If There\u27s No Fat Lady, When Is the Opera Over? An Exploration of Changing Physical Image Standards in Present-Day Opera

Though present-day American society generally assumes opera is one of the few remaining entertainment fields where talent matters more than physical appearance, as the 2004 firing of Deborah Voigt demonstrates, present-day opera singers are increasingly being held to stricter image standards. In 2004, Covent Garden dismissed Voigt from their production of Ariadne auf Naxos, in which Voigt was supposed to reprise her critically acclaimed interpretation of the title role. According to Voigt, Covent Garden\u27s casting director Peter Katona felt that she was too large to fit into the black dress the new production required of the character. Voigt\u27s removal from the production and consequent media attention made opera\u27s new image standards public. My ethnographic and archival research concludes that present-day opera singers are expected to fit much more stringent physical standards. Though popular publications like Classical Singer, Time, and Newsweek have published articles exploring the new standards, little published academic work has explored this topic. As both a singer and an ethnomusicologist, I have spent several years observing and interviewing singers at various stages. This thesis explores evidence supporting the focus on image within opera and examines how this emphasis impacts various facets of the opera community

Beyond resistance: social factors in the general public response to pandemic influenza

Background: Influencing the general public response to pandemics is a public health priority. There is a prevailing view, however, that the general public is resistant to communications on pandemic influenza and that behavioural responses to the 2009/10 H1N1 pandemic were not sufficient. Using qualitative methods, this paper investigates how members of the general public respond to pandemic influenza and the hygiene, social isolation and other measures proposed by public health. Going beyond the commonly deployed notion that the general public is resistant to public health communications, this paper examines how health individualism, gender and real world constraints enable and limit individual action. Methods: In-depth interviews (n = 57) and focus groups (ten focus groups; 59 individuals) were conducted with community samples in Melbourne, Sydney and Glasgow. Participants were selected according to maximum variation sampling using purposive criteria, including: 1) pregnancy in 2009/2010; 2) chronic illness; 3) aged 70 years and over; 4) no disclosed health problems. Verbatim transcripts were subjected to inductive, thematic analysis. Results: Respondents did not express resistance to public health communications, but gave insight into how they interpreted and implemented guidance. An individualistic approach to pandemic risk predominated. The uptake of hygiene, social isolation and vaccine strategies was constrained by seeing oneself 'at risk' but not 'a risk' to others. Gender norms shape how members of the general public enact hygiene and social isolation. Other challenges pertained to over-reliance on perceived remoteness from risk, expectation of recovery from infection and practical constraints on the uptake of vaccination. Conclusions: Overall, respondents were engaged with public health advice regarding pandemic influenza, indicating that the idea of public resistance has limited explanatory power. Public communications are endorsed, but challenges persist. Individualistic approaches to pandemic risk inhibit acting for the benefit of others and may deepen divisions in the community according to health status. Public communications on pandemics are mediated by gender norms that may overburden women and limit the action of men. Social research on the public response to pandemics needs to focus on the social structures and real world settings and relationships that shape the action of individuals

The Synthesis of Tumour-Inhibiting Compounds. Part I. Synthesis of (2':1'-Naphtha)-2:3-Fluorene and of (1':2'-Naphtha)-1:2-Fluorene. Part II. Synthesis of alphabeta-Diarylethylenes

Abstract Not Provided

Hacer que los desplazados internos se comprometan en Sri Lanka: el enfoque budista

Una ONG budista de Sri Lanka nos ofrece un ejemplo de cómo las sociedades civiles endógenas confesionales pueden ayudar a movilizar a los desplazados internos a la hora de crear y definir estrategias para su propia protección

An Exploratory Investigation of Teacher Perceptions of Education and Communication at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic

In March 2020, teachers in the K–12 school system were forced to transition from in-person instruction to a variety of virtual teaching models due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This unprecedented change required extensive communication between teachers, students, parents, and administrators. This study explored communication during the March–May 2020 transition period, utilizing Uncertainty Management Theory as an overarching framework to investigate how teacher comfort with online learning, communication overload, administrative clarity, and student–teacher interaction influenced the effectiveness and happiness of teachers. Across these four variables, communication overload was shown to be a strong negative predictor of teacher well-being; student–teacher interaction predicted positive teaching outcomes

Recognizing and Confronting State Subjectivity in Asylum Adjudications

United States law charges America’s asylum officers with providing humanitarian protection for refugees while simultaneously securing the nation from external threats. This mandate requires that asylum officers balance potentially conflicting claims as they seek to ensure just treatment of claimants. This article explores how officers charged with that responsibility can develop a regime-centred subjectivity that often conditions them to view applicants with fraud and security concerns foremost in mind. This analysis also examines the potential efficacy of practical strategies linked to aesthetic, cognitive, affective, and moral imagination that may allow officials to become more aware of their statecentred subjectivity and how it influences their perceptions of threats to national security and to fraud. This analysis encourages adjudication officers to strive for a more nuanced understanding of what constitutes fraud and national security concerns and what are instead presuppositions created by the United States population-protection agenda.La loi aux États-Unis investit les agents préposés aux demandes d’asile avec la responsabilité d’accorder la protection humanitaire aux réfugiés et en même temps de protéger le pays des dangers venant de l’extérieur. Un tel mandat nécessite que les agents réconcilient des exigences potentiellement conflictuelles tout en assurant un traitement équitable des demandeurs. Cet article étudie le processus selon lequel les agents chargés de cette responsabilité peuvent développer une subjectivité axée sur le régime qui les conditionne souvent à voir les demandeurs dans une perspective privilégiant la sécurité et la fraude. Également, cette analyse examine l’efficacité potentielle de stratégies pratiques liées à l’imagination esthétique, cognitive, affective, et morale qui pourraient rendre les agents plus conscients de leur subjectivité axée sur l’état et comment elle influe sur leurs perceptions de ce qui constitue un danger pour la sécurité nationale et un risque de fraude

Marketing Strategies to Encourage Rural Residents of High-Obesity Counties to Buy Fruits and Vegetables in Grocery Stores

Introduction Obesity rates in Appalachia are among the highest in the United States, and knowledge of upstream approaches to decrease prevalence among this vulnerable population is limited. The primary aim of this study was to examine the association between healthy, diet-based, social marketing interventions in grocery stores and frequency of fruit and vegetable intake. Methods A social marketing campaign was conducted among 17 grocery stores (N = 240 participant surveys) over 4 months in 5 rural Kentucky counties. Interventions included providing food samples, recipe cards, and promotional discounts on fruits and vegetables and moving high-calorie foods to side aisles. Results Most survey participants reported that recipe cards influenced their desire to purchase ingredients as well as fruits and vegetables in general. Results indicated a significant association between the influence of recipe cards and frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption. Conclusion Small-scale interventions in grocery stores influenced purchasing choices among Appalachian residents. Working with various store managers and food venues in rural high-obesity communities is a promising way to encourage purchasing of fruits and vegetables

Google Maps as a Transformational Learning Tool in the Study Abroad Experience

This article examines the role that spatial orientation and location can play on a study abroad program. Jessica Stephenson and M. Todd Harper paired a Google Maps project with autoethnography in order to help students understand their own experience of space abroad as well as how they themselves shaped that space. Students were asked to create a personalized Google Map of the sites that they visited in Rome, Orvieto, Florence, and Montepulciano, Italy. Students then added facts about the sites as well as their own photos and personal experience. They were then asked to use their personalized Google Maps as a heuristic for longer autoethnographic papers relating to the themes of pilgrimage and journey. In so doing, students realized that space is alive, constantly changing and evolving

White blood cell differentials in dogs with congestive heart failure (CHF) in comparison to those in dogs without cardiac disease

Objectives: To investigate if dogs with congestive heart failure (CHF) have significant leukogram changes and for associations between leukogram, disease severity and survival time. Methods: Retrospective study of CHF patients (n=75) due to myxomatous degenerative valvular disease (MVMD) or dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and healthy controls (n=75). Haematology results and analyses of WBC variables were compared between CHF dogs and controls. From echocardiographic results of CHF dogs, indicators of disease severity were retrieved and associations were explored between these variables, survival time and leukogram results. Results: Total WBC count (

Long COVID (post-COVID-19 condition) in children: a modified Delphi process

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to derive a research definition for 'Long COVID (post-COVID-19 condition)' in children and young people (CYP) to allow comparisons between research studies. DESIGN: A three-phase online Delphi process was used, followed by a consensus meeting. Participants were presented with 49 statements in each phase and scored them from 1 to 9 based on how important they were for inclusion in the research definition of Long COVID in CYP. The consensus meeting was held to achieve representation across the stakeholder groups. Statements agreed at the consensus meeting were reviewed by participants in the Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Research Advisory Group. SETTING: The study was conducted remotely using online surveys and a virtual consensus meeting. PARTICIPANTS: 120 people with relevant expertise were divided into three panels according to their area of expertise: Service Delivery, Research (or combination of research and service delivery) and Lived Experience. The PPI Research Advisory group consisted of CYP aged 11-17 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Consensus was defined using existing guidelines. If consensus was achieved in two or more panels or was on the border between one and two panels, those statements were discussed and voted on at the consensus meeting. RESULTS: Ten statements were taken forward for discussion in the consensus meeting and five statements met threshold to be included in the research definition of Long COVID among CYP. The research definition, aligned to the clinical case definition of the WHO, is proposed as follows: Post-COVID-19 condition occurs in young people with a history of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, with at least one persisting physical symptom for a minimum duration of 12 weeks after initial testing that cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis. The symptoms have an impact on everyday functioning, may continue or develop after COVID infection, and may fluctuate or relapse over time. The positive COVID-19 test referred to in this definition can be a lateral flow antigen test, a PCR test or an antibody test. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first research definition of Long COVID (post-COVID-19 condition) in CYP and complements the clinical case definition in adults proposed by the WHO