Lukas Foss's The Prairie (1942): Building Community through Music

Lukas Foss's The Prairie, a seven-movement cantata for SATB soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra, is a well-crafted and audience-friendly setting of the poem of the same name by Carl Sandburg. Acclaimed at its 1944 premiere, The Prairie has not enjoyed a robust performance history due in large part to numerous inconsistencies between the score and parts which render the work challenging to perform. Heretofore, each conductor has individually located these inconsistencies and made the necessary adjustments for performances. In this document, resources have been assembled which identify and correct many of the inconsistencies, thus facilitating more performances in the future. The Prairie is an ideal vehicle for a project-based chorus, which is itself an opportunity to create a new community. A correlation may exist between "community" and "vulnerability;" that is, when a choral singer feels comfortably connected to fellow singers, he or she may be more likely to open up to new ways of making sounds for the ultimate service of the music. Results are inconclusive, but the project points to a successful strategy for creating an affirming new community and to positive musical and nonmusical results of intentional community-building.

Community-based Data Validation Practices in Citizen Science

Technology-supported citizen science has created huge volumes of data with increasing potential to facilitate scientific progress, however, verifying data quality is still a substantial hurdle due to the limitations of existing data quality mechanisms. In this study, we adopted a mixed methods approach to investigate community-based data validation practices and the characteristics of records of wildlife species observations that affected the outcomes of collaborative data quality management in an online community where people record what they see in the nature. The findings describe the processes that both relied upon and added to information provenance through information stewardship behaviors, which led to improved reliability and informativity. The likelihood of community-based validation interactions were predicted by several factors, including the types of organisms observed and whether the data were submitted from a mobile device. We conclude with implications for technology design, citizen science practices, and research.

Pneumococcal etiology in hospitalised children with community-acquired penumonia in Belgium :evaluation by culture, RT-PCR and serotype-specific IgG and IgA serology.

info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Pneumococcal aetiology and serotype distribution in paediatric community-acquired pneumonia.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a major cause of morbidity in children. This study estimated the proportion of children with pneumococcal CAP among children hospitalised with CAP in Belgium and describes the causative serotype distribution after implementation of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Children 0-14 years hospitalised with X-ray-confirmed CAP were prospectively enrolled in a multicentre observational study. Acute and convalescent blood samples were collected. Pneumococcal aetiology was assessed by conventional methods (blood or pleural fluid cultures with Quellung reaction capsular typing or polymerase chain reaction [PCR] in pleural fluid), and recently developed methods (real-time PCR in blood and World Health Organization-validated serotype-specific serology). A total of 561 children were enrolled. Pneumococcal aetiology was assessed by conventional methods in 539, serology in 171, and real-time PCR in blood in 154. Pneumococcal aetiology was identified in 12.2% (66/539) of the children by conventional methods alone but in 73.9% by the combination of conventional and recently developed methods. The pneumococcal detection rate adjusted for the whole study population was 61.7%. Serotypes 1 (42.3%), 5 (16.0%), and 7F(7A) (12.8%) were predominant. In conclusion, Streptococcus pneumoniae remains the predominant bacteria in children hospitalised for CAP in Belgium after implementation of 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, with non-vaccine-serotypes accounting for the majority of cases. The use of recently developed methods improves diagnosis of pneumococcal aetiology.

Analyzing weed community changes in extensive farming systemas of the pampas through a functional approach

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Analyzing weed community changes in extensive farming systemas of the pampas through a functional approach

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Family, community and politics: the fertile legacy of Michael Young

The Institute of Community Studies was set up by Michael Young in order to carry out research on politically relevant social issues, in a context free from direct political control. A research method was devised for it whereby researchers made their own values and objectives very explicit, while staying as close as possible in their reports to the concerns and language of respondents themselves. This method has often been criticized by professional sociologists: but it reflects quite well the nature of social knowledge. It has produced reports which help to increase public understanding of social processes, and provide useful guidance to policy makers. Professional sociology on the other hand has tried to develop a rigorously value-free method. As a result, though, it often seems to be tied implicitly to values shared among researchers but not more universally. Arguably this makes it harder for the general public to understand, and accept, its findings.

Urban labour, voice and legitimacy: economic development and the emergence of community unionism

Community unionism has emerged in the past decade as a growing strand of industrial relations research and is influencing trade union strategies for renewal. This article seeks to further develop the concept, while exploring the potential roles for unions in communities subject to projects of urban regeneration.

Law in the community: the University of Greenwich/Greenwich Association of Disabled People Centre for Independent Living (GAD) research project

The GAD Advocacy Service is funded by the London Borough of Greenwich Directorate of Neighbourhood Services; its remit to support disabled people experiencing Hate Crime, Domestic Violence and Harassment. Run by disabled personnel and giving advice to all disabled people it is unique in London. Since its inception in 2004, the Advocacy Service has been stretched to its limit - there is a need to extend the remit of the Advocacy Service to give specialist legal advice on other issues. In 2003, the CEDRM-UK project was set up in the University of Greenwich Law Department as part of the Disability Rights Promotion International Legal Education and Research Project; its objectives were firstly, to facilitate the collection of data on the effectiveness of legislation in promoting the rights of disabled persons; and secondly, to pilot new methods in teaching and training in Human Rights Law – students acquire an expertise in Human Rights Law through research into the practical application of legislation relating to civil and human rights in the daily life of the community. In July 2007, GAD and CEDRM-UK embarked on a joint project to report on the work of the Advocacy Service and to create a database to support its caseload. The 2008-9 Project team will report on their work and findings relating to facilitating equality in the workplace; the inclusion of cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis within the legal definition of disability and the implications of the statutory duty to promote disability equality for the provision of extracurricular activities for schoolchildren. [From the Author]

Journal citation among heterodox economists 1995-2007: Dynamics of community emergence

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the pattern among 17 heterodox economic journals over a prolonged period to provide evidence about the social dynamics among the group of researchers who publish in them and the extent to which they hold or develop a collective identity as heterodox economists. Design/methodology/approach – Traditional approaches to citation analysis are extended by the use of techniques from social network analysis. In addition to citation counts, measures of network position and clique membership are used to identify key journals and turning points in a longitudinal analysis. Findings – Important shifts in the nature of citation within the network of journals are identified in the 1998-2001 period and evidence is found of the emergence of a collective identity. Research limitations/implications – The methods prove a valuable extension of citation analysis and also focus greater consideration on the social relationships that citations represent. They are well suited to addressing the principal limitation of the study, its restriction to journals within the defined community rather than journals in general. Originality/value – This extends traditional approaches to citation analysis, provides an important new technique in identifying emergent collective identities and provides insight into the history and nature of the heterodox economic community.

An evaluation of a community matron service from the patients’ perspective

Community matrons are a relatively new government initiative aimed at case managing people with long-term conditions to reduce the number of emergency bed days used in hospitals. Although there have been extensive evaluations of similar case management projects, to date there has been little evaluation of the community matron's role and the perceptions patients have of this new service. One of the main Government agendas for care is to deliver a high quality service driven by the needs of the service users (DH, 2000). In order to drive this agenda, care is to deliver a high quality service driven by the needs of the service users (DH, 2000). In order to drive this agenda, it is important that the views and perceptions of people on the receiving end of the services are heard, valued and appropriate actions taken. This two part evaluative report sets out to explore how people with long-term conditions perceive the impact of community matrons and the differences this new service may have had on their lives. Questionnaires were sent to 100 patients who were currently being case-managed by a community matron to evaluate the community matron service from the patients' perspective. Part two reports on patients' perceptions of the community matron role and the influences of the role on their health.

The eLIDA CAMEL nomadic model of collaborative partnership for a community of practice in design for learning

A nomadic collaborative partnership model for a community of practice (CoP) in Design for Learning (D4L) can facilitate successful innovation and continuing appraisals of effective professional practice, stimulated by a 'critical friend' assigned to the project. This paper reports on e-learning case studies collected by the JISC-funded UK eLIDA CAMEL Design for Learning Project. The project implemented and evaluated learning design (LD) tools in higher and further education within the JISC Design for Learning pedagogic programme (2006-07). Project partners trialled professional user evaluations of innovative e-learning tools with learning design function, collecting D4L case studies and LD sequences in post-16/HE contexts using LAMS and Moodle. The project brought together learning activity sequences within a collaborative e-learning community of practice based on the CAMEL (Collaborative Approaches to the Management of e-Learning) model, contributing to international D4L developments. This paper provides an overview of project outputs in e-learning innovations, including evaluations from teachers and students. The paper explores intentionality in the development of a CoP in design for learning, reporting on trials of LD and social software that bridged tensions between formalised intra-institutional e-learning relationships and inter-institutional professional project team dynamic D4L practitioner interactions. Following a brief report of D4L case studies and feedback, the catalytic role of the 'critical friend' is highlighted and recommended as a key ingredient in the successful development of a nomadic model of communities of practice for managing professional e-learning projects. eLIDA CAMEL Partners included the Association of Learning Technology (ALT), JISC infoNet, three universities and five FE/Sixth Form Colleges. Results reported to JISC demonstrated D4L e-learning innovations by practitioners, illuminated by the role of the 'critical friend'. The project also benefited from formal case study evaluations and the leading work of ALT and JISC infoNet in the development of the CAMEL model.

Informal Learning in Online Knowledge Communities: Predicting Community Response to Visitor Inquiries

Nistor, N., Dascalu, M., Stavarache, L.L., Serafin, Y., & Trausan-Matu, S. (2015). Informal Learning in Online Knowledge Communities: Predicting Community Response to Visitor Inquiries. In G. Conole, T. Klobucar, C. Rensing, J. Konert & É. Lavoué (Eds.), 10th European Conf. on Technology Enhanced Learning (pp. 447–452). Toledo, Spain: Springer.