Robert Schumann's Kerner-Liederreihe, Op. 35: Its Compositional Genesis and the Question of Organic Unity

Robert Schumann's Zwölf Gedichte von Justinus Kerner, Op. 35 has received little scholarly attention, perhaps because it does not seem to be musically or poetically unified. Part 1 of this study is an examination of the biography and work of the poet of the texts, Justinus Kerner. In Part 2, a possible compositional genesis of the work is posited, based on study of unpublished autograph material, letters, Schumann's Tagebücher, and relevant historical context. Other scholars have established that financial need influenced Robert Schumann's "Year of Song." The Kerner-Liederreihe, composed during this year, seems to have been especially motivated by financial worries, because Schumann created it in response to the request of a local publisher. The published order of the twelve songs, which several other scholars have failed to explain convincingly, is here shown to result from the composer's compositional process and marketing issues raised by the publisher

A conexão espiritualista: Afinidade estilística e homologia estrutural entre Bergson e Debussy

This article proposes some reasons for the striking similarity many authors have found between Claude Debussy's music and Henri Bergson's philosophical writings, by situating them in the spiritualiste movement. With the aid of Bourdieu's field theory, Bergson’s and Debussy’s leading positions as spiritualistes are shown to be homologous. Eschewing institutional and political power and instead focusing on creative works that emphasized individual freedom, the philosopher and the composer took relatively autonomous positions with high symbolic capital in their fields. The alignment of their positions may explain the stylistic, substantive, and functional connections others have perceived in their works.Este artículo está dirigido a algumas que responden a un impresionante similaridad encontrada por los autores de una música de Claude Debussy y los escritos filosóficos de Henri Bergson ao situá-the no movimento espiritualista. Com o auxílio da la teoría del campo de Bourdieu, como posições dominantes de Bergson y Debussy as espiritualists são expostas as homólogas. Se trata de un trabajo institucional y político, así como también de las obras críaticas que enfatizan a un individuo libertado, y el papel y el compositor asumiram posições to autônomas com alto capital simbólico nos seus campos. O alinhamento das suas posições podem explicar como conexiones estilísticas, sustantivas y funcionan las funciones más importantes.Este artigo propõe algumas razões para a impressionante similaridade encontrada por vários autores entre a música de Claude Debussy e os escritos filosóficos de Henri Bergson ao situá-los no movimento espiritualista. Com o auxílio da teoria do campo de Bourdieu, as posições dominantes de Bergson e Debussy como espiritualistas são expostas como homólogas. Evitando abordar o poder institucional e político e, ao invés disso, focando sobre as obras criativas que enfatizavam a liberdade individual, o filósofo e o compositor assumiram posições relativamente autônomas com alto capital simbólico nos seus campos. O alinhamento das suas posições podem explicar as conexões estilísticas, substantivas e funcionais percebidas nas suas obras

Miscellany – Durkheim

“What dost thou chiefly learn by these Commandment?” “I learn two things: my duty towards God, and my duty towards my Neighbour.”[] My duty towards God was short and simple; it was inspired by a fervour, an almost ecstasy, that carried one safely to the rather breathless end. My duty towards my neighbour was long, difficult, intricate, full of pit-falls to the unwary, and happy the “good child” who reached the goal without a stumble. One thing was clear. No “good child,” no honoured parent ev..

The argument of the broken pane: Suffragette consumerism and newspapers

Within the cut-throat world of newspaper advertising the newspapers of Britain's Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) Votes for Women and the Suffragette managed to achieve a balance that has often proved to be an impossible challenge for social movement press—namely the maintenance of a highly political stance whilst simultaneously exploiting the market system with advertising and merchandising. When the militant papers advocated window smashing of West End stores in 1912–1913, the companies who were the target still took advertisements. Why? What was the relationship between news values, militant violence and advertising income? ‘Do-it-yourself’ journalism operated within a context of ethical consumerism and promotionally orientated militancy. This resulted in newspaper connections between politics, commerce and a distinct market profile, evident in the customisation of advertising, retailer dialogue with militants and longer-term loyalty—symptomatic of a wider trend towards newspaper commercialism during this period

Maximising response to postal questionnaires – A systematic review of randomised trials in health research

Background Postal self-completion questionnaires offer one of the least expensive modes of collecting patient based outcomes in health care research. The purpose of this review is to assess the efficacy of methods of increasing response to postal questionnaires in health care studies on patient populations. Methods The following databases were searched: Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, CDSR, PsycINFO, NRR and ZETOC. Reference lists of relevant reviews and relevant journals were hand searched. Inclusion criteria were randomised trials of strategies to improve questionnaire response in health care research on patient populations. Response rate was defined as the percentage of questionnaires returned after all follow-up efforts. Study quality was assessed by two independent reviewers. The Mantel-Haenszel method was used to calculate the pooled odds ratios. Results Thirteen studies reporting fifteen trials were included. Implementation of reminder letters and telephone contact had the most significant effect on response rates (odds ratio 3.7, 95% confidence interval 2.30 to 5.97 p = <0.00001). Shorter questionnaires also improved response rates to a lesser degree (odds ratio 1.4, 95% confidence interval 1.19 to 1.54). No evidence was found that incentives, re-ordering of questions or including an information brochure with the questionnaire confer any additional advantage. Conclusion Implementing repeat mailing strategies and/or telephone reminders may improve response to postal questionnaires in health care research. Making the questionnaire shorter may also improve response rates. There is a lack of evidence to suggest that incentives are useful. In the context of health care research all strategies to improve response to postal questionnaires require further evaluation

Delays in seeking an abortion until the second trimester: a qualitative study in South Africa

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite changes to the South African abortion legislation in 1996, barriers to women accessing abortions still exist. Second trimester abortions, an inherently more risky procedure, continue to be 20% of all abortions. Understanding the reasons why women delay seeking an abortion until the second trimester is important for informing interventions to reduce the proportion of second trimester abortions in South Africa.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Qualitative research methods were used to collect data. Twenty-seven in-depth interviews were conducted in 2006 with women seeking a second trimester abortion at one public sector tertiary hospital and two NGO health care facilities in the greater Cape Town area, South Africa. Data were analysed using a grounded theory approach.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Almost all women described multiple and interrelated factors that influenced the timing of seeking an abortion. Reasons why women delayed seeking an abortion were complex and were linked to changes in personal circumstances often leading to indecision, delays in detecting a pregnancy and health service related barriers that hindered access to abortion services.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Understanding the complex reasons why women delay seeking an abortion until the second trimester can inform health care interventions aimed at reducing the proportion of second trimester abortions in South Africa.</p

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Introduction: Toward an Engaged Feminist Heritage Praxis

We advocate a feminist approach to archaeological heritage work in order to transform heritage practice and the production of archaeological knowledge. We use an engaged feminist standpoint and situate intersubjectivity and intersectionality as critical components of this practice. An engaged feminist approach to heritage work allows the discipline to consider women’s, men’s, and gender non-conforming persons’ positions in the field, to reveal their contributions, to develop critical pedagogical approaches, and to rethink forms of representation. Throughout, we emphasize the intellectual labor of women of color, queer and gender non-conforming persons, and early white feminists in archaeology

Cumulative Burden of Colorectal Cancer-Associated Genetic Variants Is More Strongly Associated With Early-Onset vs Late-Onset Cancer.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Early-onset colorectal cancer (CRC, in persons younger than 50 years old) is increasing in incidence; yet, in the absence of a family history of CRC, this population lacks harmonized recommendations for prevention. We aimed to determine whether a polygenic risk score (PRS) developed from 95 CRC-associated common genetic risk variants was associated with risk for early-onset CRC. METHODS: We studied risk for CRC associated with a weighted PRS in 12,197 participants younger than 50 years old vs 95,865 participants 50 years or older. PRS was calculated based on single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with CRC in a large-scale genome-wide association study as of January 2019. Participants were pooled from 3 large consortia that provided clinical and genotyping data: the Colon Cancer Family Registry, the Colorectal Transdisciplinary Study, and the Genetics and Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer Consortium and were all of genetically defined European descent. Findings were replicated in an independent cohort of 72,573 participants. RESULTS: Overall associations with CRC per standard deviation of PRS were significant for early-onset cancer, and were stronger compared with late-onset cancer (P for interaction = .01); when we compared the highest PRS quartile with the lowest, risk increased 3.7-fold for early-onset CRC (95% CI 3.28-4.24) vs 2.9-fold for late-onset CRC (95% CI 2.80-3.04). This association was strongest for participants without a first-degree family history of CRC (P for interaction = 5.61 × 10-5). When we compared the highest with the lowest quartiles in this group, risk increased 4.3-fold for early-onset CRC (95% CI 3.61-5.01) vs 2.9-fold for late-onset CRC (95% CI 2.70-3.00). Sensitivity analyses were consistent with these findings. CONCLUSIONS: In an analysis of associations with CRC per standard deviation of PRS, we found the cumulative burden of CRC-associated common genetic variants to associate with early-onset cancer, and to be more strongly associated with early-onset than late-onset cancer, particularly in the absence of CRC family history. Analyses of PRS, along with environmental and lifestyle risk factors, might identify younger individuals who would benefit from preventive measures

Abstracts from the NIHR INVOLVE Conference 2017

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