113 research outputs found
Acting together: ensemble as a democratic process in art and life
Traditionally drama in schools has been seen either as a learning medium with a wide range of curricular uses or as a subject in its own right. This paper argues that the importance of drama in schools is in the processes of social and artistic engagement and experiencing of drama rather than in its outcomes. The paper contrasts the pro-social emphasis in the ensemble model of drama with the pro-technical and limited range of learning in subject-based approaches which foreground technical knowledge of periods, plays, styles and genres. The ensemble-based approach is positioned in the context of professional theatre understandings of ensemble artistry and in the context of revolutionary shifts from the pro-technical to the pro-social in educational and cultural policy making in England. Using ideas drawn from McGrath and Castoriadis, the paper claims that the ensemble approach provides young people with a model of democratic living
Closing in on the picture : analyzing interactions in video recordings
This paper provides a detailed account of the processing and analysing of data, obtained through video recording during reflective practitioner research. It sets out five stages in the analysis of video recordings of classroom interactions during a series of educational drama lessons: from decisions relating to the selection of data for close analysis, to the seeking of themes, and finally to the presentation of conclusions. The researcher adapted and synthesised several processes derived from discourse analysis (Wells, 2001; Spiers, 2004; Gee, 2005) to produce a range of instruments for use in transcription and analysis of verbal and non-verbal discourse. These include: a simple transcription key; classifications for verbal and non-verbal discourse; and a template for a transcription and analysis matrix
Theatre and drama education and populism : the ensemble âfamilyâ as a space for dialogic empathy and civic care
This article, understanding populism as an essentially undemocratic ideology, argues that the proâsocial theatre education approach of ensemble pedagogy can offer a model of educational practice which counters these antiâdemocratic rhetorics by creating a shared space for the enactment of empathetic discourse. Via an ethnography of the UK Shakespeare Schools Foundation festival project, the notion of the theatre education ensemble âfamilyâ as a model of civic caring is offered as an alternative, feminist âcare perspectiveâ on civic and political rhetorics, in contrast to the patriarchal âjustice perspectivesâ which facilitate the reductive antiâdemocratic rhetorics of populism. Thus, this article concludes that ensemble approaches to theatre education, viewed through this feminist pedagogy lens, hold rich potential for developing learnersâ capacity to resist populism and act in socially hopeful ways
NT2 Derived Neuronal and Astrocytic Network Signalling
A major focus of stem cell research is the generation of neurons that may then be implanted to treat neurodegenerative diseases. However, a picture is emerging where astrocytes are partners to neurons in sustaining and modulating brain function. We therefore investigated the functional properties of NT2 derived astrocytes and neurons using electrophysiological and calcium imaging approaches. NT2 neurons (NT2Ns) expressed sodium dependent action potentials, as well as responses to depolarisation and the neurotransmitter glutamate. NT2Ns exhibited spontaneous and coordinated calcium elevations in clusters and in extended processes, indicating local and long distance signalling. Tetrodotoxin sensitive network activity could also be evoked by electrical stimulation. Similarly, NT2 astrocytes (NT2As) exhibited morphology and functional properties consistent with this glial cell type. NT2As responded to neuronal activity and to exogenously applied neurotransmitters with calcium elevations, and in contrast to neurons, also exhibited spontaneous rhythmic calcium oscillations. NT2As also generated propagating calcium waves that were gap junction and purinergic signalling dependent. Our results show that NT2 derived astrocytes exhibit appropriate functionality and that NT2N networks interact with NT2A networks in co-culture. These findings underline the utility of such cultures to investigate human brain cell type signalling under controlled conditions. Furthermore, since stem cell derived neuron function and survival is of great importance therapeutically, our findings suggest that the presence of complementary astrocytes may be valuable in supporting stem cell derived neuronal networks. Indeed, this also supports the intriguing possibility of selective therapeutic replacement of astrocytes in diseases where these cells are either lost or lose functionality
2012 Haida Gwaii Mw 7.7 Earthquake Response - Ocean Bottom Seismometer Relocation and Geophone Orientation Analysis and Quality Control of Wide-Angle P-wave Refraction Data
Canada's second largest instrumentally recorded earthquake occurred on October 27th, 2012, off the west coast of Moresby Island, Haida Gwaii. Analysis of seismic waveforms and the pattern of aftershocks indicate that it was a thrust earthquake with a magnitude of Mw = 7.7. To accurately locate earthquakes, recording stations need to be positioned such that they surround the epicenter and the sound speed at which seismic waves travel through the earth's crust must be known. The land stations on Haida Gwaii are all to the east of the aftershock sequence, thus making these offshore earthquake locations uncertain and making depths for those events almost impossible to calculate accurately. Only sparse information from seismic refraction work conducted in the early 1980ies on the offshore velocity structure around the epicenter is known. Therefore, a series of 14 ocean bottom seismometers (OBS) were deployed for the duration of 1 month between December 6, 2012 and January 5, 2013 to record a portion of the aftershock sequence. An active source seismic program was conducted in January 2013 prior to the OBS recovery to acquire information on the sediment- and crustal structures to aid in the earthquake location analyses. However, the initial refraction data were not recorded on any of the 14 OBS as the batteries on all of the OBS stations had drained by the time of the survey. An extra set of six OBS was re-deployed and a total of four single-channel seismic profiles were acquired across these six OBS stations for a smaller-scale detailed refraction velocity experiment. Using the active source seismic data, each of the six OBS of the second deployment were re-located on the ocean floor, which is a critical pre-requisite for any velocity analysis. The OBS instruments drifted on average by 200m to the NW of the deployment drop-position. New offset information for the relocated OBS stations were calculated, and used for an initial exemplary but non-ray-tracing based 1D refraction velocity analysis on selected OBS stations to demonstrate the general utility of the OBS refraction data. Additional particle motion analyses were conducted for five of the six OBS stations of the second refraction survey to define the geophone orientation. One of these six stations (OBS-5) appeared to have identical horizontal components and therefore could not be used for a geophone-orientation determination. Long-range refraction seismic arrivals from the active-source experiment with a single 520 cubic inch G-gun were identified on some of the Haida Gwaii land-stations with offset ranges of up to 58 km. This information can potentially be used for a deep-crustal refraction velocity analysis. At this stage, only basic information on these land-station data is documented for potential future analyses
The impact of curriculum hierarchies on the development of professional self in teaching: student-teachers of drama negotiating issues of subject status at the interface between drama and English
At the level of policy the relative âvalueâ of subjects is determined by their official curriculum designation, creating a hierarchy of learning within which particular subjects are categorised as optional to the educational experience of young people. This situation is well-illustrated by the marginalised position of drama in the National Curriculum for England and Wales in which drama appears as an adjunct to the âcoreâ subject English. Yet at school level drama has survived as a discrete and reasonably embedded subject. Drawing on questionnaire and interview data, I investigate the effects of this mismatch on the emergence of pedagogical content knowledge, linked to notions of professional self, in drama student-teachers at one university in the UK. Findings indicate that the student-teachers, whilst not entirely eschewing a less-regulated relationship between the two subjects, view the curriculum for English and its accompanying assessment regime as an inadequate host for drama. In addition, they regard teacher autonomy over curriculum content and pedagogy as indicative of a high degree of professional expertise. This suggests that a case can be made for re-evaluating the nature of the relationship between drama and English and its representation in policy-constructed curricula
Primary Schoolchildrenâs Experiences of Participatory Theatre in a Heritage Site
There is a growing need for articulation of the theoretical framework underpinning performance as a learning medium in heritage sites and for an in-depth insight into the children's experiences therein. The aim of this paper is to explore some of the themes that emerged from researching participatory theatre in a historic house as experienced by two primary school groups. The methodology drawing upon the principles of participatory research with children and a constructivist theoretical framework employed interviews, observations and drawings as data generation methods to explore the children's individual and collective experiences. The research findings underline the interplay between the events' theatrical and interpretive format and advocate the significance of children's co-authorship of such events
Active mud volcanoes on the continental slope of the Canadian Beaufort Sea
The major geochemical characteristics of Red Sea brine are summarized for 11 brine-filled deeps located along the central graben axis between 19°N and 27°N. The major element composition of the different brine pools is mainly controlled by variable mixing situations of halite-saturated solution (evaporite dissolution) with Red Sea deep water. The brine chemistry is also influenced by hydrothermal water/rock interaction, whereas magmatic and sedimentary rock reactions can be distinguished by boron, lithium, and magnesium/calcium chemistry. Moreover, hydrocarbon chemistry (concentrations and Ύ 13 C data) of brine indicates variable injection of light hydrocarbons from organic source rocks and strong secondary (bacterial or thermogenic) degradation processes. A simple statistical cluster analysis approach was selected to look for similarities in brine chemistry and to classify the various brine pools, as the measured chemical brine compositions show remarkably strong concentration variations for some elements. The cluster analysis indicates two main classes of brine. Type I brine chemistry (Oceanographer and Kebrit Deeps) is controlled by evaporite dissolution and contributions from sediment alteration. The Type II brine (Suakin, Port Sudan, Erba, Albatross, Discovery, Atlantis II, Nereus, Shaban, and Conrad Deeps) is influenced by variable contributions from volcanic/ magmatic rock alteration. The chemical brine classification can be correlated with the sedimentary and tectonic setting of the related depressions. Type I brine-filled deeps are located slightly off-axis from the central Red Sea graben. A typical " collapse structure formation " which has been defined for the Kebrit Deep by evaluating seismic and geomorphological data probably corresponds to our Type I brine. Type II brine located in depressions in the northern Red Sea (i.e., Conrad and Shaban Deeps) could be correlated to " volcanic intrusion-/extrusion-related " deep formation. The chemical indications for hydrothermal influence on Conrad and Shaban Deep brine can be related to brines from the multi-deeps region in the central Red Sea, where volcanic/magmatic fluid/rock interaction is most obvious. The strongest hydrothermal influence is observed in Atlantis II brine (central multi-deeps region), which is also the hottest Red Sea brine body in 2011 (*68.2 °C)
A creative industries perspective on creativity and culture
The chapter considers changing definitions of creativity in relation to UK cultural policy and practice in the creative industries. Three perspectives are introduced, beginning with the notion of creativity as a product of individual creativity and talent, popularised by the UK governmentâs 1998 Creative Industries Mapping Document. This perspective is contrasted with an older model of creativity as a collective expression of shared values, as emphasised in earlier cultural industries policies of the 1970s and 1980s. Finally, the chapter considers contemporary views of creativity in the creative industries as participatory, user-generated, remixed and âdemocratizedâ. The chapter concludes that there is value in all three perspectivesâthe challenge for policy makers, managers and practitioners in the creative industries is connecting together individual self-expression with collective cultural values
Sarcolemmal-restricted localization of functional ClC-1 channels in mouse skeletal muscle
Skeletal muscle fibers exhibit a high resting chloride conductance primarily determined by ClC-1 chloride channels that stabilize the resting membrane potential during repetitive stimulation. Although the importance of ClC-1 channel activity in maintaining normal muscle excitability is well appreciated, the subcellular location of this conductance remains highly controversial. Using a three-pronged multidisciplinary approach, we determined the location of functional ClC-1 channels in adult mouse skeletal muscle. First, formamide-induced detubulation of single flexor digitorum brevis (FDB) muscle fibers from 15â16-day-old mice did not significantly alter macroscopic ClC-1 current magnitude (at â140 mV; â39.0 ± 4.5 and â42.3 ± 5.0 nA, respectively), deactivation kinetics, or voltage dependence of channel activation (V1/2 was â61.0 ± 1.7 and â64.5 ± 2.8 mV; k was 20.5 ± 0.8 and 22.8 ± 1.2 mV, respectively), despite a 33% reduction in cell capacitance (from 465 ± 36 to 312 ± 23 pF). In paired whole cell voltage clamp experiments, where ClC-1 activity was measured before and after detubulation in the same fiber, no reduction in ClC-1 activity was observed, despite an âŒ40 and 60% reduction in membrane capacitance in FDB fibers from 15â16-day-old and adult mice, respectively. Second, using immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy, native ClC-1 channels in adult mouse FDB fibers were localized within the sarcolemma, 90° out of phase with double rows of dihydropyridine receptor immunostaining of the T-tubule system. Third, adenoviral-mediated expression of green fluorescent proteinâtagged ClC-1 channels in adult skeletal muscle of a mouse model of myotonic dystrophy type 1 resulted in a significant reduction in myotonia and localization of channels to the sarcolemma. Collectively, these results demonstrate that the majority of functional ClC-1 channels localize to the sarcolemma and provide essential insight into the basis of myofiber excitability in normal and diseased skeletal muscle
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