Virtual Audio - Three-Dimensional Audio in Virtual Environments

Three-dimensional interactive audio has a variety ofpotential uses in human-machine interfaces. After lagging seriously behind the visual components, the importance of sound is now becoming increas-ingly accepted. This paper mainly discusses background and techniques to implement three-dimensional audio in computer interfaces. A case study of a system for three-dimensional audio, implemented by the author, is described in great detail. The audio system was moreover integrated with a virtual reality system and conclusions on user tests and use of the audio system is presented along with proposals for future work at the end of the paper. The thesis begins with a definition of three-dimensional audio and a survey on the human auditory system to give the reader the needed knowledge of what three-dimensional audio is and how human auditory perception works

Developing a facilities management questionnaire in a local government setting

Community facilities are at the frontline of service provision for local government, enacting strategy and objectives on a day-to-day basis and forming the cornerstone of performance assessment. The performance of facilities, as judged by their users, is a contested area of governance, with theories on assessment being influenced by economic, social, environmental and business-as-usual advocates. Facility managers, who see users as the source of their reward as well as their day-to-day problems, consider asking users for their opinion as being equally a benefit and a risk. However, measuring customer satisfaction is increasingly emerging as a measure of good performance and facility managers have to find some credible way of gauging this. This research paper takes a broadly consultative approach to survey development and finds that, regardless of the best planning and design, facility managers will be judged based on the limited experiences of their users and evaluators and this is key to successfully embedding new strategy in operations

Changing the Scene: applying four models of social evolution to the scenescape

This paper elaborates a multi-model approach to studying how local scenes change. We refer to this as the "4 D's" of scene change: development, differentiation, defense, and diffusion. Each posits somewhat distinct change processes, and has its own tradition of theory and empirical research, which we briefly review. After summarizing some major trends in scenes and amenities in the US context, for each change model, we present some initial findings, discussing data and methods throughout. Our overall goal is to point toward new research arcs on change models of scenes, and to give some clear examples and directions for how to think about and collect data to understand what makes some scenes change, others not, why, and in what directions.Comment: Published at Journal Wuhan Universit

Familiarity Breeds Contempt: Kangaroos Persistently Avoid Areas with Experimentally Deployed Dingo Scents

Background: Whether or not animals habituate to repeated exposure to predator scents may depend upon whether there are predators associated with the cues. Understanding the contexts of habituation is theoretically important and has profound implication for the application of predator-based herbivore deterrents. We repeatedly exposed a mixed mob of macropod marsupials to olfactory scents (urine, feces) from a sympatric predator (Canis lupus dingo), along with a control (water). If these predator cues were alarming, we expected that over time, some red kangaroos (Macropus rufous), western grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus) and agile wallabies (Macropus agilis) would elect to not participate in cafeteria trials because the scents provided information about the riskiness of the area. Methodology/Principal Findings: We evaluated the effects of urine and feces independently and expected that urine would elicit a stronger reaction because it contains a broader class of infochemicals (pheromones, kairomones). Finally, we scored non-invasive indicators (flight and alarm stomps) to determine whether fear or altered palatability was responsible for the response. Repeated exposure reduced macropodid foraging on food associated with 40 ml of dingo urine, X = 986.75±3.97 g food remained as compared to the tap water control, X = 209.0±107.0 g (P0.5). Macropodids did not habituate to repeated exposure to predator scents, rather they avoided the entire experimental area after 10 days of trials (R2 = 83.8; P<0.001). Conclusions/Significance: Responses to urine and feces were indistinguishable; both elicited fear-based responses and deterred foraging. Despite repeated exposure to predator-related cues in the absence of a predator, macropodids persistently avoided an area of highly palatable food. Area avoidance is consistent with that observed from other species following repeated anti-predator conditioning, However, this is the first time this response has been experimentally observed among medium or large vertebrates 2 where a local response is observed spatially and an area effect is revealed over time

¿No hay poetas en la costa?

Poetas en abril. Luz Eugenia Sierra. Fundación Talleres de Medellín, 1985, 364 págs

Casi y tampoco: dos maneras de fracasar

La buhardilla del tiempo. David Pineda S. Biblioteca Pública Piloto, Medellín, 1985, 69 págs.Ese ímpetu demoledor de las esquinas. Jaime León Castaño. Ediciones La Tecla, 1985, 79 págs