Lesson Book: Piano

A Music Lesson Book for the correspondence courses offered through the Siegel-Myers Correspondence School of Music. Lessons: Piano, number 1 through 20https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/sherwood_smcs/1009/thumbnail.jp

Lesson Book: Piano

A Music Lesson Book for the correspondence courses offered through the Siegel-Myers Correspondence School of Music. Note: this book is incomplete and does not contain all lessons Lessons: Piano, number 11 through 97https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/sherwood_smcs/1010/thumbnail.jp

Three applications for mobile epidemic algorithms

This paper presents a framework for the pervasive sharing of data using wireless networks. 'FarCry' uses the mobility of users to carry files between separated networks. Through a mix of ad-hoc and infrastructure-based wireless networking, files are transferred between users without their direct involvement. As users move to different locations, files are then transmitted on to other users, spreading and sharing information. We examine three applications of this framework. Each of these exploits the physically proximate nature of social gatherings. As people group together in, for example, business meetings and cafés, this can be taken as an indication of similar interests, e.g. in the same presentation or in a type of music. MediaNet affords sharing of media files between strangers or friends, MeetingNet shares business documents in meetings, and NewsNet shares RSS feeds between mobile users. NewsNet also develops the use of pre-emptive caching: collecting information from others not for oneself, but for the predicted later sharing with others. We offer observations on developing this system for a mobile, multi-user, multi-device environment

Picking pockets on the lawn: the development of tactics and strategies in a mobile game

This paper presents Treasure, an outdoor mobile multiplayer game inspired by Weiser’s notion of seams, gaps and breaks in different media. Playing Treasure involves movement in and out of a wi-fi network, using PDAs to pick up virtual ’coins’ that may be scattered outside network coverage. Coins have to be uploaded to a server to gain game points, and players can collaborate with teammates to double the points given for an upload. Players can also steal coins from opponents. As they move around, players’ PDAs sample network signal strength and update coverage maps. Reporting on a study of players taking part in multiple games, we discuss how their tactics and strategies developed as their experience grew with successive games. We suggest that meaningful play arises in just this way, and that repeated play is vital when evaluating such games

Gaming on the edge: using seams in ubicomp games

Outdoor multi-player games are an increasingly popular application area for ubiquitous computing, supporting experimentation both with new technologies and new user experiences. This paper presents an outdoor ubicomp game that exploits the gaps or seams that exist in complex computer systems. Treasure is designed so that players move in and out of areas of wireless network coverage, taking advantage not only of the connectivity within a wireless ‘hotspot’ but of the lack of connectivity outside it. More broadly, this paper discusses how the notion of seamful design can be a source of design ideas for ubicomp games

Nanopore direct RNA sequencing maps the complexity of Arabidopsis mRNA processing and m6A modification

Understanding genome organization and gene regulation requires insight into RNA transcription, processing and modification. We adapted nanopore direct RNA sequencing to examine RNA from a wild-type accession of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and a mutant defective in mRNA methylation (m6A). Here we show that m6A can be mapped in full-length mRNAs transcriptome-wide and reveal the combinatorial diversity of cap-associated transcription start sites, splicing events, poly(A) site choice and poly(A) tail length. Loss of m6A from 3’ untranslated regions is associated with decreased relative transcript abundance and defective RNA 30 end formation. A functional consequence of disrupted m6A is a lengthening of the circadian period. We conclude that nanopore direct RNA sequencing can reveal the complexity of mRNA processing and modification in full-length single molecule reads. These findings can refine Arabidopsis genome annotation. Further, applying this approach to less well-studied species could transform our understanding of what their genomes encode

Internet-based pharmacy and centralised dispensing: an exploratory mixed-methods study of the views of family practice staff

Background Over the last decade, technological advances, market competition and increasing pressures for efficiencies across health care systems have resulted in changes to the processes and policies involved in medicines prescribing and dispensing. The aim of this study was to explore the views of family practice staff, including GPs, on the perceived impact of changes associated with remote dispensing and the increasing availability of distance-selling pharmacies. Methods Exploratory mixed methods study using qualitative focus groups and an online cross-sectional survey distributed to a non-probability sample of staff from family practices across England. Survey items were developed based on existing literature and initial thematic analysis from the focus groups and adapted using cognitive interviewing techniques. Results Findings suggest that family practice staff believe that where and how prescriptions are dispensed impacts on their practice and patients. Frequent contact with distance-selling pharmacies is not common, however, highlighted concerns included patient safety issues and the potential threat to the loss of valued elements and sustainability of community pharmacy and dispensing practices. Identified concerns and experiences are unlikely to be routinely discussed within or between practices, limiting opportunities for shared learning and consideration of the potential impact of changes to dispensing processes and policies. Conclusions Further research is needed to confirm these exploratory findings, due to the low response rate and sample size. Findings, nevertheless, highlight how wider changes in dispensing processes may have unintended consequences on other aspects of the healthcare system

Using indigenous kaupapa Māori research methodology with constructivist grounded theory: generating a theoretical explanation of indigenous womens realities

In this paper, we use research with Indigenous Māori women to explain the research interface to bring together Indigenous and Euro-Western ways of knowing. Our research required using an Indigenous research methodology that drew on traditional cultural knowledge with embedded critical and decolonisation theories to understand this often-marginalised group of Indigenous women. Constructivist grounded theory provided a systematic and rigorous approach to generating theory. Because of the unique histories of colonisation and contemporary realities resulting in Indigenous women’s marginalisation, globally, we argue research must be relevant, safe, and meaningful to those researched to produce transformative knowledge. Therefore, planning a research methodology to inform research with Indigenous women that counters current unhelpful constructions required careful consideration. We share how we used kaupapa Māori research methodology and constructivist grounded theory to generate an explanation of how Māori women keep safe in unsafe relationships

The extinction curve in the visible and the value of Rv

This article discusses the interstellar extinction curve in the visible and the value of Rv. It is concluded that the visible extinction curve is likely to be linear in the visible, and that indirect estimates of Rv from tentative determinations of Av, infrared, or UV observations are questionable. There is currently no evidence of any variation of Rv with direction. If Rv is close to 3, as it has been inferred from mid-infrared data, starlight in the visible is extinguished by a factor F/F_0=(2.5exp{-2micron/lambda})^{E(B-V)} in the visible. But if the visible wavelength range alone is considered, 4 appears as its most natural and probable value, and F/F_0= exp{-2E(B-V)/lambda}.Comment: 4 figures. Published in Astronomische Nachrichten. Label of Fig. 1 is corrected in the present version. Paper previously rejected by MNRAS (MJ Barlow editor, review is available