This thesis investigates the developments in contemporary reading that accompany the adoption of new reading technologies, principally the eReader and eBook. Using methods of interview and participant observation, the opinions and values of communities of readers have been collected and analysed to explore how those communities describe the experiences of reading and of books. This research focuses on four case studies: people who are members of reading groups, who have a reading habit which includes at least one book per week, and who describe reading as their main medium for leisure purposes. These are people who express a love of reading, and are comfortable with discussing their own reading experiences. The second case is people who have adopted an eReader for leisure reading. This group share a reading pattern that matches that of the first case in frequency. The third case study investigates Bookcrossing.com, a social network site which promotes a practice of sharing books as gifts, by leaving them in public spaces to form the token for a treasure hunt game, organised through the website. A community has formed around the website Bookcrossing.com, which serves as a record of both the treasure hunt game and the reading experiences for it users. Finally, using the work of Jane Fox and Irene Mensah, the thesis explores the use of Portable Document Format copies of books, where access to an original physical book is limited or unavailable. Material in each case is reviewed and interpreted with respect to the experiential, socio-cultural, and material nature of the data collected. Having established an understanding of the experiences of the reader, based on the interview material collected from the reading group participants, the subsequent case studies offer the opportunity to understand the experiences of reading with, and the use of, the replacement transitional objects, that are in the process of inculcation in literary society. This thesis uses the concept of the assemblage, adopted from the work of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, as a model for the book as an object, which simultaneously denotes significance for the experience of reading, of the text it contains as well as wide significance for knowledge, wisdom and the transcendent sign. The contemporary situation is one of transition, from the singular book as an object of reading, that holds a single text or aggregation of texts towards the ‘book' as an electronic device. This new device for reading has the potential to deliver any text, where format, digital rights and storage conditions are met, and where the text itself holds the potential to connect out to any and all other texts, provided in a digital material form. The research method adopts the concepts of Ludic approach to understanding reading developed by Wolfgang Iser, deconstruction of the nature of language and discourse as developed by Jacques Derrida, and utilising the concepts of Theory of Mind and Metarepresentation elaborated by Lisa Zunshine. The experiences of reading captured in each case study are compared and exposed to the impact of technological developments changing both readers and books.

This Ph.D. by Publication comprises my short story collection, Any Other Mouth, along with a reflective and critical exegesis, which examines what I have termed the hybrid memoir. The term describes memoiristic texts that contain significant transgressions from the conventional memoir genre. As well as discussing the definition and its implications, this exegesis demonstrates that Any Other Mouth represents an original contribution to knowledge in the way that it engages and experiments with the hybrid memoir form. In Part One, I define the term hybrid memoir, and explain why my definition differs to that of author/academic Natalia Rachel Singer, who in 2004 was the first person to suggest a definition for the term. With reference to Chris N. van der Merwe and Hein Viljoen (2007) and Vanessa Guignery (Eds. Guignery, Pesso-Miquel, & Specq, 2011), I discuss hybridity as a literary concept, and state that texts that occupy ‘liminal’ spaces can be transformative. By way of contrast, I clarify what is meant by a conventional (non-hybrid) memoir, using a definition by Thomas G. Couser (2011). I mention the problems encountered in producing the hybrid memoir definition, but argue that in spite of such complexities, I believe the term to be a useful tool for thinking about certain texts. In Part Two, I discuss the rising popularity of hybrid memoirs, using David Shield’s (2011) Reality Hunger: A Manifesto as a starting point. I note the limitations of Shield’s work, but propose that it nonetheless provides a key resource in my discussion. I describe some of the significant transgressions from the conventional memoir genre that take place in Any Other Mouth, and also Dave Eggers’s (2007) A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and David Vann’s (2009) Legend of a Suicide. I explain that these works provide helpful comparisons to my own book, due to their hybrid forms and their explorations of filial bereavement. In relation to all three texts, I examine how the hybrid memoir provides authors with new opportunities for self-expression. Building on research carried out by Leigh Gilmore (2001), Elise Miller (2011), and Katarzyna Małecka (2015), I look at how trauma caused by filial bereavement can manifest in the hybrid memoir at a structural and linguistic level. I explore how hybrid memoirs can enable bereaved authors to effectively portray their emotions, and posit that the writing process can help transform grief. The exegesis concludes by using Patricia Leavy’s (2014) text Method Meets Art to establish why I view my creative work as a practice-based methodology, and I discuss how my creative practice continues to engage with my research. After emphasising how important writing Any Other Mouth has been for me, I explain the limitations of my research, and identify areas where further research could be undertaken by others in the field.

This dissertation provides a comprehensive account of the development of Gaelic script written in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in the Gaelic world. This has involved palaeographical and codicological examinations of the surviving manuscripts and fragments. Most manuscripts which survive from this period were written in Latin; however, this period also signals the first surviving manuscripts produced entirely in Middle Gaelic (most notably, Leabhar na hUidhre, Leabhar na Nuachongbhála, and OBL Rawl. B.502 [B]). One purpose of this dissertation is to contextualise the Middle-Gaelic language manuscripts within their Latin background. Two script-types were used in this period in Gaelic manuscripts (Gaelic National minuscule and Insular Half-uncial) which are both discussed in this dissertation. Much fundamental palaeographical work on the manuscripts in question has not previously been undertaken. On a very basic level, this study therefore provides arguments for distinguishing between the number of hands in manuscripts based on palaeographical and codicological observations. As a result of close palaeographical analysis I have been able to argue a chronological development for Gaelic script situated within the few reliable arguments for dating and locating some manuscripts. The employment of some abbreviations, monograms, and ligatures, new to Gaelic scribes, has proven to be particularly significant in terms of distinguishing between the layers of palaeographical development. These palaeographical features examined in light of ascetic qualities of the script has allowed me to place many script-specimens in ‘groups’ or ‘styles’ which subsequently reveal some argument for dating and locating manuscripts. This study of Gaelic script reveals that big scribal changes were underway in the eleventh and twelfth century: new styles of script were developed and a wealth of new abbreviations were used by some scribes. However, the evidence indicates that these developments were not necessarily felt simultaneously across the Gaelic World.

Thesis--Berlin. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1979. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 380-400).

The aim of this study is to understand the operational practices of copyright exploitation and protection from the perspective of the Scottish publishing industry. The study begins with a historical overview of the development of copyright legislation in the United Kingdom, which helps to build a theoretical framework to understand copyright. The study then explores the contemporary publishing environment and details the progression of rights exploitation within the publishing industry. It analyses how the historical development of copyright informs contemporary practices, particularly the role of globalisation, new technologies, ‘piracy', and the Romantic notion of authorship in shaping copyright legislation. Furthermore, this research charts the professionalisation of authorship, which helps to build a case of contemporary Scottish authors. These issues are elucidated with a multi-method analysis of the Scottish publishing industry, and its approach to copyright exploitation and protection. As the focus of the empirical research is the Scottish publishing industry it has been contextualised within national and international copyright development and discourse. The key issues from the review of literature are explored in the context of the Scottish publishing industry through interviews and questionnaires with key players. Consequently, this thesis argues that copyright exists to promote and protect the interests of the triadic relationship between the author, the publisher and the public and, as such, the interests of each party should be considered equally. The empirical research found that the majority of Scottish publishers, authors and literary agents are not fostering intellectual property rights effectively across international markets and new media: The failure to do this means that the operational practices of the Scottish publishing industry are not in harmony with the burgeoning digital publishing environment. If Scottish publishers and literary agents continue with current practices it will become increasingly difficult for them to compete in the national and international publishing environment. Digital publishing has been considered as a panacea to bridge the gaps between different sized publishing companies: allowing small, independent companies to compete on an equal footing with cross-media conglomerates. However, this study has found that Scottish publishers and literary agents are not capitalising on new technology and new platforms for dissemination: this is detrimental to the authors they represent. This study found that Scottish authors' earnings were insufficient so fostering their rights more effectively could help supplement their income. This study concludes that only by better training, education and knowledge exchange, in matters of rights exploitation and digital publishing, can Scottish publishing compete in the international arena and contribute to, and benefit financially from, the knowledge economy. This study impacts all the key stakeholders in the Scottish publishing industry, and other regional publishing industries, by addressing gaps in the literature and highlighting the shortcomings of inefficient operational practices, and provides recommendations to improve these practices.

No description available.

There has recently been a lack of judicial confidence in the evidence provided by handwriting analysis which has highlighted the need for objective research to be conducted in this area. In response this study has examined the principles and practices of two of the field’s most complex areas of analysis: disguised and artificially assisted (traced) handwriting. Any claims and observations made in the literature have been reviewed and empirically tested. A body of controlled data was collected from sixty volunteers who produced samples of disguised handwriting and traced signatures. A rigorous examination of these samples has been described and quantitative evidence found to support the conclusion that the act of disguising or tracing handwriting will have a negative influence upon the appearance and structure of that writing. Results have shown that disguised and traced writings are intimately related in that they share common characteristics that are indicative of the artificial manner by which they have been produced. Other features are also identified that can be directly associated with specific types of deviant writing to allow for distinctions to be made between them. The analysis is expressed in the form of a comprehensive taxonomy of the distinctive features of deviant writing.

Thomas Morley’s family background in Norwich and his later life in London placed him amongst the educated, urban, middle classes. Rising literacy and improving standards of living in English cities helped to develop a society in which amateur music-making became a significant leisure activity, providing a market of consumers for printed recreational music. His visit to the Low Countries in 1591 allowed him to see at first hand a thriving music printing business. Two years later he set out to achieve an income from his own music, initially by publishing collections of light, English-texted, madrigalian vocal works. He broadened his activities by obtaining a monopoly for printed music in 1598 and then by entering into a partnership with William Barley to print music. Unfortunately Morley died too soon to reap the full financial benefit of what appears to have been a profitable business. Whilst Morley’s personal ambitions were curtailed by his early death, his publishing activities and the model he provided for contemporary composers led to the creation of a substantial body of nearly one hundred and seventy editions and reprints of music suitable for domestic performance, many of which continued to be used for many years.

This thesis is about networks in seventeenth-century England: the making and re-shaping of networks of people and texts, and the ways in which they evolved and transformed. It focuses on the manuscripts collected by Dr Thomas Plume (1630-1704), vicar of Greenwich and archdeacon of Rochester, who left them with a substantial body of books and pamphlets to the Library he endowed in Maldon. They take the form of notebooks and papers complied by a number of different clergymen, in particular Dr Robert Boreman (d.1675) and Dr Edward Hyde (1607-1659), in addition to Plume. The significance of the research lies in its reconstruction of the intellectual lives of the middle-status loyalist clergy through their handwritten texts. The research intervenes into debates about the nature and status of the manuscript form in an age of print and asks why these texts were left with the Library. The content and material form of these notebooks and papers evidence the reading and writing practices of the middle-status clergy, and the ways they were able to use their positions to influence and persuade on local and national levels. The main sections of the thesis encompass: a critical analysis of the manuscript collection; an examination of why the manuscripts were created and re-used; an appraisal of themes of identity, memorial, and legacy reflected within them; and the relationship between the handwritten items and printed books. This thesis argues that these seemingly-ephemeral texts were in fact the ‘heart’ of Plume’s library collection, representing a network of clergymen whose commitment to each other’s work extended as far as if they had been related by blood. Their working papers symbolised a memorial to their scholarship, saved for posterity under the shadow of destruction and loss during the Civil Wars.