Creating demand for better health by using social marketing techniques

The most significant environmental change to support people who want to give up smoking is the legislation to ban smoking in public places. Following Scotland in March 2006, and Wales and Northern Ireland in April 2007, England moves one step closer to being smoke free on 1 July 2007, when it becomes illegal to smoke in almost every enclosed public place and workplace. Social marketing will be used to support this health promoting policy and will become more prominent in the design of health promotion campaigns of the future. Social marketing is not a new approach to promoting health but its adoption by the Government does represent a paradigm shift in the challenge to change public opinion and social norms. As a result some behaviours, like smoking or excessive alcohol consumption, will no longer be socially acceptable. The Department of Health has decided that social marketing should be used in England to guide all future health promotion efforts directed at achieving behavioural goals. This paradigm shift was announced in Chapter 2 of the “Choosing health” White Paper with its emphasis on the consumer, noting that a wide range of lifestyle choices are marketed to people, although health as a commodity itself has not been marketed. The DoH has an internal social marketing development unit to integrate social marketing principles into its work and ensure that providers deliver. The National Centre for Social Marketing has funding to provide ongoing support, to build capacity and capability in the workforce. This article describes the distinguishing features of the social marketing approach. It seeks to answer some questions. Is this really a new idea, a paradigm shift, or simply a change in terminology? What do the marketing principles offer that is new, or are they merely familiar ideas repackaged in marketing jargon? Will these principles be more effective than current health promotion practice and, if so, how does it work? Finally, what are the implications for community pharmacy?

A multimedia indexing and retrieval framework for multimedia database systems

The main challenges of multimedia data retrieval lie in the effective mapping between low-level features and high-level concepts, and in the individual users' subjective perceptions of multimedia content. ^ The objectives of this dissertation are to develop an integrated multimedia indexing and retrieval framework with the aim to bridge the gap between semantic concepts and low-level features. To achieve this goal, a set of core techniques have been developed, including image segmentation, content-based image retrieval, object tracking, video indexing, and video event detection. These core techniques are integrated in a systematic way to enable the semantic search for images/videos, and can be tailored to solve the problems in other multimedia related domains. In image retrieval, two new methods of bridging the semantic gap are proposed: (1) for general content-based image retrieval, a stochastic mechanism is utilized to enable the long-term learning of high-level concepts from a set of training data, such as user access frequencies and access patterns of images. (2) In addition to whole-image retrieval, a novel multiple instance learning framework is proposed for object-based image retrieval, by which a user is allowed to more effectively search for images that contain multiple objects of interest. An enhanced image segmentation algorithm is developed to extract the object information from images. This segmentation algorithm is further used in video indexing and retrieval, by which a robust video shot/scene segmentation method is developed based on low-level visual feature comparison, object tracking, and audio analysis. Based on shot boundaries, a novel data mining framework is further proposed to detect events in soccer videos, while fully utilizing the multi-modality features and object information obtained through video shot/scene detection. ^ Another contribution of this dissertation is the potential of the above techniques to be tailored and applied to other multimedia applications. This is demonstrated by their utilization in traffic video surveillance applications. The enhanced image segmentation algorithm, coupled with an adaptive background learning algorithm, improves the performance of vehicle identification. A sophisticated object tracking algorithm is proposed to track individual vehicles, while the spatial and temporal relationships of vehicle objects are modeled by an abstract semantic model. ^

Explorando a execução de técnicas estendidas no oboé encontradas em quatro peças contemporâneas

This dissertation presents an investigation of the evolutionary process of extended oboe techniques, through literary analysis and practical research. The objective of this work is to provide assistance to oboists interested in learning these techniques. Additionally, this work encourages the student, through the process of experimentation, to explore the questions that may arise around the aesthetics of sound, the concept of gesture as an additional visual and aural element in music, and the collaboration and “real-time” creation processes. Discussed within the work, are the relationship between the instrument (the oboe) and extended techniques, and two possible definitions of extended techniques, provided by Luk Vaes (2009) and Gardner Read (1993). Also explored are the how and why some composers have utilized extended techniques in their compositions, including brief discussions relating to extended techniques in real-time composition (improvisation), extended techniques and technological resources, theatrical gesture as an extended technique, and suggestions of how musicians might approach theatrical gestures in performance. Four works were visited: “I Know This Room So Well” – Lisa Bielawa (2007-9); “Four Pieces for Oboe and Piano” – Ernst Krenek (1966); “In Freundschaft” – Karlheinz Stockhausen (1978); “Atem” – Mauricio Kagel (1969-70); and an exploration of the difficulties and solutions associated with each extended technique found within these pieces, was carried out. The following founding works on extended oboe techniques were used, as a basis for research: books - Heinz Holliger’s Pro Musica Nova (1972); Gardner Read’s Compendium of Modern Instrumental Techniques (1993); Peter Veale & Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf’s The Techniques of Oboe Playing (1994); and Libby Van Cleve’s Oboe Unbound: Contemporary Techniques (2004); and articles - Nora Post’s “Monophonic sound resources for the oboe: Part I – Timbre” (1984), “Part II- Pitch and other techniques” (1984), and “Multiphonics for the oboe” (1982).

A motivação de licenciandos em música sob a perspectiva da teoria da autodeterminação

This research had as main aim to verify the motivational quality of music students at four public universities in the Northeast of Brazil, based on the Self-Determination Theory (SDT). This perspective was proposed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan (1985, 2000, 2008a, 2008b), and considers the qualitative aspects of motivation. It defends that the individuals have a natural tendency to self-regulation; it adopts the concept of internalizations through a continuum of self-determination conceived in the mini-theory of organismic integration. The research presents a descriptive, exploratory and correlational approach. To collect data, it was submitted a self-report questionnaire, based on the Academic Motivational Scale, translated and validated by Guimarães and Bzuneck (2008), which allow us to verify the motivation types according to a selfdeterminational continuum. According to this application, the instrument has shown evidence of satisfactory validity, with a good internal consistence and correlations from weak to moderate scale. The obtained data were collected from 380 music students, analyzed through a descriptive and inferential statistics, considering a few procedures: frequencies, averages, standard deviation, factorial analysis, internal consistence analysis through Cronbach Alpha, Pearson’s correlational analysis and variance analysis. The analyzed data show that high averages in the evaluation of self-determined motivation and low evaluation in demotivation and less autonomy motivation. Many students revealed strong intention to conclude the course. It was identified less autonomous motivation and more motivation among the students with intention to work in other areas, some of them concluded the final training process in Music Course, and say that they are in this course because they had no other option. We conclude that those graduated in Music Course, represented in this sample, show a good motivational quality. But after a few time there is a tendency in decreasing autonomous motivation because of some requirements of an academic course. In this sense, the courses must create strategies to maintain a self-determined behavior so that students can realize their autonomous motivation, identifying its importance, value and meaning along the Course.

Aprendizagem musical na Orquestra Sinfônica da UFRN

Music and music education are present in the daily lives of people in different ways and in multiple contexts. In this study, we highlight the musical training in the orchestral context aiming to understand how learning music happens in the Symphony Orches tra of the Universidade Federal do Ri o Grande do Norte – OSUFRN. To achieve this goal, we identified all the activities, structure and functioning in OSUFRN; we have observed the development of activities of the group by checking the interactions among the participants of the orchestra and the different ways to learn music in that orchestral context. The research is based on discussions about collective musical practice, instrumen tal training in music education, the process of learning and the relationship between young people and music in the context of collective musical practice learning. Qualitative approach and case study were used as methodological procedures. Data collection was established by means of on - site observations, accompanying of the activities, rehearsals and performances of group and semi - structured interviews with the conductor and some participants with more time in the orchestra. We have also used photographs a nd footage that helped us in the procedure collection and construction of data. The analysis and interpretation of these data were enforced by Content Analysis featuring. It reveals the musical learning, through learning instances perceived in rehearsals, concerts, in living with the conductor and between musicians, teachers, employees and guest musicians, individually in travel and exchanges with other orchestral groups. In this way the activities developed by the group enable a comprehensive musical educa tion that guides to acquire autonomy in their learning and preparing them for future careers.

Ensino e aprendizagem de violão na UFRN

The instrumental teaching in Brazil has been more widely studied by music education in the last years, becoming a significative scientific investigation field. This work is focusing on analysis of the instrument teaching reality, considering more specifically the guitar teaching. In a timely manner, approaches the reality of the guitar teaching from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte – UFRN), considering specific instrument courses in this institution. Thus, the present work was guided by the aim of understanding conceptions, contents and didactic and methodological perspectives that constitute the teaching and learning of the guitar at UFRN. To reach this main aim, we sought to verify, in general: 1) the theoretical, methodological and content perspectives that underlie guitar formation in the music courses of the UFRN; 2) the functions and the aims of the guitar disciplines in the Courses; 3) the profile of the guitar disciplines' professors; 4) the demands of the subjects directly involved in these proposals of musical education; and, 5) the conceptions about formation practices and teaching methodologies that characterize the docent action. In accordance with the aims, the methodological guidance was based on the qualitative paradigm. Thus, data collection procedures involved were: bibliographical and documentary research and interviews with three professors who taught in guitar disciplines during the semester of 2014.1 on the mentioned courses. Then, these data were systematically organized and analyzed in line with the research characteristics presented here. The results of the research evidenced the concepts, contents and didactic and methodological perspectives in the context of teaching and learning guitar in the studied empirical field. In this context, we perceive a relation between the demands of teaching and learning tool in the study field and the ones evidenced in the literature. The results demonstrated that the professors’ professional tragetory is associated with their influences from the initial musical formation and their guitar learning since they related conceptions that reflected aspects formation, sometimes converging sometimes divergente. The contentes, methodologies and general aspects are made based on parameters that demonstrate alignment with the perspectives of guitar teaching and learning in the contemporary world to the instrumental player formation. Thus, the study gave a broader diagnosis about the guitar teaching reality, demonstrating the diferences and the singularities between the Technical Course and the Course of Bachelor in Music at UFRN. Thereby, this study provides importante contribution to music education, mainly, through its reflections about the guitar pedagogy.

Música e surdez: o ensino de música numa perspectiva bilíngue na escola regular

The present study focuses on the development of pedagogical activities in Music Teaching, aiming to enhance the accessibility of musical knowledge for both deaf and hearing students, using a bilingual approach in regular schools. Few studies address Music and Deafness, and those that do focus exclusively on the context of special education, and specifically the deaf student, which signals the urgent need for conducting research on this issue in the context of inclusion – empirically and carried out on school grounds. Therefore, we developed our study at a Natal City Public Elementary school, in a class of 6th graders, comprised of 37 students, 3 of whom were deaf. The objective of the study was to develop a proposal for a pedagogical intervention in Music Teaching, using a bilingual approach, with deaf and hearing students, in the context of regular school classes. The research is based on the theoretical framework presented in Penna (2010), Brito (2001) and Fonterrada (2008), with reference to music education, and Haguiara-Cervellini (2003), Finck (2009) and Louro (2006), with reference to inclusion in teaching music. To achieve this objective, we developed a proposal for intervention based on the methodological dictates of intervention research, presented in studies by Jobim and Souza (2011) in light of the theoretical concepts posited by Mikhail Bakhtin, which assert that knowledge is produced through interaction between subjects, dialogically and through alterity. This methodology was carried out in pedagogical workshops, conceived as spaces for the construction of knowledge, mobilizing participants to engage in ludic activities of musical experimentation. Content covered in these workshops focused on Pulse and Rhythm – basic elements in music education – demonstrating that awareness about and sensitivity to these elements is not limited to the auditory sensory perception of the student, once the entire body is used as an agent of acquisition and expression. Thus, we began the trajectory of our research from the starting point of the identification and perception of „Pulse‟, using one‟s own body and the body of classmates, representing it through physical expressions and movement. Subsequently, this Pulse was extended from the body to a percussion instrument, and was then represented graphically as lines of rhythm, constituting a process of reading and writing; ultimately the intervention culminated in the class presentation with the musical group De Pau e Lata (Stick and Can). In our analysis, faced with the challenges and possibilities presented in our study, findings showed satisfactory results with regard to the participation of all of the students: completing the activities proposed in the class, asking questions when they did not understand, positioning themselves when they thought it necessary, expressing opinions about the work completed, evaluating the workshops given, interacting, helping in the activities, constructing knowledge collaterally, experimenting and experiencing musical elements through the body in activities that applied to both groups (deaf and hearing) in the one class. These indications elucidate the viability of teaching music to deaf and hearing students, using a bilingual approach, and based on experiences with the body and communicative and cultural specificities involved, confirming, as well, the role of Sign Language as a mediator in the teaching/learning process.

A construção da identidade profissional de licenciados em Música da UFRN: um estudo de narrativas autobiográficas

Aims to understand the construction of the professional identity of undergraduate in Music UFRN, through the study of autobiographical sources of these subjects, checking their formative dimensions and their (re) meanings established throughout life stories. To do so, shows a brief presentation of the study and the main motivations of the author to do it; expresses the life story of the researcher and their training courses in music career; analyzes the historical overview of the route Search (Auto) biography as research and training approach (JOSSO, 2010; NÓVOA; FINGER, 2010; SOUZA, 2007; PASSEGGI; SILVA (2010b) and DELORY-MOMBERGER, 2012); It presents some reflections and discussions about the construction of identity, beyond the concepts and perceptions of the training and professional representations of this building (DUBAR, 2005); discusses the historical background regarding teacher training in Brazil and Music Education; describes the ways and methodological resources used for data collection and implementation of this research, namely, a reflective open questionnaire and autobiographical essays; It presents the life stories of the undergraduate students of the Music course and its educational and musical dimensions; Lastly, it presents a reflection about the paths taken. The results indicated that the autobiographical essays make it possible to understand the ways and social relations in the various identified training dimensions, in addition to realize that the family contexts and the first musical social contacts in informal settings, enable the licensees, an identification with the possible career lecturer in Music, as well as the main reasons for this choice. We conclude, therefore, that the experiences and musical experiences throughout life favor the construction of professional identity and that in the course of training, such experiences make ways to (re) define the musical experiences, as well as the (re) thinking their professional career.

A construção da identidade profissional de licenciados em Música da UFRN: um estudo de narrativas autobiográficas

Aims to understand the construction of the professional identity of undergraduate in Music UFRN, through the study of autobiographical sources of these subjects, checking their formative dimensions and their (re) meanings established throughout life stories. To do so, shows a brief presentation of the study and the main motivations of the author to do it; expresses the life story of the researcher and their training courses in music career; analyzes the historical overview of the route Search (Auto) biography as research and training approach (JOSSO, 2010; NÓVOA; FINGER, 2010; SOUZA, 2007; PASSEGGI; SILVA (2010b) and DELORY-MOMBERGER, 2012); It presents some reflections and discussions about the construction of identity, beyond the concepts and perceptions of the training and professional representations of this building (DUBAR, 2005); discusses the historical background regarding teacher training in Brazil and Music Education; describes the ways and methodological resources used for data collection and implementation of this research, namely, a reflective open questionnaire and autobiographical essays; It presents the life stories of the undergraduate students of the Music course and its educational and musical dimensions; Lastly, it presents a reflection about the paths taken. The results indicated that the autobiographical essays make it possible to understand the ways and social relations in the various identified training dimensions, in addition to realize that the family contexts and the first musical social contacts in informal settings, enable the licensees, an identification with the possible career lecturer in Music, as well as the main reasons for this choice. We conclude, therefore, that the experiences and musical experiences throughout life favor the construction of professional identity and that in the course of training, such experiences make ways to (re) define the musical experiences, as well as the (re) thinking their professional career.

Aprendizagem criativa na aula de piano em grupo

The central focus of this thesis was to investigate creative learning in music at piano group lessons. Thus, the theoretical framework adopted was guided by two main principles: (1) creativity in the field of music education and (2) Piano teaching and learning. As a methodological procedure we used a research-action with students of the disciplines Prática de Instrumento Harmônico I e II, at the Music Education Undergraduate Course of Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). This research-action was structured in four phases: 1) the identification of the starting points and the theme of creativity matters in piano group lessons, considering the context of a teacher training course in music; 2) the projection of actions, the definition of the objectives and the organization of instruments of data collection and analysis; 3) the realization of the planned actions; and 4) the evaluation of the results, the transcription, organization and analysis of the data collected through observation and interviews. Given the Creative Learning Cycle in Music, represented by the activities of composing, performing and criticizing Music, defended by Beineke (2009, 2013, 2015), we propose in this thesis a creative cycle of formation in music to promote creative learning in piano group lessons, in which teachers and students teach and learn creatively, expanding training opportunities in the field of Music Education. This was possible due to the joint experience of creative practices related to improvisation, elaboration of arrangements and musical compositions - elements that contributed positively to the learning process of the participants. But for this to occur, the planning, implementation and evaluation of the creative and pedagogical musical procedures adopted were decisive, considering the perspectives of students, their conceptions, musical creations, processes and collaborative exchange.

Aprendizagem criativa na aula de piano em grupo

The central focus of this thesis was to investigate creative learning in music at piano group lessons. Thus, the theoretical framework adopted was guided by two main principles: (1) creativity in the field of music education and (2) Piano teaching and learning. As a methodological procedure we used a research-action with students of the disciplines Prática de Instrumento Harmônico I e II, at the Music Education Undergraduate Course of Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). This research-action was structured in four phases: 1) the identification of the starting points and the theme of creativity matters in piano group lessons, considering the context of a teacher training course in music; 2) the projection of actions, the definition of the objectives and the organization of instruments of data collection and analysis; 3) the realization of the planned actions; and 4) the evaluation of the results, the transcription, organization and analysis of the data collected through observation and interviews. Given the Creative Learning Cycle in Music, represented by the activities of composing, performing and criticizing Music, defended by Beineke (2009, 2013, 2015), we propose in this thesis a creative cycle of formation in music to promote creative learning in piano group lessons, in which teachers and students teach and learn creatively, expanding training opportunities in the field of Music Education. This was possible due to the joint experience of creative practices related to improvisation, elaboration of arrangements and musical compositions - elements that contributed positively to the learning process of the participants. But for this to occur, the planning, implementation and evaluation of the creative and pedagogical musical procedures adopted were decisive, considering the perspectives of students, their conceptions, musical creations, processes and collaborative exchange.

Sea-floor images during POLARSTERN cruise ANT-XIII/3 to the Weddell Sea, Antarctica

Transects of a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) providing sea-bed videos and photographs were carried out during POLARSTERN expedition ANT-XIII/3 focussing on the ecology of benthic assemblages on the Antarctic shelf in the South-Eastern Weddell Sea. The ROV-system sprint 103 was equiped with two video- and one still camera, lights, flash-lights, compass, and parallel lasers providing a scale in the images, a tether-management system (TMS), a winch, and the board units. All cameras used the same main lense and could be tilted. Videos were recorded in Betacam-format and (film-)slides were made by decision of the scientific pilot. The latter were mainly made under the aspect to improve the identification of organisms depicted in the videos because the still photographs have a much higher optical resolution than the videos. In the photographs species larger than 3 mm, in the videos larger than 1 cm are recognisable and countable. Under optimum conditions the transects were strait; the speed and direction of the ROV were determined by the drift of the ship in the coastal current, since both, the ship and the ROV were used as a drifting system; the option to operate the vehicle actively was only used to avoide obstacles and to reach at best a distance of only approximately 30 cm to the sea-floor. As a consequence the width of the photographs in the foreground is approximately 50 cm. Deviations from this strategy resulted mainly from difficult ice- and weather conditions but also from high current velocity and local up-welling close to the sea-bed. The sea-bed images provide insights into the general composition of key species, higher systematic groups and ecological guilds. Within interdisciplinary approaches distributions of assemblages can be attributed to environmental conditions such as bathymetry, sediment characteristics, water masses and current regimes. The images also contain valuable information on how benthic species are associated to each other. Along the transects, small- to intermediate-scaled disturbances, e.g. by grounding icebergs were analysed and further impact to the entire benthic system by local succession of recolonisation was studied. This information can be used for models predicting the impact of climate change to benthic life in the Southern Ocean. All these approaches contribute to a better understanding of the fiunctioning of the benthic system and related components of the entire Antarctic marine ecosystem. Despite their scientific value the imaging methods meet concerns about the protection of sensitive Antarctic benthic systems since they are non-invasive and they also provide valuable material for education and outreach purposes.

Sea-floor images from ROV transects during POLARSTERN cruise ANT-XVII/3 (EASIZ III) to the Weddell Sea, Antarctica

Transects of a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) providing sea-bed videos and photographs were carried out during POLARSTERN expedition ANT-XVII/3 focussing on the ecology of benthic assemblages on the Antarctic shelf in the South-Eastern Weddell Sea. The ROV-system sprint 103 was equiped with two video- and one still camera, lights, flash-lights, compass, and parallel lasers providing a scale in the images, a tether-management system (TMS), a winch, and the board units. All cameras used the same main lense and could be tilted. Videos were recorded in Betacam-format and (film-)slides were made by decision of the scientific pilot. The latter were mainly made under the aspect to improve the identification of organisms depicted in the videos because the still photographs have a much higher optical resolution than the videos. In the photographs species larger than 3 mm, in the videos larger than 1 cm are recognisable and countable. Under optimum conditions the transects were strait; the speed and direction of the ROV were determined by the drift of the ship in the coastal current, since both, the ship and the ROV were used as a drifting system; the option to operate the vehicle actively was only used to avoide obstacles and to reach at best a distance of only approximately 30 cm to the sea-floor. As a consequence the width of the photographs in the foreground is approximately 50 cm. Deviations from this strategy resulted mainly from difficult ice- and weather conditions but also from high current velocity and local up-welling close to the sea-bed. The sea-bed images provide insights into the general composition of key species, higher systematic groups and ecological guilds. Within interdisciplinary approaches distributions of assemblages can be attributed to environmental conditions such as bathymetry, sediment characteristics, water masses and current regimes. The images also contain valuable information on how benthic species are associated to each other. Along the transects, small- to intermediate-scaled disturbances, e.g. by grounding icebergs were analysed and further impact to the entire benthic system by local succession of recolonisation was studied. This information can be used for models predicting the impact of climate change to benthic life in the Southern Ocean. All these approaches contribute to a better understanding of the fiunctioning of the benthic system and related components of the entire Antarctic marine ecosystem. Despite their scientific value the imaging methods meet concerns about the protection of sensitive Antarctic benthic systems since they are non-invasive and they also provide valuable material for education and outreach purposes.

Les caractères musicaux au sein d'une démarche artistique dramatique : exploration des indices acoustiques jouant un rôle dans l'évocation des états affectifs en musique

Cette thèse de doctorat en composition comprend deux projets de nature différente et complémentaire : (1) un projet de recherche théorique sur la communication des caractères musicaux; (2) un projet artistique s'articulant autour de la composition de trois pièces : L'homme à deux têtes - opéra de chambre, Un instant dans l'esprit de Lovecraft - pour clarinette solo, orchestre à cordes et percussions, et Balade ornithologique - pour orchestre à vents. La conception de la musique comme un moyen de communication est à l'origine de cette recherche théorique qui est motivée par un désir de compréhension des stratégies d'expressions des émotions en musique, à partir du point de vue du compositeur. Cette thèse aborde les modèles de communication, le concept de personnage virtuel et la théorie de la contagion des humeurs. Par la suite, nous détaillerons les indices acoustiques menant à la perception des caractères musicaux. Toutes ces notions sont illustrées et explorées par la composition de miniature ayant un caractère bien ciblé. Finalement, nous proposons un système d'analyse musical des caractères et des émotions qui est appliqué à l'analyse de sections des pièces composées au cours de ce projet de doctorat. Ce dernier chapitre met en lumière les stratégies utilisées pour créer un discours dramatique tout en exposant l'évocation de différents caractères musicaux.

A Philosophy of Operatic Storytelling

This dissertation presents the first theoretical model for understanding narration and point of view in opera, examining repertoire from Richard Wagner to Benjamin Britten. Prior music scholarship on musical narratives and narrativity has drawn primarily on continental literary theory and philosophy of the 1960s to the middle of the 1980s. This study, by contrast, engages with current debates in the analytic branch of aesthetic philosophy. One reason why the concept of point of view has not been more extensively explored in opera studies is the widespread belief that operas are not narratives. This study questions key premises on which this assumption rests. In so doing, it presents a new definition of narrative. Arguably, a narrative is an utterance intended to communicate a story, where "story" is understood to involve the representation of a particular agent or agents exercising their agency. This study explores the role of narrators in opera, introducing the first taxonomy of explicit fictional operatic narrators. Through a close analysis of Britten and Myfanwy Piper's Owen Wingrave, it offers an explanation of music's power to orient spectators to the points of view of opera characters by providing audiences with access to characters' perceptual experiences and cognitive, affective, and psychological states. My analysis also helps account for how our subjective access to fictional characters may engender sympathy for them. The second half of the dissertation focuses on opera in performance. Current thinking in music scholarship predominantly holds that fidelity is an outmoded concern. I argue that performing a work-for-performance is a matter of intentionally modelling one's performance on the work-for-performance's features and achieving a moderate degree of fidelity or matching between the two. Finally, this study investigates how the creative decisions of the performers and director impact the point of view from which an opera is told.