Becoming ethical subjects : an êthography of Do-it-Yourself music practices in Glasgow

This thesis focuses upon ‘Do-it-Yourself’ (DiY) music practices in Glasgow, a Scottish city with an established reputation for sustaining a prolific grassroots music scene. With special reference to three local music actors – a band, a music collective and a live music promoter – it explores ethnographically the pluralistic nature of music-making and its relation to ethics. Rather than perceiving activities under the DiY rubric as peripheral and haphazard, I argue that they play an intrinsic role in ethical self-formation and that they are striking in their capacity to order the lives of urban individuals. Therefore, I attend to music practice as an ethical practice by underscoring the interrelationship between music and the city as a distinctive form of ethical urban life. In drawing upon the emergent anthropology of ethics and echoing the work of authors such as Michel Foucault and Henri Lefebvre, I conceive of music-making as a process of intersubjective ethical cultivation, as a way of exercising freedom, and the means by which my informants perpetually sought to exert their right to inhabit the locality. In treating the local as a series of repetitive but ever evolving and intersecting pathways as opposed to a given and fixed geographical entity, I attempt to render the city an inherent ethical modality of social life and, conversely, to scrutinize music practice as a process that localizes subjects. Thus, my ethnographic examination of the ways in which urban space impinges upon music practice and, in turn, is musically constructed and experienced, offers a lens into the ethical resonance of music as a processual nexus for the making of ethical selves and cities. My informants’ desire to inhabit the locality on their own terms was predicated upon the active appropriation and enactment of spaces and norms, rather than oscillating between passivity or subordination and resistance. This highlights the needs to problematize the pervasive notion of ‘agency’ that underpins social-scientific accounts of human freedom and to question the rigidity of the dichotomy between structure and agency. An emphasis on ethical judgement and the pedagogical role of music activity in conferring a DiY êthos and in making oneself a certain kind of person also requires the consideration of the embodied dispositions pertinent to and cultivated through variegated music practices, and how the acquisition of relevant musical skills simultaneously engenders particular ethical potentialities. This construes ethics as Aristotelian poiêsis and an ineluctably skilled practice and further alludes to the intimate relationship between music and the body. In resorting to the body’s capacity to affect and be affected by music and other bodies, my analysis aims to account for the conditioning of sensuous articulations and corporeal registers by sonic vocabularies, and the process of interpenetration between the musical and the visceral that elicits specific ethical propensities. This interface between sound and the affective body, I argue, provides a uniquely ‘musical’ way of thinking about ethics as a relational phenomenon, and also helps to restore a notion of politics on the basis of intersubjective ethical transformation rather than conventional political efficacy in the public realm

INTRODUCTION

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Effectiveness of Treadmill Training on Walking Ability in Adults with Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Patients with cerebral palsy (CP) may necessitate long-term treatment and monitoring of their condition, not only during the period of development but also during adulthood. Objectives: This systematic review aimed to analyze evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that have investigated the effect of treadmill training on walking ability in adults with cerebral palsy. Methods: RCTs were identified and selected systematically, with appropriate keywords applied in four scientific databases (Medline, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, and the Physiotherapy Evidence Database) and one bibliographic search engine (Google Scholar) from January 1980 to September 2021. Two assessors extracted and analyzed data from relevant RCTs published in English and then independently rated those studies for risk of bias with the Risk of Bias (RoB 2) tool. Results: Out of the 96 studies that were initially identified, 93 were excluded, as these either did not meet the inclusion criteria or were duplicates. Three clinical trials were finally included, characterized by some concerns and a high risk of bias (RoB 2). Meta-analysis was only performed for the maximum distance in the ‘6-minute walk for distance test’, due to differences in the remaining outcomes utilized between studies. Overall, there was evidence of some concerns and high risk of bias that treadmill training did not significantly improve the walking ability in adult patients with CP relative to the control conditions. Conclusion: More high-quality RCTs are required, examining the effectiveness of treadmill training on different aspects of walking ability such as gait speed, endurance, and energy expenditure

The Impact of Host Metabolic Factors on Treatment Outcome in Chronic Hepatitis C

Background. Recent data suggest that chronic hepatitis C has to be considered a metabolic disease further to a viral infection. The aim of this study was to elaborate on the complex interactions between hepatitis C virus, host metabolic factors, and treatment response. Methods. Demographic, virological, and histological data from 356 consecutive patients were analyzed retrospectively. Hepatic steatosis, obesity, and insulin resistance were examined in relation to their impact on treatment outcome. Comparison between genotype 1 and 3 patients was performed to identify differences in the determinants of hepatic steatosis. Results. Histological evidence of hepatic steatosis was found in 113 patients, distributed in 20.3%, 9.0%, and 2.5% for grades I, II, and III, respectively. Hepatic steatosis was associated with past alcohol abuse (P = 0.003) and histological evidence of advanced fibrosis (P < 0.001). Older age (OR 2.51, P = 0.002), genotype (OR 3.28, P < 0.001), cirrhosis (OR 4.23, P = 0.005), and hepatic steatosis (OR 2.48, P = 0.001) were independent predictors for nonresponse. Correlations of hepatic steatosis with alcohol, insulin resistance, and fibrosis stage were found similar for both genotypes 1 and 3. Conclusions. Host metabolic factors may predict treatment outcome, and this impact remains significant even in genotype 3, where steatosis has been believed to be exclusively virus related

The Effect of Virtual Reality Intervention Programs on the Functionality of Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy. A Systematic Review

Background: Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a neurological disorder of movement and posture. Recent studies have shown that Virtual Reality (VR) is a useful and low-cost tool used in treating children and adolescents with cerebral palsy. Nevertheless, there is no substantial evidence supporting that VR therapy can help CP patients, not only as the primary treatment, but as a supplement. Objectives: The present systematic review aimed to investigate the effectiveness of VR intervention programs on the functional capacity of children and adolescents with CP, according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Methods: A systematic online search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and PEDro databases, as well as in the Google Scholar search engine, from inception till September 2022. The methodological quality of included studies was rated with the PEDro scale. Results: Twenty-two randomized-controlled trials were eligible for inclusion. The results indicated that there was a significant improvement after the implementation, of interventional VR programs, in balance and visual perception, while the results were controversial for muscle strength, coordination, gross motor function, gait, upper limb function, independence in activities of Daily Life Activities and participation. Conclusion: Significant balance and visual perception improvements may result from VR programs applied in children and adolescents with CP. Important factors that may influence the results are the functional level of the participants, the sample size, the context in which the therapeutic intervention is carried out (rehabilitation center, home), and the conventional treatments that the VR intervention programs are compared against

Comparison of coupled aero-hydro-servo-elastic simulations for floating wind turbines with model tests

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials EngineeringMarine and Transport TechnologyOffshore and Dredging Engineerin

Η Επίδραση Προγραμμάτων Με Τη Χρήση Ρομποτικού Μηχανισμού Στη Βάδιση Μετά Απο Αγγειακό Εγκεφαλικό Επεισόδιο

Οι ρομποτικοί μηχανισμοί χρησιμοποιούνται όλο και περισσότερο τις τελευταίες δεκαετίες στην αποκατάσταση των νευρολογικών παθήσεων. Στην παρούσα πτυχιακή εργασία εξετάστηκε η επίδραση παρεμβατικών προγραμμάτων με τη χρήση ρομποτικού μηχανισμού στη βάδιση μετά από Αγγειακό Εγκεφαλικό Επεισόδιο (ΑΕΕ). Συγκεκριμένα, αναλύθηκε η επίδραση παρεμβατικών προγραμμάτων τα οποία περιλάμβαναν είτε αποκλειστικά τη χρήση ρομποτικών μηχανισμών είτε συνδυασμό με τυπική αποκατάσταση. Ορισμένες μελέτες εξέτασαν την επίδραση παρεμβατικών προγραμμάτων με τη χρήση ρομποτικών μηχανισμών στις χωροχρονικές μεταβλητές της βάδισης σε μια ομάδα ενώ άλλες σύγκριναν την επίδραση των συνδυαστικών προγραμμάτων ή των ρομποτικών μηχανισμών αποκλειστικά με την τυπική αποκατάσταση. Τα συμπεράσματα που εξάγονται από την ανασκόπηση των ερευνών και των συστηματικών ανασκοπήσεων είναι ενθαρρυντικά. Οι σημαντικότεροι παράγοντες που επηρεάζουν την αποτελεσματικότητα των παρεμβάσεων, είναι το στάδιο του ΑΕΕ στο οποίο εφαρμόζεται το παρεμβατικό πρόγραμμα, το είδος του παρεμβατικού προγράμματος και ο βαθμός της αναπηρίας. Συγκεκριμένα, τα προγράμματα τα οποία συνδυάζουν τη χρήση ρομποτικών μηχανισμών και τυπικής αποκατάστασης αποφέρουν τα βέλτιστα αποτελέσματα σε άτομα με οξύ και υποξύ ΑΕΕ, ενώ περισσότερο φαίνεται να επωφελούνται μη περιπατητικά άτομα ή άτομα με περιορισμένη λειτουργικότητα στη βάδιση.ΟΧ