Robustness of Features and Classification Models on Degraded Data Sets in Music Classification

There exists a large number of supervised music classification tasks: Recognition of music genres and emotions, playing instruments, harmonic and melodic properties, temporal and rhythmic characteristics, etc. In recent years, many studies were published in that field, which are either focused on complex feature engineering or application and tuning of classification algorithms. How- ever, less work is done on the evaluation of model robustness, and music data sets are often limited to music with some common characteristics, so that the question about the generalisation ability of proposed models usually remains unanswered. In this study, we examine and compare the classification perfor- mance of audio features and classification models when applied for recognition of genres and instruments on music data sets which were degraded by means of techniques available in the Audio Degradation Toolbox including attenuation, compression, live and vinyl recording degradations, and addition of noise

Analysis and resynthesis of polyphonic music

This thesis examines applications of Digital Signal Processing to the analysis, transformation, and resynthesis of musical audio. First I give an overview of the human perception of music. I then examine in detail the requirements for a system that can analyse, transcribe, process, and resynthesise monaural polyphonic music. I then describe and compare the possible hardware and software platforms. After this I describe a prototype hybrid system that attempts to carry out these tasks using a method based on additive synthesis. Next I present results from its application to a variety of musical examples, and critically assess its performance and limitations. I then address these issues in the design of a second system based on Gabor wavelets. I conclude by summarising the research and outlining suggestions for future developments

Unmet goals of tracking: within-track heterogeneity of students' expectations for

Educational systems are often characterized by some form(s) of ability grouping, like tracking. Although substantial variation in the implementation of these practices exists, it is always the aim to improve teaching efficiency by creating homogeneous groups of students in terms of capabilities and performances as well as expected pathways. If students’ expected pathways (university, graduate school, or working) are in line with the goals of tracking, one might presume that these expectations are rather homogeneous within tracks and heterogeneous between tracks. In Flanders (the northern region of Belgium), the educational system consists of four tracks. Many students start out in the most prestigious, academic track. If they fail to gain the necessary credentials, they move to the less esteemed technical and vocational tracks. Therefore, the educational system has been called a 'cascade system'. We presume that this cascade system creates homogeneous expectations in the academic track, though heterogeneous expectations in the technical and vocational tracks. We use data from the International Study of City Youth (ISCY), gathered during the 2013-2014 school year from 2354 pupils of the tenth grade across 30 secondary schools in the city of Ghent, Flanders. Preliminary results suggest that the technical and vocational tracks show more heterogeneity in student’s expectations than the academic track. If tracking does not fulfill the desired goals in some tracks, tracking practices should be questioned as tracking occurs along social and ethnic lines, causing social inequality

Body, Society, History: Enacting materialisms through performances

Die Dissertation versteht Kunst als Inszenierung verschiedener Theorien des Materialismus, des Neuen Materialismus und historischen Materialismus, die als konzeptionelle Werkzeuge dienen, um materiale Akteure und soziopolitische Prozesse als im Entstehen begriffen, relational und dynamisch zu verstehen. Die Dissertation untersucht anhand der Arbeiten von Lawrence Abu Hamdan die Politik der Sprache und wie die Materialität der Sprache politische Grenzen überschreitet. Die Problematisierung der Sprache als Signifikant setzt sich fort in der Analyse von Werken der Biokunst von Paul Vanouse und Spiess/Strecker, die sich mit DNA-Technologie auseinandersetzten und den organischen Tod sowie das Erfassen des Lebens im Sinne der Nekropolitik aus Sicht der Hypernatur in Frage stellen. Daran schließt sich eine Untersuchung der choreografischen Arbeiten mit Maschinen von Geumhyung Jeong an, welche die relationale Koemergenz des Verbunds von Mensch und Maschine hervorheben. Die Dissertation schließt mit den transhistorischen Arbeiten zur südost- und ostasiatischen Moderne von Ho Tzu Nyen und Royce Ng, in welchen die Figuren des Tigers und des Vampirs das ungebremste Verlangen im Kapitalismus verkörpern. Beim Durchqueren verschiedener Historien und Geografien und dem verknüpfen diverser Thematiken einschließlich Animismus, Technologie, Kolonialismus und Konfuzianismus geht es immer um die Kernfrage, die Agentialität im Material und den (in)dividuellen Körpern zu lokalisieren.The PhD dissertation takes art as enactments of different theories of materialism – both new materialism(s) and historical materialism, to provide conceptual tools through which both material agents and socio-political processes could be understood in emergent, relational and dynamic ways. The dissertation examines the politics of language and how the materiality of language could transgress political boundaries by focusing on Lawrence Abu Hamdan’s works. The problematisation of language as a signifier continues with bioart works engaging with DNA technology from Paul Vanouse and Spiess/Strecker, which also challenge organic death and the capture of life under necropolitics with hypernature. This is followed by an analysis of Geumhyung Jeong’s choreographic works with machines, which highlight the relational co-emergence with the man-machine assemblage. The dissertation ends with Ho Tzu Nyen and Royce Ng’s transhistorical works on Southeast and East Asian modernity, with the figures of the tiger and the vampire embodying the free flow of desire in capitalism. Traversing different histories and geographies while interweaving diverse topics including animism, technology, colonialism and Confucianism, the core question remains the same throughout the dissertation: to locate the agency in the material and the (in)dividual bodies

The Music Sound

A guide for music: compositions, events, forms, genres, groups, history, industry, instruments, language, live music, musicians, songs, musicology, techniques, terminology , theory, music video. Music is a human activity which involves structured and audible sounds, which is used for artistic or aesthetic, entertainment, or ceremonial purposes. The traditional or classical European aspects of music often listed are those elements given primacy in European-influenced classical music: melody, harmony, rhythm, tone color/timbre, and form. A more comprehensive list is given by stating the aspects of sound: pitch, timbre, loudness, and duration. Common terms used to discuss particular pieces include melody, which is a succession of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord, which is a simultaneity of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord progression, which is a succession of chords (simultaneity succession); harmony, which is the relationship between two or more pitches; counterpoint, which is the simultaneity and organization of different melodies; and rhythm, which is the organization of the durational aspects of music

Fat as a Feminist Issue: Activism and Agency in the Body Positive Movement

This thesis examines the way hashtag networks impact the expression of contemporary activism and agency, focusing on the #BodyPositive movement (BPM). It investigates the new possibilities for fat identity formation introduced by the Instagram imaging platform. My study historically contextualises the fat female body within Western culture to enable appreciation of the systemic discrimination and policing imposed within a patriarchal society. This retrospective applies an intersectional approach, with particular emphasis on the structural inequalities encountered by black women of colour (BWOC) along the axes of weight, gender and racial identity.The research is based on responses from over five hundred online survey participants. The survey provided an opportunity to critically interrogate Instagrammers about their protest habits and any underlying feminist motivations. Participant observation fieldwork was also undertaken at three offline body positive events. These descriptive accounts advance current debates querying the political inclinations of those engaged in so-called ‘slacktivism.’ Qualitative research is used to challenge traditional conceptualisations of activism and assert the integral role the body occupies in claims-making. A feminist lens is deployed to investigate how hashtaggers use Instagram’s photographic processes to re-represent the fat female body for protest purposes. Analysis is further supported by the application of social movement theory (SMT) to determine whether social media activity can be classified as social movement activity.Feminist debate is taken in a new direction through recognising the camera as a significant campaign instrument and not merely a source of objectification. Content creators are understood as agentic subjects reclaiming their fatness from conventionally derogative discourses. Research found body exhibitionism can be experienced as empowering by fat women occupying femininities associated with stigma and shame. However, it makes an important contribution to feminist scholarship in highlighting the drawbacks to digital activism, such as algorithmic bias, which diminishes the visibility of already marginalised groups