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This thesis is a detailed investigation of the phonology and phonetics of the intonation of Persian carried out in the framework of the AM theory of intonational phonology. Based on 2112 utterances read by a total of 8 native speakers, the work, on the one hand, presents a phonological account of the prosodic structure of this language, a structure that consists of the level Accentual Phrase with the pitch accent (L+)H* immediately dominated by the level Intonational Phrase, each level being marked by a low or high boundary tone. On the other hand, it scrutinizes the phonetic implementation of tones with regard to segments and shows how the phonology of Persian intonation is phonetically realized in the speech string. This research also studies the intonational patterns of simplex sentences, compound sentences coordinated with different types of conjunctions, subordinate structures, and vocative constructions. The sentence types include copular verb declaratives, sentences with unaccusative and unergative verbs, (S)(O)V sentences with and without adjuncts, null subject sentences, scrambled sentences, yes/no questions, leading yes/no questions, alternative questions, tag questions, single and multiple WH-questions, echo questions, imperatives, and single, double, and phrase focus constructions.

One of the main responsibilities of a sound engineer is to control the quality of the sound during the recording process. An important qualitative aspect of a recording, besides the musicality of the performance, is its timbral content. Proper level and spectral balance between the mixed elements of the recording and the absence of extraneous noises and distortion are key elements. Therefore, timbre perception acuity is an essential skill for sound engineers. / This thesis proposes a computer-assisted system as a training tool for developing and maintaining aural skills related to timbre perception. A set of criteria for the design of such a system based on current knowledge in timbre perception is presented and an exploratory implementation is described. Limits of the current system are discussed and areas that need further investigation are identified.

The interaction between exercise and cognitive task performance has been previously examined using cycle ergometer and treadmill running tasks. The interaction between natural (non-constrained) exercise and cognitive task performance has, however, been well less examined. An example of a natural exercise task would be running outdoors on a steep trail where route selection and foot placement are critical for the runner. The performance of runners is examined in a dual trail-running and working memory task. The working memory task involved counting tones, and was performed at both a low workload, in which they were asked to count every fourth low frequency tone and a high workload in which they were asked to count every fourth low, medium and high frequency tone. In experiment 1, runners performed the tone-counting tasks both while running on a steep trail with uneven terrain and while seated (control conditions). In addition, they ran the trail without a cognitive task load. Running distance and counting accuracy significantly decreased during the dual task trials, there was a linear trend the run distance decreased as the task got harder. As the secondary cognitive task demand increased running performance decreased (linear trend). Cognitive performance was only significantly impaired while running for the hard cognitive task (for the easy cognitive task there was no statistically significant difference). Participants reported an increased workload in the dual run-counting task conditions when compared with the seated task conditions. Reports of task focus and feeling of being spent (exhausted) also varied across task conditions. In experiment 2 unconstrained running was conducted in the same manner, on a flat-even terrain track to establish if the route selection and scanning required to negotiate uneven terrain was causing the dual-task interference, or if there is a general interference effect caused by the self-regulatory demands of running, or the direct demands of running itself (exercise). The linear trend of decreased running performance with increased secondary cognitive demand was similar to experiment 1 - the more cognitive load the less distance traveled. The effect on the cognitive task was, however, not evident in experiment 2; there was no statistically significant difference between cognitive task performance in the dual and single-task conditions. The findings outlined in these experiments, demonstrate dual cognitive tasks have a negative effect on running performance, and the cognitive task may also be affected depending on running intensity, particularly where self-paced natural running over terrain is coupled with complex cognitive tasks.

Mawson is a piece for computer realized quadraphonic tape, and Mertz is a duo for clarinet and horn. The pieces were written in celebration of the accomplishments of the 1911-1914 Mawson Antartic Expedition. The compositions are totally serialized, with a hexachord derived from Cartesian coordinates of Antartic locations used as source material. This hexachord was rotated and cyclically transformed to control attack, rhythm, pitch, and dynamics.Performance materials can be obtained from the Electronic Systems for Music Syntheses studio at Ball State University. / School of Music

This study analyzed racial differences in the way African Americans and Caucasians perceive emotion from facial expressions and tone of voice. Participants were African American (n=25) and Caucasian (n=26) college students. The study utilizes 56 images of African American and Caucasian faces balanced for race and sex from the NimStim stimulus set (Tottenham, 2006). The study also utilized visual and auditory stimuli form the DANVA2. Participants were asked to judged emotion for each stimulus in the tasks. The BFRT, the WASI, and the Seashore Rhythm test were used as exclusionary criteria. In general the study found few differences in the way African Americans and Caucasians perceived emotion, though racial differences emerged as an interaction with other factors. The results of the study supported the theory of universality of emotion perception and expression though social influences, which may affect emotion perception, is also a possibility. Areas of future research were discussed.

This thesis is a detailed investigation of the phonology and phonetics of the intonation of Persian carried out in the framework of the AM theory of intonational phonology. Based on 2112 utterances read by a total of 8 native speakers, the work, on the one hand, presents a phonological account of the prosodic structure of this language, a structure that consists of the level Accentual Phrase with the pitch accent (L+)H* immediately dominated by the level Intonational Phrase, each level being marked by a low or high boundary tone. On the other hand, it scrutinizes the phonetic implementation of tones with regard to segments and shows how the phonology of Persian intonation is phonetically realized in the speech string. This research also studies the intonational patterns of simplex sentences, compound sentences coordinated with different types of conjunctions, subordinate structures, and vocative constructions. The sentence types include copular verb declaratives, sentences with unaccusative and unergative verbs, (S)(O)V sentences with and without adjuncts, null subject sentences, scrambled sentences, yes/no questions, leading yes/no questions, alternative questions, tag questions, single and multiple WH-questions, echo questions, imperatives, and single, double, and phrase focus constructions.

Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) are minute acoustic responses originating from the cochlea as a result of an external acoustic stimulus and are recorded using a sensitive microphone placed in the ear canal. OAEs are acquired by synchronous stimulation with an acoustic click or tone burst and recording of the post-stimulus responses. This method of acquiring OAEs is known as transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEAOE) and is commonly used in clinics as a screening method for hearing and cochlear functionality in infants. Recently, a novel method of acquiring OAEs utilizing a swept-tone, or chirp, as a stimulus was developed. This method used a deconvolution process to compress the swept tone response into an impulse or click-like response. Because the human ear does not hear all frequencies (pitches) at equal loudness the swept-tone stimulus was equalized in amplitude with respect to frequency. This equalized stimulus will be perceived by the ear as equally loud in all frequencies. In this study a new hearing level equalized stimulus was designed and the OAE responses were analyzed and compared to conventional click evoked OAEs. The equalized swept-tone stimulus evoked greater magnitude OAE responses when compared to the conventional methods. It was also able to evoke responses in subjects that had little TEOAEs which might fail conventional hearing screening.

No description available.

Thesis (M.M.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on April 4, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.