Essay Competition Research Articles

Enhancing relationship-based practice in the homeless sector by applying Hall’s representation theory (1997) and peer reviewed research

ABSTRACT A student essay for Clare Winnicott Essay Competition. A societal critique of the ongoing issues and complications for those experiencing homelessness in modern times, which applies both Stuart Hall’s Theory of Representation (1997) and peer reviewed research on social stigmas, to identify the effectiveness of relationship-based practice within the homeless sector.

The Augustine-Braude Bigelow Survival Debate: A Postmortem and Prospects for Future Directions

In 2021, the Bigelow Institute for Consciousness Studies (hereafter, BICS) sponsored an essay competition designed to solicit the best evidence for the hypothesis that human consciousness survives bodily death, and more specifically, evidence that would prove this hypothesis beyond a reasonable doubt. The summer 2022 issue of the Journal of Scientific Exploration featured a special subsection on the BICS contest and its winning essays. Robert Bigelow and Colm Kelleher outlined the motivation, design, and judging criteria for the competition. Keith Augustine provided an extensive critical commentary on the contest design and eight of its prominent winning essays. Stephen Braude and several coauthors1 responded to Augustine’s criticisms, and Augustine provided a reply to Braude and his collaborators. Finally, the subsection concluded with a collaborative paper in which Etienne LeBel, Adam Rock, and Keith Augustine proposed a more rigorous experimental design for testing the survival hypothesis.

Editorial Introduction

The articles in this issue are devoted to the question of whether consciousness is a fundamental feature of reality. In recent years the physicalist orthodoxy in the science and philosophy of consciousness has been challenged by a panpsychist insurgency (Chalmers, 2016; Goff, 2017; 2019), panpsychism being the view that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of the physical universe. This new wave of panpsychists claim that their view avoids the deep challenges faced by physicalism as well as those faced by dualism, the traditional rival of physicalism. The best way to test whether panpsychism lives up to its promise is for philosophers and scientists to explore the pros and cons of panpsychism in discussion and in writing. Most of these articles were presented in some form at a workshop on the theme of 'Consciousness as Fundamental' at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, in September of 2023. This was one of two workshops that are part of a John Templeton Foundation funded project (Grant #62683) co-directed by Andrei A. Buckareff and Philip Goff on the theme of 'Panpsychism and Pan(en)theism: Philosophy of Mind Meets Philosophy of Religion'. Yanssel Garcia's article, entitled 'Is Consciousness Fundamental?', was the winner of an essay competition hosted by the project. These articles address the theme of whether consciousness is fundamental from a variety of perspectives, most focusing on different puzzles that arise if we assume a panpsychist framework in trying to explain consciousness.

Universality of the thermodynamics of a quantum-mechanically radiating black hole departing from thermality

Mathur and Mehta won the third prize in the 2023 Gravity Research Foundation Essay Competition for proving the universality of black hole (BH) thermodynamics. Specifically, they demonstrated that any Extremely Compact Object (ECO) must have the same BH thermodynamic properties regardless of whether or not the ECO possesses an event horizon. The result is remarkable, but it was obtained under the approximation according to which the BH emission spectrum has an exactly thermal character. In fact, strong arguments based on energy conservation and BH back reaction imply that the spectrum of the Hawking radiation cannot be exactly thermal. In this work the result of Mathur and Mehta will be extended to the case where the radiation spectrum is not exactly thermal using the concept of BH dynamical state.

First, a seat; then, an upgrade.

The Sir Stanley Peart Essay Competition is an annual event run by the British and Irish Hypertension Society to encourage Early Career Researchers to continue the ethos of Sir Stanley Peart. Sir Stanley Peart was a clinician and clinical researcher who made a major contribution to our understanding of blood pressure regulation. He was the first to demonstrate the release of noradrenaline in response to sympathetic nerve stimulation. He was also the first to purify, and determine the structure of, angiotensin and he later isolated the enzyme, renin, and carried out many important investigations of the factors controlling its release in the body. This year, the essay topic was "Do we need new classes of antihypertensive drugs?". In his prize-winning essay, "First, a seat; then, an upgrade", Dr Sathyanarayanan argues that we do not need new classes of antihypertensive drugs, instead we should focus our attention on addressing the factors that lead to high blood pressure in the first place and use our existing drug classes more effectively.

Kenneth Severn Award 2024: Structural engineering satnav: destination set, journey begins – wait, did you pack the snacks?

This winning entry to the Institution's Kenneth Severn Award 2024 – an annual essay competition for young engineers – responds to a question set by President Tanya de Hoog which asked: What does success look like for the future of the structural engineering profession? What qualities and competencies do we need as individuals, and as an engineering community, in order to play a pivotal role in addressing climate change and ensuring public safety through our work? In her thought-provoking answer, Romilly Bobby asks three questions of the structural engineering profession: where are we going? How will we get there? And what should we bring?

Promosi Tenun Khas Bima Sebagai Penguatan Identitas Kota Bima Melalui Kegiatan Lombok Essay Competition

This community service activity aims to promote and strengthen the identity of Bima City through the development of typical Bima weaving. The method is to take part in the Lombok Essay Competition Event. The activity began with cultural and economic observations in Bima City, followed by assistance in the preparation of scientific work on Bima typical weaving which was presented at the event on March 9-12 2024. The results showed that the Bima typical weaving industry provided a significant multiplier effect on other industries in Bima City. Analysis of the Input-Output derivation table shows an increase in final demand of 1.4 billion rupiah in the Bima typical weaving industry. In conclusion, this activity is able to promote Bima's typical weaving as the identity of Bima City and provide a positive economic impact, as well as having the potential to support local development and community empowerment.

Wakley Prize essay competition 2024: centring care

Wakley Prize essay competition 2024: centring care

Winners of the 2023 PIF annual essay competition.

Winners of the 2023 PIF annual essay competition.

The Literary Works of the Gentlemen of the Elizabethan Chapel Royal: Politics, Religion and Print

The Gentlemen of the Elizabethan Chapel Royal worked at the ecclesiastical heart of the English court. Their religious beliefs, when discussed by historians and musicologists, are usually characterised as ranging from crypto-Catholic conformity to the a-confessionalism of individuals keen to survive seismic religious change. This article revises orthodox images of the Gentlemen of the Elizabethan Chapel Royal as religious ‘conservatives’ drawn to royal employment by the ceremonialism of services, and instead emphasises their energetic theological interests and the strength of Protestant doctrinal opinion among their ranks. Their striking construction of public identities in printed religious works also illustrates the ways in which a group of ‘middling’ courtly churchmen and singing-men negotiated their own identities alongside and against that of their place of employment. 1 1 This article was awarded proxime accessit in the Court Historian Essay competition, 2023. The author also thanks Dr Alexandra Gajda, Dr Ellen Patterson, Professor Peter McCullough, Ms Helena Rutkowska, the attendees of the IHR Tudor-Stuart seminar and the reviewers at The Court Historian for their helpful comments and suggestions at various stages of this research. This work was funded by the AHRC and Merton College, Oxford.

Student Essay Competition – 2024

Student Essay Competition – 2024

Student Essay Competition

Student Essay Competition

Would you believe your own consciousness?

Can we ever fully believe what someone tells us about themselves? Riccardo Fesce et al, awarded joint runners up of the Brain Essay Competition 2023, consider whether asking consciousness about itself will ever yield credible and reliable answers.

The historical context of migraine stigma.

The social and psychological stigma of disease can be profound. William Young, awarded joint runner-up of the Brain Essay Competition 2023, discusses how for people with migraine, this stigma can be a huge burden which excludes and disenfranchises them from many areas of normal life.

Who am I?

Winner of the Brain Essay Competition 2023, Brian Routledge considers where gene repair technology might take us, in this fictional account written from the perspective of a parent whose child has a severe neurodevelopmental condition.

2023 Brain essay competition results.

2023 Brain essay competition results.

Diego Barnett Winner of the Eric Williams “School Bags” Essay Competition

Diego Barnett Winner of the Eric Williams “School Bags” Essay Competition

Rouleaux Club Winning Essays 2023

The Rouleaux Club run an annual essay competition to help promote interest in vascular surgery. Entrants are asked to write 1,500 words on one of three topics selected by the RC Executive. The essays are marked by the committee and the prizes are awarded to the best essay at the annual Vascular Society meeting. There are two prize categories, one for medical students and another for junior doctors. Following the November VS ASM, we are delighted to publish the winning essays.

Dispelling Myths – The European Court of Human Rights as a Viable Alternative to Investor-State Dispute Settlement in the European Union (Winner of the Essay Competition 2023)

This contribution will focus on the question of whether the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, the Court) can serve as an alternative forum for investment treaty disputes arising under bilateral investment treaties concluded between two EU Member States (intra-EU bits). Some authors have examined the question whether the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) can serve as an alternative to investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) in general. Their conclusion was that despite the similarities between the international investment arbitration system and the investment protection offered by the ECHR, the latter can merely complement the ISDS system but not replace it. However, following the annihilation of the intra-EU bit s regime, the landscape of ISDS in Europe has changed drastically. Consequently, the time is ripe to revisit the question. The paper posits that, contrary to common beliefs about the deficiencies of the proceedings before the Court, in recent years, due to certain developments in procedure and jurisprudence, the Court is now a viable alternative to ISDS.

Observations on Taxation-Based Claims in International Investment Arbitration Does the power to Tax Involve the power to Extinguish? (2nd Prize Winner of the Essay Competition 2023)

While taxation has been a concern for centuries, it became a universal concern with the increase in economic interaction between States. It has become yet more important with the internationalisation of investment flows. States voluntarily impose limits on their sovereignty through investment treaties to attract investors to invest in their countries. Foreign investors have arbitrated the abusive conduct of States under the guise of tax and taxation before tribunals for many years. International investment arbitration deals with the manifestation of the States’ exercise of their sovereignty within the limits of protection standards. In relation to the violation of these standards, foreign investors have succeeded in some of their claims, and failed in others. Arbitral tribunals have made case- by- case analyses for each claim. These have drawn a general picture of how state actions may cross the lines of protection standards and implicate breaches of international law. Yet, it is unclear to what extent the investment treaties that are in the process of change will affect the future attitudes of tribunals against taxation- based claims. This article will explore and unveil the crossroads of the States’ taxation powers and investment protections in investment treaties through the interpretations of investment arbitration tribunals.