"Reading Between the Brides": Lucrezia Vizzana's Componimenti musicali in Textual and Musical Context

ABSTRACT “Reading Between the Brides”: Lucrezia Vizzana's Componimenti musicali in Textual and Musical Context There had never been a Bolognese nun known to have published her music when Lucrezia Vizzana's Componimenti musicali was printed in 1623, nor has there been any since then. This set of twenty motets became a window into the musical world of cloistered nuns in the seventeenth century. Following the research of Craig Monson in Disembodied Voices: Music and Culture in an Early Modern Italian Convent (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995), this project identifies similarities and differences present in Vizzana's motets using a number of clarifying means not yet explored. Looking at each work in detail, we are able to surmise some favorite musical devices of Vizzana and how they fit in with other monodists of the day. This project fills a specific lacuna in that thirteen of the twenty motets are not known to be published in modern notation and are available here for the first time in that form. The texts of Vizzana's collection are rich in imagery and in their display of faithfulness to Christ. In this project, Vizzana's texts are examined and compared with other secular and sacred poetry including works by St. Teresa of Avila, George Herbert, Henry Vaughn, Richard Crashaw, and Giovanni Battista Guarini. The compositions are also explored with regards to some of her musical contemporaries. How could a cloistered nun, allegedly having no exposure to music outside the convent walls, write music very much in line with both sacred and secular monody of the time? In light of this, Vizzana's music is compared to works by Alessandro Grandi, Francesca Caccini, and Claudio Monteverdi. While Vizzana maintains her own musical style, there are some prominent similarities between them. Lastly, the role of Mary Magdalene is examined by looking at the background of Mary Magdalene, her historical legend associated with music and with nuns, as well as her material presence in the outer church. The analyses of the motets of Componimenti musicali, as well as their texts, along with the musical comparisons of Vizzana's contemporaries, are filters through which her works can pass and provide us with new insight into these works

Making the Most of Interim Assessment Data: Lessons from Philadelphia

Under No Child Left Behind, urban school districts have increasingly turned to interim assessments, administered at regular intervals, to help gauge student progress in advance of annual state exams. These assessments have spawned growing debate among educators, assessment experts, and the testing industry: are they worth the significant investment of money and time? In Making the Most of Interim Assessment Data: Lessons from Philadelphia, Research for Action (RFA) weighs in on this issue. The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) was an early adopter of interim assessments, implementing the exams in 2003. Unlike teachers in some other regions, Philadelphia elementary and middle grades teachers rated these 'Benchmark' assessments highly. However, the study found that enthusiasm did not necessarily correlate with higher rates of student achievement. What did predict student success were three factors -- instructional leadership, collective responsibility, and use of the SDP's Core Curriculum. The report underscores the value of investment in ongoing data interpretation that emphasizes teachers' learning within formal instructional communities, such as grade groups of teachers. This research was funded by the Spencer Foundation and the William Penn Foundation

Bush animal attacks: management of complex injuries in a resource-limited setting

Though animal-related injuries and fatalities have been documented throughout the world, the variety of attacks by wild animals native to rural East Africa are less commonly described. Given the proximity of our northwestern Tanzania hospital to Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, and the Serengeti National Park, and presentation of several patients attacked by bush animals and suffering a variety of complex injuries, we sought to report the pattern of attacks and surgical management in a resource-limited setting. Four patients who were admitted to the northwestern Tanzania tertiary referral hospital, Bugando Medical Centre (BMC), in 2010-2011 suffered attacks by different bush animals: hyena, elephant, crocodile, and vervet monkey. These patients were triaged as trauma patients in the Casualty Ward, then admitted for inpatient monitoring and treatment. Their outcomes were followed to discharge. The age and gender of the patients attacked was variable, though all but the pediatric patient were participating in food gathering or guarding activities in rural locations at the time of the attacks. All patients required surgical management of their injuries, which included debridement and closure of wounds, chest tube insertion, amputation, and external fixation of an extremity fracture. All patients survived and were discharged home. Though human injuries secondary to encounters with undomesticated animals such as cows, moose, and camel are reported, they often are indirect traumas resulting from road traffic collisions. Snake attacks are well documented and common. However, this series of unique bush animal attacks describes the initial and surgical management of human injuries in the resource-limited setting of the developing world. Animal attacks are common throughout the world, but their pattern may vary in Africa throughout jungle and bush environmental settings. It is important to understand the management of these attacks in resource-limited health care environment. Further, the growing population and human encroachment on previously wild habitats such as the northwestern Tanzania bush argues for increased community awareness to assist in prevention of human injuries by animals

Psychometric evaluation of disordered eating measures in bariatric surgery candidates

Introduction: Assessment of disordered eating is common in bariatric surgery candidates, yet psychometric properties of disordered eating measures in this population are largely unknown. Methods: Measures were completed by 405 adult bariatric surgery candidates at pre-surgical consultation. Fit of the original scale structures was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and alternative factor solutions were generated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Reliability (internal consistency), construct validity (convergent and divergent) and criterion validity (with the EDE as criterion) were assessed. Materials: The measures prioritised for evaluation are the following: Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q; n = 405), Three-Factor EatingQuestionnaire (TFEQ; n = 405), Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patterns Revised (QEWP-R; n = 204), Clinical Impairment Assessment (CIA; n = 204) and the Eating Disorder Examination clinical interview (EDE; n = 131). Results: CFA revealed adequate fit for only the CIA in its current form (CFI = 0.925, RMSEA = 0.096). EFA produced revised scales with improved reliability for the EDE, EDE-Q and TFEQ. Reliability of revised subscales was improved (original scales α = 0.43–0.82; revised scales α = 0.67–0.93). Correlational analyses of the CIA and revised versions of remaining scales with measures of psychological wellbeing and impairment revealed adequate convergent validity. All measures differentiated an EDE-classified disordered eating group from a non-disordered eating group (criterion validity). Diagnostic concordance between the EDE, EDE-Q and QEWP-R was low, and identification of disordered eating behaviours was inconsistent across measures. Conclusions: Findings highlight the limitations of existing disordered eating questionnaires in bariatric surgery candidates. Results suggest revised assessments are required to overcome these limitations and ensure that measures informing clinical recommendations regarding patient care are reliable and valid

Resilience in a Watershed Governance Context: A Primer

Watersheds are complex systems involving social, economic, and ecological dimensions that are constantly interacting and influencing each other, and governance of these systems involve a large and diverse cast of actors that add to the complexity and difficulty in deciding what is best for the watershed and people. Resilience thinking offers a way to understand and navigate the uncertainty, dynamics and complexity of watershed governance. This primer describes key ideas associated with resilience: more inclusive participation; building a shared understanding; inclusion of ecosystem services and functions in long-term planning; strong leadership; institutional and decision making flexibility; and, a decentralized system. This primer is an initial effort to translate the scholarly understanding of these key ideas and initiate a dialogue about their application in the context of watershed governance.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada through the Water Economicsw, Policy and Governance Network Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Development Gran

Henderson News 2.1

In This Issue: Technology Edition- Henderson Library\u27s Fresh New Look Online-DISCOVER: One Year Later- Digital Special Collections: Using Contentdm to Bring Local History & More to Your Browser- Open Access: How Scholarship is Changing- Digital Commons: Expanding Georgia Southern\u27s Visibility and Influence-Digital Commons from a Client\u27s Perspective-LibGuides: Online Subject Guides-The Right to Privacy in the 21st Century-Series Summary: America\u27s Music-Government Shutdown Impacts Library Researc

What do changing weather and climate shocks and stresses mean for the UK food system?

In light of the publication of Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy (www.nationalfoodstrategy. org/) and the COP26 climate meeting in Glasgow, it is timely to consider the impacts of weather and climate extremes on the UK food system. Climate change-driven changes in extreme weather events are one of the highest-risk future shocks to the UK food system [1], underlining the importance of preparedness across the food chain [2]. Here, we identify major knowledge gaps in the primary impacts of extreme weather and climate change across the UK’s food system, its functioning and their interactions to provide information to support adaptation and resilience planning. Research tends to focus on individual food system activities rather than taking a systematic approach [3, 4]. How- ever, strong evidence exists about the impacts of long- term climate trends and extremes [5] on primary food production [6]. The major knowledge gaps therefore concern post-primary production dimensions [4], notably food system activities between the ‘farm-gate’ and consumption—which are the core focus of this paper (supplementary material S1 available online at stacks.iop.org/ERL/17/051001/mmedia). These constitute major economic and social dimensions but are often the ‘missing middle’ in food system discus- sions. We use the UK food system as an illustrative case study, and consider both global and domestic risks and implications. We present methods, tools and frameworks for systemic analysis of climate impacts on food systems, consider the funding landscape, and highlight priorities for future research