ARCHITECTURE ESTIMATION FROM SPARSE IMAGES USING GRAMMATICAL SHAPE PRIORS FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE

The estimation and reconstruction of 3D architectural structures is of great in- terest in computer vision, as well as cultural heritage. This dissertation proposes a novel approach to solve the di??cult problem of estimating architectural structures from sparse images and e??ciently generating 3D models from estimation results for cultural heritage. This approach takes as input one plan drawing image and a few fac¸ade images, and provides as output the volumetric 3D models which represent the structures in the sparse images. Support of this research goal has motivated new investigations in underlying structure estimation problems including detecting structural feature points in 2D images, decomposing plan drawings into semantically meaningful shapes for medieval castles, estimating rectangular and Gothic fac¸ades using shape priors, and estimating complete 3D models for architectural structures using a novel volumetric shape grammar. Major outstanding challenges in each of these topic areas are addressed resulting in contributions to current state-of-the-art as it applied to these di??cult problems

Landscape into History: The Early Printed Landscape Series by Jan van de Velde II (1593-1641)

This dissertation examines the life and works of Jan van de Velde II, with a focus on the large body of original landscapes that he both designed and etched himself. Van de Velde was one of the most prolific printmakers of the seventeenth century, whose emphasis on creating and promoting his own designs not only exceeded the usual professional ambitions of most contemporary printmakers but also proved pivotal in the development of a distinctively Dutch landscape tradition. The fact that innovation in the landscape genre was propelled through the print medium inverted the usual relationship between painters and printmakers, in which painters were usually held as the primary artistic innovators. This study provides the first focused treatment of Van de Velde’s original landscape etchings, as well as the first critical study of the artist’s prints generally. The first two chapters offer a detailed biography of Van de Velde, and incorporate a comprehensive gathering of archival documents related to his life, network, and career as a printmaker. Chapter 1 examines his early life and training, along with the remarkable letters from his father, who actually encouraged him at the outset of his career to invent his own designs. Chapter 2 details his professional life in Haarlem and Enkhuizen, and challenges the previously held notion that he more or less abandoned the pursuit of original printmaking after his marriage, as well as the notion that he developed financial problems later in life. At stake in this reassessment is the proper grounding of his enterprise of artistic self-definition, one that has repercussions for the status of printmaking generally in this era. The remaining chapters address different aspects of Van de Velde’s original landscape etchings, particularly those produced at the beginning of his career, c. 1614-1618. Chapter 3 examines the balance of types of imagery in his landscape series, between the seemingly real and the imaginary, and between the local and the foreign. Chapter 4 is a study of the high prevalence of ruins in Van de Velde’s etchings, both as subjects in their own right, and as ones that dramatized their landscape settings and reflected a new form of visual antiquarianism at a time of peak interest in local history and antiquity. Chapter 5 looks at the significant subset of Van de Velde’s landscapes couched in the visual time-cycle tradition of Seasons and Months, and how the Neo-Latin captions found in these series offer a range of innovative commentary. It specifically examines in detail a series of Months that demonstrate how Van de Velde’s relationship with the previously unidentified humanist author Reinier Telle clearly led to a significant transformation of that tradition to reflect both local and Protestant values

Advances in Computational Analysis of Masonry Structures

Nowadays, numerical models aid significantly the engineers in the structural assessment of ordinary and monumental existing masonry buildings. Indeed, these models can be used to predict the structural response to extraordinary loads, and so to evaluate the main weaknesses and the safety of a masonry structure. Nevertheless, given the deep complexities and uncertainties which characterize the geometry of historic buildings and the mechanical response of masonry, the computational analysis of masonry structures is still a challenging task. In this thesis, some recent advances in computational analysis of masonry structures are presented. Essentially, after a comprehensive review of the existing modeling strategies for masonry structures, the advancements pursued in the framework of mesh generation procedures for historic monumental buildings, analysis of seismically interacting structures, analysis of leaning historic structures, and block-based modeling of masonry structures, are shown and discussed

Cities as Palimpsests?

The metaphor of the palimpsest has been increasingly invoked to conceptualize cities with deep, living pasts. This volume seeks to think through, and beyond, the logic of the palimpsest, asking whether this fashionable trope slyly forces us to see contradiction where local inhabitants saw (and see) none, to impose distinctions that satisfy our own assumptions about historical periodization and cultural practice, but which bear little relation to the experience of ancient, medieval or early modern persons. Spanning the period from Constantine’s foundation of a New Rome in the fourth century to the contemporary aftermath of the Lebanese civil war, this book integrates perspectives from scholars typically separated by the disciplinary boundaries of late antique, Islamic, medieval, Byzantine, Ottoman and modern Middle Eastern studies, but whose work is united by their study of a region characterized by resilience rather than rupture. The volume includes an introduction and eighteen contributions from historians, archaeologists and art historians who explore the historical and cultural complexity of eastern Mediterranean cities. The authors highlight the effects of the multiple antiquities imagined and experienced by persons and groups who for generations made these cities home, and also by travelers and other observers who passed through them. The independent case studies are bound together by a shared concern to understand the many ways in which the cities’ pasts live on in their presents

Cities as Palimpsests?

The metaphor of the palimpsest has been increasingly invoked to conceptualize cities with deep, living pasts. This volume seeks to think through, and beyond, the logic of the palimpsest, asking whether this fashionable trope slyly forces us to see contradiction where local inhabitants saw (and see) none, to impose distinctions that satisfy our own assumptions about historical periodization and cultural practice, but which bear little relation to the experience of ancient, medieval or early modern persons. Spanning the period from Constantine’s foundation of a New Rome in the fourth century to the contemporary aftermath of the Lebanese civil war, this book integrates perspectives from scholars typically separated by the disciplinary boundaries of late antique, Islamic, medieval, Byzantine, Ottoman and modern Middle Eastern studies, but whose work is united by their study of a region characterized by resilience rather than rupture. The volume includes an introduction and eighteen contributions from historians, archaeologists and art historians who explore the historical and cultural complexity of eastern Mediterranean cities. The authors highlight the effects of the multiple antiquities imagined and experienced by persons and groups who for generations made these cities home, and also by travelers and other observers who passed through them. The independent case studies are bound together by a shared concern to understand the many ways in which the cities’ pasts live on in their presents

The Science of Becoming Noble: Rationalizing Aristocracy through Diagrammatic Notations for Dance and Drill in the Age of Enlightenment

During the eighteenth century, diagrams increasingly became an important aspect of scientific inquiry. Diagrams employed simplification as a strategy for representing complex information, played a role in standardizing scientific language, and served as instruments of reason to think through and communicate problems and findings in mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, natural history, and other areas. This dissertation centers on diagrammatic notation systems developed for dance and drill, practices associated with the nobility. Through an analysis of graphic strategies used in science, my study indicates cross-fertilization through diagrams for the sciences, for French court dances after 1700 and contredanses that became the rage after 1760, and for military drill – both the manual drill (i.e. use of firearms) and field exercises (i.e. marching in large groups). My research counters the view that people became increasingly individualized. Instead, over the course of the Enlightenment, these diagrams demonstrate increased interest in groups of people moving together in dance and drill in coordinated movements. Furthermore, these movement practices were diagrammed in increasingly abstract, standardized, and precise ways

The Bulletin of Wellesley College Catalog for 1980-81 [1980-1981]

https://repository.wellesley.edu/catalogs/1078/thumbnail.jp

From the projected to the transmitted image: the 2.0 construction of tourist destination image and identity in Catalonia

This thesis aims to explore online projected and perceived images of a tourist destination, to assess their mutual correspondence, and to shed light on the role of online user-generated images in destination image formation. It also seeks to analyse the spatial distribution of image by tourists and the complex image identity issues concerning a destination. To achieve this, online image sources regarding the case study of Catalonia were analysed through massive computerized quantitative content analysis of some 25,000 travel blog and review entries (perceived image) and around 3,000 official tourism webpages (projected image). The results showed significant dissonance between tourists’ images and official images of the destination in several aspects, notably its attraction factors and cultural identity. Tourists' destination images were found to be greatly concentrated on certain elements and spaces. Finally, this thesis proposes the concept of "transmitted image" to reflect the new central role of tourists’ online images in the creation, dissemination and formation of destination image. Keywords: tourist destination image; destination identity; online image; perceived image; projected image; transmitted image; travel blog; travel review; official tourism websites; Web 2.0; quantitative content analysis; Catalonia.Aquesta tesi té com a objectiu explorar les imatges projectades i percebudes online d’una destinació turística, examinar la seva correspondència mútua, i contribuir a aclarir el rol de les imatges online generades pels usuaris en la formació de la imatge d’una destinació. Amb aquests propòsits, es van analitzar fonts d’imatge online sobre el cas d’estudi de Catalunya a través d’una anàlisi computeritzada quantitativa de contingut massiu d’aproximadament 25.000 entrades de travel blogs i travel reviews (imatge percebuda) i aproximadament 3.000 pàgines de webs oficials (imatge projectada). Els resultats mostren que hi ha una dissonància important entre les imatges dels turistes i les imatges oficials de la destinació en diversos aspectes, notablement en els seus factors d’atracció i identitat cultural. S’ha trobat que les imatges dels turistes sobre la destinació estaven altament concentrades en certs elements i espais. Finalment, aquesta tesi proposa el concepte d’ “imatge transmesa” per tal de reflectir el nou rol central de les imatges online dels turistes en la creació, disseminació i formació de la imatge d’una destinació. Paraules clau: imatge d’una destinació turística; identitat de la destinació; imatge online; imatge percebuda; imatge projectada; imatge transmesa; blog de viatges; review de viatges; webs oficials de turisme; web 2.0; anàlisi de contingut quantitatiu; Catalunya.Esta tesis tiene como objetivo explorar las imágenes proyectadas y percibidas online de un destino turístico, examinar su correspondencia mutua, y contribuir a aclarar el rol de las imágenes online generadas por los usuarios en la formación de la imagen de un destino. Con estos propósitos, se analizaron fuentes de imagen online sobre el caso de estudio de Cataluña a través de un análisis computerizado cuantitativo de contenido masivo de aproximadamente 25.000 entradas de travel blogs y travel reviews (imagen percibida) y aproximadamente 3.000 páginas de webs oficiales (imagen proyectada). Los resultados muestran que hay una disonancia importante entre las imágenes de los turistas y las imágenes oficiales del destino en varios aspectos, notablemente en sus factores de atracción e identidad cultural. Se ha encontrado que las imágenes de los turistas sobre el destino estaban altamente concentradas en ciertos elementos y espacios. Finalmente, esta tesis propone el concepto de “imagen transmitida” para reflejar el nuevo rol central de las imágenes online de los turistas en la creación, diseminación y formación de la imagen de un destino. Palabras clave: imagen de un destino turístico; identidad del destino; imagen online; imagen percibida; imagen proyectada; imagen transmitida; blog de viajes; review de viajes; webs oficiales de turismo; web 2.0; análisis de contenido cuantitativo; Cataluña.Cette thèse a pour objectif d’explorer les images projetées et perçues en ligne d'une destination touristique, examiner sa correspondance mutuelle, et contribuer à clarifier le rôle des images en ligne générées par les usagers dans la formation de l'image d'une destination. Dans ce but, des sources d’image en ligne sur le cas d'étude de la Catalogne ont été analysées à travers d'une analyse informatisée quantitative d'un contenu massif d'à peu près 25.000 travel blogs et travel reviews (image perçue) et à peu près 3.000 pages de sites web officiels (image projetée). Les résultats montrent qu'il y a une dissonance importante entre les images des touristes et les images officielles de la destination selon quelques aspects, surtout dans ses facteurs d'attraction et d'identité culturelle. On a trouvé que les images des touristes sur la destination étaient hautement concentrées dans certains éléments et des espaces. Finalement, cette thèse propose le concept d’ "image transmise" pour refléter le nouveau rôle central des images en ligne des touristes dans la création, la dissémination et la formation de l'image d'une destination. Mots clés: image d'une destination touristique; identité de la destination; image en ligne; image perçue; image projetée; image transmise; blog de voyage; review de voyage; sites web officiels de tourisme; web 2.0; analyse de contenu quantitatif; Catalogne