Modeling long-range interactions across the visual field in stereo correspondence

When the eyes are converged, most objects in the visual scene will have a significant vertical disparity as measured at the retina. The pattern of vertical disparity across the retina is largely independent of object depth, depending mainly on the particular eye position adopted. Recently, Phillipson and Read (2010, European Journal of Neuroscience, doi:10.1111/j.1460-9568.2010.07454.x) showed that humans are better at achieving stereo correspondence when the vertical disparity field indicated infinite viewing distance, even when the physical viewing distance was just 30cm. They interpreted this as indicating that disparity encoding is optimized for long viewing distances, and is not updated to reflect changes in eye posture. Their results also indicated a significant effect of the visual periphery. Performance was better when the vertical disparity across the entire visual field was consistent with a given binocular eye position – even when this was not the eye position actually adopted – than when the vertical disparity beyond 20o eccentricity indicated a different eye position than that within 20o eccentricity. This is a surprising result, since (i) the task was to detect a target 8o in diameter, extending from 10o to 18o eccentricity, so information beyond 20o was completely irrelevant to the task, and (ii) many previous results indicate that the visual system detects and uses vertical disparity in local regions, even when the global vertical disparity field is not consistent with any single binocular eye position. Here, I show that this effect can be explained by a template-matching model in which the response of a population of disparity-detectors is compared with stored templates of the response expected to stimuli of known disparity

Masquerade of Femininity and Masculinity in Japanese Comic Midori is a Tomboy and W-juliet

Masquerade is the use of mask and disguise by a person to hide a certain identity and make a new identity. The concept of masquerade that is the use of mask has been used in Japanese theatre such as Kabuki and Takarazuka; however those theatres also use the concept of gender bender. Nowadays, the two concepts are applied in Japanese comic that is popular in teenager. In this study, I would like to analyze the use of mask and gender bender by Makoto and Midori in Japanese comic W-Juliet and Midori is a Tomboy. I would like to reveal the strategy that is used by Makoto and Midori in wearing their mask and the meaning of the masks that they use. By this study, I will prove that femininity and masculinity are not related by sex and can be used as mask to create a new identity

Latitude and longitude vertical disparities

The literature on vertical disparity is complicated by the fact that several different definitions of the term “vertical disparity” are in common use, often without a clear statement about which is intended or a widespread appreciation of the properties of the different definitions. Here, we examine two definitions of retinal vertical disparity: elevation-latitude and elevation-longitude disparities. Near the fixation point, these definitions become equivalent, but in general, they have quite different dependences on object distance and binocular eye posture, which have not previously been spelt out. We present analytical approximations for each type of vertical disparity, valid for more general conditions than previous derivations in the literature: we do not restrict ourselves to objects near the fixation point or near the plane of regard, and we allow for non-zero torsion, cyclovergence, and vertical misalignments of the eyes. We use these expressions to derive estimates of the latitude and longitude vertical disparities expected at each point in the visual field, averaged over all natural viewing. Finally, we present analytical expressions showing how binocular eye position—gaze direction, convergence, torsion, cyclovergence, and vertical misalignment—can be derived from the vertical disparity field and its derivatives at the fovea

Use of routinely collected national data sets for reporting on induced abortion in Australia

Foreword The lack of national data on induced abortion in Australia represents a gap in health statistics. The AIHW’s Reproductive Health Indicators in Australia 2002 report included an indicator on induced abortions in Australia, but national data were not reported for it because data on induced abortion were not available on a routine basis Australia-wide. This report comprehensively assesses the extent to which different forms of routinely collected data can be used to quantify the incidence of induced abortion in Australia. The innovative use of data combined from hospital and non-hospital sources helps to provide a more complete picture of reproductive health in Australia, as well as providing a basis for regular reporting in the future. The compilation of the data contained in this document represents the best effort to date to provide a factual database on the incidence of induced abortion. The report does not include any analysis of the legal, social or moral issues often raised in discussion of abortion

Stepping outside normative neoliberal discourse: youth and disability meet – the case of Jody McIntyre

In May 2010, amidst the ‘global financial crisis’ a Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government succeeded a 12-year reign of New Labour in the United Kingdom, and ushered in massive welfare cuts. Although New Labour tabled major welfare and disability benefit reform, they arguably did not activate the harshest of these. This paper focuses on the backlash of youth and disability in the form of demonstrations; two groups that are being hit hard by the political shift to work-first welfare in an era of employment scarcity. The case of young disabled activist Jody McIntyre is used to explore parallels and divergences in neoliberal and ‘populist’ discourses of ‘risky’, troubling’ youth and disability

Mobiles and mobility: The Effect of Mobile Phones on Migration in Niger

Labor markets in developing countries are subject to a high degree of frictions. We report the results from a randomized evaluation of an adult education program (Project ABC) in Niger, in which students learned how to use simple mobile phones as part of a literacy and numeracy class. Overall, our preliminary results suggest that access to this technology substantially influenced seasonal migration in Niger, increasing the likelihood of migration by at least one household member by 7 percentage points and the number of households' members engaging in seasonal migration. Evidence suggests that there are some heterogeneous impacts of the program, with a higher probability of a household member migrating in one region. These effects do not appear to be driven by differences in observable characteristics of households or differential effects of drought during the survey period. Rather we posit that they are largely explained by the effectiveness of mobile phones as a search technology: Students in ABC villages used mobile phones in more active ways and communicated more with migrants within Niger. These initial results suggest that simple and cheap information technology can be harnessed to affect labor mobility among rural populations. --

A critical perspective on stigma in physiotherapy: the example of weight stigma

"Manipulating practices is the first ever collection of critical physiotherapy studies and comes at a time of unprecedented change in the profession. Written as a collaboration between 20 authors, many members of the Critical Physiotherapy Network (CPN), the book uncovers the growing body of critical thinking now emerging in physiotherapy. From topics as diverse as 21st century education, ethics, evidence-based practice, touch, and equine therapy; and approaches as varied as disability and performance studies, feminism, logic, narrative theory, new materialism, and phenomenology, the book explores ways of thinking ‘otherwise’ about physiotherapy. Over 16 chapters written by authors from six different countries, Manipulating practices offers insights from some of physiotherapy’s most radical thinkers. The book is also an innovative venture into open source publishing, making it entirely free to download and read. In keeping with the objectives of the CPN, the chapters expose a range of concepts, ideas and practices to critical scrutiny, and reflect the profession’s growing interest in critiquing taken-for-granted ways of practicing and thinking. Manipulating practices will be of interest to clinicians, lecturers, policy-makers, researchers and students, and will provide new impetus to help physiotherapists imagine how the profession might grow and develop into the future.""«Manipulating practices» er den første vitenskapelige antologien som samler kritiske studier innen fysioterapi, og lanseres i en tid der profesjonen er preget av store forandringer. Antologien representerer et samarbeidsprosjekt mellom 20 forskere, hvor majoriteten er medlemmer av Critical Physiotherapy Network (CNP) – et internasjonalt nettverk av forskere og klinikere fra hele verden. Antologien synliggjør den økende tendensen til kritisk tenkning som er i ferd med å vokse frem innenfor fysioterapi. Gjennom å fokusere på varierte tema som utdanning, etikk, evidensbasert praksis, berøring og terapiridning, samt en bred tilnærming som inkluderer funksjonshemming, performance-studier, feminisme, logikk, narrativ teori, ny materialisme og fenomenologi, utforsker antologien nye og annerledes tanker om fysioterapi som fag og profesjon. Antologiens 16 kapitler er skrevet av forskere fra seks ulike land og gir innsikt i forskningen til noen av de mest radikale forskerne i det internasjonale fysioterapimiljøet. Boken er også innovativ gjennom at den publiseres som open access, hvilket betyr at den kan lastes ned og leses gratis og dermed gjøres allment tilgjengelig. I tråd med ambisjonen for CPN, utforskes en rekke ulike begreper, ideer og praktiske tilnærminger relatert til kritisk tenkning innenfor fysioterapi. Slik gjenspeiles også profesjonens økende interesse for å kritisere etablerte måter å praktisere og tenke på, som tidligere har vært tatt for gitt. «Manipulating practices» vil være av interesse for forskere, klinikere, forelesere, politikere og studenter. Antologien vil forhåpentligvis bidra med nye impulser med henblikk på hvordan fysioterapiprofesjonen vil vokse og utvikle seg fremover.