34 research outputs found
The Aural Stage: Radio Drama as Sonic Lazzi
No full textThis thesis explores the translation of physical theatre, specifically the comic clown routines known as lazzi, into audio performance. Using Practice as Research (PaR) and autoethnography, it investigates how movement, space, rhythm, and audience engagement can be conveyed through sound with minimal reliance on text. Grounded in traditions of devised theatre, clown, site-specific performance, and radio drama, and shaped by the author’s thirty years of professional practice, the inquiry responds to a gap in existing scholarship by proposing new methodologies for "sonic staging." Drawing on creative experiments and case studies—including The Daily Walk, Isobel and Oggie, and Intersections—the research develops a framework for constructing dynamic, movement-driven audio narratives. Influences from Jacques Lecoq, Bim Mason, Janet Cardiff, and Tim Crook inform the investigation, linking embodied performance with sound design and audience experience. The study reframes physical theatre not as a purely visual form but as an experiential one that can be fully realized in an auditory medium. Although the initial goal of recording a complete lazzi in audio form shifted during the research process, the work produced two lasting outcomes: a "playbook" for future sonic experiments and a set of "working tools" now integrated into professional practice. While Tim Crook identifies the assumption that radio drama evolves in response to stage theatre, this research demonstrated the reverse: radio theatre reconstituted the author's direction and philosophical outlook on stage performance. What began as a question to be answered has become a question now asked with every project—a rhetorical fulcrum for future exploration
Paradoxical solitude in the life, letters, and poetry of John Keats, 1814-1818
No full textThis thesis proposes two distinct but connected ideas: that John Keats’s idiom of friendship was haunted by “sequestered” longings and that he ultimately valued specific, one-on-one partnerships as a basis for his poetical character. The Introduction places the thesis within its critical context and outlines “paradoxical solitude,” a concept the poet expressed by joining a “kindred spirit” in a wilderness retreat in “O, Solitude.”
I begin by examining the evolving role of solitude in Keats’s literary predecessors (Chapter I). I then trace the development of ideas of creativity and solitude from his 1814-1815 verse, including his first association with a coterie and the influence of Wordsworth (Chapter II). Building on these findings, I explore the poet’s introduction to the Hunt circle in 1816, assessing his relationships with its members and their overstated roles in the production of Poems (Chapter III). I then discuss how Keats regarded the composition of Endymion in 1817 as a poetic “test,” specifically tailored to reinforce his identity as a solitary poet (Chapter IV).
I contend that Keats engaged in a dialogue of independence with Reynolds, adapted the theories of Hazlitt, and restlessly travelled throughout England as a means of rejecting the highly social periods of 1818 (Chapter V). I then consider the creative gains of his northern expedition with Brown in the summer of 1818. I argue that Keats exaggerated his development into a “post-Wordsworthian” poet, positioning himself outside both the coterie’s sphere and the reach of Blackwood’s criticism, and inspiring the theme of Hyperion (Chapter VI).
In closing, I analyze Keats’s advice to Shelley to be a selfish creator of his poetic identity. Only through paradoxical solitude, I argue, was Keats able to construct the poetic identity that led him to compose the poems on which his fame rests in the 1820 volume
The Campbells: lordship, literature and liminality
No full textThe Campbells have the potential to offer much to the theme of literature and borders, given that the kindred’s astonishing political success in the late medieval and early modern period depended heavily upon the ability to negotiate multiple frontiers: between Highlands and Lowlands; between Gaelic Scotland and Ireland, and, especially after the Reformation, with England and the matter of Britain. This paper will explore the literary dimension to Campbell expansionism, from the Book of the Dean of Lismore in the earlier sixteenth century, to poetry addressed to dukes of Argyll in the earlier eighteenth century. Particular attention will be paid to the literary proclivities of the household of the Campbells of Glenorchy on either side of what appears to be a major watershed in 1550; and to the agenda of the Campbell protégé John Carswell, first post-Reformation bishop of the Isles, and author of the first printed book in Gaelic in either Scotland or Ireland, Foirm na n-Urrnuidheadh (‘The Form of Prayers’), published at Edinburgh in 1567
From Albania to Brazil: Ismail Kadaré's Broken april and its filmic adaptation, Walter Salles' Abril despedaçado
No full textDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras/Inglês e Literatura Correspondente, Florianópolis, 2007The aim of the present study is to analyse how issues of Albanian national identity are portrayed in Ismail Kadaré's novel Broken April (Prilli i Thyer), and how such features have been appropriated and translated onto the screen into a Northeastern Brazilian context. I depart from the premise that, even though Brazilian elements are indeed shown in the film, the non existence of the Kanun in Brazil, and the use of narrative techniques different from the ones employed in the novel render the story of the blood feuds in the film more universal than the genuinely Albanian reality depicted in the novel. In sum, the appropriation transcends the Albanian reality into a universal context, showing, at the same time, elements which are typical of the Brazilian culture.O objetivo do presente estudo é analisar como questões sobre a identidade nacional Albanesa são retratadas no romance Abril Despedaçado (Prilli i Thyer), de Ismail Kadaré, e como tais questões foram apropriadas e traduzidas para a tela num contexto Nordestino-Brasileiro. O estudo parte do princípio que, embora elementos tipicamente Brasileiros sejam mostrados no filme, a não existência do Kanun no Brasil, e o uso de técnicas narrativas diferentes das empregadas no romance ajudam a deixar a história das brigas de família no filme com um aspecto mais universal do que a realidade genuinamente Albanesa representada na romance. Em suma, a apropriação transcende a realidade Albanesa para um contexto mais universal, sem deixar de mostrar também elementos típicos da cultura Brasileira
Mindscapes: Laura Riding's poetry and poetics /
No full textTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão.Esta tese propõe uma leitura revisionista da poesia contemporânea através do exame do caso de um dos mais esquecidos escritores norte-americanos do século XX: Laura (Riding) Jackson (1901-1991). O objetivo é demonstrar que Riding não apenas possuía uma poética definida e singular, mas que ela permanece uma das instâncias mais extremas e paradoxais do modernismo anglo-americano, a ponto de Riding abandonar a escrita da poesia em 1938. Recorrendo a conceitos de "formação do cânone" bem como às noções de "discurso" e "função do autor", em Foucault, investigo a construção do cânone da poesia moderna anglo-americana, recuperando o contexto e as circunstâncias da ocultação de Riding. Enquanto cubro os "discursos" poéticos em circulação na primeira metade do século XX-o "imagismo" de Pound, a "dissociação da sensibilidade", "impersonalidade" e "tradição" de Eliot, a "unidade orgância" e "ambigüidade" da Nova Crítica-ofereço um panorama crítico de modernismos alternativos sendo articulados à época. Minha intenção é demonstrar que os poemas de Riding são expressões vigorosas de um escritor para quem "a mente pensando se torna a força ativa do poema", para usar a apta formulação de Charles Bernstein. Entre minhas descobertas sobre as várias e complexas razões que levaram à não-canonização de Riding estão a hegemonia da Nova Crítica, o exílio voluntário de Riding da cena literária (onde são feitas ou desfeitas as reputações), sua recusa em ser antologiada, bem como em ser explicada em termos críticos que não os dela. Todos esses fatores, mais a "dificuldade" de sua poesia, contribuíram para fazer de Riding "a maior poeta esquecida da poesia norte-americana", como escreveu Kenneth Rexroth. Ajudado pelos insights de dois importantes críticos de poesia norte-americana, Charles Bernstein e Marjorie Perloff, defendo que a "poesia da mente" de Riding-onde o que está em jogo é que o que pensamos ser a nossa realidade-representa uma mudança radical no paradigma da poética modernista: de uma poesia centrada na imagem para uma poesia centrada na linguagem. Focalizando a experiência consciente e o tempo duracional do pensamento presente em seus poemas, concluo que as "pensagens" de Riding têm o objetivo preciso de constatar um fato universal: enquanto seres humanos e pensantes, estamos numa condição permanente chamada linguagem
Ko au te whenua, te whenua ko au – I am the land, the land is me: An autoethnographic investigation of a secondary school teacher’s experience seeking to enrich learning in outdoor education for Māori students.
No full textThis thesis is my story as an outdoor educator, as a researcher, and a co-participant reflecting on my own actions and experiences as well as those of my students. In this autoethnography I share my revelations and tensions in my role as an outdoor education teacher seeking to enrich the experiences of Māori students. Māori culture and history have largely been ignored in the outdoor education classrooms and environments of Aotearoa New Zealand. After teaching the subject for ten years I didn’t perceive that I was perpetuating the same invisibility in my own outdoor education course. Over this time a number of questions that had fermented at the back of my mind came to the fore; ‘why are so few Māori students opting to take outdoor education as a senior secondary school subject?’ and ‘how can I make the subject of outdoor education more desirable and appealing to Māori?’ A place-responsive approach incorporates and values traditional ways of learning through the notion of place and the stories attached to them. The cultural context of learning about and through place has the potential to provide learning opportunities that are relevant and meaningful to all learners but particularly Māori. Place-responsive pedagogies allow outdoor educators to create an environment where language, knowledge, culture and values are normal, valid and legitimate – contexts where Māori students can be themselves. Through this research I have found that the implementation of a place responsive approach has had significant implications for Year twelve outdoor education at Mount Maunganui College. The improvement in Māori student achievement and numbers selecting the subject have been affirming.
Ko au te whenua, te whenua ko au – I am the land, the land is m
A multi-capital approach to understanding participation in professional management education
No full textThis study explores the reasons why adult learners take part in professional management education courses, their social and cultural capital together with their human and economic capital. The author has responsibility for these programmes in a university in the north of England. It is framed by a multiple capital approach which reflects, and illuminates, the rationale for engagement in lifelong learning and professional management education. The underlying research was phenomenological, as it explored the direct experiences of the participants in relation to professional management education.
Two methods were used sequentially, quantitative which provided numerical data by the use of questionnaires, and qualitative, by the use of interviews. The results of the interviews were used to construct the stories of the respondents. Fifty questionnaires were completed by employees and fifteen interviews were undertaken, out of a total population of eighty one. The entire population of twenty four employers completed a questionnaire and six of them were interviewed.
The outcomes of this research highlight the workplace in the twenty-first century, together with the impact of the current economic climate. This has led to a need for the acquisition of new skills by workers at all hierarchical levels in organisations.
Cultural capital was evidenced by the desire of employees to equip themselves with new skills and knowledge, in order to remain in employment and to advance their careers. Many of the respondents gained cultural capital through their early life experiences of home and school and their relationships with mentors. The social capital of employers was found to be important in mentoring, and encouraging, employees to engage in learning.
Economic capital was expressed through engagement in lifelong learning by employees to enhance their knowledge and skills, and to improve their employment prospects.Human capital was evidenced by both employers and employees as engagement in professional management education facilitates the acquisition of new skills and knowledge
Protocol for the United Kingdom Rotator Cuff Study (UKUFF) : a randomised controlled trial of open and arthroscopic rotator cuff repair
No full textThis project was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme (project number 05/47/02). J. L. Rees has received a grant from Oxford University which is related to this paper. J. Dawson reports that Oxford University has received a grant from HTA which is related to this paper, as well as a study grant.Peer reviewe
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Childhood: Injury Outcomes, Teacher Perspectives and Educating Educators
No full textPaediatric mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) has the potential to impact on a wide range of developmental functions in childhood. However, the relationship between mTBI and persistent developmental difficulties is controversial, with some suggestion that children’s post-injury difficulties may actually predate the injury. Regardless of cause, however, mTBI seems to be associated with developmental impairment in childhood that may impact on academic performance and overall school functioning. In spite of the high prevalence of mTBI amongst young people, educators and school services may not be aware of the implications of such injuries and how post-concussive symptoms should be managed in educational settings. It seems that the conflicting findings regarding mTBI outcomes in childhood may contribute to a lack of knowledge amongst educators about how to manage mTBI and associated difficulties in primary-school-aged students. There is a need to further clarify the existence and nature of developmental impairments after paediatric mTBI and consider their implications in educational settings. Furthermore, there is a need to understand more regarding the capacities of educators to address issues that may arise as a result of such impairments and consider how teaching practices in this area can be enhanced.
In Study 1, the emotional, behavioural, social, intellectual, neuropsychological (comprised of memory, attention, and executive function) and academic functioning of 41 children who had sustained mTBI 14-months prior was investigated. The findings of those assessments were compared with those from a non-injured cohort of children matched on age, gender, ethnicity and school decile. Assessment measures included the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) as a measure of emotional, behavioural and social functioning, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) as a measure of executive function, Woodcock Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ III COG) and CNS Vital Signs (CNSVS) as measures of global neuropsychological functioning, a short-form version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) as a measure of intelligence, the brief battery of the Woodcock Johnson Tests of Academic Achievement (WJ III ACH) as measure of academic achievement, and a teacher questionnaire regarding school functioning. Information obtained from parents and teachers regarding pre-injury diagnoses and learning problems did not reveal significant premorbid difficulties amongst the clinical group. The results of Study 1 showed that children who have sustained mTBI demonstrate higher rates of emotional and behavioural problems than those in a matched cohort, while executive function and social functioning was found to be similar across the two groups. Children with mTBI evidence significantly lower intellectual functioning and academic achievement, and are more likely to demonstrate learning disorders. Given the developmental impairments identified in the sample and the possible implications of such difficulties in school settings, it was considered important to evaluate teachers’ perceptions of childhood TBI and how such impairments might be managed at school.
Study 2 looked at the perceptions of educators regarding childhood TBI. Nineteen primary school teachers in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions engaged in semi-structured interviews that covered their understanding of TBI, its mechanisms and consequences. Participants also discussed the use of programme adaptations for children with persistent difficulties after mTBI and perceived barriers to uptake. The majority of participants had a limited understanding of mTBI and its implications in childhood. None of the participants had received prior education regarding paediatric TBI and identified this as an area of weakness that they perceived could be addressed by professional development. However, participants were not aware of any available professional development opportunities specifically relating to paediatric TBI. Participants perceived significant barriers to the delivery of appropriate educational approaches for children with developmental impairments, including limited resourcing and funding for special education and poor communication between the education and health sectors, resulting in a lack of information and support for educators.
Study 3 involved the development, delivery and evaluation of a professional development workshop and written information resource for teachers. The workshop and written information resource were delivered in three local primary schools to 38 participants. A knowledge quiz regarding mTBI was administered pre- and post-workshop. Participants also completed an evaluation of the workshop and brochure rating the usefulness of and their satisfaction with the materials. A repeated-measures experiment showed that knowledge levels significantly increased following participation in the workshop. The majority of participants were satisfied with the content of the workshop and expected to make changes to their practice with children who had experienced mTBI and were evidencing emotional, behavioural and/or cognitive symptoms.
The results of this research indicate that while the cause of post-concussive difficulties may be ambiguous, children who have experienced mTBI are at higher risk of demonstrating developmental problems across a wide range of domains. These problems have the potential to impact on school functioning; however, teachers may not be aware of these issues and thus may not be well-placed to support children who are experiencing difficulties through the post-concussive period and beyond. On the other hand, teachers demonstrate insight into their limitations in this regard and appear keen to address their professional development needs in this area. A brief professional development approach that focuses on the epidemiology and possible consequences of mTBI in childhood, along with a range of programme adaptation strategies that teachers can opt to employ as necessary, may be useful in improving teacher knowledge, educational practice and, ultimately, functional outcomes for children who have experienced mTBI. The need for screening and intervention services for children with mTBI is highlighted, along with a reconceptualisation of how special needs are addressed in school settings
Gabapentin for chronic pelvic pain in women (GaPP2): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
No full text© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license Background: Chronic pelvic pain affects 2–24% of women worldwide and evidence for medical treatments is scarce. Gabapentin is effective in treating some chronic pain conditions. We aimed to measure the efficacy and safety of gabapentin in women with chronic pelvic pain and no obvious pelvic pathology. Methods: We performed a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised trial in 39 UK hospital centres. Eligible participants were women with chronic pelvic pain (with or without dysmenorrhoea or dyspareunia) of at least 3 months duration. Inclusion criteria were 18–50 years of age, use or willingness to use contraception to avoid pregnancy, and no obvious pelvic pathology at laparoscopy, which must have taken place at least 2 weeks before consent but less than 36 months previously. Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive gabapentin (titrated to a maximum dose of 2700 mg daily) or matching placebo for 16 weeks. The online randomisation system minimised allocations by presence or absence of dysmenorrhoea, psychological distress, current use of hormonal contraceptives, and hospital centre. The appearance, route, and administration of the assigned intervention were identical in both groups. Patients, clinicians, and research staff were unaware of the trial group assignments throughout the trial. Participants were unmasked once they had provided all outcome data at week 16–17, or sooner if a serious adverse event requiring knowledge of the study drug occurred. The dual primary outcome measures were worst and average pain scores assessed separately on a numerical rating scale in weeks 13–16 after randomisation, in the intention-to-treat population. Self-reported adverse events were assessed according to intention-to-treat principles. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISCRTN77451762. Findings: Participants were screened between Nov 30, 2015, and March 6, 2019, and 306 were randomly assigned (153 to gabapentin and 153 to placebo). There were no significant between-group differences in both worst and average numerical rating scale (NRS) pain scores at 13–16 weeks after randomisation. The mean worst NRS pain score was 7·1 (standard deviation [SD] 2·6) in the gabapentin group and 7·4 (SD 2·2) in the placebo group. Mean change from baseline was −1·4 (SD 2·3) in the gabapentin group and −1·2 (SD 2·1) in the placebo group (adjusted mean difference −0·20 [97·5% CI −0·81 to 0·42]; p=0·47). The mean average NRS pain score was 4·3 (SD 2·3) in the gabapentin group and 4·5 (SD 2·2) in the placebo group. Mean change from baseline was −1·1 (SD 2·0) in the gabapentin group and −0·9 (SD 1·8) in the placebo group (adjusted mean difference −0·18 [97·5% CI −0·71 to 0·35]; p=0·45). More women had a serious adverse event in the gabapentin group than in the placebo group (10 [7%] of 153 in the gabapentin group compared with 3 [2%] of 153 in the placebo group; p=0·04). Dizziness, drowsiness, and visual disturbances were more common in the gabapentin group. Interpretation: This study was adequately powered, but treatment with gabapentin did not result in significantly lower pain scores in women with chronic pelvic pain, and was associated with higher rates of side-effects than placebo. Given the increasing reports of abuse and evidence of potential harms associated with gabapentin use, it is important that clinicians consider alternative treatment options to off-label gabapentin for the management of chronic pelvic pain and no obvious pelvic pathology. Funding: National Institute for Health Research
