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The present study corresponds to action research and aims to examine the contribution of the picture description strategy implemented through the TikTok® application to improve the speaking accuracy of a group of five first-year undergraduate students in the English Language I course, fits into the Translation and Interpretation program at a Chilean university. Purposive sampling was used as participants were chosen for having difficulties in their oral expression in English. The data collection included conducting oral evaluations before and after the study, holding a focus group, and asking participants to complete a self-assessment. These methods were chosen to align with the research objectives and gather comprehensive and accurate data. The percentage analysis and the thematic analysis were used in the data analysis technique. The intervention consisted of six sessions where different grammatical structures and specific vocabulary related to image description were practiced. The results indicated that the use of the picture description technique implemented through videos uploaded to the TikTok® appproved to be beneficial for the students, allowing them to improve their speaking accuracy in both the appropriate use of grammar and vocabulary management. Additionally, participants’ opinions in the focus group and self-assessment regarding the use of TikTok® within an educational context were positive, highlighting its usefulness and ease of use.

The quality of synthetically generated speech has improved significantly in recent years, largely due to the technological development of speech synthesis systems, in particular those based on deep neural networks (DNN). However, the problem of emotion in speech synthesis still remains a challenge. Most of the existing speech synthesis systems do not convey the pervasive emotional contexts in human-human interaction. The lack of expression limits the emotional intelligence of current speech synthesis systems. This work aimed to develop a recording method for preparing a balanced corpus of emotional recordings in the Polish language for use in speech synthesis based on artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. An essential aspect of the work was the selection of a voice-over artist who would allow the recording of the spectrum of an actor's voice, emphasizing the actor's interpretations and emotions derived from the content. Outstanding actor Piotr Fronczewski was chosen for the role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnitudes are common and important measures for the size of seismic events. The International Data Centre (IDC) of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty Organization estimates an event magnitude by averaging the magnitudes calculated by individual stations that detected the event, excluding outliers. This approach assumes that all station magnitudes have the same error level and are unbiased, namely, they have no systematic errors. We show that the body-wave and surface-wave magnitudes published in the Reviewed Event Bulletin (REB) of the IDC are inconsistent with these assumptions. We thus consider a model where each station has an unknown bias and error level. Given a large collection of reported event magnitudes by a network of monitoring stations, we propose a novel approach to estimate each individual station's bias and error level. From a statistical perspective, this is a challenging problem involving a huge number of variables, because in addition to the stations' biases and error levels, the event magnitudes are also unknown. Our approach is based on analyzing differences between reported magnitude values at pairs of stations, which cancels out the unknown event magnitudes and allows us to derive a simple and computationally efficient algorithm. We use the estimated station biases as station correction terms and the estimated error levels to compute weights for event magnitude estimation. Using a large data set from the REB with millions of reported station magnitudes, we show that our approach yields more consistent station and event magnitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Despite its numerous benefits, practicing mindfulness involves certain challenges. This study investigates the impact of various characteristics of recorded mindfulness practice instructions on recipients' evaluations, focusing on elements that may evoke negative reactions and hinder mindfulness practice. Method: A total of 138 participants evaluated 24 recordings of mindfulness practice excerpts. The recordings differed in terms of the speaker's gender, the form and pace of the message, the presence of whispering, and the number of artifacts. Respondents rated each recording using a scale and provided open-ended responses about their subjective perception of the recordings. The study employed hierarchical multilevel modeling to analyze the collected data. Results: The results indicated that recipient gender did not influence preferences for male or female-voiced recordings. However, properties such as form, pace, whispering, and artifacts did affect evaluations. Least favored instruction elements included plural pronouns, slow pacing, primarily whispered speech, and a high number of artifacts. Some differences in evaluations were observed between female and male recording conditions. Additionally, qualitative data revealed participants' subjective reactions to recordings with varying characteristics, and the study identified the most favorable characteristics of the recordings. Conclusions: The study results identified which qualities of recorded mindfulness instructions are least preferred and may present obstacles to initiating or continuing the practice. Therefore, this study may help create more optimal instructions and improve the design of apps and platforms offering mindfulness practice recordings, enhancing the quality and accessibility of practice for a broader audience. Preregistration: This study is not preregistered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the increasingly important role of video surveillance cameras in the administration of the evidentiary procedure of crime scene investigation, especially in the case of crimes of great violence. The study evokes the contemporary tendency of investigators to turn to the recordings of public or private surveillance systems, highlighting the advantages of using these modern technologies in the technical-scientific investigation of the crime scene, but also the legal limits of using these invasive methods in the private life of individuals, with express references to the jurisprudence of the European litigation courts in the matter of respecting personal data. In the end, brief conclusions are presented on the balance between the necessity of finding the truth in the criminal process and ensuring the respect of fundamental human rights, being formulated proposals for lege ferenda to improve the legal framework for the regulation of the matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last two decades have seen two simultaneous shifts in Éliane Radigue's music. One, her music for magnetic tape has become widely available as commercially released CDs and LPs. Two, she has stopped working in electronic media, and concentrated exclusively on composing for instruments and live performers. Commercial recordings, however, were never the intended format for the dissemination of her tape music. This conversation begins with the suggestion that the encounter with Radigue's music mostly through recordings may have created a skewed or problematic image of her work. If recordings render the music as a seemingly uniform and replicable object—obscuring the dynamic processes informing its making—the question arises as to whether this experience might have determined the character of much of the new work for instruments. The new work sometimes seems to function as a smooth sounding surface, evocative of the atmosphere and audible features of the older music, but derived as a purely sonic imitation of Radigue's own laborious, direct-to-tape making process. In a three-way exchange, we will identify the constitutive forces at work in a Radigue piece, especially the involved process of resolving seemingly unresolvable mismatches in acoustics, the attraction to uncontrollable situations and the tendency to make performances highlight exceptions, rather than habits or rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, most courses at a large technical university were adapted so that students had a free choice of whether to attend lectures on-site or online; in addition, in many courses, lecture recordings were available. At the subsequent exam session, over 17,000 student-survey responses were collected regarding attendance choices, learning behavior, interest in the course, perception of the exam, and recommendations to future students. A total of 27 learner attributes and their relationships were investigated. In addition, conditional attributes and free-response statements were analyzed, and the students’ exam grades were retrieved to gauge their performance. We found only minute differences with respect to exam performance, but the analysis indicates distinctly different preferences and constraints in taking advantage of learning opportunities. We also found some indications that performance differences might be larger for interactive-engagement courses. The results of the analysis may be key to answering why at many universities, faculty report that live-lecture attendance has decreased more strongly than expected with the availability of new, virtual attendance modes.

This contribution focuses on the place of recording technologies in the ritual performance of poetic improvisation sung during the glénti in Ólympos, a village of the island of Kárpathos, in Greece. It is based on an ethnography of the musical practice and is interested in the various live recordings of this glénti and the use made of it through their dissemination. These recordings are made by the villagers constituting archives for the community, but also by foreigners making a holiday memory. They are widely broadcast on the internet, on community radio stations or on YouTube. The Olympiotes see it as a means of transmitting their heritage to expatriate nationals, making it at the same time accessible to foreigners.

The article concerns practices related to the so-called the "second circulation" of musical materials in the Polish People's Republic. This phenomenon is studied in relation to the issues of contemporary economics, technological progress and, above all, issues of social institutionalization. The author considers the problems of reception of popular music in the country behind the Iron Curtain and methods of providing access to various types of recordings and their official and alternative tracks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use a dataset on student attendance of live zoom tutorials, lectures, recordings and student characteristics, drawn from 3 tertiary, second-year economics courses during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 in New Zealand, to analyse lecture attendance patterns. Our analysis shows a relatively homogeneous student population who attended less than half of their (unrecorded) zoom tutorials and less than a third of live zoom lectures, with disproportionate more females present in the 2 largest courses. Up to 34% of students, with males approximately 3 time more likely, attended none of their lectures and tutorials in the two largest courses. Irrespective of gender, students utilized recordings nearly 3 times as much as zoom lectures, and largely as a substitute. Our estimations consistently show ability to be a strong predictor of utilizing lectures and recordings; as well as of the proportion of unattended lectures viewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, most courses at a large technical university were adapted so that students had a free choice of whether to attend lectures on-site or online; in addition, in many courses, lecture recordings were available. At the subsequent exam session, over 17,000 student-survey responses were collected regarding attendance choices, learning behavior, interest in the course, perception of the exam, and recommendations to future students. A total of 27 learner attributes and their relationships were investigated. In addition, conditional attributes and free-response statements were analyzed, and the students' exam grades were retrieved to gauge their performance. We found only minute differences with respect to exam performance, but the analysis indicates distinctly different preferences and constraints in taking advantage of learning opportunities. We also found some indications that performance differences might be larger for interactive-engagement courses. The results of the analysis may be key to answering why at many universities, faculty report that live-lecture attendance has decreased more strongly than expected with the availability of new, virtual attendance modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcranial neuromodulation methods have the potential to diagnose and treat brain disorders at their neural source in a personalized manner. However, it has been difficult to investigate the direct effects of transcranial neuromodulation on neurons in human brain tissue. Here, we show that human brain organoids provide a detailed and artifact-free window into neuromodulation-evoked electrophysiological effects. We derived human cortical organoids from induced pluripotent stem cells and implanted 32-channel electrode arrays. Each organoid was positioned in the center of the human skull and subjected to low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound. We found that ultrasonic stimuli modulated network activity in the gamma and delta ranges of the frequency spectrum. The effects on the neural networks were a function of the ultrasound stimulation frequency. High gamma activity remained elevated for at least 20 minutes following stimulation offset. This approach is expected to provide controlled studies of the effects of ultrasound and other transcranial neuromodulation modalities on human brain tissue.

This report describes the open-source Recorded Brahms Corpus (RBC) dataset, as well as the methods employed to extract and process the data. The dataset contains (micro)timing and dynamic data from 21 recordings of Brahms's Cello Sonatas, Opp. 38 and 99, focusing on note and beat onsets and duration, tempo fluctuations, and dynamic variations. Consistent manual annotation of the corpus in Sonic Visualiser was necessary prior to automatic extraction. Data for each recording and measurement unit are given as TXT files. Scores in various digital formats, the original SV files and diamond-shaped scape plots visualizations of the data are offered too. Expansion of the corpus with further movements of the sonatas, further recordings thereof and other compositions by Brahms is planned. The study of the data may contribute to performance studies and music theory alike.

Introduction: Consultation audio recordings improve patient decision-making but are underutilized. Patient-administered recording apps on mobile devices may increase access, but implementation has not been evaluated., Methods: We conducted a single-arm study delivering education, coaching, and reminders for patients to record their appointment using a mobile recording app. Patients had progressive, advanced prostate cancer and an upcoming appointment where the option of docetaxel would be discussed. We used the RE-AIM framework for evaluation. Reach was the proportion of patients who participated. Effectiveness was change in informed decision-making pre- vs. post-appointment. We used a questionnaire evaluating patient knowledge about docetaxel (0%-100% correct) and the decisional conflict scale-informed subscale (0 = feels extremely uninformed to 100 = extremely informed) to compare means using the paired t-test. Adoption was the proportion of providers agreeing to be recorded. Implementation was coordinator adherence to intervention delivery. We conducted semistructured interviews with patients, caregivers, and providers to assess barriers, facilitators, and suggestions for recording implementation., Results: Of 102 patients approached, 50 (49%) patients participated. Mean age was 75 years, 38 (76%) were Non-Hispanic White, and 43 (86%) had telehealth appointments. Knowledge increased from 44.7% to 49.5% (p = 0.019), particularly about palliative care (42% answering correctly to 60%, p = 0.035). Decisional conflict-informed subscale increased from 48.9 to 70.9 (p < 0.001). Forty-three patients (85%) made a recording, of whom 33 (77%) reported the recording helped treatment decision-making. All 17 providers agreed to be recorded. Coordinator adherence was high. Multi-level barriers, suggestions, and facilitators mostly related to intervention complexity and stakeholder compatibility., Conclusion: Patient-administered audio recordings had a positive effect on decision-making, particularly for palliative care awareness. For broader implementation, efforts should focus on revising institutional policies; teaching patients or caregivers to use existing recording functions on their devices; leveraging artificial intelligence for transcription and summarization; and integrating recording into telehealth technology and electronic patient portals., Trial Registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05127850., (© 2024 The Author(s). Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Copyright of Autobiografia is the property of University of Szczecin Press / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecinskiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article* presents the results of textual studies of the early recordings of the Yakut heroic epic Olonkho, recorded from the second half of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that scientific research of the texts of the early recordings of Olonkho with full broadcasts of the plot is most widely, systematically carried out. At the same time, researchers today continue to pay less attention to early recordings of Olonkho, producing brief or incomplete schematic statements of content. A review of early texts on Olonkho shows that these reviews have incomplete, overly concise, summaries of the plot, although they do confirm the stability of the ancient thematic content, plot structure, motifs, and image system. The richness of the poetic language and the beauty of the style, and the surprisingly artistic content and archaic motifs, which can be seen even in translations, are of considerable value for establishing a full picture of the unique oral creativity of the Yakut people. This study attempts for the first time to systematise transcriptions of early recordings of Olonkho using a summary of the plot in Russian compared with a summary of the plot in the original language. The systematised texts will be used in a comparative study of Olonkho texts recorded in the 19th and 20th centuries. This analysis shows that there has been a transfer of plot with epic texts of the late period in order to maintain a degree of continuity, using both common and specific features to bridge between traditional and modern forms of Olonkho, taking into account regional and local features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anton Webern's vocal music has long been overshadowed by the aphoristic miniatures and rigorously organized twelve-tone works--both largely instrumental genres--for which the composer is best known. Yet over half of Webern's output consists of vocal works. During the 1950s, as composers and intellectuals celebrated the "instrumental" Webern, an alternative view of the composer was emerging through the performances of three soprano soloists. Bethany Beardslee gave posthumous premieres of three of Webern's works in New York and recorded his Four Songs op. 12 for Dial Records. On the other side of the country, Grace-Lynne Martin and Marni Nixon performed works by Webern at the Evenings on the Roof in Los Angeles, and collaborated with Robert Craft on Columbia Records' Anton Webern: The Complete Music. Beardslee, Martin, and Nixon adopted a variety of approaches to learning Webern's famously difficult works, and their work paid off: all three sopranos earned praise for weathering the extreme technical challenges of Webern's soprano lines while also delivering musically satisfying performances. Yet these performances have been largely forgotten in the decades since, as a consequence of changing attitudes toward postwar performance practices as well as the sometimes sexist views of male music critics. Nevertheless, the performances of these sopranos constituted a crucial step toward perspectives on Webern that are now current among contemporary performers and scholars, and understanding their contributions is essential to understanding the vocal side of Webern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining and analysing sound data can be a tedious and lengthy process. We present sound data consisting of 20,485 1 min sound recordings obtained in three sites within a rainforest landscape in southeast Cameroon. The sites differ in anthropogenic disturbance. We also present meta data corresponding to these recordings with the identification of all animal vocalisations in each 1 min sound recording. Additionally, we provide a raw database with data on habitat, human activities, remoteness, accessibility, temperature, humidity, rainfall, moon phase, and mammal and bird observations in the area during the recording period. The data were used by Diepstraten & Willie (2021) to investigate the structure and drivers of biological sounds along a disturbance gradient. The data contribute to call libraries of tropical species and can also be used to build classifiers for automatic detection and classification of animal vocalisations.

Background: Audio recordings of oncology clinic discussions can help patients retain and understand information about their disease and treatment decisions. Access to this tool relies on acceptance of recordings by oncologists. This is the first study to evaluate experience and attitudes of oncologists toward patients recording clinic visits. Methods: Medical, radiation, and surgical oncologists from 5 US cancer centers and community affiliates were surveyed to evaluate clinicians' experience, beliefs, and practices regarding patient‐initiated recordings. Results: Among 360 oncologists (69% response rate), virtually all (93%) have experienced patients seeking to record visits. Although 75% are comfortable with recording, 25% are uncomfortable and 56% report concerns ranging from less thorough discussions to legal liability. Most (85%) always agree when patients ask to record, but 15% never or selectively allow recording. Although 51% believe recording is positive for the patient‐physician relationship, a sizable minority report that it can lead to less detailed conversations (28%) or avoidance of difficult topics, including prognosis (33%). Views did not vary based on subspecialty, practice setting, or geographic region, but older age and years in practice were associated with more positive views of recording. The majority of clinicians (72%) desire institutional policies to govern guidelines about recordings. Conclusions: Most oncologists are comfortable with patient requests to record visits, but a sizable minority remain uncomfortable, and access to recording varies solely on physician preference. This difference in care delivery may benefit from institutional policies that promote access while addressing legitimate physician concerns over privacy and appropriate use of recordings. Most oncologists are comfortable with patients recording consultations; however, 25% are uncomfortable, and more than half (56%) express concerns related to legal liability and limiting transparent discussions with patients. Institutional policies are needed to address the concerns of oncologists and enhance equitable care for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of ICT in Muzical Field / Tehnologii Informatice si de Comunicatie in Domeniul Muzical is the property of Tehnologii Informatice si de Comunicatie in Domeniul Muzical / ICT in Musical Field and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Given that citizens are not authorized to conduct evidentiary actions, and it is indisputable that the citizens today, with the development of technology, can capture and photograph events around them at almost any time, the object of this paper is to determine the probative value of photographs and recordings made by citizens. The question of the probative value of the afore mentioned photographs and recordings is raised primarily in connection with the violation of the right to privacy of the persons who were recorded. The CPC/2011 only lays down certain evidentiary prohibitions in one general way. Therefore, the author analyzes relevant legal provisions aimed at protecting the right to privacy of citizens. First, photographs and recordings made by citizens must not result from a crime. The relevant offenses are unauthorized wiretapping and recording and unauthorized photographing. In support of the fact that photographs and recordings of someone committing a crime constitute admissible evidence, it is also reflected in the provision of the Public Information and Media Act which establishes derogations from the right to privacy if the person has attracted public attention through his public statements or behavior in private, family or professional life and thus gave rise to the publication of information or records. Second, in the case of photographs and recordings taken on security cameras installed to protect the security of people and property, which monitor public areas or facilities or premises that are privately owned and if the cameras are installed in accordance with the Private Security Act, we consider such recordings and photographs should be admissible evidence. Finally, we consider that the evidence obtained illegally by the court should be distinguished from the evidence obtained illegally by the citizens. This means that a lesser criterion should be applied especially if the citizen violated someone's right to privacy by the necessity of providing evidence, and especially if he/she was damaged by criminal acts.

Unlabelled: To assess the utility of wearable cameras in medical examinations, we created a physician-view video-based examination question and explanation, and the survey results indicated that these cameras can enhance the evaluation and educational capabilities of medical examinations., (© Sho Fukui, Taro Shimizu, Yuji Nishizaki, Kiyoshi Shikino, Yu Yamamoto, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Yasuharu Tokuda. Originally published in JMIR Medical Education (https://mededu.jmir.org).)

Background: Heart failure (HF) contributes greatly to morbidity, mortality, and health care costs worldwide. Hospital readmission rates are tracked closely and determine federal reimbursement dollars. No current modality or technology allows for accurate measurement of relevant HF parameters in ambulatory, rural, or underserved settings. This limits the use of telehealth to diagnose or monitor HF in ambulatory patients., Objective: This study describes a novel HF diagnostic technology using audio recordings from a standard mobile phone., Methods: This prospective study of acoustic microphone recordings enrolled convenience samples of patients from 2 different clinical sites in 2 separate areas of the United States. Recordings were obtained at the aortic (second intercostal) site with the patient sitting upright. The team used recordings to create predictive algorithms using physics-based (not neural networks) models. The analysis matched mobile phone acoustic data to ejection fraction (EF) and stroke volume (SV) as evaluated by echocardiograms. Using the physics-based approach to determine features eliminates the need for neural networks and overfitting strategies entirely, potentially offering advantages in data efficiency, model stability, regulatory visibility, and physical insightfulness., Results: Recordings were obtained from 113 participants. No recordings were excluded due to background noise or for any other reason. Participants had diverse racial backgrounds and body surface areas. Reliable echocardiogram data were available for EF from 113 patients and for SV from 65 patients. The mean age of the EF cohort was 66.3 (SD 13.3) years, with female patients comprising 38.3% (43/113) of the group. Using an EF cutoff of ≤40% versus >40%, the model (using 4 features) had an area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) of 0.955, sensitivity of 0.952, specificity of 0.958, and accuracy of 0.956. The mean age of the SV cohort was 65.5 (SD 12.7) years, with female patients comprising 34% (38/65) of the group. Using a clinically relevant SV cutoff of <50 mL versus >50 mL, the model (using 3 features) had an AUROC of 0.922, sensitivity of 1.000, specificity of 0.844, and accuracy of 0.923. Acoustics frequencies associated with SV were observed to be higher than those associated with EF and, therefore, were less likely to pass through the tissue without distortion., Conclusions: This work describes the use of mobile phone auscultation recordings obtained with unaltered cellular microphones. The analysis reproduced the estimates of EF and SV with impressive accuracy. This technology will be further developed into a mobile app that could bring screening and monitoring of HF to several clinical settings, such as home or telehealth, rural, remote, and underserved areas across the globe. This would bring high-quality diagnostic methods to patients with HF using equipment they already own and in situations where no other diagnostic and monitoring options exist., (©Martin Huecker, Craig Schutzman, Joshua French, Karim El-Kersh, Shahab Ghafghazi, Ravi Desai, Daniel Frick, Jarred Jeremy Thomas. Originally published in JMIR Cardio (https://cardio.jmir.org), 26.06.2024.)

Deepfakes are audio, video, or still-image digital artifacts created by the use of artificial intelligence technology, as opposed to traditional means of recording. Because deepfakes can look and sound much like genuine digital recordings, they have entered the popular imagination as sources of serious epistemic problems for us, as we attempt to navigate the increasingly treacherous digital information environment of the internet. In this paper, I attempt to clarify what epistemic problems deepfakes pose and why they pose these problems, by drawing parallels between recordings and our own senses as sources of evidence. I show that deepfakes threaten to undermine the status of digital recordings as evidence. The existence of deepfakes thus encourages a kind of skepticism about digital recordings that bears important similarities to classic philosophical skepticism concerning the senses. However, the skepticism concerning digital recordings that deepfakes motivate is also importantly different from classical skepticism concerning the senses, and I argue that these differences illuminate some possible strategies for solving the epistemic problems posed by deepfakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How we listen to music and respond to its media and contexts has changed significantly since the invention of sound recording. Today's musicians have countless opportunities to listen to others' interpretations given the vast availability of past and contemporary repertories through the global reach of recordings. This study investigated the extent to which the growing archive of recordings provides a valuable resource for performers' creativity. Although musical performance is a particularly porous domain for influence through either deliberate or spontaneous assimilation of expressive variation from other aural sources, little empirical research exists on influence in performance and specifically on the influence of recordings. Qualitative data were obtained via an online questionnaire to identify how and in what ways the use and influence of recordings have changed over the course of classical performers' training or professional careers. Respondents' (N = 130) comments were analysed using a thematic inductive approach. The emerging themes reveal an overall increased level of use of recordings now relative to the past, a largely positive contribution of recordings in shaping musical development, including the role of recordings in self-regulated learning, a largely positive attitude to the influence of others' interpretations, a means of developing expressions of self-identity in relation to others and a route to acquiring a more critical and discerning mode of listening to recordings. Implications for music education are discussed in terms of how listening to recordings, in both formal and informal learning contexts, could support advanced musicians' learning through trial and error, enhance creative insight, strengthen self-efficacy, foster metacognitive skills and nurture individuality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hippocampus is crucial for forming associations between environmental stimuli. However, it is unclear how neural activities of hippocampal neurons dynamically change during the learning process. To address this question, we developed an associative memory task for rats with auditory stimuli. In this task, the rats were required to associate tone pitches (high and low) and ports (right and left) to obtain a reward. We recorded the firing activity of neurons in rats hippocampal CA1 during the learning process of the task. As a result, many hippocampal CA1 neurons increased their firing rates when the rats received a reward after choosing either the left or right port. We referred to these cells as "reward-direction cells." Furthermore, the proportion of the reward-direction cells increased in the middle-stage of learning but decreased after the completion of learning. This result suggests that the activity of reward-direction cells might serve as "positive feedback" signal that facilitates the formation of associations between tone pitches and port choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hippocampus is crucial for forming associations between environmental stimuli. However, it is unclear how neural activities of hippocampal neurons dynamically change during the learning process. To address this question, we developed an associative memory task for rats with auditory stimuli. In this task, the rats were required to associate tone pitches (high and low) and ports (right and left) to obtain a reward. We recorded the firing activity of neurons in rats hippocampal CA1 during the learning process of the task. As a result, many hippocampal CA1 neurons increased their firing rates when the rats received a reward after choosing either the left or right port. We referred to these cells as “reward-direction cells.” Furthermore, the proportion of the reward-direction cells increased in the middle-stage of learning but decreased after the completion of learning. This result suggests that the activity of reward-direction cells might serve as “positive feedback” signal that facilitates the formation of associations between tone pitches and port choice.

In this article I compare the research methods of two visually trained artists: Elizabeth Goodall and Walter Battiss. Both were working at the beginning of the twentieth century in the emerging field of rock art studies in southern Africa. Independently of each other and for different reasons, Goodall and Battiss devoted considerable time and energy to studying and recording the rock art at sites they visited. In pursuit of their endeavours, neither researcher strayed far from the visual while examining and copying the images they saw. In this article, I trace the impact of their formative years working in collaboration with scientists and consider the routes they followed to pursue methods that prioritise the aesthetic elements of the rock art. Given that this exploration of copying methods unfolded at a time when rock art was somewhat peripheral to formal academic study, I argue that the focus on art history and aesthetics found in the semi-biographical narratives of these two artists might enrich engagements with rock art in the present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the state-of-the-art dispute over the ontological question of rock music: what is the work of art, or the central work-kind, of rock music, if any? And, is the work of rock music ontologically distinct from the work of classical music, which is the only musical tradition whose ontology is vastly studied? First, I distinguish between two levels of inquiry in musical ontology: the fundamental level and the higher-order level, in which comparative ontology - the project in which someone engages by considering that there is ontological variety among works of distinct musical traditions - falls. After addressing two general questions about rock music, I turn to Theodore Gracyk’s ontological account of rock music, according to which the primary focus of critical attention in rock music are recordings, or recorded tracks. This view has the consequence that ‘recordings’ is a fundamental concept of philosophy of music, necessary for us to understand rock music. Stephen Davies objected that Gracyk’s account fails to assign appropriate value to a valuable practice with which rock audiences are committed, live performance, and argued that the works of rock music are of the ontological kind for studio performance. Finally, Andrew Kania synthetized both views: rock recorded tracks are at the centre of rock as an art form, thus being the rock works.

One imagines composed music as originating in the mind of an author. Indeed, I have for the last six decades been composing music in this fashion. However, for the last five decades I have also been repeatedly attracted to various methods of deriving music from sources both inside and outside of music, viz. linguistic, acoustic, visual and mathematical as well as other works of music. For most of these operations I have resorted to strict algorithmic means and the use of computer programming. For instance the linguistic: I have used text orthography, spectral analyses of human speech, digital recordings of the human voice, and synthetic semantic structures. This paper is the most comprehensive text on my work in this field.

The recordings made by technical means have not constituted, at least in civil matters, ever since the appearance of the devices that made them possible, an admissible evidence, not being regulated as such by the legislator in the past. In the new regulations, starting with the Law No 217/2003, including in the new Civil Procedure Code, in the conditions of the extended use of electronic means, both in the institutional framework and in the private life, the daily realities have imposed the use of the recordings with technical means as evidence. However, by operating a generalization, the possibility that the data of any kind to be fixed on a computer-based media has led to the penetration of this kind of probation both in the evidence with written documents, in the form of computer-based written documents, and in that of material means of evidence. The inclusion of the recordings, generically speaking, also in the category of material means of evidence generates problems both in terms of identifying their legal nature, with implications on their administration and storage regime, and in terms of establishing their admissibility conditions. The latter also raise the question of establishing the extent of the probationary area related thereto, respectively whether it should be restricted only to proving those legal relations which the facts of legal relevance involve, as well as which categories among these fall within the scope of circumstances likely to be proved in this way. For this purpose, but also in order to establish the meaning of the phrases that individualize such evidence, as the civil processual legislation is lapidary, it was necessary an incursion into the criminal processual one, a necessary approach inclusively in order to establish the legal regime related thereto. Finally, the issue of the legal regime of their preservation was also addressed. Two generic conclusions were distinguished, namely that, by this type of evidence, only legal facts can be proved, especially those generating legal liability, and that such evidence is admissible, in principle, under the conditions of the admissibility of the evidence with witnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report describes the open-source Recorded Brahms Corpus (RBC) dataset, as well as the methods employed to extract and process the data. The dataset contains (micro)timing and dynamic data from 21 recordings of Brahms's Cello Sonatas, Opp. 38 and 99, focusing on note and beat onsets and duration, tempo fluctuations, and dynamic variations. Consistent manual annotation of the corpus in Sonic Visualiser was necessary prior to automatic extraction. Data for each recording and measurement unit are given as TXT files. Scores in various digital formats, the original SV files and diamond-shaped scape plots visualizations of the data are offered too. Expansion of the corpus with further movements of the sonatas, further recordings thereof and other compositions by Brahms is planned. The study of the data may contribute to performance studies and music theory alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main stake in transmitting live performances lies in the nature of an instant “percept” and in the complexity of restoring a feeling. This work considers how a performance can be accounted for, as well as the processes implied in its perception whenever it aims at its transmission, or the stakes of said transmission. The way each spectator has to deal with this mediated reality leads to the study of filmic recordings as tools which allow us to get closer to the actual dramaturgical creation, and thus to restore something of its theatrical language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid evolution of distribution models for recorded music has challenged libraries in a new way over the last decade. Music libraries in particular have struggled to collect, preserve, and lend recordings as the CD has become obsolescent, and with it the ownership of recordings as physical objects. This article reviews the literature on the problem of collecting digital music downloads, analyzes areas of agreement and disagreement between experts, and sorts proposed solutions into "top-down" (or authority-driven) and "bottom-up" (or grass-roots) categories. We then describe a practice developed at University of Denver for collecting downloads, and discuss its limitations and possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient and dependable methods for detection and measurement of synaptic events are important for studies of synaptic physiology and neuronal circuit connectivity. As the published methods with detection algorithms based upon amplitude thresholding and fixed or scaled template comparisons are of limited utility for detection of signals with variable amplitudes and superimposed events that have complex waveforms, previous techniques are not applicable for detection of evoked synaptic events in photostimulation and other similar experimental situations. Here we report on a novel technique that combines the design of a bank of approximate matched filters with the detection and estimation theory to automatically detect and extract photostimluation-evoked excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) from individually recorded neurons in cortical circuit mapping experiments. The sensitivity and specificity of the method were evaluated on both simulated and experimental data, with its performance comparable to that of visual event detection performed by human operators. This new technique was applied to quantify and compare the EPSCs obtained from excitatory pyramidal cells and fast-spiking interneurons. In addition, our technique has been further applied to the detection and analysis of inhibitory postsynaptic current (IPSC) responses. Given the general purpose of our matched filtering and signal recognition algorithms, we expect that our technique can be appropriately modified and applied to detect and extract other types of electrophysiological and optical imaging signals.

Interest in audio and video recordings has significantly increased with the development of technology and the Internet. Since the content of these records is diverse, it is possible that some of them can be relevant for criminal proceedings. For these reason, the possibility of using "amateur audio and video recording" in the criminal procedure has actualized, with the exception of Special Investigative Actions. Many theoretical and practical problems have arisen from this question: how to keep the legality of this evidence, how to obtain them, but also how to take them at the hearing, especially considering that certain types of audio and video recording less or more violate the right to private life of their participants, and that their use is no longer regulated by the Code of Criminal Procedure. The aim of the paper is to identify the conditions under which audio and video recordings can be used as lawful evidence, as well as how to legally obtain and take them at the hearing. The basic hypothesis of this paper is: Although the Criminal Procedure Code does not regulate audio and video recording as evidentiary action, we consider that, in a large number of cases, it is permitted to use these recordings as evidence.

Background: The intrauterine hearing experience differs from the extrauterine hearing exposure within a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting. Also, the listening experience of a neonate drastically differs from that of an adult. Several studies have documented that the sound level within a NICU exceeds the recommended threshold by far, possibly related to hearing loss thereafter. The aim of this study was, first, to precisely define the dynamics of sounds within an incubator and, second, to give clinicians and caregivers an idea about what can be heard "inside the box." Methods: Audio recordings within an incubator were conducted at the Pediatric Simulation Center of the Medical University Vienna. They contained recorded music, speech, and synthesized sounds. To understand the dynamics of sounds around and within the incubator, the following stimuli were used: broadband noise with decreasing sound level in 10 steps of 6 dB, sine waves (62.5, 125, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, 8000, and 16,000 Hz), logarithmic sweep (Chirp) over the frequency band 20 Hz to 21 kHz, singing male voice, singing, and whispering female voice. Results: Our results confirm a protective effect of the incubator from noises above 500 Hz in conditions of "no-flow" and show almost no protective effect of an incubator cover. We, furthermore, observed a strong boost of low frequencies below 125 Hz within the incubator, as well as a notable increase of higher frequency noises with open access doors, a significant resonant effect of the incubator, and a considerable masking effect of the respiratory support against any other source of noise or sound stimulation even for "low-flow" conditions. Conclusion: Our study reveals high noise levels of air supply at high flow rates and the boost of low frequencies within the incubator. Education of medical staff and family members as well as modifications of the physical environment should aim at reducing noise exposure of preterm infants in the incubator. Audiovisual material is provided as Supplementary Material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This memoir is my personal story about how I created and came to curate on the International Counterculture Archive collection, which is held in the Global Resources Center of the George Washington University's (GWU) Gelman library. The first person narrative relates my first encounters with Soviet rock culture and describes how I turned my initial interest into a Ph.D. dissertation on the subculture of Soviet hippies and traditions of Soviet rock music, which subsequently led to my later work as a librarian and curator. I tell the story of my initial encounters with the members of Soviet/Russian rock music subculture and other countercultural personalities and activists during my first trip to Moscow in 1993 to collect samples of Soviet rock music recordings and rock music zines for the European Division of the Library of Congress. During this formative trip I met with a number of counterculture producers and collectors who were instrumental in helping me build the International Counterculture Archive. Upon leaving the Library of Congress, I continued collecting Soviet/Russian countercultural materials on behalf of the Global Resources Center of GWU's Gelman Library. I talk about the process of creating the Archive at Gelman library, about bureaucratic and financial aspects of this work, and about my many acquisition trips to Moscow, former Soviet republics, and East Central Europe. Much of the narrative centers on my work with Russian collectors and content producers and describes the type of materials that are included in the collection. I also describe how I built the collection of historical Soviet/Russian rock music recordings, focusing on the phenomenon of Soviet/Russian rock music zines and the history of the unique zine collection within the International Counterculture Archive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to explore how the implementation of open access licences onto recordings and other forms of digital performance of creative works which have entered the public domain, complements the notion of digital commons. The paper starts from the assumption that there are types of creative works (i.e. music works, theatre plays, etc) whose effective dedication to the public domain for the benefit of the public at large would never reach the full status of “commons” if digitised performances of these works were not disseminated under open access licences (e.g., Creative Commons’). The introduction draws on the assumption that creative works which give rise to a huge stock of the public domain in certain fields of creativity would not become available to the public in digital formats (at least for free) without the necessary intermediation of performers and producers of audio and video recordings. From this perspective, there would be no lawful way for the public at large to enjoy for free digital items embodying creative works such as a Bach’s suite, a Brahms’s symphony or a Shakespeare’s play, if certain kinds of music and theatre performers and/or recording producers did not release their digital performances and recordings using open access licences. The paper seeks to explain why the implementation of these licences to the management of copyright-related rights for the achievement of an effective dedication of certain works in the public domain to the digital commons is of very high relevance. It is argued that, at least in civil law (i.e. droit d’auteur) systems, newly created works of art are copyright protected by default and fall into the public domain only after expiration of the protection term of 70 years post mortem autoris. Unlike U.S. law, droit d’auteur systems do not seem to endorse and confer validity upon copyright licences which aim to make new works available in the public domain immediately, through a relinquishment in perpetuity of all present and future rights under copyright law by the author. By considering some examples of digital platforms making use of open access licences for the dissemination of music works adopted by both music performers and recording producers, the paper shows that, as European digital copyright laws stand, the mostly evident and fruitful use of open access licences for the building of digital commons in the field of creative works concern old works whose copyright protection is expired and whose copying, dissemination and, possibly, re-use has been preventively authorised on the grounds of a “copyleft” licence. The paper concludes that public bodies and other entities that institutionally pursue the policy objective of building platforms and repositories of digital commons should promote the implementation of open access licences by holders of copyright-related rights (e.g., educational institutions, young performers and ensembles, virtual recording labels, etc) and provide incentives to make their digital works available to the public for purposes other than that of making an immediate profit from the sale/licensing of digitised items.