Vocal Performance Through Electrical Flows: Making Current Kin

What do we hear in a human voice that vibrates through electrical flows? In this paper I argue for listening (and vocalizing) beyond the human in performances with audio media. I propose understanding such performance practice as engaging with what I call plasmatic voice, a phenomenon distinct from the merely additive, prosthetic conception of voice + electricity. Instead, plasmatic voice functions as instances of queer assemblage stretching to reach the radically Other that constitutes ourselves—facilitating the sense of what Alaimo (2010) terms transcorporeality, an understanding of human embodiment as “intermeshed with the more-than-human world” (2). The vibrations of plasmatic voice—as an example of Eidsheim’s (2015) intermaterial vibrational practice—loosen (post)human social constructs of race and gender and reverberate with nonhuman ecosystems, as I illustrate through analysis of musical examples

Fiber bragg grating tuner

US7507891; US7507891 B2; US7507891B2; US7,507,891; US 7,507,891 B2; 7507891; Application No. 11/723,555Author name used in this publication: Kin Tak LauUSVersion of Recor

I did not die

My novella is about a mine worker and his family. Set in both Lesotho and South Africa, it engages the effects of migrant labour on families in post-apartheid South Africa. Told through the eyes of the different family members, the narrative uses shifting points of view and moves fluidly through time to present an intimate but complex view of the lives of ordinary working class people. It incorporates witchcraft and ghosts to reveal the blurred lines between the realms of life and death. This collection is inspired by my own father who is a former mine worker. I am influenced by Joyce Carol Oates and Chibundu Onuzo's darkly realistic style, Veronique Tadjo’s explorations of migration and death, the family chronicles of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor. I am also inspired by female fantasy and horror writers such as those collected in Ann and Jeff VanderMeer’s anthology, Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology

ElectroCutscenes: Realistic Haptic Feedback in Cutscenes of Virtual Reality Games Using Electric Muscle Stimulation

Cutscenes in Virtual Reality (VR) games enhance story telling by delivering output in the form of visual, auditory, or haptic feedback (e.g., using vibrating handheld controllers). Since they lack interaction in the form of user input, cutscenes would significantly benefit from improved feedback. We introduce the concept and implementation of ElectroCutscenes, a concept in which Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS) is leveraged to elicit physical user movements to correspond to those of personal avatars in cutscenes of VR games while the user stays passive. Through a user study (N=22) in which users passively received kinesthetic feedback resulting in involuntarily movements, we show that ElectroCutscenes significantly increases perceived presence and realism compared to controller-based vibrotactile and no haptic feedback. Furthermore, we found preliminary evidence that combining visual and EMS feedback can evoke movements that are not actuated by either of them alone. We discuss how to enhance realism and presence of cutscenes in VR games even when EMS can partially rather than completely actuate the desired body movements

Vocal Performance Through Electrical Flows: Making Current Kin

What do we hear in a human voice that vibrates through electrical flows? In this paper I argue for listening (and vocalizing) beyond the human in performances with audio media. I propose understanding such performance practice as engaging with what I call plasmatic voice, a phenomenon distinct from the merely additive, prosthetic conception of voice + electricity. Instead, plasmatic voice functions as instances of queer assemblage stretching to reach the radically Other that constitutes ourselves—facilitating the sense of what Alaimo (2010) terms transcorporeality, an understanding of human embodiment as “intermeshed with the more-than-human world” (2). The vibrations of plasmatic voice—as an example of Eidsheim’s (2015) intermaterial vibrational practice—loosen (post)human social constructs of race and gender and reverberate with nonhuman ecosystems, as I illustrate through analysis of musical examples

Modern sound works--building new music

Thesis (M.S.V.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1987.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH.Bibliography: leaves 70-73.by George Numrich III.M.S.V.S

Development of Carbon Fiber-modified Electrically Conductive Concrete for Implementation in Des Moines International Airport

This paper reports on the procedures of mix design preparation, production, placement, and performance evaluation of the first electrically conductive concrete (ECON) heated-pavement system (HPS) implemented at a U.S. airport. While ECON has drawn considerable attention as a paving material for multi-functional pavements, including HPS, the majority of ECON HPS applications and studies have been limited to laboratory scale or include materials/methods that do not conform to regulations enforced by airfield construction practices. Carbon fiber-reinforced ECON provides a promising prospective for application in airfield pavements. In this study, ECON mixtures were prepared in the laboratory using varying cementitious materials, aggregate systems, water-to-cementitious ratios, carbon fiber dosages, and admixtures. The results of tests on laboratory-prepared mixes were utilized to find the most suitable ECON mix design for application in an HPS test section at the Des Moines International Airport. The properties of the ECON produced at the concrete plant were measured and compared with equivalent laboratory-prepared samples. The final mix design exhibited electrical resistivity of 115 Ω-cm in the laboratory and 992 Ω-cm in the field, while completely meeting strength and workability requirements. Despite the higher ECON resistivity obtained in large-scale production, the fabricated HPS exhibited desirable performance with respect to deicing and anti-icing operations. The test section was able to generate a 300–350 W/m2 power density and to effectively melt ice/snow with this level of energy

A Musicological Study of the Japanese Koto using Heuristic Finite Element Models

Vol. 1 A Musicological Study of the Japanese Koto using Heuristic Finite Element Models -- Vol. 2 DatasetsThis musicological study investigates the sound of the Japanese koto, a 13-string zither, using heuristic finite element models. It aims firstly to test a new integrated analytical approach with finite element methods; these methods have become more accessible to scholars across many disciplines including systematic musicology in recent decades. This thesis demonstrates how these methods can provide powerful analytical tools for technical studies of musical instruments as part of organological research. Secondly, it applies this method in a heuristic study of the koto to characterise its sound envelope by using a series of models; these models range from a simple box to a more complex and geometrically accurate lofted model developed as part of this study. These models permitted the continual development of the integrated analytical approach during the period of investigation. COMSOL Multiphysics®, the finite element method software used to develop the models, also enabled specialist analysis of sound from the instrument including its qualitative visual representation. Results of these models in turn were validated by comparison with the limited existing literature on the koto’s acoustics and additional physical experiments. During this process initial tests on a plank of paulownia wood were undertaken in order to understand the paulownia wood from which the koto is made. These results then informed more complex, subsequent models. Findings from the study reveal that the anisotropic nature of paulownia significantly influenced predicted resonances when compared to a simple isotropic model. Key characteristics of the koto body that help to explain the relationship between sound production and geometry of the instrument were also identified, for example, the significant influence of the curvature of the top plate and the arching down the length of the instrument on the sound envelope produced. These findings contribute to the understanding of the acoustical behaviour of the koto in particular and East Asian zithers in general. The methods identified and validated in this study also serve more broadly as a template for future organological and acoustical investigations of geometrically complex wooden musical instruments.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Elder Conservatorium of Music, 202