This project proposes that the reading of an artist’s book is one that may entail an experience that is distinctive to the medium, one that encompasses a shift of expectations of what a book is or ...does. That there is an awareness of the book held in the hands, and of its interactivity and deployment in time, and that this combination of tactile and cognitive negotiation of the mechanisms of the book’s structure, sequence and content make for a particularity of engagement. As a dialogical relationship, coming from a personal and infinitely variable experience of the book by its reader/viewer, this is one that is inherently elusive and complex to analyse. In investigating the nature of the temporality of self-reflexive dynamics as an underlying characteristic of the medium, this thesis submits that the foregrounding of the synthesis in time of the mutable and the concrete may be an apposite and constructive approach to exposition and evaluation of this heterogeneous field. The development of this research and the setting out of the enquiry has been undertaken through the production and methodology of my practice, which takes such auto-reflectivity as manifest subject. The thesis approaches the questions by means of the allusion to the occurrences and strategic use of self-conscious metafictional play in literature, not as a directly comparative study but by appraising the effect in terms of relational, and at times implicit association. Following an outline of the contexts of the critical study of artists’ books and of structuralist and post-structuralist narratology and literary theory in terms of the specular, the main portion of the writing is in the form of self-contained sections, in each of which a range of figures and mechanisms are considered, forming an overall constellation of shifting interconnection.
This project proposes that the reading of an artist’s book is one that may entail an experience that is distinctive to the medium, one that encompasses a shift of expectations of what a book is or ...does. That there is an awareness of the book held in the hands, and of its interactivity and deployment in time, and that this combination of tactile and cognitive negotiation of the mechanisms of the book’s structure, sequence and content make for a particularity of engagement. As a dialogical relationship, coming from a personal and infinitely variable experience of the book by its reader/viewer, this is one that is inherently elusive and complex to analyse. In investigating the nature of the temporality of self-reflexive dynamics as an underlying characteristic of the medium, this thesis submits that the foregrounding of the synthesis in time of the mutable and the concrete may be an apposite and constructive approach to exposition and evaluation of this heterogeneous field. The development of this research and the setting out of the enquiry has been undertaken through the production and methodology of my practice, which takes such auto-reflectivity as manifest subject. The thesis approaches the questions by means of the allusion to the occurrences and strategic use of self-conscious metafictional play in literature, not as a directly comparative study but by appraising the effect in terms of relational, and at times implicit association. Following an outline of the contexts of the critical study of artists’ books and of structuralist and post-structuralist narratology and literary theory in terms of the specular, the main portion of the writing is in the form of self-contained sections, in each of which a range of figures and mechanisms are considered, forming an overall constellation of shifting interconnection.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a common, long-term condition characterised by post-exertional malaise, often with fatigue that is not significantly relieved by rest. ...ME/CFS has no confirmed diagnostic test or effective treatment and we lack knowledge of its causes. Identification of genes and cellular processes whose disruption adds to ME/CFS risk is a necessary first step towards development of effective therapy.
Here we describe DecodeME, an ongoing study co-produced by people with lived experience of ME/CFS and scientists. Together we designed the study and obtained funding and are now recruiting up to 25,000 people in the UK with a clinical diagnosis of ME/CFS. Those eligible for the study are at least 16 years old, pass international study criteria, and lack any alternative diagnoses that can result in chronic fatigue. These will include 5,000 people whose ME/CFS diagnosis was a consequence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Questionnaires are completed online or on paper. Participants' saliva DNA samples are acquired by post, which improves participation by more severely-affected individuals. Digital marketing and social media approaches resulted in 29,000 people with ME/CFS in the UK pre-registering their interest in participating. We will perform a genome-wide association study, comparing participants' genotypes with those from UK Biobank as controls. This should generate hypotheses regarding the genes, mechanisms and cell types contributing to ME/CFS disease aetiology.
The DecodeME study has been reviewed and given a favourable opinion by the North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee (21/NW/0169). Relevant documents will be available online ( www.decodeme.org.uk ). Genetic data will be disseminated as associated variants and genomic intervals, and as summary statistics. Results will be reported on the DecodeME website and via open access publications.
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