Hello! I'm Josh Milburn, a Wikipedian based in the United Kingdom. On Wikipedia, I write and review articles, work with images, and generally bounce around where I please. I'm happy to offer help to new and old users alike, and so if you need anything, you're more than welcome to contact me on my talk page. I have made over 100,000 edits on the English Wikipedia, placing me in the top 250 contributors by number of edits. I'm an administrator, an occasional bot operator (see my bot's userpage), and a member of the Volunteer Response Team. I became a WikiCup judge in 2009 and passed on the reigns in 2014, and I was an admin on Commons from 2009 to 2015, when I lost the tools due to "inactivity".
I've been an active contributor since 2006, though some of that time I was more active in administrative tasks than writing and reviewing. During my time on Wikipedia, I've created and/or significantly contributed to 96 did you know articles, two in the news articles, 35 articles currently recognised as good, 16 featured articles, two featured portals, one good topic and one featured topic. I have conducted over 250 good article reviews.
I am originally from near Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. I now live in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where I am reading for a PhD at Queen's University Belfast. My research concerns the moral and political status of nonhuman animals. I previously read for a BA and MA (in philosophy) at Lancaster University. In addition to Wikipedia, my main hobby is role-playing, and, in addition to philosophy, where my particular interests lie broadly in ethics, interests include politics, history, religion and natural history (especially mycology).
Mantlepiece
Recognised content and reviews
Below are five of my 15 featured articles, in no particular order.
In political philosophy, a throffer is a proposal (also called an intervention) that mixes an offer with a threat which will be carried out if the offer is not accepted. The term was first used in print by political philosopher Hillel Steiner; while other writers followed, it has not been universally adopted and it is sometimes considered synonymous with carrot and stick. Though the threatening aspect of a throffer need not be obvious, or even articulated at all, an overt example is
Kill this man and receive £100; fail to kill him and I'll kill you.
Steiner differentiated offers, threats and throffers based on the preferability of compliance and non-compliance for the subject when compared to the normal course of events that would have come about were no intervention made. Steiner's account was criticised by philosopher Robert Stevens, who instead suggested that what was important in differentiating the kinds of intervention was whether performing or not performing the requested action was more or less preferable than it would have been were no intervention made. Throffers form part of the wider moral and political considerations of coercion, and form part of the question of the possibility of coercive offers. Contrary to received wisdom that only threats can be coercive, throffers lacking explicit threats have been cited as an example of coercive offers, while some writers argue that offers, threats and throffers may all be coercive if certain conditions are met. For others, by contrast, if a throffer is coercive, it is explicitly the threat aspect that makes it so, and not all throffers can be considered coercive.
The theoretical concerns surrounding throffers have been practically applied concerning workfare programmes. In such systems, individuals receiving social welfare have their aid decreased if they refuse the offer of work or education. Robert Goodin criticised workfare programmes which presented throffers to individuals receiving welfare, and was responded to by Daniel Shapiro, who found his objections unconvincing. Several writers have also observed that throffers presented to people convicted of crimes, particularly sex offenders, can result in more lenient sentences if they accept medical treatment. Other examples are offered by psychiatrist Julio Arboleda-Flórez, who presents concerns about throffers in community psychiatry, and management expert John J. Clancey, who talks about throffers in employment. (more ...)
Phellinus ellipsoideus (formerly Fomitiporia ellipsoidea) is a species of polypore fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae, a specimen of which produced the largest fungal fruit body ever recorded. Found in China, the fruit bodies produced by the species are brown, woody basidiocarps that grow on dead wood, where the fungus feeds as a saprotroph. The basidiocarps are perennial, allowing them to grow very large under favourable circumstances. They are resupinate, measuring 30 centimetres (12 in) or more in length, though typically extending less than a centimetre from the surface of the wood. P. ellipsoideus produces distinct ellipsoidal spores, after which it is named, and unusual setae. These two features allow it to be readily differentiated microscopically from other, similar species. Chemical compounds isolated from the species include several steroidal compounds. These may have pharmacological applications, but further research is needed.
The species was named in 2008 by Bao-Kai Cui and Yu-Cheng Dai based on collections made in Fujian Province. It was placed in the genus Fomitiporia, but later analysis suggests that it is more closely related to Phellinus species. It was revealed in 2011 that a very large fruit body, measuring up to 1,085 cm (427 in) in length, had been found on Hainan Island. The specimen, which was 20 years old, was estimated to weigh between 400 and 500 kilograms (880 and 1,100 lb). This was markedly larger than the previously largest recorded fungal fruit body, a specimen of Rigidoporus ulmarius found in the United Kingdom that had a circumference of 425 cm (167 in). The findings were formally published in September 2011, but attracted international attention from the mainstream press prior to this. (more ...)
Dustbin Baby is a BBC television film directed by Juliet May, based on Jacqueline Wilson's 2001 novel of the same name. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 21 December 2008. The film stars Dakota Blue Richards as April, a troubled teenager who was abandoned in a dustbin as an infant, and Juliet Stevenson as Marion Bean, April's adoptive mother. David Haig stars as Elliot, Marion's friend and colleague. The screenplay was written by Helen Blakeman, and the film was produced by Kindle Entertainment. Dustbin Baby deals with themes including maternal bonding, bullying, and youth crime. The story revolves around April running away on her fourteenth birthday, while Marion searches for her. April's life is recounted in flashbacks as she meets people and visits places that are significant to her.
Both Wilson and critics responded positively to the film, with Wilson saying she thought it was the best film adaptation of any of her works. It was released on DVD on 12 January 2009. Dustbin Baby was awarded the International Emmy in the Children and Young People category at the 2009 ceremony. Helen Blakeman won a Children's BAFTA for the screenplay, while the film itself was shortlisted for a Children's BAFTA in the Drama category and shortlisted for the Kids' Vote award. The film was also awarded the 2010 KidScreen Award for Best One-off, Special, or TV movie aimed at a Family Audience and the KidScreen Award for Best Acting. (more ...)
The Nauru Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus rehsei) is a passerine bird endemic to the island of Nauru in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of only two native breeding land-birds on Nauru, the other being the Micronesian Pigeon, and it is the only passerine found on the island. It is related to other Micronesian reed warblers, all of which evolved from one of several radiations of the genus across the Pacific. Related warblers on nearby islands include the Carolinian Reed Warbler, with which the Nauru species was initially confused, and the Nightingale Reed Warbler, which was formerly sometimes considered conspecific.
A medium-sized warbler, the Nauru Reed Warbler has dark brown upperparts, cream underparts and a long, thin beak. It makes a low, cup-shaped nest into which it lays two or three white eggs, and it feeds on insects. Other details about the warbler are poorly known. It is found throughout Nauru, which has changed substantially in recent decades due to phosphate mining. The Nauru Reed Warbler is potentially threatened by introduced predators and habitat loss, and its small range means that it could be vulnerable to chance occurrences, such as tropical cyclones. Reports of a similar warbler from nearby islands suggest that it may once have been found elsewhere, but was driven to local extinction by introduced cats. (more ...)
"Sardines" is the first episode of British dark comedy anthology series Inside No. 9. Written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith (pictured, 2003), it premiered on BBC Two and BBC Two HD on 5 February 2014. The episode features a stand-alone plot revolving around a group of adults, who are non-recurring characters, playing sardines at an engagement party. Rebecca, the bride-to-be, finds a boring man named Ian in a wardrobe; he introduces himself as a colleague of Jeremy, Rebecca's fiancé. The pair are subsequently joined by family, friends and colleagues of Rebecca and Jeremy. As more people enter the room and step into the wardrobe, secrets shared by some of the characters are revealed, with various allusions to incestuous relationships, child sexual abuse and adultery. The humour is both dark and British, with references to past unhappiness and polite but awkward interactions.
The story takes place entirely in the bedroom of a country house, with much of the filming taking place inside the wardrobe. Pemberton and Shearsmith wrote the episode with the intention of evoking a feeling of claustrophobia in viewers. In addition to the writers, the episode starred Katherine Parkinson, Tim Key, Luke Pasqualino, Ophelia Lovibond, Anne Reid, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Anna Chancellor, Marc Wootton, Ben Willbond and Timothy West. The cast and writing were praised by television critics, and the episode was chosen as pick of the day in a number of publications. On its first showing, "Sardines" was watched by 1.1 million viewers, which was 5.6% of the audience. (more ...)
Here are some more bits and pieces:
Dungeons & Dragons (album)
Over the Rainbow (Connie Talbot album)
Gymnopilus maritimus
Xeromphalina setulipes
Faryl
Faryl Smith
Inocybe saliceticola
Andrew Johnston (singer)
Auricularia auricula-judae
"Seriously McDonalds"
Leotia lubrica
Fomes fomentarius
An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory
Psylliodes luridipennis
The Turn of the Screw (2009 film)
Portal:Fungi
Portal:Sharks
Wikipedia:Featured topics/Faryl Smith
Wikipedia:Featured topics/Inside No. 9
"A Quiet Night In"
A full list of my recognised content can be found here, and a full list of my good article reviews can be found here.
Pictures and sounds
There are also certain featured pictures and sounds for which I would like to claim some of the credit- these are files that have been sent to me by the copyright holders. I have nominated over 70 images and a set of ten sounds which are now featured on the English Wikipedia. See this page for the full list. Note I did not create any of these pictures.
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Requested, handled at OTRS, uploaded (edit uploaded by Shoemaker's Holiday) and nominated. Now a FP. Property of Kindle Entertainment. Work of Christos Kalohoridis.
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Sent to me, handled at OTRS, uploaded and nominated. Now a featured picture. Work and property of Kyle Cassidy.
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Sent to me, handled at OTRS, uploaded and nominated. Now a featured picture. Work and property of Kyle Cassidy.
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Sent to me, handled at OTRS, uploaded and nominated. Now a featured picture. Work and property of Kyle Cassidy.
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Sent to me, handled at OTRS, uploaded and nominated. Now a featured picture. Work and property of Kyle Cassidy.
In the spirit of Durova's a recording, a score, and a portrait, I offer ten featured sounds; a full album by a notable artist, a first for Wikipedia. The set was praised in the Signpost when first promoted, and was chosen as the featured sound of the year, 2010. Sadly, the featured sound project is not currently active.
Pulse of the Earth, by Hungry Lucy | |||
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User awards
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Platinum Editor Star -
The 50 DYK Medal
User awards |
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