The sinner, the stranger, the sacrifice maker : an apocryphal autobiography

textThis report serves as a kind of explanation and expansion upon the work I have taken on the past few months. It explores how the concepts of memory and perspective play a role in the narratives that we create. I accomplish this through my work with board games and theatrical recreations. It further discusses the ways in which I address the importance of narrative and story telling through both style and the reinterpretation of my own biography.Studio Ar

Southwesterly Town Lot Histories of Fairfield, Pennsylvania

Each lot history give the original lot number, original owner, the current address, the owner of the lot in 1860, a description of the lot or dwelling in 1860, a recital of ownership with as much detail as is known, a comprehensive lot history, any known residents in 1860 (may be different than lot owner), and any family notes on any residents mentioned in the lot history. The research is comprehensive, but not necessarily exhaustive. Thorough information for all lots was not always available to the researcher

QUANTIFYING AND MANAGING RISK IN AGRICULTURE

Risk and Uncertainty,

From viability to sustainability: the contribution of the viable systems approach (VSA)

The current dynamics of business systems require new ways of conceiving the role of single entities. On this basis, a complex of interactions between the company and the reference context must be activated to guarantee survival dynamics. From these considerations re-emerge the ideas of Peccei (2013) and King (2013) that recognise in the systemic thought the foundations for a sustainable society. The present study derives from these considerations, and aims at contributing to the advancement of the knowledge necessary to overcome the challenges in the sustainability field. The methodological approach, albeit heuristic, can be traced back to the positive scientific and constructivist method. The results of the study showed the prevalence of qualitative and subjective techniques, accompanied by the so-called inductive method, testifying to the intense interaction between the scholar and the object investigated. With regard to future research, it would be interesting to construct a flexible, scalable and extensible model to recover both a database and an ontology for the theoretical framework

Liberal outcomes through undemocratic means: the reform of the Code de statut personnel in Morocco

The 2004 reform of the family code in Morocco has been held as one of the most significant liberal reforms undertaken in the country, and has led scholars and policy makers to argue that this demonstrates the democratic progress Morocco and the King are making. At the same time, the role of the women's movement in getting the reform approved has seemingly confirmed that associational life is crucial in promoting democratisation. This paper, building on theoretical work questioning the linkage between a strong civil society and democratic outcomes, argues that civil society activism does not necessarily lead to democratisation, and may reinforce authoritarian practices. Far from demonstrating the centrality of civil society, the process through which the new family code was passed highlights the crucial institutional role of the monarch, whose individual decision-making power has driven the whole process. Authoritarianism finds itself strengthened in Morocco despite the liberal nature and outcome of the reform

Queen Anne Commands: clothing the kettle drummer to the Ordnance 1706-1709

The account books of the Board of Ordnance in the National Archives list the provisions made to the Ordnance, including clothing, and offer a wonderful insight into uniform provided to the soldiers serving with this branch of the military at time of the War of the Spanish Succession. Through a series of accounts dating from 1706 to 1708 this paper demonstrates how one position under the control of the Board of Ordnance, that of the kettle drummer, was ostentatious in the extreme requiring ninety yards of gold lace. The article will relate his clothing to clothing provided to other soldiers, and show how his clothes reflected the high status of the kettle drummer

Thisnesses, Propositions, and Truth

Presentists, who believe that only present objects exist, should accept a thisness ontology, since it can do considerable work in defence of presentism. In this paper, I propose a version of presentism that involves thisnesses of past and present entities and I argue this view solves important problems facing standard versions of presentism

Race, identity and the meaning of Jazz in 1940s Britain

During the Blitz, on 8 March 1941, a bomb fell on the Café de Paris, an exclusive London nightclub, just as the Guianaian-born bandleader Ken “Snakehips” Johnson and his West Indian Dance Orchestra were in full swing. Johnson and saxophonist Dave ‘Baba’ Williams were killed in the blast, which also marked the demise of this successful group. The Orchestra was dedicated to reproducing emergent American big band jazz, but contemporary reports (if not extant recorded performances) also suggest the influence of calypso and rumba. Similarly, even prior to the arrival of the Empire Windrush, which is often characterised as heralding the start of mass immigration, a vivid mix of black music styles could be heard in London clubs. This diversity reflected cultural importations from the Empire and beyond, including jazz, which was being increasingly identified globally as black music. In Britain, black musicians were necessarily fluent in a variety of genres, irrespective of their particular cultural roots. Indeed, the members of the West Indian Dance Orchestra were not all from the Caribbean, or indeed America; the band included black musicians that had been resident in the UK for some time, more recent immigrants, and some members that were British-born. The pervasive hybridity of the London scene suggests a generalised perception of black music commensurate with blurring of the black identities of the musicians, which is perhaps characteristic of the black British experience. But also there is a sense in which jazz-based fusions, as demonstrated by the West Indian Dance Orchestra, were very particular responses to jazz reflecting the complexities of race and identity. Continued immigration and the corresponding representation of diverse national musics, as well as the emergence of indigenous popular styles, is indicative of the multicultural backdrop for the investigation of the complex and ever-changing meaning of jazz with respect to race and identity (particularly black British) in post-Second World War Britain. This chapter examines the subsequent careers of surviving members of the West Indian Dance Orchestra and proceeds to relate their experiences to those of contemporary jazz musicians in Britain, interrogating an apparent dichotomy of (imported, or closely derivative) jazz in Britain and (native, with original elements) British jazz. The chapter draws on interviews from the (UK) National Sound Archive’s ‘Oral History of Jazz in Britain’ collection and those conducted as part of the AHRC-funded project ‘What is Black British Jazz?’