NEWCASTLE

• LONDON, March 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- British Esports, the UK's national esports federation, and Pearson (FTSE: PSON,L), the world's leading learning company, have launched a new suite of higher-tier BTEC qualifications in Esports - the first internationally available qualifications of their kind.
• For more information about the Higher National BTEC Qualifications in Esports, please visit the BTEC Higher Nationals in Esports .
• These new qualifications, launching in 2024, complement Pearson and British Esports' existing BTEC in Esports offering, including the Level 2 Skills in Esports BTEC for Key Stage 4 students, and the Level 3 BTEC Nationals in Esports for students aged 16+.
• The BTEC Higher National qualifications are widely recognised by industry and higher education authorities around the world as the principal technical professional qualification at this level.

• Regional touring festival Groovin’ The Moo has announced its cancellation only eight days after placing tickets on sale, citing low demand.
• So why are we seeing so many Australian music festivals cancelled?

Growing challenges for festivals

• Higher overheads Rapidly increasing overheads, such as rocketing public liability insurance costs for both venues and festivals alike, affect the viability of such events.
• This problem began with the COVID pandemic, but extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change have compounded these issues as well as affecting the viability of outdoor summer music festivals.
• In 2022 alone, more than 20 Australian festivals were cancelled because of extreme weather.
• Read more:
  No festivals, no schoolies: young people are missing out on vital rites of passage during COVID

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• The consolidation of taste While “variety” festivals such as Groovin’ the Moo and Falls Festival – which feature diverse, multi-genre lineups – are struggling, genre-specific festivals and major artist tours continue to perform well.

Is this anything new?

• Uncertainty is inherent in the music business, where an oversupply of product meets a market driven by the vagaries of taste.
• Festival programmers must “forecast” what will draw a crowd, booking performers up to a year in advance.
• However, mega-crises, such as the pandemic, climate change and financial shocks, create deeper uncertainties that fundamentally challenge business as usual.

Sam Whiting receives funding from Creative Australia and the Australasian Performing Right Association. Ben Green receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australasian Performing Right Association.

• In this study, FibroFind Ltd. (Newcastle, UK) obtained diseased lung tissue from two individuals undergoing lung transplantation for end-stage IPF, a deadly fibrotic lung disease.
• Precision cut lung slices (PCLuS) were made and individually incubated in culture with rencofilstat, nintedanib, pirfenidone, or combinations of the compounds for four days.
• Quantitative proteomic characterization of lung tissue in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
• Quantitative proteomic characterization of the lung extracellular matrix in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

• PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC) today announced New Castle Community Schools (NCCS) in New Castle, Indiana selected PowerSchool Naviance , a core component of the PowerSchool Workforce Development Cloud , to support its college, career, and life readiness (CCLR) program.
• “Through our district’s positive experience using PowerSchool SIS, selecting Naviance to support our college and career readiness program was an easy decision,” said Adam McDaniel, Assistant Superintendent, New Castle Community School Corporation.
• New Castle Community School Corporation (New Castle Community Schools) is a public school corporation located in New Castle, Indiana.
• New Castle Community Schools offers a PK-12 curriculum across eight total schools – including one high school, one middle school, and six elementary schools.