Relationships between power and agency: the role of the ‘theatre designer’ in performance-making processes

In 2013, the Contemporary Theatre Review dedicated an issue to ‘Alphabet: A Lexicon of Theatre and Performance’. The entry for ‘M’, ‘Mise en Scene’, reflects on the invisible creativity of the ‘unseen work that led to the production’s first night’ (Singleton, 2013, p.47). This paper aims to address an absence of theorising about the ways that professional identities and creative practices of theatre designers are shaped by performance-making practices. Theatre design pedagogy has been selected as the site of investigation because it provides a means by which normative beliefs and practices about ‘being’ a designer and ‘doing’ design, might be evaluated. I consider how designers’ ‘agency’ is expressed and/or implied in contemporary theatre design pedagogies, and the relationship of this to how power is manifested in ‘structures’ (Giddens, 1984) of performance making. I conclude that differences between dramatic or ‘texted’ performance (Schechner, 1968) and devised, site-specific or ‘post-dramatic’ performance (Lehmann, 2006), frame conceptions and enactment of designer agency in different ways. In particular, I focus on three notions of agency; ‘authorial agency’ (Isackes, 2012), ‘professional agency’ (Eteläpelto et al, 2013) and ‘identity agency’ (Hitlin and Elder, 2007)

A Supplement to the Fauna and Flora of Horn Island, Mississippi

Since the publication of “The Fauna and Flora of Horn Island, Mississippi’’ (Richmond 1962) search for unrecorded species present on this island, or in the waters surrounding it, has been continuing by myself and others. The premise that all of the plants and animals living in a given area can never be located completely is naturally well-founded. However, it seems advisable to continue the search for unlisted species of Horn Island. Many unrecorded specimens have been collected and it seems proper at this time to make a supplementary list available to the public, particularly those interested in fields of science and nature. Knowing what is present on the island doubtless will tend to stimulate biological studies in various fields of endeavor

The Fauna and Flora of Horn Island, Mississippi

From 26 February 1944 until 4 February 1945, I was stationed with the U. S. Army on Horn Island, Mississippi, and decided to observe and record the animals and plants existing there. At the time, it seemed that little attention had been devoted to the wildlife of this island, but eventually it became apparent that some studies had been made. However, many of the observations have not been published and many of the records of the flora and fauna living on and around the island are scattered and unavailable. The most outstanding papers include those of Lloyd and Tracy (1901), Lowe (1921), and Pessin and Burleigh (1941). Cook (1942, 1943 a and b) described several of the animals observed. Smith and List (1955) recorded a number of amphibians and reptiles which were collected on Horn Island. Since 1945 more attention has been paid to this subject. Kopman (1946) enlightened the public regarding the seasonal activity of the animals and changing conditions in the Mississippi Sound region in his delightful “Wild Acres,” a book of the Gulf Coast country. From 1940 on many scientists and students of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory visited Horn Island, but still comparatively little has been published. Rings and Richmond (1953) presented a brief survey on the mosquitoes collected by them during 1944 and 1945; the species listed by them, together with two additional ones, are included in this paper. The animals and plants actually collected or observed on Horn Island are listed in Part IV. Besides those collected by myself, species reported by other investigators are included. Longer study and more intensive collecting would doubtless result in many additions to the fauna and flora as known at present

A Supplement to the Fauna and Flora of Horn Island, Mississippi

Since the publication of “The Fauna and Flora of Horn Island, Mississippi’’ (Richmond 1962) search for unrecorded species present on this island, or in the waters surrounding it, has been continuing by myself and others. The premise that all of the plants and animals living in a given area can never be located completely is naturally well-founded. However, it seems advisable to continue the search for unlisted species of Horn Island. Many unrecorded specimens have been collected and it seems proper at this time to make a supplementary list available to the public, particularly those interested in fields of science and nature. Knowing what is present on the island doubtless will tend to stimulate biological studies in various fields of endeavor

A Discontinuity in the Distribution of Fixed Point Sums

The quantity $f(n,r)$, defined as the number of permutations of the set $[n]=\{1,2,... n\}$ whose fixed points sum to $r$, shows a sharp discontinuity in the neighborhood of $r=n$. We explain this discontinuity and study the possible existence of other discontinuities in $f(n,r)$ for permutations. We generalize our results to other families of structures that exhibit the same kind of discontinuities, by studying $f(n,r)$ when ``fixed points'' is replaced by ``components of size 1'' in a suitable graph of the structure. Among the objects considered are permutations, all functions and set partitions.Comment: 1 figur

Variation in flower and pod abortion among soybean varieties of three maturity groups

Six soybean (Glycine max L.. Merr.) varieties were evaluated for flower and pod production and abortion on the main-stem and branches following two dates of planting. The number of flowers and pods which were produced at individual nodes on the main-stem and branches were recorded for each variety. Differences were observed among varieties for flowers and pods produced and aborted on both the main-stem and branches following both dates of planting. Abortion of flowers plus pods on a whole plant basis varied from 55 to 84 percent among varieties after the first date of planting and from 48 to 72 percent after the later planting. Following the later planting, the varieties produced fewer nodes on the main-stem and branches, branches per plant, as well as flowers and pods. In addition, the varieties produced fewer seed per plant, lower seed weights, and lower yields following the later date of planting. These results indicate that there is variation for percent abortion in soybeans

School aged children: Visual perception and reversal recognition of letters and numbers separately and in context

Visual discrimination, spatial orientation, and recognition of letters and numbers in context are important issues in helping young students achieve good literacy and numeracy standards. Thus, measures of Visual Discrimination of Upper Case Letters (VDUCL), Visual Discrimination of Lower Case Letters (VDLCL), and Visual Discrimination of Numbers (VDN) as well as Spatial Orientation of Letter and Number Pairs (SOLNP), Form Constancy of Letters and Numbers (FCLNP), Letter and Number Sequencing (LNS), Figure Ground of Letters in Words FGLW) and Figure Ground Numbers in Calculations (FGNC) must be linear and uni-dimensional so that student weaknesses can be identified objectively. The Simple Logistic Model of Rasch Measurement was used to order the items on a scale from easy to difficult and the student measures were calibrated on the same scale from low to high. In each scale, items were scored zero (for incorrect) and one (for correct). The student sample N=324 used in this study included pre-primary and primary students in Perth, Western Australia. The initial data were adjusted so that items which displayed misfit statistics were removed from each scale prior to final analysis. The final VDUCL scale (18 items), VDLCL scale (31 items), and VDN scale (14 items) each had a good fit to the measurement model, and were internally reliable. In each scale, there was good agreement about the item difficulties from easy to hard along the scale. Item discrimination and targeting was good. The scales allow teachers to objectively identify the letters and numbers that students find difficult to discriminate and those students who have poor visual discrimination skills of alphabet letters and numbers so that tailored teaching can be applied to those in need

The Fauna and Flora of Horn Island, Mississippi

From 26 February 1944 until 4 February 1945, I was stationed with the U. S. Army on Horn Island, Mississippi, and decided to observe and record the animals and plants existing there. At the time, it seemed that little attention had been devoted to the wildlife of this island, but eventually it became apparent that some studies had been made. However, many of the observations have not been published and many of the records of the flora and fauna living on and around the island are scattered and unavailable. The most outstanding papers include those of Lloyd and Tracy (1901), Lowe (1921), and Pessin and Burleigh (1941). Cook (1942, 1943 a and b) described several of the animals observed. Smith and List (1955) recorded a number of amphibians and reptiles which were collected on Horn Island. Since 1945 more attention has been paid to this subject. Kopman (1946) enlightened the public regarding the seasonal activity of the animals and changing conditions in the Mississippi Sound region in his delightful “Wild Acres,” a book of the Gulf Coast country. From 1940 on many scientists and students of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory visited Horn Island, but still comparatively little has been published. Rings and Richmond (1953) presented a brief survey on the mosquitoes collected by them during 1944 and 1945; the species listed by them, together with two additional ones, are included in this paper. The animals and plants actually collected or observed on Horn Island are listed in Part IV. Besides those collected by myself, species reported by other investigators are included. Longer study and more intensive collecting would doubtless result in many additions to the fauna and flora as known at present