bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
BP algorithm for the multireceiver SAS
Authors: Zhang Xuebo , Yang Peixuan , Tan Cheng , Ying Wenwei
Published: January 2019

The imaging performance and efficiency are two important issues for the multireceiver synthetic aperture sonar (SAS). Back projection (BP) algorithm is characterised by the high performance and low efficiency. In this study, the authors first recall the standard BP algorithm based on the interpolation for the multireceiver SAS. Then, two improved BP algorithms based on the range Fourier transformation (FT) are presented. Considering the fact that the time delay in the time domain can be carried out by the phase shifting in the frequency domain, an FT shifting based BP algorithm avoiding the interpolation error is presented. Although this method produces the focusing result with high performance, it is very time consuming. In order to improve the imaging efficiency without loss of imaging performance, the authors propose an oversampling‐based BP algorithm, which is based on the fact that the zero‐padding in the frequency domain is equivalent to the interpolation in the time domain. After that, the computation complexity of three BP algorithms is analysed in detail. Finally, simulations and real data are exploited to validate the presented methods.
Investigating the presence of two belts in the HD 15115 system
Authors: Engler N. , Boccaletti A. , Schmid H. M. , Milli J. , Augereau J.-C. , Mazoyer J. , Maire A.-L. , Henning T. , Avenhaus H. , Baudoz P. , Feldt M. , Galicher R. , Hinkley S. , Lagrange A.-M. , Mawet D. , Olofsson J. , Pantin E. , Perrot C. , Stapelfeldt K.
Published: January 2019

Context.High-contrast instruments like SPHERE (Spectro- Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch) enable spatial resolution of young planetary systems and allow us to study the connection between planets and the dust contained in debris discs by the gravitational influence a planet can have on its environment.

Aims.We present new observations of the edge-on debris disc around HD 15115 (F star at 48.2 pc) obtained in the near-IR. We search for observational evidence for a second inner planetesimal ring in the system.

Methods.We obtained total intensity and polarimetric data in the broad bandsJandHand processed the data with differential imaging techniques achieving an angular resolution of about 40 mas. A grid of models describing the spatial distribution of the grains in the disc is generated to constrain the geometric parameters of the disc and to explore the presence of a second belt. We perform a photometric analysis of the data and compare disc brightness in two bands in scattered and in polarized light.

Results.We observe an axisymmetric planetesimal belt with a radius of ~2′′, an inclination of 85.8° ± 0.7° and position angle of 278.9° ± 0.1°. The photometric analysis shows that the west side is ~2.5 times brighter in total intensity than the east side in both bands, while for polarized light in theJband this ratio is only 1.25. We also find that theJ–Hcolour of the disc appears to be red for the radial separationsr≲ 2′′ and is getting bluer for the larger separations. The maximum polarization fraction is 15–20% atr~ 2.5′′. The polarized intensity image shows some structural features inside the belt which can be interpreted as an additional inner belt.

Conclusions.The apparent change of disc colour from red to blue with an increasing radial separation from the star could be explained by the decreasing average grain size with distance. The presence of an inner belt slightly inclined with respect to the main planetesimal belt is suspected from the data but the analysis and modelling presented here cannot establish a firm conclusion due to the faintness of the disc and its high inclination.
A deep X-ray view of the bare AGN Ark 120
Authors: Porquet D. , Done C. , Reeves J. N. , Grosso N. , Marinucci A. , Matt G. , Lobban A. , Nardini E. , Braito V. , Marin F. , Kubota A. , Ricci C. , Koss M. , Stern D. , Ballantyne D. , Farrah D.
Published: January 2019

Context. The spin of supermassive black holes (SMBH) in active galactic nuclei (AGN) can be determined from spectral signature(s) of relativistic reflection such as the X-ray iron Kα line profile, but this can be rather uncertain when the line of sight intersects the so-called warm absorber and/or other wind components as these distort the continuum shape. Therefore, AGN showing no (or very weak) intrinsic absorption along the line-of-sight such as Ark 120, a so-called bare AGN, are the ideal targets for SMBH spin measurements. However, in our previous work on Ark 120, we found that its 2014 X-ray spectrum is dominated by Comptonisation, while the relativistic reflection emission only originates at tens of gravitational radii from the SMBH. As a result, we could not constrain the SMBH spin from disc reflection alone.

Aims. Our aim is to determine the SMBH spin in Ark 120 from an alternative technique based on the global energetics of the disc-corona system. Indeed, the mass accretion rate (Ṁ) through the outer disc can be measured from the optical-UV emission, while the bolometric luminosity (Lbol) can be fairly well constrained from the optical to hard X-rays spectral energy distribution, giving access to the accretion efficiency η = Lbol/(Ṁc2) which depends on the SMBH spin.

Methods. The spectral analysis uses simultaneous XMM-Newton (OM and pn) and NuSTAR observations on 2014 March 22 and 2013 February 18. We applied the OPTXCONV model (based on OPTXAGNF) to self consistently reproduce the emission from the inner corona (warm and hot thermal Comptonisation) and the outer disc (colour temperature corrected black body), taking into account both the disc inclination angle and relativistic effects. For self-consistency, we modelled the mild relativistic reflection of the incident Comptonisation components using the XILCONV convolution model.

Results. We infer a SMBH spin of 0.83+0.05−0.03, adopting the SMBH reverberation mass of 1.50 × 108 M⊙. In addition, we find that the coronal radius decreases with increasing flux (by about a factor of two), from 85+13−10Rg in 2013 to 14 ± 3 Rg in 2014.

Conclusions. This is the first time that such a constraint is obtained for a SMBH spin from this technique, thanks to the bare properties of Ark 120, its well determined SMBH reverberation mass, and the presence of a mild relativistic reflection component in 2014 which allows us to constrain the disc inclination angle. We caution that these results depend on the detailed disc-corona structure, which is not yet fully established. However, the realistic parameter values (e.g. Lbol/LEdd, disc inclination angle) found suggest that this is a promising method to determine spin in moderate-Ṁ AGN.
The puzzle of transparency and how to solve it
Authors: Barz Wolfgang
Published: January 2019

According to the transparency approach, achievement of self-knowledge is a two-stage process: first, the subject arrives at the judgment ‘p’; second, the subject proceeds to the judgment ‘I believe thatp.’ The puzzle of transparency is to understand why the transition from the first to the second judgment is rationally permissible. After revisiting the debate between Byrne and Boyle on this matter, I present a novel solution according to which the transition is rationally permissible in virtue of a justifying argument that begins from a premise referring to the mental utterance that is emitted in the course of judging ‘p.’
“Are you calling me a liar”? Clinical interviewing more for trust than knowledge with high-risk men with antisocial personality disorder
Authors: Ramsden Jo
Published: January 2019

Clinical interviewing with a population who tend to mistrust interpersonal communication is complex and challenging. This paper argues that, traditionally, the basis on which these types of interviews are conducted (to gather information to inform a diagnosis or formulation) has the potential to compound the difficulties. An approach is outlined which challenges implicit assumptions about the neutrality of the interview and assumes, instead, that ‘personality disorder’ emerges from the failures in communication which often characterise these encounters. Workers are invited to understand how they themselves, their assumptions and routine organisational practices contribute to this dynamic process. They are invited to work instead with a focus on building trust and learning collaboratively about what helps. Understanding risk issues is considered to be an intrinsic part of this process given that the emotional events which underpin risk are assumed to be inevitably ‘live’ within the interview.
The Influence of Substance Use on Intimate Partner Homicide: Evidence from a Norwegian National 22-year Cohort
Authors: Vatnar Solveig Karin Bø , Friestad Christine , Bjørkly Stål
Published: January 2019

Intimate partner homicides (IPH) are fatal violent attacks perpetrated by intimate partners. Research has indicated that substance use can co-occur in IPH. This study investigates the role of substance influence at the time of the crime and the prevalence of substance use in these cases. All IPHs in Norway from 1990–2012 ( N = 177) were included. Quantitative data were extracted from court documents. Information concerning risk factors was drawn from three validated risk assessment instruments. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted. For IPH committed by a substance-influenced perpetrator, there was an increased risk of the victim being substance influenced as well (OR = 11.697, CI = 4.259 – 31.631). Similarly, there was an association between perpetrators’ type of influence at the time of the crime and perpetrators’ substance misuse in general. Blood alcohol or other toxins were present in half of the perpetrators and 41% of the victims. Our results point to an association between IPH and substance use which needs to be established. Hence, this will have clinical and policy implications.
Peak positions of strongly unimodal sequences
Authors: Bringmann Kathrin , Jennings-Shaffer Chris , Mahlburg Karl , Rhoades Robert
Published: January 2019

We study combinatorial and asymptotic properties of the rank of strongly unimodal sequences. We find a generating function for the rank enumeration function and give a new combinatorial interpretation of the ospt-function introduced by Andrews, Chan, and Kim. We conjecture that the enumeration function for the number of unimodal sequences of a fixed size and varying rank is log-concave, and we prove an asymptotic result in support of this conjecture. Finally, we determine the asymptotic behavior of the rank for strongly unimodal sequences, and we prove that its values (when appropriately renormalized) are normally distributed with mean

0
0

in the asymptotic limit.
Effects of altering histone posttranslational modifications on mitotic chromosome structure and mechanics
Authors: Biggs Ronald , Liu Patrick Z. , Stephens Andrew D. , Marko John F.
Published: January 2019

During cell division, chromatin is compacted into mitotic chromosomes to aid faithful segregation of the genome between two daughter cells. Posttranslational modifications (PTMs) of histones alter compaction of interphase chromatin, but it remains poorly understood how these modifications affect mitotic chromosome stiffness and structure. Using micropipette-based force measurements and epigenetic drugs, we probed the influence of canonical histone PTMs that dictate interphase euchromatin (acetylation) and heterochromatin (methylation) on mitotic chromosome stiffness. By measuring chromosome doubling force (the force required to double chromosome length), we find that histone methylation, but not acetylation, contributes to mitotic structure and stiffness. We discuss our findings in the context of chromatin gel modeling of the large-scale organization of mitotic chromosomes.
Mindfulness, Experiential Avoidance, and Recovery From Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Authors: Larson Anna G , Morris Keayra J , Juckett Mark B , Coe Christopher L , Broman Aimee T , Costanzo Erin S
Published: January 2019

Background

Mood disturbance, pain, and fatigue are prevalent and distressing concerns for patients with hematologic cancer recovering from hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The way in which individuals approach difficult thoughts and emotions may affect symptoms and functioning. Specifically, mindfulness has been associated with more optimal psychological and physical functioning, whereas experiential avoidance has been associated with poorer outcomes.

Purpose

The primary objective was to determine whether mindfulness and experiential avoidance measured prior to HSCT were associated with recovery of psychological and physical functioning following HSCT. We also evaluated dimensions of mindfulness to determine which were most robustly associated with outcomes.

Methods

Participants completed measures of mindfulness and experiential avoidance prior to HSCT. Depression and anxiety symptoms and pain and fatigue interference with daily activities were assessed prior to HSCT and 1, 3, and 6 months post-HSCT.

Results

Participants who reported better ability to describe their internal experiences and who were better able to act with awareness experienced less depression, anxiety, and fatigue interference following HSCT. Participants who were nonjudgmental and nonreactive toward thoughts and emotions experienced less depression and anxiety following HSCT, but these traits were not associated with pain or fatigue interference. Being a good observer of internal experiences was not associated with outcomes, nor was experiential avoidance.

Conclusions

Results suggest that most facets of mindfulness may optimize psychological functioning following HSCT, and the ability to describe one’s internal experience and to focus on the present moment may have a beneficial influence on physical functioning.
Intersemiotic Translation, Cognitive Artefact, and Creativity
Authors: Queiroz João , Atã Pedro
Published: January 2019

Intersemiotic translation (IT) can be described as a cognitive artefact designed as a predictive, generative, and metasemiotic tool that distributes artistic creativity. Cognitive artefacts have a huge variety of forms and are manipulated in many different ways and domains. As a projective augmented intelligence technique, IT works as a predictive tool, anticipating new, and surprising patterns of semiotic events and processes, keeping under control the emergence of new patterns. At the same time, it works as a generative model, providing new, unexpected, surprising data in the target-system,​​ and affording competing results​ ​which allow the system to generate candidate instances. As a metasemiotic tool, IT creates a metalevel semiotic process, a sign-action which stands for the action of a sign. It creates an ‘experimental laboratory’ for performing semiotic experiments. IT submits semiotic systems to unusual conditions and provides a scenario for observing the emergence of new and surprising semiotic behaviour as a result. We explore these ideas taking advantage of two examples of ITs to theatrical dance: (1) from one-point visual perspective to classical ballet and (2) from John Cage’s protocols of music indeterminacy to Merce Cunningham’s choreographic composition.
Added Value of Aortic Pulse Wave Velocity Index in a Predictive Diagnosis Decision Tree of Coronary Heart Disease
Authors: Vallée Alexandre , Petruescu Laura , Kretz Sandrine , Safar Michel E , Blacher Jacques
Published: January 2019

BACKGROUND

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is among the main causes of death in the world. Individual study of cardiovascular risk is an important way to predict CHD risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the added role of the aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) index in the prediction of CHD risk.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2012 to September 2017; 530 patients were included: 99 CHD, 338 non-CHD patients, and 93 nonhypertensives, nondiabetics and non-CHD subjects, whose theoretical PWV were calculated. Theoretical PWV was calculated according to age, blood pressure, gender, and heart rate. The results were expressed as an index ((measured PWV − theoretical PWV)/theoretical PWV) for each patient. The differences observed, the differential diagnostic performance, and the quantification of the added value of diagnostic performance of PWV index were tested using logistic regression, comparisons between receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and decision tree nonlinear methodology.

RESULTS

PWV index (P = 0.006), carotid plaque (P = 0.005), and dyslipidemia (P = 0.04) were the independent modulators of CHD diagnosis. PWV index appears to be the highest specific classifier (81%) compared to carotid plaque (75%) and dyslipidemia (78%). For the decision tree, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the ROC curve for CHD diagnosis were 62%, 83%, and 0.87, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

PWV index yielded added value to CHD by assessment of combined classifiers with clinical determinants and decision tree construction and significantly increased the specificity of the differential diagnostic performances of the common risk factors of CHD in daily clinical practice.
High SNP diversity in the non-toxic indigenous Jatropha curcas germplasm widens the potential of this upcoming major biofuel crop species
Authors: Vandepitte K , Valdés-Rodríquez O A , Sánchez-Sánchez O , De Kort H , Martinez-Herrera J , García-Pérez E , De Meyer T , Pérez-Vázquez A , Muys B , Honnay O
Published: January 2019

Background and Aims

Jatropha curcas (jatropha) is an oil crop cultivated in (sub)tropical regions around the world, and holds great promise as a renewable energy source. However, efforts to fully commercialize jatropha are currently hampered by the lack of genetic diversity in the extant breeding germplasm, and by the toxicity of its seeds meaning that its seed cake cannot be used as a protein source in animal feed, among other constraints. In Mexico, the species’ native range, there are jatropha plants whose seeds are used to prepare traditional meals. This non-toxic jatropha ‘type’ is considered to harbour low genetic variation due to a presumed domestication bottleneck and therefore to be of limited breeding value; yet, very little is known regarding its origin and genetic diversity.

Methods

Using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), we extensively genotyped both indigenous toxic and non-toxic jatropha collected along roads and home gardens throughout southern Mexico.

Key Results

Single nucleotide polymorphism diversity in non-toxic jatropha is relatively high, particularly in northern Veracruz state, the probable origin of this germplasm. Genetic differences between toxic and non-toxic indigenous genotypes are overall quite small. A a genome-wide association study supported a genomic region (on LG 8, scaffold NW_012130064), probably involved in the suppression of seed toxicity.

Conclusions

Conservation actions are urgently needed to preserve this non-toxic indigenous, relatively wild germplasm, having potential as a fuel feedstock, animal feed and food source among other uses. More generally, this work demonstrates the value of conservation genomic research on the indigenous gene pool of economically important plant species.
Effects of macrophage depletion on characteristics of cervix remodeling and pregnancy in CD11b-dtr mice
Authors: Yellon S M , Greaves E , Heuerman A C , Dobyns A E , Norman J E
Published: January 2019

To test the hypothesis that macrophages are essential for remodeling the cervix in preparation for birth, pregnant homozygous CD11b-dtr mice were injected with diphtheria toxin (DT) on days 14 and 16 postbreeding. On day 15 postbreeding, macrophages (F4/80+) were depleted in cervix and kidney, but not in liver, ovary, or other non-reproductive tissues in DT—compared to saline—treated dtr mice or wild-type controls given DT or saline. Within 24 h of DT-treatment, the density of cell nuclei and macrophages declined in cervix stroma in dtr mice versus controls, but birefringence of collagen, as an indication of extracellular cross-linked structure, remained unchanged. Only in the cervix of DT-treated dtr mice was an apoptotic morphology evident in macrophages. DT-treatment did not alter the sparse presence or morphology of neutrophils. By day 18 postbreeding, macrophages repopulated the cervix in DT-treated dtr mice so that the numbers were comparable to that in controls. However, at term, evidence of fetal mortality without cervix ripening occurred in most dtr mice given DT—a possible consequence of treatment effects on placental function. These findings suggest that CD11b+ F4/80+ macrophages are important to sustain pregnancy and are required for processes that remodel the cervix in preparation for parturition.
Conversion of mouse fibroblasts into oligodendrocyte progenitor-like cells through a chemical approach
Authors: Liu Chang , Hu Xu , Li Yawen , Lu Wenjie , Li Wenlin , Cao Nan , Zhu Saiyong , Cheng Jinke , Ding Sheng , Zhang Mingliang
Published: January 2019

Transplantation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) is a promising way for treating demyelinating diseases. However, generation of scalable and autologous sources of OPCs has proven difficult. We previously established a chemical condition M9 that could specifically initiate neural program in mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Here we found that M9 could induce the formation of colonies that undergo mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition at the early stage of reprogramming. These colonies may represent unstable and neural lineage-restricted intermediates that have not established a neural stem cell identity. By modulating the culture signaling recapitulating the principle of OPC development, these intermediate cells could be reprogrammed towards OPC fate. The chemical-induced OPC-like cells (ciOPLCs) resemble primary neural stem cell-derived OPCs in terms of their morphology, gene expression, and the ability of self-renewal. Upon differentiation, ciOPLCs could produce functional oligodendrocytes and myelinate the neuron axons in vitro, validating their OPC identity molecularly and functionally. Therefore, our study provides a non-integrating approach to OPC reprogramming that may ultimately provide an avenue to patient-specific cell-based or in situ regenerative therapy.
Congress of Neurological Surgeons Systematic Review and Evidence-Based Guidelines on the Role of Emerging and Investigational Therapties for the Treatment of Adults With Metastatic Brain Tumors
Authors: Elder J Bradley , Nahed Brian V , Linskey Mark E , Olson Jeffrey J
Published: January 2019

QUESTION

What evidence is available regarding emerging and investigational treatment options for metastatic brain tumors?

TARGET POPULATION

Adult patients with brain metastases.

RECOMMENDATIONS

HIGH-INTENSITY FOCUSED ULTRASOUND

There is insufficient evidence to make a recommendation regarding the use of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for the treatment of patients with brain metastases.

LASER INTERSTITIAL THERMAL THERAPY

There is insufficient evidence to make a recommendation regarding the routine use of laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT), aside from use as part of approved clinical trials.

RADIATION SENSITIZERS

Level 1: The use of temozolomide as a radiation sensitizer is not recommended in the setting of whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) for patients with breast cancer brain metastases.

Level 1: The use of chloroquine as radiation sensitizer is not recommended in the setting of WBRT for patients with brain metastases.

There is insufficient evidence to make a recommendation regarding the routine use of radiation sensitizers, such as motexafin-gadolinium, sodium nitrite, temozolomide, or chloroquine, in other clinical settings for patients with brain metastases.

INTERSTITIAL MODALITIES

There is insufficient evidence to make a recommendation regarding the routine use of existing local therapies, such as interstitial chemotherapy, brachytherapy, or other local modalities, aside from their use in approved clinical trials.

IMMUNE MODULATORS

There is insufficient evidence to make a recommendation regarding the use of immune therapy for brain metastases.

MOLECULAR TARGETED AGENTS

Level 1: The use of afatinib is not recommended in patients with brain metastasis due to breast cancer.

There is insufficient evidence to make recommendations regarding:

the use of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors erlotinib and gefitinib in patients with brain metastasis due to nonsmall cell lung cancer

the use of BRAF inhibitors dabrafenib and vemurafenib in the treatment of patients with brain metastases due to metastatic melanoma

the use of HER2 agents trastuzumab and lapatinib to treat patients with brain metastases due to metastatic breast cancer

the use of vascular endothelial growth factor agents bevacizumab, sunitinib, and sorafenib in the treatment of patients with solid tumor brain metastases.

The full guideline can be found at: https://www.cns.org/guidelines/guidelines-treatment-adults-metastatic-brain-tumors/chapter_9.
An Overview of Conceptual Foundations, Ethical Tensions, and Ethical Frameworks in Public Health
Authors: Siegel Andrew W. , Merritt Maria W.
Published: January 2019

The field of public health ethics has plural foundations in major normative ethical theories, principally consequentialism and deontology, and in ethical concepts such as social justice and human rights. This overview provides some basic background on ethical theory and introduces chapters in the related section of The Oxford Handbook of Public Health Ethics. The four chapters together elucidate the moral foundations of public health ethics. One chapter characterizes public health and describes the ethical challenges raised by its distinctive characteristics, while the next examines the ways in which public health interventions may be morally justifiable. The following two chapters focus, respectively, on justice and human rights, considering the operation of each not only as moral foundations, but also as side constraints in frameworks of public health ethics.
Persons with Disabilities and Public Health Ethics
Authors: Mitra Monika , Long-Bellil Linda , Powell Robyn
Published: January 2019

This chapter draws on medical, social, and legal perspectives to identify and highlight ethical issues pertaining to the treatment, representation, and inclusion of persons with disabilities in public health policy and practice. A brief history of disability in the United States is provided as a context for examining the key ethical issues related to public health policy and practice. Conceptual frameworks and approaches to disability are then described and applied. The chapter then discusses the imperativeness of expanding access to public health programs by persons with disabilities, the need to address implicit and structural biases, and the importance of including persons with disabilities in public health decision-making.
Curriculum and Assessment in Music Education in Russia
Authors: Holmes Alena V.
Published: January 2019

“Music education does not mean educating a musician—it means first of all educating a human being.” This quote from a famous Russian educator Sukhomlinsky was used as the motto for the music education program in the Soviet Union from 1970–1991. The Russian music education system was widely known for excellence in performance and musicianship. This chapter provides an overview of music education movements in prerevolutionary Russia, as well as the rich and controversial history of Soviet music education from 1917 to 1991 and presents an overview of “new” trends in the system of music education from 1991 until 2016. Currently music education is an integral part of the preschool, elementary, and secondary curriculum even though the quality of music program varies depending on region, setting, administration, and individual teachers. According to the 2011 State Educational Standards, music is part of core curriculum in grades 1–9 (ages 6–14) and part of elective curriculum in grades 10–11 (ages 15–17). New curriculum development is now taking place in the general school setting, however, most of it based on the guiding philosophy and methodology of Dmitry Kabalevsky. This chapter explores the scope of music curriculum in preschools, general schools, specialized music schools, and music teacher training programs. It unfolds the methodological approach of Dmitry Kabalevsky and its outcome on the development of Russian music education policies and practice. It provides historical perspective on assessment policies, overview of assessment practices in music education, and discusses the present state of affairs in educational assessment in Russia.
An Overview of Music Tests and Their Uses
Authors: Colwell Richard
Published: January 2019

This chapter details the history and evolution of the use of music tests in both in and out of school situations. The focus is on their importance in supporting teaching and learning as well as providing data for science and culture. Music tests are also found in psychology, medicine, and sociology. Tests of talent and aptitude, music achievement, appreciation and preference, emotion, performance, creativity are covered. The chapter discusses tests used in teacher evaluation, certification, and tests used for other purposes. The chapter concludes with a discussion of ongoing challenges of music testing and the use of music test results.
Assessment of Creative Potential in Music
Authors: Webster Peter
Published: January 2019

This chapter presents a review of important concepts for assessing creative work as noted in both the general literature and work in music teaching and learning. Definitions are established for terms such as “creativity,” “creative potential,” “naïve versus expert,” “person, product, process and place,” and “convergent versus divergent thinking”, and “creative achievement.” A case is made for the distinction between these and other key terms in the literature. The notions of levels of creative work is sstressed. Past research studies in the assessment of creative potential are reviewed including a summary of all published work using the Measures of Creative Thinking in Music (MTCM). Related work in psychology and directions for future study are noted.
Music Teacher Evaluation
Authors: Orzolek Douglas C.
Published: January 2019

This chapter outlines the nature of music teacher evaluation found in existing and related literature and research. From these writings, there are an abundance of emergent themes that provide stakeholders with an opportunity to examine this topic and consider its application in their own settings. These themes include ideas related to the following: the intent of teacher evaluation; the role of teacher evaluation; what an effective teacher is; the importance of multifaceted evaluation systems; the place of student learning in the evaluative process; the various forms of evidence used to evaluate educators; the fact that research and practice should be intertwined in developing evaluation systems; the role of testing; the degree to which observation and self-reflection should be involved in teacher evaluation; the importance of clear and concise goals for learners; and the impact that systems of evaluation will have on the educators, schools, students, and American education as a whole. This chapter intends to allow stakeholders the opportunity to reflect on all of these issues and challenges.
Challengesto Reliability and Validity in the Evaluation of Music Teaching
Authors: Goe Laura , Brophy Timothy S.
Published: January 2019

The evaluation of music teachers has become increasingly important in the United States and internationally, with the goal of ensuring that students are being taught by highly qualified, effective teachers. National teaching standards, complex evaluation rubrics, and trained evaluators are all used in an effort to achieve valid and reliable results, especially since job security may be at stake. While standardized rubrics are widely used for the evaluation of teaching practice, these rubrics were developed with a focus primarily on teachers in academic subjects. While there is research evidence that some of these rubrics may be valid for differentiating performance among academic subject teachers, there is no evidence that these are valid for music teachers. In addition, measuring teachers’ contributions to student learning growth is also a requirement in some evaluation systems, and for music teachers, this requirement presents unique challenges.
Music Assessment Policy in Africa
Authors: Nzewi Meki
Published: January 2019

This treatise on music education assessment policy in Africa preludes typical, African instructive allegory that primes sober contemplation of portentous issues. It thereafter probes: the epistemological forte of humanism that will drive and percolate Africa-sensed assessment policy indicators; the utility conceptualizations and interactive imperatives of Africa-sensed musical arts science that should mark classroom education; integrity of indigenous policy heritage in enduring humane societal systems; factors deterring Africa’s bureaucratic elite from legislating cultural paradigms of human-focused music curriculum and assessment policies. Viability of an Africa-generic theory-in-practice premise in methodological and assessment designs will be clarified. Derived pointers will affirm that essential knowledge of a subject field should propel its proactive assessment policy. Current extrinsic dispositions toward culture-sensed music education policies in African countries will be sampled to argue assessment policies that should advance core humanning and societal-management roles of African musical arts heritage central to containing widespread techno-human mindedness and adversities.
Assessment in the Kodály Classroom
Authors: Leithold-Bowcock Susan , Kay Ann
Published: January 2019

This chapter describes ways in which students in Kodály-based classrooms can be assessed for skills competencies, and makes the case that the acquisition of skills accompanied by assessment is the key to both musicianship and brain development. After a brief description of the Kodály philosophy, pedagogy, and its adaptation in the United States, it discusses the integrated K-5 music curriculum-instruction-assessment system in the Owatonna Public Schools District #761, in Owatonna, Minnesota, that has been continuously updated since it was first started over twenty-five years ago. The chapter then provides examples of each segment and describes how the teachers choose skills to assess, create and use rubrics, and conduct assessments. In addition, it includes examples of assessment in Kodály-based band, sixth-grade composition, and eighth-grade choir classes from other schools. Lastly, it addresses the application of national standards in the Kodály classroom.
Assessment in Dalcroze Pedagogy
Authors: Eisenreich Cassandra , Juntunen Marja-Leena
Published: January 2019

This chapter addresses the target areas, criteria, forms, practices, and tools of assessment in Dalcroze pedagogy, also known as Dalcroze Eurhythmics—education in, through, and for music that integrates body movement (rhythmics), ear-training (solfège), and improvisation and recommends that music is effectively experienced, expressed, understood, and studied through the interaction of sound, sound perception, and neuromuscular response. The chapter also describes in short the aims, content areas, principles, and applications of Dalcroze pedagogy. It brings out the complexity and challenges of assessment in Dalcroze teaching and invites practitioners and Dalcroze training centers to work toward shared assessment guidelines, particularly essential in teacher preparation, while simultaneously acknowledging the importance of context and student-specific assessment target areas and criteria in a variety of (music) educational settings.
Assessing Music Listening
Authors: Thompson Keith
Published: January 2019

Music listening is defined as a multifaceted process through which individuals become actively involved in making sense of the sounds, feelings, and associations that are part of the listening experience. This sense-making involves complex mental processes resulting in unique musical experiences created by individual listeners. Listening is a way of doing music. While each listening encounter is highly personalized and covert, various components can be shared through verbal, visual, gestural transductions and these provide a basis for assessing music listening. It is suggested that the emphasis in assessment of music listening be on the degree to which the listener successfully engages in the process of sense-making, rather than being limited to the sounds the listener hears. Examples of assessment strategies are provided.
Spotlight on Children and Young People with Complex Special Needs
Authors: Farrell Helen
Published: January 2019

As Donald Rumsfeld, former US Secretary of Defense stated in February 2002, “there are known knowns … there are things we know that we know … there are known unknowns … that is to say, there are things that we now know we don’t know.” There are an estimated 1 billion persons around the world who live with complex special needs. Multidisciplinary special music education practitioner teams devote extraordinary time and energy to nurture musical communities that are inclusive of diverse cohorts of children and young people. In this chapter, Allan, Laurence, Catherine, Karen, Mary, and Brigit help tell the story. The chapter focuses on this question: What and where are the challenging, sometimes-controversial dilemmas, cultures, and big issues for those who share a common mission and vision of quality musical experiences and activities for all? The chapter undertakes a systematic review of some of the relevant information and scholarly evidence-based research in a diversity of disciplines. There appears to be cause for cautious optimism despite noisy contests of challenging, sometimes controversial dilemmas, cultures, and big issues. Provision of quality musical experiences and activities for benefit of all students appears to have progressed.
Learning Sexuality and Gender
Authors: Thoreson Ryan R.
Published: January 2019

In recent years, advocates around the globe have drawn attention to worrying rates of discrimination and violence against LGBTQ youth, including youth in schools. LGBTQ students are at heightened risk of bullying and harassment, exclusion from school curricula, discriminatory treatment, and even expulsion from the school environment. While schools can function as sites of mistreatment of LGBTQ youth, they can also advance rights and well-being by providing resources, knowledge, and affirmation to students exploring their gender and sexuality. The development of protective school policies, teacher training, LGBTQ student groups, and inclusive curricula have all functioned to make schools safer and more welcoming for students. The following chapter explores the difficulties that LGBTQ youth continue to experience in different contexts around the globe. It details how state and non-state actors have increasingly recognized a responsibility to protect LGBTQ youth from discrimination and violence, including under widely ratified agreements like the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It argues that more work remains to be done to ensure that LGBTQ students are free from mistreatment in school environments, especially in terms of ensuring that LGBTQ advocates can work on children’s rights issues, implementing protections enacted by supportive states, and responding to backlash from opponents of LGBTQ rights.
Stalnaker on the Essential Effect of Assertion
Authors: Clapp Lenny
Published: January 2019

This chapter is concerned with answering this question: What is Stalnaker’s Grice-inspired model of communication, and how does this general model guide and constrain an account of the speech act of assertion? In Section 1, the author explains and motivates Stalnaker’s general Grice-inspired model of communication, and then in Section 2 examines how this model guides and constrains an account of the speech act of assertion and thereby leads to Stalnaker’s claim concerning the “essential effect” of assertion. In Section 3, the author considers two challenges for Stalnaker’s claim: the first challenge concerns assertions of necessary truths, and the second concerns assertions of propositions that are (already) commonly believed. Finally, in Section 4, the author briefly considers a more fundamental challenge for the general Grice-inspired model of communication within which Stalnaker’s claim is formulated.
Can Groups Assert That P?
Authors: Tollefsen Deborah
Published: January 2019

When a group or institution issues a declarative statement, what sort of speech act is this? Is it the assertion of a single individual (perhaps the group’s spokesperson or leader) or the assertion of all or most of the group members? Or is there a sense in which the group itself asserts that p? If assertion is a speech act, then who is the actor in the case of group assertion? These are the questions this chapter aims to address. Whether groups themselves can make assertions or whether a group of individuals can jointly assert that p depends, in part, on what sort of speech act assertion is. The literature on assertion has burgeoned over the past few years, and there is a great deal of debate regarding the nature of assertion. John MacFarlane has helpfully identified four theories of assertion. Following Sandy Goldberg, we can call these the attitudinal account, the constitutive rule account, the common-ground account, and the commitment account. I shall consider what group assertion might look like under each of these accounts and doing so will help us to examine some of the accounts of group assertion (often presented as theories of group testimony) on offer. I shall argue that, of the four accounts, the commitment account can best be extended to make sense of group assertion in all its various forms.
Methodologies for Categories in Motion
Authors: Craig Maxine Leeds
Published: January 2019

The concept of intersectionality has profoundly shaped sociological research on bodies and embodiment. While single-axis analyses of race or gender were common in sociology before the late 1980s, they appear inadequate now. Nonetheless, the concept of intersectionality has been critiqued for its weddedness to identitarian projects, and applications of intersectionality have been critiqued for failing to move beyond additive approaches. This chapter highlights examples of research on bodies and embodiment that employ methodologies that realize intersectionality’s promise. Examples of ethnographic, autoethnographic, archival, textual, interview, and mixed methods are presented as methodologies that investigate the simultaneous force of multiple social structures. These methods involve identity categories but treat them as always in motion. Keeping categories in motion within sociology of the body entails accounting for individual bodily change, contextual and historical change in the available identity categories, and change in the meanings that are socially attached to forms of embodiment.
Ellipsis and Psycholinguistics
Authors: Frazier Lyn
Published: January 2019

Psycholinguistic studies bear on the grammar of ellipsis in many ways. They can shore up the empirical base of linguistics, through careful testing of multiple participants and items, and they permit testing of subtle judgments involving interactions. Processing evidence affords new types of arguments, e.g. based on syntactic indices being copied into an elided constituent despite semantic anomaly, and it highlights the fact that linguistic intuitions—judgments of acceptability—are not judgments of grammaticality, raising the possibility that the acceptability of certain ellipsis sentences may be best explained by (repair) operations of the parser, not by the grammar. Experimental results are brought to bear on the issues of the existence of syntactic structure in the ellipsis site, on the nature of the recoverability condition, and on licensing.
Ellipsis in Transformational Grammar
Authors: Lasnik Howard , Funakoshi Kenshi
Published: January 2019

This chapter examines three themes concerning ellipsis that have been extensively discussed in transformational generative grammar: structure, recoverability, and licensing. It reviews arguments in favor of the analysis according to which the ellipsis site is syntactically fully represented, and compares the two variants of this analysis (the deletion analysis and the LF-copying analysis). It is concluded that the deletion analysis is superior to the LF-copying analysis. A discussion of recoverability follows, which concludes that in order for elided material to be recoverable, a semantic identity condition must be satisfied, but that is not a sufficient condition: syntactic or formal identity must be taken into account. The chapter finally considers licensing. It reviews some proposals in the literature about what properties of licensing heads and what local relation between the ellipsis site and the licensing head are relevant to ellipsis licensing.
Kiswahili and Shingazidja
Authors: Patin Cédric , Manus Sophie
Published: January 2019

This chapter is a detailed discussion of ellipsis in Kiswahili and Shingazidja, two languages belonging to the G.40 group of Bantu languages. Building upon various arguments, including the use of tests established by Ngonyani (1996, 1998) and Greenberg (2005) and the examination of prosodic patterns, it is shown that several kinds of ellipsis are possible in these languages: clausal ellipses (gapping, stripping, argument cluster coordination), sluicing and fragments, comparative ellipsis, N-deletion, etc. Special attention is given to gapping and V-stranding VP-ellipsis, a structure that has previously been discussed in the literature on Bantu languages. The differences between the two languages, such as the fact that right-node raising is only possible in Shingazidja, are also addressed. The final section discusses the absence of two types of predicate ellipsis in these languages, namely English-like VP-ellipsis and English-like pseudogapping.
Ellipsis in Construction Grammar
Authors: Goldberg Adele E. , Perek Florent
Published: January 2019

This chapter emphasizes the shared communicative motivation of ellipsis constructions that leads to cross-linguistic similarities and certain predictable functional constraints. More specifically, ellipsis is licensed by a system of motivated constructions, i.e. learned pairings of form and function. Constructions capture a range of restrictions on form and function, including those related to semantics, discourse context, register, genre, and dialect. Generalizations across constructions are captured by a network of constructions with partially overlapping representations. Semantic recoverability is facilitated not by copying and deleting syntactic structure at the ellipsis site, but by a cognitive process that ‘points’ to information that is, typically but not always, available from the memory trace of an antecedent. This mechanism is independently required for fragments, non-elliptical expressions such as ditto and respectively, and the many examples that do not display the ‘connectivity’ effects that are predicted by copy and deletion accounts.
Introduction
Authors: Martin Gunther
Published: January 2019

This handbook examines the rhetorical nature and techniques of Demosthenes’ speeches. It consists of essays written by scholars representing a diverse range of disciplines who offer their insights on the Greek orator, his actions, policies, and works. It also considers Demosthenes’ key institutional, political, social, and cultural contexts in relation to his speeches and actions. This volume shows how these different areas—the man, his rhetoric, his political activity, and the various contexts—are interlinked and illustrate one another.