877 research outputs found
Copyright and cultural work: an exploration
This article first discusses the contemporary debate on cultural âcreativityâ and the economy. Second, it considers the current state of UK copyright law and how it relates to cultural work. Third, based on empirical research on British dancers and musicians, an analysis of precarious cultural work is presented. A major focus is how those who follow their art by way of âportfolioâ work handle their rights in ways that diverge significantly from the current simplistic assumptions of law and cultural policy. Our conclusions underline the distance between present top-down conceptions of what drives production in the cultural field and the actual practice of dancers and musicians
The most creative organization in the world? The BBC, 'creativity' and managerial style
The managerial styles of two BBC directors-general, John Birt and Greg Dyke, have often been contrasted but not so far analysed from the perspective of their different views of 'creative management'. This article first addresses the orthodox reading of 'Birtism'; second, it locates Dyke's 'creative' turn in the wider context of fashionable neo-management theory and UK government creative industries policy; third, it details Dyke's drive to change the BBC's culture; and finally, it concludes with some reflections on the uncertainties inherent in managing a creative organisation
Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 serum levels in ovarian cancer patients
The chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 is an important mediator of monocyte infiltration in various solid tumours of epithelial origin. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of MCP-1 in the natural history of ovarian cancer and to determine its value as differentiation marker and prognostic marker regarding disease free and overall survival. This retrospective study comprises 86 patients with ovarian cancer, 48 with primary ovarian cancer and 38 with recurrent ovarian cancer, 67 patients with benign ovarian cysts and 42 healthy women. Median serum levels in patients with primary ovarian cancer, recurrent ovarian cancer, benign ovarian cysts and in healthy women were 535.6 (range 129.6â1200) pg mlâ1, 427.3 (range 193.4â1101) pg mlâ1, 371.2 (range 222â986.8) pg mlâ1 and 318.7 (range 241.3â681.4) pg mlâ1 respectively (MannâWhitney U-test, P < 0.001). Univariate logistic regression models revealed a significant influence of MCP-1 serum levels on the odds of presenting with primary ovarian cancer versus benign cysts and versus healthy women respectively (univariate logistic regression, P < 0.001 and P < 0.001 respectively). In a multivariate logistic regression model considering MCP-1 and CA 125 serum levels simultaneously, both MCP-1 and CA 125 revealed statistical significance on the odds of presenting with primary ovarian cancer versus benign cysts (multivariate logistic regression, P = 0.05 and P < 0.001 respectively). In ovarian cancer patients, MCP-1 serum levels showed a statistically significant correlation with histological grade (MannâWhitney U-test, P = 0.02) and age at the time of diagnosis (MannâWhitney U-test, P = 0.03). Elevated MCP-1 serum levels prior to therapy were not associated with disease-free and overall survival (log-rank test, P = 0.2 and P = 0.7 respectively). In summary these data indicate that MCP-1 might play a functional role in the natural history of ovarian cancer and might serve as differentiation marker between benign ovarian cysts and ovarian cancer, providing additional information to the established tumour marker CA 125. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig
Oral Ethanol-Reinforced Responding in Rhesus Monkeys: Effects of Opioid Antagonists Selective for the Î-,Î-, or Î-Receptor
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65904/1/j.1530-0277.1998.tb03960.x.pd
Listening to ironically-enjoyed music: A self-regulatory perspective
This research examines adultsâ reported motivations for listening to music that they enjoy ironically. In a pilot (N = 96) and main (N = 175) studies, open-ended responses from adults were analysed using Thematic Analysis. Based on the pilot study, ironically enjoyed music was defined as âMusic that is enjoyed because of being bad, despite being bad, or for different reasons than intended.â Although many relevant self-regulatory functions of listening to music in general were also relevant to ironically- enjoyed music, it also emerged that ironic enjoyment of music has characteristics that are unique to it: the additional role of mocking, ridiculing, and laughing at the music, and the social benefit that this provides. Music that was listened to âbecause ofâ its negative features had a variety of musical features, and the listening usually served functions unique to ironic enjoyment of music, such as mockery. When music was listened to âdespiteâ negative qualities, the music itself was often described as having attractive rhythm, melody or lyrics, while the irony protected the listener from conflicting values associated with the music, helping the listener communicate to others that they did not identify with the music on a higher level. Unfamiliar music mainly played a social role, whereas familiar music related to nostalgia as well as most other functions
Deletion of the GABAA α2-subunit does not alter self dministration of cocaine or reinstatement of cocaine seeking
Rationale
GABAA receptors containing α2-subunits are highly represented in brain areas that are involved in motivation and reward, and have been associated with addiction to several drugs, including cocaine. We have shown previously that a deletion of the α2-subunit results in an absence of sensitisation to cocaine.
Objective
We investigated the reinforcing properties of cocaine in GABAA α2-subunit knockout (KO) mice using an intravenous self-administration procedure.
Methods
α2-subunit wildtype (WT), heterozygous (HT) and KO mice were trained to lever press for a 30 % condensed milk solution. After implantation with a jugular catheter, mice were trained to lever press for cocaine (0.5 mg/kg/infusion) during ten daily sessions. Responding was extinguished and the mice tested for cue- and cocaine-primed reinstatement. Separate groups of mice were trained to respond for decreasing doses of cocaine (0.25, 0.125, 0.06 and 0.03 mg/kg).
Results
No differences were found in acquisition of lever pressing for milk. All genotypes acquired self-administration of cocaine and did not differ in rates of self-administration, dose dependency or reinstatement. However, whilst WT and HT mice showed a dose-dependent increase in lever pressing during the cue presentation, KO mice did not.
Conclusions
Despite a reported absence of sensitisation, motivation to obtain cocaine remains unchanged in KO and HT mice. Reinstatement of cocaine seeking by cocaine and cocaine-paired cues is also unaffected. We postulate that whilst not directly involved in reward perception, the α2-subunit may be involved in modulating the âenergisingâ aspect of cocaineâs effects on reward-seeking
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Investigating student engagement and making science real during a pandemic: bioskills at home, a case study
Development of key practical skills is fundamental to bioscience courses in higher education. With limitations on access to laboratory time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a âBioskills at homeâ kit was developed to create opportunities for first year undergraduate students to develop these skills using online support resources to guide their activities and build communities of learning. Equipment and activities in this kit enabled students to practice key skills such as pipetting, data handling, experimental design and microscopy, as well as build an online peer learning community through the use of discussion boards and microscopy competitions that encouraged students to explore their local environment. Students who engaged with these activities reported increased confidence in key practical skills. Practical assessment of skills showed that that there was no reduction in the proportion of students who succeeded in achieving the pipetting learning objective compared to previous years, despite a significantly reduced on-campus provision. Although the celebration event to choose the microscopy competition winners was well attended, there was limited use of the discussion boards by students to build a community of learning during the term. Refinement of this initiative will focus on providing greater scaffolding to encourage greater engagement with activities and enhance community building
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âEssentialâPassion for Musicâ: Affirming, Critiquing, and Practising Passionate Work in Creative Industries
This chapter considers âpassionâ as an enthusiastic orientation to work within creative worlds: work motivated by intense attachments to the products of work and their conditions of production. Drawing on Luc Boltanskiâs pragmatic sociology of critique and justification, the chapter argues that the passionate lens most usefully trains our sights on normative questions: not what or howâbut why such work is undertaken. Embedded in research on cultural and creative industries, the contemporary recorded music sector is presented as a âpassionateâ industry in transformation. Interviews with workers, who both criticize and defend their industry, act as a springboard to explore three possible interpretive approaches: affirmative, critical, and pragmatic. Theoretical flexibility is needed to keep âpassionâ open to future inquiryâparticularly regarding inequalities in creative work
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