The valuation of property investments

In the seventh edition, the book has been updated and revised to reflect changes in the market, the development of appraisal methods and the subsequent changes in professional practice. The intial overview in Part I of the book, The Economic and Legal Framework, has been revisd to show the present position. Changes in appraisal techniques based on the research of the authors have been incorporated in Part II on Investment Valuation. Revisions have also been made in part II, again based on the research activities of the authors, which examines Investment Appraisal.The serves a number of purposes. First, it provides a critical examination of valuation techniques, with particular reference to the investment method of valuation. Second, it supplies practising valuers and appraisers with more effective data, information and techniques to enable them to carry out their valuations, appraisals and negotiations in an increasily competitive field. Finally, it provides assistance to students and academics in understanding the context of and a range of approaches to the valuation and appraisal of property investments. This book has been a key text in property investment appraisal for more than 30 years, it has sold many thousands of copies globally to academics, students and practitioners.

Legal myth-making: Medea and the legal representation of the feminine ‘other'

The Law operates by, and through, the creation of ideal benchmarks of conduct that are deemed to be representative of the behavioural norm. It is in this sense that it could be contended that the Law utilises, and relies on, myths in the same way as do other disciplines, notably psycho-analysis. It is possible to go even further and argue that the use of a created narrative mythology is essential to the establishment of a defined legal benchmark of behaviour by which the female defendant is assessed, judged and punished. While mythology expresses and symbolizes cultural and political behaviour, it is the Law that embodies and prescribes punitive sanctions. This element represents a powerful literary strand in classical mythology. This may be seen, for instance, in Antigone’s appeal to the Law as justification for her conduct, as much as in Medea’s challenge to the Law though her desire for vengeance. Despite its image of neutral, objective rationality, the Law, in creating and sustaining the ideals of legally-sanctioned conduct, engages in the same literary processes of imagination, reason and emotion that are central to the creation and re-creation of myth. The (re-)presentation of the Medea myth in literature (especially in theatre) and in art, finds its echo in the theatre of the courtroom where wronged women who have refused to passively accept their place, have instead responded with violence. Consequently, the Medea myth, in its depiction of the (un)feminine, serves as a template for the Law’s judgment of ‘conventional’ feminine conduct in the roles of wife and mother. Medea is an image of deviant femininity, as is Lady Macbeth and the countless other un-feminine literary and mythological women who challenge the power of the dominant culture and its ally, the Law. These women stand opposed to the other dominant theme of both literature and Law: the conformist woman, the passive dupe, who are victims of male oppression – women such as Ariadne of Naxos and Tess of the D’Ubervilles – and who are subsequently consumed by the Law, much as Semele is consumed by the fire of Jupiter’s gaze upon her. All of these women, the former as well as the latter, have their real-life counterparts in the pages of the Law Reports. As Fox puts it, “these women have come to bear the weight of the cultural stereotypes and preconceptions about women who kill.”

Luce Irigaray: Back to the Beginning

In 2014 it will be 40 years since Luce Irigaray’s (second) doctoral thesis Speculum de l'autre femme was first published. That book, widely recognized as the most important text in feminist philosophy, was to introduce Irigaray’s critique of western philosophy and psychoanalysis and her ethics of sexual difference for which she was to become so well known. Irigaray, well into her eighties now, has published continuously since Speculum, despite her exclusion from French academic life after her expulsion in 1974 from the Université de Paris VIII Vincennes. That her latest book In the Beginning, She Was, released on the eve of Speculum’s anniversary, is perhaps the most personally revelatory of her works and revisits many of the same themes and issues that concerned her in Speculum cannot be coincidental. In this critical notice we examine Irigaray’s latest offering arguing that her contribution is twofold as she combines with new clarity her longstanding critique of phallocratic culture and her transformative vision of humanity as a culture of sexuate difference. There are a number of important themes addressed in the six chapters of the book, but for the purposes of this discussion our analysis will focus mostly on elaborating her critique of Western culture, on the usefulness of her work for rethinking masculine subject formation and on the figure of Antigone, as a feminine subject on her own terms, as a way of imagining a possible relation between two subjects within a culture of sexuate difference. We argue that this book continues to illustrate Irigaray’s importance as one of the most radical and prophetic philosophers of our time.

Physician recommendation for invasive prenatal testing: the case of the 'precious baby'

Do clinicians manage pregnancies conceived by assisted reproductive technologies (ART) differently from spontaneous pregnancies?

Clinicians decisions about prenatal testing during pregnancy depend, at least partially, on the method of conception.

Research thus far has shown that patients decisions regarding prenatal screening are different in ART pregnancies compared with spontaneous ones, such that ART pregnancies may be considered more valuable or precious than pregnancies conceived without treatment.

In this cross-sectional study, preformed during the year 2011, 163 obstetricians and gynecologists in Israel completed an anonymous online questionnaire.

Clinicians were randomly assigned to read one of two versions of a vignette describing the case of a pregnant woman. The two versions differed only with regard to the method of conception (ART; n 78 versus spontaneous; n 85). Clinicians were asked to provide their recommendations regarding amniocentesis.

The response rate among all clinicians invited to complete the questionnaire was 16.7. Of the 85 clinicians presented with the spontaneous pregnancy scenario, 37 (43.5) recommended amniocentesis. In contrast, of the 78 clinicians presented with the ART pregnancy scenario, only 15 (19.2) recommended the test. Clinicians were 3.2 (95 confidence interval [CI]: 1.66.6) times more likely to recommend amniocentesis for a spontaneous pregnancy than for an ART pregnancy.

The study is limited by a low response rate, the relatively small sample and the hypothetical nature of the decision, as clinician recommendations may have differed in an actual clinical setting.

Our findings show that fertility history and use of ART may affect clinicians recommendations regarding amniocentesis following receipt of screening test results. This raises the question of how subjective factors influence clinicians decisions regarding other aspects of pregnancy management.

There was no funding source to this study. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Mind mapping: A tool to facilitate learning; why not give it a try?

Schools of nursing continuously strive to facilitate learning through student engagement and teaching strategies that encourage active learning. This paper reports on the successful use of mind mapping, an underutilised and underdeveloped strategy, to enhance teaching and learning in undergraduate nurse education (Spencer et al., 2013). Mind mapping or concept mapping has been defined in the literature as a visual representation of one’s thoughts and ideas (Abel and Freeze, 2006). It is characterised by colour, images and text in a graphical, nonlinear style. Mind maps promote the linking of concepts and capitalise on the brain’s natural aptitude for visual recognition to enhance learning and memory recall (Buzan, 2006). Traditional teaching strategies depend on linear processes, which in comparison lack engagement, associations and creativity (Spencer et al., 2013). Mind mapping was introduced to nursing students undertaking modules in ‘Dimensions of Care’ and ‘Care Delivery’ on year two of the nursing degree programme in Queen’s University Belfast. The aim of introducing mind mapping was to help students make the critical link between the pathophysiology of conditions studied and the provision of informed, safe and effective patient care, which had challenged previous student cohorts. Initially maps were instructor-made as described by Boley (2008), as a template for note taking during class and as a study aid. However, students rapidly embraced the strategy and started creating their own mind maps. Meaningful learning occurs when students engage with concepts and organise them independently in a way significant to them (Buzan, 2006). Students reported high levels of satisfaction to this teaching approach. This paper will present examples of the mind maps produced and explore how mind mapping can be further utilised within the undergraduate nursing curriculum.

O vidro como material plástico: transparência, luz, cor e expressão

A presente tese de doutoramento procura focar o vidro como material plástico para a concepção de obras de arte. Os seus alicerces caracterizam-se pelo estudo técnico sobre o uso do vidro e a sua aplicação na realização de obras com pressupostos estéticos e artísticos. Hoje a arte em vidro apresenta-se inovadora e contemporânea, procurando uma componente ligada à pesquisa e à experimentação. Portugal possui uma ampla história ligada à tradição do vidro, em especial ao vitral. No que concerne à sua aplicação na arte contemporânea, assistimos a um renovado interesse por parte de vários artistas. No entanto, quando se trabalha com o vidro, é necessário o artista conhecer e dominar a técnica que utiliza, para assim compreender as potencialidades que o material oferece e empregá-las de acordo com o seu modus operandi. Cria-se uma relação entre a ciência e a arte, uma descoberta e utilização de novos conhecimentos, em que se pretende manter uma relação estreita entre o cientista e o artista através do desenvolvimento de novos materiais, nomeadamente os vidros e esmaltes luminescentes e a adição de óxidos de metais de transição 3d na sua composição. Neste sentido foram desenvolvidos estudos minuciosos sobre a técnica de kilncasting onde se utilizou o vidro sonoro superior produzido no CRISFORM (Centro de Formação Profissional para o Sector da Cristalaria), na Marinha Grande. Assim, verifica-se que as premissas desta tese podem ser divididas em três vertentes: a) Uma contextualização histórica e teórica do panorama artístico do vidro em Portugal; b) Uma componente teórica/prática do estudo do vidro: a ciência do vidro, a sua composição, com a preocupação de utilizar esses conhecimentos para a elaboração de amostras práticas, onde a componente técnica é fundamental para a produção de futuras obras de arte; c) A idealização de obras de arte e a utilização do vidro como material plástico para a sua realização. Na elaboração destas obras procurou-se focar a dicotomia entre transparência versus opacidade, os efeitos cromáticos produzidos por diferentes espessuras e texturas do vidro, assim como da monocromia versus policromia, esta última através do vidro e esmaltes luminescentes. Em suma, na complementaridade laboratório/ateliê, os segredos da matéria abrem novas fronteiras à criatividade estética.

A corpus-based translation study on english-persian verb phrase ellipsis

Dissertação de mest., Natural Language Processing & Human Language Technology, Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais, Univ. do Algarve, 2011

Estudando a identidade visual em comunicação : uma proposta de intervenção pensando a cultura visual

Relatório da prática de ensino supervisionada, Mestrado em Ensino de Artes Visuais, Universidade de Lisboa, 2011

A criatividade na escola : as atitudes dos alunos face às metodologias dos professores

Relatório da Prática de Ensino Supervisionada, Mestrado em Ensino de Artes Visuais, Universidade de Lisboa, 2011

Potencialidades da arte pública relacional na arte/educação:práticas da cidade como sala de aula

Tese de doutoramento, Belas-Artes (Educação Artística), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Belas-Artes, 2014

Adaptive Probabilistic Topic Models for Social Networks

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2012

Da criatividade linguística à tradução : uma abordagem das unidades polilexicais em Mia Couto

Tese de doutoramento, Linguística (Linguística Aplicada), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, 2015

e-poltergeist

E-poltergeist takes over the user’s internet browser, automatically initiating Web searches without their permission. Web-based artwork which explores issues of user control when confronted with complex technological systems, questioning the limits of digital interactive arts as consensual reciprocal systems. e-poltergeist was a major web commission that marked an early stage of research in a larger enquiry by Craighead and Thomson into the relationship between live virtual data, global communications networks and instruction-based art, exploring how such systems can be re-contextualised within gallery environments. e-poltergeist presented the 'viewer' with a singular narrative by using live internet search-engine data that aimed to create a perpetual and virtually unstoppable cycle of search engine results, banner ads and moving windows as an interruption into the normal use of an internet browser. The work also addressed the ‘de-personalisation’ of internet use by sending a series of messages from the live search engine data that seemed to address the user directly: 'Is anyone there?'; 'Can anyone hear me?', 'Please help me!'; 'Nobody cares!' e-poltergeist makes a significant contribution to the taxonomy of new media art by dealing with the way that new media art can re-address notions of existing traditions in art such as appropriation and manipulation, instruction-based art and conceptual art. e-poltergeist was commissioned ($12,000) for 010101: Art in Technological Times, a landmark international exhibition presented by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which bought together leading international practitioners working with emergent technologies, including Tatsuo Miyajima, Janet Cardiff, Brian Eno. Peer recognition of the project in the form of reviews include: Curating New Media. Gateshead: Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. Cook, Sarah, Beryl Graham and Sarah Martin ISBN: 1093655064; The Wire; http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2000/12/40464 (review by Reena Jana); Leonardo (review Barbara Lee Williams and Sonya Rapoport) http://www.leonardo.info/reviews/feb2001/ex_010101_willrapop.html All the work is developed jointly and equally between Craighead and her collaborator, Jon Thomson, Slade School of Fine Art.

Unnoticed apocalypse: the science fiction politics of urban crisis

The slogan ‘capitalism is crisis’ is one that has recently circulated swiftly around the global Occupy movement. From Schumpeter to Marx himself, the notion that the economic cycles instituted by capitalism require periodic crises as a condition of renewed capital accumulation is a commonplace. However, in a number of recent texts, this conception of crisis as constituting the very form of urban capitalist development itself has taken on a more explicitly apocalyptic tone, exemplified by the Invisible Committee's influential 2007 book The Coming Insurrection, and its account of what it calls simply ‘the metropolis’. ‘It is useless to wait’, write the text's anonymous authors, ‘for a breakthrough, for the revolution, the nuclear apocalypse or a social movement.… The catastrophe is not coming, it is here.’ In considering such an apocalyptic tone, this paper thus situates and interrogates the text in terms both of its vision of the metropolis as a terrain of total urbanization and its effective spatialization of the present as itself a kind of ‘unnoticed’ apocalypse: the catastrophe which is already here. It does so by approaching this not only apropos its place within contemporary debates surrounding leftist politics and crisis theory but also via its imaginative intersection with certain post-1960s science fiction apocalyptic motifs. What, the paper asks, does it mean to think apocalypse as the ongoing condition of the urban present itself, as well as the opening up of political and cultural opportunity for some speculative exit from its supposedly endless terrain?