Multimedia Archives Research Articles

Glitchy, Caring, Tactical

This paper directs attention to the parameters of creative resistance to large-scale commercial digital platforms. It does so by enhancing the understanding of minor tech through the analysis and case study of the artwork, VPN. While minor tech might sound unfamiliar to the many, examples of its existence are at the same time incredibly familiar through examples of digital commoning, sharing of skills, and organisational systems. In the case of VPN, the work existed as a growing emancipatory multimedia archive, executed as a transparent server architecture revealing its technical workings to its users. This format exemplified tactics of intentional glitches through an artful inclusion of persons, space, and objects. By identifying the elements of tactics and care within the VPN, the paper draws parallels of overlapping tendencies within the movement of minor tech. Drawing on Olga Gorionova's research on 'Shadow librarians' and including former digital examples of knowledge sharing furthermore assists in sketching a web development towards the nature of minor tech and VPN. By analysing the significance of these initiatives, the paper raises the questions: What are the drives across creative resistance practices? And (how) do such creative contributions help to critically nuance various existing understandings of large-scale digital platforms?

Activist Musicology and Informal Multimedia Archives: The Case of YouTube Channel “Serbian Composers”

The YouTube channel “Serbian Composers” was founded in 2012 by four musicology students from Belgrade. As the first page dedicated to both art music and applied music of Serbian composers on this popular video-sharing website, over the past 11 years this channel has shown itself to be an excellent platform for the promotion, multi-media archiving, research, digitalization, and preservation of Serbian music. The founders of the channel—nowadays active researchers in the field—recognized the potential of YouTube for applied musicological work and worked diligently on making this channel the most reliable online source for anyone interested in Serbian composers and their works. In this article, we elaborate on what working on this channel throughout the years has entailed. We cover the realities of both the social media and internet presence of one such endeavor and situate the research in the domain of seeing YouTube as an informal multimedia archive. We also discuss the ongoing processes of collecting music and data, digitalization and preservation, selection and categorization, and the presentation of material on YouTube and other relevant social media platforms.

Analysis of User Personalized Retrieval of Multimedia Digital Archives Dependent on BP Neural Network Algorithm

This paper briefly introduces the characteristics of content-based multimedia retrieval under the information background, analyzes the implementation process of these technologies in the multimedia archives retrieval system including video and image information of digital archives, and points out that the content-based multimedia retrieval technology is bound to be organically combined with the traditional text retrieval methods. The information retrieval technologies in the past can only comply with the specific requirements of customers. Due to their characteristics of universality, they can hardly meet the demands of different environments, various purposes, and different times at the same time yet. Researchers have put forward personalized retrieval of multimedia files based on the BP neural network computing. In this way, the interest model of customers can be analyzed based on the characteristics of the different classification areas of users. Subsequently, the corresponding calculations are carried out, and the model is updated accordingly. Through the experiments, it is verified that the probability model put forward in this paper is the optimal solution to express the interest of customers and its changes.

A Computational Look at Oral History Archives

Computational technologies have revolutionized the archival sciences field, prompting new approaches to process the extensive data in these collections. Automatic speech recognition and natural language processing create unique possibilities for analysis of oral history (OH) interviews, where otherwise the transcription and analysis of the full recording would be too time consuming. However, many oral historians note the loss of aural information when converting the speech into text, pointing out the relevance of subjective cues for a full understanding of the interviewee narrative. In this article, we explore various computational technologies for social signal processing and their potential application space in OH archives, as well as neighboring domains where qualitative studies is a frequently used method. We also highlight the latest developments in key technologies for multimedia archiving practices such as natural language processing and automatic speech recognition. We discuss the analysis of both visual (body language and facial expressions), and non-visual cues (paralinguistics, breathing, and heart rate), stating the specific challenges introduced by the characteristics of OH collections. We argue that applying social signal processing to OH archives will have a wider influence than solely OH practices, bringing benefits for various fields from humanities to computer sciences, as well as to archival sciences. Looking at human emotions and somatic reactions on extensive interview collections would give scholars from multiple fields the opportunity to focus on feelings, mood, culture, and subjective experiences expressed in these interviews on a larger scale.

Corrigendum to “Multimedia Archives: New Digital Filters to Correct Equalization Errors on Digitized Audio Tapes”

Corrigendum to “Multimedia Archives: New Digital Filters to Correct Equalization Errors on Digitized Audio Tapes”

Utilization of Interactive Multimedia Android-Based Archiving Towards Learning Independence

This research aims to find out the use of interactive multimedia archiving based on android and its effect on the learning independence of vocational learners. Research is a type of research and development (R & D). Research methods using experiments are pretend experiments (Quaisy experiment). The research was conducted at Vocational High School Surakarta City in April-June 2021. The population in this study is all students of class X Vocational High School Surakarta school year 2020/2021. The sample used was 1 control class and 1 randomly selected experimental class. All treatment will be given to the same control class and experimental class except on the use of interactive multimedia archival based on android. Interactive multimedia android-based archival was successfully applied in the learning of class X OTKP. There is a significant difference in the increase in learning independence between experimental classes that use interactive multimedia android-based archival and control classes that do not use interactive multimedia android-based archival in the archival learning class X OTKP in Vocational High School Surakarta City school year 2020/2021. Interactive multimedia android-based archiving can be used as one of the alternative learning media that can be used to increase the independence of learning learners.

Multi-Script Text Detection from Image Using FRCNN

Textual information is the most common type of way by which we can determine what text/texts we are looking for. In order to retrieve text from images the first and foremost step is text detection from the image. Text detection has a wide range of applications such as translation, smart car driving system, information retrieval, indexing of multimedia archives, sign board reading, and countless. Multilingual text detection from images adds an extra complication to a computer vision problem. As India is a multilingual country and therefore multi-script texts can be found almost everywhere. A multi-script text differs in terms of formats, strokes, width, and height. Also, universal features for such an environment are unknown and difficult to determine as well. Therefore, detecting multi-script text from images is an important yet unsolved problem. In this work, we proposed a faster RCNN-based method for detecting English, Hindi, and Gujarati text from Images. Faster RCNN is the state-of-the-art approach for object detection. As it works for objects which are of large size and texts are of smaller size, the parameters are tuned to meet the objective of multi-script text detection. The dataset is created by collecting images as there is no standard dataset available that includes English, Gujarati, and Hindi texts in the public domain.

Multimedia Archives: New Digital Filters to Correct Equalization Errors on Digitized Audio Tapes

Multimedia archives face the problem of obsolescing and degrading analogue media (e.g., speech and music recordings and video art). In response, researchers in the field have recently begun studying ad hoc tools for the preservation and access of historical analogue documents. This paper investigates the active preservation process of audio tape recordings, specifically focusing on possible means for compensating equalization errors introduced in the digitization process. If the accuracy of corrective equalization filters is validated, an archivist or musicologist would be able to experience the audio as a historically authentic document such that their listening experience would not require the recovery of the original analogue audio document or the redigitization of the audio. Thus, we conducted a MUSHRA-inspired perception test (n = 14) containing 6 excerpts of electronic music (3 stimuli recorded NAB and 3 recorded CCIR). Participants listened to 6 different equalization filters for each stimulus and rated them in terms of similarity. Filters included a correctly digitized “Reference,” an intentionally incorrect “Foil” filter, and a subsequent digital correction of the Foil filter that was produced with a MATLAB script. When stimuli were collapsed according to their filter type (NAB or CCIR), no significant differences were observed between the Reference and MATLAB correction filters. As such, the digital correction appears to be a promising method for compensation of equalization errors although future study is recommended, specifically containing an increased sample size and additional correction filters for comparison.

Representation of Information Structure in Persian Spoken Genres: Syntactic devices in focus

There is scarce systematic research on the role of genres and their associated discourse features in Information Structure and its syntactic representations in Persian. The current descriptive, corpus-based study, therefore, aimed to investigate three different genres of Persian spoken language; that is, political, scientific and daily conversation, in terms of their Information Structure as realized through four syntactic devices of clefting, pseudo-clefting, passive and preposing. To this purpose, 1000 different utterances related to each of the mentioned genres, were extracted from the multi-media archive of IRNA (Iranian News Agency) website and daily conversations of the researchers’ family members and friends, based on Lambrecht’s theoretical framework in modeling the Information Structure. The collected data were then transcribed, the syntactic devices were identified, and descriptive statistics were used to see how the above syntactic devices are represented in each genre type. The results revealed that the devices are represented differently in the three genres of political, scientific, and daily conversations. This finding may be of interest to linguists and language theoreticians.

ARCHIVER - Data archiving and preservation for research environments

Over the last decades, several data preservation efforts have been undertaken by the HEP community, as experiments are not repeatable and consequently their data considered unique. ARCHIVER is a European Commission (EC) co-funded Horizon 2020 pre-commercial procurement project procuring R&D combining multiple ICT technologies including data-intensive scalability, network, service interoperability and business models, in a hybrid cloud environment. The results will provide the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) with archival and preservation services covering the full research lifecycle. The services are co-designed in partnership with four research organisations (CERN, DESY, EMBL-EBI and PIC/IFAE) deploying use cases from Astrophysics, HEP, Life Sciences and Photon-Neutron Sciences creating an innovation ecosystem for specialist data archiving and preservation companies willing to introduce new services capable of supporting the expanding needs of research. The HEP use cases being deployed include the CERN Opendata portal, preserving a second copy of the completed BaBar experiment and the CERN Digital Memory digitising CERN’s multimedia archive of the 20th century. In parallel, ARCHIVER has established an Early Adopter programme whereby additional use cases can be incorporated at each of the project phases thereby expanding services to multiple research domains and countries.

Genotype by Environment interactions for egg number and egg weight of five dual-purpose chicken breeds in different zones of Oromia region in Ethiopia

The African Chicken Genetic Gain (ACGG) project (https://africacgg.net/) aims at backyard poultry optimization by commercial dual-purpose breeds introduction into Africa. To measure benefits, genotype by environment interaction (GxE) analysis provides guidance while predicting environmental effects on production traits of breeds. A survey among Ethiopian poultry smallholders showed egg sale being the most important purpose of keeping village chickens in Oromia. Data was available about laying of 894 ACGG chickens in Oromia. Hence current research questions were: 1) Does GxE take place? 2) Which breed performs best regarding laying and in which environment within Oromia? Traits investigated were egg number and egg weight of five breeds (S-RIR, Sasso, Horro, Kuroiler and Koekoek) located in three zones (East Hararge, East and West Shoa) and 5 districts (Adami Tulu, Bako Tibe, Dano, Dugda and Haromaya) in Oromia. Observations were taken as group measure performing weighted analyses. GxE was only present for egg number with magnitude strongest for zone. S-RIR performed best for both traits in both environments, except Kuroiler performing better in East Shoa for egg number and Koekoek for egg weight. This indicates success of crossbreed S-RIR. Sasso and Horro performed worst supported by previous research for Horro but not Sasso. Low precipitation in East Shoa caused bigger distance in egg number predictions, being higher for S-RIR and lower for Horro and Sasso compared to West Shoa. Apart from these final conclusions, social context of breeding and data collection difficulties should not be forgotten. Just like relevance of other performance trait analyses.

Performer l’archive, archiver la performance : archiviologie du Wooster Group

To what extent does contemporary performance contribute to the archiving process? The theatrical deconstruction carried out by the experimental Wooster Group underlines the archiving process on stage. The embodiment of temporal strata (past, present, future) stages a multimedia archiving performance of the New York avant-garde. However, the Wooster Group’s intermedial experimentations with digital archives raise questions about the limits of their art.

Administration of the Aurukun archives held at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

ABSTRACTThe Aurukun archives held at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies were initially developed in accordance with a ‘before it is too late’ model. In response to national controversy over proposed bauxite mining on Wik land, the Institute reorientated its documentation strategy towards collaborating with the Aurukun community. Wik people were not so much the subjects of the archive, but collaborators in its production. The outcome was an extensive multimedia archive which underpinned the Wik native title claim in 1993. Since then the collaborative relationship between the Institute and the Wik people has lapsed. Intermittent attempts to repatriate parts of the Aurukun archives were not successful in the long term. While revising controls over key Aurukun record groups, current Institute staff became aware of the extent and some of the strengths of the Aurukun archives. The staff have been attempting to revive the community’s awareness of their archives and their interest in them. Although the community’s interests presently have a different focus, revived collaboration between the Institute and the Aurukun community could result in some form of distributed custody and control of the Aurukun archives which may be of value to Wik society.

Zona Autónoma Militarizada. Europa [zam~]: A multimedia archive and immersive, 360°, reactive and interactive audio-visual system based on field studies across militarized European borders and hotspots where trafficking cells operate

In 2015 the first mass migration and the first geopolitical and transnational crisis of the digital age began. This brought along the awakening of a new phase in slavery trade and trafficking of human beings (THB) at the European borders. In this article I introduce an ongoing field study I began in January 2016, in collaboration with experts from Spanish and European institutions, that so far has taken me to hotspots and borders, and to the accumulation of a vast multimedia archive. This led to the creation of zonaautonomamilitarizada.eu, an immersive/360°, interactive and reactive audio-visual performative system conceptually rooted in military technologies, second-order cybernetics and mass media developments.

Endoscopic Image Classification and Retrieval using Clustered Convolutional Features.

With the growing use of minimally invasive surgical procedures, endoscopic video archives are growing at a rapid pace. Efficient access to relevant content in such huge multimedia archives require compact and discriminative visual features for indexing and matching. In this paper, we present an effective method to represent images using salient convolutional features. Convolutional kernels from the first layer of a pre-trained convolutional neural network (CNN) are analyzed and clustered into multiple distinct groups, based on their sensitivity to colors and textures. Dominant features detected by each cluster are collected into a single, layout-preserving feature map using a spatial maximal activator pooling (SMAP) approach. A moving window based structured pooling method then captures spatial layout features and global shape information from the aggregated feature map to populate feature histograms. Finally, individual histograms for each cluster are combined into a single comprehensive feature histogram. Clustering convolutional feature space allow extraction of color and texture features of varying strengths. Further, the SMAP approach enable us to select dominant discriminative features. The proposed features are compact and capable of conveniently outperforming several existing features extraction approaches in retrieval and classification tasks on endoscopy images dataset.

Review of Alien Capital: Asian Racialization and the Logic of Settler Colonial Capitalism by Iyko Day (Duke University Press)

Iyko Day makes a compelling intervention in discussions of race, capital, and settler colonialism. Her book presents a theorization of the abstract economism of Asian racialization by examining how social differentiation functions as a destructive form of abstraction anchored by settler colonial ideologies of romantic anticapitalism. By engaging with capitalism’s abstraction of differentiated gendered and racialized labor in order to create value, Day’s project diverges from scholarship arguing that capitalism profits from labor via the production, rather than the abstraction, of racialized difference (Lowe 1996; Roediger 2008). Her book engages a rich multimedia archive and uses principal historical instances of Asian North American cultural production as theoretical texts to examine key racial policies since the 19th century: Chinese railroad labor in the 1880s, anti-Asian immigration restrictions; internment of Japanese civilians during World War II, and the neoliberalization of immigration policy in the late 1960s.

Implications of the Urban Landscape: Aspects of the Isan Cultural Maintenance and Revitalization Program

This article describes the multilingual landscape aspect of the Isan Culture Maintenance and Revitalization Programme (ICMRP), a 500,000-euro, four-year European Union co-sponsored cultural maintenance and revival project focusing on the Thai Lao, Thailand’s largest ethnic minority community, in four municipalities in Northeast Thailand. The article begins by situating the multilingual landscape of the ICMRP within a holistic project, including manufacturing ‘ethnic’ student and municipal uniforms, teaching Isan as a mother tongue, recording a multimedia cultural archive, and designing and installing multilingual signage. It then argues the ICMRP’s multilingual landscape should be understood within a framework involving geosemiotics, the linguistic landscape, and language policy and planning. The ICMRP’s multilingual landscape contributes to the standardisation of a Thai Lao alphabet and spelling. It also seeks to officialise Thai Lao, through official signage, and thereby promote Thai Lao’s revival, as part of meeting Thailand’s human rights obligations as well as ASEAN community building.

Bi-Level Semantic Representation Analysis for Multimedia Event Detection.

Multimedia event detection has been one of the major endeavors in video event analysis. A variety of approaches have been proposed recently to tackle this problem. Among others, using semantic representation has been accredited for its promising performance and desirable ability for human-understandable reasoning. To generate semantic representation, we usually utilize several external image/video archives and apply the concept detectors trained on them to the event videos. Due to the intrinsic difference of these archives, the resulted representation is presumable to have different predicting capabilities for a certain event. Notwithstanding, not much work is available for assessing the efficacy of semantic representation from the source-level. On the other hand, it is plausible to perceive that some concepts are noisy for detecting a specific event. Motivated by these two shortcomings, we propose a bi-level semantic representation analyzing method. Regarding source-level, our method learns weights of semantic representation attained from different multimedia archives. Meanwhile, it restrains the negative influence of noisy or irrelevant concepts in the overall concept-level. In addition, we particularly focus on efficient multimedia event detection with few positive examples, which is highly appreciated in the real-world scenario. We perform extensive experiments on the challenging TRECVID MED 2013 and 2014 datasets with encouraging results that validate the efficacy of our proposed approach.

Utilisation of Metadata Fields and Query Expansion in Cross-Lingual Search of User-Generated Internet Video

Recent years have seen significant efforts in the area of Cross Language Information Retrieval (CLIR) for text retrieval. This work initially focused on formally published content, but more recently research has begun to concentrate on CLIR for informal social media content. However, despite the current expansion in online multimedia archives, there has been little work on CLIR for this content. While there has been some limited work on Cross-Language Video Retrieval (CLVR) for professional videos, such as documentaries or TV news broadcasts, there has to date, been no significant investigation of CLVR for the rapidly growing archives of informal user generated (UGC) content. Key differences between such UGC and professionally produced content are the nature and structure of the textual UGC metadata associated with it, as well as the form and quality of the content itself. In this setting, retrieval effectiveness may not only suffer from translation errors common to all CLIR tasks, but also recognition errors associated with the automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems used to transcribe the spoken content of the video and with the informality and inconsistency of the associated user-created metadata for each video. This work proposes and evaluates techniques to improve CLIR effectiveness of such noisy UGC content. Our experimental investigation shows that different sources of evidence, e.g. the content from different fields of the structured metadata, significantly affect CLIR effectiveness. Results from our experiments also show that each metadata field has a varying robustness to query expansion (QE) and hence can have a negative impact on the CLIR effectiveness. Our work proposes a novel adaptive QE technique that predicts the most reliable source for expansion and shows how this technique can be effective for improving the CLIR effectiveness for UGC content.

„Arbeitssprachen: Englisch – Russisch – Deutsch. Spezialgebiet: Holocaust“: ökonomische Faktoren bei der Übersetzung von Audio-/Videointerviews mit Überlebenden des nationalsozialistischen Terrors

AbstractThis article is based on the preliminary results of an interview project with managers, project leaders, and translators from three major German multimedia archives who are/were involved with translating audio-visual Holocaust testimony for educational purposes. It will focus on the economic aspects in this highly sensitive field of translation and assess what status translation is given within these projects. Despite of the narrow research framework, the findings point out to broader issues related to current outsourcing practices instead of integrating translation as central part of a project.