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    Re-tuning the mind's ear : an anonymous history of acoustic prosthetic technologies for the ear : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Herlihy, Bridget Clare
    Over the last century the use of wearable personal acoustic technologies for the ear in a variety of different guises has become commonplace in daily life. These devices, such as hearing aids and headphones, have the propensity to reshape auditory experience and in turn, the perception of acoustic space by enabling personalised and immersive encounters with sound that alter the user’s understanding of, and relationship to, their surrounding environment. The aim of this study is to explore how acoustic prosthetic devices modify how sound is experienced, and how ensuing changes in auditory acuity affect the user’s perception of acoustic space. To achieve these aims this study compiled an anonymous history of acoustic space through the lens of various acoustic prosthetic technologies for the ear. It presents an historical analysis of the development and application of these personal devices in key areas of innovation and application, in particular hearing aids, the stethoscope, and headphones. In this thesis, a hybrid methodological approach is offered to expand Siegfried Giedion’s contribution to anonymous history by integrating analysis of a postphenomenology of embodiment. This methodology illustrates the ways in which the technological evolution of these devices across history significantly influenced the user’s experience of mediated sound and, in turn, acoustic space. This research provides further insight into, first, the ways in which hearing aids, devices used to ameliorate a deficit in hearing, historically contributed to a reshaping of the user’s perception of acoustic space. Second, this thesis examines how the development and application of the stethoscope marked the beginning of a movement towards the increasing privatisation of mediated listening experiences. Finally, the influence towards private mediated experiences of sound that began to build momentum in the late nineteenth century is explored to foreground the increasingly widespread use of prosthetic technologies for the ear, in particular headphones, also examined in this thesis. In so doing, this study draws attention to new complexities in the experience of auditory encounters facilitated by acoustic prosthetics. The thesis further reveals the paradoxical nature of these devices as their form and function has continued to evolve over time. Additionally, through the integration of digital technology, this study also explores how acoustic prosthetic wearers are able to facilitate, and control, new hybridised and customised experiences of sound and acoustic space. It is argued that the new and increasing ability to experience what is not possible through the unmediated ear raises new challenges to the ways in which acoustic space has previously been considered. Heterogeneous experiences of acoustic space made possible through rapidly advancing developments in prosthetic technologies for the ear require greater consideration, in particular the potential effect(s) that these experiences of acoustic space have upon the re-tuning of the mind’s ear.
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    Perceptual and electrophysiological masking of the auditory brainstem response : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1987) Houghton, Janene M
    Effective masking levels of the auditory brainstem response (ABR) to tonepips were established on 10 normal-hearing subjects at 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz, using white noise. Effective masking levels of perceptual responses to the same stimuli were also established, for both presentation of single (1/second) and repeated (41.7/second) tonepips. Perceptual masking levels for repeated tonepips were significantly higher than levels for single tonepips, indicating temporal summation effects. Levels which effectively masked the ABR did not differ significantly from perceptual masking levels at either presentation rate. A signal-to-noise ratio of -5 to -10 dB was found to provide effective masking for all conditions. For the stimulus and recording parameters in the present study, a behavioural method of determining effective masking levels is considered appropriate. Behavioural thresholds determined for single tonepips were higher than thresholds for repeated tonepips, demonstrating dependence of nHL behavioural references for ABR thresholds on stimulus repetition rate. Effective masking levels determined in the present study may be applied to the use of tonepip ABRs to provide an objective frequency-specific measure of hearing in infants.
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    The perception of melodic closure : a study of the factors influencing final note choice to achieve melodic closure : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Applied Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1979) Mills, Bryce Andrew
    This study investigates the notion of closure put forward by gestalt theorists in reference to visual perception but applies it to aural perception of simple melodies. Specifically the study focusses on the final note chosen to effect melodic closure. It addresses the question of the selection of the final note and attempts to ascertain what major factors influence its selection. To achieve this, three basic groups of subjects were tested; (1) children, - two groups of 20 males and 20 females, one group 10 years old and the other 12 years old (2) 20 male and 20 female young adults, 18 - 20 years, and (3) 10 performing musicians with an expressed preference for traditional western classical music and 10 performing musicians with an expressed preference for jazz and non–conventional music. From the first two groups a random sample of 5 males and 5 females was extracted for alternative treatment and the application of the Witkin Embedded Figures test. The first two groups were presented with a recording of four simple melodies each played seven times providing a different final note. Twenty-eight items were therefore provided and subjects were required to indicate whether or not they felt satisfied with the melody as a completed entity. The group of trained musicians were given in conventional notation too first 1 1/4 bars of a simple melody and asked to complete it exercising their own choice as to contour and the instrument used. The random sample extracted from groups 1 and 2 were taught a simple unfinished melody on a metalophone and asked to provide two notes to complete it. They were also tested on the Witkin Embedded Figures Test to ascertain whether cognitive style was a relevant factor or not. The results presented show that subjects do have clear preferences for melodic closure. The tonic of the perceived key is significantly chosen to effect closure but the degree of preference is tune specific and influenced by melodic contour. The research also shows that closure choices are mediated by age, sex, and cognitive style, and the interaction of these factors. Design A provides clear evidence of mediation of closure by melodic contour while Design B demonstrates that the interaction of sex and cognitive style is a significant factor influencing melodic closure. A degree of conflict between results obtained in Design A and Design B suggests that the major factors influencing closure are tune specific. Design C demonstrates that there is a difference in the way musicians of different "styles" affect melodic closure. However the difference was the reverse of that expected - "Jazz" musicians showed greater preference for tonic closure than did "Traditional" musicians. This research demonstrates that people do have a definite preference to effect melodic closure with the tonic of the perceived key but this preference is not uniformly applied. It is affected by tune specific factors, as well as the subject factors of age, sex, cognitive style, and the interaction of all four factors.
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    The cinematic aspects of electroacoustic music : a thesis submitted to Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music in Composition, New Zealand School of Music
    (Massey University, 2010) Taylor, Sarah Elizabeth
    This portfolio explores ‘the cinematic aspects of electroacoustic music’ by way of three compositional contexts: acousmatic composition drawing on filmic resources, electroacoustic soundtracks for short films, and the narrative and imagic aspects of archival recordings. Additionally, a research report provides commentary on the aesthetic and methodological aspects of the portfolio.