me as al, you as bobby, me as bobby, you as al

In ‘me as al, you as bobby, me as bobby, you as al’, appropriated footage is looped and supplemented with superimposed text, creating a scenario where Robert De Niro and Al Pacino endlessly stalk each other, with their readied-guns chased by hovering words. These titans of Hollywood screen acting represent opposing approaches to the construction of filmic identity, and as the text labels loosely adhere to one weapon and the next, the action on screen becomes an investigation of the subjective and objective potential within screen surrogate constructions of personalized identity. The work was included in the group show 'Vernacular Terrain' (curated by Lubi Thomas and Steven Danzig) for the Songzhuang Art Museum, Beijing.

Music selection using a touch screen interface : effect of auditory and visual feedback on driving and usability

This study aimed to examine the effects on driving, usability and subjective workload of performing music selection tasks using a touch screen interface. Additionally, to explore whether the provision of visual and/or auditory feedback offers any performance and usability benefits. Thirty participants performed music selection tasks with a touch screen interface while driving. The interface provided four forms of feedback: no feedback, auditory feedback, visual feedback, and a combination of auditory and visual feedback. Performance on the music selection tasks significantly increased subjective workload and degraded performance on a range of driving measures including lane keeping variation and number of lane excursions. The provision of any form of feedback on the touch screen interface did not significantly affect driving performance, usability or subjective workload, but was preferred by users over no feedback. Overall, the results suggest that touch screens may not be a suitable input device for navigating scrollable lists.

The development of a conceptual framework for a district 4-Year Pavement Management Plan, implementation of network-level project screening process

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is concerned about the widening gap between preservation needs and available funding. Funding levels are not adequate to meet the preservation needs of the roadway network; therefore projects listed in the 4-Year Pavement Management Plan must be ranked to determine which projects should be funded now and which can be postponed until a later year. Currently, each district uses locally developed methods to prioritize projects. These ranking methods have relied on less formal qualitative assessments based on engineers’ subjective judgment. It is important for TxDOT to have a 4-Year Pavement Management Plan that uses a transparent, rational project ranking process. The objective of this study is to develop a conceptual framework that describes the development of the 4-Year Pavement Management Plan. It can be largely divided into three Steps; 1) Network-Level project screening process, 2) Project-Level project ranking process, and 3) Economic Analysis. A rational pavement management procedure and a project ranking method accepted by districts and the TxDOT administration will maximize efficiency in budget allocations and will potentially help improve pavement condition. As a part of the implementation of the 4-Year Pavement Management Plan, the Network-Level Project Screening (NLPS) tool including the candidate project identification algorithm and the preliminary project ranking matrix was developed. The NLPS has been used by the Austin District Pavement Engineer (DPE) to evaluate PMIS (Pavement Management Information System) data and to prepare a preliminary list of candidate projects for further evaluation.

Points of convergence and divergence : normative, institutional and operational relationships between R2P and POC

As an international norm, the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) has gained substantial influence and institutional presence—and created no small controversy—in the ten years since its first conceptualisation. Conversely, the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict (PoC) has a longer pedigree and enjoys a less contested reputation. Yet UN Security Council action in Libya in 2011 has thrown into sharp relief the relationship between the two. UN Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973 follow exactly the process envisaged by R2P in response to imminent atrocity crimes, yet the operative paragraphs of the resolutions themselves invoke only PoC. This article argues that, while the agendas of PoC and R2P converge with respect to Security Council action in cases like Libya, outside this narrow context it is important to keep the two norms distinct. Peacekeepers, humanitarian actors, international lawyers, individual states and regional organisations are required to act differently with respect to the separate agendas and contexts covered by R2P and PoC. While overlap between the two does occur in highly visible cases like Libya, neither R2P nor PoC collapses normatively, institutionally or operationally into the other.

The relationship between self-reported animal fear and ERP modulation : Evidence for enhanced processing and fear of harmless invertebrates in snake- and spider-fearful individuals

The present study used ERPs to compare processing of fear-relevant (FR) animals (snakes and spiders) and non-fear-relevant (NFR) animals similar in appearance (worms and beetles). EEG was recorded from 18 undergraduate participants (10 females) as they completed two animal-viewing tasks that required simple categorization decisions. Participants were divided on a post hoc basis into low snake/spider fear and high snake/spider fear groups. Overall, FR animals were rated higher on fear and elicited a larger LPC. However, individual differences qualified these effects. Participants in the low fear group showed clear differentiation between FR and NFR animals on subjective ratings of fear and LPC modulation. In contrast, participants in the high fear group did not show such differentiation between FR and NFR animals. These findings suggest that the salience of feared-FR animals may generalize on both a behavioural and electro-cortical level to other animals of similar appearance but of a non-harmful nature.

On the robustness and security of digital image watermarking

In most of the digital image watermarking schemes, it becomes a common practice to address security in terms of robustness, which is basically a norm in cryptography. Such consideration in developing and evaluation of a watermarking scheme may severely affect the performance and render the scheme ultimately unusable. This paper provides an explicit theoretical analysis towards watermarking security and robustness in figuring out the exact problem status from the literature. With the necessary hypotheses and analyses from technical perspective, we demonstrate the fundamental realization of the problem. Finally, some necessary recommendations are made for complete assessment of watermarking security and robustness.

Measuring bitrate and quality trade-off in a fast region-of-interest based video coding

Prevailing video adaptation solutions change the quality of the video uniformly throughout the whole frame in the bitrate adjustment process; while region-of-interest (ROI)-based solutions selectively retains the quality in the areas of the frame where the viewers are more likely to pay more attention to. ROI-based coding can improve perceptual quality and viewer satisfaction while trading off some bandwidth. However, there has been no comprehensive study to measure the bitrate vs. perceptual quality trade-off so far. The paper proposes an ROI detection scheme for videos, which is characterized with low computational complexity and robustness, and measures the bitrate vs. quality trade-off for ROI-based encoding using a state-of-the-art H.264/AVC encoder to justify the viability of this type of encoding method. The results from the subjective quality test reveal that ROI-based encoding achieves a significant perceptual quality improvement over the encoding with uniform quality at the cost of slightly more bits. Based on the bitrate measurements and subjective quality assessments, the bitrate and the perceptual quality estimation models for non-scalable ROI-based video coding (AVC) are developed, which are found to be similar to the models for scalable video coding (SVC).

Binocular summation improves performance to defocus-induced blur

PURPOSE. To assess whether there are any advantages of binocular over monocular vision under blur conditions. METHODS. We measured the effect of defocus, induced by positive lenses, on the pattern reversal Visual Evoked Potential (VEP) and on visual acuity (VA). Monocular (dominant eye) and binocular VEPs were recorded from thirteen volunteers (average age: 28±5 years, average spherical equivalent: -0.25±0.73 D) for defocus up to 2.00 D using positive powered lenses. VEPs were elicited using reversing 10 arcmin checks at a rate of 4 reversals/second. The stimulus subtended a circular field of 7 degrees with 100% contrast and mean luminance 30 cd/m2. VA was measured under the same conditions using ETDRS charts. All measurements were performed at 1m viewing distance with best spectacle sphero-cylindrical correction and natural pupils. RESULTS. With binocular stimulation, amplitudes and implicit times of the P100 component of the VEPs were greater and shorter, respectively, in all cases than for monocular stimulation. Mean binocular enhancement ratio in the P100 amplitude was 2.1 in-focus, increasing linearly with defocus to be 3.1 at +2.00 D defocus. Mean peak latency was 2.9 ms shorter in-focus with binocular than for monocular stimulation, with the difference increasing with defocus to 8.8 ms at +2.00 D. As for the VEP amplitude, VA was always better with binocular than with monocular vision, with the difference being greater for higher retinal blur. CONCLUSIONS. Both subjective and electrophysiological results show that binocular vision ameliorates the effect of defocus. The increased binocular facilitation observed with retinal blur may be due to the activation of a larger population of neurons at close-to-threshold detection under binocular stimulation.

Validity of the malnutrition screening tool for older adults at high risk of hospital readmission

Malnutrition is a serious problem in older adults, particularly for those at risk of hospital readmission. The essential step in managing malnutrition is early identification using a valid nutrition screening tool. The purpose of this study was to validate the Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST) in older adults at high risk of hospital readmission. Two registered nurses administered the MST to identify malnutrition risk, and compared it to the comprehensive Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) to assess nutritional status for patients aged 65 years who had at least one risk factor for hospital readmission. The MST demonstrates substantial sensitivity, specificity and agreement with the SGA. These findings indicate that nursing staff can use the MST as a valid tool for routine screening and rescreening to identify patients at risk of malnutrition. Use of the MST may prevent hospital-acquired malnutrition for acute hospitalized older adults at high risk of readmission.

Children as experts in their lives : child inclusive research [Editorial Introduction]

The focus of this special volume of CSI on research with and by children reflects a major paradigm shift in child research - a shift from a focus on the child as object of to a focus on the child as subject (and actor) in research (see Mason and Hood 2010). In his lead article in the first issue of this journal (2008), Asher Ben-Arieh highlighted the way in which the child indicators movement reflects this paradigm shift, outlining the way in which new directions in measuring and monitoring child well-being were leading to new roles for children in this process. He noted the importance of including children’s own perspectives on their well-being and argued that ‘incorporating children’s subjective perceptions is both a pre-requisite and a consequence of the changes historically in the measuring and monitoring of child well-being’ (p.13). This special issue again takes up this agenda of the child as subject in research...

Using technology to facilitate grading consistency in large classes

University classes in marketing are often large, and therefore require teams of teachers to cover all of the necessary activities. A major problem with teaching teams is the inconsistency that results from myriad individuals offering subjective opinions. This innovation uses the latest moderation techniques along with Audience Response Technology (ART) to enhance the learning experience by providing more consistent and reliable grading in large classes. Assessment items are moderated before they are graded in meetings that employ ART. Results show the process is effective when the teaching team is very large, or there is a diverse range of experienced and inexperienced teachers. This “behind the scenes” innovation is not immediately apparent to students, but results in more consistent grades, more useful feedback for students, and more confident graders.

Quantum-like non-separability of concept combinations, emergent associates and abduction

Consider the concept combination ‘pet human’. In word association experiments, human subjects produce the associate ‘slave’ in relation to this combination. The striking aspect of this associate is that it is not produced as an associate of ‘pet’, or ‘human’ in isolation. In other words, the associate ‘slave’ seems to be emergent. Such emergent associations sometimes have a creative character and cognitive science is largely silent about how we produce them. Departing from a dimensional model of human conceptual space, this article will explore concept combinations, and will argue that emergent associations are a result of abductive reasoning within conceptual space, that is, below the symbolic level of cognition. A tensor-based approach is used to model concept combinations allowing such combinations to be formalized as interacting quantum systems. Free association norm data is used to motivate the underlying basis of the conceptual space. It is shown by analogy how some concept combinations may behave like quantum-entangled (non-separable) particles. Two methods of analysis were presented for empirically validating the presence of non-separable concept combinations in human cognition. One method is based on quantum theory and another based on comparing a joint (true theoretic) probability distribution with another distribution based on a separability assumption using a chi-square goodness-of-fit test. Although these methods were inconclusive in relation to an empirical study of bi-ambiguous concept combinations, avenues for further refinement of these methods are identified.

Diagnosed artist : what is the understanding of 'artist' held by a person with a mental illness?

What is the understanding of ‘artist’ held by a person with a mental illness? Being diagnosed with a mental illness often results in social isolation. Art programs are often used to address this isolation, and to expedite positive mental health and wellbeing. In these programs the cultural value of art can be moderated and replaced with therapeutic meanings or used for purposes of community integration. Some individuals develop artistic identities within these programs. These artists personify representative tensions within the art world. Artists with mental illness are symbolically positioned within the history of art as holding special creative providence and, yet are also viewed as having a peripheral position outside the cultural framework of the art world. This research engaged with eight artists to determine the understanding of artist held by a person with a mental illness. Through shared activities around the curatorial aspects of an exhibition entitled "Artist Citizen" the impact of illness, culture and alterity were examined. Overlapping approaches of Community Cultural Development and Participatory Action Research have been used. A perspective of alterity is given which was apparent in transformative processes of the research. This thesis shows that alterity and difference are both important social resources as well as positions of isolation and discrimination. Finally, conclusions are presented that indicated that a more nuanced understanding of alterity offers potential to discussions of the complex experiences of a person with a mental illness to negotiate subjective constructions of an identity for participation in broader political, social, health and cultural contexts.

The effect of exercise intensity on fat oxidation and non-exercise activity thermogenesis in overweight/obese men

It is frequently reported that the actual weight loss achieved through exercise interventions is less than theoretically expected. Amongst other compensatory adjustments that accompany exercise training (e.g., increases in resting metabolic rate and energy intake), a possible cause of the less than expected weight loss is a failure to produce a marked increase in total daily energy expenditure due to a compensatory reduction in non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). Therefore, there is a need to understand how behaviour is modified in response to exercise interventions. The proposed benefits of exercise training are numerous, including changes to fat oxidation. Given that a diminished capacity to oxidise fat could be a factor in the aetiology of obesity, an exercise training intensity that optimises fat oxidation in overweight/obese individuals would improve impaired fat oxidation, and potentially reduce health risks that are associated with obesity. To improve our understanding of the effectiveness of exercise for weight management, it is important to ensure exercise intensity is appropriately prescribed, and to identify and monitor potential compensatory behavioural changes consequent to exercise training. In line with the gaps in the literature, three studies were performed. The aim of Study 1 was to determine the effect of acute bouts of moderate- and high-intensity walking exercise on NEAT in overweight and obese men. Sixteen participants performed a single bout of either moderate-intensity walking exercise (MIE) or high-intensity walking exercise (HIE) on two separate occasions. The MIE consisted of walking for 60-min on a motorised treadmill at 6 km.h-1. The 60-min HIE session consisted of walking in 5-min intervals at 6 km.h-1 and 10% grade followed by 5-min at 0% grade. NEAT was assessed by accelerometer three days before, on the day of, and three days after the exercise sessions. There was no significant difference in NEAT vector magnitude (counts.min-1) between the pre-exercise period (days 1-3) and the exercise day (day 4) for either protocol. In addition, there was no change in NEAT during the three days following the MIE session, however NEAT increased by 16% on day 7 (post-exercise) compared with the exercise day (P = 0.32). During the post-exercise period following the HIE session, NEAT was increased by 25% on day 7 compared with the exercise day (P = 0.08), and by 30-33% compared with the pre-exercise period (day 1, day 2 and day 3); P = 0.03, 0.03, 0.02, respectively. To conclude, a single bout of either MIE or HIE did not alter NEAT on the exercise day or on the first two days following the exercise session. However, extending the monitoring of NEAT allowed the detection of a 48 hour delay in increased NEAT after performing HIE. A longer-term intervention is needed to determine the effect of accumulated exercise sessions over a week on NEAT. In Study 2, there were two primary aims. The first aim was to test the reliability of a discontinuous incremental exercise protocol (DISCON-FATmax) to identify the workload at which fat oxidation is maximised (FATmax). Ten overweight and obese sedentary male men (mean BMI of 29.5 ¡Ó 4.5 kg/m2 and mean age of 28.0 ¡Ó 5.3 y) participated in this study and performed two identical DISCON-FATmax tests one week apart. Each test consisted of alternate 4-min exercise and 2-min rest intervals on a cycle ergometer. The starting work load of 28 W was increased every 4-min using 14 W increments followed by 2-min rest intervals. When the respiratory exchange ratio was consistently >1.0, the workload was increased by 14 W every 2-min until volitional exhaustion. Fat oxidation was measured by indirect calorimetry. The mean FATmax, ƒtV O2peak, %ƒtV O2peak and %Wmax at which FATmax occurred during the two tests were 0.23 ¡Ó 0.09 and 0.18 ¡Ó 0.08 (g.min-1); 29.7 ¡Ó 7.8 and 28.3 ¡Ó 7.5 (ml.kg-1.min-1); 42.3 ¡Ó 7.2 and 42.6 ¡Ó 10.2 (%ƒtV O2max) and 36.4 ¡Ó 8.5 and 35.4 ¡Ó 10.9 (%), respectively. A paired-samples T-test revealed a significant difference in FATmax (g.min-1) between the tests (t = 2.65, P = 0.03). The mean difference in FATmax was 0.05 (g.min-1) with the 95% confidence interval ranging from 0.01 to 0.18. Paired-samples T-test, however, revealed no significant difference in the workloads (i.e. W) between the tests, t (9) = 0.70, P = 0.4. The intra-class correlation coefficient for FATmax (g.min-1) between the tests was 0.84 (95% confidence interval: 0.36-0.96, P < 0.01). However, Bland-Altman analysis revealed a large disagreement in FATmax (g.min-1) related to W between the two tests; 11 ¡Ó 14 (W) (4.1 ¡Ó 5.3 ƒtV O2peak (%)).These data demonstrate two important phenomena associated with exercise-induced substrate oxidation; firstly, that maximal fat oxidation derived from a discontinuous FATmax protocol differed statistically between repeated tests, and secondly, there was large variability in the workload corresponding with FATmax. The second aim of Study 2 was to test the validity of a DISCON-FATmax protocol by comparing maximal fat oxidation (g.min-1) determined by DISCON-FATmax with fat oxidation (g.min-1) during a continuous exercise protocol using a constant load (CONEX). Ten overweight and obese sedentary males (BMI = 29.5 ¡Ó 4.5 kg/m2; age = 28.0 ¡Ó 4.5 y) with a ƒtV O2max of 29.1 ¡Ó 7.5 ml.kg-1.min-1 performed a DISCON-FATmax test consisting of alternate 4-min exercise and 2-min rest intervals on a cycle ergometer. The 1-h CONEX protocol used the workload from the DISCON-FATmax to determine FATmax. The mean FATmax, ƒtV O2max, %ƒtV O2max and workload at which FATmax occurred during the DISCON-FATmax were 0.23 ¡Ó 0.09 (g.min-1); 29.1 ¡Ó 7.5 (ml.kg-1.min-1); 43.8 ¡Ó 7.3 (%ƒtV O2max) and 58.8 ¡Ó 19.6 (W), respectively. The mean fat oxidation during the 1-h CONEX protocol was 0.19 ¡Ó 0.07 (g.min-1). A paired-samples T-test revealed no significant difference in fat oxidation (g.min-1) between DISCON-FATmax and CONEX, t (9) = 1.85, P = 0.097 (two-tailed). There was also no significant correlation in fat oxidation between the DISCON-FATmax and CONEX (R=0.51, P = 0.14). Bland- Altman analysis revealed a large disagreement in fat oxidation between the DISCONFATmax and CONEX; the upper limit of agreement was 0.13 (g.min-1) and the lower limit of agreement was ¡V0.03 (g.min-1). These data suggest that the CONEX and DISCONFATmax protocols did not elicit different rates of fat oxidation (g.min-1). However, the individual variability in fat oxidation was large, particularly in the DISCON-FATmax test. Further research is needed to ascertain the validity of graded exercise tests for predicting fat oxidation during constant load exercise sessions. The aim of Study 3 was to compare the impact of two different intensities of four weeks of exercise training on fat oxidation, NEAT, and appetite in overweight and obese men. Using a cross-over design 11 participants (BMI = 29 ¡Ó 4 kg/m2; age = 27 ¡Ó 4 y) participated in a training study and were randomly assigned initially to: [1] a lowintensity (45%ƒtV O2max) exercise (LIT) or [2] a high-intensity interval (alternate 30 s at 90%ƒtV O2max followed by 30 s rest) exercise (HIIT) 40-min duration, three times a week. Participants completed four weeks of supervised training and between cross-over had a two week washout period. At baseline and the end of each exercise intervention,ƒtV O2max, fat oxidation, and NEAT were measured. Fat oxidation was determined during a standard 30-min continuous exercise bout at 45%ƒtV O2max. During the steady state exercise expired gases were measured intermittently for 5-min periods and HR was monitored continuously. In each training period, NEAT was measured for seven consecutive days using an accelerometer (RT3) the week before, at week 3 and the week after training. Subjective appetite sensations and food preferences were measured immediately before and after the first exercise session every week for four weeks during both LIT and HIIT. The mean fat oxidation rate during the standard continuous exercise bout at baseline for both LIT and HIIT was 0.14 ¡Ó 0.08 (g.min-1). After four weeks of exercise training, the mean fat oxidation was 0.178 ¡Ó 0.04 and 0.183 ¡Ó 0.04 g.min-1 for LIT and HIIT, respectively. The mean NEAT (counts.min-1) was 45 ¡Ó 18 at baseline, 55 ¡Ó 22 and 44 ¡Ó 16 during training, and 51 ¡Ó 14 and 50 ¡Ó 21 after training for LIT and HIIT, respectively. There was no significant difference in fat oxidation between LIT and HIIT. Moreover, although not statistically significant, there was some evidence to suggest that LIT and HIIT tend to increase fat oxidation during exercise at 45% ƒtV O2max (P = 0.14 and 0.08, respectively). The order of training treatment did not significantly influence changes in fat oxidation, NEAT, and appetite. NEAT (counts.min-1) was not significantly different in the week following training for either LIT or HIIT. Although not statistically significant (P = 0.08), NEAT was 20% lower during week 3 of exercise training in HIIT compared with LIT. Examination of appetite sensations revealed differences in the intensity of hunger, with higher ratings after LIT compared with HIIT. No differences were found in preferences for high-fat sweet foods between LIT and HIIT. In conclusion, the results of this thesis suggest that while fat oxidation during steady state exercise was not affected by the level of exercise intensity, there is strong evidence to suggest that intense exercise could have a debilitative effect on NEAT.

When There's Love

This work is an installation featuring three video projections, music and mirror balls. The three projections fill the walls with scrolling text borrowed from love song lyrics. Headphones in the gallery space allow you to hear a male voice sing the same words to an impromptu tune. Mirror balls send fragments of light spinning around the room while The Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody plays on repeat. This work emphasizes fragmentary, repetitious and spatio-temporal experiences of language in order to question the symbolic conventions of romance. By exaggerating and mixing hackneyed symbolic elements, this work extends on some of Nicolas Bourriaud’s theoretical insights into the creative and critical strategies of ‘postproduction’. In particular, it toys with the intersections between popular culture and inter-subjective experiences.