Three Removes from Truth: The Motif of Representation in Literature

This paper explores the motif of representation in a variety of texts to better understand the power that these representations have as a social force. The use of representation in literature has changed throughout history, and the paper analyzes the role of representation in six different fictional texts and in several different critical theories. It gives further consideration to the changing nature of photography in a postmodern world where a true original is never created due to the proliferation of cell phone cameras, digital photograph sharing, and photography-specific social networking websites. In an increasingly visually literate world, photography is a common lens through which individuals choose to see and experience the world around them, and the proliferation and ease of photography is shaping the way society uses and understands representations. Ultimately, the paper investigates portraiture and photography from literary and historical lenses and proves, if not the value of representations in themselves, the importance of representations for society

Hidden Markov Models for Visual Speech Synthesis in Limited Data

This work presents a new approach for estimating control points (facial locations that control movement) to allow the artificial generation of video with apparent mouth movement (visual speech) time-synced with recorded audio. First, Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) are estimated for each visual speech category (viseme) present in stored video data, where a category is defined as the mouth movement corresponding to a given sound and where the visemes are further categorized as trisemes (a viseme in the context of previous and following visemes). Next, a decision tree is used to cluster and relate states in the HMMs that are similar in a contextual and statistical sense. The tree is also used to estimate HMMs that generate sequences of visual speech control points for trisemes not occurring in the stored data. An experiment is described that evaluates the effect of several algorithm variables, and a statistical analysis is presented that establishes appropriate levels for each variable by minimizing the error between the desired and estimated control points. The analysis indicates that the error is lowest when the process is conducted with three-state left-to right no skip HMMs trained using short-duration dynamic features, a high log-likelihood threshold, and a low outlier threshold. Also, comparisons of mouth shapes generated from the artificial control points and the true control points (estimated from video not used to train the HMMs) indicate that the process provides accurate estimates for most trisemes tested in this work. The research presented here thus establishes a useful method for synthesizing realistic audio-synchronized video facial features

The Changing Nature of Catastrophe: A History of Semantic Shift

Catastrophe, and the reporting of catastrophe, is prevalent in the present age, and catastrophic events are a part of the cultural memory. For America, events such as 9/11, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Hurricane Katrina, and the Challenger explosion, along with many other events, have filled newspapers and books, inspired documentaries and memorials, and, in many ways, reshaped the country. This paper investigated the changing nature of the word catastrophe and discovered the context of and the reasons for the shift in its meaning in 1748, as recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary. The Greek roots of the word, dictionary and encyclopedia entries, books, and newspapers were consulted to create a framework for an investigation of the scholarly, social, cultural, and political use of catastrophe in both England and America

The Changing Nature of Catastrophe: A History of Semantic Shift

Catastrophe, and the reporting of catastrophe, is prevalent in the present age, and catastrophic events are a part of the cultural memory. For America, events such as 9/11, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Hurricane Katrina, and the Challenger explosion, along with many other events, have filled newspapers and books, inspired documentaries and memorials, and, in many ways, reshaped the country. This paper investigated the changing nature of the word catastrophe and discovered the context of and the reasons for the shift in its meaning in 1748, as recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary. The Greek roots of the word, dictionary and encyclopedia entries, books, and newspapers were consulted to create a framework for an investigation of the scholarly, social, cultural, and political use of catastrophe in both England and America

A Two-Phase Damped-Exponential Model for Speech Synthesis

It is well known that there is room for improvement in the resultant quality of speech synthesizers in use today. This research focuses on the improvement of speech synthesis by analyzing various models for speech signals. An improvement in synthesis quality will benefit any system incorporating speech synthesis. Many synthesizers in use today use linear predictive coding (LPC) techniques and only use one set of vocal tract parameters per analysis frame or pitch period for pitch-synchronous synthesizers. This work is motivated by the two-phase analysis-synthesis model proposed by Krishnamurthy. In lieu of electroglottograph data for vocal tract model transition point determination, this work estimates this point directly from the speech signal. The work then evaluates the potential of the two-phase damped-exponential model for synthetic speech quality improvement. LPC and damped-exponential models are used for synthesis. Statistical analysis of data collected in a subjective listening test indicates a statistically significant improvement (at the 0.05 significance level) in quality using this two-phase damped-exponential model over single-phase LPC, single-phase damped-exponential and two-phase LPC for the speakers, sentences, and model orders used. This subjective test shows the potential for quality improvement of synthesized speech and supports the need for further research and testing

Predator Prey Models in Competitive Corporations

Predator prey models have been used for years to model animal populations. In recent years they have begun to be applied to economic situations. However, the stock market has remained largely untouched. We examine whether the success of competitive corporations such as Target and Walmart, as measured by the indicators of price per share, market share, and volume, can be modeled by various predator prey models. We consider the basic Lotka-Volterra model and the two-predator, one-prey model, as well as a ratio-dependent model. We discuss the use of numerical techniques and regression analysis as tools to estimate model parameters. For Target and Walmart, the predator prey models mentioned above do not accurately fit the stock market data. In order to more fully explore the use of predator prey models in the stock market, we have examined several other competing companies using a simple Lotka-Volterra model, and found that critical model parameters were not statistically significant. While not statistically significant, these results help reinforce the unpredictability and complexity of markets and provide insight for future research

SIKAP MASYARAKAT TERHADAP PENGELOLAAN HUTAN DESA KAJULANGKO KECAMATAN AMPANA TETE KABUPATEN TOJO UNA-UNA

Community forest is basically a state forest, managed by the society trough a rural administrative organization, and used for the welfare the villager. Village forest management can be seen from the distribution arrangements of manage land to any farmer. Village ordinances are regulated that each village of farmers are only allowed to manage the maximum forest land of 0.5 hectares for farmers based on historical background who managed more than 0.5 hectares before being designated as community forest. The forest of Kajulangko is located in the village of villages  covering the sub-district of Tojo Una-Una. Where the population of the Kajulangko village was 1129, the number of family heads at the time of the formation of the Kajulangko village was 278 family heads. The village area of Kajulangko is approximately 12 square kilometers. To understand the attitude of society can be analyzed using descriptive methods he or she USES a scale of 1-2-3-4-5. Studies have shown that people’s attitude toward community forest is good for the society being high (119), good community forest for the village government is likely to be moderate (62), village forest is important for the moderateeconomic welfare (57) and village forests are essential for forest sustainability to be very high (135).Keywords: Community forest, management, community attitud

MANAJEMEN PENGAJIAN AHAD KLIWON DI PONDOK PESANTREN BAROKATUL QODIRI DALAM PENGEMBANGAN DAKWAH DI KECAMATAN PESISIR UTARA KABUPATEN PESISIR BARAT

Penelitian ini berjudul “Manajemen Pengajian Ahad Kliwon di Pondok Pesantren Barokatul Qodiri dalam Pengembangan Dakwah di Kecamatan Pesisir Utara Kabupaten Pesisir Barat”. Tujuan yang hendak dicapai dalam penelitian skripsi ini adalah untuk mengetahui gambaran manajemen dalam pengajian Ahad Kliwon di Pondok Pesantren Barokatul Qodiri, yang di dalamnya terdapat fungsifungsi manajemen yang meliputi perencanaan, pengorganisasian, pelaksanaan dan pengawasan. Sehingga dapat mengetahui bagaimana sistem kerja para pelaksana pengajian. Untuk mencapai tujuan tersebut metode yang digunakan adalah penelitian lapangan yaitu dengan mengumpulkan data yang dilakukan dengan penelitian di tempat pelaksanaan kegiatan yang diteliti. Jenis penelitian dalam skripsi ini adalah penelitian kualitatif, dengan pendekatan manajemen, sedangkan spesifikasi penelitian yang digunakan adalah deskriptif. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah: metode observasi, metode wawancara dan metode dokumentasi. Adapun metode analisis yang penulis gunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah analisis deskriptif kualitatif, yang bertujuan melukiskan secara sistematis fakta dan karakteristik bidang-bidang tertentu secara faktual dan cermat dengan menggambarkan keadaan atau status fenomena. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa pelaksanaan pengajian Ahad Kliwon di Pondok Pesantren Barokatul Qodiri di dalamnya terdapat penerapan manajemen. Dalam proses kegiatan pengajian tersebut terlebih dahulu direncanakan hal-hal yang sangat dibutuhkan dalam pelaksanaan tersebut, diantaranya dengan mengadakan rapat untuk mempersiapkan segala hal yang dibutuhkan, menentukan para pelaksana, dan menentukan segala fasilitas dalam pelaksanaan pengajian. Pengorganisasian merupakan fungsi yang memudahkan dalam pembagian tugas dan menyusun rencana kerja. Tugas-tugas yang diberikan oleh para pengurus adalah tugas yang sesuai dengan keahlian pengurus tersebut, dan program kerja yang diberikan para pengurus adalah untuk memberikan fasilitas yang terbaik untuk kiai dan jamaah pengajian. Fungsi ketiga adalah penggerakan atau pelaksanaan, yaitu dengan memberikan motivasi dan semangat kepada bawahan dalam bekerja serta melaksanakan tugas masing-masing. Fungsi terakhir adalah pengawasan yaitu ketua berkeliling melihat seluruh kegiatan dan mengamati anggotanya dalam bekerja, penerapan manajemen dalam pengajian Ahad Kliwon dapat mempermudah pelaksanaan pengajian dan pelayanan pada kiai atau pemateri serta jama’ah pengajian. Adapun kegiatan lain dalam upaya pengembangan dakwah melalui pengajian Ahad Kliwon, Pondok Pesantren Barokatul Qodiri melaksanakan beberapa kegiatan , diantaranya adalah tilawah, pengajian manaqib dan santunan anak yatim

The Role of the Physical Therapist in Health Promotion as Perceived by Patients with Neurological Pathologies: A Descriptive Study

Background and Purpose: Patients with neurological pathologies have been found to be less likely to engage in personal health behaviors than the general population. This predisposes them to acquire secondary chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Studies suggest that this population may be underserved in regards to the promotion of health behaviors. Literature is lacking regarding neurological patients’ perspectives of the physical therapist’s role in promoting personal health behaviors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of patients with neurological disability regarding the physical therapist’s role in promoting the personal health behaviors of physical activity, healthy weight management, smoking cessation, and fruit and vegetable consumption. Methods: A convenience sample of patients from a Minneapolis area outpatient rehabilitation center was obtained by physical therapist referral. Surveys were distributed to patients who met the inclusion criteria. The survey obtained information regarding the patient’s perception of what the role of the physical therapist should be for each personal health behavior. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2013. Results: Thirty-five surveys met inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Respondents’ demographics were as follows: mean age of 52.3±16.7years, 62.9% were male, average BMI of 28.1 ± 6.6 and 73.5% reported having a neurological condition for at least 3 years. A key finding was that 76% of respondents believe that physical therapists should suggest ways to maintain a healthy weight, however it was only addressed with 37% of the sample. The majority of respondents believed physical therapists should advise them about physical activity (88.6%), smoking cessation (65%), and weight management (83%). Conclusion: Overall, respondents with chronic neurological conditions in an outpatient setting who were surveyed expressed the belief that physical therapists should advise them in the personal health behaviors of physical activity, weight management, smoking cessation, and fruit and vegetable intake. Although the majority of respondents believed weight management should be discussed in their therapy sessions, only 37% reported their physical therapist addressed their weight. This finding suggests a potential opportunity for physical therapists to have conversation with their patients on healthy weight management

When moving faces activate the house area: an fMRI study of object-file retrieval

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The visual cortex of the human brain contains specialized modules for processing different visual features of an object. Confronted with multiple objects, the system needs to attribute the correct features to each object (often referred to as 'the binding problem'). The brain is assumed to integrate the features of perceived objects into object files – pointers to the neural representations of these features, which outlive the event they represent in order to maintain stable percepts of objects over time. It has been hypothesized that a new encounter with one of the previously bound features will reactivate the other features in the associated object file according to a kind of pattern-completion process.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fourteen healthy volunteers participated in an fMRI experiment and performed a task designed to measure the aftereffects of binding visual features (houses, faces, motion direction). On each trial, participants viewed a particular combination of features (S1) before carrying out a speeded choice response to a second combination of features (S2). Repetition and alternation of all three features was varied orthogonally.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The behavioral results showed the standard partial repetition costs: a reaction time increase when one feature was repeated and the other feature alternated between S1 and S2, as compared to complete repetitions or alternations of these features. Importantly, the fMRI results provided evidence that repeating motion direction reactivated the object that previously moved in the same direction. More specifically, perceiving a face moving in the same direction as a just-perceived house increased activation in the parahippocampal place area (PPA). A similar reactivation effect was not observed for faces in the fusiform face area (FFA). Individual differences in the size of the reactivation effects in the PPA and FFA showed a positive correlation with the corresponding partial repetition costs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study provides the first neural evidence that features are bound together on a single presentation and that reviewing one feature automatically reactivates the features that previously accompanied it.</p