Streaming Audio Using MPEG–7 Audio Spectrum Envelope to Enable Self-similarity within Polyphonic Audio

One method overlooked to date, which can work alongside existing audio compression schemes, is that which takes account of the semantics and natural repetition of music through meta-data tagging. Similarity detection within polyphonic audio has presented problematic challenges within the field of Music Information Retrieval.  This paper presents a method (SoFI) for improving the quality of stored audio being broadcast over any wireless medium through meta-data which has a number of market applications all with market value. Our system works at the content level thus rendering it applicable in existing streaming services. Using the MPEG-7 Audio Spectrum Envelope (ASE) gives features for extraction and combined with k-means clustering enables self-similarity to be performed within polyphonic audio. SoFI uses string matching to identify similarity between large sections of clustered audio. Objective evaluations of SoFI give positive results which show that SoFI is shown to detect high levels of similarity on varying lengths of time within an audio file. In a scale between 0 and 1 with 0 the best, a clear correlation between similarly identified sections of 0.2491 shows successful identification

The impact of size on small and medium-sized enterprise public sector tendering

This article examines the relationship between firm size and public sector tendering. The findings show that size, measured by employee number, significantly influences small and medium sized enterprises’ (SMEs) tendering resources, behaviour and success; as such, micro-enterprises are resource-disadvantaged, tender less often and have lower success rates compared to small and medium-sized firms. These findings indicate that SMEs are heterogeneous tenderers, and point to the need for more focused research on how SME characteristics influence ability and willingness to tender

The impact of size on small and medium-sized enterprise public sector tendering

This article examines the relationship between firm size and public sector tendering. The findings show that size, measured by employee number, significantly influences small and medium sized enterprises’ (SMEs) tendering resources, behaviour and success; as such, micro-enterprises are resource-disadvantaged, tender less often and have lower success rates compared to small and medium-sized firms. These findings indicate that SMEs are heterogeneous tenderers, and point to the need for more focused research on how SME characteristics influence ability and willingness to tender

Mapping public procurement in Ireland

This study reports on the results of a nationwide survey of public procurement in Ireland, carried out against a backdrop of central government reform initiatives. The survey was designed to address a knowledge deficit among academics, policy makers and practitioners on the form and functioning of public procurement in Ireland. Thus, a mapping of public procurement was undertaken in 2011 in conjunction with the National Procurement Service (NPS) of Ireland. The population of suppliers and public sector procurers registered on Ireland’s national e-procurement portal was requested to participate in this exercise by completing an online questionnaire. This yielded an extensive dataset relevant to understanding the Irish public procurement market. That data was obtained from both suppliers and public sector procurers allows for comparisons to be made across a range of variables, which is a novel addition to research in the public procurement field. The significance of the research and its findings go beyond Ireland. Contemporary issues of international concern, such as the marketplace impacts of migration to e-procurement, initiatives to create a “level playing field” for small and medium-sized (SMEs) enterprises, and the effects of European Union directives, are analysed and their importance discussed. In the next section the policy environment as it pertains to public procurement in Ireland is described. The design of the research is explained in section three and the survey findings are detailed in section four. These findings are subject to further examination and contextualisation in section five

Sustainable public procurement in practice: Case study evidence from Ireland

It is this sustainable procurement concept that serves as the focus for an exploratory case study of a local government authority in Ireland and its attempts to match procurement processes to corporate objectives. In so doing it helps to address the paucity of research on local government procurement in an Irish context. It is reported that maximising value for money and regulatory compliance need not come at the expense of facilitating small indigenous suppliers, supporting local supply chains, improving environmental outcomes and delivering a better public service. Moreover, the findings show that procurement can play a critical role in giving effect to the corporate objectives of local government authorities. The structure of the paper is as follows. Firstly, an analysis of recent policy as it relates to public sector procurement in Ireland is overviewed. The next section charts the expanding role of public procurement as reflected in both academic and policy developments. Findings from the small but growing literature on sustainable public procurement are then discussed. Thereafter, the research methodology will be outlined and the research findings described

Effects of slaughtering operations on carcass contamination in an Irish pork production plant.

BACKGROUND: Microbiological standards within pork slaughter processing plants in the European Union are currently governed by Commission Regulation (EC) 2073/2005, which describes detailed performance criteria at specific stages of the procedure (following carcass dressing and before chilling) for total viable counts (TVC), Enterobacteriaceae (EB) and Salmonella spp. In this study, 95 carcasses from an Irish pork slaughter plant were sampled by swabbing 100 cm2 of surface at three sites (belly, ham, jowl) to examine the effects of eight processing stages (stunning, bleeding, scalding, singeing, polishing, evisceration, final inspection and chilling) on contamination levels. RESULTS: TVC ranged from approximately 1.7-6.3 log cfu cm2 during sampling. There were significant reductions in TVC for all sites after scalding and singeing (p < 0.05), whilst there was a significant increase in counts after polishing and evisceration (p < 0.05) compared with preceding stages. EB counts indicated hygienic weak points in the examined slaughter plant leading to faecal (cross)-contamination, with elevated counts after stunning, bleeding and evisceration (p < 0.05), compared with final counts after chilling. CONCLUSIONS: Although the bacterial numbers reported in this study may reflect specific plant practices and temporal influences, results show that contamination can be introduced at various steps in the process and highlight the importance of monitoring locations other than those required by legislation within the process. Monitoring can be used to establish baseline levels for high-risk stages specific to each plant and to assess the effectiveness of additional interventions

Lexical semantics and auditory presentation in virtual storytelling

Presented at the 11th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD2005)Audio presentation is an important modality in virtual storytelling. In this paper we present our work on audio presentation in our intelligent multimodal storytelling system, CONFUCIUS, which automatically generates 3D animation speech, and non-speech audio from natural language sentences. We provide an overview of the system and describe speech and non-speech audio in virtual storytelling by using linguistic approaches. We discuss several issues in auditory display, such as its relation to verb and adjective ontology, concepts and modalities, and media allocation. Finally we conclude that introducing linguistic knowledge provides more intelligent virtual storytelling, especially in audio presentation

Public buying decisions: A framework for buyers and small firms

Purpose The aim of this paper is to explore the factors that influence buyer decision-making in public procurement. The objective is to better understand the processes and conditions that support different supply arrangements, which maximise SME participation. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses case study evidence of contract awards across multiple organisational contexts including: a local authority, commercial semi-state, police force, and a tourist agency. Findings National policy and the role of procurement exerted mixed effects upon the cases. The procurement processes were broadly similar and included cross-functional teams, consideration of trade-offs and market research. Research limitations/implications The paper highlights the transition of public organisations toward strategic procurement including supplier engagement. Practical implications This offers buyers a decision support tool that promotes equal opportunities for SME participation, a key goal of EU procurement. The implications for suppliers of each buying decision are also outlined. The concept of practical rationality is used to support the framework. Originality/value A normative framework of public procurement decision-making is generated from the cases. Buying complexity and supplier engagement are two conditions that support a 2×2 decision framework. The framework extends efficient and central-buying decisions to include adapted and balanced decisions. This range offers buyers a decision support tool that promotes equal opportunities for SME participation, a key goal of EU procurement. The implications for suppliers of each buying decision are discussed