Eigen Faces: Detecció, Classificació/Reconeixement de cares

En aquest projecte es pretén utilitzar mètodes coneguts com ara Viola&Jones (detecció) i EigenFaces (reconeixement) per a detectar i reconèixer cares dintre d’imatges de vídeo. Per a aconseguir aquesta tasca cal partir d’un conjunt de dades d’entrenament per a cada un dels mètodes (base de dades formada per imatges i anotacions manuals). A partir d’aquí, l’aplicació, ha de ser capaç de detectar cares en noves imatges i reconèixer-les (identificar de quina cara es tracta)

The High Education Teacher, an Agent of Moral Development

The article shows the classroom like an workplace to move moral development, from the relationship between students and professors in the university atmosphere. It proposes elements to take to the practice the ethics education a transverse curriculum line. It assumes the ethics, from a plural perspective, founded on the knowledge and the human action. It joins the integral formation with the conceptions of education, curriculum, pedagogical models and methodologies of education. It proposes actions to demonstrate the commitment of the professor with the integral formation. Finally, concludes that the professor is agent of moral development and that in the classroom is constructed: identity, autonomy and responsibility, from open and plural relation between professors and students and between these and the knowledge.

Narración, emociones e identidad. Una lectura epistemológica y hermenéutica

El propósito de este artículo es presentar tres argumentos en torno al papel que las emociones y los procesos de narración tienen en la construcción de la identidad moral. En primer lugar, se sugiere que la comprensión cartesiana de la identidad moderna rechaza el valor que las emociones y los sentimientos tienen en la formulación de juicios normativos. En este sentido, se argumentará que necesitamos una perspectiva epistemológica distinta. En segundo lugar, se revisará la relación existente entre la identidad narrativa y las tres formas de la mímesis en Tiempo y narración. Nuestro análisis tiene el propósito de mostrar la importancia que porque se argumentará que el punto de vista hermenéutico abre la puerta a un horizonte distinto de la acción humana que incluye las emociones y los sentimientos. Finalmente, se expondrá el concepto de frameworks en el pensamiento de Charles Taylor, por la siguiente razón: la noción frameworks nos proporciona un punto de articulación entre la cuestión de la identidad y la teoría hermenéutica sobre los conceptos mencionados y el sentido de la vida.---Narrative, emotions and identity. An epistemological and hermeneutical readingThe purpose of this article is to explain three arguments about the role that emotions and the process of narration have in the construction of moral identity. First, I suggest that Cartesian comprehension of modern identity rejects the value that emotions and feelings have in formulations of normative judgments. In this sense I will argue that we need a different epistemological perspective. Second, I will review the relation between narrative identity and the three forms of mimesis in Time and Narrative. Our inquiry into them has the purpose of showing the importance that they have in many basic fields of application in social science, because I consider that the hermeneutical point of view opens the gate to a comprehensive perspective of human action, and it includes emotions and feelings. Finally, I will expose the concept of “Frameworks” in Charles Taylor´s thought for the following reason: “Frameworks” provides a point of articulation between question of identity and hermeneutical theory about the emotions, feelings and meaning of live.Key words: narrative identity, hermeneutical theory, emotions, feelings, normative judgments---Narração, emoções e identidade. Uma leitura epistemológica e hermenêuticaO propósito deste artigo é apresentar três argumentos em torno ao papel que as emoções e os processos de narração têm na construção da identidade moral. Em primeiro lugar se sugere que a compreensão cartesiana da identidade moderna recusa o valor que as emoções e os sentimentos têm na formulação de juízos normativos. Neste sentido, se argumentará que necessitamos uma perspectiva epistemológica diferente. Em segundo lugar, se revisará a relação existente entre a identidade narrativa e as três formas da mimese em Tempo e narração. Nossa análise tem o propósito de mostrar a importância que estas noções têm em diferentes campos de aplicação das ciências sociais, porque se argumentará que o ponto de vista hermenêutico abre a porta a um horionte distinto da ação humana que inclui as emoções e os sentimentos. Finalmente, se exporá o conceito de frameworks no pensamento de Charles Taylor, pela seguinte razão: a noção frameworks nos proporciona um ponto de articulação entre a questão da identidade e a teoria hermenêutica sobre os conceitos mencionados e o sentido da vida.Palavras chave: Identidade narrativa, teoria hermenêutica, emoções, sentimentos, juízos normativos.

Los diversos rostros del poder y algunos de sus matices

El economista Boulding mostró que entre los extremos de malevolencia y benevolencia de la acción humana existen tres formas de poder: integrativo (intensivo en reciprocidad y altruismo), de intercambio (con diversos niveles de egoísmo) y de amenaza (que puede llegar a ser destructivo). También sugirió que existe un poder organizativo, imprescindible para el éxito del resto de poderes. Una lectura crítica de tal aporte permite mostrar los siguientes matices: incidencia de las motivaciones humanas, como razón, pasión e interés en el poder; interacciones sociales y límites del poder; algunos costos y beneficios de distintas formas de poder, incluyendo los atributos de la acción noviolenta. Finalmente, se sugieren interrogantes claves para desarrollar investigaciones futuras.-----Economist Boulding showed that between the human action ends of malevolence and benevolence, there are three faces of power, namely: integrative (intensive in reciprocity and altruism), exchange (with various selfishness levels), and threat (can turn into destructive). He also suggested that there is an organizational power that becomes essential in the success of the other powers. A critical reading of such contribution allows to show the following shades: incidence of human motivations such as reason, passion and interest in power, social interactions and power limits, some costs and benefits of the different power types, including non-violent action attributes. Finally, key questions are suggested for future research development.

Island ecosystems - priorities for conservation?

In terms of their land area, many islands contain a disproportionate number of taxa for certain groups of organisms. Thus the IUCN/WWF Centres of Plant Diversity project, which identifies 234 first order sites that are globally most important from a botanical point of view, includes a considerable proportion of islands, and in Conservation International’s Hotspot programme, Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands, the Philippines, and the Caribbean are identified as three of the five “hottest of the hotspots”. Priority for conservation action is often assumed for islands because of the often dramatic losses already suffered and the serious level of threats to which plant or animal populations are subjected, largely as a result of direct or indirect human action. The practicalities of conservation are not, however, straightforward in many cases. In the conservation of island hotspots of biodiversity, in addition to the many scientific and technical issues involved, political, financial and socio-economic factors also have to be addressed. The priorities for conservation will be examined in the light of targets set by the recently approved CBD Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and in the wider context of sustainable development of island ecosystems and the needs and aspirations of the people who inhabit them. Particular attention will be given to the threats from invasive species and the resultant increasing homogenization of floras and faunas, leading to the ‘deinsularization’ of islands.

Reduced cortico-motor facilitation in a normal sample with high traits of autism

Recent research in social neuroscience proposes a link between mirror neuron system (MNS) and social cognition. The MNS has been proposed to be the neural mechanism underlying action recognition and intention understanding and more broadly social cognition. Pre-motor MNS has been suggested to modulate the motor cortex during action observation. This modulation results in an enhanced cortico-motor excitability reflected in increased motor evoked potentials (MEPs) at the muscle of interest during action observation. Anomalous MNS activity has been reported in the autistic population whose social skills are notably impaired. It is still an open question whether traits of autism in the normal population are linked to the MNS functioning. We measured TMS-induced MEPs in normal individuals with high and low traits of autism as measured by the autistic quotient (AQ), while observing videos of hand or mouth actions, static images of a hand or mouth or a blank screen. No differences were observed between the two while they observed a blank screen. However participants with low traits of autism showed significantly greater MEP amplitudes during observation of hand/mouth actions relative to static hand/mouth stimuli. In contrast, participants with high traits of autism did not show such a MEP amplitude difference between observation of actions and static stimuli. These results are discussed with reference to MNS functioning.

The role of predator overlap in the robustness and extinction of a four species predator-prey network

Predators and preys often form species networks with asymmetric patterns of interaction. We study the dynamics of a four species network consisting of two weakly connected predator-prey pairs. We focus our analysis on the effects of the cross interaction between the predator of the first pair and the prey of the second pair. This is an example where the predator overlap, which is the proportion of predators that a given prey shares with other preys, is not uniform across the network due to asymmetries in patterns of interaction. We explore the behavior of the system under different interaction strengths and study the dynamics of survival and extinction. In particular, we consider situations in which the four species have initial populations lower than their long-term equilibrium, simulating catastrophic situations in which their abundances are reduced due to human action or environmental change. We show that, under these reduced initial conditions, and depending on the strength of the cross interaction, the populations tend to oscillate before re-equilibrating, disturbing the community equilibrium and sometimes reaching values that are only a small fraction of the equilibrium population, potentially leading to their extinction. We predict that, contrary to one`s intuition, the most likely scenario is the extinction of the less predated preys. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Självet, rollerna och pågående koordinationer av mänskliga handlingar : Om att försöka se ’samhället’ som något annat än fängelse eller marionetteater

The self, roles and the ongoing coordination of human action. Trying to see ‘society’ as neither prison nor puppet theatre In the article it is argued that structural North-American role-sociology may be integrated with theories emphasizing ‘society’ as ongoing processes (f. ex. Giddens’ theory of structuration). This is possible if the concept of role is defined as a recurrence oriented to the action of others standing out as a regularity in a societal process. But this definition makes it necessary to in a fundamental way understand what kind of social being the role-actor is. This is done with the help of Hans Joas’ theory of creativity and Merleau-Pontys concept of ‘flesh’ arguing that Meads concept of the ‘I’ maybe understood as an embodied self-asserting I, which at least in reflexive modernity has the creative power to split Meads ‘me’ into a self-voiced subject-me and an other voiced object-me. The embodied I communicating with the subject-me may be viewed as that role-actor which is something else than the role played. But this kind of role-actor is making for new troubles because it is hard to understand how this kind of self is creating self-coherence by using Meads concept of ‘the generalized other’. This trouble is handled by using Alain Touraines concept of the ‘subject’ and arguing that the generalized other is dissolving in de-modernized modernity. In split modernity self-coherence may instead be created by what in the article is called the generalized subject. This concept means a kind of communicative future based evaluation, which has its base in the ‘subject’ opposing the split powers of both the instrumentality of markets and of life-worlds trying to create ‘fundamentalistic’ self-identities. This kind of self is communicative because it also must respect the other as ‘subject’. It exists only in the battle against the forces of the market or a community. It never constructs an ideal city or a higher type of individual. It creates and protects a clearing that is constantly being invaded, to use the words of the old Frenchman himself. Asa kind of test-case it is by the way in the article shown how Becks concept of individualization may be understood in a deeply social and role-sociological way.

Toddler techies: a study of young children`s interaction with computers

This article describes an ethnographic study of children's behavioural interaction with multimedia within a familiar context. The rationale for such a study was to provide data and evaluation of the capabilities of young children in an expressly modified multimedia environment and to determine the usefulness of employing technology as an adjunct to young children's play. However, hermeneutic and interpretativist concerns for the study of human action and social practice in the use of technology also informs both the structural, procedural, and evaluative management of the study. Using customised children's software, observation focused on time spent using the computer, the attitude toward the computer, the reaction to the interface, their use and adaptation of the mouse, and adult interventions. Significantly, the results differ appreciably from previous research and possible grounds for this variation is explored.

Switching on the chronometer of history : communism, postcommunism and heritage

The destruction of monuments accompanying the fall of Communism ignited debates about preservation of manifestations of a hated regime. While heritage professionals called for their preservation as ‘historical documents’, many monuments were destroyed or removed. Yampolsky sees anti-Communist iconoclasm as a rejection of the totalitarianism of time embodied in Communist monuments. These ‘intentional monuments’ were intended to ‘negate the march of time and oppose to it the permanence of human action’. They demonstrated the alleged end of history in a classless utopia.

Iconoclastic acts against these monuments involved the crossing of ‘the invisible boundaries of the sacral zone surrounding monuments, switching on the chronometer of history’. In doing so, iconoclasts provide the conditions for reassertion of heritage practices: heritage requires a sense of the flow of time, a difference between past, present and future.

Having restarted the chronometer of history, a society is forced to assess where it stands in relation to its past. Will it continue on a path of ‘wilful forgetting’, or seek to confront the past? The danger of wilful forgetting is the creation of nostalgia. Alternatively, preservation of places of memory helps processing of the past required for movement into the future. ‘One need only consider the way in which Berliners tore down the hated Berlin Wall in the aftermath of 1989’, Fulbrook writes, ‘to understand the desire to rid the landscape of a hated excrescence, a symbol of a rejected political past. But…for those who come after, the effort of historical imagination is all the greater for lack of a topography of experience’.

Heritage preservation can produce a ‘topography of experience’, through which the experience of Communism is examined. Reassertion of a humanistic historical time through heritage practices reveals the arrogant futility of utopian projects seeking to bring history to an end.

Facial image analysis

This thesis focuses on novel technologies for facial image analysis, which involves three topics: face recognition under uncontrolled conditions, automatic facial age estimation, and context-aware fusion of face and gait. They are either key issues bridging laboratorial research and real applications, or innovative problems that have barely been studied before.

An integrated theory of sexual offending

This paper represents a first attempt to provide an integrated framework to explain the onset, development, and maintenance of sexual offending. According to the Integrated Theory of Sexual Offending (ITSO), sexual abuse occurs as a consequence of a number of interacting causal variables. We examine the factors that affect brain development (evolution, genetic variations and neurobiology) and ecological factors (social and cultural environment, personal circumstances, physical environment) and discuss how they impact upon core neuropsychological functions underpinning human action. The ITSO then explains how clinical symptoms arise from the interaction between these neurological systems and ecological factors. The capacity of the ITSO to incorporate competing theories of sexual offending is considered, and we end the paper by critically evaluating its usefulness in stimulating research and further theory development.

Improving science uptake in coastal zone management : principles for science engagement and their application in south-eastern Tasmania

Sustainable management of the coastal zone represents a considerable challenge to Australian society. This challenge is rooted in the complexity of the biophysical and sociocultural characteristics of coastal areas, including uncertainty about system characteristics and processes, and the diversity of stakeholders, their interests, values and perspectives, and the jurisdictions involved in coastal governance and management. Given this complexity of coastal zone management, scientific and other forms of knowledge can affect decision-making and human action in diverse ways, which will often depend on the ability of scientists to engage effectively with relevant stakeholders.

Snapshots of complexity: using motion capture and principal component analysis to reconceptualise dance

This article brings together the disparate worlds of dance practice, motion capture and statistical analysis. Digital technologies such as motion capture offer dance artists new processes for recording and studying dance movement. Statistical analysis of these data can reveal hidden patterns in movement in ways that are semantically ‘blind’, and are hence able to challenge accepted culturo-physical ‘grammars’ of dance creation. The potential benefit to dance artists is to open up new ways of understanding choreographic movement. However, quantitative analysis does not allow for the uncertainty inherent in emergent, artistic practices such as dance. This article uses motion capture and principal component analysis (PCA), a common statistical technique in human movement recognition studies, to examine contemporary dance movement, and explores how this analysis might be interpreted in an artistic context to generate a new way of looking at the nature and role of movement patterning in dance creation.

Bem comum, razoabilidade prática e direito : a fundamentação do conceito de bem comum na obra de John M. Finnis

Esta dissertação expõe a fundamentação do conceito de bem comum no pensamento de JOHN MITCHELL FINNIS. Este jusfilósofo tem como ponto de partida para sua reflexão uma reinterpretação da ética tomista. Dela interessa o tratamento dado à separação das quatro ordens de conhecimento, particularmente a separação entre ordem natural e prática. A ordem prática de conhecimento tem suas próprias diretrizes. Logo, assim como na ordem natural de conhecimento a primeira diretriz é o princípio da não contradição, na ordem prática o primeiro princípio é o bem é para ser feito e buscado e o mal evitado. Estes postulados não são imperativos e nem indicativos, mas diretivos; e, no caso da ordem prática, uma diretiva para ação. A implicação epistemológica está em que a fundamentação imediata do agir humano não reside na natureza humana, mas na percepção prática de bens a serem realizados e dos males a serem evitados. Há um número determinado de bens humanos básicos, que são as razões primeiras para o agir humano. Eles são objetivos, incomensuráveis, auto-evidentes e pré-morais. O rol que FINNIS propõe é vida, conhecimento, matrimônio, excelência na realização, sociabilidade/amizade, razoabilidade prática e ‘religião’. O conteúdo da moral resulta destes bens humanos e tem como princípio supremo toda a escolha deve favorecer e respeitar o bem humano integral. Além de sintetizar a correção para o agir individual, a moral também fundamenta e demanda um agir social correto, que está expresso no conceito de bem comum. FINNIS define bem comum nos seguintes termos: um conjunto de condições que tornam aptos os membros de uma comunidade a alcançar por si mesmos objetivos razoáveis, ou realizar razoavelmente por si mesmos o(s) valor(es) pelos quais eles têm razão em colaborar uns com os outros (positiva e/ou negativamente) em uma comunidade. O conteúdo específico do bem comum da comunidade política é constituído pela justiça. O direito é o objeto da justiça e, assim, meio pelo qual o Estado a realiza e, por conseqüência, o bem comum.