A system to explore using a collaborative robot in improvisational dance practice

This project built a system to explore the use of a UR10 collaborative robot arm in the context of improvisational dance. A LaunchPad Pro midi interface was used with it to enable multiple positions, and sequences of positions to be quickly and simply recorded from physical manipulation of the robot arm. An end effector was built to make the physical manipulation easier, and enable the system to be used without needing the robot pendant or computer screen. The system was tested with a range of users and improvements made based on feedback and observations. Recommendations for further development of the system are also made

A Substitute for Beerwort as a Yeast Medium in the Bacteriology Laboratory

Ordinary beerwort, the usual medium in the past for yeast culture in Bacteriology laboratories, has become increasingly difficult to obtain. The manufacture of beerwort in the laboratory is a tedious process and the product is variable and often unsatisfactory for good yeast growth

Effect of Reaction on the Growth of Yeasts

A study was made to determine the amounts of organic acids necessary to inhibit the growths of some yeasts isolated from bottled beverages. It was found that, in a medium containing the same amount of cane sugar used in bottled beverages (10%), with 0.1% peptone as a source of nitrogen and made solid with 2% agar agar, it was necessary to add sufficient acid to give a pH value of 3.3 to 2.6 in order to inhibit the growth of five strains of yeasts of variable sensitiveness. In a similar medium without the agag, acid to give a pH value of 2.7 to 2.3 was required for inhibition of growth

A cross-cultural study of music in history

Music lives in every culture, yet most investigations into music are based on Western music and Western listeners. This has not only ignored the cultural richness in music itself, but has also limited the impact of research on large varieties of societies. In reality, music is multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-facet. Evident in communication, education and healthcare systems, multi-cultural challenges have also merged into many aspects of our historical and contemporary societies. Moreover, rapid changes of the society and fast evolutionary development of media and technology have enriched world wealth of music. In this paper, we demonstrate that music has a rich but cross-cultural foundation in history with significance in linguistics, health and art. Consequently, we present a multi-disciplinary or multi-cultural study of music in history, revealing its significance in linguistics, health and wellbeing

The 47th annual Canadian Association of Music Therapists (CAMT) conference ‘Bridging distance. Honouring difference’

The 47th annual Canadian Association of Music Therapists (CAMT) conference‘Bridging distance. Honouring difference’29 May – 14 June 2021, Onlin

Taking Arduino to the Internet of things: the ASIP programming model

Micro-controllers such as Arduino are widely used by all kinds of makers worldwide. Popularity has been driven by Arduino’s simplicity of use and the large number of sensors and libraries available to extend the basic capabilities of these controllers. The last decade has witnessed a surge of software engineering solutions for “the Internet of Things”, but in several cases these solutions require computational resources that are more advanced than simple, resource-limited micro-controllers. Surprisingly, in spite of being the basic ingredients of complex hardware–software systems, there does not seem to be a simple and flexible way to (1) extend the basic capabilities of micro-controllers, and (2) to coordinate inter-connected micro-controllers in “the Internet of Things”. Indeed, new capabilities are added on a per-application basis and interactions are mainly limited to bespoke, point-to-point protocols that target the hardware I/O rather than the services provided by this hardware. In this paper we present the Arduino Service Interface Programming (ASIP) model, a new model that addresses the issues above by (1) providing a “Service” abstraction to easily add new capabilities to micro-controllers, and (2) providing support for networked boards using a range of strategies, including socket connections, bridging devices, MQTT-based publish–subscribe messaging, discovery services, etc. We provide an open-source implementation of the code running on Arduino boards and client libraries in Java, Python, Racket and Erlang. We show how ASIP enables the rapid development of non-trivial applications (coordination of input/output on distributed boards and implementation of a line-following algorithm for a remote robot) and we assess the performance of ASIP in several ways, both quantitative and qualitative

MIRTO: an open-source robotic platform for education

This paper introduces the MIddlesex RoboTic platfOrm (MIRTO), an open-source platform that has been used for teaching First Year Computer Science students since the academic year 2013/2014, with the aim of providing a physical manifestation of Software Engineering concepts that are often delivered using only abstract or synthetic case studies. In this paper we provide a detailed description of the platform, whose hardware specifications and software libraries are all released open source; we describe a number of teaching usages of the platform, report students’ projects, and evaluate some of its aspects in terms of effectiveness, usability, and maintenance

A.P. Giannini, Marriner Stoddard Eccles, and the Changing Landscape of American Banking

The Great Depression elucidated the shortcomings of the banking system and its control by Wall Street. The creation of the Federal Reserve System in 1913 was insufficient to correct flaws in the banking system until the Banking Acts of 1933 and 1935. A.P. Giannini, the American-Italian founder of the Bank of America and Mormon Marriner S. Eccles, chairman of Federal Reserve Board (1935-1949), from California and Utah respectively, successfully worked to restrain the power of the eastern banking establishment. The Banking Act of 1935 was the capstone of their cooperation, a bill that placed open market operations in the hands of the Federal Reserve, thus diminishing the power of the New York Reserve. The creation of the Federal Housing Act, as orchestrated by Eccles, became a source of enormous revenue for Giannini. Giannini's wide use of branch banking and mass advertising was his contribution to American banking. Eccles's promotion of compensatory spending and eventual placement of monetary control in the hands of the Federal Reserve Board with Banking Act of 1935 and the Accord of 1951 and Giannini's branch banking diminished the likelihood of another sustained depression. As the Bank of America grew, and as Eccles became more aggressive in his fight for control of monetary policy, Secretary of State Henry Morgenthau, Jr., became a common enemy to both bankers. Morgenthau caused the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an investigation of the Bank of America. Later, when Eccles and Giannini were no longer friends, the Board of Governors filed suit under the Clayton Act against Transamerica, a Giannini bank holding company. By 1945, Giannini's bank was the largest in the world. When John W. Snyder replaced Morgenthau, the "freeze" against Giannini's expansion stopped. Eccles was demoted by Truman but served on the Board of Governors until the Accord of 1951 making the Reserve no longer responsible for supporting the pegged interest rates of government bonds

IMPACT OF HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS IN BASIC UNDERWATER DEMOLITION/SEAL (BUD/S) TRAINING PERFORMANCE

Reporting and clerical functions at Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Echelon IV commands are ripe for digitization, automation, and optimization. This study utilizes a restricted digitalized NSW dataset to showcase how “big data” in the context of SEAL training can be used to predict performance success of various Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training evolutions. Our study focuses on multiple human characteristics and compares their correlation to evolution pass rates in training using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) for our prediction model. From our initial regression analysis of over 232,000 data points, our findings indicate higher pass rates for BUD/S candidates who are older, married, and officers, as well as increased pass rates in individuals who were taller, lighter, and right-handed. Lower pass rates are found among minorities. The Black population had high fail rates in the evolutions that involve water activities. This study is an example of how long-term efficiencies could be gained from greater automation of data using simple software that could provide long-term benefit if captured in a more persistent and accurate manner. We advocate for the implementation of a more automated data/software collection system that can capture each student's training career in one cohesive data profile. Moving forward, NSW studies should continue to leverage the use of “big data” to optimize its performance across all domains of the force.Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.Lieutenant, United States NavyLieutenant, United States Nav