Lead Actor Research Articles

A Note from the Editor

A Note from the Editor Lisa S. Brenner The week after the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States, I passed a sign on my commute to work that contained only one word: “Resist!” I couldn’t get that word out of my head, wondering what actions count as resistance and prompting me to focus the 2018 special issue for Theatre Topics on “Theatre and Protest.” The idea of protest certainly felt ripe: protests in the streets of my town with shouts of “This is what democracy looks like”; thousands of people flooding cites worldwide in women’s marches; and individuals gathering at airports to thwart the implementation of Trump’s travel ban. On the eve of his inauguration, theatre companies across the United States, from Broadway houses to community stages, participated in the Ghostlight Project “to stand for and protect the values of inclusion, participation, and compassion for everyone—regardless of race, class, religion, country of origin, immigration status, (dis)ability, age, gender identity, or sexual orientation” (Alick et al.). I noted as well that this special issue would mark fifty years since 1968, surely a revolutionary year. From the civil rights and feminist movements to opposition to the Vietnam War and consumerism, 1968 marked a worldwide escalation of social conflict and rebellion. The theatre of 1968 both reflected and fed such protests. To name but a select few: in the States, Hair premiered on Broadway; the Living Theatre returned to America with Paradise Now; Larry Neal published his celebrated essay “The Black Arts Movement”; and the Yippie movement enacted the “Festival” at the Chicago Democratic National Convention. In Paris, artists, students, and workers joined together to occupy the Odeon Theatre; in Czechoslovakia, playwright Václav Havel published a manifesto calling for liberalization; influenced by the Black Arts movement, South African theatre practitioners used their art in the struggle against apartheid; and Pilar Campesino’s Verano Negro premiered at the Teatro Estudiantil de la Universidad de México (foreshadowing the massacre of unarmed students by military police later that year). Pondering this history in conjunction with the current moment—anti-immigration sentiment, refugee crises, the dangers of global warming—and my position as both a theatre professor and practitioner, I wondered what kind of actions would occur as 2018 unfolded: Would theatres be shut down? Would students take over college campuses, like they did at Columbia University in ’68? But about six months after Trump’s inauguration the sign on my commute to work had changed. It still contained only one word, but the sign now read, “Persist!” And six months after that, as I worked on fine-tuning this special issue, the sign no longer contained any words at all, but only a peace sign. What had shifted for this protester to become a cheerleader, to then be rendered speechless? I am currently unaware of any artists shutting down theatres; antithetically, the lead actor of the upcoming Pretty Woman: The Musical lately commented, “I think with the state of the world that we’re in right now, art sometimes has to go to the other side. So, a great story like this—a fun, beautiful fairy tale—is just what we need at this time, when life is so heavy” (qtd. in Duboff). My students told me that they did not attend the Women’s March this year because they had rehearsal, feared crowds or their own safety, or could not afford to take the day off from work. I thought more about those signs. Clearly, protesters were still resisting and persisting, but in my daily interactions, people seemed anxious, fearful, and beaten down. Recently, however, I gained new inspiration about theatre’s capacity for resistance. My department produced Pia Wilson’s Down Neck, a family drama about the 1967 rebellions in Newark. To [End Page ix] provide context for our audiences, we organized a salon that featured scenes from various plays dealing with rebellion (Detroit ’67, Twilight: Los Angeles 1992), followed by remarks from Newark scholars and longtime married couple Junius Williams and Antoinette Ellis-Williams (fig. 1). The two spoke of four words connected with rebellion: anger, fear, hope, and vision. To...

Interrogation/ police interview: myth, realities and challenges

The police interview or interrogation, one of the major tools of criminal investigation is no longer confined to pre-trial investigations, but transcends to forensic labs and the Court rooms of learned Judges. The investigators, forensic experts and prosecutors need to act in synergy to improve the performance of the Criminal justice system. In this backdrop, the article examines the subject of interrogation on a broad canvass of constitutional and legal parameters, police professionalism and evidentiary value and human- civil rights issues. It underlines the need of the lead actors of the criminal justice system properly understanding certain myths and challenges connected with interrogation so that they can better appreciate the evidence or inputs generated through interrogation, at professional plane. It also discusses as how the science and technology have become a major aid in overcoming many bottlenecks in the traditionalmethods of interrogation or police interview.

Public Health Surveillance Strengthening in the Kingdom of Swaziland

ObjectiveTo enable coordination of Swaziland Ministry of Health units forpublic health surveillance (PHS).IntroductionIn the Kingdom of Swaziland, a baseline assessment found thatmultiple functional units within the Ministry of Health (MoH) performPHS activities. There is limited data sharing and coordination betweenunits; roles and responsibilities are unclear. The Epidemiology andDisease Control Unit (EDCU) is mandated to coordinate efforts andstrengthen PHS through implementing Integrated Disease Surveillanceand Response (IDSR) to fulfill requirements of International HealthRegulations (2005) (IHR[2005]), and the Global Health SecurityAgenda (GHSA).MethodsA baseline assessment that included key informant interviewsof unit representatives was conducted. Data flows were developed.Results were disseminated at a facilitated stakeholder workshop withunit representatives. A database was then built containing all distinctactivities found within the IDSR Technical Guidelines (2010), IHR[2005], GHSA Action Packages, the baseline assessment, a previousCDC IDSR assessment, and suggestions from the stakeholderworkshop. Activities were categorized by IDSR function (identify,report, analyze, investigate, prepare, respond, provide feedback,and evaluate) and designated as an ongoing “role” or a one-timeimplementation activity. A document containing all PHS roles waspresented at a facilitated consensus workshop; unit representativesdiscussed and designated a lead unit/agency for each role.One-time implementation activities were assigned a lead actor, targetcompletion date, and compiled into a 3-year IDSR Roadmap to guideimplementation.ResultsA Roles and Responsibilities Framework was developed thatpresents a consensus on lead units for all roles within an IDSR-basedPHS system that fulfills requirements of IHR [2005] and GHSA.This document enables coordination by EDCU. The IDSR Roadmapprovides time-bound activities with assigned actors to implementIDSR. EDCU is using these documents to guide coordination ofmultiple MOH units already performing PHS activities.ConclusionsCoordinating well-established programs that already collectepidemiological data increases efficiency and enables more completeepidemiologic analysis. Stakeholder engagement and clarity of rolesis critical for EDCU to coordinate PHS. Consolidating activitiesfor IDSR, IHR [2005], and GHSA in guiding documents enables astreamlined approach for public health surveillance strengthening.Future work aims to achieve data sharing through an electronicplatform and introduce data standards for interoperability among datasets.K

Love Does Not Mean Never Having to Say You’re Sorry

Love Does Not Mean Never Having to Say You’re Sorry

Measure for Measure

Reviewed by: Measure for Measure Rachel Wifall Presented by Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival at Boscobel House and Gardens, Garrison, NY. June 25–August 28, 2016. Directed by Davis McCallum. Scenic design by John McDermott. Lighting design by Eric Southern. Costume design by Amy Clark. Sound design by Stowe Nelson. Choreography by Tracy Bersley. With Mark Bedard (Provost), Julia Coffey (Mariana/Mistress Overdone), Shawn Fagan (Angelo), Zachary Fine (Lucio), LeRoy McClain (Claudio), Sean McNall (Duke Vincentio), Stephen Paul Johnson (Escalus), Annie Purcell (Isabella), Kurt Rhoads (Pompey), and others. The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is located on the historic Boscobel estate in the breathtaking Hudson River Valley, approximately fifty miles from New York City. Theatergoers are encouraged to come early to picnic on the grounds, and excellent concessions are also available. Performances are conducted under a large tent on a sandy floor with seats rising on three sides; "upstage" provides an entranceway for performers and a view over a wide green field and the river below. Four shows played in rotation this summer, the thirtieth anniversary of fine theater at this wonderful destination. On the night of this performance of Measure for Measure, the weather lent drama to the show. At times actors needed to project their voices over the din of heavy rains, but Pompey used the elements to advantage, donning a colorful shower cap and hitting the ground at a loud crash of thunder. [End Page 348] In his director's note in the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival 2016 season program, Davis McCallum wrote, "Measure for Measure contains two worlds: an 'overworld' of government, politics, and law; and an underworld of sex, disease and licentiousness. Moving between these two worlds is the enigmatic Duke, who is described as 'one who, above all other strifes, contended especially to know himself.'" McCallum further examined this division to analyze the concerns of the play at large, which "exists in a kind of identity crisis, playfully poised between comedy and tragedy, between a fart joke and prayer, between the longing of the flesh (or what Claudio calls 'this sensible warm motion') and the longing of the soul (or what Isabella calls 'our glassy essence')." This sense of duality was strongly supported by the use of costumes in his production of the play: while government officials and anyone to do with the law and the administration of "justice" wore purple (even the prison inmates' uniforms were purple striped), those associated with pleasure and personal freedom, such as the bawd Mistress Overdone, wore bright clothing of varied colors. Angelo, the most repressed of all, wore all black, with a purple armband as the badge of his authority; on the opposite end of the spectrum, Pompey the tapster was a transgender woman in heels and short shorts, sporting small tops, makeup and accessories that featured every color of the rainbow. The comic and licentious Lucio was decked out in tight shiny bellbottom jeans, a multicolor blazer featuring a complex design of birds, white leather shoes, funky shades, a wide white rhinestone belt and large rings. When in his role of duke and not disguised as a humble friar, Duke Vincentio—the character who moves between the two worlds and seeks to understand them—was dressed somewhere in the middle. While his suit was of one color, it was not purple, like Escalus's, but maroon; however, his shoes, ruff and cape were gold, as was the gold "bling" around his neck and the large ring that he bestowed upon Angelo. In a world in which women were defined by their sexual relationships to men, Isabella—the pure idealist—was clad in the simple purity of white and pale yellow, set apart from either of these earthly realms. While Lucio seemed to be of the 1970s and some of Pompey's gear echoed pop culture of the 1980s, the overall production did not evoke any specific time period, which is perhaps appropriate for a play that deals with universal and timeless questions regarding justice and morality. The lead actors gave strong performances. Isabella (Annie Purcell) came off as persuasive and sincere in her high-minded appeals, and Angelo (Shawn Fagan) took us convincingly through a range of moods...

“Damn him and the spikes”: Richard III, riot, and the formation of an Australian colonial theatre public

AbstractOn 26 December 1833, the first licensed theatre in New South Wales offered its first Shakespeare play—Colley Cibber’s adaptation of Richard III. The event entailed a riot and the lead actor being charged with assault for hurling an audience member from the stage. Using insights drawn from scholarship on the Covent Garden “Old Price Riots” in 1809, this essay investigates the Sydney Theatre Royal’s 1833 disturbance as an indicative phase in the development of a colonial theatre public. Thirty years after this troubled beginning, majestic theatre venues hosted international stars throughout Australia’s major cities. What constituted this rapid transformation? The press, satire, and travesty were instrumental through their vividly performative negotiation of the contradictions of this British penal colony’s love for Shakespeare. Of this phenomenon, Richard III, a drama of disrupted authority and (with Othello) the most popular play on the colonial Australian stage, proffers the ideal case study.

Holding together logistical worlds: Friction, seams and circulation in the emerging ‘global warehouse’

This paper examines logistics in the space of action between production and consumption to provide (1) a rethinking of logistical power, not as seamless flow but through seam space and friction, and (2) a re-conceptualisation of cargo mobilities, as the dynamic articulation between things being freight cargo, and being products and goods. The paper uses empirical research on cargo movement in Northern Europe to reveal the frictions resulting from freight cargo’s spatial ordering and from systemic imbalances in trade flows. It shows the multiple lines of friction produced by and productive of cargo mobilities across maritime and terrestrial space. It argues that logistics is an art of accommodating this and creating competitive advantage through making interruptions, discontinuities or seams in the spaces of flow. This is done through different temporal logics of ordering physical cargo sequenced across maritime and terrestrial space. The paper further shows the frictions between the physical spaces and flows of freight and the corresponding code-space and data flows. Bespoke corporate systems translate freight cargo to data and provide visibility to actors such that logistical and regulatory work can be anticipated and planned. Yet they do so through specific lines of sight. Bespoke systems also create seam spaces between networks as they simultaneously make frictions between rival corporate systems. The effect is to generate a contested, fractured space in which at stake is whether logistics works to further the interests of lead actors in the distribution chain linking up the global factory or as a tool of supply chain capitalism that spans continents and connects material supply to consumer, in which logistical actors increasingly perform the role of contractors in a global warehouse.

The Hairy Ape

The Hairy Ape

Stepping out of the frame: contemporary jingju actor training in Taiwan

This article examines how intercultural training affects an actor’s performance and self-definition in jingju (Peking/Beijing ‘opera’), focusing on the historical context of 1980s Taiwan. It takes Kingdom of Desire (1986), an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, as a particular example to demonstrate radical transformations of an established performing arts tradition. Wu Hsing-Kuo, the director as well as the lead actor of Kingdom of Desire, provides insight into his acting experience to highlight how a contemporary actor combines the traditional training methods of jingju and modern dance to recreate Shakespeare’s canonical work.

Transform

In a cultural context of rapid change, the pressure is on to transform bodies, material possessions, and the environment, simply to keep up. Self-improvement, home renovation, behaviour modification, makeovers, extreme or otherwise are sold as essential components of a responsible, fully functioning, and appropriately aspirational member of society. Transformation may involve the pursuit of something quite new, or take the form of a nostalgic restitution of an earlier state. It may be the result of an intense, life-changing experience. Whatever form it takes, to transform is to be driven by a desire for something better. Transformation is a kind of alchemy or metamorphosis, but there is no secrecy here, or intimations of magic. Rather, the change is quite public, a cause for celebration, and the process itself laid bare as a source of fascination. For the gods in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, transformation was doled out to mortals as punishment for greed, narcissism, and other such flaws and misdeeds. In pantomime, the transformation, or disclosing scene, had the lead actors transform into the players for the comic harlequinade while in full view of the audience. The concept of Renaissance self-fashioning, as discussed by Stephen Greenblatt (Renaissance Self-Fashioning: From More to Shakespeare, 1980), details how selected sixteenth-century “gentlemen” decisively transformed their subjectivity in an early process of identity formation. Today, like the robots (“Transformers”) in the film of the same name (Dir. Michael Bay, 2007), proponents of popular culture have many means by which to transform themselves, and the world. This issue of M/C Journal presents a selection of critical essays that investigate the impetus to transform, its current and historical manifestations in a reflexive process of self-fashioning and manufacturing, and various links to a cultural will to modify or control “the natural.” The invited essay from Jane Goodall offers a framing discussion of historical and current manifestations, or transformations, of Lewis Carroll’s Red Queen. The essay raises questions of identity, and focuses on transformation as potentially disruptive of the order of nature, social hierarchies, and the laws of destiny. In her interrogation of the interaction of the Red Queen and the mirror, Goodall illustrates the tradition of self-fashioning, and the role of myth and fantasy in charting its history. Her essay introduces the concerns of the shorter articles that comprise this issue.

Ethics of the firm, for the firm or in the firm? Purpose of extrinsic and intrinsic CSR in Switzerland

Purpose Despite the increased recognition and emphasis on corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a topic and highly formalised CSR control systems, numerous well-publicised problems and scandals often involving multinational enterprises (MNEs) continue to emerge. These companies are mostly extrinsically motivated in CSR. They operate with highly formalised CSR systems that, in many cases, miss the prevention of anti-social and illegal behaviour. This might reflect the failure of extrinsic CSR to integrate the ethical dimension and/or the failure of intrinsic CSR to formalise and thus benefit from economies of scale. Currently, the conviction is growing that if CSR is to have a meaningful impact, it should be a matter of intrinsic motives, morale and ethical values rather than a formalised management tool. This research aims to focus on a sample of small and large companies in Switzerland, aiming at a comparison of key motives for CSR related to actual CSR implementation, performance and company size. Design/methodology/approach The study examined two groups: seven owner-managers of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and seven managers of MNEs. Each group met for two focus group discussions that were qualitatively and visually analysed using MAXQDA. Findings The results show that CSR implementation in the examined Swiss SMEs is more related to moral commitment than to profit maximisation. These companies are often driven by soft assets, such as networks, by the nexus of mission and value set; by a system of initiatives and integrated behaviour; by proximity and informal, flat organisational structures; by the aspiration and ambition of craftsmanship or excellent service (instead of profit); by community involvement; by recruiting from the local community; by the willingness to grow slowly and steadily; by the avoidance of atomic markets; and finally, by the mental set up and sociological tradition of the stewardship concept. This contrasts with the extrinsically motivated approach of the MNEs under research. While MNEs follow their approach of “ethics for the firm that must pay”, the findings here identified potential transition cases of “ethics in the firm” and “ethics of the firm” within Swiss SMEs. This is consistent with others, resembling the need of this dichotomy to be revised. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectorial approach limits the degree to which motives can clearly be attributed to actual CSR performance or company size. Practical implications The results imply that policymakers, public institutions, scientific community, etc. should be careful when establishing systems that favour financial returns from CSR engagement, because, first, other research showed that a behaviour attributed to extrinsic motives is mostly perceived as dishonest and misleading, for instance, consumers. Second, extrinsic motivation might crowd out morale and paying lead actors for behaving altruistically or philanthropically might decline their intrinsic motivation. Notably, the crowding out of intrinsic motivation by extrinsic incentives is a phenomenon well-researched not only in regard to CSR but in various other areas linked to human behaviour. This has important implications for nearly every business operation, especially for mergers and acquisitions, as well as for the growth of businesses. Social implications It seems unsuitable to support social goods in intrinsic CSR by the implementation of a system of financial incentives (or consequences). Thus, an economic cost-benefit is inappropriate where CSR needs an ethical stand. The difference between extrinsic and intrinsic CSR is very difficult to bridge – both have powerful incentives and drivers preventing a potential cross-over. Originality/value In sum, this study showed that CSR is meaningful and justifiable even if it is not profitable in the first place or implemented in and managed through formalised systems. This leads to two conclusions: first, care should be taken when emphasising the extrinsic approach in relation to social goods and second, the cost of a possible mismatch in a climate of ethical principles might be substantial for societies’ moral inclination.

‘Neutrality Does Not Exist in the Face of Murder’

Though not the first film made by a Bosnian since the nation's establishment after the Yugoslav war, No Man's Land (Danis Tanović, 2001) came out to such international critical acclaim that it can readily be considered the first major contribution toward a national cinema of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Citing Bosnia's investment in cinema as a foundational component of its national identity, I argue that Tanović uses a specifically Bosnian style to portray what he terms Bosnian Minimalism, an aesthetic and narrative approach that is steeped in the nation's culture and politics. Despite many Western misreadings of the text that laud the film for its supposed balance and neutrality, I propose a more culturally aware reading that uses the concept of Bosnian Minimalism and the lead actor's star persona to highlight the text's clear stance on the war, particularly in terms of aggressor and victim.

The 2015 Inaugural Shanghai Experimental Xiqu (Chinese Indigenous Theater) Festival, December 1–6

PERFORMANCE REVIEW: THE 2015 INAUGURAL SHANGHAI EXPERIMENTAL XIQU (CHINESE INDIGENOUS THEATER) FESTIVAL, DECEMBER 1–6 JOSH STENBERG University of British Columbia, Canada A consistent forum for the presentation of xiqu 戲曲 (Chinese indigenous theater) in “little theatre” (xiaojuchang小劇場) form (translated as “experimental” on all promotional material for the Shanghai festival) is overdue. Pretty much the entirety of the xiqu world is in agreement that xiqu arts and audiences have long been in crisis. There is perhaps an element of ideological determinism in this narrative— on-its-last-legs is a default story for tradition anywhere—but there can be no doubt that troupes face a rapidly-changing policy environment and pressure to experiment and modernize. How they should do this, and where the bounds of such reforms should be set, are questions which continue to drive the work of xiqu practitioners, and their interaction with spoken theater and foreign artists. “Little theatre,” a term usually associated with Taiwanese spoken theater and lately with non-official PRC spoken theater (huaju 話劇) performance, is one option for xiqu troupes, especially given the bloatedness and complacency of many gala xiqu productions. To date, for two years running, festivals of “little theatre” xiqu plays lasting at least a month that involved at least 12 plays and fifty performances have been held in Beijing.1 The festival under review, whose Chinese title was Xiqu huxi: 2015 Shanghai xiaojuchang xiqu jie 戲曲呼吸: 2015 上海小劇場戲曲節 (Let Chinese indigenous theater breathe: The 2015 Shanghai small theater Chinese indigenous theater festival) was smaller (six plays and seven performances) and shorter in length (only a week). Plans are in the works for the 2016 edition. 1 For a survey of the development of “little theater” xiqu beginning from the late twentieth century through the first of the Beijing festivals, see Xie Boliang 謝柏梁, “Dangdai ‘xiaojuchang xiqu’ de fasheng yu fazhan—Zhongguo shiyanxing xiqu puxi zhi shuli 當代 ‘小劇場戲曲’ 的發 生與發展—中國實驗性戲曲譜系之梳理 (The birth and development of contemporary ‘little theater xiqu’—Sorting out the genealogy of Chinese experimental xiqu),” Xiju 戲劇 2 (2015): 91–103. Reportage on the second festival is comparatively hard to find. Liu Ping 劉平, “Xiaojuchang de shiyan yu chuangxin 小劇場的實驗與創新 (Experimentation and innovation in little theater),” Xiju wenxue 戲劇文學 (Theater literature) 2016.3: 8–11, was written in response to the discussion of “little theater” xiqu at a final symposium (zongjie luntan 總結論壇) that concluded the second festival. For the promotional material of the Beijing festivals, “black box” was used to translate xiaojuchang. See, for example, the advertisement for the second festival in the 2016.2 issue of Juben 劇本 (Play scripts). CHINOPERL: Journal of Chinese Oral and Performing Literature 35.1 (July 2016): 64–69© The Permanent Conference on Chinese Oral and Performing Literature, Inc. 2016 DOI 10.1080/01937774.2016.1183329 The festival opened with The Polished Jade Guanyin (Nianyu Guanyin 碾玉觀音) from the Beijing Jingju Company (Bejing Jingju yuan 北京京劇院). The piece is an adaptation by the young writer-director Li Zhuoqun 李卓群 of a vernacular story that appears under this title in an incomplete collection of stories first published by Miu Quansun 繆荃孫 (1844–1919) in 1915 that Miu claimed was based on a Yuan copy but which many scholars think he actually fabricated by making use of material from the original editions (published from 1620–27) of Feng Menglong’s 馮夢龍 (1574–1646) three collections of vernacular stories, which had become rare books by 1915.2 It is an excellent story, and eminently suitable for xiqu adaptation, one might think. The plot concerns the forbidden love between a great jade worker and his embroiderer beloved, sold into the service of the powerful and titled Han Shizhong 韓世忠 (1089–1151). They run away from Han’s mansion but are pursued and persecuted by Han’s henchman. She is ultimately killed but as a ghost is able to take her vengeance and lead her husband into eternal love in the other world. In between are cross-dressing disguises, a pregnancy, indecent overture repelled, and any number of declarations of love. The attempt to compress this much plot into a show that runs under two hours leads to breakneck pacing—hardly a common xiqu feature. More problematic is that neither of the lead actors is compelling , there is no chemistry between them, and the show felt under...

Prime-Time Weight Discrimination: A Body Weight Analysis of Prime-Time Television Characters From 1950-2015

To compare the BMIs of TV characters and the general American public over the past 65 years. Compared to thin characters, obese characters are underrepresented and routinely cast in stereotypical roles. This type of media weight discrimination is argued to contribute to the social acceptability of weight stigmatization in real life. Given this suggestion, tracking this underrepresentation longitudinally could help elucidate how media weight discrimination contributes to real life weight stigmatization. The BMIs of lead actors appearing in top-ten primetime television shows from 1950 to 2015 (defined by Nielsen ratings) were coded using the Stunkard Figure Rating Scale. The average BMI of Americans over the same time period was obtained through the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Linear trend analyses were used to track and compare the BMI changes in both TV characters and the American public over time. Whereas the average BMI of the American public has linearly increased every decade, the BMI of TV characters has linearly decreased over the same time period (p = .001). The average BMI of female TV characters decreased by 16.95% (p < .001) and the average BMI of male characters decreased by 8.91% (p < .01). Conversely, the average BMI of the american female increased by 25.8% and the average BMI of the american male increased by 18.7%. The decreasing BMI of TV characters, combined with the increasing BMI of the American public, underscores the increasingly unrealistic ideals portrayed in the media and may contribute to weight stigmatization.

Distinguishing Patterns of Learning and Inclusion Through Patterns of Network Formation in Developing Agricultural Clusters.

Distinguishing Patterns of Learning and Inclusion Through Patterns of Network Formation in Developing Agricultural Clusters.

Spatial health and life sciences business ecosystem: a case study of San Diego

Purpose– Increasing competition in global markets requires many countries to seek new growth sectors. In addition, the nature of competition is changing. This paper applies the business ecosystem concept and studies San Diego as a spatial health and life sciences ecosystem. The purpose of this paper is to identify issues that should be considered in design of innovation policies and regional industry development.Design/methodology/approach– The research approach is built on a literature review of business ecosystems and spatial innovation. The empirical study is based on semi-structured interviews, observations, and information gathering and verification during field research.Findings– The results include a description of the ecosystem structure and dynamics. This paper demonstrates the bottom-up nature of San Diego’s health and life sciences ecosystem without a dominant lead actor, and presents prerequisites for fostering spatial ecosystems.Research limitations/implications– A single case may not be able to offer a generalized picture of this topic. However, the study raises several considerations for researchers and decision-makers involved in innovation policy design. Future work should extend the study and involve other spatial and substance contexts to compare findings and to pursue a more generic picture of innovation ecosystems and networks.Originality/value– This paper demonstrates that applying the concept of business ecosystems to the spatial context provides new insights in terms of dynamic mechanisms and factors contributing to economic growth in a particular location. Understanding how to facilitate the creation of successful spatial ecosystems is in the focal point of innovation policies.

Rosa e Ballo and German literature in Italy: the genesis of an intellectual network and the production of a new repertoire in the field of theatre

Between 1944 and 1950 the publishing house Rosa e Ballo renewed the Italian repertoire of German dramatic literature by collecting translations from Büchner, Wedekind, Toller, Kaiser and Brecht in the book series ‘Teatro/Teatro moderno’. The series was designed by Paolo Grassi, who was then struggling to legitimize the teatro di regia (director’s theatre) against the dominant teatro del grande attore (lead actor’s theatre), a revolution he would accomplish after WWII by establishing the Piccolo teatro in Milan. The company and the network of collaborators set up in Turin and Milan by the editor-in-chief Ferdinando Ballo provided Grassi with an ideal instrument for his subversion in the field of theatre. In turn, Grassi’s networking in Rome, where the most recognized men of theatre were based, brought to Rosa e Ballo its most successful book series and finally a position within the field of publishing. By joining forces, newcomers in two different fields mutually contributed to their primary accumulation of symbolic capital.

MİMARLIKTA SOSYAL ADALET

“Social Justice in Architecture” The concepts like “earn more, spend more and consume more”, which came into being with the globalization process brought with them the social injustice and inequality issues. This situation is visible in every aspect of life (education, health, politics, etc.) as well as in architecture. Social stratification and the contraction of mutual living areas led to the increase in the gap between life standards with each day. When the supply-demand balance shaped by the building sector, human labor and the contribution of other sectors, which continue their activities depending on the building sector are considered together, it is observed that the share of the building sector in the GNP is around 35%. With the influence of capitalism, the buildings that cover the need for accommodation have been converted into money sources and investment tools that provide profit, which are all far from their actual purposes. Today, companies and countries acquire incomes via various sources. Architecture and the building sector have become the lead actors of this income and investment search. Despite this huge income, the human labor working in the sector cannot earn at a sufficient level when compared with the manpower provided by them, and when the difficulties and risks are taken into consideration. Despite the added value they lead, they live in unhealthy places and cannot become the owners of their own houses. The building sector is at a position that forms demands for the products and services produced by more than 200 sub-sectors connected with itself; and this common influence is the most basic indicator of the sector’s being “the lead actor”. The social status of the building sector and architecture, which deals with the design business of this sector will be dealt with in this study. The relation between the basic rights like environment, human rights, social justice, organic nutrition, drinking clean water, breathing clean air, residing at a calm house, freedom and the right of privacy, watching a beautiful scenery from the house, being protected from carbon dioxide and air pollution, which are the innate rights of every human being, in the ever-developing world will be discussed. While, on the one hand, the injustices in social and economic areas lead to chaotic environments in every geographical area, today’s architecture only dealing with the design of the houses, work places, and residences where only aesthetics and image are in the forefront is not an ethical manner. The desire of the human beings to shape the buildings around them and the influence of this desire to show their belongings look more powerful than they normally are, and the influence of the advertisements prepared the suitable ground for the formation of “consumption architecture”. Based on the principle requiring that the desires have to be fulfilled in the legal framework and in accordance with the human and environment, the problems have to be resolved by caring for the Balance and Justice. In the light of the Verses of the Quran “There has appeared corruption both on land and in the seas because of what men did with their own hands. Allah makes them confront the results of some of their deeds so that maybe they will return from the wrong.” (The Surah, Rum; Verse 41), we can observe how the balance has been disrupted, how the societies went astray; and when they went astray, the disruption occurred not only in the field of ecology but also in the field of human relations and social problems. We can also see that when disruption starts in the balance, everything in the universe is influenced by this disruption at the same rate. In order to correct this disruption and balance, every aspect of life, from our own lives to architectural buildings in the world, from economic systems to legal systems have to be corrected. The message is being conveyed to us that the salvation and balance will be corrected if we develop new models in order to revert from this chaotic atmosphere. The knowledge and the acquisitions of human beings are sufficient to form the structures that will care for the justice and balance. In this study, the necessity of converting from consumption architecture into “social and just architecture” is being emphasized. Keywords: Architecture, social justice, sharing, human, balance.

2015 International Siglo de Oro Drama Festival Coordinated by Anna-Lisa Halling

2015 International Siglo de Oro Drama Festival Coordinated by Anna-Lisa HallingIn 2015, Chamizal National Memorial in El Paso, Texas, celebrated forty years of Golden productions as it hosted both professional and student troupes from Spain, Colombia, Mexico, and United States. The festival ran from Wednesday, March 18, through Sunday, March 22, and featured five unique performances by four very different companies. Performances by these groups ranged from recreation of baroque celebration (iFiesta!) to theatrical adaptations of both novel and novella (El buscon and El coloquio de los perros), as well as pastoral play (El amor enamorado) and tonadilla ( Villa y Corte-The Music of Goya). Far from usual comedia fare, these productions not only include wide variety of genres, but also artistic vision, thus creating rich and diverse experience for spectators.iFiesta!It is not without reason that Morfeo Teatro has recently become perennial presence at Chamizal National Memorial's Siglo de Oro festival. In this production, company's minimalist approach to sets and scenery, attention to visual detail, incorporation of variety of genres of early modern theater, and clear respect for texts that they bring to life all demonstrate production approach that aligns well with stated objective of festival. In his opening statement in event program, Fernando Gus Sanchez, park superintendent, indicated that purpose of event was to increase public's awareness and appreciation of the rich tradition of drama from Spain's Golden Age through a significant encounter with performing arts.Each member of this small company shoulders variety of roles, and quality of production demonstrates success of their cooperation. The artistic decisions of company's director, Francisco Negro (who also played role of lead actor in majority of pieces presented), paralleled rather than duplicated those of comedia production in corral theater. Scenery and props consisted of such basic items as chair, few pieces of rope, fan, and semitransparent scrim. The use of lighting changes and fog added modern touch to production and effectively augmented audience's response to emotionally charged scenes. Each of these staging techniques drew audience focus to actors and dramatic texts themselves. The actors took advantage of and heightened this attention through very deliberate, considered physicality of their interpretations. The combination of these elements was particularly apparent in selected scene from Lope de Vega's El caballero de Olmedo. Dim lights, enough fog to initially obscure dancer portraying physical representation of death omen that Alonso sees, and musical adaptation accompanying lines all combined to make Alonso's death particularly frenetic and emotionally draining scene.The attention to detail paid to various visual representational elements speak to talent and precision of Mayte Bona (who also portrayed variety of female characters) as costume designer. The masks worn by actors at various moments throughout production were beautifully detailed nod to influence of commedia dell'arte tradition. At outset, they contributed to element of mystery created by cast as actors stepped onto stage in front of main curtain, speaking while audience wondered what lay behind curtain and ahead in play. Rather than relying on costume changes to mark scene transitions, each actor maintained single costume throughout production. To adjust for dramatic differences in character types, costumes incorporated added elements like manto, hat, an eyepatch, tucked-up skirt hem to make respectable lady's dress short and revealing, and particularly memorable tied-on apron that transformed galan into nagging wife. …

Multilayer network decoding versatility and trust

In the recent years, the multilayer networks have increasingly been realized as a more realistic framework to understand emergent physical phenomena in complex real-world systems. We analyze massive time-varying social data drawn from the largest film industry of the world under a multilayer network framework. The framework enables us to evaluate the versatility of actors, which turns out to be an intrinsic property of lead actors. Versatility in dimers suggests that working with different types of nodes are more beneficial than with similar ones. However, the triangles yield a different relation between type of co-actor and the success of lead nodes indicating the importance of higher-order motifs in understanding the properties of the underlying system. Furthermore, despite the degree-degree correlations of entire networks being neutral, multilayering picks up different values of correlation indicating positive connotations like trust, in the recent years. The analysis of weak ties of the industry uncovers nodes from a lower-degree regime being important in linking Bollywood clusters. The framework and the tools used herein may be used for unraveling the complexity of other real-world systems.