The present study investigates the translation of dialectal elements in literary texts from the German and Swedish linguistical and cultural areas. Translation theory generally advises against the translation of dialectal elements in standard language texts thereby implicitly questioning their creative and communicative function. The aim of the study is to investigate to what extent the dialectal elements in the source text are translated by corresponding dialectal elements in the target text thereby promoting a "cultural transfer" or whether a translation method based on translation theory is used. The linguistic material from the novels Die Räuberbande by the German author Leonhard Frank, Tjärdalen by the Swedish author Sara Lidman and Kapten Nemos bibliotek by the Swedish author Per Olov Enquist is microanalyzed. In doing so, the phonetical-phonological, morphological and syntactical dialectal features in the three source texts are treated methodically and are exemplarily and systematically presented together with their translation variants in the target language. The study focuses mainly on the translations of dialectal lexicology, which is investigated according to its contrastive function regarding the translations of standard language, thereby examining its adequacy. By including all the dialectal lexemes appearing in the works and their translations empirical dates have been compiled as a result of the translation methods. The study´s analyses demonstrate that dialectal elements are mainly translated into standard language, that a large part of dialectisms is paraphrased and that a small part is rendered by spoken language without regional limits. A tendency towards increasing use of dialectal elements through the times can be detected as well as a propensity to adapt the translation to the stylistical preferences in the receiving country. Thus, "cultural transfer" is not promoted.

The growth of multimedia content in recent years motivated the research on audio classification and content retrieval area. In this thesis, a general environmental audio classification and retrieval approach is proposed in which higher level semantic classes (outdoor, nature, meeting and violence) are obtained from lower level acoustic classes (emergency alarm, car horn, gun-shot, explosion, automobile, motorcycle, helicopter, wind, water, rain, applause, crowd and laughter). In order to classify an audio sample into acoustic classes, MPEG-7 audio features, Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) feature and Zero Crossing Rate (ZCR) feature are used with Hidden Markov Model (HMM) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers. Additionally, a new classification method is proposed using Genetic Algorithm (GA) for classification of semantic classes. Query by Example (QBE) and keyword-based query capabilities are implemented for content retrieval.

In this paper, a method for determining ground plane features in a sequence of images captured by a mobile camera is presented. The hardware of the mobile system consists of a monocular camera that is mounted on an inertial measurement unit (IMU). An image processing procedure is proposed, first to extract image features and match them across consecutive image frames, and second to detect the ground plane features using a two-step algorithm. In the first step, the planar homography of the ground plane is constructed using an IMU-camera motion estimation approach. The obtained homography constraints are used to detect the most likely ground features in the sequence of images. To reject the remaining outliers, as the second step, a new plane normal vector computation approach is proposed. To obtain the normal vector of the ground plane, only three pairs of corresponding features are used for a general camera transformation. The normal-based computation approach generalizes the existing methods that are developed for specific camera transformations. Experimental results on real data validate the reliability of the proposed method. / <p>QC 20121107</p>

This dissertation is concerned with the problem of describing the singing voice within the audio signal of a song. This work is motivated by the fact that the lead vocal is the element that attracts the attention of most listeners. For this reason it is common for music listeners to organize and browse music collections using information related to the singing voice such as the singer name. Our research concentrates on the three major problems of music information retrieval: the localization of the source to be described (i.e. the recognition of the elements corresponding to the singing voice in the signal of a mixture of instruments), the search of pertinent features to describe the singing voice, and finally the development of pattern recognition methods based on these features to identify the singer. For this purpose we propose a set of novel features computed on the temporal variations of the fundamental frequency of the sung melody. These features, which aim to describe the vibrato and the portamento, are obtained with the aid of a dedicated model. In practice, these features are computed on the time-varying frequency of partials obtained using the sinusoidal model. In the first experiment we show that partials corresponding to the singing voice can be accurately differentiated from the partials produced by other instruments using decisions based on the parameters of the vibrato and the portamento. Once the partials emitted by the singer are identified, the segments of the song containing singing can be directly localized. To improve the recognition of the partials emitted by the singer we propose to group partials that are related harmonically. Partials are clustered according to their degree of similarity. This similarity is computed using a set of CASA cues including their temporal frequency variations (i.e. the vibrato and the portamento). The clusters of harmonically related partials corresponding to the singing voice are identified using the vocal vibrato and the portamento parameters. Groups of vocal partials can then be re-synthesized to isolate the voice. The result of the partial grouping can also be used to transcribe the sung melody. We then propose to go further with these features and study if the vibrato and portamento characteristics can be considered as a part of the singers' signature. Previous works on singer identification describe audio signals using features extracted on the short-term amplitude spectrum. The latter features aim to characterize the timbre of the sound, which, in the case of singing, is related to the vocal tract of the singer. The features we develop in this document capture long-term information related to the intonation of the singer, which is relevant to the style and the technique of the singer. We propose a method to combine these two complementary descriptions of the singing voice to increase the recognition rate of singer identification. In addition we evaluate the robustness of each type of feature against a set of variations. We show the singing voice is a highly variable instrument. To obtain a representative model of a singer's voice it is thus necessary to build models using a large set of examples covering the full tessitura of a singer. In addition, we show that features extracted directly from the partials are more robust to the presence of an instrumental accompaniment than features derived from the amplitude spectrum.

This article deals with deviation in Euphrase Kezilahabi´s novel Gamba la Nyoka (1979). We analyse four different types of deviation, namely grammatical, lexical, phonological, and semantic deviation. The objective of this study is to combine linguistic analysis with literary riticism, in order to show how these different types of deviation correspond with the overall message the author conveys in this novel, which is a political novel dealing with the era of establishing Ujamaa policies in rural Tanzania.

本研究探討溝通動態與手勢之關係。本研究相較於過去的研究提供了中文口語語料的量化結果，除了檢視語言上的溝通動態值與手勢出現、手勢類型的關係以外，並加入手勢特徵進而檢視。語言上的溝通動態值分別以「資訊狀態」與「主題連續性」來決定溝通動態值之高低，並且將手勢所伴隨的語詞依詞性分開分為名詞與動詞，檢視是否手勢上會依循語碼原則（the coding principle）：當溝通動態值越高，所使用的代碼材料便越多；當溝通動態值越低，所使用的代碼材料越少。結果發現，以決定溝通動態值的標準來看，資訊狀態較主題連續性更能依語碼原則反應溝通動態值。原因是因為資訊狀態反應訊息的新舊差異性，而主題連續性反應的是舊訊息當中的不同的「舊」的程度差異，因此前者較能反應溝通動態與手勢之關係；而以手勢伴隨的語詞而言，動詞較名詞更能依語碼原則反應溝通動態值。因為動詞相較於名詞而言，在語言上無完整的語碼系統以反應溝通動態值之高低，因此倚賴手勢出現與手勢特徵來反應語言上的溝通動態值之高低。 / The study investigates the correlation between communicative dynamism (CD) and gesture. Different from the previous studies, the present study provides quantitative analysis based on Chinese conversational data. The study examines the correlation between CD in language and the occurence of gestures, gestural types and gestural features. The various degrees of CD are deteremined by two separate criteria, namely “information status” and “topic continuity”. Morover, the study also distinguishes between the nominal affiliates of gesture and the verbal counterparts. The study found that gestures occur at the two extremities of CD. Gestures tend to co-occur with linguistic elements bearing the highest or the lowest CD. In addition, based on the criterion of “information status”, stroke duration and handedness were found to reflect the various degrees of CD. On the other hand, based on the criterion of “topic continuity”, all gestural features including stroke duration, gestural space, handedness and stroke frequency have no correlation with CD.

Thema der Arbeit ist die Konzeption, Entwicklung und Einführung in die Anwendung eines Entwurfssystems, das die Leistungsfähigkeit der derzeit während des Entwurfsprozesses angewandten Programme durch neue Funktionen erweitert. Die implementierte integrative Schnittstellenlösung fasst die bisher genutzten Applikationen zu einem Gesamtsystem zusammen. Der bidirektionale Datenaustausch zwischen allen integrierten Modulen verhindert zur Zeit noch notwendige Mehrfacheingaben identischer Daten. Die für die Modellierung eingesetzten CAD-Systeme bieten für die rechnerinterne Abbildung der Geometrie von Bauteilen eine hohe Funktionalität. Ungenügend ist aber die Erstellung der Funktionsstruktur mit rechentechnischen Hilfsmitteln gelöst. Dieses führt zum Entwurf neuer Produkte nahezu ohne den Einsatz der Informationstechnik und zur anschließenden Anfertigung der CAD-Modelle und Zeichnungen, wenn die Bauteile bereits in ihrer Grundstruktur bestimmt sind. Auch die Vorteile der parametrischen 3D-Modellierung, die für die Beschreibung der bauteilinternen Abhängigkeiten anwendbar ist, werden nur begrenzt genutzt. Gründe dafür liegen in der komplizierten Definition eineindeutig bestimmter Modelle und im ungenügend gelösten Datenaustausch mit externen Applikationen. Während die Ergebnisse einer Konstruktion als rechnerinterne Geometriemodelle detailliert vorliegen, werden die Daten der zugrunde liegenden Funktionsstruktur nicht oder nur zum geringen Teil erfasst. Wichtige Informationen über den Entstehungsprozess sind somit nach Abschluss einer Konstruktion nicht mehr verfügbar. Aufgrund dessen muss die gleichwertige Modellierung von Funktions- und Wirkstruktur sowie der Geometrie realisiert werden. Mit dem beschriebenen Entwurfssystem werden diese Strukturen erstellt und in einem komplexen Modell gespeichert. Im Rahmen folgender Konstruktionen kann dann nicht nur auf die Geometriedaten, sondern auch auf die Beziehungen, auf denen die Bauteilstruktur basiert, zugegriffen werden.

在本論文中我們提出了一種個人化情緒／情境音樂檢索方法。主要的概念為根據使用者的feedback來找出符合該使用者情緒／情境的音樂在features上所具備的特性，藉此達到個人化的效果。為了更明確表示出音樂的特性，我們利用統計features分布情況的方式來做為音樂的表示法。同時，定義了兩層features自動weighting的方法來決定每個feature在不同情緒／情境下的鑑別度。最後，我們將探討音樂特性與音色對不同的情緒／情境會造成什麼樣的影響，並試著分析音樂與情緒／情境間的關係。 / In this paper, an approach for personalized music retrieval based on emotions / situations is proposed. The main concept is to find out the properties of music that caused the user have emotions / situations responses via the user feedback. And using the user feedback will help us to establish a personalized music retrieval system based on emotions / situations. To represent the music properties clearly, we proposed a new method of music representation based on statistics. And we defined a two-phase features re-weighting method to find out the importance of features in different emotions / situations. At last, we will discuss the influence of music properties and timbre on different emotions / situations, and try to analyze the relationship between the emotions / situations.

Music mood recognition by machine continues to attract attention from both academia and industry. This thesis explores the hypothesis that the music emotion problem is circular, and is a primary step in determining the efficacy of circular regression as a machine learning method for automatic music mood recognition. This hypothesis is tested through experiments conducted using instances of the two commonly accepted models of affect used in machine learning (categorical and two-dimensional), as well as on an original circular model proposed by the author. Polygonal approximations of circular regression are proposed as a practical way to investigate whether the circularity of the annotations can be exploited. An original dataset assembled and annotated for the models is also presented. Next, the architecture and implementation choices of all three models are given, with an emphasis on the new polygonal approximations of circular regression. Experiments with different polygons demonstrate consistent and in some cases significant improvements over the categorical model on a dataset containing ambiguous extracts (ones for which the human annotators did not fully agree upon). Through a comprehensive analysis of the results, errors and inconsistencies observed, evidence is provided that mood recognition can be improved if approached as a circular problem. Finally, a proposed multi-tagging strategy based on the circular predictions is put forward as a pragmatic method to automatically annotate music based on the circular model. / Graduate / 0984 / 0800 / 0413 / zazz101@hotmail.com

Workplace design practitioners and organizational managers are increasingly noticing all the various aspects in which the workplace affects organizations and their employees. The studies on the relationships between the workplace, organizations and their employees are more focused on psychology or facility management than the socio-spatial perspective. Workplace design, configuration and spatial features impact how well and how much a company can benefit from its human capital. Although the concept of the relation of workplace to an organization is not new, it is relatively unexamined. This thesis introduces a new set of spatial variables to workplace studies, following the concept of personal control. The discussed spatial variables effectively describe the features of workplace floor plan and the characteristics of a workstation. Furthermore, this dissertation develops a method that creates the link between workplace spatial setting and a sense of belonging, organizational outcomes – organizational commitment, work motivation, job satisfaction and work performance. Based on the detailed statistical analyses of a field survey that included 336 participants from 16 organizations, a model of spatial features influence sense of belonging and organizational outcomes was identified within this study. The research findings provide evidence for creating a workplace with a sense of belonging and better organizational outcomes through spatial design. This dissertation is comprised of six chapters. Chapter 1, an introduction, provides a general study background, discusses the problems to be solved in the study, and proposes an approach to deal with the target problems. Chapter 2 firstly reviews the current workplace studies related to spatial features. Secondly, it discusses the influence of workstation design on the human muscle system. Thirdly, it discusses the most relevant psychological issues at a workplace as stated by previous researches. Finally, the chapter reveals how a workplace affects the work of an organization. Chapter 3 specifies how workplace influences an employee’s sense of belonging and environmental control, and introduces the conceptual model. It also introduces the independent and dependent variables, generates research hypotheses. Chapter 4 describes the field survey design, procedures and the participants. It also covers the initial data analysis of the field survey: how the survey instrument, the questionnaire, was developed, commenting on all the aspects it includes – spatial experiences, work motivation, commitment, sense of belonging, job satisfaction and work performance. Chapter 5 is data analysis. This chapter discusses the research findings on workplace design features in relation to employees’ sense of belonging, satisfaction with ambient physical environment, and organizational outcomes – commitment, work motivation, job satisfaction and individual work performance. The final chapter summarizes the findings, comments on design implications of the research results, and draws conclusions. The dissertation ends in admitting the limitations of this research and discussing practical implications for future investigation.