Shellac, bakelite, vinyl, and paper : Artifacts and representations of North Indian art music

Short songs in dialects of Hindi are the basis for improvisation in all the genres of North Indian classical vocal music. These songs, bandises, constitute a central pillar of North Indian culture, spreading well beyond the geographic frontiers of Hindi itself. Songs are significant as being the only aspect of North Indian music that is "fixed" and handed down via oral tradition relatively intact. They are regarded as the core of Indian art music because they encapsulate the melodic structures upon which improvisation is based. In this paper we aim to look at some issues raised by the idiosyncrasies of written representations of songs as they has occurred within the Indian cultural milieu, and then at issues that have emerged in the course of our own ongoing efforts to represent khyal songs from the perspectives of somewhat "insidish outsiders."Issue title: Performance Literature I

The lyrics of Thumri: Hindi poetry in a musical genre.

Thumri is a vocal genre in North Indian (Hindustani) art music. It was traditionally used in songstress-courtesan performance, in the early nineteenth century as an accompaniment to interpretive dance, and later as a lyrical and emotive song form. Thumri is now one of the most popular genres in contemporary art music. The lyrics of thumri have not been the subject of extensive academic enquiry. This dissertation examines thumri texts from two perspectives: linguistic and contextual. It is primarily based on song texts collected during field work in North India in 1996-97, as well as on material transcribed from commercial recordings and printed sources. The detailed linguistic analysis carried out in chapter two provides an overview of the idiosyncrasies of the language of thumri texts, and explores their stylistic consequences. Chapter three examines the formal structure of the texts. Chapter four discusses the main themes that occur in thumri, and their literary antecedents. Thumri's contextual element is salient: in the process of negotiating the gradual move from courtesan's salon to modem concert stage, awareness of the relevance of thumri's historical role has been eroded to such an extent that we can speak of a 'reinvented' tradition. Chapter five locates thumri within the milieu of North Indian music culture, and examines how changes in the genre's context have affected its lyrics. Chapter six addresses issues of authenticity, as the ramifications of how genres respond to changing performance environments are considered. The conclusion is followed by three appendices. Appendix one contains the main corpus, the 108 texts upon which the dissertation is based. The texts are given with their variant versions where known, resulting in a total of 180 texts. These are translated, and problematic points of grammar and translation are briefly discussed. Appendix two consists of five charts which overview the use of rhyme and other poetic devices in thumri. Appendix three comprises a glossary of technical terms used in the thesis

Effective Bounds for P-Recursive Sequences

We describe an algorithm that takes as input a complex sequence $(u_n)$ given by a linear recurrence relation with polynomial coefficients along with initial values, and outputs a simple explicit upper bound $(v_n)$ such that $|u_n| \leq v_n$ for all $n$. Generically, the bound is tight, in the sense that its asymptotic behaviour matches that of $u_n$. We discuss applications to the evaluation of power series with guaranteed precision.Comment: 26 page

Experiences with and needs for aftercare following the death of a loved one in the ICU:a mixed-methods study among bereaved relatives

Background: Bereaved relatives of intensive care unit (ICU) patients are at increased risk of psychological complaints. Aftercare might help them cope with processing the ICU admission and their loved one’s death. There is little (qualitative) evidence on how bereaved relatives experience aftercare. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic likely impacted aftercare provision. We aim to examine how many relatives in Dutch ICUs received aftercare before and during the pandemic and to qualitatively describe their experiences and needs regarding aftercare. Methods: A mixed-methods study among relatives of patients who died in an ICU before or during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bereaved relatives in six ICUs completed a questionnaire (n = 90), including two items on aftercare. These were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-squared tests. Subsequently, both relatives that received and relatives that did not receive aftercare were interviewed about their experiences and needs regarding aftercare. The interviews were thematically analyzed. Results: After the passing of a loved one, 44% of the relatives were asked by a healthcare professional from the hospital how they were doing, and 26% had had a follow-up conversation. Both happened more often during the first wave of the pandemic than during the second wave or before the pandemic. The most common reason for not having had a follow-up conversation was not knowing about this option (44%), followed by not feeling a need (26%). Regarding the latter, interviewed relatives explained that this would not revive their loved one or that they had already discussed everything they wanted. Relatives who wanted a follow-up conversation, wanted this because this would help them realize the severity of their loved one’s illness, to exchange personal experiences, and/or to thank the ICU team. Those with a follow-up conversation said that they had reviewed the medical course of the admission and/or discussed their (mental) well-being. Conclusions: ICU healthcare professionals may play a vital role in addressing aftercare needs by asking relatives how they are doing in the weeks following the death of their loved one and offering them a follow-up conversation with an ICU physician. We recommend to include aftercare for bereaved relatives in ICU guidelines.</p

Experiences with and needs for aftercare following the death of a loved one in the ICU:a mixed-methods study among bereaved relatives

Background: Bereaved relatives of intensive care unit (ICU) patients are at increased risk of psychological complaints. Aftercare might help them cope with processing the ICU admission and their loved one’s death. There is little (qualitative) evidence on how bereaved relatives experience aftercare. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic likely impacted aftercare provision. We aim to examine how many relatives in Dutch ICUs received aftercare before and during the pandemic and to qualitatively describe their experiences and needs regarding aftercare. Methods: A mixed-methods study among relatives of patients who died in an ICU before or during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bereaved relatives in six ICUs completed a questionnaire (n = 90), including two items on aftercare. These were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-squared tests. Subsequently, both relatives that received and relatives that did not receive aftercare were interviewed about their experiences and needs regarding aftercare. The interviews were thematically analyzed. Results: After the passing of a loved one, 44% of the relatives were asked by a healthcare professional from the hospital how they were doing, and 26% had had a follow-up conversation. Both happened more often during the first wave of the pandemic than during the second wave or before the pandemic. The most common reason for not having had a follow-up conversation was not knowing about this option (44%), followed by not feeling a need (26%). Regarding the latter, interviewed relatives explained that this would not revive their loved one or that they had already discussed everything they wanted. Relatives who wanted a follow-up conversation, wanted this because this would help them realize the severity of their loved one’s illness, to exchange personal experiences, and/or to thank the ICU team. Those with a follow-up conversation said that they had reviewed the medical course of the admission and/or discussed their (mental) well-being. Conclusions: ICU healthcare professionals may play a vital role in addressing aftercare needs by asking relatives how they are doing in the weeks following the death of their loved one and offering them a follow-up conversation with an ICU physician. We recommend to include aftercare for bereaved relatives in ICU guidelines.</p

Varying (preferred) levels of involvement in treatment decision-making in the intensive care unit before and during the COVID-19 pandemic:a mixed-methods study among relatives

BackgroundIn the intensive care unit (ICU) relatives play a crucial role as surrogate decision-makers, since most patients cannot communicate due to their illness and treatment. Their level of involvement in decision-making can affect their psychological well-being. During the COVID-19 pandemic, relatives' involvement probably changed. We aim to investigate relatives' involvement in decision-making in the ICU before and during the pandemic and their experiences and preferences in this regard.MethodsA mixed-methods study among relatives of ICU patients admitted to an ICU before or during the COVID-19 pandemic. Relatives in six ICUs completed a questionnaire (n = 329), including two items on decision-making. These were analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses. Subsequently, relatives (n = 24) were interviewed about their experiences and preferences regarding decision-making. Thematic analysis was used for analysing the qualitative data.ResultsNearly 55% of the relatives indicated they were at least occasionally asked to be involved in important treatment decisions and of these relatives 97.1% reported to have had enough time to discuss questions and concerns when important decisions were to be made. During the first COVID-19 wave relatives were significantly less likely to be involved in decision-making compared to relatives from pre-COVID-19. The interviews showed that involvement varied from being informed about an already made decision to deliberation about the best treatment option. Preferences for involvement also varied, with some relatives preferring no involvement due to a perceived lack of expertise and others preferring an active role as the patient's advocate. Discussing a patient's quality of life was appreciated by relatives, and according to relatives healthcare professionals also found this valuable. In some cases the preferred and actual involvement was in discordance, preferring either a larger or a smaller role.ConclusionsAs treatment alignment with a patient's values and preferences and accordance between preferred and actual involvement in decision-making is very important, we suggest that the treatment decision-making process should start with discussions about a patient's quality of life, followed by tailoring the process to relatives' preferences as much as possible. Healthcare professionals should be aware of relatives' heterogeneous and possibly changing preferences regarding the decision-making process