College orchestra director programming decisions regarding classical twentieth-century music

College-level orchestra programming studies is still an emerging field of research. The hypothesis for this study is as follows: (1) college-level orchestra directors generally program newer music that is tonal, rhythmically straightforward, more-easily understandable on the first listening, and already-familiar; and (2) college-level orchestra directors are generally reluctant to program newer music that is post-tonal, psychological in nature, densely-written, containing enigmatic meaning, and unfamiliar. Twenty-one college-level orchestra directors belonging to College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA) were surveyed concerning (1) the repertoire composed between 1885 and 2015, referred to as newer music, that they programmed between Fall 2005 and Spring 2015 with their college-level orchestra(s) and (2) the artistic, pedagogical, practical, and risk factors that influenced their programming decisions regarding newer music. Programmed repertoire was sorted by nationality, genre, and composer gender in order to identify programming trends. The factors that influenced programming decisions, as well as free responses, were analyzed to discover the spectrum of viewpoints that college-level orchestra directors have regarding the programming of newer music. College-level orchestra directors were divided on the subject of regularly programming newer music: one group favored standard repertoire, whereas another group favored a combination of standard repertoire and newer music. Those who favored programming a wider variety of repertoire were further divided: one group favored programming newer music that is more-straightforward, while a second group was amenable to programming newer music that is less clear-cut. Recommendations for expanding the repertoire included offering professional development workshops for orchestra conductors who wish to increase their level of skill in evaluating the intrinsic value of newer-music orchestral scores, and making free, online perusal of newer-music orchestral scores available on the CODA website to interested conductors. The purpose of this study is to encourage college-level orchestra directors to engage in adventurous programming by expanding their knowledge and programming of less-familiar repertoire of well-known historical composers, unfamiliar repertoire of lesser-known historical composers, and unfamiliar music of living composers

Integrating Mine Development Planning with Resource Management Strategy

2010 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Science and Policy Challenges for a Sustainable Futur

Suppression of allergic airway inflammation by helminth-induced regulatory T cells

Allergic diseases mediated by T helper type (Th) 2 cell immune responses are rising dramatically in most developed countries. Exaggerated Th2 cell reactivity could result, for example, from diminished exposure to Th1 cell–inducing microbial infections. Epidemiological studies, however, indicate that Th2 cell–stimulating helminth parasites may also counteract allergies, possibly by generating regulatory T cells which suppress both Th1 and Th2 arms of immunity. We therefore tested the ability of the Th2 cell–inducing gastrointestinal nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus to influence experimentally induced airway allergy to ovalbumin and the house dust mite allergen Der p 1. Inflammatory cell infiltrates in the lung were suppressed in infected mice compared with uninfected controls. Suppression was reversed in mice treated with antibodies to CD25. Most notably, suppression was transferable with mesenteric lymph node cells (MLNC) from infected animals to uninfected sensitized mice, demonstrating that the effector phase was targeted. MLNC from infected animals contained elevated numbers of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) T cells, higher TGF-β expression, and produced strong interleukin (IL)-10 responses to parasite antigen. However, MLNC from IL-10–deficient animals transferred suppression to sensitized hosts, indicating that IL-10 is not the primary modulator of the allergic response. Suppression was associated with CD4(+) T cells from MLNC, with the CD4(+)CD25(+) marker defining the most active population. These data support the contention that helminth infections elicit a regulatory T cell population able to down-regulate allergen induced lung pathology in vivo

Dimensional psychotic experiences in adolescence: Evidence from a taxometric study of a community-based sample

Psychotic experiences of varying severity levels are common in adolescence. It is not known whether beyond a certain severity in the general population, psychotic experiences represent a categorically distinct phenomena to milder psychotic experiences. We employed taxometric analytic procedures to determine whether psychotic experiences in adolescence are taxonic (i.e. categorical) or dimensional. Six different psychotic experiences were assessed in a community sample of approximately 5,000 adolescents. Three taxometric procedures were conducted. Across all procedures, there was no evidence of a taxon (i.e. a separate latent population) underlying psychotic experiences in adolescence. Rather, a dimensional structure was supported. The results support the notion that psychotic experiences are continuously distributed throughout the general population, and there is no clear discontinuity between milder and more severe psychotic experiences. Thus, these findings support the use of dimensional approaches to understanding psychotic experiences in etiological studies. In clinical practice, categorical cut-offs are needed: the present findings show that a ‘natural’ break point is not present for identifying severe psychotic experiences, and it is likely therefore that other criteria (such as general functioning) might better aid decision-making with regards to identifying individuals with severe psychotic experiences in need of care during adolescence