bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measuring cognitively demanding activities in pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
Authors: Bahr Nathan , Ivankovic Jonathan , Meckler Garth , Hansen Matthew , Eriksson Carl , Guise Jeanne-Marie
Published: May 2023

Background

This methodological intersection article demonstrates a method to measure cognitive load in clinical simulations. Researchers have hypothesized that high levels of cognitive load reduce performance and increase errors. This phenomenon has been studied primarily by experimental designs that measure responses to predetermined stimuli and self-reports that reduce the experience to a summative value. Our goal was to develop a method to identify clinical activities with high cognitive burden using physiologic measures.

Methods

Teams of emergency medical responders were recruited from local fire departments to participate in a scenario with a shockable pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (POHCA) patient. The scenario was standardized with the patient being resuscitated after receiving high-quality CPR and 3 defibrillations. Each team had a person in charge (PIC) who wore a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) device that recorded changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin concentration in their prefrontal cortex (PFC), which was interpreted as cognitive activity.

We developed a data processing pipeline to remove nonneural noise (e.g., motion artifacts, heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure) and detect statistically significant changes in cognitive activity. Two researchers independently watched videos and coded clinical tasks corresponding to detected events. Disagreements were resolved through consensus, and results were validated by clinicians.

Results

We conducted 18 simulations with 122 participants. Participants arrived in teams of 4 to 7 members, including one PIC. We recorded the PIC’s fNIRS signals and identified 173 events associated with increased cognitive activity. [Defibrillation] (N = 34); [medication] dosing (N = 33); and [rhythm checks] (N = 28) coincided most frequently with detected elevations in cognitive activity. [Defibrillations] had affinity with the right PFC, while [medication] dosing and [rhythm checks] had affinity with the left PFC.

Conclusions

FNIRS is a promising tool for physiologically measuring cognitive load. We describe a novel approach to scan the signal for statistically significant events with no a priori assumptions of when they occur. The events corresponded to key resuscitation tasks and appeared to be specific to the type of task based on activated regions in the PFC. Identifying and understanding the clinical tasks that require high cognitive load can suggest targets for interventions to decrease cognitive load and errors in care.
Tourists’ engagement in cultural attractions: an exploratory study of psychological and behavioural engagement in indigenous tourism
Authors: Kheiri Jay
Published: May 2023

This research explores international tourists’ engagement with Māori indigenous tourist attractions in New Zealand. In-depth interviews with 18 international tourists were conducted after their visits to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in Northland, New Zealand. The findings revealed clear evidence of some general engagement behaviours such as spending time and enjoyment which led visitors into deeper levels of behavioural and psychological engagement. The behavioural engagement occurred in two primary forms which are taking photos for a range of personal and impersonal purposes as well as conversation with staff. Also, three forms of psychological engagement were found, including engagement with cultural aspects, imagination, and learning. The perception of the authenticity and uniqueness of the attraction were important precursors to tourist behavioural and psychological engagement.
Thoracic segmental spinal anesthesia for radical nephrectomy in a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis—a case report
Authors: Haloi Prajnananda , Biswas Rahul , Bora Ananta
Published: May 2023

Background

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare but fatal neurodegenerative disease of the motor neurons that causes muscle weakness, atrophy, and eventually respiratory failure and death. Anesthesia in these patients carries the risk of aspiration, altered response to muscle relaxants and opioids, ventilatory depression, and neurotoxicity to local anesthetics. Thoracic segmental spinal anesthesia may be a viable alternative to general anesthesia in upper abdominal surgeries in ALS patients.

Case presentation

A 38-year-old patient with ALS diagnosed with a left renal mass of mitotic origin was scheduled for radical nephrectomy after an evaluation. Thoracic segmental spinal anesthesia was planned for the patient. The surgery and perioperative period were uneventful, and postoperative analgesic consumption was minimal. The patient was discharged without any progress in his neurodegenerative state.

Conclusions

Our experience with thoracic segmental spinal anesthesia for nephrectomy in this ALS has been satisfactory. Our goals of maintaining hemodynamic stability, avoiding respiratory depression, and limiting further neurological impairment were all achieved. Further studies are needed to establish thoracic segmental spinal anesthesia as a better modality for such cases.
Fault detection model for a variable speed heat pump
Authors: Boahen Samuel , Ofori-Amanfo Kwadwo Boateng , Amoabeng Kofi Owura , Ayetor Godwin , Obeng George Yaw , Opoku Richard , Dzebre Dennis Edem
Published: May 2023

The impact of the COVID pandemic has resulted in many people cultivating a remote working culture and increasing building energy use. A reduction in the energy use of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems is necessary for decreasing the energy use in buildings. The refrigerant charge of a heat pump greatly affects its energy use. However, refrigerant leakage causes a significant increase in the energy use of HVAC systems. The development of refrigerant charge fault detection models is, therefore, important to prevent unwarranted energy consumption and $${CO}_{2}$$

CO

2

emissions in heat pumps. This paper examines refrigerant charge faults and their effect on a variable speed heat pump and the most accurate method between a multiple linear regression and multilayer perceptron model to use in detecting the refrigerant charge fault using the discharge temperature of the compressor, outdoor entering water temperature and compressor speed as inputs, and refrigerant charge as the output. The COP of the heat pump decreased when it was not operating at the optimum refrigerant charge, while an increase in compressor speed compensated for the degradation in the capacity during refrigerant leakage. Furthermore, the multilayer perception was found to have a higher prediction accuracy of the refrigerant charge fault with a mean square error of ± 3.7%, while the multiple linear regression model had a mean square error of ± 4.5%. The study also found that the multilayer perception model requires 7 neurons in the hidden layer to make viable predictions on any subsequent test sets fed into it under similar experimental conditions and parameters of the heat pump used in this study.
Randomized Phase II Trial of Endocrine Therapy With or Without Ribociclib After Progression on Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4/6 Inhibition in Hormone Receptor–Positive, Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2–Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer: MAINTAIN Trial
Authors: Kalinsky Kevin , Accordino Melissa K. , Chiuzan Codruta , Mundi Prabhjot S. , Sakach Elizabeth , Sathe Claire , Ahn Heejoon , Trivedi Meghna S. , Novik Yelena , Tiersten Amy , Raptis George , Baer Lea N. , Oh Sun Y. , Zelnak Amelia B. , Wisinski Kari B. , Andreopoulou Eleni , Gradishar William J. , Stringer-Reasor Erica , Reid Sonya A. , O'Dea Anne , O'Regan Ruth , Crew Katherine D. , Hershman Dawn L.
Published: May 2023

PURPOSE

Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor (CDK4/6i) with endocrine therapy (ET) improves progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in hormone receptor–positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–negative (HER2–) metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Although preclinical and clinical data demonstrate a benefit in changing ET and continuing a CDK4/6i at progression, no randomized prospective trials have evaluated this approach.

METHODS

In this investigator-initiated, phase II, double-blind placebo-controlled trial in patients with HR+/HER2– MBC whose cancer progressed during ET and CDK4/6i, participants switched ET (fulvestrant or exemestane) from ET used pre-random assignment and randomly assigned 1:1 to the CDK4/6i ribociclib versus placebo. PFS was the primary end point, defined as time from random assignment to disease progression or death. Assuming a median PFS of 3.8 months with placebo, we had 80% power to detect a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.58 (corresponding to a median PFS of at least 6.5 months with ribociclib) with 120 patients randomly assigned using a one-sided log-rank test and significance level set at 2.5%.

RESULTS

Of the 119 randomly assigned participants, 103 (86.5%) previously received palbociclib and 14 participants received ribociclib (11.7%). There was a statistically significant PFS improvement for patients randomly assigned to switched ET plus ribociclib (median, 5.29 months; 95% CI, 3.02 to 8.12 months) versus switched ET plus placebo (median, 2.76 months; 95% CI, 2.66 to 3.25 months) HR, 0.57 (95% CI, 0.39 to 0.85); P = .006. At 6 and 12 months, the PFS rate was 41.2% and 24.6% with ribociclib, respectively, compared with 23.9% and 7.4% with placebo.

CONCLUSION

In this randomized trial, there was a significant PFS benefit for patients with HR+/HER2– MBC who switched ET and received ribociclib compared with placebo after previous CDK4/6i and different ET.
Successful use of conjunctival flaps to prolong survival of type I keratoprosthesis in severe bilateral chemical burns: two case reports
Authors: Mahuvakar Sheetal , Jain Neha , Basu Sayan
Published: May 2023

Introduction:

This report describes the use of conjunctival flaps to enable the survival of type I keratoprosthesis (KPro) in two cases of bilateral severe total limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) following chemical burns.

Presentation of case:

Two patients had a history of bilateral chemical injury with lime. On examination, the presenting vision was light perception to hand motions and both cases had conjunctivalized ocular surfaces with symblepharon. A modified technique of type I keratoprosthesis was used, where the conjunctivalized corneal pannus was dissected and lifted off as an inferior fornix-based conjunctival flap. This was followed by a standard surgical technique of type I KPro. The flap was then secured over the device and optical opening was made two weeks later. Both the patients had stable ocular surfaces with visual acuity of 20/20 at 2–7 years of follow-up.

Discussion:

In patients with total LSCD with adnexal involvement, type I KPro has unsatisfactory long-term survival because of the risk of repeated epithelial breakdowns and stromal ulceration. With the innovative approach described in this report, type I KPro can be successfully used for sustainable visual improvement in the presence of severe ocular surface disease and symblepharon.

Conclusion:

Conjunctival flaps can be used along with type I KPros to improve long-term survival and give sustainable visual outcomes in cases of bilateral corneal blindness due to advanced ocular surface damage.
Arrhythmias And Long-Term Hemodynamic Consequences In Patient With Repaired Tetralogy Of Fallot – A Case Study
Authors: Rutkowski Kacper , Kołodzińska Agnieszka , Koźluk Edward , Budnik Monika , Opolski Grzegorz , Grabowski Marcin
Published: May 2023

The number of patients who underwent total correction of Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) in early life or infancy is still rising. According to CDC ToF is the most prevalent cyanotic congenital heart disease with incidences of 1 in 2500 births. Rhythm disturbances and haemodynamic disturbances including valves disorders, heart failure, residual defects and more are new challenges for clinicians taking care of adult patients with repaired ToF. Our goal was to describe such a patient and highlight further complications which may be encountered among those patients.
Migration and Global Network Formation: Evidence from Female Scientists in Developing Countries
Authors: Fry Caroline , Furman Jeffrey L.
Published: May 2023

As agents who have the opportunity to develop connections in multiple geographic locations and networks, migrants are uniquely suited to play brokerage roles in science, innovation, and entrepreneurship. But can they succeed in connecting others in their home and host environments? We investigate this question in the context of women in science in the developing world. We hypothesize that the extent to which such scholars facilitate connections will depend upon the extent to which their home and host country institutional environments support them in this brokerage role. Specifically, we propose that the effectiveness of female migrants as brokers is mitigated by national level gender parity, which we expect influences their level of legitimacy and opportunity for brokerage. Our analysis finds that female migrants in science are more likely to share international connections with non-migrants at home if their home countries and host countries have high levels of gender parity. We interpret these findings as providing evidence that institutional support is critical for migrant brokerage and the globalization of knowledge production.

History: This paper has been accepted for the Organization Science Special Issue on Migration & Organizations.

Funding: This work was supported by the National Bureau of Economics Research Science of Science Funding program (Science of Science Funding program) J. L. Furman gratefully acknowledges financial support from NSF SciSIP grant, SES-1564368.

Supplemental Material: The e-companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2023.1683 .
PEMANFAATAN LIMBAH LUMPUR BERMINYAK MELALUI PROSES STABILISASI-SOLIDIFIKASI UNTUK PEMBUATAN BATA BETON BERLUBANG
Authors: Mizwar Andy
Published: May 2023

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memanfaatkan limbah lumpur berminyak dari operasional waste pit kilang minyak sebagai bahan campuran dalam pembuatan bata beton berlubang yang ramah lingkungan. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian skala laboratorium dengan menerapkan teknik stabilisasi/solidifikasi. Penelitian dilakukan dengan memvariasikan campuran lumpur, semen dan pasir. Kemudian dicetak dengan ukuran 9 cm x 19 cm x 39 cm. Pengeringan dilakukan selama 28 hari. Pengujian dilakukan terhadap porositas, serapan air, densitas, kuat tekan dan TCLP. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa bata beton berlubang yang dihasilkan memiliki berat, porositas, serapan air, dan densitas yang lebih rendah daripada bata beton berlubang standar SNI maupun pasaran. Semua bata beton berlubang yang dihasilkan memenuhi baku mutu TCLP (Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure) berdasarkan  PP No.85 tahun 1999. Kuat tekan bata beton berlubang dengan komposisi lumpur:pasir:semen sebesar 24%:56%:20% memenuhi kualifikasi mutu tingkat II SNI 03-0349-1989.
KAJIAN PEMANFAATAN KOAGULAN RECOVERY ALUMINIUM DAN BESI DARI ABU TERBANG
Authors: Rouf Nafiah Afuw
Published: May 2023

Abu terbang batu bara merupakan sisa pembakaran batu bara pada PLTU. Berdasarkan Peraturan Pemerintah No. 101 Tahun 2014, abu terbang dikategorikan sebagai limbah Bahan Berbahaya dan Beracun (B3). Di sisi lain, abu terbang dapat digunakan sebagai sumber mineral karena komposisi kimianya didominasi oleh SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, dan CaO. Kajian pustaka dilakukan berdasarkan studi kasus pada abu terbang batu bara PT PJB UBJ O&M PLTU Paiton Unit 9. Abu terbang di recovery dengan metode pengasaman secara langsung dengan HCl 20%, rasio L/S (10:1), dan suhu 100oC. Kemudian abu terbang sebanyak 100 kg/jam di recovery dengan sistem pilot plant. Hasil recovery berupa koagulan aluminium dan besi sebanyak 21,8 kg/jam. Koagulan hasil recovery aluminium dan besi digunakan untuk proses koagulasi dan flokulasi air limbah sisa pencucian batu bara. Hasilnya koagulan mampu menyisihkan TSS sebanyak 1.033,2 kg/hari (awal =1.275,6 kg/hari).
KAJIAN ASPEK LINGKUNGAN ALTERNATIF LOKASI UNTUK REPLACEMENT PABRIK III-B PT. PUSRI
Authors: Warmadewanthi IDAA
Published: May 2023

Sebagai pelopor produsen pupuk urea di Indonesia, PT. PUSRI memiliki komitmen untuk mewujudkan industri pupuk yang ramah lingkungan. Saat ini, PT. PUSRI memiliki beberapa masalah (khususnya pada Pabrik III dan IV) yaitu konsumsi gas alam 25% lebih tinggi akibat umur pabrik yang sudah di atas 43 tahun, meningkatnya biaya investasi dan operasional untuk peralatan pabrik yang sudah berumur, serta spare part yang sulit didapatkan dan memiliki harga yang mahal. Untuk operasi yang lebih efisien, PT. PUSRI merencanakan replacement pabrik dengan 3 alternatif lokasi yaitu lokasi IA dan IB terletak di Sisi Timur dan Barat area Kawasan Tanjung Api-Api serta lokasi II terletak di Area komplek PT. PUSRI. Untuk menentukan lokasi yang paling prospektif, masing-masing lokasi perlu dikaji terutama dalam aspek lingkungan. Studi ini  mengkaji dengan analasis SWOT yang kemudian akan dilakukan scoring untuk menggambarkan hasil yang kuantitatif. Hasil analisis Strength menunjukan alternatif lokasi II lebih unggul karena memiliki zona penyangga dan konservasi flora fauna.  Pada analisis Weakness, lokasi IA dan IB terdapat kekurangan karena tidak memiliki zona penyangga, serta kualitas badan air sebagai sumber air baku dan teknologi pengolahan air baku yang tidak memadai. Lokasi II memiliki kekurangan karena tidak memiliki teknologi pengolahan limbah cair domestik dan industri. Hasil analisis Opportunity lokasi IA dan IB memiliki lebih banyak subkriteria yang dinilai berpeluang bagi PT. PUSRI. Untuk analisis Threat, alternatif lokasi IA dan IB memiliki beberapa subkriteria yang dinilai sebagai tantangan salah satunya badan air untuk menerima beban limbah pada lokasi IA dan IB karena lokasi yang berada di muara sungai.
SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF URBAN ECOLOGICAL CONDITION IN DENPASAR CITY, INDONESIA USING LANDSAT 9 IMAGERY
Authors: Hadibasyir Hamim Zaky , Firdaus Nada Salsabila
Published: May 2023

Denpasar City is the capital of the province of Bali where anthropogenic activities are most intensive on the island. The study of urban ecological conditions is vital for planning and monitoring the ideal condition of environmentally friendly settlements in the city of Denpasar. This research aims to 1) examine the temperature-related ecological conditions of micro-scale cities based on urban thermal field variance index (UTFVI) values and 2) assess the distribution pattern of NDVI and LST in the city of Denpasar derived from Landsat 8 satellite data. The land surface temperature (LST) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were both derived using data from Landsat 9, which was also utilized (NDVI). Following that, UTFVI was categorized using LST. The results show that the greater the UTFVI value, the worse the state of urban ecological degradation and the greater the intensity of UHI, and vice versa. A low UTFVI value of less than 0.005 is spatially distributed throughout all districts and is characterized as an area with good to very good urban ecological quality. This category predominates in the South and East Denpasar Districts, the northern region of the North Denpasar District, and the southern region of the West Denpasar District.
Latest Clinical Research
Authors: Greener Mark
Published: May 2023

The latest studies of interest to primary care clinicians rounded up by Mark Greener
Managing Diverticular Disease in Primary Care Settings
Authors: Perry Margaret
Published: May 2023

Margaret Perry looks at how nurses can diagnose this condition in older patients
What’s New for MMR? An Update for Primary Care Nurses
Authors: Heffernan Catherine
Published: May 2023

Catherine Heffernan looks at how MMR immunisations are changing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic
Postoperative care of brachycephalic patients: airway management and cardiovascular support
Authors: Hosford Louise
Published: May 2023

The ownership of brachycephalic pets has increased significantly in recent years. Anatomical abnormalities, alongside a higher incidence of inherited disorders, have contributed to an everincreasing brachycephalic caseload in veterinary practice. With postoperative complications commonplace in such patients, it is essential that the veterinary nurse is familiar with nursing care provision and interventions catering specifically for the brachycephalic patient to improve standards of care and treatment outcomes. Intensive airway management and cardiovascular support are essential for these high-risk patients in the immediate postoperative period. A review of the literature has highlighted the lack of research available for the postoperative care of brachycephalic patients and further studies are recommended.
The Pretrial Hearing: Arraignment and Committal of Oscar Wilde and Alfred Taylor at Bow Street Magistrates’ Court
Authors: Bristow Joseph
Published: May 2023

This chapter recounts Oscar Wilde's appearance at the Bow Street Magistrates' Court, which exposed the range of his outlawed homosexual activities. It looks at lengthy revelations, which included Alfred Wood's calm and collected statement that Wilde committed sodomy with him at the family home on Tite Street. The confessions of Wood, along with Charles Parker and Frederick Atkins's, gripped the nation and ensured that the magistrates' court was packed with reporters, along with members of the public who relished the spectator sport that arose from such scandals. The chapter talks about Wilde's betrayal by a series of young men on whom he had bestowed many favors, causing him to understandably have much on his mind. Besides the prospect of long-term imprisonment and the immense burden of debt that Wilde had to bear, the welfare of his wife and children weighed heavily upon him.
Subgroup C
Authors: Neuwirth Angelika , Wilder Samuel
Published: May 2023

This chapter reviews subgroup C of the third group of suras: suras 83 and 77. These suras are interwoven by exclamations of woe. Indeed, sura 83 begins with an exclamation of woe, unique in the Qur'an, about a socially identifiable group: greedy, fraudulent merchants, who are depicted as giving false weighing measurements in their activity of weighing. Their behavior obtains a consequential dimension in view of the great simile that compares earthly scales to the heavenly scales used on the day of judgment to determine the weight of human deeds. Meanwhile, sura 77 builds on the ideas of the threatening judgment from sura 83, in that it elevates the exclamation of woe to the rank of a refrain. It not only articulates the eschatological threat in connection to the eschatological dissolution of the cosmos or the annihilation of earlier peoples, but also calls out this threat in that part of consciousness where there is talk of divine benefits such as the creation of man or the creation and preservation of the cosmos.
Subgroup A
Authors: Neuwirth Angelika , Wilder Samuel
Published: May 2023

This chapter discusses subgroup A of the fourth group of suras: suras 51, 69, and 68. Sura 51 reflects cultic characteristics that have already been achieved, such as the clear establishment of nightly and early-morning worship. Beyond this, it reflects through its structure, which centers a narrative as its central part, the forms of worship of the older religions, wherein the “reading” of a biblical narrative stands in the middle point. Sura 68, which is entirely dominated by polemic about the proclaimer and the proclamation, shows in its middle part a (parable) narrative. It likewise reflects cult actions carried out collectively. Meanwhile, sura 69 shows for the first time the “confirmation of revelation” that will later be characteristic of the closing parts.
Conquer We Must
Authors: Prior Robin
Published: May 2023

A major new account of Britain's military strategy between 1914 and 1945, including the two world wars and everything between the First and Second World wars were separated by a mere two decades, making the period 1914–1945 an unprecedentedly intense and violent era of history. But how did Britain develop its complex military strategy during these wars, and how were decisions made by those at the top? This book examines the influence politicians had on military operations, in the first history to assess both world wars together. The book explores the fraught relationships between civilian and military leaders: from Lloyd George's remarkably interventionist stance on military tactics during the First World War to Churchill's near-constant arguments with American leaders during the Second. The book tells the complex story of this military decision-making, revealing how politicians attempted to control strategy, but had little influence on how the army, navy, and air force actually fought.
Final Payments, 1932–1933
Authors: Gill David James
Published: May 2023

In late 1932, the British government considered the possibility of defaulting on its war debts to the United States. A series of cabinet discussions from November 1932 to December 1933 reveal a general unwillingness to leave these debts unpaid. Why did the United Kingdom not default on its debts to the United States earlier, rather than making three additional payments? Major powers such as France—alongside smaller economies like Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, and Poland—chose to cease repayment in 1932 rather than 1934. This chapter supports and refines the work of some social scientists and historians by highlighting the importance of two factors inhibiting default that have been neglected or downplayed in the existing literature. The first concerns Britain’s role as a creditor rather than as a debtor in motivating repayment. The second factor concerns the impact of domestic-political considerations on decision-making, which scholars typically neglect or simplify as only encouraging default. The British government recognized and chose to observe traditions or norms of repayment initially because many ministers believed default was unacceptable or unfair and because of the perceived international and domestic risks involved in non-payment.
New Loans and Old Debts, 1943–1951
Authors: Gill David James
Published: May 2023

This chapter reveals the important but contradictory ways in which the United Kingdom’s unpaid First World War debts informed U.S. decision-making concerning financial aid after the Second World War. On the one hand, the Truman administration was keen to avoid a repetition of the economic failures of the interwar period and crafted international agreements with these outstanding debts in mind. It sought to provide affordable financial assistance to the United Kingdom to support economic reconstruction, promote multilateralism, and eventually aid the defense of Europe against communist expansion. On the other hand, the spirit of cooperation was hampered by the memory of the United Kingdom’s unpaid debts. The Johnson Act continued to present a significant legal obstacle to further financial support, and political and popular resistance to economic cooperation persisted in Congress and across the United States. Anger at outstanding debts and fear of another British default consequently limited U.S. generosity.
Sports in South America
Authors: Brown Matthew
Published: May 2023

This book follows the transformation of sporting cultures in South America leading up to Uruguay's hosting of the first FIFA Men's World Cup in 1930. The book shows how South American soccer culture, envied worldwide, sprang out of societies that were already playing and watching games well before British sportsmen arrived to teach “the beautiful game.” These vibrant and distinct sporting traditions, including cycling, boxing, cockfighting, bullfighting, cricket, baseball, and horse racing, were marked by South American societies' indigenous and colonial pasts and by their leaders' desire to participate in what they saw as a global movement toward human progress. The book debunks legends, highlights the stories of forgotten sportswomen and Indigenous sports, and unpacks the social and cultural connections within South America and with the rest of the world.
New York Shakespeareans
Authors: Gigante Denise
Published: May 2023

This chapter describes William Shakespeare's first printed collection of plays called the First Folio of Shakespeare, the bible of transatlantic bardolatry. As the chapter highlights, Shakespeare was the reigning divinity of English literary tradition. When combined with the collecting impulse, this form of idolatry resulted in what we shall call bardomania, a subset of bibliomania focused on Shakespeare. The chapter notes that bardomaniacs collected not only books, tracts, and manuscripts related to the bard but other relics that bore the aura of his life and times. It stresses that the sentimental economy of bardomania was an open, associational network of gift giving, testimonials, memento mori, jubilees, and other commemorative objects and events that challenged the “mechanisms and geographies of mercantile capitalism” with its “standardized soul-destroying routines.” The bardomaniacs in this chapter were connected through the library of an author who, though not a Shakespearean collector himself, was a literary antiquarian of the Shakespearean stamp. The chapter emphasizes that the bardomania was itself a spectacle in which the protagonists of this chapter played leading parts at midcentury.
Boston Antiquarians
Authors: Gigante Denise
Published: May 2023

This chapter discusses the mania for collecting old books and manuscripts relating to the New World. It argues that it was a feature of the emergent historical consciousness sweeping the country in the 1840s in America. The chapter also elaborates on the Massachusetts Historical Society's Club, a hub of antiquarian activity at the midcentury, noting that the rage for collecting old books from and about America was the fastest-growing sector of the bibliomania. The chapter recounts that one of the old Puritans who rested at the society was Hezekiah Usher, the first printer in the British colonies. The most famous book Usher printed was the Bay Psalm Book, the Psalter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which had iconic status among collectors as the first book printed in British America. The chapter underlines that the old books like the Bay Psalm Book were more than mere textual chronicles of the past. They were actual participants in it and thus, like other historical witnesses, needed to be examined and cross-examined. The chapter concludes by investigating how a bibliography consequently became an essential skill in the thriving new field of American antiquarianism.
Epilogue
Authors: Gigante Denise
Published: May 2023

This chapter follows how Charles W. Frederickson became a legend in a white linen jacket and pockets stuffed with books whose sentimental library of association copies, first editions, presentation copies, and autographs included eleven volumes from the library of Charles Lamb. It discusses how he began his book collecting with Shakespeare, and examines the ongoing disputes about the authenticity of the plays and other texts and objects related to the bard that caused him to sell off his Shakespeare collection. The chapter also reviews how Frederickson entered the transatlantic book world at a turning point, when tastes were shifting from the kind of bibliographical rarities and specimens of early printing that had been coveted in the grand era of British bibliomania to a sentimental preference for relics of English literary tradition. It concludes by emphasizing that sentimental collecting in America began before Lamb's books were sold in the Astor House.
‘The Un-Martialled Loyalists of the South’
Authors: Dooley Terence
Published: May 2023

This chapter explores the lives of the landed elite as they grappled with the political and social consequences of World War I. From the late nineteenth century with the growth of Irish nationalism, the advent of the Home Rule movement, mass democratisation, and the loss of political power, the aristocracy viewed retention of their place in the British Empire as a prerequisite to their future survival. As the colonies expanded, loyalty to the empire provided the natural career outlet for aristocratic sons and the means by which they could continue to justify, at least to themselves, their social privileges. In Ireland, protecting the Union became their political priority. However, as the chapter shows, the hopelessness of their position became increasingly evident during the third Home Rule crisis and was compounded by the many consequences of World War I.
‘All the Gentry Have Suffered’
Authors: Dooley Terence
Published: May 2023

This chapter considers the aftermath of World War I for the Irish landed aristocracy. It examines the experiences of grief and trauma for returning veterans as well as for those whose family members died in the war. Long widowhoods and spinsterhood became the lot of so many aristocratic women. And at a political level, the war drained the southern unionist movement. From the Big House perspective, there was another very significant development during the war years: the re-emergence of the land question (if it had ever gone away). Additionally, the wartime deaths also came with dire economic consequences for the remaining families, who increasingly found themselves unable to afford maintaining their stately homes.
‘Castles, Mansions and Residences Were Sent Up in Flames’
Authors: Dooley Terence
Published: May 2023

This chapter tracks the beginnings of the house burnings as the Irish War of Independence broke out. By then, the Ireland that the survivors returned to was very different to the one they had left. While the thinning of aristocratic society further south had been ongoing since the beginning of the Land War in 1879, revolution proved to be a catalyst. However, the burning of Big Houses did not begin until the spring of 1920. The houses were being burned for multiple reasons, such as for strategic concerns or as reprisals. Additionally, the chapter shows that there is an argument to be made that civil war conditions continued to provide further opportunity to dismantle the architecture of the Big House and to rid the countryside of the physical reminders of the coloniser, and to some this may have been at least as important as political or military struggle.
‘Grass Grows Where the Saloons Were’
Authors: Dooley Terence
Published: May 2023

This chapter presents a case study of Mitchelstown Castle as a microcosm of what happened on so many Irish aristocratic estates in the revolutionary period 1920–23. In 1922, Mitchelstown Castle was owned by William Downes Webber. The estate itself had been front and centre in the extended Land War, and this would channel resentment towards the family and by extension towards the Big House. By the spring of 1922, the castle was left vulnerable, and Webber and his family were eventually evicted from it. The chapter describes the vandalism which took place at the castle and the compensation proceedings that followed.
Equestrian Sports
Authors: Mackenzie John M.
Published: May 2023

This chapter discusses the sporting history of the British Empire, focusing in particular on equestrian sports and hunting. In many colonies, equine sports included riding to hounds, some forms of shooting, gymkhanas, racing, pig-sticking, and polo — all pursued as both military and civilian pastimes. But all equine sports became passions of the British and spread throughout the empire. The sports covered in this chapter were distinctively pursued by Europeans, but indigenous people became increasingly involved in roles other than as auxiliaries. The ownership and riding of horses in the empire were generally symbolic of wealth and power. However, as the chapter shows, sports involving horses (as well as dogs), as well as the animals required for such events, were already present in some areas of the empire prior to colonisation.
Conclusion
Authors: Mackenzie John M.
Published: May 2023

This concluding chapter returns to the lessons discussed in previous chapters to argue the need for further studies into the cultural dimensions of empire. For the rulers and protagonists of empire, such cultural instruments represent the allegedly civilised essence of empire. The chapter directs attention towards the cultural economy, with the associated themes of cultural capital, traffic, and the dissemination of skills and ideas. All of these are never static phenomena, but dynamic processes that have produced significant permutations in the imperial and colonial environment. They were beamed towards the migrants and expatriates of the imperial society as well as the indigenous peoples of both settler territories and the colonies of rule. But efforts at creating an imperial culture out of the multiple proselytising components of cultural imperialism were seldom successful over time. On the contrary, they tended to engender striking adaptations in which the hoped-for uniform culture of empire was ultimately transmuted into cultures of national identities, even if sometimes retaining trace elements from the imperial source.
IQ: The Brilliant Idea that Failed
Authors: Carey John
Published: May 2023

This chapter reviews IQ: The Brilliant Idea that Failed (2007) by Stephen Murdoch. The book argues against intelligence tests and abominates psychologists for inventing them. Indeed, IQ is heavily prejudiced in this view, as Murdoch argues that psychologists are a ruthless set of parvenus, avid for funding and respect, neither of which they deserve, and unable even to define the ‘intelligence’ they are supposed to be testing. The worldwide ascendancy they now enjoy came about, he contends, through historical accident. However, the chapter also reveals that, despite the title of the book, IQ tests have succeeded on every level, as they are used worldwide in multiple fields and institutions.
Darwin’s Island: The Galapagos in the Garden of England; Darwin’s Sacred Cause: Race Slavery and the Quest for Human Origins
Authors: Carey John
Published: May 2023

This chapter explores two books regarding Charles Darwin's theory of evolution — Darwin's Island: The Galapagos in the Garden of England (2009) by Steve Jones, and Darwin's Sacred Cause: Race Slavery and the Quest for Human Origins (2009) by Adrian Desmond and James Moore. Darwin's Island takes the reader through the projects and experiments of those forty years Darwin spent exploring the biology and geology of Britain after his five-week stay in the Galápagos. What constantly astonishes is the homeliness of Darwin's methods. He had none of the expensive equipment modern science requires, just the simple aids available to any Victorian gentleman botanist. But his strengths were indefatigable curiosity and imaginative sympathy with the natural world. Meanwhile, Darwin's Sacred Cause, which came out at the same time as Darwin's Island, argues that Darwin was driven not simply by a zeal for scientific knowledge but by a moral passion. His motive was hatred of black slavery and the cruelties it sanctioned.
No Voice from the Hall: Early Memories of a Country House Snooper
Authors: Carey John
Published: May 2023

This chapter examines how John Harris became a country house snooper at the age of fifteen. It mentions his uncle Sid and his professional interest in antiques and the buildings that contained them. The chapter then follows how uncle and nephew descended on the stately homes. Soon, young Harris caught the bug and was going solo, hitch-hiking and youth-hostelling around England, intent on trespass. The chapter recounts the surreal visions of decay that Harris came upon. On his way to becoming a respected architectural historian, the chapter explores how he cultivated the acquaintance of wealthy antique dealers, interior decorators, and other arty types. It stresses how he developed aristocratic sympathies in this company, lamenting the demise of noble dynasties — which never seems to have bothered him when he was poking around uninvited among their possessions. The chapter reviews how Harris fancied himself ill-used during his snooping years, complaining of the ‘paltry’ dole money he drew each week.
Gypsies: An English History
Authors: Carey John
Published: May 2023

This chapter gathers thousands of shreds of evidence from a vast span of sources to trace the fates of English Gypsies from their first arrival among us until now. It first argues that early theorists suggested that Gypsies were descended from Pharaoh's scattered soldiery after the Israelites' exodus. But in the late eighteenth century, as the chapter recounts, German philologists discovered that Romany, the Gypsy language, is related to Sanskrit and Hindu, and carries linguistic clues that record the Gypsies' emigration route from north-east India through central Asia to the Byzantine Greek world. The chapter also elaborates on the evidence which shows that Gypsies could travel round England, visiting a circuit of markets and fairs, with little risk of molestation. The chapter proceeds to talks about fearsome anti-Gypsy measures on the Continent and in Scotland. It also examines how Romanticism, with its passion for wildness, freedom and the natural world, changed the image of Gypsies.
Unapologetic: Why, Despite Everything, Christianity Can Still Make Surprising Emotional Sense
Authors: Carey John
Published: May 2023

This chapter argues that first-hand accounts of mystical experiences are rare nowadays. It follows the events that led up to Francis Spufford's first mystical experience back in 1997. The chapter examines how Spufford became aware of something else, a ‘whisper of presence’, the sense of being watched but absolutely safe, and it brought with it the conviction that the universe is sustained by ‘a continual and infinitely patient act of love’. As the chapter emphasizes, Spufford readily concedes that identical feelings could be caused by sensory deprivation or biochemical imbalances or drugs or electrical stimulation of his brain. He admits that they correspond closely to the sensations of transcendence reported by worshippers in many other religions — and, he might have added to the ‘oceanic feeling’ for which Freud offered a psychoanalytic explanation. The chapter also contends that it is its impossibility as a rule of life that distinguishes Christianity from other religions. Ultimately, the chapter looks at Spufford's attempt to reconstruct the life of the historical Jesus. It also highlights Spufford's vision of philosopher A.C. Grayling leading us on the great journey into the secular light ‘tossing his miraculously bouffant locks’.
Ahead of the Class: How an Inspiring Headmistress Gave Children Back Their Future
Authors: Carey John
Published: May 2023

This chapter commends the work that Marie Stubbs did to improve the education and experience of St. George's students. It acknowledges how common violence against teachers, fights, confrontation, and disruptive behaviour was. However, Stubbs fervently worked on making the school more inclusive, welcoming, and bright for students who spoke many languages and came from different backgrounds. The chapter details how most of her staff quit after she organized a May ball in a top London hotel. Despite the successful event and work of Stubbs, the attitude of the Roman Catholic Diocesan Education Board ranged from neglect to downright hostility against the headmistress.
Eileen: The Making of George Orwell
Authors: Carey John
Published: May 2023

This chapter evaluates Sylvia Topp's claim that marriage to Eileen O'Shaughnessy was the making of George Orwell. It was understood that Orwell's writing took precedence over everything, so Eileen did all the cooking and household chores. When he was ill, which was often, Eileen managed everything. Orwell's published writings project the image of a deeply moral man, a kind of puritan saint. However, that image is misleading. Although he referred to his union with Eileen as an ‘open marriage’, it is not clear that she allowed herself extramarital affairs, whereas he unquestionably did. The personal qualities everyone who knew her remarked on were cheerfulness, good humour, and a habit of witty exaggeration. Topp argues persuasively that these traits start to show up in Orwell's writing soon after they met. She detects them especially in Animal Farm (1945), which seems to have been almost a joint production. Eileen typed it, as she did all his manuscripts, and covered the back of each page with suggestions.
Hergé: The Man Who Created Tintin
Authors: Carey John
Published: May 2023

This chapter assesses how Pierre Assouline's biography shows that Tintin's creator was an emotionally retarded workaholic who cared for nothing but his art, disliked children, and collaborated with the Nazis. Georges Remi (his pen name Hergé was his reversed initials, RG, as pronounced in French) was born in 1907 in a Brussels suburb. On leaving school, Remi got a job on an ultra-Catholic paper that advocated authoritarian government as a bulwark against democracy. Serialised in Father Norbert Wallez's paper, The Adventures of Tintin in the Land of the Soviets gave a cautionary account of the famine, terror, and repression rife under the atheist Bolsheviks. He was a perfectionist in his art, and seemingly did not stop to think that, by luring young readers to Wallez's paper with Tintin stories, he was also exposing them to editorials that justified Hitler's persecution of the Jews.
Faulks on Fiction: The Secret Life of the Novel
Authors: Carey John
Published: May 2023

This chapter is written by Sebastian Faulks to accompany a four-part BBC Two documentary series, which talks about several characters from the timespan of British fiction and are divided into categories of heroes, lovers, snobs, and villains. It explains Sebastian Faulks' treatment of fictional characters as if they were real people and tries to understand why they behave as they do. It also objects that heroes and villains are out of place in novels as heroes belong in the epic, while villains in the theatre. The chapter considers that lovers fare worse than heroes, describing Darcy in Pride and Prejudice as a manipulative, hypocritical, and self-centred depressive. It observes that the snob and the mainstream novel have been made for one another as fiction snobbery is not necessarily stupid or wrong.
Running for the Hills: A Family Story
Authors: Carey John
Published: May 2023

This chapter looks at Horatio Clare's life on a farm halfway up a mountain in Wales. It points out how his mother's diary of their life on the farm provided Clare with a model of how to write and formed the nucleus of his memoir. It also highlights the joy in Clare's Running for the Hills that lies in its seemingly effortless richness and precision, bursting with its own actuality. The chapter talks about Clare's wish to recapture the time when his parents were happy together in his book after his father walked out on the family. Clare writes of his life on the farm as a leap backwards through time to the pre-modern world, but it may also be the future as subsistence hill-farming might be the fate of the next generation due to global warming, rising sea levels, and the end of fossil fuels.
Vegetable Gardening
Authors: Carey John
Published: May 2023

This chapter highlights the point of gardening, which repairs that part of the brain which words and thinking are constantly threatening to destroy. It stresses how vegetable gardening naturally redoubles self-approval due to producing food, which is one of the few worthwhile human activities. By growing what is eaten, a person keeps in touch with economic realities that lie deeper than money. The chapter explains that vegetable gardening contains a strong element of submerged sensuousness as home-grown stuff tastes better than the plastic shrouded organisms that pass themselves off as vegetables in supermarkets. Most of the rich experiences obtainable from the vegetable garden are untainted by any thought of actual consumption.