Re atumela phetogo1: Africanisation in Embodied Actor-training Performance Platforms Incorporating Multimodal Learning Janine Lewis Karina Lemmer Abstract This article reports on the implementation of multimodal creative training employed for embodied per

This article reports on the implementation of multimodal creative training employed for embodied performance courses that include physical theatre and voice studies for actors. Awareness of embodiment is imperative for training actors, which in turn underpins the inherent nature of a visceral African performer and conceptual performance. However, attention to embodiment as a site of learning has been sporadic and paradoxically under-documented with-in the area of adult performing arts education. This article focuses on the potential of multimodality to challenge and re-imagine actor-training through implementation of performance platforms incorporating embodied-learning/ performance/ space(s) (embodied-LPS). The performance platform training was initially designed for the physical theatre training of Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) students in 2000, and this article reflects on how this multimodal training approach may be validated when reflecting on its application to the voice course since 2011. Using a reflective research design, association of practice was identified through lecturer’s observation and reflection on the teaching and assessment strategies employed to cluster sample groups of acting-training Bachelor of Technology (BTech) students. Strategies embrace multimodal, self-directed and cooperative learning, that integrate reflexive practice-based principles. The performance platforms are primarily practical applications of theoretical underpinnings that are explored, reflected upon and interpreted. Within the South African higher-education environment, the documentation and reflection in this article serve to validate that such multimodal (re)conceptual performance creativity facilitates transformation for the creative student through ownership learning and co-creation of new knowledge

Restorative Justice Impact on Multinational Corporations?: A Response to Andrew Brady Spalding's Article

In response to Andrew Brady Spalding, Restorative Justice for Multinational Corporations, 76 Ohio St. L.J. 357 (2015)

Archaeology of time – activation of installation space by the spect-actor

An artistic installation implies theatre in situ, in that a/the space is transformed into a potential experiential encounter through design and scenography. This potential space then only requires the spectator to activate the full experience through embodied engagement with the installation, inciting visceral meaning-making. This embodied activation implies that the spectator then also becomes a performer, as they are simultaneously the ones physically causing the theatrical experience and the ones experiencing the elements designed for (their) interpretation. In this manner a heightened sense of becoming what Boal (1992) coined the ‘spect-actor’ is achieved. By activating the space through physical engagement with/in the installation where all the sensory receptors trigger a visceral response in the spect-actor, meaning-making occurs through phenomenology and implies a knowing body through personal- and socio-cultural interpretation. For this paper, the installations by renowned South African artist Jan van der Merwe are used as examples to argue for the emergence of the spect-actor in the role of activator. As an installation artist, Van der Merwe creates large artworks of intricately recreated tableaux often composed in discarded, rusted found material. Van der Merwe calls the found objects “artefacts of our time”. Thus, they assume an archaeological quality and become relics of a way of life, a civilisation degenerated and fossilised though time and rust. The spect-actor is both then the site and cite of activation where the time and space converge into an ephemeral experience. Ho epolloa ha lintho tsa khale nako: ts'ebetso ea sebaka sa tlhomamiso ke moetsi oa spect-actor Boetsi ba bonono bo ikhethileng ka tshebediso ya ditshwantsho sebakeng ho bontša hore ho na le liketsahalo tsa sethala, ka hore sebaka se fetoha sebopeho se nang le phihlelo ka ho qaptjoa le ho shebahala. Sebaka sena se ka etsahala habonolo feela se hloka hore mmoheli a khone ho etsa boiphihlelo bo feletseng ka ho khomahanya ka ketsahatso, e leng tsela ya ho khothalletsa ho etsa moelelo oa visceral. Tshebetso ena e ncha e fana ka maikutlo a hore motho ea shebellang le ena o fetoha sebapali, kaha ka nako e tšoanang o etsa hore ho be le boiphihlelo ba papali ho ba nang le likarolo tse etselitsoeng tlhaloso ea bona. Ka tsela ena ho ba le kutloisiso e phahameng ea ho ba seo Boal (1992) a ileng a se bitsa hore ke mmohi-sebapali se fihlelloe. Ka ho futhumatsa sebaka ka tsela ya ho sebelisa mmele har’a mosebetsi wa bonono o pampiri ena e baung ka ona, e leng ona o lokollang li-receptor tsohle tse utloahalang hore li hlahise karabo ea visceral ho mmohi-sepali. Ho etsa moelelo o etsahalang ka phenomenology ho bolela mmele o tsebang ka litlhaloso tsa setso. Bakeng sa pampiri ena mesebetsi ea bonono ea moetsahatsi oa Afrika Boroa ea tummeng, Jan van der Merwe, e tla sebelisoa e le mohlala ho pheha khang ka ho hlaha ha mmohi-sebapali karolong ea motho ea futhumatsang le ho etsahatsa mosebetsi wa bonono ka nako eo o etsahalang ka yona. Joalokaha moetsahatsi oa bonono, van der Merwe o etsa litšoantšo tse kholo tsa seka-litšoantšo tse entsoeng ka mokhoa o rarahaneng o atisang ho etsoa ka thepa e lahliloeng, e bolileng. Van der Merwe o bitsa lintho tse a lifumaneng ho etsa mosebetsi oa hae "lintho tsa nako ea rona". Ka hona, ntho tsena linka seemo sa lintho tsa khale tse epollotsoeng ebe lifetoha litšoantšo tsa mokhoa oa bophelo, tsoelo-pele e ileng ea khutlela moraho le ho khitloa nakong. Ha hole joalo, mmohi-sepabali eba sebaka le moetsahatsi wa futhumatso tsebetsong moo nako le sebaka li fetohang phihlelo ea ho iphelisa.   https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.85.1.247

Impact of bidirectional relationships between streptococcus anginosus group and host tissue matrix components on cellular activity: Role in establishment of infection

This paper investigates pathogenic mechanisms of the Streptococcus anginosus group (SAG) of bacteria which influence the biological activity of periodontal ligament (PDL) cells, endothelial cells and also how matrix proteins produced by these host cells influence bacterial virulence factors. Isolates of SAG species, designated S. anginosus, S. constellatus and S. intermedius, were derived from healthy commensal and clinical pathogenic infection sites. SAG culture supernatants contained multiple protein components which differed between isolates. All SAG supernatants increased cellular proliferation and decreased decorin synthesis and collagen assembly by PDL cells and reduced endothelial cell migration. SAG isolates responded differently to extracellular matrix (ECM) components synthesised by PDL cells, but there was an overall notable increase in hydrolytic enzyme activity and in the production of the cytotoxin intermedilysin by S. intermedius. Collectively, the results indicate that both commensal and pathogenic SAG isolates were capable of impairing the ability of PDL cells and endothelial cells to make functional vascularised tissue. Reduced decorin synthesis is likely to have a major impact on cell signalling, angiogenesis and matrix assembly. Furthermore, ECM components produced by PDL cells were differentially capable of moderately increasing SAG enzymic activity, leading to subtle ECM modifications. The impact this bidirectional effect has on the tissue remodelling process is discussed

A practical approach to monitoring nutrient supplement intake of Australian adults

The adoption, in mid-1995, of the revised food Standard A9, which permits the more liberal addition of nutrients to a range of food products, highlighted the need to obtain information on nutrient intake from supplements to complement the i 995 National Nutrition Survey data on nutrient intake from food. This paper describes the method used to obtain quantitative information on nutrient supplement intake and reports on the prevalence of supplement use in different subgroups of the Australian population. Information on supplement intake was obtained in two Australian Bureau of Statistics Population Survey Monitor surveys in August 1995 and February 1996 using the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) registration numbers to identify individual products. Approximately 18% of men and 29% of women aged 18 years and over reported consuming a nutrient supplement on the day before the survey and these proportions increased to 25% and 35% respectively for consumption during the two weeks before the survey. The prevalence of supplement intake increased with age, education level, socioeconomic status, employment status and with fruit and vegetable intake. The substantial proportion of Australian adults who consume nutrient supplements, and the rapidly changing composition of the Australian food supply in response to changes in food regulation, indicate that there is a need for regular monitoring of nutrient intake from supplements. The use of TGA registration numbers to identify supplements provides a practical way to address this need.<br /

Nurse-Midwifery Practice at Hutzel Women’s Hospital, Detroit, Michigan: A Quarter Century of Success

The Hutzel Women’s Hospital/University Women’s Care (HWH/UWC) nurse-midwife practice is not only the oldest in the state of Michigan but also one of the busiest. This article details this exemplary nurse-midwifery practice, education and research in an urban, inner city academic setting. The setting, practice characteristics, history and outcomes are described

Advancing sustainable consumption in the UK and China: the mediating effect of pro-environmental self-identity

In this paper, we respond to the call for more holistic and culturally diverse research to advance understanding of (non)sustainable consumption behaviour. Our conceptual model incorporates materialism, environmental concern, social consumption motivation, pro-environmental self-identity and sustainable consumption behaviours. This paper contributes to knowledge by examining the mediating role of pro-environmental self-identity to more fully explain consumers’ (non)sustainable consumption behaviour. An international online panel survey was employed in the UK (n = 1037) and China (n = 1025). Findings show that pro-environmental self-identity partially or fully mediates the relationships between materialism, environmental concern, social consumption motivation and sustainable consumption behaviours. Important cultural differences also emerged, for example, the positive effect of materialism on Chinese consumer’s sustainable consumption, which is contrary to Western evidence. We suggest bolder, culturally informed and more reflexive marketing strategies are needed to significantly advance sustainable consumption, thus effectively helping to redress the crisis facing our planet

Critiquing a Utopian idea of Sustainable Consumption: A Post-Capitalism Perspective

This paper proposes and critiques the idea of a post-capitalism sustainable consumption utopia to improve the ecological and human wellbeing of the planet. Such a notion can stimulate new imaginative thinking on a future sustainable world not dominated by neoliberalism. It can also strengthen SDG-12: responsible consumption and production. To do so, it examines the influence of pro-environmental self-identity, market-based barriers, and knowledge barriers on sustainable consumption buying, product lifetime extension, and environmental activism. Survey data was collected via online panels in Sweden (n=504) and the USA (n=1,017). Richly varied and complex findings emerge supporting the merit of this utopian idea. In particular, the importance of pro-environmental self-identity. This study illustrates how post-capitalism radical incrementalism and people power can initiate change using the civic, political, and environmental activism in sustainable consumption behaviours. Emerging implications for the viability of SDG-12 are also considered. This work offers rich opportunities for further research

Seasonality in birth rate in two 19th century North Wales parishes

An understanding of the basic patterns in the seasonality of birth rate may be useful in certain fertility techniques. The use of artificial birth control, however, has had the effect of masking the influence of underlying biometeriological factors. To elucidate trends in birth seasonality in the absence of current social factors, a study useing nineteenth-century parish records was undertaken. Analysis of 5,905 births recorded in the baptismal records of the parishes of Hawarden and Northop between the years 1837 and 1886 revealed significant seasonal trend with a peak occuring in the spring. Further analysis showed a significant positive correlation occuring between the (standardized) numbers of births in each month and the mean day length (hours between sunrise and sunset) of the pulative month of conception

An investigation into the numerical determinants of secondary sex ratio

Data from the North Wales parishes of Hawarden and Northop were found previously to show seasonality for birth rate. In keeping with values reported in other studies, the annual secondary sex ratio of 105.3% was found. This sex ratio was also found to vary throughout the year in a cyclical way with a peak occuring in late summer. When male and female birth rates were investigated separately, it was found that females showed a more pronounced cyclicity than males with the peaks for both sexes occuring in the spring. A significant negative correlation between sex ratio at birth and mean day lenght (hours between sunrise and sunset) of the putative month of conception was observed. Sex ratio is a useful but derived parameter and has no independant existence upon which natural selection can be said to exert a direct influence. Therefore, the behaviour of the determinants of sex ratio should not be overlooked