Unprecedented access? Women instrumentalists in punk bands 1976-1984: an exploration

This study has been undertaken because of a gap in popular music and subcultural history. The significance of the first large influx of women into rock music, as punk instrumentalists in the late 1970s, has been underplayed; instead, women punks have been stereotypically documented. Girls' and womens' roles as producers of music, and their consequent contribution to the sound of punk music, have been subjected to a collective amnesia. Four areas of literature have been reviewed to clarify the reasons for, and extent of the gap: writings on subcultures and scenes, writings on women in rock and pop, writings on the socio-political context, and writings on punk. One of the main foci of the study has been to identify the reasons for the fading away of the presence of women instrumentalists in the early 1980s. I wanted to discover why this phenomenon had such a short time span. The primary research involved a newspaper survey (300 local papers were contacted across Britain) from which 24 useful questionnaires were gleaned; I interviewed 15 women who were in bands at the time, as well as a radio DJ, record company owner, band manager, and several male band members and political activists from the scene. Fanzines, music papers and the feminist magazine Spare Rib have also been referred to extensively. I have also had my own recollections of the time to draw upon. Following the literature review, the study is divided into sections on Access (enabling and empowering factors), Media Gatekeepers and Cultural Intermediaries (external controls and filters), The Brighton Scene (a case study of my own local punk envirom-nent), Noise, Violence and Femininity (the practice of music making by these women, and the resistance to it), the Aftermath (exploring factors contributing to the ending of the moment), and Conclusions

Gender Ventriloquism in Studio Production

A process of ventriloquism, with male producers speaking through the mouthpieces of the women they produce, can reinforce gender delineations in pop. After discussing ventriloquism in pop and demonstrating different ways in which this has happened using historical examples, the author’s original interviews with women who record male artists are examined to discover whether a similar process takes place when roles are reversed. The author concludes that aspects of ventriloquism are inherent in production, although some women producers have questioned gender roles during this process. She also notes that as more female mediators enter the profession, we may hear more authentic expressions of women’s identities in popular music

Book Review: Achieng-Evensen, C., Stockbridge, K. & SooHoo, S. (Eds.) (2021). Freirean echoes: Scholars and practitioners dialogue on critical ideas in education. Myers Education Press

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Native Speaker Response to Non-Native Accent: A Review of Recent Research

Research has generally shown that without early exposure, non-native speakers cannot achieve a native-like accent in a foreign language (Gass & Selinker, 2001, p. 336). Differences in pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation remain. Nevertheless, accent has been shown to affect how native speakers (NSs) evaluate non-native speakers (NNSs). This single speech characteristic has been openly cited as justification for much broader judgments about individuals. Lippi-Green (1997), for example, highlights several cases in the U.S. in which NNSs lost jobs due to their accents, such as that of an Indian woman (who had studied English for over 20 years) deemed unfit for a librarian’s position because of her “‘heavy accent’” and “‘speech patterns’” (p. 153). Matsuda (1991) reports on U.S. doctors who lost their malpractice insurance because the company felt accent would prevent them from successfully defending themselves in a lawsuit (p. 1346)

Humor and Play in Language Classroom Interaction: A Review of the Literature

The past two decades have seen a growing interest in the role of humor and play in second- language (L2) learning and teaching. Vega (1990) went as far as to propose viewing humor as a fifth element of communicative competence; more recently, Cook (2000) has argued that language play should be regarded as “both a means and an end of language learning” (p. 204). Teachers have, in fact, long been advised to introduce elements of humor and play into the language classroom (e.g., Holmes, 1980; Schmitz, 2002; Trachtenberg 1979). However, as Bell (2009, 2011, 2013) has pointed out, such recommendations have largely been based on assumptions and intuitions rather than empirical research. Studies of specific pedagogical interventions have generally been lacking (Bell, 2013)

Lipid antigens and immunoregulatory iNKT cells in the prevention and treatment of type 1 diabetes and related autoimmune diseases

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells constitute an important regulatory arm of the immune system. Defects in the number and activities of iNKT cells have been linked to the development of autoimmune diseases. The glycoprotein CD1d plays an integral part in the recognition and presentation of lipid antigens such as α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) to iNKT cells, producing a variety of anti-inflammatory (T$_H$2) cytokines, such as interleukin-4 (IL-4), and pro-inflammatory (T$_H$1) cytokines, such as interferon-γ (IFN-γ). A decreased number of iNKT cells and defects in their capacity to produce T$_H$2 cytokines is associated with autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes (T1D). α-GalCer stimulates both T$_H$1 and T$_H$2 responses. Some analogues of α-GalCer preferentially induce the production of T$_H$2 cytokines, highlighting the possibility that such compounds could have therapeutic potential with regards to T$_H$1 cell-mediated autoimmune diseases, such as T1D and SLE. A library of α-GalCer analogues was synthesised and their ability to modulate immune responses analysed. Altering the length of the phytosphingosine chain in α-GalCer analogues was shown to drastically affect the T$_H$1:T$_H$2 response, with truncated phytosphingosine chains of 9 carbons skewing the response towards a predominantly T$_H$2 response. Substituting the galactose sugar head for glucose (α-GlcCer) or L-fucose (α-L-FucCer) also elicited differences in the immunological profile of α-GalCer analogues, with lymphocytic proliferation being greatest in the galactose analogue, followed by L-fucose, followed by a glucose analogue. These differences in activity were also mirrored in the cytokine responses of the analogues, suggesting the C4’ hydroxyl group plays a key part in antigen recognition and activity. Analogues incorporating 2 double bonds in the $N$-acyl chain exhibited T$_H$2 cytokine profiles on a par with α-GalCer, yet dramatically decreased T$_H$1 responses were observed. They also considerably delayed the clinical presentation of glucosuria in NOD mice. These results have provided important insights into the nature of antigen binding with CD1d, recognition of the antigen by iNKT cell receptors, and how such factors play a role in skewing the immune response, thus highlighting areas where structural diversity could be introduced in order to exploit immunomodulating potential, and find a possible prophylactic therapy for the prevention and treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as T1D

The Smartest Guise in the Room: Why America is Doomed to Repeat an Enron-Like Scandal

There is no question that Enron has brought change to the landscape surrounding business practices both domestically and globally. After the Emon Scandal occurred, Congress passed a very controversial and groundbreaking legislative act known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as a means of stopping the conditions that made this widespread scandal possible. There are several reasons why another Emon-type Scandal is prone to repeat itself in the near future. One of the reasons is that Sarbanes-Oxley is not the perfect bill. Although the controversial Sarbanes-Oxley is a valiant effort to reform the environment that fostered Enron, there are major gaps and faults in the bill. Another reason is that there is no present evidence that proves the perception of accounting and finance has changed considerably. For there to be less of a chance of another scandal, it would be an absolute necessity that accounting and finance ethical standards shift considerably. These key causes of the Enron Scandal have gone unaccounted for (no pun attended), and until they are addressed the door is open for future corporate indignity

Category Terms as Story-Telling Shortcuts

Following Stokoe (2012), who grounded her study of membership categorization practices in the analysis of particular sequences of interaction, such as advice-giving, I will examine how participants invoke and orient to categories in story-telling episodes. Because category terms are inherently inference-rich (Schegloff, 2007), I argue that they may serve as a powerful resource for story-tellers: By invoking particular categories, a speaker can prompt a listener to make inferences that facilitate the telling of the story, obviating the need for certain accounts and explanations. I will analyze two extracts from a Skype phone conversation in which one female friend shares stories about her apartment-hunting experience with another female friend. I suggest that evidence for categorization work in these extracts may be found both in what the participants say and in what they do not have to say