"Smuggling in Accidental Poetry": Cognitive and Stylistic Strategies of a Stammering Teen in David Mitchell's Black Swan Green

In this article, Constance Robert-Murail will explore the poetic »accidents« at work in two extracts of Black Swan Green (2006) by David Mitchell. The novel tells the trials and musings of Jason Taylor, a thoughtful 13-year-old growing up in a backwater town full of strange neighbours and middle-school bullies. Throughout the year 1982, the reader witnesses Jason mediating between the various personae of his fragmented identity: Unborn Twin, his faint-hearted alter ego; Eliot Bolivar, the nom-de-plume he uses to write poems for the local parish newspaper; and, most importantly, Hangman, a malignant personification of his stammer. According to Garan Holcombe, David Mitchell's own experience of stammering has provided the novelist with a particular »sensitivity toward the formal necessity of coherence and structure« (Holcombe, 2013). The extract I have decided to focus on dramatises the onset of Jason's speech impediment and acts as a »high emotional intensity passage« (Toolan, 2012) within the structure of the coming-of-age narrative. A close stylistic reading of this particular text highlights the juxtaposition of Jason's pathological speechlessness and his bustling, bubbling inner monologue. This opposition elicits a physical reaction within the reader, caught between frustration and delectation. I would argue that the multimodal nature of the extract generates what Pierre-Louis Patoine has called a »somesthetic« effect on the reader (Patoine, 2016). Stuttering, according to Professor Mark Onslow, is »an idiosyncratic disorder.« (Onslow, 2017). Word avoidance has led Jason to create his own grammar and lexicon: his youthful voice and palliative strategies allow Mitchell to smuggle in moments of »accidental« poetry. The cognitive exploration of Jason's stammer stands both at the core of the reader's response and at the centre of Mitchell's powerful poetics-and it is, last but not least, devastatingly funny.

A STUDY ON EMPLOYEES STRESS MANAGEMENT

People from all walks of life suffer from stress in one-way or the other. Employees stress is the growing concern for organizations in today’s environment. When stress becomes excessive it often affects work performance, which has significantly lead to burnout and turnover. It is necessary to recognize and address the causes of stress and effectively manage prolonged stress. Since it should be an ethical and legal decision for an organization in managing stress. Stress is expression of individual mental and physical reaction to stressor. The objective is to analyze various pressures that trigger job stress, identifying the causes and outcome, stress is not always negative it may also bring the best out of an individual at times, excessive stress may result into burnout. HR can play an active role in managing it. As outlined in the previous sentences that the level of stress at work place should be controlled since, too much of stress leads to burnout, HR can play a very vital role in the organization to curb the level of stress by reducing and identifying the root cause of the stressor by implementing stress audit program by measuring the stress in-terms of cost which will help to quantify the decrease in level of job performance.

Fungsi Musik dalam Ritual Tiban di Desa Purwokerto Kecamatan Ngadiluwih Kabupaten Kediri

The article entitled "The Function of Music in Tiban Rituals in Purwokerto Village, Ngadiluwih District, Kediri Regency" focused on the issue of Tiban ritual forms, Tiban ritual music performance and the function of Tiban ritual music. The results showed that the Tiban ritual was held during the long dry season with the aim for asking for rain through whipping by the perpetrators or what is called petiban. The people believe that the Tiban ritual can bring rain by means of media of blood dripping on the ground. Tiban music has several motifs in the wasp structure that characterizes it. Tiban music has an important function in Tiban rituals. The functions of music include the function of emotional expression, aesthetics, communication, physical reaction, legalization of social institutions and religious ceremonies, cultural sustainability, and community integration.

THE EFFECT OF SARULLA NATURAL NANOZEOLITE ADDITION IN THE PREPARATION OF NANOCOMPOSITE FOAM POLYURETHANTSVIEWED FROM FTIR CHARACTERIZATION

The fabrication and characterization of polyurethane foam nanocomposites with the addition of Sarulla natural nanozeolite fillers has been investigated. The steps carried out in research on the manufacture of polyurethane foam nanocomposites are: 1) Preparation and purification of natural zeolites, 2) Preparation of nanozeolites, and 3) Preparation of polyurethane foam nanocomposites is carried out using an in situ process by mixing natural nanozeolites in a mixture of polypropylene glycol and toluene diisocyanate. The results of the particle size analyzer show Sarulla nanozeolite particle size is 95.8 nm. The XRF results showed that the main composition of Sarulla nanozeolites was SiO2 (80.98%) and Al2O3 (14.21%), while the XRD results showed that Sarulla nanozeolites were Mordenite types. Variation in weight ratio of nanozeolites as fillers to polypropylene glycol and toluene diisocyanate is (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25)%. The results of the FTIR spectrum of polyurethane foam and polyurethane foam nanocomposite show almost the same functional groups, this is caused by the interaction that occurs between polyurethane foam and nanozeolite is a physical reaction.

The adsorption of Mn(II) by insolubilized humic acid

The eco-friendly and non-toxic natural organic substance, insolubilized humic acid (IHA), was used to remove Mn(II) from aqueous solutions. The adsorption characteristics were studied through a series of static adsorption tests. The results show that conditions such as the dose, the pH of the solution and the initial concentration of Mn(II) all affect removal efficiency, and the optimal pH value was 5.5. The sorption process for Mn(II) on IHA conforms to the pseudo-second-order adsorption kinetic model and intra-particle diffusion is not the only factor affecting the adsorption rate. Both Langmuir and Freundlich models can describe this adsorption behavior, and the experimental maximum adsorption capacity of IHA was 52.87 mg/g under optimal conditions. The thermodynamic analysis of adsorption shows that the adsorption process is a non-spontaneous endothermic physical reaction. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were used to characterize the samples, it was found that as IHA successfully adsorbed Mn(II), the surface morphology of IHA changed after the adsorption reaction. The adsorption mechanism for Mn(II) on IHA is to provide electron pairs for carboxyl, phenolic hydroxyl and other functional groups to form stable complexes with Mn(II).

A brief history of porcelain enamel: from artistic enamel to technical enamelling

Porcelain enamel is a glassy material deposited on a metallic substrate and fired at high temperatures (500-900 °C) to form a stable and permanent bond with it through chemical-physical reaction. This coating was developed in ancient times for decorative purposes and it was mainly used to embellish precious objects with colourful and glossy finishing as if to imitate the shining of precious stones. Only from 1760 enamelling of metal objects began to play a technical role. Nowadays vitreous enamel coatings are widely used and appreciated for high-duty technological applications, as they provide good corrosion protection of the covered substrates and they can withstand chemical attack, abrasion, and degradation caused by external agents, maintaining their aesthetical properties unchanged in time. This work is to introduce and describe the history of enamelling from ancient times to the modern era, revealing the glorious past of this material for decorative purposes and its use as a technical coating from the First Industrial Revolution onward.   

Burnout syndrome in dentistry, difficulties and search for solutions. A critical review.

Burnout syndrome (BOS) is defined as a gradual exhaustion of the individual that appears on people whose occupation requires direct contact with other people and providing them a helpful service. BOS tends to be associated with somatic and behavioral alterations, as well as emotional disorders. Dentists present an important workplace risk, since they are the most prone to suffer from BOS. Likewise, dentistry students present a varied prevalence of stress, generally due to the students’ attitudes, which are mostly aimed at perfection and excellence, as well as academic, social and institution-related factors. The aim of this review is to identify factors involved in BOS in dentistry and preventive measures in educational and professional contexts. BOS is characterized by being a persistent negative mental state showing fatigue, exhaustion and disappointment. The main physical reaction generated by academic stress in dentistry students was sleepiness with 10.8%, followed by increase in food consumption with 6.4%, and restlessness and despair with 5.2%. Students might be severely affected according to the adaptive response that they present, which is individual. On the one hand, they might face the challenges in a positive manner, managing to learn from them. On the other hand, the might lose control and not be able to face difficulties, thus being likely to develop pathological states of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and dependency on alcohol or other hallucinogenic substances. Education agents are particularly relevant, since they contribute to the configuration of the students’ way of thinking and acting. Therefore, the integration of critical thinking and socioemotional abilities must be promoted and reinforced among the educational community. It is important to realize that the presence of BOS is not due to an individual weakness, but is a symptom that something is wrong with the educational institution.

PERANAN REAKSI STRES KERJA TERHADAP KUALITAS HIDUP PADA PEKERJA LEVEL OPERATOR

Stres kerja merupakan permasalahan global yang banyak dialami oleh karyawan, selain berdampak kepada organisasi stres kerja juga dapat berdampak kepada kualitas hidup karyawan. Kualitas hidup merupakan aspek penting dalam hidup karyawan, diketahui bahwa karyawan dengan kualitas hidup yang baik akan cenderung lebih produktif. Secara personal, karyawan dengan kualitas hidup yang baik cenderung memiliki kesehatan mental yang baik. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat pengaruh dari reaksi stres kerja terhadap kualitas hidup pada karyawan. Penelitian dilakukan terhadap 227 karyawan level operator di PT.X yang berlokasi di Tangerang. Analisis statistik dilakukan menggunakan uji regresi linear dengan bantuan program SPSS versi 23. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa stres kerja memiliki pengaruh terhadap kualitas hidup dengan nilai beta negatif. Dimensi reaksi stres kerja, seperti reaksi fisik stres kerja, reaksi psikologis stres kerja dan reaksi prilaku stres kerjamemiliki pengaruh signifikan dengan kualitas hidup karyawan dengan nilai beta negatif. Berdasarkan hasil tersebut peneliti menyarankan terapi brief mindfulness sebagai cara yang dapat dilakukan untuk mengurangi stres kerja. Job stress is a global issue commonly experienced by employees, affecting their quality of life in addition to the organization. Being an important aspect in employees’ lives, those with good quality of life tend to be more productive and mentally healthy. This study aims to look at the effect of work stress reactions on quality of life of employees. The study was conducted on 227 operator level employees at PT. X, located in Tangerang. Statistical analysis was performed using linear regression test with the help of SPSS version 23. The result shows that work stress affects quality of life with negative beta value . Dimensions of work stress reactions, such as work stress physical reaction , work stress psychological reaction and work stress behavioral reaction have significant influence on the quality of life of employees with negative beta scores. Based on these results researchers suggest brief mindfulness therapy as a mean to reduce work stress.