Flighty Subjects: Sovereignty, Shifting Cultivators, and the State in Darjeeling, 1830-1856

This paper focuses on the historical experiences of shifting cultivators who lived in the eastern Himalaya in the areas around Darjeeling, Eastern Nepal, and Southern Sikkim in the early 19th century. These groups played an important role in state-formation in the pre-colonial period, as regionally expansive states relied upon them for labor, military levies, and revenue. Shifting cultivators were organized under headmen who dispensed justice, collected taxes, and negotiated with the state on behalf of their clients. The author argues that such groups formed the basis of sovereignty on the frontier, where control over subjects was more significant than control over clearly demarcated territory. Patrons of labor were well-versed in political negotiations and dexterously managed the shift to East India Company rule in Darjeeling in 1835; however, the Company administrators changed the terms of governance, even as they drew upon the headmen’s services in accessing laborers. By positing the labor market as the appropriate means of securing labor, the Company officials denied the role of the state in accumulating labor power. In addition, colonial discourse fixed shifting cultivators as backwards and in need of protection, undermining their important contributions to state formation under the previous dispensation. By distancing itself from patron-client relationships as vital to state formation and discrediting these networks of labor organization in favor of market logic, the Company in theory moved the terms of sovereignty towards territory rather than people

The impact of corporate social responsibility on a company's image

Includes bibliographica references (leaves 107-114).The aim of this research was to establish whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects a company's image by researching stakeholders' views on the CSR of an unlisted company operating in South Africa. Stakeholders of the organisation were identified and questionnaires were sent to Board members, management, employees, suppliers and customers. The results of the questionnaires were analysed to establish stakeholders' views of CSR and the implications thereof. The research provided insights into stakeholders' views on CSR and highlighted the significance of CSR to companie

Music therapy with adults with learning difficulties and ‘severe challenging behaviour'

This thesis describes and analyses an action research inquiry where weekly group music therapy sessions were offered to five residents in their community home over the course of a year. The residents each had a history of institutional living, learning difficulties, and the label of ‘severe challenging behaviour’. The inquiry is in the tradition of participatory action research, and draws from both the new paradigm approaches of Reason and Heron and critically reflexive action research.The inquiry took the form of two parts. A co-operative inquiry involved home staff, music therapists and daycare workers who reflected critically on the impact, benefits, barriers and threats to the music therapy process. The therapy sessions became the arena for inquiry between the residents, music therapists and daycare worker. Involvement in the dual aspects of therapeutic process and research inquiry was managed by careful consideration of the therapeutic boundaries, ongoing ethical discussion within the co-operative inquiry and perspectives from independent advisers with learning difficulties. We as co-researchers sought to inquire into the benefits of the music therapy group within the community home. The perspective of the residents, who had few language skills, became central to this process. The main focus for inquiry within the sessions was through changes that developed within the musical relationships and by resident action. The extended epistemology of new paradigm research emphasises forms of knowing that were accessible to the residents, such as experiential, practical and arts-based forms of knowledge. Analysis of the data involved collaborative reflection, often provoked by the use of different media, rigorous thematic analysis and creative forms in the representation of the data. I situate the context through personal, practical, theoretical, historical, political and ethical perspectives, leading to the inquiry narratives. A detailed explanation of the thematic analysis follows before the data are presented in chapters named after each resident.The use of music as a primary means of inquiry has meant a tension when this non-verbal experience is described in words. A number of benefits of the music therapy emerged, such as changing fixed relationship patterns and the expression of a group identity. However, the primary contribution of this research is the way in which people with severe learning difficulties were able to influence the course of the inquiry themselves, and challenge staff and institutional perceptions

Tropical fever in remote tropics: tuberculosis or melioidosis, it depends on the lab

Diagnostics tests used to identify the cause of infection using proteomics and genomics have revolutionised microbiology laboratories in recent times. However, approaches to build the capacity of clinical microbiology services in the rural tropics by simply transplanting these approaches have proven difficult to sustain. Tropical fever in the remote tropics is, by definition, a clinical diagnosis where the aetiology of fever is not known, treatment is empirical, guided by clinical suspicion with treatment failure often attributed to incorrect diagnosis or antimicrobial resistance. Tuberculosis (TB) in rural Papua New Guinea (PNG) is mostly diagnosed clinically, perhaps supported by microscopy. In fact, a ‘tuberculosis patient’ in rural PNG is included in the TB register upon commencement of TB treatment with or without any laboratory-based evidence of infection. The roll-out of GeneXpert is continuing to transform TB diagnostic certainty in TB endemic communities. Melioidosis is endemic in tropical regions and is increasingly reported to mimic TB. Isolation and identification of the causative agent Burkholderia pseudomallei remains the gold standard. Here, we discuss the increasing divide between rural and urban approaches to laboratory-based infection diagnosis using these two enigmatic tropical infectious diseases, in rural PNG, as examples

Spatio-temporal patterns in the Diel Vertical Migration of the Copepod Metridia lucens in the Northeast Atlantic derived from the Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey

The archived data set collected over a 45-yr period (1948-1992) by Continuous Plankton Recorders (CPRs) towed in near-surface waters was used to investigate the diel vertical migration of the copepod Metridia lucens in the northeast Atlantic (47-63?N and 10-30?W). Although the CPR sampling intensity was uniform during the day and the night, M. lucens was caught predominantly in samples collected at night, consistent with a normal diel vertical migration pattern involving movement from greater depth during the day to shallower depths at night. The length of time spent near the surface varied seasonally and was closely correlated (r2 = 0.80) with seasonal change in length of night. The residual variation in length of time spent at the surface was nonrandom, with more time being spent at the surface in spring before the onset of the spring bloom, and less time being spent at the surface in autumn, than that predicted from the length of night at these periods. The timing of this enhanced near-surface occupation in spring varied with latitude, occurring a mean of 3.4 d later per degree of latitude

Antibodies as clinical tools for tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Global research efforts to improve TB control are hindered by insufficient understanding of the role that antibodies play in protective immunity and pathogenesis. This impacts knowledge of rational and optimal vaccine design, appropriate diagnostic biomarkers, and development of therapeutics. Traditional approaches for the prevention and diagnosis of TB may be less efficacious in high prevalence, remote, and resource-poor settings. An improved understanding of the immune response to the causative agent of TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), will be crucial for developing better vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. While memory CD4+ T cells and cells and cytokine interferon gamma (IFN-g) have been the main identified correlates of protection in TB, mounting evidence suggests that other types of immunity may also have important roles. TB serology has identified antibodies and functional characteristics that may help diagnose Mtb infection and distinguish between different TB disease states. To date, no serological tests meet the World Health Organization (WHO) requirements for TB diagnosis, but multiplex assays show promise for improving the sensitivity and specificity of TB serodiagnosis. Monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies and serum passive infusion studies in murine models of TB have also demonstrated some protective outcomes. However, animal models that better reflect the human immune response to Mtb are necessary to fully assess the clinical utility of antibody-based TB prophylactics and therapeutics. Candidate TB vaccines are not designed to elicit an Mtb-specific antibody response, but evidence suggests BCG and novel TB vaccines may induce protective Mtb antibodies. The potential of the humoral immune response in TB monitoring and control is being investigated and these studies provide important insight into the functional role of antibody-mediated immunity against TB. In this review, we describe the current state of development of antibody-based clinical tools for TB, with a focus on diagnostic, therapeutic, and vaccine-based applications

'It's just a different dimension': Music therapists' experiences of hearing loss

This study explores the lived experiences of qualified music therapists who identify as having hearing loss. The risk of hearing loss for professional musicians is widely acknowledged in literature, with one study demonstrating an increased risk of hearing loss for music therapists. No current literature, however, explores the experiences of hearing loss from the perspective of the music therapist, in a profession in which hearing and listening could be seen as central to the work. For this study, qualitative research methods were employed, involving semi-structured interviews with six music therapists experiencing different levels of hearing loss. Verbatim transcripts were then analysed, using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), resulting in the identification of three principal themes across the data set: 1) Listening is exhausting: Identity as a music therapist with hearing loss; 2) Impatient or intrigued? Stigma versus support; and 3) How I manage: Strategies for coping. These themes are discussed in-depth, in light of existing theory and implications for practice. The analysis supports existing research demonstrating that acquired hearing loss does not impede musical ability. Barriers to proficiency arise from other areas. Implications are discussed, including recommendations for hearing-protection training within music therapy training programmes

“DON’T LET ME GO”. A CASE STUDY ON MUSIC THERAPY IN EARLY-STAGE DEMENTIA

This case study presents the process of music therapy in a clinical setting, under the professional supervision of Dr. Catherine Warner, a music therapist with over 25 years of experience in this field. The music therapy sessions were conducted with a client displaying early-stage dementia symptoms. Over twelve weeks, with an eight-week hiatus due to the Covid-19 Pandemic lockdown, the client benefited from music therapy sessions which helped her navigate through the challenges of the disease, as well as providing a safe environment to express feelings and emotions. This case study presents the main themes of the work, such as combining poetry with singing, and listening to soothing music. This paper also illustrates the challenges of the sessions, especially in relation to memory loss and anxiety. Lastly, the therapist’s reflections are presented to complete the overview of the work. Rezumat. "NU MĂ LĂSA SĂ PLEC”. UN STUDIU DE CAZ PE MUZICOTERAPIE ÎN DEMENȚĂ INCIPIENTĂ. Acest studiu de caz prezintă procesul muzicoterapeutic într-un cadru clinic, condus sub supravegherea profesională a Dr. Catherine Warner, muzicoterapeut cu experiență de peste 25 de ani în domeniu. Sesiunile de muzicoterapie au avut loc cu un client care prezintă simptome de demență în stadiu incipient. Timp de douăsprezece săptămâni, cu o pauză de opt săptămâni din cauza pandemiei Covid-19, clientul a beneficiat de sesiuni de muzicoterapie care au ajutat-o ​​să navigheze provocările bolii, și i-au oferit un mediu de siguranță pentru a-și exprima sentimentele și emoțiile. Acest studiu de caz prezintă principalele teme ale lucrării, cum ar fi îmbinarea dintre poezie și cântare, dar și ascultarea unei muzici liniștitoare. Această lucrare ilustrează, de asemenea, provocările sesiunilor, în special în ceea ce privește pierderea memoriei și anxietatea. În cele din urmă, reflecțiile terapeutului sunt prezentate pentru a completa imaginea de ansamblu a acestor sesiuni.  Cuvinte cheie: muzicoterapie, demență, traumă, cânta