BECKETT: A CRITICAL PROBLEM

The article explores the polarisation within the body of twentieth century criti-cism surrounding Samuel Beckett’s work: A polarisation between strict forma-list approaches which tend to see Beckett as very much part of a modernist tradition and poststructuralist theorists who seek to categorise his work in terms of postmodernism. As an unfortunate result of extreme critical standpoints, the philosophical thinking of Schopenhauer, which had such a profound and lasting influence on both Beckett’s approach to writing as well as to the theatre, has been largely ignored or simply pushed to one side

Changing practice in dementia care in the community: developing and testing evidence-based interventions, from timely diagnosis to end of life (EVIDEM)

Background Dementia has an enormous impact on the lives of individuals and families, and on health and social services, and this will increase as the population ages. The needs of people with dementia and their carers for information and support are inadequately addressed at all key points in the illness trajectory. Methods The Unit is working specifically on an evaluation of the impact of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and will develop practice guidance to enhance concordance with the Act. Phase One of the study has involved baseline interviews with practitioners across a wide range of services to establish knowledge and expectations of the Act, and to consider change processes when new policy and legislation are implemented. Findings Phase 1, involving baseline interviews with 115 practitioners, identified variable knowledge and understanding about the principles of the Act. Phase 2 is exploring everyday decision-making by people with memory problems and their carers

Undervisningsevalueringens dilemmaer: kontrol og udvikling – to verdener?

Evalueringspraksisser skifter løbende, og der eksperimenteres med nye tilgan­ge, metoder og procedurer. Artiklens fokus er på dilemmaet imellem kon­trol og udvikling. Der rapporteres fra en undersøgelse af holdninger til forskellige tilgange til evaluering og udbyttet af disse. Undersøgelsen er en kvalitativ undersøgelse baseret på interviews med centrale aktører på forskellige niveauer (ledelse, lærere, studerende, studieledere og institutledere) og dokumentariske studier af materiale, på tre danske universiteter. Vi sammenligner, hvordan forskellige aktører opfatter mål med evaluering, praksis og udbytte. Alle tre tilfælde viser, at ydre krav og forventninger fører til større centralisering og mere standardisering. Selv om ledelsen forsøger at kombinere udvikling og kontrol, sker der ofte en opdeling i to paral­lelle processer. Undersøgelsen dokumenterer, at kombinationen af kontrol og udvikling i den samme undervisningsevaluering er uhensigtsmæssig: Såvel studerende som undervisere mister engagementet og savner mulig­heder for feedback og opfølgning. Det fremgår, at standardisering, centra­lisering og formalisering af undervisningsevalueringer fører til mindre ud­vikling og regnes for mindre nyttigt af såvel undervisere som studerende.  Evaluation practices at Danish universities are changing continuously. There is an ongoing experimentation with new approaches, methods and procedures. Our focus in this article is on evaluation as a balancing act between control and development. We report from an investigation of key stakeholder’s attitudes to different practices and to the outcomes of those practices, having interviewed management, teachers, students, program directors and department heads at three different faculties belonging to three different Danish universities. We compare how the different key stakeholders perceive evaluation objectives, practices and outcomes within and across the three faculties. It seems clear in all three cases that external demands and expectations lead to more centralized initiatives and more standardized procedures. Even though faculty management tries to encompass both development and control objectives in the ongoing teaching evaluations, the division between evaluations for control purposes and evaluations for development purposes are clearly divided into two parallel evaluation structures. The study documents that the combination of control and development into the same teaching evaluation is counterproductive: it neither engages the students nor the teachers, it does not allow for closure of the feedback loop and it does not ensure follow-up. It is therefore suggested that more standardized, centralized and formalized teaching evaluations lead to less development and are thus less useful to both teachers and students

Undervisningsevalueringens dilemmaer:kontrol og udvikling - to verdener?

<p>Evalueringspraksisser skifter løbende, og der eksperimenteres med nye tilgan­ge, metoder og procedurer. Artiklens fokus er på dilemmaet imellem kon­trol og udvikling. Der rapporteres fra en undersøgelse af holdninger til forskellige tilgange til evaluering og udbyttet af disse. Undersøgelsen er en kvalitativ undersøgelse baseret på interviews med centrale aktører på forskellige niveauer (ledelse, lærere, studerende, studieledere og institutledere) og dokumentariske studier af materiale, på tre danske universiteter. Vi sammenligner, hvordan forskellige aktører opfatter mål med evaluering, praksis og udbytte. Alle tre tilfælde viser, at ydre krav og forventninger fører til større centralisering og mere standardisering. Selv om ledelsen forsøger at kombinere udvikling og kontrol, sker der ofte en opdeling i to paral­lelle processer. Undersøgelsen dokumenterer, at kombinationen af kontrol og udvikling i den samme undervisningsevaluering er uhensigtsmæssig: Såvel studerende som undervisere mister engagementet og savner mulig­heder for feedback og opfølgning. Det fremgår, at standardisering, centra­lisering og formalisering af undervisningsevalueringer fører til mindre ud­vikling og regnes for mindre nyttigt af såvel undervisere som studerende.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Evaluation practices at Danish universities are changing continuously. There is an ongoing experimentation with new approaches, methods and procedures. Our focus in this article is on evaluation as a balancing act between control and development. We report from an investigation of key stakeholder’s attitudes to different practices and to the outcomes of those practices, having interviewed management, teachers, students, program directors and department heads at three different faculties belonging to three different Danish universities. We compare how the different key stakeholders perceive evaluation objectives, practices and outcomes within and across the three faculties. It seems clear in all three cases that external demands and expectations lead to more centralized initiatives and more standardized procedures. Even though faculty management tries to encompass both development and control objectives in the ongoing teaching evaluations, the division between evaluations for control purposes and evaluations for development purposes are clearly divided into two parallel evaluation structures. The study documents that the combination of control and development into the same teaching evaluation is counterproductive: it neither engages the students nor the teachers, it does not allow for closure of the feedback loop and it does not ensure follow-up. It is therefore suggested that more standardized, centralized and formalized teaching evaluations lead to less development and are thus less useful to both teachers and students.</p

Life-Span Perspective of Personality in Dementia

To propose an alternative view of personality change in dementia by presenting existing evidence for the continuity of personality. Significance : As the population continues to age, dementing illnesses will account for a greater proportion of morbidity and mortality; the care of these people will have a significant effect on the health care system. Organizing Framework : Life-span perspective of personality continuity. Scope, Method : Review of current literature on personality in dementia using Medline, 1980–1994; CINAHL, 1990–1994; and Psych Lit, 1980–1994. Findings : Although there are systematic shifts in personality with dementia, individuals tend to maintain their unique pattern of premorbid personality traits. Conclusions : The personalities of dementia patients seem to reflect adaptive patterns that served them in the past. Implications : Use of a life-span perspective can enhance individualized care for demented patients and advance theory development.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73653/1/j.1547-5069.1996.tb00380.x.pd

Evaluation of exercise on individuals with dementia and their carers: a randomised controlled trial

Background Almost all of the 820,000 people in the UK with dementia will experience Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD). However, research has traditionally focused on treating cognitive symptoms, thus neglecting core clinical symptoms that often have a more profound impact on living with dementia. Recent evidence (Kales et al, 2007; Ballard et al, 2009) indicates that the popular approach to managing BPSD - prescription of anti-psychotic medication - can increase mortality and the risk of stroke in people with dementia as well as impair quality of life and accelerate cognitive decline. Consequently, there is a need to evaluate the impact that non-pharmacological interventions have on BPSD; we believe physical exercise is a particularly promising approach. Methods/Design We will carry out a pragmatic, randomised, single-blind controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of exercise (planned walking) on the behavioural and psychological symptoms of individuals with dementia. We aim to recruit 146 people with dementia and their carers to be randomized into two groups; one will be trained in a structured, tailored walking programme, while the other will continue with treatment as usual. The primary outcome (BPSD) will be assessed with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) along with relevant secondary outcomes at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks. Discussion Designing this study has been challenging both ethically and methodologically. In particular to design an intervention that is simple, measurable, safe, non-invasive and enjoyable has been testing and has required a lot of thought. Throughout the design, we have attempted to balance methodological rigour with study feasibility. We will discuss the challenges that were faced and overcome in this paper

Beckett: a Critical Problem

The article explores the polarisation within the body of twentieth century criti-cism surrounding Samuel Beckett’s work: A polarisation between strict forma-list approaches which tend to see Beckett as very much part of a modernist tradition and poststructuralist theorists who seek to categorise his work in terms of postmodernism. As an unfortunate result of extreme critical standpoints, the philosophical thinking of Schopenhauer, which had such a profound and lasting influence on both Beckett’s approach to writing as well as to the theatre, has been largely ignored or simply pushed to one side

The Will to Live: a Study of Samuel Beckett’s Molloy

The article explores Book One of Beckett’s Trilogy (Molloy) in the context of the author’s explicit rejection of Freud’s rather speculative idea of death drives. In highlighting this rejection Beckett also demonstrates his attempt at incorporating, within his own work, Schopenhauer’s concept of the ‘Will’. Indeed, Beckett modifies and adapts Schopenhauer’s ideas in the creation of his own aesthetic. In particular, this can be seen through the author’s adoption of Schopenhauer’s music analogy. Schopenhauer clearly equates music with his idea of the Will in that melody (in its purest form) is essentially a pattern formed out of sound and, consequently, without the need of visual representation. In a similar way, Beckett seeks to get beyond representation within his own art in order to explore the indelible trace or pattern of human existence. It is this ongoing process which explains the extreme representational reductionism of the later prose and drama.</jats:p