Data-Driven Shape Analysis and Processing

Data-driven methods play an increasingly important role in discovering geometric, structural, and semantic relationships between 3D shapes in collections, and applying this analysis to support intelligent modeling, editing, and visualization of geometric data. In contrast to traditional approaches, a key feature of data-driven approaches is that they aggregate information from a collection of shapes to improve the analysis and processing of individual shapes. In addition, they are able to learn models that reason about properties and relationships of shapes without relying on hard-coded rules or explicitly programmed instructions. We provide an overview of the main concepts and components of these techniques, and discuss their application to shape classification, segmentation, matching, reconstruction, modeling and exploration, as well as scene analysis and synthesis, through reviewing the literature and relating the existing works with both qualitative and numerical comparisons. We conclude our report with ideas that can inspire future research in data-driven shape analysis and processing.Comment: 10 pages, 19 figure

Data-driven shape analysis and processing

Data-driven methods serve an increasingly important role in discovering geometric, structural, and semantic relationships between shapes. In contrast to traditional approaches that process shapes in isolation of each other, data-driven methods aggregate information from 3D model collections to improve the analysis, modeling and editing of shapes. Through reviewing the literature, we provide an overview of the main concepts and components of these methods, as well as discuss their application to classification, segmentation, matching, reconstruction, modeling and exploration, as well as scene analysis and synthesis. We conclude our report with ideas that can inspire future research in data-driven shape analysis and processing

Multi-temporality and pitch permutations: Creating networks of time and tone as raw material for composition

The following commentaries will examine my recent music from both technical and aesthetic viewpoints, focusing in particular on my exploration of both harmonic permutation fields and polyrhythmic space, and the various ways in which these have been used to create harmonic/temporal networks as raw material for composition. Whilst investigating the development and subsequent interactions of these two techniques, the commentary will also consider how this approach has evolved organically from the desire to create pre-compositional material which is both flexible and simple to define, but which also has the potential for diverse compositional outcomes, providing the composer a rich seam of material to work during the compositional process. In the interest of clarity, we will consider the harmonic and temporal aspects of my approach separately in sections 2.0 and 2.1, respectively, leaving section 2.2 to outline a more unified conception of working methods which have resulted from this research, building on the ideas presented previously

The roles of divergence and hybridization in shaping patterns of genetic and phenotypic variation across the evolutionary continuum in Juniperus and Piper

Genetic and phenotypic variation across populations, species, and radiations mediates the form and outcome of biotic and abiotic interactions and represents a major axis of biodiversity. Resolving patterns of variation across shallow and deep evolutionary divergences can provide key insights into the processes that generate and maintain this variation over micro- and macroevolutionary timescales. Additionally, variation in functional traits that interface with the biotic and abiotic environments plays an important role in adaptive evolution, and can shed light on the drivers of differentiation and diversification. Here, I analyzed genome-scale variation spanning individuals, populations, and species to 1) resolve complex diversification histories, 2) characterize landscape patterns of hybrid admixture and plant secondary chemistry, and 3) characterize macroevolutionary patterns of plant secondary chemistry. First, I reconstructed the evolutionary history of the serrate juniper clade of North America (Juniperus) as it diversified into arid habitats of the western United States and Mexico. Second, I examined how admixture across the species boundary influences patterns of genetic and phytochemical variation following secondary contact among three serrate juniper species. Finally, I resolve the timing and tempo of diversification in the Radula clade of Piper to understand how secondary chemistry evolves within a diverse tropical plant radiation. My work demonstrates the importance of evolutionary processes occurring along the evolutionary continuum for generating contemporary patterns of variation and diversity

Motivic Metamorphosis: Modelling Intervallic Transformations in Schoenberg’s Early Works

Composers can manipulate a basic musical idea in theoretically infinite ways. This concept of manipulating musical material was a central compositional philosophy of Arnold Schoenberg (1874 – 1951). As Schoenberg states, “whatever happens in a piece of music is nothing but the endless reshaping of a basic shape” (Schoenberg, [1935] 1975). It is the variety of ways in which these basic ideas, commonly termed motives, are manipulated that contributes to a work’s unique identity. According to Schoenberg, these varied basic shapes work dialogically to unify a musical piece. But how are these basic shapes varied? Utilizing ordered intervals of pitch and duration, we may examine the structural properties of motivic segments which develop throughout a work. Exploring an analytical model tracking developmental transformations of melodic musical motives (shapes), this dissertation defines a robust group of intervallic transformations, equipping the analyst with a toolkit of transformational mechanisms. Applications of set-theory and other mathematically-based methodologies to Schoenberg’s post-1908 works often account for structural and motivic process. However, this is not the case for Schoenberg’s early works (1898 – 1908), where scholars typically examine form and harmony. But, as Carl Dahlhaus posits, Schoenberg thought motivically, and only detailed analyses of intervals demonstrate how motives relate to one another (Dahlhaus, 1987). Tracking such processes in Schoenberg’s early works, we come closer to understanding how new forms are created and their interrelations¬––how developed musical ideas emerge and are woven together to create coherence. Defining a suite of transformational devices, this dissertation examines the treatment of varied motivic forms within two instrumental early works by Schoenberg, Pelleas und Melisande op. 5 (1903) and String Quartet no. 2, op. 10 (1908). The analyses reveal developmental paths via networks which connect musical statements and quantify how one object moves into the next. The results demonstrate specific transformational moves which account for the manipulation of a motivic object, thereby creating subsequent forms. Such investigations permit larger connections and qualified observations to be made within the work of Schoenberg and all composers manipulating motivic forms. The resultant work engages Schoenberg’s technique of musical development and investigates his motivic metamorphoses

Mathematics teachers’ work with resources: four cases of secondary teachers using technology

This study examines teachers’ work with paper-based, technology and social resources with the use of two theoretical frameworks: the Documentational approach and the Knowledge Quartet. The former affords looking at teachers’ resources and resource systems and how these are utilized under schemes of work. The latter affords a closer look at teachers’ work during lessons and at their knowledge-in-action. Specifically, the study investigates how four upper secondary teachers use, re-use and balance their resources by looking at their schemes of work in class, through lesson observations; and, by reflecting on the details of their work and knowledge-in-action in pre- and post-observation interviews. Analysis examines five themes in relation to teachers’ work. First, teachers use students’ contributions as a resource during lessons. Second, teachers connect (or not) different resources. Third, institutional factors, such as examinations requirements and school policy, have impact on teachers’ decisions and on how they balance their resource use. Fourth, when mathematics-education software is used, teacher knowledge of the software comes into play. Fifth, there is ambiguity in the identification of contingency moments, particularly regarding whether these moments were anticipated (or not) or provoked by the teacher. These five themes also suggest theoretical findings. In relation to the Knowledge Quartet, the findings indicate the potency of adding a few new codes or extending existing codes. This is especially pertinent in the context of teaching upper secondary mathematics with technology resources. In relation to the Documentational approach, this study introduces two constructs: scheme-in-action and re-scheming. A scheme-in-action is the scheme followed in class and documented from the classroom. Re-scheming is scheming again or differently from one lesson to another. Finally, the study discusses implications for practice and proposes the use of key incidents extracted from classroom observations towards the development of teacher education resources (e.g. for the MathTASK programme)

Blueprints and Vignettes: Pitch-class sets, Serialism and Intervallicism, and the Integration of Systematic and Intuitive Music Making

Blueprints and Vignettes: Pitch-class sets, Serialism and Intervallicism, and the Integration of Systematic and Intuitive Music Making examines the interaction of systematic and intuitive elements in my compositional and improvisational practice, and the outcomes of my sustained investigation of pitch-class sets, serialism and intervallicism as creative tools. This submission consists of two parts: a portfolio of compositions, improvisations and recordings, and an accompanying analytical exegesis. The works in the composition portfolio are a product of three individual projects with three distinct instrumental and aesthetic settings – solo piano, avant-garde jazz quartet and chamber duo – that have occupied my practice over the past five years. Each project also focusses on a particular type of creative methodology, in order to pose answers to several key research questions. How can improvisation generate a composition? How can a composition facilitate improvisation? Does a composition treated in an improvisatory manner maintain its identity? What techniques can be used to assure that it does, or does not? What are the harmonic and melodic possibilities of pitch-class sets, serialism and intervallicism, particularly to musicians with other improvisational or compositional backgrounds? How to these structural devices relate to conventional tonal harmony? In the exegesis I examine these questions by analyzing the creative processes behind and improvisatory products of the compositions in the portfolio, and in so doing place the works on a theoretical continuum between improvisation and composition similar to the one proposed by Nettl (1974). I discuss my adoption of comprovisation (the use of pre-performed or recorded improvisations as compositional seeds or scaffolds) as an integral part of my creative process, and the various ways I incorporate improvisation into my composed works – through techniques such as open notation, aleatory, textual instructions, chord symbols and other systems of facilitating open-ended performance. This research positions my practice at a nexus of jazz, experimental improvisation and classical modernism, and offers a resource to those interested in systematic improvisation, intuitive composition or the uses of pitch-class sets, serialism and intervallicism

Measuring Harmonic Tension in Post-Tonal Repertoire

Despite the large body of research that has examined tonal and atonal harmonies to our perception of tension, there is no work that describes or explores the perception of post-tonal chords, but more specifically, chords that contain both tonal and post-tonal features. This article applies the concept of calculating the total amount of voice-leading movement, to examine its relationship to our perception of tension and release. To do this, three neoclassical pieces are selected to analyze the relationship between theoretical and perceived tension. The findings suggest that in addition to calculating the horizontal motion between harmonies, physical and acoustical factors play a critical role in relating theoretical to perceived tension. This approach is adaptable to other neoclassical works and in addition, this study could have implications in other musical fields such as performance practices and analyzing formal functions in post-tonal repertoire

Transnational Communities through Global Tourism: Experiencing Celtic Culture through Music Practice on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Thesis (PhD) - Indiana University, Folklore and Ethnomusicology, 2008How are transnational communities experienced? What types of social interactions constitute transnational communities? Specifically, can a sense of transnational community be expressed and experienced through participation in cultural music performances? Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, is currently the heart of the North Atlantic Celtic music revival. Fueled by a booming tourism industry, efforts in cultural preservation, and claims as a last stronghold of Gaelic speakers outside Scotland, Cape Breton Island is an international gathering place for tourists and performers to encounter the larger community of Celtic musicians. This ethnography of a transnational music community explores the ways in which geographically disparate peoples encounter the transnational Celtic music community, learn what it means to belong, and through participation, become full members in the community. I argue that the transnational Celtic music community is best described as a community of practice, where members are active participants in the practices of social communities and constructing identities in relation to these communities. The role of international tourism, traditional arts schools, festivals, and interactive websites are examined through the lens of phenomenology and performance theory. Although primary research is based in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, field research extends to Scotland, Canada, and the United States, in order to examine the increasingly complex circulation of cultural meanings, objects, and identities of human inter-connectedness. Issues raised in this case study are cross-disciplinary in nature and can be applied broadly to research on globalization, international relations, and diasporic communities. More specifically, this research contributes directly to the field of ethnomusicology, folklore, performance theory, and tourism studies