Effects of Three Common Choral Performance Movement Conditions on Acoustic and Perceptual Measures of Choral Sound

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-304
Author(s):  
Melissa L. Grady ◽  
Tianna M. Gilliam
Keyword(s):  
Choral Music ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Average Spectrum ◽  
Pitch Analysis ◽  
Pitch Deviation ◽  
Performance Conditions ◽  
Full Body

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of three commonly observed choral singer performance conditions (no movement, slight swaying, full-body swaying) on acoustic and perceptual measures of choral sound. We audio recorded an established university choir ( N = 29 singers) performing a memorized piece while viewing the same conductor video and participating in one of the three performance conditions. We analyzed data through long-term average spectrum (LTAS), overall pitch deviation, and singer and listener (singer-listeners, expert-listeners) perceptions. LTAS results showed significant differences ( p < .001) in spectral energy between all three conditions. The full-body swaying condition averaged a noticeable difference of 2.50 dB across the spectrum when compared to the other two conditions. Pitch analysis indicated the least overall pitch deviation during the slight swaying condition (−27.67 cents) and the most pitch deviation during the no-movement condition (−58.31 cents). Results indicated singer and singer-listener preferences for the full-body swaying condition and expert-listener preferences for the slight swaying condition. We discuss results in terms of future research and practical application for choral music educators.

Effects of Three Common Choral Configurations on Acoustic and Perceptual Measures of a Soprano Section’s Sound

2020 ◽  
pp. 875512332096593
Author(s):  
Tianna Marin Gilliam
Keyword(s):  
Standing Position ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Choral Directors ◽  
The Third ◽  
Audio Recordings ◽  
Pitch Analysis

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of three choral configurations on a soprano section’s sound. The first configuration resembled a choir section without an assigned standing position, the second configuration grouped singers by timbre, and the third used acoustic-compatibility placement. Three conductors configured a university soprano section ( N = 13) who were audio-recorded singing in each configuration and answered questions about their perceptions. Audio recordings were analyzed acoustically using long-term average spectra and perceptually through pitch analysis and listener perceptions. Results indicated that participants sang with significantly increased spectral energy in the acoustic-compatibility configuration ( p < .001), and both singer and listener participants preferred intentional standing configurations over the random standing configuration. Findings from this study suggest that choral directors can use intentional configurations in conjunction with 2 ft intersinger spacing to improve singer comfort and overall sound.

scholarly journals Finding the Trans Voice: A Review of the Literature on Accommodating Transgender Singers

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Aguirre
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Choral Music ◽  
Vocal Pedagogy ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Choral Music Education ◽  
Choral Conductors ◽  
Private Lessons ◽  
Transgender Students ◽  
Choral Classroom

Conversations surrounding transgender students are beginning to appear in the nation’s schools. In recent years, experts in the fields of music education and vocal pedagogy have shared their experiences and research on transgender issues in the choral classroom and private lessons. Studies focused on transgender issues in choral music education have yielded inconsistent results. While some have shown music educators to be supportive and accommodating, others have shown a gap in educator knowledge of transgender issues. Vocal pedagogues have had the unique opportunity to work closely with transgender singers one-on-one. Their work is highly transferable to a choral classroom setting. This review of literature synthesizes the work of choral conductors and private voice instructors with the narratives of transgender singers to provide implications for educators and a direction for future research.

Physical and Psychological Benefits of Written Emotional Expression

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 242-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Éva Kállay
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Expressive Writing ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychological Benefits ◽  
Cost Effective Treatment ◽  
Meta Analyses

Abstract. The last several decades have witnessed a substantial increase in the number of individuals suffering from both diagnosable and subsyndromal mental health problems. Consequently, the development of cost-effective treatment methods, accessible to large populations suffering from different forms of mental health problems, became imperative. A very promising intervention is the method of expressive writing (EW), which may be used in both clinically diagnosable cases and subthreshold symptomatology. This method, in which people express their feelings and thoughts related to stressful situations in writing, has been found to improve participants’ long-term psychological, physiological, behavioral, and social functioning. Based on a thorough analysis and synthesis of the published literature (also including most recent meta-analyses), the present paper presents the expressive writing method, its short- and long-term, intra-and interpersonal effects, different situations and conditions in which it has been proven to be effective, the most important mechanisms implied in the process of recovery, advantages, disadvantages, and possible pitfalls of the method, as well as variants of the original technique and future research directions.

Using the Change4Life Disney Branded 10-minute Shake Ups During the COVID-19 ‘Lockdown’

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Budzynski-Seymour ◽  
James Steele ◽  
Michelle Jones
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Exertion ◽  
Affective Responses ◽  
Online Resources ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Perceived Effort ◽  
Qualitative Feedback ◽  
Bidirectional Relationship ◽  
The Uk

Physical activity (PA) is considered essential to overall health yet it is consistently reported that children are failing to meet the recommended levels. Due to the bidirectional relationship between affective states and PA, affective responses are a potential predictor to long term engagement. Since late March 2020 the UK government enforced ‘lockdown’ measures to help control the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19); however, this has impacted children’s PA. Using online resources at home to support PA is now common. The primary aim of this research was to investigate the use of the Change4Life 10-minute Shake Ups to support PA by examining the effects of Disney branding upon children’s (n=32) post activity affective responses and perceived exertion. The secondary was to investigate the effect of the lockdown on PA habits. Children had similar positive affective responses and perceived effort to activities; however, branding was considered to be a key contributing factor based upon qualitative feedback from parents. Children’s PA levels dropped slightly since ‘lockdown’ was imposed; though online resources have been utilised to support PA. The use of immersive elements such as characters and narrative in PA sessions, as well as utilising online resources during ‘lockdown’ appear potentially promising for future research.

Chinese Medicine Protein and Peptide in Gene and Cell Therapy

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinlu Feng ◽  
Zifei Yin ◽  
Daniel Zhang ◽  
Arun Srivastava ◽  
Chen Ling
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
Promising Strategy ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Gene And Cell Therapy ◽  
Proteins And Peptides

The success of gene and cell therapy in clinic during the past two decades as well as our expanding ability to manipulate these biomaterials are leading to new therapeutic options for a wide range of inherited and acquired diseases. Combining conventional therapies with this emerging field is a promising strategy to treat those previously-thought untreatable diseases. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has evolved for thousands of years in China and still plays an important role in human health. As part of the active ingredients of TCM, proteins and peptides have attracted long-term enthusiasm of researchers. More recently, they have been utilized in gene and cell therapy, resulting in promising novel strategies to treat both cancer and non-cancer diseases. This manuscript presents a critical review on this field, accompanied with perspectives on the challenges and new directions for future research in this emerging frontier.

Ketamine Treatment in Depression: A Systematic Review of Clinical Characteristics Predicting Symptom Improvement

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (15) ◽  
pp. 1398-1414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darby J.E. Lowe ◽  
Daniel J. Müller ◽  
Tony P. George
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Features ◽  
Clinical Characteristics ◽  
Bipolar Depression ◽  
Antidepressant Effect ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Symptom Improvement ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Treatment Of Depression ◽  
Future Direction

Ketamine has been shown to be efficacious for the treatment of depression, specifically among individuals who do not respond to first-line treatments. There is still, however, a lack of clarity surrounding the clinical features and response periods across samples that respond to ketamine. This paper systematically reviews published randomized controlled trials that investigate ketamine as an antidepressant intervention in both unipolar and bipolar depression to determine the specific clinical features of the samples across different efficacy periods. Moreover, similarities and differences in clinical characteristics associated with acute versus longer-term drug response are discussed. Similarities across all samples suggest that the population that responds to ketamine’s antidepressant effect has experienced chronic, long-term depression, approaching ketamine treatment as a “last resort”. Moreover, differences between these groups suggest future research to investigate the potential of stronger efficacy towards depression in the context of bipolar disorder compared to major depression, and in participants who undergo antidepressant washout before ketamine administration. From these findings, suggestions for the future direction of ketamine research for depression are formed.

A Downward Spiral? A Panel Study of Misinformation and Media Trust in Chile

2021 ◽  
pp. 194016122110252
Author(s):  
Sebastián Valenzuela ◽  
Daniel Halpern ◽  
Felipe Araneda
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Panel Survey ◽  
Downward Spiral ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Trust ◽  
People’S Attitudes ◽  
Over Time

Despite widespread concern, research on the consequences of misinformation on people's attitudes is surprisingly scant. To fill in this gap, the current study examines the long-term relationship between misinformation and trust in the news media. Based on the reinforcing spirals model, we analyzed data from a three-wave panel survey collected in Chile between 2017 and 2019. We found a weak, over-time relationship between misinformation and media skepticism. Specifically, initial beliefs on factually dubious information were negatively correlated with subsequent levels of trust in the news media. Lower trust in the media, in turn, was related over time to higher levels of misinformation. However, we found no evidence of a reverse, parallel process where media trust shielded users against misinformation, further reinforcing trust in the news media. The lack of evidence of a downward spiral suggests that the corrosive effects of misinformation on attitudes toward the news media are less serious than originally suggested. We close with a discussion of directions for future research.

Capabilities of Bottom of the Pyramid Organizations

2021 ◽  
pp. 000765032110018
Author(s):  
Farley Simon Nobre ◽  
Rodrigo L. Morais-da-Silva
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Integrative Review ◽  
Responsible Innovation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Bottom Of The Pyramid ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Responsible Management ◽  
Responsible Consumption ◽  
Short And Long Term

Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) organizations are the ones that develop a set of capabilities that contribute to create short- and long-term sustainability values inside and outside the boundaries of BoP ecosystems. Capabilities have an important role in BoP organizations’ strategies that aim to solve BoP issues. Notwithstanding its developments, BoP research still lacks theoretical contributions for the analysis of organizations. We suggest special attention to the need of advancing knowledge on capabilities of BoP organizations because this field is scattered and fragmented, misinterpreted, and still underdeveloped in the literature. We oriented our research formulating and seeking answers to our main question on what are the capabilities needed to enable organizations to create sustainability values in BoP ecosystems? We conducted an integrative review of BoP research for the period from 1998 to 2019, and we found 22 key capabilities of BoP organizations. We organized the capabilities into four major categories including BoP Responsible Consumption, BoP Responsible Business Model, BoP Responsible Management, and BoP Responsible Innovation. We advanced propositions and discussions regarding the capabilities and major categories’ popularity, interdependence and combination, short- and long-term temporal functions, sustainability roles, and effectiveness to address BoP issues. Our article organizes the field of capabilities of BoP organizations; advances contributions and implications for management, organizations, and policymaking; and opens fruitful avenues for future research.

scholarly journals Effect of Barley Sowing Density on the Integrated Weed Management of Lolium rigidum (Annual Ryegrass) in Mediterranean Dryland: A Modeling Approach

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1565
Author(s):  
María Belén D’Amico ◽  
Guillermo R. Chantre ◽  
Guillermo L. Calandrini ◽  
José L. González-Andújar
Keyword(s):  
Weed Management ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Integrated Weed Management ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Seed Removal ◽  
Weed Infestation ◽  
High Control ◽  
Weed Dynamics ◽  
The Impact

Population models are particularly helpful for understanding long-term changes in the weed dynamics associated with integrated weed management (IWM) strategies. IWM practices for controlling L. rigidum are of high importance, mainly due to its widespread resistance that precludes chemical control as a single management method. The objective of this contribution is to simulate different IWM scenarios with special emphasis on the impact of different levels of barley sowing densities on L. rigidum control. To this effect, a weed–crop population model for both L. rigidum and barley life cycles was developed. Our results point out: (i) the necessity of achieving high control efficiencies (>99%), (ii) that the increase of twice the standard sowing density of barley resulted in a reduction of 23.7% of the weed density, (iii) non-herbicide-based individual methods, such as delayed sowing and weed seed removal at harvest, proved to be inefficient for reducing drastically weed population, (iv) the implementation of at least three control tactics (seed removal, delay sowing and herbicides) is required for weed infestation eradication independently of the sowing rate, and (v) the effect of an increase in the sowing density is diluted as a more demanding weed control is reached. Future research should aim to disentangle the effect of different weed resistance levels on L. rigidum population dynamics and the required efficiencies for more sustainable IWM programs.

scholarly journals Duration of Bisphosphonate Drug Holidays in Osteoporosis Patients: A Narrative Review of the Evidence and Considerations for Decision-Making

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1140
Author(s):  
Kaleen N. Hayes ◽  
Elizabeth M. Winter ◽  
Suzanne M. Cadarette ◽  
Andrea M. Burden
Keyword(s):  
Surrogate Marker ◽  
Femoral Fractures ◽  
Osteonecrosis Of The Jaw ◽  
Bisphosphonate Therapy ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Drug Holiday ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mineral Density ◽  
First Line Therapy

Bisphosphonates are first-line therapy for osteoporosis, with alendronate, risedronate, and zoledronate as the main treatments used globally. After one year of therapy, bisphosphonates are retained in bone for extended periods with extended anti-fracture effects after discontinuation. Due to this continued fracture protection and the potential for rare adverse events associated with long-term use (atypical femoral fractures and osteonecrosis of the jaw), a drug holiday of two to three years is recommended for most patients after long-term bisphosphonate therapy. The recommendation for a drug holiday up to three years is derived primarily from extensions of pivotal trials with alendronate and zoledronate and select surrogate marker studies. However, certain factors may modify the duration of bisphosphonate effects on a drug holiday and warrant consideration when determining an appropriate time off-therapy. In this narrative review, we recall what is currently known about drug holidays and discuss what we believe to be the primary considerations and areas for future research regarding drug holiday duration: total bisphosphonate exposure, type of bisphosphonate used, bone mineral density and falls risk, and patient sex and body weight.

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