Toward a theory of music information retrieval queries: System design implications

This paper analyzes a set of 161 music-related information requests posted to the rec.music.country.old-time newsgroup. These postings are categorized by the types of detail used to characterize the poster's information need, the type of music information requested, the intended use for the information, and additional social and contextual elements present in the postings. The results of this analysis suggest that similar studies of 'native' music information requests can be used to inform the design of effective, usable music information retrieval interfaces

Oviposition and development in the glass frog Hyalinobatrachium orientale (Anura: Centrolenidae)

Oviposition and development in the glass frog Hyalinobatrachium orientale (Anura: Centrolenidae). Oviposition and external embryonic developmental features are described in the Tobago glass frog, Hyalinobatrachium orientale. Egg clutches are nearly always laid on the undersides of leaves (one exception); usually leaves of Heliconia sp. are used, but Philodendron and palms may be used in the absence of Heliconia. Clutches contain 28.0 ± 5.3 eggs (mean ± SD) and eggs are 1.86 ± 0.11 mm in diameter. The behavior of one amplectant pair was followed for more than five hours; the pair rotated several times around a small area of the leaf depositing eggs in a tight spiral formation. External embryonic features were observed by scanning electron microscopy. Surface ciliation is extensive up to the time of hatching when it is lost; external gills are short and a cement gland is absent. Hatching gland cells were detectable on the anterodorsal surface of the head from Day 4 after deposition and persisted until at least Day 10, and hatching occurred between Days 9 and 16. During this period, progressive development in tail length, surface pigmentation, intestinal coiling, and oral disc features was observed. Post-hatching larvae reared for six weeks grew 37% in length and tripled in weight, but remained at Gosner Stage 25

A fragmentising interface to a large corpus of digitized text: (Post)humanism and non-consumptive reading via features

While the idea of distant reading does not rule out the possibility of close reading of the individual components of the corpus of digitized text that is being distant-read, this ceases to be the case when parts of the corpus are, for reasons relating to intellectual property, not accessible for consumption through downloading followed by close reading. Copyright restrictions on material in collections of digitized text such as the HathiTrust Digital Library (HTDL) necessitates providing facilities for non-consumptive reading, one of the approaches to which consists of providing users with features from the text in the form of small fragments of text, instead of the text itself. We argue that, contrary to expectation, the fragmentary quality of the features generated by the reading interface does not necessarily imply that the mode of reading enabled and mediated by these features points in an anti-humanist direction. We pose the fragmentariness of the features as paradigmatic of the fragmentation with which digital techniques tend, more generally, to trouble the humanities. We then generalize our argument to put our work on feature-based non-consumptive reading in dialogue with contemporary debates that are currently taking place in philosophy and in cultural theory and criticism about posthumanism and agency. While the locus of agency in such a non-consumptive practice of reading does not coincide with the customary figure of the singular human subject as reader, it is possible to accommodate this fragmentising practice within the terms of an ampler notion of agency imagined as dispersed across an entire technosocial ensemble. When grasped in this way, such a practice of reading may be considered posthumanist but not necessarily antihumanist.Ope

Greenstone as a music digital library toolkit

Greenstone is an open source digital library system that has developed and matured since its inception in 1995. Today it is used in over 60 countries, with a strong emphasis on humanitarian aid. The software is also used as a framework for research in other fields such has human computer interaction, text-mining, and ethnography. This article provides a summary of Greenstone's uses to date with music documents. First we discuss incorporating musical formats into the Greenstone system; then we describe provision for searching and browsing in a music collection

The impact of MIREX on scholarly research (2005-2010)

This paper explores the impact of the MIREX (Music Information Retrieval Evaluation eXchange) evaluation initiative on scholarly research. Impact is assessed through a bibliometric evaluation of both the MIREX extended abstracts and the papers citing the MIREX results, the trial framework and methodology, or MIREX datasets. Impact is examined through number of publications and citation analysis. We further explore the primary publication venues for MIREX results, the geographic distribution of both MIREX contributors and researchers citing MIREX results, and the spread of MIREX-based research beyond the MIREX contributor teams. This analysis indicates that research in this area is highly collaborative, has achieved an international dissemination, and has grown to have a significant profile in the research literature

Visual collaging of music in a digital library

This article explores the role visual browsing can play within a digital music library. The context to the work is provided through a review of related techniques drawn from the fields of digital libraries and human computer interaction. Implemented within the open source digital library toolkit Greenstone, a prototype system is described that combines images located through textual metadata with a visualisation technique known as collaging to provide a leisurely, undirected interaction with a music collection. Emphasis in the article is given to the augmentations of the basic technique to work in the musical domain

"The pain, the pain": Modelling music information behavior and the songs we hate

The paper presents a grounded theory analysis of 395 user responses to the survey question, "What is the worst song ever?" Important factors uncovered include: lyric quality, the "earworm" effect, voice quality, the influence of associated music videos, over-exposure, perceptions of pretentiousness, and associations with unpleasant personal experiences

Challenges in cross-cultural/multilingual music information seeking

Understanding and meeting the needs of a broad range of music users across different cultures and languages are central in designing a global music digital library. This exploratory study examines cross-cultural/multilingual music information seeking behaviors and reveals some important characteristics of these behaviors by analyzing 107 authentic music information queries from a Korean knowledge search portal Naver (knowledge) iN and 150 queries from Google Answers website. We conclude that new sets of access points must be developed to accommodate music queries that cross cultural or language boundaries

Charge asymmetry in high-energy μ+μ−\mu^+\mu^- photoproduction in the electric field of a heavy atom

The charge asymmetry in the differential cross section of high-energy $\mu^+\mu^-$ photoproduction in the electric field of a heavy atom is obtained. This asymmetry arises due to the Coulomb corrections to the amplitude of the process (next-to-leading term with respect to the atomic field). The deviation of the nuclear electric field from the Coulomb field at small distances is crucially important for the charge asymmetry. Though the Coulomb corrections to the total cross section are negligibly small, the charge asymmetry is measurable for selected final states of $\mu^+$ and $\mu^-$. We further discuss the feasibility for experimental observation of this effect.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Learning by building digital libraries

The implications of using digital library software in educational contexts, for both students and software developers, are discussed using two case studies of students building digital libraries