Global Perspectives on Orchestras

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Global Perspectives ◽  
Colonial Histories ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Orchestral Musicians

This book adopts global perspectives on orchestras. It draws on ethnographic, historical and comparative approaches to analyze a variety of orchestral traditions (such as symphony, steel, Indonesian gamelan, Indian film and Vietnamese court). It discusses how orchestras are embedded in socio-historical and economic contexts, and highlights intercultural, compositional and rehearsal processes. The chapters describe orchestral creativity and performance politics. Key considerations are how orchestral musicians work together and organizational infrastructures shaping the orchestra as an institution. Orchestral musicians' testimonies are included to give practitioners' views. The study of orchestras contributes to developing global music histories and comparative theorization within ethnographic disciplines. This book offers timely insights into the connections between orchestras, colonial histories, postcolonial practices, and comparative theorizations to generate appreciation of orchestral performance as a creative, political and social practice.

scholarly journals Practices of Piety: An Alternative Approach to the Study of Islamic Movements

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 520
Author(s):  
Aaron Rock-Singer
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Gender Segregation ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Islamic Movements ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Do So

This article challenges the dominant organization-centered focus of the study of Islamic movements, and argues for a turn towards social practice. To do so, it traces the rise and spread of Egypt’s leading Salafi movement, Ansar al-Sunna al-Muhammadiyya (e. 1926) and its role in popularizing a series of distinct practices between 1940 and 1990. Based on the full run of this movement’s magazine, al-Hadi al-Nabawi (the Prophetic Guide, 1936–66) and al-Tawhid (Monolatry, 1973–93), the article explores the conditions in which practices such as praying in shoes and bareheaded, gender segregation and the cultivation of a fist-length beard were both politically viable and strategically advantageous. In doing so, it not only casts light on the trajectory of this movement, but also shows how and why the articulation and performance of distinct social practices are central to how Islamic movements shape society.

The Choreography of Space: Towards a Socio-Aesthetics of Dance

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-90
Author(s):  
Arabella Stanger
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Sleeping Beauty ◽  
Dance Studies ◽  
Spatial Production ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Classical Ballet ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
The University

With its emphasis on the socially constructed and mobile nature of ‘space’, Henri Lefebvre's theory of spatial production presents rich possibilities for a sociocultural analysis of choreography. In this article Arabella Stanger uses an examination of social space and spatial aesthetics as a basis upon which to develop a socio-aesthetics of dance – an approach in which the societal contexts and the aesthetic forms of choreography are understood to be fundamentally interrelated. Borrowing from Lefebvre's The Production of Space (1974) and Maria Shevtsova's sociology of the theatre and performance, Stanger establishes the theoretical parameters and methodological steps of such an approach, and locates a short illustrative example in the socio-spatial formations of Aurora's Act III variation from Marius Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty (1890). Ultimately extending a bridge between formalist and contextualist strands of dance studies, the article argues for the use of a particular concept of space in understanding choreographic practice as social practice. Arabella Stanger is Lecturer in Dance at the University of Roehampton. Having trained in classical ballet, she completed her MA and PhD studies at Goldsmiths, University of London, and has published on the work of Merce Cunningham, Michael Clark, and William Forsythe.

Internationalization and performance of small and medium-sized enterprises from emerging economies

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 635-663
Author(s):  
Eva Cristina Manotas ◽  
Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez
Keyword(s):  
International Business ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Risk Function ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hazard Functions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This paper aims to introduce the use of hazards functions for studying the relationship between internationalization and performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from emerging economies. Design/methodology/approach Hazards functions analysis is applied to a sample of 64 companies, previously grouped into two subsets of manufacturing SMEs from an emerging economy. The first group contains firms that have attained an accelerated internationalization. And the second one those that have followed a sequential internationalization. Findings The results show strong evidence that internationalization positively affects the probability of a better performance, and therefore more competitiveness of SMEs. Practical implications The proposed methodology is an invitation to use models other than linear regression to explain the relationship between internationalization and performance, studying the risk function of poor performance, whose characterization in the lifetime of SMEs. The result of this study clearly illustrates how internationalization affects the performance of SMEs for both those SMEs with accelerated internationalization and those with a sequential process of internationalization. Social implications The implementation of quantitative methodologies, such as the analysis of hazards, has implications in the social practice of research in international business, by inviting the return of data from primary sources, obtained from direct sources, which, although they are not large samples, they are representative, and therefore the results of the well-applied methodology offer powerful and high-reliability information. Irreproducible and non-replicable research results threaten the credibility, usefulness and the very basis of all scientific fields. Studies in entrepreneurship, management and in international business are not exempt from this problem that affects the ethics and credibility of research works. Originality/value A literature review is presented exposing the disadvantages of the use of traditional correlation methodologies and proposes the methodology traditionally used in industrial engineering studies of hazard functions as a simple option, free of previous assumptions about the relation between internationalization and performance. Finally, the methodology is subjected to triple testing of conceptualization and measurement of internationalization, performance and the relation between internationalization and performance.

Social Practice, Interdisciplinary Perspective

2001 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Shevtsova
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Cultural Revolution ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Western World ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
Mental Space ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Unanimous Approval

The structuration and definition of disciplines – an eighteenth- and nineteenth-century project – gave way, in the second half of the twentieth century in the European and American academies, to their destructuration, although certainly not everywhere, nor to unanimous approval. For all the resistance that it has encountered, however, this movement towards the dissolution of disciplinary boundaries has taken root. It can be traced back to the 1960s, a period whose economic growth and economic optimism freed up mental space, allowing energies to focus on political and sociocultural injustices and inequalities and thereby fermenting that ‘cultural revolution’ for which the 1960s are now most remembered in the affluent ‘western’ world. ‘Cultural’ here embraces, as it did at the time, the anthropological notion of culture as belief, knowledge, morals, customs and, among others, symbolic representation, thus also theatre and performance.

scholarly journals "It took me almost 30 minutes to practice this." Performance and Production Practices in Dance Challenge Videos on TikTok

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Klug
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Online Community ◽  
White Female ◽  
Product Analysis ◽  
Performance Practices ◽  
First Results ◽  
Production Practices ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Video Creation

TikTok is a music-based video sharing social media app famous for users creating short meme and dance videos. TikTok videos are largely based on popular song snippets, which is why lip syncing and dance moves evolve as significant user performance practices in videos. User prosumption has not yet been studied regarding the characteristics of TikTok.This paper is based on social practice and performance theory, social media studies, and participatory online video culture. It uses the #distancedance challenge on TikTok to analyze production practices and strategies of users through qualitative video product analysis. 92 videos were coded and categorized regarding their visual content (who participated in which way) and paratextual elements (used tags and captions). The visual and (para-)textual elements were then analyzed regarding indicators that allow to draw conclusions on users' video creation strategies and performance practices in participating in the #distancedance challenge.The results show videos are mainly performed by single white female teenagers wearing casual outfits in their bedrooms. Users shared their experiences about learning and performing the dance in video captions. While users prepared settings and outfits for their performance, the majority of performances seems rather unplanned or spontaneous. This indicates most videos might be part of a series of user attempts to master the dance challenge resulting in posting the first successful video performance to TikTok. In addition to the dance moves, participants also added gestures as closing elements to their performances. This indicates their knowledge of using signals as part of an online community while at the same time manifesting their belongingness to the community.These first results of a qualitative product analysis illustrate some of users' motivations and effort to participate in TikTok dance challenges. For a better understanding of production practices, further ethnographic research needs to combine methods of production and product analysis.

scholarly journals Organization Social Practice and Performance in the Kenya National Police Service: A Case of Central Police Division, Nairobi

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-89
Author(s):  
Isack Tenai ◽  
Philip Wambua
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Style ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Organization Structure ◽  
Organizational Politics ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Police Service ◽  
And Performance ◽  
National Police ◽  
Central Police

The National Police Service of Kenya has gone through numerous transformations which are aimed at making it more effective and socially aligned to the needs of the Kenyan population. The transformation has seen the renaming of the policing unit from Kenyan Police Force to its current name. The Strategy such as renaming the institution to National Police Service implies that the institution is improving its commitment to improve service delivery to the citizens in a favorable social framework. However, minimal studies have been done to determine the existence of any relationship between organizational social practices and performance of the police institution. Therefore, the current study was formulated to establish the influence of organizational social practices on the performances of the National Police Service. The independent variables of the study included leadership style, organization structure, professionalism, and organization politics. Practice and system theories were reviewed alongside relevant sources of empirical literatures were reviewed to give the current studies sound theoretical and empirical foundations. Descriptive research design was used to guide collection, analysis, and interpretation of the research data. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data was collected from 150 police officers who were purposively sampled from Central Police Division in Nairobi County. A combination of descriptive and inferential analyses were performed to establish the current trends of the study variables and relationships thereof. The study found out that the respondents were in agreement with almost statements on the four organizational social practices including leadership style, organization structure, and professionalism and organization politics. Leadership style and professionalism were established to have the highest impact (0.300; p= 0.000) and the least impact (0.093; p=0.000) respectively. Organization politics, on the other hand had a significant negative impact (-0.254; p=0.001) on the NPS performance. The study concludes that the main belief or attitude influencing leadership style is the perceived manager versus subordinates’ role. Effective decision making is improved by decentralization, narrow control span and efficiency relate positively, task routine positively and negatively affect productivity. A respectful culture is fostered by professionalism, which ensure proper handling of conflicts. Boundaries are clearly understood and minor issues solve efficiently and respectfully by professional employees. Workers are motivated with the hope that there won’t be hampering of their interest due to existence of organizational politics. Employee’s indiscipline may be resisted by the organizational politics’ help. The study recommends that transactional and transformative leadership be embraced by national police service to assist in tapping the workers’ potential, they should be involved in making decisions and new idea be welcomed into the system for positive contribution to the entities’ exponential performance. National police service should adopt an efficient, simple and universally accepted organizational structure. Employees at national police service should exercise workplace expectations and rules by following all workplace rules, completing all projects and tasks and understanding what is expected of them. Delegation of duties depending on employees’ academic achievements, specialization and interests. Transparency must be maintained at all levels to reduce politics.

Musculoskeletal Pain and Injury in Professional Orchestral Musicians in Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 181-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronwen Ackermann ◽  
Tim Driscoll ◽  
Dianna T Kenny
Keyword(s):  
Upper Limb ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Experienced Pain ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Orchestral Musicians ◽  
The Right

This paper reports on the major findings from the questionnaire component of a cross-sectional survey of the musicians in Australia’s eight fulltime professional symphonic and pit orchestras, focusing on performance-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs). METHODS: All musician members of the orchestras participating in this project were invited to complete a self-report survey. The overall response rate was about 70% (n = 377). In addition to general health and experience questions, respondents who reported a current or previous PRMD were asked to report on a range of associated factors. RESULTS: Of the participants, 84% had experienced pain or injuries that had interfered either with playing their instrument or participating in normal orchestral rehearsals and performances. Fifty percent reported having such pain or injury at the time of the survey, mostly with disorders perceived by the musicians to be work-related. Twenty-eight percent had taken at least 1 day off from work for such pain in the previous 18 months. The most common broad sites affected were the trunk (primarily the back), the right upper limb and neck, the left upper limb and neck, and the neck alone, but the relative proportions varied by instrument. Of those musicians who reported at least one episode of pain or injury in the past, less than 50% reported that they had completely recovered. The most commonly cited performance-related factors that had contributed to injury or pain all related to training and playing load (including practice and performance). CONCLUSION: This study provides strong evidence that PRMDs are a common complaint in professional orchestral musicians and identifies a range of factors suggested as contributing to the occurrence or persistence of these disorders.

Diaspora and the Theatre of the Nation

2003 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
APARNA DHARWADKER
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Indian Diaspora ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Colonial Histories ◽  
And Performance

Among the cultural forms of the Indian diaspora in the West, the radical obscurity of drama and theatre in comparison with fiction, non-fiction, and poetry suggests a complicated relation between genre, location, language, and experience. As a collaborative public medium theatre depends on material resources, institutional networks, and specific cultural contexts which place it at several removes from the privacy and relative self-sufficiency of print genres. Moreover, while novelists often employ diaspora as the enabling condition but not the subject of narrative, immigrant playwrights can create original theatre only when they distance themselves from their cultures of origin and embrace the experience of residence in the host culture, with all its attendant problems of acculturation and identity. In Canada, where the Indian immigrant communities are older, often visibly underprivileged, and entangled in post/colonial histories, an emergent culture of original playwriting and performance has offered a critique of the home-nation as well as of conditions in the diaspora. In the United States, in contrast, where large-scale immigration from India is relatively recent, socially privileged, and unencumbered by colonial baggage, original drama is virtually absent, and various forms of ‘travelling’ theatre dominate the culture of performance, reinforcing a powerful synonymy between ‘diaspora’ and ‘nation’. These two North American locations are paradigmatic examples, therefore, of the historically grounded interconnections between diaspora, nation, and theatre in the modern Indian context.

Improving Education Environment for Socially Disadvantaged Families Through ICT-Enabled Social Innovation: The Case of Papinotas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitri Domanski
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Education Environment ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Teachers And Parents

The paper starts with an overview of the current debate on social innovation, highlighting it as a key element one of a new innovation paradigm. It presents the objectives, the concept and the main empirical results of the global research project SI-DRIVE – Social Innovation: Driving Force of Social Change, which intends to extend knowledge about social innovation by integrating theories and research methodologies. In this regard, one important goal is to contribute to better understanding the relationship to technological innovation as well as to economic value creation. The paper analyzes one of the cases mapped in SI-DRIVE’s global survey on social innovation initiatives, the Chilean company Papinotas, which focuses on improving education environment for deprived families. Children from such families with low-income background are usually excluded from Chile’s private high-quality education and have no other choice but to attend public schools, characterized by poor quality of organization and communication between schoolteachers and parents, thus causing low levels of attendance and performance. Papinotas offers an online platform for teachers for sending text messages directly to parents’ mobile phones in order to achieve better flow of information between teachers and parents and to promote a more favorable environment for education. The case of Papinotas shows how creation of social value can be successfully combined with economic value creation through introduction of a new social practice and reveals how quite simple technologies can facilitate social innovations in order to improve communication between teachers and parents, leading to better attendance and performance by students.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document