1,225 research outputs found

    Indie encounters: exploring indie music socialising in China

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    Indie music, a genre deeply rooted in rock and punk music, is renowned for its independence from major commercial record labels. It has emerged as a choice for music consumers seeking alternatives to mainstream popular music, catering to a niche music preference. The minority nature of indie music not only provides its lovers with a profound space for individual expression and a sense of collective belonging but also introduces other challenges into their social lives. Recently, the field of music sociology has proposed a more diverse perspective to observe and analyse the intricate role of music for individuals and society. In this context, regarding Chinese indie music lovers with niche music preferences, how their indie music practices integrate into their social lives and how they navigate their niche music tastes have become worthwhile topics of exploration. Drawing on interviews with 31 Chinese indie music lovers and extensive online ethnography, this thesis investigates how Chinese indie music lovers comprehend and engage with indie music, and how the power of indie music shapes them and their social behaviours. I employ the theoretical framework of ‘music in action’ (Hennion, 2001; DeNora, 2011, 2016) and symbolic interactionism (Mead, 1934; Goffman, 1959; Blumer, 1969) to examine the dynamic and multifaceted roles of indie music in the social lives of Chinese indie music lovers. I develop a concept of ‘music socialising’ to delve into several key aspects of music lovers’ social practices. I contend that through various forms of musical activities such as music selection, live music attendance, and digital practices, indie music lovers exhibit strategic and reflexive characteristics in their music practices. These practices actively contribute to constructing and maintaining self and identity, negotiating social ties, and forming and mediating collectivity within a broader social landscape. It is through these processes that the music practices of Chinese indie music lovers are endowed with meanings, thereby shaping their social reality. This thesis presents a rich and nuanced picture of the social experiences of Chinese indie music lovers, uncovering the transformative power of their indie music practices. It presents a compelling argument for the significance of music as a social agency, highlighting the complex interactions between music, individuals, and society. By bridging theoretical insights with rich empirical data, this thesis contributes to our understanding of the socio-cultural dimensions of music, offering fresh perspectives on the role of indie music in contemporary Chinese society

    Multidisciplinary perspectives on Artificial Intelligence and the law

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    This open access book presents an interdisciplinary, multi-authored, edited collection of chapters on Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’) and the Law. AI technology has come to play a central role in the modern data economy. Through a combination of increased computing power, the growing availability of data and the advancement of algorithms, AI has now become an umbrella term for some of the most transformational technological breakthroughs of this age. The importance of AI stems from both the opportunities that it offers and the challenges that it entails. While AI applications hold the promise of economic growth and efficiency gains, they also create significant risks and uncertainty. The potential and perils of AI have thus come to dominate modern discussions of technology and ethics – and although AI was initially allowed to largely develop without guidelines or rules, few would deny that the law is set to play a fundamental role in shaping the future of AI. As the debate over AI is far from over, the need for rigorous analysis has never been greater. This book thus brings together contributors from different fields and backgrounds to explore how the law might provide answers to some of the most pressing questions raised by AI. An outcome of the Católica Research Centre for the Future of Law and its interdisciplinary working group on Law and Artificial Intelligence, it includes contributions by leading scholars in the fields of technology, ethics and the law.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    NEMISA Digital Skills Conference (Colloquium) 2023

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    The purpose of the colloquium and events centred around the central role that data plays today as a desirable commodity that must become an important part of massifying digital skilling efforts. Governments amass even more critical data that, if leveraged, could change the way public services are delivered, and even change the social and economic fortunes of any country. Therefore, smart governments and organisations increasingly require data skills to gain insights and foresight, to secure themselves, and for improved decision making and efficiency. However, data skills are scarce, and even more challenging is the inconsistency of the associated training programs with most curated for the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Nonetheless, the interdisciplinary yet agnostic nature of data means that there is opportunity to expand data skills into the non-STEM disciplines as well.College of Engineering, Science and Technolog

    Beam scanning by liquid-crystal biasing in a modified SIW structure

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    A fixed-frequency beam-scanning 1D antenna based on Liquid Crystals (LCs) is designed for application in 2D scanning with lateral alignment. The 2D array environment imposes full decoupling of adjacent 1D antennas, which often conflicts with the LC requirement of DC biasing: the proposed design accommodates both. The LC medium is placed inside a Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) modified to work as a Groove Gap Waveguide, with radiating slots etched on the upper broad wall, that radiates as a Leaky-Wave Antenna (LWA). This allows effective application of the DC bias voltage needed for tuning the LCs. At the same time, the RF field remains laterally confined, enabling the possibility to lay several antennas in parallel and achieve 2D beam scanning. The design is validated by simulation employing the actual properties of a commercial LC medium

    Gestión integrada de las áreas costeras y oceánicas que albergan mamíferos marinos: el caso de estudio del Estrecho de Gibraltar

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    The Strait of Gibraltar is a cross-border coastal and marine area in which overlapping intense maritime traffic and highly protected species of cetaceans could generate conservational or economic conflict. The current publication applies an integrated management approach in order to improve knowledge of cetaceans, maritime activities, and Whale Watching (WW), as well as to involve key stakeholders in WW and to provide insights for a sustainable public policy in the Strait. A comparative study on WW activity in the Strait of Gibraltar and in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This abrupt change allowed us to investigate the effects of the human lockdowns, such as the reduction in maritime traffic, on the marine animals of the Gulf, contributing to the study of the global effects on nature. This thesis is organized into the following sections: i) Whale watching activities, ii) monitoring maritime traffic and cetaceans using ferries as platforms and iii) effects of COVID-19 lockdowns on nature. In order to achieve social, economic, and ecological sustainability, WW in the Strait of Gibraltar needs adequate management. In Tarifa (Spain) and Gibraltar (UK), between 2017 and 2019, key stakeholders (e.g., WW customers and operators, researchers, NGOs, and policymakers) were invited to fill out 637 questionnaires and a direct assessment of the WW trips was conducted. Results suggest that: (1) local WW operators only partially follow WW legislation, (2) whale watchers had high levels of education and purchasing power, and the majority of them were national tourists who showed signs of loyalty to WW and support for conservation, (3) 51% of the expenses made by WW customers directly benefited the local economy of Tarifa, (4) customers scored WW operators more highly when cetaceans were indifferent to, or approached vessels, and their satisfaction improved depending on the education provided before and during the WW trip, and (5) interviewed stakeholders recognize the scientific, recreational and educational values of WW. As a result of this study we recommend implementing educational programmes, launching national publicity campaigns targeting whale watchers, establishing administrative facilities for WW companies, monitoring WW activities, and enforcing WW legislation to promote sustainable management of WW. Furthermore, the designation of Marine Protected Areas, a regional shipping plan, and an integrated management approach could benefit the WW industry and improve its sustainability. Cetaceans and their threats were monitored using ferries as a platform of opportunity along the routes Algeciras¿Ceuta and Algeciras-Tanger Med in the Strait during 2018 and 2019, following the standardized protocol of the international cooperative project Fix Line Transect Mediterranean Monitoring Network (FLT Med Net). During 59 visual surveys 264 sightings of cetaceans were reported, including seven species and four near-miss collisions (pilot, sperm, and fin whales). Data were used to i) investigate cetaceans¿ seasonal presence and distribution and, for the bottlenose dolphin, habitat suitability in the Strait, ii) consider cetaceans' relationships with different maritime activities identifying risk areas and the consistency of the spatial conservation spatial management measures in force, and iii) compare data with the other partner of the FLT Med Net across two Habitat Directive 6-year periods (2013-2019/2008-2012), testing four potential indicators to assess short-term range and habitat trends of the Risso¿s dolphin, and of the pilot and Cuvier¿s whale (low-density species). The FLT Med Net sampling design proved adequate for trend assessment in the Western Mediterranean and Adriatic. In conclusion, together with international surveillance, the designation of a micro-sanctuary in the Bay between Algeciras and Gibraltar, and a mandatory speed reduction to 13 knots in an extended Cetacean Critical Navigation Zone can positively optimize conservation efforts in the Strait of Gibraltar. The lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic banned all non-essential services and travel both on land and sea in several parts of the world. In response to this sudden drop in traffic, the bigeyes fish and the bottlenose dolphin experienced an immediate increase in their communication ranges by up to 65% in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, demonstrating how small vessels can impact underwater soundscapes. These results were shared with the global scientific community to monitor the immediate impacts of lockdowns, demonstrating how humans are both threatening and protecting ecosystems and species. It is possible to favourably tilt this delicate balance by reducing impacts and increasing conservation effectiveness

    Security and Privacy for Modern Wireless Communication Systems

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    The aim of this reprint focuses on the latest protocol research, software/hardware development and implementation, and system architecture design in addressing emerging security and privacy issues for modern wireless communication networks. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to, the following: deep-learning-based security and privacy design; covert communications; information-theoretical foundations for advanced security and privacy techniques; lightweight cryptography for power constrained networks; physical layer key generation; prototypes and testbeds for security and privacy solutions; encryption and decryption algorithm for low-latency constrained networks; security protocols for modern wireless communication networks; network intrusion detection; physical layer design with security consideration; anonymity in data transmission; vulnerabilities in security and privacy in modern wireless communication networks; challenges of security and privacy in node–edge–cloud computation; security and privacy design for low-power wide-area IoT networks; security and privacy design for vehicle networks; security and privacy design for underwater communications networks

    Realising Global Water Futures: a Summary of Progress in Delivering Solutions to Water Threats in an Era of Global Change

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    Canada First Research Excellence FundNon-Peer ReviewedOver the past six years the Global Water Futures program has produced a wide range of scientific findings and engagements with multiple types of potential users of the research. This briefing book provides a snapshot of some of the science advancements and user engagement that have taken place to date. Annual reports to the funding agency are the most up to date source of information: this compilation has been created from reports submitted by projects in 2022, representing both completed and current project work. The briefing book aims to provide quick access to information about GWF projects in a single place for GWF’s User Advisory Panel: we hope that knowing more about the research being produced will spark conversations about how to make the best use of the new knowledge in both policy and practice

    Integration of Blockchain and Digital Twins in the Smart Built Environment Adopting Disruptive Technologies—A Systematic Review

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    The integration of blockchain and digital twins (DT) for better building-lifecycle data management has recently received much attention from researchers in the field. In this respect, the adoption of enabling technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the In-ternet of Things (IoT), cloud and edge computing, Big Data analytics, etc., has also been investigated in an abundance of studies. The present review inspects the recent studies to shed light on the foremost among those enabling technologies and their scope, challenges, and integration potential. To this end, 86 scientific papers, recognized and retrieved from the Scopus and Web of Science databases , were reviewed and a thorough bibliometric analysis was performed on them. The obtained results demonstrate the nascency of the research in this field and the necessity of further implementation of practical methods to discover and prove the real potential of these technologies and their fusion. It was also found that the integration of these technologies can be beneficial for addressing the implementation challenges they face individually. In the end, an abstract descriptive model is presented to provide a better understanding of how the technologies can become integrated into a unified system for smartening the built environment

    Real-world Machine Learning Systems: A survey from a Data-Oriented Architecture Perspective

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    Machine Learning models are being deployed as parts of real-world systems with the upsurge of interest in artificial intelligence. The design, implementation, and maintenance of such systems are challenged by real-world environments that produce larger amounts of heterogeneous data and users requiring increasingly faster responses with efficient resource consumption. These requirements push prevalent software architectures to the limit when deploying ML-based systems. Data-oriented Architecture (DOA) is an emerging concept that equips systems better for integrating ML models. DOA extends current architectures to create data-driven, loosely coupled, decentralised, open systems. Even though papers on deployed ML-based systems do not mention DOA, their authors made design decisions that implicitly follow DOA. The reasons why, how, and the extent to which DOA is adopted in these systems are unclear. Implicit design decisions limit the practitioners' knowledge of DOA to design ML-based systems in the real world. This paper answers these questions by surveying real-world deployments of ML-based systems. The survey shows the design decisions of the systems and the requirements these satisfy. Based on the survey findings, we also formulate practical advice to facilitate the deployment of ML-based systems. Finally, we outline open challenges to deploying DOA-based systems that integrate ML models.Comment: Under revie

    Undergraduate and Graduate Course Descriptions, 2023 Spring

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    Wright State University undergraduate and graduate course descriptions from Spring 2023
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