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Wayang Hip Hop is a group led by dalang Ki Catur “Benyek” Kuncoro that combines Javanese wayang kulit conventions and hip hop music. This article traces the history of the group in relation to key developments in wayang kontemporer , while exploring controversies in its reception. Wayang Hip Hop is analyzed as an important new version of wayang that has garnered substantial attention from young spectators. Five reasons for the appeal of the performance are identified: (1) its complex musical intersections, (2) the radical adaptation of classical wayang stories to address contemporary problems, (3) the extension of the conventions of the gara-gara comic interlude into a full performance, (4) the adaption of Javanese wisdom to new settings, and (5) the adaptability of the production, which can has been presented in very diverse contexts.

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The semantic web is a family of web technologies that allow users to tag and retrieve resources (such as images, videos, and texts) in complex ways. Could theatre and performance research become more “international” if performance data (i.e., academic articles and multimedia corpora) could be freely accessed and combined by anyone with an internet connection? Open access policies and semantic web technologies could allow any resource to be tagged and linked together from a multiplicity of perspectives, requiring complex institutional changes that are probably neither feasible nor desirable.

The aim of this study was to describe and compare the different character sub-types of Javanese dance from a biomechanical perspective. One professional dancer was asked to repeat a basic motion (standingup) according to the movement rules that pertain to six character sub-types (humble-refined, proud-refined, humblestrong, proud-strong, monkey, and bird). A motion capture system consisting of seven infrared cameras with a sample rate of 100 Hz and two force plates with a sample rate of 1,000 Hz were used to capture kinematics and kinetics. There were significant differences in the biomechanical values we calculated for each character sub-type: range of motion, angular velocity, and ground reaction forces. The refined sub-types (humble-refined and proud-refined) showed the lowest values at the knee joint for range of motion and the lowest ankle, shoulder, and wrist angular velocities. This result suggests that low values in these measurements are related to the smooth movements of refined sub-types. These measurements help describe and contrast the motion patterns of Javanese dance, contributing both to the scientific analysis of Javanese dance and the application of biomechanics to the study of dance more generally.

Many authors argue that the case study is a valid and advantageous research method for certain studies, having been used as a method of academic research in the field of social sciences as well as in management. This research method is an integrated system and offers the opportunity for a holistic view that combines data collection methods such as archival searches, interviews, questionnaires and observation. The data collection needed to build a case study is labour-intensive, can last months or even years, and data overload seems almost inevitable. The case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within a real-life context. In this research method, qualitative data usually predominates, but quantitative data often appears in case studies. Some research studies consider the case study to be a research method for validating and constructing theory. Other research highlights that all social science studies must start with a theory based on a review of the literature relating to the subject under investigation and this theory must then be validated through the study of a specific object, phenomenon or social problem. The key point is that before a theory can be validated, it must be constructed. In other words, a theory or theoretical framework first emerges not through a deductive process but through the inductive approach of studying an empirical case or object, and finally all theories are initially based on a case or object. This type of research has traditionally been considered soft, due to the inexistence of criteria that allow to evaluate its validity as a method to study a phenomenon in its real context. The present work is part of this theme and intends to contribute to diminish the perception about the lack of rigour associated with the case study. The present research focuses on the analysis of the methodological rigour of defended master's dissertations. In this context an investigation was undertaken of master's dissertations in the management area of a higher education management institution that use the case study as the research method. In order to achieve our goals, four hundred and forty-two master's dissertations defended in management scientific master's degrees in a Portuguese higher education institution which specializes in the area of economic and business sciences were analysed. The results of the qualitative research indicate that 40.0% of the dissertations focus on case studies. The results obtained lead us to conclude that in general the dissertations analysed present a high level of methodological rigour with respect to the object of study and a moderate level with respect to data analysis and results. The most critical aspects are the way data are collected, namely the use of multiple sources of evidence in less than half of the cases, which makes triangulation of data impossible.  

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In recent years, the demand for health care has increased owing to the ongoing introduction of new health problems and the intensification of existing illnesses. As research in this area progresses, knowledge becomes the primary motivation for patients to adopt a better quality of life. Consequently, many health units have struggled to develop solutions to manage excessive demand while maintaining a high quality of service to enhance patient satisfaction and boost revenues. One of these tactics is using simulation models as a method of operational research to analyze the flow of patients and predict potential solutions to enhance resource efficiency while decreasing waiting time. This work aims to develop and demonstrate a simulation model that replicates the functioning of a hospital unit. For this purpose, data derived from the health services of the Imaging Department of a private hospital, located in Lisbon, Portugal, were used. This model will replicate the daily flow that this department is subjected to by its patients and personnel and depict how the system evolves due to the management of the department's number of resources and examination rooms. At the end of the analyses, several solutions are presented and discussed, from level to level, concerning improvements in the performance of services, resources and patients. However, only the increase in one unit of examination rooms translates into a huge positive impact on waiting times in the respective queues.