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Electric vehicles are increasingly a part of human everyday life. Accordingly, a key issue is how these vehicles should sound to make the traffic environment safer and more sustainable. The aim of this thesis is to map, understand and discuss the communicative properties of AVAS sound in an electric vehicle and to examine these sounds as a semiotic resource for meaning making. The research questions are: (i) What characterizes the AVAS sounds that are represented in traffic today; (ii) in what way can AVAS technology be developed to contribute to a safer and thus more sustainable traffic environment, and (iii) in what ways can a sound be designed to contribute to a safer and more secure traffic environment? Two studies were carried out: Study A conducted an analysis of already existing AVAS sounds found in traffic today and in Study B an AVAS prototype was created, built and installed. On the basis of the results, chord as a semiotic resource, the absence of low frequencies, pulsating effect and the vehicle as a semiotic resource are discussed. In conclusion, the issue of the vehicle as a participant in the public space is discussed.

Denna uppsats innefattar en kvalitativ studie med en introspektiv metod (Frostling-Henningsson, 2017), en undersökning av hur ett arbete med röstklanger kan användas som verktyg inom improvisation och gestaltning. Undersökningen utförs med grund i Nadine Georges metod i klangbildning och utifrån den analyserar jag sedan hur mina improvisationer påverkas av ett klangligt fokus, samt hur det kan gynna ett förmedlande av känsla och budskap (George 2013). Då rösten är något tydligt kopplat till känslouttryck i vår vardag går jag in på hur tonutformningen, även utan ord i en ordlös vokalimprovisation, kan påverka uppfattningen av sinnesstämning.

Through careful analysis of sound in Walden with some attention to related works, this study demonstrates the three major facets of Thoreau's use of sound: first, an unusual aural sensitivity illustrated by his many varied sound images, which add concreteness and experiential immediacy; next, the depth of meaning that sound has as his metaphysical symbol in perception and expression of spiritual truth; finally, his effectiveness with such auditory devices as rhythm, alliteration, assonance, and onomatopoeia to achieve a poetic quality-. Of equal importance to Thoreau are the sounds of his writing and the sounds in his writing. Realizing the reality, depth, and texture Thoreau gives his prose through his remarkable treatment of sound increases one's appreciation of Walden as art and of Thoreau as literary artist.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Most of the relevant and severe congenital cardiac malfunctions can be recognized in the neonatal period of a child’s life. The delayed recognition of a congenital heart defect may have a serious impact on the long-term outcome of the affected child. Experienced cardiologists can usually evaluate heart murmurs with a high sensitivity and specificity, although non-specialists, with less clinical experience, may have more difficulty. Although primary care physicians frequently encounter children with heart murmurs most of these murmurs are innocent. The aim of this project is to design an automated algorithm that can assist the primary care physician in screening and diagnosing pediatric patients with possible cardiac malfunctions. Although attempts have been made to automate screening by auscultation, no device is currently available to fulfill this function. Multiple indicators of pathology are nonetheless available from heart sounds and were elicited using several signal processing techniques. The three feature extraction algorithms (FEA’s) developed respectively made use of a Direct Ratio technique, a Wavelet analysis technique and a Knowledge based neural network technique. Several implementations of each technique are evaluated to identify the best performer. To test the performance of the various algorithms, the clinical auscultation sounds and ECG-data of 163 patients, aged between 2 months and 16 years, were digitized. Results presented show that the De-noised Jack-Knife neural network can classify 163 recordings with a sensitivity and specificity of 92 % and 92.9 % respectively. This study concludes that, in certain conditions, the developed automated auscultation algorithms show significant potential in their use as an alternative evaluation technique for the classification of heart sounds in normal (innocent) and pathological classes.

Numerous studies have evaluated and confirmed many benefits of errorless learning and fluency-based procedures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the benefits of combining an errorless learning procedure, stimulus shaping, and fluency-based procedures to teach see/say letter sound discriminations to three preschool children. Participants were taught 6 letter sounds using a hear/point stimulus shaping procedure followed by a see/say fluency-based procedure. A second letter set was taught using only the fluency-based procedure. Results showed that combining the procedures reduced the amount of teaching time by up to 40% and the percent of errors by up to 50%. This preliminary evidence shows exceptional promise in application of this combination of procedures to teach letter sounds to preschool children.

I detta arbete beskrivs ett projekt som syftade till att skapa bokstavssånger som ökar elevernas kunskap om bokstavsljuden och bidrar till språkutveckling samt fonologisk medvetenhet, vilket i sin tur kan stödja läs- och skrivinlärningen. Sångerna ska också vara roliga, meningsfulla och inbjuda till delaktighet. Projektet startades under mitt tredje år på Grundlärarprogrammet vid Uppsala universitet, då jag under 7 veckor hade min tredje och sista verksamhetsförlagda utbildning (VFU) i en förskoleklass i Uppsala. Projektet fortsatte även resten av våren som en del av min utbildning, då jag läste kursen Självständigt arbete 1 på 15 hp och valde att tillverka ett pedagogiskt material. Bokstavssångerna riktar sig mot elever och lärare i förskoleklass och årskurs 1, och är tänkt som ett komplement till övrig språkundervisning (exempelvis enligt Bornholmsmodellen) samt övrig musikundervisning. I arbetet argumenterar jag varför musik kan (och bör) användas i språkundervisningen, bland annat genom en kortare översikt av forskning på området musik och språk. Arbetet innehåller även noter och länk till inspelningarna, en analys av vad sångerna kan tillföra befintligt material, en beskrivning av produktutvecklingsprocessen samt en diskussion kring arbetet och resulterande sånger och lärdomar. / The aim of the project described in this report was to create letter songs that increase students' knowledge of letter sounds and contributes to their development of language and phonological awareness, which in turn can support students who are learning to read and write. The songs should be fun to sing, meaningful and invite the students to participate. The project was started during my third year at the Primary School Teacher Education Programme at Uppsala University, and during my last and 7 weeks long teaching internship in a preschool class in Uppsala. The project continued for the rest of the semester as a part of my first (of two) Independent Project when I chose to create a pedagogical product.The letter songs are aimed towards students and teachers in preschool class and grade 1, and is meant to complement other language instruction (for example, in accordance with the Bornholm model) and other music instruction. In the report I argue that music can (and should) be used in language instruction, and the argument is among other things supported by an overview of studies and research about music and language. The report also contains sheet music and a link to recordings, an analysis of what these songs contributes to existing songs, an description of the product development process and a discussion of the project and resulting songs and lessons learned.

The prevalence of respiratory symptoms indicative of asthma in children from Latin America has been largely ignored. As part of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), 17 centers in 9 different Latin American countries participated in the study, and data from 52,549 written questionnaires (WQ) in children aged 13-14 years and from 36,264 WQ in 6-7 year olds are described here. In children aged 13-14 years, the prevalence of asthma ever ranged from 5.5-28%, and the prevalence of wheezing in the last 12 months from 6.6-27%. In children aged 6-7 years, the prevalence of asthma ever ranged from 4.1-26.9%, and the prevalence of wheezing in the last 12 months ranged from 8.6-32.1%. The lower prevalence in centers with higher levels of atmospheric pollution suggests that chronic inhalation of polluted air in children does not contribute to asthma. Furthermore, the high figures for asthma in a region with a high level of gastrointestinal parasite infestation, and a high burden of acute respiratory infections occurring early in life, suggest that these factors, considered as protective in other regions, do not have the same effect in this region. The present study indicates that the prevalence of asthma and related symptoms in Latin America is as high and variable as described in industrialized or developed regions of the world. / Revisión por pares

O conhecimento acerca das vocalizações dos odontocetos é extremamente heterogêneo e concentra-se principalmente nas espécies mantidas em cativeiro. Neste estudo, descrevo quantitativamente parte do repertório vocal dos golfinhos-rotadores, Stenella longirostris, que vivem ao redor do Arquipélago de Fernando de Noronha, subdividido nos seguintes elementos: assobios, grasnidos emitidos na faixa audível e grasnidos emitidos pelos machos durante a corte. Além disso, avaliei a influência tantos dos diferentes sistemas de gravação e análise de dados, quanto da escolha, interpretação e extração de variáveis por diferentes pesquisadores na variabilidade dos assobios e grasnidos emitidos por golfinhosrotadores. Para avaliar a variabilidade dos assobios desta população de golfinhos-rotadores, uma série de análises quantitativas foi conduzida. Nove variáveis foram extraídas de cada contorno de assobio selecionado aleatoriamente. Os valores médios observados foram muito similares àqueles reportados por OSWALD et al. (2003) para golfinhos-rotadores do Oceano Pacífico Tropical Oriental e apresentaram diferença significativa apenas em relação a freqüência máxima dos assobios. Com relação aos grasnidos, amostras foram selecionadas aleatoriamente e destas foram extraídas oito variáveis. Uma série de análises quantitativas foram então conduzidas para avaliar a variabilidade destas emissões. Os valores obtidos para cada uma das variáveis diferiram dos valores previamente reportados para a espécie, mas as razões para esta variação são ainda desconhecidas. Na busca de indícios sobre a função dos grasnidos no comportamento reprodutivo, eu dividi os grasnidos gravados em duas categorias: corte e não-corte. Grasnidos de corte foram aqueles sons gravados na presença de grupos de golfinhos compostos por uma ou duas fêmeas e por vários machos, engajados em comportamento de corte. Grasnidos de não-corte eram todos aqueles gravados em outros comportamentos ou situações. Os resultados obtidos mostraram diferenças significativas entre as duas categorias tanto nas análises univariadas, quanto na Análise Discriminante (AD), pelo menos quanto à duração e ao número de pulsos. Além disso, a AD mostrou que 98% das amostras foram corretamente classificadas nessas categorias. Estes resultados reforçam a idéia de que os grasnidos são usados em contextos sociais, especialmente em situações aflitivas e exaltam a importância da identificação do emissor dos sinais, assim como o uso de equipamentos de gravação de amplo espectro de freqüência. Por fim, realizei uma série de testes para avaliar a metodologia de gravação e análise de sons. Para isso, gravei as emissões utilizando dois sistemas distintos de gravação, ambos com taxa de amostragem de 48 kHz. Além disso, dois pesquisadores diferentes extraíram as variáveis de um mesmo grupo de amostras e os resultados obtidos para cada pesquisador, bem como para cada sistema foram comparados. Os resultados mostraram que, para os assobios, houve diferenças significativas entre as análises de cada pesquisador, quanto à às variáveis freqüência mínima, freqüência final e duração. Ao comparar os resultados obtidos pelos diferentes sistemas de gravação, notei que a duração apresentou diferenças significativas. Quanto aos grasnidos, notei uma diferença significativa no número de amostras de qualidade gravadas por cada um dos sistemas de gravação. Entretanto, as amostras gravadas em ambos os sistemas não apresentaram diferenças significativas em nenhuma das variáveis extraídas, tampouco foram observadas diferenças entre os diferentes pesquisadores. Acredito que o conhecimento gerado aqui contribuirá para uma melhor compreensão dos padrões de variação da espécie e servirá como base para uma série de outros estudos comparativos. / Knowledge on odontocete vocalizations is extremely heterogeneous and centered mainly in those species kept in captivity. In this study, I describe quantitatively part of the vocal repertoire of the spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris, from Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, off Brazil, subdivided in the following elements: whistles, burst-pulses emitted in the aural range, and burst-pulses emitted by males during courtship. Furthermore, I evaluated the influence of different recording and analysis systems, and the choice, interpretation and extraction of the acoustic variables by different researchers in the variability of whistles and burst-pulses emitted by spinner dolphins. To evaluate the variability of whistles emitted by this population, a series of quantitative analyses was conducted. Nine variables were extracted from each randomly selected whistle contour. The mean values observed were very similar to those reported by OSWALD et al. (2003) for the spinner dolphins from Eastern Tropical Pacific and presented significant differences only in relation to the maximum frequency of the whistles. I extracted eight variables from randomly selected burst-pulsed sound samples. A series of quantitative analyses were conducted to evaluate the variability of these emissions. The values obtained from each of the variables differed from previously data reported for the species, but the reasons to this variation are still unknown. In the search of any signs of burstpulse functions in reproductive behaviors, I divided the recorded burst-pulses in two categories: court and no-court pulses. Court bursts were those sounds recorded in the presence of groups of dolphins composed by one or two females and several males, engaged in courtship behavior. No-court bursts were all those recorded in other behaviors or situations. The results showed significant differences between the two categories in univariate analysis and also in the Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA). The DFA also showed that 98% of the samples were correctly classified in these categories. These results reinforce the idea that burst-pulsed sounds are used in social contexts, specially in afflictive situations, and exalt the importance of identifying the signal emitter, as well as using wide frequency capable recording equipment. Finally, I performed a series of tests to evaluate the methodology of recording and sound analysis. To achieve this, I recorded the sound emissions using two different recording systems, both with sample rate of 48 kHz. Furthermore, two rsearchers extracted the variables of a group of samples, and the results from each researcher and each recording system were compared. Taking into account the whistles, the results showed that there were significant differences between the researchers on duration, minimum and final frequencies recorded. I compared the results obtained by different recording systems and noticed that the sound duration presented significant differences. With respect to burst-pulses, I noticed a significant difference in the number of samples with quality recorded by each of the recording systems. However, the samples recorded in both systems didn\'t show any difference in none of the extracted variables, nor there were observed differences between researchers. I believe that the knowledge produced here will contribute to the comprehension of variation patterns, and will also serve as a basis to further comparative studies.