6277 research outputs found
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Pressing reset: reimagining performer and songwriter revenues in the contemporary music industry
No full textIn addition to growing calls in the UK for a ‘complete reset’ of the streaming economy, music industry organizations are re-evaluating how revenue from the public performance of music could be more effectively shared between different copyright owners. In this chapter, we outline how current industry practices significantly favour gatekeepers such as record companies and publishers at the expense of performers and songwriters. The chapter focuses on three key areas. First, we examine how revenues from music streaming are typically calculated and distributed, and consider some of the alternatives that have been proposed. Second, we explore the arguments for and against the introduction of performer equitable remuneration on streaming. Finally, we analyse issues around data management and the ‘black boxes’ of unallocated revenue that result from missing or inaccurate metadata
Temporary Paradise: Queer Time, Space, and Pastoral Visions
No full textSixteenth-century writer, George Puttenham, was among the first critics of the pastoral literary tradition. In Art of English Poesy (1589), he defines the pastoral’s (or eclogue’s) purpose “to contain and inform moral discipline” and amend “man’s behaviour” at the same time as commenting on the socio-political concerns of its day. Centuries on, numerous artists, writers and filmmakers have reclaimed the pastoral genre in queer terms as a space for homosexual love and as a challenge to heteronormativity within literary modes. The chapter analyses how Call Me By Your Name visualises a queer pastoral space and time for its characters to explore gay love. Drawing on the writing of critical theorists and extensive textual analysis of key scenes, it identifies key features of the pastoral form within the film. These include an Arcadian setting, narrative movements of retreats and returns, and nostalgia for a lost past. With this in place, the chapter explores how the film uses pastoral conventions to construct a nostalgic or idyllic view of gay romance. Set in an unspecified location in Northern Italy, it asks to what extent the film deliberately uses utopian discourses to suggest the relative im/possibilities of queer love? The final section links to how the film relates to queer time through its veiled references to the AIDS crisis
Occupational health and safety in aquaculture: organisation of work and employment in small seaweed farms in North West Europe
No full textThere is evidence that seaweed production can involve a variety of physical risks, but there has been little study of how wider contextual factors — such as enterprise size, economic and business relations and forms of employment arrangements — may affect workers’ safety. This study explores the impact of such aspects on workers’ experiences of OSH risks and their management in the developing seaweed industry, in North West Europe. Based on qualitative findings from a survey and discussions with owners/managers, workers and stakeholders in the industry, the study identified a number of issues relating to occupational safety and health in seaweed production. These include the predominance of micro small enterprises, the presence of significant risks to health and safety and limitations in the capacity of owner/managers to address them, as well as structural and economic factors in the sector that promote precarious work, and the low visibility and inaccessibility of micro and small enterprises to both public and private regulation. The paper discusses experiences of these issues in the emergent industry, and relates them to the wider literature about work health and safety in micro and small firms and precarious and non-standard forms of work, typically found in agriculture and food production. Findings point to the need for better orchestration of public and private regulatory influences and further research to determine if strategies that are seen as successful in other sectors could be transferred to the emergent European seaweed industry
Pedagogical Partnerships: A How-To Guide for Faculty, Students, and Academic Developers in Higher Education by Alison Cook-Sather, Melanie Bahti and Anita Ntem - A Book Review
No full textTest-retest reliability of a single isometric mid-thigh pull protocol to assess peak force and strength-endurance
No full textThe purpose of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability of strength-endurance protocols using isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP). Twenty-eight participants (23.2 ± 4.9 years) completed two protocols across four testing sessions. Protocol one consisted of 10 maximal IMTP tests lasting 5 seconds each with 10 seconds rest between. Protocol two consisted of a prolonged 60 second maximal IMTP. Data from protocol 1 was analysed in two ways; (a) use of the highest peak value from the first three IMTP efforts, and the lowest peak value from the final three IMTP efforts, and (b) use of the mean peak force from the first three IMTP efforts and mean peak force from the final three IMTP efforts. Data from protocol two used the highest and lowest peak values in the first- and final-15 seconds. Analyses revealed excellent reliability for peak force across all four testing sessions (ICC = 0.94), as well as good test-retest reliability for strength-endurance for protocol 1 (a; ICC = 0.81, b; ICC = 0.79). Test-retest reliability for protocol 2 was poor (ICC = 0.305). Bland-Altman bias values were smaller for protocol 1(a = -8.8 Nm, b = 21.7 Nm) compared to protocol 2 = (119.3 Nm). Our data suggest that 10 maximal IMTP tests performed as described herein is a reliable method for exercise professionals to assess both peak force and strength-endurance in a single, time-efficient protocol. [Abstract copyright: ©2024 Grover et al.
Enhancing brain tumor detection through custom convolutional neural networks and interpretability-driven analysis
No full textBrain tumor detection is crucial for effective treatment planning and improved patient outcomes. However, existing methods often face challenges, such as limited interpretability and class imbalance in medical-imaging data. This study presents a novel, custom Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architecture, specifically designed to address these issues by incorporating interpretability techniques and strategies to mitigate class imbalance. We trained and evaluated four CNN models (proposed CNN, ResNetV2, DenseNet201, and VGG16) using a brain tumor MRI dataset, with oversampling techniques and class weighting employed during training. Our proposed CNN achieved an accuracy of 94.51%, outperforming other models in regard to precision, recall, and F1-Score. Furthermore, interpretability was enhanced through gradient-based attribution methods and saliency maps, providing valuable insights into the model’s decision-making process and fostering collaboration between AI systems and clinicians. This approach contributes a highly accurate and interpretable framework for brain tumor detection, with the potential to significantly enhance diagnostic accuracy and personalized treatment planning in neuro-oncology
Male and female perceptions of supervision during strength training
No full textA cross-sectional survey was distributed to 1322 members of a 1-on-1 personalized strength training studio. A total of 366 respondents (n = 134 male and n = 232 female), all aged over 20 years, reported considerable training experience, with 55% of the males and 42% of the females reporting 5+ years of experience. The data were analyzed and reported descriptively with differences >5% identified based on the use of a 5-point Likert scale, the sample size, and the nature of the observations. Disparities between the males and females were identified; the males reported higher perceptions of managing effort, technique, and programming without supervision compared to the females. Safety was noted as being more important to the females compared to the males. Qualitatively, additional themes were raised including an analogy of the personal relationship between the trainer and trainee being similar to that between medical professionals and patients. This was validated where the participants discussed their adaptations from supervised strength training for maintaining quality of life in aging and recovering from medical conditions and injury. The data are discussed in the context of a previous body of literature suggesting males falsely report higher levels of confidence in tasks compared to females, particularly in relation to effort, role models, and verbal encouragement. We posit that the greater confidence expressed by males at least partially explains the greater engagement in strength training practices by males compared to females, as well as explaining the higher level of participation in supervised strength training by females compared to males. This research proves beneficial for strength training practitioners in enhancing their understanding and expectations of clients, as well as hopefully proving insightful in engaging more people in strength training
FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar corner kicks: an analysis on effectiveness and match context
No full textThis paper presents an in-depth analysis of the tactical and technical attributes of corner kicks during the 2022 World Cup, aiming to elucidate their effectiveness and impact on match outcomes. Sequential analysis was employed to scrutinize a total of 570 corner kicks observed throughout the entirety of the tournament, with subsequent descriptive analysis of the dataset revealing significant findings. Despite a relatively low goal conversion rate (2.6%), corner kicks emerged as pivotal moments in matches, influencing match status in 73.3% of cases. Examination of the area of delivery and first contact identified PA 1/2 as the most effective zone for generating goal attempts and scoring goals, a trend observed across both successful and unsuccessful teams. Notably, direct out-swinging corner kicks exhibited superior efficacy in terms of goal-scoring opportunities. Defensive strategies were also scrutinized, with a mixed zonal dominance approach proving most effective in limiting goals conceded, while a mixed individual dominance structure was optimal for reducing goal attempts, albeit resulting in heightened defensive engagements. Common actions observed during corner kicks included defender interventions and short passes, consistent across both successful and unsuccessful teams. Additionally, analysis of action zones revealed W1/2 and PA1/2 as the most prevalent areas, with successful teams exhibiting a preference for W1/2 and AFGM zones. These findings offer valuable insights for football professionals seeking to refine their tactical and technical strategies, potentially providing a competitive edge in elite-level competition
Decision making in uncertainty: the case of ship flooding
No full textOne critical aspect of a progressive flooding scenario on a ship is that its crew is uncertain regarding the water ingress rate. Furthermore, the calculation of residual ship stability and structural strength may be very challenging in the absence of ship-specific software. For this reason, this paper presents a decision-making methodology to deal with the option of an early abandoning of a bulk carrier in a flooding emergency. This study used a review of 25 cases from 15 years involving bulk carriers for hazard analysis. Then, a simulation was carried to four ships to identify the changes caused by progressive flooding of various cargo holds in the ship's trim, allowable strength and the time allowable to react. The importance of the ballast pump and water ingress alarm maintenance was also shown. The methodology is useful for ship operators to prepare ship-specific flooding contingency plans for crew familiarization in dealing with uncertain conditions
Predicting health care facility stay duration: a machine learning approach
No full textThe COVID 19 pandemic revealed shortcomings in healthcare, particularly concerning bed occupancy and resource allocation. During the Delta variant wave, it was highlighted how much improvement is needed in management strategies. One promising solution is the prediction of inpatient Length of Stay. Accurate predictions can enhance efficiency, reduce infection risks, lower mortality rates and decrease bed occupancy. This research proposes a predictive model using Random Forest Regression to accurately forecast hospital length of stay, aiming to enhance resource management and patient care. We utilized a 2010 inpatient dataset from the New York Department of Health and conducted thorough data preprocessing, including cleaning, handling missing values, and numerical encoding of categorical variables for regression. Additionally, we experimented with three database variations: one with targeted and frequency encoding, another using synthetic minority oversampling technique for handling imbalances, and a third applying synthetic minority oversampling technique for regression with gaussian noise for continuous variables. Each database was tested with and without scaling using four different scalers. The objective was to achieve a mean absolute error below the industry standard of 6.5, prioritizing unbiased metrics. Our results indicate that the final model achieved a 2.93 mean absolute error on the normal database, demonstrating its effectiveness in predicting length of stay. The study underlined the potential of machine learning in accurately predicting the Length of Stay in hospitals and the possibility of a more accurate model of the industry standard. Further advancements could be made to the models with more balanced datasets and a user-friendly interface for hospital staff usage
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