bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Visualization of Clot Lysis in a Rat Embolic Stroke Model
Authors: Walvick Ronn P. , Bråtane Bernt T. , Henninger Nils , Sicard Kenneth M. , Bouley James , Yu Zhanyang , Lo Eng , Wang Xiaoying , Fisher Marc
Published: March 2011

Background and Purpose—

The purpose of this study was to develop a novel MRI method for imaging clot lysis in a rat embolic stroke model and to compare tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)-based clot lysis with and without recombinant Annexin-2 (rA2).

Methods—

In experiment 1 we used in vitro optimization of clot visualization using multiple MRI contrast agents in concentrations ranging from 5 to 50 μL in 250 μL blood. In experiment 2, we used in vivo characterization of the time course of clot lysis using the clot developed in the previous experiment. Diffusion, perfusion, angiography, and T1-weighted MRI for clot imaging were conducted before and during treatment with vehicle (n=6), tPA (n=8), or rA2 plus tPA (n=8) at multiple time points. Brains were removed for ex vivo clot localization.

Results—

Clots created with 25 μL Magnevist were the most stable and provided the highest contrast-to-noise ratio. In the vehicle group, clot length as assessed by T1-weighted imaging correlated with histology (
r
=0.93). Clot length and cerebral blood flow-derived ischemic lesion volume were significantly smaller than vehicle at 15 minutes after treatment initiation in the rA2 plus tPA group, whereas in the tPA group no significant reduction from vehicle was observed until 30 minutes after treatment initiation. The rA2 plus tPA group had a significantly shorter clot length than the tPA group at 60 and 90 minutes after treatment initiation and significantly smaller cerebral blood flow deficit than the tPA group at 90 minutes after treatment initiation.

Conclusions—

We introduce a novel MRI-based clot imaging method for in vivo monitoring of clot lysis. Lytic efficacy of tPA was enhanced by rA2.
Polarimetric Radar Observation Operator for a Cloud Model with Spectral Microphysics
Authors: Ryzhkov A. , Pinsky M. , Pokrovsky A. , Khain A.
Published: March 2011

The radar observation operator for computation of polarimetric radar variables from the output of numerical cloud models is described in its most generic form. This operator is combined with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem cloud model with spectral microphysics. The model contains 7 classes of hydrometeors and each class is represented by size distribution functions in 43 size bins. The performance of the cloud model and radar observation operator has been evaluated for the case of a hailstorm in Oklahoma on 2 February 2009. It is shown that the retrieved fields of polarimetric radar variables at C and S microwave bands are generally consistent with results of observations. The relationship between microphysical and polarimetric signatures is illustrated.
Polarimetric Doppler Radar Observations of Kelvin–Helmholtz Waves in a Winter Storm
Authors: Houser Jana Lesak , Bluestein Howard B.
Published: March 2011

Kelvin–Helmholtz waves were observed by the Twin Lakes, Oklahoma (KTLX), Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D); the Norman, Oklahoma (KOUN), polarimetric WSR-88D; and the polarimetric Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) radars on 30 November 2006 during a winter storm in central Oklahoma. The life cycle and structure of the waves are analyzed from the radar data, and the nearby atmospheric conditions are examined. The initial perturbations associated with the waves are first evident only in the radars’ radial velocity fields. As the waves mature, perturbations become discernable in the reflectivity factor Z and spectrum width (SW) fields of both radars, and in the differential reflectivity Zdr and, to a lesser extent, the cross-correlation coefficient ρhv fields of KOUN. As the waves break and begin to dissipate, the perturbations subside.

A dual-Doppler analysis is synthesized to examine the kinematic structure of the waves and to relate the polarimetric observations to the kinematics. It is determined that Z and Zdr are enhanced in regions of upward motion (wave crests), and ρhv is reduced in the same vicinity and near the base of the wave circulations. Vertical velocity perturbations transport horizontal momentum upward and downward, inducing horizontal wind perturbations that are approximately 90° out of phase and downstream from their corresponding vertical velocity perturbations. Perturbations in Z, Zdr, and ρhv are observed in the vicinity of wave crests while SW perturbations occur predominately in and just upstream from wave troughs. It is determined that perturbations in the polarimetric variables are a result of the waves modifying local precipitation microphysics. Perturbations in Z and Zdr are hypothesized to be the result of columnar ice crystal generation whereas those in ρhv likely result from the mixing of ice crystals of various shapes and sizes. Perturbations in SW are a result of turbulent motions likely associated with wave breaking and downward advection of a strong shear layer.
The ethical issues of biotechnology: Religious culture and the value of life
Authors: Susumu Shimazono
Published: March 2011

Advances in biotechnology and medical science, especially breakthroughs in cloning and stem cell research, have raised great expectations for curing diseases, repairing damaged body tissue and organs, enabling conception at advanced age and selecting embryos based on genetic diagnosis. However, the question arises whether these advances will improve the happiness of humankind or whether human bodies are being assaulted as development resources in order to procure greater profits. This article investigates how the value of life is conceptualized by religious cultures vis-a-vis the emerging threats. With regard to the early embryonic stage of human life, the Catholic Church, for example, has raised a loud voice against the artificial termination of pregnancy. As a matter of fact, various religious cultures have showed and underpinned to a considerable extent the value of life and the direction that science and technology should take in this respect. It is argued that the globalized competition in science and technology makes it necessary to transcend the views concerning the value of life propagated by particular religious cultures.
Value, politics and democracy in the United States
Authors: Graeber David
Published: March 2011

This article examines the role of values in the political discourse of the last decade in the US. It embarks from what many observers had described as a puzzle: the fact that significant parts of the American working class voted against their economic interests but in line with what they perceived to be their values. As a result, a president had been re-elected who cut taxes for the rich while waging an expensive war in Iraq and increasing public debt to historically unprecedented levels. It is argued that large sectors of the white American working class were disappointed with liberal politicians because they associated them with a cultural elite that occupied positions in society that allowed them to pursue careers of intrinsic value in the arts, science, or politics but which were largely closed to the working class. It is thus suggested that the ‘culture wars’ in the US are better interpreted as a struggle over access to the means to behave altruistically. The article rejects the widespread assumption that individuals are narrowly conceived economic self-interest maximizers. Rather, it suggests that human fulfilment can be related to the satisfaction derived from working for the common good.
Cultural values and globalization: India’s dilemma
Authors: Mohan Kamlesh
Published: March 2011

The argument in this article is twofold. First, the Euro-American project of creating a world market is underpinned by its hegemonic agenda. Second, this has serious implications for the preservation of India’s composite cultural tradition and religious identities. Related to this is the commoditization of women and gender relations. The crucial relevance of grafting the ideals of western modernity for the success of the project of globalization is demonstrated. However, the argument regarding the inevitability of globalization and by implication of western modernity must be contested. The paradigm of modernity for India neither ignores the material aspects of human existence, nor advocates rejection of its rich cultural heritage or withdrawal from community-based social life.
The values of global futures
Authors: Schulz Markus S
Published: March 2011

This article provides concluding reflections for the monograph on Values and Culture by focusing on the role that values can play in the shaping of global futures. It discusses the emerging reconceptualizations of values and culture vis-a-vis accelerated financial flows and neoliberal deregulation, transnational migration, social movements and incipient global publics. It emphasizes that the study of values is not just about social cohesion but also about social transformation. Social reality is never stagnant but always in the making. Sociology should thus not shy away from reflecting on the future but use its critical imagination to inspire and push public debates further.
Impact of Nasal Obstruction on Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Authors: Friedman Michael , Maley Alexander , Kelley Kanwar , Leesman Chris , Patel Akshay , Pulver Tanya , Joseph Ninos , Catli Tolgahan
Published: March 2011

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between nasal obstruction and sleep‐disordered breathing. The effect of postoperative nasal packing on sleep parameters was compared between patients with mild obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and those with moderate/severe OSA.

Study Design

A prospective, nonrandomized controlled study.

Setting

Tertiary care center.

Subjects and Methods

Participants were recruited among adult patients with a history of snoring scheduled to undergo nasal surgery from November 2009 to February 2010. All subjects underwent polysomnogram (PSG) testing within 30 days prior to surgery. Patients underwent nasal surgery and received postoperative nasal packing, and a PSG was repeated on the first postoperative night with nasal packing in place. Outcome measures included a change in respiratory disturbance index (RDI), minimum oxygen saturation, oxygen desaturation index (ODI), and duration of snoring.

Results

Forty‐nine patients were included in the study. Patients were stratified into 2 groups: those with RDI ≥15 (n = 23) and those with RDI <15 (n = 26). Nasal packing was found to significantly increase RDI (5.2 ± 4.0 vs 10.4 ± 10.0; P =. 0001), duration of snoring (86.5% ± 13.1% vs 79.3% ± 15.3%; P =. 008), and ODI (7.6 ± 7.1 vs 9.9 ± 7.4; P =. 001) in patients with mild OSA but not in patients with moderate/severe OSA. Mean minimum arterial oxygen saturation was unchanged in both groups.

Conclusion

Postoperative nasal packing aggravated measures of OSA in patients with mild OSA but not in patients with moderate/severe OSA.
Physical and Computational Modeling of Ventilation of the Maxillary Sinus
Authors: Rennie Catherine E. , Hood Christina M. , Blenke Esther J. S. M. , Schroter Robert S. , Doorly Denis J. , Jones Hazel , Towey David , Tolley Neil S.
Published: March 2011

Objective

Sinus ventilation is often associated with sinusitis, a common condition causing significant pain and reduced quality of life. Clinical implications of the diverse anatomy of ostia connecting sinus to nose and the efficacy of surgical intervention in chronic sinusitis are poorly understood. This study aimed to measure sinus ventilation and explore variables in physical and mathematical models.

Study Design

γ‐Scintigraphy of krypton 81m (81mKr) was carried out in a stylized physical model of a human maxillary sinus. Computational simulations matched this model for validation and extrapolated to combinations of variables not possible experimentally for evaluation of transport mechanisms.

Setting

Research laboratory in Department of Aeronautics. Imperial College London, and Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London.

Methods

81mKr distribution was measured with both single‐ and double‐ostia sinuses. Computational simulations matched and extended the physical measurements and enabled separate identification and evaluation of transport mechanisms.

Results

The presence of an additional ostium resulted in a 50‐fold increase in the effective volume flow rate of gas replacement in the sinus. In the case of a single ostium, doubling the ostial diameter doubled the effective volume flow rate of gas exchange.

Conclusion

γ‐Scintigraphy of 81mKr enables quantitative assessment of effective volume flow rate in physical model sinuses. These flow rates obtained experimentally for single‐ and double‐ostium sinuses match the computational predictions of matching geometries. The increased ventilation seen with an additional ostium or increased ostial diameters may not be clinically beneficial, because it could reduce nitric oxide concentration in the sinus.
Language abilities in children with autism and language impairment: using narrative as a additional source of clinical information
Authors: Manolitsi Maria , Botting Nicola
Published: March 2011

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Specific Language Impairment (SLI) are disorders of communication that are sometimes thought to show similar structural language difficulties. Recent research has even suggested that they might be aetiologically related. However, it may be that standardized language tasks are not sensitive enough to detect similarities and differences accurately. This study involved 26 Greek children with either ASD or SLI and compared them on standardized measures of structural and pragmatic language as well as using a structured narrative task. Children with ASD were more impaired on receptive but not expressive scores from standardized language tests. In contrast, narrative measures showed significantly poorer ASD performance in expressive skills involving wider story-telling skill and in some sentence-level skills, in particular referencing, compared to peers with SLI. ASD and SLI groups also showed different relationships between structural language and other measures. The data suggests that narrative is a useful tool for revealing qualitative differences in language between overlapping communication disorders both at the clinical and theoretical level, since it provides information that is lost in more formalized testing. This may be particularly true where norms are not available or testing is difficult.
Imitation therapy for non-verbal toddlers
Authors: Gill Cindy , Mehta Jyutika , Fredenburg Karen , Bartlett Karen
Published: March 2011

When imitation skills are not present in young children, speech and language skills typically fail to emerge. There is little information on practices that foster the emergence of imitation skills in general and verbal imitation skills in particular. The present study attempted to add to our limited evidence base regarding accelerating the development of speech/language in young children who have failed to achieve expected language milestones. Imitation therapy (Zedler, 1972) was utilized for five non-verbal 18—19-month-old children to determine if imitative behavior in the form of sound production could be initiated and increased. Treatment was administered until children reached criteria for consistent imitative sound productions. Following 8—9 weeks of therapy, all five children exhibited significant increases in both the number of vocalizations and the variety of phonemes produced, and they demonstrated regular spontaneous verbal imitation and emergence of phonetically consistent forms. Imitation therapy appears to be a promising practice that merits further investigation.
Effects of Alcohol on Women’s Risky Sexual Decision Making During Social Interactions in the Laboratory
Authors: Zawacki Tina
Published: March 2011

This experiment examined the effects of alcohol on women’s sexual decision making during a laboratory social interaction with a potential dating partner. Participants completed an assessment of sex-related alcohol expectancies, were randomly assigned to consume alcohol, no alcohol, or a placebo, and then interacted with a male confederate. Stronger sex-related alcohol expectancies and actual alcohol consumption significantly increased women’s sexual relationship interest in their interaction partner, which in turn was associated with lower ratings of partner sexual risk. Lower ratings of partner sexual risk predicted increased intention to engage in unprotected sex. These findings demonstrate alcohol consumption’s causal effects on sexual risk judgments made during analogue social interactions, delineate the indirect effects of alcohol expectancies and alcohol consumption on sexual risk decisions, and provide support for a Cognitive Mediation Model of women’s sexual decision making. These findings can inform empirically based intervention programs designed to reduce the sexual risk taking of women.
“Does That Make Me A Woman?”
Authors: Rubin Lisa R. , Tanenbaum Molly
Published: March 2011

Feminist scholars and activists writing about breast cancer care among women have highlighted the sexist and heterosexist assumptions often embedded in the medical management of breast cancer, and of mastectomy in particular. Despite these contributions, and some speculation that sexual minority women may be less interested in breast reconstruction, limited research explores sexual minority women’s lived experience of mastectomy and decision making about reconstruction. Thirteen lesbian and/or bisexual women who had undergone mastectomy for treatment of breast cancer participated in individual qualitative interviews exploring decisions to have, or not have, breast reconstruction. Reasons for/against reconstruction reflected themes identified in prior studies among heterosexual women. Although participants described sexual, gender, and political identities and orientations as influences on their decision making, for most participants, experiences with physicians who encouraged reconstruction and concerns about stigmatization of illness in romantic, professional, and social contexts were also central. Findings are interpreted through feminist dis/ability, medicalization, and existential frameworks.
Osteochondral Transplantation of the Talus
Authors: Imhoff Andreas B. , Paul Jochen , Ottinger Benjamin , Wörtler Klaus , Lämmle Lena , Spang Jeffrey , Hinterwimmer Stefan
Published: March 2011

Background: Osteochondral lesions of the ankle are a common injury after ankle sprains, especially in young and active patients. The Osteochondral Autograft Transfer System (OATS) is the only 1-step surgical technique designed to replace the entire osteochondral unit.

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the long-term clinical and radiographic outcomes of the OATS procedure for the talus and compare the results of patients who have had prior surgical interventions with patients for whom OATS represents the primary surgical treatment.

Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods: The authors retrospectively analyzed 26 talus OATS procedures (25 patients) with an average follow-up of 84 months (range, 53-124 months); 9 patients had OATS as a second surgical intervention. The patients completed the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) and Tegner scores plus the visual analog scale (VAS) preoperatively and at follow-up. Magnetic resonance imaging examinations were conducted on a 1.5-T whole-body magnet that assessed transplant congruency, adjacent surface of the talus, the corresponding distal tibia, and joint effusion.

Results: The authors found significant increases for the AOFAS score (50 to 78 points, P < .01) and the Tegner score (3.1 to 3.7, P < .05) and a significant decrease for the VAS (7.8 to 1.5, P < .01) from preoperative to postoperative. Patients with normal integration or minor incongruity of the transplant on magnetic resonance imaging (81%) had significantly better AOFAS scores ( P = .03). Other magnetic resonance imaging criteria did not predict clinical results. Patients for whom OATS represented a second procedure had significantly worse clinical AOFAS and Tegner scores plus a higher VAS.

Conclusion: Long-term clinical and magnetic resonance imaging results after osteochondral transplantation are good and patients significantly benefit from this surgery. Magnetic resonance imaging should not be a routine control but appears to be indicated when clinical symptoms persist after osteochondral transplantation.
Real Time, Time Series Forecasting of Inter- and Intra-State Political Conflict
Authors: Brandt Patrick T. , Freeman John R. , Schrodt Philip A.
Published: March 2011

We propose a framework for forecasting and analyzing regional and international conflicts. It generates forecasts that (1) are accurate but account for uncertainty, (2) are produced in (near) real time, (3) capture actors’ simultaneous behaviors, (4) incorporate prior beliefs, and (5) generate policy contingent forecasts. We combine the CAMEO event-coding framework with Markov-switching and Bayesian vector autoregression models to meet these goals. Our example produces a series of forecasts for material conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians for 2010. Our forecast is that the level of material conflict between these belligerents will increase in 2010, compared to 2009.
A New Model for Predicting Policy Choices
Authors: Bueno de Mesquita Bruce
Published: March 2011

A new forecasting model, solved for Bayesian Perfect Equilibria, is introduced. It, along with several alternative models, is tested on data from the European Union. The new model, which allows for contingent forecasts and for generating confidence intervals around predictions, outperforms competing models in most tests despite the absence of variance on a critical variable in all but nine cases. The more proximate the political setting of the issues is to the new model’s underlying theory of competitive and potentially coercive politics, the better the new model does relative to other models tested in the European Union context.
Stated Preferences for Sustainable Housing Development in Germany—A Latent Class Analysis
Authors: Rid Wolfgang , Profeta Adriano
Published: March 2011

Despite enormous progress made in the resource-efficient housing construction as a result of technical innovation, market share of sustainable new housing development in Germany is still very low. There is a need for a demand-driven research approach to determine and exploit the potential for sustainable housing among private home buyers—the principal consumers of new housing in Germany. This study measures the preferences of German home buyers based on stated preferences survey data through the application of a discrete choice experiment. Using latent class analysis, the article identifies market segments of differing “environmental awareness” and corresponding preference heterogeneity. The results point to a latent demand for sustainable housing alternatives among private home buyers in Germany.
Thinking Like an Animal: Theological Materialism for a Changing Climate
Authors: Manley Scott Peter
Published: March 2011

Theological materialism, it is argued, provides an important ethical orientation towards climate change. Following the tradition of practical materialism inaugurated by Karl Marx, materialism is here interpreted in a non-reductive sense that includes a stress on human praxis. Such a materialism is comprehensive in the sense that it identifies the sources of climate change as twofold: as rooted in a capitalist crisis and as rooted in a crisis in our conditions of life. Such a materialism is also theological: it is ‘flesh made word’ (Nicholas Lash). One implication of this theological materialism is that creation is to be understood as good. This theme is explored by way of the ‘revolt of nature’: this trope provides a theological way of exploring nature in a changing climate. At the conclusion, critical issues raised by the title, Thinking like an animal, are addressed.
Shape memory polyurethane-ureas based on isophorone diisocyanate
Authors: Ji Feng Long , Hu Jin Lian , Han Jian Ping
Published: March 2011

Shape memory polyurethanes (SMPUs) are usually produced with aromatic hard segments in order to ensure high shape recoverability. Here a series of non-aromatic shape memory polyurethane-ureas (SMPUUs) synthesized with isophorone diisocynate (IPDI) and aliphatic or cycloaliphtic diamines as hard segments are reported. The SMPUUs were proved to be not phase separated while the intermolecular hydrogen bonds gave rise to the physical cross-links. The influences of soft-segment length, hard-segment content (HSC) and type of chain extenders on the structure and properties of the SMPUUs were investigated. As the molecular weight of soft segments (polycaprolactone diols) increased from 4000 to 10 000 g mol−1, shape fixing and shape recoveries of the SMPUUs were raised prominently because the longer polyols favor the crystallization of soft segments in the deformation state and the longer hard segments increase the density of intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The HSC exhibited two opposite effects on shape recovery. Increasing HSC on one hand increased shape recovery due to the increasing stability of physical cross-links and on the other hand reduced shape recovery due to the increasing deformation of hard segments. The polyurethane-urea having isophorone diamines (IPDA) as chain extenders showed over 95% of shape recovery and as high as 4.2 MPa recovery stress. The shape memory properties of the IPDI-based SMPUUs are even comparable with those of aromatic SMPUs.
Local Warming
Authors: Li Ye , Johnson Eric J. , Zaval Lisa
Published: March 2011

Although people are quite aware of global warming, their beliefs about it may be malleable; specifically, their beliefs may be constructed in response to questions about global warming. Beliefs may reflect irrelevant but salient information, such as the current day’s temperature. This replacement of a more complex, less easily accessed judgment with a simple, more accessible one is known as attribute substitution. In three studies, we asked residents of the United States and Australia to report their opinions about global warming and whether the temperature on the day of the study was warmer or cooler than usual. Respondents who thought that day was warmer than usual believed more in and had greater concern about global warming than did respondents who thought that day was colder than usual. They also donated more money to a global-warming charity if they thought that day seemed warmer than usual. We used instrumental variable regression to rule out some alternative explanations.
Seeing the Mind Behind the Art
Authors: Hawley-Dolan Angelina , Winner Ellen
Published: March 2011

Museumgoers often scoff that costly abstract expressionist paintings could have been made by a child and have mistaken paintings by chimpanzees for professional art. To test whether people really conflate paintings by professionals with paintings by children and animals, we showed art and nonart students paired images, one by an abstract expressionist and one by a child or animal, and asked which they liked more and which they judged as better. The first set of pairs was presented without labels; the second set had labels (e.g., “artist,” “child”) that were either correct or reversed. Participants preferred professional paintings and judged them as better than the nonprofessional paintings even when the labels were reversed. Art students preferred professional works more often than did nonart students, but the two groups’ judgments did not differ. Participants in both groups were more likely to justify their selections of professional than of nonprofessional works in terms of artists’ intentions. The world of abstract art is more accessible than people realize.
Alibis, and why performers don't have them
Authors: Gritten Anthony
Published: March 2011

Musical performers confront, deal with, and participate in musical “events”. These musical events present the performer with a number of obligations to uphold. One particular kind of obligation precedes and overrides the other kinds of (aesthetic) obligation — compositional, historical, critical-interpretative, physiological, for example — and lies at the root of the “contingencies”, “illusions”, and “anxieties” of which performers and commentators often speak. In this essay I illustrate the nature of this non-foundational obligation through a meditation on a concept of Bakhtin's: the “alibi”.

All imperatives command either hypothetically or categorically. Kant
Understanding our experience of music: What kind of psychology do we need?
Authors: Allesch Christian G. , Krakauer Peter M.
Published: March 2011

Background in the psychology of music

The historical development of the psychology of music largely followed that of psychology in general. In the 20th century it adopted the research methods and interests of cognitive psychology and more recently has turned to new interdisciplinary connections with psychobiology and the neurosciences. There remains, however, a certain inadequacy regarding work in the psychology of music and cultural psychology and as well of interpretative research aimed at interpreting the role of music in those processes, processes Bruner called “the nature and cultural shaping of meaning-making, and the central place it plays in human action”.

Background in historical musicology and cultural anthropology

Historical musicology and cultural anthropology maintain that experiencing and understanding music represents a process fundamentally dependent upon cultural context. This begs the question as to how cultural context influences social and individual representations of music in the sense that a particular “style of aesthetic experience” typifies a historical period. Although this is a genuine psychological question, it cannot be answered by a psychology which is restricted to “ahistorical” explanations of information processing. Thus from a cultural anthropological perspective there is strong interest in any kind of “cultural psychology” which is able to conceptualise the dynamic interactions between culturally determined “social representations” of music and the individual mind.

Goals

We argue for a “cultural turn” in the psychology of music. Following developments within psychology, research over recent decades in the psychology of music has concentrated on neuro-cognition while cultural aspects have been underestimated — as they continue to be in psychology in general.

Conclusions

An important task for an interdisciplinary framework that wishes to include the cultural sciences and psychology should be to review recent cultural psychological theories to assess their implications for a psychological theory of music. As examples we use Ernst E. Boesch's Symbolic Action Theory which explicitly refers to the role of aesthetic experience in cultural contexts and Alfred Lang's “semiotic ecology” which provides an appropriate model for conceptualising the complex relations between the development of cultural patterns and the development of related individual representations.
A comparison of automated methods for the analysis of style in fifteenth-century song intabulations
Authors: Jürgensen Frauke , Knopke Ian
Published: March 2011

Background in historical musicology

A repertory of several thousand secular songs survives from the fifteenth century. Much of it is not attributed to any particular author, and frequently, even the approximate place of origin is uncertain. For us, the origin of a piece is a concern, so that we can better chart the development of musical style. Researchers have tried many approaches to attribution, or to style-classification in a broader sense: manuscript studies of all descriptions, studies of structural elements such as cadence degrees, ornamental style, elements of melodic behaviour such as contour, favoured intervals, and prevalence of leaps; dissonance treatment, and others. However, a comprehensive analysis of all these elements in a sufficiently large body of pieces is too time-consuming for one person to do by hand.

Background in music information retrieval

Information technology has made it possible to analyze large amounts of data in a reduced timespan, as compared to traditional methods. While this capability has been available for some time, the analysis of multiple musical works by computer is still relatively unexplored in music theory. Modern classification techniques require the extraction of features from sets of data, which are then resolved using higher level constructions.

Aims

To detail an approach and toolset for feature-set-based analysis of musical works of the fifteenth century as applied to the Buxheim Organ Book, to show some initial results, and to suggest further avenues for musicological exploration of the Buxheim Organ Book and related repertoire.

Main contribution

Several hundred intabulations of secular songs from the Buxheim Organ Book (ca. 1450–1470) have been analysed to produce individual sets of approximately fifty features using the Humdrum toolkit, as well as specially-constructed software tools. Some of these were general statistical features and others were features commonly examined in style studies of the mid-fifteenth-century secular song repertoire. This paper focuses on details of the initial tools developed for this project, some overall properties of the entire Buxheim set, and their relationship to previous music-theoretical work on the subject.

Implications

While some researchers have developed useful automated tools for musical analysis, these have rarely been combined with detailed musicological study of earlier repertories. Applying multiple automated tests to a single body of music gives musicologists an opportunity to compare the effectiveness and usefulness of such tools for specific tasks. Solutions specific to the analysis of the chosen repertory have been proposed, and the large-scale results will allow us re-evaluate existing musicological ideas about these pieces.
Teamgeist im Orchester: Das Zusammenspiel zwischen Flow und Führung
Authors: Boerner Sabine , Von Streit Christian Freiherr
Published: March 2011

Zusammenfassung

Der Beitrag untersucht Bedingungen und Effekte eines kooperativen Klimas unter den Musikern eines Symphonieorchesters. Ein kooperatives Klima, d.h. gegenseitige Wertschätzung und Zusammenhalt der Orchestermusiker, verbessert die Zusammenarbeit im Orchester und daher die künstlerische Qualität der Aufführungen. Als Bedingungen für ein kooperatives Klima im Orchester werden eine hohe intrinsische Motivation der Orchestermusiker und eine transformationale Führung durch den Dirigenten angenommen.

Eine empirische Untersuchung von 208 Musikern aus 22 deutschen Orchestern bestätigt den angenommenen qualitätssteigernden Effekt des kooperativen Klimas unter den Musikern. Darüber hinaus zeigt sich ein Interaktionseffekt von transformationaler Führung des Dirigenten und intrinsischer Motivation der Musiker auf das kooperative Klima im Orchester: Eine Steigerung des kooperativen Klimas im Orchester ist somit nicht durch die isolierte Wirkung einer transformationalen Führung des Dirigenten oder intrinsischer Motivation der Musiker zu erwarten, sondern nur durch ihre Kombination. Aus den Befunden werden Schlussfolgerungen für die Praxis des Musizierens im Orchester gezogen.
Social dimensions of melodic identity, cognition, and association
Authors: Selfridge-Field Eleanor
Published: March 2011

While music researchers are interested in developing tools for automatically culling related melodies and psychologists seek a clearer understanding of how people learn, recognize, and remember melodies, musicological and ethnomusicological studies offer numerous studies of tune families. Tune families cohere, it seems, partly on the basis of cultural agreement. Melodies seem to be similar if people say they are. Are there particular musical characteristics which are favored in the formation and cohesion of family members? Music scholars have been investigating this question for a half century. As their investigations have accrued, respect for complexity of melody and the many ways in which two melodies can be the same or different has increased proportionally.

This study examines five tune families and evaluates selected members of each according to a previously proposed cognitive-distance measure. Concordances and cases of musical divergence in the context of claimed relatedness are evaluated in relation to collection-formation types, melodic types, and transmission methods (printed, oral, both). Neither hand-picked members of families nor those culled by title preservation necessarily show a high degree of musical coherence. However, among the families chosen, the predominance of pieces originally associated with dancing is conspicuous. This suggests that even when contour and other features vary, lengthy rhythmic patterns may underlie the social identity of “melodic” similarity.
Transportation distances and human perception of melodic similarity
Authors: Typke Rainer , Wiering Frans , Veltkamp Remco C.
Published: March 2011

This article describes how transportation distances such as the Earth Mover's Distance can be used for measuring melodic similarity for notated music. We represent music notation as weighted point sets in a two-dimensional space of onset time and pitch. The Earth Mover's Distance can then be used for comparing point sets by determining how much work it would take to convert one of the point sets into the other by moving weight between the point sets.

For evaluating how well this method and other methods agree with human perception of melodic similarity, we established a ground truth for the RISM A/II collection based on the opinions of human experts.

The RISM A/II collection contains about half a million musical incipits. For 22 queries, we filtered the collection so that about 50 candidates per query were left, each of which we then presented to about 30 human experts (out of a group of 37 experts) for a final ranking. We present our filtering methods, the experiment design, the resulting ground truth, and a new measure (called “Average Dynamic Recall”) that can be used for comparing different similarity measures with the ground truth.
Modelling experts’ notions of melodic similarity
Authors: Müllensiefen Daniel , Frieler Klaus
Published: March 2011

In this article we show that a subgroup of music experts has a reliable and consistent notion of melodic similarity, and that this notion can be measured with satisfactory precision. Our measurements enable us to model the similarity ratings of music experts by automated and algorithmic means. A large number of algorithmic similarity measure found in the literature were mathematically systematised and implemented. The best similarity algorithms compared to human experts were chosen and optimised by statistical means according to different contexts. A multidimensional scaling model of the algorithmic similarity measures is constructed to give an overiew over the different musical dimensions reflected by these measures. We show some examples where this optimised methods could be successfully applied to real world problems like folk song categorisation and analysis, and discuss further applications and implications.
Melodic and contextual similarity of folk song phrases
Authors: Eerola Tuomas , Bregman Micah
Published: March 2011

Various models of melodic similarity have been proposed and assessed in perceptual experiments. Contour and pitch content variables haven been favoured although music-theoretical and statistical variables have also been claimed to explain similarity ratings. A Re-analysis of earlier work by Rosner & Meyer (1986) suggests that simple contextual features can also be highly explanatory with more complex stimuli. A new experiment containing short melodic phrases investigated the effectiveness of several global and comparative variables. A multi-dimensional scaling solution indicated that both melodic direction and pitch range are highly relevant for making such similarity judgments and that the most salient aspects of melody when making similarity judgments are relatively simple context-dependent features.
Body-based schemata in receptive music therapy
Authors: Aksnes Hallgjerd , Ruud Even
Published: March 2011

In the receptive music-therapeutical method BMGIM (The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music) the client listens to a specifically selected program of classical music in a deeply relaxed state, whilst reporting his/her concomitant musical imagery to the music therapist. The imagery (or travel) reported by the client (traveler) serves as point of departure for the therapeutic process, as mediated by the therapist (guide). The purpose of this study is to investigate possible relations between structural features of the musical selections, and the imagery that may arise during a BMGIM session. It was assumed that such an investigation might also contribute to our general understanding of musical meaning −1 more precisely, how meaning is produced through our interaction with specific musical structures. Furthermore, if it is possible to trace any relations between structural features and concomitant images, a deeper understanding of these relations might also be helpful in the programming (selection) of musical pieces for the BMGIM session. In the research project to which we refer in this article, a new program, Soundscapes, was designed. The program has several aims: Firstly, we wished to create a BMGIM program based upon more local traditions within the European classical canon; in this case, Norwegian music with a distinctly “national” flavor (see Aksnes and Ruud, 2006). Secondly, we wished to investigate whether it was possible to demonstrate a link between musical structures and the musical images resulting from the embodied perceptions of these structures. Here we will focus upon the first piece of the program, which was analyzed in cognitive semantic terms, the analysis being subsequently compared with the transcriptions of nine BMGIM sessions. In the analysis the well-balanced and “floating” character of the music was understood in terms of amodal, body-based schemata that are operative within music cognition. In the subsequent comparison with the reported travels, it was concluded that the schemata evoked by the music afforded a sensation of being held and carried by the music.
Der Singstreit in humanethologischer Perspektive
Authors: Lehmann Christian , Welker Lorenz , Schiefenhövel Und Wulf
Published: March 2011

Der Singstreit in humanethologischer Perspektive

Traditionen gesungener Wortgefechte sind von zahlreichen voneinander unabhängigen Kulturen in der ganzen Welt bekannt. Ethnographische Quellen über mehr als 20 Singstreit-Traditionen, unter anderem auch moderne subkulturelle Phänomene, wurden auf Form und Funktion der Praktiken untersucht. Die beobachteten Singstreite weisen eine Reihe gemeinsamer Merkmale auf: Eine große Mehrheit der Praktiken werden fast ausschließlich von Männern ausgeführt, folgen strengen formalen Regeln, implizieren Status und Belohnung und dienen als Mittel der Aggressionskontrolle und Konfliktlösung bis hin zur etablierten Gerichtsbarkeit. Der Singstreit ist für die Teilnehmer kostspielig und riskant und kann daher als ”honest signalling” im Sinne von Zahavis ”Handicap-Prinzip” verstanden werden. Die Charakteristika des Singstreits entsprechen den verhaltensbiologischen Kriterien des Turnierkampfes: ein ritualisiertes Duell männlicher Artgenossen, eine adaptive Verhaltensstrategie im Zusammenhang mit sexueller Selektion und Rang, bei der durch regelhafte Abfolge schwere körperliche Beschädigungen vermieden werden. Die kulturübergreifende ähnlichkeit der Singstreit-Praktiken lässt vermuten, dass es sich hier um ein ererbtes Muster einer musikalischen Kommunikationsstrategie handelt. Die Traditionen verblassen mit zunehmender Zivilisation, können jedoch auch in urbanen Subkulturen (Rap) in ähnlicher Form neu entstehen. Wir folgern, dass (a) Funktionen musikalischen Verhaltens im intrasexuellen Wettbewerb und (b) Gesang als hoch-ritualisierter Modus der verbalen Kommunikation im Dienste von Aggressionskontrolle und sozialer Stabilität wesentlich zur Evolution kognitiver und performativer musikalischer Fähigkeiten des Menschen beigetragen haben.
Musicality and the human capacity for culture
Authors: Cross Ian
Published: March 2011

This paper proposes that the human capacity for musicality is integral to the human capacity for culture, and that the key feature of music that motivates its efficacy is its indeterminacy of meaning, or floating intentionality. It suggests that, from an evolutionary perspective, a focus on music's commonalities of function (rather than of structure) across cultures provides an appropriate framework for theorising the roles and the operational features of music's indeterminacy of meaning. A three-dimension account of meaning in music is presented in which biologically generic, humanly specific, and culturally enactive dimensions of the experience of music are delineated, with summary examples of the application of the theory to musical usages in different cultures. It is noted that the dimensions outlined in the theory may be operational at different semiotic levels, and it is concluded that music became part of the repertoire of modern human behaviour as an exaptive consequence of processes of progressive altricialisation in the hominin lineage.
Preface
Authors: Vitouch Oliver , Ladinig Olivia
Published: March 2011

As neither the enjoyment nor the capacity of producing musical notes are faculties of the least use to man in reference to his daily habits of life, they must be ranked among the most mysterious with which he is endowed.

Charles Darwin (1871, p. 878)
Expectancy in Sami Yoiks revisited: The role of data-driven and schema-driven knowledge in the formation of melodic expectations
Authors: Eerola Tuomas , Louhivuori Jukka , Lebaka Edward
Published: March 2011

This study extends a previous study concerning melodic expectations in North Sami yoiks (Krumhansl et al., 2000) in which a comparison between expert and non-expert listeners demonstrated the existence of a core set of principles governing melodic expectancies. The previous findings are reconsidered using non-Western listeners (traditional healers from South Africa) in a modeling investigation. Comparison of different models made it possible to separate the role of data-driven and schema-driven models in melodic expectancies and to reveal any possible Western bias in previous studies. The results of the experiment, in which African listeners rated the fitness of probe-tones as continuations of North Sami yoik excerpts, indicated that data-driven models are adequate in explaining the expectancies, regardless of the cultural background of the listeners. The frequency-based models exerted more influence on listeners unfamiliar with the yoik style, the Western schematic model had most impact on Western listeners, and the style-specific models carried most predictive power for those listeners who possessed knowledge about yoiks.