Give me myself again': Sexual violence narratives in popular music.

This thesis explores the relationships between popular music and experiences of sexual violence. It is situated at the intersection of trauma theory and cultural studies. Though a great deal of feminist work has been done on representations of sexual violence in the media, these reflections have either ignored music as a medium, or focused on it only in terms of misogynistic lyrics in rap and hip-hop. Similarly, contemporary trauma theory has addressed rape narratives in literature with regard to how these have interacted with lived experiences, but has not looked at these possibilities within music. There are two distinct ways in which this thesis approaches the topic: narrative analysis of the songs themselves, and survey work done with the audience of one particular iconic artist in this area, Tori Amos. The first chapter of analysis focuses on songs narrating experiences of domestic violence, and situates these within a wider feminist context of activism and social awareness. The second narrative analysis chapter examines songs concerned with sexual violence, and seeks to explore whether or not the diversity of experience narratives lacking in other popular media can be found in music. The two remaining substantive chapters in the thesis utilise audience research in order to explore issues of authenticity, understanding and healing. In examining the multiple audience responses to Tori Amos' part-fictionalised, yet autobiographical, rape narrative, 'Me and a Gun', a picture emerges of authenticity as a far more complex notion to listeners (and other receivers of art) than more widespread media representations seem to suggest. Finally, in examining the narratives of Amos' listeners, with regard to their own experiences, it becomes clear that Amos' music, Amos herself, and Internet communities built up around Amos, are vital sources of support for those who have been traumatised by sexual violence

System of uniform cost finding for paving brick manufacturers

Includes tables.Mode of access: Internet

Finding My Way: protocol of a randomised controlled trial evaluating an internet self-help program for cancer-related distress

© 2015 Beatty et al.; licensee BioMed Central. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.BACKGROUND: A cancer diagnosis elicits greater distress than any other medical diagnosis, and yet very few studies have evaluated the efficacy of structured online self-help therapeutic programs to alleviate this distress. This study aims to assess the efficacy over time of an internet Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (iCBT) intervention ('Finding My Way') in improving distress, coping and quality of life for individuals with a recent diagnosis of early stage cancer of any type. METHODS/DESIGN: The study is a multi-site Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) seeking to enrol 188 participants who will be randomised to either the Finding My Way Intervention or an attention-control condition. Both conditions are delivered online; with 6 modules released once per week, and an additional booster module released one month after program-completion. Participants complete online questionnaires on 4 occasions: at baseline (immediately prior to accessing the modules); post-treatment (immediately after program-completion); then three and six months later. Primary outcomes are general distress and cancer-specific distress, with secondary outcomes including Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL), coping, health service utilisation, intervention adherence, and user satisfaction. A range of baseline measures will be assessed as potential moderators of outcomes. Eligible participants are individuals recently diagnosed with any type of cancer, being treated with curative intent, aged over 18 years with sufficient English language literacy, internet access and an active email account and phone number. Participants are blinded to treatment group allocation. Randomisation is computer generated and stratified by gender. DISCUSSION: Compared to the few prior published studies, Finding My Way will be the first adequately powered trial to offer an iCBT intervention to curatively treated patients of heterogeneous cancer types in the immediate post-diagnosis/treatment period. If found efficacious, Finding My Way will assist with overcoming common barriers to face-to-face therapy in a cost-effective and accessible way, thus helping to reduce distress after cancer diagnosis and consequently decrease the cancer burden for individuals and the health system. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12613000001796 16.10.13

Sheila, Take a Bow

Professor Sheila Whiteley passed away on 6th of June, 2015. Sheila’s ground-breaking achievements in popular culture and gender studies, alongside her bright personal triumphs are celebrated by numerous obituaries from national and international media. Here, we present the tributes of Sheila’s students, colleagues and friends.Sheila Whiteley nous a quittés le 6 juin 2015. Ses recherches pionnières sur la culture populaire et le genre, en plus de ses grands succès personnels, furent célébrés dans de nombreux médias internationaux. Nous vous présentons ici une série d’hommages de ses étudiants, collègues et amis

Cell specific microvesicles vary with season and disease predisposition in healthy and previously laminitic ponies

Microvesicles are small (up to 1 μm) vesicles found in plasma and other bodily fluids. They are recognised as part of the normal system of inter-cellular communication but altered numbers are also used as biomarkers of disease. Microvesicles have not been studied in detail in the horse but may be relevant to diseases such as laminitis. Identification of equine cell specific microvesicles was performed by developing a panel of cross reactive antibodies to use in flow cytometry to detect microvesicles of platelet, leucocyte and endothelial origin in plasma from healthy ponies and those predisposed to laminitis. The total number and proportion of microvesicles from the different cell types varied with season and there were more annexin V positive endothelial MV in non laminitic ponies compared to previously laminitic ponies. Development of this antibody panel and the technique for measuring microvesicles in the horse opens a new field for further investigation of these important structures in equine health and disease

Essex girls’ in the comedy club : stand-up, ridicule and ‘value struggles’

This article presents findings from a qualitative study carried out on how audiences of stand-up comedy are entangled in ‘value struggles’. It focuses on a group who through classed and gendered ridicule are often drawn as valueless – women from Essex or ‘Essex girls’. The article explores how a group of women from Essex negotiate their value in the face of Essex girl–based ridicule, experienced while part of a live comedy audience in a London comedy club. The analysis reveals an ambivalence in how the group utilise and view their ‘Essex girl’ status, which challenges the view that this is a valueless identification. They oscillate between the joy of revelling in the Essex girl role and disidentification from the shame of this disreputable status. It concludes by highlighting how ridicule does not necessarily perform a disciplinary function and considers if the joy of ‘being Essex’ has any hope of escaping into everyday life