72 research outputs found
OIMB Term Photo: Summer 2006
No full textSummer 2006
Back Row: Kyle Krumsick, Katie Bennett, Kendra Bolt, Molly Finlayson, Scott Mayback, Daniel Moe, Daniel Ross Leonardo, Brad Laird.
Row Two: Graem Davis, Monika (Invert TA), Walker Julliard, Ben Grupe, Andrew Ohana-Richardson, Tracey Smart, ?, Chi Ho Chan, Sibel Bargo Ates, ?.
Row Three: Dylan Farnsworth, Jim Trainer, Anne Pollard, Michelle Schuiteman, Stuart King, Leah Luster, Cynthia Fait, Tyler Saxton, Lauren Reed, Warren Hanson, Shelley Farnsworth, Katie Baltzer.
Front Row, Step: Emily, Flora, John Sanderson, Jose Marin Jarrin, Mike Holmes, ?, Heather Brand, Matt Kalitz, ?, Emily Buck, Janet Voltzow, Yvette Garner.
Front Row, Pavement: Ronnie Estelle, Ezzy Cooper, Jan Hodder, Mike Berger, Laurel Hiebert, Stephanie Laffan
An Investigation Into The Design Of Musical Performance Instruments
No full textThe Yamaha VL1 has attracted much interest as the first generally available synthesiser to emulate the subtle dynamic response of acoustic instruments, and yet not be constrained to copy these instruments wholesale. While the VL1 is a powerful, state of the art machine, the possibility is explored here of enriching the control dynamics side of existing MIDI equipment by the computer processing of MIDI control signals with an Atari ST. The WX7 windcontroller and the polyphonic aftertouch keyboard are considered as controlling devices. This leads onto more general considerations of musical performance instruments. Csound running in real time on an SGI Indy equipped with a MIDI interface is used to explore techniques not accessible on MIDI synthesisers. Several useful examples are presented, and some ideas for future work which the author feels encouraged to undertake. 2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank Ross Kirk and Andrew Hunt for their enthusiasm and help with this project. Valuable conversations with Music Technology students past and present have left their mark, I'
Philosophy of Western Music: A Contemporary Introduction
No full textThis is the first comprehensive book-length introduction to the philosophy of Western music that fully integrates consideration of popular music and hybrid musical forms, especially song. Its author, Andrew Kania, begins by asking whether Bob Dylan should even have been eligible for the Nobel Prize in Literature, given that he is a musician. This motivates a discussion of music as an artistic medium, and what philosophy has to contribute to our thinking about music. Chapters 2-5 investigate the most commonly defended sources of musical value: its emotional power, its form, and specifically musical features (such as pitch, rhythm, and harmony). In chapters 6-9, Kania explores issues arising from different musical practices, particularly work-performance (with a focus on classical music), improvisation (with a focus on jazz), and recording (with a focus on rock and pop). Chapter 10 examines the intersection of music and morality. The book ends with a consideration of what, ultimately, music is.https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/mono/1147/thumbnail.jp
Standardised ginseng extract G115® potentiates the antidepressant-like properties of fluoxetine in the forced swim test
No full textOBJECTIVE:
Ginsenosides, biologically-active components of the root of Panax ginseng, have been reported to have therapeutic benefits in a number of disease states including psychiatric conditions such as major depressive disorder. Our objective was to determine if a standardized commercial ginseng extract, G115®, could reduce the signs of behavioural despair commonly observed in animal models of depression either alone or in combination with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine.
METHODS:
Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (N=51) were divided into four groups: vehicle control, G115® ginseng root extract, fluoxetine and fluoxetine plus G115®. Rats were trained to voluntarily consume treatments twice daily for 14 days and were then tested in an open field (OF), elevated plus maze (EPM) and forced swim test (FST). Post-mortem hippocampal and prefrontal cortex tissue was analysed for expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) by Western Blot.
RESULTS:
One-way ANOVA revealed no significant group differences in open field or plus maze performance on any variable examined. In the forced swim test fluoxetine significantly reduced immobility time and increased latency to immobility. The effects of fluoxetine were further significantly potentiated by co-administration of G115®. Post-mortem tissue analysis revealed significant group differences in BDNF expression in the left hippocampus and left prefrontal cortex without any accompanying changes in TrkB expression.
CONCLUSIONS:
We conclude that oral G115® significantly potentiates the antidepressant-like effect of fluoxetine in the forced swim test in the absence of potentially confounding effects on locomotion and anxiety
Maine for Voyeurs, piece on places where one might spot celebrities, including
No full textMaine for Voyeurs, piece on places where one might spot celebrities, including Walker\u27s Point in Kennebunkport (President George and H. R. Bush); Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland (music stars playing at the Cumberland County Civic Center); L.L. Bean in Freeport (Bob Dylan and Garth Brooks have been spotted at night); Wasses Hot Dogs in Rockland (artist Andrew Wyeth); the Grasshopper Shop in Rockland (actress Kirstie Allie); The Colonial theater in Belfast (actor John Travolta); the Havana bistro in Bar Harbor (Martha Stewart); and Mansfield Baseball Complex in Bangor (author Stephen King)
Third-Party Intervention and the Civil War Process
No full textWhat effect do third parties have on the evolution of civil wars? The authors argue that interven-tion by third parties is central to the civil war process, a process that is characterized by the dur-ation of hostilities and the type of outcome. The authors examine empirically the effect of third-party intervention into civil wars during the period 1816–1997, using the event history framework of competing risks. From the perspective of competing risks, as a civil war endures, it is at risk of experi-encing a transition to one of three civil war outcomes in our sample: military victory by the gov-ernment, military victory by the opposition group, and negotiated settlement. The competing risks approach provides considerably better leverage on the dynamic qualities of civil wars and, in par-ticular, the influence of interventions by third parties. The analysis suggests that third-party inter-ventions can be decisive in the evolution of civil wars and that third-party interventions have a different effect on the duration than different civil war outcomes. The results show that third-party intervention decreases the time until the supported group achieves military victory. Furthermore, third-party interventions, on both the government and opposition sides, increase the time until a negotiated settlement. * Dylan Balch-Lindsay, our co-author and friend, passe
Crop visitation by wild bees declines over an 8‐year time series: A dramatic trend, or just dramatic between‐year variation?
No full textDespite widespread recognition of the need for long-term monitoring of pollinator abundances and pollination service provision, such studies are exceedingly rare.
In this study, we assess changes in bee visitation and net capture rates at watermelon crop flowers at 19 farms in the mid-Atlantic region of the USA from 2005 to 201
Over the eight years, we found a 58% decline in wild bee visitation to crop flowers, but no significant change in honeybee visitation rate. Most types of wild bees showed similar declines in both the visitation and the net capture data; bumblebees however declined by 56% in the visitation data but showed no change in net capture rates.
While we detected large and significant declines in wild bees when using GLMM models, permutation analyses that account for non-directional variation in abundance were non-significant, demonstrating the challenge of identifying and describing trends in highly variable populations.
As far as we are aware, this paper represents one of fewer than 10 published time series (defined as >5 years of data) studies of changes in bee abundance, and one of only two such studies conducted in an agricultural setting. More such studies are needed in order to understand the magnitude of bee decline and its ramifications for crop pollination.Please do not hesitate to contact the corresponding author on this paper with questions about the data and usage: Andrew Aldercotte - [email protected] provided by: National Institute of Food and AgricultureCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100005825Award Number: 2009‐ 65104‐0578
Path Plan Performance Evaluation of the Challenge 1: A Small Unmanned Surface Vehicle for Radiation Detection and Mapping
No full textThis thesis will compare the performance of the Challenge 1 unmanned surface vehicle when autonomously conducting a radiological survey of a bounded, obstacle free, convex polygon via a traditional raster scan versus a novel spiral-like path plan. Currently, unmanned ground vehicles (UGV), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and unmanned surface vehicles (USV) use a simple raster scan to insure complete coverage of a predefined, obstacle free area. Raster scans require a 180 degree change in heading which is easy for tracked UGVs and vertical take-o_ UAVs to accomplish, but more difficult for marine vehicles and fixed winged UAVs. A spiral-like path plan will not completely eliminate turns close to 180 degrees, but presents the possibility of removing the number of sharp turns at the expense of adding more slight turns. The author of this thesis originally hypothesized that this spiral-like path plan would result in shorter autonomous surveys by the Challenge 1 USV, as well as a higher percentage of coverage. Shorter surveys will allow operators such as the mission specialist overseeing a disaster in which radiological material may be present or treaty verification inspectors searching a facility to conduct more surveys in a limited time, which therefore increases the total area searched over this time period as well as provides data to the mission specialist faster. A higher percentage of coverage attained by the spiral-like path plan would guarantee a more complete representation of the area surveyed.
To test this hypothesis the author used the 1.15 acre pond at John Crompton Park in College Station, Texas, to generate twenty-five unique convex polygons via teleoperation of the Challenge 1, ranging in size from 450 square meters to 1027 square meters, to which a raster path plan and spiral-like path plan were each used by the Challenge 1 to survey the area, resulting in fifty total runs. Following the data collection, the associated log from each run was used to calculate total survey time, total survey distance, root mean square of cross-track error, Hausdorff Distance (max RMS error), percent coverage, and percent of survey locations inside the bounded convex polygon. The average survey time for a spiral like path plan versus a raster scan was 13.68 seconds shorter (p < :59). The average total distance for a raster path versus a spiral like path was 15.53 meters less (p < :061). The average RMS of cross-track error for a spiral like path plan versus a spiral path plan was 0.31 meters less (p < :123). The average Hausdorff Distance for a spiral like path plan versus a raster scan was 1.53 meters less (p < 0:0005). The average of percent coverage for a raster scan versus a spiral like path was 4:22% higher (p < 0:027). The average of percentage of locations in the bounding area for a raster path versus a spiral like path was 16:88% higher (p < 0:00023). This shows that for �� = :05, there is no statistical difference between either of the two path plans for survey time, survey distance, or RMS of cross-track error. However, there is a statistical difference between the two path plans for Hausdorff Distance, percent coverage and percentage of locations inside the bounding area. Due to the spiral path plan's inability to maintain locations inside the bounding area, a raster scan is the best path plan to use when surveying a bounded convex polygon with the Challenge 1 since it results in the highest percentage of coverage with no statistical difference in survey time, survey distance, or RMS of cross-track error. This result is only guaranteed for the Challenge 1 and its associated controller, with potentially different outcomes if tested on other surfaces vehicles, especially those with underwater propellers, rudders, or jet pump (no propeller or rudder) propulsion systems
Recommended from our members
Select Works on the Economics of Education
No full textThis dissertation comprises three essays in the field of economics of education. The first essay studies the short and long-run effects of Head Start, a federally funded early childhood education program that targets children from low-income families. This research replicates and extends previous evaluations of Head Start's impact on life cycle skill formation. My co-authors and I find primarily negative impacts of Head Start for more recent birth cohorts and null impacts of Head Start on school-age and early adulthood outcomes for all birth cohorts. Unpacking these results, we show that factors unrelated to Head Start, such as the mother's age at their child's birth, likely play an important role in mediating Head Start impacts across time.
The second essay explores the association between historic neighborhood inequality and modern-day educational outcomes. In this research, my co-author and I link 1935-1940 Home Owners' Loan Corporation A-D security ratings to present-day public schools and districts to determine whether educational institutions located in historically “D” neighborhoods have worse modern-day outcomes than those located in “A,” “B,” or “C” neighborhoods. In doing so, we find that schools and districts in “D” neighborhoods have, on average, less overall funding, student diversity, and worse academic performance than their “A,” “B,” and “C” peers.
The third essay evaluates the impact of the New York City Department of Education's cellphone ban on school discipline and school culture. Overall, I find that NYCDOE’s removal of their districtwide ban reduced school suspensions but also worsened student perceptions of school culture across various dimensions, including respect, student behavior, and school safety. These results show that while the removal of the New York City Department of Education's cellphone ban led to less punitive disciplinary measures in schools, it came at the cost of impaired student perceptions of school culture
The Social Dimension of Piety. Associative Life and Devotional Change in the Penitent Confraternities of Marseilles (1499-1792)
No full text- …
