Music, movement and marimba: an investigation of the role of movement and gesture in communicating musical expression to an audience

The experiment reported in this article investigated the assumption that visual movement plays a role in musician-to-audience communication in marimba performance. Body movement is of particular relevance here as the expressive capabilities of the marimba are relatively restricted, and the movements required to play it are visible. Twenty-four musically trained and 24 musically untrained observers rated auditory-only and auditory-visual presentations of 20th-century solo marimba excerpts for perceived expressiveness and interest. Performances were given by a male and a female professional musician in projected (public performance expression) and deadpan (minimized expressive features) performance manners. As hypothesized, higher ratings were recorded in response to projected performances than to deadpan. The hypothesized interaction between modality and performance manner was observed. Musically trained participants recorded higher ratings than musically untrained observers, upholding the final hypothesis. Expressive body movement plays an important role in the communication between marimba performer and audience - a role relevant for both performers and educators. Copyrigh

Action and familiarity effects on self and other expert musicians’ Laban effort-shape analyses of expressive bodily behaviors in instrumental music performance: a case study approach

Self-reflective performance review and expert evaluation are features of Western music performance practice. While music is usually the focus, visual information provided by performing musicians’ expressive bodily behaviors communicates expressiveness to musically trained and untrained observers. Yet, within a seemingly homogenous group, such as one of musically trained individuals, diversity of experience exists. Individual differences potentially affect perception of the subtleties of expressive performance, and performers’ effective communication of their expressive intentions. This study aimed to compare self- and other expert musicians’ perception of expressive bodily behaviors observed in marimba performance. We hypothesized that analyses of expressive bodily behaviors differ between expert musicians according to their specialist motor expertise and familiarity with the music. Two professional percussionists and experienced marimba players, and one professional classical singer took part in the study. Participants independently conducted Laban effort-shape analysis – proposing that intentions manifest in bodily activity are understood through shared embodied processes – of a marimbists’ expressive bodily behaviors in an audio-visual performance recording. For one percussionist, this was a self-reflective analysis. The work was unfamiliar to the other percussionist and singer. Perception of the performer’s expressive bodily behaviors appeared to differ according to participants’ individual instrumental or vocal motor expertise, and familiarity with the music. Furthermore, individual type of motor experience appeared to direct participants’ attention in approaching the analyses. Findings support forward and inverse perception–action models, and embodied cognitive theory. Implications offer scientific rigor and artistic interest for how performance practitioners can reflectively analyze performance to improve expressive communication

Role of BacA in Lipopolysaccharide Synthesis, Peptide Transport, and Nodulation by \u3cem\u3eRhizobium\u3c/em\u3e sp. Strain NGR234

BacA of Sinorhizobium meliloti plays an essential role in the establishment of nitrogen-fixing symbioses with Medicago plants, where it is involved in peptide import and in the addition of very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA) to lipid A of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We investigated the role of BacA in Rhizobium species strain NGR234 by mutating the bacA gene. In the NGR234 bacA mutant, peptide import was impaired, but no effect on VLCFA addition was observed. More importantly, the symbiotic ability of the mutant was comparable to that of the wild type for a variety of legume species. Concurrently, an acpXL mutant of NGR234 was created and assayed. In rhizobia, AcpXL is a dedicated acyl carrier protein necessary for the addition of VLCFA to lipid A. LPS extracted from the NGR234 mutant lacked VLCFA, and this mutant was severely impaired in the ability to form functional nodules with the majority of legumes tested. Our work demonstrates the importance of VLCFA in the NGR234-legume symbiosis and also shows that the necessity of BacA for bacteroid differentiation is restricted to specific legume-Rhizobium interactions

Environmental Site Characterization and Risk-Based Evaluation of a Site Contaminated with Tetrachloroethene (PCE) and Trichloroethene (TCE)

A healthcare company purchased property in eastern Iowa for a facility expansion. Before the purchase, a Phase I environmental site assessment (ESA) revealed that the property was the site of a former dry cleaning business. Phase II sampling and testing indicated that tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) had affected site soil and groundwater. Maximum concentrations of PCE and TCE in groundwater were 538 and 209 µg/L, respectively, and 105 and 1.51 mg/kg in soil. Additional sampling delineated the vertical and horizontal extent of contamination in the soil. The concentrations of the chlorinated solvents in both the soil and groundwater were below levels of regulatory concern. However, the company was concerned that the Iowa statewide standard for PCE in soil (780 mg/kg) might not provide adequate protection for several exposure pathways and wanted to assess the risk to the public from the contamination at the site. The results of a receptor survey were used to develop site-specific target levels (SSTLs) for contamination, using accepted human health exposure factors, models, and chemical-specific toxicity values. The recommended remedial options allowed the company to minimize the human health risks posed by contamination at the site

NAGPRA's Impact on North Carolina and the Southeast : Research on the Research

This thesis researches the impact of the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) on academic bioarchaeological research in the southeastern United States and North Carolina. Scholarly journals, conference bulletins, and dissertations were evaluated to determine if there have been any shifts in the amount of research conducted since the law was passed. The percentage of bioarchaeological studies for each year between 1970 and 2009 was calculated and analyzed for any changes over time. Questionnaires were e-mailed to several archaeologists, bioarchaeologists, and leaders in the North Carolina Native American community to sample their opinion of NAGPRA and compare perceived impacts of the law to any impact indicated by the quantitative data. By examining trends in percentages, the data indicates that NAGPRA has had no long-term impact upon the amount of bioarchaeological research involving Native American skeletal remains throughout North Carolina and the Southeast.  M.A

Model-based multi-objective optimisation of reheating furnace operations using genetic algorithm

An effective optimisation strategy for metal reheating processes is crucial for the economic operation of the furnace while supplying products of a consistent quality. An optimum reheating process may be defined as one which produces heated stock to a desired discharge temperature and temperature uniformity while consuming minimum amount of fuel energy. A strategic framework to solve this multi-objective optimisation problem for a large-scale reheating furnace is presented in this paper. For a given production condition, a model-based multi-objective optimisation strategy using genetic algorithm was adopted to determine an optimal temperature trajectory of the bloom so as to minimise an appropriate cost function. Definition of the cost function has been facilitated by a set of fuzzy rules which is easily adaptable to different trade-offs between the bloom desired discharge temperature, temperature uniformity and specific fuel consumption. A number of scenarios with respect to these trade-offs were evaluated and the results suggested that the developed furnace model was able to provide insight into the dynamic heating behaviour with respect to the multi-objective criteria. Suggest findings that current furnace practice places more emphasis on heated product quality than energy efficiency

Nonlinear dynamic simulation and control of large-scale reheating furnace operations using a zone method based model

Modern reheating furnaces are complex nonlinear dynamic systems having heat transfer performances which may be greatly influenced by operating conditions such as stock material properties, furnace scheduling and throughput rate. Commonly, each furnace is equipped with a tailored model predictive control system to ensure consistent heated product quality such as final discharge temperature and temperature uniformity within the stock pieces. Those furnace models normally perform well for a designed operating condition but cannot usually cope with a variety of transient furnace operations such as non-uniform batch scheduling and production delay from downstream processes. Under these conditions, manual interventions that rely on past experience are often used to assist the process until the next stable furnace operation has been attained. Therefore, more advanced furnace control systems are useful to meet the challenge of adapting to those circumstances whilst also being able to predict the dynamic thermal behaviour of the furnace. In view of the above, this paper describes in detail an episode of actual transient furnace operation, and demonstrates a nonlinear dynamic simulation of this furnace operation using a zone method based model with a self-adapting predictive control scheme. The proposed furnace model was found to be capable of dynamically responding to the changes that occurred in the furnace operation, achieving about ±10 °C discrepancies with respect to measured discharge temperature, and the self-adapting predictive control scheme is shown to outperform the existing scheme used for furnace control in terms of stability and fuel consumption (fuel saving of about 6%)