Music in Pixérécourt's early melodramas

The genre of melodrame a grand spectacle that emerged in the boulevard theatres of Paris in the 1790s - and which was quickly exported abroad - expressed the moral struggle between good and evil through a drama of heightened emotions. Physical gesture, mise en scene and music were as important in communicating meaning and passion as spoken dialogue. The premise of this volume is the idea that the melodramatic aesthetic is central to our understanding of nineteenth-century music drama, broadly defined as spoken plays with music, operas and other hybrid genres that combine music with text and/or image. This relationship is examined closely, and its evolution in the twentieth century in selected operas, musicals and films, is understood as an extension of this nineteenth-century aesthetic. The book therefore develops our understanding of opera in the context of melodrama's broader influence on musical culture during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The book will appeal to those interested in film studies, drama, theatre and modern languages as well as music and opera

All at sea? A critical appraisal of the C4 framework for the management of major maritime emergencies (MME)

This study is the result of nearly four decades of professional practice in the maritime industry and, in particular, dealing with shipping emergencies, including many high profile accidents and several hundred lesser, but potentially life-threatening, emergencies. The study uses this knowledge and experience as a basis for undertaking a critical evaluation of the Command, Control, Communication and Coordination (C4) framework that is typically used in dealing with such emergencies. It begins with a brief history and background to the C4 framework in the context of a major maritime emergency (MME). The components of the framework are defined and an exemplar activity map used to describe the framework in detail and the relationship between its components and external influences. A preliminary evaluation of the C4 framework suggested that while it is largely robust in principle, there is considerable evidence to suggest that its utility in the handling of live emergencies is frequently undermined in practice. This finding led to a second phase of evaluation, which attempted to identify optimal operational principles that can contribute to a more effective implementation of the C4 framework in major maritime emergencies. Six command principles (P1-P6) plus one sub-principle (P1a) developed from the author’s career are described and used as a basis upon which to build additional principles. To determine these additional principles, seven case studies based on experience and professional practice, are examined to identify key statements and observations of Favourable (F) and Unfavourable (U) practice. Evaluation and analysis of the key statements and observations led to thirty additional C4 framework principles. A short cross-sectional (latitudinal) survey was also conducted of emergency service professionals to support the professional practice and the principles derived from the case studies. Given the time constraints of this study and the difficulty in maintaining responses over time from all 395 respondents, a longitudinal survey was ruled out. Analysis of the survey led to a further three principles that included qualities required of a commander, and the selection of potential recruits to emergency response organisations, in particular command positions. The six original principles of command (plus one sub-principle) are matched with extant cognitive decision making studies, together with a limited review of the psychology of decision making outside of the maritime context using real life examples, and evaluated for commonality or otherwise of biases and thinking approach. From these appraisals a further 5 principles were identified. In all, a comprehensive list of 46 C4 framework principles is produced that covers command in terms of people (command, skills and knowledge), Process (Design), Resources (Design), Organisation (Design). The 46 principles are classified under 3 headings: Capability, Readiness, Response, producing 26 consolidated principles under 10 sub-headings. The list is further refined to produce three distinct tables of principles in an operational format that can be used by any emergency response organisation. The study, which is based on practical experience and professional practice supported by academic research, concludes that the implementation of the C4 framework for the management of an MME can be significantly flawed, and would benefit from the adoption of many of the principles derived from the author’s own experiences and also from complementary sources. The study also supports the contention that it is the human element in the implementation of the C4 framework that could be improved and that the framework itself is largely fit for purpose. The refined principles derived require actions to be undertaken, some more extensive than others, by commanders, trainers, recruiters and managers before they can be effective. To aid this approach, the principles are marshalled into three key groups, as commonly used by emergency services, as described above. The key groups can be used to aid the formation of simulated exercises for training purposes and for organisational design. In summary, the principles identified provide a foundation for improving the implementation of the C4 framework for the management of MMEs, and for emergencies across all other fields and in many other contexts

'Risky places?': mapping gambling machine density and socio-economic deprivation

The aims of this project were to map the location and density of gambling machines in Britain; to explore whether geographic areas with higher densities of machines exist and to examine the socio-economic characteristics of these areas relative to others. Using geospatial analysis of premises records, we identified 8861 Machine Zones which were areas with a 400 meter radius around gambling machine venue and 384 High Density Machine Zones (HDMZ) with 1 or more gambling machine per hectare. There was a significant correlation between machine density and socio-economic deprivation. HDMZs had greater levels of income deprivation, more economically inactive people and a younger age profile than other areas; 37 % of those living in HDMZs were economically inactive compared with 33 % of those in non-machine areas. HDMZs were in seaside locations but also New Towns or satellite towns to major urban areas. Area affluence explains some of this pattern; of the New Towns with HDMZs, 78 % were in New Towns with a high proportion of low income areas. We therefore concluded that the distribution of gambling machines in Great Britain, in line with other international jurisdictions, displays a significant association with areas of socio-economic deprivation. The profile of the resident population living in HDMZs mirrors the profile of those most at-risk of experiencing harm from gambling. This spatial pattern has important implications for assessing the relationship between gambling availability and gambling-related harm, and for the future development of policy, harm-prevention and treatment strategies

Problems of implementing offender programs in the community

Rehabilitation of offenders is, at present, an important focus among many correctional departments. A substantial body of international research literature now exists to guide the design and development of new programs that aim to reduce re-offending. However, successful implementation of these programs has been challenging for many correctional authorities. Drawing on the experience of a community correctional agency in Australia, this paper identifies and examines a number of barriers to successful delivery of community-based offender rehabilitation programs and services. The findings suggest that basing interventions on scientific knowledge about “what works” in offender rehabilitation is necessary but not sufficient for effective programs and services. More careful attention needs to be paid to how correctional authorities can take this research and implement it in practice

Using theory in criminal justice evaluation

This chapter examines the nature and role of theory in criminal justice evaluation. A distinction between theories of and theories for evaluation is offered to clarify what is meant by ‘theory’ in the context of contemporary evaluation practice. Theories of evaluation provide a set of prescriptions and principles that can be used to guide the design, conduct and use of evaluation. Theories for evaluation include programme theory and the application of social science theory to understand how and why criminal justice interventions work to generate desired outcomes. The fundamental features of these three types of theory are discussed in detail, with a particular focus on demonstrating their combined value and utility for informing and improving the practice of criminal justice evaluatio

A Loser\u27s Ingenuity

Lois G. Schwoerer, The Ingenious Mr. Henry Care, Restoration Publicist. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. Pp. xxvii, 349. $32. Stephen Parks ed., The Luttrell File: Narcissus Luttrell\u27s Dates on Contemporary Pamphlets, 1678-1730. Assisted by Earle Havens, with a Chronological Index compiled by Carolyn Nelson. New Haven, Connecticut: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, 1999. (The Yale University Library Gazette Occasional Supplement 3). Pp. vi, 223.$25. The Ingenious Mr. Henry Careis the latest monograph in a series of scholarly articles, essays, and edited works on a range of subjects, by Lois G. Schwoerer, Kayser Professor of History Emeritus at the George Washington University. Schwoerer\u27s work has addressed, among other topics, the history of British political thought, the Restoration, the Revolution of 1688/89, the Declaration of Rights, Lady Rachel Russell, Lord William Russell, Lord Chief Justice Scroggs, the Standing Army controversy, and the use of the press in the politics of the seventeenth century. This new book is not a conventional biography (archives of Care\u27s life are not extant) but a study of his journalism and pamphleteering, analyzing and interpreting how his writing intersected, reflected, and helped to mold the major political, religious, constitutional, and ideological issues of the time. Schwoerer uses Care\u27s journalism as a prism to illuminate the era in order to contribute to a remodeling of Restoration historiography. Schwoerer is one of the few historians who assert that the Restoration press emerged as a prototype fourth estate, playing a more important role in politics, religion, and society than is usually acknowledged. She presents Care (1646-1688), who came from a more lowly social background than, for example, Marchamont Nedham, Sir Roger L\u27Estrange, or Daniel Defoe, as a writer who made a significant contribution to the public debates of his day on religion, politics, and society. Schwoerer argues that Care\u27s writing enfranchised those who were not part of the political class, thereby helping to create a public sphere (at a point in time earlier than Habermas\u27 identified). According to Schwoerer, through Care\u27s writing the political awareness of the marginally-educated lower orders in society was raised, empowering them to contribute to the stabilization, or destabilization, of authority in church and state. She reevaluates Care\u27s role within the print culture of the time, rehabilitates his reputation, and rescues him from the relative obscurity into which he has fallen in the early twenty-first century

Converting from ECCE to SICS

Cataract continues to be the cause of almost half the cases of blindness worldwide and the challenge to meet the needs and develop the required resources is as great as ever.Cataract surgery has evolved from couching, first practised several thousand years ago, through intra- and extracapsular extraction (ECCE), to phacoemulsification. However, whatever the technique, the most important aspect is the outcome for patients. Today, the focus is more and more on excellence, which was one of the central themes of the 8th General Assembly

Excellence and equity in eye care

The theme of the 8th General Assembly was ‘Excellence and equity in eye care’ - superlative sound bites perhaps, but when those words are considered in the context of VISION 2020, they take on a meaning that should define all our efforts to combat avoidable blindness

Adapting barbershop harmony for the saxophone quartet

Barbershop harmony refers to a unique style of arrangement and performance for voice that is strictly in four parts and acapella. There is much untapped potential in this close harmonic genre that could be explored in instruments other than the human voice. This paper set out to explore and establish a method of arranging and performing music of the barbershop style for the saxophone quartet. To achieve this transference of the style from voices to saxophones, the harmonic conventions and arranging rules of barbershop from the existing literature were established, along with a review of the literature pertaining to effective saxophone ensemble writing. An exegetical process was adopted utilising the Action Research Model. This detailed the processes of rearranging barbershop standards for a quartet of saxophones, drawing on the accepted traditions of the barbershop style. Specific aspects of instrumentation, dynamics, intonation, and the expression of text were considered throughout the process, resulting in the production of considered rearrangements of barbershop music for saxophone quartet, along with observations as to how to perform them in an authentic manner. This research aimed to show that the saxophone quartet is an effective medium through which to perform the music of barbershop quartets and that barbershop is a genre that should not just be restricted to voices; its unique style could be enjoyed by many different arrangements of instruments