1,051 research outputs found
Recognizing Visual Object Using Machine Learning Techniques
Nowadays, Visual Object Recognition (VOR) has received growing interest from researchers and it has become a very active area of research due to its vital applications including handwriting recognition, diseases classification, face identification ..etc. However, extracting the
relevant features that faithfully describe the image represents the challenge of most existing
VOR systems.
This thesis is mainly dedicated to the development of two VOR systems, which are presented in two different contributions. As a first contribution, we propose a novel generic feature-independent pyramid multilevel (GFIPML) model for extracting features from images. GFIPML addresses the shortcomings of two existing schemes namely multi-level (ML) and pyramid multi-level (PML), while also taking advantage of their pros. As its name indicates, the proposed model can be used by any kind of the large variety of existing features
extraction methods. We applied GFIPML for the task of Arabic literal amount recognition. Indeed, this task is challenging due to the specific characteristics of Arabic handwriting. While most literary works have considered structural features that are sensitive to word deformations, we opt for using Local Phase Quantization (LPQ) and Binarized Statistical Image Feature (BSIF) as Arabic handwriting can be considered as texture. To further enhance the recognition yields, we considered a multimodal system based on the combination of LPQ with
multiple BSIF descriptors, each one with a different filter size.
As a second contribution, a novel simple yet effcient, and speedy TR-ICANet model for extracting features from unconstrained ear images is proposed. To get rid of unconstrained conditions (e.g., scale and pose variations), we suggested first normalizing all images using CNN. The normalized images are fed then to the TR-ICANet model, which uses ICA to learn filters. A binary hashing and block-wise histogramming are used then to compute the local
features. At the final stage of TR-ICANet, we proposed to use an effective normalization method namely Tied Rank normalization in order to eliminate the disparity within blockwise feature vectors. Furthermore, to improve the identification performance of the proposed system, we proposed a softmax average fusing of CNN-based feature extraction approaches with our proposed TR-ICANet at the decision level using SVM classifier
Sustainable government policy as silver bullet to sustainable business incubation performance In Nigeria
Business incubation has variously been described as a support programme that assist the early-stage entrepreneurs to develop and stay on their own. Furthermore, business incubation programme has been acknowledged as an economic development tool most countries globally adopted. The aim of this study is to examine the contribution of government policy on the relationship between the critical success factors (CSFs) and incubator performance in Nigeria. The questionnaire method of data collection was used to gather 113 usable questionnaires from incubatees in Nigeria’s business incubators. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was performed to determine the result using the Partial Least Square (PLS) Software. Government policy as a moderator did not show a significant moderation relationship between the CSF and incubator performance
Semantic radical consistency and character transparency effects in Chinese: an ERP study
BACKGROUND: This event-related potential (ERP) study aims to investigate the representation and temporal dynamics of Chinese orthography-to-semantics mappings by simultaneously manipulating character transparency and semantic radical consistency. Character components, referred to as radicals, make up the building blocks used dur...postprin
Teaching polysemous words to arab learners: A cognitive linguistics approach
ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study is to compare the pedagogic efficiency of two methods for teaching polysemous vocabulary – the image-schema-based vocabulary instruction method (ISBM) and the translation-based vocabulary instruction method (TBM). While ISBM is inspired by cognitive linguistics, and represents a new trend in teaching polysemous vocabulary, TBM embodies a traditional and well established way of teaching polysemous vocabulary in EFL contexts. Additionally, this study aims to evaluate the way in which three learner characteristics - learning styles, vocabulary learning strategies, language proficiency - contribute to individual differences in acquiring polysemous words. The subjects of this study, 40 female students studying at an intensive English program at the University of Sharjah, UAE, were placed in two groups and were taught a range of metaphorical meanings of polysemous words, in accordance with the cognitive linguistics ISBM and the mainstream TBM. In order to assess the pedagogical value of both methods, a polysemous word knowledge test (PWKT) was used as a pre and post-test. Also, a strategy assessment test (SAT) was employed to gauge the effectiveness of the strategic teaching method in accordance with which the polysemous words were instructed. Furthermore, in an attempt to explore the nature of the relationships between some of the learner characteristics and the acquisition of polysemous vocabulary, a vocabulary learning questionnaire and a style of processing scale were given to the learners. The results of the immediate post PWKT suggest that the ISBM is more effective in teaching and learning polysemous vocabulary in this setting than the TBM. In the long term, however, both of the techniques adopted in teaching polysemous words proved beneficial in long-term recall. Also, teaching polysemous vocabulary strategically – showing learners how to work out the metaphorical meanings of some polysemous words through their literal meanings - paid off in that learners were more readily able to understand metaphorical senses of new polysemous words they encountered in the SAT. Altogether, three variables seem to come into play when dealing with the acquisition of polysemous words in the framework of cognitive linguistics - learning styles, vocabulary learning strategies, language proficiency. In light of these findings, I give a number of recommendations to teachers, material developers and lexicographers. As far as the contribution to field of vocabulary acquisition is concerned, this studyattempts to shed light on the teaching of polysemous words in an Arab context (a so far unmapped territory). In that, it tries to show how polysemous words have been treated in the English syllabuses directed to UAE learners, to equip English teachers with feasible ways to teach polysemous words more efficiently, and thereby to improve the learners’ ability to comprehend some new concepts more easily. Finally, this study addresses some of the pitfalls of previous studies on teaching polysemous words within the framework of cognitive linguistics
Advances in Robotics, Automation and Control
The book presents an excellent overview of the recent developments in the different areas of Robotics, Automation and Control. Through its 24 chapters, this book presents topics related to control and robot design; it also introduces new mathematical tools and techniques devoted to improve the system modeling and control. An important point is the use of rational agents and heuristic techniques to cope with the computational complexity required for controlling complex systems. Through this book, we also find navigation and vision algorithms, automatic handwritten comprehension and speech recognition systems that will be included in the next generation of productive systems developed by man
A ciência da leitura e a produção acadêmica: caminhos trilhados
Linguistics focuses on the different phenomena of language. In macrolinguistics areas, there
is Psycholinguistics. This subfield researches (de)coding processes of messages with verbal
codes. Thus, one of its influential fields of activity is reading. Reading is one of the most
complex information processing tasks. It begins with the graphemes decoding and it finishes
with the text comprehension. Regarding the assessment of reading, there are several exams
and large-scale tests, such as Pisa, Saeb (Aneb and Anresc/Prova Brasil), ENEM. Alarming
statistics come with the indicators from these evaluative instruments. There are, among
Brazilians, low levels of reading comprehension and marked functional illiteracy rate.
Therefore, this study aimed to research what scientific communication has shared in terms of
knowledge about reading. Specifically, the objectives were synthesize, considering the
psycholinguistic approach of reading research, studies and research with the most recurrent
theme in the reading field evidenced from the electronic communication, in order to
investigate the dimensions and limitations of knowledge about this subject. For this, through
WebQualis system, Qualis A1 and A2 scientific journals with electronic format and with
focuses/scopes related to reading from the areas of (1) Language Arts/Linguistics, (2)
Psychology and (3) Education were selected. With the selected journals and through Capes
Journals Portal, all their volumes and issues from 2011 to 2015 were analyzed. With this,
scientific articles related to reading were mapped. With the mapped articles abstracts, the
recurrent themes in reading in the scientific production were observed. Finally, with the full
articles that had the recurrent theme, the researches results were integrated, synthesizing and
pondering about them. With a critical-reflexive assessment of the data, relevant information
was found. First, on one hand, it was noted that the reading has achieved a stable and upward
space through the electronic communication. On the other one, it was checked that the
contributions of Psychology have a great influence in reading and comprehension research.
Second, it was shown that the most frequent theme in electronic productions is
comprehension. Finally, with the synthesis, it was found that, increasingly, comprehension
topics related to reading neurobiological aspects were empirical and directly investigated. In
addition, there are several studies that propose reading teaching methods as well as strategies
for improving the comprehension, including the use of TICs. Moreover, it was found that
many research results are limited. This is because the comprehension involves several
components – cognitive processes and skills. Researches often focus attention on one or the
other component of it only, and each research fixes a specific methodology design and that
vary considerabably. Regarding the assessment of reading, many of the methodological
apparatus tasks evaluate only the product of comprehension and not its process. In other
words, built mental representations are evaluated and not how the encoding of this text
occurred. Therefore, in short, both the researches advancement in the comprehension field and
several limitations were observed.A Linguística atém-se aos mais diferentes fenômenos da língua(gem). Nos domínios
macrolinguísticos, há a Psicolinguística. Essa subárea tem como foco de investigação os
processos de (de)codificação de mensagens de códigos verbais. Assim, um de seus influentes
campos de atuação é o de leitura. A leitura é uma das tarefas de processamento de
informações mais complexas. Ela tem como princípio a decodificação grafêmica e como fim a
compreensão textual. Em relação à avaliação da leitura, existem diversos testes e provas em
larga escala, como o Pisa, o Saeb (Aneb e Anresc/Prova Brasil), o ENEM. Com os
indicadores desses instrumentos avaliativos, vêm estatísticas alarmantes. Há, entre os
brasileiros, baixos níveis de compreensão leitora e acentuado índice de analfabetismo
funcional. Por conseguinte, este trabalho pretendeu investigar o que a comunicação científica
tem compartilhado em termos de conhecimento sobre leitura. Especificamente, objetivou-se
sintetizar, considerando a abordagem psicolinguística de investigação da leitura, estudos e
pesquisas cuja temática evidenciada da comunicação eletrônica fosse a mais recorrente no
campo da leitura, a fim de investigar dimensões e limitações do conhecimento a respeito dessa
temática. Para isso, selecionaram-se, por meio do sistema WebQualis, periódicos científicos
Qualis A1 e A2 em formato eletrônico e com focos/escopos relacionados à leitura, das áreas
de (1) Letras/Linguística, (2) Psicologia e (3) Educação. Com os periódicos selecionados e
por meio do Portal de Periódicos Capes, analisaram-se todos os seus volumes e números de
2011 a 2015, a fim de mapear artigos científicos com assunto em leitura. Com os resumos dos
artigos mapeados, evidenciaram-se temáticas mais recorrentes na produção científica em
leitura. Por fim, dos artigos completos cuja temática era a mais recorrente, integraram-se
resultados das pesquisas, fazendo-se uma análise, com fins de síntese e reflexão. Da
apreciação crítico-reflexiva dos dados, constataram-se relevantes informações. Em primeiro
lugar, de um lado, observou-se que a leitura tem conquistado um estável e ascendente espaço
em meio à comunicação eletrônica. De outro, demonstrou-se que contribuições da Psicologia
têm forte influência na pesquisa de leitura e compreensão. Em segundo, evidenciou-se que a
compreensão é a temática mais frequente nas produções eletrônicas. Por fim, com a síntese,
constatou-se que, cada vez mais, se investiga empírica e diretamente facetas da compreensão
em relação às bases neurobiológicas da leitura. Igualmente, há diversas pesquisas que
propõem metodologias de ensino da leitura, bem como estratégias para a melhoria da
compreensão, incluindo a utilização das TICs. Além disso, concluiu-se que muitos resultados
de pesquisas são limitados. Isso porque a compreensão envolve diversos componentes –
processos cognitivos e habilidades. E as pesquisas, muitas vezes, apenas focam a atenção em
um ou em outro componente, além de definirem específicos e variados designs de
metodologia. Em relação à avaliação da leitura, muitas das tarefas do aparato metodológico
das pesquisas apenas avaliam o produto da compreensão e não o seu processo. Ou seja,
avaliam-se representações mentais construídas e não como ocorreu a codificação desse texto
na mente do leitor. Por conseguinte, em suma, tanto o avanço de pesquisas no campo de
compreensão quanto, também, diversas limitações ficaram evidentes
Off-line Thai handwriting recognition in legal amount
Thai handwriting in legal amounts is a challenging problem and a new field in the area of handwriting recognition research. The focus of this thesis is to implement Thai handwriting recognition system. A preliminary data set of Thai handwriting in legal amounts is designed. The samples in the data set are characters and words of the Thai legal amounts and a set of legal amounts phrases collected from a number of native Thai volunteers. At the preprocessing and recognition process, techniques are introduced to improve the characters recognition rates. The characters are divided into two smaller subgroups by their writing levels named body and high groups. The recognition rates of both groups are increased based on their distinguished features. The writing level separation algorithms are implemented using the size and position of characters. Empirical experiments are set to test the best combination of the feature to increase the recognition rates. Traditional recognition systems are modified to give the accumulative top-3 ranked answers to cover the possible character classes. At the postprocessing process level, the lexicon matching algorithms are implemented to match the ranked characters with the legal amount words. These matched words are joined together to form possible choices of amounts. These amounts will have their syntax checked in the last stage. Several syntax violations are caused by consequence faulty character segmentation and recognition resulting from connecting or broken characters. The anomaly in handwriting caused by these characters are mainly detected by their size and shape. During the recovery process, the possible word boundary patterns can be pre-defined and used to segment the hypothesis words. These words are identified by the word recognition and the results are joined with previously matched words to form the full amounts and checked by the syntax rules again. From 154 amounts written by 10 writers, the rejection rate is 14.9 percent with the recovery processes. The recognition rate for the accepted amount is 100 percent
The role of phonology in visual word recognition: evidence from Chinese
Posters - Letter/Word Processing V: abstract no. 5024The hypothesis of bidirectional coupling of orthography and phonology predicts that phonology plays a role in visual word recognition, as observed in the effects of feedforward and feedback spelling to sound consistency on lexical decision. However, because orthography and phonology are closely related in alphabetic languages (homophones in alphabetic languages are usually orthographically similar), it is difficult to exclude an influence of orthography on phonological effects in visual word recognition. Chinese languages contain many written homophones that are orthographically dissimilar, allowing a test of the claim that phonological effects can be independent of orthographic similarity. We report a study of visual word recognition in Chinese based on a mega-analysis of lexical decision performance with 500 characters. The results from multiple regression analyses, after controlling for orthographic frequency, stroke number, and radical frequency, showed main effects of feedforward and feedback consistency, as well as interactions between these variables and phonological frequency and number of homophones. Implications of these results for resonance models of visual word recognition are discussed.postprin
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