“Let the dance floor feel your leather”: set design, dance, and the articulation of audiences in RKO Radio’s Astaire-Rogers series

This study revisits a classic film series from the high-point of Modernism’s influence on Hollywood art direction: RKO Radio’s Astaire-Rogers society film musicals from 1933-1938. The study makes use of primary evidence, contemporary reviews and critical writings from the 1930s to illustrate the corporate, social and production contexts of a film series that made effective use of the networks of social relations extending from studio personnel to theater patrons. The study adopts the principle of articulation, drawn from Laclau and Mouffe, in order to explain how discourses surrounding the films were employed by necessity to ensure success for each film and offer the possibility of continued financial return. In the Astaire-Rogers series, various elements of the film text, such as dance routines and modernist furnishings, were articulated to audiences through extra textual material, and the visual landscape of aspirational modernism connected with real domestic and social spaces. The study proposes that the series offered more than an escapist fantasy for the passive audience, but engaged audiences physically and discursively in order to develop an intimate connection between screen aesthetics and financial success

The Crystal Image: A Theoretical Approach to Image Perception Across Film and Photography

This thesis uses the influential philosophy of Gilles Deleuze to understand the relationship that photography has with time. Deleuze's concept of the time-image, developed in his books on cinema after the philosophy of Henri Bergson, offers a glimpse of pure duration. From this he proposed a taxonomy of cinema in which certain cinemas represent time abstractly via movement (movement-images), whilst other cinemas engage perception of time directly (time-images). Time unfolds from the latter non- chronologically, because they force the viewer into contemplation of the act of photography itself. The result is the crystalline structure of memory- images that form perception and interpretation. Deleuze initially dismissed the photograph as incapable of representing time in this direct manner, since photographs (as photogrammes) are the basis for the sensory-motor schema upon which the movement-image depends. The thesis re-investigates this situation and sets out the conditions in which photographs can, in fact, represent time directly, and without connection to this schema. From then on the thesis examines the crystal-image and the connection between photographs and cinema: both the act of photography and photography as an object in a relationship with memory. Chapter One demonstrates how Deleuze's initial dismissal of photography can be re-oriented by returning to the essential conditions of the time- image. The chapter argues for some photographs to be considered as crystal images, as they fulfil three necessary conditions established from Deleuze's work: Time-images must demonstrate a splitting of time beyond the image's apparent connection to movement; time-images must be free of depicting space and time as interdependent, and must make 'tense' irrelevant to the image; time-images must be self-referential in order to create free indirect discourse between perception and the objects perceived. Chapter Two uses Deleuze's work on Leibniz to demonstrate the connection between cinema and the photograph suggested in Chapter One, and proposes that they are connected by a genetic element: the pure optical situation (opsign) that they share. The extraordinary diversity that is apparent between cinema and the-photograph is challenged by understanding this genetic element as a monad, a single entity with pleats and folds that are viewed as entirely different. To demonstrate this, the chapter considers films in which photographs, or photography, are referenced, and where the problems of their representation of reality are questioned. These films, In the Street, kids, Funny Face, and L'Annee derniere a Marienbad, are proposed as crystal-images that rely upon this monadic connection to be made apparent. Chapter Three considers the context of Henri Bergson's writing on memory and cinema. It compares the cinema of the Lumieres to the photography of Eugene Atget in order to demonstrate the division of time by perception that Bergson, and then Deleuze, suggest. The chapter also accounts for the relegation of the photograph in criticism to a medium that is unable to depict time as a passing, and which is therefore persistently connected with death, as it is by Walter Benjamin and Roland Barthes. Chapter Four employs the photographs of Cindy Sherman as a case study to demonstrate the fragmentation of subjectivity and objectivity that occurs in their reference to film and visual culture. The critical responses these images provoke in writers demonstrate the structure or 'environment' of the crystal image - in this case promoted by the images' narrative ability, or narrativity. Chapter Five considers the process of photography that is at the heart of the crystal environment. The coming into being of the photographic image is understood via Deleuze's notion (with Felix Guattari) of becoming. The chapter uses the early experimental filmmaking of Andy Warhol, particularly My Flustler, Poor Little Rich Girl, and Empire, to explore the artist and his work as a demonstration of this becoming in photography. Becoming is the essential seed of photography's direct representation of time, and Warhol's work - which reduced artistic production to 'one extreme function' - presents the photographic image in its role as opsign before intervention by perception, criticism, and practice separates cinema from photography, and consequently creates the conception of photography and time which provoked the study in this thesis. The thesis has a short Conclusion that looks beyond the study of time represented in photography to propose conditions of the time-image in relation to painting and the digital image, and thereby across representation as a whole

We Have Always Been Virtual: Gilles Deleuze and the Computer-Generated Image

The use of computer-generated imagery is becoming increasingly ubiquitous across many fields including media, advertising, architecture and art. This represents a fundamental shift within visual culture, as imagery can now be produced routinely by means of rendering algorithms based on spatial representations. We propose that the account of the image provided by Gilles Deleuze in his books on cinema provides a rich philosophical framework for understanding such contemporary imaging practices. By providing a Deleuzian reading of James Kajiya\u27s 1986 rendering equation we argue that there is a tacit ontology of the image underwriting both Deleuze’s work on cinema and current computer graphics technologies. This ontology frees the image from traditional transcendent categories of subject positions or vantage points and instead revolves around the concept of an immanent image. We argue that these considerations lead us to a reformulation of the notion of the virtual, one that challenges its rigid segregation from the real

Regional variation in practitioner employment in general practices in England: a comparative analysis

Background In recent years, UK health policy makers have responded to a GP shortage by introducing measures to support increased healthcare delivery by practitioners from a wider range of backgrounds. Aim To ascertain the composition of the primary care workforce in England at a time when policy changes affecting deployment of different practitioner types are being introduced. Design and setting This study was a comparative analysis of workforce data reported to NHS Digital by GP practices in England. Method Statistics are reported using practice-level data from the NHS Digital June 2019 data extract. Because of the role played by Health Education England (HEE) in training and increasing the skills of a healthcare workforce that meets the needs of each region, the analysis compares average workforce composition across the 13 HEE regions in England Results The workforce participation in terms of full-time equivalent of each staff group across HEE regions demonstrates regional variation. Differences persist when expressed as mean full-time equivalent per thousand patients. Despite policy changes, most workers are employed in long-established primary care roles, with only a small proportion of newer types of practitioner, such as pharmacists, paramedics, physiotherapists, and physician associates. Conclusion This study provides analysis of a more detailed and complete primary care workforce dataset than has previously been available in England. In describing the workforce composition at this time, the study provides a foundation for future comparative analyses of changing practitioner deployment before the introduction of primary care networks, and for evaluating outcomes and costs that may be associated with these changes

The equation of state of solid nickel aluminide

The pressure-volume-temperature equation of state of the intermetallic compound NiAl was calculated theoretically, and compared with experimental measurements. Electron ground states were calculated for NiAl in the CsCl structure, using density functional theory, and were used to predict the cold compression curve and the density of phonon states. The Rose form of compression curve was found to reproduce the ab initio calculations well in compression but exhibited significant deviations in expansion. A thermodynamically-complete equation of state was constructed for NiAl. Shock waves were induced in crystals of NiAl by the impact of laser-launched Cu flyers and by launching NiAl flyers into transparent windows of known properties. The TRIDENT laser was used to accelerate the flyers to speeds between 100 and 600m/s. Point and line-imaging laser Doppler velocimetry was used to measure the acceleration of the flyer and the surface velocity history of the target. The velocity histories were used to deduce the stress state, and hence states on the principal Hugoniot and the flow stress. Flyers and targets were recovered from most experiments. The effect of elasticity and plastic flow in the sample and window was assessed. The ambient isotherm reproduced static compression data very well, and the predicted Hugoniot was consistent with shock compression data

Support needs and barriers to accessing support:Baseline results of a mixed-methods national survey of people bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic is a mass bereavement event which has profoundly disrupted grief experiences. Understanding support needs and access to support among people bereaved at this time is crucial to ensuring appropriate bereavement support infrastructure. AIM: To investigate grief experiences, support needs and use of formal and informal bereavement support among people bereaved during the pandemic. DESIGN: Baseline results from a longitudinal survey. Support needs and experiences of accessing support are reported using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of free-text data. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: 711 adults bereaved in the UK between March and December 2020, recruited via media, social media, national associations and community/charitable organisations. RESULTS: High-level needs for emotional support were identified. Most participants had not sought support from bereavement services (59%, n = 422) or their General-Practitioner (60%, n = 428). Of participants who had sought such support, over half experienced difficulties accessing bereavement services (56%, n = 149)/General-Practitioner support (52%, n = 135). About 51% reported high/severe vulnerability in grief; among these, 74% were not accessing bereavement or mental-health services. Barriers included limited availability, lack of appropriate support, discomfort asking for help and not knowing how to access services. About 39% (n = 279) experienced difficulties getting support from family/friends, including relational challenges, little face-to-face contact and disrupted collective mourning. The perceived uniqueness of pandemic bereavement and wider societal strains exacerbated their isolation. CONCLUSIONS: People bereaved during the pandemic have high levels of support needs alongside difficulties accessing support. We recommend increased provision and tailoring of bereavement services, improved information on support options and social/educational initiatives to bolster informal support and ameliorate isolation

Parental perspectives on the grief and support needs of children and young people bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic: Qualitative findings from a national survey

Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, many children and young people have experienced the death of close family members, whilst also facing unprecedented disruption to their lives. This study aimed to investigate the experiences and support needs of bereaved children and young people from the perspective of their parents and guardians. Methods We analysed cross-sectional qualitative free-text data from a survey of adults bereaved in the UK during the pandemic. Participants were recruited via media, social media, national associations and community/charitable organisations. Thematic analysis was conducted on free text data collected from parent/guardian participants in response to a survey question on the bereavement experiences and support needs of their children. Results Free-text data from 104 parent/guardian participants was included. Three main themes were identified: the pandemic-related challenges and struggles experienced by children and young people; family support and coping; and support from schools and services. Pandemic-challenges include the impacts of being separated from the relative prior to their death, isolation from peers and other family members, and disruption to daily routines and wider support networks. Examples were given of effective family coping and communication, but also of difficulties relating to parental grief and children’s existing mental health problems. Schools and bereavement organisations’ provision of specialist support was valued, but there was evidence of unmet need, with some participants reporting a lack of access to specialist grief or mental health support. Conclusion Children and young people have faced additional strains and challenges associated with pandemic bereavement. We recommend resources and initiatives that facilitate supportive communication within family and school settings, adequate resourcing of school and community-based specialist bereavement/mental health services, and increased information and signposting to the support that is available

‘There is nowhere to place the anger’: accounts of bereavement experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction The Covid-19 pandemic has been a mass bereavement event, causing major disruption to end-of-life, grieving and coping processes. Based on their Dual Process Model (DPM), Stroebe and Schut have identified pandemic-specific risk factors for poor bereavement outcomes and categorised these in terms of disruptions to loss-oriented and restoration-oriented coping processes which grieving people naturally oscillate between. Loss-oriented coping involves focussing on one’s loved one and their death, while restoration-oriented coping involves continuing with daily life and distracting oneself from one’s grief. Aims To explore and describe bereavement experiences during the pandemic, relating our findings to the constructs of the DPM. Method Two independent online surveys were disseminated UK-wide via social media platforms and community and charitable organisations. They captured end-of-life and bereavement experiences (to all causes of death) from March 2020 to January 2021. Free-text data were analysed thematically, using the DPM as an analytic lens. Results Six main themes were identified: troubled and traumatic deaths; disrupted mourning, memorialisation and difficulties in death-related administration; mass bereavement, media and societal responses and the ongoing threat of the virus; grieving and coping (alone and with others); workplace and employment difficulties; and accessing health and social care support. Examples of loss-oriented stressors were being unable to visit or say goodbye and restricted funeral and memorialisation practices, leading to guilt and anger. Restoration-oriented stressors included severely restricted social networks and support systems, which affected peoples’ ability to cope. Conclusion These results highlight significant disruptions to end-of-life, death and mourning practices, as well as usual coping mechanisms and support systems, during the Covid-19 pandemic. The DPM provides a useful framework for conceptualizing the additional challenges associated with pandemic bereavement and their impact on grieving and mental health. Impact Recommendations are made for statutory, private and third sector organisations for improving experiences of people bereaved during this and future pandemics