Singing from the same sheet: computational melodic similarity measurement and copyright law

Musical plagiarism is an area of law that is not only of interest to lawyers but captures the curiosity of the public, induces apprehension in the composer and now intrigues the computer scientist. Attention increases in the case of celebrated artists when the revenue is likely to be significant, and when the allegation is one of a perceived similarity between the infringing and infringed works. Despite the broad interest and frequently high commercial significance of this issue, there has been little systematic research into what constitutes musical plagiarism from either a technical or perceptual perspective. This article discusses some suggestions made to date for introducing a technical measurement of musical similarity in copyright disputes before presenting our own computational system. The novelty of our proposal arises from an interdisciplinary approach combining computational, musicological, and psychological perspectives to emulate legal principles, mimic the reasonable listener as well as copy the type of evidence often presented in these cases.     

Preservation of the Waning Temple Opus

正Hu Qingxue,40,a farm lad from Gu’an County in Hebei Province began in his teens to learn traditional musical notation.At 17 he enrolled in the classes of Zhang Benxing,a master of Jing Music at Beijing’s Zhihua Temple,which dates back to the early Ming Dynasty(1368-1644).Hu is now a government-recognized successor to this national intangible cultural heritage.     

促进东北地区人才流动策略研究

社会主义市场经济体制的建立,客观上要求生产要素与人才资源实现最佳组合、优化配置,而振兴东北老工业基地的战略目标也必然引起东三省产业结构的调整和人才流向的变化。然而,人才资源与各种生产要求的合理配置需要一个前提条件,那就是消除体制性障碍实现人才的自由流动,只有实现了人才的自由流动,才能实现人才资源与社会资源、生产要素的最佳配置,从而促进振兴东北老工业基地战略目标的实现。     

30 years on - The review of the Council of Europe Data Protection Convention 108

The Council of Europe is engaging in a process of revising its Data Protection Convention (Convention 108) to meet and overcome these challenges. The Council of Europe celebrates this year the 30th Anniversary of its Data Protection Convention (usually referred to as Convention 108) which has served as the backbone of international law in over 40 European countries and has influenced policy and legislation far beyond Europe’s shores. With new data protection challenges arising every day, the Convention is revising its Data Protection Convention. Computer Law and Security Review (CLSR) together with the Intl. Association of IT Lawyers (IAITL) and ILAWS have submitted comments in response to the Expert Committee’s public consultation on this document. CLSR aims to position itself at the forefront of policy discussion drawing upon the high quality scholarly contributions from leading experts around the world.     

"跨文化相互作用"理论与近代中德关系史研究

自上个世纪90年代起,德国柏林自由大学东亚研究所以罗梅君教授为首的中德关系史研究小组,一反传统的、以政治外交为重点的中德关系史编纂模式和现代化理论,提出了跨文化相互作用的新理论,并通过具体实践,把这一理论付诸运用,取得了重要研究成果。跨文化相互作用的理论和实践不仅颠覆了欧洲中心论在近代中德关系史研究中的霸权地位,也为近代中德关系史研究提供了切实可行的理论方法论工具和值得借鉴的范例。     

Disputes on the Question of Wartime Education and the Formation of an Educational Policy for the Guomindang in the War

Abstract

The divide between the Western-emphasized and Chinese-emphasized approaches in Chinese musical modernity has shaped the thinking and practice of Chinese music. In colonial Shanghai, where the divide was solidified, the divide was organizationally represented by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Great Unity Music Society. Both forces, however, engaged with the same ethical and political discourse of nation-building. For example, both looked up to the colonial Shanghai Municipal Orchestra as a desirable model. Assessing such subtle connections, this article uses the idea of network to overcome the dichotomatic limitation of the divide, while examining its foundation. Drawing upon concepts of “weak ties” and “conflictual ties,” this article shows how interdependence and rivalry overlapped in the emerging musical network, which shaped the new discursive, performance, and compositional practices in both forces. Both forces, indeed, were equally constitutive of the emerging “field” of music in Chinese modernity.     

跨国公司中国员工的跨文化胜任力研究——“走出去”与“走进来”企业间的比较

作为企业国际化经营关键因素的员工跨文化胜任力及其培养是亟待研究的问题.本文运用深度访谈法探讨了跨国公司中国员工的跨文化胜任力以及在“走进来”外国企业和“走出去”中国企业两种跨文化情境下的差异.基于访谈结果,本文发现“走出去”与“走进来”跨国公司中的中国员工的岗位任务存在巨大差异,从而面临着不同的跨文化胜任力要求,并进一步从跨文化知识、经验、技能、能力和自我概念与动机五个方面分析了两者间的差异;同时本文发现企业提升中国员工跨文化胜任力的4种方法.本文研究成果补充了前人的研究,丰富了跨国经营的理论并对新兴国家跨国公司员工的跨文化胜任力培养有指导意义.     

Sorting out smart surveillance

Surveillance is becoming ubiquitous in our society. We can also see the emergence of “smart” surveillance technologies and the assemblages (or combinations) of such technologies, supposedly to combat crime and terrorism, but in fact used for a variety of purposes, many of which are intrusive upon the privacy of law-abiding citizens. Following the dark days of 9/11, security and surveillance became paramount. More recently, in Europe, there has been a policy commitment to restore privacy to centre stage. This paper examines the legal tools available to ensure that privacy and personal data protection are respected in attempts to ensure the security of our society, and finds that improvements are needed in our legal and regulatory framework if privacy is indeed to be respected by law enforcement authorities and intelligence agencies. It then goes on to argue that privacy impact assessments should be used to sort out the necessity and proportionality of security and surveillance programmes and policies vis-à-vis privacy.     

Tian Aiyun: Conserver and Exponent of Kaifeng Erjiaxian Opera

正ERJIAXIAN Opera originates in folk melodies in the area covering western Shandong Province,eastern and northern Henan Province,northern Jiangsu Province and northern Anhui Province,where it is most popular.Its main musical accompaniment is the sihu,a musical instrument with four