1,145 research outputs found
Advancing Expert Human-Computer Interaction Through Music
One of the most important challenges for computing over the next decade is discovering ways to augment and extend human control over ever more powerful, complex, and numerous devices and software systems. New high-dimensional input devices and control systems provide these affordances, but require extensive practice and learning on the part of the user. This paper describes a system created to leverage existing human expertise with a complex, highly dimensional interface, in the form of a trained violinist and violin. A machine listening model is employed to provide the musician and user with direct control over a complex simulation running on a high-performance computing system
Music information retrieval: conceptuel framework, annotation and user behaviour
Understanding music is a process both based on and influenced by the knowledge and experience of the listener. Although content-based music retrieval has been given increasing attention in recent years, much of the research still focuses on bottom-up retrieval techniques. In order to make a music information retrieval system appealing and useful to the user, more effort should be spent on constructing systems that both operate directly on the encoding of the physical energy of music and are flexible with respect to users’ experiences.
This thesis is based on a user-centred approach, taking into account the mutual relationship between music as an acoustic phenomenon and as an expressive phenomenon. The issues it addresses are: the lack of a conceptual framework, the shortage of annotated musical audio databases, the lack of understanding of the behaviour of system users and shortage of user-dependent knowledge with respect to high-level features of music.
In the theoretical part of this thesis, a conceptual framework for content-based music information retrieval is defined. The proposed conceptual framework - the first of its kind - is conceived as a coordinating structure between the automatic description of low-level music content, and the description of high-level content by the system users. A general framework for the manual annotation of musical audio is outlined as well. A new methodology for the manual annotation of musical audio is introduced and tested in case studies. The results from these studies show that manually annotated music files can be of great help in the development of accurate analysis tools for music information retrieval.
Empirical investigation is the foundation on which the aforementioned theoretical framework is built. Two elaborate studies involving different experimental issues are presented. In the first study, elements of signification related to spontaneous user behaviour are clarified. In the second study, a global profile of music information retrieval system users is given and their description of high-level content is discussed. This study has uncovered relationships between the users’ demographical background and their perception of expressive and structural features of music. Such a multi-level approach is exceptional as it included a large sample of the population of real users of interactive music systems. Tests have shown that the findings of this study are representative of the targeted population.
Finally, the multi-purpose material provided by the theoretical background and the results from empirical investigations are put into practice in three music information retrieval applications: a prototype of a user interface based on a taxonomy, an annotated database of experimental findings and a prototype semantic user recommender system.
Results are presented and discussed for all methods used. They show that, if reliably generated, the use of knowledge on users can significantly improve the quality of music content analysis. This thesis demonstrates that an informed knowledge of human approaches to music information retrieval provides valuable insights, which may be of particular assistance in the development of user-friendly, content-based access to digital music collections
The Morphic Orator: Transmogrified Delivery on the Audio-Enabled Web
Audio is an effective but often overlooked component of World Wide Web delivery. Of the nearly twenty billion web pages estimated to exist, statistically few use sound. Those few using sound often use it poorly and with hardly any regard to theoretical and rhetorical issues. This thesis is an examination of the uses of audio on the World Wide Web, specifically focusing on how that use could be informed by current and historical rhetorical theory. A theoretical methodology is applied to suggest the concepts and disciplines required to make online audio more meaningful and useful. The thesis argues for the connection between the Web and the modern orator, its embodiment, its place in sound reproduction technology, and awareness of the limitations placed on it by design and convention
Clique: Perceptually Based, Task Oriented Auditory Display for GUI Applications
Screen reading is the prevalent approach for presenting graphical desktop applications in audio. The primary function of a screen reader is to describe what the user encounters when interacting with a graphical user interface (GUI). This straightforward method allows people with visual impairments to hear exactly what is on the screen, but with significant usability problems in a multitasking environment. Screen reader users must infer the state of on-going tasks spanning multiple graphical windows from a single, serial stream of speech. In this dissertation, I explore a new approach to enabling auditory display of GUI programs. With this method, the display describes concurrent application tasks using a small set of simultaneous speech and sound streams. The user listens to and interacts solely with this display, never with the underlying graphical interfaces. Scripts support this level of adaption by mapping GUI components to task definitions. Evaluation of this approach shows improvements in user efficiency, satisfaction, and understanding with little development effort. To develop this method, I studied the literature on existing auditory displays, working user behavior, and theories of human auditory perception and processing. I then conducted a user study to observe problems encountered and techniques employed by users interacting with an ideal auditory display: another human being. Based on my findings, I designed and implemented a prototype auditory display, called Clique, along with scripts adapting seven GUI applications. I concluded my work by conducting a variety of evaluations on Clique. The results of these studies show the following benefits of Clique over the state of the art for users with visual impairments (1-5) and mobile sighted users (6): 1. Faster, accurate access to speech utterances through concurrent speech streams. 2. Better awareness of peripheral information via concurrent speech and sound streams. 3. Increased information bandwidth through concurrent streams. 4. More efficient information seeking enabled by ubiquitous tools for browsing and searching. 5. Greater accuracy in describing unfamiliar applications learned using a consistent, task-based user interface. 6. Faster completion of email tasks in a standard GUI after exposure to those tasks in audio
Designing instruments towards networked music practices
It is commonly noted in New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) research that
few of these make it to the mainstream and are adopted by the general public. Some
research in Sound and Music Computing (SMC) suggests that the lack of humanistic
research guiding technological development may be one of the causes. Many new
technologies are invented, however without real aim else than for technical
innovation, great products however emphasize the user-friendliness, user involvement
in the design process or User-Centred Design (UCD), that seek to guarantee that
innovation address real, existing needs among users. Such an approach includes not
only traditionally quantifiable usability goals, but also qualitative, psychological,
philosophical and musical such. The latter approach has come to be called experience
design, while the former is referred to as interaction design. Although the Human
Computer Interaction (HCI) community in general has recognized the significance of
qualitative needs and experience design, NIME has been slower to adopt this new
paradigm. This thesis therefore attempts to investigate its relevance in NIME, and
specifically Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) for music applications
by devising a prototype for group music action based on needs defined from pianists
engaging in piano duets, one of the more common forms of group creation seen in the
western musical tradition. These needs, some which are socio-emotional in nature, are
addressed through our prototype although in the context of computers and global
networks by allowing for composers from all over the world to submit music to a
group concert on a Yamaha Disklavier in location in Porto, Portugal. Although this
prototype is not a new gestural controller per se, and therefore not a traditional NIME,
but rather a platform that interfaces groups of composers with a remote audience, the
aim of this research is on investigating how contextual parameters like venue, audience, joint concert and technologies impact the overall user experience of such a
system. The results of this research has been important not only in understanding the
processes, services, events or environments in which NIME’s operate, but also
understanding reciprocity, creativity, experience design in Networked Music
practices.É de conhecimento generalizado que na área de investigação em novos interfaces para
expressão musical (NIME - New Interfaces for Musical Expression), poucos dos
resultantes dispositivos acabam por ser popularizados e adoptados pelo grande
público. Algum do trabalho em computação sonora e musical (SMC- Sound and
Music Computing) sugere que uma das causas para esta dificuldade, reside
numalacuna ao nível da investigação dos comportamentos humanos como linha
orientadora para os desenvolvimentos tecnológicos. Muitos dos desenvolvimentos
tecnológicos são conduzidos sem um real objectivo, para além da inovação
tecnológica, resultando em excelentes produtos, mas sem qualquer enfâse na
usabilidade humana ou envolvimento do utilizador no processo de Design (UCDUser
Centered Design), no sentido de garantir que a inovação atende a necessidades
reais dos utilizadores finais. Esta estratégia implica, não só objectivos quantitativos
tradicionais de usabilidade, mas também princípios qualitativos, fisiológicos,
psicológicos e musicológicos. Esta ultima abordagem é atualmente reconhecida como
Design de Experiência (Experience Design) enquanto a abordagem tradicional é
vulgarmente reconhecida apenas como Design de Interação (Interaction Design).
Apesar de na área Interação Homem-Computador (HCI – Human Computer
Interaction) as necessidades qualitativas no design de experiência ser amplamente
reconhecido em termos do seu significado e aplicabilidade, a comunidade NIME tem
sido mais lenta em adoptar este novo paradigma. Neste sentido, esta Tese procura
investigar a relevância em NIME, especificamente nu subtópico do trabalho
cooperativo suportado por Computadores (CSCW – Computer Supported Cooperative
Work), para aplicações musicais, através do desenvolvimento de um protótipo de um
sistema que suporta ações musicais coletivas, baseado nas necessidades especificas de Pianistas em duetos de Piano, uma das formas mais comuns de criação musical em
grupo popularizada na tradição musical ocidental. Estes requisitos, alguns sócioemocionais
na sua natureza, são atendidos através do protótipo, neste caso aplicado ao
contexto informático e da rede de comunicações global, permitindo a compositores de
todo o mundo submeterem a sua música para um concerto de piano em grupo num
piano acústico Yamaha Disklavier, localizado fisicamente na cidade do Porto,
Portugal. Este protótipo não introduz um novo controlador em si mesmo, e
consequentemente não está alinhado com as típicas propostas de NIME. Trata-se sim,
de uma nova plataforma de interface em grupo para compositores com uma audiência
remota, enquadrado com objectivos de experimentação e investigação sobre o
impacto de diversos parâmetros, tais como o espaço performativo, as audiências,
concertos colaborativos e tecnologias em termos do sistema global. O resultado deste
processo de investigação foi relevante, não só para compreender os processos,
serviços, eventos ou ambiente em que os NIME podem operar, mas também para
melhor perceber a reciprocidade, criatividade e design de experiencia nas práticas
musicais em rede
Music 2025 : The Music Data Dilemma: issues facing the music industry in improving data management
© Crown Copyright 2019Music 2025ʼ investigates the infrastructure issues around the management of digital data in an increasingly stream driven industry. The findings are the culmination of over 50 interviews with high profile music industry representatives across the sector and reflects key issues as well as areas of consensus and contrasting views. The findings reveal whilst there are great examples of data initiatives across the value chain, there are opportunities to improve efficiency and interoperability
Exploring Metacognitive Online Reading Strategies of Non-Native English-Speaking Translation Students
International students, a growing population in US universities, need to possess excellent reading skills in order to succeed. American universities also benefit from admitting students who do not require remedial English classes. Reading online has become an integrated part of college education, which requires students to have additional skills. Awareness and usage of online reading strategies, known as metacognitive online reading strategies, are proven tools to enhance reading skills in online environments.
The purpose of this mixed-method study was to investigate the metacognitive online reading strategies employed by highly proficient non-native English-speaking graduate students of Translation, Interpretation and Language Education at Middlebury Institute of International Studies to find out the types of reading strategies students report using, and how they use them when reading an academic text online on a laptop. Two conceptual frameworks were employed to analyze the data: metacognition theory and metacognition model.
Quantitative data were collected from 46 students through the Online Survey of Reading Strategies (OSORS). Qualitative data were obtained through recording think-aloud sessions with six volunteers who individually read a TOEFL practice passage and said what they thought as they read the passage.
The quantitative findings revealed that students used most of OSORS strategies in the three categories or Global strategies, Problem-solving strategies, and Support strategies. They used problem-solving strategies the most and support strategies the least. The qualitative data analysis revealed that students used most of the strategies that were relevant to the reading task. Moreover, they gave precedence to focusing and maintaining a steady reading pace over other strategies, and bundled related strategies to understand difficult text. Strategies such as slowing the speed of reading, rereading, reading aloud, and guessing meanings were activated together. Data also showed that they students decided on using various computer skills depending on their reading needs, engaging in a parallel metacognitive processing to their reading. Finally, the participants valued reading as part of their career, and made comments on contents of the passage in relation with the real world. Thus, comprehension was not the last step in the metacognitive process, internalizing and remembering the new information was
Prospectus, September 21, 2011
SEEING STARS AT STAERKEL, Parkland Art Gallery to Reflect on U.S. Leisure, Consumption, Waffles, Coffee and Tunes for All, Tube Time Warp: Networks Nostalgic for Tried-And-True Formulas for the Fall Lineup, The Race to Reach Earth\u27s Deepest Point, Chuck Shepherd\u27s News of the Weird, Here\u27s the Scoop: Do Students Trust the News?, As Social Media Grows, So Does First Amendment Appreciation, A New Generation Finds Out the Truth About a Music \u27Urban Legend,\u27 YouTube Becomes Entertainment Destination, Flying Pumpkins and Kissing Reindeer, Using Public Computers Safely, Cobras Volleyball: \u27Talking\u27 Success, A Chat with Dan Whitford of Cut Copy, Behind the Scenes: Parkland Theatre (Part Three)https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2011/1012/thumbnail.jp
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