The show must go on(line): Livestreamed concerts and the hyper-ritualisation of genre conventions

This paper examines audience engagement at livestreamed concerts, a form of mediatised cultural consumption that saw an immense growth in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerts, as events that draw large groups of people with similar intentions, are the perfect location for the establishment of large-scale interaction rituals – moments of group behaviour characterised by a highly intense collective emotion. Furthermore, as social occasions, concerts are organised around a set of routine interactions that construct and define the collective experience. We argue that in moving online, the definition of the (concert) situation is highly impaired due to a context collapse. In comparing two distinct audiences (classical and Dutch popular music), the first aim of this research is to explore how these differing audiences adapt their cultural behaviour to the virtual sphere. Secondly, by adopting a microsociological perspective, we aim to broaden the theoretical understanding of virtual large-scale interaction rituals, an area becoming increasingly important due to the growth in online communication. This paper uses discourse analysis of the synchronised comments, left on livestreamed concerts on Facebook Live (n = 2,075), to examine the interaction between audience members. We find that both classical and Dutch popular music audiences use a form of hyper-ritualised interaction. In an attempt to combat the plurality of meanings online, they explicitly refer back to the central conventions of the face-to-face concert. This emphasises not only the significance of genre conventions, but also presents a form of virtual interaction distinct form interpersonal interaction.

From Comic-Con to Amazon: Fan conventions and digital platforms

San Diego Comic-Con is North America's premiere fan convention and a key site for mediating between media industries and fandom. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Comic-Con to abruptly move its programming onto an array of digital platforms in an apparent "platformization” of the con. Informed by research on fan conventions, media industries, and the platformization of cultural production, this analysis of the online convention argues that Comic-Con was primed for platformization because it is already platform-like. Conventions organize markets, infrastructures, and governance to bring together attendees, media industries, and other "complementors.” Moreover, platform logics were already shaping the convention pre-pandemic in the form of experiential marketing and brand activations designed to capture attendee data. Rather than a radical break, the Comic-Con@Home online convention and in particular Amazon's Virtual-Con activation are part of a longer process of reconfiguring the relationships between fan conventions, cultural producers, and platforms. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of New Media & Society is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

2022 CCCC Chair's Letter

Hassel officially started his service as an elected CCCC officer on Dec 23, 2019, but for four years prior to that, he was an ex officio member of the CCCC Executive Committee (EC) by virtue of his role as editor of Teaching English in the Two-Year College. The editors of four of the college-level NCTE publications (TETYC, College Composition and Communication, Forum: Issues about Part-Time and Contingent Faculty, and the Studies in Writing and Rhetoric book series) are invited to attend meetings and participate in deliberations about issues affecting governance of the organization but do not have voting rights. During the nearly five years of service prior to his official elected role, he had many opportunities to observe how CCCC governance works (or doesn't): how committees and task forces are formed, appointed, and charged;how committees are constituted;how decisions are made;how nomination and election processes are conducted for the EC and other elected groups, such as the Nominating Committee. He even served on a subcommittee of the EC: the Subcommittee on Committees that produced the User's Guide to CCCC.

2022 CCCC Chair's Address: Writing (Studies) and Reality: Taking Stock of Labor, Equity, and Access in the Field

In a speech delivered at the virtual 2022 CCCC Annual Convention, Hassel talks about the professional rituals that CCCC members have come to rely on throughout their professional history. He focuses on three areas of the field to help them as a group of engaged educators think about the components of their work and make sense of them in this highly unstable point in time. He also looks at the past, present, and future of the field of composition, rhetoric, and writing studies.

Compensatory Jurisprudence in India: A step Forward to Rehabilitate the Victims of Various Acts and Crimes

Nirbhaya, Asifa, Manisha Valmiki, and the list of victims, (be it women, children or men) in India goes on. There is myriad of legislations enacted in the past to curb the offences, but the crimes in the society seem to be unstoppable. During the COVID time, in the lockdown too, the crimes continued to take place. There were several instances of domestic violence and rapes heard in news. Many instances of suicides were reported. It is really difficult to understand what place in the country is safe for the existence and peaceful survival of any person? The question that arises is whether a victim who comes before the court is provided with the adequate relief? Has the Judiciary or the Parliament done something with this regard? Does the concept of compensatory jurisprudence exist in India? What more is required to be done to enhance the position of victims and rehabilitate them? The research article shall look into the concept of compensatory jurisprudence with respect to India and other nation states as well. There are prevailing enormous laws which discuss about the punishment to be given to the accused person guilty to have committed crime, but unfortunately, there is no specific law regarding the steps to be taken to rehabilitate a victim who has been the subject matter of any crime. The research paper shall deal with various aspects and try to analyse laws or rules, if any, existing with regard to the protection of victims in India or around the globe. It shall also try to look into the role that the States play in rehabilitating and compensating the sufferers and victims of various crimes. The article shall conclude with suggestions as to how the research gaps related to victim reparation be filled. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.

The History of Ethnic Minority Psychological Associations in the United States

The American Psychological Association (APA, 2021) issued an apology to people of color for their role in "promoting, perpetuating and failing to challenge racism, racial discrimination, and human hierarchy (p.1)." This may be related to the criticisms that American psychology is ahistorical, ignores social realities, (Crenshaw, 1995;Martin-Baro, 1996) and has a Eurocentric bias (Bhatia, 2020). This paper briefly describes historical examples of the oppression of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in the United States in the health and social sciences fields. It details the context of the historical emergence of ethnic minority psychological associations led by the departure of Black psychologists from APA in the late 1960's. Several other BIPOC groups followed their lead. APA governance then met with the ethnic minority association leaders at the Dulles Conference in 1978. The recommendations of this conference took longer to achieve than what was originally expected yet these demonstrate the diversity, equity and inclusion efforts initiated by ethnic minority psychologists and later supported by funding agencies.

A proposal for the implementation of interventions in mental health during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the serious difficulties of the mental health field due to the progressive cuts in staff and the suffering in the population and mental health professionals themselves. The three associations CNSP, FIAP and SIPSIC, that represent the majority of Italian psychotherapists of different orientations, ask for targeted interventions, including the following: compliance and updating of the Essential Levels of Care (LEA) in the public sector;increase in the number of psychotherapists;recognition of the need for psychotherapeutic interventions targeted to the different forms of distress and life cycle phases;conventions between the National Health Service and the Clinical centers of schools of psychotherapy linked to scientific associations.

Roma and the First Wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Income Loss and Its Effects Across Roma Communities in Seven Non-EU Countries

This article focuses on income loss and its knock-on effects experienced by Roma communities in seven non-EU states during the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown measures in the first half of2020. Roma communities in Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine were all facing socioeconomic exclusion and marginalisation before the COVID-19 pandemic, thus international organisations were warning very early on that Roma communities were at serious risk during lockdowns, including in the fields of employment or loss of income. This article uses primary data collected across the seven states from a survey of 440 Roma individuals and 53 indepth interviews with Roma stakeholders, in order to add empirical evidence to an under-researched area. The main findings include that almost 73% of those surveyed experienced a reduced income, and the major reason for this was due to access to or demand for informal work which was hindered by the lockdowns. The knock-on effects of this included 32% of those surveyed declaring an inability to afford food and everyday essentials or to pay bills. Most Roma who needed to borrow money did so through private means (family and friends) rather than through official or state institutions. Finally, there was some geographic variance between the seven countries, with Roma communities in Albania and Ukraine faring worst.

The effectiveness of blended learning on students' academic achievement, self-study skills and learning attitudes: A quasi-experiment study in teaching the conventions for coordinates in the plane.

Individuals attempting to study remotely during the COVID-19 lockdown will find that blended learning is a helpful solution and results in a significant increase in learning engagement. The best benefits for teachers and students are obtained by maximizing the advantages of each teaching method and by combining the advantages of online and face-to-face instruction. The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the flex model of blended learning in teaching the mathematics subtopic of coordinates in the plane through the improvement of students' academic achievement, self-study skills and learning attitudes. A quasi-experiment was conducted to compare the academic achievement, self-study skills and learning attitudes of 46 students in the control class who used traditional methods to those of 44 students in the experimental group who used the blended learning model. The pre-and post-test results, observations, and student opinion survey were used to compile data, which were then analyzed quantitatively (with SPSS) and qualitatively. The study confirmed that blended learning positively impacts students' academic achievement in the experimental class compared with the control class (Sig (2-tailed) = 0.001 and SMD = 0.6717), as demonstrated by the outcomes of the independent t-test analysis of the two groups in the post-test phase. In addition, observations and student opinion survey results also indicated that blended learning increased student interactions with teachers and improved students' academic achievement, self-study abilities and learning attitudes. Due to time constraints, not all the students who participated in the experiment could make progress. On the other hand, the study's relatively small sample size gave the impression that the results were only partially representative of the population. As a result, additional studies focusing on improving the effectiveness of teaching and learning within different blended learning models, broadening the scope of research on the influence of blended learning in other subjects, or increasing the sample size can all be considered.

MEETINGS AND SHOWS

Because of the impact that COVID-19 is having on conferences, please check the conference's website for the most up-to-date information. 2023 JANUARY ABMA Annual Meeting, Jan. 13 - 16, Carlsbad, Calif. Contact the Indoor Air Quality Association at 844-802-4103, info@iaqa.org or https://annualmeeting.iaqa.org MARCH HVAC Cold Climate Conference 2023, March 6 - 8, Anchorage, Alaska. Contact the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy at 202-507-4000 or www.aceee.org/2023-hot-water-forum IIAR Natural Refrigeration Conference & Heavy Equipment Expo, March 12 - 15, Long Beach, Calif.

VÝVOJ DISKUSlÍ O SMRTIACICH AUTONÓMNYCH ZBRAŇOVÝCH SYSTÉMOCH V RÀMCI DOHOVORU O ZÀKAZOCH ALEBO OBMEDZENIACH POUŽITIA URČITÝCH KONVENČNYCH ZBRANÍ 1

Since 2013 a debate on lethal autonomous weapon systems has come to the forefront under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). These weapon systems are still under development, and individual states and non-state actors have different views on their potential deployment in the future, which had a decisive impact on proceedings of the CCW meetings. The aim of the study was to identify the key positive and negative outcomes of individual meetings, issues, on which parties have not yet reached a consensus, and to analyse the development of the CCW membership base in terms of involvement of governmental and non-governmental subjects, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the meetings. The study was conducted using a synthesis of data regarding individual CCW meetings of high contracting parties and other entities, which were basis for the qualitative analysis and comparison method. In conclusion, the author described the creation of a platform of experts for lethal autonomous weapon systems, eleven guiding principles and four approaches to defining these weapon systems as the most significant benefits of the CCW debates. In terms of COVID-19 pandemic, the negative impact was identified for developing countries. Based on the findings in the study the author does not expect creation of an international legislative act banning lethal autonomous weapon systems in the short- or medium-term period.

Finding space for nature in cities: the considerable potential of redundant car parking

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are recognised as a means to address challenges such as heatwaves, flooding and biodiversity loss. Delivering these benefits at scale will require large areas of scarce urban land to be converted into green space. Here we show an approach by which cities can make substantial progress towards their sustainability targets using NBS, by converting redundant street parking into biodiverse green space. We demonstrate that up to half of street parking in our case study municipality (The City of Melbourne) could be accommodated in garages within 200 m, freeing up large areas for greening. Our modelling projects significant benefits in terms of tree canopy over, stormwater and ecological connectivity. These would represent strong progress towards a number of the city’s ambitious NBS targets. As many cities allocate extensive areas to both street parking and off-street garages, this approach to freeing up space for nature in cities is widely applicable.

Reflections on a Term as CACAP President During the Pandemic

The article presents the discussion on valued opportunity for gathering again in person to consolidate knowledge and building collaborations in education, research, and advocacy. Topics include young and old adjusting to the new normal with mixed emotions of welcoming relief, with aspects of social life returning, and guarded optimism;and experiencing challenges with disproportionate impacts on less socially advantaged members of society.

MEETINGS AND SHOWS

Because of the impact that COVID-19 is having on conferences, please check the conference's website for the most up-to-date information. DECEMBER HARDI Annual Conference, Dec, 3-6, Houston, Contact Heating Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International at 888-253-2128, hardimail@hardinet.org or https://hardinet.org/events Buildings XV Conference, Dec, 5-8, Clearwater Beach, Fla, Contact ASHRAE at 800-527-4723, meetings@ashrae.org or www.ashrae.org/buildingsxv International Conference on Building Ventilation and Air Conditioning, Dec. 9-10, New York, N.Y. Contact organizers at https://tinyurl.com/ICBVAC22 2023 JANUARY ABMA Annual Meeting, Jan. 13-16, Carlsbad, Calif. Contact the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy at 202-507-4000 or www.aceee.org/2023-hot-water-forum IIAR Natural Refrigeration Conference & Heavy Equipment Expo, March 12-15, Long Beach, Calif.

Back in the Saddle

The article highlights the success of the National Environmental Health Association's 85th Annual Educational Conference and Exhibition held in Spokane, Washington from June 28, 2022 to July 1, 2022. Topics mentioned include a list of pre-conference offerings to members of the association, the acquisition of skills and knowledge to help solve the daily challenges, and the contribution of sponsors to the success of the event.