1,720,958 research outputs found
Review Essay: Epstein, Marcia Jenneth. \u3ci\u3ePrions en chantant: Devotional Songs of the Trouvères\u3c/i\u3e
Get PDFEpstein, Marcia Jenneth. Prions en chantant: Devotional Songs of the Trouvères. Toronto Medieval Texts and Translations, II. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1997. 240 pp. Paperback 50.00. ISBN 0-802-00840-2
Dyslexia, distraction and ambient noise: The role of hearing in reading disabilities and delays
No full textAlthough hearing is the ‘second sense’ in our species, taking up a smaller proportion of cerebral real estate than vision, such territorial concepts are not accurate maps. Findings from databases in neurology and psychology indicate that accurate auditory processing is crucial to successful acquisition of skills in both reading and writing. Thus, sensory perception may be less easily divided and categorised than we have been led to believe by the traditional model of five discrete senses.
Reading, typically regarded as a visual activity, has an auditory foundation. The process of learning to read involves sub-vocalising, sounding out phonemes and words internally in association with the auditory memory, in a reprocessing of the phoneme formation skills practised by the very young child learning to speak. Delays in auditory processing, which are often caused by persistent ambient noise, can inhibit the grouping of written words with similar sounds, as in rhymes and assonance, into recognised patterns. This in turn inhibits recognition of correspondences between letter sequences and word sounds (Bradley & Bryant, 1978). Delayed recognition inhibits fluency in reading, both silently and aloud, and can be a significant cause of dyslexia. While noise occurring in classrooms has been extensively studied for its effects on learning, little is known about the effects of ambient noise in homes: Further study is needed
Soundscaping health: Resonant speculations
No full textAmong the challenges arising in the fields of Acoustic Ecology and Sound Studies is the often contentious process of defining soundscapes that promote health. Questions arise: Should recommendations be based on individual preference, or are there universal principles that apply regardless of circumstances? Are there such things as toxic and nourishing sounds, comparable to elements of nutrition? Do R. Murray Schafer’s calls for quieter and more harmonious soundscapes still make sense amid new assessments of urban noise as a vector for intercultural communication? Are both stances due for reconsideration? Decades of medical research on the effects on health and mood of ambient noise and recreational music can provide answers to some of these questions, even as studies from the social sciences raise others
Manifest: A Music Composition for Soundscape and Amplified Clarinet Engaging the Windsor Hum
No full textManifest is a five-movement composition for amplified clarinet and fixed multi-channel audio. The context for this work is the subject of noise pollution and the effect it can have on people and the ecosystem. In addition to the industrial noise of a manufacturing region, areas of Windsor, Ontario, are afflicted by a bothersome and persistent low frequency excitation known as the Windsor Hum. Unlike visible pollution, noise is an often-neglected concern, and much more discussion is needed to bring awareness to the health issues that arise from prolonged exposure to it. A community of resilient citizens has been enduring the disruptive consequences of industrial noise in Windsor and strive for a peaceful, healthy quality of life. Manifest is a social commentary delivered in the form of musique documentaire, a documentary-inspired approach to electroacoustic music. The foundation for the work was a series of investigative field recording trips to the Windsor region to capture the soundworld that would be used to establish the piece’s setting, while also acquiring an understanding of the predicament people were reporting. Through these recordings, additional research, and interviews with local residents, the relationship between heavy industry, industrial noise, the geography of the area, and the experiences of the people were developed into a narrative structure that was then used as the framework for the piece. The composition presents an immersive journey through Windsor, and the phenomenon of the Hum unfolds en route. The heterogeneous soundscape evokes parklands, a steel mill, and a large active river, all unified by recordings of spoken word, the clarinet, and brief transitional segments. The clarinet with live electronics represents the people and technology and serves as a common element linking these diverse sonic environments, featuring the versatility of this expressive instrument. As a compositional point of departure designed to strengthen the relationship between the clarinet and the soundscape, pitch material was derived from transcriptions and spectral analysis of the field recordings. This report presents the context, conceptualization, creative process, and analysis of this composition
Teaching a 'Humanistic' Science: Reflections on Interdisciplinary Course Design at the Post-Secondary Level
Get PDFDevelopment of post-secondary curriculum in emerging interdisciplinary fields presents particular challenges in course design and resource utilization, especially when the field is interdisciplinary by nature of its inherent breadth. A new course at the University of Calgary, designed to introduce undergraduate students to the methods and philosophy of Acoustic Ecology --- the study of sound and its effects on health, cognition and culture -- exemplifies both the challenges and some practical solutions. Following a brief history of the concept and its philosophy, a summary and critique is presented from the first offering of the course as a pilot project. Conclusions drawn include the necessity of an integrative approach to interdisciplinary fields of study that are true 'interdisciplines', the utility of experiential fieldwork, and the advantages presented by a student group with diverse academic backgrounds
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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