Defining Doom Through Women's Experience: Deterritorialising Doom Metal Signifiers

The male has acted as gatekeeper for the majority of discourse in metal, ingraining gender essentialist masculinity into the understanding of the music and its subcultures. This concept is wholly embodied in Robert Walser’s (1993) term ‘excription’ - the writing out of women from metal. Through the analysis of doom metal music, iconography and subculture in relation to ethnographic narratives of a group of women doom fans, this paper aims to deterritorialise doom metal of its various musical and subcultural signifiers thus stripping it of gender essentialist connotation; actualising the antithesis of Walser’s ‘excription’ theory, that of women’s rescription

The Women of Doom: An Ethnographic Study of Women's Experience in Doom Metal

The Woman fan, musician and industry professional are on the rise in heavy metal culture. It has been noted that women fans make up a third of the global heavy metal fan base and there is reason to believe that this number is gradually increasing. However, in both scholarly and journalistic literature heavy metal is still, generally understood as a masculinist and misogynist genre. But what this fails to acknowledge is the strong and ever growing participation of women in the culture. This paper aims to highlight and validate the valuable experience of women in metal culture, drawing from an ethnographic case study of ‘The Women of Doom’ an informal social group of women doom fans in Birmingham, UK. Using ethnographic research, literature from fan and cultural studies and relying heavily upon feminist theory this paper demonstrates the empowering experience of being a woman in doom metal, including an intersectional analysis of race, gender and sexuality in relation to fan-based musical passion. The fundamental goal of this research is not to merely write a ‘herstory’ of metal but (as Walser (1993) claimed ‘excription’: the writing-out of women in metal) that of ‘re-scription’, writing women back into metal: where they have, indeed, been all along

AN AUSTRALIAN DYNAMIC: REFLECTIONS ON THE ROLE OF PARTNERSHIPS IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH, AND RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE AND CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT

Australian academic libraries first became partners in the transformation of Australian data and technology enabled research in 2008 through their involvement with the Australian National Data Service (ANDS) program to advance research data management capacity and capability. The partnership of academic libraries with ANDS enabled the development of new research support services and helped to shift the knowledge base of the academic community in research data management, in Australia. Recent training initiatives like the ANDS 23 Things was directed toward academic librarians to increase their knowledge of and capacity to help researchers use national research infrastructure and to manage their data well. The academic libraries have also partnered with ANDS, now part of the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) and the Australian Access Federation (AAF) on persistent identifier implementation, DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and ORCiD (Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier). In this next phase, AARNet is a partner in supporting academic librarian and researcher skills development. The three organisations are working together; to build on foundational knowledge and infrastructure. Academic librarians and researchers are being introduced to the principles of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data, infrastructure, and platforms, and taught data processing and movement techniques, through ARDC and AARNet (Australian Advanced Research Network) skills offerings. The focus of this presentation is on the changing role of academic libraries in supporting research data management and associated research infrastructures, and on the challenges. Australian national research infrastructures and academic libraries are co-evolving; together we are establishing pathways for the future, to foster new capabilities and advance our world-class research infrastructure. This transformation is enabled through our strategic alliance, an openness to dialogue and change, and by leveraging national and international partnerships

In Vitro Studies of Cells Grown on the Superconductor PrOxFeAs

The recent discovery of arsenic-based high temperature superconductors has reignited interest in the study of superconductor : biological interfaces. However, the new superconductor materials involve the chemistry of arsenic, their toxicity remain unclear [ Nature, 2008, 452(24):922]. In this study the possible adverse effects of this new family of superconductors on cells have been examined. Cell culture studies in conjunction with microscopy and viability assays were employed to examine the influence of arsenic-based superconductor PrOxFeAs (x=0.75) material in vitro. Imaging data revealed that cells were well adhered and spread on the surface of the superconductor. Furthermore, cytotoxicity studies showed that cells were unaffected during the time-course of the experiments, providing support for the biocompatibility aspects of PrOxFeAs-based superconductor material.Comment: Are the FeAs based superconductors toxic

Inhibition of S/G(2) phase CDK4 reduces mitotic fidelity

Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4)/cyclin D has a key role in regulating progression through late G(1) into S phase of the cell cycle. CDK4-cyclin D complexes then persist through the latter phases of the cell cycle, although little is known about their potential roles. We have developed small molecule inhibitors that are highly selective for CDK4 and have used these to define a role for CDK4-cyclin D in G(2) phase. The addition of the CDK4 inhibitor or small interfering RNA knockdown of cyclin D3, the cyclin D partner, delayed progression through G(2) phase and mitosis. The G(2) phase delay was independent of ATM/ATR and p38 MAPK but associated with elevated Wee1. The mitotic delay was because of failure of chromosomes to migrate to the metaphase plate. However, cells eventually exited mitosis, with a resultant increase in cells with multiple or micronuclei. Inhibiting CDK4 delayed the expression of the chromosomal passenger proteins survivin and borealin, although this was unlikely to account for the mitotic phenotype. These data provide evidence for a novel function for CDK4-cyclin D3 activity in S and G(2) phase that is critical for G(2)/M progression and the fidelity of mitosis

Effectiveness of a national quality improvement programme to improve survival after emergency abdominal surgery (EPOCH): a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial

Background: Emergency abdominal surgery is associated with poor patient outcomes. We studied the effectiveness of a national quality improvement (QI) programme to implement a care pathway to improve survival for these patients. Methods: We did a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial of patients aged 40 years or older undergoing emergency open major abdominal surgery. Eligible UK National Health Service (NHS) hospitals (those that had an emergency general surgical service, a substantial volume of emergency abdominal surgery cases, and contributed data to the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit) were organised into 15 geographical clusters and commenced the QI programme in a random order, based on a computer-generated random sequence, over an 85-week period with one geographical cluster commencing the intervention every 5 weeks from the second to the 16th time period. Patients were masked to the study group, but it was not possible to mask hospital staff or investigators. The primary outcome measure was mortality within 90 days of surgery. Analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN80682973. Findings: Treatment took place between March 3, 2014, and Oct 19, 2015. 22 754 patients were assessed for elegibility. Of 15 873 eligible patients from 93 NHS hospitals, primary outcome data were analysed for 8482 patients in the usual care group and 7374 in the QI group. Eight patients in the usual care group and nine patients in the QI group were not included in the analysis because of missing primary outcome data. The primary outcome of 90-day mortality occurred in 1210 (16%) patients in the QI group compared with 1393 (16%) patients in the usual care group (HR 1·11, 0·96–1·28). Interpretation: No survival benefit was observed from this QI programme to implement a care pathway for patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery. Future QI programmes should ensure that teams have both the time and resources needed to improve patient care. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme

Effectiveness of a national quality improvement programme to improve survival after emergency abdominal surgery (EPOCH): a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial

BACKGROUND: Emergency abdominal surgery is associated with poor patient outcomes. We studied the effectiveness of a national quality improvement (QI) programme to implement a care pathway to improve survival for these patients. METHODS: We did a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial of patients aged 40 years or older undergoing emergency open major abdominal surgery. Eligible UK National Health Service (NHS) hospitals (those that had an emergency general surgical service, a substantial volume of emergency abdominal surgery cases, and contributed data to the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit) were organised into 15 geographical clusters and commenced the QI programme in a random order, based on a computer-generated random sequence, over an 85-week period with one geographical cluster commencing the intervention every 5 weeks from the second to the 16th time period. Patients were masked to the study group, but it was not possible to mask hospital staff or investigators. The primary outcome measure was mortality within 90 days of surgery. Analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN80682973. FINDINGS: Treatment took place between March 3, 2014, and Oct 19, 2015. 22 754 patients were assessed for elegibility. Of 15 873 eligible patients from 93 NHS hospitals, primary outcome data were analysed for 8482 patients in the usual care group and 7374 in the QI group. Eight patients in the usual care group and nine patients in the QI group were not included in the analysis because of missing primary outcome data. The primary outcome of 90-day mortality occurred in 1210 (16%) patients in the QI group compared with 1393 (16%) patients in the usual care group (HR 1·11, 0·96-1·28). INTERPRETATION: No survival benefit was observed from this QI programme to implement a care pathway for patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery. Future QI programmes should ensure that teams have both the time and resources needed to improve patient care. FUNDING: National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme

Blackened Audiotopia: Privatised Listening and Urban Experience

In the age of headphone culture, where privatized listening while wandering around the city is the norm, the use of headphones raises questions about the experience of the listener and their perception of their urban environment. Of particular interest, is the disjunct relationship between black metal music and urban space. Black metal lyrics often portray images of nature and paganism, a concept completely removed from a modern urban landscape. This paper draws from Michael Bull’s work on iPod culture as well as ethnographic research to explore the black metal fan’s experience of private listening in a public cityscape. The main focus of this study is the relationship between the ambiguously intertwined visual urban reality and sonic imaginary. The research suggests that the black metal listener can have one of four experiences of time and space resulting in what is referred to as either a split or blend of the aural imagined experience and the visual reality of the city