Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Music. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-151). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss &rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11863

The thesis, entitled Penser l'écran sonore : les théories du film parlant ( Thinking the sound screen : theories of the talking film ) aims to provide at once a survey and critique of such theories as have explicitly addressed themselves to film conceived of in its essence as a carrier of acoustically produced meaning. This position would seem to be the merest commonplace, however, review of the literature will show that the study of the cinematic sound object as such was hardly carried out in any systematic manner before the 1980s and the groundbreaking work of Rick Altman, Michel Chion, and Claudia Gorbman. Perhaps the most simple manner of illustrating previous theoretical approaches to this topos would be to indicate the " polar " extremes which mark the limits of the discursive space within which their coverage is inscribed - pessimism and mourning for the silents ( Balász ), dizzying mysticism ( Eisenstein ), Marxian ideological analysis ( Adorno and Eisler ), and various practical suggestions for filmmakers of the type proposed by Reisz and Spottiswoode. The thesis is divided into three along the familiar lines of sound qua sound - concerning that which is valid for all types of sound in the cinema - the voice in cinema, and cinema music. The main approaches to these objects can be similarly broadly characterised as semiological, second - wave semiological, ( i.e. semiology plus psychoanalysis ), cognitivist, and technopragmatic. The intention is to interrogate the merits and the defaults of these approaches by applying them to a range of problematics arising in the three areas listed above. It would of course be ideal if all approaches were to deal with identical questions, however, the internal dynamics of the various methodologies evidently privilege the framing of one question over another : in my opinion this presents its own interest, as the questions which can ( and, perhaps more importantly, cannot ) be posed within a given discursive structure are most revealing of the theoretical framework itself. The importance of cinema sound considered as representation rather than as simple transcription is insisted upon throughout. The limits of multichannelling are established as not greatly extending those already established by stereo. The practice of direct sound - of sound recorded on location or on set in real time - is found to have a distinctly theological dimension. The notion of subjective time as it is experienced by the spectator in the cinema is examined at length. A prominent feminist model of the functioning of sound in the cinema is found to be most unsteady. Finally, an aesthetic of the sound film which utilises the potential of the medium to the highest degree is proposed. A consideration of the lacunae in the field - which remain possibilities for further study - and an extensive bibliography complete the survey. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Humanities, 2006.

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The thesis, entitled Penser l'écran sonore : les théories du film parlant ( Thinking the sound screen : theories of the talking film ) aims to provide at once a survey and critique of such theories as have explicitly addressed themselves to film conceived of in its essence as a carrier of acoustically produced meaning. This position would seem to be the merest commonplace, however, review of the literature will show that the study of the cinematic sound object as such was hardly carried out in any systematic manner before the 1980s and the groundbreaking work of Rick Altman, Michel Chion, and Claudia Gorbman. Perhaps the most simple manner of illustrating previous theoretical approaches to this topos would be to indicate the " polar " extremes which mark the limits of the discursive space within which their coverage is inscribed - pessimism and mourning for the silents ( Balász ), dizzying mysticism ( Eisenstein ), Marxian ideological analysis ( Adorno and Eisler ), and various practical suggestions for filmmakers of the type proposed by Reisz and Spottiswoode. The thesis is divided into three along the familiar lines of sound qua sound - concerning that which is valid for all types of sound in the cinema - the voice in cinema, and cinema music. The main approaches to these objects can be similarly broadly characterised as semiological, second - wave semiological, ( i.e. semiology plus psychoanalysis ), cognitivist, and technopragmatic. The intention is to interrogate the merits and the defaults of these approaches by applying them to a range of problematics arising in the three areas listed above. It would of course be ideal if all approaches were to deal with identical questions, however, the internal dynamics of the various methodologies evidently privilege the framing of one question over another : in my opinion this presents its own interest, as the questions which can ( and, perhaps more importantly, cannot ) be posed within a given discursive structure are most revealing of the theoretical framework itself. The importance of cinema sound considered as representation rather than as simple transcription is insisted upon throughout. The limits of multichannelling are established as not greatly extending those already established by stereo. The practice of direct sound - of sound recorded on location or on set in real time - is found to have a distinctly theological dimension. The notion of subjective time as it is experienced by the spectator in the cinema is examined at length. A prominent feminist model of the functioning of sound in the cinema is found to be most unsteady. Finally, an aesthetic of the sound film which utilises the potential of the medium to the highest degree is proposed. A consideration of the lacunae in the field - which remain possibilities for further study - and an extensive bibliography complete the survey. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Humanities, 2006.

The interest in the effects of television violence on children has resulted in thousands of studies over the last 20 years. Previous research on laughter has generated many laughter theories and several studies show that laughter may influence mirth expressions and funniness ratings of material. The purpose of this study was to determine if a television laugh track affected children's perceptions of television violence. A review of the literature covered the areas of laughter and television laugh tracks, children's processing of television, and children's television violence perceptions. Forty-two children, aged 6 to 8 years old, were divided into two groups. One group watched a televised violent scene accompanied by a laugh track, and the other group watched the same scene without a laugh track. The children then answered questions on a Likert scale about their perceptions of the pain and violence in the scene. The data was analyzed using the t-statistic. At a .05 significance level, there were no significant differences between the control and treatment groups, supporting the null hypothesis. These results supported previous research showing that laugh tracks and laughter in general do not always increase funniness or other ratings, and that children may not be identifying closely with the characters. Suggestions for future research were presented. / Graduation date: 1993

published_or_final_version / Music / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this work I explore the use of sound as a means of presenting news to the user of the Internet. I accept that news sound as such, as it is presented on radio, is an effective mass communication medium. From there I ask the question if this sound, with the same underlying principles used in radio, can be effectively used on the Internet. This opposed to real changes made in the gathering, preparation and presentation of sound to be effective on the Information Superhighway. In the first chapter I look at the methods (good and bad) utilized to present sound on the radio. When I present a model for Internet use later in the work (chapter 5) I use these as a starting point. Some definitions are formulated, which also become important in chapter 5. In the second chapter I touch on the origins of the Internet and the use of web sites to provide a news service. I explore the methods employed by news specific sites to communicate information to Internet users and I compare that to uses on a non-news site, in this case National Geographic.com. Again I use the positive aspects of the study of these sites to form part of the model presented in chapter 5. Chapter 3 is dedicated to the technological development of the Internet and the use of multimedia to convey information. I also touch on the future of the information system and the expectations and requirements these developments would put on journalists working on the medium. In chapter 4 I compare the way in which three news sites handled the covering of the terrorist attack on America. Because of the territorial advantage, I choose to look at the coverage one year after the event. The positive use of text, video, sound and images on these three sites are used to format the model in the next chapter. As said previously, chapter 5 contains a model for the use of multimedia, specifically sound, to convey news information on the Internet. While the focus is on sound, I suggest here that the model is applicable to all the aids available to the Internet producer. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie werkstuk ontleed ek die gebruik van klank as 'n werktuig om nuus aan die Internetgebruiker oor te dra. Ek gaan van die beginsel af uit dat nuusklank op sy eie, met ander woorde soos dit op die radio uitgesaai word, wel 'n effektiewe, vinnige metode is om nuus aan massas mense oor te dra. Die vraag word gevra of klank op dieselfde manier, met dieselfde grondbeginsels en gebruike, 'n effektiewe medium is om nuus op die Internet aan te bied. Dié vraag word in teenstelling geplaas met die moontlikhede dat klank liefs op die radio hoort en nie deel behoort te wees van nuuswebtuistes nie, of dat daar wesenlike veranderinge gemaak behoort te word aan die nuus wat op die radio aangebied word, voor dit effektief op die Internet gebruik kan word. In die eerste hoofstuk kyk ek na die oorsprong en geskiedenis van radio en daarna na die ontwikkeling van nuus op radio. Ek behandel die beginsels van radionuus, met die doelom hierdie kenmerke dan later in die werkstuk (hoofstuk 5) te gebruik as die grondbeginsels vir 'n model vir die gebruik van klank om nuus op die Internet oor te dra. Ek kyk na die goeie en slegte praktyke wat in die oordrag van nuus op radio ontstaan het en probeer hierdeur sif om nie dieselfde swakplekke by die bogenoemde model in te sluit nie. In hierdie hoofstuk formuleer ek dan definisies vir die verskillende gebruike van klank om nuus oor die radio oor te dra. Hierdie definisies word ook later gebruik in die model vir die effektiewe gebruike van nuusklank op die Internet. In die tweede hoofstuk kyk ek na die oorsprong van die Internet, en dan (in meer detail) na die ontstaan van nuuswebtuistes. Ek ontleed die manier waarop inligting aan Internetgebruikers oorgedra word, op webtuistes wat spesifiek vir nuus geskep is, maar ek vergelyk dit ook met 'n webtuiste wat na my mening die Internet se kenmerke behoorlik aanwend om inligting oor te dra, nl. NationaIGeographic.com. Die goeie en slegte punte van die oordrag van inligting op die medium word ontleed, om ook later deel te vorm van die model in hoofstuk 5. Ek kyk in die derde hoofstuk na die tegnologiese ontwikkeling van die Internet en die gebruik van multimedia op die netwerk. Daar word ook geraak aan die toekomsmoontlikhede van die oordrag van groot hoeveelhede data (soos klank en video) op die netwerk. Soos die tegnologie ontwikkel, moet die persoon wat die produk daarstelontwikkel, en ek kyk na die vereistes wat aan joernaliste/vervaardigers van Internetnuus gestel word. In die vierde hoofstuk vergelyk ek die Internetaanbiedings van 'n spesifieke nuusgebeurtenis, die aanval op Amerika op 11 September 2001, van drie nuuswebtuistes. Ek kyk na die aanbiedings van die BBC, CNN en die SAUK, spesifiek na die gebruik van teks, grafika, video en klank om nuus aan Internetgebruikers oor te dra. Die (goeie en minder goeie) gebruik van klank op dié drie webtuistes vorm dan die basis van die model wat ek in hoofstuk 5 aanbied. Die vyfde hoofstuk word gewyaan die daarstelling van 'n model om klank as nuusmedium op die Internet te gebruik. Ek kyk na die beginsels van die goeie gebruik van klank wat in die eerste hoofstuk daargestel is en probeer dit verwerk vir gebruik op die Internet. Hoewel ek nie spesifiek die gebruik van ander media, soos teks, video en grafika, behandel nie, doen ek in hoofstuk 5 voor dat die model vir al die hulpmiddels op die Internetnuuswebtuiste kan geld.

This paper is concerned with exploring the musical content of the games Banjo-Kazooie and Yooka-Laylee from the perspectives of musical emotiveness, audiovisual feedback in video games, and adaptive music systems. The exploration consists of formal analysis of the two games, as well as a comparison between the two, this is done in order to determine the evolution of the way music and audio is designed and structured within two specific games created by roughly the same group of developers, only with a 20 year difference. It is fairly easily established, as was the hypothesis, that the two games utilise musical content in much the same ways, but that there has been no significant evolution in how the latter game utilises modern audio technology to expand on the adaptivity of the music system.

Research indicates that music has a unique and powerful ability to affect how listeners react to a story (Schaefer, 1998). Publishing houses are increasingly incorporating music and other multimedia effects into their products, with companies such as Booktrack now including novel-length soundtracks with e-books. The present study aimed to empirically investigate the relationship between music and text by examining whether readers' enjoyment of and distraction from a fiction e-book is affected by the inclusion of music or sound effects. One hundred and twenty undergraduate students at Brigham Young University completed an e-book reading task (either accompanied by sound effects, music, or nothing at all) and completed a post-task survey that measured their enjoyment of and distraction from the task. It was found that multimedia-enhanced e-books were significantly more enjoyable (M = 4.555) than e-books alone (M = 4.035). Both sound effects and music (Ms = 4.512 and 4.594, respectively) led to higher levels of enjoyment than the control condition (M = 4.035), although later analyses indicated this effect was primarily found in females. Only the multimedia e-books incorporating sound effects significantly lowered distraction levels compared with the control (Ms = 1.698 and 3.621, respectively). The amount of time a participant spent engaged in multimedia behaviors (e.g., watching television, playing video games) did not consistently affect the relationships investigated. It was concluded that music and sound effects may be an enjoyable and interesting feature of e-books without detracting from the story. In some cases, the addition of multimedia made e-books as enjoyable for those who typically did not enjoy fiction as it was for those who enjoy fiction. It is recommended that publishers continue investigating this relationship, as multimedia e-books may open access to a new marketable audience for publishers.

Ever since the introduction of sound in film, sound effects have played a big part in the experience of the film audience. Acousmatic sound effects are diegetic sounds that lack a visual source on screen, and they are frequently used in horror films. This research explores the relationship between familiarity with sound effects and the emotional response in the audience. An experiment was conducted where two test groups watched an excerpt from a horror film where acousmatic sounds were a big part of the soundtrack. One of the test groups watched a version where there were reoccurring familiar acousmatic sounds, and the other group watched a version with random un-familiar acousmatic sounds. Data was collected through self-report and physiological measurements. The results suggest that there is a dissonance between the conscious and unconscious emotional experience of suspense and fear. The physiological measurements indicate a higher emotional arousal in the group that watched the unfamiliar version of the stimuli, while the self-report propose a stronger conscious build-up of suspense leading to a stronger experience of fear in the group watching the familiar version. Further research directions based on the result of this research are presented.