Finding meaning through musical growth: Life histories of visually impaired musicians

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 405-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye Young Park

The purpose of this study is to examine in depth the lives of visually impaired professional musicians via the life history method. The researcher conducted in-depth interviews with eight visually impaired professional musicians. The data analysis considered three facets of life history proposed by Mandelbaum: dimensions, turning points, and adaptations. The dimensions of life (families, schools, private music teachers, and performance groups) were analysed first. The turning points of life involve accepting and overcoming an impairment and choosing to major in music. Adaptations to life involve persevering in a harsh social environment, living as an impaired musician, aspiring to a successful career as a professional musician, and learning from vigorous musical activities. Most participants suggested that families and performance groups are the most important dimensions of their lives. With respect to turning points, choosing to major in music has enabled the participants to accept and overcome the difficulties associated with being visually impaired. Through adaptation, the participants appear to have found their value, role, and meaning both as members of society and as professional musicians. This implies both the importance of expanding performing opportunities for visually impaired musicians and the importance of acknowledging their professional activities, affording visually impaired musicians better livelihoods by offering them more fulfilling roles in the field of music along with significant, long-term public support.

1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (12) ◽  
pp. 2964-2973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars E Mobrand ◽  
James A Lichatowich ◽  
Lawrence C Lestelle ◽  
Thomas S Vogel

The intent of this paper is to show that discussion of watershed health and salmon (Oncorhynchus sp.) performance can incorporate a much greater degree of complexity without loss of clarity. We can and should include more temporal-spatial detail, more life history complexity, and more watershed-specific information. The framework and performance measures used in watershed management generally, and salmon management specifically, are inadequate. The bottleneck metaphor is cited all too frequently as a basis for discussion. The bottleneck analogy is useful in understanding capacity, but capacity alone cannot explain observed responses of salmon populations to environmental change. An argument can be made that where protection and enhancement of weak stocks is the priority, productivity is a more critical variable. However, a framework built only around productivity and capacity is also not sufficient. It neglects the need for connectivity of habitats that salmon must pass through to complete their life histories. Adding life history diversity as the third component of performance provides the time and space structure needed to deal with connectivity while also allowing for integration of populations where they mingle.


Author(s):  
Anastasiya Тikhonova

In the article the author mentions some modern publications on this issue in the era of Alexander I and Nicholas I in connection with the description of the travelling theme in the context of everyday life history. As an example of the Russian Province, the article considers Smolensk Governorate which was located at the crossroads of routes from Europe to the center of Russia through Baltic, Belarusian and Ukrainian Provinces. On the basis of the materials of the State Archive of the Smolensk region (GASO) from the funds of the Chancellery of Smolensk Governor, the Smolensk Oblast Duma, metric books of Roman Catholic Church in Smolensk and published memoirs (Eugene Hess’ diary and E. Montulé’s notes) the author of the article reconstructs foreign hotel owners’ biographies (S.I. Chapa, D.K. Nolchini, V.I. Gaber), masters of carriage business (D.I. Graf, K.B. Weber), a city coachman, the owner of a coffee house (H. Podrut). All these people were united by their origin (they came from European countries) and their involvement (due to their professional activities) in servicing travelers who found themselves in the Russian Province. Life circumstances and development of their own business forced them to settle far away from their homeland; most of them became citizens of the empire, having connected themselves with Russia forever. In the article it is underlined that foreigners’ involvement in «tourist business» of the considered epoch testifies not only to the benefit of their business activity, but also to the importance of the psychological factor – the very possibility of meeting with compatriots and representatives of other European countries.


Author(s):  
Maren N. Vitousek ◽  
Laura A. Schoenle

Hormones mediate the expression of life history traits—phenotypic traits that contribute to lifetime fitness (i.e., reproductive timing, growth rate, number and size of offspring). The endocrine system shapes phenotype by organizing tissues during developmental periods and by activating changes in behavior, physiology, and morphology in response to varying physical and social environments. Because hormones can simultaneously regulate many traits (hormonal pleiotropy), they are important mediators of life history trade-offs among growth, reproduction, and survival. This chapter reviews the role of hormones in shaping life histories with an emphasis on developmental plasticity and reversible flexibility in endocrine and life history traits. It also discusses the advantages of studying hormone–behavior interactions from an evolutionary perspective. Recent research in evolutionary endocrinology has provided insight into the heritability of endocrine traits, how selection on hormone systems may influence the evolution of life histories, and the role of hormonal pleiotropy in driving or constraining evolution.


2021 ◽  
pp. 025576142199115
Author(s):  
Tim Palmer ◽  
David Baker

This article explores the life histories of virtuoso classical music soloists with particular reference to conservatoire provision. Detailed life-history interviews were conducted with six virtuosi between May 2018 and January 2019. These participants were three singers, two cellists and a concert pianist. Resultant qualitative data were stored in an NVivo software database and understood through a process of analytic induction. Key findings spotlight the significance of Higher Education, a connection between broad creative and cultural interest and musical excellence, and a significant role for conservatoires in diversifying their training and easing transition into the career. The soloists also warned of dangers relating to controlling teachers, loss of autonomy and a need to convey their career realities to students.


2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Scanlan

This study creates life history portraits of two White middle-class native-English-speaking principals demonstrating commitments to social justice in their work in public elementary schools serving disproportionately high populations of students who are marginalized by poverty, race, and linguistic heritage. Through self-reported life histories of these principals, I create portraits that illustrate how these practitioners draw motivation, commitment, and sustenance in varied, complicated, and at times contradictory ways.


Parasitology ◽  
1959 ◽  
Vol 49 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 374-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Thomas

1. The life history of N. battus is described, and a comparative description of the life history of N. filicollis is given.2. The life histories of these two species are compared with those of N. spathiger and N. helvetianus, two closely related species, and are shown to follow the same basic pattern, with minor variations in timing which appear to be specific in nature, and not related to differences in culture methods or host species.3. The pathogenesis of Nematodirus species is discussed and related to the migration of larvae into the intestinal mucosa during development.


1932 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsie J. Cadman

Since 1860, in which year De Bary published his great work Die Mycetozoen, the investigation of the life-history of members of the Mycetozoa has aroused a considerable amount of interest, and a great deal of important research has been carried out in this connection. The group of organisms is particularly interesting, because it lies on the borderline between plant and animal kingdoms, and it is very possible that a detailed investigation of several species of the Mycetozoa might be of considerable assistance in elucidating certain obscure points in the life-histories of higher members of both the great natural groups. The term “Mycetozoa,” which we owe to De Bary, will be used throughout in preference to the older term “Myxogastres” invented by Fries (32, p. 2), and that of “Myxomycetes” first employed by Link (32, p. 2). “Mycetozoon,” or “fungus-like animal,” is a very appropriate description of a member of the group, since during part of its life-history it exhibits distinctly animal-like characters, and the individuals move rapidly by means of flagella, whilst later, during the development of the sporangium, a plant-like form is assumed. The combination of plant and animal characters has given rise to much discussion as to the position of the Mycetozoa in plant or animal kingdom, and the group has been claimed by both zoologists and botanists.


Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Hutchings

Life histories describe how genotypes schedule their reproductive effort throughout life in response to factors that affect their survival and fecundity. Life histories are solutions that selection has produced to solve the problem of how to persist in a given environment. These solutions differ tremendously within and among species. Some organisms mature within months of attaining life, others within decades; some produce few, large offspring as opposed to numerous, small offspring; some reproduce many times throughout their lives while others die after reproducing just once. The exponential pace of life-history research provides an opportune time to engage and re-engage new generations of students and researchers on the fundamentals and applications of life-history theory. Chapters 1 through 4 describe the fundamentals of life-history theory. Chapters 5 through 8 focus on the evolution of life-history traits. Chapters 9 and 10 summarize how life-history theory and prediction has been applied within the contexts of conservation and sustainable exploitation. This primer offers an effective means of rendering the topic accessible to readers from a broad range of academic experience and research expertise.


Koedoe ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R.F. Terblanche ◽  
H. Van Hamburg

Due to their intricate life histories and the unique wing patterns and colouring the butterflies of the genus Chrysoritis are of significant conservation and aesthetic value. Thisoverview probes into practical examples of butterfly life history research applicable to environmental management of this relatively well-known invertebrate group in South Africa. Despite the pioneer work on life histories of Chrysoritis in the past, more should be done to understand the life history of the butterflies in the wild, especially their natural host plants and the behaviour of adults and larvae. A system of voucher specimens of host plants should be introduced in South Africa. Although various host plant species in nature are used by the members of Chrysoritis, including the Chrysoritis chrysaor group, the choice of these in nature by each species is significant for conservation management and in the case of Chrysoritis aureus perhaps even as a specific characteristic.A revision of the ant genus Crematogaster will benefit the conservation management of Chrysoritis species since some of these ant species may consist of a number of specieswith much more restricted distributions than previously thought. Rigorous quantified tudies of population dynamics of Chrysoritis butterflies are absent and the introductionof such studies will benefit conservation management of these localised butterflies extensively.


Inner Asia ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuki Konagaya

AbstractIn this article I introduce our collection of oral histories composed of life histories recorded between 2001 and 2006. First, I discuss some devices implemented in the process of collecting life histories, which was to make oral histories 'polyphonic'. I then suggest that oral history always has a 'dual' tense, in that people talk about 'the past' from the view point of 'the present'. This is illustrated by six cases of statesmen narrating their views about socialist modernisation. Finally, using one of the cases, I demonstrate the co-existence of non-official or private opinions along with official opinions about the socialist period in life-history narratives in the post-socialist period. I call this 'ex-post value'.


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