Magnetic tape

The move to visualization and image processing in data systems is increasing the demand for larger and faster mass storage systems. The technology of choice is magnetic tape. This paper briefly reviews the technology past, present, and projected. A case is made for standards and the value of the standards to users

NSSDC Conference on Mass Storage Systems and Technologies for Space and Earth Science Applications, volume 1

Papers and viewgraphs from the conference are presented. This conference served as a broad forum for the discussion of a number of important issues in the field of mass storage systems. Topics include magnetic disk and tape technologies, optical disks and tape, software storage and file management systems, and experiences with the use of a large, distributed storage system. The technical presentations describe, among other things, integrated mass storage systems that are expected to be available commercially. Also included is a series of presentations from Federal Government organizations and research institutions covering their mass storage requirements for the 1990's

Narrative music: towards an understanding of musical narrative functions in multimedia

As the computer screen is replacing the book as the dominant medium for communication (Kress, 2003), questions about how meaning is constituted by the multimodal interaction of different media (including music) is becoming increasingly important in contemporary research of pedagogy, sociology and media studies. The overall aim with this licentiate thesis is to explore musical narrative functions as they appear in multimedia such as film and computer games. The thesis is based on three publications. Publication 1 proposes a classification of musical narrative functions, with 6 narrative classes(the Emotive, Informative, Descriptive, Guiding, Temporal and Rhetorical classes) and 11 categories. The relational interplay of music with contextual factors is emphasized. Publication 2 describes the design of a software tool, REMUPP (Relations Between Musical Parameters and Perceived Properties), to be used for experimental studies of musical expression. REMUPP is used for real time alteration of musical expression, by the manipulation of musical parameters such as tempo, harmony, rhythm, articulation, etc. Publication 3 describes a quasi-experiment using REMUPP, where a group of young participants (12-13 years old) were given the task of adapting musical expression – by manipulating 7 parameters – to make it fit 3 visual scenes shown on a computer screen. They also answered a questionnaire asking about their musical backgrounds and habits of listening to music, watching movies and playing computer games. Numerical data from the manipulations were analyzed statistically with regards to the preferred values of the musical parameters in relation to the different visual scenes. The results indicated awareness and knowledge about codes and conventions of musical narrative functions, and were to some degree affected by the participants’ gender, musical backgrounds and media habits

Accident investigation: Analysis of aircraft motions from ATC radar recordings

A technique was developed for deriving time histories of an aircraft's motion from air traffic control (ATC) radar records. This technique uses the radar range and azimuth data, along with the downlinked altitude data (from an onboard Mode-C transponder), to derive an expanded set of data which includes airspeed, lift, thrust-drag, attitude angles (pitch, roll, and heading), etc. This method of analyzing aircraft motions was evaluated through flight experiments which used the CV-990 research aircraft and recordings from both the enroute and terminal ATC radar systems. The results indicate that the values derived from the ATC radar records are for the most part in good agreement with the corresponding values obtained from airborne measurements. In an actual accident, this analysis of ATC radar records can complement the flight-data recorders, now onboard airliners, and provide a source of recorded information for other types of aircraft that are equipped with Mode-C transponders but not with onboard recorders

The Wiltshire Wills Feasibility Study

The Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office has nearly ninety thousand wills in its care. These records are neither adequately catalogued nor secured against loss by facsimile microfilm copies. With support from the Heritage Lottery Fund the Record Office has begun to produce suitable finding aids for the material. Beginning with this feasibility study the Record Office is developing a strategy to ensure the that facsimiles to protect the collection against risk of loss or damage and to improve public access are created.<p></p> This feasibility study explores the different methodologies that can be used to assist the preservation and conservation of the collection and improve public access to it. The study aims to produce a strategy that will enable the Record Office to create digital facsimiles of the Wills in its care for access purposes and to also create preservation quality microfilms. The strategy aims to seek the most cost effective and time efficient approach to the problem and identifies ways to optimise the processes by drawing on the experience of other similar projects. This report provides a set of guidelines and recommendations to ensure the best use of the resources available for to provide the most robust preservation strategy and to ensure that future access to the Wills as an information resource can be flexible, both local and remote, and sustainable

The assessment and development of methods in (spatial) sound ecology

As vital ecosystems across the globe enter unchartered pressure from climate change industrial land use, understanding the processes driving ecosystem viability has never been more critical. Nuanced ecosystem understanding comes from well-collected field data and a wealth of associated interpretations. In recent years the most popular methods of ecosystem monitoring have revolutionised from often damaging and labour-intensive manual data collection to automated methods of data collection and analysis. Sound ecology describes the school of research that uses information transmitted through sound to infer properties about an area's species, biodiversity, and health. In this thesis, we explore and develop state-of-the-art automated monitoring with sound, specifically relating to data storage practice and spatial acoustic recording and data analysis. In the first chapter, we explore the necessity and methods of ecosystem monitoring, focusing on acoustic monitoring, later exploring how and why sound is recorded and the current state-of-the-art in acoustic monitoring. Chapter one concludes with us setting out the aims and overall content of the following chapters. We begin the second chapter by exploring methods used to mitigate data storage expense, a widespread issue as automated methods quickly amass vast amounts of data which can be expensive and impractical to manage. Importantly I explain how these data management practices are often used without known consequence, something I then address. Specifically, I present evidence that the most used data reduction methods (namely compression and temporal subsetting) have a surprisingly small impact on the information content of recorded sound compared to the method of analysis. This work also adds to the increasing evidence that deep learning-based methods of environmental sound quantification are more powerful and robust to experimental variation than more traditional acoustic indices. In the latter chapters, I focus on using multichannel acoustic recording for sound-source localisation. Knowing where a sound originated has a range of ecological uses, including counting individuals, locating threats, and monitoring habitat use. While an exciting application of acoustic technology, spatial acoustics has had minimal uptake owing to the expense, impracticality and inaccessibility of equipment. In my third chapter, I introduce MAARU (Multichannel Acoustic Autonomous Recording Unit), a low-cost, easy-to-use and accessible solution to this problem. I explain the software and hardware necessary for spatial recording and show how MAARU can be used to localise the direction of a sound to within ±10˚ accurately. In the fourth chapter, I explore how MAARU devices deployed in the field can be used for enhanced ecosystem monitoring by spatially clustering individuals by calling directions for more accurate abundance approximations and crude species-specific habitat usage monitoring. Most literature on spatial acoustics cites the need for many accurately synced recording devices over an area. This chapter provides the first evidence of advances made with just one recorder. Finally, I conclude this thesis by restating my aims and discussing my success in achieving them. Specifically, in the thesis’ conclusion, I reiterate the contributions made to the field as a direct result of this work and outline some possible development avenues.Open Acces

Audiovisual research collections and their preservation

The basic problem of primary audio and video research materials is clearly shown by the survey: A great and important part of the entire heritage is still outside archival custody in the narrower sense, scattered over many institutions in fairy small collections, and even in private hands. reservation following generally accepted standards can only be carried out effectively if collections represent critical mass. Specialised audiovisual archives will solve their problems, as they will sooner or later succeed in getting appropriate funding to achieve their aims. A very encouraging example is the case of the Netherlands. The larger audiovisual research archives will also manage, more or less autonomously, the transfer of contents in time. For a considerable part of the research collections, however, the concept of cooperative models and competence centres is the only viable model to successfullly safeguard their holdings. Their organisation and funding is a considerable challenge for the scientific community. TAPE has significantly raised awareness of the fact that, unless action is swiftly taken, the loss of audiovisual materials is inevitable. TAPE’s international and regional workshops were generally overbooked. While TAPE was already underway, several other projects for the promotion of archives have received grants from organisations other than the European Commission, inter alia support for the St. Petersburg Phonogram Archive, and the Folklore Archive in Tirana, obviously as a result of a better understanding of the need for audiovisual preservation. When the TAPE project started its partners assumed that cooperative projects would fail because of the notorious distrust of researchers, specifically in the post-communist countries. One of the most encouraging surprises was to learn that, at least in the most recent survey, it became apparent that this social obstacle is fading out. TAPE may have contributed to this important development