Connections between linguistic and musical sound systems of British and American trombonists

The purpose of this study was twofold: first, to determine whether measurable and perceptible differences between American and British trombonists exist; second, to determine whether any of these measurable differences correlate in any way with established differences between American English and British English speech. The specific correlation between trombone sustain timbre and spoken vowels will be considered using American and British subjects in large groups, smaller dialect subgroups, and individually. In addition, the manufacturing origin of the trombone will be considered, to determine whether any differences are attributable to the instrument rather than the player. Current research that specifically considers instrumental timbre as related to speech does not yet exist. However, the fields of acoustics, linguistics, and music cognition have produced studies that informed the background assumptions of this project. American and British trombone player participants were asked to complete a series of five tasks. These tasks included two playing conditions, two speaking conditions, and one listening test. Following the completion of the project, the data was organized and analyzed to address the two objectives of the study. The first question, that of a perceptible difference, was tested by asking participants to identify whether recordings were performed by American artists or not. Subjects in this project were unable to do so, but did exhibit a preference for those recordings that they believed were performed by artists from their own dialect group. The second question, that of measurable differences relating to language, was addressed by creating a two formant spatial plot for each large dialect group, as well as dialect sub-groups and individuals. These showed that a measurable difference in timbre does exist, and that it can be related to the corresponding differences in speech. When considering whether the player or his/her choice of instrument produced this effect, recordings showed that both the player and the instrument impacted the timbre inventory, although the effect of the player was much stronger than that of the instrument

The effects of English proficiency on the processing of Bulgarian-accented English by Bulgarian-English bilinguals

This dissertation explores the potential benefit of listening to and with one’s first-language accent, as suggested by the Interspeech Intelligibility Benefit Hypothesis (ISIB). Previous studies have not consistently supported this hypothesis. According to major second language learning theories, the listener’s second language proficiency determines the extent to which the listener relies on their first language phonetics. Hence, this thesis provides a novel approach by focusing on the role of English proficiency in the understanding of Bulgarian-accented English for Bulgarian-English bilinguals. The first experiment investigated whether evoking the listeners’ L1 Bulgarian phonetics would improve the speed of processing Bulgarian-accented English words, compared to Standard British English words, and vice versa. Listeners with lower English proficiency processed Bulgarian-accented English faster than SBE, while high proficiency listeners tended to have an advantage with SBE over Bulgarian accent. The second experiment measured the accuracy and reaction times (RT) in a lexical decision task with single-word stimuli produced by two L1 English speakers and two Bulgarian-English bilinguals. Listeners with high proficiency in English responded slower and less accurately to Bulgarian-accented speech compared to L1 English speech and compared to lower proficiency listeners. These accent preferences were also supported by the listener’s RT adaptation across the first experimental block. A follow-up investigation compared the results of L1 UK English listeners to the bilingual listeners with the highest proficiency in English. The L1 English listeners and the bilinguals processed both accents with similar speed, accuracy and adaptation patterns, showing no advantage or disadvantage for the bilinguals. These studies support existing models of second language phonetics. Higher proficiency in L2 is associated with lesser reliance on L1 phonetics during speech processing. In addition, the listeners with the highest English proficiency had no advantage when understanding Bulgarian-accented English compared to L1 English listeners, contrary to ISIB. Keywords: Bulgarian-English bilinguals, bilingual speech processing, L2 phonetic development, lexical decision, proficienc

Marketing cities for tourism: developing marketing strategies for Istanbul with lessons from Amsterdam and London.

The tourism sector is relatively competitive, with many destinations competing with each other to attract potential tourists. Destinations,such as urban areas,need to besold with a greater emphasis on marketing activities. In fact, as a bundle of products consumedby a range of tourists with different needs and motives for visiting, urban tourism destinations differ from traditional holiday resorts and require more specific attention from tourism organisations responsible for marketing their cities. This research focuses on the set tourism organisations and their marketing activities ranging from market research to advertising. Attention is also paid to the tourism sector as an initiative to alleviate the urban areas' problems.The concept of an urban tourism destination as a marketable product is assessed with particular reference to the case study cities of London, Amsterdamand Istanbul. Extensive literature review, in-depth interviews with key personnel and field studies were held in the case study cities as the main research methods of the investigation. Information on marketing plans of the cities; structural characteristics of tourism organisations both in the public and private sectors; marketing alliances between these organisations; marketing tools used by city destinations;the competitiveness of urban areas in the both international and domestic tourism markets are sought from the findings of the research methods. In addition, product life cycle analysis,carrying capacity analysis and SWOT analysis are applied to the cities with support of existing data in order to assess the urban tourism products in detail. It is anticipated that such a comparative study will shed some light on the marketing activities of tourism organisations and will help to develop optimal marketing strategies for the urban tourism product of Istanbul

The Role of the Programme Team in the Implementation of Policy at Institutional Level - a Case Study in the UHI Millennium Institute

This thesis reports an insider case study conducted by an active participant in the setting which is the UHI Millennium Institute. UHI is a federal, collegial partnership of 13 academic partner colleges. This partnership is made up of Further Education Colleges and smaller and specialised institutions. The case study focuses on one programme team, the BA Social Sciences team and at its role in the implementation of the institutional learning and teaching policy and its related strategies. The case study uses literature on policy implementation and of Further/Higher Education links. It makes use of social practice theory and the notion of the teaching and learning regime to analyse the cultural characteristics of the team and a typolgy of responses to change, to review the response of the team to policy objectives. In doing so the case study is a response to calls for more 'close-up' research at the meso-level of analysis. The study reviews the response of the team over a 10-year trajectory from the initial validation of the programme to 2009. The study takes an interpretive, participant-obervation based approach to examine the cultural characteristics and response of the programme team. The methods used to gather data include examination of comprehensive documentation relating to the programme over this time frame and semi-structured interviews with team members. The findings are that the cultural character of the team is dominated by its origins in Further Education and by the social relationships involved in a team which spans three colleges and deals with three sets of college managers and UHI. The response of the team to institutional policy is to embrace its objectives but also to reconstruct policy in ways possible within constraints. The team can make certain choices but is also constrained by policy from 'the top'. The study discusses implications for the notion of the teaching and learning regime and for the typology of responses used and proposes ways in which these might be modified. Proposals for further research in this field are made, particularly involving the implications for policy making of the relationship between college management and UHI

The impact of the introduction of girl choristers at Salisbury and its influence on other British Anglican cathedral choirs

The aim of this thesis has been to examine the effects that the introduction of girl choristers has had on the all-male tradition that hitherto characterised the Anglican cathedral choir. Arguably, the future of any tradition relies on the success of the present generation for its survival and continuity. That should not imply that the tradition remains identical as in past generations, but rather that a tradition should be able to respond and, if necessary, embrace new ideas. The thesis provides an historical context for the widely reported and seemingly ground-breaking initiative at Salisbury Cathedral in the early 1990s. Through the analysis of contemporary texts, related literature, interviews, a small-scale survey and three illustrative in-depth case studies (Salisbury, Lincoln and Lichfield), the thesis reviews the background to this choral development and explores the immediate and subsequent impact across the sector. The initiative at Salisbury was not (and in some instances is still not) without controversy and so opportunity is taken in the text to rehearse examples of these conflicting views by drawing on contemporary commentary, in part by using the lens of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). Notwithstanding these cultural dissonances, by 2020, nearly all the Anglican cathedrals have introduced girls' choirs to share the responsibility of sung services with boys across the liturgical year, occasionally combining for special festivals and musical events, such as concerts and broadcasts. In each instance, the boys' choir has continued and the evidence suggests that there is now commonly mutual recognition of the value of having separate choirs of girls as well as boys – a value that is both musical as well as social and cultural

Marketing cities for tourism : developing marketing strategies for Istanbul with lessons from Amsterdam and London

The tourism sector is relatively competitive, with many destinations competing with each other to attract potential tourists. Destinations,such as urban areas,need to besold with a greater emphasis on marketing activities. In fact, as a bundle of products consumedby a range of tourists with different needs and motives for visiting, urban tourism destinations differ from traditional holiday resorts and require more specific attention from tourism organisations responsible for marketing their cities. This research focuses on the set tourism organisations and their marketing activities ranging from market research to advertising. Attention is also paid to the tourism sector as an initiative to alleviate the urban areas' problems.The concept of an urban tourism destination as a marketable product is assessed with particular reference to the case study cities of London, Amsterdamand Istanbul. Extensive literature review, in-depth interviews with key personnel and field studies were held in the case study cities as the main research methods of the investigation. Information on marketing plans of the cities; structural characteristics of tourism organisations both in the public and private sectors; marketing alliances between these organisations; marketing tools used by city destinations;the competitiveness of urban areas in the both international and domestic tourism markets are sought from the findings of the research methods. In addition, product life cycle analysis,carrying capacity analysis and SWOT analysis are applied to the cities with support of existing data in order to assess the urban tourism products in detail. It is anticipated that such a comparative study will shed some light on the marketing activities of tourism organisations and will help to develop optimal marketing strategies for the urban tourism product of Istanbul.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Developing a method to search for the causes of uncertainty in a nascent transport planning project

PhD ThesisThe transport planning decision process is, in theory, underpinned by rational analysis of travel behaviour and application of transport economics but project outcomes do not always follow the results of that analysis. Uncertainty is evident at all stages of the project development; as the concept emerges and as it moves through the subsequent assessment and decision processes. This research has investigated and demonstrated a method that identifies uncertainty focussing on the early stages of the project lifecycle and also provides an understanding of the factors that drive it. The method used a backcast scenario to elicit the causal relationships between elements of the planning and decision process in structured interviews with stakeholders. Qualitative analysis techniques were used to identify the active elements of the process, the causality between the elements was explored using the Cross Impact Matrix Model to evaluate their influences and dependencies and identify those driving uncertainty in the planning process. In this research, the Cross Impact Matrix Model was extended to analyse stakeholder opinions both individually and collectively, and investigation was undertaken into the parameter sensitivity of the analysis method. The case study was based on a disused railway where several studies into re-opening it have resulted in contradictory views on its mode of use and on the achievable benefits. In the scenario used in the case study, the rail service is re-instated for light rail use in conjunction with a new sustainable urban area anchored on an existing small village. The findings in this case study were that presence of strong leadership and collaboration between Local Authorities were the most influential determinants for progress and the prime causes of uncertainty were the economic environment, planning policies, and perceptions of passenger utility. Although these results emerged from a specific scenario, the methodology was demonstrated to be a powerful generic tool to identify the elements that create criticalities in planning for any scheme

Social exclusion in british tennis: A history of privilege and prejudice

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This study focuses on the issue of social exclusion in British tennis. It commences with a critique of current LTA policy, presenting exclusion as static, ahistorical and underpinned by false dichotomies of age and social class. Aspects of Norbert Elias’s theoretical approach are employed throughout as an analytical framework. Initially, the roots of exclusion in British tennis are sought through historical analysis. Aspects of the Civilising Process help direct attention towards wider social processes to explain the prevalence of exclusion, particularly in tennis clubs. Cost was a crucial factor in determining early access, but as tennis became more accessible to lower classes, codes of behavioural etiquette helped demarcate members along status lines. Into the mid-20th century, the globalisation, professionalisation and commercialisation of tennis pushed the LTA to adopt a more performance-oriented outlook, but this has come to oppose the more relaxed culture of tennis clubs. Thus, a power struggle emerged between these two institutions, and, underpinned by thirty interviews with leading figures in British tennis as well as extensive documentary analysis, the third section documents these developments from the 1980s. Crucially, tennis clubs remain largely amateur and voluntary-run organisations, yet are important locations for the implementation of the LTA’s demanding talent development objectives. These recent developments are understood with the help of Elias’s Game Models theory. The fourth section presents findings from a ten-month ethnographic study of social exclusion in a tennis club; a micro-analysis of club member relations underpinned by Elias’s Established-Outsider Relations theory. Overall findings suggest that social exclusion in British tennis is far more complex, multi-faceted and historically-rooted than what current LTA discourse presents. Differences in age and class are less central, and instead preconceived notions of social status based on longevity of membership, adherence to behavioural norms and playing standard are powerful determinants of inclusion