title: Dastgàh recognition in Iranian music: different features and optimized parameters

authors: Heydarian, Peyman

subjects: computer science

abstract: In this paper we report on the results of utilizing computational analysis to determine the dastgàh, the mode of music in the Iranian classical art music, using spectrogram and chroma features. We contrast the effectiveness of classifying music using the Manhattan distance and Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM). For our database of Iranian instrumental music played on a santur, using spectrogram and chroma features , we achieved accuracy rates of 90.11% and 80.2% when using Manhattan distance respectively. When using GMM with chroma, the accuracy rate was 89.0%. The effects of altering key parameters were also investigated, varying the amount of the training data and silence, as well as high frequency suppression on the results. The results from this phase of experimentation indicated that a 24 equal temperament was the best tone resolution. While experiments focused on dastgàh, with only minor adjustments the described techniques are applicable to traditional Persian, Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic and Greek music, and therefore suitable to use as a basis for a musicological tool that provides a broader form of cross-cultural audio search.

text: Dastgàh recognition in Iranian music: different features and optimized parameters In this paper we report on the results of utilizing computational analysis to determine the dastgàh, the mode of music in the Iranian classical art music, using spectrogram and chroma features. We contrast the effectiveness of classifying music using the Manhattan distance and Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM). For our database of Iranian instrumental music played on a santur, using spectrogram and chroma features , we achieved accuracy rates of 90.11% and 80.2% when using Manhattan distance respectively. When using GMM with chroma, the accuracy rate was 89.0%. The effects of altering key parameters were also investigated, varying the amount of the training data and silence, as well as high frequency suppression on the results. The results from this phase of experimentation indicated that a 24 equal temperament was the best tone resolution. While experiments focused on dastgàh, with only minor adjustments the described techniques are applicable to traditional Persian, Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic and Greek music, and therefore suitable to use as a basis for a musicological tool that provides a broader form of cross-cultural audio search.

year: 2019

title: Healing Pluralism and Responsibility: An Anthropological Study of Patient and Practitioner Beliefs

authors: Miskelly, Philippa Ann

subjects: medical pluralism

abstract: Combining the use of alternative and complementary therapies and orthodox medicine is an increasing phenomenon.  This thesis examines the implications of mixing and matching plural healing modalities against a backdrop of patient and practitioner responsibilities.   

From an anthropological perspective, the predominant use of qualitative methodology is an integral part of this research project.  Central to this study is the views of a variety of participant categories - patients who use both alternative and orthodox healing methods; non-medical alternative and complementary practitioners; medical doctors who integrate orthodox and CAM therapies into their daily practise; and orthodox general practitioners.  Interviews with these participants took place over an eighteen-month timeframe and involved face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, and focus group research.   Social constructionist theory, which forms part of the compendium of interpretive theoretical approaches adopted under the medical anthropology paradigm, has been used in order to expose the beliefs patients and practitioners hold about their own responsibilities, and those of the other participant categories.

This study reveals a palimpsest of complex, contradictory and competing discourses in relation to patient and practitioner expectations and responsibilities.  One important finding relates to the significance of neo-liberal and individualistic ideologies. This thesis concludes that the rhetoric from complementary and alternative practitioners, and their integrative colleagues, is heavily imbued with ideas about self-responsibility, particularly in relation to patient lifestyle choices and therapeutic compliance.   Patients and orthodox general practitioners share some of these views but in general adopt a more collective approach to health care responsibilities.  While patients are prepared to accept some responsibility for their illnesses and health keeping practises, they express strong reliance towards the orthodox health model as well as those doctors who practise integrative medicine.   However the same cannot be said of their attitudes towards CAM modalities where considerable ambivalence is evident towards both practitioners and the therapies themselves.   

The role of the state, and its responsibilities for the structure of the health care system in New Zealand, is also clearly influential in the construction of belief systems.  This is especially so because the rhetoric underlying neo-liberal and individualistic discourses now permeates the direction of health policies.   Increasing levels of surveillance, both at bureaucratic and individual levels, also attests to the influence of neo-liberalism and individualism.    This study exposes the tensions between the rhetoric of self-responsibility and the lived experiences of patients and health practitioners, which in many cases is more collective in its focus than is initially apparent.

text: Healing Pluralism and Responsibility: An Anthropological Study of Patient and Practitioner Beliefs Combining the use of alternative and complementary therapies and orthodox medicine is an increasing phenomenon.  This thesis examines the implications of mixing and matching plural healing modalities against a backdrop of patient and practitioner responsibilities.   

From an anthropological perspective, the predominant use of qualitative methodology is an integral part of this research project.  Central to this study is the views of a variety of participant categories - patients who use both alternative and orthodox healing methods; non-medical alternative and complementary practitioners; medical doctors who integrate orthodox and CAM therapies into their daily practise; and orthodox general practitioners.  Interviews with these participants took place over an eighteen-month timeframe and involved face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, and focus group research.   Social constructionist theory, which forms part of the compendium of interpretive theoretical approaches adopted under the medical anthropology paradigm, has been used in order to expose the beliefs patients and practitioners hold about their own responsibilities, and those of the other participant categories.

This study reveals a palimpsest of complex, contradictory and competing discourses in relation to patient and practitioner expectations and responsibilities.  One important finding relates to the significance of neo-liberal and individualistic ideologies. This thesis concludes that the rhetoric from complementary and alternative practitioners, and their integrative colleagues, is heavily imbued with ideas about self-responsibility, particularly in relation to patient lifestyle choices and therapeutic compliance.   Patients and orthodox general practitioners share some of these views but in general adopt a more collective approach to health care responsibilities.  While patients are prepared to accept some responsibility for their illnesses and health keeping practises, they express strong reliance towards the orthodox health model as well as those doctors who practise integrative medicine.   However the same cannot be said of their attitudes towards CAM modalities where considerable ambivalence is evident towards both practitioners and the therapies themselves.   

The role of the state, and its responsibilities for the structure of the health care system in New Zealand, is also clearly influential in the construction of belief systems.  This is especially so because the rhetoric underlying neo-liberal and individualistic discourses now permeates the direction of health policies.   Increasing levels of surveillance, both at bureaucratic and individual levels, also attests to the influence of neo-liberalism and individualism.    This study exposes the tensions between the rhetoric of self-responsibility and the lived experiences of patients and health practitioners, which in many cases is more collective in its focus than is initially apparent.

year: 2006

title: The use of functionalised biochar to enhance phosphorus removal in woodchip bioreactors. The integration of mātauranga Māori to enhance the cultural aspects of woodchip bioreactors.

authors: Taoho, Brandon

subjects: Woodchip bioreactor

abstract: Nutrient pollution, resulting from excessive releases of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) into waterways, poses a significant threat to aquatic ecosystems worldwide. Elevated nutrient levels can result in eutrophication, which can have detrimental effects on the health of waterbodies and their biota. Woodchip bioreactors are effective, edge-of-field technologies that can help mitigate nutrient pollution by lowering nutrient concentrations in agricultural drainage systems known to carry leached N and P into waterways. However, one limitation to their design is their ineffectiveness at removing P. The inclusion of functionalised biochar is one potential solution to enhance P removal in woodchip bioreactors. There is a growing need to mitigate nutrient pollution in New Zealand that does not depend on a western-centric perspective only. Integration of mātauranga Māori and western science into the design and operations of a woodchip bioreactor is one approach to incorporate both knowledge systems to the goal of mitigating nutrient pollution. In this dissertation, a column experiment was used to compare the P removal efficiencies of two treatments of functionalised biochar, and one treatment of woodchips when subjected to stream water spiked with P. Subsequently, a single phosphate extraction was done to determine the phosphate absorption capacities of each treatment. The results showed that the two functionalised biochar treatments had the highest efficacy in reducing P concentrations in the P-spiked stream water compared to the woodchip-only treatment. Both treatments also showed higher P absorption, evidenced from the Fe-P/Feox ratio, within the phosphate extraction experiment. A wānanga was organised at Matahuru Marae, Lake Waikare, to share mātauranga Māori on how to culturally enhance woodchip bioreactors from a Te Ao Māori perspective. Participants recommended that native woodchips be incorporated into woodchip bioreactors because of their inherent association to the land and people. Overall, the results implied that functionalised biochar is an effective solution to enhance P removal in woodchip bioreactors due to their biophysical properties to absorb and retain P. Secondly, incorporating native woodchips into woodchip bioreactors systems potentially offers a sustainable and culturally respected alternative to conventional wood chips, aligning with Māori values and tikanga

text: The use of functionalised biochar to enhance phosphorus removal in woodchip bioreactors. The integration of mātauranga Māori to enhance the cultural aspects of woodchip bioreactors. Nutrient pollution, resulting from excessive releases of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) into waterways, poses a significant threat to aquatic ecosystems worldwide. Elevated nutrient levels can result in eutrophication, which can have detrimental effects on the health of waterbodies and their biota. Woodchip bioreactors are effective, edge-of-field technologies that can help mitigate nutrient pollution by lowering nutrient concentrations in agricultural drainage systems known to carry leached N and P into waterways. However, one limitation to their design is their ineffectiveness at removing P. The inclusion of functionalised biochar is one potential solution to enhance P removal in woodchip bioreactors. There is a growing need to mitigate nutrient pollution in New Zealand that does not depend on a western-centric perspective only. Integration of mātauranga Māori and western science into the design and operations of a woodchip bioreactor is one approach to incorporate both knowledge systems to the goal of mitigating nutrient pollution. In this dissertation, a column experiment was used to compare the P removal efficiencies of two treatments of functionalised biochar, and one treatment of woodchips when subjected to stream water spiked with P. Subsequently, a single phosphate extraction was done to determine the phosphate absorption capacities of each treatment. The results showed that the two functionalised biochar treatments had the highest efficacy in reducing P concentrations in the P-spiked stream water compared to the woodchip-only treatment. Both treatments also showed higher P absorption, evidenced from the Fe-P/Feox ratio, within the phosphate extraction experiment. A wānanga was organised at Matahuru Marae, Lake Waikare, to share mātauranga Māori on how to culturally enhance woodchip bioreactors from a Te Ao Māori perspective. Participants recommended that native woodchips be incorporated into woodchip bioreactors because of their inherent association to the land and people. Overall, the results implied that functionalised biochar is an effective solution to enhance P removal in woodchip bioreactors due to their biophysical properties to absorb and retain P. Secondly, incorporating native woodchips into woodchip bioreactors systems potentially offers a sustainable and culturally respected alternative to conventional wood chips, aligning with Māori values and tikanga

year: 2023