bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A CONCRETE PAVEMENT PROJECT WITH A 10-YEAR PERFORMANCE GUARANTEE IN QUEBEC
Authors: Cormier Bertrand , Thebeau Denis , Duchesne Louis Carol , Dault Yvan , Beckemeyer Curt A. , Darter Michael I.
Published: January 2025

Highway 40 in the Vaudreuil-Dorion area is a very heavily traveled concrete divided roadway. In 1994, a design-build call for proposals was made for the reconstruction of a 5,5-km section of the westbound pavement. The contract was awarded to an unbonded concrete trapezoidal overlay project with a 10-year performance guarantee. While this proposal was innovative in several respects, the term of the performance guarantee was what made it exceptional. The concrete pavement criteria under guarantee are potholes, spalling, cracking, joint sealing, rutting, skid resistance and profilometry. The behaviour of this pavement until now has tended to demonstrate the feasibility and relevance of a 10-year guarantee on a concrete pavement, even under very heavy truck traffic.
A PROBABILISTIC APPROACH TO SAWCUT TIMING AND DEPTH REQUIREMENTS FOR NEWLY CONSTRUCTED PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENTS
Authors: Jeong Jin-Hoon , Chapke Niraj , Zollinger Dan G.
Published: January 2025

This paper presents the details of an approach to account for the factors that have been found to affect the ability and probability of paving contractors to control cracking due to sawcutting in newly constructed concrete pavements. Variability in climate conditions and material characteristics during the hardening process affects the potential of cracking at any sawcut depth. Several factors such as material strength parameters, method and quality of curing, slab/subbase stiffness, and concrete shrinkage affect the probability of crack initiation. Others are relevant to concrete mixture characteristics that affect development of early aged stresses caused by shrinkage and thermally induced contraction. This paper also presents the results of a probabilistic analysis of the factors that affect crack control using sawcut notches. A fundamental approach using a fracture mechanics is used to assure crack initiation in this paper.
CONCRETE PAVEMENTS IN CANADA: STATE-OF-THE-ART PRACTICE
Authors: Tighe Susan , Fung Rico , Smith Tim
Published: January 2025

Approximately 12 billion dollars is spent on pavements annually in Canada as indicated by Public Works Canada. This massive investment is aging and requires timely and cost effective renovation, repair and rehabilitation technologies and good management. With increased demand for innovative solutions to repair the existing infrastructure, there has been a growth in the use of concrete pavements and the innovative concrete pavement products. The objective of this paper is to provide a state-of-the-art review on the design, construction, performance and maintenance of various concrete pavement structures in Canada. The evolution of the Canadian experience in design and construction techniques will be described and “best practice” concrete paving strategies will be presented. The aim of this paper is to provide guidance on the concrete paving techniques for use in cold climates and under various traffic loading conditions.
RECONSTRUCTION OF URBAN INTERSECTIONS USING PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENT
Authors: Uhlmeyer Jeff S. , Pierce Linda M.
Published: January 2025

As of 1994, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) began replacing selected asphalt concrete (AC) intersections with full depth Portland cement concrete pavement (PCCP). This decision was made due to the high visibility of urban intersections and the high rate of rutting that was occurring in a short period of time (eight years or less). Though costs to remove and replace just the rutted asphalt layer will always have a lower initial cost than remove and replacement with full depth PCCP, the life cycle cost and the disruption to the traveling public indicates that reconstruction with PCCP is an appropriate and viable option. With continued experience within WSDOT and the contracting community in PCCP intersection construction, and the use of partial and full road closures, lengthy construction periods are no longer warranted or necessary.
EFFECT OF VARIABILITY AND CENTRAL TENDENCY IN PERFORMANCE-RELATED SPECIFICATIONS FOR CONCRETE PAVEMENTS
Authors: Gharaibeh Nasir G. , Kopac Peter A. , Darter Michael I.
Published: January 2025

Performance-related specifications (PRS) for the acceptance of newly constructed jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCP) have been developed over the past decade. A PRS is a construction specification that describes the target levels of key materials and construction acceptance quality characteristics (AQC’s) that have been found to correlate with key pavement performance indicators (distresses and smoothness). These AQC’s (e.g., initial smoothness, thickness, strength, air content, and percent consolidation around dowels) are amenable to acceptance testing at the time of construction. PRS also provide rational methods for contract price adjustment based on the difference between the as-designed (target) and as-constructed life cycle costs (LCC’s) of the pavements. PRS employ distress and smoothness prediction models to accurately relate the AQC’s to future pavement performance and associated LCC. This paper shows a complete sensitivity of the central tendency (mean) and variability (standard deviation) of key AQC’s related to PRS developed for JPCP. The analysis is conducted using data from a recently completed PRS project in Indiana (I-465) and an ongoing PRS project in Florida (I-295). Specifically, this analysis demonstrates the influence of AQC quality on pay factor (an indicator of pavement performance). This information is particularly beneficial to contractors because it helps identify the key AQC’s (and quality level for each) on which they should focus to ensure that 1) the provided quality satisfies the highway agency and 2) the incentive payment is maximized. This work shows the critical factors and variations of those factors that can lead to improved quality pavement and lower LCC.
INVESTIGATION OF THE OPTIMUM TIME FOR CUTTING JOINTS IN CONCRETE ROADS
Authors: Löfsjögård Malin
Published: January 2025

This paper describes an investigation of the optimum time for cutting joints in concrete pavements with a normal surface and a surface with exposed aggregate. The results from the laboratory test show differences in the earliest cutting times for a normal surface and for a surface with exposed aggregate. For a normal surface the concrete is sufficiently strong to begin cutting without causing external damage at a compressive strength around 6.5 MPa, while an exposed surface has to reach about 9 MPa. In this trial this means that the earliest cutting time is 9.25 hours for the normal surface and 10.25 hours for the exposed surface.
USING FIBER-REINFORCED POLYMER LOAD TRANSFER
Authors: Shalaby Ahmed , Murison Scott
Published: January 2025

Jointed concrete pavements require dowels to transfer the loads across transverse joints and to prevent faulting. The most commonly used dowels are made of epoxy-coated steel with a diameter ranging from 25 to 38 mm. Problems associated with dowels include corrosion of the dowel material and possible crushing of concrete surrounding the dowel causing looseness of the joint and faulting. The objective of this research is to evaluate corrosion-free alternatives to steel reinforcing elements. The use of Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymers, GFRP, as load transfer devices is investigated and some material characteristics and design guidelines for GFRP dowels are introduced. In the experimental program, two types of dowel construction are tested. The first type is a round GFRP dowel bar having a 38-mm diameter and the second is a concrete-filled GFRP pipe having a 60-mm outside diameter. Laboratory testing and a field implementation project were carried out. The field test section was constructed on a regional highway in the city of Winnipeg and involved three types of GFRP dowels in addition to epoxy-coated steel. Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) testing was conducted after one year of service and showed that GFRP dowels produced 30% higher deflections compared to steel, however the load transfer efficiencies for GFRP dowels remained excellent. The use of GFRP dowels opens tremendous opportunities for optimizing dowel design and pavement performance. The increased diameter and reduced stiffness of the GFRP dowels results in lower bearing stresses between the concrete and dowel, which are major causes of dowel looseness and slab faulting.
THE NEW CONCRETE PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE AND REHABILITATION GUIDE FOR QUEBEC: A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH
Authors: Thebeau Denis , Cormier Bertrand , Duchesne Louis Carol
Published: January 2025

The extent of cement concrete pavements in Quebec is quite limited (20% of expressways), so expertise in that field is held by only a few individuals. Therefore, it was decided to put together a guide that would provide a lot of useful information, readily usable by anyone involved in some way in the life of a concrete pavement. The main objectives of the guide are to standardize practices throughout the province and to disseminate expertise about concrete pavements. The guide contains four main sections: the first describes 25 maintenance treatments or rehabilitation techniques applicable to rigid pavements, the second offers decision trees for maintenance treatment selection, the third presents a step-by-step method for carrying out a rehabilitation study, and the last section contains a series of forms used to record construction and periodic maintenance information specific to concrete pavements.
A FRAMEWORK FOR REPAIR AND REHABILITATION TREATMENT SELECTION FOR PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENTS
Authors: Zollinger Dan G. , Smith Kurt , Tayabji Shiraz
Published: January 2025

In order to ensure that pavement investment decisions are made in an optimum manner, the State highway agencies (SHAs) are continually examining their pavement maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction (MRR) strategies and their repair and rehabilitation (R&R) techniques to maintain and preserve the nation’s highways. As the economy has grown in recent years, highways in the United States are being subjected to more and more vehicles with heavy loads. This effect along with the variety of climatic conditions has caused the vast network of the nation’s highways to deteriorate in a number of different ways. Consequently, current decisions associated with the repair of this deterioration have long reaching implications for many future generations. With respect to portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements, the state of practice of MRR is good, but it can be better. In the last 10 to 15 years, significant improvements have been made in our understanding of PCC pavement failure mechanisms, pavement condition evaluation techniques, repair materials, equipment, and techniques for MRR. The challenge is how to use this information to preserve the highway investment that has been made over the years while maintaining pavement structures in a serviceable condition. These and other factors have caused SHAs greater concern regarding the effectiveness of their maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction (MRR) strategies and their repair and rehabilitation (R&R) treatments in maintaining and preserving the nation’s highways. Consequently, techniques are sought after in repair treatment selection that will enhance the effectiveness of strategies for maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of concrete pavements and to develop better decision-making processes to select MRR strategies and R&R treatments. These types of devices will help highway agencies and engineers select treatments that will ensure expected performance.
ANALYSIS OF PAVEMENT RESPONSES TO AIRCRAFT AND ENVIRONMENTAL LOADING AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Authors: Rufino Dulce , Roesler Jeff , Barenberg Ernest , Tutumluer Erol
Published: January 2025

Monitoring in-service pavements is important for further understanding the pavement behavior under repeated loading. Many road tests were constructed for understanding the behavior of concrete pavements under highway truck loading. However, there has been very limited testing and monitoring of airport pavements. At the Denver International Airport, dynamic and static sensors were installed in the pavement structure during construction of runway 34R-16L in 1994. These sensors are used to monitor pavement responses due to aircraft loading and environment. This paper focuses on the analysis of displacements produced by two critical aircraft types: B-777 and B-727. A sensitivity analysis of the calculated displacement profiles was conducted for several input parameters using the ILLI-SLAB finite element program. Data acquired from thermocouples, position sensors, and deflectometers placed in the runway pavement are compared to the analytical results. Data from position sensors are used to determine the transverse gear load position for each aircraft within the instrumented section. Thermocouple readings were used to determine the temperature profile to be used in the numerical analysis to calculate responses for combined aircraft and environmental loading.
REVIEW OF ROLLER-COMPACTED CONCRETE (RCC) PAVEMENT DESIGN METHODS
Authors: Hiller Jacob E. , Buch Neeraj
Published: January 2025

Current RCC pavement design methods incorporate fatigue-based models that rely solely on exterior loading for the determination of stress. By neglecting variables such as the temperature gradients and load placement, these designs may be inadequate for the actual conditions the pavement endures. This paper summarizes some current RCC pavement design methods and describes the development of an alternative design method that incorporates temperature gradients and wheel wander in a fatigue-based design. This inclusion of temperature effects tended to increase the design thickness of RCC pavements. Although it was found that load transfer efficiency did not impact the critical slab tensile stress used for the alternative fatigue-based design, issues such as adjusting the thickness or increasing load transfer were investigated to limit the stress on the subgrade.
SWEDISH DESIGN OF INDUSTRIAL CONCRETE PAVEMENTS
Authors: Silfwerbrand Johan
Published: January 2025

The use of concrete pavements for industrial purposes has increased in Sweden during recent years. Concrete pavements have high load distribution ability, high wear resistance and can resist long lasting and concentrated loads without permanent deflections. The axle loads may exceed 100 metric tons. Adapting the robust design procedures that are used for highway pavements without changes would lead to very thick and expensive industrial pavements. Consequently, it is mandatory to find possibilities to optimize the design without jeopardizing the good per- formance. The pavement design covers plain concrete, roller compacted concrete, reinforced concrete, and steel fiber reinforced concrete, both with and without bound bases. The paper also deals with the experience of some industrial pavements that have been constructed based on the new design method.
THE MEASURED RESPONSE OF ULTRA-THIN AND THIN WHITETOPPING TO ENVIRONMENTAL LOADS
Authors: Vandenbossche Julie M.
Published: January 2025

The technique of whitetopping asphalt concrete pavements with a thin (102-mm to 152- mm thick) or ultra-thin (51-mm to 102-mm thick) concrete overlay is becoming more common. The increase in use of thin whitetopping (TW) and ultra-thin whitetopping (UTW) has amplified the need for a comprehensive design procedure. The purpose of this research project is to develop a better understanding of the behavior of thin and ultra-thin whitetopping by measuring the responses of the pavements to various environmental loadings. A 345-mm asphalt concrete pavement on I-94, at the Minnesota Road Research (Mn/ROAD) facility, was whitetopped with a fiber-reinforced concrete overlay in October 1997. The experimental design features six test cells with various thicknesses, joint patterns and types of fibers. Each cell is instrumented with dynamic and static strain, temperature and moisture sensors. Temperature, moisture and static strain data have been collected continuously since construction. Strain gages were used to measure the effects of moisture and temperature changes in the pavement. An evaluation of the data over time indicates seasonal changes occur in the quality of bond between layers, which has implications for changes in load-related stress over time. Both thermal and moisture changes in the overlay have a significant effect on the shape of the slab. Strain measurements revealed the complexity of the relationship between changes in temperature and/or moisture and slab deformation. This relationship must be clearly defined before an analysis of the response of the overlay to an applied load can begin. This study helped characterizing these relationships.
BEHAVIOR AND PERFORMANCE OF UTW ON THIN ASPHALT PAVEMENT
Authors: Balbo José , Pereira Deividi , Severi Andréa
Published: January 2025

During the 1999 spring, two sections of ultra-thin whitetopping (UTW) were built in an urban street in São Paulo City over a thin 45 mm asphalt layer. The UTW was constructed at a bus stop within the University campus, defining two panels of squared 0.6 and 1.0 m and 95 mm slabs. A high strength concrete was applied and the test sections were fully instrumented with top and bottom thermal resistors and strain gages. The instrumentation allowed the analysis of temperatures and thermal gradients on slabs as well as the curling deformation induced by these gradients. Temperature measurements showed daytime thermal gradients up to 11.7o C and nighttime gradients up to –4.2o C. Concrete stresses due uniquely to curling reached very low values in all seasons and were deemed negligible. Open to traffic since November 1999, 19 months later no cracks or faulting were observed on UTW sections submitted to a daily traffic of 120 buses and trucks making it possible, on the basis of measured flexural stresses on slabs, to predict a good performance of the UTW even over a thin 45 mm asphalt layer once no distresses have been verified as yet.
FEASIBILITY OF PRECAST PRESTRESSED CONCRETE PAVEMENTS
Authors: Merritt David K. , McCullough Frank , Swanlund Mark E.
Published: January 2025

As the number of vehicles continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, pavements continue to deteriorate faster, requiring rehabilitation and/or replacement. Pavement construction, however, can cause significant traffic delays, particularly in urban and densely populated areas. These traffic delays increase user costs in the form of increased fuel consumption and lost work time, among many other variables. A method for expediting construction of durable high performance pavements is, therefore, needed. Under this preface, and due to the success of precast concrete techniques in the building and bridge industries, the feasibility of using precast prestressed concrete panels to expedite pavement construction was examined. The primary advantage of precast panels is that they can be set in place and assembled quickly, allowing traffic back onto the pavement almost immediately. This will allow pavement construction to be carried out in overnight or weekend operations, when traffic volumes are low, resulting in tremendous savings in user costs. Also, by incorporating prestressing, a precast pavement can be designed for an increased design life to that of a conventional pavement, with a significant reduction in pavement thickness. This will not only reduce the weight of the panels for transportation and handing, but will also allow the thickness of the pavement to be tailored to the specific application for which it will be used by simply adjusting the magnitude of prestress. This paper will describe the key aspects of a concept for a precast prestressed concrete pavement which were generated through a feasibility study. As the feasibility of the proposed concepts will, ultimately, only be realized through actual implementation, this paper will also discuss a small-scale pilot project currently being undertaken to test and refine these concepts.
STATUS OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE CONCRETE PAVEMENTS CONSTRUCTED UNDER FHWA’S TE-30 PROGRAM
Authors: Smith Kurt D. , Swanlund Mark E.
Published: January 2025

Since 1996, twenty-two concrete pavement projects incorporating innovative design and construction concepts have been constructed by participating State Highway Agencies (SHAs) under the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) TE-30 program. However, to date there has been no formal attempt to ascertain the status of these projects, which increases the likelihood that any benefit or increased understanding of PCC pavement performance that might be obtained from these projects will be lost. To address this potential shortcoming, this paper introduces the different projects included in the TE-30 program, and summarizes the various design and construction innovations currently being investigated in those projects. It also highlights some preliminary findings from selected projects.
USE OF NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING FOR CONCRETE PAVEMENTS
Authors: Crawford Gary L. , Wathne Leif G.
Published: January 2025

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has promoted the use of nondestructive testing techniques for over 20 years in an effort to reduce the cost and time of construction quality control. Many of the available nondestructive techniques, however, are still under-utilized by state highway agencies. This paper presents FHWA’s experience with two nondestructive test methods that show great promise for application in concrete pavement construction; maturity and impact-echo. This paper includes a brief discussion of background and theory, as well as a detailed discussion of each of the case studies in terms of both results and conclusions.
Al-Madraḥiyya (Material Spiritualism): Antoun Saadeh (1904–49)
Authors: al-Salimi Abdulrahman
Published: January 2025

This chapter examines the philosophy of Antoun Saadeh, who coined the term Al-Madraḥiyya, or Material Spiritualism. Saadeh’s philosophy is a complex blend of materialism and spiritualism, aiming to create a holistic worldview that integrates physical and spiritual aspects of existence. The chapter discusses Saadeh’s critique of both Western materialism and traditional spiritualism, arguing for a philosophy that encompasses the material conditions of life while acknowledging the spiritual dimension that underpins human existence. His work is positioned as a response to the dual challenges of modernity and cultural preservation.
Al-Kiyāniyya (Beingism): Charles Malik (1906–87)
Authors: al-Salimi Abdulrahman
Published: January 2025

This chapter focuses on the philosophy of Charles Malik, who developed the concept of Al-Kiyāniyya, or Beingism. Malik’s philosophy centers on the concept of 'being' as the fundamental essence of human existence. The chapter explores how Malik integrates existential and ontological perspectives within the Arab intellectual tradition, emphasizing the importance of individual existence and self-awareness. His work addresses the challenges of modernity by advocating for a return to essential human values rooted in the philosophical concept of being, offering a response to the disintegration of identity in the face of Western influence.
Al-Wujūdiyya al-‘Arabiyya (Arab Existentialism): Abderrahmane Badawi (1917–2002)
Authors: al-Salimi Abdulrahman
Published: January 2025

Abderrahmane Badawi’s development of Al-Wujūdiyya al-‘Arabiyya, or Arab Existentialism, is the focus of this chapter. Badawi’s existentialism is deeply rooted in Arab cultural and philosophical traditions while engaging critically with Western existentialist thought. The chapter examines how Badawi addresses themes such as freedom, responsibility, and the search for meaning within the context of Arab identity and experience. His work is portrayed as a significant contribution to the broader existentialist movement, offering a unique perspective that bridges Arab and Western philosophies.
Al-‘Ilmawiyya (Scientism): Mohammed Abderrahman Marhaba (1925–2006)
Authors: al-Salimi Abdulrahman
Published: January 2025

This chapter focuses on the philosophy of Al-‘Ilmawiyya, or Scientism, as developed by Mohammed Abderrahman Marhaba. Marhaba advocates for a scientific approach to understanding the world, emphasizing the importance of empirical evidence and rational inquiry in philosophical discourse. The chapter examines how Marhaba applies scientific principles to philosophical questions, arguing for a worldview that prioritizes knowledge derived from scientific methods. His work is positioned as a critical response to traditional metaphysical approaches, promoting a philosophy rooted in the scientific spirit of modernity.
Al-Tafkīkiyya (Deconstructionism) and Ikhtilāf (Difference): Abdelkebir Khatibi (1938–2009)
Authors: al-Salimi Abdulrahman
Published: January 2025

This chapter explores the contributions of Abdelkebir Khatibi to Arab philosophy through his development of Al-Tafkīkiyya (Deconstructionism) and Al-Ikhtilāf (Difference). Khatibi’s work engages deeply with postmodernist thought, particularly the concepts of deconstruction and difference, as they relate to Arab identity and culture. The chapter examines how Khatibi uses these concepts to critique and dismantle dominant narratives within Arab society, advocating for a philosophy that embraces plurality and diversity. His work is presented as a significant contribution to both Arab and global philosophical discourse, offering a unique perspective on the interplay between identity and difference.
Modernity and the Standard-bearer of Feminism: Fatema Mernissi (1940–2015)
Authors: al-Salimi Abdulrahman
Published: January 2025

This chapter examines the influential work of Fatema Mernissi, focusing on her contributions to modernity and feminism in the Arab world. Mernissi’s philosophy challenges traditional gender roles and advocates for women's rights within an Islamic framework. The chapter explores how Mernissi critiques patriarchal structures and promotes a vision of modernity that includes gender equality and social justice. Her work is positioned as a key contribution to feminist thought, bridging the gap between modernity and tradition while advocating for progressive change in the Arab world.
Al-Tanwīriyya Rushdiyya (Rushdian Enlightenment): Murad Wahbah (1926–)
Authors: al-Salimi Abdulrahman
Published: January 2025

This chapter focuses on the philosophy of Murad Wahbah, who advocates for Al-Tanwīriyya al-Rushdiyya, or Rushdian Enlightenment. Wahbah’s philosophy is deeply influenced by the works of the classical philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and seeks to revive the principles of enlightenment within the Arab context. The chapter discusses how Wahbah emphasizes the importance of reason, critical thinking, and intellectual freedom as key components of modern Arab thought. His work is portrayed as an effort to foster a new enlightenment in the Arab world, rooted in both historical and contemporary philosophical traditions.
Conclusion
Authors: al-Salimi Abdulrahman
Published: January 2025

Abstract and Keywords to be supplied.
Introduction: Dread and Dark Laughter
Authors: Horner Avril , Zlosnik Sue
Published: January 2025

Abstract and Keywords to be supplied.
The Horror and Humour of Women’s Rights: Early Gothic Parody and Anti-Feminism
Authors: Neill Natalie
Published: January 2025

Dozens of Gothic parodies were published between 1790 and 1820 when first-wave Gothic was at its height of popularity. The parodies make fun of the genre’s conventionality and lack of realism, while also satirizing the readers and writers of Gothic fiction. This chapter argues that many parodies targeted so-called “female” or Radcliffean Gothic novels in order to ridicule female authorship and express fears about the Gothic novel’s perceived threat to female domesticity. Following the publication of Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) and feminist Gothic novel Maria; or the Wrongs of Woman (1798), Gothic parody became an important site for debates about women’s expanding roles and entrance into public discourse. The chapter begins with an overview of Gothic parody in the Romantic period andconcludes with some brief remarks on the discursive and ideological ambivalence of the parodies, the contradictions and tensions of which provide an important window onto – and even mirror – their period’s debates about the rights of women. Comedy, in the form of Gothicparodies, undoubtedly made readers laugh but it also highlighted issues concerning a woman’sright to write.
Dickens and the Comic Gothic
Authors: Hollington Michael
Published: January 2025

With a particular focus on The Pickwick Papers, this chapter explores Dickens’s work in the light of critical reflections on the grotesque, hybridity, the Comic Gothic and the relationship between them. Dickens’s use of Comic Gothic, it is suggested, is innovative in that it results in an inward turn of the Gothic: that is, a decisive move away from exotic locations in time and space (as in Ann Radcliffe’s work) in order to focus on the marvellous and terrifying to be found in the everyday reality of England. It is argued that the violence in the book becomes a running joke, a mode of gallows humour sustained by Dickens’s many comic representations of death or near-death and by Sam Weller’s frequent Wellerisms. Violence, the author claims, is as much a part of the disposition of positive and even heroic characters, such as Wardle, Sam and Pickwick himself, as it is of the book’s numerous caricatures and villains. Indeed, close examination of the cruelty in The Pickwick Papers reveals, paradoxically, that it is a book of life in that the violence within it is a force of energy that can also enable the making of a vigorous and purposeful existence, especially when that violence is steered into a powerful hatred of injustice. In this light, The Pickwick Papers is seen as a masterpiece of Comic Gothic.
Oscar Wilde: Performing the Gothic
Authors: Sammells Neil
Published: January 2025

This chapter on Oscar Wilde focusses on The Picture of Dorian Gray, ‘Lord Arthur Savile's Crime' and 'The Canterville Ghost', tracing the comic strategies he deployed in his treatment of the Gothic. Drawing on the work of Susan Sontag it argues that Dorian Gray is a camp novel: in which identity is shown to be performative and moral content is stylized. Further, it places Wilde's work in the context of the Irish, and popular, Gothic traditions and suggests that his satiric tone is inflected by a Camp playfulness which Wilde would have recognized in classical antecedents: in particular Menippean and Lucianic satire.
Post-Apocalyptic Film and TV Capers: The Comedy Zombie, Capitalist Realism and the (End of the) Neoliberal World
Authors: Blake Linnie
Published: January 2025

The shuffling undead have come to function, under global neoliberalism, as avatars for the self under free market capitalism. This chapter explores the way in which the comedic zombie text underscores the inextricability of neoliberal economics and postmodern representational practices whilst proffering a refreshingly entertaining critique of neoliberalism’s impact on the self and on social relations within and between nation states in an age of global migration, ecological devastation, ethnic segregation and pandemic infection. It focuses on neoliberal consolidation and post-9/11 disaster capitalism by examining a selection of films: Fido (2005), American Zombie (2007), Zombieland (2009), Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) and Warm Bodies (2013),For all the humour occasioned by the comical pratfalls, explosive pyrotechnics and parodic social milieux of this ostensibly light-hearted subgenre the chapter illustrates how the apocalypticism of these texts is not only intrinsically bleak but entirely apposite for our own post-truth world, itself refashioned by neoliberalism’s insistent rush to planetary annihilation.
The Lilliputian Magazine : Entertaining Education in the Service of Profit and Reform
Authors: Markey Anne
Published: January 2025

Long considered to be the first children’s periodical, the Lilliputian Magazine (1751–2) ran to just three instalments. However, it continued to circulate as a compilation volume for decades after initial publication and so reached different cohorts of young readers in Britain and elsewhere. Its relatively short life as a periodical highlights the precariousness of the nascent trade in leisure reading for children in the mid-eighteenth century. Its successful afterlife as a single-volume collection suggests that the values it endorsed appealed to parents and other gatekeepers who controlled children’s access to reading material throughout the second half of that century. This chapter will provide a detailed discussion of the publication history and the contents of the Lilliputian Magazine, exploring John Newbery’s involvement in the project and examining the significance of lessons it delivered to children.
For the Youth, by the Youth: Child-Centrism and the Rise of the Fantastic in Juvenile Print Cultures in Nineteenth-Century Ireland
Authors: Bhattacharya Anindita
Published: January 2025

This chapter explores the conditions that led to the evolution of juvenile print cultures and recreational reading practices in Ireland, indicating a shift towards child-centrism and publication of fantastic narratives in the indigenous press as opposed to contemporary publication trends in Great Britain. It traces the emerging voice of the youth in Irish periodicals and magazines and an editorial policy prioritizing the young reader and contributor. The aim was to make these publications more appealing and age-appropriate for the Irish youth. Besides nurturing the youthful mind and appealing to their sense of fantasy, these publications became essential literary aids in the construction of the colonial child at the intersection of an emanant nationalism and a growing interest in cosmopolitanism manifested in Irish juvenile print cultures.
Old and New World Fairy Tales in St Nicholas Magazine
Authors: Smith Michelle J.
Published: January 2025

St Nicholas Magazine (1873–1905) was the pre-eminent American children’s magazine published in the nineteenth century. While St Nicholas regularly serialised the works of some of the best-known British and American children’s authors, it differed from British youth magazines in the frequency with which it published original literary fairy tales. This chapter argues that St Nicholas sought to familiarise American child readers with comparatively obscure international tales and traditions, while eschewing adaptations of familiar European fairy tales. Most significantly, it provided a space for the emergence and development of original American literary fairy tales. These original tales departed from European tradition by rejecting the possibilities of the marvellous, or exposing the trickery of magical figures, rather than revelling in the transformative possibilities of the genre.
Enid Blyton’s Wartime Sunny Stories : Facilitating Fantasies of Child Heroism
Authors: Morrissey Siobhán
Published: January 2025

This chapter argues that Enid Blyton’s (1897-1968) wartime periodical stories facilitate fantasies of child heroism which were published to reassure wartime readers of the superiority and eventual victory of the British nation. The necessity of defending the nation’s borders is explained in short stories published within her magazine Sunny Stories which draw upon wartime propaganda to present a vision of the enemy as inherently dictatorial, corrupt, and as subhuman. The content of Blyton’s magazine demonstrates an engagement with the Second World War that challenges the perception of the author as a writer of escapist fiction and, furthermore, challenges the perception of wartime juvenile periodicals for young child readers as primarily sources of distraction, humour, and escapism.
Girls Growing Up: Reading ‘Erotic Bloods’ in Interwar Britain
Authors: Sanders Lise Shapiro
Published: January 2025

This essay examines the periodical reading practices of working-class girls and young women in Britain in the interwar period, paying particular attention to the cheap weekly magazines that prescribed and explored new, modern forms of femininity and sexual agency. Such periodicals included the ‘erotic bloods’ marketed to older women in the 1930s and 1940s, which were also read by girls and young women in their teens and early twenties. The sensationalised use of the term ‘bloods’ (referring to the ‘penny blood’ or ‘penny dreadful’ of the nineteenth century) alongside the term ‘erotic’ yokes sexuality to violence and suggests the more ‘adult’ reading matter of these magazines, which mingled love and romance with narratives involving precarity, danger, and criminality. Then as now, girls and young women often read material written for older audiences, and their choice of reading arguably had the power to shape their conceptions of gender relations, marriage, and womanhood. This essay explores the complex and shifting understanding of adolescence and burgeoning adulthood for young women in the interwar period, and the significance of periodical reading during this transitional stage in the life of the working girl.
‘There’s No Room for Demons when You’re Self-Possessed’: Supernatural Possession in British Girls’ Comics
Authors: Round Julia
Published: January 2025

This chapter investigates the depiction of possession in British girls’ comics from the 1950s to the 1970s: analysing the way this motif developed to explore changing views of girlhood. It begins with a brief historical background covering 1950s and 1960s British comics and shows that early possession stories often give a rational explanation or provide justification for the villain’s actions. However, by the 1970s supernatural possession was a well-established motif with clear visual indicators, which are explored through detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis of two 1970s comics: Spellbound (DC Thomson 1976–8) and Misty (IPC 1978–80). The discussion shows that, although possession and loss of control often appear as threats in these comics, undergoing possession can also have positive benefits such as allowing characters to address or negotiate historical trauma, particularly relating to gender. While possession can be a means of control over disobedient or powerful girls, many stories foreground the ways that these characters struggle against such influence. These comics present strong willpower, personal strength, and even rebellion as important and desirable traits, making the possession motif an excellent example of the contradictions that these girls’ periodicals negotiated as they balanced thrills and adventure against conservatism and propriety.
School Magazines, Collective Cultures, and the Making of Late Victorian Periodical Culture
Authors: Sloan Catherine
Published: January 2025

School magazines from across Britain, and the British Empire, reveal young people to have been actively involved in the boom in youth-oriented periodicals in the second half of the nineteenth century. This chapter argues that the success of children’s periodicals depended in part on young people’s widespread enthusiasm for making magazines. School magazine production is an overlooked but popular phenomenon of the late Victorian period, when hundreds of schools across England established magazines which were subscribed to, contributed to, edited, and sometimes even printed by young people. Working with peers before an audience of schoolmates, young magazine producers opened up horizontal pathways for making and circulating culture. Through a case study of the Sneezer, a manuscript magazine by a peer group at King’s College School, London, in 1885, I examine how peer cultures of making magazines shaped young people’s experiences of periodicals. By reintegrating school magazines back into our picture of periodical culture, we can begin to reconsider not only the impact of grassroots production on mainstream periodicals, but also the status and agency of young people as cultural producers.
Classic Adventures and the Construction of the ‘Classic’ Reader in the 1990s
Authors: Rodgers Beth
Published: January 2025

In 1991, Fabbri Publishing UK launched a new ‘part-works’ series entitled Classic Adventures, with the tagline, ‘Enter the exciting world of the best-known stories.’ Each monthly part featured a hardback novel and a twenty-two-page accompanying magazine, which promised to give readers the opportunity to ‘experience life at the time’, ‘meet the characters’, and ‘discover the plot’. This chapter explores how the Classic Adventures magazine worked to construct not just the child reader, but also the ‘classic’ child reader. It considers which books were chosen and why, and examines how the mix of historical, biographical and interactive material in the magazines helped to shape readers’ responses to the literary works. It argues that the series expanded the definitions of the terms ‘classic’ and ‘adventure’ (not necessarily terms that are always paired together), bringing together the literary, visual and material cultures of the 1890s and 1990s in new ways.
The Brownies’ Book and the American Children’s Publishing Industry
Authors: Ringel Paul
Published: January 2025

This chapter places the Brownies’ Book, the nation’s first children’s magazine for young African-American readers, within the broader historical context of the children’s publishing industry. This context illuminates the structural disadvantages that the Brownies’ Book editors faced, which helps to explain why the magazine closed after only twenty-four issues. The Brownies’ Book failure just as the children’s publishing industry was beginning to expand dramatically in the immediate aftermath of World War I also helps to explain the systemic inequities that kept communities of colour marginalized as both producers and consumers of American children’s literature for much of the twentieth century.
Colonial Modernity in Print Culture: Revisiting Juvenile Periodicals in Nineteenth-Century Bengal
Authors: Biswas Stella Chitralekha
Published: January 2025

This chapter examines how juvenile periodicals in colonial Bengal shifted away from didactic, curriculum-based education towards leisure reading, transforming pedagogic discourses and subtly influencing child-rearing ideologies. These periodicals, while drawing from British influences, asserted their indigeneity to counter British cultural hegemony and became a significant form of juvenile literature by the mid-nineteenth century. Through a historiographical lens, the chapter explores how these periodicals addressed issues of gender, race, identity, and agency, reflecting the colonial anxieties of the Bengali middle-class intelligentsia.
Teaching Humanitarianism to British Children Through the Junior Red Cross Journal in the 1920s
Authors: Plourde Andrée-Anne
Published: January 2025

After World War I, the League of Red Cross Societies advised that every national society engage the youth of their country in Red Cross activities, leading to the formal establishment of the Junior Red Cross (JRC) programme in 1922. During the interwar period, this programme flourished worldwide. Using the British Red Cross Society as a case study, this chapter examines how humanitarianism was taught to young people through official JRC material, particularly through the Junior Red Cross Journal. It explores how this magazine sought to encourage British children to think and care about other children while fostering an interest in humanitarian issues and practices. In doing so, this chapter highlights the essence of the British JRC programme, which, during the 1920s, focused on social service, health and hygiene and, imperial friendliness.
Scottish Stereotyping, Highlandism, and Stevenson in Young Folks Paper
Authors: Gangnes Madeline B.
Published: January 2025

As one of the longest-running Victorian children’s periodicals, Our Young Folks Weekly Budget (1871–1897) holds an important place in the world of story papers for children. Reasonably priced and sufficiently long-running that some Victorians read it from childhood into young adulthood or even middle age, Young Folks came to position itself as an affordable, wholesome general-interest periodical that contained something of interest for everyone in the family. This chapter examines a selection of stories, articles, and editorial materials from Young Folks that exemplify the contradictory blend of stereotyping and romanticisation (Highlandism) that often characterises Victorian depictions of Scotland. It argues that Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel Kidnapped both interrupts and participates in a broader presentation of Scotland in Young Folks in ways that may complicate and, potentially, shape its readers’ perceptions of the country—perceptions that seem to have been founded on a fabricated version of Scottish history and culture. In its depictions of Scotland and Scots, Young Folks participates in the cultural-literary apparatus that sustains a fictional view of Scotland that may be perceived by some readers as fact.
‘I Address You as Owners’: The Victorian Child, the Missionary Ship, and the Juvenile Missionary Magazine
Authors: Elleray Michelle
Published: January 2025

This chapter investigates the interrelationships of a missionary ship (the John Williams), a periodical (the Juvenile Missionary Magazine), and the nineteenth-century child within the evangelical efforts of the London Missionary Society in the Pacific. Through the record of their contributions towards the purchase and maintenance of the John Williams in the Juvenile Missionary Magazine, the periodical became a space in which the philanthropic child asserted a public presence and positioned themselves as participants in the global missionary movement, while the sheer volume of their donations altered the shape of the periodical itself. The foundational role of children in enabling the work of the missionary ship saw them positioned rhetorically as “owners” of the John Williams. Not all children were equally credited, however, and the latter part of the chapter attends to the differentiations evident within the periodical’s account of donors from different regions of the globe. Despite the vaunted globalism of the children’s philanthropy, it is the British child who is presumed to be the prioritized “owner” of the John Williams and thus the most agential within their cohort.
‘Everyone is Requested to Do All they Can to Get This Paper Taken in’: The Pleasures and Duties of Children’s Charity in the Waifs and Strays Society
Authors: Moruzi Kristine
Published: January 2025

This chapter examines the Anglican children’s magazine, Brothers and Sisters (1890-1900), which was intended to encourage members of the Children’s Union to raise funds for the children’s homes run by the Anglican Waifs and Strays Society. The seemingly contradictory impulses of education and entertainment play out in the pages of nineteenth-century children’s periodicals like Brothers and Sisters, where the educational aspect of the magazine is often intended to encourage children to work in specifically philanthropic ways to help other children and those less fortunate. The pleasure of reading a magazine written for and aimed at children is in tension with the ideas of duty and responsibility that are produced through the magazine. This chapter examines the relationship between children and philanthropic institutions by foregrounding children as charitable agents. It explores how the duty of charitable work was presented through the pleasure of reading to encourage children to be charitable through the pages of their magazines.