4,496 research outputs found
Violent silence: second generation South Asian American Hindus on gender and sexual abuse
This qualitative study explores Second Generation South Asian American (SG SAA) Hindus' ideals, values, and meanings associated with gender, and how these ideals affect their attitudes towards unwanted sexual contact of women/girls. SG SAAs are an understudied population that report high levels of stress due to bicultural identity issues and ethnic discrimination, and yet are unlikely to display help-seeking behaviors. This study explores some of the cultural factors behind this phenomenon, particularly in terms of topics such as unwanted sexual contact (including sexual harassment, coercion, incest, and rape). Using an internet-based convenience sampling method, the researcher collected data using an anonymous online questionnaire with multiple open-ended questions. After using qualitative data analysis software, the researcher interprets and discusses the results by drawing on psychological and anthropological literature on gender in contemporary Hindu culture, identity in diaspora, and cultural/structural violence. The researcher explains how the results reveal the participants' internalized messages about women's value and expectations, particularly in regards to sexuality and family roles. Expected to be independent as well as submissive, modern as well as traditional, female SG SAA Hindus are faced with impossible expectations that erase their subjectivity and silence their voices. The negative ramifications of this are explored, particularly as the participants' describe the messages they learned about Hinduism and the blaming of female victims of sexual abuse. The study contextualizes SG SAAs in terms of contemporary Hindu cultures, and illuminates the ways that certain Hindu gender role expectations and attitudes have oppressed women, punished victims of unwanted sexual contact, and perpetuated cultures of silence, secrecy, and shame. The researcher calls for re-interpretations and re-visioning of contemporary Hindu cultures, not only to end alleviate cycles of abuse, but also to address this population's unique bicultural identity issues. Future research and widespread education is needed to explore the clinical implications of this study, and to develop culturally specific interventions for this silenced population
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Research and developments of Dirac video codec
This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University.In digital video compression, apart from storage, successful transmission of the compressed video
data over the bandwidth limited erroneous channels is another important issue. To enable a video
codec for broadcasting application, it is required to implement the corresponding coding tools (e.g.
error-resilient coding, rate control etc.). They are normally non-normative parts of a video codec and
hence their specifications are not defined in the standard. In Dirac as well, the original codec is
optimized for storage purpose only and so, several non-normative part of the encoding tools are still
required in order to be able to use in other types of application.
Being the "Research and Developments of the Dirac Video Codec" as the research title, phase I of
the project is mainly focused on the error-resilient transmission over a noisy channel. The error-resilient
coding method used here is a simple and low complex coding scheme which provides the
error-resilient transmission of the compressed video bitstream of Dirac video encoder over the packet
erasure wired network. The scheme combines source and channel coding approach where error-resilient
source coding is achieved by data partitioning in the wavelet transformed domain and
channel coding is achieved through the application of either Rate-Compatible Punctured
Convolutional (RCPC) Code or Turbo Code (TC) using un-equal error protection between header plus
MV and data. The scheme is designed mainly for the packet-erasure channel, i.e. targeted for the
Internet broadcasting application.
But, for a bandwidth limited channel, it is still required to limit the amount of bits generated from
the encoder depending on the available bandwidth in addition to the error-resilient coding. So, in the
2nd phase of the project, a rate control algorithm is presented. The algorithm is based upon the Quality
Factor (QF) optimization method where QF of the encoded video is adaptively changing in order to
achieve average bitrate which is constant over each Group of Picture (GOP). A relation between the
bitrate, R and the QF, which is called Rate-QF (R-QF) model is derived in order to estimate the
optimum QF of the current encoding frame for a given target bitrate, R.
In some applications like video conferencing, real-time encoding and decoding with minimum
delay is crucial, but, the ability to do real-time encoding/decoding is largely determined by the
complexity of the encoder/decoder. As we all know that motion estimation process inside the encoder
is the most time consuming stage. So, reducing the complexity of the motion estimation stage will
certainly give one step closer to the real-time application. So, as a partial contribution toward realtime
application, in the final phase of the research, a fast Motion Estimation (ME) strategy is designed
and implemented. It is the combination of modified adaptive search plus semi-hierarchical way of
motion estimation. The same strategy was implemented in both Dirac and H.264 in order to
investigate its performance on different codecs. Together with this fast ME strategy, a method which
is called partial cost function calculation in order to further reduce down the computational load of the
cost function calculation was presented. The calculation is based upon the pre-defined set of patterns
which were chosen in such a way that they have as much maximum coverage as possible over the
whole block.
In summary, this research work has contributed to the error-resilient transmission of compressed
bitstreams of Dirac video encoder over a bandwidth limited error prone channel. In addition to this,
the final phase of the research has partially contributed toward the real-time application of the Dirac
video codec by implementing a fast motion estimation strategy together with partial cost function
calculation idea.BBC R&D and Brunel University
NASA Tech Briefs, March 1988
Topics include: New Product Ideas; NASA TU Services; Electronic Components and Circuits; Electronic Systems; Physical Sciences; Materials; Computer Programs; Mechanics; Machinery; Fabrication Technology; Mathematics and Information Sciences; and Life Sciences
The 30/20 GHz flight experiment system, phase 2. Volume 2: Experiment system description
A detailed technical description of the 30/20 GHz flight experiment system is presented. The overall communication system is described with performance analyses, communication operations, and experiment plans. Hardware descriptions of the payload are given with the tradeoff studies that led to the final design. The spacecraft bus which carries the payload is discussed and its interface with the launch vehicle system is described. Finally, the hardwares and the operations of the terrestrial segment are presented
Mapping and Comparing Political Ideologies, Masculinity Ideologies, and Shame Ideologies
This study explored the relationships among political ideologies, masculinity ideologies, and shame ideologies within three online communities. Three different ideological communities, all on Reddit (a discussion-based social news website), were chosen based on previous research suggesting they differ in terms of their conceptualizations of gender and support for or rejection of feminism: r/TheRedPill, r/MensRights, and r/MensLib. This study uses a framework for understanding Ideologies as Complex Adaptive Systems (ICAS) as articulated by Thagard (2017), which uses Cognitive and Affective Maps (CAMs) as its primary tool of analysis. Using the postings on the Reddit sites as our raw data, we created CAMs to assist in comparing the conceptual and affective qualities of each community. We conducted the study in three phases: in Phase One, we used Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) methods and correlational analyses to create a set of general ideological CAMs for each community. We also constructed a set of CAMs depicting whom each group views as ingroups and outgroups in their creation of social identities. In Phase Two, we created a set of CAMs for each community’s dominant conception of gender. In Phase Three, we constructed a set of CAMs depicting each community’s relationship with the ideas of shame and injustice. The discussion section is organized into five main chapters. The first chapter contains reflections on the process of using CAMs, the next chapter is on the study’s limitations and future directions, and the final three are on the study findings’ empirical, theoretical, and clinical implications. The empirical implications of the study contribute to the following areas of research: the role of shame in ideology, the political construction of victimhood, and Ambivalent Sexism. In the theoretical implications chapter, I discuss the study’s potential contributions to theory development in the CAMs methodology. The final chapter offers reflections on the study\u27s clinical implications, especially related to gender identity development, sexual violence, and the role of ideology in emotion regulation
The lived experience of nurses caring for the dying
The study reported in this thesis describes and analyses the lived experience of caring for the dying amongst nine (9) nurses in a hospice setting. The research was established within the context of published literature on the subject of caring for the dying from nursing. A qualitative, phenomenological approach was chosen as the most appropriate for this study, in order to describe and interpret the understanding and shared meanings nurses have in the care of the dying. The major mode of data collection in this study was by in depth interview of nine (9) nurses, which was supplemented by the researcher\u27s field notes. Data collection, data analysis and validation took place concurrently. Five key themes were identified from the information by the nurse participants which explain the structure of the lived experience of nurses caring for the dying. These themes are; being transformed by the experience, the influence of context on caring, the embodiment of caring, caring for the family, and coping. The findings of this study support, in part, related findings in published literature. However, this study extends prior research by capturing the essence of the experience of nurses caring for the dying, in the context of hospice care. The major implications for nursing practice are that nurses who care for the dying need an awareness of the processes involved in caring for the dying to better understand their own, and their patients\u27 experiences. Several recommendations were made for further research which would substantiate and extend this work
Multimedia
The nowadays ubiquitous and effortless digital data capture and processing capabilities offered by the majority of devices, lead to an unprecedented penetration of multimedia content in our everyday life. To make the most of this phenomenon, the rapidly increasing volume and usage of digitised content requires constant re-evaluation and adaptation of multimedia methodologies, in order to meet the relentless change of requirements from both the user and system perspectives. Advances in Multimedia provides readers with an overview of the ever-growing field of multimedia by bringing together various research studies and surveys from different subfields that point out such important aspects. Some of the main topics that this book deals with include: multimedia management in peer-to-peer structures & wireless networks, security characteristics in multimedia, semantic gap bridging for multimedia content and novel multimedia applications
Engineering data compendium. Human perception and performance, volume 3
The concept underlying the Engineering Data Compendium was the product of a research and development program (Integrated Perceptual Information for Designers project) aimed at facilitating the application of basic research findings in human performance to the design of military crew systems. The principal objective was to develop a workable strategy for: (1) identifying and distilling information of potential value to system design from existing research literature, and (2) presenting this technical information in a way that would aid its accessibility, interpretability, and applicability by system designers. The present four volumes of the Engineering Data Compendium represent the first implementation of this strategy. This is Volume 3, containing sections on Human Language Processing, Operator Motion Control, Effects of Environmental Stressors, Display Interfaces, and Control Interfaces (Real/Virtual)
Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 140
This bibliography lists 306 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in March 1975
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