Tissue-conducted spatial sound fields

We describe experiments using multiple cranial transducers to achieve auditory spatial perceptual impressions via bone (BC) and tissue conduction (TC), bypassing the peripheral hearing apparatus. This could be useful in cases of peripheral hearing damage or where ear-occlusion is undesirable. Previous work (e.g. Stanley and Walker 2006, MacDonald and Letowski 2006)1,2 indicated robust lateralization is feasible via tissue conduction. We have utilized discrete signals, stereo and first order ambisonics to investigate control of externalization, range, direction in azimuth and elevation, movement and spaciousness. Early results indicate robust and coherent effects. Current technological implementations are presented and potential development paths discussed

Inside-outside: 3-D music through tissue conduction

Eliciting an auditory perception by means of mechanical transduction bypassing the peripheral hearing apparatus has been recorded as early as the 16th century. Excluding its audiometric use to assess ear pathology, bone and soft tissue conduction has received very little interest until the last two decades. Previous work during this time (Stanley and Walker 2006, MacDonald and Letowski 2006) has indicated robust lateralization is feasible via mechanical transduction. We have extended this, adding the front-back and up-down axes

Hearing Without Ears

We report on on-going work investigating the feasibility of using tissue conduction to evince auditory spatial perception. Early results indicate that it is possible to coherently control externalization, range, directionality (including elevation), movement and some sense of spaciousness without presenting acoustic signals to the outer ear. Signal control techniques so far have utilised discrete signal feeds, stereo and 1st order ambisonic hierarchies. Some deficiencies in frontal externalization have been observed. We conclude that, whilst the putative components of the head related transfer function are absent, empirical tests indicate that coherent equivalents are perceptually utilisable. Some implications for perceptual theory and technological implementations are discussed along with potential practical applications and future lines of enquiry

The Compensation Scheme No One Asked For: The Origins of ACC in New Zealand

The vision laid down in the 1967 Royal Commission Report was radical in scope and quickly became controversial. Led by its Chairman, Sir Owen Woodhouse, the Commission presented a series of connected principles to support that vision, drawing from earlier critiques of the common law system in New Zealand and abroad. This paper explores the legal background in New Zealand prior to the Woodhouse Report and reviews prior movement toward reform, including submissions made by members of the Victoria University Law Faculty. It also describes opposition to the Report from members of the bar and other interest groups, but suggests reasons why the Woodhouse framework was nonetheless able to prevail

New Zealand's First Chief Justice: The Rule of Law and the Treaty

This article builds on the contribution George Barton made on the life of Sir William Martin, New Zealand's first Chief Justice, in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. That entry indicates the keen interest George Barton had in the culture of the law including the history of the legal profession.  This article seeks to show that New Zealand's first Chief Justice was a figure of major significance in New Zealand's early history, not only because of the way he pioneered the establishment of the superior courts in New Zealand and sought to adapt English procedures to the needs of the new colony, but more significantly in the way he used his legal and linguistic skills to encourage Māori towards a society based on the rule of law, and used those skills to provide New Zealand's early government with an understanding of the Treaty of Waitangi.  His forceful and eloquent arguments on the rights confirmed to Māori under the Treaty, although unpopular and resented by many at the time, have become a powerful resource for Treaty historians today, and deserve greater attention  by New Zealand's professional historians

George Barton and the Art of Friendship

This article contains the text of an address given at the sitting of the High Court in Wellington for Dr George Barton QC by Peter McKenzie on 6 July 2011. Peter McKenzie QC was from 1966 to 1976 a colleague of Dr Barton's on the Law Faculty of Victoria University of Wellington. McKenzie remembers Dr Barton, both as a legal colleague and a friend.&nbsp

A shared commercial legal heritage - reflections on commercial law reform in former British Colonies and Dependencies

This article reflects on Professor Tony Angelo's contributions to the laws of various British colonies, particularly Mauritius. The author illustrates different types of jurisdiction by reference to individual countries. First, the author discusses colonies with a received legal heritage – Mauritius, who has influences from its French colonial administration and English law, and Botswana who has hints of English commercial statutes. Secondly, the author discusses colonies with an underlying common law system – Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Samoa. None of these nations were settled colonies, but colonial administrators took with them a common law structure for contracts, and civil and commercial obligations, while retaining customary law and practices in relation to land. Finally, the Maldives is discussed as a "special case". The author then discusses his reflections on the colonial legal legacy, including the impact of the English language, the shared nature of the colonies' legal systems (including a common accounting and business framework), and the "colonial legal patchwork". The author hopes that the impetus given by Professor Angelo to law reform in Mauritius, as well as other nations, will continue

Holon-Doublon Binding as the Mechanism for the Mott transition

We study the binding of a holon to a doublon in a half-filled Hubbard model as the mechanism of the zero-temperature metal-insulator transition. In a spin polarized system and a non-bipartite lattice a single holon-doublon (HD) pair exhibits a binding transition (e.g., on a face-centred cubic lattice), or a sharp crossover (e.g., on a triangular lattice) corresponding well to the standard Mott transition in unpolarized systems. We extend the HD-pair study towards non-polarized systems by considering more general spin background and by treating the finite HD density within a BCS-type approximation. Both approaches lead to a discontinuous transition away from the fully polarized system and give density correlations consistent with numerical results on a triangular lattice.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Comparison of Compression Schemes for CLARA

CLARA (Compact Linear Advanced Research Accelerator)at Daresbury Laboratory is proposed to be the UK's national FEL test facility. The accelerator will be a ~250 MeV electron linac capable of producing short, high brightness electron bunches. The machine comprises a 2.5cell RF photocathode gun, one 2 m and three 5 m normal conducting S-band (2998MHz) accelerating structures and a variable magnetic compression chicane. CLARA will be used as a test bed for novel FEL configurations. We present a comparison of acceleration and compression schemes for the candidate machine layout.Comment: 3 pages, 5 figures, IPAC 201