Phenomenology and/or objects of exchange

This paper begins with explaining my diagram titled 'An interpretation of how Phenomenology and DNA meet in the cultural prosthetic in Bernard Stiegler’s ‘Technics and Time’'. It continues through anecdotally recalling an experience I had as a tutor with an art student and then develops two positions concerning the ontology of artworks that are stimulated by Mario Perniola's 'Art and its Shadow' (2004). These positions are then extrapolated into the dynamic of arts education and the proposition of a methodology peculiar to art. A methodology that attempts to negotiate the valorisation of artworks as artifacts and the valorisation of artworks as social processes of mediation. This duality is resolved in the question of the incorporation of the inorganic artefact, a process that produces viscosity in the inorganic and retards social processes

Book Review Child and Family Assessment in Social Work Practice 2nd Edition

Output Type: Book Revie

The role of structural characteristics in video-game play motivation: a Q-methodology study

Until recently, there has been very little naturalistic study of what gaming experiences are like, and how gaming fits into people’s lives. Using a recently developed structural characteristic taxonomy of video games, this study examined the psycho-structural elements of computer games that motivate gamers to play them. Using Q-Sort methodology, 40 gamers participated in an online Q-sort task. Results identified six distinct types of gamers based on the factors generated: (a) story-driven solo gamers; (b) social gamers; (c) solo limited gamers; (d) hardcore online gamers; (e) solo control=identity gamers; and (f ) casual gamers. These gaming types are discussed, and a brief evaluation of similar and unique elements of the different types of gamer is also offered. The current study shows Q-methodology to be a relevant and applicable method in the psychological research of gaming

Making Social Work Work: Improving social work for vulnerable families and children without parental care around the world: A literature review

This literature review calls for families and children in developing countries to be supported in ways that are appropriate to the conditions, culture and resources available rather than through approaches to social work that are common in the west. Children living without, or at risk of losing, parental care have wide and varied needs, this paper highlights the need for more thorough assessments of appropriate approaches, functions and support needs for social workers, and suggests elements of an assessment tool to explore these issues. This paper is the first part of a longer process for developing such an assessment tool, and plans are underway to further develop and test the tool in 2012.- See more at: http://www.everychild.org.uk/resources/reports-policies/making-social-work-work#sthash.4EF6qnzc.dpu

A national health information strategy for Malta

In 1992 a national health information strategy was developed jointly by the Department of Health and the Information Systems Division. A detailed strategy study report was compiled, with recommendations for the development of a number of information systems. The main system proposed was an integrated and comprehensive health care information system encompassing all of Malta’s hospitals and health centres, based on a single Patient Master Index. This system would support the concepts of an integrated health record and of a person-based view for resource management.peer-reviewe

Monitoring and Modelling the Vibrational Effects of Small (<50 kW) Wind Turbines on the Eskdalemuir IMS Station

It is known (Styles et al., 2005) that windfarms generate low frequency vibrations which propagate through the ground and have the potential to adversely affect sensitive installations, most notably seismometer arrays set up to monitor for nuclear tests. Significant work on the effects of large wind turbines has been carried out by Keele University as well as by Schofield (2002) and Fiori et al (2009). For the Eskdalemuir International Monitoring System station in Scotland, a vibration threshold was set, for wind farms within 50 km of Eskdalemuir, at frequencies around the 4 to 5 Hz region. However, with increased development, the threshold is being approached and small wind turbines (less than 50kW), even of the order of 15kW have also been restricted despite the differences in scale and modes of vibration. In order to protect Eskdalemuir a threshold limit was set for any turbine as a holding measure and a programme to try to establish whether they were really problematic has been carried out. Models for two wind turbine types from the manufacturers Proven and Gaia-Wind have been calculated and measurement programmes carried out. It has been possible to demonstrate that in most cases these small turbines do not generate significant energy in the band of concern and that the levels are low enough to be negligible. Small turbines once evaluated and monitored by Keele University and given approval by the UK Ministry of Defence, will receive clearance for deployment around the Eskdalemuir site at distances greater than 10km

PastPlace: the historical gazetteer service from the people who brought you A Vision of Britain through Time

The PastPlace API offers a simple web service, responding to a variety of queries by returning information from the same database as underlies the Vision of Britain web site, in a range of structured formats. These queries can be typed into a web browser as URLs, and the response viewed in the browser. However, the queries would more usually be sent by another server on the web, and the response processed by that server. That server might itself be creating web pages for use by the general public, but it might also be a cataloguing or records management system, using our API as a name authority. This poster is the first public description of the servic

Race, emotions and rhetoric in British anti-slavery literature, 1787-1833

My research investigates the different emotions used in British anti-slavery literature. Abolitionist (anti-slavery) writers used sentimental tropes (expressions of sadness, such as slave's tears) to evoke sympathy, and gain the reader's support for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade. This will be compared with portrayals of anger, manifested in slave revolts, violence, and vengeance, although this was problematic as it highlighted the threat posed by slaves. Therefore, abolitionists portrayed slaves praying for divine vengeance, depicting natural disasters (such as earthquakes) as manifestations of God's wrath. Such fear tactics portrayed slavery as a national sin, with abolition as the only way to avoid divine punishment. Current scholarship concerns abolitionist's use of individual emotions, which my research develops with a comparison of these emotions. It will impact both historical studies of the anti-slavery campaign and literary studies of emotions, as well as potentially influencing persuasive techniques of future political campaigns