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Artificial eye clinics address physical and aesthetic aspects of orbital prostheses, but psychological effects may not be formally addressed. In general, without effective coping mechanisms, stress can lead to anxiety and depression. This study aims to determine, in the context of having an artificial eye, whether coping strategies, as well as perception of illness and other demographic and clinical variables are associated with anxiety or depression.Consecutive patients attending two artificial eye clinics were invited to participate in this audit. Participants completed questionnaires: HADS, Brief IPQ and Brief COPE. Variables with a correlation coefficient of ≥0.2 with anxiety or depression were included in regression modeling. The extent to which the participants' emotional and cognitive representations of their artificial eye related to feelings of anxiety and depression was determined.In the cohort of 208, clinically significant anxiety was present in 29.5% and clinically significant depression was present in 8.4%. Perceptions of the impact of the artificial eye and self-blame as a coping strategy were correlated with anxiety. Depression levels were higher when participants believed that their artificial eye had a greater impact on their life, when they lived alone, and when they used substances as a coping strategy.Significant levels of anxiety exist in those living with artificial eyes, with various coping strategies used. Addressing this and offering alternative coping strategies may improve patient well being and overall satisfaction.

Low persistence and degree completion rates are of paramount concern for higher education researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. There is some evidence that students’ success in higher educa...

The Campbell Plateau is a dominating bathymetric feature of New Zealand’s subantarctic region, strongly influencing the dynamics of both the Subtropical Front (STF) to the north and the Subantarcti...

This paper examines the concept of community in the context of U2’s ‘360°’ tour (2009–2011). It contributes to leisure studies by offering a detailed insight into the production of, sense of belong...

In higher education, espoused commitments to equity, diversity, and inclusion far outpace the allocation of dedicated resources necessary to enact those commitments. Moving beyond the status quo in...

One Touch of Venus is a musical comedy starring Ava Gardner as an ancient statue of Venus brought to life in a department store. The film’s release coincided with the rising late-1940s press discourse of the screen ‘goddess’ and ‘Venus’, as well as that of the ‘war goddess’, a figure closely aligned with the femme fatale of film noir. This article discusses how Universal-International’s campaign exploited Gardner’s rising profile, including the Bakelite figurine of the star distributed to exhibitors, and beauty contest tie-ins where fans could measure themselves up against star and sculpture alike. This Bakelite Venus mediates between the marble fantasy of Gardner’s screen Venus, the authorship of the star, and the enveloping myth of screen stardom. But Hollywood pedestals are built to crumble, and the constructed ideals of classical beauty are here also exposed as a commodified travesty in marble, flesh and Bakelite. While Gardner was ‘built-up’ as a goddess, like her peers Rita Hayworth and Maureen O’Hara, this patriarchal construct of female beauty was also repressive, disempowering and de-humanising. This article uses the Bakelite Venus as a case study into the still-resonant divinising, and desecrating, connotations of such publicity.

This article provides an engagement with American paleoconservatism at the level of its intellectual foundations. Although relatively unknown in the mainstream media, this anti-establishment strain...

Gatekeepers are those in a position to recognize, in others, potentially problematic presenting issues, and who are willing and able to connect those persons to relevant service providers. In the d...

Typically, analysts perceive the U.S.-Mexico border in terms of brown and white, that is, as the place where Mexican and (White) American cultures both come together as well as divide and c...

Utilizing a sample drawn to represent the general U.S. population, the present study experimentally tested whether a call-center’s disclaimer regarding limits to caller confidentiality (i.e., that ...

The 2017 English Academy conference had as its theme ‘Decolonial turns, postcolonial shifts and cultural connections’, and the first three articles in this issue of The English Academy Review are a...

The articles in this issue of The English Academy Review are all, in one way or another, concerned with reactions to oppression and conflict. In all cases, the primary focus is on texts that come f...

As the field of countering violent extremism (CVE) evolves, increased emphasis has been placed on the development of interventions intended to be individually tailored to the needs of intervention program participants. Despite such emphasis, there is scant empirical research, much less experimental research, regarding psychological mechanisms that either bolster, or hinder, the effectiveness of such interventions. The present study experimentally tested two factors, in addition to accounting for a third, for their effects on an outcome potentially germane to a wide range of tailored CVE interventions: participants’ voluntary, unsupervised behavior toward out-group members.Specifically, based upon Terror Management Theory, the present study answered the following questions. (1) Might priming individuals with notions of immortality (vs. controls) tend to cause them to increase their generosity and decrease their in-group bias, as demonstrated in a behavioral outcome (monetary donations)?(2) If so, i...

This study tests, and finds support, for the hypotheses that a student who majors in political science will have stronger feelings of political competence and will be more willing to engage in hypothetical political actions than two peer groups: (a) those who major in other fields and (b) those who show an interest in politics but have not studied it. In a study of 1,083 undergraduates at two different universities, we find that senior political science majors have higher feelings of internal political efficacy than comparison groups and are more willing than their peers or than interested freshmen to say that they would engage in meaningful political action, especially joining organized groups.

Who would be the first to notice, and able to intervene, with individuals considering acts of violent extremism? Study 1 found evidence that those best positioned to notice early signs of individuals considering acts of violent extremism might be those individuals’ friends: perhaps more so than school counselors, clergy, or family members. Furthermore, participants indicated that the predominant reason underlying individuals’ reluctance to reach out to countering violent extremism (CVE)-relevant service providers was fear of the potential repercussions for such actions. Additionally, that fear generalized not only to a reluctance to reach out to law enforcement agencies, but also to others within prospective CVE-relevant networks (i.e. religious officials, or family members). An option for addressing such reluctance (via an evidence-based, anonymous, texting-oriented crisis hotline for associate-gatekeepers) is discussed. Given that reluctance, what factors might affect individuals’ willingness to interve...

We review the advances in ‘blue water’ physical oceanography of the seas around New Zealand since the last major review in 1985. By 1985, a basic description had been made of the circulation around...

Articles in this issue come from three distinct sources. There are submissions that were originally made to last year's ‘Fragile Futures’ issue, but which, for reasons both of space and time, could...

In both disciplinary history and contemporary methodology, realism is conventionally cast as the antithesis of rhetoric. Born in reaction against the empty liberal rhetoric of interwar liberalism a...

Estimating tree characteristics with field plots located in remote and inaccessible areas can be a costly and timely endeavor. Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) remote sensing allowing for the estimation of the 3-dimensional structure of forest vegetation offers an alternative to traditional ground based forest measurements. This project assessed the utility of using Lidar data to estimate number of trees, tree height and crown width within Barksdale Air Force Base forest management area, Bossier City, Louisiana. Two programs, Lidar Data Filtering and Forest Studies (Tiffs) and Lidar Analyst were used to derive forest measurements, which were compared to field measurements. Based on Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Lidar Analyst (3.81 trees) performed better than Tiffs (5.71 trees) at estimating average tree count per plot. Tiffs was better at deriving average tree height than Lidar Analyst with an RMSE of 19.08 feet to Lidar Analyst’s RMSE of 21.20 feet. Lidar Analyst, with a RMSE of 25.41 feet, was bett...

This article examines Byron's hostile treatment of the Duke of Wellington, and of the role he played in restoring eighteenth century structures and systems in nineteenth century Europe, and in preserving these structures and systems in England. There is a preliminary discussion of the accounts Byron provides of two battles in which Wellington took part, Talavera and Waterloo, in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Thereafter, the main focus is on Don Juan and, in particular, on the ‘English Cantos’, and on the interplay between the time of Juan's supposed visit to England (pre-1794) and the events of post-1794 European history. In particular, the emphasis will be on Byron's treatment of the conventional and often – in his view – misplaced pride expressed by the English in their institutions and practices. English strictures on Napoleon's imperial ambitions are set against the fact that England was, at this time, steadily amassing its own empire. By way of a context for aspects of Byron's thinking about England, a...

The present work employs a utilization-focused evaluation perspective to ask the big question regarding so-called deradicalization programs: how to evaluate the degree to which a given terrorism risk reduction initiative reduces post-detainment terrorism engagement. Its dual objectives are: (a) to provide a roadmap for conducting such an impact analysis with a utilization-focus, and (b) to highlight some of the unique challenges (both methodologically and theoretically) that face evaluators in the context of evaluating terrorism risk reduction initiatives. Additionally, the appendices of this work contain both a process checklist for conducting an impact analysis of such initiatives, and an evaluation self-assessment tool.

The wrecking of the Falmouth Postal Packet Hanover in 1763 led to three legal disputes and two court cases—in 1766 and 1997. This article recounts the origins and course of these disputes. It examines what the resolution of the 18th-century case and the second dispute has revealed of the law and practice of marine insurance in the mid 18th century. It further examines what the 20th-century case has revealed concerning the tension between ancient principles of commercial salvage and modern principles of heritage protection. Somewhat fortuitously, the examination of the case provides an opportunity to advance a simple solution to this conflict.

This article documents strategies and tactics of social control used by the U.S. government to detect and deter financing of radical Islamic, terrorist-labeled organizations. Through grounded theory, social control strategies were identified based on data from congressional committee hearings from 1999 to 2011. Findings revealed the presence of nine such strategies: (1) discover sources of funding, (2) deny or restrict access to money, (3) establish information networks and communication norms, (4) create derogatory labels, (5) influence the media, (6) impose legal sanctions, (7) offer financial incentives, (8) construct a shared collective identity, and (9) force terrorist-labeled organizations on the defensive.

Of great concern to policy makers and detention system administrators who face the need to release detainees suspected of terrorism is how to do so in ways that minimize risk to national security. Among responses taken by detention system administrators is the establishment of so-called ‘deradicalization’ (or ‘disengagement,’ or ‘terrorism risk reduction’) programs in which select detainees may participate to promote their own release. The present analysis critiques the Saudi terrorism risk reduction initiative in accord with two social psychological theories that are especially pertinent to the topic – identity theory and frame alignment theory – and offers policy suggestions based upon the theoretical strengths and weaknesses of the Saudi model.

The current study examined the role of the hippocampus in emotional memory encoding using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The present study examined the activation patterns of 12 healthy participants who were associated with memory for words and pictures with moderately high emotional tone. Results revealed significant activation in the temporal and frontal lobes for emotional and neutral stimuli. There was greater activation in the left hippocampus for emotional words and the right hippocampus for emotional pictures. However, a separate analysis of gender suggested that the emotional responses of the women accounted for the activation of the hippocampus; men did not have a pattern of hippocampus activation consistent with the type of stimuli. These findings have important implications for the design of a clinical memory assessment using fMRI.

New security dynamics present significant theoretical and empirical challenges. This article suggests that Pierre Bourdieu's ideas about an ‘economics of practice’ provides a fruitful means for exploring and explaining many of these transformations.

The quotation in the title of this article comes from Byron's journal known as Detached Thoughts; the quotation is contained in a series of reflections on the nature of human existence, with its contrary tendencies toward evil and good. The body of the paper will offer some detailed focus on the religious scepticism expressed by Byron. Some brief prefatory discussion of the work of William Hone, and of Blake and Paine will provide a context for the religious scepticism of Byron by showing the general tendency of the time to link religious doubts with far-ranging radical or revolutionary political views. In exploring Byron's scepticism, a contrast will be drawn with Shelley's more systematically ‘philosophical’ approach to questions that link religion with politics. By contrast, Byron is at once less systematic and more pervasive in his scepticism – the more so since his ideas are not mediated by the idealism that is also a significant part of Shelley's thinking. In one of his letters Byron wrote that ‘the...

This article explores some of the links between literature and politics during the period of the Regency, with particular emphasis on some of the contrasting relationships between the Prince Regent (later George IV) and some of the major writers of the period. The Prince Regent sought to establish a climate in which literature and the arts could flourish, but, because of his disorderly private life, his lavishly wasteful use of public funds, and his involvement in party-politics, he was often in conflict with contemporary writers. Leigh Hunt's strictures on the Regent earned him a two-year prison sentence, much to the indignation of many of his fellow writers. By contrast, the poet laureate Robert Southey had a complicit and compromised relationship with the Regent that had as much if not more to do with politics than it did with literature. Yet others, such as Walter Scott, who shared much of the Regent's political outlook, maintained friendly relations with him that were largely or entirely unt...

Evaluation of: Brown DM, Heier JS, Ciulla T et al. Primary end point results of a Phase II study of vascular endothelial growth factor trap-eye in wet age-related macular degeneration. Ophthalmology 118(6), 1089–1097 (2011); Heier JS, Boyer D, Nguyen QD et al. The 1-year results of CLEAR-IT 2, a Phase 2 study of vascular endothelial growth factor trap-eye dosed as-needed after 12-week fixed dosing. Ophthalmology 118(6), 1098–1106 (2011).Age-related macular degeneration is the most common cause of blindness in older adults in western countries, and is likely to become the largest cause of irreversible sight loss in the developing world. Treatments such as ranibizumab and bevacizumab that inhibit VEGF have improved visual outcomes markedly. Controlled trials and clinical experience have shown that the best outcomes are achieved when monthly treatment has been administered over 2 years. This poses a significant burden on health providers and patients. A novel inhibitor of VEGF, VEGF Trap-Eye, which allows le...

This paper analyzes the film No Country for Old Men (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, 2007) through the lens of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis. Rather than deploy psychoanalytic theory to explore the vicissitudes of spectatorship of the film (say: identification), this paper appropriates the concepts of Freud and Lacan (specifically: the Freudian myth of the primal horde murder of the father and the Lacanian theory of the phallus) to illuminate the aporetic structure of the film. I begin with the distinction between nature and culture – or landscape and law – depicted in the opening sequence of the film. I first argue that Llewelyn's original crime – to steal the suitcase full of cash at the site of the heroin deal gone awry – figures him as the outlaw brother of the primal horde who refuses the pact among the brothers that promises to repress the ferocity of their desires in order to make peace for the survivors of the murder of the primal father. This original crime destabilizes the function of the phall...

Although contemporary pragmatists tend to be sympathetic to expressivist accounts of moral, modal and other problematic vocabularies, it is not clear that they have any right to be. The problem arises because contemporary pragmatists tend to favour deflationary accounts of truth and reference, thereby seeming to elide the distinction between expressive and repressentational uses of language. To address this problem, I develop a meta‐theoretical framework for understanding what is involved in explanations of meaning in terms of use, and why some but not all such explanations deflationary. Exploiting this framework, I argue that expressivist explanations of problematic vocabularies are really a particular kind of deflationary explanation. It follows that pragmatists can thus take such explanations on board without committing themselves to the distinction between expressive and robustly representational uses of language that articulations of expressivism typically invoke.

Visionary statements can derive from various forms of inspiration, but they can also be founded in large measure on a profound scepticism about existing principles or structures. The main focus in this article is on writings by Thomas Paine, but, by way of introduction, the works of two other writers, also from the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, are briefly examined. They are Jane Austen and Mary Wollstonecraft, both of whom share a deep concern for the plight of contemporary women, and a conception of how this can be changed, fundamentally. While Paine shares their concerns with the rights of women, his principal focus is on the revolutions he witnessed in America, and later in France, on the deleterious effects of tyrannical government, and on an idealistic vision of the future, once these effects are eliminated. Towards the end of his life he published a statement of his thorough-going doubts about many of the beliefs and the histories contained in the Bible, and a counter-statem...

This paper critically examines the questions of agency and subject‐formation in Judith Butler’s book Giving an Account of Oneself (2005). The article problematizes Butler’s defense of agency and argues that her theorization of the subject (however in‐process) as individuated and differentiated from the other involves an economy of le propre (the proper, property, ownership) that establishes the self as a Gestalt totality that must be symptomatically, i.e. narcissistically and aggressively, defended. In contrast to Butler’s ‘account’ of ‘oneself’ I proceed to offer a non‐humanist, non‐individualist, non‐Oedipal perverse model of the subject that rejects the ideological demand of Gestalt totality of identity and destabilizes the borders between self and other. In such a model of perverse personhood there is no identifiable and coherent ‘one’ for which to give an ‘account’.

The Irish Rebellion of 1798 was of telling significance for Ireland itself and for Britain as a whole; there were also important connections with Europe. Its consequences were palpable throughout the nineteenth century and beyond. Some contemporary writers, such as Shelley and Byron, commented very actively on these consequences but many others reflected little or nothing of them. In his letters Keats refers to a visit to Ireland; he notes the ever-present poverty, but does not offer any reflection on its social and political context. Irish writers themselves reveal an awareness of this context, but are often highly circumspect in their comments. In her Irish Tales Maria Edgeworth restricts her treatment of Irish poverty almost entirely to social terms. Little of Thomas Moore's poetry touches on the subject, and where he does comment on the Act of Union he makes no mention of the events that led up to it. It is only more than thirty years after the event that he comments vigorously and explicitly on the r...

To provide the current strategies of acute stroke management using pharmacological and interventional endovascular modalities.Review of the literature for publications in English language literature on endovascular pharmacological and mechanical thrombolysis and clot retrieval.Aggressive management protocols have yielded therapeutic windows for effective reperfusion of ischemic brain in acute cerebral hypoperfusion/stroke. Starting with intravenous infusion of thrombolytics, which still remains to be the best feasible treatment for acute stroke management, recent advances in neuron imaging made it possible to utilize emergency cerebral angiographic evaluation of intracranial vessels followed by therapeutic measure that could be pharmacological or mechanical intervention. Intra-arterial clot lysis under image guidance combined with intravenous administration of thrombolytic is rapidly evolving with encouraging results. Microcatheters and endovascular appliances tested very positively, yielding better outcomes in acute stroke. MERCI trial, Multi MERCI trial and Stroke trials [emergency management of stroke (EMS) and interventional management of stroke (IMS)] have shown that early recanalization and reperfusion constitute good prognostic indicators by reducing mortality and improving neurological outcomes. Further trials are expected to yield better evidence to form guidelines for aggressive management of acute cerebral ischemia.Intravenous fibrinolysis is, to date, the best possible intervention in acute stroke and has been shown to be a better alternative to aspirin, the only known effective, pharmacological treatment. Endovascular interventions have shown very promising results with intra-arterial administration of thrombolytics as well as mechanical clot retrieving methods.

This article analyses the debate and passage of the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act of 2003. Through an examination of the passage of this Act, I demonstrate how traditional leaders, the ANC-led government, and civil society organisations each imagine the role of ‘tradition’ and chieftaincy in South Africa and how these different notions were accommodated in the final legislation. After the recognition of traditional leaders in the interim (1993) and final constitutions (1996), there has been a great deal of confusion concerning the responsibilities of traditional leaders in South Africa's new democratic dispensation. This Act sought to clarify this issue. In addition, the Act was meant to ‘transform’ chieftaincy so that it was consistent with those newly established democratic values and institutions. Despite these goals, I argue that the Act fails to clarify the precise nature of ‘traditional’ authority. Instead, the Act formally links chieftaincy with local government institutions a...