The Philippine Rondalla: A Gift Of Musical Heritage In A Migrant Context

This paper reports on two recently developed contemporary rondallas outside the Philippines: one in Dansui, Taiwan and another in Queensland, Australia. The rondalla is a plucked-string ensemble which was brought to the Philippines from Spain in the late nineteenth century, not long before American intervention and the end of the Spanish era. This type of instrumental group was enthusiastically adopted in the Philippines and became an inexpensive and accessible medium for music education in schools. It has also become strongly connected to notions of Philippine national identity. Enjoying periodic resurgences within the Philippines, the characteristic, sparkling tremolo sound of rondalla instruments has an enduring place in the Philippine musical soundscape. This examination of rondallas in two diasporic locations confirms that the key concern for group founders is the transmission of culture of origin to secondgeneration Filipino migrants. In spite of a lack of funds and the scarcity of rondalla teachers, Filipinos have been able to reconstruct a treasured, musical heritage in their new homes. The paper also highlights the interesting contrast between the specific forms of multiculturalism which have arisen in Taiwan and Australia over the last few decades and have influenced the development of rondallas in each location. Recommendations for the rondalla's further development are offered, including the establishment of a freely downloadable database of scores and the creation of accessible educational multi-media materials for rondalla

Music(s) of the world as an online EFL resource: A Japanese EFL classroom experience

This research considers how the study of musical performances from around the world can be drawn upon as a useful resource for language instruction, particularly in EFL Japanese university classrooms. This study shares the insights gained from literature reviews combined with the researcher’s teaching experiences on the advanced English elective course of “Computer-Assisted Ethnomusicology.” This work was carried out over a five-year period between 2013 - 2018 at a university in the Tohoku region of Japan, based on a course that focused on the music and culture found in Oceania, South East Asia, East Asia, Africa, and North America. This study identifies the language resources present within the ethnomusicological content, and identifies the ways it can help awaken learners to the rich variation that exists among the cultures of the world, and highlighting the way local and global features combine in the ‘glocal’. In addition to digital applications, approaches introduced in the study also include the combination of high and low contact activities based on ethnomusicological resources. This helps to emphasize how Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and open-source multimedia make it possible to approach musical song texts and discourses that surround musical practice and performance and apply these to EFL teaching

A Three Dimensional Green\u27s Function Solution Technique for the Transport of Heavy Ions in Laboratory and Space

In the future, astronauts will be sent into space for longer durations of time compared to previous missions. The increased risk of exposure to ionizing radiation, such as Galactic Cosmic Rays and Solar Particle Events, is of great concern. Consequently, steps must be taken to ensure astronaut safety by providing adequate shielding. The shielding and exposure of space travelers is controlled by the transport properties of the radiation through the spacecraft, its onboard systems and the bodies of the individuals themselves. Meeting the challenge of future space programs will therefore require accurate and efficient methods for performing radiation transport calculations to analyze and predict shielding requirements. One such method, which is developed in this dissertation, is based on a three dimensional Green\u27s function solution technique for the transport of heavy ions in both laboratory and space

On the Development of a Deterministic Three-Dimensional Radiation Transport Code

Since astronauts on future deep space missions will be exposed to dangerous radiations, there is a need to accurately model the transport of radiation through shielding materials and to estimate the received radiation dose. In response to this need a three dimensional deterministic code for space radiation transport is now under development. The new code GRNTRN is based on a Green's function solution of the Boltzmann transport equation that is constructed in the form of a Neumann series. Analytical approximations will be obtained for the first three terms of the Neumann series and the remainder will be estimated by a non-perturbative technique . This work discusses progress made to date and exhibits some computations based on the first two Neumann series terms

African American Women Middle Managers’ Stories of Stereotype Threat and Leadership Aspirations

Even with the rise of racial diversity in the workplace, African American women remain underrepresented in upper management and organizational leadership positions, making up only 1% of U.S. corporate officers. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry study was to explore the daily experiences of African American women middle managers in regard to stereotype threat and the effect of these experiences on their engagement with leadership aspirations. The narrative inquiry method was used to address this gap and answer the research question, through storytelling from African American women in middle-management positions. This study was framed by 2 key concepts that focus on minority group workplace experiences with stereotype threat and the implications of these experiences on minority group members for their engagement with leadership aspirations: Inzlicht and Kang’s concept of stereotype threat spillover and Major, Spencer, Schmader, Wolfe, and Crocker’s concept of psychological disengagement. The data-gathering process involved semistructured telephone interviews with 7 college-educated African American women, in U.S.-based organizations, in which participants told the story of their stereotype threat experiences in middle management roles. Two of the 5 key themes uncovered were impact of stereotype threat spillover and disengagement from leadership and career aspirations. The information gathered from the narrative study will help drive social change by bringing awareness to the issue and reducing threat experiences of disadvantaged groups across organizations

Recent Developments in Three Dimensional Radiation Transport Using the Green's Function Technique

In the future, astronauts will be sent into space for longer durations of time compared to previous missions. The increased risk of exposure to dangerous radiation, such as Galactic Cosmic Rays and Solar Particle Events, is of great concern. Consequently, steps must be taken to ensure astronaut safety by providing adequate shielding. In order to better determine and verify shielding requirements, an accurate and efficient radiation transport code based on a fully three dimensional radiation transport model using the Green's function technique is being develope

Predictors of vitamin D status and its association with parathyroid hormone in young New Zealand children.

BACKGROUND: Despite increased awareness of the adverse health effects of low vitamin D status, few studies have evaluated 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] status in young children. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess vitamin D status on the basis of 25(OH)D and its relation with parathyroid hormone (PTH) and to identify possible predictors of 25(OH)D status in young children living in a country with minimal vitamin D fortification. DESIGN: Serum 25(OH)D and PTH concentrations were measured in a cross-sectional sample of children aged 12-22 mo [n = 193 for 25(OH)D, n = 144 for PTH] living in Dunedin, New Zealand (latitude: 45 degrees S). Anthropometric, dietary, and sociodemographic data were collected. RESULTS: The majority of children sampled in the summer (94%; 47 of 50) had 25(OH)D >50 nmol/L; however, nearly 80% of children sampled in the winter (43 of 55) had serum concentrations 60-65 nmol/L, a plateau in PTH was evident. CONCLUSIONS: Seasonal variation in 25(OH)D concentration implies that postsummer vitamin D stores were insufficient to maintain status >50 nmol/L year-round. Examination of the predictors of 25(OH)D in our model shows few modifiable risk factors, and thus effective dietary strategies may be required if future research determines that children with 25(OH)D concentrations <50 nmol/L are at significant health risk. This trial was registered at www.actr.org.au as ACTRN12605000487617

Vitamin D, and Kidney Disease

Mineral metabolism abnormalities, such as low 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) and elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH), are common at even higher glomerular filtration rate than previously described. Levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) show an inverse correlation with those of intact PTH and phosphorus. Studies of the general population found much higher all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality for patients with lower levels of vitamin D; this finding suggests that low 25(OH)D level is a risk factor and predictive of CV events in patients without chronic kidney disease (CKD). 25(OH)D/1,25(OH)2D becomes deficient with progression of CKD. Additionally, studies of dialysis patients have found an association of vitamin D deficiency with increased mortality. Restoration of the physiology of vitamin D receptor activation should be essential therapy for CKD patients