This thesis examines the practice of an Argentine Tango dance community in the East Midlands, England. It is an ethnographic study whose objectives are to investigate this instance of a local transcultural dance practice in order to learn about participants’ motivations; their experience of and identification with Argentine Tango; and the meanings produced in the process of their participation. As a social dancer, teacher and insider researcher, I employ embodiment as a key methodological strategy in order to engage with and share the experience of dancing with participants; to gain sensory understanding and bodily knowledge of the practice; and in the process to gain access to further avenues of meaning-making amongst participants. The study considers questions arising directly from my teaching role to do with the transmission and reproduction of the dance, authenticity, the production of meaning, the construction and performance of identity and the imaginative construction of post-modern cultural practices. The nature of space and place is considered, as is Turner’s distinction between liminoid and liminal activity with regard to ritual and communitas in relation to Argentine Tango. Alongside participant discussions, I explore various perspectives on the cosmopolitan appropriation and exoticisation of Argentine Tango; the diffusion, re-territorialisation and globalisation of Argentine Tango since the late 1980s. Data was produced using ethnographic tools, including video recording, shared reviewing and feedback from participants. The thesis analyses findings to show how participants project narratives of the imagination into their dancing, thereby providing frameworks of meaning which crucially underpin and sustain this practice. These imagined narratives are compared to journeys, both literal and of the imagination, enabling the creative construction of new identities, the exploration of self in relation to others and an escape from everyday life in postmodernity.

1- Généralisation des fibrés instantons spéciaux sur P^2n+1 qui est appelée les fibrés (b+1)-instantons pondérés sur P^2n+1. On a étudié la stabilité de ces fibrés dans le cas où b=0. On a étudié la déformation de fibrés de Steiner pondérés sur P^2n+1. 2- Généralisation des fibrés de Tango sur P^n qui est appelée les fibrés de Tango pondérés sur P^n. On a étudié la stabilité de ces fibrés vectoriels. On a étudié la déformation de ces fibrés vectoriels. 3- Construction de fibrés vectoriels de rang 3 sur P^4. On a étudié la condition pour avoir des fibrés vectoriels qui ne sont pas isomorphes à une somme directe de trois fibrés en droites. / 1 - Generalization of the special instanton bundles on P^2n+1 which is called the (b+1)-weighted instanton bundles on P^2n+1. The stability of these vector bundles was studied in the case b=0. We studied the deformation of weighted Steiner bundles on P^2n+1. 2 - Generalization of the Tango bundles on P^n which is called the weighted Tango bundles on P^n. The stability of these vector bundles has been studied. The deformation of these vector bundles has been studied. 3 - Construction of vector bundles of rank 3 on P^4. We have studied the condition to have vector bundles that do not isomorphic to a direct sum of three line bundles.

With the rise of accessible, affordable, and portable scanning technologies, new possibilities of making scanning real world objects available for a wider range of applications have emerged. Together with the advancements made in making point set processing and surface reconstruction effcient and easily implementable, it may be possible to combine these to make a portable scanner that produces 3D representations of real world objects that are usable for game development purposes. This thesis explores to what extent surface reconstructions created from point sets gathered with Google Tango is useful in game development processes. To explore this, a mobile application and a software program have been iteratively developed and evaluated through a user study. The results suggest that the surface reconstruction may be useful in the development of a game engine project as a basis for creating models on top of. / Med ökningen av tillgängliga, prisvärda och bärbara skanningsteknologierhar nya möjligheter att göra skanning av riktiga objekt tillgängligtför ett brett spektrum av applikationer uppstått. Tillsammans medde framsteg som gjorts för att göra punktmolnsbearbetning och ytrekonstruktionereffektiva och lätt implementerbara kan det vara möjligtatt kombinera dessa för att skapa en bärbar skannare som producerar3D-representationer av verkliga objekt som kan användas förspelutvecklingsändamål. Denna avhandling undersöker i vilken utsträckningytrekonstruktioner som skapats från punktmoln som samlatsmed Google Tango är användbara i spelutvecklingsprocesser. Föratt utforska detta har en mobilapplikation och ett program utvecklatsiterativt och utvärderats med hjälp av en användarstudie. Resultatentyder på att ytrekonstruktionerna kan vara användbara vid utvecklingenav ett spelmotorsprojekt, men som grund för att skapa modellerutifrån.

There are many forms of speed control for an autonomous ground vehicle currently in development. Most use a simple PID controller to achieve a speed specified by a higher-level motion planning algorithm. Simple controllers may not provide a desired acceleration profile for a ground vehicle. Also, without extensive tuning the PID controller may cause excessive speed overshoot and oscillation. This paper examines an approach that was designed to allow a greater degree of control while reducing the computing load on the motion planning software. The SpAM+PI (Speed-based Acceleration Map + Proportional Integral controller) algorithm outlined in this paper uses three inputs: current velocity, desired velocity and desired maximum acceleration, to determine throttle and brake commands that will allow the vehicle to achieve its correct speed. Because this algorithm resides on an external controller it does not add to the computational load of the motion planning computer. Also, with only two inputs that are needed only when there is a change in desired speed or maximum desired acceleration, network traffic between the computers can be greatly reduced. The algorithm uses splines to smoothly plan a speed profile from the vehicle's current speed to its desired speed. It then uses a lookup table to determine the correct pedal position (throttle or brake) using the current vehicle speed and a desired instantaneous acceleration that was determined in the splining step of the algorithm. Once the pedal position is determined a PI controller is used to minimize error in the system. The SpAM+PI approach is a novel approach to the speed control of an autonomous vehicle. This academic experiment is tested using Odin, Team Victor Tango's entry into the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge which won 3rd place and a $500,000 prize. The evaluation of the algorithm exposed both strengths and weaknesses that guide the next step in the development of a speed control algorithm. / Master of Science

En Argentine et à l'étranger, le tango inspire un engouement croissant depuis un peu plus de dix ans. Mais lorsqu'on fait référence au tango on omet souvent que l'on désigne en fait un ensemble complexe d'expressions artistiques populaires -musique, danse et paroles chantées- qui mettent en scène une identité argentine. Les identités sont en effet le résultat de constructions discursives -informées par les discours sociaux sur les rapports de classe, de race et de sexe- qui se manifestent et font l'objet d'une reformulation constante dans les objets culturels. L'objectif consiste à comprendre comment une identité est véhiculée dans le tango et à identifier les discours sociaux qui l'ont construite selon des modalités singulières en fonction des époques. Pour ce faire, nous travaillerons à partir du corpus des refrains et des strophes constitué par l'ethnologue Robert Lehmann-Nitsche dans son ouvrage Textos Eróticos del Río de la Plata, ainsi que à partir des paroles de tango publiées entre 1900 et 1935, période qui correspond à deux étapes fondamentales : la Guardia Vieja et la Guardia Nueva. L'étude de l'œuvre poétique du groupe Gotan Project et de l'œuvre picturale surréaliste du peintre argentin Juan Carlos Liberti compléteront notre corpus à partir des formes contemporaines.Dans le premier volet de l'étude, il s'agira d'analyser la définition institutionnelle du tango à partir de l'étude du discours des historiens cosignataires de la demande d'inscription du tango dans le répertoire des objets culturels faisant partie du patrimoine immatériel universel auprès de l'Unesco. Dans la deuxième partie, nous questionnerons les luttes symboliques au principe des périodisations à l'œuvre dans l'histoire du tango. Un retour sur les premiers tangos recueillis par Lehmann-Nitsche, dont les thématiques sont associées aux maisons closes, qualifiés de " préhistoriques ", et de ce fait marginalisées par la critique, nous permettra de rétablir les origines populaires du tango.

Natural caves represent one of the most difficult environments to map with modern 3D technologies. In this study I tested two relatively new methods for 3D mapping in Tipton-Haynes Cave near Johnson City, Tennessee: Structure from Motion Photogrammetry and Computer Vision using Tango, an RGB-D (Red Green Blue and Depth) technology. Many different aspects of these two methods were analyzed with respect to the needs of average cave explorers. Major considerations were cost, time, accuracy, durability, simplicity, lighting setup, and drift. The 3D maps were compared to a conventional cave map drafted with measurements from a modern digital survey instrument called the DistoX2, a clinometer, and a measuring tape. Both 3D mapping methods worked, but photogrammetry proved to be too time consuming and laborious for capturing more than a few meters of passage. RGB-D was faster, more accurate, and showed promise for the future of low-cost 3D cave mapping.

No description available.

Il ballo sociale di coppia è una forma di svago che è tornata ad essere praticata da giovani e adulti soprattutto dagli anni Novanta. Questa ricerca sociologica ha per oggetto gli eventi di ballo sociale di coppia che hanno luogo attualmente a Milano in spazi pubblici, soprattutto nel centro città, senza autorizzazioni formali e privi di finalità di lucro. L’ipotesi di base è che questi eventi, organizzati da gruppi di ballerini attraverso reti sociali online, siano parte di un fenomeno sociale unico. I tipi di ballo coinvolti sono il tango argentino, la mazurka francese neotrad, lo swing e i balli del sud Italia. Questo lavoro, attraverso l’osservazione partecipante in situazione e interviste in parte semistrutturate e in parte biografiche, mira ad individuare i significati specifici che distinguono tale pratica urbana dal ballo di coppia in luoghi istituzionali e quale sia il ruolo giocato dello spazio pubblico nel differenziare i due oggetti. Nell’analisi delle interviste, l’ambito di significato relativo alla socialità collettiva si è distinto rispetto agli altri per corposità e complessità, è stato perciò scelto come chiave interpretativa del fenomeno. Questa pratica si rivela, infine, una forma di socievolezza e un ambiente sociale in cui esperire un’intimità di gruppo generata da interazioni estemporanee tra conoscenti, e trova negli spazi pubblici della città il suo teatro di espressione privilegiato. / In Western culture, social partner dances have re-emerged as a leisure activity for young and adults since the 90’s. This sociological research concerns social partner dancing events taking place in public spaces in Milan nowadays, especially in the city centre. They are organized through online social networks by groups of dancers who occupy the public space without any formal license and any profit-mindedness; Argentinian tango, French mazurka, swing, and Southern Italian dances are the types of dances involved. The underlying assumption is that these street events are part of a unique social phenomenon. By means of an at home perspective to participant observation, semistructured, and in-depth interviews, this work aims, firstly, to find specific meanings to this practice by comparing it to partner dances performed in institutional places; and secondly, to identify the role of public space in this framework. The collective sociality dimension of meaning has been chosen as a key to interpretation, since it stood out for complexity and relevance. This urban practice turns out to be a kind of simmelian sociability and an environment to experience a group intimacy produced by extemporary interactions of acquaintances; of which urban public spaces, furthermore, prove to be a perfect theatre to its full expression.

This dissertation focuses on a recent but growing movement in Argentina, state-sponsored formal institutions of popular music education. The musics taught in these schools – tango, jazz, and Argentine folk idioms – have historically been excluded from the country’s formal music education systems. Recent moves to standardize and legitimize these musics in this new institutional context raise questions of canon formation, pedagogical praxis, aesthetics and musical meaning that have implications far beyond the classrooms where they are implemented. I examine two of these schools based in and around the capital city of Buenos Aires: the Escuela de Música Popular de Avellaneda, and the Tango and Folklore department of the Conservatorio Superior de Música “Manuel de Falla.” I adopt an ethnographic approach that considers broad structural and policy issues of power distribution, state intervention, and cultural nationalism. I also examine how these structures play out in discourse and practice within and beyond the classroom, shaped by and in turn shaping students’ and teachers’ aesthetics, politics, and subject positions. I then analyze the output of several musical groups composed of current students and recent graduates of these programs, exploring the notion of an emerging institutional aesthetic and the extent to which these institutions act as homogenizing influences or engender creative divergence. Finally, applying Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of a field of cultural production, I question the extent to which this new “música popular” is truly popular, ultimately arguing that it occupies a sort of third space between mass culture and high culture, replicating some avant-garde assumptions about the role of art as anti-commercial, yet simultaneously embracing a symbolic economy that valorizes populist and subaltern identities and ideologies. / text

關於台灣電影，日本可說是時常被使用的元素。除了在2014年一上映就賣座的《KANO》之外，在2010年上映，描繪日本女性與台灣男性戀愛的《愛你一萬年》、以及在2012年上映，將西門町以日本原宿的形象呈現的《西門町》，三部電影都展現日本與台灣的密切關係。雖然這些電影裡都有描繪日本風的元素，但都可說是台灣人基於文化接近性所再建構的，一種獨特的日本形象。 因此，本研究先概觀台灣在1990年代之後接受日本流行文化的影響，並就台灣人如何將日本流行文化再建構進行分析。譬如，《愛你一萬年》就是參考1992年在台灣所播放的日本偶像劇《東京愛情故事》，來描繪日本女性的形象；而受到1990年代後期所興起的「哈日」現象影響，電影《西門町》所描繪的西門町場景中，具有仿造日本「原宿」的都市構造，「卡哇伊」的服裝風格也開始出現。此外，雖然《KANO》與日本流行文化沒有直接的因果關係，但是日本流行文化與「台灣意識」似乎催生了對劇中「親日」的描寫。 根據上述想法，本研究依據焦點團體訪談(Focus Group Interview)的方式，讓日本受測者觀看上述三部電影，就電影裡面所描繪的日本形象與自身所想像的日本形象兩者之間的差異進行討論，分析他們的討論內容。 結果，對於《愛你一萬年》中所描繪的日本女性形象，日本受測者雖然不認為劇中日本女主角符合典型日本女性形象，但普遍都能接受本作品所描繪的日本女性形象。對於《西門町》中所描繪的西門町，如果就西門町整體氛圍的話，日本年輕世代的受測者能看出西門町與原宿的關聯性，然而如果注意到劇中西門町細部的話，日本受測者都不能看出這樣的關聯性。此外，對本作品所描繪的「卡哇伊」文化，日本人會覺得有些過時。對於《KANO》中所描繪的會說日語的台灣人，日本受測者則難以對三者（漢民族、原住民、日本人）進行區分。另外，根據語言、歷史與政治的角度，以及不同的時空背景來觀看本作品，對於嘉義農林棒球隊的球員是代表哪個民族的球隊的問題，受測者則會因為語言、歷史與政治的不同而有所差異。 / It can be said that Japanese elements are often used in Taiwanese films. Aside from KANO which enjoyed great success in 2014, Love You 10,000 Years from 2010 describes a love story between a Japanese woman and a Taiwanese man, while Westgate Tango from 2012 describes Ximending (西門町) in the style of Harajuku (原宿). Like this, these three Taiwanese films have a close connection with Japanese elements. However these elements have been affected by “Cultral Proximity (文化接近性)”and been reconstructed as fitting within Taiwan. That is, they can be considered localized Japanese elements. This research analyzes first how Taiwan received Japanese popular culture since around 1990 and subsequently localized it. For example, Love You 10,000 Years uses the Japanese female image from Japanese popular drama Tokyo Love Story , broadcast in Taiwan in 1992. The atomosphere of Ximending (西門町) Westgate Tango describes has an urban structure like that of Harajuku (原宿), and represents“Kawaii (cute、卡哇伊、カワイイ)”fashion that the “Hari (Japanification、哈日)” phenomenon of the late 1990’s brought in. KANO does not have a direct connection with Japanese popular culture, though it seems that Japanese popular culture and “Taiwan Identity” gave birth to the “Japanophile” attitude in the film. This research adopts the Focus Group Interview approach, first allowing Japanese participants to watch each above-mentioned Taiwanese film. Afterwards the researcher prompted a discussion of each film and analyzed the contents of them. As for the Japanese female image Love You 10,000 Years describes, Japanese participants did not recognize it as a stereotypical Japanese female image, however received it as one possible image among Japanese women. As for the atomosphere of Ximending (西門町) Westgate Tango describes, if participants considered the entire appearance of Ximending, participants whose ages ranged between twenty and thirty could associate the atomosphere of Ximending with that of Harajuku. On the other hand if Japanese participants considered individual scenes of Ximending, they could not do that. As for “Kawaii (卡哇伊、カワイイ)”fashion that this film describes, Japanese participants felt that it is out-of-date compared to Japanese fashion of the same period. Lastly, as for the Japanese-speaking Taiwanese speaking described in KANO , it was very difficult for Japanese participants to distinguish Taiwanese from Japanese. Therefore when considering the primarily Japanese language spoken by the“Chiayi Agricultural School baseball team (嘉義農林棒球隊)”, participants readily identified the team as Japanese. However, when considering the historical and political setting of film, it was found that participants had varied opinions about the ethnicity of the team.