Curating Within Music Ensembles

The central question for curating innovative performances by ensembles, which connect to their moment in time and to their audiences, is deciding what to play, and why. What repertoire shall we play? Or perhaps, what shall we arrange? What should we learn and practice, and what should we commission? And underlying these questions is the wonder-filled query: Why? What is the magical combination that informs these choices? I explored these central questions via a two-hour virtual conversation with leaders of three very different ensembles. My starting point for this exploration is that music ensemble leaders are involved in a complex process of making choices in relation to the intention of their ensemble and the time and place of the performance. Even if they do not already use the word, I suggest that curating is what these ensembles are doing. In order to grasp the nature of curation, we can learn a great deal from the process as it develops within an ensemble.

Mannheimia haemolytica serovars associated with respiratory disease in cattle in Great Britain

Background Mannheimia haemolytica is commonly associated with respiratory disease in cattle worldwide as a cause of fibrinous pneumonia, bronchopneumonia and pleuritis. M. haemolytica is further subdivided into 12 serovars, however not all are considered to be pathogenic in cattle. The study aim was to determine the most common serovars of M. haemolytica associated with respiratory disease in cattle in Great Britain, which is currently unknown and could be useful information for clinicians when considering preventative strategies. Results One hundred four M. haemolytica isolates isolated from bovine clinical pathology and post-mortem samples from pneumonia cases between 2016 and 2018 were tested using a multiplex PCR assay to identify M. haemolytica serovars A1, A2 and A6. 46 isolates (44.2%) typed as M. haemolytica serovar A1, 31 (29.8%) as M. haemolytica serovar A2 and 18 isolates (17.3%) as M. haemolytica serovar A6. Nine isolates (8.7%) were not A1, A2 or A6 so were considered to belong to other serovars or were not typable. Conclusion This study highlights the importance of M. haemolytica serovars other than A1 which may be responsible for respiratory disease in cattle and could help guide the veterinarian when making choices on preventative vaccination programmes.

Strategic Lobbying and the Pressure to Compromise Member Interests

Do lobbyists always advocate for the interests of the members or clients employing them, or, under competing pressures, do they sometimes take positions on bills reflecting the interests of lawmakers or other lobbyists? Do they, in fact, lobby strategically by making choices that balance competing pressures in pursuit of goals like furthering their careers? Most lobbying research assumes that interest groups and lobbyists are the same, but I argue that the interests of lobbyists may be different from those they represent, which I test with a model of strategic lobbying using data on positions lobbyists took on bills in Congress from 2006 to 2017 made available by MapLight. I find that lobbyists sometimes do take positions at odds with member interests under pressure from legislators, other lobbyists, and the president, though some groups can constrain their lobbyists. I conclude by speculating on what this means for lobbying as a form of representation.

Shame

Reliance on mutual aid is a distinctive characteristic of human biology. Consequently, a central adaptive problem for our ancestors was the potential or actual spread of reputationally damaging information about the self – information that would decrease the inclination of other group members to render assistance. The emotion of shame appears to be the solution engineered by natural selection to defend against this threat. The existing evidence suggests that shame is a neurocomputational program that orchestrates various elements of the cognitive architecture in the service of (i) deterring the individual from making choices wherein the personal benefits are exceeded by the prospective costs of being devalued by others, (ii) preventing negative information about the self from reaching others, and (iii) minimizing the adverse effects of social devaluation when it occurs. The flow of costs (e.g., punishment) and benefits (e.g., income, aid during times of hardship) in human societies is regulated to an important extent by this interlinked psychology of social evaluation and shame (as well as other social emotions). For example, the intensity of shame that laypeople express at the prospect of committing each of various offenses closely matches the intensity of the actual offense-specific punishments called for by criminal laws, including modern laws and ancient laws that are millennia old. Because shame, like pain, causes personal suffering and sometimes leads to hostile behavior, shame has been termed a “maladaptive” and “ugly” emotion. However, an evolutionary psychological analysis suggests that the shame system is elegantly designed to deter injurious choices and make the best of a bad situation.

Uplifting the socio-economic empowerment of women through handicraft industry

Empowerment is seen as being capable of making choices about job, marriage, mobility, entertainment, and the number of children. The present study focused on the role of handicraft businesswomen, their experiences, and the role of handicraft business as a tool of empowerment for women in Gilgit, Pakistan. The study was limited to the experiences of women producing handicrafts and viewed as socio-economic empowerment for those who are producing handicrafts. This study employed a qualitative research design. The thematic analysis of interviews of the craftswomen showed that they were empowering themselves economically and socially through handicraft business. The research findings reinforced the objectives of the study that the craftswomen perceive empowerment as economic independence and the income generated through handicrafts strengthens their economic as well as social position in society. This study concludes that their economic and social position becomes stronger after starting to earn income. These women also felt like the source of change in terms of motivation, inspiration, and encouragement for the other women in the society. They viewed and regarded the skill of handicrafts as the source of income and financial support for their families.

Exploring Caregivers’ Clothing Choices for Individuals With Severe Alzheimer's Disease: An Application of the Theories of Self-Complexity and Choosing for Others

The number of older Americans as well as those living with Alzheimer's is rapidly growing. Alzheimer's dementia is a disease that causes problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. The role of caregivers is important, as they are the individuals who assist those with Alzheimer's in completing not just medical tasks, but fundamental activities of daily living, such as selecting garments to wear and getting dressed. The purpose of this study was to understand how caregivers make such choices. Interviews with twelve caregivers of individuals with severe stage Alzheimer's were conducted in nursing homes in the United States. Four themes emerged: The Role of Proxy, Routine Selections, Gift-Giving for Loved Ones, and Triangular Relationships. In all cases, the recipient's preferences were important to caregivers’ choices. Further research on the outcomes of making choices for others is needed.

Exploiting context-dependent preferences to protect borrowers

Focusing bias is one of the key contributors to over-borrowing. It describes how people, when making choices, give disproportionate attention and weight to attributes in which their options differ more. In a loan decision, a consumer excessively focuses on the eye-catching difference between getting the loan and not getting it, while ignoring the smaller differences between making and not making repayments. Here, we show a simple trick that nudges the consumer to increase attention on the repayment dimension. In two experimental studies involving one hypothetical loan decision, we demonstrate that the salience of getting the loan can be decreased if one offered plan includes high initial installments. This steeply decreasing installment plan (i.e., with initially high installments that decrease over time) offered alongside the usual flat installments plan (i.e., with equally sized repayments through the whole term) increases consumers’ attention to making repayments, and consequently, they attend less to obtaining the loan. When the choice set includes the steeply decreasing plan, we observe a decreased preference for the flat installment plan and a shift toward not borrowing. Additionally, making repayments on the loan is perceived as a greater burden, and more attention is given to making repayments when the steep plan is present. Policy may combat harmful loan consumption by prescribing the presentation of loan offers such that at least one option includes high initial repayments, which increases attention on making repayments.