Discourse analysis

Discourse analysis is an umbrella term for a range of methodological approaches that analyse the use and functions of talk and text within social interaction. These approaches are used across social science disciplines such as psychology, sociology, linguistics, anthropology and communication studies. Discourse analysis is interdisciplinary in nature, developed from work within speech act theory, ethnomethodology and semiology as well as post-structuralist theorists such as Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida, and the later works of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Discourse analysis approaches are crucial for understanding human relationships because they focus primarily on interaction: how we talk to each other and the discursive practices (talking, writing) through which relationships develop, fall apart and so on. This entry covers central features of discourse analysis, methodological issues and some of the most commonly used versions of discourse analysis

Wronskian and Gram Solutions to Integrable Equations using Bilinear Methods

This thesis presents Wronskian and Gram solutions to both the Korteweg-de Vries and Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equations, which are then scalable to arbitrarily large numbers of interacting solitons. Through variable transformation and use of the Hirota derivative, these nonlinear partial differential equations can be expressed in bilinear form. We present both Wronskian and Gram determinants which satisfy the equations. N=1,2,3 and higher order solutions are presented graphically; parameter tuning and the resultant behavioral differences are demonstrated and discussed. In addition, we compare these solutions to naturally occurring shallow water waves on beaches

Has Ambisonics come of age?

Ambisonics was developed in the 1970’s as a flexible, psycho-acoustically aware system1. Developed at the same time as Quadraphonics2, Ambisonics is an often mis-understood system that was far ahead of it’s time. Due to the ubiquity of surround sound equipment in modern computers and interest in live surround events becoming more widespread, is the time, finally, right for Ambisonics to come into its’ own? In this paper, the definition of what makes a system Ambisonic is clarified with reference made to the traditional energy and velocity vector theory, higher order systems and use in both the live and domestic environment. More recent developments by the author are discussed with respect to irregular Ambisonic decoder design (such as for the ITU 5.1 speaker array) and analysis using Head Related Transfer Function data showing the extra insight this can give into the performance of one, seemingly similar, decoder design over another. The freely available suite of VST plug-ins (comprising of decoders, panners and an Ambisonic reverb) created using this technology are also presented, with case studies of their use in student projects at the University of Derby

The generation of panning laws for irregular speaker arrays using heuristic methods

Currently, the ITU standard surround sound speaker arrangement is based on an irregular 5 speaker array. However, this may change to an irregular 7 speaker array (as is now the standard on computer hardware) or more in the future. The Ambisonic system, pioneered by Micheal Gerzon, among others, in the late 1960’s, is very well suited to situations where the end system speaker configuration is not fixed in terms of number or position while also offering a simple way (via energy and velocity vector analysis) of quantifying the performance of such systems. However, while the derivation of the decoders is well documented for regular speaker arrangements [1], optimising the decoders for irregular layouts is not a simple task, where optimisation requires the solution of a set of non linear simultaneous equations, complicated further by the fact that multiple solutions are possible [2]. Craven [3] extended the system to use higher order circular harmonics and presented a 4th order Ambisonic decoder (9 input channels), although the derivation method used was not presented. In this paper a semi-automated decoder optimisation system using heuristic methods will be presented that will be shown to be robust enough to generate higher order Ambisonic decoders based on the energy and velocity vector parameters. This method is then analytically compared to Craven’s decoder using both energy/velocity vector and head related transfer function based methods.EPSR

Multiphoton Imaging of Labeled Breast Cancer Cells to Quantify Intra and Extracellular Receptors

Every year 200,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer. Of the cases diagnosed, 10% -15% are classified as triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) due to the absence of estrogen, progesterone, and HER-2/Neu receptors. This breast cancer sub-type is markedly more aggressive and twice as likely to develop in premenopausal women. TNBC is resistant to endocrine therapies and current targeted agents, making clinical need for the development of validated therapeutics for TNBC a pressing matter. To initiate drug development, the internalization of directly immunolabeled epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) in SK-BR-3 human breast adenocarcinoma cells was quantitated using live-cell multiphoton microscopy for 30 minutes over 5 minute intervals. EGFR targeting is of interest because its internalization triggers the signaling pathway that disrupts cell-cell adhesion and induces cell motility. The images acquired were processed using ImageJ and analyzed through line profiles. After measuring the full width half max at each time point of the 30-minute time series, it was determined that significant EGFR internalization did not occur