1,290 research outputs found

    TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY SABAR DRUMS: INNOVATIONS IN ORGANOLOGY AND PERFORMANCE PRACTICES IN SENEGAL AND THE DIASPORA

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    This article contributes to the substantial body of publications on South African jazz with information on jazz performance and performers in New Brighton, a township adjacent to Port Elizabeth noted for its vibrant jazz scene and outstanding jazz musicians. The article covers several decades from the heyday of swing bands in the 1940s–50s through the 1960s–70s when New Brighton’s premier jazz combo, the Soul Jazzmen, were at the height of their artistry. The role of swing bands in New Brighton and surrounding communities as the training ground for members of the Soul Jazzmen and other local musicians of note is discussed, as well as how the Soul Jazzmen in turn were tutors for musicians of the next generation who became widely recognized artists, composers and arrangers. This is followed by a focus on the Soul Jazzmen and compositions by its members that protested against the apartheid regime in the 1960s–70s. The article is informed by historic photographs, newspaper clippings and information from oral history interviews that richly document how jazz was performed in service of the anti-apartheid struggle in New Brighton

    Trivariate Probit Models of Pre-purchase/ Purchase Shopping Channel Choice: Clothing Purchases in Northern California

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    This study analyzes the joint choice of pre-purchase and purchase shopping channels for clothing purchases, using data collected from an internet-based survey of two university towns in Northern California (final Ns=390 and 452). Descriptive analysis clearly shows dependence across these three choices: in particular, the “sticky” combinations of {only-store pre-purchase + store purchase} and {only internet pre-purchase + internet purchase} occur substantially more often than independent choices would predict. We develop two trivariate probit (TVP) models, consisting of two binary choice equations for the pre-purchase channel (respectively measuring the use of store or not, and the use of internet or not) and one binary choice equation for the purchase channel (store or internet). One model allows prior channel purchase experience variables to enter while the other model excludes them. The results further confirm the dependency among pre-purchase and purchase channel choices, with all three error term correlations strongly significant. In addition to breadth and depth of experience variables and channel-specific perceptions (post-purchase satisfaction, cost savings, enjoyment, and convenience), significant explanatory variables include general shopping-related attitudes (pro-exercise, shop enjoyment, and store enjoyment), context variables, and sociodemographic traits (age and income). Prediction of joint choice probabilities was considerably better for the TVP model than for independent binary choice models, confirming the value of simultaneously modeling pre-purchase and purchase channel choice bundle

    WaaZam!: supporting creative play at a distance in customized video environments

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    We present the design, and evaluation of WaaZam, a video mediated communication system designed to support creative play in customized environments. Users can interact together in virtual environments composed of digital assets layered in 3D space. The goal of the project is to support creative play and increase social engagement during video sessions of geographically separated families. We try to understand the value of customization for individual families with children ages 6-12. We present interviews with creativity experts, a pilot study and a formal evaluation of families playing together in four conditions: separate windows, merged windows, digital play sets, and customized digital environments. We found that playing in the same video space enables new activities and increases social engagement for families. Customization allows families to modify scenes for their needs and support more creative play activities that embody the imagination of the child

    Testing the effects of digital gamified creativity training

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    This paper presents an experimental study that tests the effects of a new digital gamified creativity training program. Four techniques are used to assess the creativity level of a group of university students by taking measurements before and after the experiment. The instruments used are a domain-specific creativity test, a creative self-efficacy test, a belief in creativity training test and a domain-general creativity test. The study is performed among 100 undergraduate Communication students, divided into an experiment (N=51) and a control group (N=49). The experiment group participates in self-conducted training sessions and the control group is submitted to the same assessment procedure without participating in the training. Students in the experiment group performed online exercises for ten hours on a digital gamified creativity training program within a duration of four weeks. The results show that trainees in the experimental group increased their creative performance significantly in both domain-specific and domain-general creativity as well as their creative self-efficacy. No significant increase was found for their belief in creativity training. Furthermore, the implications of this study for digital gamified creativity training are discussed.peer-reviewe

    Genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Peru and exploration of phylogenetic associations with drug resistance.

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    BACKGROUND: There is limited available data on the strain diversity of M tuberculosis in Peru, though there may be interesting lessons to learn from a setting where multidrug resistant TB has emerged as a major problem despite an apparently well-functioning DOTS control programme. METHODS: Spoligotyping was undertaken on 794 strains of M tuberculosis collected between 1999 and 2005 from 553 community-based patients and 241 hospital-based HIV co-infected patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in Lima, Peru. Phylogenetic and epidemiologic analyses permitted identification of clusters and exploration of spoligotype associations with drug resistance. RESULTS: Mean patient age was 31.9 years, 63% were male and 30.4% were known to be HIV+. Rifampicin mono-resistance, isoniazid mono-resistance and multidrug resistance (MDR) were identified in 4.7%, 8.7% and 17.3% of strains respectively. Of 794 strains from 794 patients there were 149 different spoligotypes. Of these there were 27 strains (3.4%) with novel, unique orphan spoligotypes. 498 strains (62.7%) were clustered in the nine most common spoligotypes: 16.4% SIT 50 (clade H3), 12.3% SIT 53 (clade T1), 8.3% SIT 33 (LAM3), 7.4% SIT 42 (LAM9), 5.5% SIT 1 (Beijing), 3.9% SIT 47 (H1), 3.0% SIT 222 (clade unknown), 3.0% SIT1355 (LAM), and 2.8% SIT 92 (X3). Amongst HIV-negative community-based TB patients no associations were seen between drug resistance and specific spoligotypes; in contrast HIV-associated MDRTB, but not isoniazid or rifampicin mono-resistance, was associated with SIT42 and SIT53 strains. CONCLUSION: Two spoligotypes were associated with MDR particularly amongst patients with HIV. The MDR-HIV association was significantly reduced after controlling for SIT42 and SIT53 status; residual confounding may explain the remaining apparent association. These data are suggestive of a prolonged, clonal, hospital-based outbreak of MDR disease amongst HIV patients but do not support a hypothesis of strain-specific propensity for the acquisition of resistance-conferring mutations

    The impact of the residential built environment on work at home adoption and frequency: An example from Northern California

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    JTLU vol 4, no 3, pp 3-22 (2011)Working at home is widely viewed as a useful travel-reduction strategy, and it is partly for that reason that considerable research related to telecommuting and home-based work has been conducted in the last two decades. This study examines the effect of residential neighborhood built environment (BE) factors on working at home. After systematically presenting and categorizing various relevant elements of the BE and reviewing related studies, we develop a multinomial logit (MNL) model of work-at-home (WAH) frequency using data from a survey of eight neighborhoods in Northern California. Potential explanatory variables include sociodemographic traits, neighborhood preferences and perceptions, objective neighborhood characteristics, and travel attitudes and behavior. The results clearly demonstrate the contribution of built environment variables to WAH choices, in addition to previously-identified influences such as sociodemographic predictors and com- mute time. BE factors associated with (neo)traditional neighborhoods were associated both positively and negatively with working at home. The findings suggest that land use and transportation strategies that are desirable from some perspectives will tend to weaken the motivation to work at home, and conversely, some factors that seem to increase the motivation to work at home are widely viewed as less sustainable. Accordingly, this research points to the complexity of trying to find the right balance among demand management strategies that sometimes act in competition rather than in synergy

    Learning Perspectives on Digital Embodied Creativity Training

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    As training is increasingly digitalised in general education it becomes relevant to evaluate this new medium for learning. This is particularly true in the field of embodied creativity training because of its strong focus on the embodiment of creative skills. This paper evaluates potential levels of competence development when using a digital embodied creativity training program and it discusses the related themes of motivation for and transfer of learning. It finds that while digital embodied creativity training, through its gamification possibilities, might increase personal engagement and motivation inside and outside the classroom, the training should reflect relatable situations to real-life experiences to increase the transfer effect. The opportunity for skills acquisition from distance learning seems paramount, even though digital embodied creativity training may not support all educational aims right now, as some skills may be easier to acquire in face-to-face training settings. Further improvements in technology could change this in the near future. The paper stresses the need for further research on this emerging topic of digital embodied creativity training.peer-reviewe

    Online Gamified Training for Business Innovation:Examining an Embodied Gamified E-learning Module on Creativity

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    This article examines the use of a novel method of delivery of creativity training: a gamified embodied e-learning module for teaching the creative skills fundamental for practical business innovation. The e-module “Academy for Creativity” is examined as an out-of-class study activity for creativity training using interviews with focus groups of students, questionnaires on a larger group of students and individual interviews with teachers. The results reveal embodied gamified e-learning on creativity as a potential for increasing student motivation and engagement as well as a potential for advancing and increasing focus and student time spent on the deliberate practice of creativity as part of business innovation studies. The results also present recommendations for how to implement embodied gamified e-learning on creativity as a natural part of classes on business innovation.peer-reviewe

    Review of the Interaction Between Body Composition and Clinical Outcomes in Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer Treated With Targeted Therapies

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    Treatment of metastatic renal cell cancer (mRCC) currently focuses on inhibition of the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. Obesity confers a higher risk of RCC. However, the influence of obesity on clinical outcomes in mRCC in the era of targeted therapy is less clear. This review focuses on the impact of body composition on targeted therapy outcomes in mRCC. The International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium database has the largest series of patients evaluating the impact of body mass index (BMI) on outcomes in mRCC patients treated with targeted therapy. Overall survival was significantly improved in overweight patients (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2), and this observation was externally validated in patients who participated in Pfizer trials. In contrast, sarcopenia is consistently associated with increased toxicity to inhibitors of angiogenesis and mTOR. Strengthening patients with mRCC and sarcopenia, through a structured exercise program and dietary intervention, may improve outcomes in mRCC treated with targeted therapies. At the same time, the paradox of obesity being a risk factor for RCC while offering a better overall survival in response to targeted therapy needs to be further evaluated
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