Search results for: visually impaired people

Authors: Say Wei Foo, Qi Dong

Abstract:

Digital watermarking has become an important technique for copyright protection but its robustness against attacks remains a major problem. In this paper, we propose a normalizationbased robust image watermarking scheme. In the proposed scheme, original host image is first normalized to a standard form. Zernike transform is then applied to the normalized image to calculate Zernike moments. Dither modulation is adopted to quantize the magnitudes of Zernike moments according to the watermark bit stream. The watermark extracting method is a blind method. Security analysis and false alarm analysis are then performed. The quality degradation of watermarked image caused by the embedded watermark is visually transparent. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme has very high robustness against various image processing operations and geometric attacks.

Keywords: Image watermarking, Image normalization, Zernike moments, Robustness.

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Authors: Balgabay Sadepovich Maikanov, Laura Tyulegenovna Auteleyeva, Seidenova Simbat Polatbekovna

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In this article reduced nutritional value of the rabbits’ meat at 1, 1 dimethylhydrazine experimental toxicosis is shown. The assay was performed on liquid chromatograph SHIMADZU LC-20 Prominence (Japan) with fluorometric and spectrophotometric detector. This research has revealed that samples of rabbit meat of the experimental group had significant differences from the control group:in amino acids concentration from 1.2% to 9.1%; vitamin concentration from 11.2% to 60.5%, macro – minerals concentration from 17.4% to 78.1% and saturated fatty acids concentration from 17,1% to 34.5%, respectively. The decrease in the chemical composition of rabbits’ meat at 1,1 dimethylhydrazine toxicosis may be due to changes in the internal processes associated with impaired metabolic homeostasis of animals.

Keywords: 1, 1-dimethylhydrazine, metabolic homeostasis, nutritional value, rabbit meat.

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Authors: Alessio Plebe

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One astonishing capability of humans is to recognize thousands of different objects visually, and to learn the semantic association between those objects and words referring to them. This work is an attempt to build a computational model of such capacity,simulating the process by which infants learn how to recognize objects and words through exposure to visual stimuli and vocal sounds.One of the main fact shaping the brain of a newborn is that lights and colors come from entities of the world. Gradually the visual system learn which light sensations belong to same entities, despite large changes in appearance. This experience is common between humans and several other mammals, like non-human primates. But humans only can recognize a huge variety of objects, most manufactured by himself, and make use of sounds to identify and categorize them. The aim of this model is to reproduce these processes in a biologically plausible way, by reconstructing the essential hierarchy of cortical circuits on the visual and auditory neural paths.

Keywords: Auditory cortex, object recognition, self-organizingmaps

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Authors: C. Valderrama-Ulloa, C. Schmitt, J.-P. Marchetti, V. Bucarey

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Access to adequate housing is a fundamental human right and a crucial factor for health. Housing should be inclusive, accessible, and able to meet the needs of all its inhabitants at every stage of their lives without hindering their health, autonomy, or independence. This article addresses the importance of designing housing for people with disabilities, which varies depending on individual abilities, preferences, and cultural considerations. Based on the components of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, wheelchair users, little people (achondroplasia), children with autism spectrum disorder and Down syndrome were characterized, and six domains of activities related to daily life inside homes were defined. The article describes the main barriers homes present for this group of people. It proposes a list of architectural and design aspects to reduce barriers to housing use. The aspects are divided into three main groups: space management, building services, and supporting facilities. The article emphasizes the importance of consulting professionals and users with experience designing for diverse needs to create inclusive, safe, and supportive housing for people with disabilities.

Keywords: Achondroplasia, autism spectrum disorder, disability, down syndrome, wheelchair user.

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Authors: Anayochukwu Leonard Okoli

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The nexus between language and culture is so intertwined and very significant that language is largely seen as a vehicle for cultural transmission. Culture itself refers to the aggregate belief system of a people, embellishing its corporate national image or brand. If we conceive national rebranding as a campaign to rekindle the patriotic flame in the consciousness of a people towards its sociocultural imperatives and values, then, Nigerian indigenous linguistic flame has not been ignited. Consequently, the paper contends that the current national rebranding policy remains a myth in the confines of the elitists' intellectual squabble. It however recommends that the use of our indigenous languages should be supported by adequate legislation and also propagated by Nollywood in order to revamp and sustain the people’s interest in their local languages. Finally, the use of the indigenous Nigerian languages demonstrates patriotism, an important ingredient for actualizing a genuine national rebranding.

Keywords: Appraisal, Indigenous Languages, Policy, Rebranding.

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Authors: Abdulrahim Aljamal

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Bay leaves have been shown to improve insulin function in vitro but the effects on people have not been determined. The objective of this study was to determine if bay leaves may be important in the prevention and/or alleviation of type 1 diabetes. Methods: Fifty five people with type 1 diabetes were divided into two groups, 45 given capsules containing 3 g of bay leaves per day for 30 days and 10 given a placebo capsules. Results All the patients consumed bay leaves shows reduced serum glucose with significant decreases 27% after 30 d. Total cholesterol decreased, 21 %, after 30 days with larger decreases in low density lipoprotein (LDL) 24%. High density lipoprotein (HDL) increased 20% and Triglycerides also decreased 26%. There were no significant changes in the placebo group. Conclusion, this study demonstrates that consumption of bay leaves, 3 g/d for 30 days, decreases risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases and suggests that bay leaves may be beneficial for people with type 1 diabetes.

Keywords: bay leave, cholesterol, diabetes, triglycerides

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Authors: Nada Azhar

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This paper is drawn from a wider study of the management of gender, age and disability diversity in the banking sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), which aims to develop a framework for diversity management (DM) in this sector. The paper focuses on the management of disability diversity. The purpose of the paper is to assist in understanding disability DM in the banking sector in KSA and to make suggestions for its enhancement. Hence, it contributes to filling a research gap, as there is a dearth of literature on disability DM, in KSA in general, and in the banking sector specifically. Discrimination against people with disabilities is a social issue that has not been entirely overcome in any society. However, in KSA, Islam informs almost every aspect of daily life including work, and Islam is against discrimination. Hence, in KSA, there are regulations to accommodate people with disabilities; however, employers are still free not to hire job applicants with disabilities specifically because of their condition. Indeed, disabled people are almost entirely absent from the labour market. There are 12 Saudi-owned or part-Saudi-owned banks in KSA and two managers from each of these were interviewed, making a total of 24. The interviews aimed to investigate empirically the understanding of managers in the banking sector in KSA of diversity management, including disability DM, in the banking sector. The interview data were analysed using thematic analysis. Two interviewees stated that banks used the employment of people with disabilities to enhance their corporate image, while five expressed the opinion that disabled employees could contribute to the bank provided they did not have to deal with customers face-to-face. Nine of the interviewees perceived that disabled employees could be of value to the bank for their own sake, not only in ‘behind the scenes’ roles. Another two interviewees mentioned that employing disabled people could be part of the bank’s community service programme and one thought it would be part of the bank’s Saudisation efforts. The remaining five interviewees did not know how disabled people could contribute to the bank. The findings show that disability DM in the banking sector in KSA is a relatively new concept, and is not yet well understood. In the light of the findings, in order to achieve the purpose of the paper, the following suggestions were made for the enhancement of disability DM in the banking sector in KSA. A change in attitudes towards disabled people is necessary. Such a change in the workplace can only be achieved if a top-down approach is taken to the integration of disabled people. Hence, it is suggested that management and employees follow a course in disability awareness. Further, a diversity officer in the HR department could enhance the integration of disabled people into the banking workforce. It is also suggested that greater government support is required through closely monitored and enforced anti-discrimination legislation. Moreover, flexible working arrangements such as part-time work would facilitate the employment of disabled people and benefit other groups of employees.

Keywords: Banking, disability, diversity management, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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Authors: A. Gagat-Matuła

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The aim of this article is to present a relation between family relationships and styles of approach to coping with stress among young people from migrant families with cerebral palsy. The study involved 70 persons (with cerebral palsy in the standard intellectual capacity) from families, in which at least one of parents is a migrant. To measure the level of communication in the family, the Family Relationships Questionnaire (FRQ) was employed, while the styles of coping with stress was investigated with the CISS Questionnaire. The relation between family relationships and styles of coping with stressful situations of the respondents was investigated. It was shown that there is an affiliation between the emotion-oriented style of coping with the stress and the variable of “communication in my family”. Moreover, it was demonstrated that there is a linkage between the task-oriented style of coping with the stress and the variable of “maternal control in mother-child relationship”. Young people with CP subjected to overprotection and control from their mothers in problem situations tend to focus on their own emotions instead of trying to undertake constructive actions. Excessive control in daily life by mothers results in passivity and a lack of motivation to cope with difficult situations.

Keywords: Young people with cerebral palsy, family relationships, styles of coping with stress, migration.

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Authors: Yoojin Chung

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Compare to western cultures, women who smoke in Korea are not tolerated. Korean people are prejudiced against women smoking. In spite of the relative prevalence of sexual equality in South Korea, women too often feel obliged to confine their smoking to only a few public spaces, such as designated smoking rooms, coffee shops or pubs. Korean Confucianism classifies people according to gender and social status. According to Confucian culture, cigarettes convey clear social meanings as well as reinforcing status, age and gender, beyond personal preferences. For these reasons, the significant of people smoking in Korea varies according to their gender. This study will determine reasons for the ongoing sexual discrimination against female Korean smokers thorough analyzing Korean films. Since film is a medium reflects social phenomenon. Roland Barthes- Mythology Theory will be used to analyze films.

Keywords: Korean films, Mythology, Sexual discrimination, Women Smoking

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Authors: L. Sterken, S. Sebben, L. Löfdahl

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In this paper an alternative visualisation approach of the wake behind different vehicle body shapes with simplified and fully-detailed underbody has been proposed and analysed. This allows for a more clear distinction among the different wake regions. This visualisation is based on a transformation of the cartesian coordinates of a chosen wake plane to polar coordinates, using as filter velocities lower than the freestream. This transformation produces a polar wake plot that enables the division and quantification of the wake in a number of sections. In this paper, local drag has been used to visualise the drag contribution of the flow by the different sections. Visually, a balanced wake can be observed by the concentric behaviour of the polar plots. Alternatively, integration of the local drag of each degree section as a ratio of the total local drag yields a quantifiable approach of the wake uniformity, where different sections contribute equally to the local drag, with the exception of the wheels.

Keywords: Coordinate transformation, ground vehicle, local drag, wake.

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Authors: Saowapa Phaithayawat

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The objectives of study are the following: To study the way of life in terms of one hundred years co-existence of the Muslim and local community in this area 2) To analyze factors affect to this community with happy co-existence. The study requires quantitative research to study a history together with the study of humanity. The result of this study showed that the area of Petchburi 7 community is an ancient area which has owned by the Muslim for almost 100 years. There is a sanctuary as & center of unity. Later Bangkok becomes developed and provides more infrastructures like motorway and other transportation: however, the owners of lands in this community still keep their lands and build many buildings to run business. With this purpose, there are many non-Muslim people come to live here with co-existence. Not only are they convenient to work but also easy to transport by sky train. There are factors that make them live harmonious as following: 1) All Muslims in this area are strict to follow their rules and allocate their community for business. 2) All people, who come and live here, are middle-aged and working men and women. They, rent rooms closed to their work. 3) There are Muslim food and desserts, especially Roti, the popular fried flour, and local Chachak, tea originated from the south of Thailand. All these food and desserts are famous for working men and women to home and join after work 4) All Muslim in this area are independent to lead their own lives although a society changes rapidly.

Keywords: Co-existence, Muslim and other group of people, the ancient community.

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Authors: Ma. Eliza Jijeth V. dela Cruz

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Technology is a recent prodigy in people’s everyday life that has taken off. It infiltrated almost every aspect of one’s lives, changing how people work, how people learn and how people perceive things. Academic Institutions, just like other organizations, have deeply modified its strategies to integrate technology into the institutional vision and corporate strategy that has never been greater. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) continues to be recognized as a major factor in organizations realizing its aims and objectives. Consequently, ICT has an important role in the mobilization of an academic institution’s strategy to support the delivery of operational, strategic or transformational objectives. This ICT strategy should align the institution with the radical changes of the ICT world through the use of Enterprise Architecture (EA). Hence, EA’s objective is to optimize the islands of legacy processes to be integrated that is receptive to change and supportive of the delivery of the strategy. In this paper, the focus is to explore the motivational antecedents during the adoption of EA in a Higher Education Institution in the Philippines for its ICT strategic plan. The seven antecedents (viewpoint, stakeholders, human traits, vision, revolutionary innovation, techniques and change components) provide understanding into EA adoption and the antecedents that influences the process of EA adoption.

Keywords: Enterprise architecture, adoption, antecedents, higher education institution.

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Authors: E. Di Giovanni

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This paper focuses on the contemporary phenomenon of Anti-Gypsyism which diffused widely throughout social representations of the so called “Gypsies”. In Europe and especially in Italy, the media tends to reproduce racist stereotypes and prejudices through a xenophobic depiction of this ethnic group, often offering an ethnocentric point of view. From an anthropological perspective, Roma people are a minority group facing diasporic phenomena across Europe, produced by the host societies.

Keywords: Roma people, Anty-Gypsyism, Ethnocentrism, Mass Media.

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Authors: Mitsuyuki Kawakami, Kimihiro Yamanaka

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The top-heavy demographic of low birth-rate and longer lifespan is a growing social problem, and one of its expected effects will be a shortage of young workers and a growing reliance on a workforce of middle-aged and older people. However, the environment of today's industrial workplace is not particularly suited to middle-aged and older workers, one notable problem being temperature control. Higher temperatures can cause health problems such as heat stroke, and the number of cases increases sharply in people over 65. Moreover, in conditions above 33°C, older people can develop circulatory system disorders, and also have a higher chance of suffering a fatal heart attack. We therefore propose a new method for controlling temperature in the indoor workplace. In this study two different verification experiments were conducted, with the proposed temperature control method being tested in cargo containers and conventional houses. The method's effectiveness was apparent in measurements of temperature and electricity consumption

Keywords: CO2 reduction, Energy saving, Temperature control

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Authors: Min-Ah Woo, Min-Cheol Lim, Hyun-Joo Chang, Sung-Wook Choi

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We developed a paper-based colorimetric sensor utilizing magnetic nanoparticles conjugated with aptamers (MNP-Apts) against E. coli O157:H7. The MNP-Apts were applied to a test sample solution containing the target cells, and the solution was simply dropped onto PVDF (polyvinylidene difluoride) membrane. The membrane moves the sample radially to form the sample spots of different compounds as concentric rings, thus the MNP-Apts on the membrane enabled specific recognition of the target cells through a color ring generation by MNP-promoted colorimetric reaction of TMB (3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine) and H₂O₂. This method could be applied to rapidly and visually detect various bacterial pathogens in less than 1 h without cell culturing.

Keywords: Aptamer, colorimetric sensor, E. coli O157:H7, magnetic nanoparticle, polyvinylidene difluoride.

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Authors: Kanyarat Bussaban, Siriporn Poolsuwan

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This study is conducted with the objective to prove how the distorted distribution of welfare affects the quality of school-age children lives differently in the case ofan urban community in Bangkok. 334 samples are households from Suan Oi and Ratchapatubtim communities. The study of sample communities found the difference between two communityareasthatare close. The people of Suan Oi community are economically better off people than the people of the Ratchapatubtim community. They share the benefits of using most services except the welfare of a child’s education.The resulting analysis of the variability in quality of life of the school age children indicate that heads of the households are women looking for quality of life benefits when the compulsory school age is less.A study of the two communities suggests that the inequality in incomedistribution currently affects the quality of life of school-age children.

Keywords: Inequality, Income distribution, Quality of school-age children lives, Welfare state.

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Authors: Yue Wang, Jixin Ma, Brian Knight

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This paper presents a visualized computer aided case tool for non-expert, called Visual Time, for representing and reasoning about incomplete and uncertain temporal information. It is both expressive and versatile, allowing logical conjunctions and disjunctions of both absolute and relative temporal relations, such as “Before”, “Meets”, “Overlaps”, “Starts”, “During”, and “Finishes”, etc. In terms of a visualized framework, Visual Time provides a user-friendly environment for describing scenarios with rich temporal structure in natural language, which can be formatted as structured temporal phrases and modeled in terms of Temporal Relationship Diagrams (TRD). A TRD can be automatically and visually transformed into a corresponding Time Graph, supported by automatic consistency checker that derives a verdict to confirm if a given scenario is temporally consistent or inconsistent.

Keywords: Time Visualization, Uncertainty, Incompleteness, Consistency Checking.

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Authors: Zhazira Kuanyshbayeva

Abstract:

Article is devoted to the problem of Kazakhstan people national values in the conditions of the Republic of Kazakhstan independence. Formation of ethnos national values is viewed as the mandatory constituent of this process in contemporary conditions. The article shows the dynamics of forming socialspiritual basis of Kazakhstan people-s national values. It depicts peculiarities of interethnic relations in poly-ethnic and multiconfessional Kazakhstan. The study reviews in every detail various directions of the state social policy development in the sphere of national values. It is aimed to consolidation of the society to achieve the shared objective, i.e. building democratic and civilized state. The author discloses peculiarities of ethnos national values development using specific sources. It is underlined that renewal and modernization of Kazakhstan society represents new stage in the national value development, and its typical feature is integration process based on peoples- friendship, cultural principles of interethnic communication.

Keywords: Interethnic relation, Kazakhstan people, national policy, national values.

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Authors: M. Kaggwa

Abstract:

Technology or lack of it will play an important role in Africa-s effort to achieve inclusive development. Although a key determinant of competitiveness, new technology can exacerbate exclusion of the majority from the mainstream economic activities. To minimise potential technology exclusion while leveraging its critical role in African-s development, requires insight into technology diffusion process. Using system dynamics approach, a technology diffusion model is presented. The frequency of interaction of people exposed to and those not exposed to technology, and the technology adoption rate - the fraction of people who embrace new technologies once they are exposed, are identified as the broad factors critical to technology diffusion to wider society enabling more people to be part of the economic growth process. Based on simulation results, it is recommends that these two broad factors should form part of national policy aimed at achieving inclusive and sustainable development in Africa.

Keywords: Inclusive Development, System Dynamics, Technology, Technology diffusion.

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Authors: John N. Ellinas, Panagiotis Kenterlis

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The efficiency of an image watermarking technique depends on the preservation of visually significant information. This is attained by embedding the watermark transparently with the maximum possible strength. The current paper presents an approach for still image digital watermarking in which the watermark embedding process employs the wavelet transform and incorporates Human Visual System (HVS) characteristics. The sensitivity of a human observer to contrast with respect to spatial frequency is described by the Contrast Sensitivity Function (CSF). The strength of the watermark within the decomposition subbands, which occupy an interval on the spatial frequencies, is adjusted according to this sensitivity. Moreover, the watermark embedding process is carried over the subband coefficients that lie on edges where distortions are less noticeable. The experimental evaluation of the proposed method shows very good results in terms of robustness and transparency.

Keywords: Image watermarking, wavelet transform, human visual system, contrast sensitivity function.

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Authors: Usa Sutthisakorn, Samchai Jirapatarasil

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This paper aims to present knowledge management for solving economic problem and poverty in Thai community. A community in Thailand is studied as a case study for master plan or social and economic plan which derived form the research people conducted by themselves in their community. The result shows that community uses knowledge management in recording income and expense, analyzing their consumption, and then systematic planning of the production, distribution and consumption in the community. Besides, community enterprises, that people create as the by-products of master plan, can facilitate diverse economic activities which are able to reduce economic problem and poverty. The knowledge that people gain from solving their problem through building community enterprises are both tacit and explicit knowledge. Four styles of knowledge conversion: socialization,externalization, combination and internalization, are used. Besides, knowledge sharing inside the organization, between organizations and its environment are found. Keywordsknowledge management, community enterprise, Thailand.

Keywords: knowledge management, community enterprise, Thailand

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Authors: Amol Bapuso Rajmane, Pradeep M. Patil, Prakash J. Kulkarni

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The Information Retrieval community is facing the problem of effective representation of Web search results. When we organize web search results into clusters it becomes easy to the users to quickly browse through search results. The traditional search engines organize search results into clusters for ambiguous queries, representing each cluster for each meaning of the query. The clusters are obtained according to the topical similarity of the retrieved search results, but it is possible for results to be totally dissimilar and still correspond to the same meaning of the query. People search is also one of the most common tasks on the Web nowadays, but when a particular person’s name is queried the search engines return web pages which are related to different persons who have the same queried name. By placing the burden on the user of disambiguating and collecting pages relevant to a particular person, in this paper, we have developed an approach that clusters web pages based on the association of the web pages to the different people and clusters that are based on generic entity search.

Keywords: Entity resolution, information retrieval, graph based disambiguation, web people search, clustering.

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Authors: B. Tondu, N. Bardou

Abstract:

In its attempt to offer new ways into autonomy for a large population of disabled people, assistive technology has largely been inspired by robotics engineering. Recent human-like robots carry new hopes that it seems to us necessary to analyze by means of a specific theory of anthropomorphism. We propose to distinguish a functional anthropomorphism which is the one of actual wheelchairs from a structural anthropomorphism based on a mimicking of human physiological systems. If functional anthropomorphism offers the main advantage of eliminating the physiological systems interdependence issue, the highly link between the robot for disabled people and their human-built environment would lead to privilege in the future the anthropomorphic structural way. In this future framework, we highlight a general interdependence principle : any partial or local structural anthropomorphism generates new anthropomorphic needs due to the physiological systems interdependency, whose effects can be evaluated by means of specific anthropomorphic criterions derived from a set theory-based approach of physiological systems.

Keywords: Anthropomorphism, Human-like machines, Systemstheory, Disability.

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Authors: R. Karami, A. Gharaei

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This study was undertaken at four different sites (north polluted, south polluted, south healthy and north healthy) in Tehran, in order to examine whether there was a relationship between publicly available air quality data and the public’s perception of air quality and to suggest some guidelines for reducing air pollution. A total of 200 people were accidentally filled out the research questionnaires at mentioned sites and air quality data were obtained simultaneously from the Air Quality Control Department. Data was analyzed in Excel and SPSS software’s. Clean air and job security were of great importance to people comparing to other pleasant aspect of life. Also air pollution and serious diseases were the most important of people concerns. Street monitors and news paper services on air quality were little used by the public as a means of obtaining information on air pollution. Using public transportation and avoiding inevitable journeys are the most important ways for reducing air pollution. The results reveal that the public’s perception of air quality is not a reliable indicator of the actual levels of air pollution.

Keywords: Air pollution, Quality of life, Opinion poll, Public participation.

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Authors: Young-Seok Choi

Abstract:

Cerebellar ataxia is a steadily progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with loss of motor control, leaving patients unable to walk, talk, or perform activities of daily living. Direct motor instruction in cerebella ataxia patients has limited effectiveness, presumably because an inappropriate closed-loop cerebellar response to the inevitable observed error confounds motor learning mechanisms. Could the use of EEG based BCI provide advanced biofeedback to improve motor imagery and provide a “backdoor” to improving motor performance in ataxia patients? In order to determine the feasibility of using EEG-based BCI control in this population, we compare the ability to modulate mu-band power (8-12 Hz) by performing a cued motor imagery task in an ataxia patient and healthy control.

Keywords: Cerebellar ataxia, Electroencephalogram, brain-computer interface, motor imagery.

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Authors: Supannee Chaiumporn

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This article is to introduce the meaning and form of social quality moving process as indicated by members of two suburb communities with different social and cultural contexts. The form of social quality moving process is very significant for the community and social development, because it will make the people living together with sustainable happiness. This is a qualitative study involving 30 key-informants from two suburb communities. Data were collected though key-informant interviews, and analyzed using logical content description and descriptive statistics. This research found that on the social quality component, the people in both communities stressed the procedure for social qualitymaking. This includes the generousness, sharing and assisting among people in the communities. These practices helped making people to live together with sustainable happiness. Living as a family or appear to be a family is the major social characteristic of these two communities. This research also found that form of social quality’s moving process of both communities stress relation of human and nature; “nature overpower humans” paradigm and influence of religious doctrine that emphasizes relations among humans. Both criteria make the form of social’s moving process simple, adaptive to nature and caring for opinion sharing and understanding among each other before action. This form of social quality’s moving process is composed of 4 steps; (1) awareness building, (2) motivation to change, (3) participation from every party which is concerned (4) self-reliance.

Keywords: Social quality, form of social quality moving process, happiness, different social and cultural context.

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Authors: David M. Lucas, Charles W. Jarrett

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In the culture of Thailand, the Yak serve as a mediated icon representing strength, power, and mystical protection not only for the Buddha, but for population of worshipers. Originating from the forests of China, the Yak continues to stand guard at the gates of Buddhist temples. The Yak represents Thai culture in the hearts of Thai people. This paper presents a qualitative study regarding the curious mix of media, culture, and religion that projects the Yak of Thailand as a larger than life message throughout the political, cultural, and religious spheres. The gate guardians, or gods as they are sometimes called, appear throughout the religious temples of Asian cultures. However, the Asian cultures demonstrate differences in artistic renditions (or presentations) of such sentinels. Thailand gate guards (the Yak) stand in front of many Buddhist temples, and these iconic figures display unique features with varied symbolic significance. The temple (or wat), plays a vital role in every community; and, for many people, Thailand’s temples are the country’s most endearing sights. The authors applied folknography as a methodology to illustrate the importance of the Thai Yak in serving as meaningful icons that transcend not only time, but the culture, religion, and mass media. The Yak represents mythical, religious, artistic, cultural, and militaristic significance for the Thai people. Data collection included interviews, focus groups, and natural observations. This paper summarizes the perceptions of the Thai people concerning their gate sentries and the relationship, communication, connection, and the enduring respect that Thai people hold for their guardians of the gates.

Keywords: Communication, Culture, Folknography, Icon, Image, Media, Protection, Religion, Yak.

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Authors: Pradeep Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Gurjinder Kaur

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In recent years, rapid advances in software and hardware in the field of information technology along with a digital imaging revolution in the medical domain facilitate the generation and storage of large collections of images by hospitals and clinics. To search these large image collections effectively and efficiently poses significant technical challenges, and it raises the necessity of constructing intelligent retrieval systems. Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) consists of retrieving the most visually similar images to a given query image from a database of images[5]. Medical CBIR (content-based image retrieval) applications pose unique challenges but at the same time offer many new opportunities. On one hand, while one can easily understand news or sports videos, a medical image is often completely incomprehensible to untrained eyes.

Keywords: Classification, clustering, content-based image retrieval (CBIR), relevance feedback (RF), statistical similarity matching, support vector machine (SVM).

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Authors: Natalia Constantinescu

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This cross-sectional study aims to explore the differences among adults with somatic symptom disorder (SSD) versus adults without SSD, in terms of attachment and emotion regulation strategies. A total sample of 80 participants (40 people with SSD and 40 healthy controls), aged 20-57 years old (M = 31.69, SD = 10.55), were recruited from institutions and online groups. They completed the Romanian version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale – Short Form (ECR-S), Regulation of Emotion Systems Survey (RESS), Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) and Somatic Symptom Disorder – B Criteria Scale (SSD-12). The results indicate significant differences between the two groups in terms of attachment and emotion regulation strategies. Adults with SSD have a higher level of attachment anxiety and avoidance compared to the nonclinical group. Moreover, people with SSD are more prone to use rumination and suppression and less prone to use reevaluation compared to healthy people. Implications for SSD prevention and treatment are discussed.

Keywords: adult attachment, emotion regulation strategies, psychosomatic disorders, somatic symptom disorder

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Authors: Ali Mithad Emre

Abstract:

In military aviation, the use of flight simulators has proliferated recently in order to train fifth generation fighter pilots. With these simulators, pilots can carry out real-time flights resulting in seeing their faults and can perform emergency drills prior to real flights. Since we cannot risk losing the aircraft and the pilot himself/herself in the flight training process, flight simulators are of great importance to adapt the fighter pilots competently to real flights aboard the fifth generation aircraft. The real flights are impossible to simulate thoroughly on the ground. To some extent, the fixed-based simulators may assist the pilot to steer aircraft technically and visually but flight simulators can’t trick the pilot’s vestibular, sensory, and perceptual systems without motion platforms. This paper discusses the benefits of motion simulators for fifth generation fighter pilots’ training in preference to the fixed-based counterparts by analyzing their pros and cons.

Keywords: Centrifuge, g-loc, military, pilot, sickness, simulator, VMS.

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