Drama teaching: Understanding what we do

Drama teaching in secondary schools in Western Australia has become an increasingly complex discipline in recent years. This study has considered the work of Drama teachers from the point of view of those practising the discipline, using a phenomenological methodology which allowed the voices of the participants to be heard directly. In the discussion, consideration is given to the way in which these teachers practice the dynamic which is drama, are influenced by the art form of theatre, and deliver the school subject, Drama

Immune modulatory and antimicrobial properties of mesenchymal stromal cells delivered systemically

2020 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.To view the abstract, please see the full text of the document

Cardiovascular pressures in the human fetus

The technique of ultrasound guided fetal blood sampling has been adapted, as herein described, to permit measurement of intra amniotic, intra umbilical vascular and intra cardiac pressures in the human fetus in utero during indicated procedures. 246 pregnancies have been investigated and reference ranges for these pressures established. The effects of fetal disease on these pressures has been examined. Intra amniotic pressure in the presence of a normal liquor volume is unaffected by fetal abnormality, and increases with gestation. Measurement of intra amniotic pressure in abnormal liquor volumes provides widely varying results and has no proven clinical value. Umbilical venous pressure does not increase with gestation and is not affected by fetal abnormality unless this involves the fetal heart. In nonimmune hydrops, there is a significant relationship between umbilical venous pressure and cardiac size, providing for the first time direct evidence of intrauterine cardiac failure in some cases of hydrops. Elevation of venous pressure also occurs in congenital heart disease if cardiomegaly is present, and congenital diaphragmatic hernia with associated left ventricular compression. Umbilical arterial pressure increases with gestation, and is elevated in the presence of abnormal umbilical artery Doppler blood flow studies and fetal hypoxia. Left and right atrial pressures do not increase with gestation. Although the pressure in the right atrium is higher than the left, this is not statistically significant. Elevation of atrial pressure occurs in nonimmune hydrops with associated cardiomegaly. Left and right ventricular pressures are equal and both systolic and end diastolic pressures increase with gestation. The pressure waveforms are similar to those obtained in postnatal investigations. Abnormalities of pressure waveforms and actual values occur in cases of left and right ventricular outflow obstruction, and these measurements provide additional diagnostic and prognostic information. This study provides new data on umbilical venous pressure in the presence of fetal abnormality and intrauterine cardiac failure. It also provides the results of the first direct measurements of human fetal cardiac pressures in normal and abnormal hearts

Studies In Abdominal Distention

Experiments have increased in number within recent years on the problem of Abdominal Distention. Gatch has stated that distention is the primary cause of death from all forms of bowel obstruction, mechanical or paralytic, and most of the other supposed and suggested causes of death cannot exist in the absence of distention. Gilbert, Leroy and Feun have performed a number of experiments showing the effect of abdominal distention on coronary blood flow. In these experiments they have shown that distention of the stomach with air causes a decrease in coronary flow, mediated by a reflex over the vagus nerve causing vasoconstriction of the coronary vessels, as is typical of Angina Pectoris, van Duyn has shown that abdominal distention is concluded to be at least one important cause of a degenerative leucocyte picture. The importance of this problem reflects itself in the great questions concerning gaseous distention of the stomach and intestine, present in obstruction of the bowel and in some cases of Peritonitis associated with Acute Appendicitis. Also involved is this problem, although more chronically, is the distention of the abdomen during the presence of tumors and during pregnancy

Drama with a Capital D: Text and Context in the Documentation of Curriculum

Drama in practice is a creative process which makes meaning by the application to the human condition of aesthetic understanding, but drama in schooling is part of a system which makes meaning through a division of human understanding into subjects and courses. The discourse of drama education suggests that drama is a transformational process of personal development and social intervention. When schools offer to their students a subject called Drama, however, questions inevitably arise about the way in which the subject is validated. Is it a teaching and learning strategy, a means of intervention in dysfunctional situations, or a public relations exercise for the school? Which is more important, a polished performance or the spontaneous expression of students’ ideas, feelings and understandings? Is Drama undertaken primarily as recreation, or for the more “bankable” skills and strategies which can be gained from participating in it? Are such skills to be generically appreciated or vocationally targeted? It is a premise of the study that the school subject is both represented and shaped by the documents which set out the requirements for teaching and learning: the syllabus and its attendant texts. The Western Australian senior secondary school syllabus in Drama has been subjected to a process of deconstruction which considers information from the linguistic structure of the text, from the sociocultural contexts of theatre and schooling and from the situational contexts of curriculum development and teaching. This information has been used to recover meanings inherent in the document which can be used to define the domain being represented there. Thus the research consists in an analysis of the text itself, as the medium through which meaning is communicated, a review of the contexts which are represented in the document, and the identification of ways in which the school subject of Drama is validated

Big Data Drive: The Rhetoric of Biometric Big Data

In this essay, we seek to develop a concept of “big data drive.” Influenced in part by Lacan’s theory of drive, we study the drive toward biometric big data. Biometric big data (BBD) refers to the data collected around facial recognition, eye recognition, thumb prints, and other types of technology whose task is to identify a specific being through unique bio characteristics. “Big Data Drive” refers to the energies that pulsate around Big Data, as both a signifier and fetishized object, to promise “something more” that may never be fulfilled

Guest Artist Series:Duo Athena

Kemp Recital Hall Monday Evening March 3, 2008 7:30p.m

The Impact of Interaction Time and Verbal Engagement with Personal Voice Assistants on Alleviating Loneliness among Older Adults: An Exploratory Study

Background: Loneliness in older adults is a critical issue that negatively affects their well-being. The potential of personal voice assistant (PVA) devices like Amazon’s Alexa Echo in reducing loneliness is an emerging area of interest, but it remains under-researched. Objective: this study aims to investigate the effect of interaction time and verbal engagement with PVA devices on reducing loneliness among older adults living alone. Method: In this experiment, individuals aged 75 and older (n = 15), living alone, were provided with Amazon Alexa Echo devices. They were instructed to interact with the device at least five times a day for a duration of four weeks. The study measured participants’ loneliness levels using the UCLA loneliness scale both before and after the study. Additionally, the interaction time and verbal engagement with the device were measured by the total time of use and the total number of intentional commands spoken to Alexa during the four-week period. Results: The findings revealed that the total time spent interacting with Alexa was a significant predictor of loneliness reduction. A mediation analysis indicated an indirect effect, showing that the number of intentional commands spoken to Alexa contributed to loneliness reduction indirectly by increasing the total time spent with the device (verbal engagement →interaction time→loneliness reduction). Conclusions: This study suggests that the key to reducing loneliness among older adults through PVA devices is not just initiating verbal interaction, but the overall time devoted to these interactions. While speaking to Alexa is a starting point, it is the duration of engagement that primarily drives loneliness alleviation