Towards a Feminist Analysis of "Women in Rock Music": Patti Smith's "Gloria"

Within contemporary social theory, there is a developing literature which analyzes the position of women within various cultural practices such as literature, film, and the visual arts, and the beginnings of a critical cultural analysis of rock music. However, there are very few discussions of the position of women within the rock music industry. The goal of this article is to attempt to articulate one way feminists can understand rock music, women's participation in the genre, and the relationship of this cultural practice to the ideological production of gender. This paper is divided into two sections. First, I examine how even a critical feminist content analysis forecloses interrogations of "entertainment industries" or popular culture because of its uncritical assumption of a referential theory of language. To demonstrate this, I analyze one of the few articles on women in rock music: Deborah Harding and Emily Nett's "Women in Rock Music," which appeared in Atlantis in 1984.1 conclude with a reading of Patti Smith's version of the rock and roll classic "Gloria" to emphasize the need for more detailed analyses of the subject positions assigned to women within rock music lyrics using feminist deconstructive and psychoanalytic theories of subjectivity. Contrary to Harding and Nett's position, "Gloria" demonstrates that it is possible for women to participate in rock music without acting as "male-identified women."Dans les théories contemporaines sur la société et la culture, il existe un nombre croissant d’articles qui analysent la position des femmes dans la littérature, le cinéma, et les arts visuels. Peu à peu, on commence aussi à voir des articles critiques sur la musique rock. Cependant, il existe très peu d’articles qui étudient la position des femmes dans le rock and roll. Cet article se propose donc d’examiner la participation des femmes dans l’industrie du rock and roll, et la notion du genre de cette musique. Je me penche d’abord sur la position de Harding et Nett, exprimée dans leur article "Women and Rock Music," (qui parut dans la revue Atlantis en 1984) qui suggère que la participation des femmes dans cette industrie est impossible, puisque le rock and roll est du genre masculin. Ensuite, je discute la ré-écriture de la chanson “Gloria” par Patti Smith, afin de montrer les possibilités qu’ont les femmes de redéfinir le genre. J’utilise des théories contemporaines de psychanalyse, de déconstruction et de féminisme afin d’aborder cette question. En effet, malgré la position de Harding et Nett, j’avance que la chanson "Gloria" arrive à montrer aux femmes les possibilités qu’elles ont de participer dans la musique rock, sans qu’elles aient besoin d’agir, pour autant, comme des "femmes définies par les hommes.

Hello There: An Integrative Framing Analysis of the Disney+ Series Obi-Wan Kenobi

The effective communication of emotions within audio-visual content, such as film, was one of the most important aspects that needed to be considered when creating such content. Within the field of communication, there was a limited amount of research that existed on the communication of emotions in film. This was a problem as such content is becoming more prevalent in society. Knowing how those emotions were created and developed would allow communication scholars to better understand how to effectively elicit emotions from their own audio-visual content. By examining a well-known series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, scholars could see how different aural and visual elements influenced the emotions found in a narrative. Most communication scholars would accomplish this using media framing theory, yet there are limitations with this theory. Therefore, by bringing integrative framing analysis to help fill the gaps, a more complete analysis of aural and visual frames can be accomplished. Throughout this study, aural and visual frames found within the series were integrated and analyzed together before conducting separate analyses for each kind of frame. In some cases, aural frames held more influence over the emotions being conveyed by a character and in others, visual frames held more influence. There were, however, some cases where the emotions conveyed had the most influence when both aural and visual frames were examined together

Les alliances technologiques stratégiques: de la théorie à la situation canadienne

Technological cooperation between business enterprises has become common-place over the past ten years or so, following an increase in the uncertainty, risk, and costs of research and development brought about by growing international competition and the unsettling impact of data processing technologies (and to a lesser degree biotechnologies) throughout the entire industrial sector. Strategies in R&D cooperation, first adopted by Japanese corporations, were copied by European firms in the early 80s and then by American and Canadian corporations later on. Governments have got in on the action through policies for encouragement of collective R&D. Current theories in economies and business administration are not very useful for understanding this phenomenon. Neo-classical economies' assumption of perfect competition, as well as dissertations on product obsolescence and transaction costs, permeate theories in business administration and do not help us comprehend this new organizational phenomenon. We have, however, come across some crucial leads towards an explanation in certain models of imperfect competition and in managerial studies on informal cooperation by businesses in R&D

An Arctic Republic of Letters in Early Twentieth-Century Canada

The writing of historical polar exploration in the English-speaking academy has undergone a substantial shift in the past twenty years, to the point where it may be safe to declare that the once-dominant triumphal and hagiographical style, inherited from the nineteenth century, has breathed its last. The explorer as depicted in this tradition has become a figure of fun in current discourse, easily recognizable in the contours of caricature. Sherrill Grace, for example, presents for our inspection "courageous men battling a dangerous, hostile, female terra incognita to prove their masculinity and the superior force of their technology" whose fate is to "die nobly in struggle, or to map, claim, name, and control unstructured space, even if only on paper." It is all too simple to dismiss these aims in an era with less palpable sympathy for them. Instead, many current writers have chosen the more difficult approach of grounding these explorers in appropriate political, social, and cultural contexts, and subsequently uncovering the rationale behind their beliefs and practices

Community\u27s perceptions of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in Sindh Pakistan: A qualitative study

Background: Maternal mortality is of global public health concern and \u3e99% of maternal deaths occur in less developed countries. The common causes of direct maternal death are hemorrhage, sepsis and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia. In Pakistan, pre-eclampsia/eclampsia deaths represents one-third of maternal deaths reported at the tertiary care hospital settings. This study explored community perceptions, and traditional management practices about pre-eclampsia/eclampsia.Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in Sindh Province of Pakistan from February to July 2012. Twenty-six focus groups were conducted, 19 with women of reproductive age/mothers-in-law (N=173); and 7 with husbands/fathers-in-law (N=65). The data were transcribed verbatim in Sindhi and Urdu, then analyzed for emerging themes and sub-themes using NVivo version 10 software.Results: Pre-eclampsia in pregnancy was not recognized as a disease and there was no name in the local languages to describe this. Women however, knew about high blood pressure and were aware they can develop it during pregnancy. It was widely believed that stress and weakness caused high blood pressure in pregnancy and it caused symptoms of headache. The perception of high blood pressure was not based on measurement but on symptoms. Self-medication was often used for headaches associated with high blood pressure. They were also awareness that severely high blood pressure could result in death.Conclusions: Community-based participatory health education strategies are recommended to dispel myths and misperceptions regarding pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. The educational initiatives should include information on the presentation, progression of illness, danger signs associated with pregnancy, and appropriate treatment

Potential for task-sharing to Lady Health Workers for identification and emergency management of pre-eclampsia at community level in Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: An estimated 276 Pakistani women die for every 100,000 live births; with eclampsia accounting for about 10 % of these deaths. Community health workers contribute to the existing health system in Pakistan under the banner of the Lady Health Worker (LHW) Programme and are responsible to provide a comprehensive package of antenatal services. However, there is a need to increase focus on early identification and prompt diagnosis of pre-eclampsia in community settings, since women with mild pre-eclampsia often present without symptoms. This study aims to explore the potential for task-sharing to LHWs for the community-level management of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in Pakistan. METHODS: A qualitative exploratory study was undertaken February-July 2012 in two districts, Hyderabad and Matiari, in the southern province of Sindh, Pakistan. Altogether 33 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted and the LHW curriculum and training materials were also reviewed. The data was audio-recorded, then transcribed verbatim for thematic analysis using QSR NVivo-version10. RESULTS: Findings from the review of the LHW curriculum and training program describe that in the existing community delivery system, LHWs are responsible for identification of pregnant women, screening women for danger signs and referrals for antenatal care. They are the first point of contact for women in pregnancy and provide nutritional counselling along with distribution of iron and folic acid supplements. Findings from FGDs suggest that LHWs do not carry a blood pressure device or antihypertensive medications; they refer to the nearest public facility in the event of a pregnancy complication. Currently, they provide tetanus toxoid in pregnancy. The health advice provided by lady health workers is highly valued and accepted by pregnant women and their families. Many Supervisors of LHWs recognized the need for increased training regarding pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, with a focus on identifying women at high risk. The entire budget of the existing lady health worker Programme is provided by the Government of Pakistan, indicating a strong support by policy makers and the government for the tasks undertaken by these providers. CONCLUSION: There is a potential for training and task-sharing to LHWs for providing comprehensive antenatal care; specifically for the identification and management of pre-eclampsia in Pakistan. However, the implementation needs to be combined with appropriate training, equipment availability and supervision. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrial.gov, NCT01911494

The feasibility of community level interventions for pre-eclampsia in South Asia and sub-saharan Africa: A mixed-methods design

Background: Globally, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are major contributors to maternal and perinatal mortality; of which the vast majority of deaths occur in less developed countries. In addition, a disproportionate number of morbidities and mortalities occur due to delayed access to health services. The Community Level Interventions for Pre-eclampsia (CLIP) Trial aims to task-shift to community health workers the identification and emergency management of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia to improve access and timely care. Literature revealed paucity of published feasibility assessments prior to initiating large-scale community-based interventions. Arguably, well-conducted feasibility studies can provide valuable information about the potential success of clinical trials prior to implementation. Failure to fully understand the study context risks the effective implementation of the intervention and limits the likelihood of post-trial scale-up. Therefore, it was imperative to conduct community-level feasibility assessments for a trial of this magnitude.Methods: A mixed methods design guided by normalization process theory was used for this study in Nigeria, Mozambique, Pakistan, and India to explore enabling and impeding factors for the CLIP Trial implementation. Qualitative data were collected through participant observation, document review, focus group discussion and in-depth interviews with diverse groups of community members, key informants at community level, healthcare providers, and policy makers. Quantitative data were collected through health facility assessments, self-administered community health worker surveys, and household demographic and health surveillance.Results: Refer to CLIP Trial feasibility publications in the current and/or forthcoming supplement.Conclusions: Feasibility assessments for community level interventions, particularly those involving task-shifting across diverse regions, require an appropriate theoretical framework and careful selection of research methods. The use of qualitative and quantitative methods increased the data richness to better understand the community contexts

Magnesium sulphate for fetal neuroprotection: benefits and challenges of a systematic knowledge translation project in Canada

Administration of magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) to women with imminent preterm birth a

A risk prediction model for the assessment and triage of women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in low-resourced settings: the miniPIERS (Pre-eclampsia Integrated Estimate of RiSk) multi-country prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Pre-eclampsia/eclampsia are leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity, particularly in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs). We developed the miniPIERS risk prediction model to provide a simple, evidence-based tool to identify pregnant women in LMICs at increased risk of death or major hypertensive-related complications. METHODS AND FINDINGS: From 1 July 2008 to 31 March 2012, in five LMICs, data were collected prospectively on 2,081 women with any hypertensive disorder of pregnancy admitted to a participating centre. Candidate predictors collected within 24 hours of admission were entered into a step-wise backward elimination logistic regression model to predict a composite adverse maternal outcome within 48 hours of admission. Model internal validation was accomplished by bootstrapping and external validation was completed using data from 1,300 women in the Pre-eclampsia Integrated Estimate of RiSk (fullPIERS) dataset. Predictive performance was assessed for calibration, discrimination, and stratification capacity. The final miniPIERS model included: parity (nulliparous versus multiparous); gestational age on admission; headache/visual disturbances; chest pain/dyspnoea; vaginal bleeding with abdominal pain; systolic blood pressure; and dipstick proteinuria. The miniPIERS model was well-calibrated and had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC ROC) of 0.768 (95% CI 0.735-0.801) with an average optimism of 0.037. External validation AUC ROC was 0.713 (95% CI 0.658-0.768). A predicted probability ≥25% to define a positive test classified women with 85.5% accuracy. Limitations of this study include the composite outcome and the broad inclusion criteria of any hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. This broad approach was used to optimize model generalizability. CONCLUSIONS: The miniPIERS model shows reasonable ability to identify women at increased risk of adverse maternal outcomes associated with the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. It could be used in LMICs to identify women who would benefit most from interventions such as magnesium sulphate, antihypertensives, or transportation to a higher level of care

Variations in the reporting of outcomes used in systematic reviews of treatment effectiveness research in bladder pain syndrome

Abstract not availableSeema A. Tirlapur, Richeal Ni Riordain, Khalid S. Khan on behalf of the EBM-CONNECT Collaboratio