Research Report - October 2009. Elaboration of the Module: Definition of the Programme

Alternative innovative didactic methodology is needed to reduce premature school drop out,particularly of young people at risk of exclusion, such as migrants, ethnic groups and children/teenagers from difficult socio-economic background). The key point is to modify the way to deliver learning. Cultural enrichment through young interestas such as music and art, use of technologies, social competencies, problem-solving skills incomputer science, autonomy and sense of purpose may help childhood and adolescence to achieve an improved engagement in school and a sense of educational accomplishmen

Cultural Influences on Decision-Making Preferences in Australian and British Amateur Choir Rehearsals

Although the precise nature of a conductor’s “authority” remains somewhat obscure and use of the word in various commentaries and studies is rarely defined or standardised, it is largely agreed that the making of musical decisions and the way in which they are made are important aspects of it. Furthermore, existing research outside music research literature has suggested that different cultures respond to authority in different ways. With this in mind, this thesis examines whether different cultures prefer different systems of decision-making during rehearsals: either conductor-only (the conductor makes all the decisions without consultation); or group-input (members of the ensemble can make suggestions, offer input and engage in open discussion), and whether these preferences reflect prevailing cultural attitudes and traits. 509 participants from both the United Kingdom and Australia completed an online survey canvasing their attitude to these two broad decision-making systems. A summated-ratings methodology was employed using a Likert-type scale. Open-ended comments were also invited. Responses more in favour of conductor-only decision-making (autocratic) were given higher values whilst responses more in favour of group-input (democratic) were given lower scores. According to literature, Australian culture differs to British in a number of key areas, including a strong anti-authority sentiment, low levels of obedience, lower Power Distance (the distance between different levels of management or other organisational structures) and most importantly a society shaped by a sense of egalitarianism. Therefore, it was hypothesised that Australians would be more in favour of group-input decision-making – something considered to be itself more egalitarian – as opposed to one person at the front making all the decisions. Findings revealed that this was not the case. In fact, although the level of agreement/disagreement to the statements for the two countries was very similar, the Australian summated scores were generally higher than those of the British, meaning they were more in favour of a conductor-only system. The reasons for this are not immediately clear. But with many of the differences in scores between the countries being significant, there would appear to be an effect present worthy of further investigation. A number of potential reasons for the findings are offered. It is hoped, that in addition to investigating any differences in response to conductor authority between the two countries, valuable insight might also be gained into general preferences and opinions on the successful running of rehearsals. In terms of asking choristers directly about how much, if any, discussion is helpful, what type of discussion and when, how those that persistently call out in rehearsals are viewed, this research, it is believed, is the first to do so with such scope. This is important for the day-to-day running of effective and efficient rehearsals and in the avoiding of ill-feeling and animosity amongst group members. Ultimately it is hoped that this research will result in better performance outcomes and more enjoyable experiences for amateur singers

DMCA Safe Harbors and the Future of New Digital Music Sharing Platforms

SoundCloud is an online service provider that allows users to upload, share, and download music that they have created. It is an innovative platform for both amateur and established producers and disc jockeys (DJs) to showcase their original tracks and remixes. Unfortunately, it is also a platform that lends itself to widespread copyright infringement. Looking toward potential litigation, several factors ought to be considered by SoundCloud and other similar providers. The Viacom v. YouTube case, decided in the Southern District of New York and now currently on appeal in the Second Circuit, sheds light on the potential liability service providers like SoundCloud face. It draws out the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) safe harbor provisions under which SoundCloud could potentially find protection. However, SoundCloud is unique among similar service providers because it provides users with a variety of viewing, sharing and downloading options that are built into the platform. These options could lead to infringement that would not fall under a DMCA safe harbor. This Issue Brief will discuss the various arguments to be made for and against SoundCloud’s liability, and examine whether the unique utility provided by the service to users could be sustained in the face of potential litigation. Ultimately, the safeguards used by SoundCloud to filter blatant infringement, combined with the DMCA § 512(c) safe harbor, should allow this innovative platform to maintain its current model without neutering its core functionality

The effect of Stravinsky’s ballets on the role of the conductor

This thesis explores Stravinsky's effect on the role of the conductor, employing a combination of score analysis, performance analysis, aesthetics and historicism. Stravinsky is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the Twentieth Century, and this now 'mythic' influence is perceived by many to have transformed the conductor's work. I investigate how true this assumption is, and whether The Rite of Spring in particular is responsible for any developments. The compound methodology allows for the study of rhythm, structure, harmony, instrumentation, hermeneutics and staging. My seven case studies (The Firebird, Petrushka, The Rite of Spring, Les Noces, Apollo, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, and Agon) are all ballets, which also places spotlight on a commonly neglected genre in music. This allows for the consideration of choreography - an additional influencing factor that is bypassed in most musicological and conducting literature. Moreover, the study of Stravinsky's ballets, as they span the composer's entire career, can serve as a useful lens through which to view the composer's repertoire as a whole. Therefore the findings of the thesis can be indicative of Stravinsky's broader influence on the conductor. The conclusions drawn were that although it is impossible to refute Stravinsky's overall impact on the conductor's work (particularly in relation to his comtemporaries), there are numerous overrated areas of impact. Furthermore, The Rite of Spring is not solely responsible for these changes. In fact, it overshadows the challenges present throughout Stravinsky's repertoire, which manifest themselves in the innovative choreography, instrumentation, rhythm and anti-interpretative devices

Boston University Messiaen Project, October 12 and 13, 2007

This is the concert program of the Boston University Messiaen Project international conference on Friday, October 12, and Saturday, October 13, 2007, at the College of Fine Arts, 855 Commonwealth Avenue. The conference featured lectures by Yves Balmer, Karin Heller, Stephen Butler Murray, Martin Lee, Andrew Shenton, Mark DeVoto, Wai Ling Cheong, Luke Berryman, Thomas Peattie, Peter Bannister, Vincent Benitez, Robert Sholl, Alexandre Abdoulvaev, Robert Fallon, Adam Gustafson, Douglas Shadle, Stephen Schloesser, Alexander Rehding, Sander van Maas, Ryan W. Dohoney, and David Cannata. Works performed on the concert on Saturday, October 13, 2007 in the Concert Hall were "Fantasie pour violon et piano by Olivier Messiaen, "Un reflet dans le vent" by O. Messiaen, "Ondine" by Claude Debussy, "Les fées sont d'exquises danseuses" by C. Debussy, "Brouillards" by C. Debussy, "Feuilles mortes" by C. Debussy, "La colombe" by O. Messiaen, "Deux romances de Paul Bourget" by C. Debussy, "Deux morceaux de soir" by C. Debussy, and "Poèmes pour Mi" by O. Messiaen. Digitization for Boston University Concert Programs was supported by the Boston University Humanities Library Endowed Fund

Disturbance and plausibility in a virtual rock concert: a pilot study

We present methods used to produce and study a first version of an attempt to reconstruct a 1983 live rock concert in virtual reality. An approximately 10 minute performance by the rock band Dire Straits was rendered in virtual reality, based on the use of computer vision techniques to extract the appearance and movements of the band, and crowd simulation for the audience. An online pilot study was conducted where participants experienced the scenario and freely wrote about their experience. The documents produced were analyzed using sentiment analysis, and groups of responses with similar sentiment scores were found and compared. The results showed that some participants were disturbed not by the band performance but by the accompanying virtual audience that surrounded them. The results point to a profound level of plausibility of the experience, though not in the way that the authors expected. The findings add to our understanding of plausibility of virtual environments.This work is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant Moments in Time in Immersive Virtual Environments (MoTIVE) #742989.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Embedding Comparator: Visualizing Differences in Global Structure and Local Neighborhoods via Small Multiples

Embeddings mapping high-dimensional discrete input to lower-dimensional continuous vector spaces have been widely adopted in machine learning applications as a way to capture domain semantics. Interviewing 13 embedding users across disciplines, we find comparing embeddings is a key task for deployment or downstream analysis but unfolds in a tedious fashion that poorly supports systematic exploration. In response, we present the Embedding Comparator, an interactive system that presents a global comparison of embedding spaces alongside fine-grained inspection of local neighborhoods. It systematically surfaces points of comparison by computing the similarity of the $k$-nearest neighbors of every embedded object between a pair of spaces. Through case studies, we demonstrate our system rapidly reveals insights, such as semantic changes following fine-tuning, language changes over time, and differences between seemingly similar models. In evaluations with 15 participants, we find our system accelerates comparisons by shifting from laborious manual specification to browsing and manipulating visualizations.Comment: Equal contribution by first two author

The Emotional Interpretations of Minimalism

Research of Minimalism in Film.https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-scoring/1040/thumbnail.jp