Metamorfoses musicais em concerto

Uma transcrição musical consiste numa composição adaptada de uma obra original para outra instrumentação, que não a inicialmente definida pelo compositor. Nestas, o conteúdo original tende a permanecer o mais fiel possível (De Vente, 2005). A partir do século XIX esta prática tornou-se corrente e prolífica. Atualmente, o uso de transcrições é bastante comum, especialmente quando destinado a instrumentos musicais com uma história recente devido à sua falta de repertório canónico. Um instrumento característico deste último grupo é o saxofone para o qual se tem transcrito uma grande quantidade de obras com especial ênfase nos períodos barroco e romântico. Nesta monografia detalho uma abordagem metodológica à transcrição musical que visa expandir o repertório para saxofone para além dos períodos barroco e romântico, assim como instrumentações e desafios diversos no processo de adaptação tais como: adaptar obras polifónicas para um instrumento monofónico, transcrever gestos técnicos e específicos de um instrumento de corda e criar continuidades sonoras típicas do uso do pedal no piano no saxofone. O processo de transcrição descrito nesta monografia impõe uma metamorfose timbrica às obras originais e oferece ao ouvinte uma perspectiva diferente sobre o conteúdo musical assim como questiona conceitos de autenticidade e autoria. Quatro composições que seguem a atual proposta de transcrição são apresentadas e documentadas. De ressaltar a diversidade de escolhas do repertório transcrito em termos de estilo, e instrumentação que se traduzem num grande desafio na adaptação ao saxofone, entre estas: Dream, John Cage, Chaccone em Sol menor, Tomaso Vitali, Fratres, Arvo Pärt e o Inverno das Quatro Estações, Antonio Vivaldi.

Arvokeskustelu Chilen aborttilain muutoksesta. Diskurssianalyysi el Mercurio -sanomalehdessä vuosina 2014 - 2015 julkaistuista kirjoituksista

Tässä pro gradu -työssä tarkastellaan sitä, minkälaisin diskurssein abortista puhutaan ja mitä merkityksiä abortti saa aborttia ja aborttilainsäädäntöä koskevissa kirjoituksissa. Abortti on asia, joka nostattaa voimakkaita tunteita ja mielipiteitä, ja siihen liitetään erilaisia arvoja, myös pyhyyttä. Abortti toimii laukaisijana, joka aktivoi kulttuurisia erotteluja ja rajanvetoja. Tutkimusaineisto on kerätty el Mercurio -sanomalehden aborttiin liittyvistä kirjoituksista ajanjaksona (toukokuu) 2014 - 2015 (toukokuu). Tämä lehti on yksi vaikutusvaltaisimmista lehdistä Chilessä. Aborttikuvan rakentumista tutkitaan seuraavalla tutkimuskysymyksellä, joka jakaantuu kahdeksi alakysymykseksi: 1 Miten arvoja jäsennetään ja miten niitä erotetaan toisistaan? 1.1 Mitä arvoja diskursseista tuodaan esille? 1.2 Miten pyhyyttä käytetään arvojen perustelussa? Tutkimuksen metodina on käytetty diskurssianalyysiä, jonka avulla on etsitty aborttilain muutoksen käynnistämästä keskustelusta arvodiskursseja chileläisessä kulttuurissa. Aineistosta on erotettu neljä diskurssia, jotka ovat oikeus-, hyvinvointi-, samanarvoisuuden- ja tahdonvapaudendiskurssi. Nämä hahmotellut diskurssit ovat muodostuneet merkityksellisten arvojen ympärille, ja näitä ovat autonomia, elämä, terveys, tasa-arvo ja suvaitsevaisuus. Näiden arvodiskurssien suhdetta on tutkittu maan sosiokulttuuriseen ja uskonnolliseen kontekstiin. Tämän tutkimuksen perusteella uskonto ja katolinen kirkko ovat edelleen tärkeä osa kansallista identiteettiä, etenkin maan varakkaamman väestön keskuudessa. Lehtikirjoittelun perusteella näyttää siltä, ettei chileläinen yhteiskunta ole sekularisoitumassa. Elämä ja kuolema paikallistuvat tässä tutkimuksessa keskeisiksi rajapinnoiksi, joihin pyhä määrittyy. Nämä arvot ovat yhteisöelämän järjestyksen perustana. Abortin dekriminalisointi uhkaa kansakuntaa ja sen identiteettiä kristillisenä yhteiskuntana.

Kissa ihmisen peilinä. Muutos, sukupuoli ja vuorovaikutus taiteessa

Tutkielman aiheena on kissa ja sen representaatiot visuaalisessa taiteessa. Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan 12 eri tekniikoilla valmistettua taideteosta, jotka ovat valmistuneet vuosien 1974 ja 2015 välisenä aikana. Tutkielmaan valitut taiteilijat, teokset ja valmistusvuodet ovat seuraavat: Jan Harrison, Chuff and Roll Over 1997; Jan Harrison, Cat with Raw Nose 2006; Sampsa Indrén, Hello Kitty 2012; Nanna Susi, Maliblue 2013; Olli Lyytikäinen, Kolme pyramidia ja sfinksi 1974, Kari Soinio, Sankarin koti nr 9 2009; elokuvasta Yön ritarin paluu Kissanainen/Selena Kyle (Anne Hathaway) 2012; Stiina Saaristo, Turengin Tuhkimo 2012; sarjakuvasta Simpsonit Matt Groening (piirt.), Crazy Cat Lady/Eleanor Abernathy 1998; sarjakuvahahmo, Jim Davis (hahmotelma ja käsikirj.), Karvinen 1989; Carolee Schneemann, Infinity Kisses (1988) ja Katinka Simonse, alias Tinkebell, My dearest cat Pinkeltje. (2009). Tutkielman tarkoituksena on ollut selvittää, mikä tarkoitus kissan olemassaololla on valituissa teoksissa ja mitä sen avulla on haluttu kertoa. Tutkielman käsittelyaineisto on jaettu kolmeen pääryhmään, 1) kissa ihmisen sisäisen ja tiedostamattoman tulkkina, 2) kissa sukupuoliroolien ja stereotypioiden symbolina, 3) kissa lemmikkinä. Tarkastelussa on käytetty muun muassa psykoanalyyttistä, filosofista, sukupuolentutkinnallista ja fenomenologista lähestymistapaa. Tutkielman psykoanalyyttinen tarkastelutapa perustuu pääasiassa freudilaisiin ja filosofinen näkökulma deleuzelais-guattarilaisiin näkemyksiin. Tutkimuksella on pyritty tulkitsemaan ja kartoittamaan tapoja, joilla taiteilija on kissaa apunaan käyttäen lähestynyt ihmisen henkistä muutosta piilotajunnasta nousevien halujen ja yhteiskunnallisten stereotypioiden puristuksessa. Tuleminen joksikin, muodonmuutos sekä ihmisen ja eläimen yhteys ovat tutkielman tärkeimpiä tulkinnan kohteita.

The Use of Mucoadhesive Polymers to Enhance the Hypotensive Effect of a Melatonin Analogue, 5-MCA-NAT, in Rabbit Eyes

Purpose.: 5-Methoxy-carbonylamino-N-acetyltryptamine (5-MCA-NAT, a melatonin receptor agonist) produces a clear intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction in New Zealand White rabbits and glaucomatous monkeys. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether the hypotensive effect of 5-MCA-NAT was enhanced by the presence of cellulose derivatives, some of them with bioadhesive properties, as well as to determine whether these formulations were well tolerated by the ocular surface. Methods.: Formulations were prepared with propylene glycol (0.275%), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC, 0.5% and 1.0%) of low and medium viscosity and hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (0.3%). Quantification of 5-MCA-NAT (100 μM) was assessed by HPLC. In vitro tolerance was evaluated by the MTT method in human corneal-limbal epithelial cells and normal human conjunctival cells. In vivo tolerance was analyzed by biomicroscopy and specular microscopy in rabbit eyes. The ocular hypotensive effect was evaluated measuring IOP for 8 hours in rabbit eyes. Results.: All the formulations demonstrated good in vitro and in vivo tolerance. 5-MCA-NAT in CMC medium viscosity 0.5% was the most effective at reducing IOP (maximum IOP reduction, 30.27%), and its effect lasted approximately 7 hours. Conclusions.: The hypotensive effect of 5-MCA-NAT was increased by using bioadhesive polymers in formulations that are suitable for the ocular surface and also protective of the eye in long-term therapies. The use of 5-MCA-NAT combined with bioadhesive polymers is a good strategy in the treatment of ocular hypertension and glaucoma.

Managerial experiences related to corporate demerger

In the current economic situation very few business operations are static. In some cases, organizations feel that the most rational solution is not expanding but focusing on their core competencies or certain areas of business through corporate restructuring. The focus in this thesis is on corporate demerger, a process that involves a complete separation of units within a company. Despite the vast amount of research considering corporate demergers, there is still a lack of knowledge about how top managers experience these kinds of organizational rearrangements. In this qualitative case study, the aim is to bring forward the thoughts of executives in two companies that emerged from a single company through corporate demerger a few years ago. By conducting dyadic semi-structured interviews with the management group and board members in both the parent company and the demerger company, I pursue to understand the impressions that they had during the demerger process as well as during the change that followed afterwards. Additionally, their retrospective sense-making patterns are briefly examined. The findings suggest that the way operations are managed before plays an important role in the demerger process. In this case the pre-demerger organization was quite distinctly divided into two business areas, which allowed a somewhat natural allocation of resources. In addition, apart from the top management, every employee knew their future company and role, thus decreasing the amount of uncertainty in lower organizational levels. Consequently, the ambiguity and change faced by the top executives was evidently more powerful compared to the operational actors. The fragmented characteristics also enabled certain points of reference in the unfolding demerger process. Along with the information about future management groups, the pre-demerger re-grouping took place. This sparked up the mental division, where both groups started to act separately. On a personal level, the managers involved in the demerger planning have made retrospective sense of the repercussions related to the restructuring process. For them, it was an extremely demanding, ambiguous and burdensome project that provided them with managerial experiences they are likely not to have again.

Inherited Photoreceptor Degeneration Causes the Death of Melanopsin-Positive Retinal Ganglion Cells and Increases Their Coexpression of Brn3a

Purpose: To study the population of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (melanopsin-expressing RGCs, m+RGCs) in P23H-1 rats, a rat model of inherited photoreceptor degeneration. Methods: At postnatal (P) times P30, P365, and P540, retinas from P23H dystrophic rats (line 1, rapid degeneration; and line 3, slow degeneration) and Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (control) were dissected as whole-mounts and immunodetected for melanopsin and/or Brn3a. The dendritic arborization of m+RGCs and the numbers of Brn3a+RGCs and m+RGCs were quantified and their retinal distribution and coexpression analyzed. Results: In SD rats, aging did not affect the population of Brn3a+RGCs or m+RGCs or the percentage that showed coexpression (0.27%). Young P23H-1 rats had a significantly lower number of Brn3a+RGCs and showed a further decline with age. The population of m+RGCs in young P23H-1 rats was similar to that found in SD rats and decreased by 22.6% and 28.2% at P365 and P540, respectively, similarly to the decrease of the Brn3a+RGCs. At these ages the m+RGCs showed a decrease of their dendritic arborization parameters, which was similar in both the P23H-1 and P23H-3 lines. The percentage of coexpression of Brn3a was, however, already significantly higher at P30 (3.31%) and increased significantly with age (10.65% at P540). Conclusions: Inherited photoreceptor degeneration was followed by secondary loss of Brn3a+RGCs and m+RGCs. Surviving m+RGCs showed decreased dendritic arborization parameters and increased coexpression of Brn3a and melanopsin, phenotypic and molecular changes that may represent an effort to resist degeneration and/or preferential survival of m+RGCs capable of synthesizing Brn3a.