‘Preludes’ A Bristol based primary school music participation and education project

The ‘Preludes’ project is a Bristol based primary school music education project delivered by the Emerald Ensemble with the intention of ‘Putting classical music at the heart of every child’s education.’This report summarises the results of a monitoring and evaluation process undertaken by Professors Leslie Bunt and Norma Daykin between September 2009 and September 2010 at one of the two schools where the project is based (Gay Elms Primary School)

Relaxation Music (RM), Mindfulness Meditation (MM) and Relaxation Techniques (RTs) in healthcare: A qualitative case study of practices in the UK and South Korea

Relaxation Music (RM), Mindfulness Meditation (MM) and Relaxation Techniques (RTs) are widely used in healthcare contexts and these interventions have been investigated for integrated healthcare, psychotherapy treatment and collaborative and multidisciplinary approaches. However, the information exchange between healthcare practitioners in the UK and South Korea has so far been limited and cross-cultural comparisons of RM, MM and RTs within the healthcare context of the UK and Korea have previously been unexplored. The aim of this paper is to present a summary of the key aspects from an unpublished PhD study (Hwang, 2018). The focus of this paper is to explore the similarities and differences in understanding the use of RM, MM and RTs between practitioners in the UK and Korea. Qualitative case study methodology was used and data were collected through semi-structured interviews with six Korean and six UK healthcare practitioners in three professional areas: medical practice, meditation, and music therapy. Similarities (in outlooks and purposes, methods, interests and concerns, responses and approaches) and differences (in historical and traditional influences, behavioural patterns and particular emphases) were identified. The value of cross-cultural and multidisciplinary research is increasingly recognised and the use of RM, MM and RTs as mind-body-spirit interventions are considered to be useful integrated treatments. This paper contributes to cross-cultural qualitative research between Korea and the UK and integrating theory and practice with respect to RM, MM and RTs

Learning how to learn: The role of music and other expressive arts in responding to Early Leaving from Education and Training (ELET) in the STALWARTS project

This project report describes policy, practice and theory related to a cross-sectoral international project funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme. STALWARTS – Sustaining Teachers and Learners with the Arts: Relational Health in European Schools – aimed to promote relational health in schools through engagement with the arts. The project was developed in five European countries: Estonia, Italy, Norway, Portugal, and the UK. The local partnerships between five universities and community-based schools are diverse in terms of their locations in the European region and the populations they serve, in terms of age, social status and learning conditions.In this article we focus on the link between ELET policies in each country and local contexts. We ask: How can identified ELET policy drives in the five partner countries relate to the achievements of the STALWARTS partner schools when working with the expressive arts? Some related theoretical background underpinning the practical aspects of the project brings this report to a conclusion

Labour supply and skills demands in fashion retailing

If, as Adam Smith once famously suggested, Britain was a nation of shopkeepers then it is now a nation of shopworkers. Retail is now a significant part of the UK economy, accounting for £256 billion in sales and one-third of all consumer spending (Skillsmart, 2007). It is the largest private sector employer in the UK, employing 3m workers, or 1 in 10 of the working population. For future job creation in the UK economy retail is also similarly prominent and the sector is expected to create a further 250,000 jobs to 2014 (Skillsmart, 2007). The centrality of retail to economic success and job creation is apparent in other advanced economies. For example, within the US, retail sales is the occupation with the largest projected job growth in the period 2004-2014 (Gatta et al., 2009) and in Australia retail accounts for 1 in 6 workers (Buchanan et al., 2003). Within the UK these workers are employed in approximately 290,000 businesses, encompassing large and small organizations and also a number of sub-sectors. This variance suggests that retail should not be regarded as homogenous in its labour demands. Hart et al. (2007) note how skill requirements and the types of workers employed may differ across the sector. This chapter further opens up this point, providing an analysis of the labour supply and skills demands for the sub-sectors of clothing, footwear and leather goods, which are described by Skillsmart (2007: 48) as being 'significant categories in UK retailing'

Memories from VII World Congress of Music Therapy, Vitoria Gasteiz, 1993

Some of the participants share their memories and photos from the VII World Congress of Music Therapy, held in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain in 1993

CD8+-T Cells With Specificity for a Model Antigen in Cardiomyocytes Can Become Activated After Transverse Aortic Constriction but Do Not Accelerate Progression to Heart Failure

Heart failure due to pressure overload is frequently associated with inflammation. In addition to inflammatory responses of the innate immune system, autoimmune reactions of the adaptive immune system appear to be triggered in subgroups of patients with heart failure as demonstrated by the presence of autoantibodies against myocardial antigens. Moreover, T cell-deficient and T cell-depleted mice have been reported to be protected from heart failure induced by transverse aortic constriction (TAC) and we have shown recently that CD4+-helper T cells with specificity for an antigen in cardiomyocytes accelerate TAC-induced heart failure. In this study, we set out to investigate the potential contribution of CD8+-cytotoxic T cells with specificity to a model antigen (ovalbumin, OVA) in cardiomyocytes to pressure overload-induced heart failure. In 78% of cMy-mOVA mice with cardiomyocyte-specific OVA expression, a low-grade OVA-specific cellular cytotoxicity was detected after TAC. Adoptive transfer of OVA-specific CD8+-T cells from T cell receptor transgenic OT-I mice before TAC did not increase the risk of OVA-specific autoimmunity in cMy-mOVA mice. After TAC, again 78% of the mice displayed an OVA-specific cytotoxicity with on average only a three-fold higher killing of OVA-expressing target cells. More CD8+ cells were present after TAC in the myocardium of cMy-mOVA mice with OT-I T cells (on average 17.5/mm2) than in mice that did not receive OVA-specific CD8+-T cells (3.6/mm2). However, the extent of fibrosis was similar in both groups. Functionally, as determined by echocardiography, the adoptive transfer of OVA-specific CD8+-T cells did not significantly accelerate the progression from hypertrophy to heart failure in cMy-mOVA mice. These findings argue therefore against a major impact of cytotoxic T cells with specificity for autoantigens of cardiomyocytes in pressure overload-induced heart failure

Genetic effects on gene expression across human tissues

Characterization of the molecular function of the human genome and its variation across individuals is essential for identifying the cellular mechanisms that underlie human genetic traits and diseases. The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project aims to characterize variation in gene expression levels across individuals and diverse tissues of the human body, many of which are not easily accessible. Here we describe genetic effects on gene expression levels across 44 human tissues. We find that local genetic variation affects gene expression levels for the majority of genes, and we further identify inter-chromosomal genetic effects for 93 genes and 112 loci. On the basis of the identified genetic effects, we characterize patterns of tissue specificity, compare local and distal effects, and evaluate the functional properties of the genetic effects. We also demonstrate that multi-tissue, multi-individual data can be used to identify genes and pathways affected by human disease-associated variation, enabling a mechanistic interpretation of gene regulation and the genetic basis of diseas

Genetic effects on gene expression across human tissues

Characterization of the molecular function of the human genome and its variation across individuals is essential for identifying the cellular mechanisms that underlie human genetic traits and diseases. The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project aims to characterize variation in gene expression levels across individuals and diverse tissues of the human body, many of which are not easily accessible. Here we describe genetic effects on gene expression levels across 44 human tissues. We find that local genetic variation affects gene expression levels for the majority of genes, and we further identify inter-chromosomal genetic effects for 93 genes and 112 loci. On the basis of the identified genetic effects, we characterize patterns of tissue specificity, compare local and distal effects, and evaluate the functional properties of the genetic effects. We also demonstrate that multi-tissue, multi-individual data can be used to identify genes and pathways affected by human disease-associated variation, enabling a mechanistic interpretation of gene regulation and the genetic basis of disease

Mary Priestley interviewed by Leslie Bunt

I interviewed Mary Priestley at her London flat in May 2004. Mary is a well-known figure throughout the world of music therapy. At the Ninth World Congress, held in Washington in 1999, her work in Analytical Music Therapy was celebrated as one of the five universally acknowledged approaches in music therapy. Before training as a music therapist Mary also worked as a writer, artist, illustrator and secretary. Born in 1925, she was the daughter of the English playwright and author J.B. Priestley and Jane Lewis who became his second wife