The Musicality of Non-Musicians: An Index for Assessing Musical Sophistication in the General Population

Musical skills and expertise vary greatly in Western societies. Individuals can differ in their repertoire of musical behaviours as well as in the level of skill they display for any single musical behaviour. The types of musical behaviours we refer to here are broad, ranging from performance on an instrument and listening expertise, to the ability to employ music in functional settings or to communicate about music. In this paper, we first describe the concept of ‘musical sophistication’ which can be used to describe the multi-faceted nature of musical expertise. Next, we develop a novel measurement instrument, the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI) to assess self-reported musical skills and behaviours on multiple dimensions in the general population using a large Internet sample (n = 147,636). Thirdly, we report results from several lab studies, demonstrating that the Gold-MSI possesses good psychometric properties, and that self-reported musical sophistication is associated with performance on two listening tasks. Finally, we identify occupation, occupational status, age, gender, and wealth as the main socio-demographic factors associated with musical sophistication. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical accounts of implicit and statistical music learning and with regard to social conditions of sophisticated musical engagement

Crab Team: Addressing an agency mandate with citizen science

Citizen science approaches are an attractive option for projects that require large scale data collection. However not all large scale projects are necessarily suitable for citizen science. For instance, agency mandates to conduct environmental monitoring could benefit from the cost-effective approach of volunteer monitoring, but the project goals might not be suitable for, or attractive to, volunteers. A citizen science monitoring program to meet a WDFW mandate to monitor for invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas) was designed by Washington Sea Grant with such balance in mind. Meeting the directive to maximize detection probability for a species that might be rare, or might never be present, presents unique challenges for volunteer engagement and retention. How do we prepare volunteers to search for an organism which they have never seen in real life, and have no search image for, while maintaining a low probability of false negatives? How do we sustain their engagement with the project if, and/or when, the monitoring target is never detected? Moreover, how do we balance motivating volunteers about the urgency of the threat, with managing their expectations of agency intervention if the invasive does become established? These questions will be explored as we discuss our approaches to the European green crab monitoring program. With thoughtful design, citizen science projects can be tailored to suit diverse scientific needs, expanding the engagement, educational, and community benefits of the projects

Surgical resection for locoregional esophageal cancer is underutilized in the United States

Background Although esophagectomy provides the highest probability of cure in patients with esophageal cancer, many candidates are never referred for surgery. We hypothesized that esophagectomy for esophageal cancer is underused, and we assessed the prevalence of resection in national, state, and local cancer data registries. Study Design Clinical stage, surgical and nonsurgical treatments, age, and race of patients with cancer of the esophagus were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry (1988 to 2004), the Healthcare Association of NY State registry (HANYS 2007), and a single referral center (2000 to 2007). SEER identified a total of 25,306 patients with esophageal cancer (average age 65.0 years, male-to-female ratio 3:1). HANYS identified 1,012 cases of esophageal cancer (average age 67 years, M:F ratio 3:1); stage was not available from NY State registry data. A single referral center identified 385 patients (48 per year; average age 67 years, M:F 3:1). For SEER data, logistic regression was used to examine determinants of esophageal resection; variables tested included age, race, and gender. Results Surgical exploration was performed in 29% of the total and only 44.2% of potentially resectable patients. Esophageal resection was performed in 44% of estimated cancer patients in NY State. By comparison, 64% of patients at a specialized referral center underwent surgical exploration, 96% of whom had resection. SEER resection rates for esophageal cancer did not change between 1988 and 2004. Males were more likely to receive operative treatment. Nonwhites were less likely to undergo surgery than whites (odds ratio 0.45, p < 0.001). Conclusions Surgical therapy for locoregional esophageal cancer is likely underused. Racial variations in esophagectomy are significant. Referral to specialized centers may result in an increase in patients considered for surgical therapy. \ua9 2010 American College of Surgeons