Novel geometric features for off-line writer identification

Writer identification is an important field in forensic document examination. Typically, a writer identification system consists of two main steps: feature extraction and matching and the performance depends significantly on the feature extraction step. In this paper, we propose a set of novel geometrical features that are able to characterize different writers. These features include direction, curvature, and tortuosity. We also propose an improvement of the edge-based directional and chain code-based features. The proposed methods are applicable to Arabic and English handwriting. We have also studied several methods for computing the distance between feature vectors when comparing two writers. Evaluation of the methods is performed using both the IAM handwriting database and the QUWI database for each individual feature reaching Top1 identification rates of 82 and 87 % in those two datasets, respectively. The accuracies achieved by Kernel Discriminant Analysis (KDA) are significantly higher than those observed before feature-level writer identification was implemented. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the improved versions of both chain-code features and edge-based directional features

(المنطلقات الفكرية للمجتمع المدني (الغرب والإسلام

أجري هذا البحث حول موضوع المنطلقات الفكرية للمجتمع المدني )الغرب والإسلام( واحتوى البحث على منهجية البحثوأربعة فصول وخاتمة ونتائج وتوصيات والإحالات المرجعية.تناول الفصل الاول المجتمع المدني والمفهوم والمصطلح "التعريف"، وتناول الفصل الثاني الإطار النظري والمنطلقاتالفكرية للمجتمع المدني، أما الفصل الثالث فتعرض لأنماط ونماذج منظمات المجتمع المدني وأنشطتها، فيما تناول الفصل الرابعالتنظيم المدني والنظام الاجتماعي في الإسلام.خلص البحث إلى أن الفكر الغربي يطرح فكرة المجتمع المدني على أسس مادية متعلقة بالمادة والعقل والتخلف، وهي فلسفةوأفكار قائمة على الواقع المادي وبعيدة كل البعد عن الغيب، في حين أن الإسلام يعرض فكرة وفلسفة المجتمع المدني المتكاملالقائم على التوحيد والإيمان. وأن المجتمع المدني تنظيم مؤسسي ومهني وطوعي يعد مجالاً موازياً للدولة ولا يحل محلها، وهيمؤسسات تقيم كافة أشكال التعريفات السياسية التي يبادر بها المواطن إلى مستوى التنظيم المجتمعي الحديث الذي يمثل الأحزابالسياسية وجمعيات حقوق الإنسان وغيرها من الأشكال التنظيمية التي تعمل على التأثير في رسم السياسات العامة، وأن العملالأساسي لمنظمات المجتمع المدني يكمن في تغليب مصلحة الجماعة ونفعها وبشكل خاص في عملية التنظيمات التشريعية.كما خلص البحث كذلك إلى أن الإطار الفلسفي والنظري لمنظمات المجتمع المدني في الغرب يقوم على أسس فلسفية نابعةمن تأثير الصراع الديني في الكنيسة، بينما المنطلقات الفكرية في الإسلام مستمدة من القرآن والسنة، إذ أن االسلام يولي المجتمعالمدني فكرة واسعة ونيرة وشامله تقوم على الكلية بعكس ما هو قائم في الفلسفة الغربية، ومن أهم ما خلص إليه البحث كذلك أنمنظمات المجتمع المدني تلعب دوراً كبيراً في التصدي للفساد والحد من انتشار الأسلحة النووية وحملات بناء السدود الكبيرةومكافحة وحظر الألغام ونزع السلاح ونشر ثقافة السلام وبناء الديمقراطية ومراقبة حقوق الإنسان.توصل البحث إلى أن بعض منظمات المجتمع المدني تمارس بعض الأجندة الخفية التي تعبر عن مصالحها، بغض النظرعن مطلوبات وحاجات المجتمع الذي تمارس فيه نشاطها، مما يؤدي إلى تناقض أدوارها مع واقع المجتمع، إذ تتصدر الأجندةالخاصة بمنظمات المجتمع المدني أولوية في أطرها ومنطلقاتها الفكرية وممارستها لأنشطتها وتقوم هذه الأجندة على المهامالإنسانية التي من أجلها ابتدعت فكرة منظمات المجتمع المدني. أما بالنسبة لمنظمات المجتمع المدني في الدول الإسلاميةوالعربية فقد توصل البحث إلى أنها تحتاج إلى المزيد من الرؤية التفصيلية لتتواكب مع التطورالتكنولوجي والأدبيات السياسيةالمعاصرة في الفلسفة السياسية في الإسلام

Abstracts 4th pediatric neurology conference children medical center, lahore february 2013

Clinical data of 100 patients being treated as TBM (group A) admitted in the Neurology department, and another 100 patients with diagnosis of meningitis, encephalitis or cerebral malaria (group B) were evaluated. History, clinical examination and relevant investigations were evaluated and Kenneth Jones criteria were applied to both groups. All children were followed and their outcome was also studied

Computer based information system for the Bank of Sudan adopting modern design and evaluation techniques

Introduction of computer based systems is slow in developing countries. Financial and social cost of the non-availability of information or manual information processing tends to be higher than the cost of an EDP system. This thesis is an investigation in the Bank of Sudan - a Central Bank in a developing country - to study the feasibility of introducing a computer based system. Also it is an adoption of the modern ETHICS and BASYC techniques in the design and evaluation of these systems. ETHICS is concerned with the design of man-machine system allowing for equal consideration for its technical and social variables. BASYC provides the multi-dimensional framework to assess the benefit of the changed system for the several groups of people who will be influenced by that change. While in other banks saving by replacement of clerical staff may be the main objective of introducing computer based systems, in a Central Bank the important objective is the improvement of the information necessary for control and planning. The ETHICS and BASYC techniques are applied to design and evaluate a computer based information system for export trade - a cluster of related activities within the foreign exchange operation. An integrated computer based management information system was the best of two viable solutions. It was a good demonstration of the design of socio-technical systems allowing for technical and social requirements. Besides its contribution to staff and user satisfaction because of the availability of information for control and planning, the predicted payoff in financial terms is far more than the cost of the system

geodynamic characteristics of the Nile Craton-Nubian Shield boundary

thesi

Applying the factor analytical approach towards aaker’s brand personality model from an Islamic perspective

Given current technologies, marketers are employing several techniques to differentiate their brands from others due to intense competition and low switching cost. Brand personality is one is one such approach. Aaker’s brand personality model with its five dimensions (sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness) has been used extensively in the field of marketing. Despite considerable research on Aaker’s model, scholars have also criticised it based on issues such as generalisability across countries and cultures. Considering religion an important yet ignored element of culture, this paper highlights the criticism on Aaker’s model from which we propose an Islamic brand personality model that we empirically test using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Six factors emerged during EFA with a cumulative variance of 67.389 per cent. As per the findings, three new dimensions (humbleness, cooperation, trustworthiness, and justice) appeared during the analysis along with few pre-existing factors such as sincerity, competence, and excitement. Interestingly, the new dimension of trustworthiness and justice resulted in the highest contribution in terms of reliability and percentage of variance i.e. 0.90 and 13.859, respectively. The Islamic brand personality model can be applied on Islamic brands/organisations in order to evaluate their brand personality which will ultimately help marketers position their brands effectively

Effect of river indus sand on concrete tensile strength

In the development of Pakistan construction industry, the utilization of River Indus sand in concrete as fine aggregate has expanded tremendously. The aim of this research is to study the effect of Indus River sand on the tensile strength of various grades of concrete when it is utilized as fine aggregate. Concrete Samples of M15, M20 and M25 grade concrete were cured for 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Based on the results, it is found that concrete became less workable when Indus river sand was utilized. It is recorded that tensile strength of concrete is decreased from 5% up to 20% in comparison with hill sand. The results were derived from various concrete grades

ev->ev Aspirant for New Physics

This work focuses on the topical survey of precision measurements via ev->ev scattering in the frame work of Non-Standard Interaction (NSI). Both Model Independent (MI) and Model Dependent (MD) are used in addition the Standard Model (SM). R-parity violating Supersymmetry (SUSY) Model is used to perform MD analysis, where the scattering cross-section is influenced by new S-bosons. By using LSND experimental value, we obtain limits for SUSY coupling parameter (lambda) and obtain physically allowed and disallowed regions rather than just limits/bounds for MI paramters. Under the limits of CHARMII, BNL-COL and BNL-E734 experimental values, we get physically allowed and disallowed regions for MI and MD couplings parameters. Sensitivity of these coupling parameters with each other is also discussed. Furthermore, we establish a relation between MI coupling parameters and R-parity violating SUSY Model coupling parameters.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figure