Water and dreams : exploring Bachelard's concepts through new audiovisual works for the oboe

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.This research explores new approaches to composition and performance with interactive audiovisual systems which draw on the ideas of Gaston Bachelard. The composition Blue Space for oboe and interactive audiovisual system is a central component of this thesis. This practice-based research project explores music composition and performance incorporating sound, visuals and gesture. Written from the perspective of a composer-performer, it examines ways in which sound and image can be connected in a musical context. Although this work is highly individual, it is contextualised within the existing knowledge and practices of audiovisual music. The work builds upon my background as a classical musician, and expands the scope of my artistic practice. It offers practice-based insights into composition and performance with visuals, gestures, and interactive systems. A set of related subthemes arising from practice over the course of a professional career as an oboist are explored. In the process of this work, I challenge the notion that the oboe should be limited to standard repertoire and traditional styles of music making. A new approach to performance is developed that blends elements of theatre, dance and improvisation, culminating in new repertoire for the oboe. Performance gestures in which the body functions as a controller of the visuals are a feature of the work. Enacting, painting, mixing, interacting and choreographing are the five categories of gesture identified, illustrating different ways in which themes of the piece can be linked to visual forms. The new work Blue Space demonstrates the important role of analogy in the linking of diverse media. It explores the connections between music and water and questions why water is such a prominent source of inspiration. Gaston Bachelard’s philosophical text Water and Dreams is a key reference in the investigation of the role of water in artistic practice

Cancer risk estimates from the combined Japanese A-bomb and Hodgkin cohorts for doses relevant to radiotherapy

Most information on the dose-response of radiation-induced cancer is derived from data on the A-bomb survivors who were exposed to γ-rays and neutrons. Since, for radiation protection purposes, the dose span of main interest is between 0 and 1Gy, the analysis of the A-bomb survivors is usually focused on this range. However, estimates of cancer risk for doses above 1Gy are becoming more important for radiotherapy patients and for long-term manned missions in space research. Therefore in this work, emphasis is placed on doses relevant for radiotherapy with respect to radiation-induced solid cancer. The analysis of the A-bomb survivor's data was extended by including two extra high-dose categories (4-6Sv and 6-13Sv) and by an attempted combination with cancer data on patients receiving radiotherapy for Hodgkin's disease. In addition, since there are some recent indications for a high neutron dose contribution, the data were fitted separately for three different values for the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of the neutrons (10, 35 and 100) and a variable RBE as a function of dose. The data were fitted using a linear, a linear-exponential and a plateau-dose-response relationship. Best agreement was found for the plateau model with a dose-varying RBE. It can be concluded that for doses above 1Gy there is a tendency for a nonlinear dose-response curve. In addition, there is evidence of a neutron RBE greater than 10 for the A-bomb survivor data. Many problems and uncertainties are involved in combing these two datasets. However, since very little is currently known about the shape of dose-response relationships for radiation-induced cancer in the radiotherapy dose range, this approach could be regarded as a first attempt to acquire more information on this area. The work presented here also provides the first direct evidence that the bending over of the solid cancer excess risk dose response curve for the A-bomb survivors, generally observed above 2Gy, is due to cell killing effect

The Impact of Strategic Orientation on Intellectual Capital Investments in Customer Service Firms

This study examines the influence of intellectual capital on performance in customer service firms pursuing different strategic orientations (e.g., low-cost leader, differentiation). Grounding these arguments in the resource-based view and using 538 hotels in the lodging industry, this article employs an economic-based production model to empirically explore the performance effects of investing in three different types of intellectual capital: systems capital (operational knowledge), customer capital (brand and marketing knowledge), and human capital (knowledge from both service and professional employees). In addition, the authors account for key controls, including the physical asset, cost of living, customer demand, market segment, and company affiliation. Results reveal that for firms pursuing a differentiation strategy only, investments in both service employees and professional employees enhance performance. However, investments in systems capital and customer capital enhance performance for all the firms studied. The authors discuss the implications of this study for research in the services arena

The Effects of Gasoline-price Changes on Room Demand: A Study of Branded Hotels from 1988 through 2000

[Excerpt] As hoteliers have long suspected, gasoline-price increases do depress overall lodging demand, but not all segments feel the effects in the same way (and some not at all). “With gas prices at a premium this summer, every little bit helps,” proclaimed Wayne Wielgus, senior vice president of marketing for Choice Hotels, as he announced a gasoline price promotion in 2002. During that summer Choice Hotels gave its guests a $5 gas card when they booked in advance and stayed for a minimum of two nights at Comfort, Quality, Clarion, Sleep, or MainStay Suites properties. Choice planned to give away$2 million in free gasoline in response to the concern that consumers would stay at home as gasoline prices rose. This view that gasoline-price increases depress hotel bookings is shared by many. A 2001 study suggested that 14 percent of all travelers, or 19.2 million people, would travel less or cancel vacations because of rising fuel prices

Locating infant and early childhood mental health at the heart of social work

Infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH)—an interdisciplinary field dedicated to advancing understanding of early relationships, socioemotional development, and cultural and contextual influences on caregiving—offers essential tools for social workers to support the well-being of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and their families. Even though social worker Selma Fraiberg was a founder of the field, and social workers are central to the work of assessment and intervention with young children and their caregivers in many settings, few schools of social work offer training in IECMH, and few social workers are familiar with its core principles, scholarship, and intervention approaches. In this article, faculty members from four U.S. social work programs address the vital role of IECMH in social work training, research, and practice as well as issue a call to the field to recover and renew commitment to a practice perspective and knowledge base with roots in social work. Twenty-five years ago, Social Work published a similar call, but the request has gone largely unheeded. The authors examine the changing landscape and argue that it is more important and timelier than ever for social workers to learn and integrate the relationship-based approach to promotion, prevention, intervention, and treatment offered by IECMH.Accepted manuscrip

Language Identifying Codes: Remaining Issues, Future Prospects

The work of organisations such as PARADISEC is crucially dependent on accurate and reliable identification of the languages which are represented in resources. For efficient discovery of resources to be possible, an identifying system which is accurate and stable in itself is necessary, as is wide agreement to use the system across the relevant communities (archivists and researchers from various disciplines). ISO 639‐3 is such a system and acceptance of it is now widespread; this should not, however, be taken as meaning that no problems remain and in this paper we draw attention to some of the remaining issues and the potential role of Australian researchers in working towards their solution. ISO 639‐3 reflects the reality of language differentiation more or less accurately depending on the region in question. A process for requesting revisions to the codes exists and is being used quite extensively by scholars working on Australian languages. The experience thus being accumulated will be of value in future work on language identification. This process also draws attention to another area where improvement can be made: currently, the different parts of ISO 639 (639‐1, 639‐ 2 etc.) have different registration authorities. Bringing all parts of the standard together under a single registration authority would have benefits for ongoing revisions and for transparency and is therefore an important goal. Another important goal is to ensure that linguists are able to provide input to three parts of ISO 639 currently being developed: • ISO 639‐5 a proposed set of codes for identifying groupings above the level of the single language, • ISO 639‐6 a proposed set of codes for identifying linguistic entities below the level of the single language, • ISO 639‐4 will provide an account of the principles on which the various codings rest. Australia is represented in ISO by Standards Australia, and this body has observer status in relation to ISO Technical Committee 37 which is responsible for the 639 group of standards. A group of interested scholars in Australia constitute an informal reference group for these issues (ARGILaRe: http://users.monash.edu.au/~smusgrav/ARGILaRe/) and this group is establishing ways to provide expert input. These include the establishment of a mirror committee for TC37 under the ambit of Standards Australia, ongoing involvement with international projects and endeavours, and the potential formation of a Working Group within the Research Data Alliance framework. The goal of improving access to language resources should be one which unites various research communities and therefore we are optimistic that such endeavours can and will produce valuable results

On the choice of methodology for evaluating dose-rate effects on radiation-related cancer risks

Recently, several compilations of individual radiation epidemiology study results have aimed to obtain direct evidence on the magnitudes of dose-rate effects on radiation-related cancer risks. These compilations have relied on meta-analyses of ratios of risks from low dose-rate studies and matched risks from the solid cancer Excess Relative Risk models fitted to the acutely exposed Japanese A-bomb cohort. The purpose here is to demonstrate how choices of methodology for evaluating dose-rate effects on radiation-related cancer risks may influence the results reported for dose-rate effects. The current analysis is intended to address methodological issues and does not imply that the authors recommend a particular value for the dose and dose-rate effectiveness factor. A set of 22 results from one recent published study has been adopted here as a test set of data for applying the many different methods described here, that nearly all produced highly consistent results. Some recently voiced concerns, involving the recalling of the well-known theoretical point—the ratio of two normal random variables has a theoretically unbounded variance—that could potentially cause issues, are shown to be unfounded when aimed at the published work cited and examined in detail here. In the calculation of dose-rate effects for radiation protection purposes, it is recommended that meta-estimators should retain the full epidemiological and dosimetric matching information between the risks from the individual low dose-rate studies and the acutely exposed A-bomb cohort and that a regression approach can be considered as a useful alternative to current approaches

Is megestrol acetate safe and effective for malnourished nursing home residents?

Q: Is megestrol acetate safe and effective for malnourished nursing home residents? A: no. Megestrol acetate (MA) is neither safe nor effective for stimulating appetite in malnourished nursing home residents. It increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (strength of recommendation [SOR]: C, 2 retrospective chart reviews), but isn't associated with other new or worsening events or disorders (SOR: B, single randomized controlled trial [RCT]). Over a 25-week period, MA wasn't associated with increased mortality (SOR: B, single RCT). After 44 months, however, MA-treated patients showed decreased median survival (SOR: B, single case- control study). Consistent, meaningful weight gain was not observed with MA treatment (SOR: B, single case-control study, single RCT, 2 retrospective chart reviews, single prospective case-series).Authors: Frances K. Wen, PhD; James Millar, MD University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa; Linda Oberst-Walsh, MD University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver; Joan Nashelsky, MLS Family Physicians Inquiries Network, Iowa City

Oral care measures for preventing nursing home-acquired pneumonia (Protocol)

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess effects of oral care measures for preventing nursing home-acquired pneumonia in residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities