The story of Oh: the aesthetics and rhetoric of a common vowel sound

Studies in Musical Theatre is the only peer-reviewed journal dedicated to musical theatre. It was launched in 2007 and is now in its seventh volume. It has an extensive international readership and is edited by Dominic Symonds and George Burrows. This article investigates the use of the ‘word’ ‘Oh’ in a variety of different performance idioms. Despite its lack of ‘meaning’, the sound is used in both conversation and poetic discourse, and I discuss how it operates communicatively and expressively through contextual resonances, aesthetic manipulation and rhetorical signification. The article first considers the aesthetically modernist work of Cathy Berberian in Bussotti’s La Passion Selon Sade; then it considers the rhetorically inflected use of ‘Oh’ to construct social resonance in popular song;finally, it discusses two important uses of the sound ‘Oh’ which bookend the Broadway musical Oklahoma!, serving to consolidate the allegorical and musico-dramatic narrative of the show

Information Operations under International Law

An information operation or activity (IO) can be defined as the deployment of digital resources for cognitive purposes to change or reinforce attitudes or behaviors of the targeted audience in ways that align with the authors\u27 interests. While not a new phenomenon, these operations have become increasingly prominent and pervasive in today\u27s digital age, a trend that the ongoing war in Ukraine and the use of the internet for terrorist purposes tragically demonstrate. Against this backdrop, this Article critically assesses the existing international legal framework applicable to IOs. It makes three overarching claims. First, IOs can cause real and tangible harms to individual and state interests protected by international law. To prevent and remedy such harms, a robust and comprehensive legal framework constraining the use of IOs by both state and non-state actors becomes a necessity. Second, existing international law regulates IOs through a system of prohibitions, permissions, and requirements. In particular, the Article analyzes the extent to which international human rights law, the principles of non-intervention and sovereignty, and due diligence obligations apply to state and non-state uses of IOs. Third, the fact that existing international law captures some of the harms of IOs does not mean that this framework is sufficient or adequate. In fact, we argue that, in their current form, international rules on IOs are only partially effective given challenges relating to their (i) application, (ii) orientation, (iii) complexity, and (iv) enforcement in the context of information and communications technologies. While accepting that international law, both conventional and customary, already contains important protections against harmful IOs, our analysis aims to reignite a much-needed discussion of the merits and shortcomings that adopting a new regime tailored to IOs might produce

Changing a semantics: opportunism or courage?

The generalized models for higher-order logics introduced by Leon Henkin, and their multiple offspring over the years, have become a standard tool in many areas of logic. Even so, discussion has persisted about their technical status, and perhaps even their conceptual legitimacy. This paper gives a systematic view of generalized model techniques, discusses what they mean in mathematical and philosophical terms, and presents a few technical themes and results about their role in algebraic representation, calibrating provability, lowering complexity, understanding fixed-point logics, and achieving set-theoretic absoluteness. We also show how thinking about Henkin's approach to semantics of logical systems in this generality can yield new results, dispelling the impression of adhocness. This paper is dedicated to Leon Henkin, a deep logician who has changed the way we all work, while also being an always open, modest, and encouraging colleague and friend.Comment: 27 pages. To appear in: The life and work of Leon Henkin: Essays on his contributions (Studies in Universal Logic) eds: Manzano, M., Sain, I. and Alonso, E., 201

Latent classes of sexual risk and corresponding STI and HIV positivity among MSM attending centres for sexual health in the Netherlands

Objectives: Continuing high STI positivity among men who have sex with men (MSM) attending centres for sexual health (CSH) indicates that high-risk behaviour is ongoing. The objective of this study was to gain a better insight into risk behaviours among MSM attending CSH and to explore STI and HIV positivity by subgroups. Methods: We used national data routinely collected during CSH consultations for this study. From September to December 2017, questions on group sex, substance use and sex with HIV-positive partners were asked at each CSH consultation. We analysed latent classes of client-related factors and sexual risk behaviour among MSM attending CSH in this period. We examined STI positivity and prevalence ratios by latent classes. Results: A total of six classes were identified in order of increasing risk: â € overall low-risk behaviour' (n=2974; 22.0%), â € Western origin and multiple sex partners' (MSP) (n=4182; 30.9%), â € Non-Western origin and MSP' (n=2496; 18.5%), â € living with HIV' (n=827; 6.1%), â € group sex and HIV-positive partners' (n=1798; 13.3%) and â € group sex and chemsex' (n=1239; 9.2%). The any STI positivity ranged from 14.0% in the overall low-risk behaviour class to 35.5% in the group sex and chemsex class. HIV positivity did not differ significantly between classes. The Western origin and MSP class was largest and accounted for the majority of STI and HIV infections. Conclusions: Although STI positivity increased with increased risky behaviours, considerable STI positivity was found in all six latent classes. Comparable HIV positivity between classes indicates risk reduction strategies among subgroups engaged in risky behaviours. The differences in risk behaviour and STI positivity require preventive strategies tailored to each subgroup