The English theatre studios of Michael Chekhov and Michel Saint-Denis, 1935-1965

This thesis charts the brief history of the theatre studios run in England between 1935 and 1965 by Michel Saint-Denis (1897-1971) and Michael Chekhov (1891- 1955). They were the London Theatre Studio (1936-1939), run by Saint-Denis; The Chekhov Theatre Studio at Dartington Hall (1936-1938); The Old Vic Theatre School (1947-1952), initially part of the proposed Old Vic Theatre Centre, whose directors were Michel Saint-Denis, George Devine and Glen Byam Shaw; and the RSC Studio (1962- 1965), run by Saint-Denis. All of these studios were dedicated to combining training and experimentation in the development of ensemble companies and were therefore liminal spaces combining elements of a theatre and a theatre school. An introductory section briefly situates the practice of theatre studios in the context of wider narratives of work, craftsmanship and artistry in the period and traces their development from the Moscow Art Theatre Studio of 1905, as well as sketching some significant parallels between Saint-Denis and Chekhov. The first two sections of the thesis then explore the period from 1936 until 1952, looking first at Chekhov’s and then at Saint-Denis’ studios, placing them in the context of the traditions of training and exploration from which they emerged, and examining their practice and their legacies. The final section of the thesis explores the direct impact of their practice on the Post War British Theatre, focusing particularly on the Royal Shakespeare Company whose Studio was run by Saint-Denis, and where Paul Rogers (one of Chekhov’s students) was a leading actor. A short concluding section applies the principles of Chekhov’s and Saint- Denis’ work to the practice of training and experimentation in 2012 and looks to the future, to ask whether the studios whose work is explored in the main body of the thesis have a role to play in the future development of the art of the theatre

The Negligence Liability of Public Authorities for Omissions

In this article I address the question of whether the omissions principle – the principle that the common law does not impose liability for omissions – applies with the same force in negligence cases involving public authority defendants as in cases involving private defendants. My argument is that the answer depends upon the answer to a prior question: can a duty of care be based upon the public law powers and duties of a public authority? In making my argument, I refute the views both of those who insist that a claim in negligence against a public authority can be rejected purely because it relates to an omission not falling within one of the standard exceptions to the omissions principle and of those who insist that such a claim can succeed while at the same denying that a duty of care can be based on a public authority’s public law powers and duties

The Negligence Liability of Public Authorities for Omissions

In this article I address the question of whether the omissions principle – the principle that the common law does not impose liability for omissions – applies with the same force in negligence cases involving public authority defendants as in cases involving private defendants. My argument is that the answer depends upon the answer to a prior question: can a duty of care be based upon the public law powers and duties of a public authority? In making my argument, I refute the views both of those who insist that a claim in negligence against a public authority can be rejected purely because it relates to an omission not falling within one of the standard exceptions to the omissions principle and of those who insist that such a claim can succeed while at the same denying that a duty of care can be based on a public authority’s public law powers and duties

Automated synthesis of biodiversity knowledge requires better tools and standardised research output

As the impact of anthropogenic activity on the environment has grown, research into biodiversity change and associated threats has also accelerated. Synthesising this vast literature is important for understanding the drivers of biodiversity change and identifying those actions that will mitigate further ecological losses. However, keeping pace with an ever-increasing publication rate presents a substantial challenge to efficient syntheses, an issue which could be partly addressed by increasing levels of automation in the synthesis pipeline. Here, we evaluate the potential for automated tools to extract ecologically important information from the abstracts of articles compiled in the Living Planet Database. Specifically, we focused on extracting key information on taxonomy (studied species names), geographic location and estimated population trend, assessing the accuracy of automated versus manual information extraction, the potential for automated tools to introduce biases into syntheses, and evaluating if synthesising abstracts was enough to capture the key information from the full article. Taxonomic and geographic extraction tools performed reasonably well, although information on studied species was sometimes limited in the abstract (compared to the main text) preventing fast extraction. In contrast, extraction of trends was less successful, highlighting the challenges involved in automating information extraction from abstracts, such as deficiencies in the algorithms, linguistic complexity associated with ecological findings, and limited information when compared to the main text. In light of these results, we cautiously advocate for a wider use of automated taxonomic and geographic parsing tools for ecological synthesis. Additionally, to further the use of automated synthesis within ecology, we recommend a dual approach: development of improved computational tools to reduce biases; and enhanced protocols for abstracts (and associated metadata) to ensure key information is included in a format that facilitates machine-readability

Importance of basal boundary conditions in transient simulations : case study of a surging marine-terminating glacier on Austfonna, Svalbard

We assess the importance of basal boundary conditions for transient simulations of Basin 3, Austfonna ice cap between January 1995 and December 2011 and for the surge starting in 2012 by carrying out simulations with the full-Stokes model Elmer/Ice and the vertically-integrated model BISICLES. Time-varying surface mass-balance data from the regional climate model HIRHAM5 are downscaled according to elevation. Basal friction coefficient is varied through time by interpolating between two data-constrained inversions of surface velocity fields, from 1995 and 2011. Evolution of the basal boundary condition appears to be much more important for mass discharge and the dynamic response of the fast flowing unit in Basin 3 than either model choice or the downscaling method for the surface mass balance. In addition, temporally linear extrapolation of the evolution of basal friction coefficient beyond the 2011 distribution could not reproduce the expansion of the acceleration observed in southern Basin 3 between January 2012 and June 2013. This implies that changes in basal friction patterns, and in turn basal processes that are not currently represented in either model, are among the most important factors for the 2012 acceleration.Peer reviewe

A core outcome set for localised prostate cancer effectiveness trials

Objective: To develop a core outcome set (COS) applicable for effectiveness trials of all interventions for localised prostate cancer. Background: Many treatments exist for localised prostate cancer, although it is unclear which offers the optimal therapeutic ratio. This is confounded by inconsistencies in the selection, definition, measurement and reporting of outcomes in clinical trials. Subjects and methods: A list of 79 outcomes was derived from a systematic review of published localised prostate cancer effectiveness studies and semi-structured interviews with 15 prostate cancer patients. A two-stage consensus process involving 118 patients and 56 international healthcare professionals (HCPs) (cancer specialist nurses, urological surgeons and oncologists) was undertaken, consisting of a three-round Delphi survey followed by a face-to-face consensus panel meeting of 13 HCPs and 8 patients. Results: The final COS included 19 outcomes. Twelve apply to all interventions: death from prostate cancer, death from any cause, local disease recurrence, distant disease recurrence/metastases, disease progression, need for salvage therapy, overall quality of life, stress urinary incontinence, urinary function, bowel function, faecal incontinence, sexual function. Seven were intervention-specific: perioperative deaths (surgery), positive surgical margin (surgery), thromboembolic disease (surgery), bothersome or symptomatic urethral or anastomotic stricture (surgery), need for curative treatment (active surveillance), treatment failure (ablative therapy), and side effects of hormonal therapy (hormone therapy). The UK-centric participants may limit the generalisability to other countries, but trialists should reason why the COS would not be applicable. The default position should not be that a COS developed in one country will automatically not be applicable elsewhere. Conclusion: We have established a COS for trials of effectiveness in localised prostate cancer, applicable across all interventions which should be measured in all localised prostate cancer effectiveness trials

Increased ice flow in Western Palmer Land linked to ocean melting

A decrease in the mass and volume of Western Palmer Land has raised the prospect that ice speed has increased in this marine-based sector of Antarctica. To assess this possibility, we measure ice velocity over 25 years using satellite imagery and an optimized modeling approach. More than 30 unnamed outlet glaciers drain the 800 km coastline of Western Palmer Land at speeds ranging from 0.5 to 2.5 m/d, interspersed with near-stagnant ice. Between 1992 and 2015, most of the outlet glaciers sped up by 0.2 to 0.3 m/d, leading to a 13% increase in ice flow and a 15 km3/yr increase in ice discharge across the sector as a whole. Speedup is greatest where glaciers are grounded more than 300 m below sea level, consistent with a loss of buttressing caused by ice shelf thinning in a region of shoaling warm circumpolar water

Results of the third Marine Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project (MISMIP+)

We present the result of the third Marine Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project, MISMIP+. MISMIP+ is intended to be a benchmark for ice-flow models which include fast sliding marine ice streams and floating ice shelves and in particular a treatment of viscous stress that is sufficient to model buttressing, where upstream ice flow is restrained by a downstream ice shelf. A set of idealized experiments first tests that models are able to maintain a steady state with the grounding line located on a retrograde slope due to buttressing and then explore scenarios where a reduction in that buttressing causes ice stream acceleration, thinning, and grounding line retreat. The majority of participating models passed the first test and then produced similar responses to the loss of buttressing. We find that the most important distinction between models in this particular type of simulation is in the treatment of sliding at the bed, with other distinctions - notably the difference between the simpler and more complete treatments of englacial stress but also the differences between numerical methods - taking a secondary role. © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved

Results of the third Marine Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project (MISMIP+)

We present the result of the third Marine Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project, MISMIP+. MISMIP+ is intended to be a benchmark for ice-flow models which include fast sliding marine ice streams and floating ice shelves and in particular a treatment of viscous stress that is sufficient to model buttressing, where upstream ice flow is restrained by a downstream ice shelf. A set of idealized experiments first tests that models are able to maintain a steady state with the grounding line located on a retrograde slope due to buttressing and then explore scenarios where a reduction in that buttressing causes ice stream acceleration, thinning, and grounding line retreat. The majority of participating models passed the first test and then produced similar responses to the loss of buttressing. We find that the most important distinction between models in this particular type of simulation is in the treatment of sliding at the bed, with other distinctions – notably the difference between the simpler and more complete treatments of englacial stress but also the differences between numerical methods – taking a secondary role

Benefits and Risks of Primary Treatments for High-risk Localized and Locally Advanced Prostate Cancer : An International Multidisciplinary Systematic Review

Copyright © 2020 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewedPostprin