Palestinians into an abstract symbol of the oppressed, and it positioned most Jews as saboteurs of social ‘progress’. The book shows how antisemitism broke into mainstream politics and how it contaminated the Labour Party as it made a bid for Downing Street. This book will be of interest to scholars and students researching antizionism, antisemitism and the Labour Party in the UK.</p

Brown_et_al_Appendix_1

Contains general sample information, mtDNA haplotype data, Y chromosome haplotypes and microsatellite data for Arctic dogs and wolves

Household portfolio allocation, uncertainty, and risk

Analysing the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the Health and Retirement Study, we investigate the extent to which US households reduce their financial risk exposure when confronted with background risk. Our novel modelling approach – termed a deflated ordered fractional model – quantifies how the overall composition of a household portfolio with three asset classes adjusts with background risk, and is unique in recovering for any given risky asset class the shares that are reallocated to each safer asset category. Background risk exerts a significant impact on household portfolios, inducing a ‘flight from risk’ from riskier to safer assets

Financial expectations and household consumption: does middle inflation matter?

Using British panel data, we explore the finding that households often expect their financial position to remain unchanged compared to other alternatives. A generalised middle inflated ordered probit (GMIOP) model is used to account for the tendency of individuals to choose neutral responses when faced with attitudinal and opinion-based questions, which are a common feature of survey data. Our analysis strongly supports the use of a GMIOP model to account for this response pattern. Expectations indices based on competing discrete choice models are then exploited to explore the role that financial expectations play in driving the consumption of different types of durable goods and the amount of expenditure undertaken. Whilst financial optimism is significantly associated with increased consumption, indices which fail to take into account middle-inflation overestimate the impact of financial expectations.</p

A systematic review into the effectiveness of Integrated Offender Management

Integrated Offender Management was introduced by the Home Office and Ministry of Justice in 2009. Since its introduction, it has been piloted, developed and implemented across probation and policing areas within England and Wales. The scheme aims to reduce reoffending through the targeting of specific cohorts of offenders within local areas. Understanding its overall effectiveness would therefore be paramount in supporting its ongoing development. This article presents a systematic review of the research regarding the effectiveness of Integrated Offender Management. There were 15 articles reviewed in this regard, using a search criterion and assessment of the research aims. The findings revealed key areas which impact upon effectiveness: partnerships; locality and offender cohorts; finance; and workforce

Supplemental_Material. – Supplemental material for Care Planning: What Works, for Whom, and in What Circumstances? A Rapid Realist Review

<p>Supplemental material, Supplemental_Material. for Care Planning: What Works, for Whom, and in What Circumstances? A Rapid Realist Review by Sarah Brown, Monique Lhussier, Sonia M. Dalkin and Simon Eaton in Qualitative Health Research</p

Understanding consumer behaviour and adaptation planning responses to climate-driven environmental change in Canada's parks and protected areas: a climate futurescapes approach

<p>Parks and protected areas are a global ecological, social and health resource visited by over 8 billion people annually. Their use can yield substantial benefits, but only if a balance between ecological integrity and sustainable visitation is struck. This research explores the potential influence of climate-driven environmental change on visitation to North America's most popular glacier, the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park, Canada. Photorealistic environmental visualizations were used to gauge visitors’ perceptions of environmental change and potential impacts on consumer behaviour. Results suggest that impacts could substantially diminish the site's pull as a tourism destination. Rather than improving visitation prospects, expert-proposed adaptations underestimated the importance of perceived naturalness and contributed to further potential decline. Findings are relevant to protected areas planning and management. They suggest that a natural path to climate change adaptation is the best way to support both ecological integrity and the long-term tourism pull of protected areas.</p

Table_1,_Table_2_(1) – Care Planning: What Works, for Whom, and in What Circumstances? A Rapid Realist Review

<p>Supplemental material, Table_1,_Table_2_(1) for Care Planning: What Works, for Whom, and in What Circumstances? A Rapid Realist Review by Sarah Brown, Monique Lhussier, Sonia M. Dalkin and Simon Eaton in Qualitative Health Research</p