Computing Zeros of Analytic Functions in the Complex Plane without using Derivatives

A new approach to evaluating all multiple complex roots of analytical function f(z) confined to the specified rectangular domain of complex plane has been developed and implemented in Fortran code. Generally f (z), despite being holomorphic function, does not have a closed analytical form thereby inhibiting explicit evaluation of its derivatives. The latter constraint poses a major challenge to implementation of the robust numerical algorithm. This work is at the instrumental level and provides an enabling tool for solving a broad class of eigenvalue problems and polynomial approximations.

RF performance of a 418-MHz radio telemeter packaged for human vaginal placement

The electrical and communication performance of a 0.8-mu W UHF temperature telemeter designed for human vaginal placement is discussed; a solenoidal loop antenna was used, occupying a volume of 0.1 cm(3). In situ, measured power absorption was between 19-25 dB, resulting in an effective operating range of 10 m. Capacitive loading lowered the antenna's resonant frequency by 1.4% and there was a significant polarization change in the radiated output.

Zeros and Os:Silence, Absence and Erasure in an Intercultural O-thello

The performative function of sound and music has received little attention in performance theory and criticism and certainly much less so in studies of intercultural theatre. Such an absence is noteworthy particularly since interculturalism is an appropriative Western theatrical form that absorbs Eastern sources to re-create the targeted Western mise en scene. Consequently, a careful consideration of the employment of sound and music are imperative for sound and music form the vertebrae of Asian traditional performance practices. In acoustemological and ethnomusicological studies, sound and music demarcate cultural boundaries and locate cultures by an auditory (dis)recognition. In the light of this need for a more considered understanding of the performative function of sound and music in intercultural performance, this paper seeks to examine the soundscapes of an intercultural production of Shakespeare’s Othello – Desdemona. Directed by Singaporean Ong Keng Sen, Desdemona was a re-scripting of Shakespeare’s text and a self-conscious performance an identity politics. Staged with a multi-ethnic, multi-national cast, Desdemona employed various Asian performance traditions such as Sanskrit Kutiyattam, Myanmarese puppetry, and Korean p’ansori to create the intercultural spectacle. The spectacle was not only a visual aesthetic but an aural one as well. By examining the soundscapes of fractured silences and eruptive cultural sounds the paper hopes to establish the ways in which Desdemona performs absences and erasures of ‘Asia’ in a simultaneous act of performing an Asian Shakespeare.

Perceptual investigation of image placement with Ambisonics for non-centred listeners

Ambisonics is a scalable spatial audio technique that attempts to present a sound scene to listeners over as large an area as possi- ble. A localisation experiment was carried out to investigate the performance of a first and third order system at three listening positions - one in the centre and two off-centre. The test used a reverse target-pointer adjustment method to determine the error, both signed and absolute, for each combination of listening posi- tion and system. The signed error was used to indicate the direc- tion and magnitude of the shifts in panning angle introduced for the off-centre listening positions. The absolute error was used as a measure of the performance of the listening position and systems combinations for a comparison of their overall performance. A comparison was made between the degree of image shifting be- tween the two systems and the robustness of their off-centre per- formance.