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Playing tape: creative record production approaches of contemporary singer-songwriters
No full textThe advent of recording technology has had a drastic yet often unseen influence on music in all its forms. It has changed the way musicians compose, perform, and listen, and has influenced how the world at large perceives and consumes music. However, musicians in turn have exerted influence over the medium itself, manipulating the various editing and enhancing functions of the record production process to create new musical material. This mutually influential relationship between the musician and record production has evolved with each new advancement in audio recording technology, and is becoming increasingly accessible with the development of affordable digital recording devices and software. As a result, more musicians are exploring creative production methods and incorporating them into their music. In some cases, songwriters and composers are using the production process to bring new depth and meaning to their works by reflecting those ideas in the music recordings themselves.
This thesis explores this phenomenon through a combined approach of research and auditory analysis. Firstly, it establishes a basis for the claim that music production is itself a creative field alongside music composition through research on the process of music recording. Secondly, it examines three case studies each consisting of an album by a contemporary singer-songwriter: The Bearer of Bad News by Andy Shauf;
22, A Million by Bon Iver; and Introduce Yerself by Gord Downie. Each case study consists of an overview of the artist's career and general style established through research, followed by an in-depth analysis of select tracks from each album that showcase creative production technique, and an argument based on the production of the entire album
Exploring the phenomenon of filamentation in Listeria monocytogenes
No full textListeria monocytogenes is an opportunistic food-borne pathogen which displays tolerances to a plethora of stress factors, that allows it to persist in harsh environments. Listeria monocytogenes strain Lm568, originally isolated from a food processing environment, was exposed to cold and acid stress and subsequently developed colonies with atypical morphology relative to its wild type. Further examination of the cells from these colonies under the microscope revealed an elongated phenotype. Filamentation is a stress response that has been documented in a variety of bacteria, including L. monocytogenes when subjected to difficult conditions. However, little is known about the relevance of this state in the context of food safety. For example, do these filamented cells form septa and revert to normal cells, thereby increasing the infected dose if
ingested. If not, what is the virulence capacity of the cells in the elongated state. In this study experiments were performed to shed light on these questions. A virulence assay, microscopy, growth kinetic assays, and
other characterization tests were applied to wild type strain Lm568 (Lm568WT) and its filamemented phenotype (Lm568F) with the aim of assessing the risk Lm568F could pose as a food pathogen compared to its
wild type counterpart. Filamentation in this strain of L.monocytogenes appears to result in less virulence, despite the mutant being just as metabolically active as the original Lm568WT strain. During this study, a morphological variant, distinguishable by its short-curved rod morphology,was found to have derived from samples of Lm568F, suggesting this strain is able to revert from the filamented state under certain stress conditions. Overall, this variant named Lm568D, also appears to be less virulent than Lm568WT and may pose less of a risk to food safety than Lm568WT
Accidents, inevitability, and robots: regulating the autonomous car
No full textAutonomous vehicles are the future and their presence on the road is rapidly approaching. These cars will no longer require a human to physically drive them, resulting in a new form of driving. This new way of driving will present many uncertainties to society. Societies have vigorous regulations in place for the operation of vehicles, these regulations will become inapplicable to autonomous cars.Should the autonomous vehicle industry be regulated? What kinds of standards will the new auto industry be held to in relation to these vehicles? What changes will have to be implemented into the insurance industry? Governments have the overarching responsibility to ensure the protection of the public. Regulation of this new activity will be required in order to ensure standards of the vehicles themselves and overall public safety. This project examines the history of government regulation of the automobile industry and also examines the implications resulting from innovative transitions in other industries, such as airplane industry. The airplane industry has moved from being solely human-operated to include autonomous mechanisms such as auto-pilot. This thesis focuses on why government regulation is necessary for the implementation of autonomous vehicles in society. It also employs an ethical framework as part of this analysis and will examine theories of accidents in relation to this issue. These theories, such as Paul Virilio's theory on accidents explain why government regulation is needed in order to create new regulations needed for this innovation. Accidents are a part of society. Autonomous cars will bring new accidents with them. Regulation is needed to mitigate the possible accidents and damages these new cars present to society
Gender disparity trends in the Canadian legal profession: a case study of Nova Scotia lawyers
No full textThe objective of this thesis is to develop a better understanding of the gender disparity in Canada's legal profession. Focusing on the province of Nova Scotia, I examine why this province does not follow the trend of the rest of the country in terms of women being under-represented in law. Both qualitative and quantitative data are employed to answer this important question. The qualitative data was collected from four semi-structured interviews with women lawyers currently practicing in Nova Scotia, while quantitative data was collected from Canadian legal associations and the governments. For comparative analysis, countries in which gender quotas are implemented in the legal profession are also reviewed. This provides insight regarding the potential advantages of quota initiatives, as well as providing direction for policy suggestions for Canada's legal profession. Three hypotheses were posed. Firstly, that despite the trend in Nova Scotia of women outnumbering men in law firms, men will nonetheless hold a larger proportion of executive or partner positions in those firms, which follows with the rest of Canada. Secondly that there is a correlation between the greater proportion of small law firms in Nova Scotia and the number of women who are practicing law in the province.
Thirdly, because gender representation in Nova Scotia's legal field is an exception to the overall trend in Canada, it is anticipated that it has a quota-like initiative in place to ensure a more equal representation of
women in the legal profession. The first hypothesis was proven through qualitative and quantitative data collection as was the second hypothesis. The third hypothesis was inconclusive, however data from some European countries provide insight into possible policy options for Canada
Self-fashioning as mythmaking in 1 Henry IV, the Winter's Tale, and MacBeth
No full textThis thesis explores the processes through which characters' identities are constructed in William Shakespeare's 1 Henry IV, The Winter's Tale, and Macbeth. I extend Stephen Greenblatt's Renaissance Self-Fashioning by asserting that individuals fashion themselves for the purpose of exerting power over thos e around them. I also argue that the frequent allusion to classical myth in these plays urges us to understand the creation of identity as a process of mythmaking. This thesis contends with specific allusions toclassical myths, the ways in which Shakespearean characters define themselves, and the systems of power that operate within their respective plays in order to construct a clear argument about the nature of self-fashioning
Women's wealth and financialization in rural Nova Scotia between 1910-1930
No full textThis thesis uses Nova Scotia probate records to examine the level of female financial sophistication and wealth from 1910-1930. The wills of 149 women from Annapolis County women were read and analysed to determine the nature of their investments and wealth. The impacts of variables found in the wills such as marital status, location (urban vs. rural), wealth, and debt were all examined and found to have no strong relationship with whether women possessed different types of investments. From the levels of wealth described in the wills, a Gini coefficient of 0.78 was calculated, which shows extreme wealth in equality in the sample. This thesis deepens knowledge about the financial lives of mostly rural women in an understudied time period and shows the richness of detail available in probate wills
Effects of New Zealand black currant extract on cardiovascular function and exercise performance in football and rugby players
No full textPurpose: New Zealand blackcurrants (NZB) contain a high concentration of various polyphenols, the most notable being anthocyanins which have been linked to anti-inflammatory effects, increased peripheral blood flow and reduced oxidative stress. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of NZB supplementation on cardiovascular function and sports performance in rugby/football players. Methods: In a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over design, three male and two female athletes participated in two testing sessions. Participants were instructed to supplement twice daily for seven days (2x3
00mg, 1 capsule each time), equally distributed throughout the day. Participants began with a 3-minute warm-up at 50% VO2 max. Phase 1 consisted of a 5-minute run at 60% VO2 max. Phase 2 consisted of seven stages, totaling 204 seconds, with six repeated sprints lasting 19 seconds interspersed with active recovery bouts at 50% VO2 max lasting 15seconds. During the test, cardiovascular variables and respiratory gases were both collected. Results: The results showed that the number of completed sprints increased by 13% seen in 4 participants following NZB when compared to placebo (PLA) during the incremental running test (NZB: 26±5.31 vs. PLA: 23±9.37). Also, a trend was found for an 18.7% higher stroke volume during exercise in NZB (122±24.5 mL) compared with placebo (103±16mL). Conclusion: In conclusion, a 7-day NZB supplementation improved repeated sprint performance and cardiovascular function during an incremental running test
Sex differences in lower extremity kinematics during dynamic jump landing tasks following neuromuscular fatigue of the hip extensors and knee flexors
No full textIntroduction: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries often occur during the deceleration phase of movement where the knee is close to full extension. In the sagittal plane, females tend to land with reduced hip and knee flexion. Neuromuscular fatigue has been hypothesized to cause injury to the lower extremity, particularly to the ACL. A common observation during fatiguing contractions is that activation of antagonist muscles increases progressively, which reduces the net torque the agonist can produce. During the stance phase of landing, hip extensor and knee flexor muscles contract eccentrically to counteract the external hip and knee flexion moments. Rationale: Weakness of the hip extensors results in altered landing strategies where females rely on the quadriceps to help with joint stability. Decreased hip flexion has been associated with higher knee extensor moments and females tend to have greater knee extensor moments and decreased hip extensor moments compared to men. Decreased torque producing ability of the hip extensors and knee flexors could further highlight sex differences. The purpose of this study was to investigate kinematics following neuromuscular fatigue and determine if sex differences exist in sagittal plane joint movements. Methods: Nine female (mean age 22.3 ± 3.4 years) and seven male (mean age 21.3 ± 2.6 years) participants completed a series of hop tests including the triple hop for distance (THop) and single leg drop jumps (SJump) pre and post-fatigue protocol. A 3D motion capture system was used to measure hip and knee kinematics for single leg tasks at IC, MAX and MEAN angles during the stance phase of landing and were compared pre and post fatigue. Surface EMG sensors were applied to various muscles of the lower limb and measured muscular activity during the stance phase and muscular activity at IC. The fatigue protocol consisted of consecutive effort to failure eccentric knee extensions and eccentric and concentric hip extensions. Separate two-way repeated measure MANOVAs were used to identify sex and time differences in lower extremity kinematics and muscular activation patterns. Results: Through kinematic analysis, findings include significant effects of fatigue on hip flexion angles (p=0.01), and knee flexion angles (p=0.039) during the THop test. There was a significant effect of sex found during hip flexion angles (p=0.033). A significant interaction effect of fatigue and sex on hip flexion angular velocity was seen during the SJump (p=0.03). Males experienced greater knee
flexion angular velocities post-fatigue, whereas, females experienced a decrease in hip flexion angular velocities. In terms of muscle activity, significant findings were found for the GM and the ES. A significant sex effect was found during the THop for GM (p=0.053). A significant interaction effect of time and sex was seen in ES activation during the THop (p=0.023). Males had greater activation of the ES post-fatigue, whereas females had greater activation of the GM post-fatigue. Discussion: Landing with decreased hip and knee flexion angles increases the risk of injury to the ACL. By examining kinematic and muscle activation patterns, sex differences pertaining to injuries were observed. Following fatigue, females decreased flexion at the hip and knee. This suggests that fatigue of the lower limb decelerators causes females to land in positions which mimic those that cause ACL injury, which in turn heightens their risk of injury. The muscular activity results support these findings, as females experienced increased activation of the GM post-fatigue. Since the GM is
a hip extensor, it prevents females from being able to adequately flex at the hip upon landings. Importance: Fatigue had a larger impact on female landing kinematics compared to males, highlighting fatigue of the posterior chain musculature as a potential risk factor for lower extremity injury. These findings could be applied in both rehabilitative and injury prevention settings
The unfolding of souls: schooling experiences of newcomer refugee families in Nova Scotia
No full textSchools are often the first point of contact for newcomer families where they make relational connections to their new community. This critical qualitative study examines the schooling experiences of five newcomer refugee families in Nova Scotia, relative to their acculturation processes.
Through first voice conversations with families using a critical decolonized methodology, data is generated and analyzed with In Vivo and Emotion coding to encapsulate participant reactions to real-life incidents. My study's findings highlight that families' pre-and post-migration lived and schooling experiences impact their sense of belonging and acceptance in schools and communities; families have safer and more authentic intracultural relationships with people who share their culture and understanding of marginalization, than interculturally, with those who may not; families' cultural identities and communal ways of knowing and being are recognized and affirmed by schools, they feel less isolated and acculturate better; and families use resiliency and enculturated ethnic identity to overcome barriers and other forms of discrimination.
A decolonized communal lens is applied to traditional attachment theory and the four individualized strategies presented in John Berry's (1997) acculturation model. The result is a reimagined and enhanced theory that considers connectedness by creating conditions of cultural safety, balance, dignity, and equity for newcomers, to accurately examine their critical acculturation. Systemic change in the areas of prioritizing
teacher/student relationships, culturally responsive professional learning, and newcomer parent involvement can help the Canadian education system better welcome newcomer families in, without deliberately shutting them out
Perceived social support, public versus private affection sharing, and well-being outcomes in same-sex, mixed-sex, and gender diverse romantic relationships
No full textThe current research tested a moderated mediational model, which examined whether perceived social support for sharing relational affection predicted mental well-being via physical affection sharing (in private and public) and/or relational well-being, for individuals in same-sex, mixed-sex, and gender diverse relationships. 1850 participants completed an online survey. A series of regression analyses were conducted using Hayes' PROCESS macro. Results revealed theoretical justification for the proposed model and support for most of the hypotheses. Specifically, perceived social support for sharing relational affection was identified as a predictor of affection sharing practices. The results highlighted associations between context and physical affection sharing, as well as between perceived support, affectionate touch, and relational and mental well-being. The findings revealed that individuals in marginalized relationships tended to perceive less support for sharing relational affection, but all groups experienced comparable relationship processes overall. Potential explanations and implications of the present research are discussed