Singing voice separation (SVS) can be defined as the process of extracting the vocal element from a given song recording. The impetus for research in this area is mainly that of facilitating certain important applications of music information retrieval (MIR) such as lyrics recognition, singer identification, and melody extraction. To date, the research in the field of SVS has been relatively limited, and mainly focused on the extraction of vocals from monophonic sources. The general approach in this scenario has been one of considering SVS as a blind source separation (BSS) problem. Given the inherent diversity of music, such an approach is motivated by the quest for a generic solution. However, it does not allow the exploitation of prior information, regarding the way in which commercial music is produced. To this end, investigations are conducted into effective methods for unsupervised separation of singing voice from stereophonic studio recordings. The work involves extensive literature review of existing methods that relate to SVS, as well as commercial approaches. Following the identification of shortcomings of the conventional methods, two novel approaches are developed for the purpose of SVS. These approaches, termed SEMANICS and SEMANTICS draw their motivation from statistical as well as spectral properties of the target signal and focus on the separation of voice in the frequency domain. In addition, a third method, named Hybrid SEMANTICS, is introduced that addresses time‐, as well as frequency‐domain separation. As there is lack of a concrete standardised music database that includes a large number of songs, a dataset is created using conventional stereophonic mixing methods. Using this database, and based on widely adopted objective metrics, the effectiveness of the proposed methods has been evaluated through thorough experimental investigations.

Cette thèse porte sur les techniques de séparation de sources en aveugle en utilisant des statistiques de second ordre et statistiques d'ordresupérieur pour les environnements de réverbération. Un objectif de la thèse est la simplicité algorithmique en vue de l'implantation en lignedes algorithmes. Le principal défi des applications de séparation de sources aveugles est de s'occuper des environnements acoustiques de réverbération; une complication supplémentaire concerne les changements dans l'environnement acoustique lorsque les sources humaines se déplacent physiquement.Une nouvelle méthode dans le domaine temporel qui utilise une paire de filtres à réponse impulsionnelle finie est proposée. Cette méthode, dite les angles principaux, sur un décomposition en valeurs singulières. Une paire de filtres, jouant le rôle de formation de voie, est estimée de façon à annuler une des sources. Une étape de filtrage adaptatif estensuite utilisée pour récupérer la source restante, en exploitant la sortie de l'étage de beamforming en tant que une référence de bruit. Une approche commune de la séparation de sources aveugle est d'utiliser des méthodes fondée sur les statistiques d'ordre supérieur comme l'analyse en composantes indépendantes. Cependant, pour des mélanges convolutifs audio et vocales réalistes, la transformation dansle domaine fréquentiel pour chaque fréquence de calcul est nécessaire. Ceci introduit le problème de permutations, inhérentes à l'analyse en composantes indépendantes, pour tout les fréquences. L'analyse en vecteur indépendant résout directement cette question par la modélisation des dépendances entre les fréquences de calcul, à partir d'a priori sur les sources. Un algorithme de gradient naturel en temps réel est également proposé proposé avec un autre a priori sur les sources. Cette méthode exploite la fonction de densité de probabilité de Student, est connu pour être bien adapté pour les sources de parole, en raison de queues de distribution plus lourdes. L'algorithme final est implanté en temps réel sur un processeur numérique de signal à virgule flottante de Texas Instruments.Les sources mobiles, avec des environnements réverbérant, causent des problèmes significatifs dans les systèmes de séparation desources réalistes car les filtres de mélange deviennent variants dans le temps. Dans ce cadre, une méthode qui utilise conjointement leprincipe de la paire de filtres d'annulation et le principe de l'analyse en vecteurs indépendant. Cette approche permet de limiter les baisses de performance lorsque les sources sont mobiles. Les résultats montrent également que les temps moyen de convergence des divers paramètres sont diminués.Les méthodes en ligne qui sont introduites dans la thèse, sont testées en utilisant des réponses impulsionnelles mesurées dans des environnements de réverbération. Les résultats montrent leur robustesse et d'excellentes performances par rapport à d'autres méthodes classique, dans plusieurs situations expérimentales. / Methods for improving the real-time performance and speed of various source enhancement and separation are considered. Two themes of research are considered so far: a method which relies only on second order statistics to enhance a target source exploiting video cues. Secondly, a higher-order statistics method, independent vector analysis is implemented in real-time on a digital signal processor, where an alternative source prior has been used performance is shown to have improved.

In South Africa thousands of unemployed people earn a living by recovering recyclable materials from the municipal stream, garbage bins and garbage dumps. In so doing their activities are also beneficial to the environment because raw materials and energy are saved and pollution is reduced. However, waste reclamation in South Africa seems not to be adequately regulated, supported nor formally recognised by authorities. This study aims to investigate the extent to which South African Environmental law enables and regulates waste reclamation, whether directly and/or indirectly, with a view to improving the regulatory policy and legislative framework pertaining to waste reclamation. In this regard the study considers key policy and legislation pertaining to waste management in South Africa. To this end the Minimum Requirementsfor Waste Disposal by Landfill as published by the then Department of Water Affairs and Forestry serve as a guideline for the formalisation and control of waste reclamation at landfills. However, there is a need to formulate regulations under NEM: WA to regulate waste reclamation inside and even outside landfills. Moreover, the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs also needs to formulate standard model waste reclamation by-laws which would be adapted by municipalities to suit local circumstances. The long term view of government is to phase out waste reclamation at landfills in favour of waste separation at source. In order to realise this objective it is important for government, especially at local level, to integrate waste reclaimers in the formal waste management programmes by virtue of their experience in recovery of recyclables from the waste stream, and these programmesmust be included in municipal IWMPs and IDPs for implementation. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In South Africa thousands of unemployed people earn a living by recovering recyclable materials from the municipal stream, garbage bins and garbage dumps. In so doing their activities are also beneficial to the environment because raw materials and energy are saved and pollution is reduced. However, waste reclamation in South Africa seems not to be adequately regulated, supported nor formally recognised by authorities. This study aims to investigate the extent to which South African Environmental law enables and regulates waste reclamation, whether directly and/or indirectly, with a view to improving the regulatory policy and legislative framework pertaining to waste reclamation. In this regard the study considers key policy and legislation pertaining to waste management in South Africa. To this end the Minimum Requirementsfor Waste Disposal by Landfill as published by the then Department of Water Affairs and Forestry serve as a guideline for the formalisation and control of waste reclamation at landfills. However, there is a need to formulate regulations under NEM: WA to regulate waste reclamation inside and even outside landfills. Moreover, the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs also needs to formulate standard model waste reclamation by-laws which would be adapted by municipalities to suit local circumstances. The long term view of government is to phase out waste reclamation at landfills in favour of waste separation at source. In order to realise this objective it is important for government, especially at local level, to integrate waste reclaimers in the formal waste management programmes by virtue of their experience in recovery of recyclables from the waste stream, and these programmesmust be included in municipal IWMPs and IDPs for implementation. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

För att kunna uppnå de tuffare materialåtervinningsmålen som börjar gälla i Sverige år 2020 måste utsorteringen av bland annat plast-, papper- och metallförpackningar öka. Hushållsavfall beskrivs som en av de mest miljöpåverkande kategorin av avfall men samtidigt den kategori där det finns mest potential för förbättringar genom bättre hantering. Plockanalyser från 67 procent av Sveriges kommuner mellan åren 2013 och 2016 visar att ett svenskt villahushålls restavfall innehåller 34,5 procent förpackningar och returpapper som skulle kunna sorteras ut för materialåtervinning. Ett sätt att öka utsorteringen av producentansvarsmaterial från restavfallet och då kunna uppnå materialåtervinningsmålen är att kommuner erbjuder enklare samt ökad service i form av källsortering närmare hushållen. Tidigare studier har jämfört systemen optisk sortering och fyrfackskärl, som båda innebär källsortering närmare hushållen, med det vanligaste systemet i Sverige idag, tvåkärl, som inte innebär en ökad service genom kvalitativa metoder. Systemen har inte jämförts med kvantitativa metoder utifrån ekonomi eller miljö och inte heller med ett nytt koncept som heter Kvartersnära insamling. Den här rapporten har därför jämfört de fyra systemen utifrån aspekterna miljö och ekonomi med hjälp av verktygen livscykel- och livscykelkostnadsanalys som applicerades i ett område i Kristinehamns kommun för att på så sätt komma närmare verkligheten. Resultatet visar att systemet kvartersnära insamling har lägst miljöpåverkan i de undersökta miljöpåverkanskategorierna och därefter fyrfackskärl, optisk sortering och högst miljöpåverkan har systemet tvåkärl utifrån förutsättningarna och antagandena som har applicerats i studien. Livscykelanalysen visar att miljönyttan med materialåtervinningen överväger konsekvenserna av ökade transporter. Systemet med lägst livscykelkostnad är tvåkärl och sedan kvartersnära insamling, optisk sortering och dyrast livscykelkostnad har fyrfackskärl utifrån antaganden och de förutsättningar som använts i studien. En slutsats från rapporten är att det är viktigt att även undersöka andra aspekter förutom ekonomi och miljö vid val av insamlingssystem då resultatet till stor del beror på andra aspekter bland annat användarens uppfattning om systemet. / To achieve the stricter material recycling goals in Sweden in 2020 plastic-, metallic- and paper packages need to be better sorted from the household waste. Household waste might have the highest environmental impact compared with other sorts of waste but household waste has the highest potential to lower its impact. Waste pick-up analysis from 67 percent of Sweden's municipalities between 2013 and 2016 show that a Swedish household waste contains 34.5 percent packaging and recycled paper that could be sorted for recycling. The producers of that material have the responsibility to collect it but it does not work as well as planned because of different circumstances. One way to increase the recycling of the material from the household waste and then achieve the material recycling goals is that municipalities offer simpler and increased service in the form of source sorting closer to the households. Previous studies have compared the systems of optical sorting and multi compartment bin, which offer separation at sources closer to the households. Moreover, those systems have been compared with the most common system in Sweden today, two bins, which do not involve increased service. The systems have not been compared with quantitative methods based on economics or the environment, nor with a new concept called district collection. This report has compared the four systems. The aspects that have been compared are the environmental aspects and economical aspects by using the tools lifecycle assessment and lifecycle cost assessment. Moreover, the systems have been fictive studied in an area in the municipality of Kristinehamn, in order to get closer to reality. The results indicate that the collection system district collection had the lowest environmental impact followed by multi compartment bin and then optical sorting. Moreover, the system with two bins has the highest impact in the studied environmental impact categories according to the assumptions that have been applied in the study. The lifecycle assessment indicates that the benefits with material recycling is higher than the environmental impacts of increased transportation. The system with lowest lifecycle cost is the system with two bins and then the district collection. The system with highest lifecycle cost is the system optical sorting and the system with the second highest cost is multi compartment bin according to the assumptions that have been applied in the study. One conclusion from the study is that it is important to investigate more aspects than environmental impact and costs when to decide collection system. It is because the results depends on the other aspects as well like the users experience about the system.

Waste management is a global concern and landfill sites are facing a crisis of handling capacity. This is worsened by the fact that many consider landfilling as an environmentally responsible and cost-effective solution to waste disposal. Carnival City generates vast quantities of solid waste on a daily basis and most of it ends at the landfill, which it acknowledges that it’s a wastage of recoverable resources, hence its commitment of “zero-waste-to-landfills by 2022”. This study evaluated solid waste management practices at Carnival City Casino in Brakpan. Informed by an interpretive paradigm, qualitative methods including interviews, observations, photographs and document reviews were used to collect data. Based on abductive reasoning, the waste management hierarchy and the ISO 14001 standard were used as frameworks for recontextualising and presenting the collected data. The waste hierarchy sets out the preferred order of waste management practices, from the most favoured to the least preferred option. The effectiveness of current waste management practices is limited as Carnival City heavily depends on landfilling and implement waste minimisation, reuse, recycling and recovery on a small scale. Absence of a waste separation at source policy limits recycling activities significantly. The researcher noted the presence of some areas of conformity to South African legislation pertaining to waste management, international standards and Carnival City’s standard operating procedures, and some areas of good practice. The study showed that there is room for improving concerning Carnival City’s current waste management practices. It recommends that waste management training and awareness be undertaken on a continuous basis to improve current practices and ensure that more waste is diverted from landfill sites. Investment into waste to energy technologies should be considered to help Carnival City to meet Sun International’s commitment of “zero-waste-to-landfills by 2022”. Recycling must be maximised and its environmental and financial benefits be highlighted. The research recommends developing of a separation at source policy and its enforcement by the Environmental Committee as the absence of the documented procedures results in deviations from environmental objectives. Offenders who do not follow procedures should be duly punished. It also recommends that a disciplinary action and a fine be introduced for kitchens that will deviate from the policy. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

Traditionally, source coding (data compression) and channel coding (error protection) are performed separately and sequentially, resulting in what we call a tandem (separate) coding system. In practical implementations, however, tandem coding might involve a large delay and a high coding/decoding complexity, since one needs to remove the redundancy in the source coding part and then insert certain redundancy in the channel coding part. On the other hand, joint source-channel coding (JSCC), which coordinates source and channel coding or combines them into a single step, may offer substantial improvements over the tandem coding approach. This thesis deals with the fundamental Shannon-theoretic limits for a variety of communication systems via JSCC. More specifically, we investigate the reliability function (which is the largest rate at which the coding probability of error vanishes exponentially with increasing blocklength) for JSCC for the following discrete-time communication systems: (i) discrete memoryless systems; (ii) discrete memoryless systems with perfect channel feedback; (iii) discrete memoryless systems with source side information; (iv) discrete systems with Markovian memory; (v) continuous-valued (particularly Gaussian) memoryless systems; (vi) discrete asymmetric 2-user source-channel systems. For the above systems, we establish upper and lower bounds for the JSCC reliability function and we analytically compute these bounds. The conditions for which the upper and lower bounds coincide are also provided. We show that the conditions are satisfied for a large class of source-channel systems, and hence exactly determine the reliability function. We next provide a systematic comparison between the JSCC reliability function and the tandem coding reliability function (the reliability function resulting from separate source and channel coding). We show that the JSCC reliability function is substantially larger than the tandem coding reliability function for most cases. In particular, the JSCC reliability function is close to twice as large as the tandem coding reliability function for many source-channel pairs. This exponent gain provides a theoretical underpinning and justification for JSCC design as opposed to the widely used tandem coding method, since JSCC will yield a faster exponential rate of decay for the system error probability and thus provides substantial reductions in complexity and coding/decoding delay for real-world communication systems. / Thesis (Ph.D, Mathematics & Statistics) -- Queen's University, 2008-05-13 22:31:56.425