James MacMillan: O Bone Jesu

O Bone Jesu is one of a large number of works, both instrumental and vocal, which James MacMillan has written to express aspects of his Catholic faith. It is an 8-part setting for mixed voices of a text originally used by the Renaissance Scottish composer Robert Carver. In MacMillan’s work, as in Carver’s, the word ‘Jesu’ (or similar) recurs 21 times and MacMillan has utilised this feature to help articulate a symbolic response to the words. Within a broad sonata-like structure the text provides MacMillan with opportunities for drawing out meaning through emphasis on key words which are treated in the typical melismatic style for which he is well known, and these are contextualised in a clearly pre-planned harmonic framework. This essay explores the ways in which MacMillan integrates the text setting into the formal structure, and explores some of the symbolic gestures that influence melodic and harmonic thinking in the work. The gestures which typify this setting are related to the broader context of his output as a whole and also to his understanding of his role as a composer with a faith which he feels it is important to express through composition

The persistence of parody in the music of Peter Maxwell Davies

In this article I take to task the uncritical use of terminology in relation to the music of Peter Maxwell Davies. Though my generating text is the quotation from John Warnaby’s 1990 doctoral thesis: "Since parody is implied in the notion of using pre-existing material as a creative model, it can be argued that, as traditionally understood, it is rarely absent from Maxwell Davies’s music". This is in no wise a criticism of Warnaby for whom I have much respect, and especially his ability to be able to perceive patterns, trends and unifying features between works and across extended periods of time. Rather, it is a commentary on particular aspects of Davies’s music which are often linked together under the catch-all term ‘parody’

Surveillance and the city: patronage, power-sharing and the politics of urban control in Zimbabwe

From 2000, ZANU(PF) suffered repeated electoral defeat in the cities and lost control of municipalities to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). This turned urban governance into a battlefield, as ZANU(PF) dramatically recentralised powers over local authorities, developed ‘parallel’ party structures and used militia to control central markets and peri-urban land. Taking the case of Harare and environs during the period of Zimbabwe's Inclusive Government (IG), this article explores contestations over urban authority, focusing on the office of councillor and urban spaces dominated by ZANU(PF)-aligned militia. I argue that surveillance was central to ZANU(PF)'s strategy for urban control and to the politics of patronage. Inconvenient councillors were disciplined by threats and enticements from the feared Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and were also vulnerable to suspension, while ZANU(PF) militia made political loyalty a condition of access to market stalls, land and housing cooperatives. Dominant political science characterisations of the African postcolonial state and ethnographic accounts of precarity and vigilance mislead in this context if they fail to capture the disciplining roles and social reach of a centralised partisan state security agency and militarised party structures that suffuse work and social life within local government institutions and contested city spaces. Analyses of power-sharing need to reach beyond the national stage not only because conflict over local authorities can undermine transitional political processes but also for the light they can shed on the changing character of the state and its relationship to reconstituted ZANU(PF) powers

Quality in Measurement: Beyond the deployment barrier

Network measurement stands at an intersection in the development of the science. We explore possible futures for the area and propose some guidelines for the development of stronger measurement techniques. The paper concludes with a discussion of the work of the NLANR and WAND network measurement groups including the NLANR Network Analysis Infrastructure, AMP, PMA, analysis of Voice over IP traffic and separation of HTTP delays into queuing delay, network latency and server delay

Australia-New Zealand Currency Union: A Structural Approach

This paper compares an Australia-New Zealand currency union to a purely fl oating exchange rate regime in the context of a structural, two-country open economy model. Micro-foundations support policy assessment by facilitating direct calculation of household welfare. Analysis focuses on changing business cycle volatilities; the role of risk is not considered. At benchmark calibration currency union is welfare reducing for both Australia and New Zealand. Sensitivity analyses reveal these results to be qualitatively robust over alternative degrees of shock correlation and shock transmission.currency union, welfare analysis, exchange rate regime, Australia, New Zealand

Bullying - The Perspective of the Accused

Bullying - The Perspective of the Accused takes a practical, realistic view of interactions between people and demonstrates that accusations of bullying are not always as easy to interpret and to unravel as might be thought. This work considers that whilst research and understanding of the bullying and the effect on targets, the voice of the alleged bully is seldom heard. The confusion between performance management and bullying is considered along with a comprehensive examination of employers' duty of care, organizational policies and procedures and the levels of support offered to those accused of workplace bullying. While there are many case studies outlining shocking, undoubtedly bullying behaviour by individuals or organizations, it seems there are very few detailing the extremely negative impact on some of those who are accused

Measuring spinal motion in rowers: the use of an electromagnetic device.

Accepted versio

Highlights from day three of the EuroSciCon 2015 Sports Science Summit.

This EuroSciCon Sports Science Summit represented a significant gathering of leading professionals in the field of sports science. The conference was held on 13-15 January 2015 at the O2 arena, London, UK. The chairman on the third day was Mr Greg Robertson, a specialist trainee Orthopedic surgeon from Edinburgh. The conference attracted over 80 attendants from all over the world, with 32 presentations from invited speakers and peer-reviewed submissions. This meeting report provides a summary of the best abstracts from the conference

Global Dialogue Report - Global Governance and Regulation: London

The London Dialogue involved up to 23 participants in discussions about the role of global governance and regulation in the protection and promotion of human wellbeing in the twenty-first century. It ranged across a broad spectrum of governance and regulation issues. The discussion proceeded on the understanding that global governance and regulation is important for all our efforts to live well as individuals but that they are more significant still because they are vital to our efforts to live well together in an increasingly globalised world. The discussion started by recognising that the ecosystem of global governance and regulation was becoming ever more complex, involving a diverse range of new players, new organisations and new values. It was felt that developing a better understanding of the structure and dynamics of this new ecosystem would be an important first step in developing more effective governance and regulation. The discussion of the problems of current global governance and regulations systems and institutions identified a lack of trust in governance institutions as critical at this time. This was related to what was perceived as weaknesses of transparency and accountability for some parts of the global governance regime. Large philanthropic organisations were not seen as being exempt from these issues of distrust, transparency and accountability. The problems of the short -term-ism of national governments (political cycles) and their focus on national priorities in global governance were discussed. The exclusion of women, girls and youth were highlighted as a particular problem of governance systems.The discussion identified a wide range of innovation and trusted institutions of governance and regulation. A number of these involved the innovative use of new information and communication technologies to improve voice and accountability. Further initiatives demonstrated other ways in which trust can be built. These innovations appeared to provide a good foundation on which philanthropic organisations might build to contribute to rebuilding trust in global governance and regulation institutions. The discussions explored the idea that global governance problems might be better dealt with by breaking the problems and challenges into smaller, bite-sized chunks. It echoed the more profound view that there may be fundamental problems with the ideas and values on which current approaches to governance and regulation are founded.The discussion concluded with a suggestion that philanthropic organisations might further explore what was perceived to be their unique position as intermediaries between business, government and civil society in order to explore what their comparative advantage might be in strengthening global governance and regulation in ways that better protect and promote human wellbeing in the face of growing threats and uncertaint