Syncopation, Body-Movement and Pleasure in Groove Music

PLoS ONE 9(4): e94446
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0094446
Published: April 16, 2014

Maria A. G. Witek [1], Eric F. Clarke [1], Mikkel Wallentin [2,3], Morten L. Kringelbach [2,4], Peter Vuust [2,5]

[1] Faculty of Music, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
[2] Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
[3] Center for Semiotics, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
[4] Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
[5] The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark

Abstract

Moving to music is an essential human pleasure particularly related to musical groove. Structurally, music associated with groove is often characterised by rhythmic complexity in the form of syncopation, frequently observed in musical styles such as funk, hip-hop and electronic dance music. Structural complexity has been related to positive affect in music more broadly, but the function of syncopation in eliciting pleasure and body-movement in groove is unknown.

Here we report results from a web-based survey which investigated the relationship between syncopation and ratings of wanting to move and experienced pleasure. Participants heard funk drum-breaks with varying degrees of syncopation and audio entropy, and rated the extent to which the drum-breaks made them want to move and how much pleasure they experienced.

While entropy was found to be a poor predictor of wanting to move and pleasure, the results showed that medium degrees of syncopation elicited the most desire to move and the most pleasure, particularly for participants who enjoy dancing to music. Hence, there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between syncopation, body-movement and pleasure, and syncopation seems to be an important structural factor in embodied and affective responses to groove.

Copyright: © 2014 Witek et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0094446

From Van Gogh to Lady Gaga: Artist eccentricity increases perceived artistic skill and art appreciation

European Journal of Social Psychology
Volume 44, Issue 2, pages 93–103, March 2014
Issue published online: 4 MAR 2014
DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.1999

Wijnand Adriaan Pieter Van Tilburg [1], and Eric Raymond Igou [2]

1 School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
2 Psychology, University of Limerick, Castletroy, Ireland

Abstract

We examined the impact of eccentricity on the evaluation of artistic skills and the quality of artworks. Based on the notion that artists are typically perceived as eccentric, creative and skilled, we tested the hypothesis that eccentricity increases perceptions of artistic quality. In Study 1, Van Gogh's Sunflowers painting was evaluated more positively when he was said to have cut off his left ear lobe than when this information was not presented. In Study 2, participants liked art more when the artist was eccentric. In Study 3, the evaluation of fictitious art increased because of the artist's eccentric appearance. Study 4 established that the eccentricity effect was specific to unconventional as opposed to conventional art. In Study 5, Lady Gaga's music was more appreciated when she was displayed as highly eccentric; however, the eccentricity effect emerged only when the display seemed authentic. These novel findings indicate that art evaluations are partly rooted in perceptions of artists' eccentricity and evidence the importance of perceived authenticity and skills for these attributions.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.1999/abstract

Misrepresentation of UK homicide characteristics in popular culture

Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine
Volume 23, March 2014, Pages 62–64

J. Brown, MA, MRCPsych [a], (Specialty Registrar in Forensic Psychiatry),
N.S. Hughes, MA (Cantab), MRCPsych [b] (Specialty Registrar in Forensic Psychiatry),
M.C. McGlen, MBChB, MRCPsych [a] (Specialty Registrar in Forensic Psychiatry),
J.H.M. Crichton, PhD, FRCPsych [c] (Honorary Fellow)

[a] Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Place, Edinburgh EH10 5HF, UK
[b] Rohallion Clinic, Murray Royal Hospital, Perth, UK
[c] School of Law, University of Edinburgh, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, UK

Abstract

The homicide statistics of a popular UK television fictional crime series and the former Lothian & Borders police force region, Scotland were compared. This comparison was used to consider the implications for public attitudes which may influence the adoption of public health interventions to reduce homicide.

217 homicides were identified by 105 perpetrators in the television series 'Midsomer Murders' between 1997 and 2011; these were compared to 55 homicides by 53 perpetrators in the regional sample between 2006 and 2011. The numbers of serial killings (p < 0.0001), planned homicides, female perpetrators (p < 0.0001), shootings (p = 0.0456) and poisonings (p = 0.0289) were higher in the fictional sample. Lothian & Borders cases were almost all single killings, mostly unplanned, with a far greater rate of homicide by kitchen knives (p < 0.0001) and hitting/kicking (p = 0.0005) by intoxicated perpetrators.

Control of access to pointed kitchen knives by members of certain groups may reduce homicide rates. If the popular perception of UK homicides is influenced by popular culture, the importance of such a public health intervention may not be apparent.

Keywords

Homicide; Media; Forensic; Psychiatry

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X14000110

Self-Portraits: Smartphones Reveal a Side Bias in Non-Artists

PLoS ONE
February 2013 | Volume 8 | Issue 2 | e55141
Published: February 06, 2013
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055141

Nicola Bruno [1], Marco Bertamini [2]

1 Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Parma, Parma, Italy
2 Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Abstract

According to surveys of art books and exhibitions, artists prefer poses showing the left side of the face when composing a portrait and the right side when composing a self-portrait. However, it is presently not known whether similar biases can be observed in individuals that lack formal artistic training. We collected self-portraits by naïve photographers who used the iPhone front camera, and confirmed a right side bias in this non-artist sample and even when biomechanical constraints would have favored the opposite. This result undermines explanations based on posing conventions due to artistic training or biomechanical factors, and is consistent with the hypothesis that side biases in portraiture and self-portraiture are caused by biologically-determined asymmetries in facial expressiveness.

Introduction

When they compose a self-portrait, artists prefer poses showing the right side of their face. This right-side bias is well documented by surveys of art books and exhibitions but its origin has remained controversial. As an alternative to observational data from the history of art, we collected self-portraits by naïve photographers who used the iPhone™ front camera in controlled settings. The right side bias remained observable in this non-artist sample, and even when biomechanical constraints would have favored a left-side bias. These results argue against explanations based on posing constraints and support the hypothesis that side biases in portraiture and self-portraiture are caused by biologically determined asymmetries in facial expressiveness...

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0055141

Booing

Contemporary Theatre Review
Volume 23, Issue 1, 2013, pages 11-15
Published online: 18 Mar 2013
DOI: 10.1080/10486801.2013.765102

Dan Rebellato

Department of Drama and Theatre
Royal Holloway
University of London

Three cheers for booing! C’mon people, put your hands together for the little bit of theatre you love to hate!
It’s about time booing got a round of applause - usually booing is jeered off the stage. Plato in The Laws
observes a change from silently respectful audiences to the noisily opinionated audience of his own time,
referring to ‘catcalls and uncouth yelling’. These baying crowds, he suggests, by privileging their own pleasure over the purity and refinement of musical form, have established a ‘theatrocracy’, a mob relativism about artistic standards which will lead in turn to the disre-gard of laws and parental authority, a slow decline into moral chaos, and ‘a wretched life of endless misery’.

[...]

Booing isn’t empty, and even if it could be ejected from the theatre, which it can’t, should be cheered, because booing is a moment where the audience represents the theatre to itself by dramatizing and drawing attention to the fault-lines of performance. It is a kind of liminal activity that throws theatre into sharp relief and asks profound questions about performance. Booing troubles the edges of theatre. Is it a response prompted legitimately by performance and therefore contained within it? Or is it a disruption of performance from performance’s outside? Booing is theatre at its most philosophical and its most theatrical.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10486801.2013.765102

Auditory stimulation of opera music induced prolongation of murine cardiac allograft survival and maintained generation of regulatory CD4+CD25+ cells

Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery
March 23 2012, 7:26
doi:10.1186/1749-8090-7-26

Masateru Uchiyama [1,2,3], Xiangyuan Jin [2,4], Qi Zhang [2], Toshihito Hirai [5], Atsushi Amano [1], Hisashi Bashuda [3] and Masanori Niimi [2]   

[1] Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Juntendo University Hospital, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
[2] Department of Surgery, Teikyo University, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8605, Japan
[3] Department of Immunology, Juntendo University Hospital, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
[4] Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, The 4th Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, 37 Yiyuan Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
[5] Department of Urology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1 Kawata-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan

BACKGROUND:

Interactions between the immune response and brain functions such as olfactory, auditory, and visual sensations are likely. This study investigated the effect of sounds on alloimmune responses in a murine model of cardiac allograft transplantation.

METHODS:

Naïve CBA mice (H2k) underwent transplantation of a C57BL/6 (B6, H2b) heart and were exposed to one of three types of music--opera (La Traviata), classical (Mozart), and New Age (Enya)--or one of six different single sound frequencies, for 7 days. Additionally, we prepared two groups of CBA recipients with tympanic membrane perforation exposed to opera for 7 days and CBA recipients exposed to opera for 7 days before transplantation (pre-treatment). An adoptive transfer study was performed to determine whether regulatory cells were generated in allograft recipients. Immunohistochemical, cell-proliferation, cytokine, and flow cytometry assessments were also performed.

RESULTS:

CBA recipients of a B6 cardiac graft that were exposed to opera music and Mozart had significantly prolonged allograft survival (median survival times [MSTs], 26.5 and 20 days, respectively), whereas those exposed to a single sound frequency (100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000, or 20,000 Hz) or Enya did not (MSTs, 7.5, 8, 9, 8, 7.5, 8.5 and 11 days, respectively). Untreated, CBA mice with tympanic membrane perforations and CBA recipients exposed to opera for 7 days before transplantation (pre-treatment) rejected B6 cardiac grafts acutely (MSTs, 7, 8 and 8 days, respectively). Adoptive transfer of whole splenocytes, CD4+ cells, or CD4+CD25+ cells from opera-exposed primary allograft recipients resulted in significantly prolonged allograft survival in naive secondary recipients (MSTs, 36, 68, and > 100 days, respectively). Proliferation of splenocytes, interleukin (IL)-2 and interferon (IFN)-γ production was suppressed in opera-exposed mice, and production of IL-4 and IL-10 from opera-exposed transplant recipients increased compared to that from splenocytes of untreated recipients. Flow cytometry studies showed an increased CD4+CD25+ Forkhead box P3 (Foxp3)+ cell population in splenocytes from those mice.

CONCLUSION:

Our findings indicate that exposure to opera music, such as La traviata, could affect such aspects of the peripheral immune response as generation of regulatory CD4+CD25+ cells and up-regulation of anti-inflammatory cytokines, resulting in prolonged allograft survival.

http://www.cardiothoracicsurgery.org/content/7/1/26

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186%2F1749-8090-7-26/fulltext.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3338095/

Is 27 really a dangerous age for famous musicians? Retrospective cohort study

BMJ. 2011 Dec 20;343:d7799
doi: 10.1136/bmj.d7799
(Published 20 December 2011)

Martin Wolkewitz, statistician [1], Arthur Allignol, statistician [1], Nicholas Graves, health economist [2], and Adrian G Barnett, statistician [2]

[1] Freiburg Center of Data Analysis and Modelling, University of Freiburg and Institute of Medical Biometry and Medical Informatics, University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany
[2] Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation and School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia

OBJECTIVE:

To test the "27 club" hypothesis that famous musicians are at an increased risk of death at age 27. Design Cohort study using survival analysis with age as a time dependent exposure. Comparison was primarily made within musicians, and secondarily relative to the general UK population.

SETTING:

The popular music scene from a UK perspective.

PARTICIPANTS:

Musicians (solo artists and band members) who had a number one album in the UK between 1956 and 2007 (n = 1046 musicians, with 71 deaths, 7%).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

Risk of death by age of musician, accounting for time dependent study entry and the number of musicians at risk. Risk was estimated using a flexible spline which would allow a bump at age 27 to appear.

RESULTS:

We identified three deaths at age 27 amongst 522 musicians at risk, giving a rate of 0.57 deaths per 100 musician years. Similar death rates were observed at ages 25 (rate = 0.56) and 32 (0.54). There was no peak in risk around age 27, but the risk of death for famous musicians throughout their 20s and 30s was two to three times higher than the general UK population.

CONCLUSIONS:

The 27 club is unlikely to be a real phenomenon. Fame may increase the risk of death among musicians, but this risk is not limited to age 27.

http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d7799?view=long&pmid=22187325

Traumatic brain injuries in illustrated literature: experience from a series of over 700 head injuries in the Asterix comic books

Acta Neurochirurgica
June 2011, Volume 153, Issue 6, pp 1351-1355

Marcel A. Kamp, Philipp Slotty, Sevgi Sarikaya-Seiwert, Hans-Jakob Steiger, Daniel Hänggi

Department for Neurosurgery, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Moorenstraße 5, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany

Background

The goal of the present study was to analyze the epidemiology and specific risk factors of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the Asterix illustrated comic books. Among the illustrated literature, TBI is a predominating injury pattern.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of TBI in all 34 Asterix comic books was performed by examining the initial neurological status and signs of TBI. Clinical data were correlated to information regarding the trauma mechanism, the sociocultural background of victims and offenders, and the circumstances of the traumata, to identify specific risk factors.

Results

Seven hundred and four TBIs were identified. The majority of persons involved were adult and male. The major cause of trauma was assault (98.8%). Traumata were classified to be severe in over 50% (GCS 3–8). Different neurological deficits and signs of basal skull fractures were identified. Although over half of head-injury victims had a severe initial impairment of consciousness, no case of death or permanent neurological deficit was found. The largest group of head-injured characters was constituted by Romans (63.9%), while Gauls caused nearly 90% of the TBIs. A helmet had been worn by 70.5% of victims but had been lost in the vast majority of cases (87.7%). In 83% of cases, TBIs were caused under the influence of a doping agent called “the magic potion”.

Conclusions

Although over half of patients had an initially severe impairment of consciousness after TBI, no permanent deficit could be found. Roman nationality, hypoglossal paresis, lost helmet, and ingestion of the magic potion were significantly correlated with severe initial impairment of consciousness (p ≤ 0.05).

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00701-011-0993-6

The Manga Guide to Molecular Biology

The Manga Guide to Molecular Biology
Published September 4th 2009 by No Starch Press

Masaharu Takemura
Sakura, Becom Ltd., Becom Co., Ltd.

Rin and Ami have been skipping molecular biology class all semester, and Professor Moro has had enough-he's sentencing them to summer school on his private island. But they're in store for a special lesson. Using Dr. Moro's virtual reality machine to travel inside the human body, they'll get a close-up look at the fascinating world of molecular biology.

Join them in The Manga Guide to Molecular Biology, and learn all about DNA, RNA, proteins, amino acids, and more. Along the way, you'll see chemical reactions first-hand and meet entertaining characters like Enzyme Man and Drinkzilla, who show how the liver metabolizes alcohol.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6464275-the-manga-guide-to-molecular-biology

http://books.google.nl/books?id=3eIf_1sinSgC&printsec=frontcover

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18613038/The-Manga-Guide-to-Molecular-Biology-Excerpt

What Kind of Erotic Film Clips Should We Use in Female Sex Research? An Exploratory Study

The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Volume 5, Issue 1, pages 146–154, January 2008
DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2007.00641.x

Terri L. Woodard MD [1], Karen Collins MS, MA [1], Mindy Perez BA [1], Richard Balon MD [2], Manuel E. Tancer MD [2], Michael Kruger MS [1], Scott Moffat PhD [3] and Michael P. Diamond MD [1]

[1] Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3750 Woodward avenue Suite 200D Detroit, MI, USA 48201
[2] Department of Psychiatry, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
[3] The Gerontology Institute, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA

Introduction

Erotic film clips are used in sex research, including studies of female sexual dysfunction and arousal. However, little is known about which clips optimize female sexual response. Furthermore, their use is not well standardized.

Aims

To identify the types of film clips that are most mentally appealing and physically arousing to women for use in future sexual function and dysfunction studies; to explore the relationship between mental appeal and reported physical arousal; to characterize the content of the films that were found to be the most and least appealing and arousing.

Methods

Twenty-one women viewed 90 segments of erotic film clips. They rated how (i) mentally appealing and (ii) how physically aroused they were by each clip. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. The means of the mental and self-reported physical responses were calculated to determine the most and least appealing/arousing film clips. Pearson correlations were calculated to assess the relationship between mental appeal and reported physical arousal.

Main Outcome Measures

Self-reported mental and physical arousal.

Results

Of 90 film clips, 18 were identified as the most mentally appealing and physically arousing while nine were identified as the least mentally appealing and physically arousing. The level of mental appeal positively correlated with the level of perceived physical arousal in both categories (r = 0.61, P < 0.05 and r = 0.62, P < 0.05). The most appealing and physically arousing films tended to exhibit heterosexual behavior with vaginal intercourse. The least appealing and least physically arousing films tended to depict male homosexual behavior, fellatio, and anal intercourse.

Conclusions

Erotic film clips reliably produced a state of self-reported arousal in women. The most appealing and arousing films tended to depict heterosexual vaginal intercourse. Film clips with these attributes should be used in future research of sexual function and response of women.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2007.00641.x/

Ovulatory cycle effects on tip earnings by lap dancers: economic evidence for human estrus?

Evolution and Human Behavior
Volume 28, Issue 6, November 2007, Pages 375–381

Geoffrey Miller, Joshua M. Tybur, Brent D. Jordan

Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA

Abstract

To see whether estrus was really “lost” during human evolution (as researchers often claim), we examined ovulatory cycle effects on tip earnings by professional lap dancers working in gentlemen's clubs. Eighteen dancers recorded their menstrual periods, work shifts, and tip earnings for 60 days on a study web site. A mixed-model analysis of 296 work shifts (representing about 5300 lap dances) showed an interaction between cycle phase and hormonal contraception use. Normally cycling participants earned about US$335 per 5-h shift during estrus, US$260 per shift during the luteal phase, and US$185 per shift during menstruation. By contrast, participants using contraceptive pills showed no estrous earnings peak. These results constitute the first direct economic evidence for the existence and importance of estrus in contemporary human females, in a real-world work setting. These results have clear implications for human evolution, sexuality, and economics.

Keywords

Estrus; Female sexuality; Behavioral economics; Sexual service industries; Hormonal contraception

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513807000694

Elvis to Eminem: quantifying the price of fame through early mortality of European and North American rock and pop stars

J Epidemiol Community Health
Oct 2007; 61(10): 896–901
doi:10.1136/jech.2007.059915

Mark A Bellis, Clare Lushey, Karen Hughes, Karen Tocque, John R Ashton
Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Castle House, North Street, Liverpool L3 2AY

Tom Hennell
Public Health Group, Government Office for the North West of England, Manchester, UK

Background

Rock and pop stars are frequently characterised as indulging in high‐risk behaviours, with high‐profile deaths amongst such musicians creating an impression of premature mortality. However, studies to date have not quantified differences between mortality experienced by such stars and general populations.

Objective

This study measures survival rates of famous musicians (n = 1064) from their point of fame and compares them to matched general populations in North America and Europe.

Design

We describe and utilise a novel actuarial survival methodology which allows quantification of excess post‐fame mortality in pop stars.

Participants

Individuals from North America and Europe performing on any album in the All‐Time Top 1000 albums from the music genres rock, punk, rap, R&B, electronica and new age.

Results

From 3 to 25 years post fame, both North American and European pop stars experience significantly higher mortality (more than 1.7 times) than demographically matched populations in the USA and UK, respectively. After 25 years of fame, relative mortality in European (but not North American) pop stars begins to return to population levels. Five‐year post‐fame survival rates suggest differential mortality between stars and general populations was greater in those reaching fame before 1980.

Conclusion

Pop stars can suffer high levels of stress in environments where alcohol and drugs are widely available, leading to health‐damaging risk behaviour. However, their behaviour can also influence would‐be stars and devoted fans. Collaborations between health and music industries should focus on improving both pop star health and their image as role models to wider populations.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2652970/

Sword swallowing and its side effects

BMJ 2006;333:1285
Published 21 December 2006
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39027.676690.55

Brian Witcombe, consultant radiologist [1], Dan Meyer, executive director [2]

[1] Department of Radiology, Gloucestershire Royal NHS Foundation Trust, Gloucester GL1 3NN
[2] Sword Swallowers' Association International, 3729 Belle Oaks Drive, Antioch, Tennessee 37013, USA

Objective

To evaluate information on the practice and associated ill effects of sword swallowing.

Design

Letters sent to sword swallowers requesting information on technique and complications.

Setting

Membership lists of the Sword Swallowers' Association International.

Participants

110 sword swallowers from 16 countries.

Results

We had information from 46 sword swallowers. Major complications are more likely when the swallower is distracted or swallows multiple or unusual swords or when previous injury is present. Perforations mainly involve the oesophagus and usually have a good prognosis. Sore throats are common, particularly while the skill is being learnt or when performances are too frequent. Major gastrointestinal bleeding sometimes occurs, and occasional chest pains tend to be treated without medical advice. Sword swallowers without healthcare coverage expose themselves to financial as well as physical risk.

Conclusions

Sword swallowers run a higher risk of injury when they are distracted or adding embellishments to their performance, but injured performers have a better prognosis than patients who suffer iatrogenic perforation.

http://www.bmj.com/content/333/7582/1285

Harry Potter casts a spell on accident prone children

BMJ 2005;331:1505
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.331.7531.1505
(Published 22 December 2005)

Stephen Gwilym, specialist registrar
Dominic P J Howard, senior house officer
Nev Davies, specialist registrar
Keith Willett, consultant

Department of Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU

Abstract

In the infancy of this millennium two things are certain: children injure themselves on the latest “craze” and children will (probably) read the Harry Potter books. Previous reports have highlighted the impact of emerging crazes such as inline skating and microscooters, with attention being drawn to potential accident prevention and emerging patterns of injury.

One modern craze is the Harry Potter series of books and films. In the United Kingdom sales ofthe latest Harry Potter book, The Half-Blood Prince, are estimated to reach fourmillion, with around three million volumes being sold in the first week.

Given the lack of horizontal velocity, height, wheels, or sharp edges associated with this particular craze we were interested to investigate the impact the Harry Potter books had on children's traumatic injuries during the peak of their use.

http://www.bmj.com/content/331/7531/1505

Recent rapid responses

Marilyn J Cox
Medical Secretary, NHS Professionals
Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust

Harry Potter - Hidden Dangers
5 January 2006

I read with great interest the findings of your study. However, although it has demonstrated that the initial reading of the books reduces the incidence of accidents, further research should address the potential increase in head trauma, fractures and other musculoskeletal injuries resulting from children throwing themselves at railway station walls in an attempt to reach Platform 9¾.

Competing interests: Author sustained slight bruising to toe after dropping 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' on foot.

Deep classification: pornography, bibliographic access, and academic libraries

Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services
(Formerly known as Library Acquisitions: Practice & Theory)
Volume 26, Issue 2, Summer 2002, Pages 113–139

Juris Dilevko, Lisa Gottlieba

Faculty of Information Studies, 140 St. George St., University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G6, Canada

Abstract

This study examines the mainstreaming of pornography in the context of current economic, popular culture, and academic trends. As pornography becomes part of popular culture, it simultaneously becomes an area of focus for academics and therefore presents particular challenges for college and university libraries. Both physically and conceptually, academic libraries must find a place for pornography on the shelves and in the array of knowledge structured by bibliographic access systems. This study looks at how the variety of issues, concepts, and genres of pornography considered in academic discourse could be accommodated within access systems by examining the way in which the adult industry itself classifies pornographic films. Specifically, the terms used by the adult industry to classify these films could be grouped within newly developed categories. The identification of the categories would not be predicated on characteristics of porn films alone. Instead, the categories would encompass specific topics, concepts, and subject areas that connect pornography to mainstream culture. Using classifications from four different adult industry sources, four sample categories are presented that could serve as a model for how pornographic concepts could be accommodated within existing bibliographic access systems.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1464905502002294

The Effect of Country Music on Suicide

Social Forces
Vol. 71, No. 1 (Sep., 1992), pp. 211-218
Published by: Oxford University Press

Steven Stack, Wayne State University
Jim Gundlach, Auburn University

Abstract

This article assesses the link between country music and metropolitan suicide rates. Country music is hypothesized to nurture a suicidal mood through its concerns with problems common in the suicidal population, such as marital discord, alcohol abuse, and alienation from work. The results of a multiple regression analysis of 49 metropolitan areas show that the greater the airtime devoted to country music, the greater the white suicide rate. The effect is independent of divorce, southernness, poverty, and gun availability. The existence of a country music subculture is thought to reinforce the link between country music and suicide. Our model explains 51% of the variance in urban white suicide rates.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/2579974