410 research outputs found
Composing and devising music theatre
No full textThe commentary for the portfolio is a theoretical, research-based explanation of the eight pieces contained in the portfolio, all of which were composed with the hypothesis that the visual aspect of musical performance is as important, and is as performative as, the aural aspect.
The portfolio explores the use of text in musical composition by setting texts, and charting a progression from scores using conventional musical notation (‘Oh mihi, Duncia!’, ‘um’, ‘Brainbow mouse’), to those using verbal notation (ahamkara, ‘geneRic speCtator, ‘five tableaux for five musicians’). ‘Cornucopian cloud’ is situated at the half-way point between these two, using a graphical cue notation for physical communication between players alongside specific musical material, while the final piece, ‘nothing new’, compresses the transition from musical to verbal notation into its concept and structure.
This progression is the primary research concern of the pieces’ composition, as seen in the focus on the act of making performance which shifts from composer to performer. The incorporation of text into the compositional process through a process of assimilation is analysed, as explored through the creation of scores for devising pieces of music theatre. Devising is considered as the function of the score as a textual stimulus for performers. Consequently, all the pieces require improvisation, except ‘Brainbow mouse’; all are visual, physical pieces.
A supplementary theme pervading the portfolio is the influence of ‘Surrealist intentions’, to quote Nicolas Calas: the idea that two objects, which may not be expected or thought of as being similar or related, but which can be seen to have an interactive relationship through their juxtaposition. In this light words and music, words and movements, and music and movements, are considered, alongside the existence of an artwork’s ‘self’
Life expectancy and the Global Burden of Disease 1990–2016: little cause for complacency
No full textBook Review of: The changing face of disease: implications for society by Nick Mascie-Taylor, Jean Peters, Stephen McGarvey (eds)
No full textThe 'true use of reading' : Sarah Fielding and mid eighteenth-century literary strategies.
No full textPhDThe aim of this thesis is to explore, by examining her life and
works, how Sarah Fielding (1710-68) established her identity as an author.
The definition of her role involves her notions of the functions of
writing and reading.
Sarah Fielding attempts to invite readers to form a sense of ties
by tacit understanding of her messages. As she believes that a work
of literature is produced through collaboration between the writer and
the reader, it is an important task in her view to show her attentiveness
toward reading practice. In her consideration of reading, she has two
distinct, even opposite views of her audience: on the one hand a familiar
and limited circle of readers with shared moral and cultural values and
on the other potential readers among the unknown mass of people. The
dual targets direct her to devise various strategies. She tries to
appeal to those who can endorse and appreciate her moral values as well
as her learning. Her writings and letters testify that she is sensitive
to the demands of the literary market, trying to lead the taste of readers
by inventing new forms.
The thesis opens with an overview of Sarah Fielding's career,
followed by a consideration of her critical attention to the roles of
reading. I go on to examine the narrative structures and strategies
she deploys, with a particular emphasis on her use of the epistolary
method. The following chapter deals with her attention to the reading
of the moral message tangibly embodied in her educational writing. It
is followed by an analysis of the activity which earned her a reputation
as a learned woman. Various as the forms of her works are, they invariably
reflect her attempt to balance herself between the two demands of
inventiveness and familiarity
Improving the use of race and ethnicity in genetic research: a survey of instructions to authors in genetics journals
No full textTo explore the guidance provided by genetics journals on the use of race and ethnicity,
this survey examined the instructions for
authors and recent content of 120 journals
indexed under “Genetics and Heredity”
within the Web of Science. Only two of
the journals had instructions for authors
that directly referred to race or ethnicity,
and both implicitly validated the genetic
utility of ethnicity by encouraging its use
to identify or classify genetic variation.
The instructions for authors of five other
journals referred to the American Medical
Association’s
Manual of Style
or the
“Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts
Submitted to Biomedical Journals” developed by the International Committee of
Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE); one
more journal was listed on the ICMJE
Web site. Both those more generic style
guides had dedicated sections advising prospective authors to “justify” and “define”
or “explain” their use of race and ethnicity. However, it is unclear whether any of
the six genetics journals linked to either of
the style guides actually intended authors
to comply with their particular sections
on race and ethnicity, particularly inasmuch as the instructions of three of the
journals referred only to the sections of the style guides related to the formatting
of references. Despite the paucity of guidance on race and ethnicity, from 1994 to
2004 55.8% of the journals had published
empirical articles using “racial”, “ethnic”,
or related census categories. In the absence
of dedicated guidelines, the responsibility
rests with journal editors to draw the attention of authors and reviewers to longstanding concerns over the reliability, validity,
and sensitivity of using race and ethnicity
in genetic research and to encourage critical reflection and debate and better standards of measurement and reporting
Growth, current size and the role of the 'reversal paradox' in the foetal origins of adult disease: an illustration using vector geometry
No full textBACKGROUND
Numerous studies have reported inverse associations between birth weight and a range of diseases in later life. These have led to the development of the 'foetal origins of adult disease hypothesis'. However, many such studies have only been able to demonstrate a statistically significant association between birth weight and disease in later life by adjusting for current size. This has been interpreted as evidence that the impact of low birth weight on subsequent disease is somehow dependent on subsequent weight gain, and has led to a broadening of the hypothesis into the 'developmental origins of health and disease'. Unfortunately, much of the epidemiological evidence used for both of these interpretations is prone to a statistical artefact known as the 'reversal paradox'. The aim of this paper is to illustrate why, using vector geometry.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This paper introduces the key concepts of vector geometry as applied to multiple regression analysis. This approach is then used to illustrate the similar statistical problems encountered when adjusting for current size or growth when exploring the association between birth weight and disease in later life.
RESULTS
Geometrically, the three covariates – birth size, growth, and current size – span only 2-dimensional space. Regressing disease in later life (i.e. the outcome variable) on any two of these covariates equates to projecting the disease variable onto the plane spanned by the three covariate vectors. The three possible regression models – where any two covariates are considered – are therefore equivalent and yield exactly the same model fit (R2).
CONCLUSION
Vector geometry illustrates why it is impossible to differentiate between the effects of growth from the effects of current size in studies exploring the relationship between size at birth and subsequent disease. For similar reasons, it is impossible to differentiate between the effects of growth and the effects of birth weight. Assessing the 'independent' impact of growth on later disease by adjusting for either birth weight or current size is therefore illusory
A patient survey of out-of-hours care provided by Emergency Care Practitioners
No full textBACKGROUND: Emergency Care Practitioners (ECPs) have recently been deployed to provide out-of-hours primary care home visits - a practice development that has been supported by policy makers. The aim of the study was to evaluate the care provided to patients receiving out-of-hours home visits from ECPs in London from the patients' perspective and to assess their wellbeing following the visit. METHODS: A bespoke telephone-administered questionnaire was designed to survey all patients who had received out-of-hours care in Bromley Primary Care Trust from ECPs during a ten week period in 2005 (n = 174). RESULTS: Sixty three patients (36.2%) were excluded because: no telephone number was available; they had a diagnosis of dementia; or had not received a study information sheet. The remainder (n = 111) were contacted 3-5 days after the home visit, and 81 of these (73.0%) completed the survey. Of those respondents treated at home who gave unequivocal answers (n = 60), all but one (8.3%) reported that they felt that their treatment had been 'right' and/or had followed any advice given. However, overall only 86.4% reported that they had been clear about their ECP's assessment, and only 58.0% reported that their health was now 'better'. Those who reported that they were not clear about their assessment were less likely to report that their health was 'better' (p = 0.03) and more likely to have subsequently used hospital-based health services (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Most patients treated at home by ECPs appeared satisfied and compliant with the care provided, according to the measures used in this study. However, it appears that a sizeable minority of patients were unclear about ECP assessments and it remains to be seen whether these patients had pre-existing health complaints which made them less likely to recover and more likely to seek hospital care, or whether the lack of clarity about their assessment undermined their subsequent recovery and necessitated hospital care. Further research is required to establish if the assessments provided by ECPs are less clear than those provided by other practitioners, and whether it is possible to ensure that all such assessments are clear to all patients. Patients hold a mainly positive view of out-of-hours home visit care provided by ECPs, although a lack of clarity about their assessment was evident, with a possible impact on their continuing health
The signifier returns to haunt the referent : blackface and the stereotyping of African-Americans in Hollywood early sound film
No full textThis thesis investigates the persistence of blackface in Hollywood's early sound era
1927-1953. It establishes the extensive and complex nature of this persistence against
previous historical accounts of its decline after the introduction of sound. Specifically
this thesis considers the overlooked phenomenon of co-presence where blackface was
juxtaposed with the increased visibility of African-Americans in Hollywood film. It
argues that the primary historical significance of the persistence of blackface lies in its
involvement in, and exposure of, the formal stereotyping of African Americans in
film.
The thesis is founded on research which identified 124 blackface films and on
viewings of 75 of these films. Primarily the argument is advanced on the basis of
close textual analysis. In addition to its theoretical engagement with key positions on
blackface and related areas the thesis also makes use of secondary sources in order to
establish the historical context behind its persistence in film.
Principle areas discussed include the formal practices used to racially mark African Americans
in film, co-presence in the films of Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor, and
blackface and the racial containment of African-American vernacular dance and
music.
This thesis contributes to an understanding of the place of blackface in Hollywood
history by setting down what is, to the best of its author's knowledge, the most
extensive account to date of its persistence in the early sound era. In doing so it
brings new material to the debates on the 'nature' of blackface and argues that current
attempts to revise understandings of its racial bias may be misguided. In conclusion
this thesis finds that the case study of co-presence indicates that one explanation for
the longevity of Hollywood's African-American stereotypes lies in the sheer density
of their textual construction
Popular political oratory and itinerant lecturing in Yorkshire and the North East in the age of Chartism, c. 1837-60
No full textItinerant lecturers declaiming upon free trade, Chartism, temperance, or anti-slavery could be heard in market places and halls across the country during the years 1837-60. The power of the spoken word was such that all major pressure groups employed lecturers and sent them on extensive tours. Print historians tend to overplay the importance of newspapers and tracts in disseminating political ideas and forming public opinion. This thesis demonstrates the importance of older, traditional forms of communication. Inert printed pages were no match for charismatic oratory. Combining personal magnetism, drama and immediacy, the itinerant lecturer was the most effective medium through which to reach those with limited access to books, newspapers or national political culture. Orators crucially united their dispersed audiences in national struggles for reform, fomenting discussion and coalescing political opinion, while railways, the telegraph and expanding press reportage allowed speakers and their arguments to circulate rapidly.
Understanding of political oratory and public meetings has been skewed by over-emphasis upon the hustings and high-profile politicians. This has generated two misconceptions: that political meetings were generally rowdy and that a golden age of political oratory was secured only through Gladstone’s legendary stumping tours. However, this thesis argues that, far from being disorderly, public meetings were carefully regulated and controlled offering disenfranchised males a genuine democratic space for political discussion. Its detailed research into Yorkshire and the North East, demonstrates both the growth of popular political speechmaking and the emergence of a class of professional lecturers. It identifies a paradigm shift from classical oratory to more populist styles of speaking, as more humble speakers took to the platform; and it argues that through the growth of popular political oratory the platform had been rehabilitated by the 1860s and the lecture format commercialize
INCOME CONVERGENCE DURING THE DISINTEGRATION OF THE WORLD ECONOMY 1919-39
No full textSome economists have argued that the process of disintegration of the world economy between the two World Wars led to income divergence between the countries. This is in keeping with the view that economic integration leads to income convergence. The paper shows that the view that the period 1919-39 was associated with divergence of incomes among the rich countries is wrong. On the contrary, income convergence continued and even accelerated. Since the mid-19th century, rich countries’ incomes tended to converge in peacetime regardless of whether their economies were more or less integrated. This, in turn, implies that it may not be trade and capital and labor flows that matter for income convergence but some other, less easily observable, forces like diffusion of information and technology.globalization, inequality, world, inter-war history
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