CHORUS Deliverable 2.1: State of the Art on Multimedia Search Engines

Based on the information provided by European projects and national initiatives related to multimedia search as well as domains experts that participated in the CHORUS Think-thanks and workshops, this document reports on the state of the art related to multimedia content search from, a technical, and socio-economic perspective. The technical perspective includes an up to date view on content based indexing and retrieval technologies, multimedia search in the context of mobile devices and peer-to-peer networks, and an overview of current evaluation and benchmark inititiatives to measure the performance of multimedia search engines. From a socio-economic perspective we inventorize the impact and legal consequences of these technical advances and point out future directions of research

Audio content identification

Die Entwicklung und Erforschung von inhaltsbasierenden "Music Information Retrieval (MIR)'' - Anwendungen in den letzten Jahren hat gezeigt, dass die automatische Generierung von Inhaltsbeschreibungen, die eine Identifikation oder Klassifikation von Musik oder Musikteilen ermöglichen, eine bewältigbare Aufgabe darstellt. Aufgrund der großen Massen an verfügbarer digitaler Musik und des enormen Wachstums der entsprechenden Datenbanken, werden Untersuchungen durchgeführt, die eine möglichst automatisierte Ausführung der typischen Managementprozesse von digitaler Musik ermöglichen. In dieser Arbeit stelle ich eine allgemeine Einführung in das Gebiet des ``Music Information Retrieval'' vor, insbesondere die automatische Identifikation von Audiomaterial und den Vergleich von ähnlichkeitsbasierenden Ansätzen mit reinen inhaltsbasierenden “Fingerprint”-Technologien. Einerseits versuchen Systeme, den menschlichen Hörapparat bzw. die Wahrnehmung und Definition von "Ähnlichkeit'' zu modellieren, um eine Klassifikation in Gruppen von verwandten Musiktiteln und im Weiteren eine Identifikation zu ermöglichen. Andererseits liegt der Fokus auf der Erstellung von Signaturen, die auf eine eindeutige Wiedererkennung abzielen ohne jede Aussage über ähnlich klingende Alternativen. In der Arbeit werden eine Reihe von Tests durchgeführt, die deutlich machen sollen, wie robust, zuverlässig und anpassbar Erkennungssysteme arbeiten sollen, wobei eine möglichst hohe Rate an richtig erkannten Musikstücken angestrebt wird. Dafür werden zwei Algorithmen, Rhythm Patterns, ein ähnlichkeitsbasierter Ansatz, und FDMF, ein frei verfügbarer Fingerprint-Extraktionsalgorithmus mittels 24 durchgeführten Testfällen gegenübergestellt, um die Arbeitsweisen der Verfahren zu vergleichen. Diese Untersuchungen zielen darauf ab, eine möglichst hohe Genauigkeit in der Wiedererkennung zu erreichen. Ähnlichkeitsbasierte Ansätze wie Rhythm Patterns erreichen bei der Identifikation Wiedererkennungsraten bis zu 89.53% und übertreffen in den durchgeführten Testszenarien somit den untersuchten Fingerprint-Ansatz deutlich. Eine sorgfältige Auswahl relevanter Features, die zur Berechnung von Ähnlichkeit herangezogen werden, führen zu äußerst vielversprechenden Ergebnissen sowohl bei variierten Ausschnitten der Musikstücke als auch nach erheblichen Signalveränderungen.The development and research of content-based music information retrieval (MIR) applications in the last years have shown that the generation of descriptions enabling the identification and classification of pieces of musical audio is a challenge that can be coped with. Due to the huge masses of digital music available and the growth of the particular databases, there are investigations of how to automatically perform tasks concerning the management of audio data. In this thesis I will provide a general introduction of the music information retrieval techniques, especially the identification of audio material and the comparison of similarity-based approaches with content-based fingerprint technology. On the one hand, similarity retrieval systems try to model the human auditory system in various aspects and therewith the model of perceptual similarity. On the other hand there are fingerprints or signatures which try to exactly identify music without any assessment of similarity of sound titles. To figure out the differences and consequences of using these approaches I have performed several experiments that make clear how robust and adaptable an identification system must work. Rhythm Patterns, a similarity based feature extraction scheme and FDMF, a free fingerprint algorithm have been investigated by performing 24 test cases in order to compare the principle behind. This evaluation has also been done focusing on the greatest possible accuracy. It has come out that similarity features like Rhythm Patterns are able to identify audio titles promisingly as well (i.e. up to 89.53 %) in the introduced test scenarios. The proper choice of features enables that music tracks are identified at best when focusing on the highest similarity between the candidates both for varied excerpts and signal modifications

Social software for music

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Informática e Computação. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

Evaluation of Public Services and Public Services Personnel (Papers presented at the Allerton Park Institute held October 28-30, 1990)

On three magnificent late fall days in October 1990, 150 librarians met at Allerton Park to grapple with the issues of evaluation of public services and public services personnel. These proceedings are the formal record of the 1990 Allerton Institute although, clearly, they cannot fully convey the experiences shared by the participants. The papers document the formal presentations, but they do not reflect the atmosphere of intense debate inside the Allerton conference buildings that contrasted so strongly with the lazy sunshine and the beauty of the late fall foliage outside. Keynote speakers are supposed to start the debate by outlining the issues. James Rettig certainly was effective in starting the process of creative dialog. He reminded us that evaluation cannot begin until we have clearly understood goals and objectives. He then raised a number of objections to one of our more cherished ideals and objectives in reference work: that of providing bibliographic instruction. Reading his paper may provide a partial insight into the discussion that it generated. After the keynote presentation, papers presented theories and practical examples, overviews and individual experiences. This range of coverage was planned, as was the balance between speakers from library education and from the practice of public service librarianship. Tom Childers gave an overview of the history and capabilities of unobtrusive evaluation; then Wilf Lancaster, Alan Nourie and Cheryl Elzy presented a specific instance of unobtrusive testing in which they expanded the boundaries of the method by evaluating individual service providers. Charles Bunge spoke about a thoroughly tried-and-tested mechanism for evaluating what goes on in a reference encounter; following him, Prudence Dalrymple discussed ways in which information science research can point out new directions for evaluating information services. Mary Goulding's paper described a classic approach to objectives-based evaluation, while Betty Turock suggested six or seven additional kinds of evaluation that might be attempted. Finally, Rick Rubin gave a masterful survey of personnel evaluation for public service librarians, and Geraldine King provided a specific example of peer evaluation.published or submitted for publicatio

Redefining the anthology : forms and affordances in digital culture

Alors que le modèle économique de la télévision américaine, longtemps dominant, a été mis au défi de diverses manières par les changements industriels et technologiques de ces dernières années, des formes narratives de plus en plus hétérogènes sont apparues, qui se sont ajoutées aux structures sérielles originaires. La diversité des formes télévisuelles est devenue particulièrement évidente depuis que les paysages télévisuels nationaux et locaux ont commencé à s’ouvrir aux marchés étrangers situés en dehors des États-Unis, pour finalement adopter une perspective transnationale et globale. La transition vers la télévision distribuée sur Internet a joué un rôle central dans cette fragmentation formelle et la nouvelle dynamique de la diffusion en ligne a ouvert une different perspective pour comprendre le flux mondial de contenus télévisuels, qui reflète aujourd'hui un environnement multimédia et numérique hautement interconnecté et mis en réseau. En effet, la multiplication des services de vidéo à la demande oblige la sérialité à s’adapter au paysage médiatique contemporain, donnant naissance à des produits audiovisuels pouvant être transférés en ligne et présentant des spécificités de production, de distribution et de réception. L’un des résultats de tels changements dans les séries télévisées américaines à l’aube du XXIe siècle est la série anthologique divisée en différentes saisons avec des histoires distinctes, et pourtant liées par le ton et le style. Ma recherche se situe dans un tel contexte technologique, industriel et culturel, où le contenu télévisuel est de plus en plus fragmenté. Compte tenu de cette fragmentation des contenus, cette thèse examine la manière dont les contenus télévisuels contemporains sont distribués, dans l'interaction entre les processus de recommandation basés sur des algorithmes et les pratiques éditoriales plus traditionnelles. L’objectif de ce projet est donc d’étudier la manière dont certaines structures narratives typiques de la forme de l’anthologie apparaissent dans le contexte de la sérialité de la télévision nord-américaine, à partir de conditions spécifiques de production, de distribution et de consommation dans l’industrie des médias. En se concentrant sur l'évolution (dimension temporelle et historique) et sur la circulation numérique (dimension spatiale, géographique) des séries d'anthologies américaines, et en observant les particularités de leur production et de leur style, ainsi que leurs réseaux de distribution et les modes de consommation qu'elles favorisent, cette thèse s’inscrit finalement dans une conversation plus vaste sur les études culturelles et numériques. L’objectif final est d’étudier la relation entre les formes anthologiques, les plateformes de distribution et les modèles de consommation, en proposant une approche comparative de l’anthologie qui soit à la fois cross-culturelle, crosshistorique, cross-genre et qui prenne en consideration les pratiques pre- et post-numériques pour l’organisation de contenus culturels.As the longtime dominant U.S. television business model has been challenged in various ways by industrial and technological changes in recent years, more heterogeneous narrative forms have emerged in addition to original serial structures. The diversity of televisual forms became particularly evident since national, local television landscapes started opening up to foreign markets outside of the U.S., finally embracing a transnational, global perspective and tracing alternative value-chains. The transition to internet-distributed television played a pivotal role in this formal fragmentation and new dynamics of online streaming opened up another path for understanding the flow of television content, which today reflects a highly interconnected, networked media and digital environment. Indeed, the proliferation of video-on-demand services is forcing seriality to adapt to the contemporary mediascape, giving rise to audiovisual products that can be transferred online and present specificities in production, distribution and reception. One of the outcomes of such changes in U.S. television series at the dawn of the twenty-first century is the anthology series divided in different seasons with separate stories, yet linked by tone and style. My research positions itself in such a technological, industrial and cultural context, where television content is increasingly fragmented. Given such a fragmentation, this thesis considers the ways contemporary television content is distributed in the interaction between algorithmic-driven recommendation processes and more traditional editorial practices. The aim of the project is to investigate the way certain narrative structures typical of the anthology form emerge in the context of U.S. television seriality, starting from specific conditions of production, distribution and consumption in the media industry. By focusing on the evolution (temporal, historical dimension) and on the digital circulation (spatial, geographic dimension) of U.S. anthology series, and observing the peculiarities in their production and style, as well as their distributional networks and the consumption patterns they foster, this thesis ultimately insert itself into a larger conversation on digital-cultural studies. The final purpose is to examine the relation between anthological forms, distribution platforms and consumption models, by proposing a comparative approach to the anthology that is at the same time cross-cultural, cross-historical, cross-genre and accounting for both pre- and post-digital practices for cultural content organization

Habitual Ethics?

What if data-intensive technologies’ ability to mould habits with unprecedented precision is also capable of triggering some mass disability of profound consequences? What if we become incapable of modifying the deeply-rooted habits that stem from our increased technological dependence? On an impoverished understanding of habit, the above questions are easily shrugged off. Habits are deemed rigid by definition: ‘as long as our deliberative selves remain capable of steering the design of data-intensive technologies, we’ll be fine’. To question this assumption, this open access book first articulates the way in which the habitual stretches all the way from unconscious tics to purposive, intentionally acquired habits. It also highlights the extent to which our habit-reliant, pre-reflective intelligence normally supports our deliberative selves. It is when habit rigidification sets in that this complementarity breaks down. The book moves from a philosophical inquiry into the ‘double edge’ of habit — its empowering and compromising sides — to consideration of individual and collective strategies to keep habits at the service of our ethical life. Allowing the norms that structure our forms of life to be cotton-wooled in abstract reasoning is but one of the factors that can compromise ongoing social and moral transformations. Systems designed to simplify our practical reasoning can also make us ‘sheep-like’. Drawing a parallel between the moral risk inherent in both legal and algorithmic systems, the book concludes with concrete interventions designed to revive the scope for normative experimentation. It will appeal to any reader concerned with our retaining an ability to trigger change within the practices that shape our ethical sensibility. The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Mozilla Foundation

Habitual Ethics?

What if data-intensive technologies’ ability to mould habits with unprecedented precision is also capable of triggering some mass disability of profound consequences? What if we become incapable of modifying the deeply-rooted habits that stem from our increased technological dependence? On an impoverished understanding of habit, the above questions are easily shrugged off. Habits are deemed rigid by definition: ‘as long as our deliberative selves remain capable of steering the design of data-intensive technologies, we’ll be fine’. To question this assumption, this open access book first articulates the way in which the habitual stretches all the way from unconscious tics to purposive, intentionally acquired habits. It also highlights the extent to which our habit-reliant, pre-reflective intelligence normally supports our deliberative selves. It is when habit rigidification sets in that this complementarity breaks down. The book moves from a philosophical inquiry into the ‘double edge’ of habit — its empowering and compromising sides — to consideration of individual and collective strategies to keep habits at the service of our ethical life. Allowing the norms that structure our forms of life to be cotton-wooled in abstract reasoning is but one of the factors that can compromise ongoing social and moral transformations. Systems designed to simplify our practical reasoning can also make us ‘sheep-like’. Drawing a parallel between the moral risk inherent in both legal and algorithmic systems, the book concludes with concrete interventions designed to revive the scope for normative experimentation. It will appeal to any reader concerned with our retaining an ability to trigger change within the practices that shape our ethical sensibility. The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Mozilla Foundation

Third International Conference on Technologies for Music Notation and Representation TENOR 2017

The third International Conference on Technologies for Music Notation and Representation seeks to focus on a set of specific research issues associated with Music Notation that were elaborated at the first two editions of TENOR in Paris and Cambridge. The theme of the conference is vocal music, whereas the pre-conference workshops focus on innovative technological approaches to music notation

The construction of meaning in the correspondence of Charles Darwin

This thesis analyses the process of construction of linguistic meaning from a diachronic perspective. The analysis is based on the theories of intertextuality and social construction and applies a corpus analysis of collocations and paraphrases of key notions discussed in Darwin’s correspondence. In particular, the focus of the analysis is on the terms $species$ and $varieties$ with the aim to observe how the meanings of these terms are formed in a process of social negotiation. The thesis analyses the difference in the meanings of these terms, but also focuses on the diachronic dimension of their use in the correspondence, which allows for the observation of how different interpretations of meanings emerge in discourse. Thus far, diachronic studies in the field of corpus linguistics focused on comparing different historical corpora rather than observing the diachronic change of the immediate contextual environment of particular terms. The results presented in this thesis show that the meanings of terms are not only formed of different interpretations in discourse, but that these interpretations can be specific to particular temporal spans in discourse