Issues in the development of pitch labelling skill

Pitch discrimination skills are important for general musicianship. The ability to name musical notes or produce orally any named note without the benefit of a known reference is called Absolute Pitch (AP) and is comparatively rare. Relative Pitch (RP) is the ability to name notes when a known reference is available. AP has historically been regarded as being innate. This paper will examine the notion that pitch discrimination skill is based on knowledge constructed through a suite of experiences. That is, it is learnt. In particular, it will be argued that early experiences promote the development of AP. Second it will argue that AP and RP represent different types of knowledge, and that this knowledge emerges from different experiences. AP is a unique research phenomenon because it spans the fields of cognition and perception, in that it links verbal labels with physiological sensations, and because of its rarity. It may provide a vantage for investigating the nature/nurture of musicianship; expertise; knowledge structure development; and the role of knowledge in perception. The study of AP may inform educational practice and curriculum design both in music and cross-curriculur. This paper will report an initial investigation into the similarities and differences between the musical experiences of AP possessors and the manifestation of their AP skill. Interview and questionnaire data will be used for the development and proposal of a preliminary model for AP development.

Diversity of accuracy profiles for absolute pitch recognition

Most advanced musicians are able to identify and label a heard pitch if given an opportunity to compare it to a known reference note. This is called ‘relative pitch’ (RP). A much rarer skill is the ability to identify and label a heard pitch without the need for a reference. This is colloquially referred to as ‘perfect pitch’, but appears in the academic literature as ‘absolute pitch’ (AP). AP is considered by many as a remarkable skill. As people do not seem able to develop it intentionally, it is generally regarded as innate. It is often seen as a unitary skill and that a set of identifiable criteria can distinguish those who possess the skill from those who do not. However, few studies have interrogated these notions. The present study developed and applied an interactive computer program to map pitch-labelling responses to various tonal stimuli without a known reference tone available to participants. This approach enabled the identification of the elements of sound that impacted on AP. Pitch-labelling responses of 14 participants with AP were recorded for their accuracy. Each participant’s response to the stimuli was unique. Their accuracy of labelling varied across dimensions such as timbre, range and tonality. The diversity of performance between individuals appeared to reflect their personal musical experience histories.

Radiological aspects of petroleum exploration and production in the sultanate of Oman

This thesis is a study of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) activity concentration, gamma dose rate and radon (222Rn) exhalation from the waste streams of large-scale onshore petroleum operations. Types of activities covered included; sludge recovery from separation tanks, sludge farming, NORM storage, scaling in oil tubulars, scaling in gas production and sedimentation in produced water evaporation ponds. Field work was conducted in the arid desert terrain of an operational oil exploration and production region in the Sultanate of Oman. The main radionuclides found were 226Ra and 210Pb (238U - series), 228Ra and 228Th (232Th - series), and 227Ac (235U - series), along with 40K. All activity concentrations were higher than the ambient soil level and varied over several orders of magnitude. The range of gamma dose rates at a 1 m height above ground for the farm treated sludge had a range of 0.06 0.43 µSv h 1, and an average close to the ambient soil mean of 0.086 ± 0.014 µSv h 1, whereas the untreated sludge gamma dose rates had a range of 0.07 1.78 µSv h 1, and a mean of 0.456 ± 0.303 µSv h 1. The geometric mean of ambient soil 222Rn exhalation rate for area surrounding the sludge was mBq m 2 s 1. Radon exhalation rates reported in oil waste products were all higher than the ambient soil value and varied over three orders of magnitude. This study resulted in some unique findings including: (i) detection of radiotoxic 227Ac in the oil scales and sludge, (ii) need of a new empirical relation between petroleum sludge activity concentrations and gamma dose rates, and (iii) assessment of exhalation of 222Rn from oil sludge. Additionally the study investigated a method to determine oil scale and sludge age by the use of inherent behaviour of radionuclides as 228Ra:226Ra and 228Th:228Ra activity ratios.

Traffic and climate change impacts on water quality : measuring build-up and wash-off of heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons

Understanding the impacts of traffic and climate change on water quality helps decision makers to develop better policy and plans for dealing with unsustainable urban and transport development. This chapter presents detailed methodologies developed for sample collection and testing for heavy metals and total petroleum hydrocarbons, as part of a research study to investigate the impacts of climate change and changes to urban traffic characteristics on pollutant build-up and wash-off from urban road surfaces. Cadmium, chromium, nickel, copper, lead, iron, aluminium, manganese and zinc were the target heavy metals, and selected gasoline and diesel range organics were the target total petroleum hydrocarbons for this study. The study sites were selected to encompass the urban traffic characteristics of the Gold Coast region, Australia. An improved sample collection method referred to as ‘the wet and dry vacuum system’ for the pollutant build-up, and an effective wash-off plan to incorporate predicted changes to rainfall characteristics due to climate change, were implemented. The novel approach to sample collection for pollutant build-up helped to maintain the integrity of collection efficiency. The wash-off plan helped to incorporate the predicted impacts of climate change in the Gold Coast region. The robust experimental methods developed will help in field sample collection and chemical testing of different stormwater pollutants in build-up and wash-off.

Traffic and climate change impacts on water quality : measuring build-up and wash-off of heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons

Understanding the impacts of traffic and climate change on water quality helps decision makers to develop better policy and plans for dealing with unsustainable urban and transport development. This chapter presents detailed methodologies developed for sample collection and testing for heavy metals and total petroleum hydrocarbons, as part of a research study to investigate the impacts of climate change and changes to urban traffic characteristics on pollutant build-up and wash-off from urban road surfaces. Cadmium, chromium, nickel, copper, lead, iron, aluminium, manganese and zinc were the target heavy metals, and selected gasoline and diesel range organics were the target total petroleum hydrocarbons for this study. The study sites were selected to encompass the urban traffic characteristics of the Gold Coast region, Australia. An improved sample collection method referred to as ‘the wet and dry vacuum system’ for the pollutant build-up, and an effective wash-off plan to incorporate predicted changes to rainfall characteristics due to climate change, were implemented. The novel approach to sample collection for pollutant build-up helped to maintain the integrity of collection efficiency. The wash-off plan helped to incorporate the predicted impacts of climate change in the Gold Coast region. The robust experimental methods developed will help in field sample collection and chemical testing of different stormwater pollutants in build-up and wash-off.

Marking out the pitch : Defining the soccer fiction genre

The fiction of football, or soccer as it is commonly known in both the US and Australia, has a long and deep history. Despite this, there is still academic uncertainty as to whether it qualifies description as a distinct fictive genre. This paper seeks to address this question. It brings a genre analysis approach to the football fiction canon. Starting with definitions of what constitutes football fiction and genre, the paper goes on to distinguish and aggregate common trends, tensions and divergences and identify emerging and popular movements within football fiction. The paper will then assess football fiction’s status as a discrete genre.

Shahejie−Shahejie/Guantao/Wumishan and Carboniferous/Permian Coal−Paleozoic Total Petroleum Systems in the Bohaiwan Basin, China (based on geologic studies for the 2000 World Energy Assessment Project of the U.S. Geological Survey)

This report discusses the geologic framework and petroleum geology used to assess undiscovered petroleum resources in the Bohaiwan basin province for the 2000 World Energy Assessment Project of the U.S. Geological Survey. The Bohaiwan basin in northeastern China is the largest petroleum-producing region in China. Two total petroleum systems have been identified in the basin. The first, the Shahejie–Shahejie/Guantao/Wumishan Total Petroleum System, involves oil and gas generated from mature pods of lacustrine source rock that are associated with six major rift-controlled subbasins. Two assessment units are defined in this total petroleum system: (1) a Tertiary lacustrine assessment unit consisting of sandstone reservoirs interbedded with lacustrine shale source rocks, and (2) a pre-Tertiary buried hills assessment unit consisting of carbonate reservoirs that are overlain unconformably by Tertiary lacustrine shale source rocks. The second total petroleum system identified in the Bohaiwan basin is the Carboniferous/Permian Coal–Paleozoic Total Petroleum System, a hypothetical total petroleum system involving natural gas generated from multiple pods of thermally mature coal beds. Low-permeability Permian sandstones and possibly Carboniferous coal beds are the reservoir rocks. Most of the natural gas is inferred to be trapped in continuous accumulations near the center of the subbasins. This total petroleum system is largely unexplored and has good potential for undiscovered gas accumulations. One assessment unit, coal-sourced gas, is defined in this total petroleum system.

Fever pitch

Queensland Theatre Company's season-opening production is a double bill: two one-person plays, two hours to pitch them and two dynamic actors (Hugh Parker and Barbara Lowing). Peter Houghton's works The Pitch and The China Incident caper somewhere in between stand-up comedy and Yes, Prime Minister. Both plays are about "double guessing the bullshit'', in the frenzied worlds of two success compulsives: Walter and Bea.

Marking out the pitch : a historiography and taxonomy of football fiction

Football, or soccer as it is more commonly referred to in Australia and the US, is arguably the world’s most popular sport. It generates a proportionate volume of related writing. Within this landscape, works of novel-length fiction are seemingly rare. This paper establishes and maps a substantial body of football fiction works, explores elements and qualities exhibited individually and collectively. In bringing together current, limited surveys of the field, it presents the first rigorous definition of football fiction and captures the first historiography of the corpus. Drawing on distant reading methods developed in conjunction with closer textual analyses, the historiography and subsequent taxonomy represent the first articulation of relationships across the body of work, identify growth areas and establish a number of movements and trends. In advancing the understanding of football fiction as a collective body, the paper lays foundations for further research and consideration of the works in generic terms.

Performance and gaseous and particle emissions from a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fumigated compression ignition engine

In this study, an LPG fumigation system was fitted to a Euro III compression ignition (CI) engine to explore its impact on performance, and gaseous and particulate emissions. LPG was introduced to the intake air stream (as a secondary fuel) by using a low pressure fuel injector situated upstream of the turbocharger. LPG substitutions were test mode dependent, but varied in the range of 14-29% by energy. The engine was tested over a 5 point test cycle using ultra low sulphur diesel (ULSD), and a low and high LPG substitution at each test mode. The results show that LPG fumigation coerces the combustion into pre-mixed mode, as increases in the peak combustion pressure (and the rate of pressure rise) were observed in most tests. The emissions results show decreases in nitric oxide (NO) and particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions; however, very significant increases in carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions were observed. A more detailed investigation of the particulate emissions showed that the number of particles emitted was reduced with LPG fumigation at all test settings – apart from mode 6 of the ECE R49 test cycle. Furthermore, the particles emitted generally had a slightly larger median diameter with LPG fumigation, and had a smaller semi-volatile fraction relative to ULSD. Overall, the results show that with some modifications, LPG fumigation systems could be used to extend ULSD supplies without adversely impacting on engine performance and emissions.