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Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on July 7, 2010). A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, [Department of] Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta. Includes bibliographical references.

This project will be using an Action Research methodology to reflect on my own practice as a dundun practitioner. It examines the roots of my practice in the traditions of the dundun in the Yoruba tradition in Nigeria - both from oral and literary sources - and in my experiences in Hungary. It concentrates on my work in Hampshire where I worked in a number of different contexts. It examines in detail two case studies in which I attempted to recontextualise the dundun in two separate institutions - church and prison. These will be examined and analysed using the frames of post-colonial theory and Foucauldian social constructionism. Five concepts arise from these analyses which permeate the thesis: 'cultural dialogue, understanding and integration'; 'representation and presentation of culture and notions of identity'; 'tradition, authenticity and originality'; 'construction of meanings' and 'empowerment' . An important thread in this thesis on reflexive practice in the area of recontextualisation is the part the dundun plays in identity construction, contrasting Yoruba with European practice. The conclusions reflect the complexity of the processes involved in recontextualisation, especially the role of gatekeepers, the place of plurality in value systems in openness to change, the role experience plays in approaching new contexts, the complexity of the issues involved in cultural dialogue, the different types of power found in the various contexts and the relationship between tradition, authenticity and originality in various cultures. It analyses how my own practice has been influenced by these case studies.

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The maximum yield taken in an oil refinery can not exceed 70% without including Delayed Coker Unit (DCU) as part of unit operations in the refinery. This implies naturally a big attraction on investing of such a unit for refiners. However, during the past decades, there were few refiners included Coker unit in the refinery, due to the fact of its large capital investment with a high marginal profitability. On the other hand the technologies developed to operate a coker unit, involve a series of process steps that require highly trained and well experienced operators with a state of art of design to overcome all the challenges with this unit operation. Safety, as a prime factor of design and operation requires much attention in the design of this unit. Among different safety consideration in the design and operation of Coker Unit, this project thesis focuses on the dynamic behaviour of Coke Drums PSV (Process Safety Valve) relief and its interaction with Blowdown section of the unit that leads also to the PSV relief of Blowdown section with change of temperature versus time during the first 15 minutes that is considered as the time required for operators intervention. The main findings in this thesis are about the complications in the design aspects of delayed coker unit as well as the importance and role of safety of operation of this unit. It also gave me an insight of cascade relief during the upset condition in an online coke drum and the importance of a reliable piping system to handle the hydraulics as well high temperature conditions.

The purpose of this study is to develop a comprehensive curriculum for drum set in the college percussion studio. The main emphasis of the paper is to provide information addressing the needs of the percussion student over a four-year course of drum set study. In addition, I will show how these needs can best be met through the use of both existing instructional materials and original supplemental materials written by the author. The need for a drum set curriculum is defined and an in-depth review made of selected extant materials. After defining the general guidelines for the curriculum, a limited number of instructional materials were chosen from the extant materials which could adequately and affordably fulfill these guidelines. Recommended studies for the freshman through senior years are outlined and instructional objectives defined.

This thesis scientifically investigates the setup and tuning of cylindrical membranophones as musical instruments. To date there has been very little quantitative analysis of drum tuning with respect to performance sound, studio recording and music production. Digital signal analysis has been used to quantify a number of acoustic related factors to drum setup and tuning. This is concerned with the evaluation of a drum's free vibration once excitation has occurred. Novel analysis of membranophone response is performed with respect to tuning an 'equalised drumhead'. Such analysis has not previously been performed on cylindrical drums with two heads. The findings show that it is indeed possible to tune a drum to a chosen, uniform frequency response and to a quantified accuracy. With reference to previous, non-scientific literature, the fundamental frequency of each drum in the modern drum kit is shown for the first time to be objectively tunable to correspond to a musical pitch. The research also investigates the role of the resonant head in tuning cylindrical drums. Unique analysis of the interaction between the two membranes shows for the first time that the ratios of the modal frequencies present in a drum sound are not fixed and can be manipulated to more desirable ratios. The fundamental frequently present is shown to be the same for both batter and resonant heads due to the strong coupling effect of the (01) modes. Furthermore the current research shows how this ability to manipulate the frequencies present in the drum can be extended to the drum kit as a whole and how the envelope profile of cylindrical drums with two heads can be manipulated via tuning and damping. This research therefore provides an original contribution to the knowledge of drum tuning for both scientific and musical purposes.

Purpose: the purpose of this study was to see if the performance in the form of number of arrests of drummers were influenced with the help of music. Since the year 2000 so is it a sport that goes under the epithet" Extreme sport drumming" World’s Fastest Drummer (WFD) where it is at in 1 minute to make as many raids as possible on a snare drum. During these competitions used music as a tool without the participants perform the operation only to the sound that d that they do by the gambling. Method: The Method used in this study is of kvasiexperiment design in which the dependent /independent variable measured. In the study, eight adult professionals entered their experience ranges between 15 and more than 40 years’ total in the exercise of drumming. All participants used the same music where the song was" the Living dead" with Entombed and from the album Clandestine that gave out in 1991. Initially, participants were to perform step 1 without music to in subsections 2 to repeat the procedure again with the music. After completed the test answered the participants on how they experienced the music: Motivating, Annoying, or indifferent. Results: During this study was no significant difference detected between the conditions, some of the participants performed better without music than with. Conclusion: in Order to achieve an adequate effect of the music, so it seems that it has the best effect during the working hours where it then goes to draw the focus towards the music, and thus perform better. / Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att se om prestationen i form av antal tillslag hos trumslagare påverkades med hjälp av musik. Sedan år 2000 så finns det en sport som går under epitetet "Extreme sport drumming" Worlds Fastest Drummer (WFD) där det går ut på att under 1 minut göra så många tillslag som möjligt på en virveltrumma. Under dessa tävlingar så används inte musik som hjälpmedel utan deltagarna utför momentet enbart till det ljud som de själva åstadkommer genom spelandet. Metod: Metoden som använts i denna undersökning är av kvasiexperimentell design där beroende /oberoende variabel mätts. I studien har åtta stycken yrkesmusiker ingått där deras erfarenhet sträcker sig mellan 15 och 40år totalt i utövandet av trumspel. Samtliga deltagare använde sig av samma musik där låten var "Living dead" med Entombed och från albumet Clandestine som gavs ut 1991. Inledningsvis fick deltagarna utföra moment 1 utan musik för att under moment 2 upprepa proceduren igen med musik. Efter avslutat test svarade deltagarna på hur de upplevt musiken: Motiverande, Irriterande eller likgiltig. Resultat: Under denna studie så kunde ingen signifikant skillnad påvisas mellan betingelserna, några av deltagarna presterade bättre utan musik än med. Slutsats: För att uppnå en adekvat effekt av musiken så verkar det som att den har bäst effekt under längre arbetstider där det då går att rikta fokuset mot musiken och på så vis prestera bättre.

This dissertation will focus on the concepts of musical time of two solo multiple-percussion compositions, Thirteen Drums (1985) by Maki Ishii and Rebond A (1987-1989) by Iannis Xenakis. The aesthetic experience of musical works is tied to the perception of musical time. Performers have to understand the concepts and methods of construction of musical time in order to interpreting composer’s works. The model of cognitive process in neuroscience of music and the information processing theory from cognitive psychology is provided to explain the perception of musical time and its importance to the aesthetic experience of music. The rhythmic structure, which is essential in temporal structure to the perception of musical time, is examined in depth to show its significant influence on the aesthetic experience in both works. Rhythmic tension will also affect the aesthetic experience.