Simon Holland
The Open University, Research in Computing, Faculty Member
PurposeRestoration of walking ability is a key goal to both stroke survivors and their therapists. However, the intensity and duration of rehabilitation available after stroke can be limited by service constraints, despite the potential... more
PurposeRestoration of walking ability is a key goal to both stroke survivors and their therapists. However, the intensity and duration of rehabilitation available after stroke can be limited by service constraints, despite the potential for improvement which could reduce health service demands in the long run. The purpose of this paper is to present qualitative findings from a study that explored the acceptability of a haptic device aimed at improving walking as part of an extended intervention in stroke rehabilitation.Design/methodology/approachPre-trial focus groups and post-trial interviews to assess the acceptability of Haptic Bracelets were undertaken with seven stroke survivors.FindingsFive themes were identified as impacting on the acceptability of the Haptic Bracelet: potential for improving quality of life; relationships with technology; important features; concerns; response to trial and concentration. Participants were interested in the haptic bracelet and hoped it would provide them with more confidence making them: feel safer when walking; have greater ability to take bigger strides rather than little steps; a way to combat mistakes participants reported making due to tiredness and reduced pain in knees and hips.Originality/valueHaptic Bracelets are an innovative development in the field of rhythmic cueing and stroke rehabilitation. The haptic bracelets also overcome problems encountered with established audio-based cueing, as their use is not affected by external environmental noise.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon 10.1108/JET-01-2021-0003
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Musical data can be analysed, combined, transformed and exploited for diverse purposes. However, despite the proliferation of digital libraries and repositories for music, infrastructures and tools, such uses of musical data remain... more
Musical data can be analysed, combined, transformed and exploited for diverse purposes. However, despite the proliferation of digital libraries and repositories for music, infrastructures and tools, such uses of musical data remain scarce. As an initial step to help fill this gap, we present a survey of the landscape of musical data on the Web, available as a Linked Open Dataset: the musoW dataset of catalogued musical resources. We present the dataset and the methodology and criteria for its creation and assessment. We map the identified dimensions and parameters to existing Linked Data vocabularies, present insights gained from SPARQL queries, and identify significant relations between resource features. We present a thematic analysis of the original research questions associated with surveyed resources and identify the extent to which the collected resources are Linked Data-ready.
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers music theorists and cognitive musicologists the means to express theories unambiguously, through the implementation of computational models. Any inconsistencies in a theory will be discovered during the... more
Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers music theorists and cognitive musicologists the means to express theories unambiguously, through the implementation of computational models. Any inconsistencies in a theory will be discovered during the encoding process, and, since the computer has no musical intuitions or experience, any obvious or assumed knowledge must be made explicit by the knowledge engineer. Our eventual goal is the development of an intelligent computer environment for students learning melody composition. This paper describes the development of one tool which will be used within the tutoring system: a program for the analysis and generation of melodies, based upon Eugene Narmour's (1990) ImplicationRealisation Model - a hypothetical theory for melody analysis. The tool is being developed using the declarative, logic-based language Prolog. In addition to encoding Narmour's analytical theory, we have designed extensions to the computational model which allow the gen...
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Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Music, Music Theory, and 11 morePsychology of Music, Music Psychology, Psychoacoustics, Sound and Music Computing, Music Cognition, Computational Musicology, Music Perception, Music Perception and Cognition, Harmony, Music and Mathematics, and Musical Pitch
Background Movement analysis in a clinical setting is frequently restricted to observational methods to inform clinical decision making, which has limited accuracy. Fixed-site, optical, expensive movement analysis laboratories provide... more
Background Movement analysis in a clinical setting is frequently restricted to observational methods to inform clinical decision making, which has limited accuracy. Fixed-site, optical, expensive movement analysis laboratories provide gold standard kinematic measurements; however, they are rarely accessed for routine clinical use. Wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs) have been demonstrated as comparable, inexpensive, and portable movement analysis toolkits. MoJoXlab has therefore been developed to work with generic wearable IMUs. However, before using MoJoXlab in clinical practice, there is a need to establish its validity in participants with and without knee conditions across a range of tasks with varying complexity. Objective This paper aimed to present the validation of MoJoXlab software for using generic wearable IMUs for calculating hip, knee, and ankle joint angle measurements in the sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes for walking, squatting, and jumping in healthy...
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BACKGROUND Rhythm, brain and the body are closely linked. Humans can synchronise their movement to auditory rhythms with little apparent effort. However, the ability to perform rhythmic movement can be severely disrupted due to... more
BACKGROUND Rhythm, brain and the body are closely linked. Humans can synchronise their movement to auditory rhythms with little apparent effort. However, the ability to perform rhythmic movement can be severely disrupted due to neurological conditions. Even in cases where the ability to perceive rhythms remain, a neurological condition may affect the mechanisms controlling the muscles during movement. Having the gait rhythm disrupted brings severe asymmetries between steps, which lead to numerous physical problems – ranging from muscle degeneration to bone fractures – accentuating the patient’s condition. This paper focuses on people who have survived a stroke and are now suffering from hemiparesis – a neurological conditions affecting one side of the body unilaterally. Movement synchronisation via entrainment to auditory metronomes is known to improve gait; this paper presents the first systematic study of entrainment for gait rehabilitation via the haptic modality. OBJECTIVE This ...
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After stroke, many are left with marked mobility deficits including reduced balance and significant gait asymmetry. Gait rehabilitation for stroke survivors often includes forms of rhythmic cueing which harnesses entrainment processes in... more
After stroke, many are left with marked mobility deficits including reduced balance and significant gait asymmetry. Gait rehabilitation for stroke survivors often includes forms of rhythmic cueing which harnesses entrainment processes in the central nervous system. Entrainment is the mechanism by which an individual can follow and reproduce rhythmical stimuli, for example, tapping along to a beat. Rhythmic auditory cueing has been shown to be effective in improving walking symmetry after stroke, although its effectiveness is limited when there is environmental noise. Haptic cueing, in which a rhythmic cue (RC) is provided by touch rather than sound, is unaffected by noise but is likely to utilise entrainment processes and so could provide an effective alternative cueing device for community ambulation.
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Computer Science, Rehabilitation, Ubiquitous Computing, Wearable Computing, Haptics, and 10 moreStroke rehabilitation, Tactile Perception, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Gait, Stroke, Wearable Technology, Vibrotactile Feedback, Wearable Computer, Gait Rehabilitation Stroke, and Haptic Technology
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Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, Chemistry, Polymorphism, Interaction Design, and 13 moreMathematical Programming, Human Factors in Computing Systems, HCI, Computers, Motion Capture, Multi modal metaphors, Music computing, Control Structure, Computer Human Interaction, Whole Body, Abstract Data Type, Programming language, and Springer Ebooks
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Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, Music Education, Perception, Design, and 15 moreMusic Technology, Human Factors, Embodied Cognition, Performance, Entrainment, Haptic Interaction, Feeling, Guidance, Instruction, Haptic Technology, Dalcroze, Drumming, Metronome, Contingency Theory, and I
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Introduction Rehabilitation of gait after stroke often includes forms of rhythmic cueing. Haptic cueing, in which a rhythmic cue is provided by touch could be a discreet cueing method for ambulation. This small prospective lab based study... more
Introduction Rehabilitation of gait after stroke often includes forms of rhythmic cueing. Haptic cueing, in which a rhythmic cue is provided by touch could be a discreet cueing method for ambulation. This small prospective lab based study aimed to investigate the effect of prototype haptic devices (HDs) in stroke survivors. Methods Participants were recruited if they could walk 20 metres without an aid but reported persistent problems with walking. The HDs were fitted to both legs. After familiarisation, participants walked in the lab: 1) with the HDs switched off; 2) with the HDs switched on; 3) with the HDs switched off. Temporal symmetry and gait speed was evaluated using the Qualisys Motion Capture system. Results 6 participants a median average of 59.5 years old (range: 53–74) and 5 years (range: 3–10) after stroke were recruited. 3 demonstrated mild temporal asymmetry, 1 demonstrated severe asymmetry and 2 had no/minimal asymmetry. When the HDs were switched on, temporal symme...
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This project explored how new and novel approaches to stroke rehabilitation could improve physical function and the confidence of stroke survivors to remain active and engaged in the community. The innovation trialed was a ‘Haptic... more
This project explored how new and novel approaches to stroke rehabilitation could improve physical function and the confidence of stroke survivors to remain active and engaged in the community. The innovation trialed was a ‘Haptic bracelet/cueing device’, developed at The Open University. An overview of the Haptic device, its development and role in stroke rehabilitation can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4ZxN6H6XGk The Haptic bracelets provide a physical (embodied) beat that someone can walk to as an alternative to existing audio cuing ways of working. The haptic device provides a non-invasive, relatively cheap way of facilitating people after stroke to continue to maintain or even improve their mobility after intensive rehabilitation has finished. This research explored the impact of the haptic device to gains in mobility. The project had two key aims: 1. To develop a usable and practical prototype of a haptic device to restore gait symmetry after stroke. 2. To inv...
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Computer Science, Music, Piano, Technology, Music Technology, and 14 moreComputer Music, New Interfaces for Musical Expression, Sound and Music Computing, Microtonal Music, Musical Instrument Technology, Music Cognition, Music Perception, iPad, Music Perception and Cognition, Tablet, Dynamic Tonality, Microtonality, Ipad, and NIME
In this paper, we review and analyse some categories of user interface for hardware and software electronic music synthesizers. Problems with the user specification and modification of timbre are discussed. Three principal types of user... more
In this paper, we review and analyse some categories of user interface for hardware and software electronic music synthesizers. Problems with the user specification and modification of timbre are discussed. Three principal types of user interface for controlling timbre are distinguished. A problem common to all three categories is identified: that the core language of each category has no well-defined mapping onto the task languages of subjective timbre categories used by musicians.
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This paper assumes the reader has read TR2002/1. 1 Supporting diverse viewpoints and dynamic personalisation When Direct Combination is applied in mobile and ubiquitous settings, it affords some interesting new opportunities for users and... more
This paper assumes the reader has read TR2002/1. 1 Supporting diverse viewpoints and dynamic personalisation When Direct Combination is applied in mobile and ubiquitous settings, it affords some interesting new opportunities for users and designers. One such opportunity is to support diverse viewpoints (other possible terms might include alternative worldviews, alternative perspective, dynamic personalisation and divergent ontologies). When designing Direct Combination systems, there is flexibility in deciding precisely what set of operations should apply to what collection of selected objects. This flexibility, far from being a drawback, can be positively exploited to offer new kinds of dynamic personalisation and support for diverse viewpoints, by means we describe in this paper. One of the key aims of Direct Combination is to reduce search. In everyday life, it is a common experience to choose between diverse viewpoints as a means of reducing search. For example, people often cho...
and other research outputs The simplification of complex interactions for more in-clusive social communication technologies (position pa-per) Conference Item How to cite: Holland, Simon and Holland, Caroline (2005). The simplification of... more
and other research outputs The simplification of complex interactions for more in-clusive social communication technologies (position pa-per) Conference Item How to cite: Holland, Simon and Holland, Caroline (2005). The simplification of complex interactions for more in-clusive social communication technologies (position paper). In: HCI and the Older Population, 5th September
Direct Combination is a user interaction framework that can be applied to desktop computing and to mobile and ubiquitous computing to lessen the user's need to search the user interface in certain circumstances. This paper... more
Direct Combination is a user interaction framework that can be applied to desktop computing and to mobile and ubiquitous computing to lessen the user's need to search the user interface in certain circumstances. This paper investigates various ways of extending Direct Combination, including recursion, composition, abstract objects, and ambient combination afforded by hand gestures. This paper assumes that the reader is already familiar with the basics of Direct Combination.
For certain application areas, such as motion capture, there is little dispute that whole body interaction is a good fit of interaction style to domain. This reflects the observation that in such applications the mapping between user... more
For certain application areas, such as motion capture, there is little dispute that whole body interaction is a good fit of interaction style to domain. This reflects the observation that in such applications the mapping between user gesture and the
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Mobile and Ubiquitous technologies have the potential to strengthen and enrich geographically dispersed multi-generational family relationships and networks in ways that go well beyond existing telecommunications technologies. Smart home... more
Mobile and Ubiquitous technologies have the potential to strengthen and enrich geographically dispersed multi-generational family relationships and networks in ways that go well beyond existing telecommunications technologies. Smart home technologies could be developed specifically to facilitate a rich range of interactions between geographically dispersed members of multi-generational and extended families by focusing on ways in which networks of two or more smart homes could promote such interactions. The aim is find ways to strengthen geographically remote multi-generational family relationships and reduce the isolation of older family members. We outline the new interaction principles that can be used to simplify such interactions, and the biographical and ethnographic techniques needed to identify the factors likely to affect the acceptability and perceived value of such new facilities within family networks.
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Nonlinear dynamic processes are fundamental to the behavior of acoustic musical instruments, as is well explored in the case of sound production. Such processes may have profound and under-explored implications for how musicians interact... more
Nonlinear dynamic processes are fundamental to the behavior of acoustic musical instruments, as is well explored in the case of sound production. Such processes may have profound and under-explored implications for how musicians interact with instruments, however. Although nonlinear dynamic processes are ubiquitous in acoustic instruments, they are present in digital musical tools only if explicitly implemented. Thus, an important resource with potentially major effects on how musicians interact with acoustic instruments is typically absent in the way musicians interact with digital instruments. Twenty-four interviews with free-improvising musicians were conducted to explore the role that nonlinear dynamics play in the participants' musical practices and to understand how such processes can afford distinctive methods of creative exploration. Thematic analysis of the interview data is used to demonstrate the potential for nonlinear dynamic processes to provide repeatable, learnab...
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In this paper we consider an argument to this end, derived from conceptual metaphor theory and sensory motor contingency theory, concerning the suitability of whole body interaction to abstract application domains in general. In... more
In this paper we consider an argument to this end, derived from conceptual metaphor theory and sensory motor contingency theory, concerning the suitability of whole body interaction to abstract application domains in general. In particular, we analyse issues from a case study of an asymmetrical multi-user whole body interaction system for a highly abstract application area, advanced tonal harmony. This domain is highly challenging, irrespective of mediating interaction style, but whole body interaction appears to offer particularly interesting affordances for action and insight in this domain when appropriate conceptual metaphors and conceptual blends (more on these below) are harnessed in the design. We analyse issues emerging from this case study and consider implications of these issues for whole body interaction design when dealing with highly abstract domains in general.
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Copyright is held by the author. CHI 2016, May 7 ? May 12, 2016, San Jose, USA. Music and HCI Abstract This paper lays out a particular approach to engaging with musical instruments and creative tools more generally, referred to here as... more
Copyright is held by the author. CHI 2016, May 7 ? May 12, 2016, San Jose, USA. Music and HCI Abstract This paper lays out a particular approach to engaging with musical instruments and creative tools more generally, referred to here as material-oriented interaction. This approach is typified by a view of the tool as a site for exploration and the development of ideas, as opposed to being a transparent medium through which pre-existing ideas are realised. Adopting a material-oriented approach highlights the significance of unpredictable elements in creative interactions. This approach is discussed in relation to free improvisation — an area of music that exemplifies the material-oriented perspective — and then related to related concepts in HCI such as Ludic Design, Reflective Design and Reflection-in-Action.
Algorithmic composition systems allow for the partial or total automation of music composition by formal, computational means. Typical algorithmic composition systems generate nondeterministic music, meaning that multiple musical outcomes... more
Algorithmic composition systems allow for the partial or total automation of music composition by formal, computational means. Typical algorithmic composition systems generate nondeterministic music, meaning that multiple musical outcomes can result from the same algorithm - consequently the output is generally different each time the algorithm runs.