From prop to producer: the appropriation of radio technology in opera during the Weimar Republic.

This thesis explores the appropriation of radio technology in opera composed during the Weimar Republic. It identifies a gap in current research where opera and radio have often been examined separately in the fields of musicology and media history. This research adopts a case study approach and combines the disciplines of musicology and media history, in order to create a narrative of the use of radio as a compositional tool in Weimar opera. The journey begins with radio as a prop on stage in Ernst Krenek’s Jonny speilt auf (1927) and ends with the radio as a producer in Walter Goehr’s radio opera Malpopita (1931). Max Brand's Maschinist Hopkins (1929) provides an interlude between these two works, where its analysis serves to pinpoint compositional techniques used in radio opera. The opera case studies reflect the changing attitudes towards technology and media in Weimar musicology, as shown in the journal, Musikblätter des Anbruch (1919-1937). The purpose of this research is to view opera through a lens of media history and in doing so it considers debates on entanglements within media history. The appropriation of radio in Weimar opera shattered the borders of traditional performance practice, resulting in the merging of these two media. The analysis explores the materiality of the radio as a prop on the stage and subsequently the lack of materiality within radio opera, by exploring the application of the so-called ‘invisible voice’ in order to compensate for the lack of visual stimuli. This thesis will show radio’s journey from prop to producer in Weimar opera performance, mirroring the changing attitude towards radio within Weimar musicology. It will offer new perspectives on existing analyses by placing Jonny spielt auf and Maschinist Hopkins within the context of media history, and it will offer the first academic examination of Goehr’s Malpopita, contributing to the narratives of both opera and radio history

Talking ‘about’ the far right as researchers: between responsibility, safety and neoliberal success

While much work on the far right has understandably focused on explaining its rise, there is growing interest in the implications of how these actors are framed in public, media, and academic discourses. Taking the concept of talking ‘about’ the far right to refer to how such groups and ideas are discursively constructed, this article explores the challenges researchers face when communicating their work. Considering the pressures of the neoliberal academic environment alongside our ethical duty and personal safety, we argue that the former can encourage harmful practices. This article maps out such tensions within the UK context, emphasising how neoliberal pressures of competition and impact (exemplified by the Research Excellence Framework) shape engagement with funding, publication, and impact. When our framing can legitimise the far right and dissemination activities can cause risk for researchers, minoritised communities are most likely to suffer the negative effects

Airway clearance techniques for the intubated adult: a scoping review

Objective The aim of this scoping review was to understand the extent and type of evidence available in relation to airway clearance techniques in the intubated adult. Introduction This review was commissioned by the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Respiratory Care (ACPRC) special interest group as a method of summarising the available evidence on this topic on behalf of its members. Airway clearance in the intubated adult is a key objective of respiratory physiotherapists and although evidence-based guidelines exist in this area, there is no recent summary regarding the extent of the literature which could inform future research and clinical practice. Inclusion criteria Studies which investigated adults who were intubated either via an endo-tracheal or tracheostomy tube met the criteria. All study designs, including reviews, case reports and animal studies, which reported any physiotherapy-related airway clearance techniques were included Methods The following databases were searched: SCOPUS, PubMed, PEDro, CINAHL Plus, and Clinical Trials Registry. The search was completed in December 2021 and limited to full text papers published since 2011. Following the key word search strategy, each title and abstract was screened for relevance to the scoping review aim and the study design was identified. Population, intervention, comparator and outcome (PICO) data extraction was completed for all included papers in order to identify themes. The number and type of evidence retrieved, as well as key themes and outcomes were summarised. Results The scoping review identified 138 suitable papers for inclusion. Of these, 11 were systematic reviews and 39 were randomised clinical trials, representing a moderately large evidence-base on this topic. Also included were other experimental, observational and qualitative studies, narrative reviews and animal and bench studies. Key interventions were identified including multi-modal chest physiotherapy, hyperinflation and manual chest compression techniques. Reported outcome measures were mainly short-term, such as sputum yield and oxygenation, whilst longer-term outcome measures such as ICU length of stay and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) rates were reported less frequently. Outcome measures related to physiological stability were also reported by some studies. Findings of the review were that airway clearance techniques for the intubated adult appear to be safe. There is a moderate body of evidence regarding their efficacy for short-term outcomes such as sputum yield, oxygenation and respiratory mechanics. There is limited evidence regarding their efficacy for longer-term outcomes. Conclusion This scoping review summarises the extent of available evidence regarding airway clearance for intubated adults. Future research should focus on the effects of airway clearance techniques on longer-term outcome measures such as VAP rates and extubation outcom

Post-16 students' experience of practical science during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on students' self-efficacy in practical work

This paper presents the findings from a detailed study investigating UK undergraduate students’ experience of practical science in their post-16 studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also examines their perceived confidence and preparedness in relation to areas of practical science skills at the start of their undergraduate courses. The study employed an exploratory sequential mixed methods design. Findings from student focus groups held at the end of their post-16 studies were used to support the development of a comprehensive skills audit and quantitative survey for incoming undergraduate students. Survey data were collected in September and October 2021 from 275 students commencing Biosciences, Chemistry, Physics and Natural Science degrees at two universities in England. The research is important because although almost all students had the opportunity to undertake practical work as part of their post-16 studies during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was considerable variation in students’ experiences. The data indicate that COVID-19-related closures of post-16 education establishments, ongoing social distancing requirements and the consequent removal of the assessment criteria for students to have ‘routinely and consistently’ undertaken each of the practical assessment requirements had implications for the development of students’ self-efficacy in relation to practical science. The research presents important considerations which are relevant for educators supporting students’ transition from post-16 to Higher Education and have the potential to impact on incoming students over many years to come

The development and validation of a scoring tool to predict the operative duration of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Peer reviewe

Effects of eight neuropsychiatric copy number variants on human brain structure

Many copy number variants (CNVs) confer risk for the same range of neurodevelopmental symptoms and psychiatric conditions including autism and schizophrenia. Yet, to date neuroimaging studies have typically been carried out one mutation at a time, showing that CNVs have large effects on brain anatomy. Here, we aimed to characterize and quantify the distinct brain morphometry effects and latent dimensions across 8 neuropsychiatric CNVs. We analyzed T1-weighted MRI data from clinically and non-clinically ascertained CNV carriers (deletion/duplication) at the 1q21.1 (n = 39/28), 16p11.2 (n = 87/78), 22q11.2 (n = 75/30), and 15q11.2 (n = 72/76) loci as well as 1296 non-carriers (controls). Case-control contrasts of all examined genomic loci demonstrated effects on brain anatomy, with deletions and duplications showing mirror effects at the global and regional levels. Although CNVs mainly showed distinct brain patterns, principal component analysis (PCA) loaded subsets of CNVs on two latent brain dimensions, which explained 32 and 29% of the variance of the 8 Cohen’s d maps. The cingulate gyrus, insula, supplementary motor cortex, and cerebellum were identified by PCA and multi-view pattern learning as top regions contributing to latent dimension shared across subsets of CNVs. The large proportion of distinct CNV effects on brain morphology may explain the small neuroimaging effect sizes reported in polygenic psychiatric conditions. Nevertheless, latent gene brain morphology dimensions will help subgroup the rapidly expanding landscape of neuropsychiatric variants and dissect the heterogeneity of idiopathic conditions