60 research outputs found
The Life and Music of McCoy Tyner: An Examination of the Sociocultural Influences on McCoy Tyner and His Music
Get PDFThis study is a historical, sociocultural and analytical examination of McCoy Tyner’s life and music. McCoy Tyner is a preeminent voice in the history of modern jazz piano performance, and his style is not only one of the most recognizable in jazz history, it has been studied and assimilated into the musical vocabulary of renowned pianists worldwide. Although Tyner’s influence is vast, there is a paucity of research on how he achieved his signature style, and the sociocultural and musical influences that cultivated his early musical talent and signature piano style have not been researched. This study details significant historical and sociocultural influences that nurtured Tyner’s musical talent from his birth in Philadelphia in 1938, through his brief professional tenure with the Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet, which ended in 1960. These influences include the Great Migration, immediate and extended family, musical influences, formal and informal training and professional experiences prior to becoming a member of the John Coltrane Quartet. This study also details the musical influence John Coltrane had on the development of Tyner’s signature style in the early 1960s. As a member of Coltrane’s quartet, Tyner not only received valuable lessons from Coltrane, but was also exposed to Coltrane’s multifaceted compositions, an amalgamation of modal jazz, Indian classical music and African music, all of which influenced the development of Tyner’s signature style in the early 1960s. Through transcription and analysis of select improvisations, this study also examines how Tyner generates dissonance and consonance (tension and release) – a fundamental attribute of his signature piano style – delineating melodic devices he regularly played with his right hand in tandem with harmonic devices regularly played with his left hand. Overall, this study reveals the sociocultural influences on McCoy Tyner that were the seedbed for his unique style and offers an in-depth examination of what makes that style unique
Response to the School of the Dialogue of Cultures as a Dialogic Pedagogy
No full textDrawing on the inspiring examples of the School of the Dialogue of Cultures, this response suggests that there is great potential to explore pedagogy as a dialogic and relational space for mutual learning. Seen in terms of very young children, this response urges teachers to go beyond the limitations of age, language, and culture, and to consider the provocations of epistemological-ontological “rubs” that have potential to free contemporary educational activity from limiting boundaries and divides
Research based criteria for the design and selection of literacy and thinking tools
Get PDFThis paper describes criteria for the design and selection of literacy and thinking tools. The criteria are that tools should be: (i) teaching focused (ii) learner focused, (iii) thought linked (iv) neurologically consistent, (v) subject specific, (vi) text linked, (vii) developmentally appropriate, (viii) culturally responsive, and (ix) assessment linked
The Churchmanship of A.W.N. Pugin
Get PDFAugustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852) has received proficient attention in both his roles as an artist and an author. Similarly, his significance in influencing the neo-medieval party in die Roman Catholic revival of the 1830s and '40s has been recognised, and has received intermittent consideration. However, little attempt has been made to produce a comprehensive consideration of the development of Pugin's religious beliefs which informed his ecclesiological practice. It is, therefore, the intention of this thesis to examine the influences lying behind Pugin's strain of churchmanship, and also to demonstrate that his religious beliefs were die underpinning dynamic of his literary and artistic auvre. This examination of Pugin's churchmanship relies upon a consideration of his early religious development, his conversion to Roman Catholicism, his formation of an artistic theory resting upon religious principles, his social concerns, his developing attitude towards the Church of England and involvement with the Oxford Tractarians, his part in die emergence of the Roman Catholic neo-medieval party, and his clash with the Oratorian and ultramontane factions in the Church. The final chapter attempts to locate Pugin's influence within the broader context of the Roman Church’s development from die 1850s. The thesis shows that Pugin's career was indeed inspired by a love of the Gothic style and of the Middle Ages, but that it was primarily informed by a strongly held ecclesiological conviction about the character which the re-emerging Catholic Church was to adopt in England
Patterns and trends of cloud cover and photosynthetically active solar irradiation in southern England: implications for vegetation productivity
No full textThe aim of the research described in this thesis was to investigate the spatial and temporal variability of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) over the UK, in particular, to estimate both global PAR and the fraction of diffuse PAR at spatial and temporal scales appropriate for use with plant productivity models. In the UK, the spatial and temporal variation of PAR is primarily controlled by the fractional cloud cover and the solar geometry. Diffuse flux (skylight) penetrates further into the canopy than direct flux, so knowing the diffuse PAR fraction ( ) will improve the accuracy of plant productivity models, especially for canopies with significant 3D structure, such as forest.The first part of the research investigated a novel sunshine sensor, the Delta-T Devices BF3, to test whether this simple low-cost instrument was an adequate substitute for the instruments normally used to measure the components of PAR. This was the first independent test of this instrument and it concluded that the BF3 was highly suitable for this purpose.The main study developed and tested a method to map the amount of incident PAR ( ) and the diffuse fraction ( ), based on satellite sensor data. The main systems used were the Meteosat Visible and Infrared Imager (MVIRI) on board the Meteosat First Generation (MFG) satellite and the Spinning Enhance Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) on board the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite.The resulting maps of global and diffuse PAR over the whole of the UK were validated using ground data from meteorological stations and instruments at eight FLUXNET sites around the country. It is estimated that global hourly PAR was accurate to < 50 (RMSE) and diffuse PAR fraction to <10 % (RMSE). This is the first time these variables have been mapped at moderate spatial resolution (1km) over the whole of the UK.The Forest LIGHT (FLIGHT) model (North, 1996) was used to study the influence of and on forest canopy photosynthesis. The effect of diffuse PAR fraction on gross primary productivity was clear. With the same overall level of PAR, a forest canopy under ‘direct and diffuse’ illumination had an increase in GPP around 12 % compared to one under direct illumination only.One of the major issues faced in this research was the lack of adequate ground data for validation. The research has shown that both the amount of PAR and the diffuse fraction are important factors in forest productivity, and that the Delta-T Devices BF3 instrument is well-suited as a source of validation data for a national network to monitor the gross primary productivity of forests in the UK
Meat in the sandwich: The impact of changing policy contexts and local management of schools on principals’ work in New Zealand 1989-2009
No full textThe impact of principal leadership on school outcomes, particularly student achievement, is assuming unprecedented attention internationally. Official discourses often assume that principals can be trained to achieve prescribed outcomes through the employment of learned strategies. Such claims are challenged by critical leadership scholars who insist on the significance of context. This paper explores the impact of policy contexts on the work of a small group of experienced principals in New Zealand over a period of 20 years. During that time, they often struggled to reconcile their own espoused educational principles with policy imperatives in a small country where Local Management of Schools (LMS) has been extreme. It argues that national policy discourse around competition, curriculum and achievement, together with formal accountability to local lay Boards of Trustees (BOTs), are sources of tension and moral ambiguity, which tempt principals to comply and play the game for the sake of their schools. Principals are also caught between local and national accountabilities. In spite of this, principals in the study maintained an educational vision encompassing the wider social context of New Zealand education and retained a sense of personal agency
Justifying the design and selection of literacy and thinking tools
No full textCriteria for the design and selection of literacy and thinking tools that allow educators to justify what they do are described within a wider framework of learning theory and research into best practice. Based on a meta-analysis of best practice, results from a three year project designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a secondary school literacy initiative in New Zealand, together with recent research from cognitive and neuro-psychologists, it is argued that the design and selection of literacy and thinking tools used in elementary schools should be consistent with (i) teaching focused (ii) learner focused, (iii) thought linked (iv) neurologically consistent, (v) subject specific, (vi) text linked, (vii) developmentally appropriate, and (viii) assessment linked criteria. Key words: Literacy, thinking, tools, justifying criteria
The changing epidemiology of Burkholderia species infection at an adult cystic fibrosis centre
No full textBackground: This study reviews the impact of changing infection control practices at the Manchester Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre (MACFC) upon the epidemiology of Burkholderia species infections.Methods: We reviewed strain and genomovar typing of all available Burkholderia isolates at our centre between 1983-2006.Results: The incidence/prevalence of infection with Burkholderia species between 1983-1990 was below 5%/9% each year. There was a rise in incidence/prevalence of Burkholderia species between 1991 and 1994 with a peak of 16.3%/31.2% in 1992. Following complete cohort segregation, the incidence has fallen to below 3% for all but one year and the prevalence has gradually reduced to 9.3% in 2005. Currently, there is all increase in the prevalence to 10.6% for the first time since 1994, predominantly due to patients with unique infections transferring into the unit from referring centres. The presence Of unique strains now exceeds transmissible strains for the first time since 1991.Conclusions: Infection control Measures including patient segregation have controlled spread of transmissible B. cenocepacia strains, but not the acquisition of unique strains. Unique Strains of Burkholderia species now account for the majority of new infections at the Manchester Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre. Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of European Cystic Fibrosis Society. All rights reserved.</p
Efficient specific investments, incomplete contracts, and the role of market alternatives
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Safety, soundness, and the evolution of the U.S. banking industry
Get PDFAlthough the banking system appears to be safer and sounder today than it was two decades ago, new risk challenges have arisen that could not have been anticipated in the 1980s. This article outlines the fundamental structural changes in the U.S. commercial banking industry since then. ; The author's strategic analysis of the current state of the industry compares the "transactions banking" business model practiced by large financial companies to the more traditional relationship-based banking business model. In particular, the author focuses on the different production technologies, product mixes, strategic behaviors, and risk-return trade-offs that characterize these two opposite approaches. In closing, the article discusses what these new developments may mean for the industry's ongoing safety and soundness.Banks and banking ; Bank supervision
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