Performative Rhetorics in Invisibility: Phoebe Philo's Undone Authorship

ABSTRACT

This inquiry analyses the rhetoric of intentionally unfinished fashion contained in the collections from Céline as designed by Phoebe Philo and explicates the implications of this approach to fashion as a feminist text. Shoshana Felman’s seductive promise of speech, modified with insights from Paul de Man’s theory of autobiography as both giving face and defacement, is applied to Philo’s ‘new minimalism’ in order to highlight its appeal to modern female audiences. Using insights from the philosophy of Jacques Derrida, I examine ways in which wearers may seek to create a signature citationality via clothing that produces its own ‘unwriting’ therefore allowing the wearer to believe she inscribes her own iteration while maintaining control. Wearers are offered the chance to identify with a designer who is enlightened beyond fast and flashy fashion while hinting at the notion of the clothing having the substantialising effect that language has (instead of representational). Through this examination, clothing is shown to be a decision, and clothing is also shown to be a fiction. These decisions and fictions are open to failure; yet Felman offers that this failure acts as an opening remaining inadvertent or unacknowledged. Philo's designs invite an exploration of clothing as performative rhetoric.     

The morphogenesis of electrically and heat-induced dermal changes in pig skin

In order to establish pathological evidence in dermis for distinguishing between sequelae of electrical torture and those of other superficial injuries, the skin of eleven fully anaesthetized Danish Landrace pigs have been exposed to heat and electrical energy from either 50 Hz alternating current (a.c.) or direct current (d.c.) via 12 mm large contact knobs or via a pointed 0.5 mm large electrode (only 50 Hz a.c.). The lesions have been examined from 1 to 126 days after the injury. While heat lesions exposed to energy lower than 60 joule only gave minor changes, heat lesions exposed to more than 60 joule showed changes in both collagen fibres (basophilic or eosinophilic fibres without any birefringence or coarse cross-striation in polarized light, respectively) and dermal cells (granular cytoplasm). Areas exposed to 50 Hz a.c. via 0.5 mm. electrode showed basophilic collagen fibres and in a few biopsies on day 7 calcium salts on collagen fibres. Using 12 mm large electrodes the changes were minor, but basophilic and eosinophilic collagen fibres with no birefringence or with fine/coarse cross-striation respectively were seen. Even cells with 'vesicular nuclei' were seen on day 1 and 2 after the injury. The changes in the anode area showed resemblance to that of heat lesions (basophilic collagen fibres). Eosinophilic collagen fibres with fine densely spaced cross-striation in polarized light and 'vesicular nuclei' as well as collagen fibres with calcium salts were seen in the cathode lesions. It is concluded that the dermal changes in the cathode area are specific for electrical injury from day 1 to 14. However, earlier studies have demonstrated dermal changes specific for electrical injury at day 0 and the presence of calcified collagen fibres up to 2 months after injury. The dermal changes in anode lesions were non specific and could not be differentiated from those found in heat lesions. Alternating current lesions (50 Hz) were specific from day 1 to day 7, when the pointed electrode was used, but only in a few days when the energy was transferred via the 12-mm electrodes.     

A Comparative Study of Denmark and New Zealand’s National Health Targets

This paper investigates the influence of nationally imposed health targets on current management control practices in New Zealand and Denmark. It reveals how variants of New Public Management (NPM), arising from specific historical socio-political contexts, rise to the challenge of national differences. The study finds that both nations are challenged to ensure data registration procedures produce valid and comparable performance measures. Denmark’s reliance on a single efficiency measure of health sector performance reflects a historic socio-political context that reduces the feasibility of additional measures whereas New Zealand’s context enables the government to impose a more extensive range of health targets.     

Measuring Policy Success: Evaluating Public Sector Reform in Bhutan

There has been resurgence in evaluation of policy, reflected mostly by an increase in ex ante studies. Although there is a shift towards ex post evaluation, this has been gradual, resulting in a paucity of ex post evaluation literature. To address this gap, we apply a revisionist approach to evaluate a major public sector reform in the Bhutanese civil service. We conclude that it provides a more holistic approach for ex post evaluation policy, and also a more nuanced evaluation which moves us beyond the narrow binary view of success or failure in reform.     

International and African Regional Instruments to Protect Rights of Child Victims of Transnational Trafficking

Abuse against children and the exploitation of children worldwide has become a growing concern. Child trafficking threatens children’s protection; and their right to survival, development and participation are violated. This article reviewed international and regional conventions and action plans that protect child victims of trafficking in Africa. It concludes that to fight trafficking, cross-border cooperation should be enhanced through bilateral, multilateral and sub-regional agreements. Furthermore, counter trafficking policies and measures targeting children should reflect a child-rights approach and children should be placed at the center of all initiatives and their best interest given primary consideration.     

Subjected to Sanitation: Caste Relations and Sanitation Adoption in Rural Tamil Nadu

If solving the global sanitation crisis lies within Indian borders, then it is important to understand the influence of caste relations on sanitation building and usage. Our ethnography investigated three villages in rural Tamil Nadu where seven separate sanitation interventions had failed. The analysis indicates caste relations played a key role in the failed interventions by creating and reinforcing the means by which caste groups distinguished themselves from each other at the village scale. Issues of cleaning, access to subsidies, latrine design, and purity served to facilitate and limit the processes that enable the everyday, unequal relationships of caste.     

Who is a Terrorist? Ethnicity,Group Affiliation,and Understandings of Political Violence

What does the American public label as “terrorism?” How do people think about the factors motivating violence, and in turn, the policies that are favored? Using ingroup and outgroup dynamics, we argue that the terrorist label is more readily applied to Arab-Americans than Whites, and to members of militant groups. Moreover, people attribute different motives to violence committed by Arabs versus Whites, and favor different policies in response. We conducted an experiment where we randomly assigned one of six stories about a failed armed attack, each with a different combination of ethnicity and group affiliation. We find that an Arab ethnicity and Islamist group affiliation increase the likelihood of labeling an act as terrorism. Attacks by Whites and members of a White supremacist group are less likely to be labeled terrorism. Rather, Whites are more likely to be called “mass shooters.” Despite never discussing motive, Arab-American attackers are more likely to be ascribed political or religious motives, while White suspects are more likely to be seen as mentally ill. Lastly, an Arab ethnicity increases support for counterterrorism policies and decreases support for mental health care.     

A Prospective Study of Mexican American Adolescents’ Academic Success: Considering Family and Individual Factors

Mexican American youth are at greater risk of school failure than their peers. To identify factors that may contribute to academic success in this population, this study examined the prospective relationships from 5th grade to 7th grade of family (i.e., human capital [a parent with at least a high school education], residential stability, academically and occupationally positive family role models, and family structure) and individual characteristics (i.e., externalizing symptoms, bilingualism, gender, and immigrant status) to the academic performance of 749 Mexican American early adolescents (average age = 10.4 years and 48.7% were girls in 5th grade) from economically and culturally diverse families as these youth made the transition to junior high school. Results indicated that while controlling for prior academic performance, human capital and positive family role models assessed when adolescents were in 5th grade positively related to academic performance in 7th grade. Further, being a girl also was related to greater 7th grade academic success, whereas externalizing symptoms were negatively related to 7th grade academic performance. No other variables in the model were significantly and prospectively related to 7th grade academic performance. Implications for future research and interventions are discussed.