GLOBAL DISEASE MUSIC SONIFICATION OF THE 1918 INFLUENZA PANDEMIC

• Main Authors: Brian Willkie, Andrew Curtis
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Avian flu
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.537.2462; http://cogsci.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/oldpages/icad2006/proceedings/concert/disease.pdf

This sonification presents an overview of the spread of the 1918 influenza pandemic (also known as the Spanish flu). Given the emergence of diseases like Lyme Disease, West Nile Fever, drug resistant Turberculosis, SARS and the Avian Flu, this topic is particularly relevant and compelling. While the data set is global in scope, it is incomplete and varies in temporal resolution. In general mortality rates map to intensity (amplitude, FM index, bandwidth), census maps to frequency, and longitude maps to panning position. Additional considerations include, points of reference, level of detail, data seeking, and missing data. 1.